“Tablets are the culmination of what Steve Jobs wanted to create at Apple from the beginning“, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has said. During a keynote session at Storage Networking World in Santa Clara, California, Wozniak was asked how tablets would change the computer industry. He compared them to TVs. “The tablet is not necessarily for the people in this room,” Wozniak told the audience of enterprise storage engineers. “It’s for the normal people in the world.”
Yeah, I basically think the same thing. Devices like Tablets/Smartphones as well as Video Game Systems, DVR’s and other set-top-boxes are intended for regular folk (consumers) and not PC users; especially not power users.
It’s a popular superstition spread by the highly technical gadget freaks who actually do buy the iDevices and root for their success. Meanwhile, back in reality, the so-called “regular people” do know how to use a PC to connect to Facebook, but they get confused by the various remote controls needed to turn on the TV and switch to a different channel (or worse, use a VCR, never mind recording from cable). Now they’ll start wondering how they can print pictures from their pads and phones.
Fact is, another box makes things more complicated, not less, and the tablet Wozniak is advertising can’t actually be used on its own.
Why not?
Lack of OTA updates and sync over WiFi come to mind.
Dropbox et al is great and all, but my full HD holiday video collection is already in hundreds of gigabytes… Though I personally probably wouldn’t care, since I have FTTP @ 100mbps.
The original poster said “can’t actually be used on its own.” No, you can’t update it over the air, but that doesn’t prevent you from using it on it’s own. Sync over wifi also doesn’t prevent you from using it on it’s own. And, even if you don’t own a computer, there are ways around the first issue and the second issue … well, there’s no need to sync if you don’t own a computer to sync to. So again, in what way does one need a computer in order to use an iPad?
To activate it? As per Apples web site: http://www.apple.com/support/ipad/getstarted/
From the official User Guide: “Before you can use iPad, you must use iTunes to set it up. You can also register iPad and create an Apple ID (not available in some countries) if you don^aEURTMt already have one.”(emphasis mine)
Otherwise, if you plan to use it like a paperweight, then even the cable is not necessary…
Look, this is ridiculous. To claim that a computer is necessary to use an iPad would require showing that it requires a constant, or at least regular, connection to a computer to be useful. That some key functionality is eliminated without a computer. A one time activation event (which Apple will do for you at the Apple store when you buy it) and operating system updates (which Apple will also do for you at the Apple store) are not critical pieces of functionality that require constant or regular connection to a computer. Now, would it be nice if Apple shipped an iPad preconfigured, similar to what Amazon does with the Kindle, sure. Would being able to update the device via the internet be great, yes. But it’s really hard to take someone seriously when they are trying this hard to claim that the iPad “can’t actually be used on its own.”
Notice that you didn’t deny the fact that it can’t be used on its own, but actually confirmed it (“but you can get them to do that at the Apple Store!”). You can’t pretend the argument is that it needs constant or regular connection to a PC, as no one ever claimed that.
You know what’s hard to take serious? People who concede that you’re right, and then go on to falsify your argument to refute it.
Back in the day, when you bought a cell phone they had to plug it in to a device to program the subscriber information into the phone. Then, later, if there was a firmware update available and you wanted it, you’d have to take it to a store so they could plug it into a different device to get the update installed. No one, to my knowledge, claimed that in order to use your cell phone on it’s own you needed the device to program the subscriber information or the device to perform the firmware upgrade. Why? Because you left the store and your phone worked great all on it’s own. Today you say the opposite, those phones never did work on their own.
On the other hand you could make a great argument that the RIM Playbook won’t work on it’s own. To access key functionality, email, contacts and calendaring, you’ll need to tether it to a Blackberry. No Blackberry, no email, contacts or calendaring. The RIM Playbook is a great example of a device that doesn’t work on it’s own, one that requires a regular or constant connection to another device to utilized key features.
WTF are you talking about? Geeks are the first in line to buy game consoles.
Set top boxes? Maybe you should throw toasters in there as well.
Real geeks stick a 1000 watt gaming pc in the living room and cook toast on the gpu.
I’m not exactly sure what you’re saying here.
Yes, toasters are also targeted towards regular people. Most people like products that do what they’re supposed to. The more complicated the product the larger the chance things will go wrong and people will hate it.
For a more thorough explanation see:
http://www.theonion.com/video/sony-releases-new-stupid-piece-of-shi…
Are you seriously using a spoof news channel as proof of your point?
I’ve seen people being torn apart for daring to reference Wikipedia in a debate, but at least that tries to be accurate.
Back on topic though: it’s rare that I say this but NTJerkface is right. It’s geeks that buy the latest games consoles just as it’s the geeks that were waiting in line for the iPad when that was released. Most regular folk don’t gadgets. They just want the basics and they want them to do everything – from Facebook through to printing their CV.
I don’t doubt that one day tablets will become as powerful as desktops, however when that day comes tablet OSs will be more like a desktop OS as well and thus the world wouldn’t be using tablets anymore – just ultra thin laptops.
That’s a contradiction.
Yes geeks buy game consoles. They also buy toasters, refrigerators, microwaves. So what? Just because geeks also buy something doesn’t mean it’s not targeted at regular people.
Geeks weren’t the only ones buying the Wii, NES or Atari. None of the really successful products are just for geeks.
You’ve really missed the whole point of this thread:
Only if you take that sentence out of context like you have there.
People buy a basic PC and expect it to do all of their home computing. They don’t want dozens of additional toys that duplicate some functionality.
But just because it’s targeted at regular people it doesn’t mean the lion share of sales are to the geeks.
Hence my point.
Well obviously, but the point is tablets aren’t really successful products. At least not yet. You seem to have completely missed the point here as we’re discussing why tablets are unlikely to be successful not what it takes to be successful. This tangent your own doesn’t disprove my point at all.
Also, it most certainly was geeks who bought the Atari. At least here in England anyway.
You’re obviously wrong. Otherwise Video Game Systems, DVD Players, MP3 Players, Mobile Internet Devices and Ebook Readers wouldn’t be so successful.
Most people’s “mobile internet device” is their smart phone, which often also doubles up as their MP3 player (in fact I’m a geek and even I don’t own an MP3 player!)
Most people don’t have eBook readers (may I remind you -again- that we’re talking about mainstream tech in the average home, not niche tech used by a minority) and I know plenty of people who just play their CDs and DVDs through their games console / play their CDs on their DVD player.
As I said before, most people don’t want to spend more money buying more hardware when they can already do it on existing hardware. Simply listing off a load of technology doesn’t prove your point that most people like dozens of gadgets which duplicate functionality. Particularly when you listed off gadgets that mostly didn’t overlap.
Edited 2011-04-07 21:28 UTC
More of these type of products are being made every year and yes they are targeting regular people not computer guys. You may not want to believe it but there are successful products that aren’t all purpose devices. That’s why they still sell Video Game Systems, DVD Players, MP3 Players, Cable TV, Phones, E-book Readers, Cameras, Synthesizers etc.
You’re still completely missing everything I’ve said.
Few people have all of that hardware. Most people just have bits and pieces and make do. In fact the number of people I know that don’t even own a CD player or radio any more because their DVD player/games console plays CDs and their digital TV picks up radio. And those that do have a CD play/radio likely only have one because it’s 10+ years old and still works (so they’re not buying up gadgets, they’re just not chucking out old working hardware). However, this does ***NOT**** mean that people actively go out buying dozens of similar gadgets with overlapping functionality (eg PC owners buying a tablet PC for sofa surfing).
Also (and please don’t make me post this again) Ebook readers aren’t household tech. Most people don’t own an ebook reader. Period!
As for the Synths example, that’s even more absurd. Nobody apart from musicians and electronic composers will own one (and half of them might not even). I’m a producer and I don’t even own a hardware synth. In fact most producers are moving to software these days (if not already migrated). So please, less of the ignorant comments please.
Back on topic: I’m talking about technology with overlapping functionality (such as tablet PCs which, after all, is *THE* topic). Synths don’t overlap with ebook readers which don’t overlap with games consoles. So your examples (aside being wrong for the former two) are completely irrelevant.
So please, for the love of God, keep to the subject if you want to dispute my argument because thus far all you keep proving is an unrelated topic I’ve never argued against in the first bloody place!
If so few people are interested in reading off e-book readers, playing on video game consoles, using hardware synthesizers, pocket calculators, digital watches why are they still being made?
I don’t know the same people you know evidently. The people I know didn’t even know you could play a CD in the DVD Player. You seem to think that everyone knows how or takes advantage of every thing their Smart Phone, Laptop, or Desktop can do.
Oh for crying out loud. Do I really need to reiterate the same fucking sentence 15 fucking times before you get the fucking point?!
I only commented that hardware synths and eBook readers aren’t common household items. The latter may eventually become one before the former never will. For now, both are niche products. However niche products can still be hugely profitable.
I never once commented on calculators nor watches. So please cut the fucking crap now because my patience has worn thin.
No I don’t. I never once stated that everyone takes advantage of all their hardware’s capabilities. I just said that most normal working-class people would sooner not spend money on overlapping gadgets such as buying a tablet PC for sofa surfing.
It might seem weird to you that I keep coming back to tablet PCs when you try your damnedest to drift off on a weird tangent, but this **THIS TOPIC IS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT TABLET PCs**!
As for you personally not being aware that most DVD players can play audio-CDs, well quite frankly that sums up the difficulty I’ve had getting a simple point through to you.
Dude. Calm down. It’s nothing to get worked up over. It’s just a technology discussion. Just because I don’t agree with you doesn’t mean you should start cursing and belittling me.
I admire the Woz for his work on the Apple I and II.
Great technical skills, open minded as was Apple in those days. He saw the microcomputer as open and expandable platform and that became the PC.
Somehow he lost it when Jobs pushed the Xerox Parc way of computing into the Mac and pushed the Woz into nowhereland.
Nowadays he is just a Jobs fanboy.
I love posts where one starts by describing the supposed admiration for the subject they are about to trash…
I sold my NotionInk Adam tablet last weekend. It is a great piece of hardware and there are a lot of cool hacks and apps around, but in the end it’s still a consumer device. Tablets seem totally unsuited for most of the work I do on my laptop(PC?). Even the consumer part, browsing the web, watching movies or reading documents, is not very convincing due to limited performance, flexibility and integration with the rest of the world.
Even simple and well-established applications like email are so amazingly primitive…it feels like you’re back in the 80ies, only that everything is 3D now. Even Tetris.
Actually I think that is mostly related to the Adam, I have an ipad and have had it now since october or so, and it has replaced my notebook for 80% of tasks because it is more convenient, the flexibility is good enough as consumer device not working device and email etc… is pretty well done and does no feel like you described it.
But I agree the Adam is an interesting piece of hardware because one thing the iPad is really not that suitable is extensive reading thanks to its LCD only technology and especially not in the sun.
My mother (60) never really managed to use a PC. For decades she “tried”, sometime harder than other to learn how to use that beast. Until 2005, she was unable to open a computer, trying every keys on the keyboard but the power one. That kind of things. She never really had problem with the thing, she could do her job (elementary school teacher) just fine and pay peoples to translate handwrites text to .doc when she had to. Now, lately, she was kind of “ok” with a PC, not really understanding how it work, the context menu and windowing system, but she was ok to browse the web, use gmail and sometime doing more complicated things such as using MS word (but after she forget that MS Word exist before the ink have time to dry in her printer). She can use Linpus, Ubuntu, Windows XP or 7 just fine, as long as firefox(3.*) or opera(10.*) is installed.
This is the typical computer user, someone who dont know the concepts, use the menubar and search for features in them, use 1 application at once, often maximized and dont enjoy / fear digging too deep.
I bought her an iPad 2 weeks ago (first gen in liquidation for 399$ CAD, a 150$ discount even if the canadian dollar worth more than the US one…). I took 10 minute to do a roundup of the default application, installed a better weather app, a dictionary and some local newspaper iOS app. Then I created an iTunes account for her and setupped the mail app correctly. I came back 3 days later and she had bought books, music and sent mail with it and the batteries was at 15% (from a full charge, so around 7 hours of use in 3 days).
_________
So this is my story and now here is my point of view. My point of view is based on that story, as are my arguments. I agree with the whole post-pc era thing. Some geeks here dont believe in it. Yes, you -cant- replace everything you do on a PC/Laptop with an HTPC+SmartPhone+tablet+desktop terminals with webapps. While I also agree with other members here: I am myself a power user, developping my own tools with Qt, having 5 or more terminal at work at all time running my own scripts. The first thing I do when I install Linux is to replace the WM with my own, drop the toolbars from all apps, replacing them with nothing or a custom toolbar if the application require the mouse, apply my patchset on KDE and Gnome to remove the menubar (an “alt” keyboard like IE7 will bring it back for 10 seconds) and so on. I can’t even come close to that with postpc devices. The usual power pc trick all fail.
Even there, I believe the post pc era because I know less than 0.05% of computer users will do half what I do. 50% need it as a work tool but 95% don’t need it at home. For them, a lighter, easier to use, dedicated gadgets will be more enjoyable to use, less stressful and, overall, more pleasant. Many peoples, like the example above, dont *like* technology, they just want the benefit of it. The less intrusive/portable it is the better
Some day, the professional world will follow too. Just watch the Microsoft 2019 vision video and you see a lot of non-pc devices integrated everywhere, intercommunicating and -as a whole- replace the PC. They are not intended to be independent, they are fully dependent on other device (the PC for now, non-pc device in the future) by design. It is not a limitation, it is a vision how the device should interact. I want to live in that world. I will probably still use my PC and my 7 servers feeding it, but for everything else, its a clear improvement. Geeks can live in parallel of the whole world, the whole world is not a threat, it is an opportunity, not just for us, but for everybody.
Back to the example, why did it worked in a few days for my mother while everything else failed in 3 decades? Because its from Apple, no. Because it’s a tablet, no. Because I convinced her that she needed one, not even tried, she saw one and then wanted on. Because its a shiny gadget, no. Because it’s a small gadjet: yes. Because it’s portable: yes. Because it’s easy to use: definitely (for what it is intended for: getting -> consuming -> ditching content).
Edited 2011-04-05 19:51 UTC
Right. So you buy it for her and spend time configuring it for her, and then go on pretending it’s the “post PC era” since she’s able to buy more stuff from Apple.
Hell, it’s just like when I gave my mother a Linux PC brought about the year of Linux on the desktop.
What if she wants to watch Toy Story 3?
On a well-configured Linux PC : Grab the DVD, put it in the drive, select “play DVD”, enjoy the movie.
On a well-configured iPad : Grab the DVD, put it in the dr… whoops, notice, that the VHS disaster is here again and that you’ve got to re-buy that movie you own another time. Then try to use iTunes, notice that it requires a credit card which you don’t have, search the web to find out about iTunes cards and where you can buy them, travel there, buy one of these cards, use it to pay your purchase, wait till the endless download is completed, enjoy the movie.
That requires a “well configured” Linux PC. Most distros don’t include the DVD decoder if I recall correctly, nor codecs for a lot of other movie formats. I get the FOSS reasoning for it, by my Mom doesn’t care. Chances are, she’s not going to figure how to download it. And honestly, I’m not going to either. I’ll just use a PC with Windows or a Mac.
Or, set up an iTunes account. Wicked simple. Mom wants to watch it, presses rent, she gets it for 24 hours once she hits play or buys it outright. It’s uploaded to iTunes on her PC as well if she was using a Mac/PC with iTunes.
Way, way easier.
That’s not an FOSS problem but a DMCA problem. In some sad countries of this world, it’s illegal to play a DVD you own on a computer you own if you’ve not received the MPAA’s clearance first. Distros which don’t target these parts of the world, like Mint or Pardus IIRC, offer DVD support out of the box. Other distros, like Mandriva and I think Ubuntu, offer the option to install it by clicking a button when you try to play the movie. For the poor souls who live there, there are also things like Fluendo’s offerings.
And you’re talking about an iPad which you’ve set up yourself, so I consider that I’ve also got the right to tweak the Linux computer too.
Edited 2011-04-07 06:03 UTC
So, remember me, how does one pay on iTunes? Credit cards, right? Otherwise, like in my post. What do you do if your mother doesn’t have a card and doesn’t want one, like my mother and one of my grandmothers? Use yours? If I was your mother, I’d hate to depend on my son in such a way, except if you plan to get into a complex banking recordd analysis and reimbursement scheme that’s much, much more complicated than buying a DVD.
Wait, I thought your mom didn’t want to use a Mac or a PC? More seriously, though, if she uses the iPad as her main movie watching device, what she can watch on her heavy-duty computer is unimportant. What counts is what she can watch on THE leisure bigger form factor: the TV. Preferably as simply and cheaply as inserting a DVD in its drive.
Edited 2011-04-07 06:07 UTC
Going somewhere where you can rent a DVD, rent a DVD, come back home. Get a DVD player, ask the son to install the DVD player. Use a different remote, changing the TV video mode, setting the right language in the DVD submenu. Play the movie, return the movie. Lose the remote and forget how to set the TV video mode back to normal.
Sure, its much better/easier than pressing “rent” on iTunes main page and getting the bill at the end of the month on your own credit card. Umm, no, its not. Apple win, DVD player die.
Flawed in so many ways that it’s hard to keep track
1/Everyone and his dog has a DVD player and know how to use it today, the iPad is the new gadget that must adapt itself.
2/Changing remote is technically a draw since on a touchscreen device, you keep switching between interfaces that are not consistent with each other, with no fixed controls, akin to using several distinct remotes. Plus, with some DVD players, you don’t have to switch remotes, as the DVD remote may also control the TV.
3/TV video mode ? What is that ? If the DVD player has been setup using some proper connectivity, TV switches to it automatically as soon as it’s turned on and back to TV mode as soon as it’s turned off.
4/Languages are automatically set up to a good setting, only experienced people need to change them. Just like on iTunes, few people order movies in a foreign language. For the rest, it’s about pressing ok when the menu shows up.
5/You take into account DVD transport but not endless downloads.
I don’t believe in it. Sure, there are a handful of things tablets do better than PCs (for example, browsing the web or reading an ebook while lying on my couch), and there’s definitely some overlap between the two, such as web browsing and listening to music. And so I think tablets definitely have a place in the world, and can be all the ‘PC’ that some people need. But, as soon as you need to create a lengthy Word document or something, tablets quickly start to show their inadequacies.
Plus, when you start talking about how tablets are PC replacements, then you get a bunch of pissed off people talking about how tablets are absolutely useless, because they can’t burn DVDs on a tablet, and whatever else they do on a laptop/PC that they can’t do on a tablet.
Even if tablets CAN technically replace PCs for some people who have extremely limited needs, I think it’s a better idea to keep them labeled in their own category, so that the tablet haters/PC purists don’t get their panties in a wad.
This is false.
Really? I would like to see a PC I can use while lying on my back, like holding it with one hand, while navigating with one finger on the other hand.
I do that regularly with my 16″ laptop…
Am I such an alien?
Who said this is the optimal set up for web browsing/reading?
Yes, there will be some differences – but ultimately Woz is quite correct.
Most users do not watch DVDs, etc. on their computers.
Most users do not code, or spend excessive amounts of time running scripts, command-line utilities, etc.
Most users simply do some document editing, photo organizing, and email. And guess what, the tablet – even a smart phone – meets the needs of 90% of the users out there. It is also far more portable, and intuitive for them as well.
No, it won’t replace a laptop/desktop for developers for now – that’s not far around the corner though when it is paired with something like the Motorola Atrix is.
Yes, the Tablet and the Smart Phone are likely going to knock the desk into the desktop – that is, instead of using solid connectors like the Motorola Atrix, use a specialized, proximity-based wireless protocol (e.g. BlueTooth or something similar but on a 1-2 ft scale) for communicating with a docking station and monitor. Now, embed the docking station into tables, chairs, desks, etc; enable them to switch between multiple devices (e.g. conference room, projectors); enable them to have access to a more normal keyboard and monitor for heavier use. Do that, and the laptop will go away – even for power users; even for developers. Desktops will essentially be relegated to high-performance computing activities (e.g. AutoCAD), and the computing market will simplify to Smart Phones, Tablets, and (essentially) servers; especially if using that same wireless protocol an additional processor (in the ‘docking’ station) could be added to address the remaining desktop needs.
Yeah, it’s likely to happen. It’s all a matter of how fast the manufacturers work out how to do it together. It’ll only work if they do it together instead of cobbling dozens of different docking stations, protocols, etc.
Once Jack Tramiel said:
“We made computers for the masses, not for the classes!”
(And it seems to me, If i recall it well, that Tramiel said these words right to Steve Jobs.)
Thirty years after these words, it is the time for Wozniak to misquote Tramiel:
“The tablet is not necessarily for the people in this room! It’s for the normal people in the world.”
Nice try Wozniak.
Maybe dear Woz, you were inspired by Jack when you meet him at 25th Anniversary of Commodore64 in Mountain View, California, in 2007.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9832092-52.html