The iPad Luddites

http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2010/04/the_ipad_luddit.php

by lawn • 16 years ago

47 51 16 years ago

roughtype.com

stcredzero3• 16 years ago

While progress may be spurred by the hobbyist, it does not share the hobbyist's ethic.

Well said. The hobbyist also won't necessarily like the money making form of it. Does that sound familiar?

zmmmmm• 16 years ago

I think that statement illustrates his bias. He puts people objecting to Apple's control into the basket of "hobbyist", impugning them at the same time as implying that there are no business or professional reasons to dislike closed platforms over open ones. In his view, the only uses for open systems is so that people can fiddle in their spare time and make mischief, causing ordinary folks pain and suffering.

It is a common and somewhat legitimate reaction, to say that geeks just want computer systems to stay geeky so that they have more control and power. However there is a very real non-hobbyist problem with closed systems. I don't think anybody would agree that it was great that Microsoft was able to stymie the growth of the entire internet with their domination of the browser market. And IE / Windows was relatively open, compared to iPhone OS and Safari. The damage done by holding back the growth of the internet has hurt consumers enormously, even though most of them don't know it and couldn't articulate it if they did. Apple is essentially setting the stage for the same thing to happen in the mobile space but far worse since they have quite literally given themselves veto power over any application making it to consumers.

orangecat• 16 years ago

It is a common and somewhat legitimate reaction, to say that geeks just want computer systems to stay geeky so that they have more control and power.

That's a ridiculous strawman and I'm amazed that so many people believe it. Most geeks would be thrilled if more people could perform basic computing functions without constantly asking for help.

Apple is essentially setting the stage for the same thing to happen in the mobile space but far worse since they have quite literally given themselves veto power over any application making it to consumers.

Exactly this. Microsoft was only able to delay the rise of the web; with the power to prohibit disfavored applications they very well might have stopped it completely, or twisted it into a proprietary architecture deliberately dependent on Windows. If Apple has Android shut down in the courts and is able to form a cozy duopoly with Microsoft, we won't be seeing that sort of innovation anymore and we won't even know what we've lost.

stcredzero3• 16 years ago

I think of Apple as the Bose of computer hardware. Many Bose products are looked down on by audiophiles, but many people are in the market for the level of integration and convenience they provide.

Instead of Hobbyist, perhaps he should have written "non-consumer." Afficianado? Pro-Sumer? Perhaps the slant changes with the term, but the basic idea still stands.

robotron2• 16 years ago

Maybe some people have a different definition of "progress". I would argue that a dumbed-down device is geared more towards luddites.

amock• 16 years ago

This is the way technology has always progressed. The first cars required extensive knowledge to drive and were completely open to modification. Modern cars don't even allow you to adjust the choke and the gas pedal isn't hooked up to the engine directly. When you push on the gas the cars computer decides how much gas to feed the engine. Modern cameras come in two different varieties: cameras for normal people and professional cameras. Why would computers be any different? I can't think of any technology that became mainstream without there being a dumbed-down version for people to use. I think by your definition most people are luddites. They aren't interested in technology, they're just interested in the benefits it provides.

leviathant• 16 years ago

You can still do plenty of tinkering with cars. In fact, one of the things that I love about Hyundai is that last I looked, they provide their entire tech/service manual free, online. I used this to swap out my thermostat, to replace the fuel filter, to swap in a bigger sway bar, to take apart my dashboard, all kinds of things I'd never really even thought of handling myself, except that the information was there for me.

By comparison, you're not supposed to change your iPad's battery by yourself.

johSho7w• 16 years ago

Don't you usually pay more for the "professional" cameras or the "professional" phones. Apple seems to play it the other way. Charging more for the dumber hardware.

diskrete2• 16 years ago

This type of passive-aggressive attitude towards end-users is not helpful. People who buy the iPad are not doing so because they are too dumb to be programmers. They are buying it because it meets their needs, not yours. To you it's a dumbed-down device. To them, it may be the first computer they can confidently use without your help.

r0s2• 16 years ago

People will buy it because of the hype, they think it will meet their needs, and those perceived needs will be defined in the marketing. Really it's about fear, the fear of learning. People now know they need a computer, but they're terrified of learning to use it, and they're not really interested in computers anyway. As a cheap, disposable, toy-like unit the iPad can likely succeed in that market. It's not so much that dumbed-down computers discourage learning, more that they justify inability. Those of us who deal with constant tech support from friends and family or even at work know all too well the cost of ignorance. People in this age are expected to read and write, but using a computer in powerful ways is considered magic and unobtainable, this is to everyone's detriment. I have an analogy: morbidly obese people given electric carts to wheel around walmart in.

tensor2• 16 years ago

To be honest, the majority of the passive-aggressive attitude that I see is coming from iPad supporters, not enthusiasts.

I say that I am disappointed in it because of the App Store and suddenly I'm the one being called a luddite, being accused of wanting to keep the poor masses down, and other silly things.

I think any technology enthusiast will tell you that they would love nothing more than to never have to do tech support for peoples computers. I assure you, that part of the iPad is universally loved.

The disappointment some of us feel is because we were hoping for a tool for us to use as well, and it's not really what we were hoping for.

Tycho• 16 years ago

And yet Apple freely distribute powerful devkits and a youtube video showed the iPad being 'jailbroke' within a day of release.

Not so long ago people were talking about how the App Store had ushered in a new age of bedroom programming. Some of this commentary is getting truly grotesque - the Guardian had some muppet saying if the iPad catches on 'we will have reached an Orwellian future through Huxleyan means, and have only ourselves to blame.'

roqetman• 16 years ago

I think of the iPad as a kind of dumb terminal. An end-user device with limited uses. I don't think it will bring an end to other devices. The primary reason being that you have to create apps on something. Also, I see this as something confined to the Apple universe - while it is a bright universe, and sometimes blinds us to the other Microsoft/Linux etc. universes, it's neither the largest, nor the only area for us developers to work and play in.

jacquesm2• 16 years ago

I think a big part of that frustration is to think of what this piece of equipment could do in the hands of hackers if it were truly open.

Hopefully it won't be long before linux is available as a 'third party option'.

cageface2• 16 years ago

My problem with the iPad is that it's more closed than it needs to be. It's fine to provide people with a simple, immediate, intuitive and trouble-free interface to information. Not everybody needs to be or wants to be a content creator. But why not allow people to install apps outside the App store if they manually opt-in, as Android does? Why the absurd secrecy around the sdk and developers agreements? Why the seemingly arbitrary rejection of apps that in some way impinge on functionality Apple reserves for itself to implement?

The almost paranoid and unduly aggressive control Apple exerts over its platform is worrisome, particularly for a company poised to dominate an important emerging platform. This is why, as much as I respect Apple's engineering and design prowess, I do not use its products. After two decades of a suffocating Microsoft monopoly I'm not eager to spend the next two under another.

lawn• 16 years ago

Well said, you managed to articulate my feelings spot on.

andreyf• 16 years ago

But why not allow people to install apps outside the App store if they manually opt-in, as Android does?

Because people will install apps that don't work and then blame their iP(ad|od|hone) for misbehaving. If they could figure out a good process for it, I'm sure Apple would certify their developers before letting them develop applications.

Why the absurd secrecy around the sdk and developers agreements?

What absurd secrecy? AFAIK, the only threatening legalese was removed in 2008 [1]. I don't know for sure, but I imagine it was there left over from the developers that knew about it before the SDK was announced.

Why the seemingly arbitrary rejection of apps that in some way impinge on functionality Apple reserves for itself to implement?

Because people do get confused about things you might think are obvious. If you give people two "dialer" apps, I guarantee you they'll sometimes launch the wrong one. And again, frustration against apps is frustration against the device.

1. http://www.telecoms.com/5294/apple-removes-secrecy-oath-from...

nkassis• 16 years ago

"Because people will install apps that don't work and then blame their iP(ad|od|hone) for misbehaving. If they could figure out a good process for it, I'm sure Apple would certify their developers before letting them develop applications."

I don't buy that. What seems much more obvious a reason is that, they can't make money on selling applications outside the "AppStore"

blhack• 16 years ago

>Because people will install apps that don't work and then blame their iP(ad|od|hone) for misbehaving.

Millions of people using OSX disagree with you.

ynniv• 16 years ago

My problem with the iPad is that it's more closed than it needs to be.

Ah, but it's not if you want to sell content. As most jailbroken iPhone users show, the first order of business is to download every app that sounds interesting - for free. Now, I am not anti-piracy. Applications have often become popular through piracy, and that results in eventual conversions. But in the past, the default has been a lack of protection with great effort required to enforce copyright. This favors the establishment who has the capital to develop protections and enforce them. The iPhone/iPad is a different model, where commerce is the default. Want to sell a $1 app? Trivial. Want in-app commerce? Trivial. Where once you had to build a web service that required 24/7 support, you can now build a standalone product and be done. This is the lone developers dream.

But it is also the hobbyist's nightmare, and that's why the makers are up in arms. Since we happen to be hanging out in their camp, it sounds like this is an unnecessary evil, preventing us from "owning" our devices! But really, you need to see both sides to this: by enforcing copy protection by default, Apple has created a panacea for the starving developer. Write something good, something useful, something fun, and you will get paid by the masses. And when it's all said and done, you don't even have to use one yourself.

SamAtt• 16 years ago

I think this is the best line in the piece...

"Doctorow is not the only Geek God who's uncomfortable with Apple's transformation of the good ole hacktastic PC into a sleek, slick, sterile appliance."

Though it's an anathema to most here I think the majority of people want their computer to act more like their stove and less like the highly hackable Apple ][. That's exactly where Apple is aiming to go with the iPad.

Honestly, I personally don't have a problem with that. One thing that's been proven in recent weeks is that there will also be bushels of hackable Android tablets out there so I say let the masses have their iPad and stop complaining.

robotron2• 16 years ago

You're right, except discussing why one might not want an iPad is not complaining. It's just expressing an opinion.

Tichy4• 16 years ago

Why do I even have to care what other people like their computer like? Lots of people like TV, too, and I don't - but I am not scrambling to create fancy TV shows.

tensor2• 16 years ago

I am personally saddened by the iPad being locked down because Apple does make really nice hardware and software systems. It's something I'd probably really like to own and use, but sadly being able to install third party software myself is a critical feature.

As many have pointed out, allowing third party software (i.e. not apple approved) does not make OS X into a malware infested unusable mess. Why anyone would assume it would turn an iPad into one, I do not know.

The iPad could be just as good for "the masses" as it is right now, plus make developers happy by allowing them to develop for free, with no threat of being rejected for overlapping with Apple's own market, or just for rubbing Apple the wrong way.

mooism2• 16 years ago

What is the difference between an iPad and a Wii/Xbox/Playstation?

Locked down? Check.

Can't use with programs that haven't been blessed by the device manufacturer? Check.

Can't develop your own programs for it unless you pay again? Check.

cageface2• 16 years ago

The difference is very simple. Nobody replaces a laptop with an Xbox. The iPad, on the other hand, is a first-class citizen of the net and could easily become somebody's primary interface. Consequently, it matters a lot more exactly what kind of limitations the iPad imposes. The iPad has implications for film, literature, music and communication that consoles just don't, which is exactly why people find it both inspiring and troubling.

dschobel• 16 years ago

I don't how long that will be true though. Xbox Live is integral to the Xbox experience and now has a fb application and all sorts of social games (1 vs 100, etc).

Between that and the internet TVs which are accruing hype by the day, I think the distinction is largely going to be moot.

Basically everything is just going to be a content portal with some ancillary proprietary benefits (it has an app store, it plays xbox games, etc).

The only distinction will be the form-factor and screen size.

lmkg• 16 years ago

Currently, there's not that much difference. But, that is the direction that console makers are pushing in, building out web integration and media libraries. They're trying to become less peripherals and more primary, universal devices. I'd say that ipads and consoles are moving towards approximately the same target, from different directions. Although, it's fair to say that consoles haven't made much headway in getting people to take advantage of these new features the way the ipad has.

jrockway• 16 years ago

What is the difference between an iPad and a Wii/Xbox/Playstation?

There is no difference. Those all suck too, for the exact same reason.

There is a reason why most good games come out for the PC first, followed by consoles "later".

whatusername• 16 years ago

Care to give some examples that don't involve Valve or Blizzard?

Most stuff these days is simultaneous or console first.

wmf• 16 years ago

Although Carr is talking about the iPad, I think a similar analysis could be applied to Internet openness and the net neutrality debate. Is the old architecture of the Net truly superior or does it just agree with our biases and desires?

barrkel• 16 years ago

That Nick Carr, whose Luddite rantings on his blog eventually persuaded me to unsubscribe, likes the iPad is good enough for me - he's convinced me it'll be a dead end, sooner or later... :)

glhaynes3• 16 years ago

"In the long run, we're all dead." :)

Tichy4• 16 years ago

Reading that I tried to think about what is the progress in the iPad, and really couldn't think of much. Except that it is closed. Portable - done by netbooks. Touchscreen - appearing in Notebooks by now, too, it's obvious that they can make for a nice GUI. Also, closed computing environments have been around before (gaming consoles). So what really is new about the iPad?

In any case, I don't see why I have to care about progress if that progress doesn't care about me. Maybe because of the iPad I'll be back to becoming a weird minority again? So what, as long as I'll have fun doing what I do.

ugh2• 16 years ago

“… they can make for a nice GUI”

That’s your progress, right there. You know, that’s enough sometimes.

Tichy4• 16 years ago

Yes, but Touchscreens weren't an invention of the iPad, or even the iPhone.

lallysingh• 16 years ago

I really don't see the apocalypse others are seeing here. It's probably because I spent 1.5 years on a solaris box at home (from my normally mac life), nicely insulated from the fix of the mac way.

Yup, Apple's consumerizing computers. It's about time, really. I'm rejoicing: I won't have to help fix people's iPads with network settings, app install/uninstall/reinstall, rebooting, or anything else. It'll solve their simple problems without unnecessary complexity.

And I won't buy one. It's that simple.

Instead, I think it's a wonderful time to hack. I really don't understand what the problem is. Gnome is actually pretty nice now (before OS X I was a linuxer from ~1995 to 2001, coming back now it's pretty nice!). My Nokia N900 is a wonderful little linux-based phone, and it's the stock software stack on the stock hardware!

I still mourn Sun, and will for a while. I'm looking at replacing my beloved Ultra 40m2 with a stock supermicro mobo/case combination. Linux will fly on it.

If I don't want that, I can build arduino kits up myself! If I want more power I can pick up a high-powered arm dev board with a display controller, wifi, ethernet, and plenty of storage and ram to hack! Otherwise I have a pc, with an open OS!

In my book, us geeks have been hogging computer technology for too long. We have everything we need, and it's time we stop making everyone else suffer for our thoroughly-satisfied needs for openness.

brisance• 16 years ago

If it were possible to reach as far back as the introduction of the GUI, I'd be willing to bet that the same thing was being said by people who were most familiar with the CLI.

"What is this GUI thing? What good is it for? What can it do that can't be accomplished by the CLI?"

And it would be wise to see how that played out. That there would be certain situations where a CLI or a GUI and now a touch-based interface would be the appropriate means to accomplish certain tasks.

pramit• 16 years ago

My problem with iPad is the cult of Apple - why everything Apple does must be good - bit.ly/cQxviX

balding_n_tired• 16 years ago

Luddite? What does dislike of one or another decision on closed or open development have to do with resistance to technology?

The iPad Luddites

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