Find Your Valentine
Slog
News & ArtsThursday, January 28, 2010
Tech / Books Haters Gotta Hate
Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, Jan 28, 2010 at 11:48 AM
First, let me say this: I was disappointed by the iPad. I was hoping Jobs had figured out a different kind of interface with a keyboardless computer, something that would make the iPhone look as old-fashioned as the iPhone made every smartphone that came before it.
But this iPad backlash is getting ridiculous.
Let's look at some iPad haters from the Macrumors forums:
Sounds very revolutionary to me.:(hey - heres an idea Apple - rather than enter the world of gimmicks and toys, why dont you spend a little more time sorting out your pathetically expensive and crap server line up? :(
or are you really aiming to become a glorified consumer gimmicks firm? :(
I still can't believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous!...I want something new! I want them to think differently!
Why oh why would they do this?! It's so wrong! It's so stupid!
We need to tell Apple about our disappointment. Email Alicia Awbrey ([e-mail redacted]) whom is the contact for the iPod, amongst other things.
Let them know of our disappointment because I sometimes wonder where they listen to us at all. I'm wondering what this will do to their index.
Yeah, you tell 'em guys! Way to stick it to the man! Apple is surely heading for failure with this one....oh, wait a minute. Wait. I'm sorry. These came from the MacRumors forum from 2001, when Apple first introduced the iPod.
well .. i was a bit disappointed .. yeahbecause i already have bought a nice mp3 player some weeks ago ... and i don't really nee dmore than 1 hour of music at the time ...
All that hype for an MP3 player? Break-thru digital device? The Reality Distiortion Field™ is starting to warp Steve's mind if he thinks for one second that this thing is gonna take off.
(Many hilarious longer tirades about how the iPod will never last are after the jump for your enjoyment.) Here's the thing: Apple isn't selling to the commenters on Gizmodo. Apple knows that the commenters on Gizmodo will follow the millions of other people who will buy their devices. I could point to a thousand other examples of highly specialized internet nerds who fatally underestimate people who are trying to hit a mass market home run (most recently, the nerd blogosphere reaction to the first Avatar trailer, which predicted massive disappointment.)
Unless it's an unprecedented failure, this device will take off with your mom and dad and other people who don't care about technology—people who don't know what Flash is, but who are primarily consumers of internet content and like things that work when you turn them on. That's why the iBookstore could be such a huge thing for publishing: These sorts of consumers are the type of people who read one or two books a year, but having consistent access to a bookstore probably means that they'll buy more books, and there are exponentially more of them than the kind of dedicated readers who would use a Kindle. Apple didn't make the iPad for you or for me; they made it for everyone. And Anthony is right; the apps are what will make this appealing for specific subgroups like Gizmodo commenters.
I have no use for an Mp3 player.My house has a CD player.
My car has a CD player.
My Mac has a CD playerI don't use headphones.
The iPod requires me to change my lifestyle to meet it's needs...
I need round holes, not square holes.
For $99 I might buy the toy, for $399? Why?
Doesn't a Mac with a CDR undermine the need for most of this? All that's left is the number of songs you can play and the ability to listen to all of them with headphones anywhere. Do I really need ALL my songs ALL the time?
uhm, no.
Won't last. Another Cube.
It's a shame that Apple doesn't have market awareness and released that yet again, has "missed the boat" before spending R&D, time and money on creating this now-novel audio device. You'd think they would've learnt from omitting CDRW drives from their machines a few years ago. Sure, it's got the largest capacity for it's size-class on the market, but I don't think that's enough to be called "revolutionary", albeit something which could even attempt to steal thunder from MS's XP release this week.All I can say is that I'm really disappointed. So much hype and anticipation that it was hardly "groundbreaking", moreso "heartbreaking". Actually I'd like to know how they could sensationalise such a product which is hardly new, apart from the "add-on" technologies such as internal hard-drive (which I'm assuming is a 2.5" Travelstar or similar - is it robust enough to the impact of everyday bumps and knocks, even the occasional drop?) and the FireWire connectivity. I almost see it as re-inventing the wheel. But by the time it hits our shores, the pricing will be around $1000 Australian, which is enough to steer me away from it.. And I'm fairly sure most people would feel the same. If I want a device that will play more than your average 64Mb unit, I'd buy one of those MP3-playing CD units that although aren't as hand-savvy as the iPod, they don't damage the hip pocket so much. It also won't be as sexy as an iPod, but then again, I sometimes think we're being lured and brainwashed to pay for "form" over function: "Sure, it was expensive to buy, but it's made by Apple."
How about inbuilt equalisation and/or bass enhancement - can you customise the sound? Is there a belt-clip on it so you don't have to carry it around like a colostomy bag? Wait a minute, I believe colostomy bags attach to your belt or somewhat.;)
total mis-market. What next? Oh heres an idea - what about a mouse with a WHEEL on it!
iPoop... iCry. I was so hoping for something more.
NO!
Great just what the world needs, another freaking MP3 player. Go Steve
The biggest technology breakthrough is the new Atom Pineview chips from Intel. They are low power ARMs (like in your cell phone).
Check out the new ASUS eee's at Best Buy -- some have 12 hour battery life! Amazing...I'm getting one once I do my taxes and get my refund.
3
6
My prediction: when the next version comes along, we'll all be kicking ourselves for not waiting. Kind of like the iPhone and the 3GS. My guess is iPad 2.0 will have a USB port and flash player capacity, a webcam, some deal with Skype, HULU and live TV. I'll take that one, kthxbai!
7
10
yes, but the issue is that many sites that mom and dad go to are based on flash; so they won't work. how disappointing is it to go to a site that you can visit on your laptop only to find the $500 "marvel of technology" you just bought can't even view it? you don't need to know what flash is to buy the ipad but you sure as hell will learn the moment someone sends that a link to the almost any video site online.
also, just because apple makes it doesn't mean it will be a success. for instance:
power mac g4 cube
motorola rokr
apple tv
ipod nano 3g
macbook air
all failures. the ipod/iphone and imac have really been apple's only mainstream successes and that's mostly because they did something different. the ipad is just a tablet computer running the iphone os; it's really not that different from all the other tablet computers announced at ces. it actually kind of reminds me of the newton. but wait, that wasn't a success either.
i guess fanbois gotta be fanbois though.
11
It's going to sell like hotcakes.
I read way more than 1-2 books a year, and I've been really resistant to buying the Kindle. I felt like it was incredibly overpriced for its limitations, and the 1984 debacle was disturbing.
Your post makes it sound like apple invented the mp3 player, or for that matter improved it. They did neither. What they did do is introduce DRM to a market that didn't want it, and sold marginally superior, overpriced products with snazzy marketing.
The technology market used to be driven by advancements. Now it's driven by monopoly and packaging. Just because the iPod was a success doesn't mean it was superior. And just because this oversized iPod will succeed doesn't mean it's good. It just means they sold it well. But that's not a compliment to Apple, it's more of a sad reflection on people like you, Paul. You're an idiot.
14
The backlash isn't really against Apple, or even he ipad, it's against the "Apple or nothing" blind consumerism from a segment of the population (highly-educated, affluent, white, urban) who normally think they are oh-so above brand worship or marketing hoopla.
It's okay to love Apple and geek out over everything they produce. But the Gen X professionals in SF, Seattle, NYC don't just let it be that, they suddenly all are technology experts who have to claim Apple is revolutionizing things. Just admit it. You like the Apple product and marketing--it's geared toward you afterall--and you can afford to buy it. Yay!
15
when followed up with:
"These sorts of consumers are the type of people who read one or two books a year, but having consistent access to a bookstore probably means that they'll buy more books,"
Sounds like a highly specialized book nerd is castigating highly specialized internet nerds for viewing the iPad through the lens of their own expectations, but then turning around and doing the exact same thing.
And I'm not sure I buy the argument that people who read one or two books a year are only held back by their lack of access to books. Right now it is easier than it has ever been in our history to get your hands on a book.
Also, I take issue with the suggestion that people who don't care about technology only read one or two books a year. Is that really what you were trying to say?
16
And I'm not sure I buy the argument that people who read one or two books a year are only held back by their lack of access to books. Right now it is easier than it has ever been in our history to get your hands on a book.
I don't know, Mike. For years I had two dictionaries on my desk within arm's reach, and I only looked words up once in a while. Now that I have access to dictionary.com and the OED, I look up multiple words a day. And initially, I didn't think I would -- I have a great deal of affection for my dictionaries. But having instant online definitions available has made me a better and more efficient reader and writer.
17
@13: I'm not saying that Apple invented the mp3 player. That's the opposite of what I'm saying. I'm saying they popularized it and dominated the field.
Patti @12: I'm a heavy reader and I don't use or want a Kindle—I've been arguing against them for years on Slog because of the weird DRM issues you point out—but the biggest trope against the iPad's iBookstore goes along the lines of "No serious reader will use this as a reading device because the Kindle is a perfect reading experience" and so on. I'm arguing against that trope.
@15: Most Americans read one or two books a year (if that.) Therfore, most people who use the iPad will read one or two books a year.
Irena @16: Very eloquently put. Thanks!
18
The hands of people who type the word "is" immediately following the word "whom" should instantaneously burst into bright blue flame.
Carry on.
Oh, and that he knows the first thing about technology. But he keeps trying.
20
21
Is it a geek toy?
The answer, in short: No.
It's for everyone else.
Which, as with the iPod, is why it's going to bust the charts and slaughter the rest of the eReader market and make all the geeks cry like little babies.
23
All this stuff about technology being about advancement is bullshit. It's about making a product that people can want and use.
24
Plus having Kindle (and access to the Kindle store) while traveling has saved me from episodes of running out of reading material and having to buy some shitty popular book I don't really want at an airport bookstore.
Anyway, I get a lot of use out of my Kindle, and I don't particularly feel the need to have the iPad but can see why people would want it, and as someone who travels overseas a lot and moves every couple years I might get one depending on where we move next/what the overseas networking deals are like. I mean, imagine: you don't have to sign a contract, you can go to any country and have $30 unlimited internet access wherever you are for a month and then cancel? Could be handy. We'll see. But I don't feel any specific hatred of the tablet.
I'm a computer tech professionally. I own a desktop, a laptop, a netbook, and an iPhone. I have no problem with messing around with the guts of my computer. But I'm an exception. My parents are fairly computer literate white-collar professionals, but they struggle a bit with computers. My grandfather fights with his to make it do what he wants. The iPad is a computer that they won't have to fight with.
The first time I saw my mom pick up an iPod touch, I realized that the iPad is going to change the computer market. Maybe not for the better, and probably not in the direction I want it to (I love netbooks and I think tablets are going to kill them), but if this takes off like I think it will, it'll be a huge win for everyone who didn't grow up posting comments on message boards on the internet.
26
Did you ever use an iRiver? It was superior to the iPod in every single respect (with the possible exclusion of the headphone jack's power output). There was no feature bloat whatsoever aside from the ability to play numerous file formats, act as an open disc from which any media file could be played, and a color screen. They were usually sporting 10gigs more storage than the iPods as well, while costing $80 - $100 less.
If that's feature bloat, I'll take it. Then again if Apples inferior product hadn't run them out of business, how would people get to play their Crash Bandicoot 3D racing games on their MP3 players nowadays? Talk about feature bloat.
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
SL Letter of the Day: Life Sentence by Dan Savage
-
SL Letter of the Day: Daddy Loves Who? by Dan Savage
-
Required Listening: Howard Stern on Ellen, JC Penney, Bullied Gay Kids, Rosie, Santorum, Bachmann, et al by Dan Savage
-
Crowdsourcing Uncut Police Video from the Dec. 12 Occupy Protest at the Port of Seattle by Eli Sanders
-
Slog Bible Study: Deuteronomy 21:10-14 by Goldy
-
The AP Is Reporting That Whitney Houston Is Dead by Paul Constant
-
State Legislator Testifies That His Opposition to Same-Sex Marriage Came to Him from a Commercial for Jack in the Box by Christopher Frizzelle
-
"Let me be the first one to say: My business will refuse to participate in a same-sex marriage ceremony," by Republican Representative Matt Shea of the Spokane Valley by Eli Sanders
-
The Onion Is on a Roll: "Iran Worried U.S. Might Be Building 8,500th Nuclear Weapon" by Charles Mudede
-
"I don't know if I want to be here [if gay marriage passes]," by Republican State Senator Jay Rodne of North Bend by Eli Sanders
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (27) RSS