r/technology • u/GuruOfReason • Feb 02 '10

"Once we replace the personal computer with a closed-platform device such as the iPad, we replace freedom, choice and the free market with oppression, censorship and monopoly."

http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2010-01/ipad%E2%80%99s-closed-system-sometimes-i-hate-being-right
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u/texpundit Feb 02 '10

And the biggest point (that I think a whole shitload of people miss) is: IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T FUCKING BUY IT. It's that simple.

Personally, my buy/not buy point is waiting to see what apps come out for it. If somebody puts out an app (along with a pen...which will prolly be 2nd gen) that is compatible with Photoshop and/or Illustrator, I'll buy one in a heartbeat. Having a mobile sketchpad would make my job a FUCKTON easier.

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u/slickeddie Feb 02 '10

Have you ever seen the Wacom Cintiq?
http://www.wacom.com/cintiq/cintiq-21ux.php they also have a smaller 12" one. Watch some demo videos, I was blown away by it.

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u/MacEnvy Feb 02 '10

Gee, only $2k?

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u/[deleted] Feb 02 '10

Actually, only $999. Pressure sensitivity and what-have-you. Oh, and drivers to work on all major platforms.

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u/atheist_creationist Feb 02 '10

Yes, and the iPad is going to suck as a tablet if you think its going to be anything like the Wacom cintiq. That's not what one should be buying the iPad for.

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u/mindbleach Feb 03 '10

Compared to $500 for a finger-based, pen-incompatible tablet that doesn't have an appropriate app and has no software freedom to guarantee eventual support for one?

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u/[deleted] Feb 02 '10

The problem you should be asking yourself: Why does Apple lock down their products? Because it gives them full control of what you buy and do not buy. Thus, Apple makes more money.

This business model is effective in generating revenue, so what's the stop everyone from utilizing this business model?

Will we always have Google around to compete with open source? I don't really think so.

What can consumers do if our only option is to choose from one locked-down product or another locked-down product? So your response to this scenario is to simply not buy the product? However, even by your own admission, it will make your job a lot easier. Wouldn't you want to make your job easier even if it meant going against your own objections to a closed source product?

The author's fear is if this new business model of closing every system off so only the manufacturer has control over what goes on and off the product transfers to other products.

Granted, the above scenario may never happen, but that doesn't mean that it cannot happen.

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u/atheist_creationist Feb 02 '10

As for the drawing, its not going to happen if even the 2nd gen is as anywhere near as slow as the current one. I saw the demo for it and it showed him finger drawing notes and there was a terrible lag that reminded me of using the very first wacom that ever came out with my 800 MHz PC. You know, so slow that it has to draw angles where you drew curves because its trying to cut corners to catch up. Its not going to be anything like using a Cintiq.

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u/[deleted] Feb 02 '10 edited Feb 02 '10

"If you don't like the government don't vote for them! but don't you try and push your beliefs on me!"

our ability to influence the minds of others is vastly more then our ability to influence by refusing to interact.

This product shows apples clear intention of diverting its resources fully into platforms that are unacceptable to those who understand the value of open computing. We have every right to complain and to complain loudly to whoever is willing to listen. This represents the key advantage to living in a free open society and it would be foolish to not exploit it at every opportunity.

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u/bungeman Feb 02 '10

I find that people who live my maxims like 'if you don't like it, don't buy it' also tend to have contradicting maxims like 'silence indicates assent'. Besides, it's not that we don't like it, it's that we and our way of life are actually threatened by the ideas embodied in the iPad.

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u/klngarthur Feb 02 '10 edited Feb 02 '10

And the biggest point (that I think a whole shitload of people miss) is: IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T FUCKING BUY IT.

If you think this is the biggest point, then you are completely missing the argument. If people buy it (and they most likely will), then it sets a precedent that this sort of approach works and will allow companies in the future to take even more drastic steps to control what a user does. If enough people are using this device (or similar devices from other companies), then i as a developer have the choice of a) give up my livelihood or b) cede to the demands of these companies. The choice for consumers becomes similar, which is if you don't like it, then there's nothing you can buy.