Once upon a time, in the land of the Twits, a middle-aged editor retweeted something that only an Mac enthusiast would believe actually proved something:
saying an iPad is "just a big iPod Touch" is like saying a 30" monitor is "just a big 13" monitor"
I'll personally pay anyone $100 right now if they can make that statement make anything close to coherrent sense.
So, being the Apple misanthropist that I am, I replied to this retweet, saying:
uh...? epic fail on trying to effectively prove a point.
Not expecting anything in reply, I was delighted when my 'mention' was noticed and even more pleased with the ensuing ruckus I'd caused.
If you meant your use of the hackneyed "epic fail," uh, yeah.
High five, Mr. Snell. Funny yet subtly insulting, and even up to date with current internet lingo trends. Ku-fucking-dos, my friend.
I could have left it at that, but it would have made for a shitty story later on. So I countered:
no, i meant your sad attempt at defending a useless piece of technology by using ridiculously bogus comparisons. but nice try.
To which he replied:
I don't know if the iPad is a good product or not, but if you have already decided that it sucks, can you at least not be rude about it?
And replied again:
That last tweet was for the rude Canadian who has decided the iPad is "a useless piece of technology" and I should never suggest otherwise.
And again:
I know, a rude Canadian. I'm as shocked as you are.
I guess he thought he'd recognize his own oxymoron before I did.
He went on for another hour or so, bouncing between a bunch of pissed off Canadian tweeters, and more than a few asshole Americans pounding their chests like frat boys in agreement, and even defending himself against a few intelligent tweeters who agreed with me. In my own defense, I was (and still am, thank you very much) probably one of his only Mac-hating followers -- there is method to my madness, I swear.
AND for the record, his whole bit about "I'm not allowed to suggest otherwise," implying that I don't think anyone who likes the iPad should be able to voice their opinions as to why they do... that's not what I was implying at all.
Rule Numero Uno: If you want to defend something like the iPad, you best be making at least a remotely convincing argument for it. You know, one that actually makes a shred of sense. Por favor.
Sigh.
Alas, my fifteen minutes has come and gone. My claim to fame for now is that Jason Snell, renowned editor of Macworld, thinks I'm a "rude Canadian."
Cool.
I think he's a pretentious Apple-store turd,
but I'll get over it.
As for the aforementioned gold star... He still gets one. For now.
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Okay, This is Hilarious. I follow Mr. Snell so I get to see his tweets but you seem to be more fun. I am anything but a MAC boy :) I work for a competitor.
ReplyDeleteI like the concept of the iPad not necessarily what I see in their implementation. I have only read the reviews and seen the pictures.
With you getting Mr. Snell so stirred up this is fun. Maybe I should follow you instead it might be a tonne of fun.
After reading this, I can honestly say:
ReplyDeleteYes, you are a rude canadian.
i think the point is that working on a 30" monitor is a vastly different experience than a 13" monitor (changes in workflow, etc), more so than just changing a number from 13 to 30 might suggest. perhaps he didn't make the point clear, but "epic fail" was probably unwarranted.
ReplyDeletejust my 2 (canadian) cents :)
-a fellow canadian
OK, here's the point Jason was making. People are calling the iPad just a bigger iPod Touch, as though that says it's useless. But let's examine that. A lot of people have apparently found an iPod Touch quite useful, so the functionality of an iPod Touch isn't a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteBut with a bigger screen. Well, in computers, bigger screens have proven quite useful, and quite popular. As someone who has gone from a 400x24 character display with the Apple ][ to a 1920 x 1080 pixel 24" monitor, "bigger" is "more functional". Bigger screen with more pixels means more the page is visible when browsing, bigger text areas to read or write into, pictures and videos look far better.
So to denegrate the iPad as a "bigger iPod Touch" doesn't make sense, because an iPod Touch with a larger screen just on its own is a good thing. Even ignoring the changes Apple has made to the OS taking advantage of the larger screen real estate.
Please donate my $100 to Haiti relief.
As my genteel Southern ancestors would say...well, ain't you just precious.
ReplyDeleteIt seems pretty simple.
ReplyDeleteStated logically, it's:
iPod touch : iPad :: 13" TV : 30" TV.
Here's another one:
HAND : ARM : : FOOT : ____
Hint: The answer is "leg."
Not sure what's unclear about that, or what you're trying to read into it.
Is our education system that bad out in Ottawa?
I have my own arguments in favor of the iPad, but we won't know until the device is actually released. If you (or anyone else) is interested, you can read my article here: http://www.therugged.com/why-apples-ipad-will-succeed
ReplyDeleteMy feeling on the iPad is that it was never meant to be a computer the way everyone expected it to be. It's not meant to run every Mac app out there - this is an appliance.
Computers are as ubiquitous as toasters and blenders and the iPad is going to fit along those same lines to a lot of *average* users. A geek or power user is NOT going to get an iPad because it doesn't fit in with their workflow. A grandmother, however, who has been intimidated by computers and has hesitated to get one might look at an iPad and say, "hey, all I have to do is tap this picture and it does what I want!"
People who only surf the web, check email and share photos may not want to drop a huge amount of money for a cumbersome PC, but the iPad sure looks appealing - especially at $499.
This probably won't convince you, but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway.
I do have a question for you though: why do you hate Macs so passionately? Personally, I don't give a crap what you (in the rhetorical sense) use, as long as it works for you. I use a Mac. I love it, it works for me and I'm accustomed to it, but I don't see the point in antagonizing one of the editors of a Mac-based magazine. What purpose did it serve?
I completely understand why you may hate a lot of the Mac users out there - many are annoying evangelists who will stare at you with bug-eyed anger as you tap away on a Dell in Starbucks. It's annoying (and embarrassing to see as a Mac user).
If Macs aren't your thing, that's cool. Use what you use, but don't go out of your way to criticize someone just to get your jollies.
I saw that tweet from Arnold Kim (the one who wrote it) and I thought it was kind of lame and probably more of a "what?" than an "ah!".
ReplyDeleteBut then again, you call it "useless piece of technology" without any further substance which is borderline trolling. Especially since you haven't even tried it.
If people (not you, others) buy the iPad and find it useful then you will be proven wrong by definition. Time will tell, but I'm confident that is what will happen.
(I'm not saying it's useful for you, just that it probably will be very useful for others.)
Snell can have some pretty thin skin on Twitter, which seems like a recipe for disaster, IMO. He really should learn how to engage in disagreements without taking things so personally.
ReplyDeleteBut I get what he was saying with the comparison. I, for one, am excited about the iPad. I have found myself wanting to use my iPhone for as many computing tasks as I can. I guess because the iPhone OS experience just fits so well with me, sitting with my desktop or laptop computer just doesn't have the same appeal. For whatever reason, it feels more laborious. The primary drawback of the iPhone, though, has been the small screen.
I'm not a user who requires a high-powered machine on a day to day basis. I could imagine that 95% of the computing tasks I do could easily be done on the iPad as is. Since I love the UI and overall experience of the iPhone OS, I could certainly see myself using an iPad as my primary computer.
So maybe the iPad isn't your thing, but to call it "a useless piece of technology" probably isn't accurate either. For me, it could be one of the more useful pieces of technology.
I know pretentious Apple-store turds, and Jason is no pretentious Apple-store turd.
ReplyDeleteYou're alive. Do something.
ReplyDeleteDon't just waste your time complaining about something you've never used.
Sorry, but Snell is winning here.
ReplyDelete