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Postby dun dun dun... chips » Wed Apr 07, 2010 12:46 pm

an edit: the ipad does come with a usb hookup, but it probably doesnt support just anything plugged into it... however, cameras work wonderfully.

everyone here knows my background with computers: im a greycap hacker, a coder, and an overall software sort of guy with a relatively in depth knowledge of hardware and interfacing. i understand and appreciate the complexities of a system that i can tinker with. however, when im not tinkering, i hate having to deal with it.

when it comes to computing, there is a solid movement towards two sectors: the proficient and the casual. as computers move into the mainstream, there will be a large desire for the complexities to be removed, for everything to be extremely simple. for people like us, people that like being able to do what they want, windows/linux is good, because its either changeable, being the flavors of linux, or breakable, being windows.

but the casual users, mainly people that arent gamers/coders/developers, dont want to deal with the stuff we find natural. file systems are not easy to understand, especially one as buggered up as NTFS/MSDOS, and the majority of the people out there will not be able to comprehend it proficiently enough to not mess things up. there will always be mistakes, and thats what will break the computer.

there is a huge movement in the programming circles towards simplified computer, mainly backed by Apple and Obj-C coders, but it has a strong open source community as well in other coding languages, people who want to provide software solutions that will cut out the users involvement with the under-structure of the computer, such as the peripherals, the tasking, the hardware management, but mainly the file system. the majority of the people that use computers dont want to deal with where things are saved, they just want everything to be easily accessible. the overall idea is this: just so long as it works, it doesnt matter how it works. its like cars: they run, most people dont know how they work except the mechanics and the customizers. the same is beginning with computers, the only people that really know how they work will be the techies and the coders, because they need to know the file system to make/fix things, and the gamers and hackers, because they are the community that wants to know how it works.

more and more people are pressing for UIs that cut out all the difficult workings with the under structure of the computer, but you wont see it unless you have a mac; even customized flavors of linux still have a heavy crutch on the users knowledge of the filesystem. you looks at a windows box, using mine as an example. my user has two folders: one titled 'Documents' and one slightly deeper: 'My Documents,' both of which are system folders for handling saved files. I can save of the desktop, or mostly anywhere i want assuming admin permissions. linux is the same way. for most people, this is completely overkill; they need one folder where everything stays and where its easy to find. my mac, on the other hand, has one folder titled 'Documents' of which i keep subfolders for every type of document im saving, be in .pages, or .keynote, or .pdf, etc. when saving, the software will always target the documents folder first. everything is organized. the ipad, and more modern softwares, take this a step further, and create the folders for you. the ipad saves all of your pages documents in one place, all of your keynotes somewhere else, and accesses them when you want, with a complete user disconnect from the file system. and its simple. easier for most people. intuitive.

for the people that understand the computers as they are, this is unnecessary, and in some cases irritating, but the resistance that this sort of coding is getting is unreasonable. the computer savvy expect everyone to be able to learn the workings of a computer, and as someone who has tried to teach windows to many people just picking up computers (mainly people older than i) its rather ridiculous. my grandfather has been struggling with his windows box for years now, he still cant even comprehend the difference between his computer and the internet. the computer savvy should be backing this computer-simplifying movement: it means that we dont have to teach the unteachable to use something they wont ever understand. we give them the computers they can use without having to do anything outside of the box, and we use the computers we do now, because, trust me, the power of a customizable box will never be killed.

you guys need to look at all of this from one perspective: that we are the top .5% of all of the computer users, probably less than that, and just because we like knowing how it works doesnt mean most people will.



@tex: thanx mate, i hate it helped if you were thinking about getting one/hadnt tried one out. honestly, if i had the money, id have one right now as well XD

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Postby dun dun dun... chips » Wed Apr 07, 2010 12:49 pm


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Postby Jif » Wed Apr 07, 2010 1:01 pm

wow why did i write so much

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Postby dun dun dun... chips » Wed Apr 07, 2010 1:02 pm


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Postby TexRob » Wed Apr 07, 2010 1:07 pm

Oh, I'd also like to add that I'm a Senior Windows Administrator, I am responsible for the stability, and achieving as close to 100% uptime for over 300 manage servers, and supporting over 1000 dedicated hardware (non OS-managed) servers for Windows customers, and provide support on a contractural basis for these customers. So, my point is, I know more than probably anyone here about hardware/software from 8088 processors and DOS 5 on up to stuff that hasn't even been released yet from Microsoft, Vmware, HP, Dell, Intel, etc. I only include this because people keep thinking that I don't like the inner workings of stuff. My point is, I know how the sh** works, when I use a PC for recreational use, browsing, writing an email, photo or movie manipulation, etc, I don't need to prove my dominance over the machine. I want the machine to do exactly what I want, when I want, with as little interaction from me as possible. I've lost the desire to waste time for the sake of wasting time as time has progressed.

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Postby Bacon » Wed Apr 07, 2010 2:59 pm

You talk about how simple the mac is to use, but the cool thing about it is, if you want to you CAN delve deep into it. It's easy to use right out of the box but there are a lot of things that you can toy with once you know what you are doing

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Postby Fist of the eskimo » Wed Apr 07, 2010 4:15 pm


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Postby Jif » Wed Apr 07, 2010 4:53 pm


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Postby dun dun dun... chips » Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:58 pm


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Postby Darkfoxx » Wed Apr 07, 2010 7:03 pm

Gaming:

Workstation:

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Postby Fist of the eskimo » Wed Apr 07, 2010 9:33 pm

I know I'm treading on thin ice here, but this thread seems to be the most level headed and balanced debate on the forums I've ever seen. Good shit to see gents.

I should put a disclaimer here (8 beers in)

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Postby Darkfoxx » Wed Apr 07, 2010 9:58 pm

Gaming:

Workstation:

TexRob
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Postby TexRob » Thu Apr 08, 2010 8:57 am


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Re: alright people

Postby TexRob » Mon May 03, 2010 10:28 am

I sold my HP Mini, and some other crap, got an iPad. It's great in the store, it's amazing once you live with it a few days. Love this thing.

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Re: alright people

Postby Jif » Mon May 03, 2010 11:42 am



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