Andy Jaeger

When the iPad was first announced, I was underwhelmed. I’ve been well aware of my adherence to the cult of Apple, and seriously thinking that the next time I buy a laptop, I’m reverting to a PC, so buying an iPad seemed like the least sensible thing I could do.

And then I started to see what magazine publishers were thinking of doing with it. I love magazines, and the thought that I could not only browse, but interact, flick and share, made me think again. Being able to get more out of my favourite magazines (like the wonderful Wired) seemed irresistible. There’s something so intuitive about being able to manipulate data, images, sounds and text just through the interaction of your fingertips and a screen. Typing is a complex learnt behaviour, but simply touching is easy. Easy enough that a child can do it. Easy enough that you don’t need to think.

And maybe that’s the problem. I’ve got no particular problem with easy – and don’t get me wrong, I love touch screen technology – but I do have a problem with not needing to think. There’s something about the world of Apple that ties down creativity and thought at the same time that it proclaims that it enhances creativity and thought. You can be creative and thinking in the world of Apple, but really only within the bounds of the technology that you’re given. But enough of my rambling. Cory Doctorow puts it much better than me:

If you want to live in the creative universe where anyone with a cool idea can make it and give it to you to run on your hardware, the iPad isn’t for you.
via Why I won’t buy an iPad (and think you shouldn’t, either) – Boing Boing.

Tags: Apple, Boing Boing, Cory Doctorow, creativity, iPad