Greg Hard

Critical Thoughts on the iPad

It’s been over 24 hours since the “official” beginning of iPad mania has begun. Twitter was buzzing with nothing but iPad related tweets for the past 36 hours or so, and as tiring as that has been, what is even more tiring is the rather absurd claims being made by some regarding this device. I’ve heard that it is the most revolutionary device since the iPhone, which may very well be true. I’ve also heard people say that it will replace laptop computing, which is a claim that actually first made me laugh, and then made me cry. The most recent edition of TWiT was brimming with positive thoughts on the iPad, as were other shows on the TWiT network.

I think, then, it is time to sober up from our iPad intoxication and look at what the device is and what it is not, so I’m providing some of my favorite iPad comments and reviews from around the web.

Simplifies Computing and Content Consumption

Leo Laporte said it best throughout the weekend, most recently on TWiT: It is a “content consumption device.” He’s very correct that the iPad will be an amazing device to watch movies (for travel or in bed, perhaps), read books, play interactive games and consume much of the internet (so long as you don’t need flash). From the early hands-on demonstrations I’ve seen, it will do it all with a glamor and sense of ease that no computer can claim. I want one for some of the amazing apps that are available, and those that will come.

Steve Wozniak called it a “reboot”, going back to a time when computing was simple and fun, rather than a chore. In reality, I can see it doing just that for those who aren’t interested in doing anything more than consumption and simple web browsing. But for those of us who want to push our computers, who game for real, who create content AND consume it, who desire to be a part of the open and social web, it simply isn’t enough of a computer and is too limited and controlled. What it does well is augment our laptop for portable consumption of content.

Andy Ihnatko’s review touches on its utility as a real computer, and he covers many of the important points, such as lack of real multitasking and an open file system, that reduce this utility. I agree with many of his points, including the fact that it isn’t a replacement for a real, full featured computer.

iPad is a Closed System

Jeff Jarvis wrote a piece outlining his concerns about the return from creation to mere consumption, what I call a regression to the old web 1.0 where we were told what type of content we wanted, and how to consume it.

The iPad is retrograde. It tries to turn us back into an audience again. That is why media companies and advertisers are embracing it so fervently, because they think it returns us all to their good old days when we just consumed, we didn’t create, when they controlled our media experience and business models and we came to them.

This is a concern that didn’t occur to me, but it augments the other concern I have regarding the closed nature of the iPad. He argues, and I’m convinced by his arguments, that the iPad facilitates this transformation from content creators back into mere consumers. Web 2.0 brought us into a time when we are all able to create, promote, comment on, and determine the content in which we are fed, and the means by which we consume it. Not so much with the iPad.

Cory Doctorow wrote a rather scathing critique of the iPad, and I agree with many of his points, especially on the closed nature of the iPad. He argues that the iPad “infantalizes hardware”, that the iPad is designed for the stereotypical illiterate computer user, and he isn’t completely wrong: I feel it is a consumer electronics device more than a computer, and its closed nature reflects that fact. Not only is the device itself closed, the application development channel is completely closed and Apple controlled as well.

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.

Will I buy an iPad? Actually, I might - but not yet. As of right now, it fills no gaps in my life. I see no place where an iPad would fit, and that includes media consumption. I’m more interested in seeing innovative, effective and seamless IPTV solutions for my HDTV than I am to consume media on a tablet PC. That isn’t to say I won’t eventually get one to augment my travel computing needs, but it may be the next iteration of the device before I see the need. Despite all of these criticisms, they won’t prevent me from getting an iPad - but they will prevent the iPad from ever replacing a fully featured notebook or desktop computer, which as of this writing is a MacBook.

Gaming PC Build: Using AMD

After considering my budget for my summer gaming PC build, I’ve decided to switch to the AMD Athlon II X4 935 processor with a Gigabyte GA-790XT-USB3 ($124) motherboard. I simply could not justify the extra $200 between the processor and motherboard that I would need to pay for what is probably only an incremental performance benefit in real world gaming.

Another reason for this is that I decided to buy a new Cooler Master Elite RC-310 ($40) case instead of using my old busted up black CompUSA case from 1999, as well as a new Thermaltake TR2 600W PSU ($70), since I don’t have a new enough PSU to use for this case (no SATA power connections, for example, and its only 400W, so I’m concerned about lack of power, as well). I also realized I don’t have a monitor, so I also need to buy myself an ASUS VH202T-P monitor ($130).

With all of these additional expenses I left out of my original analysis, I decided to downgrade the processor to the Athlon II X4, running at the same clock speed and with the same number of cores as the Core i5 I originally chose. Additional, motherboards for AMD tend to run a bit cheaper, so that Gigabyte board has more features than a similar Intel board at that same price point.

Gaming PC Build #1: Parts and Planning

It has been at least 7 or 8 years since I’ve built a computer, let alone a gaming computer, and times have changed. The last time I built a computer we were still using DDR1 memory and single core processors. Oh how far we’ve come. While I switched to the Mac as my primary platform four years ago, I have decided that I want back in on some of today’s gaming action and that, of course, requires a PC build. I’m trying to keep the price low, given that I’m still on a college budget, while getting a box that will last me into the new few years of next-generation PC games.

Usage

The games I intend on buying and using as soon as built (or games are released) include, but is certainly not limited to, the following:

• Bioshock II
• Mass Effect II
• Diablo 3 (when released)
• Starcraft 2 (again, when released)

The Motherboard and CPU

I’m going with an Intel Core i5 750 Quad Core ($199, Newegg). This was a last minute decision over the cheaper but less powerful Athlon II X4 630. I am saving some money in other areas and feel like this is the better option.

The motherboard to accompany this is the ASUS P7P55 ($150, Newegg). This is a solid board with USB 3.0 and SATA 6gb/s technologies, making it fairly future-proof for the foreseeable future.

GPU

I am going with a Radeon 5770 based GPU, specifically the XFX HD-577X Radeon HD 5770 ($160). This card is in my price range and offers the best cost to performance ratio from what I’ve seen in the benchmarks.

Everything Else

The remainder of the parts are as follows:

• Memory: 4GB Corsair PC 1033 ($109)
• HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB ($79)
• Power: Thermaltake 500W PSU ($60)
• Case: Generic Black Case (Already Owned)
• Optical: LG DVD Burner ($25)

For a grand total, without the monitor and OS, of $772. This puts me about $100 over budget, simply because I chose the more expensive Intel chip over the budget AMD that I originally chose. Nonetheless, I feel as though I made the better choice.

Next Up: Building It…

Why I Chose the PS3

I just jumped in on the next-gen console bandwagon and bought a PS3. I spent a long time debating the XBox 360 vs Playstation 3 debate in my head, reading a mound of reviews from all over the web, and comparing the games available for each.

Interestingly, I determined that the games for both systems are perfectly fine to keep me entertained, though the XBox 360 arguably has a moderately better selection (perhaps I’ll get the PC version of Mass Effect 2…). The PS3 has God of War, however, which is a plus.

I chose the PS3 for a few non-gaming related reasons -

• Blu-Ray. This matters to me as my HDTV is screaming for some Batman Begins and Dark Knight action on Blu-Ray, and I don’t have the cash at the moment to buy both a console and a Blu-Ray player. The PS3 is supposed to be a very good Blu-Ray player.
• DVD HD Upscaling. This essentially means that the PS3 will upscale my DVDs to the resolution of my HDTV. The XBox does this also, but the word on the street is that it is really bad at it.
• Less Stuff to Buy. The PS3 has free WiFi included and the online PS3 service, while perhaps not as robust as XBox live, is free. This matters when you’re on a college student budget and both consoles cost the same amount.

In addition to the obvious uses for my new PS3 (gaming, Blu-Ray), I plan on using it to stream IPTV shows to my HDTV from my mac using Medialink (they make a similar program for the 360, as well). This means, for the time being, I don’t need to buy a separate box for a Boxee installation or something similar, since I can stream what I want to stream directly from my mac (i.e., shows from Revision3 and iTunes). Eventually I plan on getting some more boxes specifically for the purpose of streaming HD content from the web (Mac Mini, perhaps?), but at the moment the PS3 can serve as my all-purpose media and gaming center.