It Finally Hit Me

I was in the lift when it hit me. I’ve been looking at it all wrong. I have been looking at it as a computer, but that’s just plain wrong. It, of course, is the iPad.

You see, I was looking at it as a computing device. A device that is intended to be the future of how everybody uses a computer, and intended to, one day and in some form, replace the desktop computing paradigm. But it’s not, and it never will.

People like me, who value their computer for real computing are all probably looking at it wrong. The iPad is not a computer. It’s a media and content consumption device. Email is no longer a computing task, but a communication and content creation task for the bulk of people. Nothing that can be done in the iPad as it stands is truly a computing task, with the vague exception of the new iWork apps.

I was, and in fact still am, concerned about what this device could mean for the future of computing, but I’m also realising that because this isn’t a computer, it really probably won’t have as much of an impact on the future of computing as I originally thought it would. Most people, possibly up to 95-99% of people in fact, have no need for a computer. The only things that they do on a computer is consume media, and communicate. A computer is largely wasted on these people.

Instead, true computer use will, eventually, fade back into being an enthusiast hobby for those who have a desire to learn. Sure, people may still feel like they need or want a full blown computer, but they will come to the realisation that its unnecessary and switch back to using a content consumption device.

In that respect, the iPad probably is a revolutionary, rather than evolutionary, device. And in that respect, I guess I hope it does succeed. Just not at the complete expense of real computing.