Apple did not just reveal a new tablet yesterday, but also revealed its true motivation for creating devices. Contrary to public’s desire that motivation is not making your life easier, it is not to innovate and it is not to make this a more beautiful world. The iPad follows the legacy of the iPhone as gateway into their Store for the masses. With this move Apple unveils that their true motivation is promoting consumption and getting a cut in the way.
THINK OF THE CHILDREN
Smart-phones (oversized or not) are no tools, they are entertainment with little or no interactive value. They ask nothing from you and simply reinforce impulsive point-and-click behavior.
There is real danger in parents allowing this kind of passive devices into the lives of their kids thinking that they are giving them computers or ‘tools’. None of the endless possibilities that kids can explore with computers (blogging, researching, programming, drawing, etc…) are possible with tools that limit creativity.
TECHNOLOGY Progress (OR LACK OF THEREOF)
The mind benefits when we are in control of the media, rather than passively observe it. However Apple is turning internet into a passive medium, feeding it to us with tools that let us consume instead of create. The company counts on the success of advances such as video online or on demand programming and their opposition to interactive formats such as Flash and the like (Apple killed Quicktime interactivity).
Consumption vs Creation
“The current delivery system is designed around the broadcast model,[...] delivered unilaterally, and based on pre-designed structures that work best for a mass audience.” -(via @) We already consume more than we create (compare ISPs data restriction for download vs upload) and recent news tend to indicate that we are moving towards an even less interactive delivery model.
Many were predicting the death of the era of passive entertainment when people grew tired of flat tv experiences and started turning to computers for more engaging entertainment. What Jobs seems to suggest now is that people, if given the chance, would rather sit back and relax than use their brains. Mind you, is not that I completely disagree with this portrait of the our society, is that I fear and reject it.