Comments on: Why Do You Need a Computer to Use an iPad?

By: bert

bert — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 01:04:22 +0000

..what a horrible product and experiance. Never ever will I install itunes on any computer again. Last time I did when the iPod came out it messed up 5000 songs that I burned one by one because Mr. Jobs figured they should be on his stupid itunes.
This iCrap is going back tomorrow, have already ordered an Android tablet.

By: disappointed

disappointed — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 02:03:07 +0000

I almost had my 80 year old friend convinced this would be all she would need to get email and see photos people sent her. She went to the apple store and was ready to buy; then they said she needed a computer. Back to square one.

By: Kevin A

Kevin A — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 03:25:09 +0000

The better argument is why do I have to spend more money replacing a small little netbook that gets viruses in less than six months, has a crappy build, and takes minutes to boot up?

Stop whining! Apple does things late but does them right. The sales of how many iPhones, iPods, and iPads are a testament to that.

…crybabies.

By: Alan

Alan — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 22:55:41 +0000

Dave – you’re certainly not the idiot here. Consumers are not the idiots, either. Idiots are those that meekly take it or leave it.

By: DT2

DT2 — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:27:32 +0000

Actually, I do’t mind syncing via wire all that much.

Lack of print support is, however, another issue. I was filling out a repair form using my iPad last month. The last page of the process had this notice at the top of the page, “Please print out this page and include it in the box with your device.” Now what do I do?! Can’t go to my PC and access that page so I can print it out. Finally selected and cut the entire page and emailed it to myself. Tried to print the email message it from my PC but the iPad was in landscape mode and the it sent it as an image instead of text so I couldn’t really shrink it or re-wrap the text. Finally printed it on ledger size paper (11×17). Folded it and stuffed it in the box as requested. Hope the technicians had a sense of humor when they recieved the service ticket printed as a poster.

By: Derek Martin

Derek Martin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:25:43 +0000

What’s worse:
a) complaining about specific physical devices’ quirks
b) complaining about an entire nation of people ‘not having lives’

Everyone has things they’d like to change.
Personally, I’d rather have problems with a device than a society.

Derek (Canadian)

By: chano

chano — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:44:56 +0000

Eeesh! Do none of you have a life. Your existence is so empty you get your shorts in a twist over small stuff. Correction: what is small stuff around the world is all-consuming big stuff to you.
What is it with Americans?
If there was nothing to bitch about, you’d all bitch about that.
Eeesh!

By: Cori

Cori — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:12:33 +0000

but what if the user wants a different experience than what Steve Jobs wants users to have?

By: Derek Martin

Derek Martin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:27:53 +0000

As with everything Apple, it’s about user experience. Yes, the requirement of a full-blown Mac is a pain, but losing all your data, in most cases, is an even bigger pain. Nobody wants to lose their: contacts, apps, notes, music, photos. We fear that.

Apple created TimeMachine to keep everything on your Mac backed-up. Apple requires you to sync your iOS devices with your Mac so that they are backed up on your Mac.

Same strategy, but while it’s optional with TimeMachine, it’s mandatory with iTunes. The likelihood of losing data is 1000x higher with portable devices (because you can lose the device!), so having a backup is absolutely critical to the user experience. Incidentally, TimeMachine backs-up your iTunes and all the sync data it contains, so your iOS devices are doubly-backed-up.

Real world example:
Did you notice how easy it was to upgrade from the iPhone 3G to the 3GS to the 4? Plug-in the new phone, and wait for the sync to finish. That’s it. You couldn’t do that if there wasn’t a complete backup of your previous phone sitting there on iTunes.

Example #2: If you lose your iPhone, you can just buy a new one and sync it. You’re back up and running in no time, with no data loss (assuming you use MobileMe).

On January 9th, 2001 Steve Jobs introduced the Digital Hub strategy. He said: We’re just getting started… the PC will serve as the control & integration point for all devices (PDAs, mp3 players, phones, cameras, camcorders, video players, portable gaming devices). It is the hub for your digital life because:
1) it can run complex applications that your device can’t
2) it has a big screen that supports complex UIs
3) it can burn discs and/or attach to mass storage
4) it is online at a high speed

This strategy is almost 10 years old, and it hasn’t changed. The Mac is central to it, and will continue to be for a long time coming.

By: Erin

Erin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 16:07:11 +0000

So what? I connect my iPad when I want to copy over new movies. Everything else I can do from the device, except OS updates. Is this REALLY a huge problem? For the overwhelming majority of users, this is not a big deal at all. Plug it in, sync stuff, update apps, unplug it and go on with your day. Only a few bloggers seem to have their feathers ruffled about this.