Rising Above the Legacy of Complexity with Toaster Simple Tech

Apple and Jobs laser focused on utility for the masses at a price point for the masses. This should force netbooks and cheap laptops to get cheaper still, for those who prefer cheap.

Users may now choose to do 95 percent of technology with panache, at what formerly passed for budget prices. All forms of data consumption are included, in state of the art interfaces. Twelve applications:

• Web surfing. In ways that roughly 60 to 80 percent of users have never witnessed. Changewave or similar for more precise numbers. Users of the most popular browser of our day, even if recently introduced to newer versions, are not accustomed to many of these features. A lot of people are going to be a lot amazed by modern browser technology. It is about a decades worth of fast forward.
• Email. Reading and responding, pics, etc. With essentially a full size keyboard in landscape mode.
• Photos. Not necessarily iPhoto? A camera adapter option, no built in camera. Bluetooth and wifi for sharing.
• Video. No 1080p (1920x1080), but 1024x768 is plenty immersive for the form factor. Good enough for youtube HD.
• iPod. iPod as an app? iTunes as a separate app? Looks more like iTunes is becoming the store, iPod the player. iTunes on either a Mac or a PC is required to use the iPad. The nomenclature is getting rather confusing.
• iTunes. See Above.
• iBook Will Jon Shipley, the Delicious Library, in some form or another is now iBook. In full form it is more than just a cool Library (iBook) app. Will it be hamstrung on the iPad? Will it be full featured hookable from the developer SDK? In the Delicious version, organizing "stuff" is graphically enhanced in ways that astound newcomers to OS X.
• Maps. 3G models via assisted GPS or cellular location will have practically HUD for local attractions. If AT&T comes through on $30 per month unlimited data, virtual reality becomes an option for tourism and hospitality industries. Expect lots of apps to complete the VR/HUD experience on the big (bigger than iPhone) screen.
• Notes. Entering simple notes of course. It also has a mic to record audio notes. Speakers and the ability to read out loud included. Does the processor have the oomph for voice-to-type in real time? Apps already available for tracking direction and pressure of at least 10 fingers touching the screen.
• Calendar, Contacts, Search. Less is more

Surprisingly to me, the iPad still requires a mother ship and iTunes. Probably still does not true multi-task. The advantages are that security remains Touch simple. Re-purposing and re-provisioning equipment to users is Touch simple.

Simple is the biggest blessing and achievement.

Simple - no Geeks Required

The anti-problem-ware solutions vendors are piling on top of each other lately. A barrage of advertising corresponds to the release of a new version of the worlds most popular operating system. The catastrophe potential of trying to engage COMPLEX technology without the "value added" wares is well advertised, widely acknowledged.

75 million iPhones and Touches have so far managed to survive, even thrive, in the real world without the confusion. Apple can barely build the Touches and iPhones fast enough.

Complexity lovers can still multitask with the iPad - buy two, or several. A fanfold of four iPads would weigh less than most bargain priced 17" laptops. Mix and match Touches and 'Pads to get as complex as requirements dictate.

No need for squads, geeks, wares, confusing and contradictory claims. Toaster simple is what people prefer in tech. Apple has proven that with the Touch. The iPad provides a bigger pallet to engage information streams, and a usable typing surface. Trying to cram in "more" would detract from the value equation. Simple is the breakthrough.

The legacy of More..

Two factors limiting the utility of the iPad are onboard storage and connecting to legacy data sets.

For more storage, connect to a server. That is simple enough to understand, and implement. The Mini Server introduced 4 months prior to the iPad fits the bill perfectly. The unlimited client license on the server also makes it a great mothership for a fleet of Touches and 'Pads.

Connecting to legacy systems is the only part that remains to be simplified. Legacy systems are often mired in complexities. Many of the 140,000 applications developed for the iPhone and Touch address methods of connecting legacy data. But when every situation is different, how to determine which, if any, of these 140,000 apps best suit a specific need?

To make information technology toaster simple at the organization level requires full spectrum knowledge and understanding core information technology principles. Over 1,000 members of the Apple Consultants Network have made that commitment.

Apple Certified Consulting in Southwest, MO doug.brethower@lakedata.net 417-327-6673