Thursday 26 May 2011

What iPads Did To My Family -- A Year Later

About a year ago, I wrote my most popular post of all time: What iPads Did To My Family.

The timing was good: the iPad was just getting into people's hands, and people were interested in the intersection between brand new tech and how we all react to it. Yes, it's only been about a year ...

Best as I can figure, the post has been read more than 500,000 times. If you really want some fun, scroll through the 100+ comments.

I thought I owed people a follow-up post -- sort of a sequel to the story.

It's been a year -- what's changed?


The iPad Is Incremental

At the time, the heated debate was whether or not iPads could replace full-functioned desktops, laptops, etc. The answer -- at least in our household -- is most certainly "no".

For example, I have four students in my family -- three children plus my wife. There is jus no way you're going to voluntarily pick up an iPad to write a term paper, take online courseware, etc.

Sure, the iPad software is plenty functional, but the keyboard is for occasional use only. For me, I sometimes have to write stuff up while at home -- I use a traditional desktop or laptop for that.

That means that the aging fleet of PCs and laptops will stay for the time being -- albeit reduced somewhat in status and priority. No upgrades planned here anytime soon.

What iPads Did To My Family -- A Year Later