Ewan Main

I’ve been following the stream of announcements, discussion, reaction, praise, criticism and ramblings, following the announcement of the iPad. A lot of the more positive commentary focuses on the notion of its being “a computer for the rest of us,” suitable for non-technical-Grandma to use. A lot of the criticism is based on its lack of features: no camera, no Adobe Flash, no multitasking, very little wired connectivity, and so on. Some have said it represents computing finally evolved into what it should be; others have said it doesn’t represent computing at all.

I was reminded of this when, the other day, I spent about 20 minutes attempting to set my Casio digital watch. It’s a great watch and I love it, but attempting to work the damned thing pushes me to the brink of insanity. I can design magazines, make websites and wire up a home theatre, but – even with the instructions in front of me – I have met my match in the good folks at Casio. It occurred to me (perhaps because I’d just been reading The Apple Blog) that so-called “normal” people, who’ve never willingly touched a computer, have been managing to operate these confounded wrist-mounted contraptions for decades now. So what’s going on?

I think most commentators are guilty of framing the level of “simplicity” of a device such as the iPad as though it says something about the skills or intelligence of those who are inclined to use it. To my mind, the Casio effect gives the lie to that. People in general – yes, even the proverbial “grandma” – are not on the whole too stupid to interact with technology. It’s a matter of inclination. They’re not unable to do it; there’s just little incentive to force themselves into a mindset in which to learn what’s going on.

A watch is utterly useless unless you’ve forced yourself to set it to the right time. And telling the right time is useful. That’s an incentive. But where’s the incentive, to someone who’s managed so far without it, to learn to use a computer operating system? And having learned, where’s the incentive to actually do so?

That’s the justification for the iPad. It’s for those contexts where you don’t want, for whatever reason, to use a computer. That’s why I can completely imagine using one myself – to show holiday photos to my parents, to find pictures of lemurs on Google Images, to read newspapers, and to find out the answer to the perennial question: “Who’s that bloke, and what have I seen him in before?” I don’t want to boot up a computer when I’m lounging around in the evening. I don’t want my wife to notice that I seem to be starting up the computer yet again. I don’t want to be notified about software updates or asked to restart my machine. During the day at the desk, yes – but not during the evening on the sofa.

Sadly, I have to admit that, for financial reasons, I probably won’t be acquiring one myself. But I can entirely see why somebody would – and it’s nothing to do with their age or technical skill.