[opendtv] Re: Comment: Complexity bites Apple, puts reputation at stake

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2010 08:29:05 -0400

At 5:14 PM -0700 4/10/10, Francis Martin wrote:
I think you are confusing "jailbreak" with "unlock", while usually they go hand in hand, not always. "jailbreak" allows running apps not authorized by Apple. "unlock", like for any phone, allows use on networks other than AT&T in the USA.
Yes, I believe you are correct, although there are some common techniques that apply to both.
The real question I would ask is why would you want to jailbreak an iPad, other than to prove it can be done. There are apps out there that are available for jail broken iPhones and iPod touches. But this seems to appeal only to those who just want to get under the hood of any device/platform.
For those who have the technical ability to pull off this exploit, it would seem more productive to just get the developer kit and write your own apps for these devices.
The important take away here is that most people don't have the interest in developing applications and working intimately with any computing device. They buy it because it does something they want or need. Clearly the iPhone (and iPod Touch), with 85 million units sold, are meeting the need for a mobile information appliance. And it is equally clear that there is a very active developer community for these devices with more than 185,000 apps available.
Some analysts think that Apple has too much control over the ecosystem they have created. And some think that Apple has created a very compelling development environment, one that is allowing many small developers to earn a decent living and to help drive innovation in what a mobile device can and should do.
I am very interested in where we are heading with gesture based computing devices. The iPhone opened many eyes with respect to what is possible. The additional screen real estate and features of the iPad may well lead to some new applications that will solve a few problems that have slowed the long anticipated convergence of the big screen TV in the family room with the Internet and computing in general.
The most elusive piece of the puzzle has been the human interface to this convergence device.
Today we have bizarre multi-device remotes to control all of the boxes connected to the big screen; DVD players, cable STBs, game consoles, Apple TV, Sling Box, et al. Let's just say that nobody has figured it out yet. The Multimedia PC is every bit as much a hobby as Apple TV; the average consumer is not interested in a solution that requires a keyboard and mouse on the coffee table.
The iPad may be the missing piece of this puzzle. There is a good reason that Jobs was sitting in that big easy chair when he introduced us to the iPad. This is a device that can be used comfortably while sitting on the sofa watching TV, under any lighting condition. Now it is up to developers to exploit this new potential.
You can already get an app - the iTap RDP client (Remote Desktop for Windows) - that will let you use an iPhone or iPad to control a multimedia PC. 

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/itap-rdp-client-remote-desktop/id317062064?mt=8
And apps are popping up for home control systems, and remotes for Macs and Apple TV.
But this just scratches the surface of what may happen. Clearly with a connected client in your lap you have the UI needed to surf the web and control what is connected to the big screen. You also have the ability to create a wide range of multi-player games that will allow people with iPhones ad iPads to interact (note that one of the new features announced with iPhone OS4 is the Game Center, which will allow the development of networked game applications).
Bottom line, it looks like the iPad (and the many tablets that will follow) may be an important piece of the puzzle to unlock the potential of the connected TV in the family room. 

Regards
Craig





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