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iPad in 20 Years
- Thread starter Silvereel
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As a former ][GS owner (a 'Woz' limited edition no less!) this post strikes a nerve in a good way 
I'm a very vocal proponent that the iPad is the first device (okay second if you count the iPhone) that will reshape computing as we know it. The reality is that with a *little* bit more functionality around the edges - some of which is already coming e.g. multi-tasking - then the iPad could replace a computer for an extremely large % of the overall market.
Yes, there will always be a need/market for 'real' rigs for coders, engineers, harware tinkerers, etc. Normally I'd add high end video editing and photoshop type work, though I think down the road the iPad and its ilk will be more than powerful enough to do these kinds of things.
Add printing, slightly better document/file handling and sharing within the app structure, and boom.
The question I ponder is what takes over from touch (as touch will take over from mouse/keyboard). Voice? Possibly. Displays: projected, hologram, heads up, in our minds?
20 years is probably long enough that the first wave of the next great cycle of products will have been introduced to replace touch.
As far as this iPad in 20 years: will wifi and/or 3G still function? i.e. will connectivity be backwards compatible? Hmm...
I'm a very vocal proponent that the iPad is the first device (okay second if you count the iPhone) that will reshape computing as we know it. The reality is that with a *little* bit more functionality around the edges - some of which is already coming e.g. multi-tasking - then the iPad could replace a computer for an extremely large % of the overall market.
Yes, there will always be a need/market for 'real' rigs for coders, engineers, harware tinkerers, etc. Normally I'd add high end video editing and photoshop type work, though I think down the road the iPad and its ilk will be more than powerful enough to do these kinds of things.
Add printing, slightly better document/file handling and sharing within the app structure, and boom.
The question I ponder is what takes over from touch (as touch will take over from mouse/keyboard). Voice? Possibly. Displays: projected, hologram, heads up, in our minds?
20 years is probably long enough that the first wave of the next great cycle of products will have been introduced to replace touch.
As far as this iPad in 20 years: will wifi and/or 3G still function? i.e. will connectivity be backwards compatible? Hmm...
I think that iPad's might still be used by hobbists in the future. It's alot of fun to sometimes find an old computer in your basement and work on getting it up and running, even though its horribly dated technology. Like some have said, the battery would be an issue, although I'm sure you would be able to find websites that show how to hack an old ipad to work without a battery from some external battery or regular power. I also think people will be able to jailbreak the old ipads and probably find sites online to download and install lots of old programs that haven't been available in years. It would be strictly for fun people would do this, and probably not serve any practical use, since in 20 years, there will be technology we can't imagine, that will make the iPad look like something from the stoneage.
Yeah, who really knows? Read science fiction from the 60's and you'd think that by now we'd all be living on the moon but still using slide rules. And that the biggest advance in communications technology would be the video telephone. The direction of technology is very hard to predict.
As a former ][GS owner (a 'Woz' limited edition no less!) this post strikes a nerve in a good way
I'm a very vocal proponent that the iPad is the first device (okay second if you count the iPhone) that will reshape computing as we know it. The reality is that with a *little* bit more functionality around the edges - some of which is already coming e.g. multi-tasking - then the iPad could replace a computer for an extremely large % of the overall market.
Yes, there will always be a need/market for 'real' rigs for coders, engineers, harware tinkerers, etc. Normally I'd add high end video editing and photoshop type work, though I think down the road the iPad and its ilk will be more than powerful enough to do these kinds of things.
Add printing, slightly better document/file handling and sharing within the app structure, and boom.
The question I ponder is what takes over from touch (as touch will take over from mouse/keyboard). Voice? Possibly. Displays: projected, hologram, heads up, in our minds?
20 years is probably long enough that the first wave of the next great cycle of products will have been introduced to replace touch.
As far as this iPad in 20 years: will wifi and/or 3G still function? i.e. will connectivity be backwards compatible? Hmm...
I think the iPad will eventually get more powerful too--as powerful as a low end laptop perhaps in the next 3 or 4 years. However, what stands in the way for me to make the iPad my primary device is its sandboxed, closed nature. It's not just about only a few people needing a full power machine for professional work. As merely a consumer of content I still need a computer to view or get content on the iPad that is either not available in the appstore/Itunes or banned. I can play MMORP games which are impossible on a low powered device like the iPad at present.
I like the iPad and I'm getting one, but I'll always have a full powered computer in the background as long as the device is sandboxed.
Though the question is whether our replacements will have Made in Japan or Made in China stickers.
< before reading this post, please begin playing "In the year 2525"... >
In 1 year, iPad sales will eclipse Netbook sales as Apple releases the Bluetooth keyboard iPad case (which is the same size as today's case).
In 5 years, iPad and iPad Pro sales will eclipse netbook, notebook and desktop sales combined.
In 10 years, analysts will be speculating about the ability of Microsoft to survive with less than 5 percent of the computing market.
In 15 years, the cerebral cortex bluetooth 5.0 implant will be developed and will allow the pairing of the brain with the iPad and other computers.
In 20 years, the iPad will finally become obsolete as the cerebral cortex implant gains the ability to project virtual images directly onto the optic nerve.
In 1 year, iPad sales will eclipse Netbook sales as Apple releases the Bluetooth keyboard iPad case (which is the same size as today's case).
In 5 years, iPad and iPad Pro sales will eclipse netbook, notebook and desktop sales combined.
In 10 years, analysts will be speculating about the ability of Microsoft to survive with less than 5 percent of the computing market.
In 15 years, the cerebral cortex bluetooth 5.0 implant will be developed and will allow the pairing of the brain with the iPad and other computers.
In 20 years, the iPad will finally become obsolete as the cerebral cortex implant gains the ability to project virtual images directly onto the optic nerve.
Won't matter... They'll be made by other robots, and our concept of "countries" will be irrelevant. I don't think the robots will kill us off or anything... More like we'll become their pets.