Author: jrwren

I really hate the timing of this post, but the ideas are fresh in my head. You can consider this ‘just another iPad post’ if you want.

Ever taken a survey on the streets from someone with a PC style tablet? I’ve taken a few. I’m always surprised by the hardware choice. For some things, it seems like a clipboard and paper would be better.

At work, there is an upcoming project that involves something like the above. Here is why I think the iPad is a better choice. It mostly comes down to boring IT Operations reasons, aka management of the underlying platform.

• With iPad, you never have to defragment your disk.
• With iPad, you never have to run antivirus or update antivirus definitions.
• With iPad, you never have to run anitspyware or update antispyware definitions.
• With iPad, there is no moving and spinning disk which is prone to higher failure.
• With iPad, you don’t have to worry about some slick-kid or script kiddie downloading and installing some crazy software that turns your computer into a bot or even just overwrites important files preventing you from booting the next time.
• With iPad, you don’t have to worry about not having a replacement part available if a piece of hardware fails.
• With iPad, the user will have a more familiar experience. Given the prevalence of iPhone, it is likely that an end user will understand many of the touch and drag gestures.
• With iPad, there is no stylus like the PC Tablets of old.
• With iPad, there is a very clear future. When was the last time apple canceled a product line? Newton? Ok, how about under Jobs? I’ve no idea.

I’m as anti-fud as any person that I know. Yes, the above is definitely anti-windows fud cited by Mac and Linux lovers everywhere and normally I’m the first person to refute it. However, I think under that fud there are tiny grains of truth. For certain applications those bits of truth are highly amplified. It is a different risk vector. These things become very important and translate directly to cost of ownership.

Notice that I’ve listed no pros or cons for iPad as a general purpose device. I don’t care to go there. I’ve also not mentioned if there is much of a market for the above use case (there isn’t enough to sustain the device alone). These are all things to be answered elsewhere. My point in short: here is a use case if you have been wondering for what kind of things iPad can be used.

My wife linked me to this article about a cultural study done on certain masculine aspects of things which often surround computer science.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34437233/ns/technology_and_science-science/

She (my wife) brought it up in the context of cables and cords lying around and I’d guess that extends to the unused laptop, mouse or keyboard. She is a very neat person. I am less so, but she keeps me in check. This is good.

The article talks about the physical environment of a computer science classroom or office. I don’t know what classrooms this study is looking at. I can only assume that they are primary and secondary classrooms because the college classrooms in which I teach and in which I attended are the same boring sterile classrooms in which all subjects are taught.

I can comment on offices. The quote from the article is a quote by the lead researching Sapna Cheryan from the University of Washington. She says “… the image that immediately pops into many of their minds is of the computer geek surrounded by such things as computer games, science-fiction memorabilia and junk food.”

I’d like to address each of things. There are no computer games on my desk at home nor at work. At home, I share a desk with my wife, occasionally there is a game left out. They are hers. I have her Rollercoaster Tycoon CD in my backpack right now, because she left it in my disk drive. I do not play video games. It is a choice. I used to play a few video games. I think that when Starcraft 2 comes out, I’ll probably play that video game.

I have some science fiction memorabilia stuffed in drawers at home. A hat from the cast of the original Stargate movie. A signed Richard Dean Anderson photograph. Both of these were gifts from people who knew that I love Stargate. I don’t leave them out. I don’t talk about them. In fact, if any of my coworkers read this, both items will probably be a surprise to them, and they will probably make fun of me greatly for each of them.

Junk food is bad. I’d probably eat lots of junk food if I didn’t have my wife to take care of me and she didn’t constantly remind me about good nutrition and encourage me by talking to me about the food industry, summarizing books for me and watching movies with me such as Supersize Me and Food Inc. I bring my lunch to work almost every day rather than eat out. As I write this many of my coworkers are out at the monthly Ann Arbor “Nerd Lunch”. I try to eat healthy.

I try to eat healthy to the point that food preparation is something that I can talk at length about. Last night I made cottage cheese. I bake all my own bread. I’ve not bought bread from a store in over 6 years. I make my own chicken stock. I make a lot of things that are often bought. I do not consider any of these things add to my computer geek. If anything I’m a non-geek. These things are also traditionally non-masculine activities. Although more recently I think they are more niche hobbies than feminine activities.

What is the point? I guess I’m trying to say, look deeper. Yes, on the surface there is a video game, bad-sci-fi, junk food culture to computer science, but as soon as you peel back the first layer there is a variety and depth as wide as any other profession.