Snippet: iPad-Only is the New Desktop Linux ☇

Watts Martin (via Ben Brooks):

Even in the best case scenario, the Mac’s speed blows iOS away. Not because of CPU power, but because iOS’s design just doesn’t handle a task like this as gracefully. It’s possible it would have been faster if I were using a different set of apps, ones aware of each other in a deeper fashion. But on the Mac, I could have used any email program and any word processor that handled Word’s revision tracking and followed the same steps.

Like many others, I’m getting tired of the iPad-can’t-do-x sentiment. While I could riff a list of things that a Mac is better suited for, I could also take this one step further and list things that a Mac can’t do that a PC can (Boot Camp/Parallels notwithstanding). Does that mean we should throw away our Macs and get something else? No.

Ultimately, the iPad is a pretty damn good computer for a lot of people. Rather than arguing or feeling threatened that Apple is going to take away your MacBook, why not find the device that works best and use it? Continue to re-evaluate your tools, just as the tools available evolve. This is what makes technology exciting, too. Besides, if you recall, the iPad is a much more powerful and capable device than it was two or three years ago. I’d like to mention a very appropriate comment by Initial Charge’s Michael Rockwell, too:

Perhaps you prefer to use OS X to get your work done because you’re more comfortable with the tools — that’s fine. But arguing that one platform or another is better suited is just foolish. I like iOS more because it fits my lifestyle and offers tools that I typically enjoy using more than their desktop counterparts. And that shouldn’t impede your enjoyment of OS X — there’s no reason we can’t both coexist harmoniously.