Goodbye Point & Shoots, Goodbye Laptops

Jesus Computer Is Not Jesus

This illustration pokes fun at the hailing of the iPad as the “Jesus Computer” and why that way of thinking is so deeply flawed.

As to point & shoots, on the surface, they are less portable than a cameraphone and less specced out than a dSLR.  However, they offer more features than a cameraphone (flash, photo modes, removable storage, better battery) and are more portable than a dSLR.  Also, they’re cheaper to replace and more durable than either a cameraphone or a dSLR.  While I would hesitate to take out my iPhone at a Goddamn Gallows show and wouldn’t even think about bringing a dSLR, I do take a pocketable P&S for quick snapshots.

As to the death of laptops, that’s just silly.  No, it’s not as portable as an iPad.  But the trade-off is a dedicated keyboard.  While the iPad may be “fast enough” for 99% of daily use, my daily use involves typing in my lap.  “Slower than a desktop” is a specious argument that only works if you assume that the slowest desktop is faster than the fastest laptop (forgetting that “slow” and “fast” are not even defined concepts).  Case in point – all of my laptops run smoother than my desktop.  I bought a bottom-of-the-line desktop to act as a media server.  My laptops are my work computers.

I am firmly in the “iPad is a luxury good looking for a need to fill” camp as opposed to the “iPad will completely displace an entire segment of the industry which has been steadily growing for over a decade” camp.  I haven’t used one because I’ve been away and, four days after launch, I don’t feel like spending my free time at an Apple Store here in New York City.

(image found on Facebook)