Brent's Toys

Yet Another iPad Post

Finding myself using the iPad more and more… I’d say about a quarter of my ‘computer time’ is now on the iPad instead of the main computer. This style of device is what I’ve been waiting for, for years. It sucks for content creation but is perfect for keeping up with social networking stuff (which I’m trying to avoid on the work computer, you know, to help focus on work). And I’m reading a lot on it — mostly going through old DRM-free eBooks I bought years ago.

I’m still undecided about which format for eBooks I’m going to adopt… I really hate DRM (long story short I have a bunch of books in a format I can’t use anymore; thus is the fate an early technology adopter). I suspect I’ll break soon and I’m leaning towards the Kindle format (because the Kindle App also allows kindle books to be read on the iPad). Down the road I might buy an actual kindle too. I did buy Old Man’s War for kindle the other day… an impulse buy because I decided I really wanted to read the book now (and now happened to be in the middle of the night).

What’s even more interesting is watching the kids with the iPad. I don’t think they’ll ever be able to play a normal joystick style game… they expect to be able to tilt a device, move their fingers over it, and perform gestures, all that kind of weirdness that the iPad excels at. And they are so quick at figuring things out with it… much easier I think for a kid to figure out the touch control system than the more removed mouse-keyboard scenario. (And I admit I prefer it to… right now its only real drawback is precision, which is why content creation and editing is tedious on an iPad).

Very curious to see where touch technology goes in the future.

Former lead designer at BioWare (Dragon Age: Origins, Neverwinter Nights). Creator of Raiders of the Serpent Sea.

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