With the iPad, What's Old is New

[Hooch Tan]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125561844&ft=1&f=1006' target='_blank'>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/...844&ft=1&f=1006</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Although Apple is marketing the iPad as a replacement for a netbook or a laptop, Sweeting says Apple's control over the iPad makes it very different, because on most computers, you can choose any software or application you like. "This is not an open platform where you can create a lot of content, or other people can create a lot of applications and content that you can then access and use and incorporate into what you're doing," he says."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1270484693.usr20447.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>So the iPad has now been officially released in the United States for several days now, and the whole tech world has been inundated with reviews and comments about the device.&nbsp; As I do not have one of my own, I cannot make an honest comment about the experience it provides.&nbsp; However, NPR has tried to put their own spin on the slate, noting how the iPad (and Apple) are shifting things even more towards a gated community.&nbsp; With Apple fiercely protecting the App Store, this is no surprise.&nbsp; The same thing applies to the iPhone and iPod touch, and to a much lesser degree, Macs.&nbsp; That is part of the business model, and they are doing really well at it.&nbsp; However, I am reminded of another company who almost two decades ago also acted very much like a gated community.&nbsp; It offered custom content from large companies, and begrudgingly offered "limited" Internet access and was very openly and commonly derided for its simplistic and limited service.&nbsp; That company, of course, is AOL.&nbsp; I have to wonder how gated communities, mass promotion (I think I still have ond of their floppies, yes, that's FLOPPIES, not CDs.) and simple usage philosophy has changed in the public perception over the years.&nbsp; What happened?</p>

[doogald]

The great thing about being a close environment, and succeeding at it, is that once things start going south because of an open alternative - assuming that ever happens - you can just open things up yourself, still in a dominant market position.

My head is still spinning, thinking about comparing a fairly mature and very innovative and consumer-focused company like Apple, with obviously very competent management, with AOL ... Steve Case seemed to run the company well, but clearly he caught an early, exploding wave, grew fast, and then sold the company to Time-Warner, who were clearly clueless. Obviously, the growth in broadband services made something like AOL passe, and they were unable to come up with anything compelling which would be compelling to broadband subscribers. It's hard to believe that Apple will be caught in the same trap in the next few years. Beyond that, who the heck knows?

[Macguy59]

Minor nit but the iPad has not been available for "several days". It's been in the wild for less than 2 days (Sunday being a holiday)

[Hooch Tan]

Unfortunately, AOL never succeeded in the end, where I don't see Apple going away anytime soon. They are really, REALLY good at what they do and right now, people do not seem too concerned about what limitations the iPad does have. In comparison, AOL mostly grew through incredibly aggressive marketing, and back then, people wanted out of the walled garden they provided. Granted, AOL eventually came up with their "own" browser, but too little too late.

Macguy59, duly noted. Up in the boonies, I suppose you could consider it a holiday as well, but we get our day off on Friday, so I did not account for that. Sorry!