UPDATE 11 43 am May 7: on something else on which I had been procrastinating forever: my iPad just made me a dentist appointment.
I just did a tech upgrade and my productivity has quintupled. And I don’t know why. Even the word “upgrade” is in doubt. Typing is more awkward. I make typos. I can’t plug in my camera. Some graphics that worked with my oldntechnology no longer work. The screen is smaller. Yet I stick to my claim that my productivity is much higher.
Some of you have guessed that I am typing this post on my new iPad. Why is it such a hit when many similar devices failed? I don’t know. Why did I just do a travel reservation and answer several overdue emails on which I had been procrastinating? I don’t know. The proof of the productivity pudding is only in the eating, even if it can’t be articulated.
Is this why consumer choice is a much better guide than expert advice to technologies that actually work? Is this why many promising technologies fail in the field in development, because nobody wants to use them? I think so. Is this why other unexpected technologies succeed because users like them? I just know I love my iPad. Sorry about the typos.
11 Comments
It’s because it’s novel and because it’s hyped. You have fallen trap to the “fancy doohickie.” Productivity will level off and you’ll go back to using a real computer later when you’re frustrated with how much less efficient it is.
You somehow managed to push your usual talking points while posting on a completely unrelated topic AND somehow plug an Apple product. Awesome job Bill!
Technology is only productive and useful if people use it. That’s the hardest part about implementing new technology – getting people to actually use it!
Edith, thanks for the great compliment!
Matt, you are completely right but I still believe my productivity is 5x higher and will keep loving it.
Alicia, please explain this some more more to Matt.
All you need now is MacSpeech.
Instead of typing, you can speak text and really go for broke, so to speak.
Lord. Have. Mercy. On. Us. All.
Glad you’re enjoying the new “productivity item,” aka big boys toy.
Wow. First a post comparing race (non voluntary) to career choice (voluntary)*; and now this incoherent causal hypothesis as to why you’re not procrastinating more? The gigs up pal. Where’s Bill Easterly?
*refering to your post about ‘bankerism’ and ‘racism’
Hershey, please relax–if you want academic papers, I have lots on my web site.
Wisdom from Adam Engst: “In contrast, the iPad becomes the app you’re using. That’s part of the magic. The hardware is so understated – it’s just a screen, really – and because you manipulate objects and interface elements so smoothly and directly on the screen, the fact that you’re using an iPad falls away. You’re using the app, whatever it may be, and while you’re doing so, the iPad is that app. Switch to another app and the iPad becomes that app. If that’s not magic, I don’t know what is.”
Source: http://db.tidbits.com/article/11152
The iPad lets the user interact with the software in a very personal way, without many of the distractions and abstraction layers of a traditional computer (both hardware and software). It makes some pretty big tradeoffs to achieve this, but for some people and some tasks, it’s definitely worth it.
@Bill Easterly Imposter: Touché
Must I point out that a condom made out of chocolate may be the most effective ways to promote oral condom usage, yet that doesn’t mean it’s an actually useful measure for preventing the mouth herpes.
Just because people use it doesn’t mean that it’s a step forward
In the case of the iPad, you’ll notice that it’s really more of a viewing device rather than one focused on original content creation. Right now you’re having fun playing with it, but if you maintain your current usage levels the proportion of blog posts to you watching funny Youtube videos of feline antics and Glee reruns will inevitably shift toward the kitties and pubescent renditions of Don’t Stop Believing.
Not that I do much else even with my physical keyboard… but that’s not the point…
we will see more miracles of technology in the near futur.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by William Easterly, @mikegechter's RSS. @mikegechter's RSS said: Mysteries of technological miracles: I just did a tech upgrade and my productivity has quintupled. And I don’t kno… http://bit.ly/aMjuKQ [...]
[...] Bill Easterly writes about how much he loves his iPad. This is ironic for the man who sees the world divided between searchers and planners, and who complains about the grip of planners. The iPad is a testament to control-freakery by one man on a grand scale. Steve Jobs controls the design down to the last detail – some of it sensible, such as the beautiful shape; and some of it daft, such as preventing users from changing their own batteries. He limits consumer choice – you have to use iTunes, you can only use apps approved by Apple, no USB ports, you can’t use Flash etc – in the interests of guaranteeing what he believes is the best possible consumer experience. And some consumers – including Bill Easterly, apparently – like to have decisions made for them in return for having something that just works. Sounds just like Millennium Villages… [...]