This has been making the rounds on Twitter (the picture was first posted on the Facebook page of W&CIE):
It’s a powerful image, and accurate.
Interestingly, though, the iPad and other appliance-like devices have actually had the opposite effect on non-mobile-phone computing. Many of the activities one used to do on a general-purpose personal computer are now done on machines better suited to the task at hand.
This is my personal setup. I still have a laptop, but the only thing I use it for is photo editing. I read long-form on a Kindle; use Twitter, play games, and draw on the iPad;1 write on a Pixel (I’m a believer); and watch movies from iTunes and Netflix on an AppleTV. Each of these products has competitors (Nook, Android, Xbox), but all are simple, always up-to-date, and maintenance-free.
As I wrote in The iPad and the Disaggregation of Computing,
The divergent effects of the iPhone and iPad make total sense when looked at from a human-centered perspective. The phone is often the only device you have when out-and-about, so the more capable the better; the iPad is usually used when stationary, when it’s more conceivable to have multiple devices at hand. In fact, while my Mini is perfect for reading, a larger iPad would be nice for the graphics I make for this blog. And, if one has a choice, why wouldn’t one want to use the best possible tool for the job?
This has massive strategic implications. More on Adobe tomorrow.
Ironically enough, today’s is the first drawing that I didn’t do electronically ↩