[Air-L] why iPad

Sarah Oates s.oates at lbss.gla.ac.uk
Fri Jul 16 04:09:59 PDT 2010


I think danah boyd illuminates the relevant point -- the iPad can change
the way in which we share/use our devices. Although in practical terms
it is probably not the 'right' tool for many social scientists (who tend
to use specialist software etc.) it is a tool that can launch a 'sense
of wonder' at technology. This then becomes a question of how design
affects technology affects the human experience ... a concept with which
I became acquainted when I did a joint project with design folk. I think
the real power of the iPad is in the sense of wonder (even more so then
with the iTouch etc.), which is a bit ineluctable but still quite
powerful. Certainly that is the approach taken with the iPhone 4 ads
here in the UK with the emphasis on the video phone. 

Personally, I intend to buy an iTouch to play with during departmental
meetings AND to annoy my colleagues because none of them have one yet. 

Sarah 

Sarah Oates
Professor of Political Communication 
University of Glasgow
Glasgow G12 8RT
United Kingdom
 
Telephone: 0141-330-5124
Fax: 0141-330-5071
Email: s.oates at lbss.gla.ac.uk
www.media-politics.com
 

-----Original Message-----
From: air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org
[mailto:air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Janna Anderson
Sent: 16 July 2010 11:56
To: danah boyd; Barry Wellman
Cc: aoir list
Subject: Re: [Air-L] why iPad

The iPad has amazing battery life compared with a laptop computer; it
has
four times more long-lasting power than a laptop for field work. It is
also
a great travel-work-pleasure device - you can store dozens of films,
hundreds of documents, books, etc. and access them easily on long
flights,
in airports, in hotels with sketchy wifi or ridiculous fees for
Internet.
You can watch an entire season of "Dr. Who" while traveling to
Australia,
for instance, no worries.

On 7/15/10 11:11 PM, "danah boyd" <aoir.z3z at danah.org> wrote:

> Personally, I bought an iPad for field research and it's been great so
far.
> What I needed was a reliable web browser that I could show to people I
> interview.  And the AT&T plan - as evil as it is - was a lot cheaper
than any
> of the laptop aircards and required much less commitment.
> 
> In the process, I learned something important.  When I put a computer
in front
> of someone, people face the screen. I can watch them OR I can watch
the
> screen.  Watching both is awkward and creates odd social dynamics
because I
> have to sit next to the person. With the iPad, I could put it down on
a table
> between us and watch the person's face while watching where they
browse,
> albeit upside-down, but that's easy when I'm not trying to read the
exact
> content.  Shared browsing is very easy to accommodate and it's quite
easy to
> go through sites with someone.
> 
> I'm not using it for taking notes or other text-heavy processes.  I'm
looking
> to browse. And not to mimic browsing that one does on a computer.
Just
> outright stare-at-screen browsing while in the midst of an interview.
And I'm
> very happy with it.
> 
> danah
> 
> 
> On Jul 15, 2010, at 6:07 PM, Barry Wellman wrote:
> 
>> After all the hype, I can't figger out why someone (even at Duke)
would use
>> an iPad rather than a netbook for their research. Sounds like kewl
won over
>> functionality. If I'm taking notes, I'd rather have a real keyboard.
If I'm
>> doing other stuff, I'd rather have the plethora of applications
running on
>> Win7/XP or MacOX than on the little apps running on iPods and iPhones
with
>> their baby OS. -- I've been using the iPhone 3GS for months now as a
pocket
>> phone etc and am continually frustrated on what it can't do.
>> End iRant. End PodHype
>> 
>> Barry Wellman
>>
_______________________________________________________________________
>> 
>>  S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology, FRSC               NetLab
Director
>>  Department of Sociology                  725 Spadina Avenue, Room
388
>>  University of Toronto   Toronto Canada M5S 2J4
twitter:barrywellman
>>  http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman
fax:+1-416-978-3963
>>  Updating history:
http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php
>>
_______________________________________________________________________
>> 
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> 
> ------
> 
> "taken out of context, i must seem so strange" -- ani
> http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/
> http://www.danah.org/
> @zephoria
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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-- 
Janna Quitney Anderson
Director of Imagining the Internet
www.imaginingtheinternet.org

Associate Professor of Communications
Director of Internet Projects
School of Communications
Elon University
andersj at elon.edu
(336) 278-5733 (o)





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