| I love computers. I am a Computer Nerd. I think computers are an important technology, not just a fun one. You, and others here, who dislike the sentiment that something like the iPad could profoundly change someone's life, seem like you want to keep the magic of computation to yourselves. You denigrate design for humans as "marketing" and you demand to categorize the iPad as just another in a long line of Von Neumann machines. It's not. And the Mission hipsters taking photos of their MacBooks with digital SLRs make me want to vomit. This is not about them. It's about an old man who was cut off from computation--something I think is immensely valuable--and now has access to it. Computation is important. Access to computation is important. You're right that talking about some new bullshit gadget as a religious miracle is embarrassing. I get that. But you know what? Turing completeness is a miracle. Interactive computing is a religious miracle. The mouse is a religious miracle. And this guy's dad being able to use a computer for the first time, after decades of being unable? Kind of a miracle in my book. I'm sorry if that embarrasses you. |
You have to read a lot into the post to come up with that interpretation.