I use the following two media on a daily basis. This is only a sampling.
iPhone
Like many Apple products, the iPhone is has become incredibly transparent, and I would rank it at a 10. I use it to check the time (at this point, I no longer miss wearing a watch), to communicate (make a call, check email and send texts), to make simple editing changes using mobile Word, to access Facebook, and to check my finanical account. My iPhone is my only existing phone, and I take it everywhere with me. I once forgot it at home and could think of nothing else all day. iPhone's opacity level is quite low because Apple does not share its code or inner workings. Most functions can be set with an on/off button, but how it actually works is unknown to the average user..
iPad
As another Apple product, the iPad is incredibly transparent and has a low opacity level. I use it daily. I'm especially excited about it lately because I found out recently that I can download mobil Word and use download it through the deal UNO made with Microsoft. I was almost ready to pay the $99/year to use it on my iPad when I discovered that I only simply needed to log in using my UNO userid. This was good news because I want to use the iPad to take notes in meetings, to write notes to myself, and to essentially use it as a laptop computer (especially with the new bluetooth keyboard I just bought for it). I could use Pages, but then I'd have to export each document in order to use it on other platforms. What's especially good about mobile Word is that it syncs with my dropbox storage. Of course, its opacity level is still low because I don't actually know how it works beyond the fact that it talks to my network through algorithms, which is quite foreign to me.
Both the iPhone and iPad provide many affordances, especially a transportable work station, so to speak. One of the most obvious limitations of this technology is that it is reliant on a network system to be effective. I have a fairly good data plan with Sprint for my iPhone that has worked almost anywhere I have tried it. The only place it doesn't work great is in my classroom. I don't have a data plan for my iPad so I have to rely on WIFI, which has not been a huge problem. However, now that I know I can use Word on my iPad and connect it to dropbox, I'm seriously considering it. I think the iPad is going to become a huge part of most of the social practices associated with work, especially because I have a notoriously bad memory and the portability of the iPad will enable me to take notes quickly. I could simply use a notebook, but as I get older, my handwriting has gotten worse that even I have a difficult time reading it. I feel I'll be more in control as long as my iPad and its bluetooth keyboard are charged.
I consider myself to be a hacker only to the extent that I can set preferences in most of the software I use. I can especially turn off or create automated features that make my work easier.
I was/am considering the iPhone so it is good to hear such a positive review. I think that transparency is one of the greatest selling points of Apple products. The iPad would be very convenient because of the transportable work station aspect, like you mentioned. I have a friend from China who carries hers with her everywhere when she travels back here because she can access whatever documents/videos she needs. It definitely seems to be highly transparent.
ReplyDeleteReading your post made me think of a huge constraint of smartphones like the iPhone in addition to reliance on a network—battery life. I constantly see people plugging in their phones throughout the day. Whenever I'm out late with people, someone (and sometimes everyone) will almost certainly say "My phone's dead." The amount we use and reuse our phones drains the battery so quickly that we can't even go 12-16 hours without having to recharge. I've even seen people with multiple batteries or portable chargers who understand their battery will die and cannot—or will not, by choice—be without their phone.
ReplyDeleteI see now that I did not fully comprehend the assignment. I actually see how those two devices are considered transparent and less so opaque. I have an I-Phone and I do know how to put on the settings and make my preferences but I do not think that is hacker ability because you are supposed to use it for that kind of thing. When I think of manipulating technology or software, it is forcing it or using it for something other than what it was intended. I do not have an I-Pad but I do know it has become increasingly popular to use instead of an actual laptop. From people i know close to me, you have a desktop premium built computer or you have a slim, quick, easy, for-on-the-go, I-Pad. I would also have to agree that this technology will grow and become common technology in many households, and changing the personal preferences will be easier and more hackers will be trying to use the technology in more innovative ways.
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