Programming Legend Bill Atkinson Says iPad Will Be a Hit

Leander Kahney ()

Programming Legend Bill Atkinson Says iPad Will Be a Hit

Programming legend Bill Atkinson demos a mockup of his PhotoCard app at Macworld on a dummy iPad he made for himslef. Photo: Leander Kahney.

SAN FRANCISCO, MACWORLD 2010 — Programmer Bill Atkinson, one of the lead authors of the original Mac system, says the iPad will be a big success — and that you have to play with it to understand the magic of the multitouch interface.

“This guy is going to be a real winner,” he said, holding up a model he’d made for himself to visualize how his PhotoCard app would look on the device. Atkinson took part in Guy Kawasaki’s Friday morning keynote presentation.

“Once you get it in your hands and play with it you don’t want to set it down,” he continued. “I think Apple’s got a hit on their hands here.”

Atkinson said he’d played with an iPad for a couple of hours. It’s not a laptop and its not an iPhone, he said, but an entirely new, third device. The magic is in using your fingers to directly manipulate elements onscreen.

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About the author

Leander Kahney

is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

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Posted in Apple Tablet, iPad, Macworld, Tablet, Top stories |

  • robinson

    Good blurb! Atkinson’s a great guy and programmer.

    What is PhotoCard?

    Also, will he bring a version of HyperCard that venerable interface, programming system to the iPad?

    That would be wicked cool!

  • http://retromaccast.ning.com/profile/JamesWages James Wages

    It’s intriguing how so many recognize Mr. Atkinson’s past achievements (e.g., comments like “great guy and programmer”) yet are oblivious to his current work, which actually has been his work for many years. He is now primarily a photographer and card creator. Learn more about the cards on his website here:

    http://www.billatkinson.com/aboutPhotoCard.html

    Atkinson does not dwell in the past. I wrote him a few month ago inquiring about his amazing programming feat of editable text (mentioned on Folklore) in the original Mac 128k version of MacPaint. That feature never made it into the shipping version of MacPaint, but I was inquiring if he still had the code. (Being a vintage Mac fan and 128k owner, I wanted to tinker with it.) Mr. Atkinson kindly wrote me an email response saying that code was long gone. He concluded his email with a mention of his card work. And while one could argue that his PhotoCard app required “programming,” the technical side is not what he is focused on now. His work now is photography and card artwork.

    Anyway, for those of us who do like to dwell in the past, here is the story about editable text in the first version of MacPaint, a feature that was never released:

    http://folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=MacPaint_Evolution.txt

  • http://www.imleavingyoutheshow.com Justin Edge

    Undoubtedly this is an entire new category, the fledgling marketing campaign has already told us that. It is unlike anything the tech community has ever seen; it is certainly a ground breaking device.

    However, no doubt Apple has some concerns about it hurting their laptop sales, which in turn could lower their revenue for this coming fiscal year.

    With a screen this large and the ability to manipulate everything with your hands, this is shaping up to be not only an ereader, browser, movie watching, and gaming device, but an excellent word processing device as well. I foresee some excellent word processing software (read–an amped up iPad version of AppsToGo that syncs with desktop documents) that makes use of multitouch technology to do everything from highlighting to composing marginalia.

    In short, I’m buying one of these unquestionably. What I’m not buying is a laptop because I no longer see the need.

  • http://VirtualOutpost.com Walt Sellers

    I bought a MacBook recently and don’t regret it. An iPad can’t replace it for me. But, I’ll be buying an iPad for more than just my App development. Yes, Apple probably did hurt MacBook sales in the short-term. If they weren’t willing to take a bite out of their own market, someone else would do it eventually. Its pretty incredible to see a big company go after an unproven market with lower profit, but higher margin. “The Innovator’s Dilemma” must be one of the first eBooks Apple will sell.

    In the long-run, MacBook sales may increase as more developers get the Macs required to build Apps for the iPhone family. And as more people are impressed by the iPad, more people may stop by the Apple Store to see what else they can do (while looking to buy iPads.)

    I already wish my MacBook had a multitouch monitor though.

  • Ron

    When I learned of the ipad I actally got the brilliant idea o sell my MBP due o old age and purchase a quad-core iMac. I can now use my blazing fast iMac as the cener pce for my tech/enertainment/studio. It seems as a great plan, one roadblock however is that my screen on my 27imac is not up to professional sandards IMO (one rplaced should be fine) I’m on my way to exchange my new iMac and qestioning if I should be waiting out for the MBP i5?? The benifit of that is to have a studio capable laptop that I can use with my external monitor. However I’m still leaning towards wanting a desktop, to avoid having to plug and unplug cables daily. The best solution may be to continue with the plan, keep the iMac – and ventur towards ipad for mobile needs which demand little power or jus get a cheaper MacBook downthe road to use alngside of my iMac. Any thoughts?