As a developer, I can’t help but be excited whenever Apple comes up with a new product. I have never been as satisfied with a computer as I am with my MacBook. But where will Apple’s new iPad shine? Two things: games and web apps

The app store has seen a flood of games, countless versions of Sudoku, Chess, Solitaire, and others have created so much competition that for a lone programmer, any time spent developing a new game is almost completely wasted. Only large game companies like EA can afford to release games for the Apple App Store, and successfully charge for them. The iPad, with its 1024×768 screen, will give them the capability to make much more satisfying games than with the iPod/iPhone. The multi-touch interface and accelerometers make for extremely fun and novel ways of interacting with software as well.

But in my opinion, it is the web which holds the greatest potential for iPad development. For decades, ever since the web boomed, visionaries have dreamed of using the web as an application platform and operating system. Only last year Google announced that they would be creating a netbook which would store all it’s programs and data on the web.

But web apps aren’t as beautiful as native apps. No wonder Apple is blocking Adobe’s flash and Microsoft’s Silverlight from its iPods, iPhones and now the iPad. These technologies could allow for more aesthetically pleasing and powerful web applications. Nevertheless, the onset of new standards, like HTML5, will soon break Apple’s blockade. Here is where I would invest my time as a developer.

I resent Apple’s benevolent dictator attitude. There is very little customization in their operating systems. Although this allows for more beauty and better performance, I resent having to force my device to do my bidding.

I use the OS X terminal window and resort to Unix commands when I need to do something my MacBook doesn’t want me to. There is no legal option in iPhones or iPods to do something similar, because all content is locked down through a media store, and an app store. The process of getting an app approved is notoriously byzantine in difficulty. But the web is free, and any attempt by Apple to force me to use their services is defeated by the web’s openness.

I predict I will eventually get an iPad, in a few years, when version 2 or three comes out, cheaper and with less restrictions. I don’t expect to get on the App Store gold rush mentality either. As a freelance developer I can’t afford to expend my effort on a program with a limited audience. The web is the future, the web is free, the web is device-independent. Viva la Web!

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