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Comment by cooldeal | Hacker News Reader

I don't know how far the analogy holds up. After all, microwave is not very programmable(in the computing sense) nor so restrictive.

Did the microwave only cook food that was specially labeled microwaveable(and food grocers had to pay 30% of the price of food to the microwave manufacturer to get that special label) ? Isn't that what happens with the iPad?

Eg. The free Sony e-reader app was rejected, Readability was rejected. Kindle and Netflix are on the chopping block if they don't pay up by June 30th, same with any apps for magazine or content subscriptions. Microwaves never had these restrictions.

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Did the microwave only cook food that was specially labeled microwaveable

Yes. It's mostly mediocre at cooking traditional recipes, but great with foods that are specially designed for it, some of which wouldn't otherwise be feasible.

and food grocers had to pay 30% of the price of food to the microwave manufacturer to get that special label

If there were legal and technical means to license microwaveable food, I'm sure someone would do it.

> If there were legal and technical means to license microwaveable food, I'm sure someone would do it.

http://www.google.com/patents?q=microwaveable&btnG=Searc...

My concern is actually in a different direction: that people will enjoy the restricting tool too much. In the microwave analogy it would be that people enjoy the convenience of microwaves so much that they abandon reguarly cooked food for packaged microwave-ready food completely.

Not that that happened with microwaves, but it seems like the danger's greater with the iPad.

The iPad is designed for consumption (yes, I know there are instances of people creating awesome stuff with the iPad, but I think it's generally true that its basic purpose is consumption) and the interaction bandwidth is so low that it discourages content production by users, which is what makes the internet so great. It degrades the great promise of all of the new technology we've been creating.

Actually, for many Americans, I'm afraid the microwave has replaced their oven, and average food quality has suffered as a result. In an odd twist, my family usually cooks fully homemade food since it's healthier, but the microwave oven is still useful.

As of yet, no one cares. That might change but it hasn’t already.

>Did the microwave only cook food that was specially labeled microwaveable

No, but it's a bad idea to use dishes that aren't specially labeled microwaveable. And, with older microwaves, metal was right out. (Apparently things are better these days?)

I think it applies to tablets in general rather then to the iPad

Most tablets don't have a gatekeeper deciding what apps you can run.

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