\n — @adurdin is thinking aloud

The iPad does not have a Graphical User Interface but a gestural one. GUI design guidelines do not necessarily apply when users can interact directly with the content.

» Usability Ain’t Everything – A Response to Jakob Nielsen’s iPad Usability Study Johnny Holland – It’s all about interaction  » Blog Archive

What a load of nonsense. On the iPad, you don’t interact directly with the content, no more than you do on a desktop or with paper documents. All interaction is done through a medium, and UX design is all about understanding the medium and working with it’s advantages and disadvantages to achieve a desired end.

And the iPad’s user interface still has far more in common with a desktop computer than it does with any physical medium. All the user input and visual output is mediated through the touchscreen.