iPad

[Misfit]

BTW I meant the general public's interest (or Windowsphiles at least) not mine. I prefer Apple's idea of tailoring the OS and apps to the device rather than running desktop stuff on it. YMMV as it's 2 ways of thinking, much like designing websites to cope well with mobiles vs. making mobiles better at showing sites that are designed for a desktop. A good argument in favour of the full OSX or Windows if we are making this comparison is how well Safari has helped the iPhone so it's not one sided at all. But personally I like the way they've gone with the iPad and think it could trigger some great ideas.

I agree completely that is exactly what I want too. I've used enough tablets and umpcs to know that the current desktop operating systems just don't work in that format.

I still really want to be able to play the BBC's embedded media. Don't care about flash games though (which, let's face it is the real reason Apple don't want flash working in the browser).

[Guru-Meditation]

I probably wouldn't want Flash on there in the first place. By poor netbook grumbles something awful if too much flash is going on, and I don't think whatever chip is in the iPad will be much more power behind it than the Atom N270. And even if it could display Flash it'd be a nasty battery hog.

Sorry if this has been linked before, but saw this on reddit: http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook - Interesting for those seeking the Wacom tablet/Notebook all in one device.

[Deckard]

Some serious competition from Google http://gizmodo.com/5461948/is-this-how- ... -in-action
[youtube]debO2FroXA0&feature[/youtube]

[benedictw]

Thats pretty cool - but isn't that going to require a pretty big and/or highres screen to work well?

[Cloudane]

The Google thing certainly looks interesting. Can't quite figure out what gestures are being used yet.

I was thinking on the issue of the convergence of the "touch" OS (iPhone/Touch/iPad) and the "desktop" OS (full OS X). My initial thoughts were that Apple's long term goal would be to concentrate more heavily on the growing the touch version and moulding the way that we use computers to be more task-based like the iPad rather than the all-in-one lump of the desktop. They'd get Adobe to develop a touch rewrite of Photoshop or more likely develop their own competitor and create new innovations for working with images, lots of things like that. Possibly we'd have an "iDesk" in place of an iMac, etc (and there are strong rumours of a touchscreen iMac coming soon so it could be a step in that direction). Basically in Star Trek terms we've got the Padd, and now they'll give us the consoles

It'd be an interesting development if a lot of thought was put into it, and Apple would *love* it as it'd give them an excuse to have everything go through the App Store, giving them full control and some very tidy profits.

But... I think they know as well as we do that vast numbers of people (myself included) would not be pleased if they started down a long term path of making the touch based systems the next major generation of Mac and ditching the "classic" OS X (something that they'd do over the course of a decade or so but which would be quite noticeable and painful to watch!). So my theory has updated a bit - OS XI. A near-complete rewrite of the Mac OS, designed from the ground up to be "input method independent" - great to use either in the traditional mouse+keyboard way or by touch, with an interface that simplifies or complicates depending on whether it's installed on an iPad or a Mac Pro for example. The App Store would be present on all systems of course, but installation of non-appstore software would also be enabled - but only on the Pro range.

Just some idle thoughts really. To be honest I'm probably thinking way ahead here - Apple are known more for incremental updates nowadays than revolutions (iPhone excepted).


Edit: OT sidenote, just got news that the noisy fan(s) in my Macbook Pro have been replaced. It was dropped off less than 2 hours ago. That's MUCH better! I'd say they've redeemed themselves for the 18 day iMac repair for that. The tablet is now penned in to the shopping list

[VNVObit]

By Tablet do you mean SOMA

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/20 ... s-naughton

Currently reading Brave New World Revisited so this article intrigued me

so get ready for years to be restated as AJ (After Jobs)

[matt303]

The thing is the internet is a very fluid, within years user-bases can shift dramatically, Yahoo -> Google, MySpace -> Facebook -> Twitter. Never underestimate the ability of people to get bored with something and distracted by the next big thing, the same goes with consumer electronics brands portable music was once Sony's Walkman but now it's Apples iPod. It used to be that IBM was the big controlling IT monolith, then MS and now Apple/Google, it only takes them to miss the next big thing and there will be a new King in town.

As a very big cycle manufacturer says "Innovate or Die" and it's very easy to run out of inovation.

[Cloudane]

The Grauniad article has some interesting points, but I'm not sure we're walking into an Apple-controlled world just yet. Not while we still also use PCs, Linux, Windows and to a certain extent desktop Macs, exactly for the freedom to install and use whatever we like however we like. I don't think demand for this will go away.

The key difference between the scary picture he's painting and the way I and I'm sure most iPhone/Touch/soon-to-be-iPad users treat the situation is that we like Apple having control of these (specific) things. It is, basically, a managed system. They do all the testing, filtering out malware and making sure everything works, which leaves us to just "get on with it". Sure, any self respecting geek is perfectly good at doing all that him or herself, but it's a great feeling being able to just let someone else worry about it for a change, and I think that's one of the key factors that makes the products of this control freak company so enjoyable to use (great interfaces aside), and why we so easily forgive them when the various restrictions sometimes affect us.

Do I want that on the desktop? NO. Well, yes and no - I want a bit of a compromise, which is exactly how the Macs and OS X are, and I want a second machine that I have complete control over, which is why I also have a PC with Linux and Windows. Do I want it on the iPad and similar 'devices/appliances' though? YES!
Much like I'm not bothered about not being able to install a third party interface on the TV or whatever. It's a TV, I'd rather Panasonic look after it - even if it means the sharpness control increments in 10s instead of 1s. It's the compromise we make when leaving the task to someone else.

There's nothing wrong with them having control where you want them to. It's if they start imposing control in areas where we don't want it (such as, as I've been discussing earlier, something evil like closing up the desktop Mac OS to its own App Store) then we should start to worry. As it is, we should keep an eye on it, but I don't think it's quite 1984.

[WiteWulf]

That was kinda my attitude towards OS X. I'd used Linux and/or NetBSD on the desktop for a few years after finally getting hacked off with Windows and found myself spending as much (if not more) time fiddling with settings and recompiling kernels and software as I did actually using the machines. It wasn't until a friend showed me you could actually bring up a bash prompt on OS X and, even better, actually compile and run software (including a large part of the debian ports tree) that I started loving Macs.

I've now got an incredibly powerful unix-based desktop machine with a corporate beast looking after the OS and (most of) the drivers leaving me to get on with actually using the machine as work tool. I can't think of many things I can do on a Linux box that I can't do on OS X, in fact I spend more time swearing at brain-dead java and web interfaces that only work properly on Internet Explorer, a pain I'm sure Open Source users share.

I realise I'm not going to have as much 'freedom' with an iPad, but I already live with that with my iPhone and it rarely causes me any grief.

[Darkflame]

I dont see why you cant have both on the same device.
Have a closed system that boots quickly and is tight and stable...but also have the option to booting to a more full OS.

You already see this with PC's and "InstantON" style stuff. ChromeOS could well be set up to do the same.

With all the dozens of tablets before this, someone could just release Android or Chrome or something for it and have it as a boot option (or default).

Much like I'm not bothered about not being able to install a third party interface on the TV or whatever. I

But would you want sony/Panasonic or whoever makes your TV dictating what you can watch?
Or at any time be able to whip your video collection?

I dont mind a closed hardware system so much, but complete software control unnerves me.

[Misfit]

I dont mind a closed hardware system so much, but complete software control unnerves me.

People have the option to vote with their wallet.

A great majority of the market for these devices aren't techie and don't frequent all the forums, web sites and places that get upset about these things. It's those people Apple want. The rest of us will wait impatiently for our jailbreaks and hopefully get the best of both worlds....

[Cloudane]

But would you want sony/Panasonic or whoever makes your TV dictating what you can watch?
Or at any time be able to whip your video collection?

In terms of music or videos, I'd just add my own indie or porn or whatever, which you're allowed to do in iTunes.

Apps, well, there's a jailbreak for that and I'm sure there will be for the iPad before long too.

I can't see why they'd remove things, that's probably just an arse-covering clause in their terms somewhere. Everyone uses those.

[melbourne]

Nottingham 3rd inline for new shiny apple thingy. Main reason love my iphone and this will be an amazing siting on sofa fidling device.
I cant stop saying itab though , its just ipad is to sanitory (live with three women).

[Misfit]

Nottingham 3rd inline for new shiny apple thingy. Main reason love my iphone and this will be an amazing siting on sofa fidling device.
I cant stop saying itab though , its just ipad is to sanitory (live with three women).

Do you mean you've preordered one in Nottingham? If so, where from? I was just going to place an online order...

[melbourne]

Nottingham 3rd inline for new shiny apple thingy. Main reason love my iphone and this will be an amazing siting on sofa fidling device.
I cant stop saying itab though , its just ipad is to sanitory (live with three women).

Do you mean you've preordered one in Nottingham? If so, where from? I was just going to place an online order...

Apple store in :
Nottingham
Victoria Centre,
(upper level),
Nottingham,
NG1 3QQ

Tel: 0115 941 5675
You need to put 20% deposit down , but they will match the uk price when announced, get 3g mate and we can go for a pint and browse in a pub on our new ita....ipads!