arseniii
Well-known
No multitasking = no love! I'd rather go for a Nexus One from google as an engineer I like things that can be adjusted to my liking.! As for Apple they say "hey, this is the best thing and you have to use it as it is" - I do not like this concept@!
Matus
Well-known
Ehm, am I the only one being concerned about the lifetime of a large laptop-lie display that is exposed to environment all the time? How would you put the iPad in you carry-on luggage and prevent it from accidental damage in the overhead compartment?
I would prefer to see something similar that folds in two halves without leaving any border when opened (asking too much I guess).
I would prefer to see something similar that folds in two halves without leaving any border when opened (asking too much I guess).
Accessories my friend. There is a cover for it, sold separately.
Jamie123
Veteran
No flash really kills this for me. How can you comfortably surf the web without using flash?
Anyways, is there any way this could be used to shoot tethered with an external HD attached?
Anyways, is there any way this could be used to shoot tethered with an external HD attached?
BillBingham2
Registered User
I look at it as carrying a magazine and putting it into the pocket of the seat ahead of you. The concept of the two halves is great but with screen technology where it is now you get a big black line down the middle when you are trying to watch a movie or view a picture across both screens.
For me this is not a replacement for a smart phone or a PC, it's something new that I can view things on. Now I have to admit that using this with Skype is going to be very cool. I do wish that they had a better way to quickly move between apps like the old Mac OS6. But it could just be a learning thing I need to get over.
The lack of flash is a pain a so much today is working around it. I'm hoping Apple will get of their butts and get this going. Can't figure out why they are not interested in it? My read says money/payment they want but I'm not sure. I'm surprised someone hasn't succeeded in hacking one together yet. The old time Apple developer community was chock full of hackers. Captain Crunch where are you?!?!?!
B2 (;->
I could care less about this for photography... I just want it to chill on the couch and surf the web and watch a movie or two.
From certain angles it does, but once you get it in your hand, you'll see the difference is clear.
Pickett Wilson
Veteran
My idea of enjoying a movie sure isn't holding a pad and watching it on an 8" x 10" screen for two hours. Heck, the whole family could have them, each sitting in the living room, and each watching a different movie at the same time. Talking about togetherness.
Welcome to the future.
Welcome to the future.
BillBingham2
Registered User
How does that differ from sitting in a dark room watching a movie on a projector or for that matter in a living room on a big screen? Watching TV or a movie is not my idea of togetherness. Sure it's fun when you are first going out, but being able to sit together and not say anything till it's over IMHO does not do anything for building relationships, sharing or learning.
B2 (;->
I live alone... no one will be offended and sometimes, when the power is out, it'll come in handy. It is also a nice vacation / commute machine. It's an individual's machine, not a machine to use at the same time with your entire family.
BillBingham2
Registered User
I'm really interested in how iTunesU will change with it. After I get done with finding a job and my last masters class I have a lot I want to go through. All the Ted.com stuff I want to listen to, to me this is a great personal device that will allow me to do a lot. The same way there are sites made just for IE, I will live without flash. My MacBook is great for what it does, but when it comes time to replace it, it will be with a Mac Mini.
This will be a lot easier to read with anywhere than my laptop which can not do portrait. The iPad will just feel more like reading a piece of paper than a computer.
B2 (;->
This will be a lot easier to read with anywhere than my laptop which can not do portrait. The iPad will just feel more like reading a piece of paper than a computer.
B2 (;->
Paul T.
Veteran
It will get a fair amount of business, just in its eBook incarnation. Before, the Kindle looked most-likely-to, but most publishers hate Amazon because they abuse their monopoly position (several publishers, including Hachette, had all their books pulled from Amazon in a pricing dispute). If you're an editor, reading manuscripts, the iPad saves printing out huge stacks of paper - the fact you'll be able to do basic wordprocessing is a huge bonus.
One fantascit feature Fred doesn't have the benefot of is BBC iPlayer - it works brilliantly on the iPod touch, free video on demand over WiFi. We all watched Dr Who together over Christmas, then watched it again the next day, snuggled up in bed - would have been even better iwth the iPad.
And, of course, teenagers in search of porn can conceal it under the duvet, and it's wipe-clean, unlike a netbook!
One fantascit feature Fred doesn't have the benefot of is BBC iPlayer - it works brilliantly on the iPod touch, free video on demand over WiFi. We all watched Dr Who together over Christmas, then watched it again the next day, snuggled up in bed - would have been even better iwth the iPad.
And, of course, teenagers in search of porn can conceal it under the duvet, and it's wipe-clean, unlike a netbook!
BillBingham2
Registered User
That's really sad as the first really big supporter of Postscript and Adobe was the Apple Macintosh and Laser Writer.
I look back over 30 years in IT and think of all the great solutions that bit the dust over silly crap like that. I think Capitalism is like Democracy, it ain't perfect but it's the best thing so far.
B2 (;->
Pickett Wilson
Veteran
And, besides. The Ipad is cool and new. So why not? None of us need another camera. 
dcsang
Canadian & Not A Dentist
My take on all this (via a LONG post on FB - my apologies):
I read that Gizmodo thing last night. ( http://i.gizmodo.com/5458382/8-things-that-suck-about-the-ipad )
You know, where they bitch and moan about the iPad being not what THEY wanted.
While I can agree with some of the complaints they listed (the name, multitasking, for example); a lot of the other complaints lack support and, to be honest, some of them apply to all laptops/netbooks etc. So singling them out in a list of why one item "sucks" over something else doesn't garner you any credence imho.
Let me see if I can say why some of the objections are, well, silly:
1) Camera
- a front facing camera, sure, I can see that if you wanted to have an iChat with your iFriends or such but a REAR facing camera? Have you ever seen a 4x5 or 8x10 view camera? Can you imaging holding this 6x8" tablet up and using it like a camera phone? How dumb would that look?
2) Bezel Size
- horses for courses - Gizmodo themselves state that it's not a good thing to accidentally input something when you're just holding onto the item but apparently the bezel is "too big" - so who's fingers/thumbs do you use as a guide, mine or Andre the Giants?
3) Touch Keyboad
-"this is the same big, ugly touchscreen keyboard we've seen on other tablets," - 'nuff said - the revolution will have to come from someone else regarding this item - it appears no one gets it right but apparently that's Apple's fault in Gizmodo's eyes
4) No HDMI Out
- yep, this would be cool, but you also have to remember the type of company that Apple is. It's not like ASUS or ACER or Fujitsu or such - they have content to deliver and the more people they can get to buy into the delivery system (which includes the hardware of all sorts/types) the better. They ain't gonna give away the farm. I wonder if any of current hardware companies would do anything different if they too were deliverers of not just hardware but content as well.
5) No Flash Support
- I used to think Flash was the best thing ever. Seriously. But then, of course, there's only so many times when trying to browse a site that one likes to get inundated with someone elses music while trying to hunt the page for the "off" switch or the "skip intro" links. Flash is not supported by the iPhone or iPod Touch either. I personally don't care for it but I do understand it's usefulness - that said I have heard that it will be "replaced" in HTML 5 via HTML5 video but even that's up in the air with respect to FireFox (which doesn't impact the Apple mobile products . . . .yet).
6) Adapters
- I'm looking at my laptop right now, every single thing that's plugged into it requires a USB cable or some, yes, adapter to attach to another system. I would agree that Apple's adapters may be clunky and awkward but what does one expect, to magically teleport things back and forth via brainwaves... I bet the thing will have bluetooth in it at some point (if it doesn't already - remember the iPod touch?) and that may help but until then you're going to have to use SOMETHING to connect your devices to the thing - same goes for netbooks and laptops - so it's no different.
All in all, Apple's new device looks nice but I don't see a need (or a want to be honest) for it. Just like when they announced the Macbook Air - nice for those that could use it or want to use it but not for me.
It seems that no matter what is announced by Apple, there will always be devotees that will say it's the "best thing ever" and there will be detractors that will say that the item "stinks". All I know is, when Apple makes an announcement of this type, even if previous devices existed for umpteen years, it brings those devices to the forefront and allows for those to compete (or update and compete) directly with what Apple has brought to market. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse.
Cheers,
Dave
I read that Gizmodo thing last night. ( http://i.gizmodo.com/5458382/8-things-that-suck-about-the-ipad )
You know, where they bitch and moan about the iPad being not what THEY wanted.
While I can agree with some of the complaints they listed (the name, multitasking, for example); a lot of the other complaints lack support and, to be honest, some of them apply to all laptops/netbooks etc. So singling them out in a list of why one item "sucks" over something else doesn't garner you any credence imho.
Let me see if I can say why some of the objections are, well, silly:
1) Camera
- a front facing camera, sure, I can see that if you wanted to have an iChat with your iFriends or such but a REAR facing camera? Have you ever seen a 4x5 or 8x10 view camera? Can you imaging holding this 6x8" tablet up and using it like a camera phone? How dumb would that look?
2) Bezel Size
- horses for courses - Gizmodo themselves state that it's not a good thing to accidentally input something when you're just holding onto the item but apparently the bezel is "too big" - so who's fingers/thumbs do you use as a guide, mine or Andre the Giants?
3) Touch Keyboad
-"this is the same big, ugly touchscreen keyboard we've seen on other tablets," - 'nuff said - the revolution will have to come from someone else regarding this item - it appears no one gets it right but apparently that's Apple's fault in Gizmodo's eyes
4) No HDMI Out
- yep, this would be cool, but you also have to remember the type of company that Apple is. It's not like ASUS or ACER or Fujitsu or such - they have content to deliver and the more people they can get to buy into the delivery system (which includes the hardware of all sorts/types) the better. They ain't gonna give away the farm. I wonder if any of current hardware companies would do anything different if they too were deliverers of not just hardware but content as well.
5) No Flash Support
- I used to think Flash was the best thing ever. Seriously. But then, of course, there's only so many times when trying to browse a site that one likes to get inundated with someone elses music while trying to hunt the page for the "off" switch or the "skip intro" links. Flash is not supported by the iPhone or iPod Touch either. I personally don't care for it but I do understand it's usefulness - that said I have heard that it will be "replaced" in HTML 5 via HTML5 video but even that's up in the air with respect to FireFox (which doesn't impact the Apple mobile products . . . .yet).
6) Adapters
- I'm looking at my laptop right now, every single thing that's plugged into it requires a USB cable or some, yes, adapter to attach to another system. I would agree that Apple's adapters may be clunky and awkward but what does one expect, to magically teleport things back and forth via brainwaves... I bet the thing will have bluetooth in it at some point (if it doesn't already - remember the iPod touch?) and that may help but until then you're going to have to use SOMETHING to connect your devices to the thing - same goes for netbooks and laptops - so it's no different.
All in all, Apple's new device looks nice but I don't see a need (or a want to be honest) for it. Just like when they announced the Macbook Air - nice for those that could use it or want to use it but not for me.
It seems that no matter what is announced by Apple, there will always be devotees that will say it's the "best thing ever" and there will be detractors that will say that the item "stinks". All I know is, when Apple makes an announcement of this type, even if previous devices existed for umpteen years, it brings those devices to the forefront and allows for those to compete (or update and compete) directly with what Apple has brought to market. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse.
Cheers,
Dave
raid
Dad Photographer
I use a Tablet PC for my lecturing. I have one by Toshiba and one (smaller) by Dell. As a Professor, it is interesting to me what will happen when students start "studying" with IPads and similar gadgets when in class.
squirrel$$$bandit
Veteran
For their first class yesterday, my writing workshop students brought in paragraphs from books that they liked, in order to read them aloud. And 4 of the 15 were reading them off of iPhones.
MaxElmar
Well-known
I was really considering a iTouch for a portable photo calculator. A fair number of apps (DOF, sunrise/set, exposure calculators) for photographers are out there. It also would make a nice notepad to record notes about film work. iPad might be even better...
I'm pretty happy it doesn't have a crappy camera built into it. Flash? Feh. I can certainly live without it and wish it would go away.
I believe multi-tasking will arrive soon - but on Apple's terms - like cut and paste on the iPhone. As things stand now, it might ruin the super-fast response party - mostly because we're dumb and will be running too many things in the background. And you probably need a real laptop to do that well.
It's important to remember that we're talking about a version 1.0 device. It's real strength is the Apple/iTunes/App Store/SDK environment. That's just getting cranked up. Add cloud storage in there and the potential for the iPad is pretty amazing.
It's not a computer - it's not a smartphone - it's something else. I don't know what it is, but I'm already 99% sure it's going to be simple, easy to use for many computing/media tasks, and it looks good me. It's not super expensive. I wouldn't bet against it....
I'm pretty happy it doesn't have a crappy camera built into it. Flash? Feh. I can certainly live without it and wish it would go away.
I believe multi-tasking will arrive soon - but on Apple's terms - like cut and paste on the iPhone. As things stand now, it might ruin the super-fast response party - mostly because we're dumb and will be running too many things in the background. And you probably need a real laptop to do that well.
It's important to remember that we're talking about a version 1.0 device. It's real strength is the Apple/iTunes/App Store/SDK environment. That's just getting cranked up. Add cloud storage in there and the potential for the iPad is pretty amazing.
It's not a computer - it's not a smartphone - it's something else. I don't know what it is, but I'm already 99% sure it's going to be simple, easy to use for many computing/media tasks, and it looks good me. It's not super expensive. I wouldn't bet against it....
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dcsang
Canadian & Not A Dentist
Part of the thing that Apple does really well (other than marketing - but in a way it's tied into their marketing) is their ability to make these things ubiquitous.
Everyone's been telling me "tablets have been around for years" yet I have not been able to walk into a local big box electronic store and look at one or pick one up - I'm serious about this - yes, they've been around via online retailers (geek stores, computer hard core stores etc.) but guess what, Joe Sixpack and Sally Housecoat (to use Mr Burns' colloquialisms) don't visit those types of retailers and don't have the time to do the research or such when it comes to this type of technology.
Everyone, nowadays, wants something to work out of the box and "go".
And that's something Apple seems to have been very good at doing.
Is it the "BEST THING EVER"?
Probably not, but you can't fault Apple for knowing what their particular demographic may want (or will buy).
Cheers,
Dave
Everyone's been telling me "tablets have been around for years" yet I have not been able to walk into a local big box electronic store and look at one or pick one up - I'm serious about this - yes, they've been around via online retailers (geek stores, computer hard core stores etc.) but guess what, Joe Sixpack and Sally Housecoat (to use Mr Burns' colloquialisms) don't visit those types of retailers and don't have the time to do the research or such when it comes to this type of technology.
Everyone, nowadays, wants something to work out of the box and "go".
And that's something Apple seems to have been very good at doing.
Is it the "BEST THING EVER"?
Probably not, but you can't fault Apple for knowing what their particular demographic may want (or will buy).
Cheers,
Dave
rxmd
May contain traces of nut
The main problem is what is it for. For an Internet tablet I'd miss the video camera for Skype, as well as Flash. For pictures it will be awkward to get them in and out. For an e-book reader the screen won't be easy on the eyes. For typing things a netbook will be better, because lugging around a dockingstation sucked already with almost every laptop that had one.
It doesn't really fill any particular need of mine, and in what it does (browsing from the couch and looking at pictures) it actually does less or worse than a Nokia N810 or comparable device (webcam, SD slot, Flash etc.)
It doesn't really fill any particular need of mine, and in what it does (browsing from the couch and looking at pictures) it actually does less or worse than a Nokia N810 or comparable device (webcam, SD slot, Flash etc.)
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