Apple confirms Jan. 27 media event to show off 'latest creation' - Page 7

I seem to have forgotten that brevity is the soul of wit.

Sorry about that.

Stop being a party pooper.

I missed this on my first go-over of the thread -- yeah, that would be hysterical!

I could just picture him walking from one side of the stage to the other, glancing out at the crowd and saying, "Oh, we've re-designed our website!" as he exits.

I'm hoping that they have a painting-style graphics program to go with (or without) the tablet...

You're probably being sarcastic, but it's actually true that people don't realise how useful something can be until they use it. If it's close enough to what they understand then they can imagine using it and make a pretty good guess at whether it's useful - but if it redefines things, people need to see it before they get it. As an example - my father doesn't want a TiVo and the reason he gives is that he doesn't use his old VCR - he equates them together and then can't quite make the leap to what a TiVo does without using it.

Steve is good at putting himself in the mind of potential users, and seeing it "for the first time" through their eyes. A focus group can only do so much (depending on how it's done of course). So when a product does come out that meets people's need many people do think they can't live without it.

The AppleTV was the biggest 'failure' to achieve that. And I think there are 2 reasons.
1) It didn't get the content he envisioned - existing contracts and studios trying to keep existing models didn't bite.
2) Even after it came out, many people didn't get it (partially due to the contracts).
Most people who have the AppleTV swear by it.

I guess success is relative. If Apple charges its usual 40% margin, how many do they really have to sell? They won't sell many.

You'd better change your sig quick to "The name will be 'iPad' or I'll eat my hat".

I'm going to miss yelling MacTouch FTW!!

Nah, they done you wrong by not quoting your "look Nano colours" post. That was an inspired moment.

What does it mean?

I'm sure my guess is just as vague (and wrong) as yours. \

Hate to take the wind out of your sails Dr Millmoss 'cause it's a cute idea, but aren't Rorschach tests symmetrical blots?

Yeah, they are. More preciously, bilateral symmetry.

I think the best wy to describe this thread is Apophenia: the experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data.

Well I stand corrected then!

I'll never make that mistake again. I will have to make others.

Hey yeah! If the Nano colors thing turns out to be in any way significant, I trust the LA Times will revisit the matter, credit where credit is due, etc.

Because I'm pretty sure they have reporters reading Apple forums beyond the quick "Let's see if they're still loons" scan.

I love that word, Apophenia. I wanted to register Apophenia.com but, alas, taken. It's just that the determination to see patterns whether they're there or not seems so central to our human experience, and explains so much. What are conspiracy theories, if not a determined effort to make patterns out of disparate and probably unrelated bits of information?

I just think the whole mechanism is very beautiful.

That's the beauty of it, isn't it? Always more mistakes to make, each more intricate than the last.

LOL I too tried to register that domain name years ago. It was my first screen name on AOL a very, very long time ago, but the reads that Im female which brought out the perverts, so I chose the appellation Solipsism.

We should gang up on that guy that has the domain and take it by force. He doesn't appear to be doing anything very interesting with it.

Danah has at least 2 other sites and she isnt using any of them well.

Oh if only it was applophenia that would be purrrrrrrrfect.


Well clearly the Nano colours aren't an accident but yeah, whether they have any significance beyond either the colour of the iThingy or painting apps remains to be seen.

No doubt about the reporters lurking. Remember there was an incident a few years back now, can't recall what product, where someone posted a reasonably convincing rumor and fake pic. Had a few people fooled. Instead of hanging around, one or more reporters jumped on the news and reported it as CONFIRMED!11!!!!!1 (in several publications IIRC). About 3 thread pages later, it had been dismissed as a photoshop job resulting in retractions abounding in several high profile publications.

If nothing else, I'm sure the whole Worker Bee business put the rumor sites on the list of potential information sources. I was thinking just recently that, these days, it's a wonder one of the sleazier publications hasn't bought off a Worker Bee v.2. NDA or no NDA. You'd think someone at Apple might be tempted to offer up info under the right conditions and for the right price. Maybe Steve pays the minions working on the Next Big Thing® well enough for them to resist temptation.

Somebody, somewhere (too many threads, who knows where) said that they looked like inkjet spurts. And indicated the connection to replacing traditional printed colour media.

I liked that one.

Hmm Applephenia.com does sound like a pretty good name for an Apple rumour site.

Oops! Yeah forgot that one. Even before the Harper Collins story there have been some fairly convincing reports of secret talks between Apple and various publishers.

I incline to Daring Fireball's (and other's) theory that it will be more computer than iPhone. And really, if it serves up ebooks and includes basic computer functions - internet, email, iPhoto, iTunes etc plus allows for faster and easier typing/note-taking on a larger virtual keyboard - what student wouldn't want one? There's a lot of situations where an iPhone is inadequate but a laptop is too cumbersome. Waiting in doctor's surgeries, travelling on public transport, hell even using a 12" laptop in a cafe can be awkward.

While some educational institutions have picked up on using iPods to transfer course content to students, currently they still need a second device to use the material. Apple knows the education market and a learning device like that could revolutionize not just how students access published works but a whole lot more besides.

Rather than ditching the desktop because I can't move it around, I'd be sorely tempted to go back to a nice big honking iMac and ditch the laptop in favor of an iThingy if they do it well enough. Then if they could just work out a way to make use of all the enrgy they put into developing the iLamp's "neck" so I could attach my iThingy to it and be able to lie on the couch or in bed and have it suspended above or in front of me while being able to get it out of the way with a gentle nudge, damn I'd be a happy chappy.

IMHO the personal computer won't really reach it's stride until you can comfortably use one lying down.

Apple has certainly pursued products that may not be the smallest available but offer far the most bang for their size. I'll be disappointed if I'm not surprised by how much they manage to cram into such a small device.

And if it's more computer than iPhone/iPod it may not be an iThingy at all. It would have to be a MacThingy. Surely?

OTOH the Jackson Pollock debate reminded me that David Hockney is apparently enamoured with the iPhone as sketchpad. Maybe he's going to replace John Mayer as the celebrity guest. Nah. I think I'm suffering from applephonia now.

I've seen a couple of his sketches but those ones linked to a few pages back were even more amazing in terms of their detail. Makes me wish I could draw.

One can aspire to perfect error.

If that is the goal then Teckstud has a perfect record of being wrong.

Yes, there is a certain Zen-like quality to this, which those of us who are wrong only some of the time can only hope to attain.

I don't know if it's attainable, you may have to be born to it. Having some sense of the correct and then endeavoring to negate that will always be tethered to reality; folks like Teckstud fly free of coherence or consistency in a kind of rarified ecstasy of unknowing.

I'm sorry if this has been brought up before, I haven't yet fully read through the entire thread.

Here's what I'm hoping that apple will do. Basically, we have the technology to do this, so I don't see why they wouldn't do it otherwise. I'm expecting the tablet to be running a full version of OSX. I don't see why you would just make the system restricted by only allowing the use of apps from the app store. It would basically just be a giant version of the iPhone. For some people, that may be fine, but I feel it would be much more dynamic and would attract several communities of users who have yet to move to apple to try the tablet because of it's simplistic and yet complex workflow.
Within that, you could incorporate the use of apps from the app store, thus furthering the intuitiveness of this device. I don't know, maybe I'm just hoping for a golden egg, but I believe in apple and I've seen them revolutionize things before, so I don't expect any less this year. Either way, it will be an amazing product whenever it is released.

In that case Bongo, you will be disappointed.

Every Mac OS X application is able to receive key inputs all the time. The keypress might place a character on the screen, or it might do something to the program.

To mirror this functionality this on a keyboard-less tablet. The interface would need to display an on-screen virtual keyboard all the time. This might obscure the interface, or confine the working area to the keyboard-free part of the screen.

Can you seriously imagine Apple releasing a device with such a clunky interface?

C.

So wait, you're telling me that you don't even expect the tablet to have some sort of virtual keyboard?? I mean, I thought that was a given! If the tablet doesn't even come with the ability to be able to type (even if on a virtual keyboard) then you have brought down the functionality of the product a great degree. That's like handing an artist a semi painted canvas yet not giving him a brush, in my opinion. I would honestly expect apple to be able to find a way to let you have the ability of activating the keyboard on and off at any time. Maybe that's just me though.

Of course he's not saying that. He's saying that just sticking the "full OS X" that you've expressed a desire for on a tablet doesn't make any sense and won't happen, because "full OS X" is designed around the presence of keyboard. To actually use desktop OS X on a tablet you'd need a persistent virtual keyboard taking up valuable screen real estate.

That of course doesn't preclude the use of a modal software keyboard, not unlike what is available on the iPhone. But that isn't what desktop OS X does, and right there you've begun the inevitable process of modifying OS X to be tablet specific.

Hi Guys! My first post on the forum.
I'm really looking forward to this tablet. I think it will dominate the market for very long now. Another thing. Any new rumors around the Macbook Pro? It has been very silence around it. I really hope Apple releases new MBP's at the 27th. I really want one now.

Thanks,
iHex

Thanks addabox.

Precisely. A modal keyboard (a la iPhone) makes sense.
A full-time virtual keyboard would not.

C.

Looking at the invite, could the iCanvas or iPalette be possible? ... or
iPad is a chance, but like others said is too close to female sanitary products.
iTablet seems too bulky - it doesnt really roll off the tongue ( although either does MacBook Pro)
iSlate sounds a bit weird
Apple Tablet - maybe, but bulky again.
MacTouch - possibly! ( but is it a mac or an iDevice? I'd say an iDevice )
iTouch - may be very close to the mark as it's really a bigger iPod Touch
iHub - being the hub connecting all your digital devices?

the iBook Touch - a cross between a MacBook & an iPod Touch
If it wasnt for the fact that Apple once had a laptop called this i'd say it'd be perfect.

This is what the iPad, iTouch etc will most probably look like with 2 home buttons on either side catering for left & right handers.

http://www.theage.com.au/digital-lif...0122-mqpd.html

It sure would be nice if it also supported file sharing, printing & had a big storage ( 64gB or bigger) capacity to enable it to be plugged into a HDTV & watch the movies/tv shows rented/bought off the iTunes store. Or maybe even connect to the Tv wirelessly with an adaptor so you can sit on the couch & control it. A mobile Apple TV?
Hopefully this new device will have some sort of a combination of both Mac OSX & the iPhone OS... & hopefully a usb port for more connectivity options.

Whatever it is, I thinks its a given that it's gonna be something revolutionary that people see and think, oh yeah I need one of those..

Positioning this product as a family one means there's no leading `i' in its name. Period.

P.S. The slogan "Come See Our Latest Creation", which carefully escapes any allusion to `i', makes it crystal clear both to artists and to techies.

This is a good observation, however, I do not believe there is any truth to the concept of "One Tablet per Household"

Why anyone believes this is beyond me. If a family of four loves the Tablet, why wouldn't apple want them to buy 4 instead of 1?

This is a retail product. No such thing as "One for the family" Just more BS on top of more BS.

The original iMac was positioned as a family product.

We all grew up since then.
Let me remind you Apple's slogans for iMac:

"iThink, therefore iMac." (1998)
"The iMac to Go." (1999)
...
"The all-in-one for everyone." (2009)
...

See the difference?

P.S. Oh, quick research just showed you're completely wrong on that.

Apple keynote = research? Hold me, I might fall over.

How is that proving me completely wrong? Sadly, I can't find the Jeff Goldblum imac ad where he was advertising a payment plan where you could get an iMac for the price of three pizzas a month. Heck, even in that video he's talking about home networking. Just because individual starts with I doesn't mean it wasn't targeted at families.

Steve put it clear: internet plus personal, individual computing. He did underline that computer targeted individuals. No mention of family at all.

Tablet begins to be marketed completely different from how all products of the `i' era were.

P.S. Drunk Jeff Goldblum - 3 Pizzas The way an individual socializes with a community.

Pizzas are now the way an individual socializes with the community? If the only individuals in this world were college students, then perhaps that would be true.

Families have pizza nights.

Here's a good ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id6cyWbPGvI

Back in college there was a guy down the hall who didn't have a clock but would gauge time by how many pizza slices he ate... The odd (scary?) thing was it was pretty accurate. Three slices was about an hour. We timed him and it was 57 minutes.

Ah, college.

Ummm

It's amazing, how we all see things different.

Dull type, always sauced, orders pizzas for dinner and looks for some community to join? Bachelor-individualist; who else could be like that?