Bill Gates unimpressed by Apple iPad - Page 5

Actually Gates didn't "invent" DOS, he bought (stole) it for pennies on the dollar from a developer in either Oregon or Washington state - changed it a bit then licensed it to IBM and that started the Microsoft eventual dominance. The guy he bought it from basically got screwed and went out of business I think. Saw a documentary on tv about the start of MS and Gates.

I think that spam has no place here.

i don't see how microsoft has failed in regards to tablet computers. i don't think they have tried to make any. we have to differentiate that apple is a hardware company, and outside of the xbox and zune, microsoft is a software provider. i don't think adobe has offered a very good tablet solution, or corel either, but they make software that could be utilized on a tablet very well.
microsofts biggest problem is it's business partners. it should be hp, dell and other companies have failed to offer a MS based tablet like this.
it's one thing to point out that MS hasn't done it, it's another for people to make the same old ms sucks, steals and so on apple v. ms argument.

<plonk>

I never said he never had an idea, talk about spinning the argument. He never has engineered anything, and when the OP was making the claim that Gates was a marketing guy when he actually engineered DOS, is bullshit..

Why? Are you participating in some sort of contest?

Do you cheer on your favorite brand of soda pop too?

What the heck do you care about the relative impressions of these two product categories?

While I tend to agree, and in the particular case of teckstud I think what he's done already justifies a total IP ban on the guy ....

To play devil's advocate, I think the idea behind deleting his posts is:

a) no one wants to read that crap anyway.
b) makes the whole site look bad to have all that petty junk in the archives
c) gives the violator (teckstud) a chance to "start anew."

Lots of angry trolls do clean up their acts eventually. Mostly they do this by passing puberty, getting a real job, and generally just "growing up." Wisdom is forced onto fools by age etc. It's also a learning experience for most of those types. teckstud has learned how to fake knowledge of all sorts of things through his experiences here and you can see some of the things that were taught to him by some of the posters here showing up in his arguments now. Eventually he may pick up enough material to make intelligible posts although his attitude still sucks.

But just because this appeasement strategy hasn't worked with teckstud, doesn't mean might not be a good strategy overall.

Sort of. He bought the rights to a 16-bit CP/M clone from a small company called Seattle Computer Products. The purchase price is generally quoted at $50,000. The author of the code, Tim Paterson, ended up working for Microsoft and never had any complaints, that I have ever heard about.

Are you claiming that 90% or so of desktop/laptop users are geeks?
Or would you allow that many more types of folks, other than geeks, also are comfortable with the MS "approach"?

Or what?

I'd appreciate seeing your list.

I assume that it does not contain applications that are easily possible on a laptop.

I honestly wonder how and why the 'Pad can do things better than a small laptop. iSteve boasted that it did (in a roundabout manner) and then failed to give a single example. Indeed, he claimed that the 'Pad would have to some things better than a laptop in order to be viable, but then utterly failed to make his case that the 'Pad was superior in any manner.

So what is on your list? I'd love to check it out.

Other than "A computer on every desk" this man's vision of the future has never come true. He's done well with Office and Windows but not at predicting future tech trends. Late to the browser wars (though they caught up with anti-competitive moves), late to the MP3, etc.

i almost think he is enforcing the typical stereotype, that the ms crowd is an ugly bunch, not as suave, smooth, or good looking as those that buy apple. keyword trendy.
i base that off "looks like a geek"
although, if you've ever gone to any mac user group swap meets, i think you would find the mac crowd looks exactly like the pc enthusiast crowd, just more white in their beards.

So I can't post a link to an article on my personal blog (which by the way, has zero adds on it), about a topic relevant to this thread?

I don't even think you read it.

Completely agree. I very much see the iPad as a way into the living room. In the home it is the natural location for the pad.

Microsoft's most recent effort to built a tablet-specific Windows OS was the Origami (UMPC) project a few years ago. The OEMs aren't building good products around UMPC because the OS isn't up to it. This OS software and OEM model is the one Microsoft brought to the dance, it's the one that made them their billions, and the one a lot of people think that Apple ought to emulate. You can't very well say that Microsoft is now excused for it failure to deliver on Gates' vision, and the OEMs can now be blamed.

I'm stating why I think the iPad will be a success when compared with what the naysayers are suggesting. What are you doing on this thread, then?

Sure, I'd love to see multitasking and an optimized Flash solution. I also see why Apple is betting against Flash in this fight.

But one thing is for certain. A modified desktop OS on a tablet device, running the same desktop applications designed for non-tablet devices, is destined for failure. A tablet running a desktop OS and desktop applications on a ultra-low power mobile processor is destined for failure.

Have you ever tried playing a game while having a chat app open and playing music at the same time on an Atom or Via netbook? Sure, you can do it. But it's an absolutely horrible experience.

I'd be curious to know what Gates' FIRST comments about the iPhone were when it originally came out. Bet they were not nearly as positive as his comments about it are now in retrospect. Same thing might happen with the iPad. It was bad enough that he had to admit that Apple ate his lunch on the smart phone. It will be traumatic if he has to watch as Apple does it again, this time with something that has been near and dear to his heart.

Successful in the sense that pretty much anybody can pick it up and use it with no prior experience. As an experienced computer user you are blinded to the brilliance of the iPhone OS / gui

I think that many, many folks see the potential of a great tablet computer. But many of those same folks are quite disappointed with the Apple offering.

It is a matter of seeing potential, and being disappointed with Apple's implementation.

I think that potentially, a tablet could be great for surfing the 'web and watching videos. But Apple's device will not work on most video sites, and it includes some sort of compromise that resulted in an antique aspect ratio.

I saw the potential for this sort of a device in 2001 when MS announced the new OS. But I'm still waiting for the potential to be realized.

Right on!

true, but the one thing I enjoy here more than anything is that it is an intelligent forum by and large. Nothing is more offensive than stupidity. Stupidity can be subjective of course, but I believe the term fanboy crosses all divides and is just stupid, plain and simple. When the term fanboy is used in an argument for instance, the discussion is immediately broken. There is no response possible that can do the subject justice as the argument suddenly entered the realm of stupid.

Of course not. I never click on spam links.

Lower costs are another reason, it's software reuse. And multi-touch
is innovative. OS X -based MacPads are only a few years away besides
(not counting the unofficial Mac Tablet) .

Oh. Ok. I thought you were using the word successful in a different manner.

New to consumer electonics are you? First lesson, a new device's success is tied to the amount of media available, the number and quality of apps available, and the number and quality of accessories available. In turn, the media, apps, and accessories developed are driven by the device's success. It's the great circle of gadget life. Nice soda pop analogy, though. Totally apt.

+1

Well said. The grammar alone on some other forums makes me cringe.

They were smart, as expected. They used familiar UI elements but redesigned it to make it ideal for the device. I'm not completely happy with the keyboard or the Home Screen but the app layouts are top notch.

It fits in a bag better than any laptop.
It provides a way better browsing experience than any small laptop.
It provides a better ebook reading experience than any laptop.
It has a better touchscreen than any currently available laptop.
It integrates music playback features better than any small laptop.
It's way better at accelerometer-based tasks than any laptop.
It syncs your data with your main computer more easily than any laptop.
It's a better virtual musical instrument than any laptop.
It's a better game machine than any netbook.
It's better for watching a movie during a cramped commute than any laptop.
It's a better device for anyone who needs to use it while standing (i.e. doctors) than any laptop.
It's a better kitchen wall or refrigerator front internet device than any laptop.
It's a better textbook replacement than any laptop.

I'm sure I could think of more. I'm sure you could deny a few of the above, but if you're being honest, you have to agree that most of them are pretty clear advantages for the iPad.

And it has iWork!

Reading is one example. Air Hockey. Digital Board Games. Internet in your hands etc. This device has to be used to be understood, I have been blessed with imagination--so it's easier for me.

The premise here is that because the whole interface is a screen that can display anything, the device "becomes" the thing it's doing. Whereas for example: a laptop does more, but it can't help like always "feel" like a laptop. It sounds like a subtle difference, but I believe it's all the difference in the world.

If you're playing Air Hockey the tablet is an Air Hockey table - if you're reading a book the tablet is a book - if you're playing poker the tablet is a poker table - If you're watching a movie the table is the movie - if you're surfing the web the tablet is the web. It's not just an illusion that works, but one that people will understand. It's none of these right click, left click unnatural abstraction metaphors - you actually "touch stuff". When you tap a button with your hand it does "it", and because the screen is the device it feels better.

Don't get me wrong, laptops aren't going anywhere, but times are changing.

Nice list. Yes, indeed, I disagree with many of the claims, but there are enough niche uses there (virtual musical instrument, for example) that I can see it has some unique abilities.

Do you mean on the iPad? I haven't actually seen one but the keyboard looks good to me from afar. (its bigger) I would like to see the ability to customize the home screen with 'widgets', however. (iPad spaces?) Maybe that could appear and disappear with a swipe.

Well now that you ask... I know many people who are "comfortable" with Windows beacause they have to be... but absolutely no one that really "likes it"... or loves it. Not one person.

On the other hand, those that have switched to Apple devices, either at my behest or simply on their own... are always telling me how they "love their iPhone", or their new MB or MBP.

For many people, Windows is the only choice (business, games, and cheap). Again, it doesn't make using it any more pleasant and gratifying.

And just because Windows is the market-share and cost leader in computing devices, does NOT make them the best UI or user experience.... and I wouldn't say they "won" anything really. They simply are the GM of computer software.

then what the heck did Ballmer try to show/say at CES this year? Gates/MS has been talking "tablet" for a decade, back to Oragami and before. lately they have attempted to adapt Windows 7 to a touch UI (it doesn't work well). they keep trying the same doomed concept over and over - converting a full complex desktop OS to tablet format. they don't get that the entire software package - both OS and all the apps - have to be re-thought and re-designed from the ground up for that very different circumstance.

or rather they did once way back, and created Windows CE in the 90's. now Windows Mobile, it's dying thanks to a decade of poor execution. it was still hung up on needing a stylus until just last year - clearly a fixation of Gates and his progeny at MS.

Gates record on the iPod is revealing. as many here have noted, he said almost the same thing in 2003 about it as he did this week about the iPad. but his recently released emails from that same period in 2003 show he realized what a breakthrough the iTunes deal with the music companies was. so clearly, it's the "partner" deals that are most important in Gates thinking. which means he is probably very worried about the print media content deals Jobs is making right now for the iBook store, just like he did then for the iTunes Store. and he should be. MS has absolutely nothing comparable to offer at all.

once again Gates and MS are being "smoked" by Jobs and Apple. like one poster said far below, his whining is the famous Gates' "kiss of success."

Yeah, the iPad. I expect that a lot of the big OS changes were left off the iPad to make the iPhone OS 4.0 in March(?) a great event.

Add to that "troll" a certain user's favorite expression.
Notice how they started this flame war because I said something untowards SJ and his iPad. They rode this discussion right off the rails- diversionary tactics. And notice who started it all - he who has 14,000 posts.

Really?

Well every real world potential consumer I speak to is sat with credit card in hand counting down the days. I'll think i'll save your post to textedit and post it back in june or july...

Your comment and the parallel drawn is, frankly, ridiculous. It's nothing more than iPod touch. Well I guess an iPhone is nothing more than iPod touch that happens to make calls - yet they aren't the same product.

Can I view a web page at 1024/768 on my ipod touch. Can I read a book on a decent size screen on an iPod touch? Can I run iWork on an iPod touch?

It's hard to debunk his statement since he says "most consumers" and doesn't qualify as you do. The iPod's worldwide sales still don't equal more than 50% (ie: most) of the US' population.

I'm sure the iPad will do well. The fact there are posters vehemently trolling the forums trying to say how it will fail but using the exact same talking points from the 2007 iPhone announcement proves to me it will be a relative success.

PS: I love the ones that say it will fail because it doesn't have a desktop OS on it, followed by a comment about how tablets have failed in general so Apple can't possibly succeed. It's like the brain can't connect thoughts sentence to sentence. Fun times!

but he'll copy it anyway

The problem is not one of hardware, it's one of content. I genuinely don't see how anything has changed in content licensing/broadcasting since the introduction of the apple tv.

As long as content providers lock down content and don't allow ripping of DVDs, the apple TV can't perform the one function that would make it great. No change in design or software can overcome that. What we all want is to be able to legally stream content from our computers to the apple tv in any format, free of copy restriction that gets in the way and requires third party hacking software, or hacking the apple tv itself. Let's have an optical drive that enables you to insert your blu-ray or DVD and automatically have all the content and menus copied to a massive harddrive, and put all our physical media away in the loft with our CD collections.

The content producers simply aren't ready to let this happen, and Apple can't overcome that - neither can anybody else. It may be 'old tech', but there's no point trying to move to the next stage without the content to support it.