I've said it before and I'll say it again, I won't be getting one of these unless it ... allows custom codecs to play the more modern video files about (namely Matroska files). I am NOT going to re-encode my videos to run on the device, thus why I haven't bought an iPod yet.
I would question why you have encoded all your videos in the most unsupported format possible and then are going to complain about it not being supported on your hardware of choice? This is the same as all those Linux people who purposely encode all their audio into Ogg and then bitch about how Apple doesn't "support" them.
If you're gonna live on the edge, live on the edge. But don't complain about not having access to the same things everyone else has if you do so. No true Linux geek whines about "support." The deal is that you're supposed to be out there on the front lines supporting yourself. It's pretty much the whole point of buying into unsupported open source formats.
lol right. Like people are gonna wanna hold this thing in landscape when doing anything but watching video or playing games. Uhhuh.
Landscape is way better than portrait on this thing. Keep in mind that you wouldn't be able to thumb type on this thing like you could with an iPhone in portrait mode because the center of gravity dictates that it would flip out of your hands. That wouldn't be the case in landscape (of course you would need a split keyboard or something). As for holding the device in one hand/arm and typing, I don't think it would matter if you hold your arm straight out (portrait) or cross the arm in front of you body (landscape). In fact landscape may provide a more stable position. Of course Apple could give you the option of where to put the dock.
What has this got to do with Al Gore being an environmentalist? You still didn't answer. You mentioned Al Gore specifically, AI didn't.
Well first of all you asked me originally "What does Apple have to do with this". And Al Gore is on the board of Apple. You do the math. I'm too busy.
Quote:
You never answered my question: what has this do to with Al Gore? Or even Apple for that matter
I've been saying that rather than Apple (read Al GORE) pursue these environmental positions, more importantyly what are their human rights position with the slave laborers in the manufacturing of Apple products?
10.6" is ridiculously large. I thought 9.6 was a bit much when that was the rumor, but 10? Seriously? How on earth do you even type on a 10" screen? Even in portrait mode, the keyboard will be too wide for thumb-typing. I really think you "larger is better" guys haven't thought through all the implications of a huge screen. This thing is gonna be non-ergonomic to hold and interact with. The "sweet spot" you're referring to is probably around 8", not close to 11"!!
Totally agree.
There is a reason that all steno pads and most "trade paperbacks" are 6x9, and it's nothing to do with printing presses. The 9.6 screen could just barely fit into such a device although smaller might be better still.
10.6 is ridiculous unless it's completely edge to edge which isn't likely.
Landscape is way better than portrait on this thing. Keep in mind that you wouldn't be able to thumb type on this thing like you could with an iPhone in portrait mode because the center of gravity dictates that it would flip out of your hands. ...
This is a really dumb comment.
No offence to you personally, but think about it for a second. It's going to flip out of your hands? why? I have thousands of books and other things in this size and they don't leap out of my hands when I pick them up from the bottom.
At the very least you should begin that statement with "Based on my belief that the tablet will weigh five kilos at minimum..." for it to even be partially true.
If this thing is going to be so heavy at 6x9 inches or so, that it is impossible to hold in two hands without it "flipping out" it's already a non-viable product.
I would question why you have encoded all your videos in the most unsupported format possible
Who the hell said I encoded the videos in that format? As an avid anime fan, the general community uses .mkv files essentially as standard with subtitle files embedded in the mkv. Something QuickTime, as standard, doesn't do (also applies to all current iPods and most mainstream media players).
There are pocket media players out there that has the right compatibility I'm looking for. However, the interface is often awful and/or the screen size isn't very good. If this rumored tablet has a good screen size and an Apple interface, with the compatibility of the right codecs, I'm sold. Until then, I'm sticking with my generic mp3 player.
Contrary to popular opinion I don't think the thing will be designed to be used while being carried. I think it will have a unique pop-out rest on the back so as to make it easy to use on any flat surface. And the only time you'll have that popped in is when you're couch surfing or looking at it on the bus.
It's a good idea -- for viewing stuff, that is. It would be great to have if, for instance, I had a library of technical manual PDFs on it and wanted to view one while assembling a product. I do this now with my iPhone, and have to use a dock or third party stand in that case. In most situations though, you're holding the book when you're reading it, whether you're on the bus or not. Propped up on a stand, it would be a real bitch to type on or really interact with at all apart from the occasional page-turn, and of course, you the user would also have to be relatively stationary. And I would have to assume that Apple intends this device chiefly for occasions when you don't have a convenient flat surface, as for flat surfaces, the laptop form factor will always be superior. Overall, it really doesn't make sense as a stationary device -- sorry.
Anyway, I'd be surprised if Apple were actually to sacrifice even a couple millimeters of slim form factor for a stand.
Who the hell said I encoded the videos in that format? As an avid anime fan, the general community uses .mkv files essentially as standard with subtitle files embedded in the mkv. Something QuickTime, as standard, doesn't do (also applies to all current iPods and most mainstream media players).
...
I was just criticising the fact that you are complaining about the results of choices you yourself made.
You mentioned re-coding everything in MKV, (which is that "most unsupported" codec I was referring to). It's just a fact that MKV is unsupported by almost all hardware manufacturers, regardless of the reasons, or the quality, or any other issues. It's main use today is in illegal torrents of Blu-Ray or other HD discs.
It just seems weird and a bit foolish to me to encode all your (presumably Blu-Ray's), in MKV format and then complain that Apple doesn't support it. If on the other hand, you're talking about illegal downloads, then you don't have a reason to complain at all.
I'm not arguing about the relative merits of one format over another or whether or not Apple "should" support it, just that you chose to put them in that format when you knew that it wasn't supported (and in fact is not supported by almost anyone), and then complain about it after the fact.
Quicktime's lack of support bothers me also, I just think it's lame to complain about it in the way that you have here. Especially since in all likelihood you are talking about ripped off torrents here anyway.
I mean, seriously. Who else would buy all those expensive Blu-Rays, convert them all to MKV for digital storage, and then complain that they aren't playable? You either have to be someone so rich (the backing up of all this stuff alone would cost you a fortune), and with so much time on their hands that your comment is irrelevant (because you are far from the "average user"), or you are a person who is just ripping off torrents and crying cause you can't play them on all your devices. Seems like a pretty lame situation either way to me.
No offence to you personally, but think about it for a second. It's going to flip out of your hands? why? I have thousands of books and other things in this size and they don't leap out of my hands when I pick them up from the bottom.
If this thing is going to be so heavy at 6x9 inches or so, that it is impossible to hold in two hands without it "flipping out" it's already a non-viable product.
Agreed. We already have an example of an iTablet-like device with a bottom-mounted portrait keyboard in the Kindle, and I haven't heard of any of these devices leaping to their deaths yet. Maybe after Apple makes its announcement
It's possible the '10.6"' screen is a misreporting of the actual final dimensions of the device, bezel included. The large form Kindle is 10.4" tall and has a 9.7" screen (roughly what was previously rumored). But that's 7.2" wide, and I just cannot see typing on a device that big. I wonder how the Kindlers do it...?
If this is true, it's a fine example of why Apple has such brand loyalty.
Any other company would rush out any old crap in time for the Christmas period - Apple wait until it's right, even if it means releasing in a "dead" part of the year.
No offence to you personally, but think about it for a second. It's going to flip out of your hands? why? I have thousands of books and other things in this size and they don't leap out of my hands when I pick them up from the bottom.
At the very least you should begin that statement with "Based on my belief that the tablet will weigh five kilos at minimum..." for it to even be partially true.
If this thing is going to be so heavy at 6x9 inches or so, that it is impossible to hold in two hands without it "flipping out" it's already a non-viable product.
OK, well, that saved me the trouble of having to make that post.
10.6" is ridiculously large. I thought 9.6 was a bit much when that was the rumor, but 10? Seriously? How on earth do you even type on a 10" screen? Even in portrait mode, the keyboard will be too wide for thumb-typing.
If the keyboard is split (think MS ergonomic keyboard) you could very easily thumb type on it. I've tried this out at home with a hard cover book, which, by the way, did not leap out of my hands.
I was just criticising the fact that you are complaining about the results of choices you yourself made.
You mentioned re-coding everything in MKV, (which is that "most unsupported" codec I was referring to). It's just a fact that MKV is unsupported by almost all hardware manufacturers, regardless of the reasons, or the quality, or any other issues. It's main use today is in illegal torrents of Blu-Ray or other HD discs.
It just seems weird and a bit foolish to me to encode all your (presumably Blu-Ray's), in MKV format and then complain that Apple doesn't support it. If on the other hand, you're talking about illegal downloads, then you don't have a reason to complain at all.
Once again, I am not re-encoding ANYTHING, nor do I have a blu-ray drive for my Mac (I have a blu-ray player connected to my TV, so I don't need to copy them). Yes I knew you were referring to MKV. As for it's main use, I'd say it was for fansubs of anime episodes that have yet to be licensed officially in English (it's especially useful for its ability to hold multiple audio tracks and subtitle tracks). (personally, I think downloading blu-ray movies is pretty stupid considering their size. Just rent the bloody thing).
No offence to you personally, but think about it for a second. It's going to flip out of your hands? why? I have thousands of books and other things in this size and they don't leap out of my hands when I pick them up from the bottom.
At the very least you should begin that statement with "Based on my belief that the tablet will weigh five kilos at minimum..." for it to even be partially true.
If this thing is going to be so heavy at 6x9 inches or so, that it is impossible to hold in two hands without it "flipping out" it's already a non-viable product.
They don't flip out of your hands because you hold the top of the book with your thumb. What happens when you are thumb typing? You take your thumbs off the device. Now if you applied sufficient force with the palm of your hands against the bezel, you could prevent it from flipping out of your hands (or always keep one thumb on the bezel, but that might be awkward), but it wouldn't be the best solution. And no, this doesn't mean that the product is not viable, just that maybe thumb typing in portrait mode isn't the greatest idea (or that the keyboard should be moved towards the center of the device).
Next time you pick up a book, hold the book in front of you with your fingers extending less than half the way up the back, then take your thumbs off the front and tell me what happens.
Edit: On second thought, the palms against the bezel might be comfortable enough. I'd have to try it to know for sure, but at least attempt to understand the potential problems involved. You are probably right that at 9 inches tall it wouldn't be a concern. I would still say landscape works better for this tablet though.
10.6" is ridiculously large. I thought 9.6 was a bit much when that was the rumor, but 10? Seriously? How on earth do you even type on a 10" screen? Even in portrait mode, the keyboard will be too wide for thumb-typing. I really think you "larger is better" guys haven't thought through all the implications of a huge screen. This thing is gonna be non-ergonomic to hold and interact with. The "sweet spot" you're referring to is probably around 8", not close to 11"!!
There are patents going back over three years that may allow for ideal virtual typing on a larger device using just one's thumbs. Note that this predate the iPhone announcement and likely was conceived back when the iPhone was originally a tablet.
Edit: On second thought, the palms against the bezel might be comfortable enough. I'd have to try it to know for sure, but at least attempt to understand the potential problems involved. You are probably right that at 9 inches tall it wouldn't be a concern. I would still say landscape works better for this tablet though.
Yes, I tried this with a hardcover book and it worked fine, it seemed quite natural, in fact and easier than typing on an iPhone in some ways. Of course, I didn't have any virtual keys to aim at, just randomly hit different spots with my thumbs.
EDIT: Also, the center of mass could be positioned so that it's somewhat "bottom heavy", effectively making the balance while holding for typing in portrait relatively neutral. Although, I'm not sure how that would feel in landscape, perhaps awkward.
Yes, I tried this with a hardcover book and it worked fine, it seemed quite natural, in fact and easier than typing on an iPhone in some ways. Of course, I didn't have any virtual keys to aim at, just randomly hit different spots with my thumbs.
Fair enough, just keep in mind that you can't touch anything on the front except the keys you want to hit due to the capacitive screen. The more I think about it though, the less of an issue it appears to be. I was probably visualizing thumb typing on my 15" MBP
I've been saying that rather than Apple (read Al GORE) pursue these environmental positions, more importantyly what are their human rights position with the slave laborers in the manufacturing of Apple products?
A richer, more compelling product that people may want to read the whole way through. Which nobody does with websites. Longer viewing per user, more intimately with ads even. Apple may not even allow Flash on this device.
I think I already mentioned this in my first post:
"Perhaps this is where offshoots of the iTunes LP paradigm come in, rejigged for a magazine format."
In a physical format, magazines are losing currency to consumers. Apple might be able to pull this concept off, but it's a different sell than music where people were already used to paying for it.
Quote:
The may be wrong about that number. And an initial run doesn't mean they won't be on the ready to ramp up another few million units if the product takes off, which they will be, and which may well happen.
Just quoting the article - but a production run of that size in Apple's context suggest even they may not be 100% sure of the concept notwithstanding the apparently considerable effort expended on multiple prototypes.
And I would have to assume that Apple intends this device chiefly for occasions when you don't have a convenient flat surface, as for flat surfaces, the laptop form factor will always be superior. Overall, it really doesn't make sense as a stationary device -- sorry.
Anyway, I'd be surprised if Apple were actually to sacrifice even a couple millimeters of slim form factor for a stand.
Don't be sorry, you're entitled to your opinion. As am I. Couch computing will be one of the big uses for it, and will explode in the future. Using this tablet at a table would be nice. You could type, flick and tap the screen, it would be a breeze. You want to be able to carry your device around? The iPhone is for that purpose.
As for the stand, it would sit flush, and would be a strip along the upper rear, it wouldn't add thickness.
Comments
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I won't be getting one of these unless it ... allows custom codecs to play the more modern video files about (namely Matroska files). I am NOT going to re-encode my videos to run on the device, thus why I haven't bought an iPod yet.
I would question why you have encoded all your videos in the most unsupported format possible and then are going to complain about it not being supported on your hardware of choice? This is the same as all those Linux people who purposely encode all their audio into Ogg and then bitch about how Apple doesn't "support" them.
If you're gonna live on the edge, live on the edge. But don't complain about not having access to the same things everyone else has if you do so. No true Linux geek whines about "support." The deal is that you're supposed to be out there on the front lines supporting yourself. It's pretty much the whole point of buying into unsupported open source formats.
lol right. Like people are gonna wanna hold this thing in landscape when doing anything but watching video or playing games. Uhhuh.
Landscape is way better than portrait on this thing. Keep in mind that you wouldn't be able to thumb type on this thing like you could with an iPhone in portrait mode because the center of gravity dictates that it would flip out of your hands. That wouldn't be the case in landscape (of course you would need a split keyboard or something). As for holding the device in one hand/arm and typing, I don't think it would matter if you hold your arm straight out (portrait) or cross the arm in front of you body (landscape). In fact landscape may provide a more stable position. Of course Apple could give you the option of where to put the dock.
What has this got to do with Al Gore being an environmentalist? You still didn't answer. You mentioned Al Gore specifically, AI didn't.
Well first of all you asked me originally "What does Apple have to do with this". And Al Gore is on the board of Apple. You do the math. I'm too busy.
You never answered my question: what has this do to with Al Gore? Or even Apple for that matter
I've been saying that rather than Apple (read Al GORE) pursue these environmental positions, more importantyly what are their human rights position with the slave laborers in the manufacturing of Apple products?
10.6" is ridiculously large. I thought 9.6 was a bit much when that was the rumor, but 10? Seriously? How on earth do you even type on a 10" screen? Even in portrait mode, the keyboard will be too wide for thumb-typing. I really think you "larger is better" guys haven't thought through all the implications of a huge screen. This thing is gonna be non-ergonomic to hold and interact with. The "sweet spot" you're referring to is probably around 8", not close to 11"!!
Totally agree.
There is a reason that all steno pads and most "trade paperbacks" are 6x9, and it's nothing to do with printing presses. The 9.6 screen could just barely fit into such a device although smaller might be better still.
10.6 is ridiculous unless it's completely edge to edge which isn't likely.
Landscape is way better than portrait on this thing. Keep in mind that you wouldn't be able to thumb type on this thing like you could with an iPhone in portrait mode because the center of gravity dictates that it would flip out of your hands. ...
This is a really dumb comment.
No offence to you personally, but think about it for a second. It's going to flip out of your hands? why? I have thousands of books and other things in this size and they don't leap out of my hands when I pick them up from the bottom.
At the very least you should begin that statement with "Based on my belief that the tablet will weigh five kilos at minimum..." for it to even be partially true.
If this thing is going to be so heavy at 6x9 inches or so, that it is impossible to hold in two hands without it "flipping out" it's already a non-viable product.
I would question why you have encoded all your videos in the most unsupported format possible
Who the hell said I encoded the videos in that format? As an avid anime fan, the general community uses .mkv files essentially as standard with subtitle files embedded in the mkv. Something QuickTime, as standard, doesn't do (also applies to all current iPods and most mainstream media players).
There are pocket media players out there that has the right compatibility I'm looking for. However, the interface is often awful and/or the screen size isn't very good. If this rumored tablet has a good screen size and an Apple interface, with the compatibility of the right codecs, I'm sold. Until then, I'm sticking with my generic mp3 player.
Contrary to popular opinion I don't think the thing will be designed to be used while being carried. I think it will have a unique pop-out rest on the back so as to make it easy to use on any flat surface. And the only time you'll have that popped in is when you're couch surfing or looking at it on the bus.
It's a good idea -- for viewing stuff, that is. It would be great to have if, for instance, I had a library of technical manual PDFs on it and wanted to view one while assembling a product. I do this now with my iPhone, and have to use a dock or third party stand in that case. In most situations though, you're holding the book when you're reading it, whether you're on the bus or not. Propped up on a stand, it would be a real bitch to type on or really interact with at all apart from the occasional page-turn, and of course, you the user would also have to be relatively stationary. And I would have to assume that Apple intends this device chiefly for occasions when you don't have a convenient flat surface, as for flat surfaces, the laptop form factor will always be superior. Overall, it really doesn't make sense as a stationary device -- sorry.
Anyway, I'd be surprised if Apple were actually to sacrifice even a couple millimeters of slim form factor for a stand.
Who the hell said I encoded the videos in that format? As an avid anime fan, the general community uses .mkv files essentially as standard with subtitle files embedded in the mkv. Something QuickTime, as standard, doesn't do (also applies to all current iPods and most mainstream media players).
...
I was just criticising the fact that you are complaining about the results of choices you yourself made.
You mentioned re-coding everything in MKV, (which is that "most unsupported" codec I was referring to). It's just a fact that MKV is unsupported by almost all hardware manufacturers, regardless of the reasons, or the quality, or any other issues. It's main use today is in illegal torrents of Blu-Ray or other HD discs.
It just seems weird and a bit foolish to me to encode all your (presumably Blu-Ray's), in MKV format and then complain that Apple doesn't support it. If on the other hand, you're talking about illegal downloads, then you don't have a reason to complain at all.
I'm not arguing about the relative merits of one format over another or whether or not Apple "should" support it, just that you chose to put them in that format when you knew that it wasn't supported (and in fact is not supported by almost anyone), and then complain about it after the fact.
Quicktime's lack of support bothers me also, I just think it's lame to complain about it in the way that you have here. Especially since in all likelihood you are talking about ripped off torrents here anyway.
I mean, seriously. Who else would buy all those expensive Blu-Rays, convert them all to MKV for digital storage, and then complain that they aren't playable? You either have to be someone so rich (the backing up of all this stuff alone would cost you a fortune), and with so much time on their hands that your comment is irrelevant (because you are far from the "average user"), or you are a person who is just ripping off torrents and crying cause you can't play them on all your devices. Seems like a pretty lame situation either way to me.
This is a really dumb comment.
No offence to you personally, but think about it for a second. It's going to flip out of your hands? why? I have thousands of books and other things in this size and they don't leap out of my hands when I pick them up from the bottom.
If this thing is going to be so heavy at 6x9 inches or so, that it is impossible to hold in two hands without it "flipping out" it's already a non-viable product.
Agreed. We already have an example of an iTablet-like device with a bottom-mounted portrait keyboard in the Kindle, and I haven't heard of any of these devices leaping to their deaths yet. Maybe after Apple makes its announcement
It's possible the '10.6"' screen is a misreporting of the actual final dimensions of the device, bezel included. The large form Kindle is 10.4" tall and has a 9.7" screen (roughly what was previously rumored). But that's 7.2" wide, and I just cannot see typing on a device that big. I wonder how the Kindlers do it...?
Any other company would rush out any old crap in time for the Christmas period - Apple wait until it's right, even if it means releasing in a "dead" part of the year.
This is a really dumb comment.
No offence to you personally, but think about it for a second. It's going to flip out of your hands? why? I have thousands of books and other things in this size and they don't leap out of my hands when I pick them up from the bottom.
At the very least you should begin that statement with "Based on my belief that the tablet will weigh five kilos at minimum..." for it to even be partially true.
If this thing is going to be so heavy at 6x9 inches or so, that it is impossible to hold in two hands without it "flipping out" it's already a non-viable product.
OK, well, that saved me the trouble of having to make that post.
10.6" is ridiculously large. I thought 9.6 was a bit much when that was the rumor, but 10? Seriously? How on earth do you even type on a 10" screen? Even in portrait mode, the keyboard will be too wide for thumb-typing.
If the keyboard is split (think MS ergonomic keyboard) you could very easily thumb type on it. I've tried this out at home with a hard cover book, which, by the way, did not leap out of my hands.
I was just criticising the fact that you are complaining about the results of choices you yourself made.
You mentioned re-coding everything in MKV, (which is that "most unsupported" codec I was referring to). It's just a fact that MKV is unsupported by almost all hardware manufacturers, regardless of the reasons, or the quality, or any other issues. It's main use today is in illegal torrents of Blu-Ray or other HD discs.
It just seems weird and a bit foolish to me to encode all your (presumably Blu-Ray's), in MKV format and then complain that Apple doesn't support it. If on the other hand, you're talking about illegal downloads, then you don't have a reason to complain at all.
Once again, I am not re-encoding ANYTHING, nor do I have a blu-ray drive for my Mac (I have a blu-ray player connected to my TV, so I don't need to copy them). Yes I knew you were referring to MKV. As for it's main use, I'd say it was for fansubs of anime episodes that have yet to be licensed officially in English (it's especially useful for its ability to hold multiple audio tracks and subtitle tracks). (personally, I think downloading blu-ray movies is pretty stupid considering their size. Just rent the bloody thing).
This is a really dumb comment.
No offence to you personally, but think about it for a second. It's going to flip out of your hands? why? I have thousands of books and other things in this size and they don't leap out of my hands when I pick them up from the bottom.
At the very least you should begin that statement with "Based on my belief that the tablet will weigh five kilos at minimum..." for it to even be partially true.
If this thing is going to be so heavy at 6x9 inches or so, that it is impossible to hold in two hands without it "flipping out" it's already a non-viable product.
They don't flip out of your hands because you hold the top of the book with your thumb. What happens when you are thumb typing? You take your thumbs off the device. Now if you applied sufficient force with the palm of your hands against the bezel, you could prevent it from flipping out of your hands (or always keep one thumb on the bezel, but that might be awkward), but it wouldn't be the best solution. And no, this doesn't mean that the product is not viable, just that maybe thumb typing in portrait mode isn't the greatest idea (or that the keyboard should be moved towards the center of the device).
Next time you pick up a book, hold the book in front of you with your fingers extending less than half the way up the back, then take your thumbs off the front and tell me what happens.
Additional reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moment_(physics)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_of_mass
Edit: On second thought, the palms against the bezel might be comfortable enough. I'd have to try it to know for sure, but at least attempt to understand the potential problems involved. You are probably right that at 9 inches tall it wouldn't be a concern. I would still say landscape works better for this tablet though.
10.6" is ridiculously large. I thought 9.6 was a bit much when that was the rumor, but 10? Seriously? How on earth do you even type on a 10" screen? Even in portrait mode, the keyboard will be too wide for thumb-typing. I really think you "larger is better" guys haven't thought through all the implications of a huge screen. This thing is gonna be non-ergonomic to hold and interact with. The "sweet spot" you're referring to is probably around 8", not close to 11"!!
There are patents going back over three years that may allow for ideal virtual typing on a larger device using just one's thumbs. Note that this predate the iPhone announcement and likely was conceived back when the iPhone was originally a tablet.
Edit: On second thought, the palms against the bezel might be comfortable enough. I'd have to try it to know for sure, but at least attempt to understand the potential problems involved. You are probably right that at 9 inches tall it wouldn't be a concern. I would still say landscape works better for this tablet though.
Yes, I tried this with a hardcover book and it worked fine, it seemed quite natural, in fact and easier than typing on an iPhone in some ways. Of course, I didn't have any virtual keys to aim at, just randomly hit different spots with my thumbs.
EDIT: Also, the center of mass could be positioned so that it's somewhat "bottom heavy", effectively making the balance while holding for typing in portrait relatively neutral. Although, I'm not sure how that would feel in landscape, perhaps awkward.
Yes, I tried this with a hardcover book and it worked fine, it seemed quite natural, in fact and easier than typing on an iPhone in some ways. Of course, I didn't have any virtual keys to aim at, just randomly hit different spots with my thumbs.
Fair enough, just keep in mind that you can't touch anything on the front except the keys you want to hit due to the capacitive screen. The more I think about it though, the less of an issue it appears to be. I was probably visualizing thumb typing on my 15" MBP
I've been saying that rather than Apple (read Al GORE) pursue these environmental positions, more importantyly what are their human rights position with the slave laborers in the manufacturing of Apple products?
Slave labour? Define that.
A richer, more compelling product that people may want to read the whole way through. Which nobody does with websites. Longer viewing per user, more intimately with ads even. Apple may not even allow Flash on this device.
I think I already mentioned this in my first post:
"Perhaps this is where offshoots of the iTunes LP paradigm come in, rejigged for a magazine format."
In a physical format, magazines are losing currency to consumers. Apple might be able to pull this concept off, but it's a different sell than music where people were already used to paying for it.
The may be wrong about that number. And an initial run doesn't mean they won't be on the ready to ramp up another few million units if the product takes off, which they will be, and which may well happen.
Just quoting the article - but a production run of that size in Apple's context suggest even they may not be 100% sure of the concept notwithstanding the apparently considerable effort expended on multiple prototypes.
And I would have to assume that Apple intends this device chiefly for occasions when you don't have a convenient flat surface, as for flat surfaces, the laptop form factor will always be superior. Overall, it really doesn't make sense as a stationary device -- sorry.
Anyway, I'd be surprised if Apple were actually to sacrifice even a couple millimeters of slim form factor for a stand.
Don't be sorry, you're entitled to your opinion. As am I. Couch computing will be one of the big uses for it, and will explode in the future. Using this tablet at a table would be nice. You could type, flick and tap the screen, it would be a breeze. You want to be able to carry your device around? The iPhone is for that purpose.
As for the stand, it would sit flush, and would be a strip along the upper rear, it wouldn't add thickness.