Seriously. Apple should include the iPod Touch into its computer sales. They run full apps on a full iOS. As such, it has all the abilities of the iPad, which clearly is a full fledged computer.
Well iPhone as well. It has all the features of iPad/iPod Touch, plus voice. You can't reduce it's status because it actually has more features, now, can you?
It matters to shareholders, and since the number of corporate-type articles on this site seem to outnumber the technical ones, perhaps they are who this site is aimed at.
It actually only matters to analysts and geeks, both of whom share a mania for classifying things. Shareholders don't give a fig what they're called, so long as they sell.
IMHO, the iPad (and Galaxy Tab, HP Slate, etc) should count as personal computers, and I find it interesting that they wouldn't be by the likes of IDC, Gartner, etc.
IDC, Gartner etc get to charge for another report.
Steve Jobs himself during the iPad keynote described iPad as a device which sits between a smartphone and a laptop. He called netbooks for what they are: cheap laptops with slow processors and tiny screens that aren't good for anything.
From this perspective it makes perfect sense to lump netbook sales with "traditional" PC sales but not iPad sales with Mac PC sales.
As others have said earlier the definition of what is and isn't a PC is utterly irrelevant to most people's lives, may even be irrelevant within the IT industry. What matters is what any given device can do for a particular person and their needs.
I couldn't help but wonder if years ago people were debating the difference between a cart, a wagon and a coach (two or four wheels, two, four or six horses?) during the time the first motorcycles were being introduced.
So perhaps the iPad is the motorcycle to the Windows/OS X PC horse and carts.
When Apple ships the iPad with an iOS reinstall drive:
And a combined Charger/Airport Express:
and comes with MobileMe Backup/Sync/Mobile Extensions tied into iTunes stores
Then the iPad will be a superior solution to first-time buyers and the iPad will be the Apple of the masses.
I say that's the wrong viewpoint. My iPad is ALREADY superior to my macbook, by virtue of it being a tablet. I can write and draw on it (Notes Plus and ArtStudio, thank you very much), vs with a macbook I cannot. I can access everything I need to access on it, without the hassle of booting up and getting out the computer. If netbooks are included in the definition, then iPads should be as well. It is already the Apple for the masses as far as I'm concerned... to think otherwise is simply to ignore reality that people want simple computing interfaces rather than complicated and feature-laden You miss the point that the iPad isn't meant to be the be-all, end-all for computing, it's meant to cover 90% of your use cases. And with that, it succeeds.
The revelation comes as somewhat of a surprise, given that Apple has now sold over 15 million iPads, while Apple TVs capable of playing Netflix have just recently sold over a million units.
Perhaps, but watching movies on the iPad is not the best experience. People have been at pains to point out how the iPad is only useful for media consumption, but I disagree. Through dedicated apps it is an incredibly useful tool for inputing data. Watching movies on the ipad is a little like reading - it is great, except the ipad is heavy and sometimes the lack of a built in stand makes it awkward. I always opt for my laptop for watching movies in bed.
Given the choice between watching a movie on the iPad on my couch, or on a TV set the TV set wins every time. There seems to be an assumption that everyone owns 52" TV's but I am not sure that is the case. Netflix on a 32" screen is fine.
... I couldn't help but wonder if years ago people were debating the difference between a cart, a wagon and a coach ...
Reminded me of a passage from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens. Not exactly a debate, but some degree of uncertainty regarding the nature of a particular vehicle:
Quote:
... The vehicle was not exactly a gig, neither was it a stanhope. It was not what is currently denominated a dog-cart, neither was it a taxed cart, nor a chaise-cart, nor a guillotined cabriolet; and yet it had something of the character of each and every of these machines. ...
I really hate it when people display poor reading comprehension. First of all, you are completely wrong. Secondly I said UPDATES. 3rd, no the MacBook air ships with a thumb drive containing the restore disc, and 4th it has always been able to use the super drive accessory.
And, it ships activated. Complete and total fail on your part. Next.
You are short-sighted and arbitrary in your designations. To wit:
If Apple decided to ship any of the Macs with the same limitation as the iPad you have described in your posts, by your definition, regardless of hardware, capability and configuration they would NOT be computers - specifically PCs. Sounds like nonsense? Wait there's more!
Go back to the early computers, the Timex Sinclair, the Apple 1 and ][ - they could not operate with certain peripheral devices attached, will you claim also that these were not computers/PCs? How about the early Wangs, the Imlacs, HP 9830s, the Altairs? Just because a device doesn't do exactly the same things as the desktop unit sitting before you doesn't mean it's NOT a personal computer. The capability of the iPad far outstrips any of these early devices which were personal computers. The fact that it requires a tethered activation is an arbitrary decision by Apple and in no way reflects on it's status or capability as a personal computer.
The problem here is you have artificially and arbitrarily decided in your own mind what constitutes a personal computer, (based on an arbitrary decision by Apple to require tethering to activate the OS) which doesn't leave the field wide enough to actually include many devices which are or were defined as personal computers.
But that's OK - because this is what's known as a PARADIGM SHIFT. You will not be comfortable for some time to come until you reconcile yourself to the shift and what it represents. You will continue to struggle to define things in terms which are becoming outdated and inaccurate. Only those whose minds are flexible and adaptable can see the paradigm shift for what it is. Sad thing is - I'm well past my 5th decade of existence and I have no problem seeing it for what it is. Why can't you?
Reminded me of a passage from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens. Not exactly a debate, but some degree of uncertainty regarding the nature of a particular vehicle:
It's not arbitrary. To me, the fact of having to sync changes my perception of the device the whole time I'm using it. When I create a file I'm thinking about the next sync. When I see the battery go down I'm thinking about the next sync. When I create a bookmark I'm thinking about the next sync. Sync is not an isolated thing that happens when I plug in, it is always there, effecting how I use it.
when the battery goes low, you don't think about the next sync, you think about the next charge. You can charge it by plugging it into the wall, you don't need to sync to charge.
When you create a document, why do you need to sync? Are you talking about backup? Backup is an issue with all PCs.
When I create a bookmark, contact, appointment, etc, syncing happens automatically and pretty much instantly with mobile me. I can create on any of my iPhone, iPad, iMac, MacPro, MacBook air, or my account on a couple of other computers and they sync everywhere. There is no distinction between them for syncing.
You can activate at the Apple store.
Pretty much the only time you have to have another computer is to update the OS, which is no different than installing Snow Leopard on my MacBook Air.
Question - how do you update to a new release of the OS on a netbook? How do you reinstall the OS is soemthing goes wrong? My daughter has a netbook that has no CD/DVD drive and has a corrupted copy of windows. It's been useless for months now as there appears to be no way to fix it. It sure would be nice if I could just plug it into another computer to restore it like I can with an iPad.
The horse was a bay, a well-looking animal enough; but with something of a flash and dog-fighting air about him, nevertheless, which accorded both with the vehicle and his master.
Question - how do you update to a new release of the OS on a netbook? How do you reinstall the OS is soemthing goes wrong? My daughter has a netbook that has no CD/DVD drive and has a corrupted copy of windows. It's been useless for months now as there appears to be no way to fix it. It sure would be nice if I could just plug it into another computer to restore it like I can with an iPad.
First I would check with the manufacturer to see if there isn't a quick restore back to original setup. If not, then you can use the usb port with a external cd drive which you can buy for 10-15 bucks or put the os installation files on a flash drive and boot from that to do a full reinstall.
I don't think the ipad, iphone, or ipod are "PCs" and my logic for this is that there is no software creation apps available for ios itself.
Comments
Seriously. Apple should include the iPod Touch into its computer sales. They run full apps on a full iOS. As such, it has all the abilities of the iPad, which clearly is a full fledged computer.
Well iPhone as well. It has all the features of iPad/iPod Touch, plus voice. You can't reduce it's status because it actually has more features, now, can you?
It matters to shareholders, and since the number of corporate-type articles on this site seem to outnumber the technical ones, perhaps they are who this site is aimed at.
It actually only matters to analysts and geeks, both of whom share a mania for classifying things. Shareholders don't give a fig what they're called, so long as they sell.
IMHO, the iPad (and Galaxy Tab, HP Slate, etc) should count as personal computers, and I find it interesting that they wouldn't be by the likes of IDC, Gartner, etc.
IDC, Gartner etc get to charge for another report.
Once again I must say that the iPad is NOT A F***ING PC
The no porn apps rule is well known.
From this perspective it makes perfect sense to lump netbook sales with "traditional" PC sales but not iPad sales with Mac PC sales.
As others have said earlier the definition of what is and isn't a PC is utterly irrelevant to most people's lives, may even be irrelevant within the IT industry. What matters is what any given device can do for a particular person and their needs.
I couldn't help but wonder if years ago people were debating the difference between a cart, a wagon and a coach (two or four wheels, two, four or six horses?) during the time the first motorcycles were being introduced.
So perhaps the iPad is the motorcycle to the Windows/OS X PC horse and carts.
When Apple ships the iPad with an iOS reinstall drive:
And a combined Charger/Airport Express:
and comes with MobileMe Backup/Sync/Mobile Extensions tied into iTunes stores
Then the iPad will be a superior solution to first-time buyers and the iPad will be the Apple of the masses.
I say that's the wrong viewpoint. My iPad is ALREADY superior to my macbook, by virtue of it being a tablet. I can write and draw on it (Notes Plus and ArtStudio, thank you very much), vs with a macbook I cannot. I can access everything I need to access on it, without the hassle of booting up and getting out the computer. If netbooks are included in the definition, then iPads should be as well. It is already the Apple for the masses as far as I'm concerned... to think otherwise is simply to ignore reality that people want simple computing interfaces rather than complicated and feature-laden You miss the point that the iPad isn't meant to be the be-all, end-all for computing, it's meant to cover 90% of your use cases. And with that, it succeeds.
There! Happy now?
The revelation comes as somewhat of a surprise, given that Apple has now sold over 15 million iPads, while Apple TVs capable of playing Netflix have just recently sold over a million units.
Perhaps, but watching movies on the iPad is not the best experience. People have been at pains to point out how the iPad is only useful for media consumption, but I disagree. Through dedicated apps it is an incredibly useful tool for inputing data. Watching movies on the ipad is a little like reading - it is great, except the ipad is heavy and sometimes the lack of a built in stand makes it awkward. I always opt for my laptop for watching movies in bed.
Given the choice between watching a movie on the iPad on my couch, or on a TV set the TV set wins every time. There seems to be an assumption that everyone owns 52" TV's but I am not sure that is the case. Netflix on a 32" screen is fine.
... I couldn't help but wonder if years ago people were debating the difference between a cart, a wagon and a coach ...
Reminded me of a passage from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens. Not exactly a debate, but some degree of uncertainty regarding the nature of a particular vehicle:
... The vehicle was not exactly a gig, neither was it a stanhope. It was not what is currently denominated a dog-cart, neither was it a taxed cart, nor a chaise-cart, nor a guillotined cabriolet; and yet it had something of the character of each and every of these machines. ...
I really hate it when people display poor reading comprehension. First of all, you are completely wrong. Secondly I said UPDATES. 3rd, no the MacBook air ships with a thumb drive containing the restore disc, and 4th it has always been able to use the super drive accessory.
And, it ships activated. Complete and total fail on your part. Next.
You are short-sighted and arbitrary in your designations. To wit:
If Apple decided to ship any of the Macs with the same limitation as the iPad you have described in your posts, by your definition, regardless of hardware, capability and configuration they would NOT be computers - specifically PCs. Sounds like nonsense? Wait there's more!
Go back to the early computers, the Timex Sinclair, the Apple 1 and ][ - they could not operate with certain peripheral devices attached, will you claim also that these were not computers/PCs? How about the early Wangs, the Imlacs, HP 9830s, the Altairs? Just because a device doesn't do exactly the same things as the desktop unit sitting before you doesn't mean it's NOT a personal computer. The capability of the iPad far outstrips any of these early devices which were personal computers. The fact that it requires a tethered activation is an arbitrary decision by Apple and in no way reflects on it's status or capability as a personal computer.
The problem here is you have artificially and arbitrarily decided in your own mind what constitutes a personal computer, (based on an arbitrary decision by Apple to require tethering to activate the OS) which doesn't leave the field wide enough to actually include many devices which are or were defined as personal computers.
But that's OK - because this is what's known as a PARADIGM SHIFT. You will not be comfortable for some time to come until you reconcile yourself to the shift and what it represents. You will continue to struggle to define things in terms which are becoming outdated and inaccurate. Only those whose minds are flexible and adaptable can see the paradigm shift for what it is. Sad thing is - I'm well past my 5th decade of existence and I have no problem seeing it for what it is. Why can't you?
Reminded me of a passage from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens. Not exactly a debate, but some degree of uncertainty regarding the nature of a particular vehicle:
Perfect example - like the "horseless carriage"
It's not arbitrary. To me, the fact of having to sync changes my perception of the device the whole time I'm using it. When I create a file I'm thinking about the next sync. When I see the battery go down I'm thinking about the next sync. When I create a bookmark I'm thinking about the next sync. Sync is not an isolated thing that happens when I plug in, it is always there, effecting how I use it.
when the battery goes low, you don't think about the next sync, you think about the next charge. You can charge it by plugging it into the wall, you don't need to sync to charge.
When you create a document, why do you need to sync? Are you talking about backup? Backup is an issue with all PCs.
When I create a bookmark, contact, appointment, etc, syncing happens automatically and pretty much instantly with mobile me. I can create on any of my iPhone, iPad, iMac, MacPro, MacBook air, or my account on a couple of other computers and they sync everywhere. There is no distinction between them for syncing.
You can activate at the Apple store.
Pretty much the only time you have to have another computer is to update the OS, which is no different than installing Snow Leopard on my MacBook Air.
Question - how do you update to a new release of the OS on a netbook? How do you reinstall the OS is soemthing goes wrong? My daughter has a netbook that has no CD/DVD drive and has a corrupted copy of windows. It's been useless for months now as there appears to be no way to fix it. It sure would be nice if I could just plug it into another computer to restore it like I can with an iPad.
Perfect example - like the "horseless carriage"
Well, in this case,
The horse was a bay, a well-looking animal enough; but with something of a flash and dog-fighting air about him, nevertheless, which accorded both with the vehicle and his master.
Question - how do you update to a new release of the OS on a netbook? How do you reinstall the OS is soemthing goes wrong? My daughter has a netbook that has no CD/DVD drive and has a corrupted copy of windows. It's been useless for months now as there appears to be no way to fix it. It sure would be nice if I could just plug it into another computer to restore it like I can with an iPad.
First I would check with the manufacturer to see if there isn't a quick restore back to original setup. If not, then you can use the usb port with a external cd drive which you can buy for 10-15 bucks or put the os installation files on a flash drive and boot from that to do a full reinstall.
I don't think the ipad, iphone, or ipod are "PCs" and my logic for this is that there is no software creation apps available for ios itself.
It's a lttle early for April fools.
If an iPad is considered a computer then so should an iPod Touch and a Sony Dash.
And netbooks can play flash and don't need to be synced to a mother computer because they ARE a computer.
my ipod touch does more than the apollo 13 spacecraft
does more in every way
the touch the rim some androids etc etc are powerful computers
MAYBE if a device contains a hard-drive and mother board its a personal computer ??
Apple now sell's over 100 million $499 DEVICES a year
than can render PAGES
that can surf the net
that can make 2 way video calls
that can stream movies
on and on
so apples market share is way higher than ADC reports
ADC also just told us pluto is not a planet
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