I'm not sure I agree that the prosumer is dead. Seems to me, at least as far as Apple is concerned, that the pro user is dead and they're concentrating their efforts in the prosumer (FCP X, etc.) and consumer (iEverything else) areas.
In light of the Final Cut software you mention. Mere semantics. Pro/Con/Sumer. *Gets out his carving knife for thin slices of meaning...
Trust me, I feel your pain. I waited years for a rational Pro and plumped for a top end iMac in a sale. So I know what it's like to wait. (Try ten years, mate.)
Wow, you've got me beat on wait time. I jumped the gun and sold my iMac (not the same one I mentioned in my earlier post) last summer in anticipation of a Mac Pro refresh that has yet to (or may never) materialize. I've been getting by with a Core i7 MBP in the interim that loves to go to turbofan mode.
You say that now but I'm simply not convinced that most users would accept such interfacing. I see a lot of touch screen usage in factories, beyond terrible interfaces it is just more difficult for the operators than reaching for a keyboard.
As I said there might be use cases where it is an advantage but those are darn few. Even for photography and such it has severe limitations.
You really need to think about what you are asking for. If you did you would realize it is a niche feature at best.
This is the problem, it wouldn't be welcomed. Users would revert to traditional interfaces very quickly because it would be a huge productivity drain. Even a novice keyboard user can pound away at a keyboard faster than he can a touch screen. Further he can do so with more accuracy and with les fatigue.
Hmm. An iMac on a stand you can Cintiq collapse and spread your hands around on a 27 inch screen.
Don't know about folks here, but I'm tired already just thinking about it...
That's my speculation as well. The NAB convention seems like a good time/place to roll out a new Mac Pro
Unlikely to happen. Apple is basically done with announcing at 3rd party events. They won't do it unless there is a value to the announcement and then it is more likely to be software than hardware. The whole NAB Final Cut X thing was because that was a core group they wanted to get on board and doing the reveal there was a way to start the hype going and make that group feel special. But announcing hardware there lacks the same value AND it puts them on someone else's time table which Apple hates. The best that might happen at NAB is that they will have already announced the Mac Pro or silently released it and could have a demo model for folks there to see. But the initial talk won't be at NAB
The user community isn't going to accept a touch screen Mac for most of the productivity jobs they are currently used for. It puts the user at a disadvantage in traditional work settings and is conduciver to repeative stress injuries.
Agreed. If you are talking about a store kiosk, fine. But for typical users it's just not practical.
Now better support for things like those iPad apps that Adobe did that you can use alongside your desktop software, sure that is doable, practical and even smart. Being able to Airdrop files between your Mac and your iPad, sure. That would be awesome (as would a single file bucket in iOS even if we can't see it directly)
Wow, you've got me beat on wait time. I jumped the gun and sold my iMac (not the same one I mentioned in my earlier post) last summer in anticipation of a Mac Pro refresh that has yet to (or may never) materialize. I've been getting by with a Core i7 MBP in the interim that loves to go to turbofan mode.
Sound a bit like Wizard. He's on a Macbook Pro (I think...2008?)
Respectable machines. The gap has narrowed, historically, between laptops and desktops.
I wanted a Pro. But Apple kept putting the price up after the G3, G4, G5, Intel chips...etc. The magic Pro never arrived. (I nearly bought the dual quads version when it was around 2K)
Compared to the Core2 Duo I have now, I'd tear Apple's arm off for the 27 inch i7 quad core with 2 gigs Vram 6970M gpu.
Eh...I'll see what they release this year. Don't see me upgrading unless there's a surprise on HiDPI screens and more cores added to the top of the line.
I think I'm another year or two away from what I want.
The user community isn't going to accept a touch screen Mac for most of the productivity jobs they are currently used for. It puts the user at a disadvantage in traditional work settings and is conduciver to repeative stress injuries.
I suspect that Apple already knows how bad this will be for most use cases so I just don't see touch screens being a big draw. That isn't to say specific cases might not benefit, but rather that we as users will seldom benefit.
I agree that a touch screen is a ways off (if ever) for most desktop productivity jobs...
But, there are some creative uses that are just begging to be re-impmelented as apps with multitouch:
-- any of the drawing/painting apps
-- some architectural/drafting/CAD apps
-- music and video creation and editing apps
We're already seeing some of this on the iPad and iPhone -- GarageBand, iMovie, Avid Studio, iPhoto, AutoDesk and Adobe apps.
I can easily visualize Apple's Pro apps, FCP X, Aperture, Logic being enhanced to support multitouch...
In FCP X, for example the skimming feature, where you can quickly preview clips by skimming (not dragging) the cursor -- why have the abstraction of a mouse/cursor at all -- just reach out [down] and do it with your finger(s). Same for Ripple, Roll, Slip and Slide, sub clip selection or the Precision Editor.
In FCP X multicam editing where you have up to 16 clips (out of 64) playing simultaneously, and you want to cut between clips. Currently. you use the mouse/cursor abstraction or pressing keyboard keys abstraction. Why not just touch the one you want, when you want it?
Same for any sound or effect (color correction, etc.) where you use multiple sliders to get the results you want -- with touch, you can change multiple settings at once -- instead of using the mouse/cursor or keyboard to change settings on-at-a-time (then going back, multiple times, until you get them all in balance).
When in a creative fit (a rit of felous jage), sometimes there's just no substitute for getting in there with both hands -- getting your hands dirty!
I'm of the opinion that the Mac Pro will get a serious redesign. That however doesn't mean high performance computing will be gone from the Mac Line up. Rather I think the opposite will happen in that whatever replaces the Mac Pro will be dramatically faster and more powerful.
The problem is pretty clear, big boxes are no longer needed to make powerful computers. In fact they are a deterrent as the electronics has to get smaller and more densely packed to continue to increase performance. People wishing for another rev of the Mac Pro, in it's current case, are not looking towards the future. Apple needs to get a new platform out that is ready for the future, something that will stay around for another 5-10 years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob55
I would love to say that the reports of the death of the Mac Pro have been greatly exaggerated but I unfortunately don't know that to be the case. For all we know, you may be right.
Until we see what Apple does, all of this sweating over what Apple might do is just ignorance. Computer design will change rapidly in the next few years. Intel has already let some of this out of the bag so to speak, but think in terms of high integration (SoC) and 3D technologies. Has well will be a SoC for lower end machines, at the upper end Intel has a processor coming with Infiniband built in. In between will be an array of components. Memory technologies of the future will be high performance 3D stacks.
Taken all together these technologies imply smaller tightly packed computers. Physics dictates that memory be in close proximity to the CPU and like wise other components are impacted by their distances from the CPU.
So yeah I think the Mac Pro is dead, that is not however a bad thing at all. In fact I would hope that it is a sign of things to come. Done right the Mac Pros replacement could be 2-3x faster than today's machine in a much smaller box.
USB 3.0, Bluetooth 4.0, a faster updated Thunderbolt using optical instead of copper wiring, will use the Intel GPU and will come with Lion pre loaded with a free upgrade to Mountain Lion. And I'm thinking as a way out there prediction is that we may see a 30" or 32" screen size offered.
well yeah, you moved it to iCloud which doesn't work on your computer. Of course things were going to go wonky. Why did you move it now instead of waiting until you absolutely had to. Mobile Me would have still worked on the iPad/iphone.
Basically I didn't know that MobileMe would cease to work properly in Snow Leopard if I went into the cloud. I wanted to end to cable to the iMac syncing. I have a 13 MBP in the cloud too.Basically the good old iMac has 2 email accounts that I use- one being the mobileme. I think I will need to delete the mobileme as is then create it from scratch based on the link I got. Except I'll probably will loose history- (I need to get a new ext HD and time machine it first). I almost bought a new iMac last fall. I definitely need one sooner than later. The iMac has always been my favorite Apple device. Not really a laptop person-must be the lack of a number keypad.
This is the problem, it wouldn't be welcomed. Users would revert to traditional interfaces very quickly because it would be a huge productivity drain. Even a novice keyboard user can pound away at a keyboard faster than he can a touch screen. Further he can do so with more accuracy and with les fatigue.
Nowhere did I state I would use it for typing or even as a keyboard for that matter. No pounding please!
Have you ever tried playing a piano with a keyboard or drawing with a mouse as oppsed to using your fingers or a stylus?
I agree that a touch screen is a ways off (if ever) for most desktop productivity jobs...
In some cases I'd go so far as to say it would be next to impossible to derive any benefit from touch. Intelligent voice input free of the network has a better chance of being a productivity boost.
Quote:
But, there are some creative uses that are just begging to be re-impmelented as apps with multitouch:
-- any of the drawing/painting apps
-- some architectural/drafting/CAD apps
-- music and video creation and editing apps
Note that I did say some specific cases would benefit. But even hear, let's say you are an engineer drawing something in a CAD system, detail work would be very tedious with a Touch screen. Some levels of design might benefit a bit from touch but I suspect it would be very modal.
Quote:
We're already seeing some of this on the iPad and iPhone -- GarageBand, iMovie, Avid Studio, iPhoto, AutoDesk and Adobe apps.
Yes I have a couple of those apps! That is we're part of my position comes from, it isn't the same user experience as a mouse or track pad.
Quote:
I can easily visualize Apple's Pro apps, FCP X, Aperture, Logic being enhanced to support multitouch...
Sure I can see this too. The problem is I don't see it as the type of feature users will embrace.
Quote:
In FCP X, for example the skimming feature, where you can quickly preview clips by skimming (not dragging) the cursor -- why have the abstraction of a mouse/cursor at all -- just reach out [down] and do it with your finger(s). Same for Ripple, Roll, Slip and Slide, sub clip selection or the Precision Editor.
In FCP X multicam editing where you have up to 16 clips (out of 64) playing simultaneously, and you want to cut between clips. Currently. you use the mouse/cursor abstraction or pressing keyboard keys abstraction. Why not just touch the one you want, when you want it?
For a casual user there is likely no problem. For a professional I see huge issues. A hard flat screen is an ergonomics nightmare, especially if forced to use such screen 8 hours a day. It is nice to take these cases out of context and imagine how nice they would be. The problem is what works for a minute will not hold up for hours at a time.
Quote:
Same for any sound or effect (color correction, etc.) where you use multiple sliders to get the results you want -- with touch, you can change multiple settings at once -- instead of using the mouse/cursor or keyboard to change settings on-at-a-time (then going back, multiple times, until you get them all in balance).
When in a creative fit (a rit of felous jage), sometimes there's just no substitute for getting in there with both hands -- getting your hands dirty!
It is really a question of where you want to put your hands. One big issue, if we ignore fatique, is the visual obstruction you hand becomes. This can be a big issue for some with iPad apps. Then you get into that whole issue of precision and the lack of visual feedback do to the fingers blocking your view.
In the end I just don't see an overwhelming advantage for most users. In some real cases the use of touch screens would be a regression.
Actually Apple has the perfect platform to test my position out on. Take GarageBand on an iPad and a Mac and do the same things for four hours straight on each one. Then come back aNd tell us which one left you feeling more uncomfortable at the end. Do this on separate days. I'm willing to bet the Mac interface allows for a longer time in the app.
You mean like they already are. They ignored USB 3 in favor of thunderbolt. Which would be fine if the externals weren't crazy expensive.
This has happened before. Apple was not the first to support USB on a computer. They were behind the rest of the pack with USB 2, as well.
In this case, it's probably chipset support that's the issue. Apple does not like to add extra chips to the motherboard without a pretty good reason. And USB 3 over USB 2 is not a sufficient reason. Only a very tiny number of people would even see the difference and even fewer would care.
When Ivy Bridge comes out, Apple will be able to offer USB 3 without adding another chip, so it's quite likely that it will happen then.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
I've been working on a stand design that allows the user to take their multitouch desktop and move it between a keyboard-level angle and a vertical display.
That's what Apple will have to make to get OS XI accepted.
Nonsense. Apple can't get future OSs accepted without a touchscreen desktop? You're dreaming. No one I know wants to use a touchscreen on a desktop - or even a laptop, for that matter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Support.
The chipsets also support USB 2 ports.
I would NOT put it past Apple to ignore USB 3 entirely and keep using 2.
Why? What does Apple gain by doing that? USB 3 is supported by the chip set, so they don't have to do any more work to include it. There's absolutely no reason to leave it out.
If you're going to argue that they'll leave it out to encourage Thunderbolt, that's no more plausible than the predictions that Apple would never support USB 2 to encourage Firewire.
You could be right. Apple Computer is dead...long live Apple Inc and all that. The computer is dead. Long live the computer.
The prosumer is dead. Long live the consumer...
Lemon Bon Bon.
I don't agree at all!
Apple changed their name, not because they no longer make computers -- rather, they make computers and a lot more!
Apple has an unique advantage in that they have both the hardware and the software for both computers and mobile/post-pc... whatever.
both the hardware and the software for both computers and mobile/post-pc...
Microsoft or any of the WinPC manufacturers do not have this advantage.
Google/MMI or any of the Android OEMs do not have this advantage,
Where can you go, to get one-stop-shopping (a single integrated solution) for the desktop and mobile for the pro, prosumer, consumer... Only one answer... Apple.
I think, Apple under Tim Cook (with his background and education), will be more pro business/enterprise than it ever was under Steve Jobs.
I believe that Apple really screwed up with how they handled the FCP X announcement (and FCP 7 EOL). But, 8 months later Apple released major enhancements to FCP X that filled in most of the major deficiencies (FCP 7 would go 12-18 months for minor enhancements). Now, FCP X is being revisited by the "pros" because it is fast, productive and has some capabilities like multicam that are the best implementation out there...
It the past, Apple would sneak in the back door of enterprise by targeting the creative departments. Today, Apple is [boldly] walking in the side door with iPhones and iPads... or strutting in the front door all the way to the executive suite.
I believe that Tim recognizes the above advantages and will exploit them!
Nowhere did I state I would use it for typing or even as a keyboard for that matter. No pounding please!
Have you ever tried playing a piano with a keyboard or drawing with a mouse as oppsed to using your fingers or a stylus?
I can't imagine using a glass screen for a piano is good for your fingers in the long run. Sure it has advantages over a keyboard, but a real keyboard has advantages over both.
As to drawing, in my case drafting, I use the track pad on my MBP. Either that or enter specific objects in place from the keyboard. I suspect that the difference here is that drawing to you is Etch-a-sketch like activity while I see drawing as a precision engineering activity. Even then a bitmaped like drawing app is still easier to deal with via a mouse, I just have a hard time with the big paws obstructing the very surface I'm trying to draw on.
Yes, I agree... my early-2008 Mac Pro is finally starting to show it's age... and I've been waiting and waiting (and waiting) for Apple to update the Mac Pro so I can buy a new one.
Comments
I'm not sure I agree that the prosumer is dead. Seems to me, at least as far as Apple is concerned, that the pro user is dead and they're concentrating their efforts in the prosumer (FCP X, etc.) and consumer (iEverything else) areas.
In light of the Final Cut software you mention. Mere semantics. Pro/Con/Sumer. *Gets out his carving knife for thin slices of meaning...
Lemon Bon Bon.
Trust me, I feel your pain. I waited years for a rational Pro and plumped for a top end iMac in a sale. So I know what it's like to wait. (Try ten years, mate.)
Wow, you've got me beat on wait time. I jumped the gun and sold my iMac (not the same one I mentioned in my earlier post) last summer in anticipation of a Mac Pro refresh that has yet to (or may never) materialize. I've been getting by with a Core i7 MBP in the interim that loves to go to turbofan mode.
You say that now but I'm simply not convinced that most users would accept such interfacing. I see a lot of touch screen usage in factories, beyond terrible interfaces it is just more difficult for the operators than reaching for a keyboard.
As I said there might be use cases where it is an advantage but those are darn few. Even for photography and such it has severe limitations.
You really need to think about what you are asking for. If you did you would realize it is a niche feature at best.
This is the problem, it wouldn't be welcomed. Users would revert to traditional interfaces very quickly because it would be a huge productivity drain. Even a novice keyboard user can pound away at a keyboard faster than he can a touch screen. Further he can do so with more accuracy and with les fatigue.
Hmm. An iMac on a stand you can Cintiq collapse and spread your hands around on a 27 inch screen.
Don't know about folks here, but I'm tired already just thinking about it...
Finger smear on my iPad works ok, though...
Lemon Bon Bon.
...If an update/new Mac Pro is on the verge of being released, some kind of rumor would have popped up a couple of weeks ago.
Presumably, but then those rumors stopped swirling last year when the allegedly imminent Mac Pro refresh/update insisted on not materializing.
That's my speculation as well. The NAB convention seems like a good time/place to roll out a new Mac Pro
Unlikely to happen. Apple is basically done with announcing at 3rd party events. They won't do it unless there is a value to the announcement and then it is more likely to be software than hardware. The whole NAB Final Cut X thing was because that was a core group they wanted to get on board and doing the reveal there was a way to start the hype going and make that group feel special. But announcing hardware there lacks the same value AND it puts them on someone else's time table which Apple hates. The best that might happen at NAB is that they will have already announced the Mac Pro or silently released it and could have a demo model for folks there to see. But the initial talk won't be at NAB
Give me a break.
The user community isn't going to accept a touch screen Mac for most of the productivity jobs they are currently used for. It puts the user at a disadvantage in traditional work settings and is conduciver to repeative stress injuries.
Agreed. If you are talking about a store kiosk, fine. But for typical users it's just not practical.
Now better support for things like those iPad apps that Adobe did that you can use alongside your desktop software, sure that is doable, practical and even smart. Being able to Airdrop files between your Mac and your iPad, sure. That would be awesome (as would a single file bucket in iOS even if we can't see it directly)
But a giant touchscreen computer. not so awesome
I would NOT put it past Apple to ignore USB 3 entirely and keep using 2.
You mean like they already are. They ignored USB 3 in favor of thunderbolt. Which would be fine if the externals weren't crazy expensive.
Wow, you've got me beat on wait time. I jumped the gun and sold my iMac (not the same one I mentioned in my earlier post) last summer in anticipation of a Mac Pro refresh that has yet to (or may never) materialize. I've been getting by with a Core i7 MBP in the interim that loves to go to turbofan mode.
Sound a bit like Wizard. He's on a Macbook Pro (I think...2008?)
Respectable machines. The gap has narrowed, historically, between laptops and desktops.
I wanted a Pro. But Apple kept putting the price up after the G3, G4, G5, Intel chips...etc. The magic Pro never arrived. (I nearly bought the dual quads version when it was around 2K)
Compared to the Core2 Duo I have now, I'd tear Apple's arm off for the 27 inch i7 quad core with 2 gigs Vram 6970M gpu.
Eh...I'll see what they release this year. Don't see me upgrading unless there's a surprise on HiDPI screens and more cores added to the top of the line.
I think I'm another year or two away from what I want.
Lemon Bon Bon.
BREAKSCLUSIVE: New model computer will be released this year to replace last year's model offerings!
Yeah.
And it just a speedbump. Nothing significant.
Give me a break.
The user community isn't going to accept a touch screen Mac for most of the productivity jobs they are currently used for. It puts the user at a disadvantage in traditional work settings and is conduciver to repeative stress injuries.
I suspect that Apple already knows how bad this will be for most use cases so I just don't see touch screens being a big draw. That isn't to say specific cases might not benefit, but rather that we as users will seldom benefit.
I agree that a touch screen is a ways off (if ever) for most desktop productivity jobs...
But, there are some creative uses that are just begging to be re-impmelented as apps with multitouch:
-- any of the drawing/painting apps
-- some architectural/drafting/CAD apps
-- music and video creation and editing apps
We're already seeing some of this on the iPad and iPhone -- GarageBand, iMovie, Avid Studio, iPhoto, AutoDesk and Adobe apps.
I can easily visualize Apple's Pro apps, FCP X, Aperture, Logic being enhanced to support multitouch...
In FCP X, for example the skimming feature, where you can quickly preview clips by skimming (not dragging) the cursor -- why have the abstraction of a mouse/cursor at all -- just reach out [down] and do it with your finger(s). Same for Ripple, Roll, Slip and Slide, sub clip selection or the Precision Editor.
In FCP X multicam editing where you have up to 16 clips (out of 64) playing simultaneously, and you want to cut between clips. Currently. you use the mouse/cursor abstraction or pressing keyboard keys abstraction. Why not just touch the one you want, when you want it?
Same for any sound or effect (color correction, etc.) where you use multiple sliders to get the results you want -- with touch, you can change multiple settings at once -- instead of using the mouse/cursor or keyboard to change settings on-at-a-time (then going back, multiple times, until you get them all in balance).
When in a creative fit (a rit of felous jage), sometimes there's just no substitute for getting in there with both hands -- getting your hands dirty!
Yeah.
And it just a speedbump. Nothing significant.
Shhhh....
Lemon Bon Bon.
The problem is pretty clear, big boxes are no longer needed to make powerful computers. In fact they are a deterrent as the electronics has to get smaller and more densely packed to continue to increase performance. People wishing for another rev of the Mac Pro, in it's current case, are not looking towards the future. Apple needs to get a new platform out that is ready for the future, something that will stay around for another 5-10 years.
I would love to say that the reports of the death of the Mac Pro have been greatly exaggerated but I unfortunately don't know that to be the case. For all we know, you may be right.
Until we see what Apple does, all of this sweating over what Apple might do is just ignorance. Computer design will change rapidly in the next few years. Intel has already let some of this out of the bag so to speak, but think in terms of high integration (SoC) and 3D technologies. Has well will be a SoC for lower end machines, at the upper end Intel has a processor coming with Infiniband built in. In between will be an array of components. Memory technologies of the future will be high performance 3D stacks.
Taken all together these technologies imply smaller tightly packed computers. Physics dictates that memory be in close proximity to the CPU and like wise other components are impacted by their distances from the CPU.
So yeah I think the Mac Pro is dead, that is not however a bad thing at all. In fact I would hope that it is a sign of things to come. Done right the Mac Pros replacement could be 2-3x faster than today's machine in a much smaller box.
well yeah, you moved it to iCloud which doesn't work on your computer. Of course things were going to go wonky. Why did you move it now instead of waiting until you absolutely had to. Mobile Me would have still worked on the iPad/iphone.
Basically I didn't know that MobileMe would cease to work properly in Snow Leopard if I went into the cloud. I wanted to end to cable to the iMac syncing. I have a 13 MBP in the cloud too.Basically the good old iMac has 2 email accounts that I use- one being the mobileme. I think I will need to delete the mobileme as is then create it from scratch based on the link I got. Except I'll probably will loose history- (I need to get a new ext HD and time machine it first). I almost bought a new iMac last fall. I definitely need one sooner than later. The iMac has always been my favorite Apple device. Not really a laptop person-must be the lack of a number keypad.
This is the problem, it wouldn't be welcomed. Users would revert to traditional interfaces very quickly because it would be a huge productivity drain. Even a novice keyboard user can pound away at a keyboard faster than he can a touch screen. Further he can do so with more accuracy and with les fatigue.
Nowhere did I state I would use it for typing or even as a keyboard for that matter. No pounding please!
Have you ever tried playing a piano with a keyboard or drawing with a mouse as oppsed to using your fingers or a stylus?
I agree that a touch screen is a ways off (if ever) for most desktop productivity jobs...
In some cases I'd go so far as to say it would be next to impossible to derive any benefit from touch. Intelligent voice input free of the network has a better chance of being a productivity boost.
But, there are some creative uses that are just begging to be re-impmelented as apps with multitouch:
-- any of the drawing/painting apps
-- some architectural/drafting/CAD apps
-- music and video creation and editing apps
Note that I did say some specific cases would benefit. But even hear, let's say you are an engineer drawing something in a CAD system, detail work would be very tedious with a Touch screen. Some levels of design might benefit a bit from touch but I suspect it would be very modal.
We're already seeing some of this on the iPad and iPhone -- GarageBand, iMovie, Avid Studio, iPhoto, AutoDesk and Adobe apps.
Yes I have a couple of those apps! That is we're part of my position comes from, it isn't the same user experience as a mouse or track pad.
I can easily visualize Apple's Pro apps, FCP X, Aperture, Logic being enhanced to support multitouch...
Sure I can see this too. The problem is I don't see it as the type of feature users will embrace.
In FCP X, for example the skimming feature, where you can quickly preview clips by skimming (not dragging) the cursor -- why have the abstraction of a mouse/cursor at all -- just reach out [down] and do it with your finger(s). Same for Ripple, Roll, Slip and Slide, sub clip selection or the Precision Editor.
In FCP X multicam editing where you have up to 16 clips (out of 64) playing simultaneously, and you want to cut between clips. Currently. you use the mouse/cursor abstraction or pressing keyboard keys abstraction. Why not just touch the one you want, when you want it?
For a casual user there is likely no problem. For a professional I see huge issues. A hard flat screen is an ergonomics nightmare, especially if forced to use such screen 8 hours a day. It is nice to take these cases out of context and imagine how nice they would be. The problem is what works for a minute will not hold up for hours at a time.
Same for any sound or effect (color correction, etc.) where you use multiple sliders to get the results you want -- with touch, you can change multiple settings at once -- instead of using the mouse/cursor or keyboard to change settings on-at-a-time (then going back, multiple times, until you get them all in balance).
When in a creative fit (a rit of felous jage), sometimes there's just no substitute for getting in there with both hands -- getting your hands dirty!
It is really a question of where you want to put your hands. One big issue, if we ignore fatique, is the visual obstruction you hand becomes. This can be a big issue for some with iPad apps. Then you get into that whole issue of precision and the lack of visual feedback do to the fingers blocking your view.
In the end I just don't see an overwhelming advantage for most users. In some real cases the use of touch screens would be a regression.
Actually Apple has the perfect platform to test my position out on. Take GarageBand on an iPad and a Mac and do the same things for four hours straight on each one. Then come back aNd tell us which one left you feeling more uncomfortable at the end. Do this on separate days. I'm willing to bet the Mac interface allows for a longer time in the app.
You mean like they already are. They ignored USB 3 in favor of thunderbolt. Which would be fine if the externals weren't crazy expensive.
This has happened before. Apple was not the first to support USB on a computer. They were behind the rest of the pack with USB 2, as well.
In this case, it's probably chipset support that's the issue. Apple does not like to add extra chips to the motherboard without a pretty good reason. And USB 3 over USB 2 is not a sufficient reason. Only a very tiny number of people would even see the difference and even fewer would care.
When Ivy Bridge comes out, Apple will be able to offer USB 3 without adding another chip, so it's quite likely that it will happen then.
I've been working on a stand design that allows the user to take their multitouch desktop and move it between a keyboard-level angle and a vertical display.
That's what Apple will have to make to get OS XI accepted.
Nonsense. Apple can't get future OSs accepted without a touchscreen desktop? You're dreaming. No one I know wants to use a touchscreen on a desktop - or even a laptop, for that matter.
Support.
The chipsets also support USB 2 ports.
I would NOT put it past Apple to ignore USB 3 entirely and keep using 2.
Why? What does Apple gain by doing that? USB 3 is supported by the chip set, so they don't have to do any more work to include it. There's absolutely no reason to leave it out.
If you're going to argue that they'll leave it out to encourage Thunderbolt, that's no more plausible than the predictions that Apple would never support USB 2 to encourage Firewire.
You could be right. Apple Computer is dead...long live Apple Inc and all that. The computer is dead. Long live the computer.
The prosumer is dead. Long live the consumer...
Lemon Bon Bon.
I don't agree at all!
Apple changed their name, not because they no longer make computers -- rather, they make computers and a lot more!
Apple has an unique advantage in that they have both the hardware and the software for both computers and mobile/post-pc... whatever.
both the hardware and the software for both computers and mobile/post-pc...
Microsoft or any of the WinPC manufacturers do not have this advantage.
Google/MMI or any of the Android OEMs do not have this advantage,
Where can you go, to get one-stop-shopping (a single integrated solution) for the desktop and mobile for the pro, prosumer, consumer... Only one answer... Apple.
I think, Apple under Tim Cook (with his background and education), will be more pro business/enterprise than it ever was under Steve Jobs.
I believe that Apple really screwed up with how they handled the FCP X announcement (and FCP 7 EOL). But, 8 months later Apple released major enhancements to FCP X that filled in most of the major deficiencies (FCP 7 would go 12-18 months for minor enhancements). Now, FCP X is being revisited by the "pros" because it is fast, productive and has some capabilities like multicam that are the best implementation out there...
It the past, Apple would sneak in the back door of enterprise by targeting the creative departments. Today, Apple is [boldly] walking in the side door with iPhones and iPads... or strutting in the front door all the way to the executive suite.
I believe that Tim recognizes the above advantages and will exploit them!
/sermon
Nowhere did I state I would use it for typing or even as a keyboard for that matter. No pounding please!
Have you ever tried playing a piano with a keyboard or drawing with a mouse as oppsed to using your fingers or a stylus?
I can't imagine using a glass screen for a piano is good for your fingers in the long run. Sure it has advantages over a keyboard, but a real keyboard has advantages over both.
As to drawing, in my case drafting, I use the track pad on my MBP. Either that or enter specific objects in place from the keyboard. I suspect that the difference here is that drawing to you is Etch-a-sketch like activity while I see drawing as a precision engineering activity. Even then a bitmaped like drawing app is still easier to deal with via a mouse, I just have a hard time with the big paws obstructing the very surface I'm trying to draw on.
Mac Pro??
Yes, I agree... my early-2008 Mac Pro is finally starting to show it's age... and I've been waiting and waiting (and waiting) for Apple to update the Mac Pro so I can buy a new one.