home on nano, 10.5 - The new paradigm

nordstrodamusnordstrodamus
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
The scenario (bear with me, this makes sense in the end).



1. Nano slots/docks standard on all macs.

2. Automatic synching to home folder on multiple machines

3. Portable "Saved State"- No need to close and reopen documents

4. 10.5 extends file icons to include widget functionality (at 128*128 )



The advantages of the first 2 are obvious- file redundancy, portability, flash stability, etc.... The third is something that IBM is championing. They are using 10 GB flash drives, which are right around the corner.



So why #4? With music, movies, and pictures you can work with them on a tiny nano screen. The nano has some built in aps to work with contact and calander info, but all other files are meaningless on the nano. I'm not talking about editing word files on a nano, but allowing for some simple widget-style interface for other files would make them a lot more useful on the nano. Would be pretty cool on your mac, too.



Has a certain sci-fi appeal as well. In minority report and Star Trek, files have basic application functionality built in.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    rhumgodrhumgod Posts: 1,289member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Nordstrodamus

    So why #4? With music, movies, and pictures you can work with them on a tiny nano screen. The nano has some built in aps to work with contact and calander info, but all other files are meaningless on the nano. I'm not talking about editing word files on a nano, but allowing for some simple widget-style interface for other files would make them a lot more useful on the nano. Would be pretty cool on your mac, too.



    Has a certain sci-fi appeal as well. In minority report and Star Trek, files have basic application functionality built in.



    I am not sure I am following. Media is "playable" on an iPod - something that you sense (audial/visual). What else is there? Smell? A file is going to gas you? I just do not follow the thinking. Elaborate.
  • Reply 2 of 7
    nordstrodamusnordstrodamus Posts: 828member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Rhumgod

    I am not sure I am following. Media is "playable" on an iPod - something that you sense (audial/visual). What else is there? Smell? A file is going to gas you? I just do not follow the thinking. Elaborate.



    Obviously we only interact with the file through audio/visual means. I didn't mean to suggest that we would be smelling or licking files.



    What I meant is that the nano, with its ity-bity interface, can still manage to provide us with enough info about song, picture, even movie files that we can manage and use them. Specialized functions of the nano allow us to work with other files - contacts, calander, memos, etc., but you can't deal with any other files.



    If the nano was to become your home folder on a stick, so to speak, it would be nice to be able to interact with ALL your files to some limited extent, It is impossible, unreasonable, and undesirable to have a nano version of Microsoft word loaded on to a nano just so you can see a little more information about your word document (. But if some basic widget type functionality was built into every file's icon and could be utilized by developers to provide an "at a glance" interface for there files, then all files would become a little more useful on the nano.



    To be honest, #4 isn't a must for the new paradigm, but I thought it would be the kind of little touch Apple might add. I do like the idea of the icon becoming an interactive means of dealing with a file on my mac, the same way it's nice to be able to play a quictime file in finder. Doing this in a "home on nano" situation would problably only be important if the nano acquired the ability to beam info to other devices. I can see the nano becoming like a business card (except you zap info to another user instead of actually giving them your nano) or maybe a wallet, id badge, or wireless key.
  • Reply 3 of 7
    bobthetomatobobthetomato Posts: 665member
    SO basically my home folder and settings follow me wherever I go, hopefully in a pretty "user proof" manner (i.e. all I have to do is save my file, not worry about what disc I'm saving it to or moving fonts or whatever). It has potential but the App problem would be big (I'm sure M$ and Adobe wouldn't want me toting Office and Photoshop and would probably be reluctant to author new reader apps just for this purpose, being more inclined to sell you one copy and the office one copy). Also 10 gig could fill fast between my Music, Pictures, Reader Apps, and files.
  • Reply 4 of 7
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    Nice post... it really got me thinking.



    However, I think the future of computing is big screens and ubiquitous networking, not small screens and dependance on a losable personal storage device.
  • Reply 5 of 7
    nordstrodamusnordstrodamus Posts: 828member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by dfiler

    Nice post... it really got me thinking.



    However, I think the future of computing is big screens and ubiquitous networking, not small screens and dependance on a losable personal storage device.



    Thanks, and I too would love a ubiquitous computing scenario, but I don't think the networking speeds and ubiquity will be up to the task for a while. Besides the home on nano scenario would fit in nicely with the ubiquitous approach.



    EDIT - Also, with respect to the losability of the device, that's why I proposed that it would automatically sync with your home folder (a la a backup).
  • Reply 6 of 7
    rongoldrongold Posts: 302member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BobtheTomato

    It has potential but the App problem would be big (I'm sure M$ and Adobe wouldn't want me toting Office and Photoshop and would probably be reluctant to author new reader apps just for this purpose, being more inclined to sell you one copy and the office one copy).



    This really isn't an issue. If you remember, Apple Computer purchased SchemaSoft about 6 months back. This is working technology that provides them with open standards-based software that lets you extract the content found in common file formats such as Microsoft Office, Adobe products, Quark apps, HTML, XML, SVG and PDF. There are more but these formats were the most advertised and popular ones as documented on their website.



    At the time when Apple purchased SchemaSoft, it worked on all the big OSes; Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Palm OS and Symbian.



    Who knows what Apple has up their sleeve with this though?
  • Reply 7 of 7
    trtamtrtam Posts: 111member
    #1...hmmmmm, maybe, but there are too many different iPod models...



    #2...That'd be good. I keep my apps on my iPod so I can work on them away from home.



    They already have #3...It's called "Safe Sleep" [but it's only (well...) for the newest PowerBooks...]
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