Maybe it really is changing, but there's been a drumbeat for video phones for my entire life (and that's a sadly long time) and it fails every time. There's this big blind spot about the degree to which most people are really that enthralled with their own faces or want to look good enough to be on video for every phone call.
I'd like to see some good stats on the percentage of normal users (not tech heads) who really think having their no-makup, bad hairday, zit brokeout faces being inspected at the other end being something they really want. Most people don't even like having their picture taken if they haven't had time to prepare.
I think this is another solution in search of a problem, but then again, I'm just an old fart.
I was just a tike at the time but still vaguely remember the first AT&T picture phone being demoed at the New York World's Fair. That was about 45 years ago. It was a novelty then and I think still a novelty now.
As an owner of a tablet, I say no way a tablet is coming. The issue is nothing to do with electronics, but in holding it up. It's a pain and you become a slave to your device. The iPhone is at the limit for comfortably holding something in one hand.
However, I do think a lot could be done to slim down a Macbook/Air. There's a lot of space around the keyboard and screen. Plus I think something can be done on the software side to get the same screen real estate per app into a smaller screen. Perhaps they could make all apps run full screen, for example, and they are already playing around with removing borders and status bars. They could move the dock to the top of the base.
That leaves the issue of power - both battery and electronics. I like the idea of putting the 'net' into the netbook by having MobileMe/BackToMyMac take some of the load. Doesn't the Opera Mobile browser use server-side processing to reduce the local load? And MobileMe could incorporate more intelligence to shift your data to where its needed rather than carrying it around. The objective is to make an asset out of low spec internals (size, energy, price, weight).
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's a pie in the sky. Oh well.
Too big. 5.5" x 8.5" would make more sense technically and economically. Also, for most people, the iPhone will become or continue to be the closest thing to a portable computer they'll own.
If they make one, I think it'd be neat if they gave a little shout-out to history and make the screens the dimensions of screens on the original macs (9" diagonal).
The visual of a person putting something the size of a paperback up to their head and talking on it just seems ludicrous and it won't get out of my head.
Um, it'll probably mean apple-type headphone/mic.
I personally don't phone capabilities at all on it. I don't want phone companies anywhere near my tablet.
On the other hand, imagine your work desk with just a flat bluetooth apple keyboard, tablet sitting upright in compact expansion dock, and a larger monitor if needed.
The thing could easily replace the god-awful desktop phone I currently have, including really good conferencing and voicemail for a change.
As an owner of a tablet, I say no way a tablet is coming. The issue is nothing to do with electronics, but in holding it up. It's a pain and you become a slave to your device. The iPhone is at the limit for comfortably holding something in one hand.....
In my opinion this is the biggest obstacle. A laptop can rest on your....lap. This thing would need a stand in many circumstances - and it's hard to picture a stand that would be acceptable to Apple-Jobs-Ives. Built-in or otherwise.
Still - it would meet my needs just fine on the sofa or lying in bed. For business travel I'd love to have something like this in my carry-on and a BT keyboard in my checked bag.
Considering Apple mentioned that they do not know how to make a cheap notebook that is not a piece of junk I guess this netbook will start at $1000+
But I don't think they will go in cause Apple want to push the iPhone and iPod Touch as the future of mobile computing. Look at how capable the iPhone already and over the years, if the community grows towards the better, expect better apps
The white MacBook is $999, so don't bet on it.
I think it's going to be a 7-inch touch for $499 with no keyboard and an iPhone-like overlay keypad. Will run iPhone apps but not full-blown OS X apps. Same aspect ratio as the iPhone/touch display -- just bigger. Will be marketed as internet/video/book/game player. If you want to write term papers, this ain't your netbook.
In my opinion this is the biggest obstacle. A laptop can rest on your....lap. This thing would need a stand in many circumstances - and it's hard to picture a stand that would be acceptable to Apple-Jobs-Ives. Built-in or otherwise.
Still - it would meet my needs just fine on the sofa or lying in bed. For business travel I'd love to have something like this in my carry-on and a BT keyboard in my checked bag.
When I bought my tablet, that's exactly what I pictured myself doing, sitting back on a sofa or sprawled on the bed casually surfing. It's a total pain though. On say crossed legs on a sofa, a rectangle is an impossible shape to position comfortably. On a bed you end up letting it lie flat cause it's distracting to hold in the hand and then flat it's impossible to see properly. I think a lot of the people that are really saying a tablet is inevitable have never really lived with one as their main device. Not sure what the solution is for this.
It's ironic that someone would think having the first post in a thread is a form of "success" by any standard.
All of life is a series of small successes and one great failure. If one can not recognize those little accomplishments then you are bound to navigate life under a cloud of darkness. Reveling in the little successes is as warming to the spirit as the summer sunshine to the body.
When I bought my tablet, that's exactly what I pictured myself doing, sitting back on a sofa or sprawled on the bed casually surfing. It's a total pain though. On say crossed legs on a sofa, a rectangle is an impossible shape to position comfortably. On a bed you end up letting it lie flat cause it's distracting to hold in the hand and then flat it's impossible to see properly. I think a lot of the people that are really saying a tablet is inevitable have never really lived with one as their main device. Not sure what the solution is for this.
I'd imagine a tablet [your iPhone] lying on your back is a total pain in the ass. Or yet, your legs crossed on a sofa.
However, that freakin' Kindle seems to sell.
Sorry, but the mult-touch technology for this "tablet" would also allow for a Stand and an optional bluetooth mac keyboard and mouse. You would be using it at the table/office and then on the go in meetings where you can easily hold onto it, unless you can't imagine holding onto something about 1.5lbs.
This product would be targeted for professional environments, not Junior sitting at home surfing the web and IM'ing their pals.
When I bought my tablet, that's exactly what I pictured myself doing, sitting back on a sofa or sprawled on the bed casually surfing. It's a total pain though. On say crossed legs on a sofa, a rectangle is an impossible shape to position comfortably. On a bed you end up letting it lie flat cause it's distracting to hold in the hand and then flat it's impossible to see properly. I think a lot of the people that are really saying a tablet is inevitable have never really lived with one as their main device. Not sure what the solution is for this.
And of course it's even worse for any kind of professional use where you would generally be trying to type on the device.
I'd imagine a tablet [your iPhone] lying on your back is a total pain in the ass. Or yet, your legs crossed on a sofa.
However, that freakin' Kindle seems to sell.
Sorry, but the mult-touch technology for this "tablet" would also allow for a Stand and an optional bluetooth mac keyboard and mouse. You would be using it at the table/office and then on the go in meetings where you can easily hold onto it, unless you can't imagine holding onto something about 1.5lbs.
This product would be targeted for professional environments, not Junior sitting at home surfing the web and IM'ing their pals.
I'm pretty sure "Junior" would account for a significant percentage of sales.
One thing I've had a hard time with on the endless tablet rumors... how do you propose to hold a 10 inch touch screen and still be able to use it? It's not even really an issue of weight... Try holding a spiral notebook with one hand for a hour.
I think people's obsession with a "full sized" touch pad is so overblown, and they haven't ever thought about what a pain in the ass it would be to use it.
My opinion is that if Apple even comes out with a larger sized touchpad it will be around 6 inches. To me, that just seems like the largest you coul really make something without it being cumbersome.
Absolutely on the money. I have an iPod Touch that is a larger screen away from being a terrific alternative to a netbook. But make the screen a lot larger and a lot of the advantages of the Touch are wiped out. I think even a 5" screen would work. That would provide a better experience on the net, etc. but at the same time still make for a very portable, very easy to handle device. 5" doesn't sound like much but it's a considerable increase over the Touch and would do the trick, I think.
All of life is a series of small successes and one great failure. If one can not recognize those little accomplishments then you are bound to navigate life under a cloud of darkness. Reveling in the little successes is as warming to the spirit as the summer sunshine to the body.
While this may be true, Mr. "success" did make a truly ironic post and it was right that he was called on it IMO.
First off, posting "first" in a forum is childish crap and annoys others for no reason, so that makes him selfish. Secondly, he used a swear word, which is more childishness and was pointless in the context. Third, it was a generally negative comment that was made and it was capped off by a smug little grin. So pretty much negative, negative, negative.
Given that behaviour, having a name like "success" is indeed ironic because what he did was closer to an epic FAIL.
It's nice to stay positive and look at the small successes of life as you say, but if no one is allowed to call out a smug jerk for acting like a smug jerk, then the guy will never learn anything and will go blithely on acting like a jerk for his whole life.
That seems like a net negative for the people of planet earth to me.
Jobs needs to take a fresh look at things. The ASUS eePC and the MSI Wind are very hot right now; so hot that traditional retailers like Office Depot and Best BUy now buy ASUS branded notebooks for their inventory to sell to customers. Newegg sells enormous amounts of netbooks.
Where are you getting your numbers from? Are you just assuming them? Please provide some reliable, credible evidence, because your opinion alone means little.
Absolutely on the money. I have an iPod Touch that is a larger screen away from being a terrific alternative to a netbook. But make the screen a lot larger and a lot of the advantages of the Touch are wiped out. I think even a 5" screen would work. That would provide a better experience on the net, etc. but at the same time still make for a very portable, very easy to handle device. 5" doesn't sound like much but it's a considerable increase over the Touch and would do the trick, I think.
If you can't put it in your pocket anymore then it's not as convenient as an iPhone. You wouldn't carry it in your hand all day long so you probably wouldn't bring it with you unless you had a bag or a briefcase. In that case you would often opt to bring a laptop since you can type on it and it has a much, much larger screen. I look at the typical future scenario as everyone will always carry a smart phone but there is a need for something similar in size to a laptop but lighter and with most of the functionality of a smartphone (3G internet connection, location detection, accelerometer, AppStore, etc.) and the critical element - a full-size touchscreen keyboard. Steve himself stated this was critically missing from Netbooks.
Comments
Maybe it really is changing, but there's been a drumbeat for video phones for my entire life (and that's a sadly long time) and it fails every time. There's this big blind spot about the degree to which most people are really that enthralled with their own faces or want to look good enough to be on video for every phone call.
I'd like to see some good stats on the percentage of normal users (not tech heads) who really think having their no-makup, bad hairday, zit brokeout faces being inspected at the other end being something they really want. Most people don't even like having their picture taken if they haven't had time to prepare.
I think this is another solution in search of a problem, but then again, I'm just an old fart.
I was just a tike at the time but still vaguely remember the first AT&T picture phone being demoed at the New York World's Fair. That was about 45 years ago. It was a novelty then and I think still a novelty now.
Exactly.
And you can bet, it'll be no where near $500.
Lots of room to be priced somewhere between an iPhone and the lowend MacBook.
My guess is somewhere in the $800-900 range.
Agreed.
However, I do think a lot could be done to slim down a Macbook/Air. There's a lot of space around the keyboard and screen. Plus I think something can be done on the software side to get the same screen real estate per app into a smaller screen. Perhaps they could make all apps run full screen, for example, and they are already playing around with removing borders and status bars. They could move the dock to the top of the base.
That leaves the issue of power - both battery and electronics. I like the idea of putting the 'net' into the netbook by having MobileMe/BackToMyMac take some of the load. Doesn't the Opera Mobile browser use server-side processing to reduce the local load? And MobileMe could incorporate more intelligence to shift your data to where its needed rather than carrying it around. The objective is to make an asset out of low spec internals (size, energy, price, weight).
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's a pie in the sky. Oh well.
Too big. 5.5" x 8.5" would make more sense technically and economically. Also, for most people, the iPhone will become or continue to be the closest thing to a portable computer they'll own.
If they make one, I think it'd be neat if they gave a little shout-out to history and make the screens the dimensions of screens on the original macs (9" diagonal).
The visual of a person putting something the size of a paperback up to their head and talking on it just seems ludicrous and it won't get out of my head.
Um, it'll probably mean apple-type headphone/mic.
I personally don't phone capabilities at all on it. I don't want phone companies anywhere near my tablet.
On the other hand, imagine your work desk with just a flat bluetooth apple keyboard, tablet sitting upright in compact expansion dock, and a larger monitor if needed.
The thing could easily replace the god-awful desktop phone I currently have, including really good conferencing and voicemail for a change.
I can live with that image.
As an owner of a tablet, I say no way a tablet is coming. The issue is nothing to do with electronics, but in holding it up. It's a pain and you become a slave to your device. The iPhone is at the limit for comfortably holding something in one hand.....
In my opinion this is the biggest obstacle. A laptop can rest on your....lap. This thing would need a stand in many circumstances - and it's hard to picture a stand that would be acceptable to Apple-Jobs-Ives. Built-in or otherwise.
Still - it would meet my needs just fine on the sofa or lying in bed. For business travel I'd love to have something like this in my carry-on and a BT keyboard in my checked bag.
Considering Apple mentioned that they do not know how to make a cheap notebook that is not a piece of junk I guess this netbook will start at $1000+
But I don't think they will go in cause Apple want to push the iPhone and iPod Touch as the future of mobile computing. Look at how capable the iPhone already and over the years, if the community grows towards the better, expect better apps
The white MacBook is $999, so don't bet on it.
I think it's going to be a 7-inch touch for $499 with no keyboard and an iPhone-like overlay keypad. Will run iPhone apps but not full-blown OS X apps. Same aspect ratio as the iPhone/touch display -- just bigger. Will be marketed as internet/video/book/game player. If you want to write term papers, this ain't your netbook.
In my opinion this is the biggest obstacle. A laptop can rest on your....lap. This thing would need a stand in many circumstances - and it's hard to picture a stand that would be acceptable to Apple-Jobs-Ives. Built-in or otherwise.
Still - it would meet my needs just fine on the sofa or lying in bed. For business travel I'd love to have something like this in my carry-on and a BT keyboard in my checked bag.
When I bought my tablet, that's exactly what I pictured myself doing, sitting back on a sofa or sprawled on the bed casually surfing. It's a total pain though. On say crossed legs on a sofa, a rectangle is an impossible shape to position comfortably. On a bed you end up letting it lie flat cause it's distracting to hold in the hand and then flat it's impossible to see properly. I think a lot of the people that are really saying a tablet is inevitable have never really lived with one as their main device. Not sure what the solution is for this.
No. I'm aware of the definition of "ironic."
It's ironic that someone would think having the first post in a thread is a form of "success" by any standard.
All of life is a series of small successes and one great failure. If one can not recognize those little accomplishments then you are bound to navigate life under a cloud of darkness. Reveling in the little successes is as warming to the spirit as the summer sunshine to the body.
Dave
When I bought my tablet, that's exactly what I pictured myself doing, sitting back on a sofa or sprawled on the bed casually surfing. It's a total pain though. On say crossed legs on a sofa, a rectangle is an impossible shape to position comfortably. On a bed you end up letting it lie flat cause it's distracting to hold in the hand and then flat it's impossible to see properly. I think a lot of the people that are really saying a tablet is inevitable have never really lived with one as their main device. Not sure what the solution is for this.
I'd imagine a tablet [your iPhone] lying on your back is a total pain in the ass. Or yet, your legs crossed on a sofa.
However, that freakin' Kindle seems to sell.
Sorry, but the mult-touch technology for this "tablet" would also allow for a Stand and an optional bluetooth mac keyboard and mouse. You would be using it at the table/office and then on the go in meetings where you can easily hold onto it, unless you can't imagine holding onto something about 1.5lbs.
This product would be targeted for professional environments, not Junior sitting at home surfing the web and IM'ing their pals.
When I bought my tablet, that's exactly what I pictured myself doing, sitting back on a sofa or sprawled on the bed casually surfing. It's a total pain though. On say crossed legs on a sofa, a rectangle is an impossible shape to position comfortably. On a bed you end up letting it lie flat cause it's distracting to hold in the hand and then flat it's impossible to see properly. I think a lot of the people that are really saying a tablet is inevitable have never really lived with one as their main device. Not sure what the solution is for this.
And of course it's even worse for any kind of professional use where you would generally be trying to type on the device.
I'd imagine a tablet [your iPhone] lying on your back is a total pain in the ass. Or yet, your legs crossed on a sofa.
However, that freakin' Kindle seems to sell.
Sorry, but the mult-touch technology for this "tablet" would also allow for a Stand and an optional bluetooth mac keyboard and mouse. You would be using it at the table/office and then on the go in meetings where you can easily hold onto it, unless you can't imagine holding onto something about 1.5lbs.
This product would be targeted for professional environments, not Junior sitting at home surfing the web and IM'ing their pals.
I'm pretty sure "Junior" would account for a significant percentage of sales.
One thing I've had a hard time with on the endless tablet rumors... how do you propose to hold a 10 inch touch screen and still be able to use it? It's not even really an issue of weight... Try holding a spiral notebook with one hand for a hour.
I think people's obsession with a "full sized" touch pad is so overblown, and they haven't ever thought about what a pain in the ass it would be to use it.
My opinion is that if Apple even comes out with a larger sized touchpad it will be around 6 inches. To me, that just seems like the largest you coul really make something without it being cumbersome.
Absolutely on the money. I have an iPod Touch that is a larger screen away from being a terrific alternative to a netbook. But make the screen a lot larger and a lot of the advantages of the Touch are wiped out. I think even a 5" screen would work. That would provide a better experience on the net, etc. but at the same time still make for a very portable, very easy to handle device. 5" doesn't sound like much but it's a considerable increase over the Touch and would do the trick, I think.
All of life is a series of small successes and one great failure. If one can not recognize those little accomplishments then you are bound to navigate life under a cloud of darkness. Reveling in the little successes is as warming to the spirit as the summer sunshine to the body.
While this may be true, Mr. "success" did make a truly ironic post and it was right that he was called on it IMO.
First off, posting "first" in a forum is childish crap and annoys others for no reason, so that makes him selfish. Secondly, he used a swear word, which is more childishness and was pointless in the context. Third, it was a generally negative comment that was made and it was capped off by a smug little grin. So pretty much negative, negative, negative.
Given that behaviour, having a name like "success" is indeed ironic because what he did was closer to an epic FAIL.
It's nice to stay positive and look at the small successes of life as you say, but if no one is allowed to call out a smug jerk for acting like a smug jerk, then the guy will never learn anything and will go blithely on acting like a jerk for his whole life.
That seems like a net negative for the people of planet earth to me.
Yeah Netbooks not selling well, ok Stevie
Jobs needs to take a fresh look at things. The ASUS eePC and the MSI Wind are very hot right now; so hot that traditional retailers like Office Depot and Best BUy now buy ASUS branded notebooks for their inventory to sell to customers. Newegg sells enormous amounts of netbooks.
Where are you getting your numbers from? Are you just assuming them? Please provide some reliable, credible evidence, because your opinion alone means little.
Absolutely on the money. I have an iPod Touch that is a larger screen away from being a terrific alternative to a netbook. But make the screen a lot larger and a lot of the advantages of the Touch are wiped out. I think even a 5" screen would work. That would provide a better experience on the net, etc. but at the same time still make for a very portable, very easy to handle device. 5" doesn't sound like much but it's a considerable increase over the Touch and would do the trick, I think.
If you can't put it in your pocket anymore then it's not as convenient as an iPhone. You wouldn't carry it in your hand all day long so you probably wouldn't bring it with you unless you had a bag or a briefcase. In that case you would often opt to bring a laptop since you can type on it and it has a much, much larger screen. I look at the typical future scenario as everyone will always carry a smart phone but there is a need for something similar in size to a laptop but lighter and with most of the functionality of a smartphone (3G internet connection, location detection, accelerometer, AppStore, etc.) and the critical element - a full-size touchscreen keyboard. Steve himself stated this was critically missing from Netbooks.
No. I'm aware of the definition of "ironic."
It's ironic that someone would think having the first post in a thread is a form of "success" by any standard.
No, that's just kinda sad...
Or Not To Be based on the Air or the iPhone
THAT is the question.
What do you think excites Apple the most? If I say what I think you'd all laugh....