Steve Jobs: iPad to offer Word support, $10 eBooks, 6 days of music

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 159
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post


    This thing is beginning to sound more and more interesting.



    What was in this article or video that makes it more interesting?
  • Reply 22 of 159
    You have the info wrong. He never said ebook would be $10, he said it would be the same as amazon, and since publishers are unhappy with the cheapness of amazon, amazon will probably go up to match ipad pricing whicj will be 12.99 to 14.99. So assume it will be 9.99 as that is not what he said.



    Kalel the Jedi
  • Reply 23 of 159
    stuffestuffe Posts: 394member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTripper View Post


    Sorry Steve, I have over 25 days of continuous music, which would leave me little room for anything else on the iPad "thing".



    Then I have to pay for iWork, when I already have OpenOffice.





    So we see what's going on, your locking the machine down so you can sell your programs.



    Will you allow a version of the free Open Office to appear on the App Store?



    So because you have a huge dump of MP3s that won't all fit, it's no good. OK.



    And because you have a free piece of software on your main computer, you shouldn;t have to pay a mere $10 for a new one on a new device?



    As for OO appearing on the phone, if there is a developer willing to port it and swallow down the costs (in time, mainly, as well as developer program fees etc) and put it in for approval, I cant see any way it won't be approved. There are plenty iPhone apps that do MS Office editing already in the store.



    Any more gripes you need out of your system? We're here to help...
  • Reply 24 of 159
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by freethinker View Post


    I would buy iPad if there was a Microsoft Word app. Though others may disagree, i am very tempted to fulfill the role of Desktop computer with iPad. My current Dell from 2003 belongs in a Housing Works or Salvation Army.





    Wait, it's not wise to jump on a early adopter machine like the iPad is not knowing what software will run on the device and the hidden costs and drawbacks.



    If you want a better transition machine, get a Mac Mini and a KVM switch, then you can use your old monitor and keyboard and still use the Dell.



    Keep the Dell of the internet as much as possible and use the Mac online instead for security.



    After awhile you'll see and learn which is best for you, learn programs etc.



    You might even install Bootcamp and use your old Windows version (if possible) on the Mac Mini.



    If you need a laptop, a MacBook Pro is a excellent machine, but you might want to look at getting the matte screen if you take it places outside your primary. Because the shiny screen is quite hard to see unless you can control the environment.



    Mac's are good machines, reliable, but it takes a while for Windows users to adjust to another operating system.



    If your looking for a cheap, reliable and secure netbook, the Dell Mini 10v with Ubuntu is great.
  • Reply 25 of 159
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by freethinker View Post


    I would buy iPad if there was a Microsoft Word app. Though others may disagree, i am very tempted to fulfill the role of Desktop computer with iPad. My current Dell from 2003 belongs in a Housing Works or Salvation Army.



    Who knows Microsoft may port Word to the tablet. They already have a Mac version which uses many of the same APIs.
  • Reply 26 of 159
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jpellino View Post


    You didn't know iWork exports Word Excel and PowerPoint?



    Really?



    It was posted right after the keynote that it will natively view DOX, DOCX, PPT and XLS files. Perhaps before Mossberg would have had time to see it but certainly not before some posters here started crying foul.
  • Reply 27 of 159
    cmf2cmf2 Posts: 1,427member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by johnnyb0731 View Post


    Or you could get pages for 10 bucks and use that to create word docs



    How well do fonts and formatting transfer over? I've found that even Office on Windows to Office for mac has had some fonts that are not recognized. I think I was using Office 2003 on Windows and 2004 for mac at the time.
  • Reply 28 of 159
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    Is there any evidence that it has been blocked by the App Store? Or is it that they've not written an App yet?







    Obviously Steve will have to approve the free OpenOffice being on the App Store before they can write a version.



    And Steve may not approve, as it will be in competition to his paid apps, iWork.



    Thus the question remains:



    Will Steve allow a free version of OpenOffice to appear on the App Store?



    Will Steve allow ANY apps on the App Store that are in competition with his products?
  • Reply 29 of 159
    cmf2cmf2 Posts: 1,427member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stuffe View Post


    So because you have a huge dump of MP3s that won't all fit, it's no good. OK.



    And because you have a free piece of software on your main computer, you shouldn;t have to pay a mere $10 for a new one on a new device?



    As for OO appearing on the phone, if there is a developer willing to port it and swallow down the costs (in time, mainly, as well as developer program fees etc) and put it in for approval, I cant see any way it won't be approved. There are plenty iPhone apps that do MS Office editing already in the store.



    Any more gripes you need out of your system? We're here to help...



    Just add him to your ignore list and move on, he can't be reasoned with.
  • Reply 30 of 159
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cmf2 View Post


    How well do fonts and formatting transfer over? I've found that even Office on Windows to Office for mac has had some fonts that are not recognized. I think I was using Office 2003 on Windows and 2004 for mac at the time.



    You have answered your own question. Compatibility is mainly an illusion, even between versions of Word on the same platform.
  • Reply 31 of 159
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stonefree View Post


    "The journalist said he would need to save it as a Microsoft Word document, though, because his editors "don't know anything about Pages.""



    Why does the pages file format even exist? Why couldn't Apple (who supposedly love open standards) have used ODF? Or at least have made pages a simple wrapper for ODF. You can't even export in ODF. Almost no one uses Pages and it's not compatible with any other program.



    I have literally no proof of this, and I am quite possibly completely off base here, but the first thing that popped into my mind when reading your comment is that this sounds like a facet of a deal with Microsoft. If Apple and Microsoft worked out a deal to bring Microsoft software (Office) to the Mac, there very well could have been concessions. One of those concessions may have been the absence of ODF support in iWork. I don't know. I use iWork frequently and haven't had any problems doing what I wanted with it. You did mention that, "Almost no one uses Pages and it's not compatible with any other program." If one were working on sensitive material, perhaps Pages is a natural choice because the format isn't readable by the vast majority of Word Processors.



    It stands to reason that the Microsoft MBU will be working very hard with the new SDK to get Office onto the iPad, as this will likely produce a new stream of revenue for them. Many have already commented on this thread that they'd need at least some parts of Office on the iPad for them to be able to use it in the business world. I'm sure Apple is going to run with this as it's a relatively open market right now and it's theirs for the taking if they play their cards right. Steve said the future is mobile. It's obviously something that Apple is concentrating on with a substantial amount of resources.



    I'm not sure that I'll get the 3G version, as WiFi is prevalent in my area. I was hoping for a larger option than 64GB internal storage. I'd have to seriously reduce the amount of pictures I add from iPhoto onto the iPad unless there's compression (which wasn't mentioned) like that used on the iPhone. Hopefully the 128GB SSD's will drop in price soon and we'll be able to get them as an upgrade option.
  • Reply 32 of 159
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TEKSTUD View Post


    As an accountant and I am sure for millions of other business people- no Excel app - 100%, NO deal.



    I doubt anyone is expecting to use this for major accounting purposes. But for field use it would more than serve, as Numbers is compatible with Excel, and has a significant subset of the formulas. I know people who use it happily for their small businesses.
  • Reply 33 of 159
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TEKSTUD View Post


    As an accountant and I am sure for millions of other business people- no Excel app - 100%, NO deal.





    Exactly, these people buy the hardware > that runs the software > that runs the files everyone else uses > because their income depends upon it.



    Question is of course if Steve will allow Excel on the iPad as it's in competition with iWork.



    Then again Steve does sell Excel with new Mac's pre-installed.



    But I don't think he will allow the free OpenOffice on the App Store though.



    I only use a spreadsheet rarely, no use spending even $10 for one and have to pay for upgrades too.
  • Reply 34 of 159
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cmf2 View Post


    How well do fonts and formatting transfer over? I've found that even Office on Windows to Office for mac has had some fonts that are not recognized. I think I was using Office 2003 on Windows and 2004 for mac at the time.



    Jebus probably not that well considering that Microsoft doesn't keep compatibility well between different version of office even running on windows
  • Reply 35 of 159
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTripper View Post


    Wait, it's not wise to jump on a early adopter machine like the iPad is not knowing what software will run on the device and the hidden costs and drawbacks.



    If you want a better transition machine, get a Mac Mini and a KVM switch, then you can use your old monitor and keyboard and still use the Dell.



    Keep the Dell of the internet as much as possible and use the Mac online instead for security.



    After awhile you'll see and learn which is best for you, learn programs etc.



    You might even install Bootcamp and use your old Windows version (if possible) on the Mac Mini.



    If you need a laptop, a MacBook Pro is a excellent machine, but you might want to look at getting the matte screen if you take it places outside your primary. Because the shiny screen is quite hard to see unless you can control the environment.



    Mac's are good machines, reliable, but it takes a while for Windows users to adjust to another operating system.



    If your looking for a cheap, reliable and secure netbook, the Dell Mini 10v with Ubuntu is great.



    It depends on why you're buying it. For most people the 140,000 apps will be enough of a reason, as will their music, Tv shows, books, magazines etc.



    If you need something that not in the App Store yet, then wait.



    I'm willing to bet that we're going to see some tremendous software for this, as well as adapters for printers, scanners and other stuff.



    This will be the $500 computer that Apple said they couldn't make. And it may get a bit cheaper next year.
  • Reply 36 of 159
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    I doubt anyone is expecting to use this for major accounting purposes. But for field use it would more than serve, as Numbers is compatible with Excel, and has a significant subset of the formulas. I know people who use it happily for their small businesses.





    Yes for major work it's best to go with a Excel machine as the formatting has issues transferring over and Microsoft can upset the apple cart before Apple has a chance to create a work around.



    But for basic stuff it can be transferred over and tweaked, just like OpenOffice can also do Excel files.
  • Reply 37 of 159
    I've been using Pages for all of my business word processing since version 1.0, and never had a "compatibility" problem. It might require slightly more forethought, but it's certainly not a show-stopper, and well worth the effort to be using the tool you prefer. I'm a bit mystified by Mossberg's take on this. Why is he even using a word processor for his columns, when a simple text editor would fully suffice? His employer would never be the wiser.
  • Reply 38 of 159
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dr Millmoss View Post


    I've been using Pages for all of my business word processing since version 1.0, and never had a "compatibility" problem.



    Same here.
  • Reply 39 of 159
    stuffestuffe Posts: 394member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Brian Green View Post


    I have literally no proof of this, and I am quite possibly completely off base here, but the first thing that popped into my mind when reading your comment is that this sounds like a facet of a deal with Microsoft. If Apple and Microsoft worked out a deal to bring Microsoft software (Office) to the Mac, there very well could have been concessions. One of those concessions may have been the absence of ODF support in iWork. I don't know. I use iWork frequently and haven't had any problems doing what I wanted with it. You did mention that, "Almost no one uses Pages and it's not compatible with any other program." If one were working on sensitive material, perhaps Pages is a natural choice because the format isn't readable by the vast majority of Word Processors.



    It stands to reason that the Microsoft MBU will be working very hard with the new SDK to get Office onto the iPad, as this will likely produce a new stream of revenue for them. Many have already commented on this thread that they'd need at least some parts of Office on the iPad for them to be able to use it in the business world. I'm sure Apple is going to run with this as it's a relatively open market right now and it's theirs for the taking if they play their cards right. Steve said the future is mobile. It's obviously something that Apple is concentrating on with a substantial amount of resources.



    I'm not sure that I'll get the 3G version, as WiFi is prevalent in my area. I was hoping for a larger option than 64GB internal storage. I'd have to seriously reduce the amount of pictures I add from iPhoto onto the iPad unless there's compression (which wasn't mentioned) like that used on the iPhone. Hopefully the 128GB SSD's will drop in price soon and we'll be able to get them as an upgrade option.



    That's a thought, but I think there is a simpler reason. ODF doesn't do all that .pages does. When you save a document in pages, there are all sorts of things it does like saving PDF previews inside the file (which is a package, rather than a single file). I don;t think that ODF does this natively, so they would have to create a hybrid version that would break the standards anyway, which would be worse than just writing your own format. Look to how iWork.com does things, you upload your .pages file, and the user gets to view it on the web, and download in any format (word/pdf etc). I think it's perfectly fair for a word processor with such an infinitesimally small market share to do things it's own way.



    The way I always thought of it is if the person you are sending it to needs to edit it, they should be on the same version of software anyway. Most people just have the requirement to read/print it, in which case save the final version as a PDF and send that out.



    Obviously this won't suit everyones workflow. YMMV, and all that.
  • Reply 40 of 159
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cmf2 View Post


    How well do fonts and formatting transfer over? I've found that even Office on Windows to Office for mac has had some fonts that are not recognized. I think I was using Office 2003 on Windows and 2004 for mac at the time.



    With the Mac at least, if you have the font, it will work. But that's always the question. My clients always had to give us the fonts with their documents, because you never know which of the 50,000+ fonts they were using.



    It's easy to get the fonts you don't have. And as it's likely you're using free Truetype fonts, you can pick them up for free for the Mac as well.



    The iPad has more fonts than the iPhone does, but we wont know how many, or which, until Apple releases more specs, and reviewers get their hands on the FINISHED product



    As to whether we will be able to get free and paid fonts for this, it's a good question. I don't know how Apple will be treating software such as fonts. Will they allow one program to use this other software?
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