What I'm trying to say is - I doubt your parents - or my parents, matter of fact - would walk into IT shop on their own and decide to get iPad, without your (mine) guiding... so in a way, it is more your decision than theirs.
The week before last, I would have agreed with you. But as I'm said, I'm just floored my dad asked me about ebooks, newspapers and magazines. Normally he wouldn't pay attention to any of it - but for whatever reason not only did he, but he paid attention to the details. He then parroted them back to me for me to confirm that he understand what he read or saw.
The only reason he paid attention is he thought there was something in it for him. So yes, while I do have some influence, if he wasn't interested in an iPad at all no matter how much I prod, he wouldn't look at it - or he would just humor me. But this time, he is actively interested in it - and I wasn't directly responsible for it. That's a pretty big (yet subtle) shift.
Quote:
But that being said, yes I do see iPad (or anything like it) great for parents category. My mother is using computer only to Skype with me, and will type an email once in a month or so (sending some recipes to my wife sort of emails). However, she is kind of dinosaur - a generation that didn't catch Internet/personal computing virus.
That was my father. Until a few years ago when he discovered through email he could reach friends and family - even if they were overseas - easily. All of the sudden he became very interested in using email. Not running a computer, mind you...
My mother has had a Mac since the 80's because she is a Quicken addict. I almost didn't get to take my Mac with me to college She is slowly getting into digital photography, but there are many times I still have to come in via iChat and show her stuff.
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I'm pretty sure in her age I'll still demand much more from my computing appliances, whatever they turn to be in 20 or 30 years time. Of course iPad 15, available then, will be much more than this one, but as a general principle I'd like this iPad to be closer to Mac than to iPod - that's all.
Meh - I'm not hung up on "Mac" or "iPod" labels. I'm much more interested in functionality. Will it do what I want, with a minimum of fuss? If the answer is yes, it's a win and I will buy it. If no, then I won't buy it. Same thing if it says Microsoft or Apple on the front. By and large, I am more loyal to Apple - but not because it's just Apple, or they are popular - Apple has traditionally been the best fit for my needs. When they cease being that, I will stop using them (much like I pretty much stopped using Mac's during the horrid Performa days). I just don't get the emotional responses or the hand wringing over the iPad being a "real" computer - heck, I have friends that think you are a wuss if you don't code in Assembler - at what point do you separate the hobby/for the fun of it tendencies vs. the tool aspects of computing? I am in both camps depending on what I am doing or when, but there are some people who never ever want to be in the hobby/for the fun of it and only look at computers as tools. That latter group is where the iPad is targeted, and it's a smart targeting as that group is much, much larger than the hobbiest/for the love of it group.
As long as you can't sync an iPod or iPhone with the iPad directly it will always be an accessory device.
Your assuming everyone has a "real computer" legacy. My father doesn't. He has nothing in iTunes, no iPhone or no iPod. All he cares about is what is in the cloud - email. if Apple does offer a Mobile.Me backup solution for the iPad (which I would expect them to) then quite literally, for him, the iPad will do everything he needs.
Much like those who held onto Prodigy and AOL, the iPad has a large potential audience of people just like my father. You should be very careful about evaluating "needs" through your point of view - whether you think so or not, you (and me and everyone else in this forum) are in a very small minority in relationship to the rest of the population.
It will be interesting to see to what degree has all of the above developed. I agree the potential is definitely there.
That IS cool. I like Nerderatti stories. I've met Woz a couple of times - but he's Apple's semi-official spokesnerd which means anyone is guaranteed to run into him more times than any metaphor involving swinging cats anywhere between Los Gatos and San Francisco. Tip tho - anywhere he's at - Andy Hertzfeld is probably nearby, and he's also a good talker. For another ego contrast - compare Howard Warshaw to Al Acorn (both of Atari fame). The later is always good for a comment at CAX, and adds great insight on any of the panels he's been on (different stories everytime too - like the fact he interviewed Steve Jobs when he was hired at Atari - that one's hillarious). The former sells life-story DVDs and wears T-Shirts espousing himself. Talk about wearing it on your sleeve.
The odd part is nobody else seemed to know who he was. I was freelancing back then and had an idea to write an article about him. I waited too long -- not many months after that, he died. So instead I wrote an appreciation/obituary, which his widow saw in publication. She wrote me a very, very nice note of thanks. I also saw Hertzfeld at MWSF one time but too many people were hanging around to talk to him so I moved on. I attended the expo for years but never saw Woz. Not sure why -- I'm sure he was there more than once.
Your assuming everyone has a "real computer" legacy. My father doesn't. He has nothing in iTunes, no iPhone or no iPod. All he cares about is what is in the cloud - email. if Apple does offer a Mobile.Me backup solution for the iPad (which I would expect them to) then quite literally, for him, the iPad will do everything he needs.
Much like those who held onto Prodigy and AOL, the iPad has a large potential audience of people just like my father. You should be very careful about evaluating "needs" through your point of view - whether you think so or not, you (and me and everyone else in this forum) are in a very small minority in relationship to the rest of the population.
It will be interesting to see to what degree has all of the above developed. I agree the potential is definitely there.
For your dad there's mobileMe, or if he is not going to travel with his iPad a simple set up with some kind of Airport Extreme & TimeMachine configuration. For people (like your dad) who also use a digital camera there may be a question whether the iPad will have a version of iPhoto (and the horsepower to manipulate large images). But even at a modest 16gb the storage is plenty for email, surfing and photographs for many people. People like my mother takes few photographs and deletes most of them. She even deletes emails - I have tried to tell her she needn't but alas, she will only keep ones she deems essential. (housekeeping)
I agree with Solips that the iPad is probably thought of as a secondary device but I suspect a lot of people will be using the iPad as their primary / only device.
It's horrible. We've had nothing but crappy, cloudy, freezing rain weather ever since I got it a couple weeks ago. Sucks to have a new toy and not be able to go out and play.
So I haven't really had a chance to see how well Aperture deals with the larger RAW files. But I'm loving that it will now manage the 1080p video the 7D can capture and import my GPS track logs.
It's horrible. We've had nothing but crappy, cloudy, freezing rain weather ever since I got it a couple weeks ago. Sucks to have a new toy and not be able to go out and play.
So I haven't really had a chance to see how well Aperture deals with the larger RAW files. But I'm loving that it will now manage the 1080p video the 7D can capture and import my GPS track logs.
You can take gorgeous moody pics in cloudy freezing rain. Try some low-light streetlight pics at night or boost up the contrast on some moody landscapes. Try a fog effect with a foreground subject. Under an umbrella.
These can all be done in B&W or color with fantastic effect.
If you're worried about weather exposure, just wrap a huffy bag around your kit with a tight rubber band around the lens hood.
Of course, you know all this.
I'm going to be doing a lot more work myself once I get my Alpha 850 (or the equivalent when I can finally afford it).
For your dad there's mobileMe, or if he is not going to travel with his iPad a simple set up with some kind of Airport Extreme & TimeMachine configuration. For people (like your dad) who also use a digital camera there may be a question whether the iPad will have a version of iPhoto (and the horsepower to manipulate large images). But even at a modest 16gb the storage is plenty for email, surfing and photographs for many people. People like my mother takes few photographs and deletes most of them. She even deletes emails - I have tried to tell her she needn't but alas, she will only keep ones she deems essential. (housekeeping)
I agree with Solips that the iPad is probably thought of as a secondary device but I suspect a lot of people will be using the iPad as their primary / only device.
Apple will always require a computer of some kind to support an iPhone/iPod/iPad. not because they can't figure out how to make that unnecessary (as Google is trying to do with Android - there is still no desktop client for it), but because, of course, they want to keep selling desktop/laptop Macs too. sure, you can use a Windows PC, but they know that their portable devices are the best avenue to getting those folks to switch to or add Mac computers.
but a single household computer can support multiple mobile Apple devices. so instead of everyone in the household getting their own computer like now - often via hand-me-downs of older equipment - there could be just one common one in the office or family room and then a different iPhone/iPad for everyone.
this isn't as debilitating as it sounds. household members will actually share apps (why pay twice?), tips, and help. something to talk about at the dinner table! actually, iPhone users who are just friends already do this too. but except for techies/geeks, no one does this with regular computers - they're just too complicated for that.
bringing people back together - what's wrong with that? you know, desktop computers had a powerful effect of actually separating people from each other locally - all of us staring into a computer screen one at a time in our own separate rooms - even while it connected them with many others globally via the internet.
i see huge potential for the ipad, but not out of the starting blocks. When post-1.0 versions offer usb input, play flash, and run multiple apps concurrently, it'll be a winner.
The ipad could serve at least three roles very effectively at home:
1) convenient on-the-couch e-reading, web surfing, emailing, and social networking.
2) superior touch-interface universal ip-remote-control for home entertainment (needs app).
3) laptop replacement -- with the clever stand and keyboard/mouse plug-in option you could do real work on the ipad. Data storage isn't a problem if you locate files you're not currently working with on a home server or cloud.
I just got a verizon palm pre (couldn't wait any longer for a verizon iphone) and i love having several apps open at once and the convenient ease of checking/culling email in my hand instead of on my lap. I'm new to the touch interface, but i'm really liking it. I would find the touch keyboard great for couch computing. To justify an ipad, it needs to replace my laptop; so it needs to have usb input, play flash, and run multiple apps concurrently.
For once I agree with bill gates. The iPad really is unimpressive.
You are not alone, ironicly, all the anti Gates people overlooked this part of the story.
"Gates joins a chorus of technology enthusiasts and casual users alike who have said they feel they were let down by Apple's iPad announcement. One study found that while the number of users interested in buying the device tripled after it was unveiled, the lion's share have said they will not purchase an iPad".
I will wait until rev 3 or to see if the Courier is real or vapor.
If Apple added flash and xvid codecs, I might buy, but to Apple, greed gets in the way as why pay for a TV show, that's free?
I think that Gates represents a big segment of the tech nerd set but a small segment of the overall population. The tech nerds look at the iPad's tech specs, not at the whole device. They go down the spec sheet and see a bunch of components and features that are already available in other products (though not necessarily all in the same product, which is kind of the point), and so they are not impressed. They can't see the whole thing and they can't see how other non-tech geeks will see it. They really are tone deaf on this. It's kind of funny to watch. And when you go to the tech nerd sites, you see a lot of confusion and even anger over the device -- I think it's because they're ticked off that once again they are left out in the cold -- the rest of the world perceives something they don't, and it drives them nuts. It's almost as if it reminds them that girls don't like them, never will, and they don't understand why.
Being a border-line tech-nerd myself (girls kinda like me, but not too much), I was a little unsure what to think of it when it first came out, but I now think it's going to be a big success. I keep finding myself in situations where it would be the perfect tool, and the normal people that I talk to are pretty interested in it.
I agree with you 200% I am a borderline tech geek. I look at specs but I also don't lose perspective of the device. I have an iPhone so I know how it works. Most geeks see that the iPad has one GHz and go oh its going to suck. I se that it has 1 GHz and I say given how iPhone OS operates its going to be really fast! I also find myself in situations where it would be great. I'll probably get one but I'm saving my final judgement til I get to touch one and play with it. I think people jump the gun a little bit. I think you should save your judgement and criticism until you actually get your hands on one.
What is the point of deleting a user's account if they are allowed to come back with another name? It makes things worse because longtime posters won't be aware of the new alias they previously had ignored and new posters won't be able to read their posting history to get a sense of the their thread derailing habits. It's a clean slate that hurts everyone but the offender.
Sincerely,
Concerned AI Posters.
Don't whine. Just put up $10K and have him taken out. That service is available on every street corner of his city.
You are not alone, ironicly, all the anti Gates people overlooked this part of the story.
"Gates joins a chorus of technology enthusiasts and casual users alike who have said they feel they were let down by Apple's iPad announcement. One study found that while the number of users interested in buying the device tripled after it was unveiled, the lion's share have said they will not purchase an iPad".
I will wait until rev 3 or to see if the Courier is real or vapor.
If Apple added flash and xvid codecs, I might buy, but to Apple, greed gets in the way as why pay for a TV show, that's free?
You are not alone, ironicly, all the anti Gates people overlooked this part of the story.
"Gates joins a chorus of technology enthusiasts and casual users alike who have said they feel they were let down by Apple's iPad announcement. One study found that while the number of users interested in buying the device tripled after it was unveiled, the lion's share have said they will not purchase an iPad".
I will wait until rev 3 or to see if the Courier is real or vapor.
If Apple added flash and xvid codecs, I might buy, but to Apple, greed gets in the way as why pay for a TV show, that's free?
In the last year or two we've seen more than half of Apple's revenue come from outside the US. As of last quarter The US was $6B while Europe was $5B with the remaining $4.5B coming from the rest of the world. European growth could push it past the US' revenue this year.
...and that's WITHOUT Apple Stores in every major city!
Here in Germany, the word is out, and Apple is booming. I attribute the boom most to the iPhone, considering that T-Mobile is the largest telco here (obviously), and they do have a store just about everywhere. People that have jumped on the iPhone bandwagon, are now getting MBs and iMacs... looking forward to the same ease-of-use. It's also helped that Win7 is not taking hold, PCs are breaking and people are simply bored of WinXP. Add to that almost weekly "All-Point-Bulletins" in the news about another security compromise using Win and IE, and the consideration to "Get a Mac" just becomes too much to ignore.
I have more than a few connections to T-Mobile corporate, and I know that they are seriously looking forward to the iPad, and not just as a consumer device. They also work with the govt. and different ministries (health care, job centers, education, etc.) and provide logistical and systems consulting.
A personal family member is responsible for a project for providing out-patient care and monitoring using mobile devices. He's being swamped at the moment for more info re: the iPad and how T-Mobile/Apple plans to role it out to clinics and hospitals. The iPhone and iPod Touch are also included, but the small size has been the largest problem, considering the advanced age of the majority of patients needing these services.
NOTE: yes, the lack of a camera in the presentation of the iPad was a head-scratcher to say the least... but they are now looking to BT or wireless webcam add-ons at the moment.
I also see Europe overtaking the US in Apple sales soon.
Fact is, we on this side of the pond, are far more fashionable and "sleek industrial design" conscious than the US as a whole (cars, fashion, appliances, etc.)... and we are used to very strict standards and guidelines. Something that Apple brings to the table in spades... for better or for worse.
...and that's WITHOUT Apple Stores in every major city!
I hadn't considered that. I did remember that Apple Stores were expanding more rapidly in Europe but not the fact that so few countries and cities have them.
Wow! France had 24 more stores planned, while Germany has 4 more planned. Three new EU countries are in the works, too. Ireland can finally go to an Apple Store in Ireland.
I find it hypocritical that a marketing guy that never really invented anything except DOS says "no biggie" to something he doesn't really know anything about.
Bill Gates knows innovation like Donald Trump knows how to mop his floor.
Bill Gates authored MS-Basic if I recall correctly. Then, when IBM wanted his Basic for the new IBM PC he sold them DOS (as IBM needed an OS as well, but Gary Kildall of CP/M from DR was being extremely arrogant). Gates has QDOS from SCP in house because they needed some sort of OS to use while porting MS-Basic to the new system. He then bought QDOS (which was inspired by CP/M) and sold it on to IBM. When he bought QDOS from Paterson he paid something like M$500. Later SCP (Paterson's company) sued Microsoft for lying about the potential revenues for MS-DOS. This was settled out of court for the rumored amount of M$900.
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Originally Posted by steviet02
Steve Jobs is the 'Marketing Guy' that the OP was claiming Gates to be, are you really arguing that point?
People who think SJ is a 'marketing guy' misunderstand him completely. SJ is a 'user experience guy' and has often done things that fly in the face of marketing wisdom (with hits (iMac w/o floppy, expensive iPhone) and misses (NeXT restricted to higher ed, G4 Cube). And next to being 'user experience' driven he is also a 'sales guy'. But his effectiveness at selling an idea/solution is hard to separate from its basis in 'user experience' which by and large also sells itself. You can see SJ making marketing mistakes, but even his market failures have been user experience triumphs (the NeXT was decennia ahead of the competition in user experience).
Gates is a rather basic nerd who is also a great marketing strategist. The success of Microsoft has been documented perfectly by him in his book "The Road Ahead", where you can read how marketing and strategy is what made Microsoft great. He has no feeling for user experience (what SJ calls a lack of 'taste' on Microsoft's side) and no true understanding of the limits of technology in that respect (think about the billions Microsoft spent on AI-like programs which brought nothing). In Microsoft's defense, innovating when you depend so much on OEM's is difficult, it is part of their position that true innovations in user experience are very difficult. Still, I think SJ has a far better feel for technology than BG, who has always impressed me as being a truly exceptional strategist while being a mediocre technologist.
Many pundits complain about technical iPad details, like the lack of a camera, or the wide bezel which they think is ugly. The wide bezel is however important for the user experience of holding the device in one hand and working it with another. And the camera in the top of the bezel would not be a perfect user experience (front facing, it would mean you are being displayed in a unflattering angle and if you turn the device your hand might be in the way, back facing it would be a rather unwieldy camera to handle). I expect different future solutions for the camera option (e.g. a front facing camera 'behind' the middle of the screen).
The iPad, as a first in a new category has many compromises in its design for the multiple aspects of user experience (e.g. battery life versus unlimited background apps). The question is not if there are compromises (there are) but if the end result offers a great user experience for enough types of users. From what I have seen, I think it will.
Just after this declaration, Bill suffered a major crash and had to be rushed to the MS Eemrgency ward where he's going to stay for a few weeks in "observation"....
Just after this declaration, Bill suffered a major crash and had to be rushed to the MS Eemrgency ward where he's going to stay for a few weeks in "observation"....
"General Protection Failure". That could be a great subtitle for Windows over the years, btw
Comments
What I'm trying to say is - I doubt your parents - or my parents, matter of fact - would walk into IT shop on their own and decide to get iPad, without your (mine) guiding... so in a way, it is more your decision than theirs.
The week before last, I would have agreed with you. But as I'm said, I'm just floored my dad asked me about ebooks, newspapers and magazines. Normally he wouldn't pay attention to any of it - but for whatever reason not only did he, but he paid attention to the details. He then parroted them back to me for me to confirm that he understand what he read or saw.
The only reason he paid attention is he thought there was something in it for him. So yes, while I do have some influence, if he wasn't interested in an iPad at all no matter how much I prod, he wouldn't look at it - or he would just humor me. But this time, he is actively interested in it - and I wasn't directly responsible for it. That's a pretty big (yet subtle) shift.
But that being said, yes I do see iPad (or anything like it) great for parents category. My mother is using computer only to Skype with me, and will type an email once in a month or so (sending some recipes to my wife sort of emails). However, she is kind of dinosaur - a generation that didn't catch Internet/personal computing virus.
That was my father. Until a few years ago when he discovered through email he could reach friends and family - even if they were overseas - easily. All of the sudden he became very interested in using email. Not running a computer, mind you...
My mother has had a Mac since the 80's because she is a Quicken addict. I almost didn't get to take my Mac with me to college
I'm pretty sure in her age I'll still demand much more from my computing appliances, whatever they turn to be in 20 or 30 years time. Of course iPad 15, available then, will be much more than this one, but as a general principle I'd like this iPad to be closer to Mac than to iPod - that's all.
Meh - I'm not hung up on "Mac" or "iPod" labels. I'm much more interested in functionality. Will it do what I want, with a minimum of fuss? If the answer is yes, it's a win and I will buy it. If no, then I won't buy it. Same thing if it says Microsoft or Apple on the front. By and large, I am more loyal to Apple - but not because it's just Apple, or they are popular - Apple has traditionally been the best fit for my needs. When they cease being that, I will stop using them (much like I pretty much stopped using Mac's during the horrid Performa days). I just don't get the emotional responses or the hand wringing over the iPad being a "real" computer - heck, I have friends that think you are a wuss if you don't code in Assembler - at what point do you separate the hobby/for the fun of it tendencies vs. the tool aspects of computing? I am in both camps depending on what I am doing or when, but there are some people who never ever want to be in the hobby/for the fun of it and only look at computers as tools. That latter group is where the iPad is targeted, and it's a smart targeting as that group is much, much larger than the hobbiest/for the love of it group.
As long as you can't sync an iPod or iPhone with the iPad directly it will always be an accessory device.
Your assuming everyone has a "real computer" legacy. My father doesn't. He has nothing in iTunes, no iPhone or no iPod. All he cares about is what is in the cloud - email. if Apple does offer a Mobile.Me backup solution for the iPad (which I would expect them to) then quite literally, for him, the iPad will do everything he needs.
Much like those who held onto Prodigy and AOL, the iPad has a large potential audience of people just like my father. You should be very careful about evaluating "needs" through your point of view - whether you think so or not, you (and me and everyone else in this forum) are in a very small minority in relationship to the rest of the population.
It will be interesting to see to what degree has all of the above developed. I agree the potential is definitely there.
That IS cool. I like Nerderatti stories. I've met Woz a couple of times - but he's Apple's semi-official spokesnerd which means anyone is guaranteed to run into him more times than any metaphor involving swinging cats anywhere between Los Gatos and San Francisco. Tip tho - anywhere he's at - Andy Hertzfeld is probably nearby, and he's also a good talker. For another ego contrast - compare Howard Warshaw to Al Acorn (both of Atari fame). The later is always good for a comment at CAX, and adds great insight on any of the panels he's been on (different stories everytime too - like the fact he interviewed Steve Jobs when he was hired at Atari - that one's hillarious). The former sells life-story DVDs and wears T-Shirts espousing himself. Talk about wearing it on your sleeve.
The odd part is nobody else seemed to know who he was. I was freelancing back then and had an idea to write an article about him. I waited too long -- not many months after that, he died. So instead I wrote an appreciation/obituary, which his widow saw in publication. She wrote me a very, very nice note of thanks. I also saw Hertzfeld at MWSF one time but too many people were hanging around to talk to him so I moved on. I attended the expo for years but never saw Woz. Not sure why -- I'm sure he was there more than once.
Your assuming everyone has a "real computer" legacy. My father doesn't. He has nothing in iTunes, no iPhone or no iPod. All he cares about is what is in the cloud - email. if Apple does offer a Mobile.Me backup solution for the iPad (which I would expect them to) then quite literally, for him, the iPad will do everything he needs.
Much like those who held onto Prodigy and AOL, the iPad has a large potential audience of people just like my father. You should be very careful about evaluating "needs" through your point of view - whether you think so or not, you (and me and everyone else in this forum) are in a very small minority in relationship to the rest of the population.
It will be interesting to see to what degree has all of the above developed. I agree the potential is definitely there.
For your dad there's mobileMe, or if he is not going to travel with his iPad a simple set up with some kind of Airport Extreme & TimeMachine configuration. For people (like your dad) who also use a digital camera there may be a question whether the iPad will have a version of iPhoto (and the horsepower to manipulate large images). But even at a modest 16gb the storage is plenty for email, surfing and photographs for many people. People like my mother takes few photographs and deletes most of them. She even deletes emails - I have tried to tell her she needn't but alas, she will only keep ones she deems essential. (housekeeping)
I agree with Solips that the iPad is probably thought of as a secondary device but I suspect a lot of people will be using the iPad as their primary / only device.
So how's 7D working for you? I envy you so much!
It's horrible. We've had nothing but crappy, cloudy, freezing rain weather ever since I got it a couple weeks ago. Sucks to have a new toy and not be able to go out and play.
So I haven't really had a chance to see how well Aperture deals with the larger RAW files. But I'm loving that it will now manage the 1080p video the 7D can capture and import my GPS track logs.
It's horrible. We've had nothing but crappy, cloudy, freezing rain weather ever since I got it a couple weeks ago. Sucks to have a new toy and not be able to go out and play.
So I haven't really had a chance to see how well Aperture deals with the larger RAW files. But I'm loving that it will now manage the 1080p video the 7D can capture and import my GPS track logs.
You can take gorgeous moody pics in cloudy freezing rain. Try some low-light streetlight pics at night or boost up the contrast on some moody landscapes. Try a fog effect with a foreground subject. Under an umbrella.
These can all be done in B&W or color with fantastic effect.
If you're worried about weather exposure, just wrap a huffy bag around your kit with a tight rubber band around the lens hood.
Of course, you know all this.
I'm going to be doing a lot more work myself once I get my Alpha 850 (or the equivalent when I can finally afford it).
For your dad there's mobileMe, or if he is not going to travel with his iPad a simple set up with some kind of Airport Extreme & TimeMachine configuration. For people (like your dad) who also use a digital camera there may be a question whether the iPad will have a version of iPhoto (and the horsepower to manipulate large images). But even at a modest 16gb the storage is plenty for email, surfing and photographs for many people. People like my mother takes few photographs and deletes most of them. She even deletes emails - I have tried to tell her she needn't but alas, she will only keep ones she deems essential. (housekeeping)
I agree with Solips that the iPad is probably thought of as a secondary device but I suspect a lot of people will be using the iPad as their primary / only device.
Apple will always require a computer of some kind to support an iPhone/iPod/iPad. not because they can't figure out how to make that unnecessary (as Google is trying to do with Android - there is still no desktop client for it), but because, of course, they want to keep selling desktop/laptop Macs too. sure, you can use a Windows PC, but they know that their portable devices are the best avenue to getting those folks to switch to or add Mac computers.
but a single household computer can support multiple mobile Apple devices. so instead of everyone in the household getting their own computer like now - often via hand-me-downs of older equipment - there could be just one common one in the office or family room and then a different iPhone/iPad for everyone.
this isn't as debilitating as it sounds. household members will actually share apps (why pay twice?), tips, and help. something to talk about at the dinner table! actually, iPhone users who are just friends already do this too. but except for techies/geeks, no one does this with regular computers - they're just too complicated for that.
bringing people back together - what's wrong with that? you know, desktop computers had a powerful effect of actually separating people from each other locally - all of us staring into a computer screen one at a time in our own separate rooms - even while it connected them with many others globally via the internet.
i see huge potential for the ipad, but not out of the starting blocks. When post-1.0 versions offer usb input, play flash, and run multiple apps concurrently, it'll be a winner.
The ipad could serve at least three roles very effectively at home:
1) convenient on-the-couch e-reading, web surfing, emailing, and social networking.
2) superior touch-interface universal ip-remote-control for home entertainment (needs app).
3) laptop replacement -- with the clever stand and keyboard/mouse plug-in option you could do real work on the ipad. Data storage isn't a problem if you locate files you're not currently working with on a home server or cloud.
I just got a verizon palm pre (couldn't wait any longer for a verizon iphone) and i love having several apps open at once and the convenient ease of checking/culling email in my hand instead of on my lap. I'm new to the touch interface, but i'm really liking it. I would find the touch keyboard great for couch computing. To justify an ipad, it needs to replace my laptop; so it needs to have usb input, play flash, and run multiple apps concurrently.
f.u.d.
For once I agree with bill gates. The iPad really is unimpressive.
You are not alone, ironicly, all the anti Gates people overlooked this part of the story.
"Gates joins a chorus of technology enthusiasts and casual users alike who have said they feel they were let down by Apple's iPad announcement. One study found that while the number of users interested in buying the device tripled after it was unveiled, the lion's share have said they will not purchase an iPad".
I will wait until rev 3 or to see if the Courier is real or vapor.
If Apple added flash and xvid codecs, I might buy, but to Apple, greed gets in the way as why pay for a TV show, that's free?
I think that Gates represents a big segment of the tech nerd set but a small segment of the overall population. The tech nerds look at the iPad's tech specs, not at the whole device. They go down the spec sheet and see a bunch of components and features that are already available in other products (though not necessarily all in the same product, which is kind of the point), and so they are not impressed. They can't see the whole thing and they can't see how other non-tech geeks will see it. They really are tone deaf on this. It's kind of funny to watch. And when you go to the tech nerd sites, you see a lot of confusion and even anger over the device -- I think it's because they're ticked off that once again they are left out in the cold -- the rest of the world perceives something they don't, and it drives them nuts. It's almost as if it reminds them that girls don't like them, never will, and they don't understand why.
Being a border-line tech-nerd myself (girls kinda like me, but not too much), I was a little unsure what to think of it when it first came out, but I now think it's going to be a big success. I keep finding myself in situations where it would be the perfect tool, and the normal people that I talk to are pretty interested in it.
I agree with you 200% I am a borderline tech geek. I look at specs but I also don't lose perspective of the device. I have an iPhone so I know how it works. Most geeks see that the iPad has one GHz and go oh its going to suck. I se that it has 1 GHz and I say given how iPhone OS operates its going to be really fast! I also find myself in situations where it would be great. I'll probably get one but I'm saving my final judgement til I get to touch one and play with it. I think people jump the gun a little bit. I think you should save your judgement and criticism until you actually get your hands on one.
Dear Mods,
What is the point of deleting a user's account if they are allowed to come back with another name? It makes things worse because longtime posters won't be aware of the new alias they previously had ignored and new posters won't be able to read their posting history to get a sense of the their thread derailing habits. It's a clean slate that hurts everyone but the offender.
Sincerely,
Concerned AI Posters.
Don't whine. Just put up $10K and have him taken out. That service is available on every street corner of his city.
You are not alone, ironicly, all the anti Gates people overlooked this part of the story.
"Gates joins a chorus of technology enthusiasts and casual users alike who have said they feel they were let down by Apple's iPad announcement. One study found that while the number of users interested in buying the device tripled after it was unveiled, the lion's share have said they will not purchase an iPad".
I will wait until rev 3 or to see if the Courier is real or vapor.
If Apple added flash and xvid codecs, I might buy, but to Apple, greed gets in the way as why pay for a TV show, that's free?
more f.u.d.
You are not alone, ironicly, all the anti Gates people overlooked this part of the story.
"Gates joins a chorus of technology enthusiasts and casual users alike who have said they feel they were let down by Apple's iPad announcement. One study found that while the number of users interested in buying the device tripled after it was unveiled, the lion's share have said they will not purchase an iPad".
I will wait until rev 3 or to see if the Courier is real or vapor.
If Apple added flash and xvid codecs, I might buy, but to Apple, greed gets in the way as why pay for a TV show, that's free?
Does ANYONE think it's real?
In the last year or two we've seen more than half of Apple's revenue come from outside the US. As of last quarter The US was $6B while Europe was $5B with the remaining $4.5B coming from the rest of the world. European growth could push it past the US' revenue this year.
...and that's WITHOUT Apple Stores in every major city!
Here in Germany, the word is out, and Apple is booming. I attribute the boom most to the iPhone, considering that T-Mobile is the largest telco here (obviously), and they do have a store just about everywhere. People that have jumped on the iPhone bandwagon, are now getting MBs and iMacs... looking forward to the same ease-of-use. It's also helped that Win7 is not taking hold, PCs are breaking and people are simply bored of WinXP. Add to that almost weekly "All-Point-Bulletins" in the news about another security compromise using Win and IE, and the consideration to "Get a Mac" just becomes too much to ignore.
I have more than a few connections to T-Mobile corporate, and I know that they are seriously looking forward to the iPad, and not just as a consumer device. They also work with the govt. and different ministries (health care, job centers, education, etc.) and provide logistical and systems consulting.
A personal family member is responsible for a project for providing out-patient care and monitoring using mobile devices. He's being swamped at the moment for more info re: the iPad and how T-Mobile/Apple plans to role it out to clinics and hospitals. The iPhone and iPod Touch are also included, but the small size has been the largest problem, considering the advanced age of the majority of patients needing these services.
NOTE: yes, the lack of a camera in the presentation of the iPad was a head-scratcher to say the least... but they are now looking to BT or wireless webcam add-ons at the moment.
I also see Europe overtaking the US in Apple sales soon.
Fact is, we on this side of the pond, are far more fashionable and "sleek industrial design" conscious than the US as a whole (cars, fashion, appliances, etc.)... and we are used to very strict standards and guidelines. Something that Apple brings to the table in spades... for better or for worse.
...and that's WITHOUT Apple Stores in every major city!
I hadn't considered that. I did remember that Apple Stores were expanding more rapidly in Europe but not the fact that so few countries and cities have them.
Wow! France had 24 more stores planned, while Germany has 4 more planned. Three new EU countries are in the works, too. Ireland can finally go to an Apple Store in Ireland.
I find it hypocritical that a marketing guy that never really invented anything except DOS says "no biggie" to something he doesn't really know anything about.
Bill Gates knows innovation like Donald Trump knows how to mop his floor.
Bill Gates authored MS-Basic if I recall correctly. Then, when IBM wanted his Basic for the new IBM PC he sold them DOS (as IBM needed an OS as well, but Gary Kildall of CP/M from DR was being extremely arrogant). Gates has QDOS from SCP in house because they needed some sort of OS to use while porting MS-Basic to the new system. He then bought QDOS (which was inspired by CP/M) and sold it on to IBM. When he bought QDOS from Paterson he paid something like M$500. Later SCP (Paterson's company) sued Microsoft for lying about the potential revenues for MS-DOS. This was settled out of court for the rumored amount of M$900.
Steve Jobs is the 'Marketing Guy' that the OP was claiming Gates to be, are you really arguing that point?
People who think SJ is a 'marketing guy' misunderstand him completely. SJ is a 'user experience guy' and has often done things that fly in the face of marketing wisdom (with hits (iMac w/o floppy, expensive iPhone) and misses (NeXT restricted to higher ed, G4 Cube). And next to being 'user experience' driven he is also a 'sales guy'. But his effectiveness at selling an idea/solution is hard to separate from its basis in 'user experience' which by and large also sells itself. You can see SJ making marketing mistakes, but even his market failures have been user experience triumphs (the NeXT was decennia ahead of the competition in user experience).
Gates is a rather basic nerd who is also a great marketing strategist. The success of Microsoft has been documented perfectly by him in his book "The Road Ahead", where you can read how marketing and strategy is what made Microsoft great. He has no feeling for user experience (what SJ calls a lack of 'taste' on Microsoft's side) and no true understanding of the limits of technology in that respect (think about the billions Microsoft spent on AI-like programs which brought nothing). In Microsoft's defense, innovating when you depend so much on OEM's is difficult, it is part of their position that true innovations in user experience are very difficult. Still, I think SJ has a far better feel for technology than BG, who has always impressed me as being a truly exceptional strategist while being a mediocre technologist.
Many pundits complain about technical iPad details, like the lack of a camera, or the wide bezel which they think is ugly. The wide bezel is however important for the user experience of holding the device in one hand and working it with another. And the camera in the top of the bezel would not be a perfect user experience (front facing, it would mean you are being displayed in a unflattering angle and if you turn the device your hand might be in the way, back facing it would be a rather unwieldy camera to handle). I expect different future solutions for the camera option (e.g. a front facing camera 'behind' the middle of the screen).
The iPad, as a first in a new category has many compromises in its design for the multiple aspects of user experience (e.g. battery life versus unlimited background apps). The question is not if there are compromises (there are) but if the end result offers a great user experience for enough types of users. From what I have seen, I think it will.
Bill Gates authored MS-Basic if I recall correctly. SJ is a 'user experience guy'
Excellent summary!
I may need to watch Pirates of Silicon Valley after that.
C.
Excellent summary!
I may need to watch Pirates of Silicon Valley after that.
C.
I found "Triumph of the Nerds" (PBS documentary series) very interesting.
Just after this declaration, Bill suffered a major crash and had to be rushed to the MS Eemrgency ward where he's going to stay for a few weeks in "observation"....
"General Protection Failure". That could be a great subtitle for Windows over the years, btw
Apple's subtitle could then be "Don't Panic!"