steveau

My guess is that the ACC will not support the banks' case, because ApplePay is already available in Oz through ANZ and Amex (and works very well), so there is not actually any anti-competitive behaviour for it to be concerned about.

hydrogen said:

steveau said:

Good analysis and the suggestions for improvements are all relevant, but you have missed the big improvement that is totally necessary if the iPad is to be truly post-PC: native handwriting recognition. <...>

Handwriting ! relics of the past ! who still uses handwriting ?

I do, and millions more. Much of my working life is spent in meetings. In meetings I want to take notes. Typing in a meeting is not appropriate. Dictating comments is not appropriate (particularly comments like "this guy is a dickhead"). So, ever since I had to give up my beloved Newton, I handwrite on paper. If I want to handwrite who are you to tell me that I shouldn't.

Good analysis and the suggestions for improvements are all relevant, but you have missed the big improvement that is totally necessary if the iPad is to be truly post-PC: native handwriting recognition. If you have a touch sensitive screen and a stylus, why do you have to mimic a PC and have an on screen keyboard, or look even more like a laptop and have an attached keyboard? Clearly, people who want to use a keyboard or voice dictation should be able to have that flexibility, but that freedom should also be extended to people who would prefer to write (and I suspect that with good enough software that would be most of us). Apple holds all the best patents on HWR (a legacy of the Newton), so they should either (A) develop the functionality into a future iOS release, (B) spin off a separate company (like Filemaker) to develop it as an app, or (C) sell off the patents. Options B and C make no sense to me, so here's hoping that they will finally realise that while a finger is great as a mouse replacement, the stylus is great as a pen replacement, and both should be supported. Native HWR will truly be the killer app for the iPad - and if the patents are strong enough, uncopyable.

Great article, Daniel! This could have been taken from a military manual on how to prepare an appreciation (US: estimate) of the situation: "A key hallmark of intelligence is the ability to visualize parallel, potential scenarios, then determine the best alternative to pursue--while constantly reexamining how the environment and other players might change that playing field and require the calculation of a new decision matrix." Also, "Seeing the future in the now, by understanding the past" is so very Zen, I love it. How about a book: "Zen and the Art of Apple"? Anyway, keep up the intelligent writing, some of us are able to appreciate it.

Mike Wuerthele, please update the article to note that in Australia Amex credit cards also work with ApplePay (on those terminals that accept them). Market pressure will eventually make this happen. Certainly, on a recent visit, every time I paid with my AppleWatch and an Amex CC (I haven't tried my Amex charge card) I had an admiring audience. If 1 in 100 of them buy an AppleWatch and get an ANZ CC, and then 1% of the people who see them use it do the same it won't take long for the big three to give in. In the very unlikely event that the ACCC rules in favour of the big banks Apple will simply stop exporting the iPhone and AppleWatch to Australia, leaving everyone to obtain them by mail order. The loss in goods and services tax (GST) will cause the government to act against the banks. The banks must have worked this out, so really it's a delaying action while they try to establish their Android offerings.