OT: Apple Tablet

Not sure if anyone's hooked up onto this right now...

[www.wired.com]



www.strypesinpost.com

Yep.

Not something for The Morelli's I'm afraid. Too small for me...too fragile for everyone else. Hopefully Steve-a-reno puts a little more emphasis on the "Pro" aspects of the Macbook Pro and Mac Pro. No use for the iPad as of now, I am afraid.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

You know, it's weird. It seems like just as with the iPhone, the world just woke up one morning and collectively decided that Apple was going to make a pad. And lo, they made a pad.

I wonder how these things work? Are there people inside Apple who tell their friends what they're working on, and the word gets out? Or do Apple executives keep their ears to the ground and try to create products to meet consumer demand? Or is it something in between?

I know, I'm just navel-gazing. But I really do wonder how both this and the iPhone happened. It seems like in both cases, absolutely everybody who was interested enough to care knew precisely what Apple was going to ship the morning before it was announced. Not the fine details, maybe, but the overall thrust of the product. Both seemed to have this air of ? I dunno. Inevitability.

That said, it seems to me that the iPad's kind of the ultimate luxury item. It's not meant to fit into any existing niche. iMacs and Macbooks are computers; they fit into that role we've already carved out in our lives. The iPhone is (duh) a phone, which means anybody who owns a phone ? virtually all humans ? is a potential customer. Heck, even the original iPod was a new take on the already well established idea of a portable music player. Seems like the iPad is kind of a product without a role. Not that that's unprecedented; portable computers weren't in demand before companies started making and selling portable computers, and now they're by far the most popular kind.

On the other hand ? the other day, in a spate of boredom, I was looking at the Virgin Galactic Web site. Please, I implore you, set aside the fact that they're trying to charge two hundred thousand dollars for six minutes of sub-orbital flight. Consider instead, just for a moment, that there's a company out there selling tickets to space. For any practical purpose? Heck no. You don't even go anywhere; after a two-and-a-half-hour flight you land right back where you started. They're doing it just because they can.

And now Apple is selling a device that basically reproduces, in every respect I can think of, all the dreams of 80s and 90s science fiction.

Why? I dunno. Maybe just because they can.

It's 2010, after all. If we can't have robot butlers or flying cars, by god, we'll have nearly magical consumer electronics and regularly scheduled commercial flights to outer space.

They might want to reconsider the name

[www.huffingtonpost.com]

Michael Horton
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AAAhahahahahahahahahahahahaha>>>>>>>>>>>>>!!!!!!!!!!

Vaginal Firewall Protection!!!

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

I found this rather telling, and perhaps a bit ominous, even allowing for Jobsian hyperbole:

"Apple is now a $50-billion-a-year company, Mr. Jobs crows. The revenue comes from iPod, iPhone and of course Mac sales ? a majority of which are laptops. All are mobile devices. ?Apple is a mobile devices company. This is what we do,? he says. He calls Apple the number one mobile devices company in the world."

From the NYTimes live blog.

Uh-oh...could spell doom for the towers...

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

But imagine when the 3rd party apps comes in...

This could be a virtual controller for FCP audio mixer, CC 3way, Soundtrack Pro, Pro Tools, Color, Photoshop drawing tablet, Illustrator, and whatever else.

Some of you will say it doesn't come close to a $10k JL Cooper controller or the $1500 Wave or a Mackie controller. But if you're not a full-time colorist or audio mixer but have to color and mix once every couple weeks, this $500 touch screen can become anything you need and more efficient than using a mouse. There's a lot of potentials to this....

CHL

Chi-Ho Lee
Film & Television Editor
Apple Certified Final Cut Pro Instructor

And of course, the inevitable question: "what does this do for me?" (the content creator)

For now, not much. Personally I'll buy one if and when I decide to start reading books on a screen (rather than say, a Kindle), or if they develop a REALLy good universal remote app I can use for my home theater. That said, my WIFE might love one since she hates carrying a laptop (thin? cheap? can do email? Sign her up!)

I doubt we'll be editing video on this thing anytime soon. Certainly the iPhone OS precludes running any major software. BUT... look at what they did with the new iWork. Completely re-written for the OS. We can already edit video on the iPhone, albeit in a very simplistic way. iMovie on the iPad? Not too far-fetched really. Or something even more interesting: easy review and annotation of edits in progress. Imagine all your media sitting on your MacPro back at the office, but with remote access (via MobileMe) you can login and view a timeline. Or easily upload an edit for a client so they can review it and even add notes at specific points in the cut, which are translated back into annotated markers in FCP. ("Hey Michael, could you iPad me the latest cut of the trailer? I wanna watch it while I'm gettin' a wax down at Burke-Williams. Thanks babe!"

Just spit-balling ideas... it can't do any of this yet. And it may not, if Apple ignores the Pro users with this device and just focuses on wringing more profit out of the iTunes store. But you never know...

JK

_______________________________________
SCQT! Self-contained QuickTime ? pass it on!

Can one plug a 30-inch monitor into this thing? Like a mini? It's clear all computers are moving to portable devices so its not really up to Apple to keep supplying towers. It's up to the third parties like Blackmagic Matrox AJA etc to come up with solutions that work with these portable devices.

Michael Horton
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Chi-Ho...it's only 10 inches. This is not meant for artists (at least artists that need glasses). It's too small. It's a note taker / game player / movie watcher / script writer / coke cutter (did I just say that?). It's NOT a professional Artist's tablet. A 17" or larger Multitouch...now THAT I would buy.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Why don't they just release the 'iPro" and give us pros what the %$#@ we want already!!

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

It does have video out, but via the dock connector. Even if there was an iPod>miniDisplayport adapter (is there such a thing?) I bet it would only support playback of media and not desktop mirroring.

_______________________________________
SCQT! Self-contained QuickTime ? pass it on!

>Or do Apple executives keep their ears to the ground and try to create products to meet
>consumer demand? Or is it something in between?

I guess the answer to that is kinda like Film and TV production. Do you keep your ears to the ground and create in-demand content, or do you create what you will and see if that sells.


>Uh-oh...could spell doom for the towers...

I won't go as far as to run an accurate prediction on this, but the moment they can increase the expandability of a laptop, and the price vs clock speed/cores becomes more comparable with a tower, and finally when they are able to have a simple, reliable and effective method to cluster render/share processor load, I think towers could be a thing of the past...



www.strypesinpost.com

That thing looks reaaaally fragile to me. It's 50 per cent screen, and I don't have an optimistic outlook on the durability of that design. At least laptops can fold up and the vertical surface of their screens makes it less likely for them to be rendered useless by just one coffee spill.

Novelty, I think. Of course, novelties do sell, but I seriously doubt professionals will rely on it. It may supplement some of our menial tasks, but I don't see it as solid enough to be the only computer you own.

That said, it doesn't mean portability is not good. If they can fit as powerful and versatile a machine as a MacPro into the size of a MacMini, then it's a great thing. Ironically, for a user like me, the portability aspect actuall works best at home or in the editing room -- being able to save extra space, move from room to room, store extra machines in a stack, and carry the thing under my arm when I need to take it to maintenance. Imagine if you need an emergency rental to replace a faulty editing system and a courier can show up with a package the size of an Amazon delivery. It's a good thing.

It also makes them easy to steal, though.


www.derekmok.com

Glass is tougher than it looks, Derek. My Macbook Pro (last year's model, with the glass screen) took about a four-foot drop onto concrete and landed on a corner. I panicked, but the only visible result was a couple tiny scuff marks on the aluminum where it hit.

As for the "What does it do for me, can you plug in a monitor" type stuff ? I didn't see the presentation, so I'm only going by the notes I've seen on the Web. But it seems like Jobs was really clear: The iPad is not meant to be a computer. It's meant to be a new thing.

If I went back in time twenty years and showed my then-self an iPhone, I wouldn't know what to make of it at first. In 1990, cell phones existed, but they were just phones, and not very good ones at that. They were analog, if I remember correctly, and really pretty pointless for anybody who didn't have a specific reason to need one. Heck, even portable computers were little more than exotic toys at the time. If I'm remembering things right, the laptop as a concept hadn't even really been fleshed out yet.

Point being, the iPhone (and multipurpose phones as a general idea) is a new thing, relative to 1990. It kinda started with pagers and Blackberries ? hey, I can do email without a computer ? and just evolved.

I think the iPad is meant to be like that. It's meant to be something that, ten years hence, we'll take for granted, but that right now seems a little bit odd.

I want to be clear here: I think that's the intention. Whether it'll fly is anybody's guess. I can say with confidence that I would like to have one. But I can also say with confidence that it'd just be a toy for me.

Hmm. Sorry to double-post but a thought just kinda hit me out of the blue.

The iPad is intended to be an information appliance for people who do not, and do not wish to, sit in front of a computer all the time.

Is there anything to that? I dunno. But now that I'm thinking about it in terms of people whose lifestyle is different from my own, it makes a lot of sense.

grafixjoe Wrote:
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> Chi-Ho...it's only 10 inches. This is not meant
> for artists (at least artists that need glasses).
> It's too small. It's a note taker / game player /
> movie watcher / script writer / coke cutter (did I
> just say that?). It's NOT a professional Artist's
> tablet. A 17" or larger Multitouch...now THAT I
> would buy.

I understand. That's why I said it would be good for someone who can benefit from an external controller but not everyday. Obviously, this wouldn't fit a day to day colorist, audio mixer, or PS painter. But if you only do that (one task or all of those tasks) once every couple weeks or once a month, it's more economical than buying a wave, a mackie controller, and a wacom tablet.

CHL

Chi-Ho Lee
Film & Television Editor
Apple Certified Final Cut Pro Instructor

This product [www.jazzmutant.com] goes for way more than the iPad and it's not even a computer, just a controller. There are a bunch of apps for the iPhone that emulate these sort of controllers for ProTools and Logic.

Audio, with it's plug-ins and mixer metaphors can really be helped with a virtual controller like that that updates constantly but isn't hamstrung by having to feed back to motorized faders.

It's tabula rasa at this point, but that's the first things I would be putting on it. That and all the synths, loopers, drum machines and noise makers that already exist for the iPhone.

ak
Sleeplings, AWAKE!

No camera, no SMS and no multitasking. Reason to never buy a first generation anything. Cause in 6 months it will be in the next version, plus more. And cheaper.

Michael Horton
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> My Macbook Pro (last year's model, with the glass screen) took about a four-foot drop onto
> concrete and landed on a corner.

Ah, but the question is...that thing is a touch screen. One such accident may not destroy it, but how usable is it after the accident? Especially considering that such a device is designed to be incorporated into your everyday life, much like a wallet, purse, or briefcase.

I accidentally dunked my cell phone into a glass of water two years ago. (That's why no iPhone...this was just a $40 Samsung which I hated anyway) I got it out and dried it pretty quickly and it would turn on, but most of the buttons wouldn't work. So, surviveability? Yeah. Functionality after survival? Not really.


www.derekmok.com

You lost me, Mike. You've got a camera and SMS in your phone, which is presumably on or near you at all times. Why would you want those in a pad?

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Ah, but the question is...that thing is a touch screen.

No, it's not, and that's a valid point. I wonder if the whatever-it-is that makes a piece of glass into a touchscreen makes it more fragile somehow? I can tell you that I've had my iPhone since the first week they came out, and it's basically lived in my pocket or my backpack the whole time without a case of any kind. Not a single scratch or ding on the glass. Glass is generally much tougher stuff than plastic, as anybody who wears glasses can attest.

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it would turn on, but most of the buttons wouldn't work.

Hmm. I'm not an expert, but I think mechanical keypads like those on a phone work by putting something conductive between two contacts to close a circuit. Maybe there was still enough moisture inside your phone to cause a short of some kind? I could imagine a touchscreen device actually being more resistant to water, but I'm sure not gonna test it out myself.

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ou lost me, Mike. You've got a camera and SMS in your phone, which is presumably on or near you at all times. Why would you want those in a pad?

Why not? Video Conferencing for one.

I'm carrying it around as it is designed to be carried around. This is a multi media device so why not put all the multimedia functions of an iPhone into it. And of course they will. It WILL have a camera and it will have SMS and who know what else. Just not now.

Michael Horton
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I accidentally dunked my cell phone into a glass of water two years ago.

I've had my iPhone for about 2 years with no scratches and no problems and a nifty rubber thingy keeping it safe. Dropped it a hundred times. Never dunked it into coffee though. Let me test it.

Hold on






OH CRAP!

Michael Horton
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Why not?

Sorta runs counter to the 21st-century Apple design aesthetic: "It's finished not when nothing more can be added, but when nothing more can be taken away."

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Video Conferencing for one.

Yeah, I thought about that after you posted what you said and I knee-jerk replied to it. I can't figure how it would work. It's a handheld device, right? So when you're in videoconference mode or whatever, you'd have to hold it still, and at a right angle to you. You couldn't sit it on the table in front of you, unless you wanted to hunch over it far enough to get your face in the frame.

It's a neat idea, but I'm having a hard time imagining holding the device out in front of me, arms outstretched, just so the person on the other end can see that I haven't shaved in three days. That's another case of "My phone is right here, I'll just use it."

That might just be me, though. Shrug.

I could definitely see it having a camera in the future for video conferencing. Just wait till they start propping it up on the dashboard so they can video conference while driving. You thought texting was bad...

Andy

This thing DOES NOT have an iSight camera in it so video conferencing / skype is out. That is enough of a deterrent for me as well. I think they rushed the damn thing to get it out. It's not done cooking. It is too smooth / sleek / shiney. This think looks like it will scratch as soon as you take it out of the box. I can see it slipping off a pillow onto the couch and my 112 pound son plopping down next to me and * CRAAAAAAAK *.

I can see this with an indestructible rubber casing on a 17" model down the road. I don't know...the way it is it just seems unfinished.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

iPhone doesn't scratch why would this? I imagine they have been carrying this thing around since the Newton in one form or another. As it is, it's pretty awesome in my humble opinion. It will just get better and cheaper with more functionality as all things Apple do. And going to be kick butt for gamers.

Michael Horton
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Yeah...in the demo vid on Apple.com, someone is playing "Need for Speed" and it looks amazing. Gamers WILL have a field day with this - that is for sure...probably one of the coolest gamer toys out there. Who the hell's gonna want to sit in front of a computer when you can hold and control the pad?

There are mumblings in the hallway here at the EA Studio...

My 12 year old Cam's gonna want this for sure...and they announced it on his Birthday (today) so I wouldn't forget.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.