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An OS X Tablet is a Tablet for everyone.

Not really. If it was an osx tablet I wouldn't want it. Some people would want it, but others would see the flaws, just as people like you see flaws in the iPad. OSX was designed for mouse/keyboard input. iPhone OS was designed for touch input. You can probably see where I'm going.
 
You're the one lacking imagination. OS X could be packaged in a lighter form while maintaining functionality.

The problem is that all the OS X applications wouldn't be immediately upgraded, and wouldn't be very usable as-is, out of the box, which would leave a frustrated user base, and bifurcated application world. Some applications would work better with touch, others with a mouse... and you'd lose the whole portability and simplicity that's the beauty of the iPad. And that's what people primarily interface with - applications, not the OS.

It's not the best analogy, but... Lots of people had invented cars before Henry Ford brought out the Model-T, but that car was certainly revolutionary. There were more capable cars on the road, but none that had the combination of usability & affordability that brought it to the masses.

All that said, I think there could be a future iMac that optionally folds down to a configuration like a drafting table... but that's a completely different product, and won't be selling for $499+.
 
I don't remember Apple saying they were releasing a gimped Tablet without an iPhone OS and no Flash support, virtually no ports etc etc. An OS X Tablet is a Tablet for everyone. This offering was a nice way to cash in on the App Store success. What's your point.

You have zero idea what you are talking about. It is a good thing that you don't develop products for mere mortals to use.


You're the one lacking imagination. OS X could be packaged in a lighter form while maintaining functionality.

Do you have any idea about writing software as complex as an Operating System and apps on top of that? Let alone for a gesture-based multi-touch device?

You don't just "repackage" software. The iPad is not just different from a computer or a netbook in the way you use it, it is fundamentally different in who is it geared towards. Have you ever wondered why apps on the iPad have a real-life kinda look? Have you seen the calendar or the notes app? yep, that is right. It is not just so it looks cool.

I came across this excellent post the other day on somethingawful forums that I think is worth posting here at this point:

I don't get why people can't see the forest for the trees. Functionality isn't everything. Let's look at assembly language. Whoa, it can literally do anything. It can make the computer do anything and control every bit. Hmm, where did that get us? Higher level languages? God, they're so much slower! No one will ever use them!

Manual transmission. You have 100% command of your car. You get to control how much torque it has and at what speed. So much control! Wait, what's this? Automatic? Why would anyone want to do that? It's so much less efficient!

If you can't see that people have better things to do with their lives than drown in poorly designed choices, you need to kill yourself. Meanwhile, we'll be enjoying reading web pages on the couch.

Things the iPod doesn't have: FM reception, OGG support, drag and drop file management, use as hard drive
Things iPod competitors don't have: The iPod's marketshare
 
It's threads full of posts like this that keep me away from these forums.

There's a lot to like about the iPad, particularly the potential that developers have yet to tap. I remain cautiously optimistic for this platform.

There's also a lot to be disappointed by, particularly true if you were eating up all the rumors pre-announcement and were expecting some ridiculously powerful OS X based device with the power of a MBP and the price and battery life of an iPod.

Like most new Apple products, the first version is crippled in some ways and brilliant in others. Apple isn't going to add anything in that hinders the performance of what it sees as the core capabilities. Like every other product, they will advance the hardware and software over the coming years. Buy it when it meets you needs, or not.

Like it. Hate it. Love it. Buy it. Whatever you want. But why the bitching and trashing. What other company, tech or not, incites such passion on both sides?
 
I don't know much about video production. Who would use this product? Could somebody describe a use case? (no, I'm not being secretly sarcastic, I'm just curious)

I think it's a fair question. I thought about it for a few seconds and the first obvious use case I can think of is education, IE learning how to use a video console like this. The other use case I guess would be using the iPad app instead of the real thing to do real work. I'm guessing that's the one you were dubious about and I am dubious too because I don't know if that app is good enough to replace the real thing.

Still, for education purposes or amateur stuff it seems like it'd be a useful app.
 
Revolutionary? This is how cash registers have been looking like for many years now. So, what's so revolutionary here?
 
Revolutionary? This is how cash registers have been looking like for many years now. So, what's so revolutionary here?

It's not the physical form factor, it's the possibilities of what it can do with the applications that could be used on it.

If the tablet concept with OSX would be such a hit, why hasn't Axiom's modbook blown up huge? If all these "hardcore" users are so sure it's the next great thing, spending 1500 vs 1000 to get their MB mod'd would not be an issue. I have seen plenty of posts saying people would spend 1500 to 2k on a real OSX tablet. It's available... they don't do it, why? Yes because it's really not that good of a solution. They then bitch about having a "hybrid" OSX... no kidding? It's called the iPhone OS, OSX core stripped down with a multitouch UI. Done. Love it or hate it... Apple has it's hybrid OS and it's on the iPad.

The basic 1" thick, 8x10 or whatever size tablet and the hardware, ports etc... are a decade old. The reason they have failed to take over is they fact they are running a desktop OS, which is designed for a keyboard and mouse input. Everyone hoping for OSX on a tablet seems to overlook the fact it will be just as bad of a experience as the Win 7 tablets are. Then again, those same people have probably never even used a Win 7 tablet so they are dreaming how cool it would be and have zero clue as to what a pc of garbage they are.
 
Great Discussion.

Check out these videos guys. I'm imagining what artists and students can do with these types of programs.

In the first example, this program allows you to sketch and it seems like it does it quiet well honestly. It's no Photoshop and Wacom tablet, but if you wanted a Wacom that has a screen, you'd need pshop and a computer to connect it to, thats easily a 2k investment at least. With the iPad the normal artist can probably do some amazing things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ogvN3nNBa8


The second video is more of a video for students. Pretty cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6nDbE1CK3o&feature=player_embedded
 
The iPad is a fantastic device, it looks nice; is lightweight and thin; has powerful hardware backing it; and I'd say most importantly has a fantastic version improved version of the iPhone OS that developers can easily build fully functional computer like applications.

It's not for everyone, but an OSX tablet would have been an epic flop - you might ask why?
Well, I can think of several main reasons,

1) It would have to run OSX which requires better hardware to be crammed into that small space, resulting in a larger heavier device; more heat; and much less battery life.
2) It would be running OSX applications which are not designed for touch input.
3) The cost of the iPad would be starting at ~$1599 or ~$1999, sure I'd buy an OSX tablet @ $499 but it would cost much more.

Some of the applications that can and will be developed by developers will be truly amazing, that I have no doubt of.
I'm even confident enough to say that no other slate has a chance, even the HP Slate that runs Windows 7 - just my opinion, I could be wrong of course, time will tell.
 
And here is the problem EVERY iPad hater can't seem to grasp: OS X and Windows are desktop/laptop operating systems. The iPad is a new genre of computing device. You are interfacing with it and your data in a whole new way. You put Snow Leopard on the thing and it will FAIL miserably.

You haters are the punch card shufflers who can't grasp magnetic media, the coders who can't grasp the GUI, the keyboarders who cant grasp the mouse. You all are so wrapped up in the here and now you can't see the future. In 10 years your concept of what a computer actually is may be radically different. You have a failure of IMAGINATION.

You are stuck:
4506VV4002.jpg

Oh no, now i've been insulted too:D. I used to use the IBM 029. Actually, i started programming in 1966. From the photo you can see the coding sheet next to the keyer (could be the programmer). The shading looks like a cobol coding pad. Okay, so I'm a dinosaur. Still in the data processing/IT business after 44 years. I'm also, as I call it, a techno-nut. I love technology. I've got more electronic gadgets than I care to count including HAM radio gear. BTW, amateur radio is not dead:). Still on the fence with the iPad. Can't wait to see the real world reviews and the apps. Then I will decide. However, will probably buy it anyway. Not because it's Apple, because it's cool:cool:, and, it's Apple.
 
Oh no, now i've been insulted too:D. I used to use the IBM 029. Actually, i started programming in 1966. From the photo you can see the coding sheet next to the keyer (could be the programmer). The shading looks like a cobol coding pad. Okay, so I'm a dinosaur. Still in the data processing/IT business after 44 years. I'm also, as I call it, a techno-nut. I love technology. I've got more electronic gadgets than I care to count including HAM radio gear. BTW, amateur radio is not dead:). Still on the fence with the iPad. Can't wait to see the real world reviews and the apps. Then I will decide. However, will probably buy it anyway. Not because it's Apple, because it's cool:cool:, and, it's Apple.

Sorry if you were insulted. Even being a "dinosaur" you've kept an open mind about the iPad. That's more than can be said for some here.

P.s. I've used key cards myself. I'm also paleolithic.
 
P.s. I've used key cards myself. I'm also paleolithic.

I saw key cards with my own eyes and was terrified of them. I regarded programmers with a kind of superstitious awe. Eventually, in 1979, I built my first computer (a Heathkit H-80) from a kit.

Which may explain why I loved the original Macintosh. It eliminated so much of the tedious stuff that made early computing a joy but also a test of patience and concentration.

What I love about the iPad -- without having seen or touched one -- is that it seems to take the next step, removing one more layer of process and abstraction. We can finally remove the quotation marks around phrases like "point and click." With a mouse, you aren't really pointing. You are manipulating a hand-held object on a horizontal plane to maneuver a visual pointer on a physically separate, more-or-less vertical plane. With an iPad you literally point and touch. And the OS is designed from the ground up around this experience.

So we'll see how this goes, I guess. But right now, it seems kind of revolutionary to me.
 
But it's 2010. And Apple haven't got a serious Tablet product out that can really pull business customers away for the PC market. This is 10 years of start and stop production, many of us really thought we'd get something great, but we got an iPod Touch with a bigger screen and a few tweeks - it will be the Apps that carry this device. Yes it will sell bucketloads, but that doesn't make it revolutionary, or magical. They already accomplished this feat with the iPhone release. Revolutionary is getting performance in a smaller package, not larger, ie. OS X on a Tablet.

Face it, you only want to hear the good, and have admitted that you don't want to hear the negative, well tough luck. Apple sectioned out a segment of consumers and they happen to have a voice.

Ummm...I'm not sure Apple is targeting business users with the iPad. I think they are targeting consumers who want diverse content delivered seamlessly on a slick device with a ridiculously easy to learn and use interface. Apple learned long ago that being one of many in any market isn't nearly as profitable as being THE leader in a market that you create.
 
A nice example of why it's content that will drive the iPad, not the hardware.

Also a nice example of why a bigger screen is a key point in the ultimate success - it allows better and more flexible apps. Hard to imagine running that program from your iPhone.

Well ultimately content yes, but the technology had to reach a minimum capability to make it all viable. Touch OS to dump the keyboard, custom processor for responsiveness and efficiency, SSD for storage, a big / sensitive capacitive touchscreen, and polymer Li ion batteries. Once that stuff meets the minimum requirements for a satisfying experience, the sky's the limit for Apple's army of developers. It will be really interesting to see what creative minds can come up with.
 
Expectations are everything

I just can't stand people who act like Apple, a for-profit-business, OWES them a certain product.

Maybe the press or sites like MacRumors are to blame. Expectations for this device (or one people may have imagined to be like it) have been stoked for years by many sources. And, even though Apple doesn't owe any one customer his dream device, it's fair game for someone to be disappointed.
 
Still on the fence with the iPad. Can't wait to see the real world reviews and the apps. Then I will decide. However, will probably buy it anyway. Not because it's Apple, because it's cool:cool:, and, it's Apple.

For me, even without touching the device, it's easy for me to imagine the benefits a bigger iPod Touch would bring for casual web browsing and person to person sharing of digital content.
Having one on the coffee table to look up info about a movie that's on TV or exploiting the tablet form factor to sit comfortably while browsing the web would be great.

I guess it comes down to this, a refrain I'd like to repeat in a lot of these threads:
I'm not sure I'd buy one, but if Steve Jobs gave me one, I'd use it all the time.​
 
For me, even without touching the device, it's easy for me to imagine the benefits a bigger iPod Touch would bring for casual web browsing and person to person sharing of digital content.
Having one on the coffee table to look up info about a movie that's on TV or exploiting the tablet form factor to sit comfortably while browsing the web would be great.

I guess it comes down to this, a refrain I'd like to repeat in a lot of these threads:
I'm not sure I'd buy one, but if Steve Jobs gave me one, I'd use it all the time.​

There are many times an iPad would have been and will be perfect for me. When we had the blizzard in February I sat everyday with my 17" MBP on my lap and watched my HDTV. I just chilled all week and didn't go down to my office in the basement to use my iMac. The iPad would have been perfect. When I go on short trips I don't need the power of the MBP and retrieving email and web browsing would be great on a device the size of the iPad. Smaller and lighter weight than a laptop yet larger and more capability than the iPhone, ideal. I'm still going to wait for the final verdict but i'm fairly certain there will be an iPad in my future.
 
I think what a lot of people fail to see is that the iPad is a canvas for developers to create some amazing programs. People are complaining too much about what it "looks" like and aren't getting what its really aimed at doing, which is change the way you interact with computers.

It's not meant to replace a computer and its not meant to replace a smartphone, but its a great device in the middle. I've personally used a few netbooks, and I can say from the videos i've seen of the iPad, it looks far more fun to use with photos, movies, the web, email, and books then any netbook or e-reader ive seen.

In the end, I know the iPad is missing some features that some people would have liked (camera). But i really see this as Apple creating a different way to interact with a ton of programs, media and more....and thats why I'm getting one.
 
Great Discussion.

Check out these videos guys. I'm imagining what artists and students can do with these types of programs.

In the first example, this program allows you to sketch and it seems like it does it quiet well honestly. It's no Photoshop and Wacom tablet, but if you wanted a Wacom that has a screen, you'd need pshop and a computer to connect it to, thats easily a 2k investment at least. With the iPad the normal artist can probably do some amazing things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ogvN3nNBa8

Wow, very cool.

Imagine what that will be like on the iPad's 10" screen. Maybe with flip-book functionality added for rough cartooning. Let's see a $400 Windows netbook do that!

Here's another: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryNTlz7ltaA&NR=1
 
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