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And... Tablet Rumors Revived: Larger Mac-Like Tablet in the Works?

OK, i haven't read the thread.... but this just cracked me up.

My STBXH & I are giving the oldest an iPad for her birthday "today". He is as non-techy as you come, beyond non-techy actually.

So i called him this morning to ask if he wanted me to wrap up a picture of it so she had something unwrap, and he says, "They were talking about it on the radio today, is there a newer one coming out that is more computer like?"

OMG. I about lost it! LOL!!!

Dude:

1. it's just a rumor right now
2. she won't want 15"
3. she doesn't need a full computer, she wants pages on her Touch. She's HAPPY about the iPad!
4. she can't wait - her 12" iBook is dying (used daily for school)
5. lather, rinse, repeat :D

So there you have it, Mr. Non-Techy asked about the "more computer like" version :rolleyes:
 
Whether or not this latest rumor is true is irrelevant. The bigger picture is in how Apple is slowly, methodically weening people away from the old computer paradigms such as keyboard and mouse. It all started with the iPhone. It will continue with the iPad, and will eventually conclude with a touch-based Mac of some sort.

Of course other companies have tried other ways of interfacing with computers, but so far it's been Apple -via the iPhone- that has succeeded at bringing these new paradigms to the mass market. This is in part why the "iPad is nothing more than a big iPod touch" argument fails on so many levels. Think about that for a moment. This argument is in reality a confirmation that Apple has succeeded in getting people to rethink how they interact with technology. In other words, Apple's version of the touch UI is so ingrained in the minds of the public (because it really works, and works well) that it's nothing special anymore. How many other tech companies can say that about the products they've brought to market?!? No one, really.

It's been this way since the introduction of the original Mac. Apple has always been very good at getting their ideas into the mainstream consciousness, even when it hasn't always brought them great financial reward (see Windows). If this latest rumor is true (which I doubt), then I say: bring it on! It will only go towards strengthening Apple's already dominant role of bringing real innovation to the masses. That's a GOOD thing.
 
str1f3 said:
Apple had better watch out because early designs of the Chrome OS tablets are what I hoped Apple would release:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/02/01/chrome-os-tablet-video/

Unlike the Courier, this video actually looks like it could come to reality. Surprise! It also has multitasking. OS 4.0 had really better be something special considering no improvements have been made since 3.0.
Click to expand...

Wow, that's just what I want, a tablet that's 30 inches across! Talk about portable....

And yes, the size is cruicial as it seriously impacts the UI. Oh, and Chrome OS is being built to be something VERY different to Android with almost all applications being web based so this is going to be a vastly different device to the iPad and one with considerably less appeal (what happens, for example, if you find yourself without internet access? Sure the core apps will probably have an off-line mode but I really doubt that'll apply to third party stuff as it defeats the design objective of the OS).

As for Mac OS X in tablet form I'm sick and tired of seeing people banging on about how that's just what they want. The arguments have been well covered here allready (UI, existing apps being basically crap when used with fingers etc) but just answer me one question:

Outside of certain specalist applications what would you do in your daily computing life that'd be significantly improved with a touch-based interface over the existing keyboard and mouse combo?
 
str1f3 said:
Apple had better watch out because early designs of the Chrome OS tablets are what I hoped Apple would release:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/02/01/chrome-os-tablet-video/

Unlike the Courier, this video actually looks like it could come to reality. Surprise! It also has multitasking. OS 4.0 had really better be something special considering no improvements have been made since 3.0.
Click to expand...

What open up 3 windows, resize them, move them around? - Is that what the iPad should have been?

Stunning video :eek:
 
Loving killer

Love said:
No. Not again. No.

I have to get my gun out again, dammit.
Click to expand...


Easy! Then I saw your signature: "Kill the little bastard, see what I care."

Then I saw your location: "I hardly think that's any of your business."

Then finally, I checked your name: Love.

Wow, you are more ambivalent than the iPad! :)
 
wackymacky said:
God have Mercy... I can't take it any more.

I was hanging out for the last few weeks believing I would be up-lifted and overwhelmed by Apple's release, and instead I am given what I already have, (just a bit larger and quicker).

I can't be hanging on tenterhooks waiting for the "real" tablet that we were all expecting. I can't believe in Apple anymore.

I just can’t.
Click to expand...

Good Lord - get a grip man. It's just a shiny gadget. You can live your life without it altogether. I promise you. Perhaps you need something a little higher to believe in than a tech company.
 
dernhelm said:
Perhaps you need something a little higher to believe in than a tech company.
Click to expand...

Believe in something higher than the creative power of life to make things better for each other?

I would need serious proof before buying shares in THAT. :D
 

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Well, I buy this rumor to the extent that it's obvious Steve and Co. are major unabashed fans of all things multi-touch. To envision a world of two handed, 4,6,8 finger gestures is not all that hard (remember Minority Report?) And it sort of dovetails nicely with the rumored 22" inch touch iMac.

So sure - embedding multi-touch deeper into OSX seems a terrific likelihood over time. The question then becomes what Apple decides to do with the keyboards, touchpads, and mice on their current computers.

For what we today think of as laptops, I could see a split tablet form factor with a more robust docking solution than the iPad has. In fact, it'd basically be today's MBP when docked, with the ability to remove the screen completely and carry it around with you like an iPad.

Unless such a beast completely blows my mind I'm still very much embracing the all-iPad all-the-time mantra.

TM
 
Make one large enough to show virtual key boards, slide guitars and a myriad of virtual devices. Make it large enough for Final Cut Pro editing. Provide a stand so it sits at hand level like a piano. Gestures that enable it to be operated with both hands. This is the future of creative computing.
 
Sometimes I wish the app store would come to the desktop Mac. Managing apps on full blow OS X sucks.

Imagine if you could run iPhone apps on your desktop? Then there would be thousands and thousands of games you could run instead of the handful of games you can currently run. Plus, there's a ton of useful software on the app store but you can't use that software on full Mac OS X... you have to have an iPhone or iPad to use it.

I find this the weirdest part about the iPad. Now the iPhone and iPad gets all the great software, but the Mac is left behind. I think we need a desktop App Store now.
 
csimmons said:
... This is in part why the "iPad is nothing more than a big iPod touch" argument fails on so many levels. ...
Click to expand...

Um... that argument doesn't fail. It is nothing more than a big iPod touch. A rose by any other name is still a frickin' rose.

Personally, I'm hoping these "more computer-like tablet" rumors are true, because Apple could do so much better than the iPad.

csimmons said:
In other words, Apple's version of the touch UI is so ingrained in the minds of the public (because it really works, and works well) that it's nothing special anymore. How many other tech companies can say that about the products they've brought to market?!? No one, really.
Click to expand...

What about every other interface we have for computers? Is the mouse n keyboard "nothing special?" GUI? Command prompt? These are all pretty "nothing special" types of things, if you ask me, AND they were invented by other companies...
 
If you want a simple computer for browsing and word processing (like most people, especially those over 40) - the iPad is everything you need and does away with countless things you don't.

if you want a full OSX tablet - why haven't you bought a Modbook?
 
locust76 said:
Um... that argument doesn't fail. It is nothing more than a big iPod touch. A rose by any other name is still a frickin' rose.

Personally, I'm hoping these "more computer-like tablet" rumors are true, because Apple could do so much better than the iPad.



What about every other interface we have for computers? Is the mouse n keyboard "nothing special?" GUI? Command prompt? These are all pretty "nothing special" types of things, if you ask me, AND they were invented by other companies...
Click to expand...

People need the iPad for it's size. That's what it's designed for. More screen real-estate... your applications will be richer and web browsing will kick butt. Imagine not having to zoom into everything to read?
 
A 30" ACD with multitouch would be very useful as long as it could be used as input and display when running OSX.

If it could be used flat on a table like a sheet of paper it would really be a revolution in human-computer interaction.
 
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today and you know what that means:
6 more years of tablet rumors…

I just don’t think a Snow Leopard tablet is a good idea. Here’s why:

1) Apple would have to build and support a 3rd OS. People scream for updates all the time now. Can you imagine how spread thin they would be with a 3rd OS?

2) The tablet would have to be at least as big as a MacBook in order to comfortably see and read anything. Throw ease of use out the window.

3) The worst thing is none of your 3rd party software titles are designed for a touch screen, so either you’ll have glitchy software, or you’ll have to wait (and hope) that these companies are willing to redesign their products. On the iPhone OS that’s a fast and easy prospect (cheap too) – on OS X it will take more of a commitment on their part.

4) Your big fat imprecise finger is not the same thing as a cursor. Why do you think the iPhone’s icons are the size and shape they are? Anything smaller and you would be constantly activating the wrong ones. Something like Photoshop, where you need precise input, would be a nightmare.

Mark my words, these slate PCs running Windows 7 are plagued with this problem right now. If you’ve watched the demos of these things you’ll notice that you DON’T see Windows 7 in action! The only thing I’ve seen is and eBook reader already loaded up and a video cued up so all they have to do is hit the play button.
Go to HP’s website and watch their demo video on their slate. It's called "Special Report! The HP Slate"
It's hilarious.
The guy showing it off only touches the HP Slate TWICE! It's like he is afraid to touch the thing. In one video they show opening a web browser (but no surfing), and in another they played a YouTube video (already cued up on the screen).
THATS IT!
No Powerpoint demo
No Excel demo
No Word demo
No email demo
No 3rd party title demo
No game demo
I’m betting it can’t do these things without hooking up a mouse and keyboard.

A computer using a touch screen for input needs an OS and the software it will run to be designed specifically for a touch interface. Apple already has that. When the new apps come out I think people are going to be surprised at how capable this OS is.
 
An interesting comment about the Kindle versus the iPad. Amazon is selling e-books at a loss hoping that the cost of the Kindle will offset that loss. If the iPad cleans Amazon's clock, Amazon could very well lose their shirts and their content too. They just froze MacMillan out of their store because the publisher wanted more control over pricing and availability so content providers might be in the mood to flock to APple and dump the Kindle cold anyway.

Interesting tectonic shifts in the still immature ebook reader industry...

Ultimately, if the iPad takes off, the Kindle is in serious trouble. In order to maintain the complete, current selection of titles that is one of its device's great features, Amazon has to be willing to come to terms with publishers. Publishers, eyeing the prospect of millions of new iPad owners -- people who'd never have bought a Kindle, but are game to try out iBooks -- now feel more free to threaten to restrict Amazon's supply of e-books if their terms aren't met. If the iPad offers all (or nearly all) of the convenience of the Kindle, plus color (imagine the graphic novels!) on top of the ability to watch videos, surf the Web and check e-mail, many potential Kindle buyers will be happy to fork over the extra cash for an iPad instead. (If they're penny pinchers they probably wouldn't be thinking of buying a Kindle in the first place.) And without the potential profits from sales of Kindle e-readers to subsidize it, that standard $9.99 price tag is unlikely to last long. Without it, how much is the Kindle itself really worth?
Click to expand...

From here.

Perhaps it doesn't matter if the first iPad isn't a huge seller. It obviously will shake an emerging market when it appears to need the shaking the most... I myself find the idea of Amazon controlling anything distressing... :eek:

I would buy one (iPad) just to help put Amazon out of the e-book business. But it's a trade off. Who says that the new boss will be better than the old one but if Apple can keep their publisher partners happy, the end of the Kindle could be already written.
 
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