No foresight whatsoever
Too much dependence on rumors based off of products from other companies instead of recognizing patterns based on Apple's products.
Apple keyboards on notebook and desktop computers have become thinner and need less pushing on their buttons. The trackpad has been getting bigger, and before that the button has been optional in use with secondary click, scrolling, and dragging possible without it. The iPhone has no buttons for keyboard use and is essentially a forward experiment of a touchboard instead of a keyboard. Anybody remember Steve Jobs comment about Star Trek:TNG at D5 (when appearing with Bill Gates)? Come on people, make the connections, wake up and smell the solder on the wafer boards.
A usable full-size keyboard has been touted time and again as a reason for not making smaller notebooks, along with desire for a usable screen size. Combining the screen and keyboard reduces viewing and makes applications not as usable. Imagine using iLife, iWork, or developing with Xcode and Interface builder. The interface elements would need to be bigger for receiving the touches, not to mention the interface would be partially obscured when using your hand to touch the screen, so a larger screen would be nice for both situations. It's unfeasible, dare I say inconceivable, except as a bold social experiment as has been done by other companies with their tablets and such.
Another angle on Apple weening us off of the keyboard, away from buttons, can be seen with their mouse nowadays. Even that has signs of increasing usability while maintaining simplicity. If you don't want more mouse buttons, you won't see them so there's no confusion about which button to press because the whole thing will appear to be singular. Easier troubleshooting and tech support. The experienced user will expect otherwise and have the expectations met with secondary click and middle click working as expected. One of many examples of Apple's experiments and their coordination of the masses mindset with their own. The touchboard could eliminate the need for a mouse, not to mention can be smaller since the numeric keypad can be a software layout instead.
To prevent tiredness in people's arms, either the view screen needs to lay flat on the desk or the keyboard needs to become a touchboard, essentially an extra large trackpad like the iPhone's screen. The former would still be more effort since it'd would be a greater area for moving ones arms than a smaller touchboard with command areas (simulated keys). The latter maintains a small footprint on the desktop and no need to strain the neck holding the head at an angle for looking downward all of the time. The touchboard is also much more usable than a trackpad since it can give a visual representation. Even though a keyboard layout may be visible, swiping gestures could be interpreted as cursor movements without having to switch the keyboard layout off. The keyboard layout can be sized to people's hands, small or large, missing a finger or a hand (key chording, like Twiddler could be set up). Like the iPhone, different languages no longer need a different set of hardware keys. Again, refer to Star Trek:TNG and other science fiction stories in books and video. Nothing new here.
What's that? How do you touch type? Easy, though a little different. You leave all of your fingers (or most of them, or more than one) on the touchboard. Then move your fingers as usual. For key areas under the finger tips, a simple lift and setting down of the finger will indicate that area should be acknowledged. So, yes, you can still rest your hands, when typing the computer will just ignore the static input and instead pay attention to the dynamic input. Wasn't that what you worried about, the computer getting confused by the extra touching? Well, the computer just needs to be told not to be confused by that. Duh.
So, no, netbooks and tablets just aren't that great for the masses even they are admired by geeks and small groups of specialists. Life is big, and so the interface shouldn't be tiny. Consulting information is fine for a device like the iPhone, but is too limiting for manipulation, creation, and editing major portions of life. Lighter weight and holographic would be the path since the usable size is so important.
One more thing from science fiction: reduction of moving parts. That leads to longevity and ease of maintenance, such as could be obtained with no keys or buttons.
Oh, and of course, the connection of the roughly 10" screen. Measure your full-size notebook keyboard. It's roughly 10" by 4", which by the Pythagorean theorem would be less than 11" diagonal. Removing some excess space of extra large keys and allowing for hands to sit naturally angled, the width and length can be adjusted smaller and lead closer to the roughly 10" screens.
This is what Apple has been doing with their products, constantly adding one more thing, a gradual introduction to a different interface, one with less effort and more informative. Apple doesn't make products to sell to everyone, instead they make the best products they can make, and in particular ones the old fogies at the company (and hence very experienced and sensible about not wanting needless effort) can enjoy using the products, too. Reduction and greater ease in tech support is a result of that, as well as avoiding unsustainable growth. Ecologically, constant growth is unstable and leads to collapse if nothing is done about stabilizing it. Essentially, Apple's computers have evolved the way computers were expected to evolve according to science fiction: self maintaining and self adjusting to the user. The mass of devices referred to as computers are actually an older, less capable species. As such, other companies make computers, Apple makes Macs.
So, get out of the present of rumors based on other companies shenanigans and get into the future with Apple's mindset and their actually product line over the decades. Pattern recognition guys.
Too much dependence on rumors based off of products from other companies instead of recognizing patterns based on Apple's products.
Apple keyboards on notebook and desktop computers have become thinner and need less pushing on their buttons. The trackpad has been getting bigger, and before that the button has been optional in use with secondary click, scrolling, and dragging possible without it. The iPhone has no buttons for keyboard use and is essentially a forward experiment of a touchboard instead of a keyboard. Anybody remember Steve Jobs comment about Star Trek:TNG at D5 (when appearing with Bill Gates)? Come on people, make the connections, wake up and smell the solder on the wafer boards.
A usable full-size keyboard has been touted time and again as a reason for not making smaller notebooks, along with desire for a usable screen size. Combining the screen and keyboard reduces viewing and makes applications not as usable. Imagine using iLife, iWork, or developing with Xcode and Interface builder. The interface elements would need to be bigger for receiving the touches, not to mention the interface would be partially obscured when using your hand to touch the screen, so a larger screen would be nice for both situations. It's unfeasible, dare I say inconceivable, except as a bold social experiment as has been done by other companies with their tablets and such.
Another angle on Apple weening us off of the keyboard, away from buttons, can be seen with their mouse nowadays. Even that has signs of increasing usability while maintaining simplicity. If you don't want more mouse buttons, you won't see them so there's no confusion about which button to press because the whole thing will appear to be singular. Easier troubleshooting and tech support. The experienced user will expect otherwise and have the expectations met with secondary click and middle click working as expected. One of many examples of Apple's experiments and their coordination of the masses mindset with their own. The touchboard could eliminate the need for a mouse, not to mention can be smaller since the numeric keypad can be a software layout instead.
To prevent tiredness in people's arms, either the view screen needs to lay flat on the desk or the keyboard needs to become a touchboard, essentially an extra large trackpad like the iPhone's screen. The former would still be more effort since it'd would be a greater area for moving ones arms than a smaller touchboard with command areas (simulated keys). The latter maintains a small footprint on the desktop and no need to strain the neck holding the head at an angle for looking downward all of the time. The touchboard is also much more usable than a trackpad since it can give a visual representation. Even though a keyboard layout may be visible, swiping gestures could be interpreted as cursor movements without having to switch the keyboard layout off. The keyboard layout can be sized to people's hands, small or large, missing a finger or a hand (key chording, like Twiddler could be set up). Like the iPhone, different languages no longer need a different set of hardware keys. Again, refer to Star Trek:TNG and other science fiction stories in books and video. Nothing new here.
What's that? How do you touch type? Easy, though a little different. You leave all of your fingers (or most of them, or more than one) on the touchboard. Then move your fingers as usual. For key areas under the finger tips, a simple lift and setting down of the finger will indicate that area should be acknowledged. So, yes, you can still rest your hands, when typing the computer will just ignore the static input and instead pay attention to the dynamic input. Wasn't that what you worried about, the computer getting confused by the extra touching? Well, the computer just needs to be told not to be confused by that. Duh.
So, no, netbooks and tablets just aren't that great for the masses even they are admired by geeks and small groups of specialists. Life is big, and so the interface shouldn't be tiny. Consulting information is fine for a device like the iPhone, but is too limiting for manipulation, creation, and editing major portions of life. Lighter weight and holographic would be the path since the usable size is so important.
One more thing from science fiction: reduction of moving parts. That leads to longevity and ease of maintenance, such as could be obtained with no keys or buttons.
Oh, and of course, the connection of the roughly 10" screen. Measure your full-size notebook keyboard. It's roughly 10" by 4", which by the Pythagorean theorem would be less than 11" diagonal. Removing some excess space of extra large keys and allowing for hands to sit naturally angled, the width and length can be adjusted smaller and lead closer to the roughly 10" screens.
This is what Apple has been doing with their products, constantly adding one more thing, a gradual introduction to a different interface, one with less effort and more informative. Apple doesn't make products to sell to everyone, instead they make the best products they can make, and in particular ones the old fogies at the company (and hence very experienced and sensible about not wanting needless effort) can enjoy using the products, too. Reduction and greater ease in tech support is a result of that, as well as avoiding unsustainable growth. Ecologically, constant growth is unstable and leads to collapse if nothing is done about stabilizing it. Essentially, Apple's computers have evolved the way computers were expected to evolve according to science fiction: self maintaining and self adjusting to the user. The mass of devices referred to as computers are actually an older, less capable species. As such, other companies make computers, Apple makes Macs.
So, get out of the present of rumors based on other companies shenanigans and get into the future with Apple's mindset and their actually product line over the decades. Pattern recognition guys.
