You mean like any other invention, ever?
Sounds like you have an ridiculously high standard for what qualifies as innovation.
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Apple Testing Touchscreen Panels for Future iMac?
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You mean like any other invention, ever?
Sounds like you have an ridiculously high standard for what qualifies as innovation.
No, it won't happen. I can see borrowing features between the two. You might see touch added to OS X, but I don't think the two will "merge". They can't. Nobody is going to code on an iPad without a real keyboard. Touch is NOT the end all be all. It has it's place. It's true not everyone needs a truck (according to Steve Jobs). But some people DO need a truck and use them. iPad/iPhone/iPod are all consumer devices. You'll always need people to create for those devices. Unless some insanely great - simple, easy - anyone can do it programming language comes out using voice and touch with no coding for an iPad, there will continue to be some form of OS X for developers to use. At some point there may be some capabilities that cross over between the two, but I doubt we will ever see them fully merge. Macs are for creating, iDevices are for consuming.
Yeah, I didn't see it till after I typed in that post
Now, if they can only figure out how to make a computer do everything we want by merely thinking about it, these things wouldn't happen
And Apple will call it <drum roll> "iThink" ... of course.
How about dual input: you use the touch screen for most things, scrolling, dragging, clicking buttons, and when you need precision, you grab the mouse or trackpad that's already on the table anyway. As for the iPad, it's not precise for clicking small links, but it has no moving parts and it's very portable, which makes up for it. I think eventually interfaces will change, including web pages, to accommodate touch screens. It's happening already.
But until everything is perfect, we can have "transition computers" like this iMac: it can be used as both. This may take a few years, and one day Steve is going to say "oh but look, where's the keyboard and mouse? it's gone!" and there you have the first touch-only desktop computer. By that time of course there will only be a handful of problems, which will get solved more or less when it gets adopted by lots of people.
Excuse me? How is taking existing tools and "packaging [them] up" in a way that actually makes sense and is useful (and, yes, describing to people how it is useful) not innovation? I don't mean to pick on your specifically, since you hear it all the time, but I seriously can't tell if this is naivete or wholesale frumpiness.
I know some people think it's counter-culture or something to say all Apple is good at is marketing the crap out of old ideas, but then no one can explain, for example, why no tablet before the iPad was user friendly or worth using (instant turn-on, UI clearly designed for touch input, multitouch, etc). No one is saying that desktops with touch screens don't exist. Besides kiosks, companies like HP have been making desktop computers with touch screens for years. But how many people do you see using them? Taking those machines and turning them into something that makes sense for everyone to have on their desk will require a lot of innovation in both the hardware and software domains.
Yes, before the iPad glass existed, as did aluminum, and LCD screens (although the IPS screens are pretty new), and multi-touch capability, and batteries, and ARM processors (although Apple's A4 is new and extremely power efficient), and flash storage, and accelerometers. We can ignore iOS because it's just software, right? Indeed, there were literally no new atomic elements discovered that played a vital role in the creation of the iPad, or iPod, or any future touch-screen iMac, so I can see why you might think there is no Innovation being done. But then what exactly brought it all together in a way that no one had quite managed before?
...Magic?
It all makes sense now!
What rules?!!
I happened to love the new flat keyboard. It almost completely parallel with my desk. My hands are totally relax with this keyboard. The best keyboard I ever owned since the 80's. I had different ergonomic keyboards including the one Apple made. They are all strange in some way. Not very "natural" to use.
You are also thinking the UI from yesterday/month/year. I won't be surprised if the UI designers will come up with something more suitable for the "touch" apps. Voice control can also be part of the UI as well.
Side note: My accountant still couldn't get used to do things on the computer. So he does everything on paper. It is more efficient for him.
I happened to love the new flat keyboard. It almost completely parallel with my desk. My hands are totally relax with this keyboard. The best keyboard I ever owned since the 80's. I had different ergonomic keyboards including the one Apple made. They are all strange in some way. Not very "natural" to use.
You are also thinking the UI from yesterday/month/year. I won't be surprised if the UI designers will come up with something more suitable for the "touch" apps. Voice control can also be part of the UI as well.
Side note: My accountant still couldn't get used to do things on the computer. So he does everything on paper. It is more efficient for him.
You guys are reading waaaaay too much into "packaging". Old touchscreen PCs used as POS systems and kiosks have done the innovation of packaging a touchscreen on a PC.
Apple will just wrap it in aluminum instead of beige plastic, put a glowing Apple on it and then call it magical. That's what packaging means and no, that's not innovative.
Looks cool, but knowing Apple these days, it'll be under-functioning compared to other computers, and probably contain a fingerprint magnet.
If they make the touchscreen optional, and/or have a matte display, it might turn out okay. I won't buy one though. I've fallen in love with the Mac Mini.
If they make the touchscreen optional, and/or have a matte display, it might turn out okay. I won't buy one though. I've fallen in love with the Mac Mini.
^This. You see, Steve's taken his little "simple as possible" dealeo and taken it way too far. Intentionally limiting their products, so that when version 2, 3, 4 or 5 comes out, they have something "magical", "revolutionary", "<insert Steve's Bulls-h-i-t here>" to announce.
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I go back to the point I made in my first post. For the NORMAL Mac user (home user, programmer, photographer, blogger, whatever) a touch screen mac is IDIOTIC.
Its a gymic, and nothing more. Lets look at a few, every day examples.
You've got your nice shiney 27" iMac sitting in front of you. No mouse, no keyboard. Lets open up safari from our dock. Reach approx 20 inches in front of you to your screen and tap your safari icon.
(browser opens up)
Ok, now lets go to something like facebook. So hit the address bar, an on screen keyboard of sorts pops up. Now, you're going to have to ben your hands backwards so you can still see what you're typing, but obviously because this is an awesome magical screen, that must be good for you.
See the problem? You need a keyboard/mouse. Once you've got them - it renders the touchscreen pointless.
Lets take another example. Try playing something like The Sims, or a car racing game. You cant exactly pick up a 27" iMac and start waving it about to control your game now can you.
Another example. Word processing. You've got an essay to type up. You need a keyboard and mouse - again, rendering the touchscreen pointless.
Final example: You want to watch a movie. You hit play, go in to full screen...ewww greasy finger prints...but you made sure you washed your hands every half hour...how'd that happen: NATURAL OILS IN YOUR SKIN!
Here's a question for you: What possible improvement do you think this will bring? I mean seriously, how the hell can you think a touchscreen computer is anything more than 'cool'? It's pointless, and designed to pull in all the idiots who will be fooled by another speech from Lord Steve.
So, to sum up: Its a gymic, a stupid idea, and basically stupid. You can just overcome the ergonomics or cleanliness issues.
Oh, and before I get accused of being a 'troll':
I am an Apple lover, but that doesn't mean I have to be a Steve lover. Over the last 12 months I have come to realise that Steve Jobs is the modern day Bill Gates: a money man who couldn't give a flying **** about anything other than getting his company to 'win'.
I am not a 'troll' or a 'n00b' - just someone who is happy to slag off Lord Jobs for a stupid idea, and those who are brainwashed. At the end of the day, I couldn't give a damn who makes my Mac...all I care about is that it does what I want it to do...when they stick a touchscreen in it, its an unnecessary development, which could have been spent better on promoting macs.
Sure, but that's because on Star Trek they had a computer that was smart enough to dictate to and have natural language conversation with. ("Captain's log: Today we're visiting another alien planet whose inhabitants will take offense to our presence...") You never saw anyone ever typing an essay or a report on a PADD or a desktop console, they only ever read from the panels or input short commands.
And I don't particularly see the future looking like Star Trek either, unless everyone is going to have their own sound-isolated office to dictate in.
I used my iPad once to take notes at a meeting. It was doable, but not something I would want to do often.
I am not a 'troll' or a 'n00b'
Nope, you're not. You're a "Macrumors Regular"
who is making good points. Like with the iPad, I'll reserve final judgment till I see it in action and maybe till I actually own one. I *hate* smudges on my screen, but let's just see what kind of utility this iMac Touch offers when it gets here. Till then, I'm not prepared to call it gimicky like the HP touchscreen is. I say we give Apple its chance to come up with something interesting then make the call. But on the whole, I tend to agree with what you said.Increased speed in clicking links and icons. Thaaaat's about it. On the other hand, I'm severely sleep deprived so my imagination isn't exactly up to speed. But seriously, I make too many mistakes typing on the iPad keyboard because my fingers keep drifting.
Well, we did see them type in programs, but truthfully, one wonders how they made it happen with the limited number of ginormous icons they had on the display. That's where the "fiction" part of the science came in I guess.
Well, I use Pages from the day I got my iPad and am using that now exclusively for typing. I never touch my MacBook Air anymore.
I admit in the beginning I did not think I could use it as a full swing typewriter but after some practicing I found out you can type amazingly fast on a virtual keyboard, although switching between characters and numbers is a bit cumbersome. Also with selecting, it takes some practice but you can get as fast as mouse selecting.
But if you have a larger screen with a Mac device you won't have to deal with these iPad limitations.
Future of..
No doubt osx is going to change as a direct result of what the ios has brought apple.
Looking at it logically. The amount of resources apple has put towards the development of the technology, coupled with the immense popularity of it. Means that it will come into the rest of the platform eventually, they would be stupid not to. There are surely challenges, but why not do it? iOS has a much better traction in the mind of the general population and they are doing steps to take advantage of that fact, iPad and the next iteration of appletv. Smart, and absolutely a good plan!
Develop the iOS platform for specific needs, iPad, iPod and iPhone. Only iPad is scratching at "serious" computing, BUT, it turns out that there are plenty of serious applications for a small lightweight and smart device, doctors use it a lot from what I understand.
I hope that they replace the dashboard with the iOS, cause after all that is the birthplace of the iOS OR viceversa (you never know what came first in the apple labs it seems..)
Imagine working with the "all new Final Cut Pro!" re-made for full touch support, on a big touch enabled screen? Are you kidding me?!?! THAT would be awesome! and from what I see, or hope atleast, is where we are heading.
No doubt osx is going to change as a direct result of what the ios has brought apple.
Looking at it logically. The amount of resources apple has put towards the development of the technology, coupled with the immense popularity of it. Means that it will come into the rest of the platform eventually, they would be stupid not to. There are surely challenges, but why not do it? iOS has a much better traction in the mind of the general population and they are doing steps to take advantage of that fact, iPad and the next iteration of appletv. Smart, and absolutely a good plan!
Develop the iOS platform for specific needs, iPad, iPod and iPhone. Only iPad is scratching at "serious" computing, BUT, it turns out that there are plenty of serious applications for a small lightweight and smart device, doctors use it a lot from what I understand.
I hope that they replace the dashboard with the iOS, cause after all that is the birthplace of the iOS OR viceversa (you never know what came first in the apple labs it seems..)
Imagine working with the "all new Final Cut Pro!" re-made for full touch support, on a big touch enabled screen? Are you kidding me?!?! THAT would be awesome! and from what I see, or hope atleast, is where we are heading.
NOV said:
I agree about the typing. I'm becoming much better at typing on the iPad now that I've had it for a week. The autocorrecting feature is both a blessing and a pain, the keyboard needs a small number row on top and I'm still no good at text selection and cutting and pasting but definitely practice helps.
I already have to spend a minute daily cleaning the paw prints of my 3 toddler off my iMac. I. Don't. Like. Smudges.