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Bill Gates on iPad: "It's a Nice Reader, But..."
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Students in science or math classes would like to be able to write on their computers. I've tried taking calculus notes, chemistry notes, etc. on my laptop and it just doesn't work. I've switched to just a paper and pencil because it works much better.
LOL, where did you get that idea? We know Windows all too well. Most of us have to use it at work or are stuck having to fix it for friends and family. IF ONLY we had "very, very little experience with Windows!"
Well done Mr Gates, the truth has set you free.
Thankyou Mr gates for pointing out the simple truth. That the ipad 'aint all that'. You have been very honest to point out that the iphone was revolutionary and is a remarkable piece of kit. What the macfanboys and the people getting paid from Apple to post on here must realise that not every product released by Apple is going be ground breaking.
Thankyou Mr gates for pointing out the simple truth. That the ipad 'aint all that'. You have been very honest to point out that the iphone was revolutionary and is a remarkable piece of kit. What the macfanboys and the people getting paid from Apple to post on here must realise that not every product released by Apple is going be ground breaking.
Sadly I have to agree with Gates. I have been an avid mac user since the 80s and most products that Apple introduced over the years made me roar with unabashed irrational rhetoric, however the ipad is not one of those products. I don't doubt that it is a step in the right direction but at this point in time it is just a stepping stone. There is much that needs to be improved with this ipad device as of now it is just an ipod touch on steroids.
Not really.....
Actually, I think a large number of Mac users, particularly the relatively recent converts, have extensive experience with Windows. That's why we migrated to Macs....
Actually, I think a large number of Mac users, particularly the relatively recent converts, have extensive experience with Windows. That's why we migrated to Macs....
The iPad is compelling, only in that it offers a somewhat superior eReader experience to the Kindle or Sony. (I say "somewhat" because I'm not sure there's the ability to highlight and the instant dictionary capability that is present in the Sony eReader, and because, since the iPad tops out at 10 hours battery life, a Kindle or Sony is better). If anyone wants an iPad primiarly for its other features, I think the word "disappointment" would be the word of the day.
Not sure I care what Bill Gates thinks. It's interesting to read what he has to say, for sure, but only as a matter of interest, and not as a barometer of qualified opinion on what one should or shouldn't buy.
Not sure I care what Bill Gates thinks. It's interesting to read what he has to say, for sure, but only as a matter of interest, and not as a barometer of qualified opinion on what one should or shouldn't buy.
You speak the truth. Unlike most of Blind-Apple followers, I knew the AppleTV wouldn't sell, I knew the iPhone would be a huge, and same with everything else.
Not everything Apple releases is gold.
People sending $500 to get a iPad is insane; you can't use it as a main computer as it needs a PC/Mac with iTunes, you can't fully browse the web, typing on it won't be easier than a MacBook, it lacks multitasking, and there is NO new Apple-isms for it (like cool new gestures, great new first party Apps besides an iBook app).
So Apple isn't credible in your book? Every software package of the of an OS will have bugs and the engineers know that .. they just don't know where exactly they hide.
Apple usually ships an Update/Bug fix within a couple weeks after releasing a major OS upgrade ..
@on topic
What Mr Gates said is actually quite humble in my opinion, he admits that the iPhone blew mobile Windows away and he wished they had come up with the idea. The iPad is no revolutionary device, there is nothing new about it other then the screen size. He is right about that.
And he is right comparing it to netbooks, because that is what it is gonna go against for most customers. Buy an Eee PC or an iPad .. no matter how hard Apples PR department tries to position it somewhere else.
And it actually is not a nice reader .. it may be a great internet device (although lacking flash, even that is debatable), but it is not a nice reader to me.
T.
why not? he pretty much said that about the iPhone. Not in those exact words but very close.
face it Apple got lazy and uncreative with this one they made one of their products bigger and tried to pass it off as a new revolutionary "magical" device.... what a joke.
I'm trying to figure out how many shades of red your face will be in a few months.
"There's nothing that the iPod does that I say, 'Oh, wow, I don't think we can do that.'" - Bill Gates, September 02, 2004
LOL.
"So, it's not like I sit there and feel the same way I did with iPhone where I say, 'Oh my God, Microsoft didn't aim high enough.' It's a nice reader, but there's nothing on the iPad I look at and say, 'Oh, I wish Microsoft had done it.'"
"There's nothing that the iPod does that I say, 'Oh, wow, I don't think we can do that.'" - Bill Gates, September 02, 2004
Heh heh heh. Those who fail to learn History's lessons are doomed to repeat its mistakes, I guess. Good find.
Is someone doing a Ninja-star-throw of an old floppy disc at him?
BillG's track record for predicting technology trends isn't that brilliant. He had a vision of "a computer on every desk and in every home" that he's managed to achieve, but since then his predictions at the "next big thing" have included speech, handwriting, and tablets (a decade ago). Basically I wouldn't trust BillG as a forecaster of tech trends any more than a guy I met at the pub. Interesting to listen to, inspirational, and sometimes accurate, but not a reason to bet the ranch.
I think what Bill means is that Microsoft is going to wait until it's a bit more polished before they steal all the best features and make a tablet of their own.
It's going to be a long time before tablets are ready to replace netbooks or laptops.
I don't see the iPad as being used for that however. Digital readers with even limited capacity to run programs, record collect and present information and help reduce errors are far more suited to some professions than netbooks are.
Once again, Bill Gates demonstrates his lack of imagination.
It's going to be a long time before tablets are ready to replace netbooks or laptops.
I don't see the iPad as being used for that however. Digital readers with even limited capacity to run programs, record collect and present information and help reduce errors are far more suited to some professions than netbooks are.
Once again, Bill Gates demonstrates his lack of imagination.
i think the Ipad will grow more gradually then initially. As more content becomes available and newer updates in hardware, it will become more commonplace. Obviously its a beautiful design but it needs to evolve a bit more with camera or whatever else. I watched an old Star Trek TNG episode recently. It originally came out around '92 i believe. The captain is clearly using an Ipad in his quarters. Made me laugh.
The Diamond Age
Somebody at Apple needs to read Neil Stephenson's "The Diamond Age" and develop a real version of The Book. THAT there, folks, would be the proverbial "Killer App" Then again, maybe that's what this thing will evolve into if book content makes its way to the iPad. But not just books in the traditional sense. They would have to make massive use of links such that you can find out more about a term or concept while you're reading it. And it would have to be so much more than static book content. Imagine reading a textbook about basic physics and every example and exercise in it was completely interactive. And then when you've completed the assigned exercises, your answers are transmitted to the teacher for grading and evaluation.
Somebody at Apple needs to read Neil Stephenson's "The Diamond Age" and develop a real version of The Book. THAT there, folks, would be the proverbial "Killer App" Then again, maybe that's what this thing will evolve into if book content makes its way to the iPad. But not just books in the traditional sense. They would have to make massive use of links such that you can find out more about a term or concept while you're reading it. And it would have to be so much more than static book content. Imagine reading a textbook about basic physics and every example and exercise in it was completely interactive. And then when you've completed the assigned exercises, your answers are transmitted to the teacher for grading and evaluation.
Because no CEO of Company A is going to state that the CEO of (competitor) Company B created a better or more innovative device. Maybe 10 years down the road in hindsight in some magazine interview...but not BEFORE the product has been on the market for a good 1-2 years. Any CEO (especially public companies) who states the other company beat them will be fired 24 hours later while their stock loses 15% of value.
I would expect that Microsoft will be asked the same general questions in January of 2011 and likely the reply will be the same since the iPad will have only been on the market for 8+ months.
-Eric
Because it would take away from the slick and minimalist of the iPad. You can say its more about getting easy access to your info, but not for an everything computer.
I would like to be able to take notes on it, but I do see how that would not work in the real world. I see the iPad as a book with added features, you use it for data retrieval but not data manipulation. To do that you would need two of them one with the data and the other one next to it for data input with stylus. MS is working on something like that, now lets see if they can bring it to market or is Bill Gates full of hot air and just got lucky that his company became a monopoly since even windows 7 is still an unfinished OS. I wonder what lame excuses they will bring for Windows 8.
Actually I wish Apple would have. Instead they thought "Big iPod Touch".
Hummm... yes... we all want more with the iPad, but I think we discount so much of what they did do with the iPad 1.0... many updates to take advantage of the larger screen. A custom processor to give long battery and power. Choice of 3G for total portability. Updated iWork and other Apple apps to look and feel right on the iPad.
Of course... they could have just slapped on the existing OS on a tablet like HP did with MS at CES! That's why that tablet got 2 minutes on stage... it did NOTHING to make the total experience integrated. Apple has done that with the iPad and I'm sure as time goes on... updates to SW and hardware will come and we'll get all the little toys we want. I still think even if you just compare the iPad to the Kindle and Sony e-Reader... iPad will kill them!
I got that idea from visiting this site, with so many comments that repeat everything they hear in the Apple commercials, and straight out wrong comments about Windows. And since I also use Windows it's very easy to know when someone has no experience with Windows and are just pulling things from what they assume Windows is, because of comments that they've heard from other Mac users. I even, recently read a comment from someone talking about the different versions of Windows 7 being developed by different teams, independent from each other, and so some programs that work on Windows Home, won't work well on Professional. That comment made no sense, and just came out of that person's imagination, as if it was fact.
He's pissed that Microsoft is a lot of steps behind. Again . In reality he understands the bottom line very well. iPad will rule. It's just sad that a lot of people think that tablet is just an ordinary computer in different form factor, so they think that iPad sucks. Tablet is the middle ground between desktop computer and laptop. It's a killer device with killer OS and killer eco system.
. In reality he understands the bottom line very well. iPad will rule. It's just sad that a lot of people think that tablet is just an ordinary computer in different form factor, so they think that iPad sucks. Tablet is the middle ground between desktop computer and laptop. It's a killer device with killer OS and killer eco system.You know, Im a big believer in touch and digital reading, but I still think that some mixture of voice, the pen and a real keyboard - in other words a netbook - will be the mainstream on that... Its a nice reader, but theres nothing on the iPad I look at and say, 'Oh, I wish Microsoft had done it.' - Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman
Translation: "There's nothing on the iPad I look at and say, 'Oh, we could get away with stealing that, too.'"
This is what Microsoft has done instead, after a decade of "work" so far:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Review-550-tablet-doesnt-make-apf-2290108744.html?x=0&.v=1
Awesome.
Translation: "There's nothing on the iPad I look at and say, 'Oh, we could get away with stealing that, too.'"
This is what Microsoft has done instead, after a decade of "work" so far:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Review-550-tablet-doesnt-make-apf-2290108744.html?x=0&.v=1
Awesome.
Gates is a Philanthropist (politician) now, not a company manager. So you have to filter his comments accordingly. He creates a premise it is about the device, the hardware. It's not. The hardware is crippleware. 1024x768 @ 1Ghz and minimal memory? Crippleware.
What really IS the thing is the store, the ecosystem, the OS. The device is the sum of its parts, but not mere hardware parts. Developers, growing features in hardware, software, store, network(s), etc.
If you believe iSupply the entire hardware cost is $200 or so. That is not the greatest bit of kit ever. It is the most minimal and optimized bit of kit to bring MILLIONS of users to the experience, FAST.
Do not accept the premise.
Rocketman
What really IS the thing is the store, the ecosystem, the OS. The device is the sum of its parts, but not mere hardware parts. Developers, growing features in hardware, software, store, network(s), etc.
If you believe iSupply the entire hardware cost is $200 or so. That is not the greatest bit of kit ever. It is the most minimal and optimized bit of kit to bring MILLIONS of users to the experience, FAST.
Do not accept the premise.
Rocketman
Well I'm Windows user since DOS. 3 years happy Mac user with no intentions of switching back.