Bill Gates on iPad: "It's a Nice Reader, But..."

[Swift]

And you judge that by the comments that you read from Mac users who have very, very little experience with Windows.

I have lots of Windows experience, and it blows.

The problems came from the fact that Microsoft sought to continue its dominance of the desktop by dominating the Internet, but they had no idea of the levels of security that would be necessary. In order to capture market share, they rushed IE to market, made it capable of all kinds of things that were good but full of security holes. ActiveX actually let websites run applications on your computer. They rushed for market share, trounced Netscape, and started running the victory lap -- and then spent the next 10 years applying endless patches on software going back 17 years.

Sure, corporate IT can run it safely, with a few software firewalls, and lashing down each machine with policies so they can do just what the boss wants and nothing else. But the average Mom and Pop have to suddenly become experts in Malware, tie down their machines with expensive, speed-killing antivirus software, and end up with a zombie computer sending out spam as much as the chain e-mails they send to their friends.

Millions of zombie computers. Conservative estimate, 60 million. Security experts like Bruce Schneier say, don't do your banking on a Windows machine. Too many Trojans and keyloggers out there.

That's for starters.

What's that the result of? Windows went for market share. That makes them the largest attack surface in the world.

 

[TMay]

was the iPad really a ripoff of the iPod Touch?
or did the iPad concept (touch screen) come first and Apple didn't see a business case for it (no app store concept, no user base to leverage, battery life)?

that is, did Apple release the touch screen/gesture concept as an evolved iPod/iPhone to leverage the established iPod user base because it made more sense?

(remember the app store concept, wasn't around so just a touch screen tablet has limited use).

Just asking... I see some comments of apple being 'lazy' and was wondering/speculating what the original strategy of releasing a touch screen gesture interface was.

I read comments in response to Bill's comments of 'the ipad ain't all that much'... I agree if you compare it to the Ipod Touch... but _if_ the iPad was to be released first wouldn't it be receiving the same response as the iPhone/iPod Touch ?



(sorry, maybe more suited question on different thread)

I've read a few blogs that I trust and they indicate that the iPad concept was the progenitor for the the iPhone/ iPod Touch, but the iPad had to wait until the technology was farther along. That Apple has been working on a tablet since Alan Kay was a Apple Fellow actually seems a fair accessment.

That puts the iPhone/Touch as a diminutive version of the iPad, not the iPad as a larger iPod Touch.

Either way, Gates for years has been trying, and failing, with a PC centric variant for his tablet, and Jobs has been pushing for a new paradigm.

If the iPad is successful, which I believe will be apparent by WWDC, we will see many Android and Chrome variants eating into the Netbook market. This will be very bad for MS, which has been pushing Windows, but, ironically just what the hardware builders need to start seeing some profitability.

MS was late to Netbooks, and will be late to these consumer tablets, so naturally, Gates isn't going to be too happy to see the iPad.

 

[bretm]

I'm in the camp with the believers, techies want a tablet PC but the iPad isn't. Normal folks will love it and i see the iPad surpass the livingroom PC rather quickly, people buy laptops because they don't want a PC taking up that much space and ugliness in there main room.

The iPad is cheap, easy to use and more suitable for what people generally want to do with a computer. Around Christmas next year Apple could easily lower the price to $350 making it a commodity product more ubiquitous than the iPod, it's hard to overstate the impact this unique device (with its services) will have on our digital lives the next years.

my 2ct

I agree. And it's not windows or osx. Anyone will buy it like the iPod or iPhone. There's no worry about "switching" and if word processing apps are cheap, then it'll take off. Then what? All of the sudden Apple has control over a brand new market. They control all the apps. They control all the hardware. They control the OS. A completely new category with a whole lot of users and developers already in existence because of the iPhone. Where does the competition step in? Microsoft? I suppose they could make a touch os that runs your current MS apps. But are those apps designed for a touch OS? Who controls the hardware? MS really is a software company. So if they have to make something that doesn't run native MS apps, then they're 2 years behind in the market because the iPhone/iPad os and apps have been growing exponentially for 2 years.

Whether the iPad is a huge hit as it is or needs the price lowered and it's specs changed is still yet to be seen. But they've placed themselves as the only contender in a brand new market. A market they unknowingly invented 2 years ago.

 

[uber_nerd]

Missing the forest for the trees

I have refrained from commenting, but I am sorry I have to disagree with the majority of posters here. The iPad will succeed for the very reasons you all hate it.

Most people want an appliance not a computer. The concept of a computer as an appliance has been bantered around since the 60's - but the UI and interfaces haven't been there.

The iPad is not about filling out a spec sheet, but of ease of use - hence the lame "magical" marketing mumbo-jumbo. The multitasking "issue" is also a non-starter for most as when you switch between apps you pick up where you left off - this is what how "multitasking" appears to the majority of people. While you do lose non-itunes radio and IM, but lets be honest with ourselves, most won't notice it.

The brilliance is the interface also focuses on one task at a time, and the metaphor of files is gone (thank you). Instead you focus on TASKS and the device takes care of the nigglies. This is why Aperture and Lightroom have been so important to digital photography. Its about the photos, not manually managing files - what a total waste of time.

There are numerous psychology studies showing we perform best focusing on one task at a time. Running 100 stupid tasks concurrently and rapidly switching back and forth to prove you are the biggest and baddest power user like evar, is why your work is so damn sloppy and why I must continually fire your dumb asses. You know who you are.

You forget Apple has had a tablet project running on the down low for about a decade now, that is how the iPhone got such a huge run out of the gates. They took their already worked over tablet interface, scaled it down and released it as a phone. I believe Jobs even referred to this.

Now you are see the original vision, which I suspect was shelved until they could get the power consumption down - aka the A4 chip. Sure it might have been best to release the iPad first then the iPhone - but get over yourselves.

Less is more - until you understand this you will be running around in a myopic haze spewing uninformed narcissistic drivel.

Peace

 

[lincolntran]

Usually when I install a program that requires a restart, or when Windows has an update, so every few weeks. I don't know if you've used Windows before sounds like you have very little experience, since you're just repeating the typical things that Mac users repeat, but ever since Vista, the longer you have your computer on, the better it runs, because it monitors your needs and puts everything into the ram, making it run smoother. I had a Dell laptop that I replaced with a Mac, simply because it was already too old, 5 years, it ran perfectly, though the battery clip did break which was very annoying. The mac on the other hand has a bulging battery, cracks where the lid closes, a crack on the back, has to be connected to a monitor, because the bulging battery presses against the track pad, making it impossible to type. Because of those problems I'm never going to pay this much money for a Mac.

I'll just say no comment on your assumption about my windows experience. It's obvious that you assumed that you have more experience then me.

On the other hand, I have a complete opposite with you regarding reliability. 7 years ago, I had a dell latitude with P3. That thing got my heart. I rarely had a bad day with it. However, it was old so it stopped working one day, just like the reliability of many new Dell laptops. With my previous love the the old dell, I bought some more dell laptops, but they were just junk, broke after 1 or 2 years. Then I bought more HP, Compaq, Toshiba, gateway laptops. They all stopped working on my as soon as the one year warranty ran out. I then decided to build my own pc, which was a little better than the one I bought, but it also died on my after 3 years. Then the time came and my wife need a new desktop, so I bited the bullet and bought her an imac (2001). It's still working to this date. Then I bought myself a macbook pro, and it still working to this date. Then I bought myself another white macbook and it's still work till the day I sold it to make room for my Mac pro. Until now, I'm pretty happy with apple products then with others.

 

[thejakill]

Every company on earth will wish they'd made it once it's out and starts taking off.

Here come the clones...

 

[gwangung]

He's absolutely right. Like many a number of other things Apple (I'm looking at you, AppleTV), the iPad is crippled.

I like that Apple is so good at what they do, and that what their devices do they do very well, but...come on.

You really don't get that the former is connected with the latter, do you?

 

[headfuzz]

Dare I say it, I kind of agree with Bill on this one.

The iPad does appear to be nothing more than a iPod Touch on steroids, and while in time I'm sure the apps will get better and better, I'm just not convinced it's as brilliant as Steve would have us believe.

Some people have been lauding this as the saviour of studentdom, and while to a degree (pun intended ) this may be correct it also introduces the worst thing possible for a student: a single point of failure.

It's all well and good being able to download all your textbooks to the iPad and use iWork for dissertation writing etc, but what happens when the iPad dies, or the screen gets smashed? There's no SD card reader or USB port to back everything up to (the camera connection kit states nothing about transferring anything other than photos or videos, and given the jailed design of iPhone OS, I expect this is unlikely to change) and the SSD can't be easily removed and put into a caddy, so unless you're syncing to a computer regularly that you already have (and you at least need access to one to activate it), you're completely buggered.

Given that the cheapest Mac (entry level Mini) is £510 (not including a monitor obviously) and the entry level iPad is somewhere in the region of £319 (using today Converter widget's conversion from USD -> GBP) and the entry level Macbook is £816, how is the iPad cheap exactly?

If the student discounts are similar across product lines then it will still be cheaper to buy an entry level Macbook with optical drive and USB ports for backup, easy access to the hard drive, more screen real estate, more horsepower and unparalleled compatibility (Virtualbox / VMware / Boot Camp etc for Windows only apps). Given that one of the main justifications of having digital copies of textbooks is weight, I doubt any student would moan about a Macbook that weighs the same as 1 texbook when normally they'd be carrying 5 or 6.

As clever as the iPad is, I think Apple are wide of the mark on this one. It is as Gates stated a nice reader and anyone who has an iPhone or iPod Touch wil be instantly at home with it, but I find it too constrained and something of a false economy for the student population, for whom I think this could have been quite good.

Such a device should have easy availability to backup without the need to have a computer present if critical data is to be stored on it. It is fairly obvious that the broader view is to rope students in to syncing with an iDisk when connected to campus wifi. MobileMe: yet more expense for students on a budget.

That said, the thought of sitting in a lecture with the external full size keyboard dock (already something extra and pretty cumbersome to carry around) is ludicrous, and two handed typing of lecture notes on the screen...

No. Just no.

 

[Rot'nApple]

Gates said. "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.'

He forgot the word 'AGAIN'... as in... "Microsoft didn't aim high enough, again.'

 

[DaveSW]

Apple will succeed where Microsoft failed and this what irks Bill G.

 

[diabolic]

I think the fact that the iPad lacks an SD card, USB connector, Camera or any other way to upload and download "creations" onto the iPad means that it wont be for creators.

For those who want them, it does have SD card and USB. Most people won't need them. I don't see the majority of users wanting to attach things to the iPad, whether it be their HDTV or USB storage.

It's not designed to be a content creation device.

...unless you're syncing to a computer regularly that you already have (and you at least need access to one to activate it), you're completely buggered.

That's what it's designed to do. Sync your data with another computer using iTunes. That's going to be the principal way to get your data and software onto it.

That said, the thought of sitting in a lecture with the external full size keyboard dock (already something extra and pretty cumbersome to carry around) is ludicrous, and two handed typing of lecture notes on the screen...

A small bluetooth keyboard wouldn't be a problem though.

 

[50548]

Think Different, Bill.

Bill is bashing the iPad; this means I DEFINITELY have to buy one.

A stylus? A keyboard? From the grand-master of FAILED tablets? Gimme an effing break.

MS IS DEAD.

 

[inlovewithi]

I'll just say no comment on your assumption about my windows experience. It's obvious that you assumed that you have more experience then me.

On the other hand, I have a complete opposite with you regarding reliability. 7 years ago, I had a dell latitude with P3. That thing got my heart. I rarely had a bad day with it. However, it was old so it stopped working one day, just like the reliability of many new Dell laptops. With my previous love the the old dell, I bought some more dell laptops, but they were just junk, broke after 1 or 2 years. Then I bought more HP, Compaq, Toshiba, gateway laptops. They all stopped working on my as soon as the one year warranty ran out. I then decided to build my own pc, which was a little better than the one I bought, but it also died on my after 3 years. Then the time came and my wife need a new desktop, so I bited the bullet and bought her an imac (2001). It's still working to this date. Then I bought myself a macbook pro, and it still working to this date. Then I bought myself another white macbook and it's still work till the day I sold it to make room for my Mac pro. Until now, I'm pretty happy with apple products then with others.

But this is where a person like me reads with caution. You bought all of those laptops, and yet they all stopped working after 1 year. The only place where I read stories like these are in mac sites. I mean you're saying that you bought 5 laptops and they all stopped working after 1 year. That simply does not sound like it's true. Not calling you a liar, just saying there's has to be more to this story because it sounds unbelievable, or like something that a mac fanboy who never used Windows before imagines to be possible, so presents as a story that would be consider possible by the average person.

I have to go to school, so I'll be back tonight.

 

[MinorBidoh]

Headfuzz you are spot on. It is a single point of failure, and an expensive one if comparing to "You silly boy, forgetting your textbook. Here take a spare".

Replacing an iPad contents is a bag of hurt, especially for these students. I can here the 9am excuses...

 

[baryon]

Just because the iPad is made by Apple doesn't mean "it HAS to be super innovative, otherwise it fails". Innovation is sometimes necessary, sometimes it isn't. The technology to make the iPad was completely mature and not new at all. The question here is: will people like it and eventually use it instead of using a netbook, or carrying their notebook around?

I just came back from class and we spent lots of time waiting for the tutor, so two students pulled out their laptops and went on Facebook for like half an hour. One of them had a MacBook Pro. I think that if she had had an iPad, she would have been much happier, since it's easier to take out of your bag, it can be put away as soon as the tutor walks in, the battery lasts longer and so on.

I'm saying that for some tasks, the iPad is more practical than anything else. The innovation doesn't lie in the device's technologies, but rather in the idea that people might prefer to use the iPad instead of a regular computer for many tasks throughout the day.

The iPhone was innovative because it was the first touchscreen phone that took advantage of the touch screen, thus making complicated things simple on such a small device. The iPod was innovative because it was a new, simple music player and the clickwheel was cool and easy to use. The iPad is innovative because it's very practical and does almost everything many would do with their notebook throughout a regular day.

I think the iPad will be successful because it's practical, does a lot of things and it's quite cheap.

 

[lincolntran]

I'm changing my mind

With all the hypes of what the iPad should do, I raised my hope up really high. I was hoping for a real tablet computer with OS X but without the keyboard. So when the iPad was introduced, I was disappointed. After a few days of letting it sink, I'm changing my mind. I think a lot of people had missed the point of this device.

As an IT professional and a developer, I used to want the iPad to be able to handle heavy duties like coding app, webapp, iphone app, accessing windows servers and mac servers, editing photo and movies, and then viewing and sharing photo, video, and then surfing would come last. HOWEVER, as I retraced my work, I realized that most of the time I have to do heavy duty works on my mac pro; even the macbook pro can't handle the work load. So, I'm beginning to see the purpose of this device as I frequently catch myself laying on the sofa, watching tv with my wife and then having to get up and walk into the home office just to check mail and use the web. I can hear myself thinking, "Hey, an iPad would be perfect for this since I don't have to leave my sofa and still able to surf. The iPad would be great."

So there you go. That's my take on it....and yeah, I'm that lazy.

p.s. I'm still wishing for a way to connect the iPad to an external monitor though.

 

[econgeek]

The man may be a wonderful entrepreneur and philanthropist, but I still don't believe a word he says.

He's an incompetent entrepreneur and an incompetent philanthropist. And he hasn't a clue about computers.

Actually, him not being impressed -- and I'm not buying the claim that he saw the iPhone as wonderful when it came out-- is probably the mark of success, and bodes well for the iPad.

 

[econgeek]

I was hoping for a real tablet computer with OS X

The iPad is a real tablet computer with OS X.

 

[QuixoticFable]

Ain't hypocrisy grand?

I smile every time I see someone make a comment like, "M$ has never innovated, they've only stolen and bought other people's ideas!!1"

It's called business, and, hey, Apple does it every day. When you're a big business with lots of money and you see a good idea it would be stupid and a waste of resources to recreate it yourself. You buy the idea and improve upon it. Apple has bought other businesses throughout it's history. Many fanboys would say that is creative acquisition augmenting the Apple portfolio. But when Microsoft does it it's highway robbery. (Side note: Google does it, too!)

I'm not an MS fanboy, I just want people to be realistic here.

 

[theydonotmove]

Bill said what everyone has been saying since the iPad was announced. He's saying it's a TOY, not a computer, and there's nothing truly innovative about it. It's basically a large iPhone, with a reader.

Those who WANT to carry a computer around all day will do so, and they will not start carrying an iPad as a substitute. But for those who always have a smartphone, or a kindle, or an internet device with limited function on them at all times, will enjoy the iPad.

 

[Rocketman]

It no longer matters if Windows blows. People with PC's cannot get MacOS, and Linux is enough of a hassle or learning curve it will remain a minority if superior system. Windows is what runs on 80-90%n of PC's. The Windows license, as cheap as it is, is probably most of the net margin in the product.

Macs have high margin. Something like 80% of industry PC "profits" are on the 8% of macs that are sold. It doesn't matter who wins the unit sales battle. The winner dies. It only matters who wins the industry profit battle, because only they can afford to research, develop, innovate, and grow.

The iPad is a niche product. It's bigger and more capable than a phone and smaller and less capable than a laptop. It will work for some people, and be a valuable accessory for others, some who have a phone, some who have a computer, and some who have both.

After Apple sells a few million iPads and it has gone on its 2 year product life, Apple will come out with something better. Then folks will buy that. Apple sells consumer products. It is a happy coincidence they do useful and productive things. Just be glad they don't sell electronics like so many other companies, for about the same price, whose utility is fleeting and resale value essentially zero.

Rocketman

 

[nwcs]

So, I'm beginning to see the purpose of this device as I frequently catch myself laying on the sofa, watching tv with my wife and then having to get up and walk into the home office just to check mail and use the web. I can hear myself thinking, "Hey, an iPad would be perfect for this since I don't have to leave my sofa and still able to surf. The iPad would be great.".

That's exactly where I ended up at after the intro. It's a lifestyle device with differently defined market segments than other computing devices. I'm recommending my mom get one because 90% of what she does is surf and email. This would be perfect for her. I may get one, too, for the same things you describe where I just don't (for whatever reason) want to use my MBP.

 

[batmccoy]

Vision

Since Apple has essentially not yet clearly define the differences between the iPod Touch and the iPad, the iPad's extended future requires vision. Many people are not able to visualize possibilities. It's just a fact of life. They have to have things clearly demonstrated for them. This battle between negative and positive comments is most likely falling along those lines.

Gates and many others don't really understand the value of the iPhone OS. A tablet device requires a different, smaller, touch-optimized OS. And then of course access to new apps developed specifically for a touch device.

Think of use. As a multimedia designer, I'm going to be using a full-blown desktop machine to work on for a while. I have no desire to "work" on a laptop, netbook, iPhone or iPad. I do need a limited-use, home or hotel-room based device to browse the net, check e-mail, control my stereo, etc. The larger-screen iPad will be invaluable and people will soon see that.

Should they be calling it a "magical" device? Probably not. It is in fact a larger iPod Touch. But part of their marketing is coming from actually having used the device. Most likely, as soon as the iPads get in the stores and people get their hands and fingers on them, they will understand the simple value of a larger screen and the new iPad-specific apps (that will not work on a smaller screen iPhone).

 

[ilp]

I have refrained from commenting, but I am sorry I have to disagree with the majority of posters here. The iPad will succeed for the very reasons you all hate it.

Most people want an appliance not a computer. The concept of a computer as an appliance has been bantered around since the 60's - but the UI and interfaces haven't been there.

The iPad is not about filling out a spec sheet, but of ease of use - hence the lame "magical" marketing mumbo-jumbo. The multitasking "issue" is also a non-starter for most as when you switch between apps you pick up where you left off - this is what how "multitasking" appears to the majority of people. While you do lose non-itunes radio and IM, but lets be honest with ourselves, most won't notice it.

The brilliance is the interface also focuses on one task at a time, and the metaphor of files is gone (thank you). Instead you focus on TASKS and the device takes care of the nigglies. This is why Aperture and Lightroom have been so important to digital photography. Its about the photos, not manually managing files - what a total waste of time.

There are numerous psychology studies showing we perform best focusing on one task at a time. Running 100 stupid tasks concurrently and rapidly switching back and forth to prove you are the biggest and baddest power user like evar, is why your work is so damn sloppy and why I must continually fire your dumb asses. You know who you are.

You forget Apple has had a tablet project running on the down low for about a decade now, that is how the iPhone got such a huge run out of the gates. They took their already worked over tablet interface, scaled it down and released it as a phone. I believe Jobs even referred to this.

Now you are see the original vision, which I suspect was shelved until they could get the power consumption down - aka the A4 chip. Sure it might have been best to release the iPad first then the iPhone - but get over yourselves.

Less is more - until you understand this you will be running around in a myopic haze spewing uninformed narcissistic drivel.

Peace

Quoted for the MFing truth!

Also, the target market is not students taking notes in class.

The "magic"--that is, the software--what's going to make the device. Anyone these days can make an iPhone-like hardware device and an iPad-like hardware device.

Do you remember watching that iPhone reveal keynote speech? Do you remember Steve pinching and zooming and flipping through the photos with a flick of a finger? I remember seeing that and saying "wow, finally a great way to show photos on my phone! Now I *want* to put photos on my phone." Could I have put photos on a large screen Blackberry? Sure, but showing those photos sucked. My BB Pearl had a decent size screen, but I never wanted to show photos on it. So all these people missed the point, and the point is: what is the interaction with the device like?

So the hope for an iPad well-wisher here is that the software makes for a "magical" experience, in a way that you won't wanna go back to a netbook. It'll be like crack. You may go back to a computer and say "why the hell do I have to fish for my documents, what is this directory structure doing here? I just want to see my stuff now!" You will realize all the unnecessary complexity of a full-blown operating system.

Incidentally, when Google announced their Chrome OS, I hoped that they would take this "next level computing" approach and throw out directory structures, throw out all these shackles of the old operating systems and start with a clean slate focused on users getting things done and computers getting in the way as little as possible. However, it seems like the Apple and the iPad will be getting there first.

 

[AnalyzeThis]

I wasnt exactly impressed either, but will probably still buy.

Some of our Mac Windows "experts" claim M$ was late in netbooks. Well, look where netbooks are right now - M$ OS owns this market. So, if some of you think M$ is clumsy, think again, really hard now. M$ is very nimble when they smell a lot of easy $$$.

It would be hilarious, but maybe, just maybe M$ would port its W7 to run on iPad and boot Apple out of its own hardware. Doubtfully, I think iPad, in current state, has much of features to excite M$ in doing anything like this. But hey both of them could make money. M$ could have a nice ride on the back of SJ a$$.