Blockbuster post PC-device? When it actually requires a PC?

[henrikrox]

More ramblings,

anyways

I thought about what Steve said during the keynote. Its a blockbuster post PC-device. For me this is a weird thing to say, when the actual product requires a PC to even function when you get it, and each them you want to sync.

For me atleast, that just doesnt add up.

If we did have wireless syncing on the other hand, i would let it slide. oh well, theres hope.

 

[ZBoater]

This is actually a very good point...

 

[yodaxl7]

More ramblings,

anyways

I thought about what Steve said during the keynote. Its a blockbuster post PC-device. For me this is a weird thing to say, when the actual product requires a PC to even function when you get it, and each them you want to sync.

For me atleast, that just doesnt add up.

If we did have wireless syncing on the other hand, i would let it slide. oh well, theres hope.

Steve did not say PC independence. He is talking about a new platform that consists of pc functions like cell phones, ie iphone, handheld devices (psp). There was a period that all we had were desktop computers and then laptop computers. Now we have computer extensions. iDevices don't necessarily needed to be tethered to computers, but Apple made it so to encourage backing things up. I wonder if Apple will feel the same with the "cloud". If apple setup the cloud and put itunes there, will idevices still be tethered (activated via computer). Maybe, once true 4g is available, idevices will be activated over the air and backup via the air.

 

[alex2792]

SJ is a snake oil salesman who will say anything to sell you *insert Mac product*, everyone knows about his "reality distortion" field. The fact that so many people fall for cheap marketing tricks like that is a testament to how dumbed down our society is becoming.

 

[yodaxl7]

SJ is a snake oil salesman who will say anything to sell you *insert Mac product*, everyone knows about his "reality distortion" field. The fact that so many people fall for cheap marketing tricks like that is a testament to how dumbed down our society is becoming.

You can insert any company! All goods company want to sell you. Duh!!

 

[lord patton]

You're right. Very true.

Let's see what iOS 5 brings. Better notifications, improved file-management, new UI paradigms, and yeah, computer independence (or at least wireless syncing) are all highly desired.

 

[michael.lauden]

From engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/02/live-from-apples-ipad-2-event/

"

11:12AM "This is worth repeating. It's in Apple's DNA that technology is not enough. It's tech married with the liberal arts and the humanities. Nowhere is that more true than in the post-PC products. Our competitors are looking at this like it's the next PC market. That is not the right approach to this. These are pos-PC devices that need to be easier to use than a PC, more intuitive.""

11:13AM "The hardware and software need to intertwine more than they do on a PC. We think we're on the right path with this."

What I took from these quotes was that samsung, motorola, other tablet manufacturers are missing the point.

Plus.. how can you expect someone like Motorola to turn out an operating system as sleek and fresh as one like Apple - when no one has gotten excited EVER about a motorola system until the tablets, I mean has anyone ever used a RAZR flip phone - not very 'sleek' OS wise.

To get back to the OP's point - I think you are thinking of it as 'post-pc' instead of something to be an extension of the computer. Can you really expect a post-pc product when the entire paradigm of computing hasn't really changed until the concept of the 'cloud' (which is still in its infancy) - do you think some magical company is going to release a dektop power house, in tablet form on a touch OS?

I guess what I'm trying to ask is simple -
what are your expectations for a tablet?
What do you want the iPad to do now that it doesn't (I know there are a bunch that I would want)?

 

[maflynn]

You realize that Steve's job at the media events is to market apple products and not speak the gospel truth right.

I mean his ramblings of the post pc area is made because apple lost the pc war and so they've moved on. They want to show that they have the most innovative products and by stating that they're beyond the PC, they do just that.

 

[advan031]

MobileMe cloud...it's coming

 

[maflynn]

MobileMe cloud...it's coming

On a side note. I've been a user of Mobile me since it was called iTools and was free. Nearly every year we heard that apple was going to improve it and tap the potential of the product. I'm still waiting. While apple has slowly and incrementally updated it, they still have not really provided a great experience.

 

[ovrlrd]

It won't need a PC once iOS 5 comes out.

 

[Ironworker808]

You should find the All Things Digital interview with Jobs and Gates from 2007. It will clear a lot of confusion concerning the term "Post PC" that's floating around.

Spoiler...He uses the term in that interview.

Oh, and listen to what he says when asked about the future of computing five years down the road. If you listen close enough, you'll hear the blueprint that Apple has been following since then.

 

[CosmoPilot]

Umm, a PC is not required to use the iPad. You can purchase all iTunes content on the iPad.

A vast majority of computer users just surf the internet and check email...with the occasional entertainment needs. An iPad can do all this without the need to sync to a PC. Smart? Not really, but possible.

 

[ehoui]

or "How I missed the forest for the trees." -by OP.

 

[fertilized-egg]

You should find the All Things Digital interview with Jobs and Gates from 2007. ...

Spoiler...He uses the term in that interview.

Oh, and listen to what he says when asked about the future of computing five years down the road. If you listen close enough, you'll hear the blueprint that Apple has been following since then.

Wow you're absolutely right

http://d5.allthingsd.com/20070530/d5-gates-jobs-interview/

Steve: I know, it’s not fair. But I think the question is a very simple one, which is how much of the really revolutionary things people are going to do in the next five years are done on the PCs or how much of it is really focused on the post-PC devices. And there’s a real temptation to focus it on the post-PC devices because it’s a clean slate and because they’re more focused devices and because, you know, they don’t have the legacy of these zillions of apps that have to run in zillions of markets.

And so I think there’s going to be tremendous revolution, you know, in the experiences of the post-PC devices. Now, the question is how much to do in the PCs. And I think I’m sure Microsoft is–we’re working on some really cool stuff, but some of it has to be tempered a little bit because you do have, you know, these tens of millions, in our case, or hundreds of millions in Bill’s case, users that are familiar with something that, you know, they don’t want a car with six wheels. They like the car with four wheels. They don’t want to drive with a joystick. They like the steering wheel.
And so, you know, you have to, as Bill was saying, in some cases, you have to augment what exists there and in some cases, you can replace things. But I think the radical rethinking of things is going to happen in a lot of these post-PC devices.

 

[admanimal]

More ramblings,

anyways

I thought about what Steve said during the keynote. Its a blockbuster post PC-device. For me this is a weird thing to say, when the actual product requires a PC to even function when you get it, and each them you want to sync.

For me atleast, that just doesnt add up.

If we did have wireless syncing on the other hand, i would let it slide. oh well, theres hope.

So what if you can't use an iPad or iPhone without a PC (yet)? Both devices ignore many common PC ideas (e.g. explicit file systems, explicit task management) and provide a very different experience than a traditional PC. They are clearly a new category of device, i.e. post-PC.

 

[iMattcotv]

Someone in the JB community, needs to seriously create a powerful tweak, that communicates with any PC through a cable and automatically installs a tiny program that allows simple file browsing / managing.

UGH -_-

 

[admanimal]

Someone in the JB community, needs to seriously create a powerful tweak, that communicates with any PC through a cable and automatically installs a tiny program that allows simple file browsing / managing.

UGH -_-

I'm pretty sure jailbroken iOS supports the standard protocols like ftp and ssh, which can be used to browse and transfer files over the network.

 

[DDustiNN]

Umm, a PC is not required to use the iPad. You can purchase all iTunes content on the iPad.

A vast majority of computer users just surf the internet and check email...with the occasional entertainment needs. An iPad can do all this without the need to sync to a PC. Smart? Not really, but possible.

You might wanna double-check your facts. Open a brand new iPad (or iPhone, or any iDevice really) and take it out of the box. Now power it on. What do you get?

Answer: NOTHING.

You must connect it to iTunes (on your PC) first before you can even use it.

This is actually one of my biggest complaints about my iPhone and iPad - too much reliance on my PC. I want them to be purely independent.

 

[ClutchThese]

patience...wait until september my friend...

 

[Gryzor]

You might wanna double-check your facts. Open a brand new iPad (or iPhone, or any iDevice really) and take it out of the box. Now power it on. What do you get?

Answer: NOTHING.

You must connect it to iTunes (on your PC) first before you can even use it.

This is actually one of my biggest complaints about my iPhone and iPad - too much reliance on my PC. I want them to be purely independent.

I guess you should check your fact then too, because in the context of what Steve has been saying, you do NOT need a PC at all. Yes, you need to connect it up to a computer, but that could be a Mac, and given that he gives the distinction between a PC and Mac, it is wrong to state that you must connect it to a PC first.

 

[Pressure]

You might wanna double-check your facts. Open a brand new iPad (or iPhone, or any iDevice really) and take it out of the box. Now power it on. What do you get?

Answer: NOTHING.

You must connect it to iTunes (on your PC) first before you can even use it.

This is actually one of my biggest complaints about my iPhone and iPad - too much reliance on my PC. I want them to be purely independent.

You could activate it in-store when making the purchase or in Best Buy.

No one says you need to own the computer you use to activate the device but it just makes it more convenient to move all our crap onto said device.

 

[Gryzor]

You could activate it in-store when making the purchase or in Best Buy.

No one says you need to own the computer you use to activate the device but it just makes it more convenient to move all our crap onto said device.

Double pwnage for DDustiNN

My mum owns an iPad - she doesn't have a computer at home, and nor did she use a PC to set it up in the first place.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

You might wanna double-check your facts. Open a brand new iPad (or iPhone, or any iDevice really) and take it out of the box. Now power it on. What do you get?

Answer: NOTHING.

You must connect it to iTunes (on your PC) first before you can even use it.

This is actually one of my biggest complaints about my iPhone and iPad - too much reliance on my PC. I want them to be purely independent.

My iPad was completely usable the instant I took it out of the box.

I immediately went to the App Store and bought/downloaded a bunch of apps. Had I not had an iTunes library on my computer already, I could have bought music/movies directly on the device - no computer needed.

As other have said, you can have the Apple Store (or other place of purchase) activate it for you, completely negating the need to plug it in to a computer.

The *ONLY* thing that requires a computer right now is upgrading the OS. And you can certainly use it as much as you want without upgrading the OS. (I have a co-worker with an original iPhone that is still running whatever the first iPhone OS that supported apps is.)

 

[chrono1081]

SJ is a snake oil salesman who will say anything to sell you *insert Mac product*, everyone knows about his "reality distortion" field. The fact that so many people fall for cheap marketing tricks like that is a testament to how dumbed down our society is becoming.

You've obviously never watched any keynotes as evident by your silly post.