omg olol tl;dr
Ha! That won't happen anytime soon. Times are changing, and MS knows it. That's why they were still able to pull in a record profit, despite the fact their Windows business has taken a slight hit.
You're making the assumption that by one OS, I referring to what we've got now. I'll agree with you insofar that Windows 8 isn't what I'm talking about. It uses a traditional UI with a touch based layer added on top of it that doesn't play to the strengths of either input method. What I'm talking about is a more flexible, more powerful iOS, what I believe will eventually supplant OSX.
Touch is here to stay. There's an entire generation of kids growing up with tablets and smartphones who will come to expect it in every computer they use. These same kids will be using touch and stylus based PCs for the same things we use mouse based PCs for.
Scruff is right in that the Surface Pro shows us the future of touch based hardware, but it's only half the equation. iOS and the iPad are the other half. When these two meet, you're gonna have your powerful multipurpose tablet. One that's both capable and comfortable to use.
In general touch is easier to use. Being able to interact directly with objects onscreen is more natural and intuitive than using a relatively more indirect method such as a mouse or stand alone tablet. We're only gonna see more touch based UIs from here on out, not less.
Yeah? And what's your point? That they should be the only demographic targeted by Apple?
Why not? There's nothing stopping them from being just as useful as their desktop equivalents besides the current hardware lineup in tablets. They'll require a different UI, but they could easily be just as functional
Only when considering the current form factor. Tablets are gonna be much like PCs in the future, where they'll cover everything from 7 inch entertainment devices all the way up to 32" screens used for CAD applications.
And if you want more precision, then use a stylus. A Wacom stylus with a proper fine tipped end is about 99.9% as accurate as a mouse.
Who are "they"? Anyone willing to drop a grand or more for a desktop replacement laptop is gonna know exactly what they're getting into. There are plenty of portable workstations out there that do an excellent job at performing higher end tasks. The only thing they fall short in are baking renders and other CPU intensive tasks, which will always require as much CPU power that you can throw at them.
Mobility isn't about removing features so much as streamlining them. It's about making a job easier and more elegant, not removing the ability for a device to do a job altogether.
Yeah? My mom and dad have been using Windows on a 5 year old laptop for years. They haven't broken a single thing yet.
I'll admit there comes a point where someone might gain a bit of knowledge, and it becomes a dangerous thing. But hell, those people could screw up iOS given enough time. It's almost impossible to safeguard a platform against someone wanting to do a lot of experimentation against someone with only a little bit of know-how.
But hell, that's how they learn.
Kinda makes you wonder why the Macbook Pro sells as much as it does, doesn't it? Power users are people who know what they need, and buy the device that best fits them. Some of these people might buy a Mac Pro, some an MBP, and some? They can get by with a Macbook Air. There are plenty of people out there programming and designing webpages on the Air. There are even plenty of people out there doing that very same thing with their iPads.
It isn't solely about having the most power available. It's about being able to do what you want to do.
If you're moving around pixel point UI elements, maybe. I could see something like FCPX being built around a touch based setup and still being just as usable.
Plus, if you need extra precision, you've always got a stylus...which Apple is lagging behind on here.
Right. But you're arguing that because Device A current fulfills need X, no one ever needs or wants anything more. And I'm saying that's just not true.
The future of computing is gonna look quite a bit different than it does now. Keyboards and mice are still gonna be around, but they'll be playing their role on a more per application basis, rather than being the main method of input.
Comeon. You're an Apple user. Supposedly one of the crazy ones who didn't want to settle with the status quo if all those commercials are to be believed. Think a bit beyond for a moment, rather than settling on what we've got now because you're too comfortable with it.
Course change for the sake of change is never a good thing, but I can see so many advantages to moving towards touch, I don't see a reason why we should stick with the way things are. More flexibility is what we need.
And it is a failed device bringing us closer to the day when Microsoft files for bankruptcy.
Ha! That won't happen anytime soon. Times are changing, and MS knows it. That's why they were still able to pull in a record profit, despite the fact their Windows business has taken a slight hit.
Thats what Windows 8 tried to achieve, one OS to rule them all. But you always have to make compromise. When you want both, you will lose a third thing. If you want a Tablet and also USB ports to connect all the old peripherals never designed for mobility, than your battery life will suffer. If you don't create something like AirPrint and make it the only accepted printing method on tablets, than you need to provide drivers for all printers out there. This will bloat your OS and kill the storage space in your 16GB Surface. So you will need to go with 32GB as minimum and loose your price competitiveness. You can create a squashy Touch Cover keyboard but it will never be as sturdy as an actual laptop, which now has kind of the same price as your hybrid device. Any true power user who actual needs the capabilities of a laptop will always go for a laptop and ignore your frankenstein experiment.
You're making the assumption that by one OS, I referring to what we've got now. I'll agree with you insofar that Windows 8 isn't what I'm talking about. It uses a traditional UI with a touch based layer added on top of it that doesn't play to the strengths of either input method. What I'm talking about is a more flexible, more powerful iOS, what I believe will eventually supplant OSX.
Touch is here to stay. There's an entire generation of kids growing up with tablets and smartphones who will come to expect it in every computer they use. These same kids will be using touch and stylus based PCs for the same things we use mouse based PCs for.
Scruff is right in that the Surface Pro shows us the future of touch based hardware, but it's only half the equation. iOS and the iPad are the other half. When these two meet, you're gonna have your powerful multipurpose tablet. One that's both capable and comfortable to use.
In general touch is easier to use. Being able to interact directly with objects onscreen is more natural and intuitive than using a relatively more indirect method such as a mouse or stand alone tablet. We're only gonna see more touch based UIs from here on out, not less.
Thats the majority of people in the world. The same people who never truly needed a desktop.
Yeah? And what's your point? That they should be the only demographic targeted by Apple?
iWork apps are free with all new iPads. That doesn't mean they are or will ever be desktop-class applications.
Why not? There's nothing stopping them from being just as useful as their desktop equivalents besides the current hardware lineup in tablets. They'll require a different UI, but they could easily be just as functional
Touch input limits the precision with which things can be selected and screen size limits the number of selectable choices. These are limitations of the form factor itself.
Only when considering the current form factor. Tablets are gonna be much like PCs in the future, where they'll cover everything from 7 inch entertainment devices all the way up to 32" screens used for CAD applications.
And if you want more precision, then use a stylus. A Wacom stylus with a proper fine tipped end is about 99.9% as accurate as a mouse.
And they keep complaining about no dedicated graphics and no upgradeability because they still misunderstand what a laptop is. Its not a desktop to go, it has its own form factor limitations.
Who are "they"? Anyone willing to drop a grand or more for a desktop replacement laptop is gonna know exactly what they're getting into. There are plenty of portable workstations out there that do an excellent job at performing higher end tasks. The only thing they fall short in are baking renders and other CPU intensive tasks, which will always require as much CPU power that you can throw at them.
But mobility is about removing features, reducing everything to the minimum core of what you need to preserve the most basic functionality together with battery life. Thats what a tablet is and why it can't be a laptop.
Simplicity also means that you can not mess up the system no matter what you try to do. Higher complexity comes with more possibilities for failure and misunderstandings, which is the opposite of simplicity.
Mobility isn't about removing features so much as streamlining them. It's about making a job easier and more elegant, not removing the ability for a device to do a job altogether.
Grandpa is still smart enough to detect complexity where ever it hides and play with it till its broken.
Yeah? My mom and dad have been using Windows on a 5 year old laptop for years. They haven't broken a single thing yet.
I'll admit there comes a point where someone might gain a bit of knowledge, and it becomes a dangerous thing. But hell, those people could screw up iOS given enough time. It's almost impossible to safeguard a platform against someone wanting to do a lot of experimentation against someone with only a little bit of know-how.
But hell, that's how they learn.
Power users always only want the best and thats more like a Mac Pro. Power users settle with less mobility in exchange for more power.
Kinda makes you wonder why the Macbook Pro sells as much as it does, doesn't it? Power users are people who know what they need, and buy the device that best fits them. Some of these people might buy a Mac Pro, some an MBP, and some? They can get by with a Macbook Air. There are plenty of people out there programming and designing webpages on the Air. There are even plenty of people out there doing that very same thing with their iPads.
It isn't solely about having the most power available. It's about being able to do what you want to do.
I don't know, maybe the A7 together with iMovie is already good enough to render movies. But it will never be the very best device to do this kind of tasks. As long as fingers are bigger than pixels mouse pointer will always be more accurate than touch screens.
If you're moving around pixel point UI elements, maybe. I could see something like FCPX being built around a touch based setup and still being just as usable.
Plus, if you need extra precision, you've always got a stylus...which Apple is lagging behind on here.
All your higher computing needs are already taken care off by said desktops. The computer development began with fulfilling higher needs and is propagating into lower needs, finally coming down to people who only need them to update their relationship status on Facebook.
Right. But you're arguing that because Device A current fulfills need X, no one ever needs or wants anything more. And I'm saying that's just not true.
The future of computing is gonna look quite a bit different than it does now. Keyboards and mice are still gonna be around, but they'll be playing their role on a more per application basis, rather than being the main method of input.
Comeon. You're an Apple user. Supposedly one of the crazy ones who didn't want to settle with the status quo if all those commercials are to be believed. Think a bit beyond for a moment, rather than settling on what we've got now because you're too comfortable with it.
Course change for the sake of change is never a good thing, but I can see so many advantages to moving towards touch, I don't see a reason why we should stick with the way things are. More flexibility is what we need.
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