Microsoft Origami "Lifestyle PC"

[formasfunction]

Progression

The Microsoft demo looks like the logical progression of a Newton had it remained in production, with the standard technological updates along the way. My hope is that people don't hail it as a revolution in computing. Niffty, perhaps, but no need to fuss considering its demographic at that size is extremely limited any way.

 

[kugino]

True dat

double true!

 

[AvSRoCkCO1067]

double true!

From SNL....right?

 

[Zillatron]

PS, I'd love a pocketable OS X device, but that doesn't mean the market as whole is ready. That I can't say. I can however guess that when and if the market IS ready to buy into ultraportable touch computing on a large scale, MS and Windows are probably not going to be the ones to "get it right"

Perhaps your right. What about a device that is to iLife as a whole what the iPod is to itunes?

The MacPad(c) wouldnt be your typical PDA-do everything. Rather, a device focused to perfom a particular task, that just happens to do a few other cool things too. Sound familar?

Z

 

[MacsomJRR]

I'm having a tough time understanding the usefulness of a device somewhere in between a laptop and a pocket PC / palm pilot. I'd rather see Apple come out with a pocket PC sized device that acts a super portable addition to my mac. It does seem like the next logical step considering the size of the iPod's current hard drive and the advancements that have been made in touchscreen quality and interactivity. I'd also looooooooove a cell phone to be included in the mix as well as wireless connectivity with 3G type download speeds for mp3s, shows, and movies!

*waking up in a soaking wet cold sweat*

...huh .. what... where are am I! Oh well

 

[Mechcozmo]

Far far far too big. It fails the 'coat pocket' test that the Newton just barely made. I don't know what I'd do with it if I had one. I may as well carry my 12" PowerBook with all the extra benefits of a full blown notebook vs. that Orgami-- jack of all trades, master of none.

Also, most Tablet PCs have flopped and only been used in a few situations. The hypothetical medical fields and architectural fields aren't snapping them up because they aren't huge fields, and already have a vast amount of data in the old-style paper format.

 

[shrimpdesign]

I think it's funny how we know NOTHING about what Apple will release, but when Microsoft tries to keep it secret with a "short teaser product intro" ... they fail. We know pretty much everything about the Origami.

The video is cool, but as cool as the video is, it won't work like that in real life. The design of he actual hardware is pretty awful looking, and makes no sense. It seems to have some knob to control it, some guy was playing Halo on it.

I hope Apple trumps Microsoft on this one. I'm thinking that Microsoft doesn't want Apple taking the ultra-portable market like they stole the mp3 player market.

 

[InTheBand]

I think it is funny that since this is a Microsoft product everyone trashes it, but if Apple released this trailer it would be praised as the best thing since sliced bread.

That's because Apple would never release an ad as boring as microsoft did for this.

There's a reason that companies copy Apple's ad ideas. It's because they don't suck.

 

[sam10685]

i thought this was 'macrumors.com', not 'microsoftnews.com'.

 

[jacinto45]

I think it is funny that since this is a Microsoft product everyone trashes it, but if Apple released this trailer it would be praised as the best thing since sliced bread.

That's true, but it's not at all unfair or a double standard. Given that the device is from Microsoft, people form their expectations of it based on their opinion of existing Microsoft products. At a Mac forum, that opinion will be pretty low. Likewise, if people knew it was an Apple product, they'd consider Apple's track record and be thrilled about the future product.

 

[Kelmon]

The thing for me with all this is that I've owned both a Palm V and a Toshiba PocketPC and, while both were cool to begin with, they've both ended up gathering dust. The simple reason for this is that the interface for both has been, for me, pretty dire in comparison with a proper keyboard. On both devices I had attempted to use both the on-screen keyboard and handwriting recognition, and both were either too slow or just plain error-prone. Due to this I gave up with both products and I'm not expecting any form of handheld device to appear any different without, essentially, being a very small laptop.

One device that I have not had the opportunity to try is a BlackBerry. It's much simpler than a PC-ish mobile device but one with a simple interface that I would probably get on better with. Still, given that my primary computer is, and will be for some time, a PowerBook/MacBook, I don't see a reason why this kind of device would appeal for general computing tasks. An iPod really would be as much as I would need from a portable as I have no intention of trying to wrestle with a sodding stylus again.

 

[kalisphoenix]

This doesn't look all that innovative to me. Of course, I'm blind in all three eyes, so I might have missed something, but this is what I saw:

1. A girl write a note on it.
2. A guy make a face impossibly fast on it.
3. Another guy take a picture with a camera, transfer it to the tablet, and send it to someone to be printed (or just make a note on it -- either way, it'll look stoopid hanging on the wall with "x print this" written on it).
4. A woman paint on it and use it as a remote for a media center.
5. Another guy playing games on it.
6. Another guy call up a map on it.
7. Another guy send a photo to the first girl with it.

I might be missing implicit and explicit qualities demonstrated by the video, and if so please correct me -- I feel like the only person who didn't get the joke.

But seriously (and I'm not saying this because I hate Microsoft -- I'm completely neutral at this point), I didn't see anything done with this device that my friend's father wasn't doing in 2000 with an HP 660 LX palmtop with a cellular modem. (Except the media center remote function)

I can't (and won't) pay $500 for a handheld PC unless I'm convinced it's an incredible device. I've had an HP 200 LX, an HP 620 LX (running Windows CE, natch), and two Palm IIIcs. The 200LX was awesome, but I think the 620LX was a work of art. I *loved* that machine, and very recently I came within about a millimeter of buying another one. I will buy another one soon, most likely.

Again -- I'm not saying this to hate on Microsoft -- I'm just wondering what the deal is. Of course, I'm now wondering what the deal is with Apple. What more could they offer? I won't buy an Apple tablet right now (I just @#$%ing can't afford it), but I expect that it'd be a very nice device. Hopefully, if they announce a tablet, it'll shatter some paradigms.

 

[balamw]

One thing that just struck me is that if this device really does run the full version of XP, then by design it will already be iTunes and iTMS compatible. Apple will finally have enabled someone else to compete with them in this space.

That said, it still seems WAY too big for what I really want.

Hey! I just noticed that the thread I created on this made the front page!

B

 

[shrimpdesign]

I don't see a reason why this kind of device would appeal for general computing tasks. An iPod really would be as much as I would need from a portable as I have no intention of trying to wrestle with a sodding stylus again.

The day Apple releases a PDA or Tablet is the day they solve that problem. Steve Jobs wouldn't let the iPod into production until he could find a song in 5 seconds. Really, Apple wouldn't fudge the interface, that's pretty much all they obsess over.

 

[Kingsly]

From SNL....right?

♫You could call us Arron Burr from the way we're dropping Hamiltons♪
Best line ever written in a rap song.
I would buy an origami If steve licensed OSX (but otherwise, I hope he does not do that)

i thought this was 'macrumors.com', not 'microsoftnews.com'.

With that new tech agreement, we'll never know...

 

[Fotek2001]

All your 80s logo are belong to us...

The concept is interesting but the flaw is that you will be robbed of it within minutes of getting out of your backpack in a city centre..!

 

[MacRonin]

As I originally posted over at AppleInsider, and later at AppleNova:

Apparently the "Origami" can do the following:

digital camera
video camcorder
smartphone
MP3 player
PDA
Internet access and Internet picture frame
email access
video conferencing

Which is what I want from an Apple 8"+ tablet...

Let's walk thru the list and divine Apples take on such a product:

(remember the Apple patent that showed a iSight that could pivot 180+ degrees...)

- digital camera, pivot it facing back (away from the user) and frame up your shot, using the touchscreen controls with your thumbs to set-up and snap the shot...

- video camcorder, pivot it facing back (away from the user) and frame up your shot, using the touchscreen controls with your thumbs to set-up and roll tape...

- smartphone would roll iCal, Address Book, TextEdit, iWork and such into a productivity suite of tools...

- MP3 player, uh, do I really need to go into that? (okay, okay; you could choose between either the iPod interface, or go straight for the iTunes app itself)

- PDA, see 'smartphone' above...

- Internet access and internet photo frame, duh, Safari & the previously higlighted feature of publishing photos from iPhoto...

- email access, why that would be Mail...

- video conferencing (aka iChat video), pivot the camera facing forward (towards the user) and iChat away...

Apple would want to have this beauty capable of running Mac OS X, because I feel we do not need another version of the OS (unlike the eight or so versions M$ is coming out with for Vista)... But I would like the ability to run Server Admin Tools & Apple Remote Desktop...

And that beotch better have a stereo BlueTooth headset/microphone for all audio & cellphone usage...!

Mmm... MobileMe...

8"+ interactive widescreen multi-touch LCD screen (patents, patents, patents!)
1.06GHz ULV Core Duo CPU w/2MB shared cache
533MHz FSB
1GB DDR2 SDRAM (one SO-DIMM slot, 2GB max)
80GB HDD
ATi Radeon Mobility X1300 PCIe GPU w/128MB DDR3 SGRAM
two USB2 ports
AirPort Extreme & BlueTooth
ExpressCard/34 slot
Quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
Pivoting iSight camera
Stylus

About the size of a DVD case (which is really close to a 16:10 ratio) and half again as thick...

US$666 (Happy 30th Birthday Apple Computer)

Mmm...

;^p

 

[ezekielrage_99]

Cool we are going to see some competion come 28th of Feb, it's going to be interesting to see which company gets most of the media coverage.

 

[50548]

Amen.

And at $500... I just pray the resolution isnt 600x800.

Ars Technica ties together and has a bitchin graphic:

Boy, is that ugly or what??? I wonder if there is anyone REALLY thinking this is cool...what a piece of junk running on Windows...bring it on, MS...it would go straight to the dustbin of stillborn ideas...

 

[50548]

Actually, it's not the same day. Microsoft's launching on March 2 (Thursday), 2 days after Apple's event. If Apple brings out a tablet-type device, Microsoft's going to be severely overshadowed.

jW

No, you don't understand...MS postponed it so they can copy Apple's ideas once more...

By the way, Origami hints at folded paper...which, in MS's case, means "fold that fugly idea, throw it into the wastebasket and set it on fire, please"...

 

[mwidjaya]

Right now, the Pocket PC's (which run an MS OS) are by far the best handheld devices out there.

In addition to that, MS's Media Center version of Windows is pretty awesome.

These are two areas where MS has clearly innovated and taken the lead.

Your points are arguable.

Have you actually used a Pocket PC? It is just so unusably convoluted that a lot of people who have bought one just ended up putting it aside. It is definitely not the best PDA out there. Palm is better in usablity. There are more of Pocket PC simply because it is perceived to be fully compatible with Windows. So again an extension of monopoly effect from Windows.

I use Windows everyday and while that is bad enough, Pocket PC is worse.

Likewise, have you used the Media Centre? My playing around with me left me with "what is the big deal?". Nothing special about it. It is typical "good enough" approach to things.

This is not about MS bashing. This is about bashing mediocre products by a greedy, manipulative company.

Think of it this way, I use Windows at work because I am not given a choice. I use Mac at home despite of all the choices available to me.

 

[Leoff]

The timing is definitely suspect. Whether Apple designed it's presentation for this date, knowing that Microsoft was coming up with an "important release," or if Microsoft deliberately chose their release date in an attempt to "steal Apple's thunder" (as one reader put it), I don't think it will matter much.

Every single official release that Apple has made has been big news. When it was new iBooks, it made news on the media circuit. When it was the new iPod, it made the cable news shows. When it was the Intel switch, it made lots of headlines.

When was the last time we heard about such things from Microsoft? If it's not some sort of security problem with Windows, or a new virus that is affecting only Wintel PC's, then it's simply not covered.

Ignoring any dislike I have for Microsoft, I predict Microsoft's announcement will be largely ignored. Apple knows how to play the media game. Microsoft will simply have to announce another Trojan Horse security patch.

 

[Leoff]

i thought this was 'macrumors.com', not 'microsoftnews.com'.

I can't believe you're actually whining about one solitary post concerning Microsoft. I guess this means this place is no longer fun and you won't be reading anymore?

 

[tiiim]

if and when apple do release a product like this we all know it will be totally better than anything Microsoft can do.

But there is a problem: 95% of computers run Windows. This new MS pda/laptop device will already be able to "talk" to most computers in the world.

Sure Apple's tablet will be totally better but with a 5% market share it will not grab anyone unless they have a mac. So apple are either hoping this will increase their mac market share, or Steve will be also annoucing a Windows XP/2000/Vista software to go with it.

These sort of devices are meant to compliment your desktop not replace.

Even though we all mock MS we do have to put up with their market share, believe it or not they do some good things, as someone mentioned above, Media centre is miles ahead of front row. If we are going to bash MS lets do it on facts rather than they are "the enemy". This whole "enemy" thing has to stop. I use Macs but I have to work in a Windows office doing tech support. Because of this in my house I have to use both macs and Windows because they compliment each other. One day when Apple has at least a 25% market share maybe just maybe things will be totally cool for products like this and we can all live 100% mac free. But in the mean time we need more "talking" and less "dividing". Anyways welcome to mac rumors

Just my 2c.

 

[50548]

if and when apple do release a product like this we all know it will be totally better than anything Microsoft can do.

But there is a problem: 95% of computers run Windows. This new MS pda/laptop device will already be able to "talk" to most computers in the world.

Sure Apple's tablet will be totally better but with a 5% market share it will not grab anyone unless they have a mac. So apple are either hoping this will increase their mac market share, or Steve will be also annoucing a Windows XP/2000/Vista software to go with it.

These sort of devices are meant to compliment your desktop not replace.

Even though we all mock MS we do have to put up with their market share, believe it or not they do some good things, as someone mentioned above, Media centre is miles ahead of front row. If we are going to bash MS lets do it on facts rather than they are "the enemy". This whole "enemy" thing has to stop. I use Macs but I have to work in a Windows office doing tech support. Because of this in my house I have to use both macs and Windows because they compliment each other. One day when Apple has at least a 25% market share maybe just maybe things will be totally cool for products like this and we can all live 100% mac free. But in the mean time we need more "talking" and less "dividing". Anyways welcome to mac rumors

Just my 2c.

Sorry, but this myth has been dead long ago...Macs can perfectly talk to anything, as they use exactly the same file formats as any other PC, including .doc, pdf, .ppt et al...besides, Internet is mostly standards-based...

No one needs Windows to work (apart from tiny few specific applications or hardcore gamers), so I really don't think such considerations are relevant anymore...