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Gotta love it. "We COULD do that easily, child's play! We just don't WANT to." Uh-huh. Are we taking that on face value now?

If it were a tablet computer I would bet they would be all over it.

As it is I bet that they were in the same position many of us were in on release day....


which is doing the Wesley Snipes WTF moment from Blade
 
SockRolid said:
Soon, all people who are technical enough to use Windows on a netbook will already have one. When that happens, companies will die off. Good riddance Acer.
Seeing as you are so sure about this how about putting some money where your mouth is? Presumably soon is sometime in the next year? How about $US50 to a charity of the others choosing if Acer don't go bust in the next year?
 
I have never criticised the music industry for wanting variable pricing. I have never lauded Apple for having fixed prices for so long. I generally believe fixed prices are bad.

I simply do not like the black-and-white populist way this is being presented. Yes, we'd all love to pay less for things we buy but that isn't always the best thing long-term; it can reduce choice. Personally, I'd like a world where I can continue to buy books from low- to mid-listers. If publishers cannot cover their large upfront costs in publishing of these authors (and they can't at current volumes from what I can see) then they won't try and publish them. I think that would be bad.

Yes, the example someone else gave of a $400 book was an outlier but I do not see how that materially effects the argument. Each book publishing decision is an individual act, and the publisher will look for a good ROI on that decision. If the book costs a lot to produce, and is expected to sell less, then the price must be higher to justify all that effort in the first place.

The second article I linked has a good discussion on why lowering prices probably won't significantly increase revenue at this time.

OK, then let me also clarify that I'm not against the companies- all of them- selling their content in the iTunes store at the prices they want to charge. My publisher clients WANT it that way. Should iPad lead to a total domination revolution such that printed books no longer even need to be published, they'll LOVE charging full (print) prices for their books for only a 30% cut to Apple (no printing, no distribution, no retailing promotions, etc).

My chain of responses to more than just you calls out those who are justifying HIGHER prices of emedia just because Apple has apparently facilitated it (directly or indirectly). It is as if a victory over Amazon by helping the publisher persuade Amazon to raise prices, is a victory for Apple (it is because 30% of $14.99 is more than 30% of $9.99) and thus that is somehow a victory for us consumers (but we're the losers here).

But once again, what Apple decides is apparently RIGHT for us, is RIGHT for us... always. No Flash in the ultimate web experience device is right for us... even though we won't be able to see all web experience content (including the often more interesting content that is not just text and static images). No isight camera is right for us... because a device we're apparently supposed to carry along in our travels shoudn't include the nicety of being able to stay in touch visually with those back home (even when it is commonly available on many other products- including laptops from Apple where it is sold as a benefit). And so on.

Apparently higher prices of e-media books is right for us too... because of the economies of the e-pub industry... or because there are $400 books in the world... or because a book is apparently just as valuable as a new release movie... etc. You know no book costs more to publish than almost any major movie release.

I wonder if Apple had sided with Amazon (had argued for $9.99 as THE price for ebooks) and had MacMillian rolled out this idea that they would only sell their ebooks for $14.99 or even with a variable rate above $9.99, would there be a thread on this site for that story loaded with a ton of "see ya", "guess you don't want to sell your books then", "I'll just pirate their books until the price is right", etc. comments.

It's just so funny how Apple can call a Spade a Diamond, and how many people will be quick to agree it is indeed a Diamond.

And when the Kindle app, and others are knocked out of the iPad App store, will all these new iPad owners post how right that is to be forced into buying such content from ONE source, providing ONE price?
 
The death of casual desktop computing

I think there are two mini revolutions Apple is starting now. The first to free us from our desks, the second is to free us from learning tech to use a computer. I know many of you uber geeks out there take pride in the knowledge you have aquired about how directories work, and playing with multiple OS's on one computer or even giving linux a spin just for shtz n giggles You are all in a minority of a minority no matter how much u screem.
Most people DON"T CARE, they really really don't. When SJ sat in the couch surfing on the iPad I saw him use a computer the way 95% of people I know do when they are not working.I love my Mac's (2)and even PC's (2)to a lessor degree but I like tinkering. My mom, dad, brother,aunts,uncles etc etc just want it to work without learning Tech.I made the mistake two years ago thinking Apple would come out with a "real" directory for the iphone. After reading about it online, i agree now with those who say Apple is trying to make a computer as easy to use as a refridgerater.
Some are appauld by that, I know. But that reflex reaction is just snobery. Why shouldn't a computer work from the box without reading directions. Afterall, if they are so smart they should teach you how at the first swipe of the screen. I think the iPad is just the start.
After watching SJ sit on the couch to surf it seems rediculous to have to use a desk just to get info. My mom is gonna love this when i get her one. Your mom will love this. Women will make this thing a hit. They will never have to listen to some no-it-all tech guy bable on about Bios's and file formats again. I know the day isn't here yet, but its coming soon.
I for one will start writing a iPad program now. Anything with a cool name will sell on release :)
 
Have you got the current iPhone OS? My Mobile Safari hasn't crashed for a long time—and I use it heavily every day.

lol...people say they have no problems with flash and they are disreguarded; others claim problems with mobil safari and they are disreguarded.

don't confuse us with any facts!

applespeak and the 2 minute flash hate
 
If iPad iWorks actually plays nice with Office it could put make inroads into the netbook market as it would make a great traveling laptop.

5 years after iPod, it started to show up everywhere (in DC Metro)

2 years after iPhone, it became ubiquitous

I expect 1 year after iPad, it will be commonplace in schools, conference centers (as THE presentation device) and of course living rooms. Unlike the prior two, though I think the market penetration will be faster, it won't be as obvious this time.
 
I think there are two mini revolutions Apple is starting now. The first to free us from our desks, the second is to free us from learning tech to use a computer. I know many of you uber geeks out there take pride in the knowledge you have aquired about how directories work, and playing with multiple OS's on one computer or even giving linux a spin just for shtz n giggles You are all in a minority of a minority no matter how much u screem.
Most people DON"T CARE, they really really don't. When SJ sat in the couch surfing on the iPad I saw him use a computer the way 95% of people I know do when they are not working.I love my Mac's (2)and even PC's (2)to a lessor degree but I like tinkering. My mom, dad, brother,aunts,uncles etc etc just want it to work without learning Tech.I made the mistake two years ago thinking Apple would come out with a "real" directory for the iphone. After reading about it online, i agree now with those who say Apple is trying to make a computer as easy to use as a refridgerater.
Some are appauld by that, I know. But that reflex reaction is just snobery. Why shouldn't a computer work from the box without reading directions. Afterall, if they are so smart they should teach you how at the first swipe of the screen. I think the iPad is just the start.
After watching SJ sit on the couch to surf it seems rediculous to have to use a desk just to get info. My mom is gonna love this when i get her one. Your mom will love this. Women will make this thing a hit. They will never have to listen to some no-it-all tech guy bable on about Bios's and file formats again. I know the day isn't here yet, but its coming soon.
I for one will start writing a iPad program now. Anything with a cool name will sell on release :)

Nice to see someone gets it. ;) Key points in bold.

And what's more refreshing, is that the fairier (and often much smarter) of the sexes might just be showing us the way forward. And why not.
 
So he claims that it would be easy for them to duplicate a product like iPad but notes that the iTunes ecosystem is a key part of it all. Of course, the seamless integration of iTunes with iPad and iPod and other products are part of its feature set which begs the question, why does he think it's "easy" to duplicate that?

There's nothing stopping Acer from making their own iTunes software to synch with iTunes and manage their user's media collections. There's nothing stopping them from making their own music and video store to compete on a higher level too.

I guess the bottom line is that they don't want to compete with Apple.

You know, when Apple was "beleaguered" in the 90s, we heard nothing but stupid advice in the tech press. "Apple just needs to be more compatible with Windows." "Apple needs to stop making everything themselves." "Apple needs to license out their OS to compete." But now that they're really competing, it looks like it's the rest of the PC world is just going to back away from it.

I'm not some Apple fanboy taking joy in this news. I'd like to see real competition but every attempt, except possibly Google's entry into phones, has been halfhearted.
 
what if the ipad is not a netbook at all?

the flash irks me but i would still buy this just to surf the remaining 2/3 of the web at the table or on the sofa, and watch tunes in bed. this is a huge acknowlegement that the web is now the primary media provider people like to lay down or lounge when they consume media. People looking to do serious work on the ipad are missing the ultimate market implications of this device.
 
Yes, it does multitask.

It runs the OS, while playing music, while you read your email, all while push notification sits in the background.

You can't interact with two apps at once, so what is the difference between multitasking in this instance and simply instantly switching between applications, each remembering the previous state they were left in?

This isn't a fully functioning computer, As long as you can play with iWork, chat, check your email or browse while you're listening to music, then what more does it need to do simultaneously?

To be more precise it runs APPLE's OS while playing APPLE's Music app while you read mail on APPLE's email client. If you want to use somebody else's app for those you're **** out of luck. They'll exit when you switch.

Saving state while task switching does not keep a 3rd party music player running or a terminal application open or a bit torrent client running in the background.

Anyway, getting back to Acer, the problem they have isn't hardware as I'm pretty sure they'd be able to do an Acer iPad 'clone' for $2-300. Their netbooks are getting down to that price just about. The problem is the software. Windows is rubbish and costs Acer too much, Linux too unpolished and that leaves them with Android or Maemo or something similar which are a couple of years at least behind Apple as a mainstream solution. It'd be nice for us geeks that want a proper multitasking iPad with a full browser and a terminal though.
 
OK, then let me also clarify that I'm not against the companies- all of them- selling their content in the iTunes store at the prices they want to charge. My publisher clients WANT it that way. Should iPad lead to a total domination revolution such that printed books no longer even need to be published, they'll LOVE charging full (print) prices for their books for only a 30% cut to Apple (no printing, no distribution, no retailing promotions, etc).

My chain of responses to more than just you calls out those who are justifying HIGHER prices of emedia just because Apple has apparently facilitated it (directly or indirectly). It is as if a victory over Amazon by helping the publisher persuade Amazon to raise prices, is a victory for Apple (it is because 30% of $14.99 is more than 30% of $9.99) and thus that is somehow a victory for us consumers (but we're the losers here).

It isn't a 'victory' for consumers. It is a matter of a trade-off between short-term and long-term interests. Whilst for any given book it is better for us to pay less, I think most of us want more books. If it is unprofitable, or simply too risky, to publish a new book then do you believe it will be published anyway? You're also ignoring that if prices aren't fixed then market forces will guide the pricing. If you must have the book now, pay the current price. If that isn't a suitable value proposition for you, wait until the situation changes.

But once again, what Apple decides is apparently RIGHT for us, is RIGHT for us... always. No Flash in the ultimate web experience device is right for us... even though we won't be able to see all web experience content (including the often more interesting content that is not just text and static images). No isight camera is right for us... because a device we're apparently supposed to carry along in our travels shoudn't include the nicety of being able to stay in touch visually with those back home (even when it is commonly available on many other products- including laptops from Apple where it is sold as a benefit). And so on.

And Apple doesn't force you to buy their products. If it doesn't provide value for you at least as great as the price, don't buy it. No one product can ever satisfy everyone. For every feature you add, there is a trade off. The price may rise, the product may become more complicated to use (reducing utility and thus value), reliability may suffer due to complexity, etc. A successful company negotiates these trade-offs and produces a product that the market overall decides strikes the right balance. If people disagree, then the product won't sell and the company either revises the value proposition (adding or removing functionality, altering prices, etc.) or simply ceases producing the product. If one company's offering doesn't suit you then look at other companies. Brand loyalty seems silly to me.

Apparently higher prices of e-media books is right for us too... because of the economies of the e-pub industry... or because there are $400 books in the world... or because a book is apparently just as valuable as a new release movie... etc. You know no book costs more to publish than almost any major movie release.

Price isn't solely determined by fixed costs. The expected volumes come into play here. A film may cost more to produce in both fixed and variable costs, but that doesn't mean it can be sold for less. If the expected volumes are less, the price may be set higher. Books have a far lower volume than films do. They also have far less repackaging opportunity; a film gets revenue from sales in the form of tickets at the cinemas, from DVDs and from rights for TV. Books have a few packagings and once someone buys one, they are unlikely to buy the other.

I wonder if Apple had sided with Amazon (had argued for $9.99 as THE price for ebooks) and had MacMillian rolled out this idea that they would only sell their ebooks for $14.99 or even with a variable rate above $9.99, would there be a thread on this site for that story loaded with a ton of "see ya", "guess you don't want to sell your books then", "I'll just pirate their books until the price is right", etc. comments.

This is irrelevant to a discussion on the business cases for all sides in the discussion. It doesn't matter what other people on here think. For this discussion it matters what the merits of each companies business plans are, and how each plan may impact us as consumers short- and long-term.


And when the Kindle app, and others are knocked out of the iPad App store, will all these new iPad owners post how right that is to be forced into buying such content from ONE source, providing ONE price?

Speculation. Unless it happens, this is just scaremongering and a poor argumentative tactic.
 
DigiTimes reports on comments from Scott Lin, president of the Taiwanese division of netbook market leader Acer revealing that the company has no plans to compete with Apple's iPad tablet device.

That great whooshing sound you hear is the collective sigh of relief from Cupertino now that they know they won't need to compete directly with Acer on a Tablet device.
;):D
 
Indeed. If you are going to be away from your "host" computer for long, these things will fill up fast. At about 1GB/hour of video, 10-20GB of music, a couple gigs of apps, another couple gigs for documents, etc. it will be easy to fill the thing up. In my case the thing wouldn't even hold my music library. It's bad enough having to juggle what songs I may want on a trip on my iPhone - now I have to do that on another device. (Though it raises the question - will I keep less stuff on my iPhone because the iPad will be around?) I really think 128MB is the sweet spot.

Yeah, knowing me I'd get at least 32 gig. I used to always have to have the largest iPod so I could carry my entire music library. I now have a 16 iPhone 3G and I've learned to only carry what I currently listen to. I've got a ton of apps (mostly for my 6 yr old) and I'm doing fine with the space limit. I have to be honest with myself and realize the iPad would be more of a toy than anything else for my and my son's purposes. The only docs I'd probably even have on the thing is my spreadsheet of my budget. I was really just concerned with the 3G impact and if I'd use it enough to warrant the price upgrade. The no-contract options are awesome but in reality I'd only use 3G if I were on vacation. And even then I'd just want it for entertainment and and if we are limited to how large of files we can download then it really doesn't offer me any advantage over what my iPhone already covers in that respect.

Still looking forward to the iPad and new apps down the road. The better make a seriously large Fieldrunners map for it :)
 
Still looking forward to the iPad and new apps down the road. The better make a seriously large Fieldrunners map for it :)

I'm still holding out hope for Starcraft for iPad (or a suitable clone). They'd sell a billion, and that's in South Korea alone. :D

Come on Blizzard. The money is on the table.
 
It isn't a 'victory' for consumers. It is a matter of a trade-off between short-term and long-term interests. Whilst for any given book it is better for us to pay less, I think most of us want more books. If it is unprofitable, or simply too risky, to publish a new book then do you believe it will be published anyway?

If you are really going to go down this path, then why not apply the same logic to the rest of the media in the iTunes store. An awful lot of music doesn't get into the store... because prices are too low? A lot of movies don't get made. A lot of TV Shows don't get made. Etc.

Of course, we (and I) want "more books". There's not argument against that. Nor is there any argument against the idea that if it is unprofitable to publish a book will it be published anyway.

So let's couch it in reality. A few days ago and before, it was apparently profitable to sell an e-book via Amazon for $9.99. Today, apparently, it is now NOT profitable (per your implication anyway). Factually, it is MORE profitable to sell it at $14.99, perhaps as much as $5 more profitable if it was profitable at $9.99. Does that extra $5 mean some other borderline book(s) can get published? It could mean that. Or it could be just $5 for the publishers pocket.

I make no arguments against the breadth & depth of books, nor against whether borderline books should be published, etc. I am simply calling folks out who are supporting the idea that higher prices for THIS media is fine, when every other media producer wanting to set THEIR own prices too (perhaps so borderline movies, music, and TV Shows can get funded) is tagged greedy, fat cats.

As to the rest, I'm just going to choose NOT to bother. So much of the exact same logic can apply to justifying higher prices for the rest of the media in iTunes. Do you really think the music industry couldn't make much of the very same case why THEY should get to price their music in the iTunes store as they see fit? They don't even get that option to allow market forces to find price equilibrium.

Thanks for the lessons in economics of the publishing industry. I know them very well... I work very heavily in the space. Still, even thoroughly understanding the economics of the space, I stand by my same points. And knowing what I know, that $5 won't go toward getting marginal books published that otherwise won't get published. But to each his own. If you believe that it will, then by all means pay MORE for ebooks.
 
I think it`s a good that Apple went with the iphone OS. There are more people using iphones and ipod touches than Macs. It`s all about familiarity. It will appeal more to Windows users who are a bigger part of the market if it runs the iphone OS.
 
Does that extra $5 mean some other borderline book(s) can get published? It could mean that. Or it could be just $5 for the publishers pocket.

Isn't the whole concept of publishing now on its deathbed? Honestly? Who needs a publisher in the digital world? No printing is needed, no distribution. Author your book, sell it yourself on the iBooks store (and its competition). There will be no gatekeeper saying yea or nay to titles. The most "borderline" of publications now have a vast new market to play in. Yeah, I realize I'm oversimplifying things here, but the reality of the future (someday) is book publishers and record labels will be relics of the analog past.

Democratization via technology. It's a beautiful thing.
 
Yeah, knowing me I'd get at least 32 gig. I used to always have to have the largest iPod so I could carry my entire music library. I now have a 16 iPhone 3G and I've learned to only carry what I currently listen to. I've got a ton of apps (mostly for my 6 yr old) and I'm doing fine with the space limit. I have to be honest with myself and realize the iPad would be more of a toy than anything else for my and my son's purposes. The only docs I'd probably even have on the thing is my spreadsheet of my budget. I was really just concerned with the 3G impact and if I'd use it enough to warrant the price upgrade. The no-contract options are awesome but in reality I'd only use 3G if I were on vacation. And even then I'd just want it for entertainment and and if we are limited to how large of files we can download then it really doesn't offer me any advantage over what my iPhone already covers in that respect.

Still looking forward to the iPad and new apps down the road. The better make a seriously large Fieldrunners map for it :)

Yes, but just recognize that a movie optimized for the bigger screened iPad is going to be a bigger file than one optimized for the iPhone. As cmaier points out, 1Gb/hour for a (full sized) movie is a pretty good general rule as it would be implemented on the iPad. For your iPhone, the same movie will take up a good amount less space as a file (if it is optimized for the phone).

More simply, the doubling of storage from your phone to the iPad might not translate into doubling the number of movies, TV shows, media, etc that you might carry around. If I bought an iPad, I'd take full size movie files (around 2-3Gb each), which means 32 Gb might hold 10 of them at best (assuming I'm taking selections of other media too). 10 may be plenty for a trip, but it depends on the length of travel in the trip.

I'm thinking cmaier is right about 128Gb being more in the sweet spot- even for the average Joe.
 
Isn't the whole concept of publishing now on its deathbed? Honestly? Who needs a publisher in the digital world? No printing is needed, no distribution. Author your book, sell it yourself on the iBooks store (and its competition). There will be no gatekeeper saying yea or nay to titles. The most "borderline" of publications now have a vast new market to play in. Yeah, I realize I'm oversimplifying things here, but the reality of the future (someday) is book publishers and record labels will be relics of the analog past.

Democratization via technology. It's a beautiful thing.

Very easy to write that, but look for it in application. There's been a music store in iTunes for 7 years now. How many musical artists are selling it themselves on the iTunes store and its competition? There's a movie store but how many actors are making their own and selling it on iTunes.

I know popular view is that the middlemen are useless- sometimes I even believe that myself. But in practice, there are jobs to be done there beyond just what the author, musician, actor does. If it was as easy as that, an awful lot of authors, musicians, actors would already be selling their work themselves (and pocketing all of the cut above Apples).

And in your scenario, Apple would be the gatekeeper. Just ask a fair selection of App developers.
 
Isn't the whole concept of publishing now on its deathbed? Honestly? Who needs a publisher in the digital world? No printing is needed, no distribution. Author your book, sell it yourself on the iBooks store (and its competition). There will be no gatekeeper saying yea or nay to titles. The most "borderline" of publications now have a vast new market to play in. Yeah, I realize I'm oversimplifying things here, but the reality of the future (someday) is book publishers and record labels will be relics of the analog past.

Democratization via technology. It's a beautiful thing.
Once again, check out the library. ;)
 
Very upset with ignorance

I see a lot of comments about the IPAD replacing your computer. When was this EVER the idea?

From what I saw during the keynote was somebody at home on a couch who ctually has a computer, but using the IPAD just for browsing, getting their email...quick basic things. However, this product has amazing potential to be something great.

Video conferencing - I know we all want it, but its not the NORM yet. I believe APPLE with unveil this when all the other components that use IPHONE OS have the ability. What good is an IPAD for Video conferencing, when they only expect 3 million people to use it. How about wait until the IPHONE, ITOUCH and IPAD all have the ability

Anyway, once again, it was never to replace your notebook. It was never to replace your Desktop, just as a CD player was to take the place of your stereo at home. Its a mobile device that does basically what you need.

The bible says a city against itself will fail. If apple made an IPAD that is better than their COMPUTERS, it would kill sales for their notebooks and IMACS.

Feel free to rip me apart... I believe this is my first post!

Thanks
 
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