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Snow Leopard's 'Keyboard Viewer' Sparks Renewed Speculation Regarding Mac OS X-Based Tablet

I think this indicates a tablet-like device

The keyboard viewer is also an "input method" under "input devices" on the Language & Text pane. Was it there before? How can this be an input method unless it's used on a touch screen?
 
Panu said:
The keyboard viewer is also an "input method" under "input devices" on the Language & Text pane. Was it there before? How can this be an input method unless it's used on a touch screen?
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http://www.apple.com/macosx/accessibility/

Look in the Physical and Motor Skills section and you will see:
if you find it easier to use a pointing device than a keyboard, you can use an onscreen keyboard to enter text instead. It floats above other applications, so you can’t lose it, and it can be displayed small or large.​

The pointing device being a mouse or another accessibility tool.
 
Panu said:
The keyboard viewer is also an "input method" under "input devices" on the Language & Text pane. Was it there before? How can this be an input method unless it's used on a touch screen?
Click to expand...

Macs are already used with touchscreens--but the keyboard viewer can also be used with mouse, stylus, etc.
 
Another theory

One of the improvements of Snow Leopard involves beefing up the ways handicapped users can operate a Mac. Could it be that this new enlarged Keyboard Viewer is part of that effort? I mean, are their some sorts of physical disability that could benefit from its improvement?
 
arn said:
I personally think this speculation is crap. and a big stretch. there's plenty of reasons to think apple's working on a tablet. this is not one of them.

arn
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"9 to 5 Mac observed Steve Jobs buying a double mocha at Starbucks this morning. Which can only mean one thing: Apple is making a tablet."
 
arn said:
I personally think this speculation is crap. and a big stretch. there's plenty of reasons to think apple's working on a tablet. this is not one of them.

arn
Click to expand...

What he said.

This more likely has to do with Universal Access.
 
dfs said:
One of the improvements of Snow Leopard involves beefing up the ways handicapped users can operate a Mac. Could it be that this new enlarged Keyboard Viewer is part of that effort? I mean, are their some sorts of physical disability that could benefit from its improvement?
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Absolutely. Some have already pointed this out.
(and check out the link in my sig about accessibility in SL)
 
g-7 said:
This "virtual keyboard" is useless, because there is no way to "lock" the Shift key. You may click Shift twice, but it doesn't do the trick. Try to enter "@" sign to see what I mean.
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Thats why you use the caps lock key above the shift key

I doubt this has anything to do with a tablet, its for universal access

If apple did a tablet and "if" it didn't have a regular physical keyboard, it would either be split half on each side of the screen, or act like the iphone and pop up when needed.
 
This is hilarious. Who would ever trust Cult of Mac with a rumor or theory? Apple would never make a tablet with a keyboard looking like that. It is meant for Universal Access.
 
Looking at this the wrong way

I think people are looking at this the wrong way...

I don't think we should look at this keyboard upgrade as definitive proof that a tablet is coming.. BUT I do think what we should consider is why they didn't do this simple accessibility upgrade before...

My personal belief on this is that Apple didn't want to help a "tablet" unless it was their tablet.

They weren't going to do the Modbook any favors considering they had been working on their own tablet behind the scenes for years.

Don't think that touch UI used on the iPhone was just designed for the iPhone. They had that in mind for a tablet from the get go.

Keep in mind though.. this upgrade of the keyboard isn't because it will be the primary input. I think it is just for emergencies when the add-on applications for the tablet aren't working properly or aren't available.
 
arn said:
I personally think this speculation is crap. and a big stretch. there's plenty of reasons to think apple's working on a tablet. this is not one of them.
Click to expand...
corinhorn said:
I third that! As someone who uses the accessibility features of Mac OS X everyday, I have witnessed an increase of accessibility features in Snow Leopard and this virtual keyboard change is only related to accessibility. This tablet speculation because of this keyboard is pointless.
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I tend to agree with these…and I know I'm biased (since I'm on the "iPhone OS extended" group :D)...

But if the tablet runs Mac OS X, I'll be the first to eat my words…
 
I think there is a confusion here in that we are all talking about 2 different devices here as one device.

I believe there will be an Apple "Media pad" and an "Apple Tablet"... 2 completely separate devices. The iPod Touch and the iPhone are in the range of "media pads"

The Apple tablet will be a true laptop SLATE tablet PC.

The true tablet will run OSX.. the media pads will run a iPhone type OS.

BUT.. I do think there will be some kind of UI for the Apple tablet that adds onto OSX that is similar to the iPhone OS.. but I think you will be able to use standard OSX and OSX apps on the tablet, too.
 
I've thought about that possibility…especially when the 13" Mac OS X tablet rumors were rampant last year.

The rumored 10" tablet…I think iPhone OS. Rumored 13"/15" tablets…I don't know.

Fudzilla thinks the larger ones will use Mac OS X.

I do agree on the "media pad"/"tablet" distinction though, but the rumor of a 10" display seems to me something right in the middle.
 
You won't, nor will anybody else.

ShiftyPig said:
How am I supposed to type and hold the thing?
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You won't. I'm not sure why people think such a device would even remotely compete with a netbook for text input. Even if Apple implemented some of it's patents it simply would have the feel of even a fractional conventional key board. On screen keyboards only serve modest input needs.
How am I supposed to see anything on the screen as I'm typing, editing Word documents?
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I don't think Apple will even try to target the conventional productivity markets. If word is available for the tablet I don't expect much in the way of people actually using it.
Outside the fanboy market, this tablet is going to be a massive fail.
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Well that depends! Seriously I can see Apple having huge success with a modestly sized tablet simply running enhanced iPhone OS. On the other hand once the tablet crosses a boundry, size wise, it becomes less and less feasible to run Mac OS/X applications especially if an on screen keyboard is the expected data entry method.

Note that the dissing of the larger tablets is due to that entry method. I believe there are ways to overcome those limitations with advanced technology. The question is though can we get enough processing power into such a tablet for this advanced software.

I don't know about massive fail either as if you look away from those data intensive desktop apps there are a lot of possibilities for a tablet in business and for personal use.



Dave
 
The way I think Jobs does things is he has an idea.. in this case it is the touch tablet. The touch tablet is the be-all end-all. It is the holy grail device in a line of devices that starts with the iPhone.

The iPhone is like the lowest end version of the tablet. But Jobs starts with the lowest end because if you bought the tablet you would have no need for the iPhone really.

So I think the tablet was the real focus all along.. but Jobs is going to sell the least desirable one first (the iPhone) knowing that people have no choice since they have to buy it.

I think it worked the same way with iPods. Jobs stated with the most bare bones iPod imaginable. All it did was play music. No other features whatsoever. Now look at the iPod. It's a full fledged media device. Jobs could have come out with the full fledged media device first. That was the real goal all along.. but he sold every device imaginable on the way to that in the process. I think they are doing the exact same thing with the tablet. The tablet is the real device everyone will want. But he is going to make us earn it essentially. Because we have no choice.
 
ShiftyPig said:
How am I supposed to type and hold the thing? How am I supposed to see anything on the screen as I'm typing, editing Word documents?

Outside the fanboy market, this tablet is going to be a massive fail.
Click to expand...

How am I supposed to see into the future? Because you apparently can and have seen this device already and know how it will work.

How about you let the turtle neck come on stage first and show the actual product before you make arrogant assumptions.
 
A good group to be in!

iMacmatician said:
I tend to agree with these…and I know I'm biased (since I'm on the "iPhone OS extended" group :D)...
Click to expand...
May this group sail forever.
But if the tablet runs Mac OS X, I'll be the first to eat my words…
Click to expand...

The big surprise here is that there really isn't that much differrent between iPHone OS and Mac OS, they both are more or less BSD at their core. It is one thing I don't get when people argue about this, iPhone simply has a different API for the user interface. Security is a bit different also but this is easily tweaked for larger more capable devices.


Dave
 
ChocoTaco said:
The way I think Jobs does things is he has an idea.. in this case it is the touch tablet. The touch tablet is the be-all end-all. It is the holy grail device in a line of devices that starts with the iPhone.

The iPhone is like the lowest end version of the tablet. But Jobs starts with the lowest end because if you bought the tablet you would have no need for the iPhone really.

So I think the tablet was the real focus all along.. but Jobs is going to sell the least desirable one first (the iPhone) knowing that people have no choice since they have to buy it.

I think it worked the same way with iPods. Jobs stated with the most bare bones iPod imaginable. All it did was play music. No other features whatsoever. Now look at the iPod. It's a full fledged media device. Jobs could have come out with the full fledged media device first. That was the real goal all along.. but he sold every device imaginable on the way to that in the process. I think they are doing the exact same thing with the tablet. The tablet is the real device everyone will want. But he is going to make us earn it essentially. Because we have no choice.
Click to expand...

business 101
 
Dang, whats with the bitmapped image, and at low res to boot! Looks awful on my 20" imac when maximized (I'm on SL obviously)... I thought Apple was heading towards resolution independent graphics instead of moving backwards?
 
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