just sitting around and watching the live blog updates on the apple keynote speech... ipad, wtf! gah nytimes! *shaking fist in the air* mah hah! flash still don't work. not impressed.
Apparently someone there is, Agata!
You know, I was underwhelmed too, until I saw the price. I think it's worth it, but not jaw-droppingly amazing.
I'm skeptical about that onscreen keyboard.
If the SDK allows for connecting this to a Mac so it can be used as a second screen and input surface, that would be awesome but, I doubt that will happen. (I'm thinking about music controllers here.)
If I get one of these for my mom, will she do email?
hahahaha are you serious about flash?
looks good to me. Also, onny, I think that it will be pretty nice as an input device, using osc or something like that.
+ the fact that it support external keyboard will make it pretty nice for gaming.
i'm just going to take a moment to give nicknames to everyone at Agata's workplace.
Clockwise:
Agatron, Milkshake, Cas Fri (short for Biz Cas Fri), Ace, Fist-bump, Angry Face, No Face, Coheed, Ace's Girlfriend, and Beardo.
Nice meetin y'alls!
"+ the fact that it support external keyboard will make it pretty nice for gaming"
The keyboard limits one to portrait mode. Most games are landscape. Also, that Keynote Touch App is landscape only.
UPDATE: Engadget says, "In even better news, however, the device will also work with standard Bluetooth keyboards like Apple's own wireless QWERTY slabs."
So, maybe you're right, jonbro. You still have to prop it up somehow--probably using their case.
Will I buy one? Probably not--I'd rather drop the money into getting a nicer laptop.
I can think of plenty of games that are vertical!
also, 1024x768! SO HIGH RES!
haha, yeah, it is a nice toy, but I am going to spend about two months considering the purchase.
it would be super cool if they ported xcode to it.
am i the only one that isn't impressed by the price? yes, $499 < $1000, but it's still $499.
if you have to think about the cost for a second, I think apple did the right thing.
I'm not crazy about it, but I'm also not the type of person who would buy a netbook. And I think that's the market of people that they are trying to go after with this.
Also, Josh: I was laughing about your nicknames at work and my co-worker came over to see what I was laughing. He says that he feels left out and he wants a nickname. Office nickname game anyone?
Dre: Post a photo!
Jonbro: Do you think Ikaruga would work well with a tap interface?
It's funny how closely this graph reflects my excitement level during the event:
josh: no, but it will be nice with a keyboard.
also, this thing + keyboard and mouse = nice little quake machine.
There's some weird glare. Also, he says no hairline-related nicknames.
Red-eye.
And that's definitely Chief in the background.
Everyone is very pleased. Thank You : )
Are you all really excited about the price? I agree with Yann, its still a lot. BUT i agree that they priced it accuratly, i just wouldn't buy it myself. There is nothing about this device that makes me go "MUST HAVE NOW!" it just makes me go "please design something more impressive and i will think about it"
I hate that it looks like an enlarged iphone. I know that it was rumored to be this way but i was hoping that the apple design team would come up with something slicker than what the rest of the blogging world came up with. Not just the outer casing but the interface too. It looks like an iphone interface but with a mac dock. Really? I think for the iphone the app button approach works because its such a small screen, but with a bigger screen it looks kinda ridiculous.
josh.er, those nicknames are awesome :). But i still like my nickname best.
Agata, that picture and your glass frames are amazing. I need to meet Mr. Milkshake; what a fly guy.
The price seems pretty amazing, but it still needs:
- Flash
- Background processes
- Internet tethering
- Jailbreakery
- More non-phone apps
- A clipboard clip
Also, Andrea:
clippy?
"I hate that it looks like an enlarged iphone."
In a way, the iPhone is really a good example of the surmounting of industrial design by interface design. I think that all Apple products will try to be a screen and as little else as possible. But, I'm with you on the interface. I'm going to watch the keynote video at some point to get a closer look at the apps. From what I've read, they are quite nice. The text entry bugs me though. I thought that all this delay (they've been working on a tablet for almost a decade) was not technology, but rather interface-based. They were hunting around for the right way to interact with a tablet. And then... a straight up onscreen keyboard. If you have to put this thing down to type on it, how is it better than a laptop? Also, only having 4 icons on that "dock" at the bottom looks lame. Maybe you can add more...
Dan:
The only things on your list with which I personally agree are more non-phone apps, which are coming, and lack of background processes. Flash would be nice, but I guess I was so sure that it wouldn't happen that I already wrote it off. There were rumors that Apple was trying to get a TV subscription deal. I think that would have been very compelling and reduced the need for flash (for me personally, at least).
Now, background processes is huge. How many students will write papers on this thing if they can't have Pages and Safari open at the same time? Are you going keep hitting that home button to switch back and forth? It'll be infuriating. It's already annoying on the iPhone. The modality of the interface is the problem. Everything is full screen. While that might make sense for a small screen phone, it is debilitating on a device with a larger screen.
The modal nature of the interface is the biggest barrier to device being a laptop replacement--or even a netbook replacement. Perhaps by the time a later generation of device rolls around with better battery and processor technology, multitasking won't be a problem. What I fear, though, is that the modality of the interface is a philosophical issue from which Apple won't budge.
How many students will write papers on this thing if they can't have Pages and Safari open at the same time?
apple would call this a problemtunity... how about a split display, with your copypasta on one side, and safari on the other...
I like this writeup: http://stevenf.tumblr.com/post/359224392/i-need-to-talk-to-you-about-computers-ive-been
Switching programs on the iPad should be the same as current Macbooks (three finger and four finger swipes, etc.)
Apple doesn't like to give people enough rope to hang themselves, like mice that right-click by default. I get it, but it's annoying.
Jonbro,
I was trying to make the modal-nature point in an email discussion with my boss and his brother-in-law who works for LucasArts. The brother-in-law responded to my complaint by saying, "maybe some enterprising developer will make apps that combine two tasks that are often done together." My response was, yes, but that's inelegant.
But, he's right. And, Jonbro, that developer could be you! Make an app that has a browser on one side and place to drag over text and pics on the other side that automatically copies the whole shebang to the clipboard upon exit and BOOM! Goldmine.
This is at least 23% better than my drunk cam idea... or maybe I have that reversed.
Dan,
So true. If Mac OSX were as unstable and virus prone as Windows (or even OS9) we power-users would be using Linux. And there would be gorgeous implementations of Linux. And hardware companies that made sure it all worked.
In conclusion,
Everyone on this website drives stick. I think the simple automatic transmission makes sense for most other people--it is the way forward. I'm with the elimination of the file system, etc. I just feel like the strictly modal nature of the device may have overshot. Automatic transmissions change gears for you most of the time, but they still allow you to choose--in those rare cases when it's needed--to go in reverse.
Pure business.
you must login to post
