Technology catch-all thread

[HuskyCaucasian]

The more i process the iPad, the more I like the idea, just not this version.

 

Let's face it, the world is going mobile. I can see a near future (less than 10 years) where people no long carry laptops. They carry slates/tablets/pads instead. The only draw back is functionality. You need something easy to use, but powerful. Apple gets easy to use, and this slate is powerful, but it lacks some functionality. The iPad is far easier to use than any Windows based tablet I've ever tried. I think Leo LaPorte said it best when he said people are ready to use the iPad because people are now used to the iPhone/iPod Touch. 5 years ago, the iPad would have been TOO revolutionary to gain a market.

 

In many ways Apple "lead us out of darkness" on several occasions. Apple II got the average citizen into personal computers. Mac introduced the GUI. iPod revolutionized digital music. iPhone revolutionized cell phones. The iPad is bringing the idea of easy to use tablets to the masses. It will take some time, but I think in the LONG run, this is were computers are going.

 

Personally, I am looking forward to a Google Android tablet (made by Google, not a third party). I like their open model for Apps.

[HuskyCaucasian]

I agree, but it looks better than the iPhoneOS at first glance.

I would say that really. It's just the OS/UI scaled up. It's the apps that are very different and much better. they are designed to work on a 10" screen and they are really slick. I just wish it had more of the OS X meat in it. Printing ability? Some network diagnostic abilities? FLASH? stuff like that. If this thing had more network diagnostic abilities, I could absolutely make a legit reason to buy one of these for work to carry around instead of a laptop.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Yah I don't get the windows bashing. I've never had a problem with it in my life, but I guess thats just me.

As someone who has used both... and a life long windows guy until my Jr year of college, I would agree. But once I used my first Mac OS X machine, I fell in love. There is some transition time to learn how a Mac thinks vs how a Windows machine thinks, but in the end, Mac OS X is sooo much better and easier to use. Windows 7 has come a long way in the Windows universe. Windows 7 is what Microsoft needed. When open source Linux distros were often better than Windows XP, that's a problem for Microsoft. Windows 7 is pretty darn solid, but until they dump DLLs and the OS is no longer susceptible to "bit rot", OS X rains over all.

Edited January 29, 2010 by Athomeboy_2000

[BigSqwert]

The easiest way to explain this is to run through how the iPhone changed my life. It made a ton of stuff I used to carry around completely unnecessary. It replaced the following devices:

 

* my old cell phone;

* my blackberry;

* my Flip video recorder;

* my digital camera; and

* my iPod.

 

Here's a list of what the iPad replaces:

 

That's right: nothing.

 

Link

[BigSqwert]

Good read

[Quin]

Just for perspective, standard iPods crush this thing in terms of HDD space.

[bigruss]

The typing on the ipad would be really awkward. Its a decent start IMO but needs alot of improvements to really be functional.

[BigSqwert]

How Do E-Readers Stack Up With iPad In The Mix?

[HuskyCaucasian]

Stephen Colbert has an iPad at the Grammys

[Kalapse]

How Do E-Readers Stack Up With iPad In The Mix?

The iPad not supporting E-Ink is a non-starter in my mind.

[HuskyCaucasian]

How Do E-Readers Stack Up With iPad In The Mix?

wow, the Amazon Kindle DX looks WAY over priced now.

[Jenksismyhero]

wow, the Amazon Kindle DX looks WAY over priced now.

 

Why? I mean, they're all over priced, but you get everything an Ipad has except for email and video, and you get it for a lot cheaper. Plus there's no hassle of having a battery to deal with.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Why? I mean, they're all over priced, but you get everything an Ipad has except for email and video, and you get it for a lot cheaper. Plus there's no hassle of having a battery to deal with.

I am talking price vs functionality.

A Kindle does one thing... read books and it costs $489. The iPad is $499 (for the base model) and not only has book reading functionality, but video, e-mail, a better web experience, it has a calender, contacts, etc.

 

Yes, the Kindle gets better battery life... no argument there.

[bmags]

plus the millions of very popular apps. Just email and video?

[CrimsonWeltall]

I am talking price vs functionality.

A Kindle does one thing... read books and it costs $489. The iPad is $499 (for the base model) and not only has book reading functionality, but video, e-mail, a better web experience, it has a calender, contacts, etc.

 

Yes, the Kindle gets better battery life... no argument there.

 

I can't argue that the Kindle isn't overpriced, but you should also take into account that it includes free unlimited 3G while the same on the iPad will be $30/month. That adds up.

[StrangeSox]

I am talking price vs functionality.

A Kindle does one thing... read books and it costs $489. The iPad is $499 (for the base model) and not only has book reading functionality, but video, e-mail, a better web experience, it has a calender, contacts, etc.

 

Yes, the Kindle gets better battery life... no argument there.

 

And a screen that's a lot better to read on than an iPad/Pod/Phone. That's one of the biggest features.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Jobe Presents iPad Keynote, with an iPad Equipped with... a camera!

Close scrutiny of the iPad which Steve Jobs presented at Apple’s special event last week shows what may be webcam, tucked away in the black screen bezel just like it is on the MacBook Pro.

 

A screen-grab from the official video of the event shows nothing but a small dot above the screen, opposite the home button. Taken alone, this isn’t much, but compare this with the picture of the iPad leaked just hours before the event (below). If you remember, these showed an iPad locked down in a security frame, and you could clearly see the camera in the bezel. I even pointed out the cutout in the frame that let us see the webcam.

.....

The last, and oddest, piece of the puzzle comes from Mac and iPod repair company Mission Repair. The company has, somewhat strangely, already received replacement parts for fixing iPads. On the company’s blog, employee Ryan Arter has posted pictures which show a spot for a camera in the main iPad frame.

 

This is accompanied by a shot of the frame alongside the camera from a MacBook. It’s a perfect fit. The only thing that seems weird on this last point is that Apple is already sending out parts. Why so soon?

 

So why didn’t Steve Jobs announce the camera already? Perhaps the hardware is there, but asI previously wrote, Apple is leaving it out to meet the rather severe price restrictions it has set for the product line. Jobs was most likely using a prototype on stage, just like he did when the iPhone was first revealed. A prototype would be likely to have the camera intact.

 

[BigSqwert]

You see a camera in that fuzzy photo?

[HuskyCaucasian]

You see a camera in that fuzzy photo?

That pinprick of a point is the traditional spot and size of a built in Apple iSight camera.

 

And apparently if you take one of the images and do some contrast work in photoshop, you get this:

Edited February 2, 2010 by Athomeboy_2000

[BigSqwert]

 

That looks no different than the smudge on the lower right corner of the border.

[HuskyCaucasian]

That looks no different than the smudge on the lower right corner of the border.

For starters it's perfectly centered... kinda odd. Secondly, it's easier seen in the video. Sometimes the pictures dont tell the whole story. In the video, it's much more obvious.

[BigSqwert]

And their reason for not touting a camera on the device even though it has one would be???

[HuskyCaucasian]

And their reason for not touting a camera on the device even though it has one would be???

that's what is puzzling. Supposedly there is a report out there (I cant find it) that Apple is having a hard time getting enough cameras from their suppliers for the Mac product line (All Macbooks, iMac, iPhone, iPod nano). That could be a factor. Also in the iPad SDK, there is a reference to being able to take a picture with... an iPad camera. So, obviously it is either a last second change or they arent sure if they will have enough cameras to ship the iPad with cameras.

[ChWRoCk2]

iPad is a giant waste of money, no offense to those of you whom already purchased one. It is basically a giant iPhone. I don't see the point of buying it when I can be more efficient and do the same type of work and better with a notebook or PC, heck I could get either for less money.

 

It is a cool product and I'm sure Apple will sell it well but I'm really overwhelmed and was expecting more.

[BigSqwert]

Google Tablet (PICTURES): A First Look At Google's 'iPad Killer'

 

Chromium also posted a video demo showing how the device might work. One key feature of the demo is that it suggests users would be able to multitask with the tablet--something the iPad doesn't offer.