I'm curious whether anyone is interacting with us on B&B via their new iPad?
iPad on B&B
- Thread starter Cuttingboard
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I am right now, it belongs to my wife, but she is outside so I get to play awhile. The iPAD is more than I expected it to be and does exactly what I thought it would: general light use media/Internet appliance. Although typing isn't bad on it and with the keyboard, not a bad backup word processor tool.
Michael
Michael
I am just curious, but what is the point of the iPad? Is it basically a Kindle that can surf the Internet? Or is it more like a netbook, minus the ability to close?
Think of it as a marriage saver i my case. It surfs the internet well (the flash complaint isn't a big deal since most major websites seem to be bowing to apple and creating an HTML 5 webpage), checks your email. Has some fantastic apps and is extremely simple to use.
My wife and I have the Big desktop in my office and a macbook pro. At night when we are just surfing the web while watching tv or something like that, there is often a fight over using the laptop. This ends that for us. Yes I could purchase a netbook for cheaper, but that's not really the point of the iPAD. The movies look great on it and so do the books. I can see where the bright glossy screen can become annoying after a few hours of reading compared to an ebook reader.
Oh and the magazines and papers are just plain cool on it. It's nice having the form factor of a paper loaded with multimedia when you want it. I also think that this, along with the Joo, the HP slate, and other slate computers set to come out will change content delivery and as they become more powerful for the content creator to use, will change the form factor of computing.
It also may be the first real shots of the impending cloud computing many are bracing for.
Michael
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Michael, thank you for the information. The move to HTML 5 sounds interesting.
Silly me... I had to google that : Cloud Computing
How long before Apple comes up with a neural implant and I can have B&B beamed directly into my neo-cortex?
How long before Apple comes up with a neural implant and I can have B&B beamed directly into my neo-cortex?
I'm way behind the times. Just got an iPhone the other day. Sweet gadget. The way I understand it, the iPad is a "bigger" iPhone that can't be used as a phone. So basically, as long as I'm wearing some kind of vision correction, I have an iPad. But I can make phone calls. So there! 
Silly me... I had to google that : Cloud Computing
How long before Apple comes up with a neural implant and I can have B&B beamed directly into my neo-cortex?
Ya know, as much as a self-proclaimed apple fanboy as I am, Apple really doesn't invent as much as innovate (and the same could be said about MSFT), especially in the area of design.
All of their big hits have all been redesigns of existing products. The home computer was already around when the Apple II came out, The GUI interface along with the mouse existed long before we saw the LISA, the MP3 player was failing with Diamond, The all-in-one desktop and now with the slate computer 10 years after Bill Gates proclaimed a tablet computer would rule the worldApple is just repackaging and in my opinion simplifying the experience.
And I shudder at the privacy issues that will come up if we move to an all cloud-based system. In a former life, I was a privacy compliance attorney for a telco's internet division, right after 9/11 and had to deal with a lot of bogus requests for private information. Things got really interesting, heck they still are. I can only imagine what life will be like from a privacy perspective if people lose absolute control of not only the resources, but also the their personal created content stored on a server somewhere.
Michael
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So if I've got this right, the future of computing involves (forgive my bad analogy) something like WebTV, whereby I don't own any part of the system (except some kind of access device... maybe...), everything i create/do is stored on a public device, like having my Macs hard-drive exist virtualy at some public/corporate facility with it's resources available as/to some kind of communal network?
I'm not trying to be flippant, I'm a carpenter who bashes away at his mac like the proverbial 1 million monkeys. Just trying to wrap my mind around this concept.
I'm not trying to be flippant, I'm a carpenter who bashes away at his mac like the proverbial 1 million monkeys. Just trying to wrap my mind around this concept.
So if I've got this right, the future of computing involves (forgive my bad analogy) something like WebTV, whereby I don't own any part of the system (except some kind of access device... maybe...), everything i create/do is stored on a public device, like having my Macs hard-drive exist virtualy at some public/corporate facility with it's resources available as/to some kind of communal network?
I'm not trying to be flippant, I'm a carpenter who bashes away at his mac like the proverbial 1 million monkeys. Just trying to wrap my mind around this concept.
Many feel that is where we are headed. There is some good, like dirt cheap app prices etc. You won't have to pay $400 bucks for MSFT Office anymore and most casual users/business users won't need this really high performance machine anymore. I do have trouble seeing the game players accepting it.
Honestly, I think the only reason Microsoft can sell their Microsoft Office software for so much money is because it is used by so many businesses. Personally, I use and love Open Office. It is free and works.
No kidding... like telling a hot-rodder/gear head he gets to drive the communal Kia now....
(BTW: sorry, not trying to hijack this thread
)
I took an MCSE course about 10 years ago, and the instructor told us that Microsoft also markets and licenses the code that runs many small appliances like microwave ovens, alarm clocks, dishwashers, washing machines, etc. Pretty much anything around your house that has digital logic controls. He said that the company makes as much, if not more money, from licensing these as they do sellling their Operating Systems and Applications.
+1
Another Open Office user here. An excellent program in its own right, it will do everything that MS-Office does except "snob appeal."
www.openoffice.org
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Yes, MS embeds software, but Linux has taken frighteningly large chunks of the embedded market. It's free, easily modified in-house, works great and there are no issues with license payments. I've read that pretty much everyone in the US uses Linux every day, whether they know it or not.
For the person who asked about the point of the iPad, it's mostly to have a larger iPhone. Yeah, I know that's being thrown around as a criticism, but it's actually praise. People seem to forgotten how revolutionary the iPhone was and how usable the interface is. I'm posting from my phone right now, even.
I can't fault much on the iPhone, but there's an awful lot of scrolling and zooming when you browse. There's no other way for something that fits in a pocket. The iPad brings this same interface to a bigger, more usable surface. Having been attached to the iPhone since it was released, I really look forward to using an iPad at home and on trips. The iPhone is good for going everywhere, but the iPad can just about replace the laptop and I'll keep around the Linux desktop.
What I think is happening at Apple is that this is a transition device to mouse and (mostly) cursor free interface. My guess is that OS XI will tie the touch interface into the regular computing platform and integrate all of Apple's devices so they work together. Just speculation, but it makes sense to me.
I got one yesterday. I'm still getting used to it.
I got one yesterday. I'm still getting used to it.
Congratulations! I love selected shorts. I try to catch Isaiah Sheffer when he comes to town.
Inside the iPad...
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You mention openoffice. I love Open Office (since star office in he mid 80's)and ran Linux for many years, until the user friendly version on Unix was introduced..... OS X. My problem with open office, and for that Office for Mac is that compatibility is not always a perfect substitute. In my current job, we have a ton of exact forms used for importing and exporting out of (don't laugh) access. The compatible programs often cause editing issues that cost enough man hours that the powers that be require MSFT Office for Windows. It stinks, but it is the way it is.
Michael
Michael
Because this version has only wifi, not 3G, it would be more like a giant Touch than an IPhone. 3G is in the next version.
Yes, unless you're writing long-form and prefer to have 'normal view,' i.e. a draft format that allows you to view the document as a single continuous piece, without bogus page breaks, headers, or footers.
In that case, you're stuck, though I think the clamor for 'normal view' has moved its fix up the priority chain. It should definitely have been discussed over coffee by the next OO version upgrade. Programming by committee has its drawbacks.
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