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justjc
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- Jun 5, 2006
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@tayb have you looked at the ASUS Eee PC T91, according to http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5157&review=asus+eee+pc+t91 it's a good cheap tablet PC. Sure you have to do with a 1.1 inch smaller screen, however it also gives you the advantage of having a keyboard and thats at a $499.00 pricepoint. I'm sure the Apple Tablet won't have much more features than this thing and still you will be happy to pay $300 more for it.
Some people like apple products and some don't. In the end it comes down to taste or prioritizing. Personally my favorite phone right now would have to be the samsung omnia hd, but I'm not going to buy one simply because I prioritze differently. An iphone or omnia hd isn't a bad product just because I choose the much cheaper (and much less feature-heavy) nokia 5310.
When and if this tablet arrives it will be interesting to see if they have any nice features. Personally I read a lot and would love an e-reader, but the current crop is simply not good enough. If the itablet offers speed of operation, long battery life, reasonably high resolution, colours, an os that can do more than simply display text, a wealth of content, and a reasonable way to aquire and access said content they will have a unique product.
Maybe I will still not spend USD 1000 on it for various reasons, but it will be solid. If the "brainless followers" also make the market for the itablet big then that is nothing but a huge plus. A content platform needs a big market to be all it can be.
When and if this tablet arrives it will be interesting to see if they have any nice features. Personally I read a lot and would love an e-reader, but the current crop is simply not good enough. If the itablet offers speed of operation, long battery life, reasonably high resolution, colours, an os that can do more than simply display text, a wealth of content, and a reasonable way to aquire and access said content they will have a unique product.
Maybe I will still not spend USD 1000 on it for various reasons, but it will be solid. If the "brainless followers" also make the market for the itablet big then that is nothing but a huge plus. A content platform needs a big market to be all it can be.
tester24
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I don't like Apple for many reasons.
I hate their ads which blatantly lie to consumers.
Their products are way to expensive and instead of trying to make them cheaper they just "upgrade" the hardware a little then sell it to you as the same price point before. For their low end mac pro I can build an top of the line gaming rig that will outperform it any day.
Their OS isn't better, I've used it extensively at work and can say that it crashes as much as windows does if not more. I will give them that they are second to none for video editing and audio editing.
Sure you may make the claim to Linux is better however I doubt more than 10% of normal consumers have even used it. Yes it is nice because I do use it for software development and that there is a nice support by way of forums and such. But I still wouldn't replace my windows platform by using Linux exclusively.
Now speaking on the topic I say good luck to them in a sarcastic way. Unless they have totally fixed the major bugs from Kindle I wouldn't see that as being a decent product.
I'm not against being completely paperless but I have yet to see someone pull it off so I guess we'll have to see how this plays out.
I hate their ads which blatantly lie to consumers.
Their products are way to expensive and instead of trying to make them cheaper they just "upgrade" the hardware a little then sell it to you as the same price point before. For their low end mac pro I can build an top of the line gaming rig that will outperform it any day.
Their OS isn't better, I've used it extensively at work and can say that it crashes as much as windows does if not more. I will give them that they are second to none for video editing and audio editing.
Sure you may make the claim to Linux is better however I doubt more than 10% of normal consumers have even used it. Yes it is nice because I do use it for software development and that there is a nice support by way of forums and such. But I still wouldn't replace my windows platform by using Linux exclusively.
Now speaking on the topic I say good luck to them in a sarcastic way. Unless they have totally fixed the major bugs from Kindle I wouldn't see that as being a decent product.
I'm not against being completely paperless but I have yet to see someone pull it off so I guess we'll have to see how this plays out.
[citation][nom]justjc[/nom]@tayb have you looked at the ASUS Eee PC T91, according to http://www.notebookreview.com/defa [...] eee+pc+t91 it's a good cheap tablet PC. Sure you have to do with a 1.1 inch smaller screen, however it also gives you the advantage of having a keyboard and thats at a $499.00 pricepoint. I'm sure the Apple Tablet won't have much more features than this thing and still you will be happy to pay $300 more for it.[/citation]
That is pretty clearly NOT a slate tablet. I don't want a convertible notebook. I've had one before and I won't ever get one again. The hinge wears down over time, the machine is ridiculously bulky, the touch features are thrown in after the fact and not designed around it, and the real kicker is the resistive touchscreen instead of capacitive. There is a reason that "tablet" is so cheap. I have no use for a netbook with some crappy tablet features thrown in that operate poorly.
That is pretty clearly NOT a slate tablet. I don't want a convertible notebook. I've had one before and I won't ever get one again. The hinge wears down over time, the machine is ridiculously bulky, the touch features are thrown in after the fact and not designed around it, and the real kicker is the resistive touchscreen instead of capacitive. There is a reason that "tablet" is so cheap. I have no use for a netbook with some crappy tablet features thrown in that operate poorly.
How come the common assumption is if you own an mac that you bought it from apple and paid full retail price and have no inclination to shop for deals? I bought my wife one of the white mac books from microcenter a few months back and it had a $250 rebate on it. In fact if you take the time and shop around like any smart consumer you can get a mac pretty cheap. What is the argument for calling me an idiot if I paid the same amount of money as windows machine if I prefer to use OS X?
The reason why this has been so delayed and so obscure is because Apple accurately senses that this product is already dead and is genuinely uncertain what to do. Entering the phone market was a blunder, because unlike the music player market, there are mature competitors who churn product cycles with new innovation every year or so. iPhone has miserable market share world-wide, and really isn't making apple money. The laptop/tablet/e-reader market(s) [is|are] also saturated with competitors and other innovators. If it ever comes out, the tablet will further weigh down the company and all of it's valuation will escape like a balloon with a hole in it. The wisest thing Apple could do is keep the money in the bank. Apple makes boutique products for first-world creative professionals, the education sector, and college students. Like a BMW, arguably "the best" (for the above mentioned demographic), but not a world-class company with a future in this world.
justjc
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I wonder how it will do against the Arcos 9 I just read about http://news.digitaltrends.com/talk-back/324/the-archos-9-what-apple-s-ipad-should-be
JohnnyLucky
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waffle911
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[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]they're less open than Microsoft about what they build, especially in terms of hardware capability and compatibility.[/citation]
Huh. I've never really had a problem with that. I've found tons of open-source software for my Mac. Plus some nifty hardware-monitoring system tools that far surpass anything I've found for Windows, including remote monitoring by a pared iPhone or iPod Touch over Wi-Fi. And I also use my iPod Touch as a remote touchpad for my Mac on occasion (like during a presentation). And why is this? because Apple's "closed platform" allows smaller developers to create nifty applications and tools that are more finely polished because they focus on a much smaller range of hardware compatibility. Which, honestly, there are enough users out there that are into hardware that you can easily find out all of a Mac's potential capabilities. Hell, they even found out that the second-gen iPod Touch had bluetooth built-in and disabled, much to the denial of Apple, who non an unrelated note said the Nike+iPod interface used 2.4GHz close-range radio communication to operate. And that's totally not bluetooth. Well we found out soon enough with software 3.0. So, yes, they're dirty lying bastards. But certainly no more so than Microsoft or Intel. Well OK, maybe more than Microsoft, but only because so many people put Microsoft under the microscope that it's harder for them to evade the truth.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]2. Sure, but what about HDMI? Blu-ray? HDCP? SPDIF? Optical Audio? Expresscard? A simple memory card reader? You won't find any of them on Apple computers.[/citation]
HDMI? No.
Blu-ray? Likely soon.
HDCP? Yes. That's why you use a DVI connector. And Display Port supports HDCP as well.
S/PDIF and Optical Audio go hand in hand, and Apple notebooks have had mini-TOSLINK ports integrated into the existing 3.5mm audio jacks for a few years now.
Expresscard? I've got one. MacBook Pros have had them for what seems like an eternity, though recently the 15" MacBook Pro dropped it in favor of an SD card slot, alongside the 13" model.
Simple memory card reader? See the last sentence.
You forgot eSATA. No, Apple doesn't have it, but they do have FireWire 800, which all things being equal is just as good, except you can also daisy-chain devices together and have them read separately. It's also the fastest way to get data off of a video camera, and the only way to connect to a multi-track audio input and still maintain each track separately while recording in Logic.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]3. I said ridiculous amounts of money relative to competing products. This sets aside any single person's economic situation.[/citation]
Well, a Corvette competes nicely with a Porsche 911, and thus by your argument the Porsche is a ridiculous purchase for the price. Tell that to a Porsche owner. One who knows them well. And drives them competitively. Like this one guy in my neighborhood who runs a Porsche garage down at the local racetrack.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]4. "Nice" is relative, now - I think Apple's products are the ugliest things. But that's not what I was talking about, anyway.[/citation]
And I think your mom and imaginary girlfriend are ugly as well, but that's both cliche and irrelevant. To each their own, I like the Mac's simplistic design, it's uncluttered and not distracting. And doesn't attract fingerprints all over it like most other notebooks on the market.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]5. Propganda is not a reason to hate? Did you miss that lesson in grade school? I can think of 10 ad campaigns that are a great reason to hate - one that resulted in the loss of millions of lives.[/citation]
And I can think of at least one that resulted in the prevention of millions more from the same time period. The one by the guys who kicked those guys you mentioned asses. But you don't see many people saying bad things about that.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]6. You buy a song on iTunes, you can only use it on Apple products. You can only play it on iTunes (which really sucks...[/citation]
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I like iTunes. VLC is OK. And you can play songs from iTunes on other devices and other players. They're DRM free now, you know. After Apple actually went to bat for the consumer and wrestled the record companies with their considerable internet music download marketshare to remove DRM. Still not enough? You've always been able to burn songs to a CD-RW in another universal format to remove DRM restrictions.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]You buy OS X, you can only use it on Apple products.[/citation]
You buy Gears of War, you can only play it on an XBox 360.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom] You want a new battery? Nope, not serviceable.[/citation]
Because you totally can't go over to ifixit.com, buy a new battery, unscrew the bottom panel of the computer, swap it in, and screw the panel back on. You can also replace the batteries in iPods and iPhones. And you can even replace the harddrives in older iPods. You can also replace the HD and RAM in all Macs except the MacBook Air (which you can replace the HD only).
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]Have a problem and take it up in Apple's forum? The thread gets deleted.[/citation]
I'll let you have that one. There's a reason I don't use their forums when there are many more available elsewhere--often with more knowledgeable support.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]Only applications Apple approves you can download on your phone - and they can pull them off whenever they want.[/citation]
But never without a real reason. Granted the app approval process does seem rather arbitrary, and frustratingly so, but that's why many iPhone users have jailbroken their phones to use unapproved apps and to enable use on carriers other than horrid AT&T.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]Yeah, I got the analogy, and you got exactly what I was saying - paying more money for something that does the same thing as something that's cheaper is just dumb. Sure, there are some areas where this doesn't exactly apply due to human nature - but it's a computer, not a luxury item. You're not taking your Macbook down the street checking the time, are you? I'm not saying people are stupid because they spend money on a Mac. I'm saying people are stupid for spending money on a Mac when there are better, cheaper options available. Why spend money where it isn't necessary? I don't care how much money you have - that doesn't invalidate the fact that wasting money is stupid.[/citation]
And that is the stupidest thing I've heard you say so far. It's a computer, not a luxury item? Then you justify this by saying you're not going down the street checking the time? Checking the time on a watch doesn't require an expensive luxury watch. Some people just appreciate fine craftsmanship. How else do you think people get away with making and selling watches in excess of $100k, $200k, or even $1mil? And you're saying a computer can't be a luxury item? They sure used to be. How about a Voodoo PC (before HP bought Voodoo)? Or even the Luvaglio million dollar laptop? Are you sure a computer can't be a luxury item? And remember what I said about the Porsches above? Why buy a 911 if you can buy a Corvette for less money and have it beat the pants off the 911 on the track? Because the 911 is a much nicer car and has an aura of mystique about it. It's the unquantifiable x-factor. Not to mention that the only laptops I've encountered that are better built than a unibody MacBook Pro are the ruggidized Panasonic Toughbooks, and only because those are actually designed to withstand abuse. The only other maker who comes close in build quality is Lenovo, which are not exactly the pinnacle of industrial design, even if they do have their own sort of sleekness about them. But between the three of them they all charge some sort of premium for their product.
Huh. I've never really had a problem with that. I've found tons of open-source software for my Mac. Plus some nifty hardware-monitoring system tools that far surpass anything I've found for Windows, including remote monitoring by a pared iPhone or iPod Touch over Wi-Fi. And I also use my iPod Touch as a remote touchpad for my Mac on occasion (like during a presentation). And why is this? because Apple's "closed platform" allows smaller developers to create nifty applications and tools that are more finely polished because they focus on a much smaller range of hardware compatibility. Which, honestly, there are enough users out there that are into hardware that you can easily find out all of a Mac's potential capabilities. Hell, they even found out that the second-gen iPod Touch had bluetooth built-in and disabled, much to the denial of Apple, who non an unrelated note said the Nike+iPod interface used 2.4GHz close-range radio communication to operate. And that's totally not bluetooth. Well we found out soon enough with software 3.0. So, yes, they're dirty lying bastards. But certainly no more so than Microsoft or Intel. Well OK, maybe more than Microsoft, but only because so many people put Microsoft under the microscope that it's harder for them to evade the truth.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]2. Sure, but what about HDMI? Blu-ray? HDCP? SPDIF? Optical Audio? Expresscard? A simple memory card reader? You won't find any of them on Apple computers.[/citation]
HDMI? No.
Blu-ray? Likely soon.
HDCP? Yes. That's why you use a DVI connector. And Display Port supports HDCP as well.
S/PDIF and Optical Audio go hand in hand, and Apple notebooks have had mini-TOSLINK ports integrated into the existing 3.5mm audio jacks for a few years now.
Expresscard? I've got one. MacBook Pros have had them for what seems like an eternity, though recently the 15" MacBook Pro dropped it in favor of an SD card slot, alongside the 13" model.
Simple memory card reader? See the last sentence.
You forgot eSATA. No, Apple doesn't have it, but they do have FireWire 800, which all things being equal is just as good, except you can also daisy-chain devices together and have them read separately. It's also the fastest way to get data off of a video camera, and the only way to connect to a multi-track audio input and still maintain each track separately while recording in Logic.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]3. I said ridiculous amounts of money relative to competing products. This sets aside any single person's economic situation.[/citation]
Well, a Corvette competes nicely with a Porsche 911, and thus by your argument the Porsche is a ridiculous purchase for the price. Tell that to a Porsche owner. One who knows them well. And drives them competitively. Like this one guy in my neighborhood who runs a Porsche garage down at the local racetrack.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]4. "Nice" is relative, now - I think Apple's products are the ugliest things. But that's not what I was talking about, anyway.[/citation]
And I think your mom and imaginary girlfriend are ugly as well, but that's both cliche and irrelevant. To each their own, I like the Mac's simplistic design, it's uncluttered and not distracting. And doesn't attract fingerprints all over it like most other notebooks on the market.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]5. Propganda is not a reason to hate? Did you miss that lesson in grade school? I can think of 10 ad campaigns that are a great reason to hate - one that resulted in the loss of millions of lives.[/citation]
And I can think of at least one that resulted in the prevention of millions more from the same time period. The one by the guys who kicked those guys you mentioned asses. But you don't see many people saying bad things about that.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]6. You buy a song on iTunes, you can only use it on Apple products. You can only play it on iTunes (which really sucks...[/citation]
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I like iTunes. VLC is OK. And you can play songs from iTunes on other devices and other players. They're DRM free now, you know. After Apple actually went to bat for the consumer and wrestled the record companies with their considerable internet music download marketshare to remove DRM. Still not enough? You've always been able to burn songs to a CD-RW in another universal format to remove DRM restrictions.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]You buy OS X, you can only use it on Apple products.[/citation]
You buy Gears of War, you can only play it on an XBox 360.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom] You want a new battery? Nope, not serviceable.[/citation]
Because you totally can't go over to ifixit.com, buy a new battery, unscrew the bottom panel of the computer, swap it in, and screw the panel back on. You can also replace the batteries in iPods and iPhones. And you can even replace the harddrives in older iPods. You can also replace the HD and RAM in all Macs except the MacBook Air (which you can replace the HD only).
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]Have a problem and take it up in Apple's forum? The thread gets deleted.[/citation]
I'll let you have that one. There's a reason I don't use their forums when there are many more available elsewhere--often with more knowledgeable support.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]Only applications Apple approves you can download on your phone - and they can pull them off whenever they want.[/citation]
But never without a real reason. Granted the app approval process does seem rather arbitrary, and frustratingly so, but that's why many iPhone users have jailbroken their phones to use unapproved apps and to enable use on carriers other than horrid AT&T.
[citation][nom]frozenlead[/nom]Yeah, I got the analogy, and you got exactly what I was saying - paying more money for something that does the same thing as something that's cheaper is just dumb. Sure, there are some areas where this doesn't exactly apply due to human nature - but it's a computer, not a luxury item. You're not taking your Macbook down the street checking the time, are you? I'm not saying people are stupid because they spend money on a Mac. I'm saying people are stupid for spending money on a Mac when there are better, cheaper options available. Why spend money where it isn't necessary? I don't care how much money you have - that doesn't invalidate the fact that wasting money is stupid.[/citation]
And that is the stupidest thing I've heard you say so far. It's a computer, not a luxury item? Then you justify this by saying you're not going down the street checking the time? Checking the time on a watch doesn't require an expensive luxury watch. Some people just appreciate fine craftsmanship. How else do you think people get away with making and selling watches in excess of $100k, $200k, or even $1mil? And you're saying a computer can't be a luxury item? They sure used to be. How about a Voodoo PC (before HP bought Voodoo)? Or even the Luvaglio million dollar laptop? Are you sure a computer can't be a luxury item? And remember what I said about the Porsches above? Why buy a 911 if you can buy a Corvette for less money and have it beat the pants off the 911 on the track? Because the 911 is a much nicer car and has an aura of mystique about it. It's the unquantifiable x-factor. Not to mention that the only laptops I've encountered that are better built than a unibody MacBook Pro are the ruggidized Panasonic Toughbooks, and only because those are actually designed to withstand abuse. The only other maker who comes close in build quality is Lenovo, which are not exactly the pinnacle of industrial design, even if they do have their own sort of sleekness about them. But between the three of them they all charge some sort of premium for their product.
Khimera2000
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- Jul 16, 2009
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im on the fence. I love my ebook reader. but it will be about price and content in the end... ill have to see if its worth it. Im also wondering how it will stack against Barns and Nobel's ebook reader. being a fan of ebooks it will have to be extremely light, have to have access to a wealth of books, and have to be reasonably priced... if they excede B&N's new library which is twice the size of amazon at the moment it might be something of interest. right now you can get ebooks for the I-Phone, but it was my understanding that most of the content came from amazon and B&N... we will have to see what deals they can forge with publishers if they cant make the mark on content... then its safe to say that the device is screwed.
I've been using the iPod Touch for a book reader (1 Gen) for two years or more. I love the fact that it fits in my pocket. I carried over 60 books with me on a trip to Europe--all of these books were free, and didn't finish them all during my time there. For most of us. An iPod Touch is the answer.
I can see the point of a tablet, for displaying more information. I see my teenager hauling around a heavy bag of books and hating every minute of it. If she could carry just one device for reading, recording lectures, taking notes, and submitting homework--that would be a good thing. A MacBook Air laptop might serve just as well.
I can see myself using one for technical references--again a laptop would work fine.
The big issue is the price of content. An electronic book should cost must less tha n a paper book,and be transferable. Presently electronic books are more expensive than paper books...why?
I can see the point of a tablet, for displaying more information. I see my teenager hauling around a heavy bag of books and hating every minute of it. If she could carry just one device for reading, recording lectures, taking notes, and submitting homework--that would be a good thing. A MacBook Air laptop might serve just as well.
I can see myself using one for technical references--again a laptop would work fine.
The big issue is the price of content. An electronic book should cost must less tha n a paper book,and be transferable. Presently electronic books are more expensive than paper books...why?
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