A few things to point out, with respect to the AppleTV:

An AppleTV, to an audio person, is only worthwhile if your only view to your music is through iTunes. If you're into Pandora, it can't help you. Similarly, to a video person, an AppleTV is painful to make work with content that you get any other way than through the iTunes Store.

Boxee and XMBC change all that. Suddenly, a hacked AppleTV is just all kinds of useful, but the software-based decoder can't keep up with HD.

The new Boxee Box (made by D-Link), combined with all the apps that it supports, looks to be a very attractive alternative to the AppleTV, at least for the collegiate BitTorrenting / Pandoraizing crowd.

Apple could counter this by bringing apps to the AppleTV, particularly iPhone game ports. That would let them take on the Wii. If they keep the price low enough, it could be a real winner.

I just can't see the appeal of a keyboard with an integrated dock. If the iPad is going to be propped up on a desk, wouldn't it be best that the keyboard be separated?

Anyone who wants a separate keyboard can just buy the standard dock and a separate keyboard. An unexpected case of Apple providing more than one choice...

Oh, I assumed that they were just showing the keyboard with the dock and then again without the keyboard. I didn't realize they were two different accessories. How weird. Wouldn't it have made more sense for there to be just one dock, and then get a keyboard if you wanted? Seems like an excellent use of MagSafe technology. Just make it a Bluetooth keyboard that can magnetically snap onto the dock for charging.

Being that the "mouse" is your finger touching the screen, the integrated keyboard seems like an ok choice. You wouldn't want the display that far away from your hands during active use.

Ok, that makes sense, especially if you take into account using the keyboard as a way to keep the display from tipping over when touched.

I'm sorry, but I see the iPad as an ergonomic disaster all around. The position that Steve demoed on stage is something that must terrify experts in that field. You're placing this thing on your lap and typing on it? So that means you're hurting your neck, eyes, and wrists all at the same time. Granted, you probably wouldn't do that for a long while, but it's still not a good idea.

Generally any accessory with a 30 pin connector can be used direct with the device OR through most docks (not necessarily all).

http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/ (bottom of page) Shows the sd adapter. Clearly it has a 30pin plug opposite the sd slot.

Hmmmm I wonder if that SD adapter will work with the iPhone at any point - I'd love to be able to upload photos from a camera when out and about. Anyone know if its a liklihood?

This is what a desktop OS looks and functions like on a tablet computer:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/01/eros-tablet-video-is-a-lesson-in-why-windows-7-isnt-strictly-me/

It's Windows 7 in this case, but Mac OS X wouldn't be much better with this form factor. I'm wondering why the handwriting recognition is so painfully slow? The Newton had much faster recognition back in 1996.

This is precisely the type of product I continue to believe no one is interested in.

Clearly, UI elements would have to be changed to make a slate function well, but that's no reason that it can't have a fully functional OS rather than the iPhone's stripped-down infra-OS.

Problem is, once you have redesigned the entire UI of a "fully functional OS" (aka a desktop OS) to be touch friendly, you still end up launching normal apps that aren't designed for touch. By presenting a "new" OS to developers, you force the apps to also be touch friendly right up front, instead of having them cludge together something on top of their existing application.

For Apple, going with the stripped down iPhone OS allowed them to use an ARM processor and hit 10 hours of battery life. This also ensured developers can't just bring over their desktop apps built around a mouse interface. This may be the right way to go in the end, as Microsoft already spent the past decade trying to get their desktop OS into tablets and UMPCs. It didn't work out well for them.

The only complaint I can see against the iPad OS method at this point is lack of 3rd party multitasking. It's a big gap Apple is going to have to address soon, since push notifications don't allow me to listen to Pandora while working on something else.

Unless the app is iPad specific, I'd expect it to read that gadget on an iPhone.

Exactly. While Apple's app may be iPad-only for that feature, with the SDK support for the dock connector, a 3rd party should be able to make their own software and/or adapter. I'm frankly surprised I haven't heard of one for the iPhone yet.

I'm very eager to see how the whole shared folder API plays out, since this is absolutely necessary for being able to use your files across multiple applications.

Apple's iPhone OS is fully-functional for the most part, but it has restrictions. I'd love to see some of them go away. But having the presentation designed specifically for touch input is what makes it work. And it's no small feat. It's something no one else has yet done as well. Microsoft is likely a long way away from anything comparative, yet it's what they need to have even a remote shot at anything tablet related.

MS developed and showcased Surface only to have it relegated to some passing curiosity and tech-demo. They might have sold a few of them, but the whole thing might as well have been a one-off. Fantastic opportunity staring them in the face, just to be ignored. Not to mention they clearly had the talented minds to be able to do something quite unique at the time.

But we all know what roads they've been plowing down. Maybe their hardware partners like it that way, I'm not sure. Most of those partners aren't dong so well and Microsoft, while still making some nice profits, is losing market share in a number of sectors, while in others, putting themselves in a position from which they can practically never hope to climb back to relevance.

The point is that you can't do a desktop OS on a tablet device. It's like running a car with horses instead of an internal combustion engine.

I didn't say that it had to be an existing OS. It's just that the iPhone/iPad OS is so restrictive as to barely be an OS at all. Maybe they'll implement a TSR system call. I think the name SideKick's already been reused, though.

I also believe it's a lot easier to start with a kick-ass OS and UI framework, plus a set of second-to-none tools and APIs specific to a touch device class, iterating changes from release to release and improving the various areas of concern. Rather than starting with a desktop OS and then trying to make it fit the touch paradigms.

I'm confident we'll see some form of third party app multi-tasking in the future. I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for it, but it's going to be necessary to continue to keep the platform shining. Every other platform, even with multi-tasking still has years to go before being anywhere near Apple's, so I'm not sure it's something they're concerned that they haven't yet implemented it. Supposedly some really big things are planned for the next revision of the iPhone. We'll have to wait and see until WWDC.

Incidentally, third-party app multi-tasking and shared storage space and management are my biggest criticisms of the platform. The solution however needs some serious thought and elegant implementation. Not like the disgraceful situation on some other platforms.

In a weird way, the new iPad is something of a reinvention of the PenPoint operating system, where apps had to be purpose-built to take advantage of all the clever gestures and whatnot. Of course, those guys were trying to do handwriting recognition on much slower CPUs. I wonder if any of the PenPoint people are rumbling about trying to resurrect their work.

What restrictions prevent it from being a "real OS" in your eyes? Beyond the lack of 3rd party multitasking anyhow.

Now I'm arguing semantics, but for me, a fully-functional OS (on any part) has to have multitasking. Otherwise I simply think it's impossible to be fully productive, and I do think a big focus of the release was touting the productivity uses of the device.

Meh, it's just not for me. I understand that. Whatever.

Ability to install applications of the users choice.
Ability to install peripherals without he manufacturer's blessing.
Ability to chose a programming language.
Ability to run any interpreted code. (other than javascript).
Ability to install a web browser of choice.

Is this the definition of a dim-witted fucktard? http://windows7news.com/2010/01/28/why-the-ipad-will-fail-and-help-windows-7-to-succeed/

I'm not sure whether to laugh at the lunacy or cry because the person is obviously not seeking the mental help they need.

You're complaining about a Windows fanatic site called Windows 7 News? What did you expect on there? There are plenty of Apple fanatic sites which are just as bad.

No, I'm complaining about the person writing the article and the contents of that article. There isn't one bit of sense in it, including anything about Windows or version 7 in particular. I didn't spend the time looking at their other articles but I can only imagine they're as inane and misinformed, even about the topic they base the site around.

I'm sure however, that his insightful analysis is close to the money and will provide the bedrock for the decisions investors everywhere will be making for the weeks and months to come.

You're going to be doing an extremely large amount of complaining then considering anybody anywhere can put up random crap on the internet. Take a few deep breaths and let them continue doing their own thing in their own little world :P

What Matt said.

I don't even need multiple processes to be doing in-depth number-crunching at the same time. I just want to be able to switch from my SSH app to my email app without having my SSH connection disappear.

1. Open SSH application.
2. Select connection and type in long passphrase.
3. cd /to/a/really/long/path/that/takes/minutes/on/this/tiny/keyboard
4. Crap. What was the rest of that path again?
5. Switch to email app, reread path
6. Switch back to SSH app
7. Motherfucker! My connection died!
8. Rinse and repeat.

Copy and paste would certainly help in this situation (did iPhoneOS ever implement that?), but even then, if I have to remember more than one long piece of text....

Part of the problem is that the web has taken over the internet so much that users don't expect long-term connections to work, and that lack of expectation has filtered back into development. Statelessness has become not only the norm, but the only. This is not uniquely Apple's problem, but it is Apple's problem when they think that's going to cut the mustard with a netbook replacement.

Bitt, you're preaching to the choir as far as I'm concerned. I can't say it's one of the reasons I don't use my iPod a lot more, but the situation you mentioned has always bugged the hell out of me. I think we'll eventually see a solution. The platform needs it for a number of application classes to really shine.

BTW, the iPhone does have Copy and Paste and it's apparently the best implementation among all handheld devices.

Na, I just like finding choice examples to ridicule. I just don't do it on my own site. I suppose I could dedicate one of my domains to that pursuit, but I just don't spend enough time on it to warrant it. No sense in having that type of site if I'm not able to post regularly to it.

Even directors of large multi-national corporations aren't exempt from talking with their heads up their arses. Courtesy of Sony's director of hardware marketing:

Copy and Paste (including of images, layout, fonts and such, something other phone OSes don't do) has been implemented as of 3.0, released mid last year, so thats covered.

(Again), I totally agree with the multitasking part. The OS is capable (and does it all the time), it's just not exposed in a way to allow a user to background any task they want. This has to be a feature they have in the works for 4.0.


I'm assuming you mean the ability to install applications outside of the App Store environment. Corporations can install anything they want via ad-hoc distribution. You are correct though that end users lack the ability to go to wherever.com and download app X directly. I see your point, but I don't think this is such a big deal for most people.


This is one of my concerns with the iPad as well, looking at it from the consumer prospective. How do you print for example? There are print apps on the iPhone that talk to WiFi or network shared printers, but are pretty limited. This may expand with 3.2 and the shared storage. Beyond that, a typical consumer would want to import photos (covered via USB or SD), attach a webcam (since it's missing from the hardware). I can't think of much beyond that, outside somewhat specialized devices. The 30 pin dock connector is pretty flexible, but I'm not sure how hard it is to make a device for it.


This is something consumers don't care about. Developers can do work in C++ or Objective C. Outside that, yeah, it's limited. (desktop) Windows and OS X have far more choices here. The question is what benefit does it actually bring to the platform?


Another item that consumers won't care about. Being a heavy scripter myself with python, perl and such, I can understand your point, but don't see the big use of them on a device like the iPad.


Already possible. The App Store has a number of alternate browsers, but the main caveat is that they all use the built in WebKit renderer. So it becomes "Ability to install a different web renderer of choice". I can see this point too, especially after the whole Internet Explorer issues years back. Hopefully in time Apple opens up here, just to help prevent stagnation. Overall something most consumers won't be bothered by.

OS wise, clearly the definition of a real one is going to vary by person. Ultimately, we are surrounded by devices running operating systems and general purpose CPUs, but many of these devices are consumer electronics with specific functions. The underlying OS is so abstracted away, consumers never interact directly with it.


The iPad isn't a full featured computer, nor is it trying to be one. It's trying to be a consumer electronics device that allows computing tasks to be completed. It's a companion device, allowing someone to just grab it and browse the web from the couch, without worrying about boot times, virus scanners, and so on. Long term, it may become the preferred platform for many people, who just want to get things done without worrying about maintaining a full computer system. Apple still has a bit of work to do to make it a fully standalone product, and in time I think it's the direction they will go. For the majority of computer users out there, they have no idea what C++ is, don't care what perl can do for them, nor do they want the headaches of cleaning up spyware that sneaks in because they user didn't know any better. Long term, I can see this type of device outselling general purpose computers in the consumer space. Is the iPad the device that will do this? Hard to say, but in time, some type of simplified consumer electronics computing device will.