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What To Expect From Apple's Rumored MacPad
Jeff writes "I decided to review the specifications of recent e-readers and mobile devices as well as the ongoing Apple rumor mill to chart out the most likely features, innovations and configuration we can expect from Apple's long awaited Newton successor/Mac Tablet which I'll call the MacPad. The MacPad will arrive in fall '09 or Jan '10, with a 10" diagonal color display, a $599 price point with a Verizon data plan, a stylus, note taking application and handwriting recognition and an e-bookstore for iTunes. Apple's biggest challenge will be convincing its huge installed base of iPhone owners that they need a MacPad too. Past failed Newtonian predictions by others are available on Slashdot and the likelihood that any of this is right can be gauged by earlier Confucian gems such as Haskin warns that Apple may be setting itself up for a failure with the iPhone."
If all you're using is raw c and x11+xv, then your application will run happily on OS X with the click of a compile button.
[ credits to Rik Myslewski at the register]:
* eWEEK, November 2002, "Waiting for the Mac Tablet": ... revealed.
"It's my strong belief - let's call it a hunch - that prototype Mac tablets are already making the rounds among select developers."
* Engadget, May 2005, "Apple's patented the Tablet Mac"
"[Tablet-Mac rumors] became substantiated today when Apple's secret plans for a tablet PC were
* CutMeLoose.com, May 2005, "Apple Tablet PC sightings"
"I have no less than 5 sources saying an Apple Tablet announcement is due soon."
* Cnet UK, November 2007, "Apple Tablet PC is real, says Asus"
"You can bet your bottom dollar [a tablet Mac] is being built as you read this."
* Mac|Life, January 2008, "The Apple Tablet Mac: 8 Reasons It's Gonna Happen"
"The tablet rumor has been around for the last couple years, but now, all the ducks are in a row."
* ZDNet, May 2008, "Tablet Mac coming this fall"
"A little birdy tells me that Apple will announce a 12 or 13-inch tablet in the fall of this year."
* Wired, July 2008, "Apple to Launch MacBook Touch?"
"The blogosphere is aflutter with rumors of a touchscreen Mac tablet."
* Industry Standard, December 2008, "Apple announces Mac tablet at Macworld 2009?"
"Could this 6 year old rumor finally come true?"
It's substantiated by the fact that Apple has a deal on 10" touchscreens, by the claims made by Apple concerning netbooks and the fact Apple had a job offer for a handwriting recognition expert.
When you put all of these together it seems reasonable to expect a 10" touchscreen tablet appear. May I go out on a limb and ask you if you've RTFA?
You just got troll'd!
That post is far more informative than the "let's make stuff up" article that Taco posted.
This guy's the limit!
I think his point is that MacPorts covers 99% of the Linux/Unix workalike software out there. Sure there is a lot of Linux only stuff - but typically only because the project is still in alpha and hasn't taken off yet. Given that, the drivers for the hardware on the device are not likley to be supported by Linux for some time after it's release... so you could 'own' the device by installing Linux but you'd be crippling it at the same time - for what purpose? Nothing but ego apparently.
A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
It's substantiated by the fact that Apple has a deal on 10" touchscreens,
That would be rumor. Not fact.
fact Apple had a job offer for a handwriting recognition expert.
Maybe you don't know that handwriting recognition is built into the Mac OS? It's called InkWell. And it has been there for a while.
Just a brief list of linux stuff that runs on top of OS X:
X11
kde
e17
For everything else there's fink and darwin ports.
In fact, darwin itself is open source, meaning if you really, really have a hard on to run just linux apps, you could run the core OS with the drivers and all with X11 on top of it. Beeslebob's point is spot on, there's no reason to take a perfectly good unix that has drivers custom written for it to replace it with a one-size fits all OS like linux (as awesome as linux is, hardware drivers are its Achilles' Heel because the hardware is often propietary).
Gentlemen! You can't fight in here, this is the war room!
http://gizmodo.com/363137/axiotron-modbook-review-verdict-a-touchscreen-macbook-done-right
The Kindle runs on Sprint's EVDO network, not Verizon's.
I guess for the same reason people take Apple computers and laptops, remove (or dual boot) OSX and install Linux on them. They like the hardware, but prefer the different OS.
They may want to make the product more efficient (only install/compile what they want). They may want functionality and control of open source apps which are often MUCH easier to install, configure and manage with a Linux install rather than having to work it into the OSX environment.
There are often a good number of reasons people might want to do this...if for nothing else but for "because it can be done".
For such a new product, yes, drivers may be lagging for a little while, but, the Linux community usually comes up with them pretty quickly.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
I for one because I am used to Linux and KDE4 is the first DE (including Windows and OS X) that I actually like. I am also against some practices from Apple and Microsoft that I decided to boycott wherever possible. Oh and 'killerapps' (read: apps I prefer) like AmaroK, DigiKam and Kdenlive (yes Linux has an awesome video editor, shocked? ;) :P) that do not work that well on Mac OS X yet...
Here be signatures
Anonymous for anonymous reasons...
Apple hired both of the Macintosh software engineers away from Wacom (the graphics tablet company) about a year ago.