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iPad Is a "Huge Step Backward"
An anonymous reader writes "FSF's John Sullivan launches the Defective by Design campaign and petition to rain on Steve's parade, barely minutes out of the starting gate. 'This is a huge step backward in the history of computing,' said FSF's Holmes Wilson, 'If the first personal computers required permission from the manufacturer for each new program or new feature, the history of computing would be as dismally totalitarian as the milieu in Apple's famous Super Bowl ad.' The iPad has DRM writ large: you can only install what Apple says you may, and 'computing' goes consumer mainstream — no more twiddling, just sit back, spend your money, and watch the show — while we allow you to." What is clear is that the rise of the App Store removes control of the computer from the user. It makes me wonder what the next generation of OS X will look like.
And I honestly don't mean this as a troll, but anyone who buys an Apple product *NOT* expecting it to be locked down tighter than Ann Coulter's vagina deserves to be disappointed. Buying an Apple and expecting freedom is like buying something from Sony and being shocked when it only supports some bullshit propriety storage or media format than only Sony makes. Apple is about doing what Steve tells you to do, or at least says is okay for you to do. If Apple could get away with locking down their Macbooks and other PC's so that you could only download their approved software, they probably would.
Apple keeps it simple: Here's what this does. It's elegant and does what it does very well. We don't want you screwing that up by messing around with it without our approval. If you want open and free, go somewhere else and take your chances.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
it's all for our own safety!
Frankly, it doesn't matter if it happens to OS X. What matters is that it could become the standard going forward, and if we've learned anything from the iPhone and iPod it's that Apple has tremendous influence in driving the standards of consumer electronics. The reason for the app store has nothing to do with security and everything about Apple wringing every last penny out of developers by taking an arbitrary cut of their sales and providing only limited QC and indexing that could easily be provided by any other site or service. If people want a choice, they should GET a choice - use the app store, or don't. Instead, Apple's making the choice for you. And that's no choice at all.
The Apple of today is more 1984-ish than Microsoft ever was at the time of the aforementioned Superbowl ad.
iPod Touch.
iPhone.
They're both spectacular devices. The iPad will work within a similar ecology and thus has a good chance of being a pretty sweet device (time will tell, of course).
But.
If you don't like it, don't buy it.
Simple.
First, the FSF needs to convince us average users need to have control. Why should average users have control over their computer? Isn't this what got us the virus nightmare in Windows?
Doesn't migrating to the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch model mean that social engineering has much less of an impact to the security of a system? I would think this would be a good thing.
I don't think Mac OS X will ever go away from giving you the control it does (and it is quite nice), but Mac OS X is not appropriate on a device like the iPad.
In fact, I would compare the iPad to the upcoming yet-to-be-made Chromium netbook. The vision Google laid out for their device is pretty much exactly the same as Apple's vision of the iPad. Except that Apple is actually _less_ connected in to your device than Google would be.
Sure, this is bad for the FSF, but what alternative vision of computing do they offer?
Attacking Apple's products is one thing. Why not create your own open source tablet to compete, and let the marketplace decide?
It makes me wonder what the next generation of OS X will look like
A brain-implanted chip that makes clients REALLY "think different" ?
The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
So I guess you wouldn't consider John Sullivan an Apple fanboy then?
Never let a mediocre career stand in the way of a good time
I see the App Store similar to a DEB repository, only the applications "allowed" by the repository administrator enter such repository and can be downloaded from there.
This raises three questions for me:
1. Is it possible (in the Apple version) to install/run software which was not obtained from the repository?
2. Is it possible to offer software free (or at a very low) cost from the Apple repository?
3. Can I use *any* license (like GPL) for my software offered via App Store?
If 2 and three are true, then it may be possible to distribute /Libre/ software in the App Store, of course charging just a small amount of money for the download (Say, I port TEH GIMP to the Ipad, could I offer it for $1.00 [of course with all the source, etc])?
Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
The FSF isn't saying the iPad should be banned, it's just raising awareness about the need for freedom in software.
Frankly with the amount of bullshit publicity this (somewhat underwhelming) device has had so far, I'm happy for a worthwhile organisation like the FSF to hijack a little for it's cause.
And there's no chance whatsoever that this will ever happen to Mac OS X, so don't lose sleep over it.
Really? I can totally see Apple releasing a new mac mini with this OS because *it just works*. Then putting a premium on future machines with the OSX variant. I think the saddest part is that for a large portion of the population, that's probably best. Would we have such large bot nets if every Joe could only get their stuff from one place? Doesn't even Ubuntu try to mimic this in some respects with its downloader?
it having only one mouse button.
hi!
The iPad is a huge step sideways, it's neither good nor bad. Unfortunately it tries to fill a position already inhabited by existing devices (some of which are Apple products).
crazy dynamite monkey
I'm not sure how Apple's DRMs are more of a choice than any DRMs are.
If users like the idea of being locked into the store, fine. RMS, the EFF, Slashdot, "whine" by showing people the bars they are getting into. I must say that I never heard Apple bragging that they locked in users or that it was hard to get the kind of apps you like for their devices. For that I thank those "whiners".
The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
If people want a choice, they should GET a choice - use the app store, or don't. Instead, Apple's making the choice for you.
But that's exactly the choice any iPhone or iPod Touch user has right now! They both perform their primary functions perfectly well without the owner ever using the App Store.
For that matter, owning either device is also a choice. Don't like the fact that you can only (officially) purchase and install apps that have been approved by Apple? Use a different phone/media player.
It's official. Most of you are morons.
I think he's saying it's a step backwards because they are taking, what is essentially a tablet computer, and 100% locking it down to only do what Apple explicitly allows.
This thing isn't a phone and it's not an mp3 player, it is a tablet computer that is directly trying to compete with netbooks and even laptops. But again, they are entirely locking down the platform and the software to such a degree that any freedom is entirely lost. You can fully understand a phone being locked down to phone applications delivered by the manufacturer and the same with mp3 players. The software is written for the device and that's all there really is to say about it.
The iPad on the other hand, again, is a computer meant to be used like a laptop with its own internet connection. Locking it down so harshly is a step backwards in the usability of the device.
That's my impression, anyways.
It just has to be a web app. The App Store model is actually a response to software piracy. If anyone could write and execute app store programs without permission, it would be much more difficult for app developers to make money.
Furthermore, none of this is required of any consumer. The government is not handing these out to schoolchildren. They don't come free in the mail. You won't be required to own one in order to buy groceries or flush the toilet. It's a fricking LUXURY ITEM, folks. You buy all its locked-in glory BY CHOICE.
Also, as someone who owned a number of various personal computers in the 70s and 80s, I'd say there was tacit lock-in simply because of incompatibility between all the nascent hardware and OSes. But worse, some home computers (example) actually had hardware that locked out unlicensed cartridges from running.
If the sky is falling right now, then it has been raining sky for a long time. I mean, if you're going to complain about lock-in, how about the current state of American health insurance?
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Its small enough to sprout legs of its own and too big too be convenient to carry about, well it would fit in some purses. I certainly cannot pop it out over the dinner table while out and not feel obtrusive, even at the local coffee shop it would be to overt. I guess that is where it will excel, people who want to be seen with one.
Throw in that it cannot multitask and its just a large Touch. Now if the screen were larger, one the order of 12 inches, I would be all over it. It would be large enough to display more than one item and let me interact with it. Even it were it states it runs whatever is in the foreground only.
I need the capabilities of a PC as well as the audio/visual abilities this device offers. The iPhone is nice because its sized right. It cannot do what my laptop can and as such is sized appropriately. It does not do enough to justify its size. Throw in the what the article is about, its so damn locked down in content and capability it isn't so much a step backward as a step nowhere
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
Because of the dev-team and their wonderful jailbreaking abilities I'm ok with iPad's DRM. The iPhone is ok on it's own and it's spectacular after you jailbreak it. It's not that tough and doing that can break Apple's controls.
I'll buy an iPad after I can jailbreak it. If you can't open it, you don't own it.
Also, it's not a "huge step backward" even if we agree with everything else you say, because it's what's on the iPhone. It's not backward, it's the same.
I thought this was a tablet computer. The Iphone is a phone combined with an Ipod, plus a few additional features, it is not a computer. I take it that you believe that the Ipad is just a large Ipod with additional functionality?
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
I can accept that many consumers don't care, or even like, being locked into the Apple store. I'm somewhat more sceptical that many consumers like that that "lock" is enforced by criminal law and that they'll be jailed if they ever try to leave the Apple store. I think John Sullivan brings up a valid concern. Also, you shouldn't conflate the issue with choice: the FSF and RMS, to my knowledge, have never advocated choice. Having the freedom to use your device the way you want is a separate concern from choosing which device to use.
...the iPhone OS and OSX will merge (OS-XI) and the MacBook and the iPad form factors will merge. In the future all Macs will look like the iPad, they will all run Apple manufactured chips, and the only content and programs they will run will be from an Apple app store. Steve will then have realized his dream of being able to take a cut of everything that happens on an Apple device. And it will be a consumers choice to be alright about this or not. I'll probably be sort of alright with it on a (jailbroken) phone, but not on my main computing device.
If you want what the FSF purports to want in the iPad and iPhone, its only $99/year more to be a certified developer, and that allows you to upload your own code onto up to a hundred selected devices. The process to become a developer is pretty painless (I did it for my own iPod touch, simply to have the potential to do some hacking down the road).
Similar abilities exist for companies to upload their own selection of apps to corporate devices, for $250/year.
Apple really isn't limiting the freedom to tinker for those who actually WANT to tinker, instead they realize that for most users , having an approved-code-only model is something the users actually wants: it means they have confidence in the system.
How many people will happily grab tons of random free apps off the app-store? Would they have the same attitude if they didn't have apple saying "we've at least done a cursory check of this to make sure these free random apps won't *BLEEP* you up the rear"
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It is the computer illiterates that get fucked by these thing not the informed. Apple doesn't come with a 'this is a trap' label on it. So many unsuspecting users buy an apple product and then shortly after start getting pulled into the costly trap. One apple product supports another sometimes they require another (not a real requirement but an enforcement), other times they outright install more apple products on their own. Eventually if you decide that you don't want everything you own to be apple products it becomes a COSTLY extraction process as you have to replace most of the electronics you own.
BTW Jobs originally didn't want any apps for the iphone, the app store was a middle ground, allowing 3rd parties to have an effect on the product whilst retaining total control.
If people want a choice, they should GET a choice - use the app store, or don't. Instead, Apple's making the choice for you.
Are you serious? Is Steve Jobs now running the government??? You do not need to buy an Apple product. I hear Google has some stuff going on in this area....
Liberal? Conservative? Compare perspectives at Left-Right
You're absolutely right. It's such a shame that no one has yet determined a way to break the locks that bind the iPhone and the iPod Touch to the App Store. You could even say these devices are imprisoned, jailed. If only some intrepid group of hackers could find a way to break these devices out of jail, allowing those that wish it a way to modify their devices or install "unauthorized" applications onto them. If only there were some way to get the word out, and allow those that wish to make use of this mythical hack to find it. Perhaps some day such technology will exist.
Any device that has such a tremendous amount of hype surrounding it is bound to fail to meet EVERYONES expectations. The device has it's role in the Apple ecosystem - and I am sure it will perform that role well. Plus, everyone knows that 1st generation Apple products aren't for everyone. Just hold out and 2nd gen should ease some of the tension. Personally, I don't see the benefit of such a device - - i must not be the target demographic.
Civilization, the death of dreams.
The iPad is not a general-purpose computing device. It cannot be compared to, nor can it show the direction of, the market for general-purpose computers. This is like saying that the segway is a major step backward in international travel because it can't fly.
If the next version of OSX were to have similar limitations, that would be worthy of this line of criticism. Of course, the criticism would then be unnecessary, as the Mac would drop out of the PC market promptly of its own accord.
Slaved? In what sense?
I own an iPod Touch, and so can only install apps on it from the App Store. Last I checked however it performed its primary function (personal media player) perfectly well without doing so.
True, I do have to use iTunes to get music, etc onto it or off it, but even that doesn't require spending any more money with Apple (and in fact, the last few music downloads I've purchased have come from Amazon).
It's official. Most of you are morons.
yeah, I agree, I won't buy it because I don't like it.
In fact, I publicly announce here and now, that I WILL NOT buy anything that I DON'T LIKE.
Thanks Jeff, you've opened my eyes!
All sarcasm aside, pretty much everyone was expecting something to compete with the kindle -and- netbook/tablet pc's, ie. running a full OS X, not a supersized iphone, hence the disappointment on the iPad
That's why I prefer Android's approach- they have an app store, anyone can get into it, OR, you can just install packages directly from websites... they give the choice of the nice, clean easy way, OR the DIY for those that want. The Android interface might not be quite as clean as the iPhone, but it gives a world more chioce.
Not unlike Ubuntu- you have the option of the super clean Apps installer, but there's nothing stopping the power user from doing more.
Fantastic. Can anybody think of a more effective strategy for shedding market share? Given that most of this particular segment has already formed an opinion of Windows, I'm pretty excited about their remaining options.
Will the next Mac Vs. PC commercials show the cool Mac guy caged or manacled? Can't wait.
I think the complaint misses the point of the device. It's not supposed to be a full-blown personal computer. It's supposed to be an iPod for documents (including web pages and especially books -- note that bookstore), doing for them what the iPod did for music: let me carry it around and interact with it in my easy chair or my bed or on a park bench.
As the app store is a new concept it is more like a step forward, but maybe not in the right direction.
If the first personal computers required permission from the manufacturer for each new program or new feature
...then, for sure, Linux would not have existed.
Hell, if this continues, I wonder if there's a future for open-source projects.
I say big shame on Apple for abusing an open-source operating system (BSD) in this way.
If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
Doesn't even Ubuntu try to mimic this in some respects with its downloader?
Do you honestly believe that having a repository where people can easily get most of the stuff they want is the same thing as having a single app store that is the only place your computer will let you get stuff from? I don't think anybody would be complaining if Apple had a nice, tidy app store, but still let people run arbitrary code on their stuff.
Today's Sesame Street was brought to you by the number e.
One of the things I love about Linux is a central repository for software, being able to find all software updates in one place, and having one simple way to install and remove apps.
The App Store is great in this regard. The issue isn't that the App Store restricts the user, but rather the App Store restricts the developer. Not anyone can simply get an app in the store. You have to pass Apple's magic gates.
Apple would never let any old app in the store, nor would they allow users to simply add other "repositories" to the App Store, because it would breed piracy. But the basic concept of the App Store is still solid.
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
But this 'worthwhile organisation (sic)' comes across as a bunch of wingnuts. The principles behind the FSF are well and good, but no one (except perhaps RMS) would consider them applicable to every computing device under the sun. The iPad is a consumer device, designed around the needs and (lack of) abilities of the general public. It's really a toy. It is a reflection of what's loopy in this country that it received so much publicity, but what the hell. In a world of 'reality' shows, American Idol, Glen Beck, Sarah Palin and a host of other barometers of popular culture, it's just one more weird little thing.
The iPad has little to do with the computing world at large, despite the hype and the rhetoric and not really a target for Free and Open Software. Yeah, the FSF saw some potential free publicity but I rather don't think anyone was listening.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
hasn't that been the whole thrust of apple since the beginning - a gilded cage as one recent poster so aptly put it ? The advertising campaing that apple = freedom from the MS/ big corporations / borg / 1984 is
classic advertising
you say the opposite of reality.
eg, when your corporation has lousy customer service, you run an ad campaing touting your legendary customer service (citizen bank in boston); when you are a corporate evil doer, you run an ad capaign on Public Radio (archer daniels midland, mcneill leherer snoozehour)...when you are a major cause of pollution, you run ads touting your greeness (oil companies, toyota hybrids)
The whole history of apple has been restricting your freedom to do what only jobs wants you to do, so he can make a lot of money. People are ok with that, to paraphrase Mencked, no one ever lost money underestimating how much freedom the american consumer will give up for instant gratification
over their computers. Go ahead. Give it to them. Explain that they need to right-click on the icon and choose "Run as Administrator," or that they need to run spyware scans, or virus scans, or allow the machine to install updates, or use Browser X instead of Browser Y, or manage a filesystem in a clean and organized way. What do they say? Come on, we've all heard it.
"Can't you fix it so that I don't have to worry about that?"
"Why doesn't the computer just do that for me?"
"Why do I have to do that? I never had to do that before."
"Do I really have to worry about this stuff?"
"Just make it work, I don't care how, and I don't want to know."
"I'll just buy a new computer."
They DO NOT WANT to perform maintenance, worry about security, track down tools, learn to use said tools, administer storage or filesystems, etc. Given the choice between technology that slides into malfunction when not administered properly (i.e. "it's broken" as far as they can tell) and no technology at all, most regular people will simply opt for "none," as in "I tried it for a while, but it was always broken or crashing or getting a virus, it sucked. I sold it and just went back to my old XYZ."
Say what you will, but the masses are sheep and they're happy as sheep. You cannot teach them to think, vote, raise children, or use computers responsibly because they DO NOT WANT TO BE THE SHEPHERD, only the sheep. And there will always be a market to sell them sheep-friendly devices.
STOP . AMERICA . NOW
And there's no chance whatsoever that this will ever happen to Mac OS X, so don't lose sleep over it.
Uh what? Do you really think they put those TPM chips in there for show? I believe the want the ability to lock it down, and they're just floating the idea on the iPad. If it takes off, they'll apply it to their desktops as soon as reasonable possible. If it is unpopular, they can always remove disable it in the next rev. Apple faithful all know to buy rev2 of any product they put out.
I take it that you believe that the Ipad is just a large Ipod with additional functionality?
It certainly seems to be.
Isn't this pretty much what people with real computers have always thought Apple products were like?
The "just don't buy it retort" doesn't hold any water in my eyes. It's not even only misinformed consumers' benefit that's at stake. 10 years from now, do you want your Free OS being an island of its own that no one tries to be compatible with, because closed platforms represent 99% of the market?
The other side has their advertising, and we have the FSF. Now all we need is proper awareness of real alternatives.
My Sig: SEGV
I can totally see Apple releasing a new mac mini with this OS because *it just works*. Then putting a premium on future machines with the OSX variant.
Almost right. They'll release a mac mini with this OS at a *discount* to the current mini. A desktop version of the iPad...a "home browsing appliance" or some such thing.
This sig intentionally left blank.
"[The iPad is] really a toy"
A toy being hailed by the press as the future of computing. Sorry, dude, but the FSF hit the nail on the head here. If this toy is the future of computing, then computing is in for a bleak future.
You're absolutely right. It's such a shame that no one has yet determined a way to break the locks that bind the iPhone and the iPod Touch to the App Store. You could even say these devices are imprisoned, jailed. If only some intrepid group of hackers could find a way to break these devices out of jail, allowing those that wish it a way to modify their devices or install "unauthorized" applications onto them. If only there were some way to get the word out, and allow those that wish to make use of this mythical hack to find it. Perhaps some day such technology will exist.
Phhhht! It will rain black before that ever happens!
There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
Also, it's not a "huge step backward" even if we agree with everything else you say, because [...]
It's not a huge step backwards for computing because the iPad, like the iPhone, is an expensive and fashionable toy based around general-purpose computing hardware. Its impact on computing in general is likely to be about the same as RPN calculators: a small but devoted market segment will love them, and years later, there will be a couple dozen emulator projects on Freshmeat for it, and life will go on. The sale of appliances just doesn't have much impact on the field of computing as a whole.
That's not intended as a criticism, by the way. Toys are cool. Mine are mostly cameras, and it doesn't bother me any that I can't run arbitrary software on my newest digital camera any more than it bothers me that I can't run any software on my mid-70's manual Pentax Spotmatic. That's not why I have them. For that, I have several general purpose computers.
Would it be nice if the iPad was a general-purpose computer? Sure, I guess. But last time I checked, there was a superabundance of general purpose computers, so who cares?
And there's no chance whatsoever that this will ever happen to Mac OS X, so don't lose sleep over it.
I wouldn't say no chance. If Jobs thought it would increase revenues, it would happen. And if it did, you'd probably be back here telling us how people really like being safely locked in the App Store. And it still wouldn't be cause for alarm, because there are plenty of alternatives.
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
It partly depends on what the iPad is. I don't really think that it's a general purpose computer--though I understand why some people might think that. It's more of a Web/Entertainment appliance--like a Tivo with a browser. You don't expect to run arbitrary code on your DVR (or at least most people don't) and I don't think most people expect to do that with their phone (again, at least most people). As long as people are expecting to get an "appliance" rather than a PC, this could be successful.
Interested in a Flash-based MAME front end? Visit mame.danzbb.com
We organized actions and protests targeting iTunes music DRM outside Apple stores, and under the pressure Steve Jobs dropped DRM on music.
Jobs was on record as opposing DRM on music long before the campaign started. It was the labels that had to be convinced to change, they were the ones responsible, not Apple. Taking credit for something you had no part in does nothing for your credibility and weakens your ability to work effectively in the future.
Exactly. The fact that this tablet is intended to be used as an end-user consumer device that does not allow or require tinkering, or using it as if it were a PC, isn't necessarily a bad thin. Who cares if you're locked down to the apps in the app store, if the app store has exactly the apps you need, and if said apps are a whole lot better than some random you can download from the internet and install yourself.
Two things I don't get about all the whining about the iPad (I understand much of the other whining but not these two things)
1 - Why is it so hard to see that the iPad is NOT a computer in tablet format? Not everything with a CPU, RAM, some storage and a screen should have to be like a 'real' computer that uses a 'real' os that you can slap 'real' apps on, in fact, people don't even WANT a PC in tablet format, since it sucks using a PC in tablet format. There's a reason all the PC-like tablets failed: no-one wants to have one.
2 - Why don't the FSF people go as crazy over mobile phones, satnavs, media players, e-readers, handheld consoles, or whatever computerized device that runs proprietary stuff to accomplish some task that people find a need for, as they go crazy over this iPad. How is a device like the iPad a 'step back in computing' if you view it as a device that allows all these specialized devices to be merged into 1? The thing is simply applying existing technology to create a kind of device that people may or may not find useful, and not the next step in the evolution of computing.
The FSF need to have their heads checked if they really can't look beyond the fact that in theory you might be able to run all-free, all-open software on something like an iPad, and if they really believe the world would be better of if no-one would create devices like the iPad.
In the end people will buy and use products they like, and this is what drives development of new products. People don't buy what the FSF decides to be good or bad for the development of computing.
Microsoft would KILL to do this. Honestly, they would literally go out and kill puppies, kittens and baby seals all day long if it would allow them to control everything you install.
If apple get's away with it, you know they will follow in their footsteps.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Most consumers are probably not even aware of the lock in until they get bit by it. They know there's this convenient app store they can go to get their apps and there's someone checking them out to make sure they're safe. They probably don't know it's the only option for getting apps.
Apple's big advantage in their recent Great Leap Forward was that they entered through the iPod. The iPod required the aquiesence of the big group of Free computing haters in the MPAA/RIAA. The fact is, that by being their freedom hating Apple selves, they managed to get these companies to release their precious content whereas before the only way to get such content (apart from buying media and ripping it yourself) was, well, illegal..
Now, I suspect that the iPad is intended as a shot across the bow in the eBook market, which Amazon created the "iPod" for in the form of the Kindle. Apple has an uphill struggle versus the Kindle, so they've given the iPad functionality that the Kindle doesn't have. Will it be enough to dethrone the Kindle? Time will tell.
In the meantime, poor engineer types like myself will troll around for discounted Chinese hardware that does the same type of thing in a less elegant way but for a fraction of the cost while preserving my precious freedom to tinker.
"MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
Soo much other stuff to spend my money on. I'll pass.
So you don't like the closed OS. Fair enough. So why not jailbreak and install whatever you want? Or help port an open OS to the device? Because Apple won't give you tech support? If you're all about free software you should be used to relying on the community for tech support anyway.
It's a better world when free and proprietary software compete. If the FSF doesn't like the iPhone OS, it should make a better one. If the result is what users actually want (through some combination of openness, price, and quality) then great. But if not, then that's life. Proprietary software sometimes produces better products than free software, and people are sometimes willing to give up free access to the source code in order to get those products. Who is the FSF to tell people what software they should be (morally, if not technically) allowed to use? Isn't that exactly what they're complaining Apple does? It's hypocritical.
I have no problem with arguing that free software is morally or technically superior to proprietary software, but it does bother me when groups like the FSF claim that it's morally wrong to use or sell proprietary software. If it's immoral to use proprietary software, then it's immoral to eat at a restaurant that won't give you the exact recipe for everything on the menu. It would likewise be immoral to buy any product whose composition or process of manufacture is a trade secret. It would be immoral to buy any book not published under an open license. If free software proponents aren't going to be consistent with their own moral choices, where do they get off demanding that everyone else conform to their value system?
If you really dislike the iPad, it would be far more effective to harp on how the device simply isn't useful, not how it restricts freedom. The iPad has far bigger problems than the usual Apple lockdown, like its awkward form factor and price making it a device with the disadvantages of both a smartphone and a netbook, but the advantages of neither.
"16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
"We think basically you watch television to turn your brain off, and you work on your computer when you want to turn your brain on." - Steve Jobs, Interview in Macworld magazine, February 2004
Steve used to preach that you could tell simply by looking at someones posture whether they were consuming or creating. The hacker bent over his keyboard is a boon to society while the couch potato leaning waayy back is a drain.
Meanwhile, he introduces the iPad while leaning back in an easy chair and telling us how easy it is to buy and consume web pages, music, movies, books from the iTunes store. And it's all DRM infested, right down to the software you may or may not be allowed to run on it.
Consume, consume, consume.
Doesn't even Ubuntu try to mimic this in some respects with its downloader?
I'd rather say that Apple is "mimicking" what Linux distributions have been doing for a decade.
However, Apple doesn't have to restrict the ability to install software from other sources; that is a typical Apple-restriction.
"What is clear, is that the rise of the App Store revokes control of the computer from the user."
Wrong. It may "revoke control" from the power user. But, the general public will view the iPad, like the iPod, as a simpler, more friendly way to get things done. It gives them control.
The general public doesn't care about our App Store hang ups, or cries of "DRM". Previously, the general public has struggled to install and play movies / apps / music at all, now they can tap a finger and it's there. Did these users prefer the pre-App Store world, where you had to have specialist knowledge to access this media? I doubt it. They couldn't access that world at all.
Here on Slashdot, we see the iPad bringing "DRM", and view it as a "huge step backwards". However, the general public sees the iPad as easy access to movies and apps, simple, straightforward accessible computing. The general public see it as a huge step forwards.
Our loss of control, as geeks, is most people's gain. Don't you think that complex media should be accessible to the general public, quickly and easily? We cry DRM at Apple, but do we really mean that we just don't want the general public in our clubhouse? What's wrong with the iPad and the "consumer mainstream" derided in the story? Not everyone wants to pop the bonnet and fiddle with the engine. In fact, hardly anyone does.
The story is seriously blinkered.
And there's no chance whatsoever that this will ever happen to Mac OS X, so don't lose sleep over it.
Just as the "we can pull your app whenever we wont for no reason" in the App Store TOS was there just to be there and never meant to be used by white and cuddly Apple, right?
May Peace Prevail On Earth
Why would you do yet another tablet pc to compete with the Kindle? It's not like there aren't dozens of tablet pcs out right now that are completely failing to compete with the Kindle.
I think they made a perfectly good choice for a sort of media-and-app platform that doesn't do much else. Sounds like it'd be a hell of a lot more fun to pull out than my fricking laptop (wait for boot, scroll around with the shitty little touchpad, or drag out a mouse, try to find a good mousing surface, give up and use leg, etc) and despite carrying the damn thing everywhere, I don't even use it as often as my web-enabled phone, just because of convenience.
I don't know. I'm not an Apple fanboy, and this thing interests me. No enough to be an early adopter, but enough to get version 2.0.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
if freedom can only be preserved by removing choice
George Orwell just called and he wants NewSpeak back. Did you honestly think about that as you were typing it?
This is why I just can't take free software advocates seriously. Yes I use (and support) some free software, but apparently RMS and the FSF have bought into the whole "we had to destroy the village to save it" mentality.
Interested in a Flash-based MAME front end? Visit mame.danzbb.com
Well, it is a computer. The engine management system in your car is also a computer. This is an information appliance, just like the appliances that were released about a decade ago, but this one is done right and will sell. It's not designed to be like a general-purpose computing device, it's not designed to break like a general purpose computing device. This is probably the direction the computer industry is heading in: the vast majority of people use a web browser, office suite (word processor, spreadsheet, presentation), video/audio player, photo viewer/manager and email. Only a minority of people use anything else. For most people, that is what makes a computer a computer, and they will be very happy with the iPad.
Take the phone away from an iPhone, and you have an iTouch. Make an iTouch bigger, and you have an iPad.
Is that basically the way it works?
they have, jailbreak your phone install what apps you want from wher you want.
whoosh
These FSF "campaigns" are so ugly and so ineffective. From what I understand, only half a dozen or so showed up at the Apple event; I'm fairly certain they didn't leave people with a positive impression of free software which would have been their main objective.
But the worst thing is how misguided these protests and product-bashing websites are. It's all about trying to convince people that they really don't want supposedly "locked down" gadgets, when in fact (sadly for the FSF) that's not what people care about at all. They just want something cool, that works, that's easy to use, that's useful, etc.
The FSF is supposed to encourage and promote "freedom" and choice, yet their approach reeks of lecturing people what they should and should not want. The FSF should be working exclusively on constructive projects that build up free software rather than trying to tear down what other people have created just because they think it's bad. These sideshows are really not helping the cause.
This author takes full ownership and responsibility for the unpopular opinions outlined above.
The troll did not understand or he pretended not to understand. The iPad is a consumer device not a computer.
what? you mean most people who buy ipods really just want a solid MP3 player with an elegant interface, and maybe some extra applications? pfft.
come on, man. you know most consumers secretly want an open platform device they can code for. just the other day my grandmother was decrying that she can't run linux on her nano.
---
Is this the MPAA? Is this the RIAA? Is this the DMCA? I thought it was the USA!
Microsoft wanted money for its products. Google just wants to know a lot about you. Most people don't care about privacy. So Google is shaping up to be Microsoft+{Nielsen+Gallup}+{Madison Avenue} all rolled into one.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
I think your sarcasm detector is broken, you really should get it looked at.
I have read some of the comments about the new iPad and there are valid concerns. Sure Apple limits what can be installed on the device. But after having to service hundreds of Windows based computers over my lifetime I thought this was probably a good idea. Not all developers take the same care to assure their code structure is solid. Apple at least sets some standards to the applications prior to allowing them to be in the Apps store. Now for the most part the developers out there are responsible but there are a few apps that leave something to be desired. What I think to be a good and solid advancement is the functionality of the device. I know a great number of seniors and this device opens out new mobility for them, not requiring the standard limiting inputs but to browse and contribute without typing or mousing. I think this device could completely eliminate the teacher as we know it. Also, seeing as governments and industry organization have put their foot down in my consumer products of late with respect to assuring they get their piece of the revenue, I doubt that will go away any time soon. (DRM) But then like a faithful friend of mine always says, "you get what you ask for, no fail." And the DRM is what the consumers asked for and got.
As long as the device is capable of opening user-documents that don't have any DRM, I don't really care if it's got DRM everywhere else.
For what it's worth, my wife saw Apple's press release video and she heavily hinted that I ought to be buying her one for our next anniversary.
I admit that I'm almost sold too... but it needs to achieve the points I remarked above before I'll put my money down on it.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
woosh
--
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The history of computing is littered with mistakes and dead-ends. If this is all that bad, it'll go the way of the Lisa, the Apple III, Clippy, the Coleco Adam, and others.
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
Sorry... had to...
whhhooooooooooossssshhhhhhh
Microsoft Courier but wait that is still a vapour....
2006 iPad commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eF0y0IfpPU
I take it that you believe that the Ipad is just a large Ipod with additional functionality?
It is. Same OS, same type of processor (ARM), same application development environment, same application set, same store restrictions. How is this not a bigger iPod Touch?
You would have far less problems with speeding if all cars just work and had a speed limiter installed that just worked.
There would be less theft if every car was bio-keyed to the person and every person tracked...
Do I need to go on?
Why are the privacy nutcases always so ready to imagine the most terrible wrongs about potential abuse of power by the government, but think it is super okay to give all control to a corporation?
Apple has severe intrest in controlling how people consume their media and their hardware is reflecting this, making it harder and harder to install alternative methods. You can of course believe they won't abuse this, you can but you would be a silly person.
I really don't know if your kind can ever learn, there have been enough example shown that when companies get to comfortable with themselves, it is bad for their customers. Car companies that only produce the cars they want to make, not the ones they want, tell me, how is detroit doing? MS stopping development on IE because it had won, so why continue to invest? Apple buying up competing software and then stopping development.
Google is doing it as well, support h264, so that no competing video service can be started easily since they can't afford the millions in licensing costs.
It is all very subtle and long term, but you only got to be old enough to remember the old unixes to know how right the FSF is.
And the fact that you claim Ubuntu does the same... sudo -i [your own password] is all you need to do to have total control. One command and you can change everything and access everything...
If you want to see why the FSF is right, install IE6 as your main and only browser. If you last for less then a day, donate some money to the FSF.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Here's a similar opinion from a source that's less Free Software oriented.
The danger is that we sleepwalk into a world where cabals of corporations control not only the mainstream devices and the software on them, but also the entire ecosystem of online services around them.
Every time Apple decides to close something off - by insisting on approving apps, by not giving you a [general purpose] USB port, etc., and people go for it anyway, because it's slick and nice to use, we get used to a little bit less openness.
People don't miss openness until it's too late. Then it's suddenly "What do you *mean* I can only use printers that are Apple certified?". "I've bought all these e-books, and now the only place I can read them is on Apple hardware?" etc.
I know, I know: slippery slope fallacy. But it's a slope we *will* slide down, without a critical mass of openness-aware customers insisting on some openness in their tools.
I'm happy for a worthwhile organisation like the FSF to hijack a little for it's cause.
This is assuming that anyone at the event actually even remotely cared about the whopping 6 people protesting outside while everyone else was having fun on the inside. Their own pictures at the event shows that no one even bothered to look at them.
Are you sure you aren't really an Amiga at heart?
I don't see what the iPad has to do with OS X. The iPhone OS is built for a completely different purpose than OS X is. iPads are meant to do a relatively few things (read books, consume media, browse web, play games, etc.) very well and intuitively. OS X does a lot of things very well and is incredibly powerful. In our neuroimaging lab we used to run Linux as our main processing OS (we still use it a lot) but we are transitioning over to OS X because we can do everything we need to do that Linux can do plus much more.
As someone in academia, the iPad would be perfect for much of what I do. I can take notes on it (including notes when I do therapy or psychological assessments), check my email, write papers and reports, read articles and books, listen to music, run all sorts of other apps (including terminal ones with ssh support), transfer and display brain images, and more. With the right adapter I could use the iPad to run Keynote presentations from.
I do some of these things on my iPod Touch - I use it all the time for my work - but the screen size limits some of what I can do. Could a netbook meet my needs? To some degree but the tablet form factor of the iPad is key for me. I could purchase a different tablet computer but again, their form factors are larger than the iPad. Plus, they usually cost more.
Besides, the iPad is competing with the Kindle to some degree and a Kindle with a 9.7" screen is only $10 cheaper than the iPad. I know the smaller Kindle is slightly more than 1/2 the price of the iPad but it does far less than 1/2 of what the iPad does (but the Kindle is very good at what it is designed to do, so I hear).
I'll probably purchase an iPad - maybe not this 1st rev. but possibly when it is updated in a year or two. I think Apple is going to sell a lot of them.
But this 'worthwhile organisation (sic)'
English, motherfucker, can you read it? Write (sic) one more time. I dare ya!
Writing "organisation" with an "S" is as correct as with a "Z". It's just a preference.
Because we've all seen what a dismal failure the iPod/iPhone/Touch devices and the App store have been.
Eat a dick you cock gargling dumb fuck.
Ah, nothing better than a witty and erudite reply...
This ain't rocket surgery.
It's not defective, RMS et al: it's a CHOICE. You purport to like choice, but no one believes you anymore. Many consumers don't care, and even LIKE, the idea of being locked in to the App Store, because it introduces a significant amount of safety.
So, apparently you think the choice is between (1) being able to download software from Apple's app store and (2) having software distributed directly by 3rd parties to users (as with desktop PCs). Why not give each user the power to decide whether they will choose only (1) or only (2) or both (1) and (2)? Part of the FSF's point is that Apple has taken away some of the user's power of choice.
Really? Take a look at this article from a week ago which pretty much describes the interface that the iPad has. I'm excited about the idea of a locked-down device. Why? Because I like my iPhone. It does everything I want it to do and nothing that I don't want it to do. It's never crashed. I'm not tempted to fill it with junk. I would love an iPad but can't afford it at the moment. I would love the ebook reader and being able to browse from the couch without my MacBook burning a hole in my legs. I would love to be able to hand it to our teenage cousins and know that they can't break it on the software side, again unlike my MacBook.
You can install any application you want on an iPod Touch, iPhone and presumably the iPad as well. If you own or manage the device you have 2 options. You can either get the development environment and install applications directly to each device or you can set up a server (intended for but not restricted to enterprises) that manages all the devices in your control. You can install and remove any application, backup and restore data and setting, etc. What you cannot do without jail breaking the device is violate certain restrictions on using some OS APIs or distribute applications to devices you do not directly manage. You can distribute applications to others without jail broken phones who either have a developer set up or enterprise server. You can distribute pretty much anything to people with jail broken devices.
As far as I know, Apple doesn’t arrest, prosecute or sue people who jailbreak their devices. They just don’t support them. Fair enough. If you use unsupported APIs on any OS or application you’ll generally find that you won’t get vendor support or cooperation doing that. No one can stand behind a product that is not being used as it was intended. As a customer, your reasonable expectations about a product and its support are those expressed by the vendor. They don’t include anything that the vendor expressly does not support. They don’t include whatever you can dream up.
Very often, people confuse simple with simplistic. The nuance is lost on most. - Clement Mok
It's supposedly going to be available 2nd quarter this year for the same price.
"Doesn't even Ubuntu try to mimic this in some respects with its downloader?"
Don't even try to bring Ubuntu into discussion, there's a clear difference between making things easy to install and locking the OS, Ubuntu can run probably any piece of software that works in any other Linux distribution, even more, you can write your own software, compile it and run it, can you do that with iPad?
"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." -- Prof. Dumbledore
So, swallowing the tail here, do you really expect your whining about their whining to change their attitudes and actions?
No? Then why bother?
(Note that I completely agree with you about it being a choice, and that I don't see the apocalyptic future that is brought up when the importance of user freedom is discussed)
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
The problem is this: most people are not programmers. If all those people CHOOSE to use this device instead of general purpose computers, then general purpose computers will become an exception rather than the norm. If they become an exception, they become non-standard, don't matter anymore to the home user, and are much more expensive. And all that's left for programmers is either relying on Apple and their app store, or working on expensive devices only available in the industry.
If users like the idea of being locked into the store, fine.
They apparently do considering how popular the iPhone, the iPhone app store and iTunes is. Have you been living under a rock?
I have an iPhone since the original came out and I'm now on a 3GS. I absolutely love it and when I even consider using my WM6 phone that work provides I shudder thinking about it. I have a very strong feeling that there must be a lot more planned for this thing than what we've been shown so far. Apple was throwing out a lot of big phrases like 'most important project of my life', blah blah. A future software update must be in the works that greatly enhances this thing.. I've never really thought to myself the iPhone is great but only if it was twice the size.
Some "choice" does not matter. People used to be able to choose serfdom for themselves and their descendants in ancient times as a way to pay off debt. Was that choice? Is the App Store choice? It is not choice.
Microsoft would KILL to do this. Honestly, they would literally go out and kill puppies, kittens and baby seals all day long if it would allow them to control everything you install.
If apple get's away with it, you know they will follow in their footsteps.
We'd love to kill this fallacious analogy. Microsoft owns the content on the XBox. Microsoft's OS owns 3rd party PC OEMs. Apple doesn't. Get it?
These artificial limitations that Apple puts in place are completely unnecessary, and unjustifiable.
Maybe if I use a car analogy, you'd understand it better. These days, virtually every consumer-grade vehicle has a gas tank that can be filled at virtually any gas station. If you want to buy from one station instead of another, you're perfectly free to do so. After all, there's no justifiable reason to put any limitations in place. It's your car, you should be able to fill it up however and wherever you want.
Now suppose Ford comes out with a new, trendy car that appeals to yuppies, hipsters and homosexuals. It comes in flamboyant colors, has no controls but a steering wheel and an accelerator, and costs a fuckload more money than any other comparable car on the market.
Ford wants to exploit these fools even more. So they create their own line of gas stations, that sell the same fuel as everywhere else, but at five times the cost. Then they change the hole in the gas tank to a star shape, so that you can't fill the car up anywhere but at their gas stations.
Ford doesn't have a legitimate reason to do that. It's outright exploitation, facilitated by artificially-introduced limitations.
Now, some of the smarter fools realize that they can create an adapter that lets them fill their cars up at any normal station. This is a perfectly legitimate thing to do, given that the constraints they're facing are completely artificial. But thanks to lobbying certain politicians, some car manufacturers have gotten legislation passed to make the use of such adapters illegal!
That is exactly what we see with Apple today. The limitations they put in place are artificial, and completely unnecessary.
And last time I checked they don't update too well.
"The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
I take it that you believe that the Ipad is just a large Ipod with additional functionality?
Is this ignoring the fact that this is essentially what Apple is marketing this as?
It isn't? Certainly looks a lot like a iPod touch with a larger screen.
Whatever. The world bought 'locked down' in the form of consoles, and did so in a massive scale. The average consumer doesn't want freedom, they just want their shiny toy to work.
Should people really be more excited about "a tremendous lack of progress"?
You start out with credibility and fall right off the cliff calling any OS X kernel system a Toy.
I can certainly understand and support the idea that users should be allowed to do whatever they want with their general purpose computer. But it's absurd to suggest that Apple has to make that machine. At best the argument is "they shouldn't do this because it's a slippery slope", but even that seems a bit of a stretch given the current state of the market.
Now if you wanted to make this argument in a market where locked-down was the only option -- like cell phones or DVD players -- I might have more sympathy. But this particular instance just makes the whole movement look whiny.
Your microwave oven doesn't allow any third-party software to be run, has no data interface ports, and in general is quite difficult to modify even though it's controlled by generic, programmable digital electronics. But that's exactly how most people want it. There are certainly some users who would like to be able to reprogram their microwave, but the vast majority of users prefer the completely locked-down version they currently have.
Why should computers be any different? Yes, it is physically capable of running other programs. And I count myself among those who would actually run other programs on such a device, if given the opportunity. But we aren't (or at least shouldn't be) in the market for an iPad, or any similarly-restricted device. Just as the electronics market supports the sale of both general-purpose magnetrons on purpose-built microwave oven the computer market can support both general-purpose and purpose-built workstations.
What has choice done? It's given us the chaos of spam, malware, worms etc...
The average consumer should get a locked down device such as what Apple are proposing, a limited device with a closed market. And you do realise this is really no different to a games console.
Full blown computers should be reserved for those of us who know how to manage them responsibly.
The only thing they should do, is ensure that the locked down devices and the apps on them use standard APIs and formats, so that those of us with full blown machines and the knowledge to use them can still easily communicate with the non technically literate.
Computers as they are today are simply too complex and difficult to manage for the average consumer, so you either give them something simple or you take the management out of their hands.
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
Doesn't even Ubuntu try to mimic this in some respects with its downloader?
I'd rather say that Apple is "mimicking" what Linux distributions have been doing for a decade.
However, Apple doesn't have to restrict the ability to install software from other sources; that is a typical Apple-restriction.
Wrong. The dpkg/apt-get comparison or Redhat's package manager are not like Apple's. Apple's package manager comes from NeXTStep, which PREDATES them both.
I'm somewhat more sceptical that many consumers like that that "lock" is enforced by criminal law and that they'll be jailed if they ever try to leave the Apple store.
So which jail do I go to to visit all the people who have been thrown in for jailbreaking their iPhone and using something other than Apple's app store? Oh you mean no one has been thrown in jail for doing this? Yeah, I thought so.
I believe the term you are looking for is "sunk cost".
"Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish"
Albert Einstein
if we've learned anything from the iPhone and iPod it's that Apple has tremendous influence in driving the standards of consumer electronics
have they driven standards? they produce a bunch of proprietary devices that lock you into using another one of apple's proprietary devices whenever they can. itunes is a completely closed ecosystem. the app store is locked down. their media devices don't use open formats.
firewire?
what did i miss?
Yea, that'd be...Well, just like today.
Seriously. It's a media tablet. What the hell did you think it was going to be? If you want an open source tablet, they're already available on the market. There is no new technology here.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
Actually, that's exactly how I'm describing the iPad to anybody. It's an iPod touch with larger screen real estate. I saw no other significant features over the iPod touch. The eBook thing is already done on the iPod (Stanza and others), iWork could have been done on the iPod (but the screen size could make it inconvenient). The only real extra feature that I saw was the 3G modem, but that simply makes it a little closer to an iPhone. Also, tying it to the app store I find too limiting. It otherwise could have been a viable alternate computing platform, but if I wanted to do something for the internal employees of my company, I'd have to buy into the Apple developer network, and get my app approved by the app store before I could load it onto the iPad (Jailbreaking is not an acceptable option). 10 hour battery life is not enough for an ebook reader. 2 weeks on my Kindle.
There's another way to look at it:
If Apple gets away with it, what can their competitors offer to get you to buy their version instead of Apple's?
Apple can offer a heavily DRMed and locked down experience because they serve it up with a reputation for a highly polished overall user experience right out of the box.
Can the competitor provide higher quality? Maybe...but they still need to get the consumer to believe that. More innovation? We wouldn't be having this conversation about Apple if it was their competitor leading the way. Lower prices? Yes, definitely, Apple's products tend to be overpriced and are quickly undercut by the competition, but the competition's price cuts hacks directly at their profit margin.
How about a more open experience? It's a cheap way to one-up Apple, and it saves money on the overhead of running everything through an approval process. Certainly less damage to their bottom-line than engaging in a price war.
Obviously not all companies will see it the same way, but there is incentive for at least some of them to give it a shot. Particularly if all of them drive at the locked-down approach of Apple, then there will be an underserved niche market of geeks who want to install their own stuff on it. Then some company will try to sell to that market.
Apple doesn't come with a 'this is a trap' label on it. So many unsuspecting users buy an apple product and then shortly after start getting pulled into the costly trap.
If these people are truly "unsuspecting" then they must be idiots. Especially in light of Apple explicitly telling people the limitations of the device.
Why on Earth would you list Beck and Palin and ignore Keith Olberman, Jon Stewart, and Rachel Maddow? Or even Barack Obama? Surely you can't believe that Palin has been the recipient of greater publicity than Obama, or that Beck is more extreme than Olberman.
As for the nerdy meat of your comment -- sometimes, I would prefer to have simple and limiting to complex and free. I don't *need* to have complete and total control over my phone, my music player, or a simple internet device. These are items that just need to work out of the box, be aesthetically pleasing, and do the job they are intended to do. That doesn't mean that I'm anti-Free Software, but that I don't want to use it for everything that I do.
I run ArchLinux on my primary PC, and love it. I alternate between KDE 4 and ScrotWM as window managers, depending on my mood and task. I also love my iPhone, which does 95%+ of what I want out-of-the-box. For that other 5%, jailbreaking is trivial and allows complete control.
Learn about Photography Basics.
This thing isn't a phone and it's not an mp3 player,
Right, it's PSP that doesn't run only games. Same business model.
If people want a choice, they should GET a choice - use the app store, or don't. Instead, Apple's making the choice for you. And that's no choice at all.
People have a choice. In fact, they have three choices: (1) Don't get an iPad. (2) Get an iPad and use the App Store. (3) Get an iPad and use web apps.
Google can rewrite Google Voice as a web-app, and Mobile Safari can support hardware rendering. There's no reason you can't do pretty much anything you need to do as a web-app. Slightly less convenient for those without the 3g models, but it's still an option.
Apple has been making locked down devices for almost a decade. That this iPad is a locked-down device should be hardly any surprise to anyone.
Mod parent up please: +5 Funny
Keep the Classic Slashdot.
This is why free markets are so great. While there's great debate whether the iPad is good or bad, the destiny of the iPad is solely in the consumer's hands. If they don't like it, they buy something else and the iPad dies. If they love it, the iPad thrives. Just wait a year, and we will see if Apple made a good decision. All this huff about the system being locked down is irrelevant.
Frankly, it doesn't matter if it happens to OS X. What matters is that it could become the standard going forward...
This is where I tuned out.
What are you doing posting on slashdot? Haven't you called a series of interminable meetings to sap the time and will from your colleagues?
While I hate to be quoting Apple, the iPad is the start of a computing appliance. You'll pick this up in the morning while you make your toast and catch up on the news (reading or watching; big media or Facebook). It's not meant to replace the laptop (and do you think Apple wants to kill that product line?).
Everyone is thinking in traditional computer form-factors while Apple is trying something new. Whether they succeed or not is anyone's guess. A lot better products have come and gone - the best tech isn't always the winner.
> If apple get's away with it, you know [Microsoft] will follow in their footsteps.
So what you're saying is, there's going to be a Zune store?
Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
You would think that the FSF would have at least given Apple credit for using the open, non-DRMed ePub format. Getting major book and periodical publishers to sign up for an Open standard is a big plus. Yes, Apple didn't eliminate all DRM and release a GNU/Herd based platform yesterday, but with the iPad Apple continues to move (slightly) in the direction of more open media, which is good for everyone.
In short, the FSF should give Apple credit for what they did right and encourage them to do more instead of haranguing them for not doing everything you want at once.
Apple had better name it the iPod Touch Macro.
-- Cheers!
Exactly. Depending on perspective, the iPad is either a great internet appliance, or a piss-poor portable PC. Apple's challenge will be to control that perspective - seeing how good they've been at that in the past, I'm going to say this product will be a success.
Learn about Photography Basics.
What matters is that it could become the standard going forward
So let it be. Last I checked, the FOSS movement was gaining a lot of momentum. One of my totally non-tech friends who works at a Pizza Hut is using Ubuntu on his laptop, and he loves it!
If people want a choice, they should GET a choice - use the app store, or don't. Instead, Apple's making the choice for you. And that's no choice at all.
You can still choose NOT to buy an iPad.
I'm still torn on the concept of the iPad; almost everything inside of me says there's no need for one, but thinking about my college days when I lugged around a 30 lb backpack full of books, this may have worked nicely. I was in college during the laptop revolution; when I started very few people had them and my campus had very limited wifi, but four years later everyone had a laptop and wireless access was avaialble everywhere. A vertically oriented screen makes reading books much easier.
And there's no chance whatsoever that this will ever happen to Mac OS X, so don't lose sleep over it.
Really?
Yes.
I can totally see Apple releasing a new mac mini with this OS because *it just works*.
Then it won't be branded as "Mac OS X," and surely won't become the primary OS sold by Apple.
Then putting a premium on future machines with the OSX variant.
Only if it wants to alienate almost all of its users and developers.
It won't happen.
I think the iPad is destined to be another Apple TV.
It's expensive, functionally limited, and a good deal less portable than an iPhone or iPod. I've got several good friends who are mega-apple-fanboys (I'm a moderate apple fanboy, BTW), and not one of them is the least bit interested. Every one of them thought the iPad would be a general-purpose computing device, and it just isn't.
Every one of them would prefer to have an iPhone and a netbook, or an iPhone and a MacBook Air. Frankly, I agree with them. I just don't see the draw of the device.
I'm sure that Apple will sell quite a few of these devices to people who will use them as portable web tablets and video players, but I just don't see the iPad having near the market influence of the iPhone. Apple would have to dramatically alter the OS of the iPad to do that, and I think they are unwilling to support 3 different OSs at one time (they're concerned about fracturing the developer base, and OS X and OS iPod are enough). All that being said, I agree with the FSF's opinion in principle, but refuse to fear the market damaging effects of a device that I just don't think will be that successful.
Now, if the iPad was running Android, or WebOS, or an OS that was easier to tweak into a general purpose computing device, than it's fate might be different. Even then, it's seriously overpriced compared to your average netbook, and I have a feeling that Acer and ASUS's response would be Netbooks sans keyboard.
People just need to face it; as much as John Q Nerd wants a cool-looking Tablet computer, tablet machines continuously fail in the marketplace. Touch devices just don't sell well unless they are pocket portable.
WhiteWolf666 an exBush supporter. All you new-school,compassionate,save the children Republicans can rot in hell
And there's no chance whatsoever that this will ever happen to Mac OS X, so don't lose sleep over it.
I hope it does happen, but that it's a choice. I got to thinking yesterday, and a 22" version of the iPad would be perfect for my mother. I don't want to deal with her accidentally screwing things up. I don't want to deal with a 'file system' with 'folders'. Put it in a dock and forget it. She can even take it to the couch to watch movies. Some thing even simpler than 'Simple Finder'.
With the AppStore I don't have to worry about a package breaking, having to uninstall. All I do is say "OK mom, there's this great program. Just do this." She can't for the life of her figure out how to do anything on my laptop (She freaked out and set it down when she hit Expose) but her sister's iPhone had 0 learning curve.
I really don't see how this is any different than AtEase from back in the Macintosh OS 7 days. I had my entire family on that. My brother and sister eventually got full Finder access, but my parents stayed on AtEase.
While she does know how to use a mouse, I remember that was the most difficult concept for my grandma to grasp. She just wanted to touch the screen. She just wanted to point at what she was going to use... sound familiar?
Yes a 'touch interface' is much slower than us that can use a mouse and may get tiring after a long time, but for some it may be a ton easier. Want to go to the next photo? Just 'grab' the current one and move it over.
I use OS X because of the built in bash shell and all the other *nix toys. AND because I don't want to fight my system. But there is huge dichotomy in OS X users. The technical users that want the technical, but don't want to fight their computer and non-technical users who wants something that just works. The iPad panders to the lowest of the low non-technical users and I really hope I can get the OS on a 22" iMac some day.
If it wasn't for OS X, I wouldn't have a SheevaPlug running Sid or a ZFS FreeBSD server. That little black window opened my entire world to command line stuff. First a 'mv' or a 'cp'. Then I was sshing into my desktop from other places. Before you know it I'm doing a cross-compiled kernel for an ARM on an AMD64 and trying to figure out why uBoot refuses to read my SD card. (Damn latest version of uBoot not being able to boot off of SD cards.)
I'd say a good 50% of what I do on my computer is in Terminal.app. This includes all my photo processing (ImageMagick, ExifTool), movie watching (mplayer -ontop -fs), mp3s (mplayer), screen, etc. All because Apple packaged it up with a nice bow and made it accessible. And this was back in a time when I couldn't make it through the Linux installer without something breaking and me having a broken computer and going back to Windows.
It is a huge step backward, but that is the direction Mass Market Computing is going. Choice and openness generally only bring problems and fragmentation in the market. Look at windows, it can be a mess because of all the "choice" you have. Look at games, a majority of the market has gone to consoles. I believe that computing will go the same way. We, well maybe not slashdot members, but the mass market will all buy the same pre-made (and subsidized) box in exchange for lock-in. Fortunately it will succeed because it will work with less problems then the general platform. Just wait for the PS4 and Xbox 720, they will replace the PC for the majority of users. Apply is just trying to do this in a more portable fashion.
I think he's saying it's a step backwards because they are taking, what is essentially a tablet computer, and 100% locking it down to only do what Apple explicitly allows.
Don't forget that Apple is also locking down the carrier by introducing a SIM card with a new form factor -- GSM SIM cards are 15x25mm, but the SIM inside the iPad is 12x15mm -- which means that you can't just download a software hack and jailbreak your iPad to use another carrier; because the GSMA isn't pushing conversion to the new form-factor, you're hardware-locked into getting service from AT&T. "Here's this wonderful tool; you can use any application you want from the ones we've approved for you to use, and you can get your 3G service from any one of the single provider who offers SIM cards small enough to fit in its socket. But we're not trying to control how you use your iPad... honest."
I don't have an Apple device and never have specifically because I'm not given enough control over them. This is nothing new. If this device doesn't offer me the openness that I want, I'll pass without letting it hurt my feelings.
Each year there seems to be more whiners and squeakers complaining that some new device isn't what they wanted it to be or doesn't have this or that. The iPad is what is is! You now know what it is! Acknowledge that and move on!
Geez, don't stand next to a Porsche and bitch about the mileage! Don't stand next to a Kia and bitch about its lack of performance!
And please tell me that so many "smart" people didn't really expect some miracle, magic bullet device that executed all other Apple products?! LOL
The whole point of the FSF is that once you buy a consumer device you should be free to modify it. It's like a car - if you want to replace the muffler with a coffee-tin, the car won't lock you out. Why should computing devices be different?
If I go to the Apple app store looking for, say, a text editor, I'll find 2-3 apps, each of which is sufficiently polished to serve my needs.
If I go to, say, freshmeat.net, I'll find 20-30 text editors. Ten will be half-completed abandonware, five will fail to install on my system until I also set up a dozen different (mostly unnecessary) library dependencies that the authors happened to have on their system, three will be components of giant software stacks (I'm looking at you, OOo), five have unintuitive user interfaces (emacs or vi, depending on your religious views), and five would satisfy my needs satisfactorily.
Is it worth paying an Apple tax to get a filtered list that, while it has less options, almost always serves my needs? My time is sufficiently valuable that I would rather pay that tax than get flooded with the open marketplace. And I am willing to sacrifice the one or two times Apple doesn't provide enough for the dozens or hundreds of times Apple does everything I need.
A witty [sig] proves nothing. --Voltaire
Given the very low UID. Probably a catastrophic failure caused by a stress fracture or material fatigue.
I've lost all my marbles except one & It's fun to test angular & centripetal acceleration in my skull
Obviously their keyboards and mice need apps.
So, like electric vehicles and charging stations, then?
When did the future switch from being a promise to a threat? -C. Palahniuk
Yes but they offer no solution. We really do have only one true choice - buy it or don't. We can complain sure, but that doesn't change anything. You say consumers shouldn't accept it. But what other action can consumers take? We protest with our money in this system.
Many consumers don't care, and even LIKE, the idea of being locked in to the App Store, because it introduces a significant amount of safety.
Consider the difference between telling people "skateboarding may result in injury or death", versus completely banning skateboards.
People understand this. When it's applied to computers, though, they seem not to.
I do believe that Apple will move OS X to this type of software distribution model. To see it in action all they have to do it look at console gaming. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft require that every line of code you want to run on their machines passes through them first, at which time they take a licensing fee. We have been putting up with that for years, of course. What we love about our personal computers is that we aren't locked down like the game consoles are. However if you are Apple, you are looking at the consoles and their software licensing fees, and wondering how you can get a piece of that pie.
The thing that most geeks don't take into consideration is the "Can my grandmother use this?" What good is a world of software and open systems if the person who is trying to use it, can't even figure out how to adjust the volume? Linux and Microsoft just can't seem to wrap their head around this concept. I think it's actually a huge step forward! Imagine a world of technology that is available to EVERYONE, not just us elite geekoids and those who are the right side of the digital divide! This device bridges the digital divide.
Is it windy in here or did something just fly over my head?
Worse than that, since all the media talks about is the latest trendy new Ford, it soon becomes like you're the oddball if you don't have their latest model. Everyone crowds around Ford's latest models and everyone else is all but ignored.
Children growing up only see Ford's car and think that is synonymous with a car and soon all there is is Ford and their overpriced overhyped standard.
Right time for another dried frog pill before the slashdot car analogy gets out of had
"The weirdest thing about a mind, is that every answer that you find, is the basis of a brand new cliche" -
Do you conflate the Kindle with a tablet computer?
I don't. Anybody else?
It's a choice between a "themepark" model of computing and a "sandbox" model of computing. A lot of people prefer themeparks for a variety of reasons, and as long as sandbox people still have that option, I don't see a huge problem. I'd see a problem if all computers went to the themepark model, but that doesn't appear to be in danger of happening, and right now, there are a lot of users sitting in the sandbox who'd likely prefer a themepark.
Then don't buy the fucking car? What part of choice are you missing? Is it that you WANT to be a trendy homosexual hipster yuppie but can't afford the price of admission? No one is twisting your arm to purchase it. You are just bitching on other peoples behalf.
I'm somewhat more sceptical that many consumers like that that "lock" is enforced by criminal law and that they'll be jailed if they ever try to leave the Apple store.
To the extent that's true, I agree. So far I've heard of no one being prosecuted for jailbreaking their iPhone though.
Also, you shouldn't conflate the issue with choice: the FSF and RMS, to my knowledge, have never advocated choice.
Freedom and choice ... you cannot have one without the other. As "freedom" is in their name ... :-)
For apple fans, the locking down is a feature ! You'd never think of installing a Free and Open firmware on a Hammer ? would you ? I agree with the free argument, but I also want computers to be a commodity as easy to use as any tool and objects we use everyday. In that sense the iPad is a step further in that direction. Now if it could be open, use open standards and keep the experience. I am all for it. By the way, I guess it's gonna be hacke quite fast.
I am thinking the only thing that might make it worth the asking price is if there is a VNC type of app for it, then it would be great for a portable thin-client, and 16GB would be more than enough space for that use and playing streamed or network storage media (so long as it can play ogg, avi, etc type of files).
I hear a lot of people saying that why buy it if you already have an iPhone, but a lot of people don't have one. I have a Blackberry that my company makes me use, and an iPod Touch I use for music and surfing the web from the couch. This is a perfect upgrade for that type of device. Larger screen, still has WiFi, has bluetooth, and potentially 3G for when I don't have a wireless signal to hop on to. It also makes me ponder eBooks since most people I know don't want to purchase a stand alone eBook reader from Amazon/B&N/etc. I'm not looking at this as a replacement for my laptop, or desktop, or gaming console. I see it as a 'hmmm, that might be able to replace what I use my iPod Touch' for. Obviously it's not as easy as tossing it in my pocket, but that's the trade off for a larger screen.
I will shred my adversaries. Pull their eyes out just enough to turn them towards their mewing, mutilated faces. Illyria
The reason for the app store has nothing to do with security and everything about Apple wringing every last penny out of developers by taking an arbitrary cut of their sales and providing only limited QC and indexing that could easily be provided by any other site or service.
And the reason that it's working is because it's fucking easy. While you GNU, FSF, & Linux Luddites are arguing over the technicalities between GPL v2 and v3 and why BSD license sucks. Or KDE vs GNOME or how you can configure every damn single thing on either, Apple has released an OS that has 0 configuration, you literally get 0 options other than what page your apps appear on, and it has become more popular than both.
"Year of the Linux Desktop" will happen when Grandma can get a computer that 'just works'. My grandmother figured out my aunts iPhone no problem. She did never figure out OS X or Linux or Windows. Hell I can't even stand the amount of configuration options in the X window managers. Do I want this font or this font, this size or that. O, I can drag the 'start' menu over here, or over there. I'll spend 5 days figuring it out and never be convinced that it's "right".
Nothing prevented Linux developers from releasing a phone, other than internal bickering and unresolved issues (How's that openmoko coming?).
As soon as you introduce choice, all hell breaks loose. So say I can add any repository for apps I want. When I get my mom the 22" iPad so she can just run programs and not have to deal with an "OS" how do I tell her which repository to use? Or maybe she should install the FSF one too, that way she can use GNU/FSF/HURD/Gnome on her new device.... at which point she tries it and it completely fucks up the install. Then what? I get called.
Jailbreaking is easy enough for a 'technical' user. If I want the iPad and I want to install what ever I want, I'll just jail break it (6 months max) and do that. I don't even want the option available to my mom or 90% of users. Because then they'll find it and use it. Then we'll have Bonzai Buddy for the iPad because some friend sent them a great link to this great repository of smiley faces.
In the end people will buy and use products they like, and this is what drives development of new products. People don't buy what the FSF decides to be good or bad for the development of computing.
But this isn't always the best for society in general. Think about the use of CFCs for refrigeration - the reason we don't see CFCs anymore has nothing to do with people choosing not to buy CFC refrigerators and everything to do with regulation. The FSF thinks that the world would be better if users could modify the software running on any device they own, just like they can modify the physical aspects. Do you honestly believe that the world be worse if that was the case?
OS X, based on Darwin, isn't what I would call locked down. At least not any more than Windows. We've converted random homemade apps to work on Mac (by a professor's request, not because is was cost effective in any way). The iPhone without jailbreak is pretty much how you said: very good at doing what Apple wants it to do. But Apple hasn't clamped down on Jailbreak either.
The iPad is very niche. It'll probably also be jailbroken (likely with the same hack that jb's iPhones) but before that I wouldn't think of it as a computer. It's pretty much meant as a distribution device, not as a production device (you read from it, you don't write). If you accept that it's not a gaming/Cray/design machine, only something you use for leisure on the couch, then it'll be easier for you to ignore.
Apple has certainly raised some eye brows with recent purchase of an advertising company which together with that OS patent that prevents the user from doing anything with the computer until they have confirmed they have seen the ad makes for some interesting computing horror scenarios.
I'm currently invested into Apple hardware and genuinely like OS X, but it does make me wonder in anticipation about where their desktop offerings are headed. I certainly hope they won't make a silly mistake of turning their currently general purpose desktop computers into a locked down environment akin to iPhone or iPad.
As the island of our knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance.
But this 'worthwhile organisation (sic)' comes across as a bunch of wingnuts.
FSF is the Sea Shepherds, PETA, and MADD of the Software World.
Well, then my suggestion is to buy an HP slate. It's uber shitty not because it's poorly designed, but because the OS does nothing to allow you to use it in a manner appropriate for a device that you use your finger to control. Who here has stepped up to the plate to build an open, tablet based linux OS? I thought so...
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Not me saying that.
My addiction: Arguing with idiots. AKA Slashdot!
If the multi touch is also pressure sensitive, these will be substantially cheaper than Wacom's Cintiq. Give these the ability to use Wacom pens, and even thought I am not a graphic artist by trade I would pick one up. On the other hand, news like this suggests Apple intends this to just be an over-sized iPhone, killing their chance at getting their artist market to fork over even more cash.
Posting to remove erroneous moderation... damn dropdown box!
If the "artificial limitations" are "completely unnecessary, and unjustifiable", then consumers won't buy it. In your car analogy, people can still buy Chevys and Hondas.
I happen to agree about completely unnecessary - I suspect that Apple has a justification (they think they'll make more money), but their choice of what to make doesn't control my choice of what to buy.
I am very disappointed in what I've read about the iPad - but on the bright side, I'm going to save a lot of money!
How did USB for input devices work out for you? If the iMac hadn't adopted usb as the primary connection for peripherals we'd still be stuck with the PC's multitude of incompatible interfaces. And Firewire... At the time that USB 1.1 was popular, it was inadequate for doing serious data transfer. I still use my Firewire 800 connection for any data I need to have quick access to and my USB 2.0 ports for data that is archived or not speed sensitive.
When the telephone was invented, you simply COULD NOT use the device independent of the monopolistic phone company. When the television was invented, you just COULDN'T stick an antenna out the window and watch your neighbor's 16 mm home movies. You had to use a BROADCASTING company! I tried to change my Gillette razor blades the other day - I COULD NOT BELIEVE I had to buy expensive "Gillette" razors only! The reasons why TV, telephones, and even razors simply work, as opposed to being a consumer nightmare, is because they are based on proprietary models and are consumer goods, not hackers' tools. Apple has tiny, fragile devices that it does not claim to be PCs (or PCs for the rest of us). As others have said, if you don't want an iPad/Touch/phone, don't buy one. Try a Kindle. Oh, wait...
Exactly. This IS an iPod Touch on growth hormones. That makes it also good for reading publications and maybe watching video easier or surfing the net easier. It's still basically the same.
Personally I was REALLY hoping that it'd be more of a general use Tablet PC with OSX, some usb ports and the ability to do whatever. And maybe (hopefully) someone can hack linux onto the thing and make it that way, but the way it's intended it's NOT. If it was, Apple would charge more for it. It'd be closer to the price of a 13" MBP.
In the mean time, the iPod Touch is only made for consuming DRM'd applications, news papers, magazines, videos, etc. Sure iWork is on there too, but that's basically to widen it's a appeal a little, no different from one of the old casio PDA's that let you type your essays on it along with being a calculator/calendar/messaging thing.
I actually think the iPad is a decent leap forward in certian respects. It'll raise tablet awareness (maybe laptop manufacturers will catch on and release some not-expensive-as-hell tablets now) for one thing. It also is another way to move the music/movie/print media into the 21st century by going digital in a controlled environment. And most importantly, when you lock things down, you can actually perform QA on them and make things operate more smoothly. (Other than the Facebook app being slow as crap, I've NEVER had an issue with my iPhone where it locked up, blue screened, core dumped, etc. Things just seem to work on there, in most cases for more than I originally intended.) That is a HUGE help to getting Joe Sixpack and Jane Wineaux into computers.
It also, for the most part, does everything that 90% of people getting netbooks now-a-days are doing. If this had OSX on it, it'd BE a much better netbook than anyone else has on the market at this time (esp if it had a bluetooth keyboard/mouse and a few USB ports)
Am I going to get one? Probably never (unless someone hacks Linux on there, hint, hint...). Would I consider one for my wife who isn't a Linux Admin, perhaps.
-=JML=-
The GP brought up the Kindle, so I was responding to that. Imho, the Kindle is a piece of shit. Single function device locked into one vendor. Blea.
I personally don't see the ipad as a tablet PC at all: for one thing, it's not really a pc. It's a embedded system that runs media applications and some cute little apps.
As a device that does that, for a similar price point, it kicks the shit out of media readers like the kindle, and it does (frankly) all the crap I'd ever actually use a tablet pc to do.
If you want a tablet pc, there are plenty on the market.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
Now wait a minute. Before all the FOSS types get into a slathering fury (oops, too late), consider:
- The SDK is free. Free! Download it and start developing apps already.
- Distribution is free. Free! There's nothing stopping you from signing up and giving away your self-righteous apps for no cost; include the source code or a link thereto if you like. And if you do want to make a buck (er, $0.99) off each copy of your app, that costs you a measly $99/year (surely your app is good enough to get a hundred people to buy it, right?).
- The much-defamed App Store censors mostly just take a cursory glance at each submission to make sure the app is well-behaved (not malicious or destructively stupid) and socially acceptable to all audiences (how much FOSS pr*n are you planning to develop, eh?). Is it really too much to ask that someone double-check your work for brokenness before spreading it to the unwashed masses? Have you _seen_ what got thru that process unabated?
OK, so it isn't totally completely unquestionably end-to-end FOSS. I'll understand if RMS doesn't approve, but that's his shtick, not ours.
- App Store is the only distribution process. Well, except that you could publish your source code and let anyone with the SDK compile & run it sans censors.
- DRM everywhere. Well, not really - seems you can put whatever content you want on it via iTunes (music is not DRMed anymore, remember? and I shouldn't have to say anything about videos, right?) and the SDK. I expect the iBook stuff will prove the same: minimal-if-any DRM, easily circumvented.
And what does the RMS-approved FOSS get you? ..." isn't preferable to "it just works" for most users, including most of us geeks who don't want to have to screw around with your app which wasn't even given a cursory independent stamp of "not blatantly broken".
- Android is showing diminishing quality of apps with increasing conflict. Windows has been there forever.
- "Oh, you just need to
You want choice, you have choice: get a Droid. A lot of us appreciate a little formalized cooperation, at trivial cost, to ensure stupid code doesn't run rampant.
Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
We note your concerns and indeed if personal computing had started in the manner you suggested, then it would be a different world. For instance, IBM would not have had any need for Microsoft to provide BASIC so users of their new device could write their own utility programs. No BASIC, no asking Microsoft for an operating system. Is your mind blown? My mind's blown. I'm taking a moment.
And with that wavy cross-dissolve my Scene 2 what-if speculation/flashback concludes and I'm back from the alternate scenario. A dream, but it was so real. And you were there. And you. And... but I digress.
I'm soon off to walk to work. Now I could drive and when I get in the car, I sort of understand implicitly that my freedoms are restricted as to what routes and lanes I take and how fast I may go and what colors I correlate with acceleration, but I do accept it. I like writing programs and I like what free and open software has done to make my life better. I can't write programs for my iPhone. On the other hand, telephoning on my computer, though improved, is problematic. It sure doesn't fit in my pocket. I guess the point I'm making is give us some credit. We understand what we are and are not getting. When we need more, we'll use something else. In my case that something else is running Linux or FreeBSD.
In conclusion, I hope you have a good day and while we will keep a chair available, we'll plan to have someone else bring the cookies to our inaugural iPad User Group meeting.
Cheers, Dan
P.S. I could write programs for my iPhone, but the hassle isn't worth it. It'd make more sense to deliver custom functionality via a webhost under my control and that way any networked computer I have access to could use it.
The iPad is as much of a computer as the AppleTV is... it's just an appliance that lets you get or view content through the small window controlled by Apple. I like it and would get one for a few tasks, but it wouldn't replace my laptop, cell phone, or anything else. It could replace a GPS with Google Maps and I like being able to play videos for the kiddos in the car. It may also be nice to have in the kitchen to look-up recipes or to view weather or our daily calendar. And I think it would make an awesome eBook reader, but that's it... I wouldn't use it to do my budget, or pay my bills, or do anything productive. And with no Flash support or Hulu or Netflix, it's very limiting. If this thing was a full blown computer with OSX or something that would allow installing other operating systems like Linux, that'd be different, but for now it's nothing more than a simple appliance for doing simple things... no more and no less.
I've never understood this particular brand of grammar-nazism. "Going" describes action, "forward" describes direction. You can go forward, just as you can go in any relative direction, backwards, up, down, in, out, left, starboard, etc.
The car was going backwards, but now it is going forward.
What am I missing?
Support the EFF and Creative Commons. The war is coming, and they're supporting you...
Or custom GPS solutions that only work with vendor-supplied DVD's, but are convenient for the customer to obtain and use? It's a matter of convenience.
Currently hooked on AMP
I viewed this story to say exactly this. People don't seem to understand the difference between "media appliance" and "general computer". The FSF scaremongering over OS X would be reprehensible if it weren't so dumb.
Other than the lack of a camera, the iPad is a great device for the purpose for which it was designed.
What matters is that it could become the standard going forward, and if we've learned anything from the iPhone and iPod it's that Apple has tremendous influence in driving the standards of consumer electronics.
You have a choice. If you don't want to play by those rules, go install Linux or BSD. I run both MacOS X and Linux, and each serve different needs.
512 MB RAM, 20 GB disk, 200 GB transfer, five datacenters. $19.95/month.
In a ideal world where the buyer realised the impact of the restrictions, and were able to make a fully informed choice, I'd agree with you. But as it is now Apple don't mention this in their marketing as far as I'm aware. They don't mention the restrictions:
Most of those restrictions is artificial. Give people a choice whetever to allow non-approved apps, and tell them about the added risk of non-approved apps. Give people multitasking, but warn them against slower response. Give people the CHOICE of using the device as one wants.
As it is now the device is practically crippled if apple wants it to be crippled. On the other hand, my netbook from Asus works perfectly fine with whatever software I want, and I really don't care if asus decides to go bankrupt. It still works as it did when I bought it. With apple devices you don't know that.
The problem is that people do not realise the limitations when buying, and thus is unable to make a informed decision.
Assembling etherkillers for fun an profit
No.
My addiction: Arguing with idiots. AKA Slashdot!
I think you're exactly right in that that is what the FSF is saying. But look at it from Apple's perspective: do anything a desktop can tablets have been available for a decade, and they haven't taken off. Apple is saying "let's make it cheaper and simpler to create a new product." The lock-down is a deliberate gamble that the complexity is what's caused this product category to languish. I wouldn't be surprised if they're right.
Or, they could just not support a company by purchasing devices that have a usage model they disagree with...
You bent the needle on my sarcasm detector!
They whose government reduces their essential liberties for temporary security, receive neither liberty nor security.
So why have the restriction at all if all it adds is inconvenience to customers?
I don't think many of these people are buying the "car", but you see, the way consumer feedback works, is that when people have a specific reason for not buying a product that they otherwise might want, they're going to make it very clear to the manufacturer and others just WHY they're not buying it so that hopefully their complaints, along with the complaints of others, will lead to a change.
This whole "just don't buy it" thing is getting ridiculous. What you're basically teaching the next generation to do is to accept whatever the corporate overlords give them, or go to a corner and shutup. Don't dare try to influence any of the actions of a corporation - you are a mere peon and should just accept that the only thing that is to flow from you is cash or nothing; not ideas, creativity, or ESPECIALLY complaints.
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
It's an appliance, not a computer. Nobody complains about not being able to install applications on their coffeepot, television, or microwave oven... If you want a computer, you need to buy a computer instead of an appliance (gadget, whatever).
Or maybe even buy a new one in the App Store
Apple has "Mac vs PC", Microsoft has "Laptop Hunters", Linux has recession
99% of the computing activity that goes on daily is information and media consumption, not creation. First and foremost, we surf the web and, along the way, watch photos or various media clips that we encounter. Gone are the days when a computer meant something used for word processing or writing a spreadsheet. While we still do those things in similar absolute amounts, the sheer number of *other* things we use our computers for has dwarfed these activities to the point where there is a large market for a machine optimized primarily for consumption. The netbook was aimed at this catagory, hence its name. A key to success is that such a device needs to be able to do rudimentary creation or at least editing. Again, witness the netbook. The keyboard is cramped and the screen is small, but this is fine for occasional road-warrier-style editing while mostly being used for reading email and internet surfing. The iPad fits this niche very well, with a much slicker and more intuitive UI. Why must it be labeled and treated as a general purpose computer even though almost none of its customers would use it as such even if it were so capable? Tech journalists treat every product as if it's intended for their personal use. As for the app store, Apple's centralized control has thus far resulting in only a literal handful of highly-desired apps being rejected and not made available. A handful out of more than 100K. This is an exceedingly small fraction, with almost zero impact on how anyone has used their iPhones and iPod Touches unless Google Voice is your raison d'etre. Improving usability by a few percent while opening up the floodgates to a far larger share of malware might not actually be the right tradeoff for the majority of customers who, again, are using the device for consumption and will likely never even buy more than a handful of apps to supplement the build in apps. There's no slippery slope here because the same model wouldn't be tolerated on a Mac. Once those who'd be better served with an iPad are taken out of the equation, the remaining Mac customers buy these machines because they actually create content, need choice and see a net benefit to having control vs. having to search many stores for the app they need and police for malware. Indeed, since the software used for most purposes tends to have already been largely standardized (Office, iLife, Photoshop, Final Cut, etc.), most users don't actually even exercise that much choice at this mature point in the product lifecycle, tending to prefer to stay compatible with the knowledgebase that exists for these dominant products.
The problem is when the consumer doesn't have full information.
For instance, I bought an iPod touch primarily as a book reader (I wanted one that could also play music). I did a lot of research, so I thought I knew what I was getting into. To my surprise, one of the most important functions I wanted in a book reader was not there -- I could not import my own documents. So it's still useful, but it's not exactly what I want.
That's the feature on the iPad I want to hear about, and nobody's talking about it. If it can't load and read my own documents, or docs I download from the web, then it's not useful to me. No 'official' advertising will answer that question yay or nay. I'm going to have to hope that some blogger answers it for me, or I'm going to have to get a chance to try the thing out for myself.
Choice is great if the consumers are properly informed. Without an informed consumer, choice can be manipulated to the consumer's detriment.
Genocide Man -- Life is funny. Death is funnier. Mass murder can be hilarious.
Since when is a 5 digit UID considered low? :)
~jaraxle
You wont to know why EVERY major business uses PCs?
Bucause they can do whatever the fuck they want.
Apple locking down is preventing them from competing with Microsoft.
My addiction: Arguing with idiots. AKA Slashdot!
Things work, a single vendor to complain to if something goes wrong.
Frustrated people go to Apple and don't mind paying more money in doing so. People choose to have less choice for reliability.
Most people realize that Apple has fewer native software applications (choices) than other computer OS's.
People want products to work and not have to learn about the command line to install something, tweak something - period. Most people don't (or won't) make time to learn the command line.
There will always be other organizations that will find profitability in creating/developing solutions that Apple doesn't.
There is a choice - It's called "Android".
Life is about being a Phoenix!
I can't see this thing as a computer. It has no conventional keyboard. On-screen keyboards are really only good enough for typing a URL. In other words, the input capability of the iPad is only good enough to navigate, and not to create or edit. This device is a content delivery mechanism plain and simple. Sure, there may be some useful apps for specific uses (the local Apple store uses iPod touch with a credit card reader as a POS device) but it is not a useful general purpose computer by any means. I'd hate to type this post on it.
Frankly, this idea of safety is a red herring.
How much malware EVER existed for Windows CE and Palm OS? Almost ZERO.
And look how big those software ecostructures were. Not 4000 useful apps and 130,000 games like the iphone, but the Palm OS had 30,000+ applications over it's lifespan, it and was constrained by not having WiFi for years, and a poor CPU driving it.
Safety was never an issue. It's about getting a piece of every $ made on their platform, that's it. Instead of big up-front licensing costs, they spread it out over every deployment.
You don't even understand what a computer is...why are you posting on Slashdot? What a woeful state of affairs.
The fact that anyone isn't not only aware but put off by Jobs is amazing, he was the man who claimed the we as consumers didn't know what we really wanted, and that he did. Dude's a complete ass, and my main rationale behind not owning more than an iPod is their attitude towards me as a consumer.
http://teasphere.wordpress.com - A little spot of tea
"their media devices don't use open formats."
Beside proper sentence capitalization, you missed at least one little acronym, "ePub". The last time I checked, that is at least one open format in use by an Apple media device. And I am pretty sure the MP4 is another. I think that HTML might be considered yet another. I guess I could on, butwellthat might interfere with your version of the world.
I really find the iPad crap. It's more than the cost of other tablets that give you full hackable desktop OS but most importantly it's got NO USB host! Even phones have USB host now! (Nokia N900 off the top of my head)
With USB host you can make your portable device do pretty much anything: want more storage? Add a pen drive, hell with a battery powered USB charger the N900 can run a laptop disk! Want a decent keyboard? Just plug in your desktop keyboard!
And I would of thought "Apple customers" would of wanted USB. Take photos with your fancy digital SLR camera, plug that into your tablet and upload them strait to your employer/local paper/flickr stream. The N900 can do that...
It's an iPod touch, but without the convenience of being able to put it in your pocket. Why?
They were right - the revolution did not get televised. It was posted on YouTube instead. All in 120 characters. SLOOSH!
How did USB for input devices work out for you? If the iMac hadn't adopted usb as the primary connection for peripherals we'd still be stuck with the PC's multitude of incompatible interfaces.
reference please. the only thing i could find was a quote from wikipedia stating that the imac was the first apple computer to have usb.
Who's saying you don't have a choice?
By publicly complaining about this shit, the FSF is providing a valuable service. If no one complains, the companies will think that users are OK with it, and everyone will start doing it. Maybe they'll add even more restrictions.
What is clear, is that the rise of the App Store revokes control of the computer from the user.
So buy a PC (with Linux if you prefer) or Mac (which, in other news, will still run any software or OS you like and comes with a complete SDK).
The non-Mac iProducts are not intended as general purpose computers - App Store or no the lack of keyboards, storage, interfaces, multitasking etc. makes them unsuitable for that. They're web browsers and media players.
Now, its worth being a bit vigilant against the possibility of true general purpose computers disappearing from the market, but currently I see no sign of that. Maybe the DBD people should be concentrating their ire on the likes of Ubisoft who are dictating what people can do on general purpose PCs.
Meanwhile, Big Brother's App Store is giving many Mom'n'Pop developers access to a single, high profile sales channel and payment collection system.
Also, DRM is a problem that affects virtually every other ebook reader and has been hobbling the industry since before the iPad was a twinkle in Jobs' eye. Go protest outside the publishers and authors' associations that are actually causing the problem.
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
http://www.lexcycle.com/
This whole "just don't buy it" thing is getting ridiculous...Don't dare try to influence any of the actions of a corporation
I'm pretty sure that not buying a product is a strong and clear signal to a corporation that their product sucks. If the corporation is smart, it will listen to the signal and try something else.
You can fully understand a phone being locked down to phone applications delivered by the manufacturer and the same with mp3 players.
Speak for yourself. I can't think of one legitimate reason for locking down these devices other than greed and power over customers.
The computers in my refrigerator, car, DVR, television, telephone, microwave, and assorted other appliances only let me do what they were designed to do, and nothing more.
Harmph...
The iPad is NOT a general purpose computing device. Get used to it. As computers become more integrated into our lives, they will look more like appliances.
Geez, if you want a computer, buy a computer, NOT AN APPLIANCE.
-ted
Except the limitation in that case isn't artificial.
$_ = "wftedskaebjgdpjgidbsmnjgcdwatb"; tr/a-z/oh, turtleneck Phrase Jar!/; print
their hardware has always been proprietary, why would you expect their software/services to not be?
who cares if apple (yet again) cuts their nose off to spite their face.... screw 'em....
the kool-aid drinking Jobs worshipers will buy it because they don't know any better, the rest of us will get a PC based tablet and continue to make fun of "them"
Apple barely breaks even on the App Store.
I think the app store is about control, and providing the walled garden experience for average users. And you know what? They have proven it pretty successful.
As long as power users can jailbreak without being cracked down on, I really don't see what the big fuss is about.
"Mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent present in every electron." -Freeman Dyson
As for the nerdy meat of your comment -- sometimes, I would prefer to have simple and limiting to complex and free. I don't *need* to have complete and total control over my phone, my music player, or a simple internet device. These are items that just need to work out of the box, be aesthetically pleasing, and do the job they are intended to do. That doesn't mean that I'm anti-Free Software, but that I don't want to use it for everything that I do.
The vast majority of cool things I've ever done with a device was possible because other people did have that control and were able to figure out cool things that either was never thought of or even approved by the manufacturer. Having complete control gave me the option of piecing together other cool ideas to do cool things of my own. Then there are times I was completely happy with something as it was out of the box. But having the option is freedom even if I never choose to exercise it.
I run ArchLinux on my primary PC, and love it. I alternate between KDE 4 and ScrotWM as window managers, depending on my mood and task. I also love my iPhone, which does 95%+ of what I want out-of-the-box. For that other 5%, jailbreaking is trivial and allows complete control.
Wait a minute. Why do you have to "jailbreak" a phone? Why shouldn't you be able to make it do things because it's yours - not because you've circumvented arbitrary rules? And having said that - didn't you already say there's no reason to do this sort of thing? Works out of the box, right?
I for one still remember Tandy 486s. They locked down both the hardware and the software. Sure it was an IBM 'compatible' system, so long as you didn't want to install new hardware or unsupported software. As computers were getting standardized Radio Shack/Tandy were trying to force consumers into buying hardware from only one source. As a result there are no more Tandy computers. Apple does the same things, but they have always maintained somewhat superior hardware which has kept them ahead. This new tablet is a mystery though. The I-Phone's success has been the availability of software. Without apps it's just another touch screen phone. So, what will be this tablets success? Is it cheaper than it's competition? Nope. Does it support more software? Not even close. Can I do useful things with it like write my novel in a coffee shop? Nope. Can I edit video with it? Nope. All I can really do with this new tablet is read books/web pages and watch video. Sure that's nifty, but at the price it's pretty worthless. If I wanted to spend $500 to impress the people around me I can think of much better uses.
They already release a Mac mini with this OS. It is called OS X. They also release laptops, desktops, and servers with this OS. I would think that readers of a geek web site would know that. The difference is primarily in the UI later.
I say big shame on Apple for abusing an open-source operating system (BSD) in this way.
What they have done is permitted by the BSD license. You (and I) may not like it, but you can't honestly call it abuse.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
There's just one problem though: if you can only have programs that you've bought on the AppStore, how will you create new programs for the AppStore? That's why they can't lock OS X - they would kill the Mac as a development platform.
Apple has "Mac vs PC", Microsoft has "Laptop Hunters", Linux has recession
Calling the iPad "the future of computing" is impressively hyperbolic. Even if NPR and Techcrunch think so. It is pitched an 'information consuming device' and there are many, many other functions in the general field of computing that are more important than splotting out HTML and javascript.
Yes, locked down consumer level devices WILL be the future for mass market things like the iPhone and iPad. Mass market consumers haven't the time, energy, desire or wit to maintain an general purpose Internet connected device safely and securely (see Microsoft Windows). No, Steve isn't catering to you or me or anyone that wants a 'tablet computer' he is pitching this device to people that don't care that Apple is dropping the word computer from their moniker.
There are lots of other companies out there that will try to sell you something similar but perhaps in a different package, a more open package, one that can be twiddled with endlessly. That's the future. One that is much more complicated than the magic pixie dust and unicorn rainbow world of Apple.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
FSF is saying, "this one is a bad choice, and here's why."
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
The kind of "freedom" that is the hallmark of Richard Stallman, GNU and EFF is very simple -if you have programming skills you are free. Otherwise, you are, well, unfit.
The basic problem is that the "open" computing platform has pretty much failed the consumer. No matter what security features are implemented in software, consumers will circumvent them to obtain what they believe they want: free software, porn, money, etc. The end result is a compromised computer that is no longer completely under the control of the user. And such computers can have a very negative impact on all users everywhere.
The average consumer has no way to utilise the sort of programming freedom that Stallman would like to see people have. They need a checked-out, validated, "App Store" where both useful and useless things can be downloaded and will never, ever compromise their computer. And if an application is found to be bad after it is released it can be "recalled". Period. If we had this today for Windows there would be no spam epidemic, no malware and little or no phishing. Instead what we have is an environment where the Internet is not safe for users with no special knowledge.
We are certainly going to see less and less "freedom" for users in the name of keeping out the bad stuff. Users, not programmers, do not need freedom but they absolutely need safe computing. We aren't going to teach that. With great freedom comes great responsibility and the spammers, thieves and scammers don't seem to be properly exercising responsibility.
Seriously, they could make their own Linux version of the iPad, or even make a Linux distro that can install on the iPad. Nobody's stopping them.
Yes, its a choice and we (the consumer) have been locked into proprietary systems for decades. Auto makers encrypt the computer, force maintenance at dealers, hide specs. Same with consumer media and consumer devices, get a Dyson vacuum, go to a vacuum repair place and ask "what's Dyson like to service" and enjoy the rants about the PITA that is being a Dyson service shop, because Dyson is so proprietary and obnoxious.
And no CmdrTaco, its is not "revoking control of the computer from the user". Its iPhone OS, so it will be jailbreakable. I can still get on the web with it, I can still listen to *my* music and watch *my* videos with it
As for App Store and "renting/leasing" programs, that model has been coming for what, a decade now? M$ and Sun were talking about it 10 years ago, EA does it with sports games already - no online play or updates after 1 year so that you have to buy a new version of Madden/NHL/FIFA/NCAA.
Aside from not being able to be legally run on random hardware, how is OS X locked down?
The fact that the device will use ePub does not mean the user will be able to put anything he/she desires on the device without jailbreaking. Right now, the informational materials do not answer this question. I would guess that the answer will be "yes", but the absolute fact is unknown at this time.
What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
While I can see the point of the FSF view on closed systems. I'll counter it by suggesting that FSF position of "fully open" systems is just as "defective by design".
DRM allows the idiots that want to protect their copyrights the right to protect and earn a living off of it. You might not agree with the whole "profit" motivation, however, if it means the difference between being able to read a book or not being able to read a book, then what the FSF is doing is tantamount to censorship.
Yes, DRM doesn't work. It is and will be broken. WE understand this. As for APPSTORE restriction, so freakin what? There are many many things in this world where you can only get approved addons from one source.
What you don't realize is that APPLE's reputation is that of making things that "Just Work". If you want a free and open ecosystem, use Microsoft or Lunux. Both allow you to run whatever you want on their products.
My wife is a good example of the target market of such a device. She just wants it to work. Her iPod, she wants it to hold and play music. She wants to go and get the music she wants and finds it on iTMS. As for the iPod, she didn't even know what it was when I got it for her. It took her all of few minutes to figure out how to work it.
You and me, we're geeks. We like to tinker, toy and play with things. And when things go wrong, we like to figure out why, and fix it. We are NOT the target market for iPod, iPad and iPhone aren't for us.
We look for "features", build our own, use Android and such because that is what we're about. My wife just wants to listen to music, read a book, make a phone call.
What the FSF doesn't realize is that their "ideals" are, for all intents and purposes, "defective by design", because it doesn't take into account the need for something to "just work" that doesn't require a geek to configure, tweak, install, maintain it.
And this is why Linux is not on the "desktop". I just set up Ubuntu for one of my relatives, on his laptop. While it installed and configured itself perfectly with one exception, that one exception would be a deal killer if I wasn't capable in fixing it. The wireless setup was broken.
Now you may feel the need to point out that was a driver problem related to the manufacturer not having proper Linux drivers, and you'd be right. Ubuntu people have decided that they know best for people and don't include proprietary drivers. Because of this, it is DEFECTIVE ... and BY DESIGN.
The problem isn't "Defective by design", it is competing and mutually exclusive design principles. And as long as we have a choice in what principles we value, then we have freedom. THE MOMENT we lose that, then we are enslaved.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
Since you're the last living 4-digit. HANG IN THERE!
Stop thinking of it as a computer and just as another piece of consumer electronics and you'll be much happier.
The iPad is something which does a limited set of things very well.
First off, it is based on iPhone OS 3.2. What the hell?!?!??! So you're telling me I'm going to spend at minimum $500 on a device that is just as locked down as an iPod Touch or iPhone? I'm going to have to hack the damn thing just so I can run an unapproved application? Great. Thanks for that, Apple.
Secondly, it is completely devoid of ANYTHING...no external ports (except when using dongles hooked up to the 30-pin connector...huzzah for accessories :/), no flash support, no multitasking (oh great, so I can't have AIM and Safari open at the same time? Epic Fail.)...it just seems to be an extremely restricted device considering the $500 entry price.
Third, what exactly are you getting for that price? Let's look at the fully loaded 64 gig/3G-enabled version. For roughly $800, you are buying a locked-down device with zero expansion options, zero USB ports or flash card readers, and no way to upgrade. For $800 you could put together a full-blown gaming computer or buy a REALLY nice laptop...hell, you could even buy a used tablet convertible and get the benefits of a tablet AND a laptop! But no, with Apple you get a locked down non-widescreen non-expandable device.
Fourth (and this isn't that big of a deal, but it is still a missed opportunity) Apple should have included a stylus with the system. Think about the people that use Wacom tablets, like the Penny Arcade guys or countless other digital graphic artists/designers. If Apple had included a stylus and well-designed software, this thing could be used as a portable Wacom tablet. Digital artists would have MURDERED each other for a chance to buy this thing had they included a stylus. Nope, that's a whole 'nother market Apple shunned with this thing.
Honestly, my biggest issue with it is the fact that it uses the iPhone operating system. By keeping it locked down like that, they have severely limited the appeal of this thing...they should have either ported over OSX (which would work GREAT on a tablet with minimal interface changes) or just built a new operating system from the ground up. But no, they decided to put on a velvet glove and slap the shit out of their customers...and they'll buy it! They are so focused on the fact that the hand has a velvet glove they are ignoring the fact that they are being slapped by it!
Basically, this COULD have been an amazing device...but regardless of what they did right, Apple made some unbelievably stupid decisions that puts it firmly in the "what's the point" category for me.
It is also worth mentioning that if this tablet had been announced with all the same features (both missing and included), but it had a Microsoft or Google logo instead of an Apple logo, people would be treating it like the plague. Fanboyism is a terrible disease.
Living With a Nerd
As a device that does that, for a similar price point, it kicks the shit out of media readers like the kindle,
Except that in reality it costs about 2 to 3 times as much (plus additional monthly fees to AT&T), has to be recharged after three chapters of a book and is unreadable outside the house...
and it does (frankly) all the crap I'd ever actually use a tablet pc to do.
Yeah, even Granny might want to download the pictures from her digicam to view them on a bigger screen... Oops, no USB host port. Or she might want to video chat over Skype with the grandkids... Oops, no webcam - or USB host port to attach one.
Beside proper sentence capitalization
ohhh ouch!
"ePub". The last time I checked, that is at least one open format in use by an Apple media device.
agreed.
And I am pretty sure the MP4 is another.
saying something is MP4 doesn't mean anything. any particular MP4 encoded stream can have variable bit and stream rates.
have you ever tried to get a movie file that you obtained from another source onto an ipod or iphone. it will only play the file if it's just how apple wants it. there are programs to convert. my macbook pro took 6-8 hours to convert a movie. very user friendly.
I think that HTML might be considered yet another.
really? i guess my car is standards based also because it drives on roads.
I think thats the key here, the iPad is an appliance, not a personal computer. Its a "computer" for people that suck at computers, and a toy for people that don't.
For the road warrior that has to lug some crappy old locked-down thinkpad around, i'm sure its a godsend; as well as for people like my mom that only really need a device that can do some light web browsing and check e-mail.
You mean all the feminine hygiene jokes? ;)
I think the FSF's usual approach isn't completely realistic in this case, given so many similar devices are so locked down. We need to support the mostly open platforms like Android (Google) and Maemo (Nokia N900).
p.s. Nokia N900 currently offer the best browsing experience possible on a mobile phone, including solid flash support, as well as the best skype and sip integration for a mobile phone, and they're shipped with linux shell access enabled.
The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
Given how locked down it is, yes, that's the exact purpose of the iPad - it's for websurfing, IM, email, and multimedia (watching movies, listening to music, and reading books), but it does have the ability (with iWork for the iPad) to allow you to do some general computing tasks. Though I'm curious if you have to sync with iTunes to get your finished documents off the iPad.... That would be stupid if they didn't at least allow you to email it or send it over bluetooth.
I like the idea of the iPad and I like the price (I was surprised that it started so low, given Apple's history of overpricing everything, I honestly expected the bottom of the line to be close to $1,000), but I don't think it'll be very functional as anything other than an entertainment device until Apple calms the fuck down and lets people run whatever they want. Maybe if they allowed a separate iPad-only section to the App Store where there were no restrictions other than a security check to make sure that the software wasn't malicious?
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
I'm pretty sure that not buying a product is a strong and clear signal to a corporation that their product sucks. If the corporation is smart, it will listen to the signal and try something else.
Not buying the product means SOMETHING caused me to not lay down that money. It could have been priced too high. It might not have been fast enough. It might not have run Windows. It might not have had an integrated keyboard, webcam, or removable battery. The 3G connectivity might not have been compatible with my preferred carrier. It might have exercised too much control as to what software I can run.
If the corporation is smart, they want some level of feedback from the people who didn't buy it so that they know just where the hell they went wrong. Otherwise the next generation could very well be "iPad - now with a floppy drive!!!!!" and they're still left scratching their heads as to why certain people aren't on board.
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
Totally delusional wingnuts.
Well, I guess it's possible that couple of fat smelly hippies (mad love to all y'all) wearing sweaty Free Dmitry Sklyarov shirts and scarfing donuts outside of Apple stores hit their sales so badly that Steve Jobs himself stepped in and changed Apple's policy.
It's also possible that when I get home, I'll find that a naked, horny Alyson Hannigan has been duct taped to my bed. By the Easter Bunny.
Dude, having the Easter Bunny duct taped to your bed is perverted enough.
"Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
Except most major businesses just want a handful of apps and the PC locked the hell down.
A browser, an IM client, Office and maybe a specialty app or suite, depending on what the person does there.
These artificial limitations that Apple puts in place are completely unnecessary, and unjustifiable.
Maybe if I use a car analogy, you'd understand it better. These days, virtually every consumer-grade vehicle has a gas tank that can be filled at virtually any gas station. If you want to buy from one station instead of another, you're perfectly free to do so. After all, there's no justifiable reason to put any limitations in place. It's your car, you should be able to fill it up however and wherever you want.
I'll run with your car analogy.
On one hand, you could justify Apple as making a car that your mom can drive. All the futzy-bits are taken away. Put gas in it. Go for scheduled maintenance. Make sure your oil is changed. It just works without needing to know the details. A PC would be more like the old muscle cars grease monkeys would constantly be tinkering with, adjusting the points and timing and always under the hood with a wrench and pliers. Anything that takes away control from a grease monkey would be hateful to them. All the black box stuff on cars today, grease monkeys hate that. But it makes grandma's life easier.
The market would be fine if there was room for tweaking cars and no-tweak cars. Unfortunately the trend is to run with more computers, more specialized tools, and more barriers to entry. An independent mechanic has to spend $20k on diagnostic tools. There's no reason why a common laptop shouldn't be able to plug into the car via USB to read the codes but they charge big bucks because they can. It keeps the little guys out of the business. And there's all manner of specialized tools required to work on the cars rather than designing to do the most work with the least number of tools possible.
I applaud moves that simplify things for one segment of consumers while leaving options open for others. What I don't like is when a move signifies an industry trend that will eventually remove options.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
If apple get's away with it, you know they will follow in their footsteps.
The moment MS even thinks about following a similar model the EU will be repeatedly suing them over it.
Because you can hack around the problem makes the problem ok?
If ripping off it's potential customers by charging $100 for a $10 stick of 16GB flash, or $130 for a 3G connection when a lot of complete mobile phones don't cost that much, doesn't alienate them then nothing will.
As P.T. Barnum put it, "There's a sucker born every minute". Had he been alive today, he'd have been a billionaire ... he'd simply of needed to set up his stall outside the Apple conference center right before a product launch.
Another good test to use: assume for the moment you've created your own application for this platform. What's your way of testing it out on the device itself?
I am officially gone from
The apple cpu seems new.
"Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
The issue is that if a sufficient number of people do buy the "closed" cars, "open" cars become commercially unviable.
I think this has actually happened to an extent. Cars come with sealed engines such that only authorised mechanics can work with them. That gives the car manufacturer an effective monopoly on parts and labour -- via franchises.
Anticipated profits from this channel allow these manufacturers to push the retail price of the car down. Now a user-servicable car is more expensive than a non-user-servicable car. Fewer people buy the more expensive car. A positive feedback loop is established.
Now the manufacturers are free to push up the cost of parts and of service franchises, which is bad for the consumer. Due to the closed nature of the cars, you can't get any old grease monkey to fix your car for cheap.
We're not there yet for all components of a car, but I think it's getting pretty close for some core components.
The analogy to computers is pretty easy to make.
As a troll, you don't often get the chance to directly flame a /. staff member, so why not take it if it arises? I suspect the fanboy tone of the OP is intended to incite just this sort of response, since it generates more total discussion and more clicks.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
I'm more interested in what you believe that you can do with the iPad, that you cannot do with any of the slates that were brought out at CES? From what I can tell, the only thing you get with the iPad is the app-store.
Every other Tablet PC I've ever seen is, in fact, a general purpose computer rather than a mere appliance.
So yep, step backward.
No problem is insoluble in all conceivable circumstances.
Firewire was ok. But it was hardly as pervasive a standard. It was too expensive to use for low-end peripherals, which was why people were using the old serial and parallel ports to begin with. SATA? Intel. PCI? Intel. Perhaps you should continue using your NuBus slots (which Apple did not invent either) and Apple Superdrive floppies.
My wife has an iPhone. She runs her free-lance business off it, so we don't jailbreak it. AT&T's network, their rules, etc. If she also gets an iPad, with no 3G, I'll jailbreak it without a second thought.
To a Lisp hacker, XML is S-expressions in drag.
I like how you gloss over that whole middle ground where, if you see a need for a device or other product that the market hasn't filled, you go into business and make a shitload of money filling that need.
These are the dirty little secrets that none of the "open and free" advocates want to admit to:
1) The "freedom" you're spouting off about is only valuable to a consumer if they have the technical expertise to take advantage of it. 90+% of people do not, and of the maybe 10% who do, a vanishingly small number of them actually care to spend their days hacking devices that already work.
2) You're lazy. If there was truly a vast demand for a "free" version of this product, you'd go into business and make a mint for yourself producing it. But you know in your hearts that what you're demanding is for - at best - a small niche / hobbyist market, so you take the safe route and bitch about Apple instead.
Imagine if you'd bought a Ferrari for some ridiculous sum, and then were told that it doesn't actually run on gasoline, but on Beluga Caviar (North of the Caspian).
Having spent all that money, and then discovering there's only one place where you can obtain fuel to make it run, what would you do ?
There, a car analogy AND a 1960s Bond reference all in one post ;-)
Really? I can totally see Apple releasing a new mac mini with this OS because *it just works*. Then putting a premium on future machines with the OSX variant. I think the saddest part is that for a large portion of the population, that's probably best. Would we have such large bot nets if every Joe could only get their stuff from one place? Doesn't even Ubuntu try to mimic this in some respects with its downloader?
I would be very happy if modern operating systems had average and expert user modes. Average mode is what you set for mom. Automatically downloads updates, prevents you from installing stuff not from an approved source, etc. You can try and fake this some with GPO's and the like but it's not quite where I'd like to see it. But if you activate expert mode then boom, you're back to general purpose computer, full access. For something like an iphone, I think jailbreaking should be allowed. All Apple has to say is "While we let you do it, we don't support it. If you have problems, you'll have to use the newsgroups. Our phone support is for n00bs."
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
Media devices don't use open formats? I have 25,000 MP3s on my iPod. My desktop has a PCIe Radeon HD 2600, it uses off the shelf SATA disks and all the ports are standard ports (IEEE 1394, USB, TosLink, etc).
So right. I mean no company like Amazon would try to make and release a locked down digital media device. I'm sure if they did, that they would come up with some lame name, like maybe, I don't know, Kindle or something like that.
(check sarcasm alerts before responding)
Use a different phone/media player.
And I do.
Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
Part of the point is the concern that *all* cars will come like this. Make the analogy slightly worse: say you can only have your tank filled by a "qualified technician". We shown that people can fill their own tanks for decades. Now we have to pay another high fee for something we used to be able to do before. If CorpX sees CorpY making a profit from this, CorpX'll jump right in line.
Stanza (linked in the prior comment) is a good app. And free.
I also use the iDisk app with MobileMe, but that requires a $100/year subscription. I think that it's worth the cost, for this and other features, but others may not.
Floating face-down in a river of regret...and thoughts of you...
Apple now gives good cheap tools that work. But they are still the same old apple wanting a share of your pie.
Of course this is not true for Mac OS X applications.
It's worth nothing that you cannot run arbitrary code on a Tivo because they use DRM to prevent unsigned kernels from being loaded. "Tivo-ization" was a primary motivation for the FSF to write the GPL3.
Myself, I don't understand why some people draw the line for software freedom at embedded systems. I can understand it if most people would want to use the ROM that came with their phone/media player/ebook reader/DVR unaltered. But we should have the right to do whatever we want with our devices.
You wont to know why EVERY major business uses PCs?
Because they went with the conventional choice decades ago, and now migrating would be a huge expense.
Because whoever made the choice knows Windows and nothing else.
(Note: This is not an argument for using Macs or iPads instead)
That's a little unfair considering the average user doesn't really understand the issues. I'm sure if you were to explain to the average joe exactly what vendor lock in was and what the alternative could be, even if he had no intention of fully exploiting the full capabilities of the device, he would naturally choose the less restrictive model. The problem is nobody is allowed to explain the dangers because they're instantly decried as nutjobs or pirates or communists or MS shills, take your pick.
I wish I could believe you. But think about how many OS X users also happily bought into the iPhone, even though it's locked down and intentionally crippled.
Here's my scenario:
Sure, they won't lock down OS X overnight. They don't need to. They can slowly boil the frog.
And you may think I'm being paranoid--but fact is, everyone assumed the iPhone would be open eventually, and bought it on the assumption that there would be uncontrolled development like there is on OS X. That hasn't happened.
As soon as step 3 happens, I'm switching to Linux. (I'll start planning my switch when step 2 happens.)
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
The "just don't buy it" thing is precisely HOW you influence the actions of a corporation. If Apple can't sell these things because of the closed-ness, it will change overnight. If 90% of consumers don't care and buy it anyway, then the vocal 10% that do care will just be ignored. The "just don't buy it" thing is far from ridiculous. It is precisely how you vote in the corporate world--with your dollars. If you buy it, then you are endorsing the product and encouraging the company to keep doing what they are doing. My guess with this iPad, however, is that like the iPhone many people simply don't care about the open/closed debate and will buy it anyway. That or they are happy that unlike Android, there aren't known malicious apps being downloaded in the app store.
And I'm not saying I like the closed system. I'm an app dev and I would much prefer to skip the annoying approval process, but the bottom line is that consumers don't care or they really wouldn't have bought it.
You can choose to look at this compared to a laptop, which would make it "defective" or you could look at this compared to a Kindle, which makes it far superior. I don't want it for
I think you missed the point here. There is no statement about whether or not the iPad will be successful. This is a statement about what is good for consumers as a whole. A locked down user experience with zero privacy or control over your purchased hardware is deemed as a step in the wrong direction. I'm inclined to agree as a Linux user I appreciate choice so long as that choice doesn't restrict you to a particular platform.
Apple is trying to extend the iPhone marketplace into a broader computing space and while consumers may like the simplicity they aren't in a position to realize what they have lost which will ultimate stymie a generation of computer users. Imagine how hard it is to learn to program when you first have to learn how to jail break your device. I'm not saying this is how it will be with the iPad but it seems like a logical extension of current and past actions by Apple.
I'm evaluating phones now - I'm the owner of a 64G Touch 3G, am wielding a Pre+ on a 30-day trial and have used a number of Android phones.
Apple Pros:
navigating launcher is fast, quick, easy to use. One button. Consistent behavior in metaphors (delete, back, forward).
Bright, large screen.
Arguably accurate/responsive touch screen.
Incredible on-screen keyboard and editor.
Videos, integration with iTunes.
Most applications (productivity) seem well thought out and designed.
Software ecosystem.
Apple Cons:
Harder for me to write software for (as a non-dev, I don't care, or can move to Webapps).
Large phone.
Tied to AT&T.
Not expandable (sd card)
Pre Pros:
Small, comfortable size.
Multitasking
Wifi Hotspot
Synergy
Pre Cons:
$10/m for access to VZ Navigator GPS
$30/m for Wifi hotspot. For $30 more I can get a separate MiFi, and be able to browse and talk at the same time.
Launcher is SLOOOOOW.
Keyboard editing is more difficult - it's harder to arbitrarily edit text in a paragraph.
Browser is nowhere near the ease of use of the Touch.
Screen is smaller.
Screen digitizer is not very accurate.
Synergy: synergy is about contact and communication integration. It should allow me to email a facebook user from the contact app. As it is, it just shows me contact data that exists in each source, it doesn't utilize native communication tools. It also only supports LinkedIn and Facebook. After 6 months (since the Sprint release) I'd have expected that they'd have added Facebook or Twitter.
Tied to Verizon.
Software ecosystem is an unknown at this time. It's growing, but I'm not at all sure about marketshare and uptake.
Not expandable (sd card)
Droid Pros:
Software ecosystem
Powerful interfaces to communications (SMS/Email)
Decent size for a phone
Bright display
Droid cons:
midsize display
Launcher is slow - navigating is noticably slower than the Touch.
Digitizer is less accurate.
Expandable with memory cards.
Interface is not standardized (this is arguably not a con).
My big fingers can't use the top row of the slider keyboard comfortably.
<rant>Why can't we have one communications standard (GMS/CDMA) in this country?</rant>
I'm pretty sure my Pre+ is going back to the store. It's cute, it's nice, but it's not my hoped-for Treo replacement. The Touch with it's onscreen keyboard is arguably better as a PDA than the Pre+ is with it's REAL keyboard. And I never thought I'd say that - I was vehemently against getting the iPhone or the Blackberry Storm for just this reason - I thought I couldn't live without a physical keyboard (I've had Treo's since the 600, and a Kyocera 6035 before that, and an original Pilot and a Visor before that). So before I ditch Verizon and go to the iPhone, I'm going to give the Blackberry Storm 2 a try.
mDNS for local networks (Apple's implementation of zeroconf, which is open source and available for all major platforms)
USB on the iMac - it was the first, and soon became ubiquitous when it became just how useful a standard low data rate port could be.
standardising the dock connector on the iPod and forward: even if it is proprietary, it is standard and unchanging so third party vendors can make peripherals that use the socket, and there is a published method on how to use the various features of it (Tom Tom's dock with GPS and other gubbins, for example). Yes, you have to pay royalties to build something that uses the 30 pin connector, at least at the moment. You had to for firewire too, but that cost is now gone.
Firewire, yes, which you mentioned. The DV connection on pretty much every home camcorder onwards (at least the MiniDV revolution onwards).
mp3 was not Apple's doing - it was already the default format due to the way computer-based personal music arose, so not supporting it would have been a deathblow for the iPod before it had even begun. The iTMS (after a shaky start with m4p at the behest of the music industry, and ditched as soon as possible) now sells standard AAC files, playable by anything that supports AAC playback.
Incidentally I'm not sure what devices they sell that lock you into using other proprietary (Apple) products - the iPod/iPhone require iTunes, yes, but it is free and you don't need a Mac - you can use the Windows version. You are not forced to use the app store or the iTunes Music Store - the phone plays mp3 and AAC files from other sources. If you want apps, you are stuck (without jailbreak) bun in that case, the iPhone is not for you: buy a Nexus One.
I suppose the new Cinema display (the 24" one) that uses a MiniDisplay port requires a Mac with the same port to use, but there are third party adaptors that will allow you to use it with a DVI port. The 24" CD is really an accessory to the MacBook Pro though - if you wanted a 24" display and you didn't have a MacBook you would really not be choosing wisely.
The iMac I am using right now has a copy of XP on it for some old Windows only games, and I'm actually using a Microsoft mouse, a generic firewire external HD (with Time Machine - no need for a Time Capsule from the Apple store), two generic USB memory sticks, a generic USB hub. My 15" Powerbook dual boots Ubuntu and Leopard. I also exchanged the internal SATA hard drive in my iMac for a bigger one that I bought from an equivalent of newegg. The internal drive on the PB is big enough, but I have done several swaps of hard drives and optical drives in other Mac laptops and just use generic parts. The only properly proprietary internal part is the logic board - much the same as a PC laptop. It would be nice to upgrade the GPU in the iMac, but it is one of the compromises I made when selecting the very convenient form factor.
I don't feel especially "locked" in to anything, but perhaps I just don't tend to clash with situations where I feel that I am being hampered rather than just going on as normal. If you find that you do, then Apple probably isn't for you. It's not different to buying a hammer to change a plug. I know to some geeks, when all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail, but right too for the job and all that.
All patents are negated by this prior art.
Obi-Wan: "I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were sudden
The iPad is the future - computing as we know it is coming to an end. We, the geeks, the hackers, the programmers - are the minority.
We all thought DRM was going to come-in through TPM modules in the BIOS. We thought AMD and Intel would begrudgingly add support under pressure of the RIAA. We thought Windows would add support and that Linux would be the last bastion of free computing left. But it isn't going to happen that way. It's coming from a totally different angle.
What will happen is that various specialized devices, that are 100% DRM encumbered from the start, will slowly replace the PC until it becomes an expensive specialized device for programmers.
First the iPhone comes out. Then the iPad. The all the iPhone and iPad clones - until these devices become ubiquitous. That covers internet, document editing, email, and limited gaming. That's maybe 50% of what the average Joe uses a computer for. Major gaming and social networking can be done on XBOX/Playstation/Wii - also 100% DRM devices. Then those devices will handle your movies, your TV watching, and your DVD/Blu-ray/DRM'd streaming video. Now we are at... 75%? Eventually, 90% of what computers do will be done more easily on some specialized DRM'd device. The idea of the infinitely configurable totally hackable PC will die away. Most consumers won't know the difference.
So how do we break this? Maybe come-up with some super-cool thing you can do on a computer that nobody thought of yet... something that can't be done on these devices? Maybe Android is the answer? I dunno. But I see the tidal wave coming...
Hold on, we're talking about software repositories here, not package managers. Did NeXT actually have remote software repositories? If it did, that feature was certainly not carried forward to OS X along with the package manager.
Many people are complaining about the current state of American health insurance. What is your point? Lock in has always been bad and it always will be. Instead of the environment becoming more open it is becoming more closed. Are you deliberately trying to cloud the issue?
You might notice all the unlicensed cartridge crap went away and that most computers even across platforms are compatible now. Apple moving to x86 was good for the computing world. Of course restrictive DRM reintroduces the problems of the past.
The iPad is not a computer - it is an information appliance.
Sure it has computer components, but it is not meant to be a general-purpose computer. It is a sealed-box with tightly controlled access to tools and data. It is aimed at the same crowd that buys a TV and pays for a cable connection. They can only choose what is being offered to them.
This has been Job's dream since before the first Mac, when Jeff Raskin convinced him that computers were too hard for non-technical people to use. The smart thing about this design is (like a TV) it just works. Most people will accept the limitations, because too much freedom may not be a good thing. These are the same people who run as admin on a Windows PC, and click on any little thing that pops up. Their "freedom" turns their PC into brick in short order. So a limited device that just works is fine for them.
I'll wait for the more open clones to appear and do what I want. Apple is rightly aimed at the crowd that is willing to cash for the comfort of not thinking. The thinkers/doers will wait for something more open. This is not a product meant for us.
Place nail here >+
Isn't it an A4 processor, and not an ARM, or did I miss something where someone found out they were the same thing?
Thank you! At last sanity exposed. Vote with you wallets people. When and if Apple ever get to a monopoly status like Microsoft did, then I would have a problem with a completely closed computing environment. However, there is a huge amount of choice out there. Apple won't be a problem until people start telling me that I can only access some standard data only on an Apple device. That is what it got to be with Microsoft and its Office documents. It was very difficult to create, open, and edit documents unless you had the official Office package. Only since the backlash against that have things changed. The same will happen to Apple if they go too far.
I don't know that I buy that - I mean, Apple releases 1 version of OS X with all features enabled, vs. Microsoft releasing however many versions of their OS with various features.
I *could* see Apple replacing the Mini with the Pad - the keyboard doc + pad is at the same price-point. But I just don't see them saying "Okay, this OS that we've been pushing for years, that is by and large thought to be one of the best OSes around from a usability AND capability standpoint - fuck that, we're going to cripple it and you have to pay us more money to uncripple it." It makes no sense from any perspective.
Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
If by open formats you mean ogg / vorbis - some have argued that embracing those formats are more of a risk than they are worth because of submarine patents. It's arguably better to just license AAC & MP3 and be safe.
Kiteboarding Gear Mention slashdot and get 10% off!
I agree. Farble made a false statement. I was simply correcting that.
s unreadable outside the house...
If there's one piece of FUD about the i/pod/touch/pad I really hate, it's this one. I can't comment on the kindle or e-ink, but I've spent plenty of sunny days outside over the last 18 months happily reading on my ipod touch screen. I can only imagine the ipad, with its much bigger display, is going to be a breeze to read in the sunlight.
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
You can compile your own Android from source, having audited it for bugging code.
You can choose which web sites you visit from the Android browser.
(admittedly if you refuse to use Google's closed-source Android apps, you lose some functionality. That's the trade-off.)
I'm a Microsoft Support person at work and Linux / open source guy in my spare at work.
I had both Microsoft and Linux (type) device at home for years. I bought a Mac.. Now when I go home after work I have a life I use the mac to surf the web, reply to a few emails but that is it. This is all most home users need. It always works, it doesn't do much and it is kind of pricey.
I'll be buying one of these to replace my mini-hp running linux that I use on the bus or from travel. Because it isn't for programming, writting essays.. it is for what 99% of people do.. surf the web, read some mail and look at the odd credit card required site.
It's also possible that when I get home, I'll find that a naked, horny Alyson Hannigan has been duct taped to my bed. By the Easter Bunny.
you've just described my worst nightmare... thanks...
/me wanders off to commit suicide
I am very sucseptible to "let's have another drink"
Sorry to nit pick, but the A4 is an SOC (System-On-Chip) with an ARM core. You do know that ARM is a licensed architecture, right?
If the "artificial limitations" are "completely unnecessary, and unjustifiable", then consumers won't buy it. In your car analogy, people can still buy Chevys and Hondas.
The problem becomes when Chevrolet and Honda see that Ford is making more money in a month than they make in a year and decide the same business model is good for them, too.
Next, they'll get even more lawmakers to agree with them that just because all the big car companies are doing the same thing and have a single industry lobbying organization, it's not collusion or price fixing. As a matter of fact, it'd be just like the music recording industry, and we all know they aren't doing anything to hurt consumers.
This is not Flamebait.
For the $10 less, the Kindle gets you a persistent wireless connection for data without paying another penny.
I did a lot of research, so I thought I knew what I was getting into. To my surprise, one of the most important functions I wanted in a book reader was not there -- I could not import my own documents.
Seems that the problem there is that you suck at product research. Seriously. An iPod Touch for book reading? About an hour of research with Google would have revealed a myriad of devices with better ebook capabilities than the iPod Touch.
Where are these sealed engines that only authorized mechanics can work with that you're talking about? I know dealers imply such bs when you buy, but there is no such warranty that can be voided that way legally. Effectively, there are many things that are more difficult to do at home, now, but they can still be done.
Now, what you're real point is still makes good sense. If enough people buy "closed" options that it puts the "open" option in the dark then eventually there will be no "open" option because it simply won't give a good enough return on investment for the manufacturer.
"Growing old is inevitable; growing up is optional."
Just a pity MS's only workable computer HW consists of a line of mice and keyboards.
And last time I checked they don't update too well.
Then there's the Xbox - which is a closed system just like the iPad.
Buying an Apple and expecting freedom is like
OS X is not locked down BLAH
Yeah. OS X is not locked down until you try to write a wifi (airport?) driver for it.
It's not defective, RMS et al: it's a CHOICE.
War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength, no choice is choice -- hey, it really is like that superbowl ad!
Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
Beck has his moments of incredulity, but a good portion of what he has to say is just basic conservatism. Olberman, on the other hand, just seems to mock and take cheap shots at his opposition.
You inability to see that they are both approximately the same distance from center tells me that you must lean quite far to the left yourself.
As for Palin "taking the spotlight" from Obama --- well, that's because the spotlight was on Obama by default.
I'm sure you surmise much from my sig, but the fact is, I have just about equal hate for both parties. Democrats have no right to tax me to pay for someone else's healthcare or to regulate my exhalations, and Republicans have no right to tax me to bail out banks, or to fund the development of other countries.
Hell, the "religious right" is as foreign to me as it is to you, I assure you. I live in a "dry" county, where liquor sales are illegal. I fight with those nutjobs on a regular basis over the ideas of Liberty and individual rights.
Learn about Photography Basics.
It only works when the average consumer is knowledgeable and educated.
The case here is that the people who are not buying this, because they do not agree with the artificial restrictions Apple has wrapped around their product, don't constitute a large enough number to hurt Apple.
And since the money is flowing to they coffers anyway, the industry gets a kind of green light to go and cripple more products.
"Vote with your money" only works when a large number of people know and care enough to actually buy an alternative product (assuming there is an alternative product available.)
Utinam logica falsa tuam philosophiam totam suffodiant!
They like the safety of the app store, but probably not the lock-in. If they are THAT enamored of the app-store there wouldn't need to be a lock-in because they'd never bypass it anyway.
Apple's goal all along was to drop DRM - they didn't want it in the first place and said so, but they had no choice if they wanted to sell music on the iTMS. The FSF were right, but it wasn't Apple's choice (well, apart from 'don't sell music, make no money on the store' and 'sell music with DRM and then prove that the store works and manoeuvre to remove it').
They also pretty much spelled out what they thought of DRM on the music tracks by making it *hilariously* trivial to get around it - the iTunes app itself burned those DRM'ed tracks to CD format so you could rerip them (or just keep them on CD) and actively encouraged you to do so when you were buying and downloading them.
Yeah, I really think they "needed convincing" to remove DRM. It wasn't Apple who needed the "DRM is bad" pep talk.
My employer bought me an iPod touch, because I should write a client for it for our in-house software.
... i will replace my private mbp as soon as possible.
The device was delivered with os v 2.x but 3.0 was already out. so I had to fire up a virtual machine, install itunes to get the update. No updates for you it said, until you are registered. well i started registering an itunes acc and found out they want my credit card (just in case?) for the free update and free apps i want to install.
This was a real WTF moment!
iAnything? not with me any more. If they start pulling stunts like this with OSX
sometimes, I would prefer to have simple and limiting to complex and free. I don't *need* to have complete and total control over my phone, my music player, or a simple internet device. These are items that just need to work out of the box, be aesthetically pleasing, and do the job they are intended to do. That doesn't mean that I'm anti-Free Software, but that I don't want to use it for everything that I do. ... For that other 5%, jailbreaking is trivial and allows complete control.
Jailbreaking may be trivial to you, but not to most, and not without risk and violation of contract.
To all those (not you) claiming that the Apple appopoly is merely about security and compatibility, imagine a simple system of certification, where apple would put its stamp of approval on apps that meet a certain set of standards, only distribute certified apps, and make it very clear to the customer that it will only honour warranty issues when certified apps are used. Then we could have third party app repositories, with more or less acceptable compatibility and security standards, and a reasonable degree of openness.
Of course, the network carriers have their own concerns here, but they could impose their own restrictions, too, to protect themselves.
There could even be caveat emptor warnings included in the app install process that checks on an app's certification status. We'd still have the hardware manufacturer lording it over users and developers through the certification process, but it would be a lot less feudal.
Damn those pesky terrorists
Yes, owning an iPad is a choice. That's the point. The FSF is reminding everyone that the choice has serious negative consequences and we should not choose an iPad. They're not arguing for regulation, they're appealing to the individual consumer.
Beck takes himself and his message seriously, Jon Stewart presents a comedy show, and has stated firmly that he provides entertainment, not news.
The arbitrary rules are in places because most people can't handle the freedom on a complex computing device. They download Kazaa and end up with all kinds of stuff soap won't wash off.
Jailbreaking is trivial because Apple didn't try to lock the device from hackers - only lock it to the point were your grandma and your 13-year-old can't break it surfing the net.
Out of the box, the iPhone is better on the whole than any other phone I've used. It lacks tethering, though, and that's the reason I jailbroke it. If my choice was between the iPhone w/o tethering and another smartphone (say, a Droid or Nexus One), I'd still go with the iPhone.
That said, I'm following Android closely, and liking what I see.
Learn about Photography Basics.
You are an idiot.
Apple's main computer lines are *NOT* locked down. I've been using them for oh, twenty years now. The laptops, desktops, servers are not locked down in any way shape or form.
The iPods, iPhones are all hackable, jailbreakable and can have other OSes installed on them.
So what the devil are you rambling about?
"The reason for the app store has nothing to do with security and everything about Apple wringing every last penny out of developers"
FUD. Apple doesn't make much money from the App store: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/01/26/app_store_wildly_successful_but_not_hugely_profitable_for_apple.html
Quite frankly you sound unreasonably reasonable. Can't your throw some demands in that Apple should be made to change or that what that do is unacceptable? This whole choice and free decision-making thing will destroy /. if it catches on.
Personally I can live with the restraints Apple have placed on my iPhone but if I decide I can't I'll jailbreak.I was hoping the iPad would to be closer to the OSX paradigm than the iPhone OS paradigm, that is, open. However being realistic, unless Apple had created an entirely touch interface for OSX just for the iPad, which didn't require every program to be rebuilt, I think what they did was the safe move. Whether it was a smart move only time will tell.
Your car, just like computers, are a mixture of standards and proprietary. However, this was not in response to a statement about your car (or the iPad hardware). The parent said there are no standard-based formats being used by any Apple media device. HTML is a standard-based *format* in use by an Apple media device. My comment was a direct response to the statement. Nothing more and nothing less.
I tend to like correct facts in debating issues. We are all sometimes mistaken with facts, but the orignal comments smacked of just anti-Apple bull.
They're not telling people not to choose the device. They're warning people of the potential consequences of throwing away their freedom and accepting lock-in to get their hands on a shiny new toy. Will it fall on deaf ears? Of course. Does that mean they should stop trying? No, probably not.
You're fooling yourself. There would STILL be people complaining about it. People still bitched about Itunes DRM, even though you never had to buy a single track from the itunes store, and could load any non-DRM'ed track you liked on your ipod.
When Apple is involved, people here at Slashdot will always find a reason to bitch.
According to the limited info on Wikipedia, the A4 is a 'system-on-chip' which consists of an ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore with an ARM Mali graphics core[5], plus a PowerVR VXD for video and audio playback.
So yes, it's an ARM processor.
Here's my problem with the "so don't buy it" argument...
Should a company be forced to dictate what an end user does with a hardware platform after the purchase? My belief is that the user should have the final decision over what software and media is installed on his hardware. I believe that DRM which restricts the use of software or media on any device is wrong. This is not the same thing as DRM that prevents theft of content.
The iPhone platform is also NOT the only platform that has these kinds of restrictions; it's simply the most visible. Nintendo, for example, restricts who can get a developer license. The Wii dev site warns off the states that the home developer, and the Wii homebrew war has been an ongoing battle for several years. Don't get me started on the XBox Live ban.
This is one reason I'm actively trying to move off of the iPhone platform and on to Android. But there are a couple of apps I need that still have not reached Android... until they do, I'm stuck in the iDRMsphere for a bit longer.
Or perhaps we can use the xbox analogy. An xbox is a device that is basically a computer that only runs (without hacking) products that are licensed by Microsoft. These applications either come on discs or are available for download and are written for "licensed publishers" working on "approved titles." The cost to entry is much higher than the $99 apple developer fee. Oh wait, that is even more difficult to develop for than the iPad and no one is complaining about it. The bottom line is that there are multiple models for doing this. Many instances of open models (like car after market parts, software on general computers, etc) and plenty of closed models (like the iPhone, XBox, probably much of the electronic equipment hidden in your TV). This is nothing new. It just depends on what consumers think ought to be on this particular device and if they are willing to pay for it--which I guess we will see in 60 days.
I think the disconnect is that we're thinking of this as a computer while Apple is thinking of it as a new device. We think--we'll its just a computer so it ought to have an open software install base. Apple thinks of it similarly to the way MS thinks about the xbox 360--this is a specialized device with certain use-cases that aren't fully satisfied by a computer and we think this is the right way to handle it. The real question is not whether this is right or not, but whether consumers will buy into it or not. The moral issue that people are making seems more to be a lot of hot air than anything else.
One of Apple's brilliant insights is that they know you can make the best products if you make both the hardware and the software. MS and GNU on the other hand prefers to make good and cheap stuff and hope for other developers to make it better with their "bazaar style" contributions. Sometime this works out much better than the Apple version.
If you want 3 to 3.5 pounds and 10 hours of battery life plus the ability to format the HD, great get a netbook. If you wants 1.5 pounds, multitouch and 10 hours of battery life, you have to go with the iPad.
Instead of the environment becoming more open it is becoming more closed. Are you deliberately trying to cloud the issue?
No, I'm suggesting there are far more important kinds of lock-in to worry about. Also, by the way, today you have far more choices, as a whole, than ever before... lock-in is only within each choice. If you don't have the means to own health insurance -- or an iPad -- then lock-in is a moot point.
You might notice all the unlicensed cartridge crap went away...
Exactly so. Thank you for answering this little position from the article: "If the first personal computers required permission from the manufacturer for each new program or new feature, the history of computing would be as dismally totalitarian as the milieu in Apple's famous Super Bowl ad."
Liberal? Conservative? Compare perspectives at Left-Right
Their media devices certainly use open formats. The iTouch and iPhone play MP3, AAC, many AVIs and MP4s files. The default mechanism (iTunes) in which you put such media on their devices is proprietary because it's tied in to the media library system used by the device but anybody who uses Air Sharing (for iPod/iPhone) will confirm you can use both devices as a wifi accessible drive and drop files and folders and play that media on the device.
"bullshit publicity"
I'm sure the reality distortion field will have waned in 60 days and sales will be driven by the actual in-hand experience people have. If they like it, they'll buy it, otherwise they won't. Personally I'm not passing judgement until I get to play with one. I can see really great use-cases for it, especially in areas that I've been annoyed with using either my laptop or smart phone for, but will it really fill the niche? That remains to be seen.
Maybe I'm looking at this in a weird way, but I really wasn't thinking of the iPad as a device intended to replace netbooks, but more as the equivalent of a "gaming console" except instead of taking over gaming, it's more aimed at casual surfing, simple document creation, email, and tasks like that.
If I am looking at the iPad as a computer, it's AWFUL because it's locked down and when I think "computer" I really think "general device that lets me do whatever I want, however I want." If I am looking at the iPad as a console, it's great because it is optimized (mostly) to do the things that it replaces really well and to make that experience pretty seamless.
While I'm not excited by the iPad (the lack of front/back cameras & a microphone so no video conferencing with it was a big disappointment; no flash was another - if it had those capabilities, I'd have probably got one) I can definitely see the market for it - an extremely easy to use device that will let most people do all of the things they want to do online or with a computer very easily, and with a nice user experience in the process. Just as consoles streamlined gaming, so, too, this kind of device can streamline internet use for the more casual user.
Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
Sure, tell the manufacture.
Slashdot is not the manufacture of the car or the iPad, so bitching here isn't doing anything other than trolling.
My father used to sit on the couch and whine, bitch and moan about politicians, but never once did he leave the house to tell anyone outside of it how he felt.
His bitching was useless and annoying to those around him, just like the posts to this effect here.
With a slight difference, if no one buys a product, it won't stick around and other ideas will be needed to stay in business.
Considering the way iPhone/iPod sales go ... I'd say that the complaints here are from such a tiny group that no one gives a flying fuck.
The irony is that this isn't even new to the iPhone. It wasn't the first iPod with apps you know?
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Really ? If I want to create an app as a hobby project, what are my alternatives ?
Either I do all that extra work, pay al that extra money and hope I sell a lot of copies to earn back my investment and make a profit or I let Apple handle that stuff and make a profit on the first sale, not having to worry about anything other than just my app.
Easy choice for me. IMHO the power of the whole app-store model is that it empowers small time (hobby) developers to play in the same league as the big boys. That also partly explains the huge amount of apps available.
There are plenty of people who disagree with you.
And since I was trying it out as my first ebook reader, when I'm not sure I like the entire idea of ebooks, choosing one that I could use in other ways made the purchase more palatable.
Genocide Man -- Life is funny. Death is funnier. Mass murder can be hilarious.
That's a great feature BUT the Kindle is only for reading books and things like that. That feature is handy if you run out of books to read and you want another one right away (or if you are browsing through a book store and want to purchase some of the books you see - however, many bookstores now are offering free WiFi so you could do the same thing with the iPad or even just make a note of the books and buy them later).
I could see purchasing the smaller Kindle but there is very little reason to buy the larger Kindle now (unless you want things to read while you are away from an electrical outlet and you need the week long battery life of the Kindle).
Ah, but:
I'm the family mechanic. For some reason my family is full of lazy bastards who can't figure out how to pump gas into their car. It's a simple process, but they just can't be bothered to do it themselves. I've spent *years* trying to teach them, but they always have some excuse or another as to why they can't do it themselves.
Now they discover that the Ford gas stations are all full-serve, while every other gas station has gone self-serve. I have two options:
1. I tell my family members to buy the non-Ford cars. I give them instructions on how to pump gas. I write it on a little post-it note and stick it to their dashboard. But invariably, several times a week, they call me from the gas station and ask how to turn on the pump, or where the gas tank is, or something similar. And I know that I'll have to drive other there in my non-Ford vehicle and pump it for them.
or
2. I tell my family members to pay a bit more money and get the Ford. Sure, they can only buy gas from Ford itself but they're OK with that. They like having it done for them because they just aren't into cars like I am. Sure, they like driving around and getting from A to B - but they *really don't care* how they got there, or if their Ford is missing some of the features of my non-Ford. They're just happy to get to their destination without breaking down.
You know what else? If they go with option #2, then I get to enjoy my long non-Ford drives uninterrupted. I discover that they just don't call me for car advice as much. When they do call, it's because they actually want to talk to *me*, and not for support.
After a few years of this, I really begin to appreciate Ford for that they offer, and for freeing up my time.
Does that help you to understand it better?
I have and use Stanza. It's a good bookreader. It doesn't allow you to load or read arbitrary files. You can only get books from a few trusted sources. Project Gutenberg is there, which is nice, but it's still not exactly what I want.
Genocide Man -- Life is funny. Death is funnier. Mass murder can be hilarious.
Hmm, that Lenovo S10-3t looks nice. If only it came with an operating system.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
I don't think anybody would be complaining if Apple had a nice, tidy app store, but still let people run arbitrary code on their stuff.
I think you seriously underestimate the strength of some of the Apple-hate on here. (ignoring the opposite end of the spectrum). Even when things line up in ways that the haters seem to want, like Apple working with Open Source - Webkit, OpenCL, GCD, Zeroconf, BSD etc then it's not "why doesn't apple help oss" it's "apple steals from the oss community and gives *nothing back*".
If the iPhone went to the Android app model, with third party apps allowed they would just find something else to complain about, like non-removable batteries that only last an hour and explode like a grenade when you gently shake the phone, or the dock connector not being some standard (but equally proprietary) port like usb or eSata or something.
Apple are just doing their thing - if other companies follow their exact business model then so be it, but if everyone does, there will be a gap in the market for an Android-like device with an open-wall approach and someone will make one.
I must have missed all the media outlets you read. Everything I've seen has declared it an underwhelming, but predictably unnecessary product in Apple's lineup.
I think the DRM dropping had more to do with competition from Amazon than the FSF. Dollars move companies, not voices, generally speaking.
If ripping off it's potential customers by charging $100 for a $10 stick of 16GB flash, or $130 for a 3G connection when a lot of complete mobile phones don't cost that much, doesn't alienate them then nothing will.
False.
This article, and several posts here, seem very over-dramatic.
It's a $500 gadget. Most of us have electronics in this price range in several different rooms and in our offices.
Apple created this product and it is what it is. Why is the author freaking out about it? You can still use a laptop, a Mac with OSX, Windows, Linux, etc. No one is shoving this new product down the author's throat.
This is not a step backward on anything. WTF is he being so dramatic? Don't buy one and get on with your life. Apple has customers who are going to shit themselves and go buy one as soon as possible. That sounds like good business to me.
Maybe the author should compare Apple stock to other companies during the recession. They are pretty good at selling shit. Apple customers are extremely loyal and many will love this new product for the exact reasons you hate it. For Apple and Apple customers this is a step forward.
I think toy is probably better replaced with a word like appliance. There are many people who want to access content on the internet but struggle with general purpose computers. They want a TV. TVs have complex hardware inside them. They use complex communication protocols. All of this is hidden, as it should be for most people, from the users. In this sense the iPad is a toy with serious internals. I think it is likely to be successful and it probably is the future of computing. Eventually we will have single use devices like this scattered around our homes and workplaces. Each device limited in what it can do but with mutable, simple interfaces. There will always be a need for other types of computers but most people won't use them. Most people don't want them. I'm certainly not the first to believe this to be the case.
I agree. Maybe this is just a sign of my age, but in my mind "computer" and "phone" occupy two different zones. My phone is much more of an appliance, like my microwave oven, that I really want to Just Work. If it has some extra features, cool, but they can't prevent the core function from Just Working.
My computer, OTOH, I really like being a general device and would never buy one that I couldn't install arbitrary stuff onto.
So I'm not crazy about the iPhone Apple Store tie-in, but I can live with it.
As for the iPad, I think I want my tablet device/ebook reader to be a computer, too.
yeah but you are missing the point, if more people buy in to this model it becomes a norm. if that norm becomes successful, other company's that want to make money also will start following that norm. 10 - 20 years down the road everything could be just as described in the summary.
I may be wrong but Apple don't seem to be pushing this is a computer, it's always a "device". Semantics perhaps but I see a distinction. Perhaps FSF would like to rag on the modern speak'n'spell equivalents. Maybe E.T. would have got home quicker if it was an open platform?
Microsoft would KILL to do this. Honestly, they would literally go out and kill puppies, kittens and baby seals all day long if it would allow them to control everything you install.
You know that, historically, MS platforms were generally more open from development and third-party applications POV that the ones offered by most commercial competitors - and especially Apple - right? It's what that whole "developers, developers, developers" thing was all about!
If apple get's away with it, you know they will follow in their footsteps.
Or, use openness as a card to play against Apple, just as Google is currently using it in Android PR, highlighting it against the closeness of iPhone ecosystem.
How terrible that a machine with no real keyboard or mouse doesn't run a bunch of applications designed to be used with a keyboard and a mouse. If only someone would create a device that did that, everyone would love it and flock to it and they'd own the market. We can only hope that one day HP and Microsoft team up to create some sort of tablet PC. It'll take the world by storm.
p.s. In case you didn't get the sarcasm, they've been making those things for years and except for a few niche markets, nobody has cared.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
Everything.
Funny, I've been using this nifty API to interact with iTunes for a few years now. We have different definitions of closed
Really? MP3 and H264 aren't open standards? You and I have different definitions of open. I don't have any music and only one video that are in the original apple formats, I've converted them all to more standard formats to use on other devices as well, they still work just fine in iTunes and on my iPhone and iPod.
Not invented by apple, not licensed by apple, superior to USB in almost every way, available on all sorts of different devices, is an open standard anyone can implement, just requires licensing. Again you and I have different definitions of open. I'm okay with paying a little extra to get something better, you can stick with shitty and free, my time is worth money and waiting on slow ass USB transfers is not my cup of tea.
The only thing I'll even partially agree with is that the AppStore is not wide open.
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Buying or not buying are the ONLY true signals being transmitted in any market. Repeat after me: The Market Is The Best Way To Transmit Information. Listen To The Market. Love The Market. Obey The Market.
I think we're mostly an echo chamber. People outside of the tech community aren't reading slashdot or reading the latest publications of RMS, the EFF or the FSF. Go ask the typical college iphone user about it, and I bet they don't know anything about any of this controversy--and they are the majority, unfortunately. If the EFF is ever mentioned on a mainstream news source, like NPR, there is virtually a paragraph explaining who they are and what they do, which means that journalists assume regular people don't already know who they are and what they do, which probably means that most people really don't know.
Yes, you are allowed a choice. FSF simply wants to make sure you make an INFORMED choice.
I don't see "Defective by Design" mounting a campaign to outlaw the iPad.
If, at the end of the day, someone is OK with (or even prefers that) their tablet PC being locked up by Apple, or the device's other attributes outweigh the disadvantage of vendor lockin, or even if someone yells "OOOHHHH!!! SHIIINY!" and pulls out their credit card to pre-order, that's absolutely their choice.
FSF is about freedom. Even your freedom to give away your freedom, actually, though their general goal is to try to let you know when you are about to do so. From there, the choice is yours.
A lot of people will say, and rightly so, "who cares? This is a toy, and I'll never do any serious computing on it, so why shouldn't I have a simple UI built by a company that is known for good UI design." And they're absolutely right in making that decision. Few people actually enjoy hacking their devices and recompiling kernels on them. For those of us that do, iPad is a deeply poor choice (until it can be jailbroken, which should happen about one picosecond after the first unit ships).
"This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
Yes, you can load your own documents on the iPad. Unlike an iPod / iPhone, the iPad has a "shared folder" that is accessible to all applications, and that you can load your own files into via USB:
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/the_ipad_an_inside-the-park_home_run/
(near the bottom)
"I have begun to look over what's new in iPhone OS 3.2 SDK. It offers some positive signs. In particular, applications will be able to "share" documents they create using a new file-sharing support feature. All documents to be shared are placed in a Shared Directory, which will mount on the desktop when the device is connected to a computer. This works independently of iTunes syncing."
I have an iPhone dev account and have confirmed this in the SDK myself. So yes, you can load your own documents onto it.
Well the difference is - yes Ubuntu has a repository, but it doesn't stop you from downloading a random app off some trusted or untrusted site and installing it.
I know everyone around here hates S60 (Symbian), but its similar - it has an app store, but nothing stops people from installing stuff from other sites either. Same with Android.
I really am struggling to understand what the business plan would be that replaces OS X with iPhone OS. These devices don't allow users to run a programing language. Doing so would totally evade the closed nature of the devices. If Apple didn't allow people to program on OS X, would they recommend developers use some *nix?
If you will assume with me that the iPad represents a new product line and not an extension to the iPhone or the iPod, then you need to view the product in the context of the coming decade, not the coming year. And in that context I highly doubt it matters much if the store is open. Right now, on the iPhone/iPod Touch, you can write write a productivity app that works offline, is snappy and has a native look and feel: all with HTML5. The only downside is that the performance is not as good as a native app. Not very important for most apps, but it is a problem for graphics apps like games. But given the trajectory of JavaScript performance, do you really think this is going to be an issue for much longer?
HTML5 apps can't be prevented by Apple or anyone else. And they have the added benefit for the developers that they work on multiple platforms.
Further, I actually don't think that the primary target of the iPad is who we think it is. It was announced as a media device because that is the market that Apple has experience with and because the press loves consumer devices (most of them are so dumb that when a product isn't intended for them they claim it is useless). Look at environments like hospitals, industry, etc. where "instant on" is a whole lot more important than speed. The iPad, with the proper software (which won't be installed through a store - this would be managed by the enterprise agreement), would be a major step up compared to the current tablets in use. Health care alone accounts for 17% of GDP; this is likely to grow with our aging population. Do you really think Apple doesn't want part of that market?
Anyhow, point is, it the store is open or closed, it doesn't really matter in the long term.
Developer of Heap CRM and Torch Project Management (WBP SYSTEMS)
Only if it wants to alienate almost all of its users and developers.
What users? Same users who rushed to buy iPhone, and are now lining up to get iPad, casually dismissing any app restrictions whenever that point is raised?
The reason for the app store has nothing to do with security and everything about Apple wringing every last penny out of developers by taking an arbitrary cut of their sales and providing only limited QC and indexing that could easily be provided by any other site or service.
Apple takes 30% and covers all the issues with deployment and sales. Please show me the better deal. I wrote my first video game in 1982 and took 33% of gross profit. Cost to retail was $20, cost to consumer $40. Cost to manufacture and ship $10. So I got $3.33 on a $40 retail sale and that was by far the best cut I ever took on a physical product. On the App Store I get 70c for a product that costs the customer a buck.
So there may be some valid complaints about the closed platform, but I see no reason to complain about 70% cut of retail sale cost.
Your analogy completely misses the point. Apple is not selling their own gas, they act as a broker for other people selling gas and take a cut.
Say I find a small oil well in my backyard, build a DIY refinery and I produce 100 gallons of gasoline each day. I can go to the apple-branded gas station and ask them to sell the gas for me, they take a 30% cut of the selling price.
Your alternative is that I operate my own gas station, just to sell 100 liters of gas each day. Running the station will probably cost more than the profit I make selling the gas.
Running your own chain of gas stations is fine if you're a big ass oil company, not if you're a small time seller. Forcing everyone to resell through the same brand of gas stations levels the playing field.
I do not think the iPad is for me but I, as I'm sure Apple is, is confident that there is a big audience for a device where text input is minimal (and where an onscreen keyboard suffices) but where the user is doing a lot of reading (ebooks, browsing etc), watching movies, listening to music, email but where they don't want to worry about virii and malware. This potentially looks like viable platform for such people.
I wish I could believe you. But think about how many OS X users also happily bought into the iPhone, even though it's locked down and intentionally crippled.
The iPhone is not your main computer, your desktop, your laptop. There's no real comparison.
Apple turns on the existing digital signature support in the next OS X, so that apps that aren't signed produce huge unfriendly warning dialogs--rather like the dialogs they introduced warning that you're opening something you downloaded from the Internet.
MAYBE on first launch. Never happen after first launch, so hardly interesting or important.
Then they announce the OS X app store, which requires signed apps--but at this stage it's completely optional.
Possible. But since it will always be optional, I don't care.
Then they announce a cheaper OS X Home Edition which only runs the signed apps, and reserve the full OS X for high-end machines like the MacBook Pro and MacPro.
Never. This will not happen, period. (Well, not while the current people in charge are around, anyway ... someday when Gates buys Apple, maybe.) Apple has spent considerable time and resources ensuring that Mac OS X is Mac OS X. There's no separate versions (except for Server, which adds in additional server-specific functionality that you can mostly get for free anyway, but even then, all apps that run on Mac OS X run on Mac OS X Server, and vice versa).
Then they start charging for store access and dev kit access.
To the former, perhaps; but since it is entirely optional, I don't care. To the latter, "never."
The actually seriously egregious things you mentioned make no sense and won't happen.
everyone assumed the iPhone would be open eventually, and bought it on the assumption that there would be uncontrolled development like there is on OS X
Untrue. MOST developers and users, in fact, bought in AFTER it was well-understood that it would not be "open."
On the other hand the iPad is exactly what I wanted. I can already buy a full Mac OS tablet and I don't want it. I want a bigger better iTouch and that is exactly what they are offering. The idea of a windowing desktop and the associated hassles is idiotic and a relic of the past. Us geeks can have a full system when we need it but the vast majority of people don't need or want that. Secure, easy to use, just works is what most people need and want.
At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
They're not telling people not to choose the device.
Yes, they are. And in addition, they are telling Apple to not make or sell it.
Will it fall on deaf ears?
Hopefully.
You might be right, but most computer illiterates still use IE (unless they have an informed geek in their life) even though they have a choice in browsers (and better choices than IE). Having a choice is not equated with making a good and informed decision and some times ignorantly making a choice is a lot worse than simply having choices made for you.
I wouldn't be so quick to disregard toys. I remember I time when lots of serious people thought that PCs were toys. They thought they were glorified calculators and typewriters, too expensive to justify their use. At the time, those people may have even been right.
And then there's the Internet. Most of the people running our country seem to think that the Internet is an entertainment service for teenagers.
But even toys, genuine toys, sometimes change the way we think about things. That can change our lives. Maybe toys don't deserve so much derision.
Hardly "introducing" - the micro sim is part of the standard spec for sim cards, and has been around for a very long time. The late 1990s as I remember, back when 3G was being hashed out by the various standards bodies.
"Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one." - Benjamin Franklin
Support Right To Repair Legislation.
I should qualify this -- Stanza can read anything in ePub format. I need access to Word Docs and raw text (PDF and OpenOffice ODT would be nice). Converting to ePub is not a good option for me.
Worse, every means of putting the document onto the iPod requires it be connected to a wireless network -- I want to use the USB cable.
So the iPod isn't quite the right solution. I doubt that the iPad will be any more open, but I'm holding out hope. The hard part, though, is learning whether the feature is available *without* buying one and trying it out.
Genocide Man -- Life is funny. Death is funnier. Mass murder can be hilarious.
And at least with Apple, you don't actually have to buy any applications for the device to be useful.
If you could invent a system where you could refrain from purchasing any gas, but still have a useful car - I suspect Ford would pay you a fortune :)
(Also, in most countries the quality of fuel is regulated by government - which could be in some ways compared to the App store review process. Perhaps we just prefer governmental big brother to a corporate one?)
So apple reached into your wallet and took out $800 and dropped an iPad in your lap too? i think you have apple confused with the government!
Don't call me back. Give me a call back. Bye. So yeah. But bye our, well, but alright we are on a shirt this chill.
As computers were getting standardized Radio Shack/Tandy were trying to force consumers into buying hardware from only one source. As a result there are no more Tandy computers. Apple does the same things, but they have always maintained somewhat superior hardware which has kept them ahead.
So, tell me, exactly what part of a Macintosh computer is locked down and forcing you to buy hardware from only one source (Apple)?
Let's see -- Mac Pro. Industry standard PCIe slots, into which you can install any PCIe card (assuming the device vendor has drivers). Industry-standard USB 2.0, industry-standard FW 800, industry-standard DVI, industry-standard Gigabit Ethernet, industry-standard 802.11n wireless ethernet, industry-standard Bluetooth, industry-standard memory and industry-standard SATA hard disks. (OK, so the mice don't have any buttons and the keyboards don't have a "window" key.)
You can install any vendor's SATA hard drives. You can use any mouse or keyboard you like. You can connect any vendor's displays. You can connect to any vendor's printers, scanners and such through the standard interfaces.
Obviously, on the iMacs and the mac mini you don't have an easily-accessible enclosure, but the parts inside are all standards, so if you wanted to crack the case and swap out the hard drive, you can.
So i really don't see where Apple is forcing you to buy only Apple hardware. Unless, of course, your argument is that you want to use OS X on a non-Apple computer. But that's not your argument, is it?
Didnt we used to do these back in grade school? I believe they were called Mad Libs!
I own (NOUN), and so can only (ADVERB). Last I checked however it performed its primary function (NOUN) perfectly well without doing so.
True, I do have to (VERB) (PROPERNOUN), etc onto it or off it, but even that doesn't require spending any more money with (PROPERNOUN) and in fact, the last few (NOUN) I've purchased have come from (NOUN)).
There, now everyone can have fun with it!!!!
Stupidity only gets you so far, then you've gotta try
If I want to buy a fillet knife I don't expect it to do the same things as a machete. Is the fillet knife locked down because I can't use it to hack down underbrush?
When I buy a console, I don't expect it to be a general purpose computer. In fact, that would be one of the reasons I chose to buy a console instead of a pc for playing games: it does what it does, the hardware is set so as long as the game is made for that console it will run. 'Just working' is one of the console's selling points. No fiddling with drivers and settings to get a game to run. Not everyone drools over how cheap of a home computer they can make a console into. If I want a pc, I'll buy a pc and I'll spend what it takes to put together a system that does what I want it to.
It's not defective, RMS et al: it's a CHOICE. You purport to like choice, but no one believes you anymore.
I don't think I've heard anything more ridiculous this week.
RMS isn't trying to PREVENT you from exercising choice. He's trying to inform you why the iPad is a BAD choice. You are still free to CHOOSE to lock yourself into a situation where you LACK choice, but that's kinda silly and there's nothing wrong with pointing that out.
On the other hand, if you CHOOSE to buy the iPad, Apple WILL try to prevent you from exercising choice on that device.
Anyone who is in favor of choice as a principle would be against DRM. If you CHOOSE not to favor choice, that's your choice. But it doesn't mean RMS is not in favor of choice.
Basically your argument is equivalent to "You claim to be for freedom, but you don't approve of me choosing to be a slave! What a hypocrite!"
The enemies of Democracy are
And most importantly, it allows them to think differently, EXACTLY like every other Apple Zombie (Applebie?) out there...
You'd be non-conforming too, if you looked just like me.
you can't honestly call it abuse
Technically, yes.
Morally, no.
If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
A product in search of a market.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Well first, it's funny to talk about the App store being ok because "free markets are great". If free markets are great, then all the more reason why Apple should free the application market.
You only having sex with women is a artificial limitation - you have the ability to accomodate men also, but for reasons of your own you choose exclude half of the population from your services.
So, I guess what i am saying is... suck my dick punk!
Humor from a Genetically Molested Mind
The government is not handing these out to schoolchildren.
Not yet.
But what if Apple convinces several states to do so, at severely reduced prices? States would save money on textbooks and the kids would be effectively indoctrinated into this locked-down mode of operation and computing.
This is how Apple gained their foothold in the minds of academia back in the old days (when they weren't so locked-down). You could get HUGE discounts on their hardware through your school. Back in college it was cheaper for me to buy a Mac than a Dell, until Dell caught on to the "educational pricing" gambit.
Some Apple machines have TPM hardware, but it is not used, and it is hit and miss - it seems to be a hanger on from the chip makers since there's no coherent logic. Ie, they didn't just start putting them in and have from then onwards - some older models have TPM, some newer ones don't, some in a product line have it while other ones in slightly different configurations do not.
In other words, they are not putting in TPM chips on purpose, some machines just have the tech because it is part of the chipsets they use. It's not universal across their new product lines.
Frankly, it doesn't matter if it happens to OS X. What matters is that it could become the standard going forward
The geek has been touting the net appliance - the thin client for the home user for fifteen years.
Now he has what he thought he wanted and now he knows its price.
For the general population, yes, because grandma isn't going to add a new repository, she's going to use what came with it and not give a shit ... just like with the Apple AppStore.
Apple products aren't for you, stop bitching about it and accept they aren't for you even though others like them.
Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
Oh my, I am so amazing, I'm a total hacker, I run Windows! I mean, it's so open, and lets me do anything I want with it, I can write my own programs for it too! It's the hackers choice of OS!!
This message was brought to you by Sarcasm and Troll Feeders United (STFU)
I've never been prevented from running any particular program that I've wanted to by OS X so please enlighten me on how it is locked down.
I guess I'm not getting what the real meat of FSF's issue is here. If you want to program for an iPad, get the SDK. If you want to put somebody else's software on it, just wait around a few weeks and someone will make a convenient way to do that. If you want to put it on somebody else's network, jailbreak it. If you want to steal content, well, it's hard to expect Apple to make all these deals with old-media companies in good faith, then make it easy for content to be stolen, right?
I've converted them all to more standard formats to use on other devices as well, they still work just fine in iTunes and on my iPhone and iPod.
yes that makes sense. spend hours upon hours pegging your CPU to convert all your video files, then explain how superior your are for choosing a marginally faster firewire solution over "shitty" USB.
Steve's focus has shifted. What does he have to prove? The challenge and thrill of pushing the curve of personal computing are for younger men. No longer do you hear Steve talk about how awesome, fast, and powerful something is. Now, it's about making it sleek and clean, at the expense of expansion, user access (batteries, RAM, all a thing of the past) and function (unitasking? how is that not a step backward? vendor lock-in?)
It's now a matter of what's easiest to use, most comfortable, and what develops the relationship between Apple the device vendor, and Apple the content vendor.
If you think the Mac OS has a future, you're looking squarely at it. What the iMac did for floppy drives, USB, and the iPod did for CDs, and Apple TV seeks to do with video and TV, the iPad aims to accomplish with the next most precariously positioned medium - print.
People will always need tools to create content, it's true, but you can bet as online application delivery becomes the norm, and iPod-style dashboard apps take prevalence over shrinkwrapped retail media, so will the look and feel of the environment for running those apps.
Email it to yourself. Durrrrrr.
Sony ha
I unfortunately missed reading anything about what came out at CES due to my schedule at the time so I cannot really comment on the other tablets. I'm sure many of them are great and maybe even better than the iPad. The main bonus with the iPad is exactly what you noted - the app store.
I know many do not like the 'locked-down' nature of the app store and the other limitations of the iPhone/iPad OS but the App store is established and very functional. There is a lot of junk on it but there are also many great and useful apps too (I'm just thinking about what I have on my iPod Touch). Many of the iPhone apps would be even more useful if the screen was larger, which it is on the iPad.
The overall UI of the iPad is also likely more polished than anything that was announced at CES. I'm not saying the other tablets have bad UIs (although some probably do) or that the iPad's UI is perfect, but it will be polished and useful (because the iPhone OS already is).
The integration with the App Store (and book store) is extremely important. That is how the iPod became dominant. Other players didn't have UIs that were quite as good (many were really good, they just weren't quite as good) as the iPod's but more importantly, they did not have the tight integration with a music store that had good prices. I know many people complained about the $.99 price for songs but the ease of use of the store was big and $.99 isn't very much money (until you buy lots of songs!).
The other slates that were announced were probably really cool and useful. However, I already have some investment in Apple's App Store because I have an iPod Touch. I use iTunes for my music (although I usually purchase from Amazon's store) and have a MacBook. I admit, I am a fan of Apple's products (most of them anyway) but much of that is because I've used other computers and OSes and MP3 players but prefer Apple's. Much of that is due to OS X, actually. I spend a lot of time in the CLI and having a bash shell with the nice but powerful UI of OS X seals the deal. I've tried many flavors of Linux but in some ways they are too flexible for me. Many times they do not 'just work' either, while OS X for the most part does (I know the reasons for that but that's a different discussion).
One last comment. We recently got some new iMacs in our neuroimaging lab. Some of the undergrads in the lab had never used a Mac before (at least not since elementary school). Just yesterday two of them sat down at the computers, used them for a minute or two and were completely sold on them. They enjoyed using the computers instead of just used them. That's what keeps me tied to things Apple - I enjoy using OS X and my iPod. I can't say the same thing for Windows (any of the releases) or even many distros of Linux (there are many things about Linux I enjoy but I never get the same sense of enjoyment as I receive from using OS X).
Am I affected by Steve Jobs' halo? Of course I am. Am I biased towards Apple? Yes, but that bias comes from experience. I'll consider some of the other tablet devices but they would have to have some very compelling features for me to purchase one instead of an iPad.
The problem is when the consumer doesn't have full information.
For instance, I bought an iPod touch primarily as a book reader (I wanted one that could also play music). I did a lot of research, so I thought I knew what I was getting into. To my surprise, one of the most important functions I wanted in a book reader was not there -- I could not import my own documents. So it's still useful, but it's not exactly what I want.
That's the feature on the iPad I want to hear about, and nobody's talking about it. If it can't load and read my own documents, or docs I download from the web, then it's not useful to me. No 'official' advertising will answer that question yay or nay. I'm going to have to hope that some blogger answers it for me, or I'm going to have to get a chance to try the thing out for myself.
Choice is great if the consumers are properly informed. Without an informed consumer, choice can be manipulated to the consumer's detriment.
Calibre to import your own documents and serve them at home then use stanza to download them from wireless network and reading on the device , voila, you can read all the documents you want.
There is indeed value in having a controlled platform, but there is also value in having choice. I'm of the opinion that the Apple-provided software is fine as it is, DRM and all. I don't care, as long as it doesn't prevent an advanced user from replacing the entire OS with something of their choosing. If I want Linux, I'll wipe out the iPad OS entirely... or dual-boot, that would be nice.
As long as Apple respects the boundaries between hardware and software, I have no problem with it. It's when they make the two parts indivisible that choice is eliminated, and that's when people start flinging the Fisher Price moniker.
-Billco, Fnarg.com
Wow, you guys really have been hitting the kool-aid hard. Yes, Apple is officially a religion: every thing you have to forsake to use your computer is for the ultimate good and Jobs can do no wrong.
Well if it's entertainment (software, music, movies) the corporations will just lie and say they lost sales to pirates and ignore that a large percentage of their customers told them flat out why they were refusing to buy it.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
And these "whiners" are helping by telling what that something else should be, for them to buy it. Market research for free.
True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
So why have the restriction at all if all it adds is inconvenience to customers?
How is having _one_ store that has _all_ available applications an inconvenience to the customer?
There are a few apps for that. I like MobileStudio. It lets you upload arbitrary files to the iPhone/Pod via FTP, and can view PDFs, Word and iWork docs (among others). I use it for viewing PDFs of scientific papers on the go, works awesome.
If all the linuxy types out there could stop arguing and build a machine that does WAY LESS but actually works we would all be better off. Google OS looks like an attempt at that. All people want to do is surf, email and text, etc. They don't want to backup/install/unitstall/decontaminate. The iPad is what they want. Suck it up and accept it.
The average person WANTS AND NEEDS a surfing machine that is 'Locked down'. Why the OSS movement can't figure out how to do that is beyond me. Just require all software to be signed in order to execute on a consumer 'surf only machine' by both the OSS (through a peer process) and the developer. Developer types and others can continue to use un signed software - they apparently 'just know' when to trust an installer.
It should actually be easier to do this than continue on the Ubuntu path. Drop entire systems (both hardware and software). Think Firefox vs Mozilla - which one had fewer features? Which one won?
When you live in an idiocracy and the people who have the ability to see naked emperors are few and far between, there is no chance for the enlightened to influence corporate stupidity through boycott. There are too many fools willing to shell out their money for the latest overhyped shiny for us to make any perceivable difference in the corporate revenue stream.
I am becoming gerund, destroyer of verbs.
Think a little harder. Removing choice can increase freedom. You are not "free" to murder or own slaves. Your choices are therefore reduced. Are you more or less free because of this?
It's the Apple fans who are saying "I should be free to choose slavery!"
DRM reduces freedom. Removing the freedom to remove freedom is not Orwellian.
The enemies of Democracy are
And that will be bad how? If an "appliance" does exactly what the user wants it to, why should they be forced to get a general-purpose computer if it has functions that they neither want nor need? An artist friend of mine once bought a tablet because he thought it would be easier than lugging a laptop and everything else he used to do art around. He just wanted to use drawing and painting tools - everything else was secondary to him. If there was a device that just let him do what he wanted to do but little else, would he be wrong in buying it?
Besides, this is a false dichotomy - there will always be need for a general computing device. The iPad and its like will neither supplant nor completely replace them.
It's not a general purpose computer--it's severely restricted if you are comparing it to those standards.
It's more like a dedicated device--like a book reader, gaming platform, music player, GPS, DVD Player or a dedicated web browser--Just with the ability to switch modes.
If you look at it that way, it's pretty reasonable, it does many more functions than any of the other dedicated platforms.
It's really just a big iPod touch. I didn't hear anyone say that the iPod touch set computing back--but this device is because it has a larger screen?
Still--it's not a replacement for a laptop or computer. If anything, it should operate in conjunction with a computer--like the other iProducts do.
I'm curious what those applications are, which keep you tethered?
Except, you know, you're not required to pay AT&T anything, and you CAN read it outside the house, and the battery life is supposed to be 9-10 hours, so maybe if you read REALLY slow...
And webcam? Why the hell would anyone want to run around with a huge ass tablet trying to take pictures of people? I just don't get it.
I said it would do what I would want it to do: Browse the web, goof off, do email, hell, maybe even watch a movie. Sounds perfect for that.
The criticism that it doesn't do what granny would want is fucking hilarious. Who fucking cares what granny wants? Bitch probably doesn't even have a cellphone yet! Granny ain't the target audience here.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
How much is that 10% worth?
True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
Nice car analogy, except that it's completely untrue, and wouldn't even be legal. There's no vehicle sold that can only be worked on by "authorized mechanics" and even the open protocol that's used to interact with the ECM to get diagnostic codes is mandated by law in the US. They couldn't lock it down if they wanted to. Aside from reprogramming a new odometer to have the correct mileage, there's nothing a Ford dealer could do to my car that I can't do at home in my own garage. And the tools to do that are available too; third-party shops have them, they're just too expensive for me.
I think Slashdot has been overrun by a new type of person... I can't believe how many people are posting in favor of this locked down, DRM ridden piece of steve jobs crap. It flies in the face of everything I learned reading this site for the last 10+ years. Now I don't know what to believe. This thing can't even run Linux! What's going on??!?
It is, if there is a perfectly suitable standard for the power outlets and voltage/current specifications. The argument is not that electric cars can't fuel at regular gas stations, it's that electric charge stations are often vendor-specific FOR NO REASON. Positive, Negative, maybe a simple protective shield to avoid shocks, that's it! Any alteration in the plug format is a lock-in scheme... they could just as well give you a pair of booster cables and hope you don't short them across your nuts... power is power.
-Billco, Fnarg.com
I disagree, I find the Touch to be fine for book reading and I can't think of anything else on the market I would actually want to buy for that (Kindle, no, Sony, no...). I did not get the touch specifically to read books on it but I read on it and I have no complaints.
You got me into this! You were the ideologue! I'm only a poor assassin! - Twenty evocations, Bruce Sterling
The "sealed engine" is the computer in the system. If a manufacturer decides to encrypt that, or use specialized error codes, and only give the key to "authorized dealers," all of a sudden any non-authorized mechanic is in for a world of additional difficulty. As for doing it at home? Good luck getting the interface at all. It'll be a damned sight more expensive yet.
Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
You can simply send email to yourself with the book in pdf.
Steve Jobs has demonstrated that at least THAT works.
Are you serious? You're talking about a company who have moved to industry standard hardware (80x86 - not that PPC wasn't a standard), spent time developing BootCamp, along with a stack of Windows drivers for bespoke/weird Apple hardware to run Windows, who have their fingers in an awful lot of open source projects and regularly contribute to such projects and publish the source code for the changes they've made on such open projects. You think they are suddenly going to move towards a completely close platform on the Mac like? Reducing the software base for that platform to, what?, perhaps 1% of what it currently is now? You seriously believe this???
You think the 'just don't buy' it argument is ridiculous because that argument doesn't your point of view. Most people simply don't see any problem with it and find the Apple model works just fine. It's called free market. If people didn't like it, it wouldn't be so hugely popular. Developers don't have to design for iPhone/iPod Touch if they choose not to. They like it, because it gives them a publisher/distributor for a 30% cut without any of the hassle.
The simple fact is, due to iPhone, you have a very similar choice which purports to be open in the manner you describe. Buy a droid and move on. Your opinion is irrelevant to any corporation in the business for a profit. It all comes down to bottom line, and in this case, it works just fine for Developers, for Apple, and for end users.
This isn't a very fair analogy. You can't run a car without gasoline. You can have an iPhone/Touch without ever buying an app. You can fill it up with any and all mp3s. It's annoying but you can convert any video you want and put in on you iPhone/Touch.
The apps are more like upgrades. And if you want to upgrade a car you are many times limited by compatibility issues. The razor-blade revenue model isn't limited to Apple, it's pretty much prevalent in every industry. Clearly you have never needed to fix anything in your car. You wouldn't be so happy with the car companies then.
Also, gas stations are pretty consisten. The quality of the product is very homogeneous in gas stations across the country. Computer apps are not like that. I need to be sure my phone works as a phone at all times. I have no interest installing some wayward app that may or may not crash my phone and make me miss a call. I am happy to put this responsibility on Apple's shoulders
Now, if you were talking about the AT&T lockin you'd have a point.
Firewire was never OK.
..but the design flaw in Firewire is that any Firewire devices gets arbitrary read/write access to any and all system memory, by design. Its a hardware flaw and we are all much better off with Firewire behind us. I recall one talk at a security conference being titled "Hacked by an iPod, owned by Firewire" or something like that. This effected both Mac's and PC's and there wasnt a damn thing the OS could do about it.
People rage about various versions of Windows autorun'ing applications on USB devices when they are plugged in. That of course was a terrible software design flaw..
"His name was James Damore."
If people want a choice, they should GET a choice - use the app store, or don't. Instead, Apple's making the choice for you. And that's no choice at all.
For example, the choice to not buy such a device if this does not appeal them? Good thing that Apple's taken away that choice, or surely the iPhone would have failed and the iPad would follow in its footsteps.
Oh, wait.
Apple has publicly stated on several occasions that it makes very little, if any, money off of the iTunes store and Apps store.
The large majority of apps you have to pay for cost $0.99. Credit card processing likely costs apple around $0.20 + 1.5%... so $0.20+$0.015 = $0.215 for processing the transaction. Then it forwards 70% ($0.70) to the developer. So, total direct transaction costs are $0.915... That leaves $0.075 for Apple to cover all of their overhead (servers, bandwidth, maintenance staff, app approval, and customer support on the apps store). I bet the rest of that gets eaten up real quick and there is very little profit left. Any "profit" is most likely folded back in to future development and improvements.
All of that doesn't take in to account for the cost to support the equally, if not larger, pool of apps that are free in the apps store and don't bring apple any revenue.
And, also, let's do an example:
apple just said yesterday that they had 3 billion apps store downloads. This includes free and paid apps. Let's say 1/3 of them were paid... However, I seriously doubt that high of a number of apps were paid. So 1 billion paid app downloads.
The large majority of apps sell for $0.99. The ones that don't usually sell for $1.99. There are a couple apps that are more expensive, but 8 of the top 10 paid apps store downloads are $0.99. The other 2 are $2.99 and $6.99. That's an average price of $1.79. I think it's fair guess to put that as the average price for a paid app.
At $1.79, Apple's direct cost on the purchase would be $1.253 to the developer, plus $0.227 in credit card processing. = $0.31 left after the costs of the transaction.
So, 1 billion paid apps at $0.31 revenue each, leave $310 million in revenue for the apps store. But then you have to subtract off the cost of the overhead (servers, technical staff, bandwidth, data centers, apps approval staff, customer support staff, developer support staff, the cost of paying the apps store developers and management staff) for the apps store. I bet that number is probably cut down to less than $100 million. That's $100 million. Over 18 months.... or $16.66 million per quarter.
Apple just announced that they had $3.4 billion in profits in the last quarter. $16.66 million is roughly 0.49% of all of Apple's profits in a quarter. It's officially a rounding error.
And in all of that, I didn't take in to account for any development costs in creating the apps store.
It still works, just slower. There is always alternative product.
I'm not quite ready to dump my iPhone over this, but I won't be buying an iPad. I can accept these limitations on my mobile phone, since I mostly just use the stock set of apps anyway. If these sorts of limits start showing up in MacOSX, then I'll "upgrade" my MacBook Pro (and my 3 other Macs) to linux instead of the next great feline. That's not a huge ding to Apple, but once I'm off their OS, I'll stop buying their hardware. I'll stop suggesting it to my family and friends.
blog
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=ipod+touch+read+books ...
http://mekentosj.com/papers/iphone/
GENERATION 26: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation. Social exper
Ford wants to exploit these fools even more. So they create their own line of gas stations, that sell the same fuel as everywhere else, but at five times the cost. Then they change the hole in the gas tank to a star shape, so that you can't fill the car up anywhere but at their gas stations.
The difference is, Ford doesn't have the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field. To Apple, the "Ford" here is making it easier for the owner to choose-- less choice means it's easier to decide. What could be simpler than that? That's a good thing, as long as you're not a power user. But Apple has never been about power users, it's been about computing for dummies. Get used to it already. So you're not a dummy. So don't buy Apple products, get it?
Well I think the concern here is this is a general purpose computer (its very much like a netbook or a windows umpc) that is moving into the same kind of lockdown video game consoles currently enjoy. It is for all intents and purposes an apple laptop with iPhone/Touch restrictions.
The fact that it will run iWork is proof of what I say - you won't see people typing out homework on their Tivo (to use your example).
Only if it wants to alienate almost all of its users and developers.
What users? Same users who rushed to buy iPhone, and are now lining up to get iPad, casually dismissing any app restrictions whenever that point is raised?
Why do people keep pretending that people do, or should, have the same standards for a portable appliance, as they do for their main computer?
THEY ARE NOT THE SAME THING.
Many, many people DO NOT CARE, at least, not too much, about app store restrictions, but most of those same people DO care, a lot, about being able to run whatever they want on their main computer.
If you don't understand this obvious fact, then I cannot help you.
Or, you go to the Andriod station, borrow a pump for free, sell your 100 litres of gas, and go home with all your profit.
Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
The whole "Freedom == freedom of choice" lie is a fairly new invention that has more to do with consumerism than with actual liberty. Three locked-down platforms will give you a greater number of options to choose from than two open platforms, but they certainly give you no greater liberty at all.
that's the right question
I'll take your analogy to its ridiculous conclusion...
I go to Subway and demand they add muenster cheese to my sandwich, and I order a pint of beer. Of course Subway doesn't offer this because of the horrible closed nature of franchises and lack of customer choice. This is somehow "bad for the consumer" as opposed to just shopping somewhere else that does offer muenster cheese and beer?
Open your own sub shop, start your own computer company, or simply buy something else instead of demanding that Apple (a very large corporation that supports thousands of families) do things the way YOU want them to.
Personally, I contend that it's wrong to look at the iPad as a computer. That's not the intention of the product. It is an appliance much as a washing machine, coffee maker, or toaster. It's designed to do some specific things and do it well just as the previously mentioned examples hopefully do their respective functions well.
An appliance such as a coffee maker isn't designed to be hacked into. It's designed to be functional and simple for the average consumer to use. This is what the iPad is.
OS X will continue for its market base, the user who needs the complexity of a full operating system and the iPad is perfect for your mom or grandmother to finally get on the internet, email, download books, etc. without needing a part-time geek to hand hold them through the process each time.
(as an aside to that, my 90 year old grandmother bought a Kindle and really likes it, but needs help getting through the menu system anytime she wants to buy the next book.)
Not everyone wants to fiddle with every little setting in an OS. I would say a majority just want to pick up the device and the device works. This is the primary reason the iPhone has done so well and is likely why the iPad will do really well.
Web hosting that doesn't suck!Dreamhost
I think much of the problem is that they, like myself, were looking forward to a Macbook Pro with tablet capabilities. Instead, we got a huge iPod Touch. Very disappointing.
So... bring 'em on, I say.
You can run iLife Pages and Numbers on it (which also import and export MS Office equivalents), so why wouldn't you be able to read your own documents on an iPad?
You buy Apple-branded hardware which grants you the privilege of licensing Apple's Operating System Software for use on that hardware. You don't ever 'buy' the OS, just permission to use it.
They only grant that permission to owners of 'official' devices. Apple retains all ownership of the software, even the low-level software on the computer *you purchased* that allows it to run the licensed software, which is a proprietary wedge between you and your ability to exercise freedom of choice.
When you buy a Mac, you don't own squat, *except for* a SATA hard disk and a few empty PCIe slots, except for a round, shiny disk and some cardboard. The same is triply true for anything in the iFamily (TV, Pod, Pad, Phone, etc).
Wow, that's a stupid and useless car. I wouldn't buy it. But I have an iPhone (jailbroken). What gives?
Let's accurate-up that description a bit.
All cars on the road work, but are a real pain to use. Some haven't changed since the 50's and barely have a cupholder. Some have cupholders, automatic transmissions, and crazy stereos, but are constantly stalling and the volume button is on the passenger door, so it never gets used.
Ford comes in and makes a car that doesn't have the most tricked out stereo, and less cupholders than some people might need, but enough for most. But most importantly, they put all the controls for this slightly-less functional stereo right on the wheel, where they can be used with barely any effort.
So people are using all the features of their cars, which is something that very few people had ever done before
But these come at a price. There's a custom fuel intake that grounds the nozzle before you put it in. It's not compatible with most fueling stations, but it almost entirely eliminates the risk of fire. Ford-brand gas is the only one who uses that gas nozzle, and no other company dare start a gas station that works.
But hobbyists have been making adapters since the month the car came out. You're limited to the safety of the adapter - which is usually very safe - but you're trusting the hobbyist.
Would you still buy the car, considering that you'd actually be able to use it's features and Ford has the largest network of gas stations in the world?
This isn't entirely apt - the iPhone/iPad can run without applications or indeed any interaction with the App Store - but close enough. Most people would place the value of having an easy-to-use moderately functional car over the value of being able to pick your own gas station, when it's easy enough to pick a Ford one.
I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
I am thinking the only thing that might make it worth the asking price is if there is a VNC type of app for it
You mean like this one? (Look for an iPad-resolution version in about 5 seconds)
Or perhaps this one? It even has a FREE (as in beer) version.
Or perhaps this thing?
Now, since I found these in about 30 seconds, what's your next fake objection?
Some of those codes are mandated by the government. Most of them are not though and without jumping through a half dozen hoops and or paying a lot of money as a regular consumer you can't find out what they mean.
No ... its an iPad. Its not a tablet computer trying to compete with netbooks or laptops, which are not tablet computers.
If you'd said it was trying to compete with other tablet PCs you might have a point, but you didn't, which illustrates that you don't even know what you're talking about.
If it was meant to be used like a laptop it'd have a builtin keyboard, not a touch screen keyboard.
You are confused about the purpose of the device, the device isn't confused about its purpose.
Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
Word up. I'm with you. These devices are fine if people want to buy them, but I'm not willing to deal with the shenanigans. (Actually, my honest opinion is that it's not fine, people making those choices are making bad choices in my eyes, and their bad decisions have market effects on the rest of us.)
Did you really just (sic) somebody's British English spelling of the word organisation?
You lost me at calling homosexuals fools. Your points are valid but you need to find some class.
Your argument is essentially "I'm not responding to what you're saying, but other people 'on your side' are unreasonable, therefore there's just nothing to be discussed?
FWIW, I agree that there's a lot of zealotry around, and it's hard to have a reasonable conversation.
I was a Mac guy in college in the mid-90s, I was the main Mac support guy for the helpdesk of a very large university. I contributed chapters to several books on Mac programming. Then Apple decided to kill the clone manufacturers. Then they released some OS upgrades that didn't support existing hardware (partly to leave behind the clone manufacturers, but I had a legitimate powerbook that wasn't very old). Many fervent Mac supporters (including myself) got a lot more quiet, and our next purchase was not an Apple computer. This was one reason that they effectively disappeared as a viable option for several years.
It's all well and good for a company to make money any way they can within certain boundaries. When a company starts to reach a certain size, they start to dominate the market. This is IMHO when people really need to express their opinions about how the company does business. There are many barriers to entry for a company trying to enter this market, not least of which is perception. If you insist that open software isn't important to people, you're helping to make it true.
-t.
My phone needed to play my songs from my iTunes list and make phone calls. I bought an iPhone, met my requirements, and got a pretty nice mobile web device as a bonus.
That's all the "control" I need (and would surmise MOST people need...step away from the slashdot, people.)
Who's the purporter? I haven't seen Apple claim that the iPad is intended as a general purpose device. As far as I can tell, the iPad will be exactly what Apple is saying it will be, an iPod Touch with a much bigger screen. Unless and until Apple comes up with something like this and calls it a general-purpose computer, I won't see what all the fuss is. You want an iPod Touch with a thyroid condition, buy an iPad. You want a low-cost easily-portable computer, buy a netbook.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
Have you tried adjusting the timing on anything newer than 1998?
Didn't think so. There's your answer ITG: where once anyone could preform routine maintenance on their automobile if they so chose they no longer have that choice thanks to a host of computer-controlled systems with proprietary formats and tools required to access them.
GP is 100% correct.
Pretty much utterly clueless.
The opinions of the typical /.'r represnt maybe 1/10000 of the general population of computer users. Yes you all want to tinker with the bits under the hood, you all want to be able to do xyz, but guess what, YOU are not the intended users of this thing.
I can see this thing in doctors offices in a big hurry. Right now if you go to Kaiser or a lot of hospitals or doctors offices they aer either dragging you into a room with a Dell something or other, or they are dragging around a laptop of various sizes to be able to take notes.
It has a high res screen, look at your x-rays at your bedside. Note the chart at your bedside, send in the pharmacy order, etc. etc.
An architect with all the designes on-line at at 3G speeds showing you his latest rendering, etc. etc.
There will be new apps to go along with the over 100000 apps that already exist for this device and they will be coming fast.
You want $$$ shell out your 99 bucks and start coding big important apps and you will be doing very well. You don;t need the app store you just code, compile and test and upload to the device.
Stop bitching because you can't make it run whatever app and make some money.
Hey KID! Yeah you, get the fuck off my lawn!
Apple fans want computers easy to use! Actually CHOOSE what software your computer will run is too much skill-intensive.
Or far out of line with the things they concern themselves with in their daily lives. Between the two options, I'm voting for the latter. For the vast majority of computer users, the computer is a means to an end - not an end in itself. The more convenient that means is, and the more unobtrusive into their daily lives, the better. (I rather envy that, actually)
Apple has created a device that follows a design philosophy started with their first generation iPod: Less is more.
Apple's iPod didn't support every possible audio format. The iPod (originally) only played music, that was it. The iTunes Store was the real selling point for the iPod. With an iPod you had access to all that content and having to purchase then rip a CD (or troll limelight) to get onto your MP3 player was no longer a requirement. Apple won the electronic music device market by making things simple.
The iPad is a device which makes computing VERY simple. The Apple app store is to computer software what the iTunes music store was to music files. Is it going to be a tinkering geeks favorite? No, of course not. Is it likely to be well received by it's intended audience (lay users), yes most likely.
The Generation
I'd say something witty here, but I'm not that bright.
A couple of years ago everyone realized the computer was on it's way to becoming an appliance like your toaster or microwave, and were pretty optimistic about it. Well, the future is now... and people still complain about it. As others have stated, this isn't a general all-purpose computer, and it's not meant to be. Jobs was right when he said the netbook doesn't do anything better. It only does things smaller and, with every passing generation of the netbook, they're increasing the size of the device until it's indistinguishable from a laptop. The iPad is in practice what the original netbook was supposed to be - a device just for surfing the net, watching videos, reading books, playing games, and looking at photos. It's a useful appliance. All the Apple hate is pretty ridiculous, as with this they are progressing technology. Without the iPad, we'd see 10 more years of netbooks getting bigger, phones getting smaller, and Microsoft releasing Slate PCs as if they're new. If the iPad takes off, which it probably will, in 2 years time everybody will be scrambling to get a iPad like device out there, and enough of them will run existing OSes that you can install programs to and hack to your hearts content and you know what? They all won't compete with the iPad because people don't want freedom in computing... they want an appliance that they can rely on not to get viruses and have their kids come fix every 2 months.
Don't trust a bull's horn, a doberman's tooth, a runaway horse or me.
corporations fund the governement and thus they are "running" it. not jobs or apple especially. just globally and usually bigger companies than apple.
there's lot of things in between to prevent this to happen too much, but without a revolution or war every 100 years, the history just repeat itself, vitam eternam
Is AT&T ever getting any Android phones? Their love for the iPhone seems to be waning a bit, and I'm changing from an iPhone to the LG Expo because there aren't any Android devices.
Why not let the users complain, then? I don't need, or want, the FSF speaking for me. The FSF speaks for its self and it's own interests like any lobbying group.
Or it could mean that more consumers are voting with their money that they like the product, and don't really care about the App Store restrictions.
Not to speak for anyone else, and congrats on the +5, but I'm pretty sure that "try to mimic in some respects" isn't really equivalent to "honestly believe it's the same thing".
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
With all due respect, perhaps you shouldn't have bought a book reader that didn't come with the ability to read books. Apple advertises no such functionality, and while I'm sure there are eReader apps, you don't know much about their quality or utility.
That being said, keep looking. I would be astounded if you couldn't find a book reader that didn't allow you to import your own documents.
I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
Make the analogy slightly worse: say you can only have your tank filled by a "qualified technician".
You mean like in New Jersey?
Ceci n'est pas un sig.
Oh wait, that is even more difficult to develop for than the iPad and no one is complaining about it.
Er, you're mixing apples and oranges in your analogy. The correct comparison is that the Xbox is much cheaper to develop for than any other console. The PS3 is notoriously difficult to program for, and Nintendo artificially restricts who is even permitted to develope for their systems. Microsoft, on the other hand, simply charges a developer's fee and uses license agreements to get a slice of whatever anybody sells on their system. Anybody who knows DirectX (and that's anybody who developes PC games, which is a LOT of programers) can develop an Xbox game and sell it. That's not true for the PS3 or the Wii. Microsoft also has extensive and comprehensive documentation on their API developed from years of use, which makes writing games much easier. That simply isn't the case for the PS3 or Wii.
Conversely, since most computers don't have a choke point at the device, the iPad is much more expensive to develop for than any other computer. If your company and project is big enough the extra cost becomes minimal, but this virtually eliminates any small, independant software operation trying to "make it" in the computer world. I can, and have, written programs that I use on my computer on a regular basis which cost me nothing more than the time it took to write the program. This is not possible with the iPad, period.
In other words, your analogy makes the opposite point you were trying to make. Sorry pal.
Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
Which devices? The iPod that made Apple a household name? Mac workstations which are used widely by creatives? The iPhone which from day 1 was derided as too closed / not functional enough by the geek cognoscenti here at Slashdot?
Scary thing is, I think you actually believe this. But you're wrong. Apple did not become a 50Bn company by catering to a couple thousand neckbeards in their parents' basements. You did not "put" Apple where it is, and they do not "owe" you anything. If you like their products, buy them. If you don't like their products, don't buy them. If you think they've overlooked a segment of the market and you have a killer idea, go into business and compete with them.
"our" devices? ignoring "everything we say"? If you don't like it, GO MAKE YOUR OWN. If there's as much demand as you seem to think, you should be wildly successful.
so hey, i hope you come back and check this thread, because I think I can help you.
I was in the same boat a few months ago. I have been using clie's (and a couple of actual palms) as my primary ebook readers since the late 90s, and would probably have gone on doing so forever if the things were still made.
however when my third SJ33 died a couple of years ago, I decided to see if I could jump to something more modern but still possessing the features I need (can upload my own books, backlit screen, fairly high resolution, and preferably an auto-scrolling ebook app.... ooooohhh, deepreader, how i miss you).
so anyway, I "borrowed" my girlfriend's ipod touch and started dicking around with it. I concluded that the screen was good enough pretty quickly, and the battery life seemed to be at least on par with my clie's, so that was fine. what took me forever to find though was a good ebook app. but rather than detailing my months-long search and all the candidates that i tried and rejected, i'll just cut to the punchline:
get eReader. its seems to be based on the same code as the palm app, which was my second favorite ebook reader after deepreader. and it has the two absolute most important features: auto-scrolling, and the ability to add your own books.
seriously. get it. it's free, and you can import your own books. there is one caveat of course: the books have to be in .pdb format, at least as far as i've been able to tell. if you are like me and have been using pdb files on a palm for years, that aint a problem. likewise, if your books are in txt, doc, html, or any other standard text-style format, its easy as hell to convert them to pdb files. google around a bit and you'll find multiple ways to convert, but i still use the same command line tool i've been using for years: makedoc
anyway, i was watching the ipad coverage waiting for the same sort of news. specifically, i wanted to see if the ibooks app would have autoscrolling or at least the ability to add your own books. i didn't see anything about that, but i can at least deduce that the ereader app from my ipod touch should work on an ipad. now granted, it may not look that great upscaled, but i'm hoping that they release a new version that can handle the ipad resolution natively. if so, i'm totally buying that sucker.
so yea, just wanted to drop a line and help out a fellow (non-kindle) ebook reader. good luck, and i hope this works for you!
education
That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding.
~a.bierce
Even if apple does that to the mini they probably will loose about 90% of their sales, the biggest part of the mini sales go towards the htpc crowd (sorry steve but AppleTV is a joke) and the colocation partners they have, neither of that crowd loves to be locked in.
Also if they do that to the rest of the machines they will loose a lot of customers (Apple currently is hugely popular currently for instance within the java developer crowd even despite their half assed effots of supporting it somehow) and they will leave the platform.
A customer once lost is hard to regain. Apple is not stupid they know that well.
Buying or not buying are the ONLY true signals being transmitted in any market. Repeat after me: The Market Is The Best Way To Transmit Information. Listen To The Market. Love The Market. Obey The Market.
I'm not sure whether you were joking or not. But just in case - it's nonsense. It's a strong signal, to be sure, but all rational businesses heed much more than that.
The Market responds to all kinds of info. Just watch oil prices shoot up when the weather forecast is cold.
What the hell are you talking about? iTunes uses MPEG-4 audio, no longer encrypted. There are alternative app stores. Their media devices use nothing *but* open formats, with the minor exception of Apple Lossless.
Firewire? Do you mean IEEE-1394? You know, the standard used in Macs and PC's and camcorders and cable boxes?
You sure missed a lot. How about ePub, UNIX, VNC, NFS, Kerberos, HTML5, WebKit...
I dunno about you but I see a lot of standards organizations in the above post. If that's not driving standards, then what the hell is?
I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
You can fully understand a phone being locked down to phone applications delivered by the manufacturer and the same with mp3 players.
Speak for yourself. I can't think of one legitimate reason for locking down these devices other than greed and power over customers.
A phone makes some sense, since apps could do things to the phone network that would be really bad.
But for a device that is self-contained or does not have full access to the network, there isn't any need to completely lock it down.
Actually the entire iPad is a joke, not only the lockin, the thing screams for connectivity yet they did not add an SD reader they nickel and dime it out of their customers with an adapter, the thing also seriously needs a webcam.
Etc... I am waiting for other alternatives (hopefully Tegra2 based) which will come out this year, Apple is it not!
You think Apple doesn't have people analysing places like Slashdot?
It's 2010. The producers of Lost study Lost fan forums, and make agile changes to the show in according to what they find.
If the makers of a TV programme do that, surely savvy makers of gadgets study comments on prominent tech blogs.
apple drove the "unix" standard? it drove NFS? using standards is not the same as driving them.
if you think apple drove all of those standards, please cite references noting apple of the pioneering company of the technology.
That's the gayest car analogy I've ever heard!
Awesome Comeback, and great reasoning!
I take it that you believe that the Ipad is just a large Ipod with additional functionality?
It certainly seems to be.
I heard somebody describe it as a giant iPod touch with an optional 3G modem.
If you want to make voice calls, you'll still need a regular phone, so if you are already in the Apple camp, you'll have both an iPhone and an iPad with 3G, because you can't tether your iPad to your iPhone.
This really is Steve Jobs' ultimate wet dream.
This a non-sequitur argument, and it doesn't address the point. Saying "if you don't like it, don't buy it" doesn't actually address the fundamental problem being addressed.
In fact, any time this statement ever comes up in a conversation, it should be ignored. It doesn't address the problem, doesn't attempt to rebut the argument stating there's a problem, and it doesn't offer a solution to the problem.
So why bother saying it in the first place? It's a re-statement of the obvious, and therefore is simply a waste of bits.
Apple has created a device that follows a design philosophy started with their first generation iPod: giving our customers control over their own device is bad. Orwellian control is the only way to ensure we get our cut. We're rich, bitch!
Fixed that for you.
Living With a Nerd
As stated above, the problem with this is, as these types of devices continue to be developed they encroach on the free and open market. Those people with the 10% expertise to take advantage of openess are also the same people who are trying to develop the next generation of products. If we prohibit them from making amazing advances BECAUSE of the closed ended software, we end up hurting natural progression. The 90% of the masses that it just works for don't realize that that same closed nature might be preventing them from accessing software they might really want...
An inventor is a man who asks 'Why?' of the universe and lets nothing stand between the answer and his mind.
Why on Earth would you list Beck and Palin and ignore Keith Olberman, Jon Stewart, and Rachel Maddow?
That's easy, everybody ignores Keith Olberman and Rachel Maddow. Although, that doesn't explain why he left out Jon Stewart.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
Boy, what a bunch of whiners.
The iPad is not a computer for anyone who reads Slashdot. It is for those who simply want something that they can surf the web with, do a bit of email, and read a few ebooks. It is computer as an appliance. If you're interested in this, and want more, buy a MacBook. That uses the same base OS and is not locked down.
Then, there are the "sheeple" comments. People who buy this are sheep who simply follow the herd! They don't want to think! They're stupid!
No, they're not. They're quite intelligent and have decided to use their intelligence to handle things like dating and relationships instead of spending hours reading random tech forums to find out what they need to do to prevent some virus on their computer from stealing their money. Android isn't locked down, and the iPhone is, but then it was Android that had at least four trojan apps that were suppose to be banking apps, but ended up stealing banking info. You want to run root on your phone? Get an Android! If you simply want something you don't have to think about, get an iPhone.
They already release a Mac mini with this OS. It is called OS X. They also release laptops, desktops, and servers with this OS. I would think that readers of a geek web site would know that. The difference is primarily in the UI later.
Multitasking is not primarily in the UI. Platform lockdown via the app store is not primarily in the ui. I would think that readers of a geek web site would know that.
This sig intentionally left blank.
Few people actually want to speak up in public. So obviously there's not much value in free speech. Right?
And even if only 0,1% of all people take advantage of the ability to hack away themselves, that doesn't mean that other people don't have any advantage. I have written not a single line of the Linux kernel, and yet the mere fact that the Linux kernel exists has given me an advantage. And it gives an advantage to any Windows user to, as soon as he surfs the web.
Sure, because it's so easy to get into every market where something bad happens ... yes, any self-respecting person should be able, at the same time, to mass-produce and sell computers, printers, smart phones and gaming consoles, write all sorts of software, write books, music and web sites and produce movies, ... and obviously everyone has the necessary money to start such a business.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
Advocates for choice generally aren't big on having choice at point A eliminate the possibility to make choices at points B-G. That's what Apple has done.
The majority of the computing world doesn't work like this. You have a choice of hardware. A choice of OS. A choice of different softwares for internet browsing, word processing, music playing. The iplatform has a proven track record of limiting the software that competes with its own developed applications.
The App(le) store as the only legal avenue to buy software for the platform is a step away from consumer choice, and consequently a step back in computing.
Sure, and some people like natto. However, doing even a little research would have shown you the issues with using the "ebook reader" paradigm for the iPod Touch.
Your (moving goalpost) point of it being multipurpose is fine, but if your sticking point was that 'you couldn't get your own media onto the device' simple research would have revealed such.
Not to mention that Apple's basic paradigm with their iPod/iPhone device is "if you can't get it through the iTunes store or an app, it doesn't belong on the device."
And the fact that the iPod Touch doesn't have removable media... man, I just don't know how you could do research and think it was a good candidate.
More to the point, Apple is sitting on more cash than Microsoft, AND has had it's best year ever in the depths of the Great Recession, while Microsoft keeps laying off.
Here is a great guide to setting up Calibre to work with Stanza to import your own books.
I might give this a try myself...
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
USB adoption was slow prior to the release of the Apple iMac which spurred the growth of USB devices.
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/power/library/pa-spec7.html
The iMac presented a ready-made market of users who chose the Mac line for its graphics capability. In turn, the iMac offered a captive audience of users who would buy a USB peripheral but would not buy any other kind of peripheral. These users provided a market for USB peripherals that wasn't facing competition from other port choices. The result was a flood of USB devices in white-and-blue plastic. This was a crucial turning point that created a reason (tied to a proven system choice) to prefer USB to non-USB ports.
The FSF likes choice just fine. However, part of choosing is making an informed choice. And the FSF is pointing out that perhaps the iPad is not the best choice. Why are you against the FSF making legitimate complaints? Why are you against them publicizing the issue of DRM? No one is forcing anyone not to buy something. They are merely making recommendations. It almost seems as though you want consumers to make uninformed choices, rather than thinking things through and investigating their purchases. You DO want consumers making informed choices, right?
As we have seen, the Apple store does not guarantee safety. But if consumers like being locked into one provider, they can now make that choice. If this weren't publicized by the FSF, how would all those consumers who want to be locked into one provider even know that Apple was making that possible? The FSF is doing those consumers and Apple a favor, pointing out what a great thing Apple is doing for them.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
The clone wars were a different matter entirely: the clones nearly killed apple completely and they had no choice. Go out of business or end clones.
My point about opening the iPhone platform isn't that there should be no debate on it, I was just pointing out that quite a lot of complaint about Apple is vitriol for the sake of it, and often baseless and flat out false (check out some of the later comments about "why do you think apple has TPM chips" for example, or revisionist stuff about "the FSF forced Apple to remove DRM from iTMS" when it did nothing of the sort).
When Apple does do what the /. crowd clamours for, like supporting OSS, opening up projects etc then it still gets heavy criticism - "it's not open enough!" "they only contribute tiny amounts and deliberately make it hard to roll their patches into other projects!". I guess at the moment it is cool to rally against Apple - seen to be the enemy of free and open software, despite their other efforts in this area.
You have people on here claiming that the iPad's OS "will be put on the next Mac and it will all be locked up! That's what they do!" despite Apple's recent release of Snow Leopard with some new OSS stuff right off the bat like GCD and OpenCL, not to mention the improvements to Webkit and other open stuff.
I don't mean it to be some sort of discussion ender - sure it would be nice to have an official way to install apps without using the store, but I guarantee if Apple did that right away (or even dumped the OS and went Android) people would still bitterly complain about something to do with it.
The tone of this FSF article is echoing this somewhat. I largely support the FSF's position, but this sort of thing comes off as very preachy. The iPad is a computer, but it's not the only computer and it will not define other computers. You have a choice, which is what the FSF is all about surely, to use the devices that work for you. If it doesn't work for you, don't buy it.
What the FSF is doing is saying I would be morally wrong to buy and use an iPad because they disagree with the software model, and surely that is the antithesis of what they stand for. If I want to exercise my choice to use a closed system I should be able to, just in the same way my DVR box runs an OS that I cannot modify, recording encrypted content to its internal HD. It works for me though, to watch TV shows. Is it morally wrong that it doesn't have a fully OSS, easy to modify OS that records the shows in Theora? (when, if you want a box like that you can make one yourself, or buy one from someone who does make them).
The total elimination of closed software and hardware isn't likely to happen, and demonising people who choose to use such systems because they actually offer them something of value despite the locked-up nature really serves no one.
I'm sure it's great for people who enjoy reading text that is the size of nutritional information on the side of a cereal box, and don't mind scrolling at lot, plus making sure the glare isn't too bad.
But if his requirement was that it be a good ebook reader and be able to move his own files to it, and he thought the iPod Touch was a good candidate, that's a lack of research.
I'm a centrist and don't like either party. As for being left leaning, I like my guns and I think the government should be required to run a balanced budget. Also, I never said Olberman doesn't take cheap shots but I actually almost never watch him. I've seen his show maybe twice ever. Beck I watch for comedic effect. How you can say he's just about basic conservatism is beyond me. He believes in the abolishment of the separation of church and state and says that was never the intention of the founding fathers. The guy's a fucking lunatic. I'm stunned that Fox employs him, even with their right-wing bias.
Are agnostics skeptical of unicorns too?
Wait until all ebooks are only published on this thing - then it will become a problem.
Its like MS-Windows - no-one makes you run Windows, unless you want to run all the latest shrinkwrap apps and games - then you have to run Windows (or if you don't - pray it comes out for Linux/OSX).
"From what I can tell, the only thing you get with the iPad is the app-store."
And perfect synchronisation with my iPhone and Mac: contacts, events, documents all available without having to rely on web-apps (e.g. Google Docs) when I'm in the middle of nowhere. Oh, and an interface that's been vetted by an obsessive perfectionist.
An interface that doesn't get in the way of what I'm trying to do is a major selling point for me.
It's time to introduce the Hippocratic Oath for software and hardware engineers.
It is under development, but for now it reads:
I swear by Hephaestus, god of technology, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to keep according to my ability and my judgment, the following Oath and agreement:
I shall not create locked down software and machines of any form.
If I fulfill this oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being honored with fame among all men for all time to come; if I transgress it and swear falsely, may the opposite of all this be my lot.
If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
Neither Apple nor NeXT had central, Internet-accessible software repositories with automatic updates prior to iPhone. The first general purpose OS that had that feature was Linux AFAIK. The first mobile platform that had it was Danger.
NeXT did have something called a "package", but it was just a tar file and a manifest; it had no dependency or version tracking and pretty much lacks everything that a package system should have.
Why does Apple get a special brand of outrage every time it releases a product? Where's the outrage when Microsoft, Sony, AND Nintendo all announced that you can't program for their powerful computers unless you bought a very expensive kit, and even then your product couldn't be released without going through a thorough review process and paying more substantial sums? Oh yeah, nobody cared because that was par for the course for consoles over the last 20 years and anyway, it's just a game system. Where, even, was the outrage when Amazon and Barnes and Noble announced that you can't program applications for their eBook readers? Oh, it's just meant to read books. So now Apple comes out with a similar device but this one reads books, plays games, browses the web, plays music and movies, and allows anybody to program pretty much anything for it for a fairly low price with the added functionality of easy distribution and pay system... and HOLY FUCKING SHIT THEY'RE NOT LETTING US INSTALL TIDDLYWINKS 3D ON IT BY OURSELVES AND LOAD IT WITH ALL THE APPLICATIONS WE COULD GET OFF DOWNLOAD.COM!! WHERE'S MY PITCHFORK!?!?!!!!
The iPhone and iPod Touch opened up a floodgate of hungry customers toward simple, single purpose applications. I'd think that the developers on this site would be going apeshit over the fact that now there will be millions of more paying customers with easy access to your software and with backward compatibility toward a device that already has over 20 million users, but instead, you're busy bitching about how you can't "do what you want with it." What more do you want? The ability to install GCC on it? Guess what, it's give and take... if you want the freedom of installing any application that your heart deems worthy, then you're going to pay for it by not having the casual market care about the device because it's too complicated for them... and there are plenty of devices like that out for you already.
Don't trust a bull's horn, a doberman's tooth, a runaway horse or me.
I'm pretty sure that not buying a product is a strong and clear signal to a corporation that their product sucks. If the corporation is smart, it will listen to the signal and try something else.
No signal is significant if it cannot be distinguished from the background noise. What signal do you suppose Macdonald's sees in the fact that I didn't buy a BigMac yesterday?
There's a basic problem in trying to interpret the lack of something as a strong signal. Last week noone, anywhere in the world, bought an iPad. You can't get a much stronger signal than that, if not buying an iPad is a signal. Of course, I could be wrong, perhaps that's why Apple announced one yesterday?
Do you suppose "They" don't like something we're doing, because, even though SETI has been looking for years, no alien has contacted them? How strong a signal is that?
You still don't get it do you. You have choice, buy an Apple product and use the app store or buy someone other brand product and don't. Simple but it seems like rocket science to these morons.
Why bother
It's hardly laziness that keeps people from making their own similar but free devices. It's all about the legal and financial landscape.
There are so many patent landmines that it's almost impossible to start up something innovative without running into somebody's patent on something. Companies like Apple with a large portfolio are at a distinct advantage, since they have leverage to use with other companies. The start-up has no ability to leverage their portfolio, even if they have one. If a larger company wants to infringe on a small company's patent, the smaller company will rarely have the budget for a legal team to make them stop.
Then there's the financial landscape. Right now, it's much harder than it was in the 80's and 90's to get venture capital for this sort of thing. Additionally, the cost to get into some of these markets has grown; it's in the tens of millions for consumer electronics. To make matters worse, it doesn't scale well. Most of the cost is in the research, development, and plant set-up. These costs are approximately the same whether you sell 10 units or 10,000 or 10,000,000.
One final thing, we're talking about programmers and consumers, not necessarily people with business acumen. It's not laziness, it's just not their skill set. I know a thing or two about programming. Imagine my surprise when I found out I can't just program whatever I want for my wife's iPod touch. I didn't bother starting a new company selling free iPods. It's not because I'm lazy, but because: a) I have a real job, b) it would cost way too much, c) few people would buy it, d) it's impossible to do without getting sued, and e) it's a hell of a lot easier just to put the program on a server that my wife can access on Safari on her iPod instead.
Based on the price of the AAPL stock today, I would have to say that it appears journalist are the only ones who think so...
An inventor is a man who asks 'Why?' of the universe and lets nothing stand between the answer and his mind.
"If a manufacturer decides to encrypt that, or use specialized error codes, and only give the key to 'authorized dealers,' all of a sudden any non-authorized mechanic is in for a world of additional difficulty"
In fact, manufacturers have done exactly that, been sued, and lost. Keeping those error codes secret is not legal in the US.
"I'm sorry, I'm Canadian."
Your mileage may vary.
Huh? I'm a grad student on a rather paltry salary, and I can afford to develop for the iPhone/iPad/Touch. The dev fee is only $100, and sounds a lot like the XBox system. You pay your fee, you give back some of the money (if you don't give it away free) and they have some controls on output (which I'm sure XBox does too -- they're not going to let a Nazi Jew-murdering game get published.)
As far as the API, it uses the same language and many of the same APIs as OS-X development, so if you've ever done Mac development before its quite easy to get started. I'm not sure I see how its different. In the end, there are a number of closed ecosystems, and a number of open ones, and both are thriving side-by-side -- which is the point the parent was trying to make.
Up until a few years ago, you really couldn't run a PC without at least a PS/2 keyboard. It was pretty innovative to move to a unified connector
I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
They are only unnecessary to a bitter whiner like yourself. It's not rocket science here folks. Computers are not cars, get that through your thick skulls. If you don't like it don't buy it. Obviously you don't need Apple products so why the bitterness and clothes tearing?
Why bother
they've been making those things for years and except for a few niche markets, nobody has cared.
Yeah, so what I'm saying is that on top of it being something that nobody wants, it is even more restrictive (because of the app store) than those made by HP / Microsoft.
Have you NO sense of humor?
That's not the point. If this anti-computing-freedom trend that apple is making popular continues eventually computers that are "for us" will become more expensive and harder to find.
I'm gonna stop with the car analogies here. Android is also problematic for a lone developer, the problem in 2 words is: device fragmentation.
Android's device requirements are not nearly strict enough. Want to play back video in your Android app ? Chances are you'll have to provide several different versions of the video because not all devices have the same codec support.
The specs say, for example, that the device should be able to play back mpeg4, but it doesn't specify the bitrates, profiles, resolutions, etc. that should be supported.
So you'll still need to buy every popular Android device just to check if your video will actually work. And that's just video.
I did a lot of research, so I thought I knew what I was getting into. To my surprise, one of the most important functions I wanted in a book reader was not there -- I could not import my own documents.
What the heck are you talking about willis. There are a bunch of free (as in $0) and non-free apps out there that let you save and open any number of common file formats (pdf, txt, .doc, xls, various image formats etc) for iPhone and iTouch. e.g.
http://justanotheriphoneblog.com/wordpress/iphone-software/wildeyes-new-iphone-document-viewer-app-from-databinge
You said you did thorough research. Did that include typing "iPod touch document reader" in google ?
Ostensibly it's for security. The idea is that visiting a webpage isn't dangerous, but native code is.
I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
This is the last place anyone should complain about the iPad being locked down, it will be hacked, and sooner or later a linux variant will appear so you can do what you want with it.
The author should quit crying, or more likely, quite trying to gain readership by hopping on or hyping up the "I hate the iPad" crowd, ffs it hasn't even been released.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
This whole subject is one large troll. So, I'm done.
Why bother
LIKE, the idea of being locked in to the App Store, because it introduces a significant amount of safety.
Guy in the gilded cage: "Look how shiny my room is!"
His buddy on the open platform: "Dude, your in a cage"
After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
Considering Apple is not the government, has no ability to "punish" you for hacking your device, and the ability to hack your device and its software is not a natural ability of most people, your analogy sucks.
What, other than laziness, prevents you from designing a product, pitching it to investors, and bringing it to market? I didn't say it was easy or trivial - I said it was possible.
What, other than laziness, is preventing you from finding like-minded people, developing a business plan, finding investors, and doing this? No business starts as a 50 billion dollar a year business. But good ideas, well-executed, become 50 billion dollar a year businesses. And there is absolutely nothing to stop you from designing a business plan around "free" and "open" software and devices, recruiting other like-minded people to your cause, lining up investors, and launching your business. If the market is as desperate for this feature as you imply, then it should be wildly successful, and you should have a line of investors in the street outside waiting for you to take their money.
Of course not - but venture capitalists and other investors do.
No, he doesn't. Hence the word mimic. I think the comparison is apt (ha!) - even though Apple's single source is mandatory, and you can add whatever sources you want to Ubuntu. They're otherwise quite similar.
I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
"You do not need to buy an Apple product"
Yes. And this article, and the poster you reply to, are encouraging people to not buy an Apple product. 'Just don't buy it' is not a rebuttal of the argument, it is the conclusion being argued for.
The arbitrary rules are in places because most people can't handle the freedom on a complex computing device. They download Kazaa and end up with all kinds of stuff soap won't wash off.
That certainly explains why there's no Google Voice app on the iPhone. Because Google is just like Kazaa.
Jailbreaking is trivial because Apple didn't try to lock the device from hackers - only lock it to the point were your grandma and your 13-year-old can't break it surfing the net.
It's not a question of difficulty. The question is whether you're allowed to do it. It shouldn't even be a wink-wink-nudge-nudge kind of thing.
Out of the box, the iPhone is better on the whole than any other phone I've used. It lacks tethering, though, and that's the reason I jailbroke it. If my choice was between the iPhone w/o tethering and another smartphone (say, a Droid or Nexus One), I'd still go with the iPhone.
That said, I'm following Android closely, and liking what I see.
Android is very interesting. I liked what I saw in the iPhone when I first looked at one. But not enough to buy one. I ended up (awhile later) getting a Droid and have no interest in the iPhone beyond it being a cornerstone of Apple's strategy. So with that bias stated...
What gets me about these conversations is that it isn't about how polished a product is. It's about freedom and the right to do things with your property. We've come a long way since the 80s where devices existed in proprietary little bubbles. Yet Apple always seems to want to try and turn back that clock. Yeah, sure - the handcuffs are really slick. But that doesn't negate what they're doing.
Having said that - I suppose it IS about polish for some folks. I just don't assign it the same value as others.
Your gas tank analogy fits better with a "wall charger".
Most applications (productivity) seem well thought out and designed.
????
Itunes - 2/5 - A slow bloated shop application, that makes it near impossible to actually efficiently getting a variety of items onto your smart device. Even dragging and dropping takes forever, because iTunes can't properly do in the background, what should be done in the background.
Photos - 1/5 - The most worthless application available. Can't show original images, but only downscaled crap. You basically have to buy another application from the appstore, to view images on your smart device, but then you can no longer actually get the images onto it in an ordinary fashion as Itunes automatically make your images small and crappy when putting them on the device. Of course, it is all "in the best interest of the user".
Videos - 2.5/5 - Videos are listed in a single long structure. No hierarchy at all (at least not that I have been able to find). The player itself is pretty buggy with the tap to access the controls sometimes stopping to work, and some problems with skipping. And the skipping controls generally suck pretty bad. That it gets 2.5 is because if you actually get a compatible file onto your device and don't want to skip around much, it is actually usable. And one good feature is that it remembers your position in the video (and even backsteps a few seconds when turning off/on). Of course, making a file compatible is an art in itself.
Music - 3.5/5 - Actually usable as long as you design playlists on your computer. I have a few minor complaints, but nothing worth mentioning. I don't see what is especially great about it however. It feels like a relatively average application.
Weather - 2/5 - Can't even remember the last update. Not a problem for those having a phone device with constant internet connection, but it sucks for the ipod touch users. Same with a couple of the other applications that come with the device.
App Store - 2/5 - Are they actually trying to sell anything? Browsing the App store is painful with the crappy work it does of sorting applications. The iTunes Store isn't any better. Unless you know exactly what you are looking for, you shouldn't bother. And it is even worse if you don't live in a huge country, because Apple in all their wisdom (none) made the reviews country specific.
Safari - 3.5/5 - As with the Music application, Safari is actually working ok. I have issues with the behavior of the zoom and as usual, no control options at all, but otherwise it works fairly well.
I am a non-fanboy who impulse bought my ipod touch when my previous mp3 player broke. I needed something quickly, as I travel by bus daily, which is unbearable without a player. And with Apple having a pretty good reputation, I simply went with it. But I do feel like I bought into the rat race with the user unfriendly control freakiness.
The most interesting thing I have noticed about all of this is that this is what they did with their computer market. If you make an application you must pay a royalty. That is the reason dos then windows pcs out paced apple.
Application people wanted to be able to design apps and not have to pay a royalty to the OS manufacturer.
This was for the most part the downfall of apple computers in the apple vs pc race.
Flash forward.
Apple comes out with a smart phone. Looks good has good hardware. Locked down so if you design for the iphone then you must pay royalty. Amazingly this time all the application developers jump on board. Interesting enough is that some application developers are starting to question this as apple denies their app and produces one of their own.
Either the Devs will start to wise up and the i-anything will start to go they way of the apple computer again or it will become the next form of how an OS gets designed.
The people buying computers in the beginning were just as non informed as they are today. The difference is the developers started making the decisions.
Buy a computer.. well apple only has 5 applications you can use, while this Dos PC has over 10,000 applications.
which one did everyone buy?
love the taste, hate the texture
Anything that doesn't run Linux out of the box is a huge step backwards. It's like a gas company chairman getting up and telling us electric cars are a huge step backwards.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
they have, jailbreak your phone install what apps you want from wher you want.
classic example of PEBKAC.
-- All this knowledge is giving me a raging brainer.
Is this shared folder functionality going to be available for iPhone/iPod touch apps too, or restricted to just the iPad?
Third-party desktop programs like DiskAid can already transfer files over USB to companion apps (FileApp in this case), so there's no real technological limitation to speak of.
I wonder why people don't have this same outrage over car manufacturers building their cars as "closed systems". They build their cars just like Apple builds a computer system, controlling each piece so one or another doesn't fail. Is it just the life or death difference that applies with cars? Just like a car if you really really care enough to dig around you can modify apple software, if you know engine's etc. go ahead and mess with your car, but do so at your own risk. Seems to me it used to be the wild west, which was great for innovation to a point, but now we've reached a phase where a designed experience is the way to progress "safely". I'm not complaining, just knowing what I'm getting when I buy Apple. If you don't dig it just don't go with Apple, but don't complain at me about crashes and viruses.
Where's my Ubuntu pad with a usb port? Come on Corporations, make me one already. Is it because the multi-touch patents?
Burn FAT not OIL
Ugh. In my defense, it was early when I read this, and the general tone of most of the responses have been whining and bitchy - chalk one up to my annoyance at all the people who think whining on slashdot will somehow change the world.
The ipad is not a computer, it's a digital media appliance, as is most every modern phone, gps, e-reader, digital media player, and dedicated gaming platform on the market. This class of function-specific digital devices is about reliability, user experience and performance. A controlled operating environment attempts to consistently deliver those things by restricting the entropy induced by random user code. Boiled down, unbounded tweak-ability = break-ability. Do most consumers want to debug an appliance every time they add a feature? If you want a general purpose computer, use a general purpose computer. I want my game box and my phone to just work, as the iPhone does. I want some simple customization THAT DOESN'T BREAK ANYTHING, which I get now from the app store. It's exactly the right model for 95% of the user base who just wants the d@mn thing to work. GPS units proved it. The ipod proved it. The iPhone proved it again. If I can get a fast web browser and digital media player on a cheap, reliable, gorgeous large-screen internet appliance that works through an entire trans-continental flight, without the liabilities of a conventional 'open' operating system, why the h3ll not? Sign me up.
What everyone is missing about this launch, is what I think will make the ipad a RAGING success.
:-)
Apple now [arguably] has a better eBook than the Kindle (If Stanza on the Touch is anything to go on), color, with WiFi, and 3G, and a boatload of storage.
Apple has a well-known DRM chain. Apple is popular with the kids.
Apple is going to get textbook manufacturers to create iPad-only content for kids heading off to college, making the iPad a mandatory tool to have for school, and finally allowing the textbook publishers to kill the used-book market for good.
That's my prediction.
My netbook is also a recreational device, it gets information to me.
I happen to dual boot mine with both Windows XP and Linux, I watch movies on planes with it as well.
But I can also put what software I want to use on it, rather than what I'm told I have to use.
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
Each car company creates and locks down their own computer control system and auto parts. There was a time when the 'user' could tinker and mod theirr cars easily, but most consumers just want a car that works. They want a car that turns on in the cold and drives the way it should whether they are going fast or slow, and the car makers have provided that, at the cost of limiting access to internal control systems. Same with the iPad - most consumers just want a phone that works, that is intuitive and easily expanded. While symbian phones could be expanded, it required so many steps that the average grandma/mom/dad/user never got around to expanding anything. iPods just work. The iPhone just works. And now the iPad will just work. And that is why they have been and will be very popular. Most Slashdot readers will continue to tinker with the inner workings of the latest *nix release and spend their evenings curled up on the couch figuring out how to run a Sega Genesis emulator on their toaster. Meanwhile, the average user will happily shell out $500 for a really cool gizmo that will sit next to their couch like a photo fram displaying beautiful photos of the grandkids, until they pick it up and shoot off a few quick emails to friends and family and check the latest headlines at the New York Times. You all are not the target market, so get over it.
Let's add to the car analogy.
20 or 30 years ago, cars needed a lot more maintenance than they do today. And automatic transmissions weren't as common. So people were generally more connected to the road and more skilled under the hood. But most people (then and now) use a car as an appliance, and they want it to be as simple and trouble-free as possible. End of story. They don't have the slightest interest in even shifting gears, let alone changing the oil. They just want to get in, turn the key (or press the power button), shift into "D", and go.
There will always be those who do want a stick shift and will tinker under the hood to tune their car's performance. And this is a good thing. But the vast majority of drivers are not like this. They don't care if they *can* pop the hood because they never will.
AT&T NO CARRIER
That's why I prefer Android's approach
You know, it used to be the other way around, but...
Leave it to Apple to make Microsoft and Google look good.
Boot Windows, Linux, and ESX over the network for free.
I'll bet you that T-Mobile will be offering Micro-SIM by the time this is out.
I can never figure it out. Everybody - people who like them, and people who hate them - is convinced that Apple comes up with everything.
From Wikipedia:
A micro-SIM is a smaller version of a SIM card. Micro-SIMs have been used for a number of years in embedded smart devices, such as power meters. The physical size of a micro-SIM is 12mm x 15mm.
The "micro-SIM" is part of the ISO 7816 specification
In other words, piss off.
I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
"It just works"! Snrk.
Had you really done your research, you would have known that most of the e-book reading programs do indeed let you load your own docs. You also wouldalso have know that Stanza not only lets you load your own books, but also those from online collections, gutenberg and several different ebooks sellers. Since the iPad runs normal apps, it should also be able to run Stanza and other ebook software. And just out of curiosity, which ebook app did you end up buying that doesn't let you load your own books?
You didn't really read what either the parent or the GP wrote.
The GP challenged that Apple didn't drive any standards.
The parent found a big one: USB. Parent never claimed Apple invented it, merely that their adoption of it on the original iMac kick-started a market that had been around a couple of years but hadn't seen much traction yet.
The principles behind the FSF are well and good, but no one (except perhaps RMS) would consider them applicable to every computing device under the sun. The iPad is a consumer device, designed around the needs and (lack of) abilities of the general public. It's really a toy.
So what you're saying is that iPad users don't need rights over their iPads, because they're not really computers, they're toys? I'm assuming that the same is true of consoles, since they're really just toys too aren't they, and thus not computers? Plus iPods and the like too, since they're music players, and thus not computers. Oh, and mobile phones (including iPhones), since they're phones and thus not computers. Ebook readers too, since they're electronic books, and thus not computers. Set top boxes are, of course, just for watching and recording TV and looking at schedules, so they can't be computers either. Not to mention a SatNav, since it's just a map, it's obviously not a computer. Just like DVD players, which play DVDs, it's not like they're computers. The same goes for modems and routers, they're not computers because they just route packets between networks. Also networked storage is obviously just storage and thus not a computer. Electronic picture frames are just for showing pictures too, they're not computers.
Hang on a second, I use my laptop for networking, reading books, listening to music, looking at pictures, watching and recording TV, looking up TV schedules, calling people, watching DVDs, storing data, playing games and finding directions. In that case why the hell is it running Linux? I shouldn't have rights over it, it's not like my laptop is a computer! I think I should chuck it out ASAP, since it's obviously not suitable for a consumer like me. Then I can go out and buy an ebook reader, a SatNav, an iPod, an iPhone, an iPad, a games console, a NAS box, a TV, set top box and a DVD player right away! And to think, I was about to waste money on some RAM to upgrade that laptop! What a silly thing to do, paying hardware companies good money for something I didn't even need! I hope someone invents a News Reader soon, then I can keep reading Slashdot :)
One of the original purposes of Free Software was to stop the computing industry's seemingly inevitable move away from "computers" and towards "appliances", which were exactly the same as computers, except that instead of buying new software to let it do new things, you'd buy a new appliance. Of course the business incentive for such a scheme is obvious, design one product (a computer) then force everyone to buy twenty of them by loading each one with slightly different software and no way to change them, one to IM with, one to read news, one to play music, one to show pictures, etc. Thus RMS and the FSF are repeating the same message they always have. I remember someone joking to Stallman about demanding the right to the microchip codes of his microwave oven, with Stallman's opinion being that hardware can't be changed, thus having access to the schematics doesn't help you reprogram it and is thus not very useful, but that if it *was* reprogrammable, eg. via flashing, installing something new, whatever, then by all means every owner of such a microwave oven should have complete access to the code that runs their microwave, in order that the possibility remains open for someone to reprogram it for them.
Personally I try to put my money where my mouth is, which is why my music player is from Neuros, my 'phone's an OpenMoko and I don't own anything from Microsoft, Apple, Adobe or any other proprietary software maker (as far as I can). Looking to upgrade to an OLPC XO-1/1.5 soon too, once I can find one on eBay shipping to the UK.
Only if our hypothetical charging station has lobbied to make it illegal to buy a gasoline-powered generator and use it to charge your vehicle.
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
I don't think anybody would be complaining if Apple had a nice, tidy app store, but still let people run arbitrary code on their stuff.
People are going to complain when that arbitrary code breaks their iPad in some way.
Different methods of delivering software have their own sets of pros and cons.
I'd contend that's less of a vendor lockin formula, and more a problem in establishing a standard that would allow for the improvements that come regularly. Different battery designs charge in different ways; do we want to say that we should make a single standard charger with a set voltage/current that a modern battery can accept, thus ruling out possible advances in battery or ultracapacitor design that might require a different design?
By contrast, gas is a fairly simple proposition. You need to pump a liquid from one storage tank to another; the design on the receiving end (a hole connected to a pipe) is pretty easy to agree on. The size of the tank isn't increasing substantially (I seem to recall even early cars had tanks of a couple gallons in size), so if the design limits the pumping speed a bit, it just means spending 5 minutes instead of 1 minute fueling up. With an electric car, it could mean standardizing on a 4+ hour charge, to the exclusion of the ideal target of a 5 minute charge.
That said, one way to standardize would be to move the specialization into the car. If the car can do the transformation and manage the charging if provided with wallsocket power, then it would be trivial to standardize: You charge from an extension cord. Problem is, that adds hundreds of dollars or more to every car. And that adds up. So right now, we're getting a different sort of compromise: The car is cheaper and lighter, but it requires the charging circuitry to be at the station. You don't need to pay for as much charge control and transformation circuitry (there are hundreds of cars for every charge station), but you end up with a mishmash of "standards".
Once electric cars actually become available to more than a tiny fraction of the populace, and the battery tech advances to the point where more than a tiny fraction of the populace is interested, I expect to see standards, but right now, there's no real incentive to standardize.
$_ = "wftedskaebjgdpjgidbsmnjgcdwatb"; tr/a-z/oh, turtleneck Phrase Jar!/; print
In other words, rather than not buying something, you should vocally boycott it.
GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
If that scenario happened, it would be because the damn consumer LIKED the product and it's accompanying business model. If you don't like the product of said company, don't buy it and for our sake, don't go bitching all over the interwebs how you feel it's so UNJUST that a business run their business differently from the way you would choose to.
The issue is that most customers don't understand these reasons for not buying a closed product. I understand how that feels -- I don't know enough about cars to make that kind of educated choice. I know that in a world where everyone was fully informed, an open car would depreciate in value less than a closed car, because the maintenance costs would be lower. But nobody thinks about that when buying a car, so it doesn't work.
Likewise, someone non-technical would happily buy a locked down computing product, and use it happily for a while. Then they might reasonably ask "I'd like to make it do [something]" - and the answer would be "Sorry, the way it is, is the way it is."
Awesome Comeback, and great reasoning!
You apparently make a common error here. He did not give any reasoning; therefore, nothing was required of me except to state disagreement. If he had actually provided evidence or reasoning for his view, then I could have had something to respond to. As it is, I see no basis whatsoever for his claim that not being alienated for being "ripped off" for an iPad means nothing else could alienate them, so I simply state my disagreement, and if he chooses to actually give a basis for the claim, then I can respond to it.
HTH HAND
Many consumers don't care, and even LIKE, the idea of being locked in to the App Store, because it introduces a significant amount of security.
"People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both." -- Benjamin Franklin
As another poster has mentioned, this is happening in the car industry: engines are locked off, so that only Ford mechanics can work on Ford engines. Ford sells cheap cars, people buy them, then Ford bleeds them out of cash on service because they have a monopoly.
People gave up their freedom and got screwed.
When your interests conflict with Apple's, do you think Apple will serve yours? Why? When a non-Apple music playback application would suit you best, but Apple won't let you have it, despite people wanting to give it to you, will you thank Apple for keeping the App Store clean and safe from competition^Wviruses?
Also, I encourage you to have a look at the underhand C code contest. How competent do you think the QA workers are? How diligent? Exactly what is the safety you're buying?
I say big shame on Apple for abusing an open-source operating system (BSD) in this way.
I heard BSD allows it because it was funded by DARPA to stimulate the development of science, which eventually would lead to the technological superiority of the USA for the benefit of its private held industry. Then others continued that work, probably forced at gunpoint to accept such outrageous license.
But we're not trying to control how you use your iPad... honest.
Don’t be ridiculous. They’re just letting people use their iPad however they want to. Which, of course, is how Apple wants them to use it, because it’s the best way, and if they wanted to use it any other way, well, that would just be silly.
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
Why is that a con again?
GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
I can totally see Apple releasing a new mac mini with this OS because *it just works*.
Then it won't be branded as "Mac OS X," and surely won't become the primary OS sold by Apple.
Are you sure its not Apple's primary OS already? Between soaring iPhone/iPod Touch sales and relatively stable Mac sales, I wouldn't be surprised if the iPhone OS had the same number of active copies if not more.
I can't find any good comparisons on the web, and all the browser stats I see just lump "Safari" together as one. But around my office I see a ton of iPhone owners, and only a handful of Mac users. Feel free to take your own anecdotal survey.
[PowerPoint] is a tool for capitalist presentation
but the bottom line is that consumers don't care or they really wouldn't have bought it.
Many don't care because they don't understand, or only fully realised the limitations after purchasing it.
After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
File under "If you don't like it, change the channel."
Parent poster was complaining about not having important details, and you just waltz on in here with your "facts". Slashdot is for speculation. Please take your "facts" elsewhere.
What could you do with the iPhone that you couldn't do with any of the smartphones already on the market? Not much, but for most of the things I'm likely to do, I can do it way more easily thanks to an interface that was thought out and well designed for the particular device. As opposed to the old technique of trying to stuff windows into a tablet.
You get the app-store and an OS based on the iPhone. It's a pretty decent touchscreen OS.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
Ridiculous and erroneous. There's nothing stopping you from adding muenster cheese to your Subway-bought sandwich, nor eating it while drinking beer.
There are, however, technical measures put in place by Apple to prevent you from installing whatever system or application you choose on the iPad, so the analogy breaks down.
No problem is insoluble in all conceivable circumstances.
I'll take a look at Wildeyes, thanks.
But I've tried a number of these apps, and none of them do what I want, which is to load docs from my computer through the USB cable to the iPod. Most of them require a a wireless network which I do not have.
Let me repeat that: I DO NOT HAVE WIRELESS AT HOME. It it doesn't use the USB, it's not what I want.
I have tried Files lite, eNotes, eReader, Stanza, the Kindle app, and probably a dozen others. None of them does what I want -- USB connection and several different file formats (DOC, TXT, and PDF at a minimum).
Everyone can stop offering me suggestions. I'm not being obtuse. I have tried this, and it doesn't work. It's still a neat device, but I'm still waiting for the right ebook reader for me.
Will the iPad work? That's what I want to know.
Genocide Man -- Life is funny. Death is funnier. Mass murder can be hilarious.
Slippery slope is only a fallacy if you fail to outline that its possible and likely to go from one point to another. Hardware, software, and service lock-ins are hardly an unknown phenomenon in the computer industry. I think its completely valid to be concerned that a company like Apple is trying to use their walled-garden approach to lock their customers in to their own services, and I'm glad that the FSF are trying to bring attention to it.
And I'm someone who actually prefers some of his devices to be "walled-garden" devices. I just want to have the option to get a device that's not tied to one company, if I so desire.
All the way back in 1986, Apple created FireWire.
Wikipedia:
FireWire is Apple's name for the IEEE 1394 High Speed Serial Bus. It was initiated by Apple (in 1986[2]) and developed by the IEEE P1394 Working Group, largely driven by contributions from Apple, although major contributions were also made by engineers from Texas Instruments, Sony, Digital Equipment Corporation, IBM, and INMOS/SGS Thomson
I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
You don't expect to run arbitrary code on your DVR (or at least most people don't)
No, I just expect to run my choice of entertainment software, which is mostly but not entirely stable over time.
I just want Frozen Bubble, Battle for Wesnoth and Nexuiz on my Wii. Nothing arbitrary, just those games. In the eyes of Nintendo, that is arbitrary.
Similarly for tivo/apple/$name, of course. I don't want my TV-box, or my telephony-box, or my $box to be a general purpose device. But I want the way it serves a specific purpose to be the way I choose.
And that can only really happen if the device is general purpose.
(And runs Linux :D)
Because it's no more a "portable appliance" than any netbook is.
The reason people like Apple so much is because outside of Apple there is too much choice. It creates a paradox of choice and makes it difficult to find/choose a good product. Apple has limited the world of choices to one or two options for a particular task and have at least done some basic vetting of those choices to make sure they meet most peoples' needs.
I personally do not find apple products appealing because I'm a tinkerer by nature and want to have a universe of choice for my phone, OS, applications, etc. Most people, it turns out, don't want to concern themselves with all of those annoying choices and just want a widget that does exactly what they want and they want to find it with as little hassle as possible.
Check out my lame java blog at www.javachopshop.com
There are VNC and RDP clients for iPhone so I would think their being modified for the larger screen would happen.
All this huff about the system being locked down is irrelevant.
It is not only relevant, but very important on 2 fronts:
1. As long as bypassing the "lock" on a device you own is against the law (that law being brought to you by the same companies who make "locks"); and
2. Raise public awareness of the existence of such "lock" and #1 above.
I think the complaint is more at the level of market analysis. The argument is that the market would be better if Apple let you click a little check box that said "permit install of non-Apple store apps" -- like Android has for their OS/market place. The choice problem is that if I want to buy an Apple product b/c I like the features, I can't install the features I want on it.
Classic example: my partner has an iphone. I have an android phone. She used to be able to use Google voice search on the iphone and in fact taunted me with it, when I still had a winmo device. Then apple decided to eliminate that app, so she's stuck without it. The switching cost for her to move to android is relatively high, so this one feature doesn't make her buy a new phone, but it still sucks for her and all the people like her.
Why is it good for the general public if Apple runs their business this way? They may be entitled to make these choices, but I think all the complainers/haters are voicing a larger concern, that Apple's behavior is creating less value for the public (and perhaps more value for Apple). Classic business dichotomy, and certainly a complaint voiced on /. about Microsoft Word and Windows a bijillion times as well.
Up until it was made illegal only relatively recently, you CHOSE to buy and sell slaves. do you view such practices as acceptable? except, now, the slavery isn't recognised as such, because it is several degrees removed, behind "Intellectual Property" laws. so your post basically says that you are ignorant and happy with it. please remind me where you come from, where you were educated and what you believe in: i would like to make sure i never go there, and i would like to be inspired never to be like you.
So the iPhone itself will have access to the Shared Directory too? I haven't gotten a chance to load up the new OS on my iPod Touch.
Good catch. Not a con, a fuckup on my part.
Thanks.
For them, apparently it does. They see the iPhone as a product that does almost everything they want, and there is a way to enable that last little bit that they do want and Apple doesn't provide by default. So they could either get the iPhone, and hack around it, or they could keep looking for a product that meets their needs more closely. Such a product may or may not come. They might find a product which does do that last little bit, but doesn't do any of the other stuff as well as they'd like.
Great counter. I make no bones about it, I have fallen in device love with my Touch.
:-/
I'm not sure I'm going to like it when I eventually have to replace it's battery. As a music and video player, I don't see it becoming obsolete anytime soon, except for that.
All told, I think the experience all-around is better with the Apple devices. And it's probably going to make a better smartphone/pda for me. Do I wish Apple had a portrait-style sliding keyboard like the Pre+ does? Yes. But I'll make do without it.
Microsoft would KILL to do this. Honestly, they would literally go out and kill puppies, kittens and baby seals all day long if it would allow them to control everything you install.
This is pretty much completely bass-ackwards. Microsoft knows perfectly well that the reason Windows is so popular is because of it's openness to developers. They're not even close to being stupid enough to kill that goose.
Microsoft could tie Windows up as tight as a drum if they really wanted to - and the security benefits from doing so would be significant. But it would be an insanely stupid move to make from a business perspective.
Average users don't WANT control over their computers. Go ahead. Give it to them. Explain that they need to right-click on the icon and choose "Run as Administrator," or that they need to run spyware scans, or virus scans, or allow the machine to install updates, or use Browser X instead of Browser Y, or manage a filesystem in a clean and organized way. What do they say? Come on, we've all heard it.
I don't think you need to do any of that on OS X. And I don't think people complain much about OS X in the way you described.
Yet there's this terminal application that gives the users total control and the power to fuck up their machines, royally.
The freedom to make your own choices if you want, but with sane default choices made for you.
(Man, I wish I could say that Linux is 100% there with a straight face...)
The only one on that list I don't believe belongs there is Jon Stewart.
Stewart is a fake journalist, works on Comedy Central, has no qualms about calling out demagogues and idiots on all sides of the curtain, though I have to admit he pulls out the right wing more often than the left. That doesn't mean the left gets off easy.
... and if we've learned anything about a wide open platform like Windows it's that things can quickly get out of hand and very consumer-unfriendly (think viruses and malware and pre-loaded gunk and whatnot). We've yet to find the right balance of openness and consumer-friendliness.
I wish it was that simple.
Lets go for an extreme example, I'm sure it will be taken out of context but I might as well try getting the point across.
Lets pretend Apple managed to make an exclusive agreement with another large organization, like say the government. This exclusive agreement means that all voting goes through Apple's proprietary software on their fancy new iPad.
Now of course, it is your choice to disagree with how things are done and not buy the iPad...
Yes, it is an extreme example. But you don't seem to be understanding the GP's point here:
accept whatever the corporate overlords give them, or go to a corner and shutup.
It is in their best interest to trap and control you. Stop telling people to just take it!
One of the first apps I installed on my iPhone was eReader because I had been a customer since my Palm Vx days. (Pity they refuse to sell me any more books after Barnes and Noble bought them.) There is Kindle, Stanza, BookShelf, and probably others.
If I want to read a PDF I upload it to AirSharing or any number of other file transfer apps.
(Just because something does not come bundled with the device does not mean it does not exist. It's a bit like buying a PC and discovering it does not come with Crysis.)
I have to buy the right to use the hardware in a way that I want to?
No. Not at all. You're welcome to poke at it with a magnetized needle or any other tool you've got in order to program it the way you want.
You could even recreate the work other people have already done in creating an open toolchain on the iPhone. Or you could just use that toolchain.
You can even use the developer tools Apple has created for free -- they give those away.
If you want to participate in the marketplace that Apple has developed, though, they ask you for fees.
Tweet, tweet.
okay, let's assume that credit card processing costs are nothing, using the same example I used:
Apple's revenue would be $1.79 per app, $1.253 (70%) would be paid to the developer. That leaves $0.537 left for apple.
At one billion paid apps equals: $537 million dollars.
$537 Million dollars over the 18 months they've been doing the apps store so far is $89.5 million dollars per quarter.
$89.5 million dollars per quarter, compared to the 3.4 BILLION in profit's that Apple had in the last quarter is still only 2.6% of all of Apple's profits.
Of course, none of that still takes in to account the cost of developing the apps store in the first place.
Actually 3G modems do cost somewhere along those lines (obviously there's markup, but I would expec them to be paying around $50-$80+/modem. The reason most phones are cheap is because they're subsidized by the contract. If you paid attention, the data package is contractless so there is no subsidy.
No, he doesn't. Hence the word mimic. I think the comparison is apt (ha!) - even though Apple's single source is mandatory, and you can add whatever sources you want to Ubuntu. They're otherwise quite similar.
To the extent that Ubuntu provides a simple but optional way of installing software easily, it mimics FreeBSD ports, not the App Store.
Today's Sesame Street was brought to you by the number e.
Just keep in mind that with that model, there are a slew of different problems that come along with it. Namely, malicious code being entered into the App Market. About a month ago, there was a story where Google had to kick a bunch of stuff off the Market because they were basically phishing apps.
I'm not gonna pretend to know which side of the spectrum is more correct, and it probably isn't the same for everybody. But basically, you have Apple on one end, vetting all of the App Store submissions, and being the ones to choose what to sell in their store. On the other end, you have Google, basically allowing anyone who wants to the ability to place something in the store, and not vetting beforehand. One gives you more choice as to what to put on the phone, while the other one gives you more security and peace of mind, while still giving you access to a very large catalog.
That has *got* to be one of the worst analogies I have ever seen on /.
Yeah exactly, there's a lot of evidence of this already happening. Why just the other day Google released their version of the iPhone and they've totally locked it down just like Apple...err...what's that? It's not locked down? You can install whatever you want on it? Oh...
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
post 1001?
Ford can do whatever it wants to. If you don't like it, buy a Chevy.
If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
What world do you live in?
I don't see a big fuss either - but why doesn't apple just put a checkbox in the OS to let me opt-out of the apple store? Answer: Money. They make more money if they force you to buy apps from within their store. User experience quality is a focus for apps within the store of course, but mainly to ensure that users will buy more apps.
I’m currently working on a Javascript-powered GW-BASIC interpreter that uses a canvas object for display. (No particular reason, just thought it’d be a fun project... yes, I have a very strange concept of “fun” sometimes.)
Amusingly, it would never make it onto the app store as an app, because it would allow loading and executing of arbitrary code. But since it’s a web app, there would be absolutely no way for Apple to prevent it.
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
--Expandable with memory cards.--
How again is this a con?
Totally agree with this analogy. Unfortunately there is no one out there to stop Steve from testing the waters with these new restrictive innovations. The bottom line however is that consumers will speak with their hard earned cash and the cult of Jobs will grow. No matter how much we hate on their latest gadget it will be a success and the best we can hope for on this front is an improved spec sheet for version two next year.
Better still buy a competing product which is more like the one you want. When Acer, Dell, Lenovo, HP and the rest come out with their tablets in six months time you will get to make your preferences known by buying the one you like. Hopefully then Apple will realise that because lots of people buy the Lenovo one it's features must be the ones everyone wants.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
It's my choice to buy or not to buy the iPad (a ladies monthly thing?) so I understand the constraints placed on it. MY CHOICE, and consumers will make or break it. There are always restrictions on software, it may be minor, or major, like having an SDK that only the rich and famous can obtain, but times change and so does technology. If nothing else, we SHOULD see a pile of Linux based competitors, but I doubt it, MS will see to that, and introduce a lame, Win based clone.
There was an unknown error in the submission.
You wont to know why EVERY major business uses PCs?
Because there is software to lock down the PCs so that users cannot install what they want.
Because the platform, due to Microsoft's shady business practices over the decades, has become so dominant that business software developers targets it so you get a lock in, coupled with the push for Microsoft Office as a "de facto standard" which makes it hard for a business to choose a competitor like WordPerfect or StarOffice.
Because despite this control they exert, businesses still need anti-virus software and the rest that follows from the "freedom".
Because what Microsoft did is worse than what Apple are doing.
Poor proof-reading. :-)
Thank you for posting that. The ability to "just copy stuff to it" turns the iPad into a possible contender for my dollars. If I can add my own ePubs to it without the iTunes rodeo... maybe, just maybe it would be worth having as a color e-reader with a long battery life.
The devil's in the details, of course.
USB ports existed, but their use never really took off until they came on the original iMacs.
Not necessarily. I'm assuming all electric vehicles will have a standardized method of charging. After all, if each manufacturer had their own charger, people would take their money right back to a gas-powered car.
And, it's not illegal to create or make an adapter, though the homemade ones might be dangerous.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
Who ever is hailing it as the *future* of computing doesn't understand what computing means. That would be like saying that the Playstation or Wii are the future of computing.... yes they compute things but no they are not PCs and were not hyped as such... even though since then people have hacked them and begun running Linux on them.
A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
Slashdot is not the manufacture of the car or the iPad, so bitching here isn't doing anything other than trolling.
Wrong. Many, many people don't have the time or brilliance to explore every ramification of every product. Some people come to places like Slashdot for the purpose of absorbing the opinions and analysis of other people. Slashdot is a good choice in that the variety of responses is wide, and it's reasonable to expect that irrational or misinformed comments will either be moderated or replied to. Point is: posting to places like Slashdot is absolutely more functional than trolling.
"Oh no... he found the
Nope. Try again. I've owned 3 all generations of iPhone. Jailbroke every single one. Never bricked the device ever. You can't brick it jailbreaking. Maybe if you drop it and break the device, but jailbreaking nope. And you are only banned from Push if you don't use AT&T in the US. You can't unlock and goto T-Mobile and have Push work, but Push works fine on Jailbreak. Read up buddy. You are severely misinformed.
Only if it wants to alienate almost all of its users and developers.
It won't happen.
Just like it couldn't happen with cell phones right?
If Apple can get away with it they will do it. It's win-win for them, easier and cheaper to provide better service for systems, AND they get to increase profit. And if it becomes a market standard, good luck finding any competitor to not offer it since it increases cost and reduces potential profit. The freedom for you to control your computer just became an externalized cost to the market.
they could just as well give you a pair of booster cables and hope you don't short them across your nuts... power is power.
Um, no, no it's not. If you'd like to test that theory, go climb the nearest electrical tower and plug your hairdryer into the wires. I take no responsibility for the result.
Less dramatic demonstration: plug your lead-acid car battery directly into an AC wall socket. Hilarity ensues. The phrase "the goggles do nothing!" is bound to come up.
I don't know if you noticed, but 9 volt batteries tend to be shaped differently than the AAA - type. No, this was not an aesthetic choice, or an attempt to ensure vendor lock-in - there are very real, rather good reasons for doing it that way.
Does it run Linux?
i don't think anyone is accusing the app store of charging 5 x more for stuff
If only one company was allowed to ever own charging stations, yes.
This is not an argument. That consumers make choices is the definition of the market, not an argument for it. You say the market will produce the best outcome - so whatever outcome the market produces is best!
You say that no-one should concern themselves with the the actual, practical consequences in the real world. Whether the system is locked down is "irrelevant": the actual outcome - the actual impact on people's lives and freedoms - is beside the point. All that matters is that this was a result of market choices. This is a purely abstract position that explicitly claims that practical reality does not matter.
You say, "Just wait a year, and we will see if Apple made a good decision." So we will find out whether Apple acted in its own interest. Yippee. This tells us nothing at all about whether the outcome will be good or bad, and it doesn't give a hoot about the actual empirical results. Consumers often make choices that do not lead to outcomes they would prefer. If there's a conflict between your theory and actual evidence, I'm sorry but evidence wins. Of course, real human good and bad don't boil down to a single number like price, so that involves making value judgements. Maybe you're uncomfortable with that, but there is no way around it. To make value judgments, you actually need to - you know - make value judgements. There is no magic solution that makes that go away - not even, for all its merits, the free market (which, whatever else we think of it, I think we can all agree is not "free").
But your amoral slight-of-hand claims that value judgements are superfluous. This is no different than saying "the hurricane was the act of God, therefore it must be good." Only you are replacing God with the market. Maybe you have faith that markets do produce ideal outcomes. Fine. But that is a personal conviction, not a reason "why markets are so great." You deceive yourself if you think it is.
See if you can install FileApp, works on the iphone. It's free from the app store. It sets up the iphone as an FTP server so you can copy files to it from a local network.
Dropbox might also match your needs.
meh
"Gets" not "get's". There is no ownership. "I have Andy's car" for example.
Jonathanjk.com
In that case, yes. Like electric vehicles. I think the GP contradicted you because he presumed that you must be disagreeing with the person you replied to (as is normal Slashdot procedure) and because the parent post was correct, attempted to find a way to show yours was wrong. In fact, you are both correct and we have TWO bad situations of artificial constraint.
In future, you should probably wait for someone else to post a reply when you want to agree with someone, that way you can reply to the second person's post enabling you to both support the GP that you think is right and honour the Slashdot protocol of only posting to correct someone.
HTH,
Harmony.
Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
Obviously their philosophy happens to line their pockets. For a design philosophy like apple though adding the ability to move outside the predefined limits of the UI philosophy would in itself be bad for the majority of users.
This is like the way that Windows hides system files from novice users but enables non-novice users to toggle being able to see them. Of course enabling that means having to write all sorts of extra code to allow that toggle, to allow for the different view perspectives.
I think Apple has come to the conclusion that operating systems have become incredibly complex and that the average user experience can be greatly enhanced by hiding that complexity.
Complexity minimized by iPad/iPhone OS:
file systems
file extensions
directory structures
minimized peripheral device considerations
minimization of virii due to app store
All of those things are just headaches for the average user.
The Generation
I'd say something witty here, but I'm not that bright.
Like I already said, I wish I shared your faith that Apple would never lock down OS X. But I remember how the initial iPhone presentations talked about how it was running OS X, and how everyone assumed that meant real OS X and open development, not some special crippled version of OS X. I also remember last week, when so many people assumed that the Apple tablet would be running OS X. And I remember how Steve Jobs' original vision of the Macintosh was a sealed box...
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
There are now too many locked-down mostly-read devices, and there's going to be a shakeout. Pick the wrong one and you're going to be screwed.
There's a table of what reads what.
This incompatibility isn't going to last. The market will support one or two incompatible standards. Not five or ten.
Um, you do realize that there is a Stanza desktop app that allows you to open just about any file format and then share that with your iPod, via the USB cable no less.
Here are the supported file types that you can open and read on your iPod: .epub .azw .fb2.zip .pdb .fb2 .html .htm .lit .doc .mobi .oeb .prc .txt .pdf .rtf .xhtml
Pretty much NOBODY was expecting full OS X on these things. All the rumors for the last 6 months have been that it would run a modified iPhone OS...
A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
I've been thinking about it for a while, and I can't really come up with a way that a tablet computer could ever be a true, useful, multi-purpose computer. The form factor just doesn't work. Steve Jobs can talk all day about how great the on-screen keyboard is, it might actually be the best possible software keyboard in the universe, it's still not going to be as nice to do serious "keyboard-required" work on it. Having a keyboard and the display in the same plane is never going to be ideal ergonomics. A touch screen has lots of possibilities, but it'll never be as precise as a mouse driven cursor.
Other companies have experimented with it, and I'm sure Apple has tried a boatload of prototypes as well, and if they could come up with a way to make it really work, they'd ship them and sell truckloads. But I think the reality is that no matter how hard you try to make it look and act like a traditional computer, people won't be able to use it like a tradition computer.
That doesn't mean that I think Apple made all of the right decisions and tradeoffs here. A little bit of multi-tasking doesn't seem like it should be impossible to make work well. Maybe in the next version.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
Sorry, but I have to agree with the EFF. I really do like apple hardware, but I can't say that I'm a big fan of their software. Come on - a 1GHz device that doesn't support multi-tasking?? Sure, the UI is cute, but seriously. Even after several weeks of using OS X on a desktop or a MacBook Pro, I still wished that it was running Linux so that I could at least have a choice about what desktop environment to use.
Furthermore, the LACK of freedom of choice is exactly the reason that I don't buy apple products. You're correct in assuming that there is some choice, but the only choice you can make is "to buy or not to buy". The choice stops there.
Don't forget, that the only reason Linux ever ran on any Apple hardware is because someone was able to find a way to load the kernel (i.e. exploit), reverse engineer the hardware, and so on. Luckily, due to the hard work of a lot of dedicated community members, Linux runs superbly on Mac hardware, even on their iPod :).
Why does every computing device need to meet this criteria? Consider that question in light of the fact the for 99% of the human population, such an ability would have no use whatsoever.
If software freedom is important to you, don't buy Apple products. If you really need to complain that Apple products work for other people and that's just not right, it comes off as entitled whining.
Apple has been this way for decades, how in hell is ANYONE pretending to be surprised by the i[maxi]pad?
Remember all the Macs of old? Couldn't work on them, couldn't even get the damned things open. How about your ipod and iphone? You're locked down on those too. Hell you can't even replace the battery without Apple. Want an application that didn't get approved by Apple? You're going to have to INTENTIONALLY BREAK YOUR DEVICE to get it.
Apple has been the industry example of treating your customers like idiot children for as long as I can remember.
I really dislike the whole tightly controlled closed system. However, I was hoping that Apple would release exactly what they did, because I wanted an ebook reader that didn't suck, and the ipad is truly very sleek, and is certainly the best reader on the market (i know it does much more, and is being marketed as much more than just a reader). If anyone else could manage to build hardware as nice and polished as what Apple always manages to come out with, I would much rather get something else. What would be great is something in the form factor of the iPad running Android. If you build it they will come. I don't think it would be long before someone released an Android version of something like iBook, and that would be perfect. I think instead of everyone sitting around bitching about what Apple did or didn't do, they should build the competition.
Well, even coffee makers today have coffee pad systems. Instead of being able to use any coffee powder or roasted beans i like, i have to buy the correct format from the manufacturer. The whole world is becoming a fucking ink jet printer!!!!
Naturally, considering the bent of /.ers, you have reached +5, Insightful. Is this really insightful? The only way to achieve what you desire is to remove the consumer's freedom to choose which device they wish to support, in favor of only being allowed to choose your favored platforms. What kind of freedom is that, exactly?
The real problem here is that software freedom is only important to a very small percentage of people. Unless the free platform brings significant advantages that general consumers actually care about, such as aesthetics, usability, and choice, it will by necessity be relegated to the niche it currently occupies. You can't just keep telling people that they're wrong and stupid and need to listen to you and expect to get anywhere.
Because admittedly the US healthcare system is a bigger but boring beast to whine about and take action towards.
Jonathanjk.com
When you buy a Mac, you don't own squat, *except for* a SATA hard disk and a few empty PCIe slots, except for a round, shiny disk and some cardboard.
And this differs how from a Windows system, or even a Linux system?
Is that in reference to the morality clause in the BSD license? No? Then it's IRRELEVANT. Get it?
It's not that I particularly care to defend Apple's closed (aka tight integration) policies regarding their products. I don't necessarily agree with their approach, nor do I disagree. I find some aspects troubling as much as I find others completely overblown.
But what these critics are consistently overlooking is one simple fact: competition. Look at the iPhone. It's so easy to look back with hindsight and say how it was a technological inevitability, but really, I want you to try really hard and remember what kind of phones we had on the market before the iPhone. Tortured user interfaces, nested menus, inelegant text input methods, tiny screens, and pathetic multimedia capabilities. Features were not designed from the ground up, but rather tacked on like afterthoughts. And look at where we are now. We have Google Android. We have touchscreen phones with big screens. We literally witnessed a revolution in mobile phone technology that the iPhone precipitated and yet these critics don't seem to recognize this fact. All they do is complain about lock-in, but had Apple not stuck its neck out and designed the iPhone, the mobile network operators and the handset makers would not have had a fire lit under their collective asses to deliver a better product to the consumer. Sure, we had "smartphones" before Apple. We had Windows Mobile, Blackberry, and Symbian. We had these things but they were STILL limited and expensive. Apple changed the mobile phone game and nobody can legitimately deny that.
The iPad is the same thing. It's not supposed to be everything everybody demanded at the outset. The iPhone wasn't--it wasn't even 3G originally. It didn't have the App Store at first. Apple's mode of operation, if it hasn't been made completely obvious by now, is to get the basics down first, then refine and expand later. That's what they did with the iPod (remember, it had a real hard drive inside, instead of flash memory?), the iPhone, and now the iPad. This is just the first step of many to come.
Only Apple has the balls these days to take a concept, refine it, and make it work. Remember all the other tablet vaporware hype in the past year? Everyone has somehow conveniently forgotten. There's NOTHING like the iPad out there right now. Not even CLOSE. And now that Apple has shown its hand, it's now up to the competitors to show what they can do. Apple took on all the risk of developing this product, now the competitors will see the market's reaction and make something that could be better and more open, just as what happened with the iPhone.
Are we getting it now?
It's always easy to criticize the innovators. It's easy to forget what life was like before the breakthroughs, because the most well-designed technologies become so natural and integrated into your life that they become second nature. The iPad is literally like something out of Star Trek, so much so that I thought it should've been called an iPADD. And now it is up to others to step up to the plate and provide their own devices, with more openness, with an even better interface, if they are really sincere about delivering choice.
Yeah but the OWNER the COMPANY can do whatever they choose. The USER shouldn't be able to install whaever they want, that would be arbitrary code to the COMPANY.
The reason why MSFT is the dominant player is BECAUSE they (before they achieved lock in, which I will address later) were the first company to allow cheap OS that allowed anything to be installed or run.
They acheived lock in because they have remained backward compatable to a fault, to keep legacy stuff running, and therefore preventing a huge cost instance that would allow a company to 'jump ship' to another system. As much as you (and myself) want to bitch about Word being omnipresent because of 'lock in' it is really network effect.
Monopolistic tactics with software are weird, anyone can sell their product at almost no cost, because their is no physical cost to sell a unit, and assuming they sell enough they will eventually recoup their costs. So is it 'monopolistic' to sell your product at 10$ for a complete Office Suite, to get 99% of the market share, when your business strategy is one that could make you money? If you were attempting to run a loss to push out competitors then it would be, but if you can make money pushing out the competitors it is 'legit'. Now that you have 99% market share and people using your formats you can charge what you want, so long as another company can't do to you what you did previosly.
Bad, probably. Illegial, possibly, but probably not. Genius business strategy, most definately.
My addiction: Arguing with idiots. AKA Slashdot!
Are you sure it would have no use? For example, I have an older iPod that doesn't display the length of a podcast unless you play it (and hence mark it as listened to). I would love to have that feature without buying an iPod Touch, but cannot. If the software was user-modifiable, then I could add that feature. For me, it's the little things like this where access to the internals is really nice.
Now, I totally agree with you in terms of voting with dollars; I'm one of the few people who bought an OpenMoko, and I'm drooling over an N900.
I guess the perspective of the FSF is that access to the source is one of the important issues that it's difficult to get people to think about at purchase time. There have been studies that show that people consider different criteria a purchase time and at "how much do I actually like this" time. I used the example elsewhere: people buying fridges don't give a shit about CFCs, but the net cost of using CFCs is high enough that as a society we banned their use. The FSF likely considers closed-source to be analogous to CFCs.
Are you sure its not Apple's primary OS already?
I meant for their line of computers, as opposed to "appliances" or "accessories" like an iPhone or iPad. That was the context I intended, although I see why some might have misunderstood me.
It will be up to the consumers whether they decide they want to go toward the more simplified experience of the iPad instead of a normal computer, as opposed to a supplement to it. But it won't happen for quite some time, and if and when it does, consumers will well-understand the implications. It won't be "forced" on them by Apple trying to make a buck, because unless the developers and consumers actually want it, Apple will lose money on it.
logmein
OP, I think, is not disputing the strength of the just don't buy it position. What s/he's saying is that it's not the only option, not even the best option, and isn't the only glib (and annoying) reply to anyone who complains that the product is unsatisfactory. A better option than just not buying it, he says, is to provide feedback to the manufacturer as to why you're not buying it, so that the manufacturer can make a more measured and prompt response and re-release a product that actually serves your need. In this manner both parties are satisfied with the least expenditure and in the least time. That makes it the benefit-maximizing solution and thus superior.
An A4 is an ARM just as OMAP and Snapdragon are. ARM is a licensed technology.
There's too many to choose from! And I'm not even sure which ones are just being sarcastic!
Well, it depends. When he's not taking his dried frog pills, his world could be *anything*.
Conversely, since most computers don't have a choke point at the device, the iPad is much more expensive to develop for than any other computer. If your company and project is big enough the extra cost becomes minimal, but this virtually eliminates any small, independant software operation trying to "make it" in the computer world. I can, and have, written programs that I use on my computer on a regular basis which cost me nothing more than the time it took to write the program. This is not possible with the iPad, period.
Your argument makes sense up until this point. Let's use your own words (changes in bold) to argue how expensive iPad development is: Apple, on the other hand, simply charges a developer's fee ($100) and uses license agreements to get a slice of whatever anybody sells on their system. Anybody who knows XCode(and that's anybody who develops Macintosh/iPhone software, which is a LOT of programmers) can develop an iPad application and sell it.
I'm not sure how a $100 developer fee and small percentage of each sale equates to expensive. Sell even 130 copies of a $1 app and you have completely recouped your initial investment.
Just like it couldn't happen with cell phones right?
Who ever said that? Maybe a handful of pundits, but like I care what they say.
If Apple can get away with it they will do it. It's win-win for them, easier and cheaper to provide better service for systems, AND they get to increase profit.
It does not generally increase profit when you lose customers, which they would lose by the millions if this happened.
For that other 5%, jailbreaking is trivial and allows complete control.
Last I checked, circumventing DRM is ILLEGAL with real prison sentences and everything. How is that TRIVIAL?
So we can have control of our devices, but we might have to go to prison for it. Nice.
If your point was that you're horrible at making analogies, then yes, you did.
Not really the best example you are using, possibly the worst.
The whole argument is that you are taking something that is fairly open in "computers" and closing it up the the point of tyranny.
I would hazard to say that MOST phones are very closed as phone/cable companies try to wrest every single penny from you. The same could be said about mp3 players from iPod/iTunes, and Zune, etc... however with competition and proliferation clamping down on openness never really became a reality as much as they would like to make more money from their DRM than their hardware.
Best to stick to car analogies, it's safer!
Would you like some cheese with your whine?
It's not defective, RMS et al: it's a CHOICE. You purport to like choice, but no one believes you anymore. Many consumers don't care, and even LIKE, the idea of being locked in to the App Store, because it introduces a significant amount of safety.
pudge, I'm disappointed that you think the DRM issue is about choice. In a free market, yes, customers do have choice, and economic incentives will solve the problem. But that is not what we are facing here.
The DMCA already prohibits the creation and distribution of software that removes DRM. The corporations will pass new laws prohibiting the unauthorized modification of DRM devices. They will pass laws mandating the inclusion and honoring of DRM in broadcast and content streams. Eventually, they will pass laws requiring all devices to include and support DRM. They already tried all of these things with the CBDTPA. That effort failed, but it takes extraordinary naivete to think that they will never try again.
Right now, the iPad represents a choice. But Apple's goal is to provide this choice and then remove other choices through legal restrictions. The whole reason why this is a trap is because the first step looks positive and seductive. And the reason why the FSF is making noise is because many people, including you, don't realize the dangers of this trap.
And there's no chance whatsoever that this will ever happen to Mac OS X, so don't lose sleep over it.
It doesn't take much creativity to come up with ways to deprive customers of the OS X platform, even without changing OS X. For example, Apple could restrict the sale and support of OS X to professional or enterprise level machines. That would have functionally the same effect as depriving mainstream customers of choice, since most people can't afford the high end machines. Right now, the only thing preventing Apple from doing this is profits. Once the appropriate laws are in place, however, Apple would get enough profit from their App store to more than replace their OS sales, and no fear of competition because of legal prohibitions. Then we'll start to see the hammer come down.
You might argue, why not just oppose the laws when they arise, instead of worrying about this now? The reason is that preemptive opposition has a greater chance of succeeding. I strongly object to the premise that we should wait until the last possible moment before resisting loss of choice. By then, it could be too late.
I remember how the initial iPhone presentations talked about how it was running OS X, and how everyone assumed that meant real OS X and open development, not some special crippled version of OS X.
And I remember how MANY people said at the time, "well, no, Apple didn't say it will be open and we can't assume it will be."
More importantly, a phone is not your main computer. And neither will be the iPad for most people, unless all they need is web browsing and email and so on, in which case ... good for them.
I also remember last week, when so many people assumed that the Apple tablet would be running OS X.
As I do not read rumor sites, I'll take your word on that, but I have nothing to say to that except that those people were stupid (unless they meant it would run the iPhone variant of Mac OS X, or something similar, which I believe is true).
And I remember how Steve Jobs' original vision of the Macintosh was a sealed box...
Shrug. Jobs was wrong about a lot of things.
It's not a huge step backwards. But it's not a giant leap forward, either.
Mostly it just made me yawn: http://www.kimballlarsen.com/2010/01/27/new-apple-tablet-is-announced-and-the-world-yawns/
-- Kimball
...and invalidate your warranty on your 700$ phone as well as breach your contract with your phone company.
I didn't go searching through the user agreements, but I assume it is in there somewhere in the 800 pages of legal gibberish.
I'm pretty sure that not buying a product is a strong and clear signal to a corporation that their product sucks.
I beg to differ. There are billions of products I abstain from buying, every day, without them necessarily being bad products. Simply not buying a product does not send any signal at all, since it is the default. The only signal that may be sent is if almost everyone chooses to not buy a product, but that signal is still very unclear. The producer might just think that their marketing is lacking, or any other of a hundred reasons other than "our product sucks".
The only way to send a clear signal that you don't like a product is to tell the manufacturer so, either directly to some representative of theirs, or indirectly by posting messages on blogs, message boards, etc, about how much the product sucks.
> What the hell is Zune?
You don't want to know. Seriously, don't Google it. Also, don't look up "Microsoft Bob" either. Some things you're better off not knowing.
Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
ROFL
Good one Pudge, that's the way to deal with the trolls!
Sapere aude!
I'd hope that rather than teaching the next generation to be EVEN MORE PASSIVE, that this would instead activate the "build a better mousetrap" gene and that the next generation would design and builda a product to put this generation out of business tout de suite.
There is no swiss army knife people! If anything, techies should learn that there are different markets out there. Some people like "freedom" to tinker, others just want an appliance. I deal with IT all day at work. I want my stuff outside of work to just...well, work. I don't want to help people install, debug, and fix their Linux and Windows messes. If anything, I tell my non-techie friends to buy Apple stuff and to just use it and not mess with it. Works for them and works for me.
Just look at Windows drivers versus Mac drivers. I know with any Mac driver issues I go to Apple and tell them to fix them. I don't get a load of crap apps from vendors who think they know what I need, I can depend on Apple to sort out their driver issues. Windows?? Good luck. Freedom is for those who know what they are doing. Trust me, plenty of people don't know what they are doing.
Or custom GPS solutions that only work with vendor-supplied DVD's, but are convenient for the customer to obtain and use?
No, because in these cars, you're still free to buy and use a Tomtom or a Parrot if you don't like the manufacturer's.
With iPhone/iPod/iPad you can *only* go to the AppStore. Jail-breaking is not considered a legitimate end-user procedure. And Apple-approved applications are also technically limited (no multi-tasking). (On the ground that most users don't need it. Completely ignoring users which want to have a background web-radio music player or alerts for IM)
Back in you GPS example, it's like if the DCMA made it illegal to own a GPS-holder to use whatever brand GPS device you want. Instead you are forced to use only the GPS device from your car manufacturer which is special purpose-built to fit your Dashboard. And for some stupid reason it can only show cities whose name doesn't start with a Z. (On the ground that most users are in the USA where this letter is rare. Completely ignoring users living in Eastern Europe, for example).
As opposed to the Palm Pre, for example, which although has an App Market, let you also use apps ("cards") from other sources. Gaining root access is a normal operation which is enabled on all device (not only "special developer" ones) letting advanced users make weird uses of their phones if they want. And multi-tasking is not only normal, but the "Plus" generation of Palm phones even comes with extra memory to enable more simultaneous "cards".
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
To my surprise, one of the most important functions I wanted in a book reader was not there -- I could not import my own documents.
You can't? That's news to me. Just last week I downloaded a text file ("Leiningen Versus The Ants"), used Calibre (GPL) to convert it to epub, launched Calibre's built-in webserver, opened Stanza on my iPod, pressed the "Get Books" button, looked under "Computers Sharing Books", and downloaded the file.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
Stanza
Crisis is the rule, not the exception.
Buying the product is a choice. Being stuck with it, and unable to do anything outside the vendor's intended use, is not - particularly if you are not aware of such a thing. It's like moving to a communist country under the promises of flowers and free healthcare and getting shoved in prison for thoughtcrime.
If there were actual ways to circumvent these shortcomings it'd be one thing, but the platform is pretty locked down. It's a PMP which has access to an app store utilized by several other devices, not a general purpose computer (though the hardware could be used as such).
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
Well, even Apple can push the arrogance too far. Rumor has it that Steve had Sony as a role-model (talk about reversed roles these days). Regardless, Apple should pay some heed to what happened with Sony. Back in the day, they were regarded as superior and could extract their "Sony tax" with imprudence. After a while, product development centered more around what was good for Sony rather than good for the customer. People still bought Sony products... for a while. Then, it had gone to far and the Sony didn't actually provide premium product anymore. After a while, the buying public actually got wise to that.
These days, Sony has learned the error of its, my Reader now even has an SD card slot in addition to the MemoryStick. This would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
I see the same happening with Apple. The products look nice in the ads, but when you actually use them, they look like small squids with all the dongles you have to plug into them (yes, I'm looking at you, MacBook DisplayPort dongle, and you "iPad camera connectivity pack"). My Dell may not look so good in the ads, but it looks better in actual use as it has an internal SD card slot, PCMCIA slot and enough USB and display connectors that I don't need to carry a ton of crap to connect it to do something useful.
Why did Apple do this? It's obvious to all except the most fanatic fanboi that it is a question of maximizing Apple's profit, not "improving the user experience". Apple is by no means the only company doing this - Microsoft has taken greed to another level with the Xbox memory accessories, for example.
Time for a really customer-centric company to take over the throne, methinks.
What a horrid example! Would you replace a Ferrari's brakes with some Ford parts? Is Ferrari exploiting these fools (amazing how much fools can afford nowadays) because they can't take it into "Joe's Autogarage"? I mean car parts are car parts aren't they? There is no reason why Ferrari can't standardize on all parts that are more commonly on the market.
Funny how North Americans are fine with selling their soul to get a discount on their mobile phones by locking into a contract and having their phones SIM-locked...yet all this noise about the iPad and it's "closed" ecosystem.
It has a larger screen, optional 3G, and (reportedly) the ability to tether to another Bluetooth device (such as a phone, for a data connection).
So it's not quite a larger iPod touch, but it's close enough to not be called "magical and revolutionary" (take a look at Apple's webpage, it currently calls the iPad "magical and revolutionary").
People need to be both vocal AND not buy it. Otherwise they may think that the product failed because it didn't make your penis bigger.
This is why saying "just don't buy it then" is a silly response to "product Y sucks because of issue X". One would think if they are bitching they probably aren't going to buy it, they just want to make sure people know why.
The problem with that is, the quality of the apps will suffer.
With the app store, I can buy any one of the iFart apps safe in the knowledge that they have passed Apple's quality assurance testing.
"We live in a global world" - Harvey Pitt, former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman
You are right, the ideal Apple Tablet would be a turntable Air that becomes a tablet, with full OSX.
We are Turing O-Machines. The Oracle is out there.
This is just Steve Jobs creating an "appliance". He has tried to implement this before on a general computing type of plaform with failure.
The iPAD is probably a better fit for it. And yes, Mac OS X would definitely not be held to that type of closure.
Move along, nothing to see here.... Buy the appliance or buy a laptop.
See, you immediately made my own point for me - you showed off an instance where there would be a use, then described yourself as being able to make use of it.
If you had no idea how the technology worked, would the ability to modify the software mean anything to you at all? Most people aren't even aware of the existence of software, beyond vaguely recognizing that the word exists. Its purpose, and origin, and method of working are hidden in murky shadows, never to be divined.
So yeah, it would be great if you could modify the software on older iPods (you actually can, check out rockbox? I think...) and it would be great if you could do whatever you want with any computing device in existence. But it would only be great if you fit into the tiny percentage of people who even know what any of that means.
The device I want differs maybe by 10% of significant details from what is already on the market. They are essential, they are showstoppers. I can change another 30% because they don't matter. But another 60% must stay or the device will be broken, useless.
So I go into business and make a device that is 60% identical to $KNOWN_BRAND and 40% original, with 10% really revolutionary. Then $KNOWN_BRAND sues me to hell for violating their patents on that 60% of the device, force me to stop production and drive me out of business.
Wake up, please.
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No, there are laws stopping me from drinking beer at Subway, when they don't have a license. There's nothing stopping me from going to a restaurant that does sell beer and muenster cheese, though, just like there's nothing stopping me from buying something other than an iPad.
The point is that Apple can configure their product however they want, but I don't have to buy it if I don't like their offerings (no muenster, no Subway for me).
Why should they care about competing for Microsoft's business customers when they can make more money selling things like iPods and iPads and iPhones to non-business customers?
That's why they don't care.
On a separate note, a Mac isn't any more 'locked down' than a PC is.
"We live in a global world" - Harvey Pitt, former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman
But you can't help but notice how the things went horribly wrong :
Apple in 1984 :
"Hey, don't be a sheeple like everybody else ! Don't let an evil corporation decide what you should do ! Buy our Macintosches and get a product that will let you think in any innovative way you want !"
Apple, 25 years later :
"Hey, wan't to be as cool and as hip as all the other cool guys ? Go buy our iTrendy iProducts ! Just don't do anything silly with them. We decide what goes on an iPhone/iPod/iPad, because we know what's good for you. We select which are the best application, we select which feature another studio can use if they want to innovate. (WARNING: attempt to circumvent this limitation to do what you want the device in creative new ways may infringe the terms on your contract/make your plan cancelled/violate the DMCA/voids the Warranty/exposes you to viruses)"
If you told 1984-era Steve Jobs how the iProducts work, he would probably never believe you that he'll be leading a company doing that.
I agree that the iP*s are appliances. It's just weird whan a company which spent so much effort creating a public image which was all about freedom (from corporation) has turned into a corporation whose most popular product is precisely controlled in terms of what can go on it. And is actively doing everything possible to make this situation remain so.
Meanwhile other appliances have been very successful without the need to restricting users' freedom. Both old devices (such as those based on PalmOS and Windows CE) and modern devices (like the latest running WebOs) have been made in a way where the user can get administrative right on any model out-of-the-box (not only special "developer" models) and use them to do what pleases them without arbitrary restriction by the manufacturer (old PalmOS where single-task OSes. Nonetheless, methods existed to have some background tasks anyway, and Palm never did anything to prevent this. Unlike with the iP*s). This never did prevent these devices to be successful.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
A choice?
Not necessarily a conscious choice.
I took my daughter to the hospital for a test, and admitting gave me clipboard full of papers, with instructions to sign them and initial all the circled places. I looked at the forms, and said, "Where the privacy rights disclosure?"
The person looked at be blankly. "What?" she asked.
"You're asking me to initial where it says I've received the privacy rights disclosure."
"Oh, you just need to initial that."
"May I have one?"
"Sure."
The clerk rooted around and found me one.
Now here's the point of this little parable. The average person's life is full of legal information overload. There is just so much meaningless crap that you have to agree to in order to get through life. I read everything carefully. So does my wife. It's a good idea, but it's also bit like going through life with sand in your gears.
You aren't expected to understand things you agree to. They don't want you to. This stuff is not there for your benefit. It's equally meaningless to the people you are dealing with directly. It's just there to be pulled out of the organization's hat in very, very rare circumstances ("Ha! We have your signature that says you received the disclosure booklet!"). Even then if you have a half-way decent lawyer it won't make any difference ("But it's ten pages of legal gobbledygook, and you can't expect people to go through their lives with a lawyer attached to their hip.")
Increasingly, doing business or even getting basic services like medical treatment involves going through some meaningless (or even worse, semi-meaningful) legal ceremony.
Let me suggest what I believe might be a novel term for this situation: "commitment pollution." "Commitment pollution" is when an average person is so deluged with incomprehensible or patently unenforceable commitments that he can no longer be sure what his rights and responsibilities are.
I believe there is an ethical duty of organizations not to produce commitment pollution, nor to exploit its effects to obtain formal but non-conscious concessions from consumers. For software or devices with software, that means simple understandable licenses and a clear explanation of how the rights the consumer is getting is less than the rights he would naively think.
I am not completely against DRM philosophically, but I think it needs careful regulation. It's dangerous because it gives vendors de facto, extralegal powers over the consumer that the consumer may not be aware of, or in some cases powers which harm society.
For example, when a vendor sells a DRM book reader to the public, does the public know that the vendor can "take back" books that they have purchased? Or that if the company goes out of business or sells its assets to a third party, that consumers could lose all the books they've bought without compensation?
The average person's response to commitment pollution is based on faith that we don't allow unconscionable agreements. But sometimes it's not possible to contain the impact on an unconscionable agreement. When a company goes out of business, there's nobody to hold to account.
That's probably my biggest problem with DRM. If the bulk of knowledge in the hands of the public is in the form of unregulated DRM, that knowledge could disappear when the companies providing the DRM infrastructure go out of business.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
"But they want that option to be there for their expert to fix it."
As the "personal mechanic" for most of my family's computers, I love the idea of the App Store, because I can be sure that Kazaa and it's ilk will never be available on those devices. I don't want to have the option to fix my cousin's iPhone, I want it to work and stay the hell out of my life.
Never let a lack of data get in the way of a good rant.
Because according to the fanboys, it's not an inconvenience, it's a security...
Then dont buy it... Go buy a Microsoft tablet (I have, they SUCK) besides... iPad isnt even a computer... its like a read-only device...the fact that you ca create documents on it via iWork is simply amazing... try doing that on a Kindle. Its not a freakin computer... so all your expectations are void
Not doing something is never a signal at all unless someone becomes aware that you actually decided NOT to do it. Consider the HUGE number of people who have elected NOT to buy an Apple laptop. Are they sending a "strong an clear signal"? No, they leave a giant, ambiguous sign that says, "you haven't appealed to 95% of the market for some reason."
Meanwhile, they get a clear signal from the other 5% that yes, their product is desirable and in fact is profitable. This leads them to continue doing what they are doing.
If the corporation is smart, they will listen to their potential customers AND existing customers for ideas to make their product more appealing.
Not getting involved isn't the only signal you can send. You can be vocal about why you aren't buying. In fact, it seems like an excellent idea, now that I think about it!
-Dan
Since when is a 5 digit UID considered low? :)
~jaraxle
When it works with a 16-bit sarcasm detector :-)
I've lost all my marbles except one & It's fun to test angular & centripetal acceleration in my skull
Honestly, it's been fun living in the wild, wild west of computing, but there is certainly an appeal to a mature, stabilized market.
DRM executed properly is a good idea. It allows the owners to control their creation. In the past, it has always been too obtrusive. Now that it will be transparent to users, is it so evil?
I dunno, I can't really make up my mind either way! There's a certain part of me that likes the freedom of OSS, but there's another part of me that just likes stuff to work.
TBH, I think Linux/OSS really missed the boat on this one, and they're going to be left behind. Sad.
Sometimes, there is a logical progression to events that needs to be talked about before people engage in certain activities. This is one of those situations. The slippery slope fallacy is only a fallacy if used to argue that once something has happened, there's no resistance to other, more nefarious things happening.
What you pointed out is pretty much my concern as well. At this point, Apple doesn't have enough market share to control how EVERYBODY accesses the internet. But it is conceivable that Apple could get as big as Microsoft, with as much penetration as MS has now. After all, if MS did it, anyone else can get there as well. Alternatively, it is enough that enough corporations with closed ecosystems gain enough total market share to have the same effect on consumers.
It's one thing that's kept me from completely buying into the Apple paradigm.... I don't like where its connectivity is going.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
The difference is like complete ban on guns vs stashing your gun out of reach of children.
Ubuntu comes with apt built in, all you need is to open the terminal and type away. The big, friendly, easy app installer doesn't prevent you from doing it in any way.
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My EU car - a Renault brand - has a plastic cover over the engine with seals. I could rip the seals and look inside, but my 4-year warranty will be gone.
So i won't.
1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
Oh? You mean the GUI front end that lets you add any repository that you want? You mean the package management system that was invented by the Debian team that borrowed concepts from the BSDs about 15 years ago? Yeah, Ubuntu is really trying to mimic the Apple store there. Not.
Kids these days... (/grumpy old man mode)
I can't run arbitrary processing code on my Facebook page right now... and I can't add CSS to modify its appearance, and I can't stick in random javascript (as either a consumer or as a developer). And the problem?
Having the middle man there with an application/code approval process in theory is intended to make the environment model more trusted. But it's a choice... If you don't like it, you don't have to use it. Either don't use any apps (and treat your FB/iPhone as using the corporate-created features ONLY -- like any other website), or go somewhere else, like MySpace. GLWT.
Hire a Linux system administrator, systems engineer,
Someday Apple may have a MacBook in a similar physical package, but I don't view the iPad as a computer as we've seen them since the Apple II. I think it's a communications appliance with some elements that are found on traditional computers like the shared file folder for transferring files.
You forgot the BarMax App that cost $999.99 and a few others in that stratosphere pricing range. That's what, $75 for Apple? ;)
The Apple developer program is $99 for individuals and $299 for enterprise per year. If you want to test apps on the hardware, you need to sign up for the program. I have never seen raw numbers for how the developer program is broken down relative to the apps approved for sale. Does Apple make more money off the developers than the app store?
Sure, let me just buy a semiconductor manufacturer or two, fly to Asia to meet with my manufacturers, and get a team of a few hundred expert electric engineers working full time to do that.
Or have you never heard the term "Barrier to entry"?
Also, saying 90+% of people "do not have the technical expertise" to want to run ANYTHING apple doesn't allow in their store, or to want to move content that they own to another device free of arbitrary restrictions, well that is just plain wrong. Even if there is some truth to the fact that most people in the market aren't incredibly technically proficient, the best choice is to make the market available AND allow installation of unsigned apps. This allows people who become interested in exploring the technology they own to do so.
Apple seems to be of the view that "So long as most people are not technologically proficient, we should keep them that way so we can rape their wallets."
I suggest checking out Stanza and I'm sure a dozen other readers out there that will sync with your desktop documents. You can import PDFs, txt, doc, etc... I was reading Gutenberg texts on the original iPhone what almost 2 years ago now? There's over 100,000 apps I think and PLENTY that can do exactly what you want.
Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
Computer illiterates aren't always going to be that way. In fact all computer litterates start off as illiterates. Bot nets are an issue... Maybe even a couple billion dollars to some tech companies. But not thhhat big of an issue.
... mandating everyone gets a crappy electric vehicle since most ppl live 50miles from work anyways... while a gas car would really suit a lot of people even if it isn't immediately apparent.... (where is badanalogyguy when you need him :/ )
Think of the damage done if noobs were simply given apples or more locked down ipod/phone/pad like devices. It would all but kill the nerd/hacker community in a matter of years. There would be no Linus if he were raised in such an environment. Or really any famous computer nerd you can think of. All tech stuff would come from the direct efforts of university taught students. Which would horribly cripple the pool of talent out there. That is a pretty scary thought.
FUD aside I do think it is like
I use my iPhone for much the same thing and I'd like to suggest a couple of ways I was able to accomplish this.
I have my own domain and email server and I set up a documents folder on my IMAP machine at home which I store attachments in PDF format. Even though it's not actually stored on the phone, it's still a pretty convenient way of making something available in a pinch.
Air Sharing Pro allows you to transfer documents to your iPhone/iPod Touch via a web interface or access them using Bonjour. You run the application when you're on your home network and then point a web browser to the IP of the iPhone and it gives you a web interface to uploading files to the phone's local storage. I keep a repository of PDF files (like my digital camera manual) sitting here in case I need them.
Pretending to be an idiot who doesn't "get it" is not really a counter-argument. Just sayin'.
Yeah, the guys who manufacture processors are truly gonna give me the same deals they give Apple. All I have to do is drop Steve Jobs' name right? Then the chips will come floodin' in? Oh I guess I'll need a BIT of capital first regardless... Let me just make a quick craigslist post... "Billions needed for initial production of new product to compete directly with Apple's iPad -- without using any of their lock-in schemes, industry connections, or brand recognition in order to guarantee you profit."
I'm sure the money will just start pouring in.
Seriously though, are you fucking stupid?
FYI: the actual electronics inside a SIM card are all under the metalic pads. The rest is soft plastic which you can cut with a box cutter or with a pair of scissors in any shape you want, including 12x15mm.
That's how most of the "dual-SIM" and "unlock-SIM" gadgets work - you cut up the existing SIMs and insert them into an SIM-sized adapter.
1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
That's exactly how I see it - the iPod/iPhone platform (hardware, software, app store) is so successful exactly because there is no configuration which will lead the user into a broken install.
Apple has succeeded with the iPhone because they are taking the difficult choices away from the user. Apple are screening the apps for minimal quality control, so the user doesn't end up with a dozen half-arsed apps that chew up battery life and leave the device in odd states.
Hmmm... I think I just won a future Nobel peace price in economics. Since the consumers ultimately run the show, all businesses that spend all that money on advertising could save trillions!!!!
Some of my favourite people are from th US; Vonnegut, Chomsky, Bill Hicks.
$700 for an "internet appliance"? Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?
Just wait till every single screen is cracked within a year and see how people like it (*COUGH* iPhone *COUGH*).
This is exactly what I don't get.
I'd recommend some time thinking about Nontransitive games before proceeding to think about the topic. I think half the problem here is that lots of geeks love straight transitivity.
The other half of the problem is that geeks tend to believe in absolutely objective standards--even binary standards--for utility. So you got discussions about the iPhone that were something like "Why do people like the iPhone more than OtherPhone? OtherPhone can tether, and has been able to for years! OtherPhone is clearly superior, because tethering is important to me!" And if tethering is important enough to you, OtherPhone is superior. I can relate: it's one of the reasons I don't have an iPhone. But here's where I think a lot of geeks lose the thread: they can't imagine that anyone else has a different utility curve than they do. I like tethering because there's a lot of things I like to do with my laptop that I'd find annoying (if not impossible) to do on most any phone. But what a lot of people would use tethering for if they had it with the iPhone... the iPhone does just fine by itself. Thus they don't care about tethering. Or maybe they care about it a *little*... there could be a whole range of how much someone might care about tethering. Maybe someone gets some marginal utility out of the occasional ability to connect a laptop via their phone when they're on the road... but not enough to outweigh the overall utility they derive from other features of the iPhone. Again, I'm not really talking about the iPhone and tethering specifically, I'm using it as an example of this idea that a feature that's of crucially high utility to one person might be of marginal if any utility to another.
So, with those in mind, let's talk about how the iPad might compare to other devices.
it can't make calls
Not true, actually. It would be accurate to say that it is less useful for making calls, it can make calls using VOIP apps. But yeah, like the Nokia 8xx series, it's probably a worse phone than... well, most mobile phones.
On the other hand, it's a better phone than a Kindle or Nook or just about any eReader out there. In fact, chances are, it's probably a less awkward phone than most netbooks.
It's an unportable iPod
While it's accurate to say that it is less portable in the sense that it's more awkward to store in a pocket, this will fit comfortably inside a handbag, a bookbag. Less portable than a mobile phone... but not less portable than a paperback.
Equation: phone > iPad ~ eReader some netbooks > other netbook
It's an eReader with a bright ass screen that will strain your eyes.
It's a worse eReader than those with eInk for reasons of eyestrain and battery life... for people who spend long consecutive amounts of time reading. But it might be a perfectly acceptable eReader for people who are casually reading for an hour or two and can charge it once a day, and for reasons of eyestrain and battery life, it's certainly a better eReader than most mobile phones, and probably many netbooks.
Equation: eReader > iPad > phone/pda/most netbooks
It surfs the internet the way Apple says you should (no flash, IE: no Hulu, etc).
It's a very bad device for viewing flash sites / playing flash games. If that's a priority for you, definitely, this is not your device.
Equation: depends entirely on your enthusiasm for Flash-delivered content.
It plays limited games so it's not going to dominate the handheld market.
It's always possible there are games you like that aren't a part of this particular ecosystem, but "limited" hasn't even occurred to me. There are over 20,000 titles for Cocoa Touch devices. Even if you go by the 80-20 rule (80% crap, 20% worthwhile), that's around 4,000 acceptable titles. That's competitive with the DS, PSP, PCs, and certainly eReaders.
Equation: DS/PSP/PC ~ iPad ~ i
Tweet, tweet.
So what you're admitting is that freedom isn't all that compelling a sales point for most people, and that nobody would invest in a product that is an iPad "but free of lock-in" because it wouldn't sell except to a couple hundred of you neckbeards who get all frothy about your freedom to tinker?
Seriously though, thanks for chiming in to agree with me, I appreciate your support.
You think Apple doesn't have people analysing places like Slashdot?
It's 2010. The producers of Lost study Lost fan forums, and make agile changes to the show in according to what they find.
People who frequent the Lost fan forums are obviously a significant portion of the Lost show's target market. What makes you think that the Slashdot forums are actually remotely comparable in terms of Apple's target markets? We're definitely a portion of it, but the significance is extremely questionable.
Right. No market for lemons ever existed.
Nobody said freedom is easy. You have to make choices all the time. So there is a chance you'll make a mistake.
For some people convenience is more important than freedom and that's okay. There's hardly a chance to make a mistake, but there is the chance of being arsed to the max with the whole thing.
Moste like to have control over something while giving up control over something else. Some people buy microwave food, others grow their own food, some use Linux, some like the iPhone.
Personally i share the vision that personal computers and free information exchange through the internet are amongst the greatest things ever invented. I feel a huge potential is wasted if this technology is dumbed down in the wrong way so that it takes away possibilities as well as responsibilities from the users. That's why i allow myself to complain about things like the iPad. Back in 1995 people were rightfully laughing about Microsoft Bob. In 2010 the iPad is something similiar, just more attractively designed. I think it is a pity that our mothers and grandmothers are given up upon. Probably some will give such devices to their kids in order to save maintainance troubles. Convenient but not a real progress.
Yes, because there is only one $KNOWN_BRAND of any given device category on the market.
Multiple vendors never compete profitably in the same space with shockingly similar products.
I must have been dreaming about all the manufacturers who make laptops, desktops, smartphones, tablet devices, and other electronics. I will now endeavor to wake up!
Arrest (most likely on taihrissum charges) or at least the threat of a lawsuit.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Mod this guy up, if only for his sig.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Yes, because nobody sells processors on the open market. Apple owns them all and refuses to cut deals with any competitors.
90+% of the people "do not have the technical expertise" to write code for their own devices and thus do not care about the "openness" of the device. In terms of music/video content, this is a big ipod. You don't have to buy through the itunes store, you can load & play un-DRM'ed content quite handily on it, just like I do every day on my iPod.
Apple has chosen NOT to "allow installation of unsigned apps." Just like Ford has chosen not to "install a diesel engine" in the Focus. If you need, or want, a diesel engine, buy a vehicle that offers that option. Go buy an Android phone, or an OpenMoko. Vote with your dollars, and when (if) Apple notices that a significant portion of the market is steering clear of their devices "because it's not open," they have the choice of opening it up, or foregoing revenues from that segment of the market.
As far as Apple keeping people technologically ignorant, that's just plain silly. They offer a way for you to write applications for their device, and a way to publish those applications for use. It may not be the way YOU would choose to do it, but they are not exactly saying "sorry, no developer access."
Freedom of choice is a funny thing. If you want people to respect yours, you have to allow others to choose to do what you consider the wrong thing to the extent that they are not harming you. Nobody is forcing you to pay money to Apple, or buy their products - therefore they are not "harming" you with their choices.
Rough estimate: one ninth of the other 90%?
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
I never said there was not one. I lack iTunes to be able to search the iTunes store to see what is there (I never could get it to run right under wine)... nor did I care to google for it, since I assumed one existed, just was not sure if it was fact.
What the FSF is doing is saying I would be morally wrong to buy and use an iPad because they disagree with the software model, and surely that is the antithesis of what they stand for. If I want to exercise my choice to use a closed system I should be able to, just in the same way my DVR box runs an OS that I cannot modify, recording encrypted content to its internal HD.
You've obviously never heard Richard Stallman speak. This is exactly what the FSF stands for. If they had their way, they would force all software to be free, regardless of what works for people. Stallman will tell you straight up that he believes it is immoral to use closed software, even if it works better.
Today's Sesame Street was brought to you by the number e.
Umm... Your free OS is already an island on its own that no one tries to be compatible with. Desktop Linux hovers around 1% marketshare from every study I've ever seen, and MS developers sure as hell aren't busting their balls to become more compatible with that 1%.
I'm using all of my mod points to mod ancient memes down. Please join me.
Take a look over at eReader or fictionwise.com. You can create your own docs for the eReader software, and import them through eReader itself, either through one of those site's content servers, or your own webserver. It's not the smoothest system on Earth, but it's not particularly difficult to set up. If you're talking about books, it should work pretty well....
Some bring out the best in others, some the worst. Some bring out far more.
Here is another parent that needs to be modded up to 6
I'm sorry, do people still buy this bullshit story? How could Apple kickstart USB adoption when it never had more than 5% of the PC market? Do you even have a concept about how insignificant they are?
Users are ok with it. Blowhards aren't..
Guess why G1 had no multitouch.
HTC offered Apple a lot of money for license on the patent. Aple said "no".
45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
5 minutes Googling will tell you exactly how to adjust the timing. It's not some dark industry secret. Just put your car into service mode and adjust the timing. The new 'default' will be accepted once you take it out of service mode. For instance, on a typical GM, it just requires shorting two pins in an easily accessible connector usually located in the arm rest. A plain old paperclip will work just fine.
Claims that a 'regular' mechanic can't work on a car are about as valid as saying a PC hobbyist can't work on a Dell. The work is more complicated than the 'olden days', but any cheap auto manual can be picked up at any parts dealer and you have all you need to know for your basic shade tree mechanics.
And yet the G1 still made it to market... and other touchscreen phones like the droid and the nexus one have also been released!
I can see what you mean. When Apple refuses to license their technology, it's absolutely impossible to release a competing device.
I'm not lazy, I'm gunshy. The whole Crunchpad debacle makes me want to stay far far away from trying to design and develop consumer electronics. I can't afford the lawyers. And how well did it work out for him? Is he making a mint? Heh. No. He's going to take a loss on that project, in time, if not in actual cash. So much for the capitalist dream. He'll thank his lucky stars if he can get out without four patent infringement and two look-and-feel lawsuits.
Actually for consumers who bought Linux netbooks just to use as browsers, it will be an attractive option.
I wouldn't call it a 'computer'.
"The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
Of course you missed the tiny adapter that allows you to plug inyour camera via usb or insert the SD card. Read before whine, it will save you some humiliation.
There are free apps in the app store that will let you upload personal content like 'eReader'.
Except, you know, you're not required to pay AT&T anything
...but if you don't pony up the $15 a month, you don't get internet access - unlike the Kindle...
and you CAN read it outside the house,
Have you tried to read and work on a laptop in the sun? I have used both LCDs and e-ink and know the difference.
and the battery life is supposed to be 9-10 hours, so maybe if you read REALLY slow...
Which means daily recharging, which means lugging cables and adapters on every trip - unlike the Kindle which fits in my coat pocket and keeps going for a month even if I read a lot...
And webcam? Why the hell would anyone want to run around with a huge ass tablet trying to take pictures of people?
Not photos, skyping.
Who fucking cares what granny wants? Bitch probably doesn't even have a cellphone yet! Granny ain't the target audience here.
I was trying to find a demographic for whom this is not just another gadget, but actually more useful than a netbook or Kindle would be at less than half the price. The ease of use would be great for the Granny demographic. Of course if you put it like that, I see that the real use case is as a hipster status symbol...
Imagine if your car only drove on tires meant for it, premium fuel, and when you took it to the mechanic it got the same parts rather than some somewhat compatable parts.
THIS is the reason apple is so fantastic, they control what goes in and out of their devices, therefore they can have an device that operates as intended without fighting crappy parts that kind of work. If you dont like this then you have other choices. This is the REASON people buy apple, for that level of quality and stability because they dont let every bitch and hoe on their equipment. I imagine your car would run better if went this route as well...wait that is what premium cars already do, ever owned a cadillac?
CS: It is all sink or swim...oh and did I mention there are sharks in that water?
I moved from Windows somewhere around 1995 to Redhat 2.0.2 I think - kernel 1.2.13. I used all the distros and even built my own boxes. And bootstrapped from Gentoo, etc.
I stayed with linux until about 2003. Why did I change? Because finally one day I got really sick of having to face yet another hour trying to get my printer to work. Do I believe in all these FSF ideals? Sure. I even think they're important. But frankly, I need to get on with my job and my work. If free software can produce something that is elegant and just works as well or better than this Apple stuff, I'll come back. Until that time, I have stuff to do.
Okay great but why won't my wife's macbook pro mount my ext3 backup disk? There are ext[23] drivers in netbsd and freebsd for the taking.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
MP4 uses many different profiles and levels within those profiles to cater to various video and audio formats a device can play. It's not an Apple thing, it's a standards thing. If you encode something at a higher profile/level than the device supports, it won't play it. It's not some dark conspiracy, it's a standard.
My iMac converts a 3 hour movie for the iPhone at a couple hundred frames a second using handbrake and is typically done in 10-20 minutes. I find it hard to believe that any recent PC would take 6-8 hours for video that was using 480p resolutions (or less).
Maybe if I use a car analogy, you'd understand the problem.
Imagine a world where by filling up your gas tank at the 'wrong' station will result in your car exploding on the highway. To top it off, you can't know which is the 'wrong' station, and the 'wrong' station moves and changes constantly.
So some guy comes up with the idea of adding a special filter that will prevent you from filling up your car with the wrong gas. But the guys making the wrong guys are smart, and keep adapting to avoid the filter. So the filter gets larger and larger and heavier and heavier. And it makes filling your car take an hour instead of 5 minutes.
So along comes a company with a particularly funny-shaped fuel nozzle that only works at their gas stations. And they test the gas at all of their stations to ensure it won't result in a mid-highway explosion.
If someone wants to chose the more expensive pre-screened gas via the more-expensive pre-screened car, why should they not have that right?
Short non-car version: It's the security, stupid.
My parents do an excellent job of catching malware on their PCs, because they can install anything from anywhere. They won't catch one on their iPhones. I think that's a good thing for users like them, who are never going to adequately understand security.
For those that understand security, like me, I know I'm either gonna pay more or I'm going to have to take the time investigating each app to see if it is secure or not. My time is worth more than Apple charges, so I'm happy to pay them for the service.
Of course you missed the tiny adapter that allows you to plug inyour camera via usb or insert the SD card.
Yes I did. It wasn't in TFA (or any other), was it? How much does it cost extra?
Read before whine, it will save you some humiliation.
Flamebaiter. By all means, go ahead and buy it - just spare me the withering fanboy invective before you haven't even used it.
I am using my iMac with a logitech wireless mouse, but it came with a 2 button mouse (well ok, appearance-wise there were no buttons, but you could right or left click on it without any problem).
This is such a stupid and tired meme. Apple computers haven't been stuck with a 1 button mouse in a long time. Its like me laughing at IBMs because of their 640k memory limit or something. Beyond stupid.
Digging it up as a lame joke every once in a while just makes you look like an ignorant/jealous idiot.
"The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
Well, technically it is. But as long as it remains a "computer for entertainment only" I'm comfortable with it being a closed system too.
The iPad seems too general purpose for this to apply.
It isn't a locked down general-purpose computing device just because you say it is.
Its a limited tool, intended for people who don't need a computer, but want to be able to browse the web and do certain other functions that are similar in some regards. In reality I think its better to compare this thing to the iPod Touch, more than any other device. It owes more to that heritage than it does to laptop/netbook computers.
It doesn't use the same OS as all of Apples other products, and I imagine the OS it is using owes more to the iPhone/iPod Touch than any other source. Its an Apples/Oranges (pun intended) comparison to treat this thing like its some kind of netbook and then criticize it as a result of it not matching your expectations for its functionality. If you want a computer from Apple that meets those expectations go buy a Macbook Air,Macbook or Macbook Pro. All of them are excellent computers.
Nor is the iPad arbitrarily locked down. Its locked down because the manufacturer chose to do so, no doubt for solid business reasons - including their ability to ensure the products stability, security etc. You can make apps for it, the SDK came out at the same time as the product. Much as you might like to have manufacturers make the product you want, they are under no obligation to do so. If you don't like it, don't buy one, but there is no point in whining about it because it doesn't meet some personal standard you insist is the only valid one.
While I have no personal need for one, I think this thing is going to prove wildly popular down the road. I think the bulk of /. readers are missing the objectivity to see just how appealing this thing will prove to be to the general public.
"The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
People "choose" to buy products with DRM too, by that logic.
Though yes, thankfully you are right that it is a choice for Apple, as they are such a minority of the market. But given all the free advertising they get, it is worth being vigilant: what if the Apple-only coverage that the media have adopted leads to Apple becoming the only choice? Or what if other companies adopt their model?
We need to speak up against poor computing solutions, especially if everyone else is just hyping it as "OMG It's Apple It Must Be Great".
I agree on all counts - and have said the same elsewhere - but you summarize my opinion very well. We are not the audience. My wife will love one of these - and not because she is a shallow computer user (she already has a netbook and a desktop and is a very good and knowledgeable computer user) but because it perfect fits a niche of computer using that she would want to find a device for: browsing the web with an easily portable device with good battery life, sending and receiving email, and the ability to write.
The biggest limitation I can see is the on screen keyboard which may not prove to be all that good for typing, but then you can apparently add an external keyboard so that may not matter much.
I build web-based applications, and believe me I can see the attractiveness of something like this in certain environments. Think of the PADD devices they carry around in Star Trek. This is that device more or less. I would no more want to be able to hack that device than I would want to be able to hack my TV Remote - I just want it to work.
"The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
But if it's just an appliance, you might as well get one of many cheaper cut down appliances.
Your post is just speculations on what you think various devices are like, and based on some misinformation about how popular Apple actually are in the phone market. But since it's pro-Apple, that's an instant ticket to +5 "insightful".
the iPad is perfect for your mom or grandmother to finally get on the internet, email, download books, etc. without needing a part-time geek to hand hold them through the process each time.
Finally? Portable devices - including those that are "appliances" - have been around already, and cheaper too in most cases.
Of course, I see you assert that the Kindle is awful based on a single data point, and then conclude without having seen an Ipad that it must be better, than all other appliances. Let's have evidence, not speculation.
I would say a majority just want to pick up the device and the device works. This is the primary reason the iPhone has done so well and is likely why the iPad will do really well.
The Iphone hasn't done "so well", it's done okay. The vast majority of phones, you can pick up, and the device works (why wouldn't it? Take it back to the store if it's so defective - is that the best you can say of Apple, that it works?), and that includes the 95+% of the phone market that isn't Apple.
Why would a device that's less useful than an Iphone, bigger, and more expensive, do better?
So the Ipad is less features for money money? Right.
The iPad is a device which makes computing VERY simple
How? Have you even used one?
These answers aren't even consistent - the other guy alleges that the Ihype isn't a computer at all.
Is it going to be a tinkering geeks favorite? No, of course not. Is it likely to be well received by it's intended audience (lay users), yes most likely.
Then Apple have shot themselves in the foot. With the sole exception of the Ipod, it's only among geeks that Apple have popularity. The geeks delude themselves into thinking that Apple are the number one company (good god, what has this place become? I remember when people were concerned about Microsoft, and promoted open systems in opposition. Long have those days gone, here on Appledot). Yet the reality is that most people are buying phones from other companies.
This whole "just don't buy it" thing is getting ridiculous...Don't dare try to influence any of the actions of a corporation
I'm pretty sure that not buying a product is a strong and clear signal to a corporation that their product sucks. If the corporation is smart, it will listen to the signal and try something else.
See, the thing is, this reasoning doesn't work for the same reason that invading Iraq was both wrong and a stupid idea, yet Americans re-elected Bush anyway.
I mean... if, say, the stupidest 30% of people in the world all buy Apple products exclusively, then Apple will still be well rich enough to dictate standards etc for the rest of us, especially given that the rest of us are unlikely to all buy the same thing as one another to set up a powerful competitior. So Apple can quite happily ignore the "message" I send because for every person like me 10 techno-phobe idiots will buy their products based on an ad with bright primary colours and sexy people dancing to catchy music.
PLUS let's not forget that if I choose not to buy Apple's stuff they STILL affect my life because (a) they lobby my government and influence the laws that bind me and (b) their sheeple stampede causes other companies to emulate them instead of innovating. So I think proactive anti-Apple intervention going well beyond "not buying their products" is quite acceptable, frankly.
Read Pynchon.
It mainly had to do with the idea that a manufacturer could make a device, use USB as the connector, and they could hit both the Mac and PC users at the same time. I'm sure not having to deal with the connection soup that the PC world was at the time didn't hurt either.
So to summarise your post:
1. The consumer choices of the majority of people is a good determinant of whether a legal and technological IP system is a good and fair one.
2. It is ok if 10% of people are oppressed by the ignorance of 90% of people.
Read Pynchon.
So why have the restriction at all if all it adds is inconvenience to customers?
How is having _one_ store that has _all_ available applications an inconvenience to the customer?
Yes, _all_ applications*...
* Except those which do things Apple don't want you to do
Read Pynchon.
Complexity minimized by iPad/iPhone OS:
file systems
file extensions
directory structures
minimized peripheral device considerations
minimization of virii due to app store
All of those things are just headaches for the average user.
And what phone has all of those? Most of them don't. If you don't want Windows (which I presume you allude to), there's plenty of alternatives, most of them more popular than Apple, and cheaper too.
If users like the idea of being locked into the store, fine. RMS, the EFF, Slashdot, "whine" by showing people the bars they are getting into. I must say that I never heard Apple bragging that they locked in users or that it was hard to get the kind of apps you like for their devices. For that I thank those "whiners".
Exactly - all this "choice" crap means nothing when 99% of people are not even aware of what they are "choosing", let alone taking the time to actually think about its short, medium and long term implications for them and for consumers as a whole in that and other markets.
I mean, people will still buy fuel from companies that sponsor wars in Africa, mostly because they don't know about it. People will buy cheese from companies that distribute unsuitable baby milk powder to the third world. People will buy hamburgers from companies that promote the deforestation of the Amazon. Etc etc etc.
Consumer choice only means a damn when people know what they are choosing. The idea that raising awareness of that is in any way improper is ridiculous.
Read Pynchon.
Publicity?
I checked CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, my local (large city paper), hell I even checked the Spanish language channel news!
I did not see one mention of the Free Software Foundation.
Hey, Slashdotters......we don't have nearly as much influence or awesomeness as you think.
Actually, if you'd mentioned the Apple II, then I'd agree with you. But from Day One, the Macintosh was designed to be a closed system, not expandable, closed. It brooked no other OS, and hardware upgrades were very limited.
The idea that you could free your creativity and whatnot also has carried over to now. Watch the video where iWork on the iPad is explained. They tell you it's all about the creativity and allowing you to get more done.
What Apple is offering is a product that works more like an appliance. No viruses, anti-virus subscriptions, or spyware to worry about. An easy way to get books, video, music. To us techies out there, this is 'teh Evil', but to regular folks this will appeal.
"...Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam..."
"if we've learned anything from the iPhone and iPod it's that Apple has tremendous influence in driving the standards of consumer electronics."
What standards of consumer electronics has Apple driven with the iPhone and iPod?
"Surely you can't believe...that Beck is more extreme than Olberman."
Seriously?
When are you going to learn, there is no such thing as *contractless* with Apple. You sell your soul to the Devil Jobs the minute you buy one of their products.
If it's not the fact that there's only one App store you are "allowed" to use, and that any App worth it's salt will cost real money plus the fact it can be remotely removed from your device on a whim, then it's the DRM lock in meaning any file you can read will probably have a price attached also.
And then of course, in 6 months to 1 year, he'll f**k you all over once more by bringing out version 2 of the tablet, containing some (never all) of the functionality it should have had from the start. And you'll gladly pay another exorbitant sum into the Apple machine just so you can stay up to date.
Buying a Rolex or a Ferrari, which really *are* exclusive status symbols, means you have something that will retain it's value, and be a talking point forever. Buying Apple means you can run with the "in-crowd" for 6 months, until the next "innovation" comes along and you pay yet again to stay trendy.
It beggars belief that people are so hopelessly fished in by this scam year after year ... still, a fool and his money etc ...
Yes, that's true but neither Apple nor the FSF will go along with it. Apple will most certainly push it as a general purpose computer, they already are and have claimed the same for the iPhone, and the FSF considers a Tivo to be a general purpose computer. Don't expect people to be rational, expect them to take whatever viewpoint suits their agenda.
In the US, we have the Magnusson-Moss act, which expressly permits the car to be worked on by folks other than the dealer while keeping the warranty intact.
Other counties may vary, of course, such as yours. Which is a shame, really.
Kid-proof tablet..
Your metaphorical gas stations, however, are subject to regulations which make sure the fuel they are selling will not ruin your engine, contain lead, or have too low of an octane rating. Which is all Apple is doing by screening apps.
I agree with all your criticisms of Apple - but please, can we drop the association with people's sexuality, and the childish claims that gay people would want to use their shitty products, and because they supposedly like being trendy? (Last time I looked, being straight was more "trendy" than anything else...)
I find it interesting that Apple's "Think Different" mantra is now conveniently shoved under the carpet, with them pretending it never happened...
Except products more open than Apple's do exist (lots of them!) And 90+% of people are buying those products. No one is asking for things for free, so you can take that straw man elsewhere.
If we're going to have hype about Apple splashed all over the media as if it was election day, with people saying how wonderful Apple are, then people equally have the right to voice their criticisms of that product.
And your analogy is obviously accurate, because plainly if Ford came out with such a car, it would sell remarkably well.
I see what you're saying. From my (admittedly limited) point of view, it's about as many Pro-Apple people defending Apple's choices on /. as Anti-Apple, and one crowd doesn't seem to systematically get more highly rated comments than the other.
I don't get as involved in the types of discussions you're describing, so I guess I haven't seen as many of those zealots who vilify everything Apple does. On the other hand, surely you'll admit that some of their historical practices have come across as underhanded? The fact that a special tool was needed to install memory comes to mind. I also have a slightly different memory of how the 'clone wars' happened. Apple actually sold more Macs than it ever had before AFTER the clones were introduced. They were becoming a vastly more popular operating system, well into the mid-90s. It was only when Win95 came out, and when OS 8 was seen as a failure, when they decided it wouldn't support existing Apple hardware that was in some cases only 2 years old - that's when they went after the clones. People bought clones because they were cheap, but I remember Mac Addict and others acting like every clone bought was money out of Apple's pocket. It was also kind of underhanded how they terminated the manufacturers' licenses with a legal loop-hole. Many of the manufacturers were just trying to play in the same pool, and were promoting the Apple Way more strongly than anyone. A company should maximize its profits, but it seemed kinda uncool. I'm just saying.
Anyway, because of my limited experience with 'modern' (post-2000) Macs other than iPods, I really don't know how much the company has changed. You could be right that they're getting a bad rap. It might help, though, if you try to see past the vitriolic types to those who would love to see Apple succeed, but also hold a bit of reserve about Apple's methods. People extrapolate every action of Google into an evil plot to rule the universe, why shouldn't they also assume that Apple is going to try to lock their platform as much as possible?
I think the objection isn't about grammar, it is that the phrase is usually redundant (since I, for one, lack a time machine to go backwards or sideways), and we already know the GGP is talking about the future.
Only the ones that sell primarily to readers of tech blogs.
I agree on all counts - and have said the same elsewhere - but you summarize my opinion very well.
Thanks. That $20 check is in the mail. ;-)
I would no more want to be able to hack that device than I would want to be able to hack my TV Remote - I just want it to work.
Exactly that. There's a time for hacking--I have a couple of older computers running various flavors of Linux and a Windows XP machine I use with my ham radio equipment. None of those computers are vital so I don't mind too much when I try out something new and end up having to reload the OS. That's fun stuff. But sometimes I need to get work done without worrying about fussing with the hardware; that's what I reserve my laptop for--when I just want things to work. I don't experiment with that one so whether it's open or closed doesn't matter to me at all. For a lot of people, that's the way it is for all their computers all the time. There's nothing wrong with that, and there's certainly nothing wrong with Apple or any other company building hardware that meets that need.
This ain't rocket surgery.
Who cares if this becomes the "standard"? For a computer tech like me, the iPhone's lockdown has been a godsend. All of those customers who want real control over their phones and want to learn how to jailbreak (or similar situations) is just more money in my pocket. The people with the knowledge will always find a way around the DRM; it's just going to keep the average person from running what they want.
There will also eventually be a point where the feature set of a new patch is no longer worth the upgrade. For instance, with Windows XP Service Pack 2, well, a lot of people still use that (even with SP3 out). Once the software reaches its apex and doesn't offer any significantly worthwhile features, the phones/devices will gradually become more and more jailbroken. The carriers might fight it at first, but eventually they'll have to concede to their use or lose customers to the companies that don't care if you use a jailbroken device on their network (i.e. using a Jailbroken iPhone with a T-Mobile SIM card).
Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
Give Google, RIM, Nokia, etc., time to see what becomes of their "iPhone-killer" devices. Many are available with no carrier lock in, so if they still sell one unit for every five iPhones, I suspect that the Apple model will start to become a lot more attractive to both the handset makers and the carriers.
Also, even if Android phones (for example)) outsell iPhones, unless it's by a factor of at least the number of separate Android models, Apple would still be winning.
I don't share his beliefs on religion and government - I'm closer to an Objectivist than anything else - but he is the *only* person on television that regularly speaks about the libertarian ideas that America is founded on.
Learn about Photography Basics.
No they wouldn't.
We can bash Microsoft for enough real things, we don't need to make up FUD about them. From the word go MS set up DOS and Windows as a framework for third party applications. If MS wanted to restrict Windows they could but this is against their entire business model. As monkeyboy said, Developers, Developers, Developers.
If MS restricted Windows to their core offerings the developers they depend on will jump ship. MS are greedy, not stupid. They know that Apple's business model is self destructive.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
erm hate to bring it up but the latest Macs dropped Firewire..just sayin..
It is funny you bring up Henry Ford.
My boss always says, "If Ford asked the customers what they wanted, they'd say they wanted a better horse."
I agree with this philosophy in that there is a CHOICE. I CHOOSE not to buy/partake/drink the Apple koolaid because I don't like their offerings. I hear HP has a Tablet coming out that will run Windows 7... I'll bet that isn't locked into some kind of "artificial limitation".
Something that is unnecessary has never stopped people from doing it.
Because Synaptic wont install a .deb I've downloaded from the internet. No wait...
Synaptic is not an app store, it's a GUI for apt which is an automated application installer, all it does is run scripts and is not required for installation. You can make install all you like on Debian systems without apt. This is similar to countless other windows installers (Wise, InstallShield and so forth).
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
The problem is that most of the whining here comes from people that looks like "rebel" adolescents, not people with purchasing power. They will be dissmised acordingly.
Mexico: 100% conservative's America now!
"Could a netbook meet my needs? To some degree but the tablet form factor of the iPad is key for me." Explain? Nice 'n' shiny?
I think you will find that the majority of computer users doesn't use them for "computing" anymore anyway.
And the iPad isn't a "computer". I don't think it will do anything to computers. But I also don't think the majority of people wants to use "computers" at all. The iPad and other tablets like it *will* start to push computers out of the homes and classrooms soon. This will not be the end of the "computer" but it will finally go back to where it belongs, into offices and labs and the industry and basements.
They want a secretary.
New brand name! MiniSec (TM)
Hmm maybe Arthur C Clarke beat me to that one.
Seriously, we are just getting to where the stateless personal organizer that everyone carried as described by Arthur C Clarke is just becoming possible. The minisec was an appliance that just did stuff. It was a closed device and locked tightly down as it carried all your personal data.
Access to local storage is one of the few things I really miss in the iPhone, but if you're reading Slashdot you probably won't be too scared of this workaround: http://blog.clawpaws.net/post/2007/07/16/Storing-iPhone-apps-locally-with-data-URLs
"By using a 'data:' URL, the entire page content is all in the URL... I created a 355kb URL for my home page (complete with images) and it loaded just fine on my iPhone."
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
It will make it there, by hook or by crook they will lock it down.
People accepting the lock-in on the iphone is just the beginning, as another said on this thread buying Apple is accepting that you will do as Apple say you will with your devices.
The Ipad is the first step towards weaning you off any kind of freedom with your computer, Apple would like nothing better then to wall up every device you own. This is the first sign that Apple wants out of the X86 market, I wouldn't be surprised if the Macbook and Mac mini make a disappearance soon, then the Macbook pro's and Imac's convert to Arm Architecture using a similar OS. Of course the fanboys will lap this up. Apple no longer makes computers, not that they did as they have only sold the iMage for the last decade.
Mark my words, the x86 mac is dying, Adobe have seen the writing and are putting more effort into CS on Windows and it's not like Apple have never switched processor arch's before without caring about the consequences, Apple only went to x86 in the first place because IBM couldn't supply them with the PPC chips they wanted (remember that IBM supplies the PPC chips in the Xbox360, PS3 and Wii, so loosing apple was like a mossie bite to them). Now they will make the switch to ARM and you fanboys will like it.
I have other shocking predictions but you aren't ready for them.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
More along the lines of OSX on the desktop (x86) will die and OSX on the phone (ARM) will take over.
The Macbook (non-pro) and Mac mini form factors will die, Macbook Pro and Imac's will switch to the new processor arch and run the new OS. The Mac Pro tower will cease to exist.
Spot on.
Adobe has already seen the writing on the wall and started making CS for win better. Apple want to be in complete control and are willing to sell the entire farm for it. Apple are leaving the X86 market as it does not make up enough of their total sales to justify keeping and the fanboys will follow no matter what Apple do. Apple have switch processor arch's with reckless abandon before.
This move is what will kill Apple, the number of Mac fanboys are quite low and the "cool" factor is a very fickle mistress. Apple have bet that they will remain relevant through their image alone. Granted this is how they became relevant but it will only last until the Next Big Thing(TM). It's not like Apple's hubris hasn't (almost) killed it before.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
So, I need to fork over a yearly fee just to run the programs I want to run?
What have you been snorting to believe that the FSF would support this? I think you've just handed their point to them on a platter.
This would be nothing short of extortion if it happened, but it wont because as soon as Apple catches on to this Apple would just start restricting the developer program to actual developers. Meanwhile many dev licenses would be retroactively pulled.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
Unless you're near a wap, I assume you mean...I guess though I'd rather see the internet in, you know, color than in etch-a-sketch.
I have zero use for the Kindle, so just about any device would have more use than that for me. I'd rather just carry a book in my laptop bag than carry a mediocre toy with only one function which it does sort of as well as the real thing.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
Isn't it cute that the Fanboi's use 'Mom', 'Aunt' and 'Grandma' to defend the indefensible?!
I mean, Moms-Aunts-Grandmas brigade is out there demanding closed, easy to use gadgets and so has Steve given us the veritable iPad?
It's funny to me that everytime someone posts a whoosh retort, they bottom post.
If the joke or sarcasm is going over their head, shouldn't you, just this once, top post?
I think Apple has come to the conclusion that operating systems have become incredibly complex and that the average user experience can be greatly enhanced by hiding that complexity.
I completely agree with you. As an IT Technician, I see so many users having to figure out things that they shouldn't even need to know exist, to do their work. I think the iPad software keeping it simple is a great idea, and using the app store to install apps is much easier to understand than the current methods of installation used by Mac OS X and Windows. The reason why so many people are complaining about it on /. is that they are not the intended audience.
Configuring everything in Gnome? I assume you use KDE as your DE.
*drumroll*
Okay great but why won't my wife's macbook pro mount my ext3 backup disk? There are ext[23] drivers in netbsd and freebsd for the taking.
This should do the trick: http://code.google.com/p/macfuse/
It really is a shame that you have to install a driver for a non-native file system. It's like trying to use HFS+(or ext2,3 for that matter) in Windows. Apple has chosen those file systems that they feel best meshes with OS X's feature/security sets. BSD chose theirs.
You're missing the point. What you are seeing is not the gizmo itself. You are seeing the future of the Standard User Interface. Apple is going post-GUI here, moving their experience with iPod and iPhone to a larger form. This is a way to bring users around to interfacing with computer (applications) forgoing what we now consider essential: the monitor, keyboard, and mouse. If you think this is about a $500 netbook or laptop, you are missing the entire point: this is a continuation of a paradigm shift happening right in front of you.
Keep Doing Good.
Apple is encouraging open standards development with this system. You can build web apps using standard HTML5, CSS3 etc to do most things, and they will ALL be available to use, and you can even have the user create a button on the home screen to use them. This is not "locking things down". All the whingers and complainers amuse me. They totally miss the point. I have no problems at all with the iTunes store model, with Apps and soon eBooks etc. It makes perfect sense to me. It maintains the quality and security of the system for everyone without the whole thing ending up in a Windows-esque debacle. If you don't like the model, then don't buy it. Nobody is forcing you to. (In the same way, nobody is forcing the people to buy the special Ford car mentioned below - it's all our choice) And considering the success of the iTunes store and the App store, I think the whingers are in a definite minority here. Go off somewhere else and cry...
Back to car analogies...
Simple explanation to a 30 year tech in the biz, versus my expertise (seven years max):
A PC is a '72 Chevy Pickup; a Mac is a Mercedes coupe.
A MB has a certain aesthetic, but its built with specific options in mind: handling, power, braking, etc.
The Chevy can be modified to ANY extent, and with low expenditure compared to the MB.
I am not saying that the MB is not modifiable, but you have to go to someone like Brabus to do it...as far as the truck goes, the guy down the street can help....
It runs Pages, Numbers, Keynote. Simple
Actually the iPad mounts a folder for putting files on, this was confirmed in the announcement, and ars talk about it here:
Jailbreaking aside, perhaps the best solution would be to have a sort of SDK for hobbyists to compile their own apps? Making the SDK the other route in could add the fig leaf of the device owner being able to audit the software himself before compiling.
People are almost forced to comply with the decisions that major corporations like apple and google make while developing their products. Of course no one needs to go buy an IPad, but millions will anyway even if it was a horrible decision. I thought we lived in a democracy, and people had a say in the elements that surrond their everyday life and freedoms, even in the IStore.
"Year of the Linux Desktop" will happen when Grandma can get a computer that 'just works'.
then last year was the 'year of the linux desktop' for me. of course, everything was completely setup by me beforehand for my grandmother, but that's what you get with windows/mac os x machines also when installed by oem.
Hell I can't even stand the amount of configuration options in the X window managers. Do I want this font or this font, this size or that. O, I can drag the 'start' menu over here, or over there. I'll spend 5 days figuring it out and never be convinced that it's "right".
What's stopping you from using the defaults for everything?
Honestly, they would literally go out and kill puppies, kittens and baby seals all day long if it would allow them to control everything you install.
The funny thing about this is that Microsoft does kill puppies, kittens and baby seals all day long, but they still aren't able to do this. It's so senseless, but at least Ballmer gets some interesting lunch snacks.
... and then they built the supercollider.
This whole "just don't buy it" thing is getting ridiculous.
Hmmm. So, instead of exercising their free will, and choosing not to buy the product, people should be forced to buy it?
... and then they built the supercollider.
I say something similar about all the media talking heads that rattle on and on about how so-and-so is a lousy political leader, I keep saying we need to do this, everybody else is so wrong, yada yada yada...
"If you're so damn smart and so damn right and everybody else is so wrong, YOU put YOUR name on the ballot!"
Government's idea of a balanced budget: take money from the right pocket to balance...oh who am I kidding?
Yeah, except it's Microsoft that has had its best year ever and has also been more profitable than Apple (35.02% compared to 21.56%) this last quarter. But hey, TUAW said it and they must be right, 'cause it sounds so good!
Again, do you really think that peripherals manufacturers really cared so much about the Mac that they didn't release their wares until they could service both Mac and PC at the same time? Again, do you know just how insignificant Apple was at the time? Do you think they would ignore 95% percent of the market just waiting to service the last 5%?
What has happened was that people did not replace computers yearly then, as they don't do now, so it took a while until there were enough USB equipped PCs to make that market attractive. Coincidentally or not, that was about the same time that Apple decided to jump on that bandwagon and put USB onto the iMacs. You realize that iMacs could not have possibly accounted for more than, let's be generous, 0.5% of computers after one year of sales, and less than 5% of USB quipped PCs because PCs had two years head start. It's logic, really, not rocket science.
I need to find a computing device that costs twice the price of a netbook, has about 1/10 the storage capacity but a similar-screen.
It definitely must not be able to multitask and I don't want it to be able to play any Flash video.
Oh, and because I don't get away from my computer very much, I am suffering from muscle wasteage and cannot lift anything weighing more than about 3/4 kilogram.
Can somebody please assist? Thanks.
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
Well, I'm sure you can do all those things on those other tablets, but are they anywhere near as great to use? From what I've seen, they're all just desktop OSes shoehorned into small screens. I want an OS designed from the ground up for a small, touchscreen-only interface.
"I'm not interested in an iWhatever because I can only choose between apps on the Mac app store" is a reasonable argument. That is not what is being argued.
What is being argued is that Apple choosing to make a closed product is righteously unjust and infringes on my basic human rights. THAT argument is absurd.
As long as there is a need and a demand for general purpose computing devices (and there is a large demand outside of consumer electronics), manufacturers will continue to make them.
Additionally, time and time again we've seen the ingenuity of people to get around limitations imposed by certain systems (*cough*iPhone*cough*).
So reality is not as horrible a picture as you are painting for us.
The sky is *not* falling.
Lodragan Draoidh
The more you explain it, the more I don't understand it. - Mark Twain
The communications protocol is mandated. A base set of codes (the majority of those you'll ever encounter) related to the emissions control system is mandated, with manufacturers able to add more codes of their own in another range as useful. Those codes are also public knowledge, though, even though they're not specified by the standard. Any OBD-II code reader can read them, and the vast majority have the meanings of all of 'em already programmed in. If not, you can Google it, and the information is out there.
But even aside from what is and isn't part of the OBD-II mandate, everything about auto repair is accessible. Just because you may not have purchased the tools to do a job doesn't mean they don't exist. You can go out and buy the factory service manual (exactly what the dealers get) for your car if you want. You can go buy the same tools the dealers use, on the open market, if for some reason you don't want aftermarket ones. As for paying a lot of money, a hundred bucks for a code scanner doesn't really seem extreme to me, but the issue isn't whether necessary tools are free, but whether service can only be done by the manufacturer, and that is not at all the case.
Well, I disagree with your reading of the argument.
"I'm not interested in an iWhatever because..." is not an argument, it's trivia. Nobody should be expected to care why one particular person wants one or not.
The point is "You should not buy an iWhatever because..." The argument is that if the model embraced by Apple becomes dominant, the world will be a less wonderful place than if it does not.
Saying Apple is unjust to make such a product is absurd, sure. But it is a different thing to suggest consumers ought to consider what business models they are encouraging, and that they might conclude not buying this was a righteous action.
The argument "This is bad for the world, you should not buy it.", made to consumers, is not inherently absurd. You may or may not agree. You may wish to engage that argument or to ignore it. But you can't reasonably dismiss it by telling me not to buy one; nor by telling me Apple has the right to make it. Those are non sequitur responses to to the suggestion being made: You should not buy one.
You don't have to "win" to make a profit and stay in business.
If everyone always did exactly what the market leader was doing, then back in the 90's Apple would've stopped making computers and just shipped an OS like Microsoft does. Of course, then Apple would've gone out of business and we wouldn't be talking about iphones today.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
I've never like Apple any way. This move just sends the message that Apple thinks the end-user is a complete moron and in capable of accepting the responsibility for their own computing decisions.
Software Licensing issues asside, when I buy computer it is mine and absoluely no one is going to tell me what I can and can not put in it. I and I alone am responsible for its computing health. No matter how hard they try to idiot proof something there will always be at least one idiot to prove them wrong. Beside safes computing isn't Rocket Science and it is even simpler than A^2 + B^2 = C^2.
I'm not a user of Apple computers, but I did get an iPhone. It turns out to be one of the most useful devices I've ever owned...and, despite AT&T, it even makes phone calls. The iPad, however, is nothing more than an over-sized, over-priced iPod Touch without the camera. Plus, it lacks external data accessibility via connections (USB, flash drive, handwriting, Flash compatibility, etc.) If it tends to be around long enough, perhaps Apple will add some capabilities to it. Then I might consider it.
I agree that some people might run into the scenario for the reasons you describe. Unfortunately, I don't feel these people are justfied to complain when they become disappointed with whatever product they purchased.
I never run into an instance where after I buy a product I am disappointed by it's feature-set. Why? Because before I purchase something, I do research and inform myself, which is a step usually skipped by the average consumer. Then these individuals just bitch to make themselves feel better, to ease their mind about their bad uninformed decision.
People just like to bitch. I myself find great annoyance with people who bitch about their own uninformed decisions as they themselves cause the large majority of their dissatisfaction. Bitching when one is uninformed has no basis in reality as there is zero ground to stand on to back up arguments and gripes. Maybe people need to understand to hold themselves accountable for their own dissatisfaction. Then and only then will I become a more satisfied person. Until then I will continue to lose faith in humanity and the troubles people unknowingly bring upon themselves.
I would create a sig, if only something of value could be said with just 120 chars.
Okay, that actually makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.
Support the EFF and Creative Commons. The war is coming, and they're supporting you...
As much as I wish I could agree with you unreservedly...
I can totally see Apple releasing a new mac mini with this OS because *it just works*.
Then it won't be branded as "Mac OS X,"
Mac OS XI?
and surely won't become the primary OS sold by Apple.
Primary...
By units, OS X has been Apple's secondary OS for a while. In fact, if you count the ipod OS, then it is third.
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/four_years_of_apple_unit_revenue_graphs_illustrate_growth/
By dollar, I don't know.
Then putting a premium on future machines with the OSX variant.
Only if it wants to alienate almost all of its users and developers.
It won't happen.
I would like to think so, too.
There are more iPhones sold than Macs. There are plenty of apps & developers for the iPhone.
There are more xboxes sold than Macs. There are plenty of apps & developers for the xbox.
(name that closed system, here)
In a school or business, what is valued? Productivity apps. Security. Low maintenance. Ease of use.
I would like to think that Apple will always sell computers. And that they will always be hackable. But as I look around, I see that there is a distinct possibility that may not be the case.
I'm not interested in an iPhone or an iPad. I want hackable. But I can't ignore what's going on around me. If the iPad takes off *at all*, I would not be even a little surprised if Apple starts to move toward a closed OS.
Primary...By units
No, by machine type.
There are more iPhones sold than Macs. There are plenty of apps & developers for the iPhone. There are more xboxes sold than Macs. There are plenty of apps & developers for the xbox.
Yes, but that's beside the point, which is that unless they want Mac OS X to just die, they won't do it. Most people want options, not limitations. If Apple did this, then Microsoft and Linux would take over a huge consumer base.
I would like to think that Apple will always sell computers. And that they will always be hackable. But as I look around, I see that there is a distinct possibility that may not be the case.
I don't.
Yes, but that's beside the point, which is that unless they want Mac OS X to just die, they won't do it. Most people want options, not limitations. If Apple did this, then Microsoft and Linux would take over a huge consumer base.
And this is where I worry, and where I think we will just have to disagree.
You and I want options (in computers). Most folks are willing if not happy to take limitations. Look at the game console:computer ratio. Look at the iPhone. It's a computer that is also a phone. Compare it to how powerful your first computer was. Or even your computer from 15 years ago. People flock to these closed systems in droves, and a vast majority of them don't care at all that they are closed.
If the iPad takes off, it really would not surprise me at all if OS XI Server looks like OS X, and OS XI User looks like iPhone OS++
I hope I'm wrong.
Look at the game console:computer ratio. Look at the iPhone. It's a computer that is also a phone.
Yes, and almost everyone who has a game console or an iPhone also has a Mac, PC, or Linux box.
They do not care if those systems are closed because they are used for specific tasks. They want, in addition, a computer that is not so limited.
... itunes is a completely closed ecosystem. the app store is locked down. their media devices don't use open formats.
I can burn MP3s from my CD collection (on a Linux machine or Windows box) and play them on iTunes anywhere (on my Mac, iPad etc). How is that a closed ecosystem?
Lodragan Draoidh
The more you explain it, the more I don't understand it. - Mark Twain
I've used the iPad Nano (ie, an iPhone.)
The Generation
I'd say something witty here, but I'm not that bright.
Well, that's really what comes down to.
I'll give the iPad (as seen on Weds) one big mark against it though: no flash support.
Since the iPad is a tool for using the web as much as it is an e-reader, Flash should be supported.
The Generation
I'd say something witty here, but I'm not that bright.
Think of the damage done if noobs were simply given apples or more locked down ipod/phone/pad like devices. It would all but kill the nerd/hacker community in a matter of years. There would be no Linus if he were raised in such an environment. Or really any famous computer nerd you can think of. All tech stuff would come from the direct efforts of university taught students. Which would horribly cripple the pool of talent out there. That is a pretty scary thought.
I don't think I agree with this - there are always going to be people who are dissatisfied or simply curious and trying to push the envelope. The Torvalds of the world will do that no matter what obstacles are put in their way -- perhaps even because of those obstacles. And the ones not so stubborn... well, perhaps it's not the right field for them anyway --- the comp sci industry has been getting quite watered down in recent years due to an influx of people who are in the industry for the money and not the nature of the work.
Because you can hack around the feature makes the problem ok?
There, I fixed that for you.
Lodragan Draoidh
The more you explain it, the more I don't understand it. - Mark Twain
I'm SO sick of car analogies
If I read one more car analogy I'm going to run out to my car, get it rolling in neutral and lay my head in front of the wheel.
Liberty.
Wow! What a simple way to view a txt file! Apple - It Just Works (TM)
Really? MP3 and H264 aren't open standards?
No, they aren't. Hand in your geek card at the door.
It does, though. Stanza has its own built-in bookstore that works about as well as the app store. But if you want something other than those offerings, you have to have some way of getting it to the iPod. In this case, installing a single desktop app is about as streamlined as you can make that process.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
What people forget is the appeal of convenience.
The Ipad, and other Apple devices, maybe closed, DRMized and can download software only from Applestore. But as long as the device and its ecosystem is convenient and provides a good experience, most people wont care about its limitation.
And that is what Apple is good for. Provide a fuzzy warm feeling when you use their products.
You call it a huge step backwards, I call it a huge step forward. No one should have to deal with the crap that computers make them deal with for the most part. I shouldn't have to scour the internet far and wide to find applications and hope that they are not trojaned. As Steve Jobs pointed out, Apple set out to make a device that can do internet as well or better than any other device/computer, does email, photos, music, video/movies, ebook reader. They wanted to make this as painless as possible. I think computers took off in the home in spite of their difficulty of use. But I think we may be beginning to see the end of the general purpose computer in the home for most people. Firstly, game consoles have made computer gaming really niche. The internet grew without any thought or planning, which may or may not have been a good thing, but it probably now feels out of control for most people. They want the internet to be made simple again, and this device does that. We are moving into the post PC world.
It's working really great. What does that have to do with anything? It simply underscores the point that people are not clamoring for "open"/"free" as a feature point. If they were, BSD would be destroying Mac OS X market share. Instead, you see that people are opting for the consistent & well-integrated experience from Apple - the one which curtails their "freedom" to do something that 90+% of computer owners have zero ability to actually do - modify their software and hack their hardware as they see fit.
Agreed with an important difference. Cars weren't being touted as the guardians of freedoms and expression.
Or the car manufacturer will discontinue that model and therefore the stop making replace computers aka ECUs aka Engine Control Units.
Car collectors don't even bother collecting cars that have closed ECUs. Why? You can't get the necessary info to replace them once the limited life electronic components fail. And such a car will never pass required SMOG tests and is therefore WORTHLESS.
I have an early 90s sports car. I can no longer buy an ECU for it. The ECU is completely proprietary and the manufacturer hasn't made any of them since the late 90s. The last available ECU for that model has been sold.
Reverse engineering the ECU would be very expensive. It has tens of inputs from various sensors and how it reacts to all those inputs is unknown except to the manufacturer. And even if you could reverse engineer it, the state SMOG laws consider that an illegal modification of the car. So all you can do is scrap the car.
So now, if you own that car and your ECU fails you are SOL. You can't get a SMOG certificate and you can't drive that car in ANY US state.
Facebook is billions of individual "Skinner Boxes." And if you use it you are the pigeon!
Um. They offer a keyboard dock as an accessory (scroll down, there's no anchor to link to), and of course the wireless keyboards and mice also work with the iPad.
But really, it's meant as a couch computer, nothing more, nothing less. If it doesn't appeal to you (as it doesn't to me), don't buy it.
Who is General Failure and why is he reading my hard disk?
Gaining root access is a normal operation which is enabled on all device (not only "special developer" ones) letting advanced users make weird uses of their phones if they want.
Also allowing other less advanced users to completely hose their system with the possibility to take down a whole network in the process. Hasn't happened yet, but ya never know.
Out-of-the-box administrative access to the system has been available for ages on PalmOS and Windows CE based device. And there has never been an epidemic of users hosing their machine. Of course some idiots might have broken their machines. But everything was perfectly ok for most of the users (either because they don't use this ability, or because they know how to use it without breaking the stuff).
The PalmOS is also an interesting example for another reason : multitasking. It has never been a multitasking device at the core. It was always geared toward 1 single task running at a time.
Nonetheless, even on the old motorola 68k based OS, there where hacks enabling application to run in background. Palm has never attempted to stop them. In fact, on more recent ARM based OS, APIs have been made available that make it possible to run music player or messaging software in the background: The user experience remains single-task at the core, but 3rd party developers aren't limited if they feel necessary to implement new original features.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Ok, then can you point me to the iPhone version of Pidgin or Adium ? No ?
See the point I'm making: I know that *technically* the iPhone has the capability and *does* use it for some stuff.
The fact is that Apple is still not allowing 3rd party application running in background. So no Pidgin or Adium which stays logged in the whole time.
- The notification api is a way for a server to send a special notification that will get interpreted by app not currently running in foreground, but by a special handler. It's not true multi-tasking and requires that the server actually sends notifications to the iphone.
In case of IM, that means you *could* get a multi-standard client if you use something similar to Meebo, where the IM-client is running on the server and the server send notification to the ipod.
But no way to have a background task which monitors whatever you want.
- the streaming api is not background either. it's just that the iphone api can now receive a command like "open http://myradio.fm/" and start playing that in background. So if your web radio is just a plain HTTP stream, it can now get played in the background.
But anything else requiring an app running to play doesn't work. Pandora users are still complaining, for example.
It was limited for technical reasons which you are either unwilling to research or unable to understand.
Which technical reasons ?
- the machine run on an OMAP3 (iPhone/iPod) or OMAP4-equivalent (iPad). That processor can do multitasking and does it on every other machine using such chips.
- the machine run on a kernel, not that much different from the one running on Mac computers. It does multitasking for Macs, used to do it for Nextstep, and cousins running *BSD can also do multitasking. But not the iProducts.
Given that, the reason is not a technical one, but an artificial reason. The explanation usually given are :
- to save battery life if too much applications are running simultaneously (even if every other compating product with multitasking doesn't have a noticeable problem)
- to keep the whole experience simple to use and grand-ma firendly. (Multi-tasking is soooo confusing).
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
How exactly is not buying a device that you don't want oppression? If 10% of the people don't like the product and then also don't buy it, I don't understand how you call that oppression. That's like saying, "I don't like the policies of China, so I refuse to live there," and then go around complaining to everyone about how much China is oppressing you. You might be able to say that China is oppressing its citizens, but it isn't oppressing you.
Anyway, you clearly didn't read carefully the post I was responding to. The poster said that they are tired of hearing "don't buy it" and I responded that not buying it is the correct way to send a message in a capitalist society. If you think something Apple is doing is "oppression," as you say, then don't give them your money. Duh.
This is true. However, if a product flops you can bet that the company will have a team of analysts and focus groups working to figure out why, regardless of how vocal people are being.
I agree with you. What I was taking issue with was "This whole "just don't buy it" thing is getting ridiculous. What you're basically teaching the next generation to do is to accept whatever the corporate overlords give them, or go to a corner and shutup." which simply isn't true. Not buying it is not going "to a corner and shut[ting ]up." Its treating the corporation as it ought to be treated. "You, corporation, are not worthy of my time nor my notice until you actually make a good product." That is a perfectly fine way to respond to a corporation, and you can bet if a product this anticipated flops there will be a TON of focus grouping and analysis to figure out why even if people are having protest marches on the streets (over a stupid device, I mean come ON how much complaining can a group of people who haven't even used it yet generate?)
How to buy hardware (this has been like that since the beginning of personal computing): 1. See what software you need to run, what problems you want to work with 2. See what hardware/OS setup allows you to do that 3. Get the best performance for the best conditions that you can get I want to do statistics, work on images, run public domain or commercial software such as LaTeX or Gimp, and so obviously I am very happy with my Windows Vista Netbook that allows me to use compatible software. If all I want to do is consume pre-packaged goods and just use Apple's software store than I am OK getting an iPod, iPhone, iPad. Nothing wrong with that. But if at step 1 I list other software, why even bother with Apple? Check what other platforms offer and get something else. If there are people that are happy buying iPads, there is obviously a market for these. Besides, all you wave when jailbreaking these devices is the Apple warranty. After the device has been jailbroken / jailgebraked, you are relatively free to install other software. So purely technically speaking you are not at all bound or tied to the Apple store. You can do with the hardware whatever you see fit. I remember when Apple Powerbook G4s had a laughable wireless signal reception and so first thing to make these halfways useful was to swap the antenna - so, take it apart, change antenna, reassemble. That did not mean that Apple stopped me from having fun with wireless LAN - they just did not feel they had to be responsible for me making their computer at least halfways useful. If you study these issues before jumping into such a purchase you'll not be perplexed.