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Microsoft's Touted iPad Rival Courier Becomes Less Than Vapor
Kostya writes "The much discussed Courier two-panel tablet device from Microsoft is now even less than vaporware — now it's just plain dead. 'Microsoft execs informed the internal team that had been working on the tablet device that the project would no longer be supported.' While the Courier had never been officially announced as a supported product by Microsoft, it had generated a lot of discussion as what the iPad should have been."
The real question is whether the iPad will sell beyond the rush of early adopters. In a year we will probably know the answer to that question.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
The problem I have with all these technophiles decrying the iPad's lack of flash is this: are you not the same group that beats down any flash site?
Generally not, no. Slashdot is not one groupthink overmind, we are individuals, and we disagree a lot, just like you and I are doing right now.
I have a somewhat subtler position: I hate Flash and I want it to die, but this is not the way. Flash is being banned from the iPad for bullshit reasons -- Jobs' rant was one of the least technically-informed pieces of garbage I've seen on the topic, and that's straight from the fucking top. It's being banned because it's a third-party framework/library/language/whatever, and Apple can't have any of those, except when they can.
Even if they were consistent about it, it's the wrong decision. Just like freedom of speech means freedom to say things I don't like, an open system means the right of others to develop software I don't like. Flash on the iPad would suck, but Python on the iPad would rock.
The only legitimate reason for keeping Flash off the iPad would be open standards, and do you really expect me to take Apple seriously when they talk about openness now?
full PCs are simply too much machine for what many people want to do (watch a show, check facebook, etc).
They're also dirt-cheap and capable of doing that. They also tend to come with a keyboard, thus enabling you to actually post to Facebook effectively -- the iPad just isn't that much fun to type on.
A $99 iPad would be a true game-changer,
You know what? So would a $20 laptop. What makes you think this will actually happen?
Oh no, others will hit the $99 mark, maybe.
people (like you) get confused because of the price and say (as you did), 'but... look at the sweet box I could buy for $500, I don't get it!'
laptop I could buy for $500.
The point is that my mom and my wife and many like them don't care in the least if they have a sweet box. They care if they can "like" timmy's facebook status.
Again, sadly, even Facebook works better on an actual laptop.
Your geek factor (Look at me! HTPC!
Even Apple sells HTPCs now. I'm surprised people haven't picked more of them up.
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
If you can't, given a multi-touch surface and five seconds, come up with at least one decent way to pull off hover, you're either an idiot or a liar. I get the sense (with Steve, at least), that these reasons are carefully-chosen loads of crap to sway the masses. The Apple UI guys have been all about multi-touch and moving actions. Did they run out of steam?
Highly unlikely. It's fine to say "they own the sandbox," but don't buy into hand-wavy sophistry.
And apparently neither are you. The iPad is a tablet. It is Turing complete. You are just a jealous idiot.