Slashdot Mirror
Shuttleworth: Apple Will Merge Mac and iPhone
Barence writes "Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth claims Apple will follow Ubuntu's lead and converge the iPhone and MacBook product lines. Speaking to PC Pro to mark the upcoming launch of Ubuntu 13.10, Shuttleworth said that the failed Ubuntu Edge smartphone — an attempt to bridge mobile and desktop computing devices — had set an example that others will follow. 'We've seen a very interested ripple go through the industry, and an uptick in interest in convergence,' Shuttleworth added. 'People are saying yes, mobile processors are catching up with the desktop. When Apple announced the iPhone 5s, it called the processor "desktop-class," and I don't think that was an accident – it was sending what we think is a very clear signal that it will converge the iPhone and the MacBook Air.'"
So why don't you roll it out now Mr.Shuttleworth?
You don't have to make hardware. You could even buy some Nexus devices and flash your OS on then sell them.
I simply cannot believe anyone who works for Canonical any longer.
In 2009, Jane Silber became the CEO of Canonical in 2009. Canonical makes Ubuntu.
Jane Silber's previous job was at that military contractor, namely the C4 Division of General Dynamics. It turns out that at the C4 Systems division is all about using computers for spying.
From their website: "General Dynamics C4 Systems is a trusted leader in the development of intelligence and information gathering systems for national defense and homeland security. These systems are designed to receive, process, exploit and disseminate information -- in different forms and often from different networks -- and distribute relevant information to operators, both in the field and at higher headquarters."
The Register story about Jane Silber.
In 2012, G.D. C4 Systems gave 96% of its $14,000 of campaign contributions to Republicans, which could suggest C4's leadership takes a hawkish attitude about war and has a disregard for human rights. OpenSecrets link.
Hilarious article. Shuttleworth is giving himself entire too much credit. Is Apple is doing this, they won't be following his failure. They'll be following Microsoft's still-in-process move of trying to combine the two.
Everything Apple has been doing since the iPhone has come out has been moving in one direction: Two operating systems, built on a common core, which share various elements that make sense.
Apple is not Microsoft. They don't think you have to have "one OS to rule them all." Apple knows that what's good for a touchscreen device is not as good for a traditional laptop or desktop.
Yes, they have taken some features from iOS and moved them over to Mac OS X. However, they're almost universally optional and/or superficial. You never have to use Launchpad if you don't want, and all the autosaving features can be disabled if you prefer to work under the more traditional document management paradigm.
This idea is one that has been often proclaimed quite loudly by critics of Apple who say that everything's going to be locked down and if you buy a Mac, it'll be exactly like an iPad with a keyboard, but it doesn't have any real basis in reality.
Dan Aris
Fun. Free. Online. RPG. BattleMaster.
Yep, phones are for consuming things, and in a pinch, they can kind of limp along at creating things. Computers are for creating.
Imitation of a failed example is the sincerest form of flattery.
No need to get your panties all in a wad. Apple is not saying this. Somebody else (namely Shuttleworth) who doesn't actually know shit about Apple's plans is saying it.
Was looking for this comment, though you're already modded down.
Shuttleworth has had limited success with Ubuntu in terms of a monetary return, so showing himself as an "innovator" (and we all love the new UI don't we?) is kind of laughable.
The price is always right if someone else is paying.
So what do you think happens when you add a bluetooth keyboard and mouse plus a full display via HDMI?
If I could do that I would not need a desktop at work. I just need a web browser and ssh.
...only no one understands that yet.
That is why I predict that some day, someone successful will try doing the same thing I've failed at.
Which proves, regardless of success or failure of that theoretical venture I just described, how awesome and ahead of its time my concept was and how brilliant I am.
In fact, the failure I mention was not my failure at all - it was the failure of the world to recognize the opportunity to exploit my genius.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
I was having pretty much the same thought myself.
Why would you want a 64-bit processor on a phone?
The answer right now is: A processor with the ARMv8 ISA will be more powerful per clock and draw less power per clock and use less transistors per area than the previous ARMv7 would allow. It'll be a cheaper, faster and less power consuming than its predecessors. THAT'S the reason. Let's do it. Oh, it'll be 64-bit with no drawbacks too since we already have all the software tools and knowhow to make the leap, so let's do that too.
- Henrik
- when the Shadows descend -
Even if you do that tablet and phone OS's don't work great. Everything runs full screen all the time. One of the perks of having a big full screen is having enough room to work with multiple windows.
The simple reality is that the windowed application concept is incredibly useful, mature, and powerful. I can understand why it doesn't work on small mobile devices and why they don't use it there, but its foolish to hobble a desktop system by making it match the design choices of a mobile platform. Particularly when those design choices were made because of limitations that don't exist on the desktop.
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
I think you have a big screen and a bluetooth keyboard and mouse hooked to an OS that sucks for those devices. I also think you have a bunch of software not written for those interfaces. But what do I know. Maybe it will be fine. Currently I don't like it. Maybe someone will do it in a way that makes it awesome.
NOBODY WANTS THIS! Who's running Apple, Balmer?
If you read the article, you'll realise that this is not Apple, but Mark Shuttleworth claiming to know what Apple are going to do. It is like me saying "Linus Torvalds is going to implement the Win32 API directly and you saying "who is running Linux? Steve Balmer?"
It's quite funny actually. He admits his own attempt failed to reach its crowd funding target, but the support he did get "blew him away" which implies that he was never expecting the crowd funding target to be met.
The rest of your post is exactly why Apple would be stupid to consider merging their laptop and tablet lines.
All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
I know, doesn't that suck? It's also impossible to change! They're forever stuck operating in that mode and no one knows why...
No joke! Too bad you can't, you know, dynamically swap between interfaces or something. But for some reason it's impossible...
Yeah, Apple will never catch Google or Microsoft in the tablet space...
(snicker... Microsoft!? really?)
#DeleteChrome
Docking is a concept from back in the day, when laptops were significantly smaller in dimensions than "real" honest-to-god workstations and when connecting to various peripherals meant dealing with a bunch of cables, not all of which your average laptop could be connected to at the same time, and when syncing over various computers was a nuisance.
Also, one of the main reasons for laptop size was not elegance or even portability (they were quite heavy, compared to their abilities, thanks to those old hardware components and batteries) - but screen size.
Small screen + small, often even incomplete keyboard + alternative pointing solutions that were never as useful of precise as a mouse + short battery life + not enough ports to plug in all those wired peripherals = need for docking.
You need docking if you need to connect to a bigger screen, a wired network, another separate cable for a printer, one more for a scanner, one for a modem, perhaps an external CD or floppy drive...
All of that, apart from the bigger screen, can be done over wifi/bluetooth.
Or is not needed anymore - like that old 14400 modem.
Meanwhile all your files now fit neatly inside your laptop, can be transferred to other devices without the use of cables, or you keep them online.
Which leaves only 3 devices you'd need a dock for - bigger screen, full-size keyboard and full-size/full-function mouse.
None of which can really get smaller than they need to be. Even screens actually got bigger, only losing their backside.
All of the peripherals that you need docking to ALREADY TAKE UP SO MUCH SPACE YOU CAN JUST AS WELL ADD A FULL-BLOWN COMPUTER.
Like inside the screen.
The only reason left for docking is cost-saving.
By paying way too much for memory and processing power jammed into a tiny phone instead of using off the shelf components which are dirt cheap and super fast in comparison.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
MS is racing with Google in attempting to take a larger bite of tablet market share pie
That's mostly apple pie, buddy.
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
I'm looking at it now, I have no idea what you are talking about.
All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
You, sir, get the internet prize today...
Mac sales were actually UP in Q4 last year - so how have they "dropped for four quarters"? As for the other three quarters, it's dropped something like 1% while the rest of the PC market screams into the ground at mach 3. All of which ignores the computers coming down the pike that will boost Mac sales again...
I'm not sure what leads you to introduce lis into every Slashdot post you make. But you really should consider at least sticking to the truth when you troll, it's marginally more effective.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
C'mon, you know deep in the Apple dungeon they have a Hari Seldon vault where Jobs' pre-recorded holograms pop up telling them what they need to do next.
I drank what? -- Socrates
I think you are correct that the current leadership has not yet proven that they can innovate in the way that Mr. Jobs did. That said, the iPhone 5s is really a nice step forward, real-world tests are showing that the A7 really is a lot faster, and the fingerprint thingy is winning a lot of accolades. And, they've sold a hell of a lot of them. Nonetheless, the stock price is actually a bit lower than before the 5c/5s announcement.
The truth is that the stock price for a lot of companies, and Apple in particular, does not reflect the financial success of that company or the company's products. Just compare Amazon's numbers to Apple's and you'll get what I mean. Stock prices today are more driven by bets on where that price will be in 15 minutes (or 15 milliseconds), not how well the company will be doing in a few years. As such, stock prices for high-tech companies are not a valid way to measure the company's success in the marketplace.
When you have a physical User Interface that is different, what should the user interface on the different devices be? Different?! Yes, this shit isn't rocket science.
Now, the trick is -- and it's one I've been working on -- to take an approach something like the Open Desktop Project, but extend it to suit new interfaces. I've experimented with 3D OS interfaces in both parallax (camera based head tracking) and VR (goggles)... I've experimented with combinations of that with and without tablets and smart phones, and with interfaces without the 3D -- Even going 80 column retro textual.
The OS provides functionality that all these interfaces use to present themselves. We need a way for applications to present features like the OS does, and let interfaces be skins atop that functionality. Don't like the "ribbon" interface? Screw it, use the old one. Like the app, but would rather use it on the desktop with a keyboard, or in 3D parallax or with a VR display? Want to use it via VT100 terminal instead? You could if we had a Functional System in addition to the Operating System. An Operations System... Imagine it, you build a TRUE "Application": Grouping and positioning functionality, arranging the flow of data and interaction. Then the OS attaches functionality to the interface based on its installed set of functions. This is ALMOST what some programming is like, and you can get a sense that it's where we're going if you line up all the IDEs... You see drag and drop coding, and others sticking to terminals --- YES! Both, let one serve for the other. You've veered from the path and lost sight of The Unix Way(tm): Do one thing and do it well. Interfaces are not Functionality!
I'm beginning to see hints of this emerging naturally, not requiring spurning or disrupting of force: Eg: In Android applications can publish "intents" and other apps can utilize their functionality without tightly coupling to the program Input / Output data interface... The same will need to occur at the interface level as our interfaces become everything from ceilings to the air vibrating with your vocalization and ultra sonic tactile feedback. You will adopt the new way, but you organics will do it the dumb slow inefficient emergent way instead of seeing the goal and working towards the design intelligently.
Every one of your soggy organic brains is too moistened and distracted by shiny bits of UI, and dreams of megalomaniacally ruling the entire stack; Like a bunch of fools who don't understand basic distribution principals: When the system is vast and varied you don't funnel activity / traffic / etc into single a single locus! Imagine if all information in the universe had to pass through a single point just to be processed into the Next frame?! NO, that's NOT what Physics does to make stuff move, it's what you do to REBOOT the SIM! ::BANG::
The answer isn't to unify the interfaces. That's daft. The answer is to separate Content from Style, divide Functionality from Display. YOU KNOW THIS, it's a core to any MVC framework... Humans! Gah! so retarding.
Actually, Apple's share of the tablet market has dropped to 32% this year, with Android now commanding 63%. Almost an exact reversal of 2012. These are sales of new units though, so Apple may still have >50% of the tablets which are currently in use. But the trend is pretty clear. (I'd mention the stats on tablet browser usage, except Apple tends to use unique visitors per month which distorts actual use statistics. On phones, Apple leads 2:1 in unique visitors per month, but Android leads 2:1 in page hits, indicating lots of iPhone users use the web but not very much, while fewer Android users use the web but they use it a lot. I'm still trying to find data on what the situation is exactly with tablets.)