Same here. I still have mine. Admittedly I don't use it these days. Handwriting recognition was never a big problem for me. I thought all the bitching about how poor it was back then was just a matter of people's expectations (with a lot of Apple haters, most of which probably never even used one) thrown in. Considering the hardware available back then, I think the Newton was quite amazing.
Jealousy of Apple's success(es) will get you nowhere. I don't have an iPad. I do have an iPhone. I do like Apple products. If your argument had any merit both you and I would each have an iPad because... drumroll... it is made by Apple.
No, this is like being upset because Honda wont LET you put a trunk on it. Or have to give you permission on what type of equipment you can put on the motorcycle. If any car company acted like Apple, there would be outrage.
We are also talking about something you buy INTO. It's not like I can buy one, and then say oops, what a doofus I was. I have a contract I have to keep paying on, so consumer protection is needed.
If you're attitude was prevalent in the auto industry, no one would have seat belts.
I'm guessing you buy used cars, etc. If you buy a *new* car (or motorcycle), while it is *in warranty* there are many things that, if you install them, or in other ways modify the car or any of its systems, will void the car's warranty. That is to say they won't let you do it (like jail breaking an iPhone) if you want your warranty to remain valid. As with the iPhone and many other electronic (and electrical) products in general (well, products in general, actually), if you modify them in certain ways you void the warranty. After the warranty period the producer company doesn't care what you do to the car, as is the case with electronic (and electrical) products including the iPhone. If you don't care about the warranty you can do anything you want to anything you buy.
I agree with StuartHankins and so many others: Do YOUR **homework** to determine YOUR needs (and wants) and assess the device's capabilities and *limitations*, and *then* buy what you think will fulfill your needs/wants. Apple isn't there twisting your arm to make you buy their product, any more than GM in any way forced me to buy one of their cars. If a person buys something that doesn't do what they want it to do it's their own fault for not doing their homework before buying.
And your second argument regarding a contract, I bought my iPhone outright without a contract with AT&T. In short I paid the full price for the iPhone when I bought it from AT&T. I can cancel at any time without penalty. The phone is mine. But even in my situation, if I want the warranty to be valid there are certain things I can not do to the phone.
And as to seat belts in cars & "attitude" of the person you responded to, I have absolutely no idea how you wedged that in there. Seat belts were mandated by law because *many* people did not want them. The laws were passed to protect people from themselves (not wanting seat belts or air bag restraint systems). The laws originated from statistics which showed (and still show) that seat belts and air bag restraint systems save a significant number of lives every year and significantly reduce injuries. I'm retired since 2003 but was in automotive and aerospace safety/reliability in one way or another for 30 years. People didn't want air bags in the early days (GM was the last holdout fighting government mandate). I know about air bags and how people detested them ("They have small bombs in them" was a common complaint, which in truth they do). I spent several years in design and development, and manufacture of air bag restraint systems at the component level (hardware and software). I was also involved in anti-lock brake systems which I feel are extremely effective. Anti-lock brake systems are another mandated system that many people don't like and don't believe are effective (even on gravel or dirt roads).
Whether it was "right" for such laws to have been enacted by government is another story (and a whole different topic).
As a last comment, I'm not an OS "caring" person. I have Macs and PCs. I spec out my needs and wants for a mission and buy the appropriate hardware and software. I have an iMac and a Windows PC on my desk. There's a Windows PC on the desk behind me. There's an iMac in the bedroom. I do have (and very much like) an iPhone 4. I do not have an iPad. I run my web sites on servers running either FreeBSD or CentOS (I do prefer FreeBSD). My weather station runs on a Windows PC. When I first programmed a computer I had to manually type the program on punch cards. I'm not a "fan-boy" of any specific OS or brand. I long ago learned to spec out the job I needed to do and then to buy what I needed to do the job that needed to be done.
"Where the problem comes in is with the people who DON'T know what they're giving up when they're using these services." So - You want to play nanny for those who YOU believe *don't* know. How nice of you! And, good luck with that. You have millions of people to look out for. And, my bet is after you have explained to each one 99% will look you in the eye and ask what business is it of yours to interfere with their lives telling them you know what's best for them.
I didn't miss the point. Apple isn't interested in "Enterprise", and it has nothing to do with "coolness" (and even if it was/is, so what? Is "coolness" some sort of sin?). You say " "If Apple truly wants to see their iOS devices used in enterprise..." - Apple has never expressed a significant interest in "enterprise". I do not see a significant interest on Apple's part right now in winning a share of the enterprise market. It's just happening. I was with a friend who is an exec last Wednesday when she bought an iPhone and she's just freaking out over how much she likes it, and IT where she works is setting it up for her for it to work with their Exchange server today. And iPads - I don't have one (no use for one), but a bunch of my friends in upper management are going nuts over them. Although Apple isn't interested in "Enterprise", they'll accept anything that comes their way, and if the "boys and girls" in upper management want it, it will be done. Other than in the days of the Apple II, Apple has been a niche player. That isn't going to change. Apple long ago showed it's position on legacy support, as well. They dumped the floppy drive and people called them nuts. They're now dropping DVD drives. In my opinion they're ahead of the curve. On the other hand, I don't plan to upgrade to Lion.I have a few programs which need Rosetta to run. I'll stay on Snow Leopard on this machine until I replace it. I *do* understand the significance of legacy support. I even have a Mac that is running OS 9. I will probably never use it again but I do have files and programs from the late 1980's and through the 1990's that it is *possible* (but highly unlikely) that I might need to access some day. But like I say - Apple isn't interested in "Enterprise". I can deal with it. Time moves right along.
Apple's business plan is highly successful, but only in the market they've built for themselves.
Isn't that the same with every successful company, or at least what every company strives for? For a "successful" business plan whereby they're successful in their niche? Apple has never been after the business market - BUT - They're being drawn in. Both the iPhone and iPad are making significant inroads into businesses. Whether that was/is Apple's plan or not. I know one heck of a lot of management people who have ditched their Blackberrys for iPhones, and I'm seeing exec's who want to use their iPad and are beginning to use their office computer less.
In reality, success in the intended niche is all that really matters. Apple, like every other company, can not be successful in every niche.
I actually thought about 404 pages and their importance - Back in the 1990's, actually. I've slightly changed it a few times since (mainly adding notes). http://elsmar.com/dnfuhiwfwi It's not particularly pretty, especially by today's standards, but it works.
None of them that I know do it that way. All the Mac people I know, and Windows people for that matter, have an understanding of classification, and prefer a well managed, organized computer. Pictures go in the Pictures folder, Documents go in the Documents folder, etc. But then - Your posting as Anonymous Coward pretty much says it all with respect to your post.
I'm sure USB devices and connections will be around for a long time, just as one can still buy a 3.5" floppy drive today. But essentially they're obsolete which is my point about USB which I believe is on it's way out. Admittedly, as with the 3.5" floppy, USB won't disappear over night.
USB isn't about to go away any time soon. It's too cheap and too ubiquitous.
I heard the same said about 3.5" floppy drives years ago. I also remember all the "Apple screwed the pooch dropping 3.5" floppy drives from their computers" commentators back then. Sometimes a person simply doesn't recognize *real* advances in technology as they're happening.
I have to agree. I have a lot of old TV shows - Like from the 50's and 60's. There was a series called "Captain Nice" (1967 - I have 15 episodes) that is really funny. And I have a lot of old movies (including "A trip to the moon" from1902 and the 1915 "The Birth of a Nation" {originally called The Clansman}) and a lot of movies from the 1920's and 1930's. I also have a bunch of old "serials" like "Radar Men from the Moon" and "Secret Agent X-9" (a 1945 Universal Serial). Not to mention some really crappy VHS copies of both movies and old TV shows. Video quality is relative to me. I collect a lot of videos.
As it is with websites, Content is King. Personally I haven't even considered a bluray, and considering some of the software update stories I've heard I'd probably *not* get a computer if it did have a bluray drive built in.
And to think when I went to college if you wanted to use a computer you had to write your own program(s) and make punch cards. Then you had to run the punch cards through the reader/compiler. Then you had to wait 15 minutes to 2 days (depending on how busy the mainframe was) and voila - A printout (unless you had an error in your punch cards or mixed them up somehow, or if you had a programming error...). Not to mention very few people had TVs in the dorms where I went to college (but each dorm had a "common room" with a TV). A person was considered "rich" if they had their own typewriter. Ah, the good old days....;) If you wanted entertainment you had to go out or have the GF over...
I disagree. It's not a matter of how locked in people are to their itunes account and apps, it is whether the majority of the people *care*. I don't know many techies. All the people I know that have iPhones like them precisely because everything works together - iPhone, iTunes, the Apple "app" store. When I talk to them they like the way everything "just works" and how they all fit together. Phrases like "lock in" aren't in their vocabulary.
It only goes to show Ballmer has no vision. He's all bluster. You say: "He was right based on the state of things at that time." which is why MicroSoft is always behind the 8 ball. A successful company wants a CEO who can envision the future correctly, not one who predicts the future and fails every time. Apple predicted the future correctly (and is repeating its self with the iPad) based upon "...what was known at the time" of the prediction.
Since every cell phone can be, and is, tracked by tower, why do you only point to Apple? The feds or which ever agency can go right to any cell phone company and get tracking information on any cell phone. They don't need Apple or a database in a cell phone to get that data. They go direct to the tracking source - The cell phone company. They're tracking you all the time the phone is turned on. Not to mention, this is nothing new. It's been going on for years, well before iPhones were even being sold. A local cop I know showed me that back around 2004. And with the Patriot Act (such as it is) tracking became standard.
I think the networks do "care" about me and people like me. Think about it... I, and others like me, matter because I'm one of the people they have lost. I'm 60 years old and I watched TV for years. They don't get my eyes any more. Worse, more and more people are becoming like me every day. We are people who did have TV and did watch TV. I'd probably watch some network TV, even w/commercials, if they streamed their programs. The networks have lost my eyes and as they loose eyes their advertisement revenue goes down.
Yup - They're fucked. I haven't had a "real" TV in a couple of years. I do have Netflix (mainly to get DVDs), but mostly I just "find" what I want to watch online and watch when I want and commercial free. Then again, I don't watch TV very often other than The Daily Show and Colbert.
Slashdot Mirror
Same here. I still have mine. Admittedly I don't use it these days. Handwriting recognition was never a big problem for me. I thought all the bitching about how poor it was back then was just a matter of people's expectations (with a lot of Apple haters, most of which probably never even used one) thrown in. Considering the hardware available back then, I think the Newton was quite amazing.
Another post made by a very jealous person whose lack of being a success on the level Jobs has achieved.
Jealousy of Apple's success(es) will get you nowhere. I don't have an iPad. I do have an iPhone. I do like Apple products. If your argument had any merit both you and I would each have an iPad because... drumroll... it is made by Apple.
No, this is like being upset because Honda wont LET you put a trunk on it. Or have to give you permission on what type of equipment you can put on the motorcycle. If any car company acted like Apple, there would be outrage.
We are also talking about something you buy INTO. It's not like I can buy one, and then say oops, what a doofus I was. I have a contract I have to keep paying on, so consumer protection is needed.
If you're attitude was prevalent in the auto industry, no one would have seat belts.
I'm guessing you buy used cars, etc. If you buy a *new* car (or motorcycle), while it is *in warranty* there are many things that, if you install them, or in other ways modify the car or any of its systems, will void the car's warranty. That is to say they won't let you do it (like jail breaking an iPhone) if you want your warranty to remain valid. As with the iPhone and many other electronic (and electrical) products in general (well, products in general, actually), if you modify them in certain ways you void the warranty. After the warranty period the producer company doesn't care what you do to the car, as is the case with electronic (and electrical) products including the iPhone. If you don't care about the warranty you can do anything you want to anything you buy.
I agree with StuartHankins and so many others: Do YOUR **homework** to determine YOUR needs (and wants) and assess the device's capabilities and *limitations*, and *then* buy what you think will fulfill your needs/wants. Apple isn't there twisting your arm to make you buy their product, any more than GM in any way forced me to buy one of their cars. If a person buys something that doesn't do what they want it to do it's their own fault for not doing their homework before buying.
And your second argument regarding a contract, I bought my iPhone outright without a contract with AT&T. In short I paid the full price for the iPhone when I bought it from AT&T. I can cancel at any time without penalty. The phone is mine. But even in my situation, if I want the warranty to be valid there are certain things I can not do to the phone.
And as to seat belts in cars & "attitude" of the person you responded to, I have absolutely no idea how you wedged that in there. Seat belts were mandated by law because *many* people did not want them. The laws were passed to protect people from themselves (not wanting seat belts or air bag restraint systems). The laws originated from statistics which showed (and still show) that seat belts and air bag restraint systems save a significant number of lives every year and significantly reduce injuries. I'm retired since 2003 but was in automotive and aerospace safety/reliability in one way or another for 30 years. People didn't want air bags in the early days (GM was the last holdout fighting government mandate). I know about air bags and how people detested them ("They have small bombs in them" was a common complaint, which in truth they do). I spent several years in design and development, and manufacture of air bag restraint systems at the component level (hardware and software). I was also involved in anti-lock brake systems which I feel are extremely effective. Anti-lock brake systems are another mandated system that many people don't like and don't believe are effective (even on gravel or dirt roads).
Whether it was "right" for such laws to have been enacted by government is another story (and a whole different topic).
As a last comment, I'm not an OS "caring" person. I have Macs and PCs. I spec out my needs and wants for a mission and buy the appropriate hardware and software. I have an iMac and a Windows PC on my desk. There's a Windows PC on the desk behind me. There's an iMac in the bedroom. I do have (and very much like) an iPhone 4. I do not have an iPad. I run my web sites on servers running either FreeBSD or CentOS (I do prefer FreeBSD). My weather station runs on a Windows PC. When I first programmed a computer I had to manually type the program on punch cards. I'm not a "fan-boy" of any specific OS or brand. I long ago learned to spec out the job I needed to do and then to buy what I needed to do the job that needed to be done.
"Where the problem comes in is with the people who DON'T know what they're giving up when they're using these services." So - You want to play nanny for those who YOU believe *don't* know. How nice of you! And, good luck with that. You have millions of people to look out for. And, my bet is after you have explained to each one 99% will look you in the eye and ask what business is it of yours to interfere with their lives telling them you know what's best for them.
I didn't miss the point. Apple isn't interested in "Enterprise", and it has nothing to do with "coolness" (and even if it was/is, so what? Is "coolness" some sort of sin?). You say " "If Apple truly wants to see their iOS devices used in enterprise..." - Apple has never expressed a significant interest in "enterprise". I do not see a significant interest on Apple's part right now in winning a share of the enterprise market. It's just happening. I was with a friend who is an exec last Wednesday when she bought an iPhone and she's just freaking out over how much she likes it, and IT where she works is setting it up for her for it to work with their Exchange server today. And iPads - I don't have one (no use for one), but a bunch of my friends in upper management are going nuts over them. Although Apple isn't interested in "Enterprise", they'll accept anything that comes their way, and if the "boys and girls" in upper management want it, it will be done. Other than in the days of the Apple II, Apple has been a niche player. That isn't going to change. Apple long ago showed it's position on legacy support, as well. They dumped the floppy drive and people called them nuts. They're now dropping DVD drives. In my opinion they're ahead of the curve. On the other hand, I don't plan to upgrade to Lion.I have a few programs which need Rosetta to run. I'll stay on Snow Leopard on this machine until I replace it. I *do* understand the significance of legacy support. I even have a Mac that is running OS 9. I will probably never use it again but I do have files and programs from the late 1980's and through the 1990's that it is *possible* (but highly unlikely) that I might need to access some day. But like I say - Apple isn't interested in "Enterprise". I can deal with it. Time moves right along.
Apple's business plan is highly successful, but only in the market they've built for themselves.
Isn't that the same with every successful company, or at least what every company strives for? For a "successful" business plan whereby they're successful in their niche? Apple has never been after the business market - BUT - They're being drawn in. Both the iPhone and iPad are making significant inroads into businesses. Whether that was/is Apple's plan or not. I know one heck of a lot of management people who have ditched their Blackberrys for iPhones, and I'm seeing exec's who want to use their iPad and are beginning to use their office computer less. In reality, success in the intended niche is all that really matters. Apple, like every other company, can not be successful in every niche.
I got an invite - Thanks to D. Michael*** - Thank you! Unfortunately right now they're "Overloaded - Try again later"
I would very much appreciate an invite - elsmarmarc - gmail
I actually thought about 404 pages and their importance - Back in the 1990's, actually. I've slightly changed it a few times since (mainly adding notes). http://elsmar.com/dnfuhiwfwi It's not particularly pretty, especially by today's standards, but it works.
This from an Anonymous Coward poster which pretty much says it all, including the tinfoil hat aspect.
None of them that I know do it that way. All the Mac people I know, and Windows people for that matter, have an understanding of classification, and prefer a well managed, organized computer. Pictures go in the Pictures folder, Documents go in the Documents folder, etc. But then - Your posting as Anonymous Coward pretty much says it all with respect to your post.
You can resell it - You just have to claim it as income.
I'm sure USB devices and connections will be around for a long time, just as one can still buy a 3.5" floppy drive today. But essentially they're obsolete which is my point about USB which I believe is on it's way out. Admittedly, as with the 3.5" floppy, USB won't disappear over night.
USB isn't about to go away any time soon. It's too cheap and too ubiquitous.
I heard the same said about 3.5" floppy drives years ago. I also remember all the "Apple screwed the pooch dropping 3.5" floppy drives from their computers" commentators back then. Sometimes a person simply doesn't recognize *real* advances in technology as they're happening.
That's my complaint with USB anything. It ties up the CPU while Firewire doesn't. Many posters appear to ignore that aspect of USB.
3- also, some people do not have a computer connected to their TV
There you go. The country-dwelling parents' BD player will probably be a dedicated BD player connected to the TV through HDMI, not a Mac computer.
Or a Windows computer for that matter.
I have to agree. I have a lot of old TV shows - Like from the 50's and 60's. There was a series called "Captain Nice" (1967 - I have 15 episodes) that is really funny. And I have a lot of old movies (including "A trip to the moon" from1902 and the 1915 "The Birth of a Nation" {originally called The Clansman}) and a lot of movies from the 1920's and 1930's. I also have a bunch of old "serials" like "Radar Men from the Moon" and "Secret Agent X-9" (a 1945 Universal Serial). Not to mention some really crappy VHS copies of both movies and old TV shows. Video quality is relative to me. I collect a lot of videos.
As it is with websites, Content is King. Personally I haven't even considered a bluray, and considering some of the software update stories I've heard I'd probably *not* get a computer if it did have a bluray drive built in.
And to think when I went to college if you wanted to use a computer you had to write your own program(s) and make punch cards. Then you had to run the punch cards through the reader/compiler. Then you had to wait 15 minutes to 2 days (depending on how busy the mainframe was) and voila - A printout (unless you had an error in your punch cards or mixed them up somehow, or if you had a programming error...). Not to mention very few people had TVs in the dorms where I went to college (but each dorm had a "common room" with a TV). A person was considered "rich" if they had their own typewriter. Ah, the good old days.... ;) If you wanted entertainment you had to go out or have the GF over...
I disagree. It's not a matter of how locked in people are to their itunes account and apps, it is whether the majority of the people *care*. I don't know many techies. All the people I know that have iPhones like them precisely because everything works together - iPhone, iTunes, the Apple "app" store. When I talk to them they like the way everything "just works" and how they all fit together. Phrases like "lock in" aren't in their vocabulary.
It only goes to show Ballmer has no vision. He's all bluster. You say: "He was right based on the state of things at that time." which is why MicroSoft is always behind the 8 ball. A successful company wants a CEO who can envision the future correctly, not one who predicts the future and fails every time. Apple predicted the future correctly (and is repeating its self with the iPad) based upon "...what was known at the time" of the prediction.
I agree. Evidence: Politicians... ;)
Since every cell phone can be, and is, tracked by tower, why do you only point to Apple? The feds or which ever agency can go right to any cell phone company and get tracking information on any cell phone. They don't need Apple or a database in a cell phone to get that data. They go direct to the tracking source - The cell phone company. They're tracking you all the time the phone is turned on. Not to mention, this is nothing new. It's been going on for years, well before iPhones were even being sold. A local cop I know showed me that back around 2004. And with the Patriot Act (such as it is) tracking became standard.
I think the networks do "care" about me and people like me. Think about it... I, and others like me, matter because I'm one of the people they have lost. I'm 60 years old and I watched TV for years. They don't get my eyes any more. Worse, more and more people are becoming like me every day. We are people who did have TV and did watch TV. I'd probably watch some network TV, even w/commercials, if they streamed their programs. The networks have lost my eyes and as they loose eyes their advertisement revenue goes down.
Yup - They're fucked. I haven't had a "real" TV in a couple of years. I do have Netflix (mainly to get DVDs), but mostly I just "find" what I want to watch online and watch when I want and commercial free. Then again, I don't watch TV very often other than The Daily Show and Colbert.