No, I don't need a whiz-bang laptop. And this goes for most other people as well. Gamers and graphics artists are not in the majority amongst PC users. I work for a semiconductor company. A few years ago, most of the chip designers had top-of-the-line machines because they ran heavy simulations, but these days the simulations are run on central servers, so they don't need fancy machines either. I think we are on the verge of issuing laptops to almost everybody, so people at least can work from home. Now, probably a 15" would be a good idea for many people. There might even be some people that have a good use for a 17". But a 20" is just plain madness. My home desktop setup has a 17" (I do have a 20" LCD at work).
Even if I do not work on the plane (it is useful to do 2-3 hours work on a 9-11 hour flight - I live in Europe and have to visit customers and also the company HQ in the US), I have to carry the damn thing around. Now, if I really was top level management, I would fly business class or have a peon to carry my laptop around, and I would actually have less need for a small laptop. So, actually my motives are the opposites of what you imply. If I didn't get things done on the move, then I have to do those things when I get back, instead of spending time at home with my family. So lose the attitude, smart-ass.
Wouldn't it actually be more convenient to carry around a Mac mini or a Shuttle box and a 20" LCD? Shuttle even makes a backback for their boxes... The batteries on this thing probably last so short you could really do without them anyway. Big is not beautiful!
Weight a minor problem? Seriously? After lugging my laptop bag from one end of the airport to the other I would kill for a lighter one, and I have a 12.1"... Do you actually carry your laptop around, or do you carry it from your living room to your office and back?
If you have a home office, it is possible to set up an external screen, a keyboard and a mouse, you know...
I'm all with you on this one. I have a 12.1 inch Dell at work and I travel a lot internationally. I'm actually wondering if I want a smaller laptop. At work, I plug it into a docking station with a full keyboard, mouse and 20" LCD attached. Just as good as using a desktop. Going home on the train, I can actually open the laptop and work. Ditto in economy airplane seats.
It's kind of crazy - these will only sell in the US. I was just in Japan, and the desktops were smaller than this monster. The biggest Japanese laptops are 15", and business people carry 12" or smaller. They would laugh their asses off if they saw this laptop Godzilla.
If Apple actually releases a phone, it will be interesting. Note that the mobile phone market is very different in the US from what it is in Europe and Asia. In the US, the carriers rule, and the stand-alone phone market is almost non-existent. In Europe and Asia, yes, you can get a subsidized phone, but the people are primarily looking at what phone they want, not which carrier (almost no exclusives). Also, what people want is pretty different; Europeans prefer candy-bar phones, while Americans want clam-shell. In the US, the Razr exploded, in Europe it is almost not present (Nokia and Sony Ericsson rule the turf). Actually, I think that it would be easier to enter the market in Europe or Asia, as people there care more about the phones themselves, but I think that Apple is a bit US-centric as they have their main development sites in the US, and that they would not develop a Europe- or Asia-centric product. Culture does matter; there are many good reasons the Japanese are not buying Xbox'es. Yes, the iPod is universally appealing (although I think the US market share is higher than anywhere else), but I think this is much more difficult to achieve in the phone market. The cell phone manufacturers have local R&D - typically US sites are in San Diego, European sites are in Scandinavia, and Asian R&D sites are in China or Japan.
This reflects in the fact that most manufacturers sell different models in different parts of the world. Apple would need to come up with something that is universally appealing, and that's a tall order.
Also, people seem to forget that when Apple entered the computer and the MP3 player market, both markets where still in their infancies. Now, Apple is trying to enter a very mature market, with a lot of big, entrenched players. If Apple do very well, they might get 4-5% market share. Now, they could earn a lot of money off that, but Moto, Samsung, SE and Nokia do not have sleepless nights about this.
WUSB isn't 2.4 GHz. It is very wide band (hence UWB - ultra wide band) between 3 and 9 GHz or so. (But it raises coexistence questions with the applications that use these frequencies).
There is actually a mobile version of Google maps, written in Java. Works very well on my phone (Sony Ericsson K700i), despite of the small screen. So, you can get the functionality, even though it may more sense to make a custom Java application instead of trying to run everything through a browser. This also allows you to make custom modifications to the mobile version, as mobile phones are very different from PCs when it comes to screen real estate and input methods.
I understand the attraction of having one solution work for EVERYTHING, but I'm not really sure it is practical. BTW, a lot of web pages don't render well on my PSP, but Google is beautiful. Their low-key approach means that the Google home page renders perfectly without any scrolling. Many news sites are hopeless because of all the junk and advertising. Wish more people thought about this.
I just subscribed to eMusic today. This site, for those who don't know, is a major music downloading site set up by many of the biggest indie record companies. Its biggest claim to fame is that every you download is pure old MP3: No DRM at all!
Instead of bitching about DRM, let your wallet do the talking and sign up with eMusic. I found out that given how much I hate DRM, I just had to sign up with eMusic, it seems to be the best way of influencing the business. BTW, their catalog is much better than I expected. If you are not a Britney Spears fan, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
I agree with your comments. The PSP would be the ultimate all-round media device if Sony had improved the audio user interface, made a better PC transfer application and used a hard drive for storage instead of UMDs/MemorySticks.
I guess a third-party vendor could solve the PC transfer application issues, there are a few good programs out there. Also, gradually flash prices will mean that flash will take over more and more of the portable memory market from hard drives (it has already succeeded in the 1-8 GB segment).
I guess you could strip Jupiter. However, the transport issues are interesting, to say the least. I think the medium-term solution would be to move energy-hungry industries to the moon, and use solar power to power the factories.
It's interesting how little time is spent thinking about long-term energy challenges. Rotten dinosaurs aren't going to last forever!
The PSP is definitivly not an iPod killer if you mainly want audio. However, if you want video or games, then the PSP is hugely superior. The PSP also has WiFi, a web browser, and podcasting/video podcasting support (from the device itself). The iPod is not really useable for video due to the poor battery life (when playing video) and small screen. The battery life of the PSP is not horrible, I don't know where you get this from. It will easily do two movies. Also, since the battery is user-replaceable, you can carry two batteries for long flights (I haven't had a problem with this - I was on a flight from Japan to Europe yesterday and my battery lasted almost the length of the flight).
BTW, the PSP firmware was recently broken wide open, so you can do whatever you want with it now. For your average geek, the PSP is perfect, you can run your emulators, view PDFs etc. From what I've seen of the iPod Linux stuff, you can do much more with the PSP because of the better user interface and larger screen.
I presume that Steve Jobs' Reality Distortion Field is what will be keeping the matter together? Envision a new universe starting after millions of millenia, springing out from those white and black monoliths... (Think 2001 here)
Have I just outlined Apple's new commercial? It is grandiouse enough for Stevie, I think.
Bull. If WiFi is to make any sense on an MP3 player, then syncing and direct music purchasing are the two things that make the most sense. Music sharing would be a nice extra. Syncing via WiFi would allow you to sync on the go (while out travelling and not carrying your laptop, for instance) or to have your dock somewhere else than your PC. It makes perfect sense.
Purchasing songs via WiFi would also make a lot of sense for those people who don't have a PC in the first place (believe or not - many people without computers bought iPods and then pestered friends with computers to load them up).
Internet browsing does not make sense - but not for the reason you state. The Zune screen is far too small, just as the cellphone screens are far too small for browsing to be practical (and WAP is a piece of junk). You need something on the order of the PSP screen to really enable web browsing, and even then sites with lots of advertising are a pain (BIG congrats to Google, who have the most portable-friendly site around)
The real reason for the lack of features is probably that the biggest benefit is to enable use without a PC - and Microsoft doesn't see that in their best interest. Oh, well, some of the other guys will do it!
Adding a $6-7 part to the player which is not utilized to anything close to its full potential is just crazy - this equates to $15-40 by the time it reaches retail. WLAN on MP3 players makes just as much sense or even more sense than WLAN on cameras.
Many computers still have RS-232 (came to life in the 70s), and if you don't there are USB-RS232 converters. So, I'm pretty sure that you will at least find whiz-bang->USB converters in 2022. However, it may be more difficult to run iTunes in 2022. Still, I can run 1980s software inside of DOSbox, so probably there will be emulators as well.
The two car packs cost peanuts. PGR3 came with lots of cars, and there was one car pack that was given away for free as a promotional excersise. There is a big difference in selling extra stuff, and basically making extras matadory. Playing PGR3 without buying any extra stuff works fine. Most of the Xbox Live paid downloadables are things like icons and backgrounds (console's equivalent of ringtones?). You don't have to buy these.
If Sony is going to charge for necessities, then that is very different. If they gave away the game, then this would be OK. Somehow I suspect they won't.
Well, if Gran Turismo tanks, then it will just be another nail in Sony's coffin.
Seriously? Personally I thought today's announcements were kind of underwhelming. No big updates on the big iPod, more scratch-resistant nanos and new form factor on the shuffle, and some capacity hikes. Nothing groundbreaking, really. The Zune has some really new stuff: WiFi, music sharing etc. And the iPod games were pretty laughable: I have better games on my phone, and the scroll wheel isn't especially well suited for games. Pretty happy I picked up a PSP last week: Much better for video (although Sony should get a clue and throw out UMD and put in a harddisk) and much better for gaming. I'll keep my old iPod for music for now.
Well, fact is that if you bring up anything bad about Apple, you get plastered. So, I'm afraid my knee-jerk reaction after a couple of passes is to conclude that I'm up against a follower of his Steveness. You can't argue with people who say Intel sucks when Apple uses PowerPC chips, and then the next day are SO excited that Apple is embracing this revolutionary new Intel stuff...
You don't think that the fact that most other gadgets get by fine with no additional protection is a valid argument? If the screen gets plastered, it affects more than just the appearance of the thing, you know...
There have been a lot of these lately. The first was really Avago being spun off Agilent last year (Agilent was spun off HP a few years ago - ironically, Agilent is really what HP used to be - test and measurement equipment). The next was NXP - the semiconductor part of Philips, this was announced just a few weeks ago. Now it may be happening to Freescale (which was spun off Motorola just a couple years ago). All of these were leveraged buyouts from consortiums of various funds.
There are not many integrated companies left - only Samsung and a few Japanese companies come to mind. Even the Japanese have taken to spinning off - Renesas is made up of Hitachi's and Mitsubishi's semiconductor operations. Most semiconductor companies are now only doing semiconductors - I think this is a good thing as it allows the companies to focus on their core business. IBM is the western company that sticks out - same company does everything from business consulting to semiconductors to logistics systems.
Hmmm, as soon as anyone point out a fault in an Apple product, all the fanboys try to take you down...
Well, first off, wearing off the paint of a Nokia takes a hell of a longer time than scratching an iPod. I scratched my iPod screen badly within a couple of months of careful use, while my cellphone screen is just fine after 18 months of use... The paint is pretty good as well. Apple iPods are especially prone to scratches; this wouldn't be pointed out everywhere if it wasn't true!
As to Rolexes; all high-quality watches use high-quality sapphire glass so that the glass will not be scratched. My Swatch doesn't, and the glass is scratched to hell; that's because it is a cheap watch. I'm not complaining about scratches in the entry-level Shuffle, I'm complaining about scratches on Apple's top-of-the-line iPod. Also, the problem is bigger in the newer models (nano and video) than it was on the 4th gen models. But iPods are as expensive as cellphones, that's why it is a valid comparison.
I'm not saying it shouldn't wear. I'm saying that the iPods are made of a much softer plastic than most other gadgets. The screen is an especially problematic area, as if this gets too scratched, then obviously it will have more than cosmetic consequences. Again, for example cell phone manufacturers generally use a higher quality plastic, especially for the screen.
There are solutions to this. I used to have a problem with my eyeglass lenses being scratched (I have always used plastic lenses to keep the weight down). Last time I ordered "everything" and got lenses coated with anti-scratch material. It works, I don't have a single scratch on the eyeglass lenses I've now used for three years. Reportedly, Nokia is using the same material to cover some of their high-end phones.
Let me state my position again: Apple have used a much too soft plastic resin on latter-day iPods, and other manufacturers have done a better job. Making sure a device lasts more than a few weeks without being scratched to hell under normal use is part of good design. BTW, I'm pretty sure a real diamond won't get scratched; what the hell would you scratch it with? (Another diamond?)
The point being that if the nano was a good design, it wouldn't need the case. Kind of funny carrying the tiny nano around in a big case because it can't withstand the real world. I had my wife put her nano in a silicon case since the day it was bought, but the case makes the nano a lot bigger than it originally is. Now if Apple had cared to use a higher-quality plastic resin...
Superior hardware design? My ass. My iPod photo scratches more easily than any other gadget I have. If cellphones were built like this, they would last two months. I've ended up in encasing the iPod in a big silicone case in order for it to have some success of surviving the real world. For all of Sony's failures, the PSP actually seems more durable.
And don't come here with any "beautiful design" crap: good design satisfies both asthetics (sp?) and practicality, you shouldn't have to choose.
Slashdot Mirror
How about Battlecruiser 3000AD? As to ET, there are actually worse 2600 games than this. Maybe not with the same historical significance, okay...
Even if I do not work on the plane (it is useful to do 2-3 hours work on a 9-11 hour flight - I live in Europe and have to visit customers and also the company HQ in the US), I have to carry the damn thing around. Now, if I really was top level management, I would fly business class or have a peon to carry my laptop around, and I would actually have less need for a small laptop. So, actually my motives are the opposites of what you imply. If I didn't get things done on the move, then I have to do those things when I get back, instead of spending time at home with my family. So lose the attitude, smart-ass.
Wouldn't it actually be more convenient to carry around a Mac mini or a Shuttle box and a 20" LCD? Shuttle even makes a backback for their boxes... The batteries on this thing probably last so short you could really do without them anyway. Big is not beautiful!
If you have a home office, it is possible to set up an external screen, a keyboard and a mouse, you know...
It's kind of crazy - these will only sell in the US. I was just in Japan, and the desktops were smaller than this monster. The biggest Japanese laptops are 15", and business people carry 12" or smaller. They would laugh their asses off if they saw this laptop Godzilla.
This reflects in the fact that most manufacturers sell different models in different parts of the world. Apple would need to come up with something that is universally appealing, and that's a tall order.
Also, people seem to forget that when Apple entered the computer and the MP3 player market, both markets where still in their infancies. Now, Apple is trying to enter a very mature market, with a lot of big, entrenched players. If Apple do very well, they might get 4-5% market share. Now, they could earn a lot of money off that, but Moto, Samsung, SE and Nokia do not have sleepless nights about this.
WUSB isn't 2.4 GHz. It is very wide band (hence UWB - ultra wide band) between 3 and 9 GHz or so. (But it raises coexistence questions with the applications that use these frequencies).
I understand the attraction of having one solution work for EVERYTHING, but I'm not really sure it is practical. BTW, a lot of web pages don't render well on my PSP, but Google is beautiful. Their low-key approach means that the Google home page renders perfectly without any scrolling. Many news sites are hopeless because of all the junk and advertising. Wish more people thought about this.
Instead of bitching about DRM, let your wallet do the talking and sign up with eMusic. I found out that given how much I hate DRM, I just had to sign up with eMusic, it seems to be the best way of influencing the business. BTW, their catalog is much better than I expected. If you are not a Britney Spears fan, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Sorry for the Jupiter slip, I was thinking about hydrogen for fusion (perhaps the next step after using hydrogen for fuel cells)?
I guess a third-party vendor could solve the PC transfer application issues, there are a few good programs out there. Also, gradually flash prices will mean that flash will take over more and more of the portable memory market from hard drives (it has already succeeded in the 1-8 GB segment).
It's interesting how little time is spent thinking about long-term energy challenges. Rotten dinosaurs aren't going to last forever!
BTW, the PSP firmware was recently broken wide open, so you can do whatever you want with it now. For your average geek, the PSP is perfect, you can run your emulators, view PDFs etc. From what I've seen of the iPod Linux stuff, you can do much more with the PSP because of the better user interface and larger screen.
Have I just outlined Apple's new commercial? It is grandiouse enough for Stevie, I think.
Purchasing songs via WiFi would also make a lot of sense for those people who don't have a PC in the first place (believe or not - many people without computers bought iPods and then pestered friends with computers to load them up).
Internet browsing does not make sense - but not for the reason you state. The Zune screen is far too small, just as the cellphone screens are far too small for browsing to be practical (and WAP is a piece of junk). You need something on the order of the PSP screen to really enable web browsing, and even then sites with lots of advertising are a pain (BIG congrats to Google, who have the most portable-friendly site around)
The real reason for the lack of features is probably that the biggest benefit is to enable use without a PC - and Microsoft doesn't see that in their best interest. Oh, well, some of the other guys will do it!
Adding a $6-7 part to the player which is not utilized to anything close to its full potential is just crazy - this equates to $15-40 by the time it reaches retail. WLAN on MP3 players makes just as much sense or even more sense than WLAN on cameras.
Many computers still have RS-232 (came to life in the 70s), and if you don't there are USB-RS232 converters. So, I'm pretty sure that you will at least find whiz-bang->USB converters in 2022. However, it may be more difficult to run iTunes in 2022. Still, I can run 1980s software inside of DOSbox, so probably there will be emulators as well.
If Sony is going to charge for necessities, then that is very different. If they gave away the game, then this would be OK. Somehow I suspect they won't.
Well, if Gran Turismo tanks, then it will just be another nail in Sony's coffin.
Yes, I think that is usually what happens.
Seriously? Personally I thought today's announcements were kind of underwhelming. No big updates on the big iPod, more scratch-resistant nanos and new form factor on the shuffle, and some capacity hikes. Nothing groundbreaking, really. The Zune has some really new stuff: WiFi, music sharing etc. And the iPod games were pretty laughable: I have better games on my phone, and the scroll wheel isn't especially well suited for games. Pretty happy I picked up a PSP last week: Much better for video (although Sony should get a clue and throw out UMD and put in a harddisk) and much better for gaming. I'll keep my old iPod for music for now.
You don't think that the fact that most other gadgets get by fine with no additional protection is a valid argument? If the screen gets plastered, it affects more than just the appearance of the thing, you know...
There are not many integrated companies left - only Samsung and a few Japanese companies come to mind. Even the Japanese have taken to spinning off - Renesas is made up of Hitachi's and Mitsubishi's semiconductor operations. Most semiconductor companies are now only doing semiconductors - I think this is a good thing as it allows the companies to focus on their core business. IBM is the western company that sticks out - same company does everything from business consulting to semiconductors to logistics systems.
Well, first off, wearing off the paint of a Nokia takes a hell of a longer time than scratching an iPod. I scratched my iPod screen badly within a couple of months of careful use, while my cellphone screen is just fine after 18 months of use... The paint is pretty good as well. Apple iPods are especially prone to scratches; this wouldn't be pointed out everywhere if it wasn't true!
As to Rolexes; all high-quality watches use high-quality sapphire glass so that the glass will not be scratched. My Swatch doesn't, and the glass is scratched to hell; that's because it is a cheap watch. I'm not complaining about scratches in the entry-level Shuffle, I'm complaining about scratches on Apple's top-of-the-line iPod. Also, the problem is bigger in the newer models (nano and video) than it was on the 4th gen models. But iPods are as expensive as cellphones, that's why it is a valid comparison.
There are solutions to this. I used to have a problem with my eyeglass lenses being scratched (I have always used plastic lenses to keep the weight down). Last time I ordered "everything" and got lenses coated with anti-scratch material. It works, I don't have a single scratch on the eyeglass lenses I've now used for three years. Reportedly, Nokia is using the same material to cover some of their high-end phones.
Let me state my position again: Apple have used a much too soft plastic resin on latter-day iPods, and other manufacturers have done a better job. Making sure a device lasts more than a few weeks without being scratched to hell under normal use is part of good design. BTW, I'm pretty sure a real diamond won't get scratched; what the hell would you scratch it with? (Another diamond?)
The point being that if the nano was a good design, it wouldn't need the case. Kind of funny carrying the tiny nano around in a big case because it can't withstand the real world. I had my wife put her nano in a silicon case since the day it was bought, but the case makes the nano a lot bigger than it originally is. Now if Apple had cared to use a higher-quality plastic resin...
And don't come here with any "beautiful design" crap: good design satisfies both asthetics (sp?) and practicality, you shouldn't have to choose.