Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Do Want?

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  • 3410,

    The hobbling of the iPod's ability to act as a transfer device was, according to Jobs, part of winning over the record companies.

    I seem to remember it being something to do with keeping the FCC, rather than the RIAA per se, happy.

    Auckland • Since Jan 2007 • 2618 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Just back from Kiwiburn

    How was it? - when you've caught yr breath.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Wylie,

    it's all ova when something
    wicker this way comes

    Eggs Ackley

    flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report Reply

  • Keir Leslie,

    What's the betting that Apple will try and move the App Store paradigm up the functionality chain until either Mac OS is a locked system, or the Mac is replaced by machines running an iPad derived OS?

    Slimmer than the odds that I'm going to win the Grand National. Turning the Mac into a closed system would utterly kill it in weeks, and Jobs knows that. It isn't just that the publicity would be atrocious: it would utterly kill it in the high-margin creative industries, where pretty much every shop has a collection of creaky scripts sitting around to help out with work flow. (& in fact almost every workplace out there would have similar issues, esp. given that no-one really wants to let Apple sit between you and your software suppliers.)

    The iPhone model's ok for what are basically fun devices that everybody knows are peripherals involving trade-offs. But it won't fly with people's main machines, where you can expect top quality on everything.

    Further, philosophically, suppose Apple do do that, and people are willing to pay for devices like that. Why is it a bad thing? There's something awfully paternalistic about the linux geek thing that linux is somehow better for you, in some abstract way. It's somehow better that one could potentially write a useful application rather than actually having it; it is better to have the possibility than to have the actuality.

    Since Jul 2008 • 1452 posts Report Reply

  • recordari,

    As you wish...
    Sure as eggs is eggs.

    AUCKLAND • Since Dec 2009 • 2607 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    There's something awfully paternalistic about the linux geek thing that linux is somehow better for you, in some abstract way.

    Yes, all fanboyzngirls are nutz really. It's what works for you individually that matters. Apple hasn't worked for me yet, not because I'm an anti-fan, just because I'm not a fan, and I've got my own brand of geek.

    I have to code for Linux. I also have to code for Netware, and Windows (indeed, I'm converting a product on Linux and Netware to Windows now). I actually don't love any of them. Even knowing about the OS at all is a complete chore so far as I'm concerned, I just have no choice. That's the point, I'm a software developer, not a hardware developer, not a fanboy, not some proselytant out there spreading the good word on behalf of some company or some amazing open source OS paradigm. Just someone who has to get stuff to work so we can sell it. Will we convert to Apple? I highly doubt it. Would I use an Apple to get a job done? Maybe, if it was the right tool. It was the tool I learned Computer Science on, for instance.

    It's not all magazines, newspapers and books, though.

    Apple's dominance of this particular market makes it a good tool for that. But as a market, it's a small fraction of the economy, even if it has an incredibly loud voice for the size.

    I have to say, while I probably wouldn't use the iPad as a book reader, I can see a hell of a lot of other uses for it that do almost seem compelling. It might make a good web browser, and it could free up my grunty laptop if I make it my wife's computer, not to mention freeing up the kitchen table. Jeez I guess when there's already (at least) 7 OSes cohabiting under this roof, what's one more?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Wisemonkey,

    Perhaps one of the points here is that some of us are not the target market for this device.

    One of my grandparents has just spent a couple of months learning her way around a Windows PC so she can communicate with the kids and grandkids, use the web, and so on. (After 25 years of GUI computing, should people really have to take classes to do the basics? Sorry, tangent there)

    These things are never going to be an intuitive task for her, and it doesn't "just work". It's a means to an end. She doesn't like it much, but she likes what she can do with it.

    There is some enthusiasm there for an iPad. For her, the iPad might do something her computer can't do, which is get her excited about using technology.

    The iPad may in some ways be an "in between" device, but I am becoming quite struck about how there really does seem to be a market for it. I think it will be a hit.

    Wellington • Since Jan 2010 • 6 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd,

    There's something awfully paternalistic about the linux geek thing that linux is somehow better for you, in some abstract way. It's somehow better that one could potentially write a useful application rather than actually having it; it is better to have the possibility than to have the actuality.

    I would just like to unpack this a little bit. Yes, it is patronising of us to expect that everyone will value freedom to share code above, say, utility :D

    On the other hand, that IS the value. Not that you can write an application yourself, but that you can give and receive code. In the Parable of Stallman and the Printer Driver, the problem was not that Stallman wanted to write a printer driver, but that other people who had a working printer driver were forbidden to give it to him, and if he did fix the driver himself, he would not be allowed to give it to people who wanted it.

    "Apple gives me everything I want and your freedom is irrelevant to me" is a reasonable rebuttal to patronizing Linux geeks, but let's be clear what we're patronizing you about :D

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Just to throw things up in the air:

    Rumor: Apple Has Another Tablet In The Works. More Like A Mac Than An iPhone -- and runs Mac OS X.

    Meanwhile, people who've used the iPad all seem to remark on its snappiness -- applications launch immediately in "it just works" style. It's not hard to see the appeal of a more managed environment if it ensures that sort of functionality.

    And an interesting discussion on the Guardian site about Flash getting the heave-ho.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    On the other hand, that IS the value. Not that you can write an application yourself, but that you can give and receive code. In the Parable of Stallman and the Printer Driver,

    Perhaps not the best parable, given that Apple is running CUPS as an open-source project ...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Glenn Pearce,

    I'm no Apple Fanboy but I reckon I'll get an IPad.

    I'll get the non 3G version with the larger storage, probably wait until the 2nd release. I reckon they'll put a USB port on it and maybe a camera.

    It'll sit in it's cradle on top of the stereo, it act as one of those digital photo frames while not being used, my music repository and I can quickly browse the net if I want to look something up quickly. If they put a camera in it I'll be able to skype from it.

    Not sure about the book reader thing unless they have a waterproof version for the bath.

    I can browse the web on the PS3 now but it's clunky, the laptop is a pain in the arse because invariably the battery's flat and it needs to be plugged in and put away afterwards.

    Auckland • Since Feb 2007 • 504 posts Report Reply

  • recordari,

    Has anyone posted this here yet?

    Old World and New World computing.

    I was waiting for JackE to do so, but either he has, and I missed it, or he is busy elsewhere. Thought it made some interesting points, and sorry for the RT ;-)

    AUCKLAND • Since Dec 2009 • 2607 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd,

    Perhaps not the best parable, given that Apple is running CUPS as an open-source project ...

    To me it makes it all the more apposite, but whatever...

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    Meanwhile, people who've used the iPad all seem to remark on its snappiness -- applications launch immediately in "it just works" style.

    I wonder how much of this is because of solid state memory? I made a conscious choice to have this in my netbook, and I haven't regretted it. It all just works, and pretty fast too. The trade-off is small data storage, but it was never intended as a storage device for me. I have real computers for that.

    My experience has been that solid state is incredibly robust, very quiet, pretty fast, and uses bugger all power (hence the quiet). I like this about the iPad.

    Perhaps people who have huge music libraries and a desire to carry them everywhere will find this a put-off. They would, most likely, already have an iPod or equivalent so it's rather irrelevant.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • JackElder,

    or he is busy elsewhere.

    Sorry, I was busy elsewhere.

    Recovering Apple fanboy. I'll do the same thing I did with the iMac: buy the 2nd rev once the bugs are worked out. Though I doubt I'll be able to buy one of these in transparent orange (I loved that computer).

    Perhaps people who have huge music libraries and a desire to carry them everywhere will find this a put-off. They would, most likely, already have an iPod or equivalent so it's rather irrelevant.

    One of my coworkers is loudly outspoken about the iPod Nano, as it only allows you to carry a fraction of your music collection around. He plumped for the 60Gb iPod. My take on this was that I have a 4Gb iPod because that's far more music than I actually listen to day-to-day, and when I'm choosing a device to carry around in my pocket, size, weight, and relative expense of replacement after impact are serious considerations.

    Wellington • Since Mar 2008 • 709 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    recordari, I like the Auto vs Manual analogy in that link. I still have both types. Auto is more practical, manual is more fun, when my car-enthusiasm is peaking. If I want to go for a noisy high speed blat, I'm going in the car that can handle it, and I'm going solo, or with people who like that sort of experience. But I drive the auto about 20 times more often, with the family, carrying a ton of stuff, and I really don't want to be dealing with gear shifts, watching the boost gauge and rev counter, listening out for telltale signs of engine strain, planning every shift and move in the traffic, feeling for loss of traction, etc. I drive super carefully (all the more aware of the weakness of big automatic cars in crisis), and stick to lanes, etc.

    Same goes for computing. A computer for games runs the risk of smoking every day, and you take that as the price of 7337-/\/355. A computer I need for my work must not smoke under any circumstances, it should be solid and reliable. A computer used by the whole family must be simple and robust. A computer I use to make phone calls must be 100% dependable and preferably quite small. So many different needs.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    My take on this was that I have a 4Gb iPod because that's far more music than I actually listen to day-to-day

    Horses for courses. The main place I listen to music is the car, so I invested in a good stereo that takes SD cards. At about $10 for 4GB, that's a lot of music you can fit in your ashtray (I don't smoke). Of all the pocket music players I've ever had, the smallest ones always found the most use - a Nano appeals way more than a 60GB iPod.

    The more I think about it, the more this multiple devices thing makes sense. Complaints the iPad has no camera? I have a good camera already. And part of the multiple devices paradigm is also the acceptance that the "general purpose computer" is itself another device with a specific purpose. In my case, I work on it.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    I'll get the non 3G version with the larger storage, probably wait until the 2nd release. I reckon they'll put a USB port on it and maybe a camera.

    Tear-downs have already revealed a space in the enclosure that actually fits a Macbook camera.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • recordari,

    BenW, that's a good extension of the analogy. For my part I would compare the family car Toyota, bog standard, auto with my 2-stroke, hand-grip geared Vespa. Yeah, the family computer should be a work horse, and ours has been a G5 iMac for 4 years now (maybe 5?), and no one has complained at all. But for me, mobility in a device is important, as is parking, and while the MacBook Pro and iPhone cover all bases at the moment, I can see that the iPad could sit nicely in between. But I probably won't get version one.

    Yesterday I was trying to formulate an idea about 'media files' and how they are stored and accessed. Apparently the 'wicker man' came out, but overnight it has taken shape a bit more.

    Apart from us 40+ musical nerds who used to collect vinyl like it was some religious Icon, will future generations want the physical product? Maybe, and the tape deck revival shows that nostalgia is a powerful thing. However, if Apple, through iTunes, having locked up the rights to world music (???), says 'you no longer need a storage device for your music. Using iTunes 100.0 you can access your library from anywhere in the world, at any time, even through this FM signal', would that be a bad thing? There are sort of some working examples of this already. Last.fm and YouTube maybe? If we could ditch Flash (I agree with that one), and establish a more portable and universal standard, the paradigm would indeed shift. It would require the marrying of some technologies, but Apple, and others, have been doing that for some time. Oh and more bandwidth. Damn that bandwidth. Can someone please crack the nut of true light speed data for everyone, and then we can all shut up about it.

    One more thing, Apple, like Google, is working on Smart Home Energy Efficiency systems. Also here. There is some cool stuff going on there, and when the widget people sort out the data recorders and transmitters, the distributed power geeks will have a field day. I've looked into the current offerings and they tend to be more 'hands on' than the average punter would be interested in. But it will come soon enough.

    And the iPad will be the perfect device. Wall mounted in the kitchen.

    AUCKLAND • Since Dec 2009 • 2607 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd,

    You know the main effect of this thread has been to give me an overwhelming urge to go out and get a cheap netbook with a solid state drive and a mobile broadband adapter...

    ... actually if I set up Asterisk at home, I wonder if the latency across 3g broadband would make it possible to use the netbook as a VOIP phone over 3G? Given how little data a voice call uses, it might be cheaper than a mobile call :D

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    Given how little data a voice call uses, it might be cheaper than a mobile call :D

    It would be possibly the largest mobile phone since the 1980s.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    You know the main effect of this thread has been to give me an overwhelming urge to go out and get a cheap netbook with a solid state drive and a mobile broadband adapter...

    Me too... The iPad is pretty, but I am pretty much Not The Target Market - case in point, our old laptop finally died, we have had a new computer running for a month now, and I still haven't had the heart to reconnect my iPod nano and have to rebuild my iTunes playlists from scratch...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Heh. What are these 'playlists' you speak of? :)

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Danielle,

    You people and your Eensy Weensy iPods are making me twitchy. You mean you can, like, deal with not having entire discographies of various artists with you at all times? What kind of crazy delayed-gratification maturity is this? :)

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    What kind of crazy delayed-gratification maturity is this? :)

    It's discipline that feels more like bondage to me.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

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