Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Do Want?

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  • Russell Brown,

    This screams perfect for travelling, with the exception of being able to handle photos from your digital camera via a memory card slot.

    There's a camera kit with an SD card reader and a USB connector. I'm waiting to see what happens when you want the almighty 30-pin connector for more than one thing though. There should have been USB ports on the keyboard dock.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Danielle,

    As in trouser Pocket?

    Women's trousers often do not have pockets. A phone *will* fit in your cleavage, but it's a precarious business keeping it there.

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

  • giovanni tiso,

    You do realise that your days of leaving the house are almost over, right?

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Just thinking,

    Can we get a bit consumer consciousness going?

    None of our kit is obsolete. This is the big buy-in into perceived obsolescence, all agreed I'm sure.
    We all know the failure rates of these new toys and the stated fact they don't play well with others.

    We really need to demand system integrations and have this legislated into the manufacture, so it is just clip on and plug in new applications.

    So too a a circular life cycle of parts and components, beyond poisoning the poor of other countries with heavy metals or slavery from mining them in the first place.

    Putaringamotu • Since Apr 2009 • 1158 posts Report Reply

  • Tristan,

    I would have perferd iPADD that way I can carry my Warp Core dignostics around properly...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 221 posts Report Reply

  • Megan Wegan,

    Women's trousers often do not have pockets. A phone *will* fit in your cleavage, but it's a precarious business keeping it there.

    Cos you lose it? Or is that just me?

    Ok, I am stopping now. You lot can go back to discussing the serious tech business...

    Welly • Since Jul 2008 • 1275 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    This is an important issue! I've noticed that lots of women's handbags have cellphone pockets that seem to be designed for a li'l Nokia, circa 2003.

    Those pockets aren't for lighters? Okay.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • JackElder,

    I don't necessarily want to upsize my bag so I can have both a cheap phone *and* an iPad in it.

    Who said anything about a cheap phone? My favourite phone ever, bar none, is the Nokia 8210, mainly because it did everything that I every other phone did but was stupidly small and light (79 grams? That's just silly). It certainly wasn't cheap.
    Then phones started to get bigger again, as they turned into very small, special purpose PCs. The first-gen smartphone I upgraded to after the 8210 was three times the size and twice the weight.

    So I'm kind of saying, if this niche takes off, people might start making some nice sleek phones again. It also might move the rapid model churn in personal electronics away from the mobile phone and up to the tablet PC, as per Russell's comment above.

    Hellfire, now I'm getting phone nostalgia.

    At the moment I'm kind of undecided. I think I want one, but I'm not sure why. Lack of multitasking is a bit of a shocker - no iTunes while cruising the net is simply astounding. Can the current iPod Touches multitask?

    Although I don't own a Touch, everyone I know who does raves about it.

    $10 for pages and keynote and numbers??? Good grief they really are saying those products are trivial now.

    Not trivial; just that it's better to aim wide than high. Those three apps cover the main "serious application" space that most people need - and for which people will shell out several hundred bucks to Microsoft. I wonder how much of this is due to the impact of OpenOffice and variants, which are slowly convincing people that an office suite isn't necessarily something that you have to actually spend bucketloads on. I reckon that price point is really interesting: it's not a throwaway purchase, but it's not going to make anyone really balk either. And given that many non-serious computer users I know (yes, I am talking about my parents) pretty much automatically buy MS office when they purchase a new PC, the fact that you're looking at another $30 rather than $300 could help swing some undecided buyers.

    None of our kit is obsolete. This is the big buy-in into perceived obsolescence, all agreed I'm sure.

    My main PC at home is a Dell box running XP that we bought around June 2004. It runs Firefox, Thunderbird, and OpenOffice just fine - which is pretty much all we use it for. So very much agreeing with the "none of our kit is obsolete" line.

    Wellington • Since Mar 2008 • 709 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    None of our kit is obsolete. This is the big buy-in into perceived obsolescence, all agreed I'm sure.

    How, exactly, is it more so than a netbook of equivalent price? Or an iPod Touch, of which it is essentially a larger, more capable version?

    I'm finding the holy rage all around quite amusing.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart,

    May I suggest the Pocket? As in trouser Pocket? Or is that just being a Neanderthal male...

    As Danielle says; come back when you've convinced clothing designers that silhouette is not actually more important in jackets/trousers/shorts/ than *being able to carry stuff*.

    (Okay, it's probably more important in an evening jacket or whatever, but for day-to-day? USABLE POCKETS, DAMN YOU.)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • slarty,

    I had one of the first (T1000) Compaq Tablet's. It's main problem was that it ran Windows and my CDMA card stuck out the side. Apart from that I loved it ... when it worked. Hated the pen.

    So I think Apple are on the money with this. I basically want an iPod Touch with a bigger screen, and this is it. Chuck 3G in the back (on my private call-plan) and I'm very happy, as long as it flips to Wifi at home...

    The main reason corporates struggle with the iPhone is the differentiation of the personal from corporate data (because they've bought into the nonsense that your employer is responsible for everything that pops up on your work phone...blithering risk-averse lawyers mutter mutter)

    Since Nov 2006 • 290 posts Report Reply

  • Keir Leslie,

    At the moment I'm kind of undecided. I think I want one, but I'm not sure why. Lack of multitasking is a bit of a shocker - no iTunes while cruising the net is simply astounding. Can the current iPod Touches multitask?

    iTunes will work in the background, I am sure. (The rule is that Apple can break the rules -- Apple applications do all sorts of stuff third party apps can't.)

    Since Jul 2008 • 1452 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    A pretty good PC World summary of what's wrong with the iPad.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Shaun Lott,

    Can the current iPod Touches multitask?

    Not really, but the music keeps playing if you switch to another app. I think that multitasking and battery life on these devices don't go hand in hand.

    And $10 for each bit of iWork isn't so far from the price of the OSX version... MS's Office bubble is a bit popped already I think...

    Waitakere • Since Aug 2009 • 113 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    There's no multitasking in the OS at all, and not even multiple active web pages in Safari. You can't listen to Pandora while you surf the Web, or switch back and forth between Facebook at Twitter, or write a document in Pages while talking on a VOIP call.

    I'm sorry, but that's insane.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Andre Alessi,

    I'm enjoying watching people on the internet declare how outraged and disappointed they are.

    Interestingly, Mac fanboys of my acquaintance seem most disappointed, while PC folks like myself seem generally happy.

    A guy I work with who is practically married to his iPhone proceeded to read out an "8 reasons why the iPad sucks" article to us, while I listed all the things I liked about it-number one being the big screen (I have never felt comfortable with smaller screens, but this seems perfect for me for anything less than full-blown gaming.)

    Devonport, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 864 posts Report Reply

  • Shaun Lott,

    As Danielle says; come back when you've convinced clothing designers that silhouette is not actually more important in jackets/trousers/shorts/ than *being able to carry stuff*.

    (Okay, it's probably more important in an evening jacket or whatever, but for day-to-day? USABLE POCKETS, DAMN YOU.)

    Well, I guess the blueprints are out there already:

    http://images.pcworld.com/news/graphics/187962-ipants_original.jpg

    Waitakere • Since Aug 2009 • 113 posts Report Reply

  • Just thinking,

    Price you say?

    We don't pay the true price of production or recycling. That is all extenalised onto the poor and the environment.

    But of course smoking doesn't cause cancer, does it Russell?

    Putaringamotu • Since Apr 2009 • 1158 posts Report Reply

  • Mikaere Curtis,

    No flash support is surprising. What good's a device that can't display the Onion News Network ?

    Not that I'm bothered. As a .Net developer, I'm happy to stick with Microsoft, and I kind of need a real keyboard with which to code. And Windows 7 really is an improvement, and very nice to use.

    Tamaki Makaurau • Since Nov 2006 • 528 posts Report Reply

  • James Butler,

    There's no multitasking in the OS at all

    That's not strictly true - the OS is multitasking all the time - it's just that Apple won't approve any 3rd-party apps that try to make use of it.

    If I open a terminal on my (jailbroken) Touch and run 'top', I can see a whole screenful of processes running at once. Even Safari is left running when you aren't using it (presumably to make it appear to start up more quickly).

    Auckland • Since Jan 2009 • 856 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    We don't pay the true price of production or recycling. That is all extenalised onto the poor and the environment.

    Jesus, man.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Mikaere Curtis,

    We don't pay the true price of production or recycling. That is all extenalised onto the poor and the environment.

    And the opacity of production processes doesn't help you identify which products have lowest social or environmental costs, either.

    One option is to only upgrade when your hardware fails. You need good backups, though.

    Tamaki Makaurau • Since Nov 2006 • 528 posts Report Reply

  • Richard Wain,

    I've never, ever got the whole Macworship bullshit.

    Despite using Apple at home forever - by default really, I inherited my brother's Classic and just went from there - there are always tiny little things wrong that Jobs SHOULD have anticipated, or even worse, deliberately left that way just to be different - the Apple key not being on the far left for example, meaning I have to think before I press the key at home vs being at work on PCs. There are many, many other pet peeves, all illogical and that should be fixed at design level that I won't go into here. You know it's true...

    Jobs is as bad as Gates, only he wants to rule the world through hardware. This is good...

    Since Nov 2006 • 155 posts Report Reply

  • Jolisa,

    Another question: where's the beverage cup holder?

    I was thinking handles, so it could double as a dinky little tray for breakfast in bed. Tea, poached egg, NY Times... why, thank you, Jeeves. Also useful for keeping those annoying thumbprints off the edge of the screen when you're using it one-handed. As it were.

    Also, recipe-followers and bathroom-readers will definitely be needing a wipeable version. The iWater?

    The name is remarkably generous for comedic purposes - it just keeps giving and giving (hello, monthly bill of between $15-30 just to use the damn thing? been there, done that, should have bought Tampax shares when I turned 13).

    But seriously, Bust has a good take on the default sexism of the marketing presentation so far.

    I'm thinking Steve needs to subcontract the Conchords for his next product launch, if he plans to sell to all the ladies of the world.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report Reply

  • Ross Mason,

    This Ipad is old hat.

    Apple already have a unit with no keyboard

    With the talk of kindles and "I Books" in general, do folk want a thing to read a book with or to build another universe?

    What I would like is a screen that folds in two so it is about an open paperback size, thin, and can download mags and books for reading on the train or in bed. It doesn't have to have a phone or email. I want to read and books and mags (real world ones) are heavy!

    New mobile. The IPant. It's a dog and bone.

    What IS it with this site. The second post in a row that managed to include menstrual cycle accessories.

    Upper Hutt • Since Jun 2007 • 1590 posts Report Reply

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