Queuing for an iPad? Why?
As the UK braces itself for tomorrow's iPad launch, one might wonder what the device is good for beyond providing entertainment during today's lacklustre TV shows. This evening the queues will start forming as fans chomp at the bit for the latest Apple bling. Tomorrow's news will no doubt be full of happy Apple customers being …
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Correction: Keynote video VGA out does work
Just to correct your criticism of Keynote presentations working with the Video Out.
it does work,
See the list here of apps that work with video out:
http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1106525
Will this Register anti-apple anti-ipad crusade at least research facts before spouting off?
Is it really so bad...
...that someone might actually want a really big iPod Touch? For the record I will NOT be getting one. (At least not a first version one). But I don't feel the need to berate those people who will get one / already have one. They may actually want a big iPod and what's wrong with that?
Can't we all just get along!?
Paris, because she's pretty, has very limited uses, but you know you would...
Re: is it really so bad...
I'm with you on this one. I won't be getting one, but only because I don't have a need for it that I can see yet. I'm old enough to have lived through the MS v Apple War (round 1), the MS v Linux War and now the MS (+Linux?) v Apple War (round 2). Apart from the nutters, who actually cares, the more technology in more forms the better. I'll carry on with my MS PCs, my Linux netbook and my Apple iPod and iPhone without giving a tinkers cuss that apparently I really should be more religious about this sort of thing.
hardware v software v vapourwre
Too much talk about what it does today, launch day. The iPad does and will do what ever people write software for it to do. Give or take a USB port or button 2 the "new" tablet form factor jobbies will live or die based on the SOFTWARE they run, right now the iPAD is too new for many Dev to get their heads around and have delivered much (although first looks are promising e.g Evernote).
Apple have a device, imperfect though it is, that you can buy NOW. Courier is cancelled, HP Slate back to SQ1 on Palm OS (v.interesting btw), WeTab delayed and Acer/Azus aiming too close to Kindle which feels like an 80's casio computer.
These things will make a difference once we all decide how to use them.
The title is required, and must contain letters and/or digits.
"The iPad can connect to a VGA monitor, but not to display slides from Keynote" - You _did_ actually USE an iPad before writing this article didn't you?
Keynote works great with the VGA adaptor. It shows the notes and controls on the iPad and displays your presentation on the screen.
TV
good for a few things.
Mock the Week, HIGNFY, QI, Top Gear, F1 GP, Live at the apollo, and the news at breakfast.
Sky Plus, to have those things on in the background in the rare hour or two i get at home in that time between work and sleep. while i "half arsedly" do something else.
What title?
Well played Andy, +1 for all the shows you listed there.
Try Outnumbered too. Seems we have similar taste.
I'm just midly dissapointed that QI seems to come in and out of fasion, there is so long between Top Gear series, and HIGNFY and Mock the Week series arn't long enough, even when they are only news dependant.
Just my opinion, gotta let the guys have time off or do other things haven't we?
yeah i'm not going to be queuing up tomorrow....
....because mine is currently in the courier van on it's way to be delivered.
i can't wait for it to arrive, because then i wouldn't have to try and balance this laptop on my arm right now as i try to type this while standing at the window looking for the delivery van to deliver my ipad
title
You're right about documentaries that repeat themselves endlessly. It's usually always the American ones. I never really knew why the did it before but your explanation makes sense. I always thought that it was just to fill time. British ones have started doing it too now. Even my 8 year old notices it (he loves any documentaries on space) and finds it annoying.
Anyhoo: iPad! What's it good for? Absolutely nothin'!
I had an XDA II ages ago. I could store all my presentations on it, go to a meeting at a customer site and hook it up to a projector or monitor and give my presentations directly from that. It worked with external keyboards, could edit documents on the fly, browse the web, did satnav (with external bluetooth GPS), etc, etc. All that and it fit in my pocket. I didn't take a laptop to meetings for ages. It pre-dated the original iPhone by a good 4 or 5 years.
The iPad on the other hand is just way too big, uses too much power, and is too restrictive for my liking. Get Linux on their and I might be interested...
the "TV as radio" effect
This has become very common. So much, in fact, that I'm suffering because some Latin American cable channels have ditched the English audio, instead running every single frickin' show in Spanish. Why? Because housewives just turn on the TV to "watch" programs while they do other stuff. Unless they are proficient in English, they won't understand it, so they want Spanish-dubbed programming. Never mind that Digital Cable gives you the choice to have both audio tracks; some channels like Fox Life have just dropped the English audio.
"iPad! What's it good for? Absolutely nothin'!"
Nice take on the "War" song!
I'll also go for a Linux-based tablet, or even the possible WebOS pad that HP is planning. iPad's too big, too restrictive to be an option.
Cause & Effect?
** All that is aided by programming that restates itself every couple of minutes, for those whose vital tweet caused them to miss the key dialogue. Documentaries constantly reiterate and summarise, dramas labour the same points to exhaustion and even films can't be certain you're paying attention these days. **
Or maybe they do it becuse they know that people are Twitting and Farcebooking so they have to re-iterate everything...because when people titter and farcebook they might miss something so the point has to be said again incase yu missed something while farcebook and twittering wich would cause them to maybe miss the point when they were farcebooking and.....
Why?
Because it's a Tablet Mac.
Sure, it's a v1.0 Tablet Mac, but it's a Tablet Mac nonetheless.
Yes, it has a different GUI. We get it. What were you expecting? The same, tired, 40-year-old WIMP-based desktop metaphor on a touch-screen device? Microsoft tried that. They failed. Repeatedly.
One size most emphatically does *not* fit all. Apple have proved it.
Perhaps, instead of wanking on about Apple this, and Apple that, you could try being a f*cking journalist for once and ask why people STILL don't understand what Apple's not-so-secret sauce is: *User-led* Design.
As opposed to the more common *technology-led* and *marketing-led* design philosophies prevalent in this industry stuffed with grunting, knuckle-dragging, user-hating imbeciles.
One size?
Surely Apple have become the one-size-fits-all (wannabe if nothing else) and must therefore promptly disappear in a puff of logic.
Props to Douglas Adams.
@Why?
If it *was* a tablet Mac, I would think about buying one. But it isn't, not in any way. Different hardware, different OS, different apps, different UI design ethos. Just different, overall.
GJC
JEDIDIAH
The main reason that the iPad is not a "tablet Mac" is the draconian restrictions on what you can do with it. On a real Mac, it is pretty trivial to add stuff from 3rd party sources. Contrary to what the blithering fanboys want you to think, this does not compromise the system.
Stupid apps like Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer is what compromises a system. If Microsoft had an apps store, they would have the same exact problems they always have had because they do stupid things despite the fact that they violate industry best practices and then continue to go on doing those stupid things even after negative consequences ensue.
Being able to install a copy of Perian or Plex and browse the media shares on my MCE or MythTV box will not turn a Mac into a Windows style security nightmare. Being able to print will not turn my Mac into a security or maintenance nightmare. Neither will being able to install VLC or Firefox or a real version of Opera.
The iPad is actually a pretty weak device. It is something that would be considered pathetically outdated and underpowered if it were a desktop or a netbook. Being a closed system that you have to jailbreak before you can install a copy of VLC on it only aggravates the situation.
If the device were less closed I could also benchmark it pretty easily.
RE: JEDIDIAH
"Stupid apps like Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer is what compromises a system."
I tend to agree with that part - it's not the case here though. Security is not the only issue, or even the main issue.
What compromises the life-expectancy of system is having a poor user experience. Admittedly this could be caused because hacking the system is too easy but that's not always the case.
Apple have tried to ensure that the iPad is easy to use and can be used for things that people with little computer knowledge want to do. What do they want to do? Check a few websites and read their email, that's about it.
The iPad does those things fine.
Hmmmm.....
"As opposed to the more common *technology-led* and *marketing-led* design philosophies prevalent in this industry stuffed with grunting, knuckle-dragging, user-hating imbeciles."
I have reason to suspect this man does not work with users day in, day out.
User-led???
How on earth is it user-led?
It is most definitely not technology -led I'll agree but it is almost certainly marketing-led (I'm getting a led overdose).
Are you saying users didn't want any USB ports so that they could use their existing storage devices, keyboards and printers?
Did users want a non-standard SIM so they can't pop in their data SIM from their phone every now and then or use an off the shelf PAYG?
Did the Apple opinion polls say that Users did not want to have Flash and be able to watch iPlayer?
Did the Users beg Apple to make sure that interpreted code could not be run so that their favourite browsers or apps would not be available?
Were users so up in arms about having a HDMI output, or wireless syncing that they threatened a boycott if Apple added it?
I think the only user who had any input in the design was Steve - what he wants goes.
You just don't get it do you
"If the device were less closed I could also benchmark it pretty easily."
This comment alone demonstrates your complete and utter cluelessness regarding this iProduct.
So, you want to benchmark the ipad do you? I find it hard to imagine why you want to do that. No, really I do. What are you going to compare your results to exactly? Oh, and the results you get, just how will they be quantified? FPS in crysis perhaps? Or maybe just good old flops? Do you think grand aunt beryl will really give a flying fuck what your ridiculous benchmarks show when she is reading emails? Or perhaps you are bemoaning the lack of multitasking because you want to see how long it takes to compile c code while you tweet and browse porn?
Whatever. Here's a news flash for you Einstein. The ipad is not for you. It doesn't need to be. You have plenty of toys to load linux on to, and I say that as a Linux fanboy myself.
The ipad is for folks who couldn't give a rats arse about benchmarks. The simply want something they can do shit with. You could do 1000 benchmarks proving that the ipad is the slowest device on the planet to encode a 3 min FLAC and it would make not one fucking iota of difference to it's success or failure because guess what, nobody cares!
Agreed
I really don't get all the angst. I agree that Apple has some bad habits, which is why I'm not buying an iPad yet - the excessive closedness is one (for example, the iPad ought to be happier to handle files you want to put on it, rather than just the stuff you buy in over the Interwebs), and the predictable early adopter punishment is another (front-facing camera, ffs), but the idea behind their whole philosophy - that most people would rather not tinker under the hood of their machines, and that they will go all-out to cater to that - seems just fine to me. That seems to be what most users want. Is the average Reg reader really ignorant enough not to realise that more users aren't like the average Reg reader? Or is the average Reg reader so small-minded that they cannot tolerate any user who does not use in the same way they do?
I also don't get this whole 'it's my device, I paid for it, I should be able to do whatever I want with it' ethic. That may be how some computing works, but that's not how consumer electronics works, and Apple are simply the computer firm that has come closest to selling computing devices as consumer electronics. I mean, if you want to put Linux on a mobile device you're not exactly short on options, are you? Is Apple's approach somehow preventing you from having a tablet that runs Linux? Is Jobs somehow impeding people who want to have a completely open tablet on which they can run whatever OS they wish? The way I see it, he's just impeding people who want to have a completely open iPad on which they can run whatever they wish. Or am I wrong? This is an honest question, by the way - so if Apple's approach does somehow prevent other people from producing anything-goes products for the opentard market, then please disabuse me of my ignorance. If, on the other hand, you are one of those people who believes that every user out there should want to run Linux and tinker with their set-up the same way you do, as though this is somehow an aesthetic argument, then please go away. I mean, come on, there must be more worthwhile things to get all morally indignant about than this.
Why queue?
Didn't have to - arrived at lunchtime. Is very nice. Suggest that anyone wanting to slag it off does so before they actually get their hands on one...
(Typed on my iPad)
As am i
Okay had it for a few hours, love it. Sorry all.
Typed on my iPad ;-)
Sod the pad arguments, what about the decline in TV
So, did the distractions cause crap TV or did crap TV cause the distractions?
Myself I blame the US TV model where you have approx 15 minutes of adverts for every 5 of programme. In that situation, regular reminders about the last 5 minutes of content are useful. But when those 2 hour long programmes move to the UK to make 30 minute programmes with only 5 minutes of adverts in the middle, you get to realise how much of most programs is spent either repeating what they just did or telling you what exciting thing is coming up in 5 minutes time.
If they cut out all the repeating / predicting I reckon most TV programmes could be squeezed into about 5 minutes.
If they could engage some "useful/interesting/amusing" filters, you'd probably get an entire week of TV watching done in about half an hour. Leaving plenty of hours for tweeting about how boring your life has become and wondering what do, now you aren't glued to the goggle box for 4 hours a day.
I don't have a TV licence and since not having one have started to realise what a lot of diverse stuff you can get through in an evening. And also how quiet the world outside is when everyone isn't at work and you'd expect it to be busier with people enjoying their freedom.
You are *no* better than me
All these comments from people claiming to be better people than someone who likes the iPad, has bought or intends to buy the device, are so incredibly offensive. You throw around your derision over someone's consumer device attitudes and feel better about yourselves for doing so. FU. You are no better than me, I am no better than you. Just because you loathe/detest/misunderstand/whatever this product is no excuse for you to run around judging other people and intending to make yourself better because you are "smart enough not to make such a stupid decision".
FO.
I'm no better than anyone else...
...but being "smart enough not to make such a stupid decision" counts for something.
For future reference
The correct term to use here is "ODFO".
We could start a new irrational hate campaign.
How about "The Dell tablet will be crap because it's being made by Dell, the Aldi of the technology world. Anyone who buys one is a cheapskate. (Moneytard?)".
@Code Monkey
Only if something is *nothing*. And you just contradicted yourself - so much for your self declared "smarts".
Semantics
You raise an inreresting philosophical point. "Better" is an opinion, opinions are subjective. A statement like "Steak tastes better than Lobster" can never be validated.
Anyway my point is - I am better than you (and in fact better than everyone on the planet) and it's completely impossible to prove or disprove that fact.
Never mind eh? Have a beer.
What's wrong with ALDI
Don't knock ALDI ,their laptops are usually from MEDION and are pretty solid, I have had this current one for 3 years and totally battered but still works fine. I remember that I had to queue on the day I bought it because it was so well priced.
It's OK. The price and lacks are deliberate.
There is nothing "wrong" with it, except that it's overpriced and lacks features in competition and that a later model will add.
The existing iPhone has no features that could not have been on original. I think Apple does this deliberately.
Why has is the 3G/HSPA not an easily replaceable module you can add? Because Apple want to resell the product.
Similarly they won't spend 40c on adding an SD or MicroSD card slot on any product. They want to offer a range of prices according to storage. Rather than one model with adequate built in storage and a 40c slot.
Slighty wrong
"Similarly they won't spend 40c on adding an SD or MicroSD card slot on any product. They want to offer a range of prices according to storage. Rather than one model with adequate built in storage and a 40c slot."
I think you mean "any mobile product", all of the iMac and MacBook range have SD card slots now.
It's also possible they've done it because of the security model they've adopted - everything sandboxed with file access limited to pictures and the application's own data. If you allow removable storage then it becomes much harder to police that.
N.B. I'm referring to usage by ordinary folks, who just use the device in the way it was intended.
Yes, the current iPhone has no features that couldn't have been in the original, but the original would have been bigger and heavier and much more expensive. They waited for the technology to advance rather than just shoving it in because it existed. What's your point?
My PC doesn't have any features that couldn't have been in the one I had five years ago, but I would have had to pay something like £3k rather than £600, if you don't want that to happen to your technology then you should only buy stuff that's no longer being developed. Anything from HTC or Archos should do you :-)
Games
I tend to veer over to various flash games sites when I'm bored. I think the iPad would be a great platform for... oh, wait.
Quick question or two...
How long have you played with one for? And by that, I mean, held in your hands, at your desk, or out and about, or (gasp) in front of the television? How many does El Reg have? How many of your colleagues actually use them?
worth every cent
I bought mine on a well timed trip to the US at the begining of May, so I paid a good deal less than the UK price.
It is an idea whose time has come. It may be that it is a big ipod touch. If that is the case, just increasing the size has made a massive difference to how can be used.
I see it as sort of interactive book, magazine or newspaper and use it in that way. I don't use my iphone or laptop. I never used a laptop for watching films during a flight but did with the iPad.
I actually like the fact that the OS is basic but focused on being a pleasure to use. I like the fact that it just slots into a bag like a thin book. I think it is great and was reasonable value.
So why the naysayers? It may be that it is a computer for people who aren't that into computers.
@Dr. Whoosh
Thanks for some real world impressions of this device (which I want but don't have).
Sad that people like Code Monkey (and many, many others) declare you to be an idiot for getting such joy in life from something. Makes me ill, just ignore them (as I try) and continue enjoying your new device.
I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous! :-)
Flame
AC: "Sad that people like Code Monkey (and many, many others) declare you to be an idiot for getting such joy in life from something. Makes me ill, just ignore them (as I try) and continue enjoying your new device."
While you're right about people who flame other people's purchasing habits are morons, you're doing a *really* bad job ignoring them. :) (I kid, I kid)
As for the iPad, it's not the device for me. I'm fine with having a laptop around to use on the couch, my phone when I'm out and about, and an actual book. My book reading style is serial monogamy so I don't need a library in my backpack. But that doesn't make me better than those that bought an iPad. Some of the 'children' here would do well to learn that.
@Matt
re: doing a really bad job ignoring them.
You're right. I try, but they keep coming at us with offensive comments and statements that sometimes I can't just let lie. I like your analysis of the device, and I appreciate your position. And you didn't have to do it while berating me for mine - that's discussion, and that's what I want, not to have to tell these children to stop misbehaving.
Tomorrows headline ?
"UK ISP's crippled by introduction of 14,000 bandwidth hogs"
This is a breaking news story (well, it was but by the time this reporter's internet connection was restored, it's sort of old news now).
Thankfully, the outage was mitigated by a plethora of frequently dropped connections among the 'new poor'.
_____________
Paris: Because she looks so sad
Wonderful device
Wonderful because it's smooth and shiny. Just perfect for skipping across the local lake on a calm day. I hope it floats so I can throw it more than once. I wonder how many time I can get it to skip across the water . . .
Re: wonderful device
Or if you're really rich, you could get two, strap one to each foot and let a boat drag you around that lake instead, skiing on these shiny, smooth devices. That's be more interesting than skipping it across the lake (which you'd only do once). ;-)
BTW, if you go buy two, can you buy three and throw one my way?
What was this all about?
What a load of irrational, rambling, meaningless tripe. Thank heavens he's not in charge of creating any kind of product. I suppose he might fit in under Ballmer though...
photos...
just out of interest, how does the ipad deal with photos??? my iphone compresses and reduces them to impossibly small files... pinch to zoom is crud when you loose all definition!
For sh*ts and giggles
What if, someone had the spare cash, liked gadgets and simply fancied this one?
You know, for shits and giggles.
Almost everyone buys *something* that's not especially useful in their lives, but that doesn't matter, because they do it for no reason other than fun.
Just a thought.
Careful!
That's almost rational reasoning, absolutely forbidden here! Shits 'n giggles is phrase I haven't heard in a long time. Shame, because it's a chuffing marvellous one.
Ballmers Balls
Looking forward to the super duper iPad clone from HP / DELL running windows cos I know how brilliant it will be......
Can't use an iPad to present? WRONG!
I have the iPad 3G and the VGA adapter - I've given a keynote presentation using a pico projector through the VGA port. That keynote presentation was created in Powerpoint and imported. I also present live websites via projector. How? Well, there's an app for that too. I use mine everyday at work. I can access my email and my calendar and found out I can type on the landscape keyboard faster that I can write (and it's more legible). Perhaps the author should actually USE an iPad before pontificating how useless it is.
- typed in Safari on my iPad!
apple make devices for those less technically literate
apple devices (computers, tablets, phones etc) are ideal for many people, as they are designed for people who don't know anything about computers and don't *want* to know anything about them
a minority of users are technically clueful and spend all their time jailbreaking them or hacking them to make them do things Lord Jobs didn't intend, either because they enjoy the challenge or because they secretly despise apple's policies but can't admit to not being besotted by the temple of shiny.
whilst I myself choose devices free from lock down, I do appreciate the design (even though the design trumps functionality - the ipad's lack of SD slot is a case in point), and I also admire the skill of people who do crack the security for their tenacity but wish they would put their effort into improving community projects!!
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