From: nospam on
In article <4baa6135$1(a)news.x-privat.org>, Ian Hilliard
<nospam(a)hilliardtech.com> wrote:

> Apple make a lot of great products, but the only reason to buy something
> is because it solves some problem. At this point, the IPad seems to be a
> product without a market.

or maybe others have different needs than you do. ever think of that?
From: nospam on
In article <hodq2c$1b5$03$3(a)news.t-online.com>, Peter K�hlmann
<peter-koehlmann(a)t-online.de> wrote:

> > Is the apple store the only way to load software into an iphone?
>
> It is. And if apple has its way, so it is for the iPad

wrong.

> > If it is, the apple should have no business controlling content.
>
> Thats one of the reasons that thing will fly like a lead feather

just like the very successful iphone and ipod touch, right?
From: ZnU on
In article <3iekq55bqmsjofgp4g3oarqhrstael4erf(a)4ax.com>,
chrisv <chrisv(a)nospam.invalid> wrote:

> ZnU wrote:
>
> >The reason the iPad lacks USB ports is because Apple has a
> >very specific vision for how computing should work, and dangling cables
> >off of your ultra-portable tablet doesn't fit into it. Nor do SD cards,
> >at least, I think, until Apple figures out a way to support storage
> >across multiple volumes without re-introducing a user-accessible file
> >system.
>
> Spoken like a True Believer.

Huh? I didn't even necessarily say I *agreed* with this. I'm just
explaining Apple's actual motives.

I do tend to favor minimalist design, but Apple sometimes goes a little
too far even for my tastes. (Though I'm not sure they have in this case.)

> BTW, is the iPad really "ultra" portable?

1.5 pounds, 10 hours of battery life, option 3G, and you can even use it
standing up. Yeah, I'd call that ultra portable. Devices with reasonable
sized screens aren't going to get much more portable than that until we
get foldable e-paper displays.

> And does using a USB port imply "dangling cables"?

Probably. Unless you're just using it for some sort of wireless dongle,
in which case it's an even worse kludge, since whatever device that
dongle is talking to should probably just have Bluetooth or WiFi.

> >I've been watching Apple for a long time, and I'm quite Apple takes
> >these aesthetic issues very, very seriously, and they are absolutely
> >willing to make risky product design decisions on that basis alone.
>
> Even when it results in technically bad designs.
>
> Witness that joke of a keyboard on their desktop systems. Witness
> the laughable speakers.
>
> So fashionable, I admit...

As I've said before, the "fashion" comparison is off the mark, because
we're talking about functional design, not just making things look
pretty. Apple didn't leave an SD card slot off the iPad because it would
have make it look uglier (it's a tiny almost invisible slot), but
because of a strong opinion about how the device should be used. The
most apt comparison outside of the consumer electronics industry would
probably be to architecture, not fashion.

--
"The game of professional investment is intolerably boring and over-exacting to
anyone who is entirely exempt from the gambling instinct; whilst he who has it
must pay to this propensity the appropriate toll." -- John Maynard Keynes
From: ZnU on
In article <4baa5f4f$2(a)news.x-privat.org>,
Ian Hilliard <nospam(a)hilliardtech.com> wrote:

> > More typically, a user is probably going to want an easy way to manage
> > all of whatever type of data that he wishes to snych onto the device.
> > This is perhaps why Apple ships the iPad with a USB cable, which would
> > be plugged into a host Mac/PC and integrated with iTunes: the
> > existing desktop/laptop serves as the server and data backup...and it
> > is listed on Apple's Tech Specs page as a system requirement (just
> > like all of their iPods have been for years)
>
> The IPad is touted as a netbook replacement. As such, there is the need
> to be able to read documents and other content provided by others. The
> most convenient way of sharing data is the USB Stick.

Really? This is your argument? You really think more documents get moved
around every day on USB sticks than via, say, e-mail?


[snip]

--
"The game of professional investment is intolerably boring and over-exacting to
anyone who is entirely exempt from the gambling instinct; whilst he who has it
must pay to this propensity the appropriate toll." -- John Maynard Keynes
From: nospam on
In article <znu-9E0FFE.16110524032010(a)Port80.Individual.NET>, ZnU
<znu(a)fake.invalid> wrote:

> > Is the apple store the only way to load software into an iphone?
>
> Cocoa Touch applications, yes.

actually, no. enterprise users can deploy iphone apps independent of
the apps store. users can also write their own apps and install them
without going through the store, and they can use private apis and
whatever else they want too. lastly, jailbreak and obtain apps that
way.