Other The iFail- wait sorry, iPad, is officially out

I suppose this was inevitable

 

IMO it's a pretty useless device if it's running the iphone OS.

I really can't wrap my head around that.

 

Apple sells the Time Capsule: A WiFi router with a network HDD built-in, complete with software that automatically sets it up. That's that sorted then.

It may not offer the flexibility for us geeks, possibly, but it takes the pain out of NAS for noobs.

Er... so it was not flexible enough?

I'm saying that it is not being offered to you in the first place.

To you. To the average non-techie user, well, they don't even notice. Because Apple wrote the script to suit their specific needs and did it really well.

The price for letting people tinker is that you cannot guarantee the 100% compatibility and integration that non-techie users want. You get the PC situation: hundreds of companies making different hardware resulting in millions of different configurations of PC that Windows all has to cater for. Hence lots of faffing about with device drivers and, for instance the inability to just buy, download, play, sync and restore media to your MP3 player, and keep its firmware updated all within one single application.

In Windows, you need at least 3 different applications to do the same (count 'em). In Windows, you need PlaysForSure certification just to make sure it all plays nice together (and yes, it is all firmy .WMA and .WMV based). But Microsoft's Zune, of course, works only with its own content service Zune Marketplace, not PlaysForSure. There is no PlaysForSure standard for video, by the way.

Can you see how confusing that gets for noobs?

They are happy to accept it as it is because it suits their specific needs, no more, no less.

 

It sets up VPN connections too?

Err, yes. Brain's not in gear tonight.

Not by Apple, no.

Never argued they didn't do it well for the "ordinary" users.

I have no idea which media player you're using as a guide there, but I've never had that much trouble managing media players.. Pretty much all of them have been a drag'n'drop affair. Except the iPod, that was more a drag, drop, click, wait affair.

That's been the case with a couple of Sony devices, something with 64mb of storage space from wayback when, and a couple of Phillips jobs.

 

Does it need to?

Drag and drop means:

• Open browser to download music.
• Open Music folder, drag to MP3 player (no sync option)
• Open browser to download firmware updates (nothing checks if an update is available though)
• Open Media player to play music

Of course Windows Media Player does most things in an integrated interface like iTunes does, except check and update firmware on your MP3 device, but I find its interface to the various stores (choice is good) rather buggy and inconsistent (which is bad). Some insist on opening unrelated advert windows in your browser (e.g. PayPlay; which is extremely annoying). Unless you have a Zune in which case you use a totally different media application again. That one I like, by the way.

Sorry, but as an overall package the iTunes/iPod combo works best. Microsoft recognises that which is why it has a closed Zune/Zune Marketplace combo.

 

I found this rather funny...

 

If you're going to want to use the iPad for file editing outside the wifi range, and you have the 3g version? I'd say it does, yes.

I can't say I do things the same way you do, then, since I do all that from one window.

Well, except the downloading of music, but since that is primarily for my media player on the pc, and the portable is merely something I use because I have it, rather than anything else, and I doubt I'll be replacing when it dies. Incidentally, that's an iPod touch. I don't like that either.

I disagree that iTunes works best, if only because it craps itself at ~50k tracks or more. The main library lags like an arse for no good reason, and it refuses to play FLAC or any other lossless format. Then again, so do pretty much all portable media players.

 

If your music library does actually contain more than 50k tracks then you're officially a nutter.

 

Pff, that's honestly nothing. Couple of friends of mine have 100k+ collections.

 

Totally disagree with you here. And before you take this the wrong way - I mean you no harm - it is your problem.

It works very well for Apple because it makes everything easy to fix and quick to issue fixes. Due to the limited amount of hardware and possible conflicting software to test each fix, therefore reducing the number of issues in the first place and secondly reducing the time it takes to test a fix. So, a problem for Apple?

Nooooo!

But it does pose a problem for you because it means you can't do what you want when you want to on a piece of Apple hardware.

Like I said, that isn't a dig at you, you brought the subject up of Apples limitations ... but then Apple don't see these as limitations, they see them as features

 

Not working so well with the latest iMacs, eh? I know where you're coming from though, but a limited amount of hardware can still throw up wierd glitches that take forever to fix.

For full disclosure, complete Apple FanBoi here. Just playing devil's advocaat.

 

I would say Toyota tops that with their 8 million cars recalled due to faulty brakes

 

I'm thinking maybe they need to rethink their 'moving forward' slogan.

 

"moving forward, uncontrollably"

And it was 8m for the Brake pedal, 1m for the accelerator and another 440,000 for the Prius recall isn't it?

 

At least 1m for the accelerator.

Not all plain sailing I s'pose, but that's the way it goes really. Toyota has had a pretty good run of luck and now it all seems to be fizzling away.

 

No offence taken

I fully realise that what I want to do with something often doesn't match up to what someone else does, but half the things I want to do with an iPod touch, or any of its brothers, are things that a great number of even Applefanboys want to do. I understand their limiting the hardware, and that doesn't concern me, because their hardware tends to be good, so long as you don't intend to game heavily, but the software.. That could do with a degree of open-ness. Even if they just let you have easier access to the plist files, or customising logins etc (Rather than renaming specific wallpaper files :/), just something simple really. Neither the hardware nor the core OS needs to change, just their access limitations. Normal users wouldn't notice, and power users would have more control - Which is what I want.

 

It's punishment for abandoning F1.

 

You, Sir, get rep for that.

 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/11/ipad_breakdown/

Interesting cost breakdown. I do believe this point was raised earlier and a lot of people got very het up about it saying they were making huge profits/of course they aren't.

Well it turns out they are making quite a profit on it after all, at least according to analysts.

 

Ooooh, you're in for it now! I raised the same point a couple of weeks ago and the replies made me swear I would not get involved in this discussion again. Waste of time and energy and all I'm doing is adding to the hype & buzz around apple. (Still, here I go again!)I don't like apple's business ethic, and I never have done. I have never bought an apple product, and I don't think I ever will (although I was gifted a video iPod).

I like iTunes Cover Flow, but other than that they simply don't produce anything that interests me. Both my BB Bold 9000 and my old SE W850i suit me better than my iPod (which is used about once every 6 months), my (2005) Toshiba Portege m200 runs OneNote, Firefox, iTunes and (shock, horrror) full Flash (yes, even Cooliris!), at the same time.

Apple products offer far too little value to me to even register on my radar when I am thinking about making a purchase. It's not that I mind expensive products (both the bold and the portege were premium products back in their day), but they have to justify their price-tag by bringing something special to the table. Take the bold, for example: Since I got it, about 18 months ago, I haven't used my computer for e-mail more than about 6 times. It has completely revolutionised my use of e-mail - that, to me is value. I simply don't see what apple products bring to the table (for me) in order to justify the extra cost.

Sticking with mobile phones, I'm due an upgrade this month - will I be getting the 3GS? No, it costs £800 and I cannot see a single thing that sets it above the Nokia N900, which costs £500. In fact, if they were both the same price, I would still choose the nokia, and, if, by some miracle, the 3GS was to go down to £400, my money would still go to Nokia. Why? Perceived value. The Nokia's qwerty keyboard, full flash support and ability to run a huge range of linux apps offers me a freedom that the iPhone doesn't, and never will. And before you mention jailbreaking, riddle me this: why bother? If there is already a (cheaper) device on the market which offers that functionality out of the box, why should I risk bricking my device/voiding my warranty etc etc?

EDIT: Just been to the maemo 5 website: they have some awesome apps out! THE N900 gets AdBlock Plus!! XD