Read it and weep
Let me see, £600 for a Xoom, £500 for a Tab, or £399 for an iPad2?
You would have to have a severe case of anti-apple-itis to even consider a different tablet.
325 publicly visible posts • joined 25 Jun 2009
...actually requires permission from the performing rights owner, which you must pay for.
I say bring it on, the more ridiculous the laws, the closer we get to a 'new way' to deal with the unlimited copying capability introduced by digital media.
It really isn't theft if you don't deprive the owner of anything, and streaming is even more ethereal as there is no copy left on the receiving machine
It really could be a bug - especially if it is found that Nitro is part of Safari and hard to use outside, but stopping web apps from running without a connection is a new and deliberate step, IMHO
There is a world of difference between profits from good ideas and profits from restrictive practices, and Apple will get absolutely no sympathy from the courts with their dominant market position and hugely increased profits from iOS devices.
Watch this space...
Endless Apple non-stories milking the hype. The Register is shameless in it's faux Apple abuse to lure in viewers and puff up the ad revenues. 'Independent thinkers' is stretching it a bit, IMHO. It would be interesting to know how many Apples are in use at the Register offices, including iPhones...
The Financial Times report dubbed Apple as the masters of the 'Goldilocks' update - i.e. not too much, not too little, but just right. It is a fine line between enthusing users to upgrade and pissing off early adopters and Apple actually understand this. USB, SD card, and now HDMI are available with an adapter, but some people won't be happy until it comes with a bridge for them to live under!
Here in Vienna you have to purchase your ticket first (single use, or weekly/monthly etc. plus you can buy via SMS), then there are no barriers or turnstiles, just the possibility of being nabbed for 70 euro by plain clothes ticket inspectors if you have no valid ticket.
Think about it - no turnstiles = no delay, and the staff get to travel around checking tickets instead of standing at the gate all day.
Add this to the ability to complete one journey using any combo of underground, bus and tram on one ticket, and you have a system that 'just works' without stupid, expensive turnstiles and bored/pissed off staff.
Far too sensible for the UK though!
Oh, parking is the same deal - you buy tickets first and then fill in arrival time/date and leave it in the window, like a universal pay-and-display, with no machines, meters or barriers to mess up the street or get vandalised.
Think of all the money saved on custom kit, and it makes even more sense. Jeez, it aint rocket science.
Are Apple the only hardware/software vendor who is actually adding genuinely new devices and interaction paradigms into the market?
Honestly, Android, MS et al. just seem to be playing catch-up nowadays while Apple literally change the IT world with products like the iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air, and now consumer grade version control, crypto, backup and proper touch driven interfaces for the laptop/desktop.
Flame away, but where are the genuinely new developments from other mainstream vendors?
Make no mistake, El Reg is as guilty as any of riding the Apple wave of speculation. It's a win-win situation though, as the extra eyeballs (and clicks) boost ad revenue too. Applemania is a 'good thing' for all concerned, it even provides ample troll bait for all round entertainment too ;-)
Apple are the only company with any new ideas anyway, aren't they?
Although you only mention it once, it is the zero-cost of Android that is behind it's success. Android is riding a wave of me-too activity by device manufacturers following the success of the iPhone (remember the iPhone is pure software, as all the hardware was available prior to it's release).
Apple has always had the advantage, and the pain, of developing the hardware and the software to play nice together, and the mobile space magnifies this advantage. The unified UI and and platform compatibility makes like easy for users *and* developers too.
I expect Google to get a lot more control-freaky in their management of Android/Chrome as they try to optimise/standardise the user/developer experience, and the emerging mobile hardware reference spec has the potential to help Microsoft catch up, but Apple will always be able to Wow users with innovative ideas because they control the platform and keep R&D secret (by paying for it!). Being first is nearly always better, but usually more expensive - Apple gambles, and wins - Google make a certain bet, and can't lose.
Add in the fact that iOS apps keep their activity/data away from Google's money maker and it is definitely Game On - faster, cheaper and better gadgets for us all. Right now, Apple's are better, and Google's aren't cheap enough.
Happy New Year
Plus, I don't think this journo actually uses an iPad or iPhone, but it does make his posts 'appear' to be of interest. Jeez, just write about something interesting that you know about *without* involving an iProduct. Please.
Note to El Reg editor - Consider a £10 tax on each mention of Apple to kick your lazy hacks into thinking before linking BS articles to trendy products?
It looks like a tablet platform may be developing; ARM + PowerVR.
Should be good for developers if Apple and Google have similar reference platforms, and they are the two main players until Microsoft get a proper tablet UI.
There is an opportunity to get Android onto Apple hardware as all those iPhones come off contract and get passed on.
Thanks for the info :-)
Although the Tegra 2 can come in dual core versions - apart from that, the ARM core and OpenGL 2.1/Direct X 10 graphics hardware is pretty much what Apple packs into an A4. Just saying.....
I have been wondering when a pointy clicky 'Unlock my iPhone/iPad and put Android on it' distribution would appear? There is a lot of legacy Apple kit out there now to target for 'upgrade' to Android.
Predictable upgrade cycles paired with incremental upgrades means that customers can buy in confidence knowing that they won't be left holding totally obsolete kit.
Apple's track record with providing decent emulation to support old software too, is another example of customer care sadly lacking from other hardware and software vendors.
From what I read, cos I haven't got one,; the new Airs really benefit from the flash based storage and access times of 0.1ms.
Another first for Apple, (GUI, WYSIWYG, networking, Laser printers, SCSI, no floppy, USB only, wireless network, no CD/DVD, etc.) putting solid state storage as the only configuration option for two mainstream laptop models
I know the ACME TurboLap XYZ has done it for years, but I am talking about the mainstream volume manufacturers
...should be compulsory and easily accessible in all apps that store any personal data; browsers, mail and chat, or any app, even trivial details like settings and dictionary mods should be able to be reset.
It would be nice to be able to store, edit and reload these settings if you want to as well.
No jokes, move along....
Even when you admit that users will still be able to install apps from elsewhere, you then add 'But let's be realistic: most won't.' The point is that those who want to will still be able too.
When you add the web to the range of activities that users will still be allowed to use, then your article is classic FUD (Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt)
Apple has discovered that most computer users just want it all to work, and are happy to have their choice limited to hundreds of thousands of apps. Not rocket science, but a fact.
Those who wish to tread their own path will do exactly that, and if that means abandoning Macs for their tinkering, they may want to keep one around for when they need to get something done - always the Mac's main advantage, no?
Who needs a card? As you already carry your phone everywhere anyway, why not download the as yet non-existent VISA or MasterCard apps onto your phone, activate them over the phone, and then use that to pay for things.
I can already buy parking/public transport and ciggies with an SMS - why not join the dots guys?
Alternatively, add phone capability to the credit card - sorted ;-)
Spot on. Microsoft is already an ARM licencee, and Windows Phone 7 runs on it exclusively, afaik, but Windows on RISC? - it's been awhile since that was supported (DEC Alpha?).
Windows Phone 7 will make it onto tablets soon enough just because it makes sense (money), and that is the common platform to go head to head with Android. (jeez, I'm already sick of Windows Phone 7! - MicroOS is better ;-)
Guess what? Android/Chrome & Apple's Mac OS & iOS can run on either, apparently.
I guess Google need to get Android/Chrome going on intel for the Consumer OS they plan on launching (for free, I should imagine). But I can't see the Anti Apple angle at all. Apple has to licence chip core designs from ARM, even if they do end up making the chips themselves. This is a re-run of the RISC vs CISC wars, and for 'do one thing well' boxes, RISC is probably a better bet, but remember that the heart of Mac OS X and iOS runs on both anyway.
At what point does the iPhonePod connector become a standard? Oh wait, when it's free of course.
You get what you pay for my boy - do you really want USB? Three different plugs + 3 different speeds with no analogue out, because all your peripherals have to do their own DtoA then ;-)
Only Exxon Mobil to go, and that's just another 45 billion away (one oil spill should do it).
I'm guessing that you still have to wake it up, then key some passcode in before you get everything on one tiny screen (good luck with presenting all my unread mail, SMS, IM, Skype buddies, stock quotes etc. in one go).
IMHO, people fiddle with their phones all the time to avoid having to talk to people or think.
Since the AppleTV can work with wireless streams from computers, then in theory, it could transmit whatever it is playing to said computers for offline use and/or backup, couldn't it?
Is HDMI a two way interface, because then it could even do it with anything you happen to be viewing on screen (encrypted content excepted, natch)
Not just a useless toy for 'fanbois' after all, is it?
To be fair though, you have to use one for a bit before you realise what a neat little thing it is.
Shame about the lack of Flash support in the browser though - a lot of educational sites and embedded video are missing... for now. I predict a rapprochement 'twixt Apple and Adobe, at least in the browser.