The author of this blog, James Robertson, passed away in April 2014. This blog is being maintained by David Buck (david@simberon.com).
Microsoft has brought confusion to the "we allow USB devices on the XBOX" game - you can only plugin devices that range between 1 GB and 16GB. So.... none of the older things you have piled up will work, and none of the cheap hard drives you can buy, either.
So what's the point, exactly?
The reactions to the iPad are all over the map, and fascinating. Dave Winer has a thoughtful piece, although I think he lost a bit of objectivity in looking so deeply at his personal workflow. Mark Bernstein thinks that it may well work perfectly as a book replacement, or as a digital picture frame, or - we'll figure it out. Tim Bray seem ambivalent. Lots of people are up in arms over the lack of a USB port or two.
Meanwhile, my wife has been pretty happy using it to read the same book upstairs (Kindle on her Macbook) and downstairs (Kindle on the iPad). It's early days yet; we'll see how things look in a few weeks. I haven't had any real time with it, so I don't really have any comments beyond "it looks pretty" :)
Engadget has the scoop on apple's next big event:
Yes folks -- the world is turning upside down. Apple has announced an iPhone OS 4 event on April 8th at 10AM PT for a "sneak peek of the next generation of iPhone OS software."
I think that once Apple ships a new rev of the iPhone on the next gen of the OS, I'll be upgrading.
I've been asked about my impressions of the device, but at this point, I don't really have any - it's my wife's iPad, and she's been using it. IN watching her use it, I've noticed that she's had some minor issues with the UI - she hasn't looked at an iPhone/Touch, so it's all based on prior expectations from OS X and Windows. The most interesting one I've seen? The fact that double click isn't used (other than double tap for zoom). As we settle in with the device, I'll have more to say, but so far - we like it.
Okay so the iPad has a problem that lots of software has, when you finish the basic setup -- now what? There are no movies, newspapers or books on the device, and no clue as to how to get them on there. Those are the first things I want to do, see how it plays stuff. Maybe I'm wrong about that. I should disconnect and see what I get.
Dave Winer must be the only person on the planet who doesn't know that you use iTunes to get stuff onto the iPad - either directly from the iTunes app on the device, or via synching from your computer.
Doc Searls thinks that more open mobile platforms, like Android or Symbian, will end up beating Apple in the new space being created by the iPad:
The iPad will launch a category within which it will be far from the only player. Apple's feudal market-control methods (all developers and customers are trapped within its walled garden) will encourage competitors that lack the same limitations. We should expect other hardware companies to launch pads running on open source operating systems, especially Android and Symbian. (Disclosure: I consult Symbian.) These can support much larger markets than Apple's closed and private platforms alone will allow.
I'm not so sure. Part of why the iPhone and Touch are doing so well is that they provide a consistent, simple user interface. No file system to mess with, not multiple stores - one stop shopping and your apps handle all of their own details for you. Google doesn't really look at the world that way; I seriously doubt that any device they ever sponsor will be as easy to use as what Apple is coming up with.
Arguably, Android's ecosystem is more open that Apple's, but thus far, that hasn't been enough - it would have to be at least as good an end to end system. Until another vendor in the mobile space beats the iTunes/mobile device combo, Apple will lead. That's not destiny; there are plenty of ways other vendors could do better (wifi synching, anyone?). It's just that they haven't done it yet - and the open source community really doesn't have much of a track record in the "easy to use UI" space.
Update: I disagree with Cory Doctorow for all the same reasons. Here's the thing - cars used to be accessible to owners as well, and now they pretty much require an expert to do anything under the hood. And people still buy cars. Consumer goods go through a lifecycle, and they eventually exit the "anyone can get under the hood" part of it.
Engadget has a first look at the JooJoo. Yes, it is the worst named device ever...
Technorati Tags: joojoo
We're looking forward to the arrival of the iPad we ordered - the early reports (Boing Boing and Walt Mossberg) sound good.
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