Camera A & Camera B

[BJL]

I've tried many of these devices, from the newton, a couple windows attempts at a tablet, and  some recent netbooks. You may label it as a "personal media tablet" and thus categorize it as nothing new, it is in fact nothing like anything I have ever used. ...

... many are working on similar devices, and one of them is bound to break free of the windows metaphor and reinvent the OS to provide an experience more like the iPhone OS than a traditional OS ...

Wayne,
    thanks for your observations. I agree with you about the keys to success for the coming wave of "bigger screen hand-held devices" (like the HP Slate, or the book-like Microsoft Courier), and the reasons why none has succeeded before the iPad. The user interface and perhaps the whole OS and software environment need to be adapted to both the addictive wonder of multi-touch and hardware constraints that are very different than for a desk-top (from now on, "desk-bound") computer. Good execution needs everything from an OS and application software written for a touch screen interface and modest memory needs, to strict resource priority for on-screen process responsiveness (no virtual memory paging or memory leaking background processes), to energy efficiency far better than with any current processor using Intel x86 architecture.

It will not work to shoe-horn a desktop UI, memory hungry keyboard-oriented desktop software, a free-for-all approach to background process activity, and a power hungry x86 architecture processor (including Intel Atom processors) into a device with a small screen and operated by under a pound of batteries. And it needs more innovation than running a web browser with some touch features added, as with the Google Chrome OS idea. Maybe Android or Moblin/MeeGo or Windows Phone (as rumored for the Microsoft Courier) will be good competing platforms.


I do regret though that the iPhone OS approach might never let me run some of the serious programming tools of my trade, so I wonder how good VNC or Remote Desktop clients are as a way of occasionally using an iPad to work on a remote "real computer".


P. S. Things change quickly: the NYT reports that Google might be planning a "slate" running its Android phone OS, as opposed to its net-book oriented Google Chrome:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/12/a...news-for-adobe/

[pschefz]

there is a very interesting comparison between the slate ipad and joojoo on engadget....

the great thing about the ipad is that it is not osX....which would need a much faster processor/ larger battery/.....to come close to provide the same performance.....

the slate ( and all other tablets before) is simply window7 with touch.....osx or windows7 aren't made for touch....the interface is made to be used with a mouse and does not work with fingers....

the ipad is a first gen product and the possibilities are just amazing....but to think that we will have a ipad capable of crunching 40mpix raw files coming in at 1fps via wifi n and adding adjustments on the fly anytime soon is crazy....

i am looking into the canon wifi grip right now....built in server....shoot raw+jepg....check out the shots in safari on the ipad (up to 5 actually at the same time)....no other cpu needed.....fine for thumbs and general composition....email some files for layout right away....all on an amazing screen, 10+ hours battery.....this is doable right NOW and it is cheaper then mbp.....

yes this post is from an ipad....

[fredjeang]

there is a very interesting comparison between the slate ipad and joojoo on engadget....

the great thing about the ipad is that it is not osX....which would need a much faster processor/ larger battery/.....to come close to provide the same performance.....

the slate ( and all other tablets before) is simply window7 with touch.....osx or windows7 aren't made for touch....the interface is made to be used with a mouse and does not work with fingers....

the ipad is a first gen product and the possibilities are just amazing....but to think that we will have a ipad capable of crunching 40mpix raw files coming in at 1fps via wifi n and adding adjustments on the fly anytime soon is crazy....

i am looking into the canon wifi grip right now....built in server....shoot raw+jepg....check out the shots in safari on the ipad (up to 5 actually at the same time)....no other cpu needed.....fine for thumbs and general composition....email some files for layout right away....all on an amazing screen, 10+ hours battery.....this is doable right NOW and it is cheaper then mbp.....

yes this post is from an ipad....

Are you talking about this?
[attachment=21465:l_00065513.jpg]
Hey...
Foxy idea! Thanks.

[pschefz]

yes.....i wish it was wifi n.....just speeds things up and gives you more range.....but for now the wft e4 ii will have to do and should work for tranferring jpegs for quick viewing....

the only way i can describe the screen of the ipad is that it reminds me of looking at 8x10 chromes on a lightbox....

also: i guess red announced today that the epic will have built in iphone/ipad remote viewing/monitor.....which really should not be that hard...wifi n is fast enough to stream the finder image.....

i guess we should give this whole thing another week or two to come up with some more fun solutions....

[chex]

I do regret though that the iPhone OS approach might never let me run some of the serious programming tools of my trade, so I wonder how good VNC or Remote Desktop clients are as a way of occasionally using an iPad to work on a remote "real computer".

This is another thing I take issue with. So a 12" thinkpad tablet has wifi,can pair with a usb dongle or mobile phone to get 3g internet anywhere, can run real applications including photoshop and lightroom, but is inferior to an ipad because its not as pretty and doesn't have a multitouch interface? To addinsult to injury the iphone OS system is very closed and apple are dictating which software does and does not get on to there - using a 'real' OS would not result in issues like this.

I dunno if you've actually read the story about the emperor with no clothes on - if you do you'll see that the majority of people did not want to acknowledge the fact and the one person who did was laughed at. History does not paint a pretty picture for the idea that people will see through the bullshit and not succumb to contagion - see tulip mania, the missisipi bubble, the French fiat money scandal, the '29 stock bubble, the '99 dotcom bubble, the '08 credit bubble, the '10 sovereign debt bubble. Millions of people are willing to choose an inferior product (not that the ipad is inferior) which is pretty and cuts out the amount of thinking you have to do for yourself. The ipad is a nice toy, but to assert that it will 'revolutionise' the industry is laughable - the ipad is definitely not the first step towards an almot entirely electronic media - this movement started long before it was announced and was not fueled by the tablet rumours that had been about for about 10 years now. Just because it may end up being the most widespread point of access to electronice media doesn't mean that it led the revolution, it is nothing more than a new toy jumping on a pre-existing bandwagon. The real future for electronic media is colour e-ink which is visible in any light and doesn't burn your eyeballs out and maybe the next ipad will have that.

[fredjeang]

The real future for electronic media is colour e-ink which is visible in any light and doesn't burn your eyeballs out and maybe the next ipad will have that.

And 3D, sooner than we expect IMO.

Ps: I think that the interesting path taken by Apple is html5 and a non flash video for ads etc... But we are just at the begining of much more powerfull things to come.

The point I'd like to make is that many criticisms have been aimed from a photographer point of view, normal where we are, but I.Pad is not made for photographers only, so it just makes sense that it is unperfect. I'll see Adobe very strong in this terrain if they make the step with a big company like Sony for example.

Cheers.

[Wayne Fox]

This is another thing I take issue with. So a 12" thinkpad tablet has wifi,can pair with a usb dongle or mobile phone to get 3g internet anywhere, can run real applications including photoshop and lightroom, but is inferior to an ipad because its not as pretty and doesn't have a multitouch interface? To addinsult to injury the iphone OS system is very closed and apple are dictating which software does and does not get on to there - using a 'real' OS would not result in issues like this

I don't think anyone said the computer you describe is inferior.  In fact the iPad is not intended to replace a computer, there is an assumption that the iPad is an ancillary device to a full computer.  That may change, because in fact you really don't need a computer to do many things, but for most the iPad is an alternative to pulling out your laptop or going to your desk.

As far as Apple and it's control, I think that is overhyped.  The app store offers great marketing potential- good for developers, as well as a simple and almost foolproof delivery method. Apple's control is about verifying the code you put on the device works correctly and doesn't affect the user experience on things such as system stability and battery life. Other than inaapropriate porno type of apps or blatantly obvious attempts at getting a lot of money for something worth nothing, Apple doesn't seem to have a real policiy about what apps are "allowed"  ... there is a LOT of crap in the app store.  They are not making some evaluation of what the app does and if it's worth what you want to charge.  It's a model which as served the iPhone market very well.

[pschefz]

This is another thing I take issue with. So a 12" thinkpad tablet has wifi,can pair with a usb dongle or mobile phone to get 3g internet anywhere, can run real applications including photoshop and lightroom, but is inferior to an ipad because its not as pretty and doesn't have a multitouch interface? To addinsult to injury the iphone OS system is very closed and apple are dictating which software does and does not get on to there - using a 'real' OS would not result in issues like this.

I dunno if you've actually read the story about the emperor with no clothes on - if you do you'll see that the majority of people did not want to acknowledge the fact and the one person who did was laughed at. History does not paint a pretty picture for the idea that people will see through the bullshit and not succumb to contagion - see tulip mania, the missisipi bubble, the French fiat money scandal, the '29 stock bubble, the '99 dotcom bubble, the '08 credit bubble, the '10 sovereign debt bubble. Millions of people are willing to choose an inferior product (not that the ipad is inferior) which is pretty and cuts out the amount of thinking you have to do for yourself. The ipad is a nice toy, but to assert that it will 'revolutionise' the industry is laughable - the ipad is definitely not the first step towards an almot entirely electronic media - this movement started long before it was announced and was not fueled by the tablet rumours that had been about for about 10 years now. Just because it may end up being the most widespread point of access to electronice media doesn't mean that it led the revolution, it is nothing more than a new toy jumping on a pre-existing bandwagon. The real future for electronic media is colour e-ink which is visible in any light and doesn't burn your eyeballs out and maybe the next ipad will have that.

the thinkpad is not the only product out there....the modbook has a touchscreen....and runs osX...this is not about windows vs mac....simply adding a touchscreen to an interface that wasnt made for touch just does not make any sense....

those little sonys had touch, built in wifi, 3g, ran PS,...but it is just not practical....

you need at least the equivalent of a macbook pro (core2duo) 4gb ram and 256 vram to really run ps, lr, c1,.....then add in 3-4 hour battery and you are back at a much larger laptop/ macbook pro.....the ipad is only so fast at what it does because it is more or less a huge battery with a big screen...and a custom processor designed for the os it runs....

whcih is why the HP slate has to have a 1.6 chip (compared to a 1 in the ipad) and still runs slower.....and yes it runs flash (badly) and the battery is dead within a couple of hours.....

all existing tablets have one problem: they are running a os that needs enormous recources already.....

the ipad runs an os that came first on a phone....and is much much simpler, leaner, faster....

anyone who wants to run ps on a ipad got it wrong.....

[fredjeang]

whcih is why the HP slate has to have a 1.6 chip (compared to a 1 in the ipad) and still runs slower.....and yes it runs flash (badly) and the battery is dead within a couple of hours.....

all existing tablets have one problem: they are running a os that needs enormous recources already.....

the ipad runs an os that came first on a phone....and is much much simpler, leaner, faster....

anyone who wants to run ps on a ipad got it wrong.....

Exactly. The downside of the Slate is that it's more a tiny "traditional" laptop architecture that runs W7 and therefore is hungry.
Rumors in the developpers sphere, that I mentionned here further up, is that HP and Adobe are working on an big evolution right now. But I guess the choice of windows os is going to be their bet, and it's not the best one. They should be at least a "light" Windows version or something like that.
Apple seems to take in a path and the others in another.
But Apple seems to be on the right path. Old clients are asking me to rebuilt their websites without flash, it's a "sign of the times" and for me thanks to Apple:  no flash=more money. I'll be able soon to purchase the Sinar back I want  and mount it on the Contax 645.

When the HP went to the light, many observer beleived that when Apple will release the I.pad, it will completly eclipse the Slate, and that is what happened.
Marketing power only? I don't think so. Simply the I.pad is a better product IMO.

[BJL]

Rumors in the developpers sphere, that I mentionned here further up, is that HP and Adobe are working on an big evolution right now. But I guess the choice of windows os is going to be their bet, and it's not the best one. They should be at least a "light" Windows version or something like that.

I've heard rumors of another HP slate running Android, and I suppose a future option in Windows-world is using Windows Phone OS, once that is upgraded (allowing some multitasking by third party apps and cut-and-paste, both to be absent from the initial release of Windows Phone ) ... much the way that iPhone OS is adding functionality as the low power ARM-based hardware it runs on becomes more powerful. But a full desktop OS on a small battery-powered hand-held is like running a full-sized pickup on a engine designed for a sub-compact.