Except an "actual keyboard" isn't necessarily better.Quote:
Originally Posted by CitizenCain
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Except an "actual keyboard" isn't necessarily better.Quote:
Originally Posted by CitizenCain
You jumped in here, on your 4th post ever, to say that?:crazyeyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by communist
It's very important to hold our racism and race-baiting to the highest grammatical standards
You missed the period at the end of your sentence. :oQuote:
Originally Posted by Nessus
:oQuote:
Originally Posted by EyeKhan
Is that something you foreigners say? Like going on "holiday." Fuckin' hippies. :mad:Quote:
Originally Posted by Timbuk2
Top hole, pip pip. Bally Jerry pranged his kite right in the how's your father. Hairy blighter, dicky-birdied, feathered back on his Sammy, took a waspy, flipped over on his Betty Harper's and caught his can in the Bertie.
Say it ain't soQuote:
Originally Posted by EyeKhan
It is not so.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nessus
Ya'll puttin' a mighty strain on my equipoise, my I do believe I might have a mint julip on my veranda
Now you sound like Lilo. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Nessus
Sure it is.Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
You can still use a no-tactile-feedback touchscreen if you want... but you get an option of using an input device which provides tactile feedback, should you find such a thing useful.
Under that logic you should throw in everything under the sun - why not a mouse, a joystick, a writing pad etc - and end up with a phone the size of a brick at least.
I'd rather if the on-screen keyboard works properly use it and have a slimmer phone/bigger battery etc
Adding a keyboard in would compromise something else to make space for the keyboard. Using the iphone as an example, what would you compromise on to make space for a physical keyboard and why would it be better?
A local software house is offering a free iPad to anyone who attends a job interview before mid-May. I still can't be bothered to apply.
http://www.red-gate.com/careers/free_ipad.htm
Carry on.Quote:
A 99-year-old Lake Oswego woman has rediscovered her passion for reading and writing thanks to Apple's newest gadget, Portland TV station KPTV reported.
Writing was always a big part of Virginia Campbell's life, but glaucoma recently made it difficult for her to read.
"I found recently that I wasn't even able to read large-print library books because there wasn't enough contrast between the print and the page," she said. "I could write them all right, but I couldn't read what I wrote."
When penning her passion became too difficult, her family brought the near-centenarian into the 21st century by giving her an Apple iPad -- the tablet computer with a touch screen.
"The type jumps out at me," she said. "Now I can read again and it's just opened up the world."
On Wednesday, Campbell said the iPad is "kind of addictive." The device's oversized type and the contrast between the bright background and bold letters help bring stories into focus.
The iPad even inspired Campbell to write a poem:
To this technology-ninny it’s clear
In my compromised 100th year,
That to read and to write
Are again within sight
Of this Apple iPad pioneer.
As she approached her 100th birthday, Campbell could only marvel at her longevity.
"When I was born in 1910, they barely had an automobile in any use," she said. "I'm only 99, but I consider myself in my 100th year."
Since Campbell's rediscovery of reading and writing, her son-in-law posted a video of her using the iPad on YouTube. It has since received 37,900 hits.
Campbell said she isn't particularly interested in using the Internet on her iPad, but she doesn't plan to slow down when it comes her reading and writing.
"You're never too old to take advantage of something that will help you," she said.
I'm a blackberry user myself and I like the little qwerty keyboard. I tried to use an iPone's keyboard once and another touchscreen phone's keyboard and when I didn't immediately do very well with it, I said 'that's not for me.' That's why I don't play golf either, btw. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
Yes different needs for different people. Interestingly, my father who has rather fat fingers, finds the iPhones on-screen keyboard easier to use than fidgty qwerty keyboards with tiny physical keys.
I've never suggest all phones should come with an on-screen keyboard, but its interesting to see people like Cain rule-out the idea of them - seemingly as a matter of faith rather than for a reason.
TBH there was a bit of a learning curve with the blackberry keys too.Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
seeing the sense and down right better user experience of a keyboard with feedback is hardly "faith" :rolleyes:
I can't imagine why the Kindle couldn't do the same for her. :confused: Though I suppose the Kindle has small buttons.Quote:
Originally Posted by littlelolligagged
I think she both reads and writes...Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreadnaught
I dunno. I like the idea of Apple products being the in thing for the elderly. Picture little old men wearing black socks, sandals, and knee length khaki shorts with a long-sleeved plaid button-down shirt rocking out to swing music on their ipods.
It may not be able to produce the same contrast. IIRC the kindle doesn't have a lighted LCD, its electronic paper.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreadnaught
Uh, no. A physical keyboard has been the standard computer input device since the 70's, when we did away with punch cards. Asking for something so incredibly... standard... is not the same as asking for every possible input device you could imagine. (Besides, that's what USB ports are for - so you can hook up any crazy thing you can conceive of to your computer.)Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
Why choose? Tablet PCs have had both for more than a decade, without compromising battery size or substantially impacting weight/size.Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
Nothing. I'd attach it in the same way a keyboard has been attached to Tablet PCs for as long as there have been tablet PCs - a quarter of an inch thick keyboard that folds or rotates under the tablet part when not in use.Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm not ruling them out (FFS, my Tower PCs have onscreen keyboards - built into Windows since XP and Linux for even longer) - I'm just pointing out that there's no reason to choose, so it's stupid to do away with the physical device, because of all the times and ways it's better than an onscreen version.Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
Personally I've used both for years. I prefer the on-screen keyboard.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer
If yours is a matter of "sense" and "down right better user experience", then please tell me exactly or approximately how much experience you have using the iPhone's on screen keyboard? :rolleyes:
Agreed - for a computer. Not proposing having a computer without a keyboard, I'm talking about for a phone though. I've not tried the iPad so can't comment, I could imagine it working quite easily though given how easy to use the iPhone keyboard is - one presumably 4 times its size should be quite simple.Quote:
Originally Posted by CitizenCain
I've never seen a single phone the size of the iPhone with the same battery, same capabilities and a keyboard as well - have you?Quote:
Why choose? Tablet PCs have had both for more than a decade, without compromising battery size or substantially impacting weight/size.
That's making it thicker then. May be better to have that space used for a better battery or simply not there.Quote:
Nothing. I'd attach it in the same way a keyboard has been attached to Tablet PCs for as long as there have been tablet PCs - a quarter of an inch thick keyboard that folds or rotates under the tablet part when not in use.
I'm not talking about the iPad (I know its the thread subject) - but disagree that its stupid to do away with something antiquidated that would make the object thicker, unless its necessary.Quote:
Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm not ruling them out (FFS, my Tower PCs have onscreen keyboards - built into Windows since XP and Linux for even longer) - I'm just pointing out that there's no reason to choose, so it's stupid to do away with the physical device, because of all the times and ways it's better than an onscreen version.
My computer doesn't have a 5 1/4" floppy drive, in fact it has no floppy drive. Am I losing out?
You're barking up the wrong tree. We were discussing the experience between pecking at flat plastic/glass, and typing on a keyboard with compressing keys. The feedback of keys giving under your fingertips, the small click on typing, its been kept around for 30+ years for a reason. It provides a better experience, a more ergonomic experience. I don't know what exact device you're trying to compare the iphone to :bulb:, but the iphone sure as hell wasn't innovative in the sense of having the first flat onscreen keyboard. Its such a known issue that Verizon has commercials that advertise only the tactile feedback of their offerings.Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
On behalf of technology, I would like to apologize if every tactile keyboard you've ever used was so cheap and pathetic that you would rather peck at glass.
Sorry if my writing was too complicated for you. Let me break it down simply:
How much experience do you personally have using an on-screen keyboard?
Don't see what was so complicated about catching your original post trying to make this Apple only; you did a much better job at attempting discussion with this post :up:Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
I've used them for several years. Office Depot's stocking system used touch responsive machines, and HCPLC has several Origami based tablets for mobile catalog lookup.
What's wrong about the 4 year old Nokia I linked to? It has all the features of the iPhone (sans the crappy Apple OS), and a real keyboard. (It's also a lot smaller, FWIW - much closer to the size of a RAZR than the size of an iPhone.)Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
Um, yeah, that's not really how batteries work. You can't just add cattery capacity in a 8"x6"x.25" form.Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
And, furthermore, with virtually all tablet PCs, if the extra quarter of an inch thickness bothers you, you can always detach the keyboard. Again, don't see why anyone in their right mind would... but it's an option.
Well, the difference there is that we've found a better way to add removable storage capacity than a floppy drive. That's why they're antiquated and generally not used. However, like OG said, that's not the case with keyboards. They're still in use 40+ years later because we haven't come up with a way to do it better. Tactile feedback is generally better than no tactile feedback, which is why on screen keyboards are generally inferior and not capable of completely supplanting physical ones.Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
Now that I think about it some more, I wonder if my grandma would be able to get/use an iPad. She has a MacBook which she was able to use for a while, but the keyboard and the fact that she had to sit at a desk to read things online made her lose interest. As she lost interest, she stopped using it and kinda forgot what I teach her. Now it sits unused.
But an iPad may actually be something she could potentially figure out and enjoy. Too bad we put all that money into the MacBook. :(
Weak-minded, bandwagon-hailing, hysterical fools.Quote:
iPad fans mob Apple stores for international launch
Thousands of gadget fans have mobbed shops around the world as Apple began the international launch of its iPad.
A 200m (656ft) queue formed outside Apple's flagship Sydney store in Australia, and there were similar scenes in Tokyo, Japan.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...09395446-1.jpg
The 25cm (10in) device is also going on sale in the UK, Canada, and parts of Europe as part of a staggered global roll-out.
One million iPads were sold in 28 days after its launch in the US.
The international launch date was pushed back by a month after huge demand in the US where the product went on sale in early April.
In Sydney, security guards were on hand to deal with the crowds of shoppers.
Rahul Koduri, who queued for more than 24 hours, became the first to buy the touch-screen computer at Apple's George Street store.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...09395354-1.jpg
"It's fantastic, it was so worth the wait," the 22-year-old, who bought two iPads, told the AFP news agency.
In Japan, more than 1,000 gadget enthusiasts lined up in front of Apple stores and major electrical shops in Tokyo.
:headbang:
~
This a day or two after Apple is reported as overtaking Microsoft in total worth.
My brother in law got one. I like it...but the browser rendering is a bit slow. And it's still locked-into Apple's stupid app market policies. I would want a more robust browser on a machine like that, and a few more tweaks. And maybe like $100-200 less on the price tag. Curious to see if there will actually be a good Android tablet.
Um, I have a confession to make. While I'm not an Apple fan (I've never owned and apple product ever before), I got an iPad for my birthday. My wife's into getting me things she knows I'd never buy myself, and an iPad was one of them. So I guess I should give my impressions for all the demonizers here:
#1. I like it, its fun. The kids love it too.
#2. Its the right size to hold comfortably for long periods of time, that's never been an issue. I also have a small laptop I use on a daily basis throughout the house and the iPad is infinitely more easy to handle, access quickly, etc.
#3. I've been using it to play games, browse the web, and watch movies on Netflix. I haven't put any music on it, though it has iPod functionality built in. There's a free app for reading books which I've downloaded, along with some books (there's a huge library available free, though mostly older books), but I've not bothered to read anything yet. I like paper. There's a photo functionality built in, which I've ignored thus far, but I assume you can use it as a digital picture frame - I have no interest in that right now. The Netflix capability is by far the coolest thing so far - movies look great on it, though the touch screen forwarding/rewinding works crappy. It's very cool to put on a movie and take it with you into the kitchen, living room, bathroom ( ;) ), etc.
#4. The onscrean keyboard totally sucks. You can't type full hand at all, it's too sensitive, though I've gotten a lot better with that. There's no arrow keys for editing text, the select functionality is clumsy and I make errors and inadvertantly activate it all the time. Major pain, imo.
#5. Mine does not have 3G connectivity, so outside my home wireless network it's considerably less useful. Basicially, it becomes a game machine. Might be more useful if I put music and videos on it. I could always take it into a coffee shop or something and connect but I can't imagine what I'd use it for there. It's not like I can type with it or something, like I can with my laptop. I don't have a word processor on it, though I confess I've not looked for an app like that since I don't intend to buy the addon keyboard.
#6. The screen is smudged all the time. How can it not be, it's a touch screen ffs? So when I pull up a Netflix program or even sit down to play a game or read this bb, I'm rubbing it clean with my shirt or something.
Overall Impression: It's fun to have but it doesn't fill any need that I have so far. Its perfect for gadgety people. With a keyboard, it would be more functional, but I'm not about to replace my laptop with it. I confess I don't understand the hatred for it I see here. Its just a new and fun product put out by a company that specializes in new and fun products.
I noticed that too - the browser loads web pages way slower than my 10-year-old laptop on the same wireless network. Go figure.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreadnaught
Asides from netflix, it sounds like you would have been better suited with a GP2X or Pandora (keyboard) emulator.
Not a bad idea, if you've got money to blow. The velco glue would eventually give, or the ipad case would begin to warp from all the prying. If you're able to ignore the velco strips you would have everywhere...
Hatred?Quote:
Originally Posted by EyeKhan
I think it's more sneering cynicism dripping from the typical superiority we all have here.
And I disagree that it's just a new and fun product put out by a company that specializes in new and fun products:
- The iPod, which is the product that kicked off the craze for fun and funky products, is a brilliant device that serves a specific purpose; playing music.
- The iPhone is a brilliant device that serves a specific purpose; a cellphone and all that cellphones have become.
- The iMac is Apple's personal computer, again, it serves a specific purpose.
- The iPad is what? A music player? Sort of, but you're better off with a tiny iPod. A personal computer? Sort of, but it's far too limited in functionality and usability; you're better off with a laptop. A phone? no - it isn't a phone.
So it's a bit of a nothing really. Everybody has something else which does what the iPad can but does it better ...
The Ipod wasn't even a new concept, Creative was in that market before Apple. In fact, Creative sued Apple because of how much of the design they "borrowed". Hell, in that case Apple admitted ripping off design ideas from Kane Kramer, who invented the damn thing back in 79.
http://imgur.com/VmtXE.jpg
Aye. My lady (who still has a big old Zen) was telling me about how Creative invented a touch-sensitive oval on their players, an idea which Apple twocked and transformed from an oval into a circle.
I won't pretend to deny though, that Apple's iPods and iPhones are excellent gadgets, sleek and funky and useful, and marketed very well.
For me though the iPad is just ... muhhhh. Pointless. Not useful. A bandwagon device purely for cashing in on Apple fanboy stoopidity.
Just a couple comments - velcro tape is insanely sticky. Don't stick it to anything you don't want it to stay with forever. Also, the iPad's casing is very durable - I doubt it would warp.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer
Fair enough. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Timbuk2
Face it, all those products are gadgety toys well more gadgeted up than is necessary to be strictly useful. Ok, the iPad lacks more use and has more fun associated with it, but in essance its the same damn thing. Useless mostly but pretty fun to use. If you have money to waste on stuff like that, its a good choice.Quote:
And I disagree that it's just a new and fun product put out by a company that specializes in new and fun products:
Nah, I think Apple intends it to fill some functional niche. Their business plan wasn't "hey, we have lots of stupid people out there that will buy whatever we make, so lets develop a really useless piece of shit to sell them!" No, I don't think so. :oQuote:
Originally Posted by Timbuk2
I use this stuff at work with cabling. It has to be sticky because the velcro strips get harder to rip the wider they get; but it does give, and we have to replace our 3M strips every few months in heavy traffic areas.Quote:
Originally Posted by EyeKhan
Hmmm .. I guess it's a little subjective.
A music player is something I use for at least two hours every day (it's all I listen to in my car on my commute, or if I drive on weekends)
A cellphone is something I use throughout the day, every day.
Neither are absolutely essential, no, but both are something I use one hell of a lot, daily. I'd say that's way beyond something I'd call 'just gadgety and fun'.
I only use an mp3 player when I'm working out. Or sitting on a beach. And the one I use is small, has a long batter life, and simply plays music, because that's what I need it to do.Quote:
Originally Posted by Timbuk2
Cell phone, I use constantly. But do I need a cell phone like Apple's apped up gadget fest? Clearly not and almost certainly, if i may be so bold, neither do you. Which is the point.
Be that as it may, its still insanely sticky. :oQuote:
Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer