Apple's new hardware

[rxlexi]

  all good, valid points bobbyhawks, I should have prefaced my rant with a huge "IMO".  Personally, I just don't get the tablet trend.  I singled out the 11-inch Macbook Air because it is the first real computer that comes close (or matches) the iPad in size/weight and portablility. 

  The form factors are so similar (though you interact with them in a completely different way, obviously) that the size/carry-everywhere factor that is touted for the iPad can easily be applied to the 11" MBA as well, and it features a full keyboard and OS.  That said, it does cost 2x as much as the still slick iPad, but offers so much more functionality.

  Last fall I purchased the alienware m11x that I mentioned earlier (11.6 inch screen, Core i7 ULV, 4gb RAM), and with an HDMI port and a large HD screen/tv, it is both hugely portable and powerful enough to function as my exclusive home computer (though I do not use for incredibly taxing work). 

  I see some type of system like this, along the lines of Mean's thoughts, with a tiny, powerful machine and dock + screen/tv at home being an ideal setup into the future.  One machine with enough power, functionality and available ports to be a true jack of all trades.  Of course, my alienware weighs 4.5 lbs...the Macbook Air is, I think, a much better example of the possibilities of a somewhat powerful, small computer.

 

[KC0KEK]

The end result, though, will be a device that you can sit down at a desk with and create your content, snap it up out if its dock and use as a tablet / phone / consumption device, and carry that content with you everywhere.

Or it could be that instead of pulling a device out of the dock and putting it in your pocket, you leave it where it is and then use whatever portable device you prefer -- smartphone, tablet, netbook, whatever -- to get your content out of the cloud. Of course, the money angle there is the trend toward metering wireless access. But a cloud provider could work with a wireless carrier to turn that trend into an opportunity: Sign up for our cloud service and sign up with our wireless carrier partner, and all cloud usage does not count toward your monthly MB or GB bucket.

[ignatius]

Tablets are sometimes OK for viewing content but not for creating content. 

I've got the best of both.  I got an Asus netbook that transforms into a tablet.  Is thicker than modern tablets but it has a real OS and keyboard yet can be a tablet if you want.  It came with Windows7 but I've loaded Linux - will be able to load Intel-based Android when that comes out and probably webOS when that is available.

I'd like to see more thinner tablet/netbooks transformers with a real OS than tablets with a limited OS intended for a phone. iPad has its place for non-tech consumers but it is a very limited device and with outrageously tight Apple controls.

[bobbyhawks]

I see some type of system like this, along the lines of Mean's thoughts, with a tiny, powerful machine and dock + screen/tv at home being an ideal setup into the future.  One machine with enough power, functionality and available ports to be a true jack of all trades.  Of course, my alienware weighs 4.5 lbs...the Macbook Air is, I think, a much better example of the possibilities of a somewhat powerful, small computer.

Well, if we are going to play futurist, I see the future of portable devices being wrist watch-like devices, if not something embedded in our shoes.  The problem with using anything bigger than a 4" screen for everything is that 7"+ screens just dont work as phones.  They aren't easy enough to carry in a pocket.  Eventually, we will have essentially a body server, in say a watch, in a wallet sized pocket device, or in a shoe, with multiple accessories to provide an interface to that device.  Currently, the 7" to 12" touch screen is the best interface I have seen for a user from an ease of use standpoint.  You are currently able to carry a rollable or foldable keyboard and pair it to almost any tablet.  Docks are out there for pretty much everything that can give you the laptop factor, speed is ever increasing, and the operating systems are still in their infancy.  Just as we saw the leap from regular iOS apps to Garageband in one year of the iPad, we will see dramatic increases in what is offered for both Android tablets and the iPad in the next year.  My iPad currently does 100% mirroring on my HDTV at home, and it wirelessly sends AirPlay video and audio to any computer (Win, Linux, Mac), iOS device, or Airport.  I agree with a lot of what you have said, but I also think that these devices can do a lot of the things you said you wished they could do, already.

iPad has its place for non-tech consumers but it is a very limited device and with outrageously tight Apple controls.

Perhaps you would consider otherwise, but I would consider myself to be a "tech" consumer.  I do not jump onto bandwagons, carefully research my tech purchases before making them, and have no bias towards Windows, Linux, or Apple.  I love the iPad.  I hate the way Apple chooses to run its store and to restrict its OS, but there are some tradeoffs for using the smoothest running tablet on the market.  I can always jailbreak the device down the road if I grow impatient.

Also all just my opinion.  Not saying anyone is wrong.

[ignatius]

Sounds like Sprint might get iPhone this year.  Several analysts have stated this over last few days and now a job posting shows up...

http://www.9to5mac.com/67429/apple-job- ... nt-iphone/

[KCPowercat]

Good news for Sprint.  No denying the iPhone is popular among many.

[bobbyhawks]

Any ideas what the big reveal will be this weekend for the 10th anniversary of Apple's retail stores?  They are evidently signing confidentiality agreements, turning over phones, and being locked in for an overnight training session this weekend.  Some speculate that it will be for the new iCloud service, which I'm not really that excited for in the slightest, seeing as how it is just a way for Apple for further control your online media purchases.  How will they manage people with mp3s ripped from CDs or downloaded directly from artists websites?  The whole thing from Apple's end just sounds scary.  From a privacy standpoint, and from a functionality standpoint, I think people that are able are better off using services that allow you to remotely connect to a computer or NAS at home than to willingly give your information to Apple, Google, Amazon, etc.  Just think about how the RIAA is licking its chops to subpoena those companies for access to analize and sift through your music.  Also, think of the ramifications of accounts getting hacked, music deleted, getting in trouble for sharing passwords with multiple people...

Other rumors have them set to unveil the Sprint and T-Mobile iPhones, but that is more likely to wait until the iPhone 5 unveil.

[mean]

Screw "the cloud" for personal media storage. That is the worst idea ever. Personal media should be stored on a fileserver at your house.

[DaveKCMO]

just allow me to sync wirelessly (like windows phone 7!).

[mean]

Dropbox?

[beautyfromashes]

phanfare

[staubio]

Screw "the cloud" for personal media storage. That is the worst idea ever. Personal media should be stored on a fileserver at your house.

...and backed up to a tape drive. Or why not just use floppies?

[mean]

I'm not very concerned about backups. Just RAID5 the fileserver. If my house burns down, I have a lot more to worry about than episodes of Glee and Dead Kennedys albums.

[staubio]

I'm not very concerned about backups. Just RAID5 the fileserver. If my house burns down, I have a lot more to worry about than episodes of Glee and Dead Kennedys albums.

Actually, that was intended as a sarcastic commentary on your curmudgeonly resistance to the future.

[mean]

I got that, I just ignored it.

I'm not really resisting the future. I think cloud computing is awesome for certain applications, I just think it's foolish to rely on it for certainly applications. I actually had a chat about this yesterday with a friend of mine who is a fairly popular tech writer, and he's got all his music in Amazon's cloud and uses their Cloud Player on his iPad, etc., so obviously not everyone in the tech world agrees with me.

Ultimately, I think most people will transition to the cloud, and most of the people who do won't have many problems. There will be a couple incidents of people being locked out of their media, various clouds will shit themselves from time to time, and it will be inconvenient but everyone will deal with it. Which is fine. I just think it's easier and more practical to host my own files.

[bobbyhawks]

Obviously, the cloud is here to stay, but I am still resisting certain aspects of it initially.  I won't host my music on it (I do currently use home server hosted apps like iSub/Subsonic, and Plex which do essentially the same things) initially.  I think there are too many kinks to iron out before everyone is aware of what handing over your personal files to an online service really entails.  There are a lot of benefits, and I think those are plainly obvious, but the first time Dropbox, or Apple, or someone else, really ticks off a group like Anonymous, expect to see all of your personal videos, photos, proprietary documents, diaries, etc. distributed about the internet for all to see.  That has much more potential to damage the lives and livelihoods of those using those services than simply having to reset your credit card number and fill out a bunch of forms.  That is the type of thing that could ruin relationships, tarnish images, reveal critical business information, and it is all in a central location, managed by a central gatekeeper.

What I expect to see in the near future are "cloud" services that are more like bank vaults or personal backup storage solutions.  Once a week or day or whatever, a one way push goes to the service for backups, and that information is only available upon written request/in person request/some other two factor means of authentication.  Someone with the foresight of Swiss bankers could create a server farm and favorably legislated privacy situation for just that.  This would be a method to avoid catastrophic loss of personal data, but I also expect more media solutions to evolve as services like Netflix which help to eliminate the need to store a bunch of files.

[KC0KEK]

For consumers, doesn't the cloud start lose its appeal the more that broadband providers meter their services?

[staubio]

For consumers, doesn't the cloud start lose its appeal the more that broadband providers meter their services?

That is the current reality, but the future reality is one where things like Google Fiber exist. Our broadband service in this country is abysmal, but it will be forced to keep up. And the current state of broadband service is a big reason I don't like hosting for myself: there is virtually no upload speed at all, so accessing things sitting at home is a chore.

For me, the idea of a big, dusty, hot, buzzing file server is incredibly old fashioned, especially in a studio loft. The idea of outsourcing every bit of my computing needs I can is very appealing to me. There is also the sophistication gap, where I have to figure out how to configure the file server and what software to use to serve that content to different client platforms. I used to be a geek tinkerer to that extent, but my interest now lies more with mobile and online, not old fashioned servers.

I don't want to upgrade my hard drives, configure and restore backups, replace power supplies, etc. I'd rather just put it online, access it anywhere and not worry about it -- for about the price of what powering that file server would cost.

That said, I don't think cloud services are there yet, so my PC continues to act as a poor man's file server to stream content inside my network. If I wanted to do more with it, I probably could. There is probably a huge market for geek experts in this world to just go in and configure HTPCs and file servers and streaming appliances for people that can't be bothered. What you can accomplish with cheap hardware and open source software is remarkable if you know what you are doing.

[TheBigChuckbowski]

I tried hosting everything from home but with 80 kilobyte/second upload speed from TWC, it's pretty much impossible to use. Once Google is up and running, I don't think the cloud would make much sense.

[bobbyhawks]

I tried hosting everything from home but with 80 kilobyte/second upload speed from TWC, it's pretty much impossible to use. Once Google is up and running, I don't think the cloud would make much sense.

Good point.  Upload speeds have been tough on me, but it ends up working OK most of the time for music.  Can't wait for Google fiber, and while a year in tech is a long time, I'm already reviewing satellite TV deals.