dissociatedpress.com » Mac Tablet

You Won’t Find The G-Spot With Your iPad

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:25:09 +0000

If you’re the sort of person who thinks of Microsoft as The Evil One, you haven’t really followed what Google and Apple have been up to lately. And if you think that tablet devices don’t have a big future you’re probably also fortunate that you don’t have investment dollars either, because you’d be kicking yourself down the road for the opportunities you missed. Yes, the tablet wars are on. Steve Ballmer rushed the announcement of the HP/Windows Slate to beat Steve Jobs recent unveiling of the iPad. And hot on the tails of Jobs’ announcement, Google released a rather feeble concept video of their Chrome Operating System in use on an imaginary tablet device (images here). And then of course there’s the lawsuit against the Indian company that allegedly stole the CrunchPad and renamed it the JooJoo. But what’s really going to be interesting about how this all plays out is that it’s not about the devices per se, it’s about who controls how you do what you do, and all the big players know this. Yes, Apple kicked Adobe in the face over flash, but in a way, who cares? Flash has been a crashmonster since its inception. What’s really at stake here is how you get on the web, where you buy things, and how you do your business. And Apple’s closed system on the iPad is geared toward this end. Google already has search pretty well locked down, and they additionally want you phoning and creating all your office documents through tools like the Google Phone, Google Voice, Google Docs, and G-Mail. Imagine a future in which the coolest new device doesn’t play nice with the coolest new tools you want to use on it. And if you can’t even install your own software, because it’s all located on a remote server that you have no contorl over. And to take “Evil” to a new level in this realm, now that Apple makes their own chips for their exclusionary device, they’re essentially like Intel and Microsoft rolled into one. Adding a little irony to all of this is the fact that Apple is talking to Microsoft about replacing Google on the iPhone with Bing. Who is your evil nemesis now?

Chrome OS Tablet Concept Vid

Steve Jobs Wears iPatch To Pitch Pre-Hacked arghPod?

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:27:15 +0000

What is Apple’s new arghPod? An anti-piracy device? Did they finally decide to save iPhone users the trouble, and jailbreak the phones for them? Is it simply a symbolic expression of the frustration we’re all feeling as we await the release of some kind of Apple tablet device? Argh. Everyone seems pretty sure that a tablet called iSlate is what Steve Jobs will announce on Monday Wednesday, and as we pointed out recently, that would be the perfect name, because it iS late, is late indeed. But maybe it’s something else. The image released to the press isn’t very informative; it suggests that maybe Apple is getting into the Splatball gun market. Or maybe they’re just announcing the new iTunes cloud music venture. I don’t know why I fret so much about the release of the thing; I probably won’t buy one for a year after the release date anyway. Whatever Steve Jobs announces on Monday, the fact is that no-one who knows for sure is telling yet what it is, so the speculation can continue. Which is why we dredged up our favorites from old Worth1000 contests for imaginary Apple products, as well as a couple of other parodies, including our own. See our selections below.

Buying A Touchscreen Tablet PC: Mac, Android Vega, Or CrunchPad?

admin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:53:26 +0000

One thing I’ve noticed about these tablet
PC’s is that they all look better
with Dissociated Press on the screen

I don’t know why I’m so impatient. I mean, it was just a few thousand years ago that we were still picking bugs off of each other’s heads and grunting, but for some reason I expect the personal computer to be the size of a small legal pad, talk, accept voice commands, and have a holographic keyboard in the first thirty years of its evolution. But in my heart of hearts, I know that’s unreasonable, so I’ll settle for a decent tablet PC with a touch screen. And whine about it ’til I get one. Preferably a Mac, as I’ve said before, but recently I’ve considered lowering my standards. Especially after the last couple of weeks of hoopla about the mystery tablet that NVIDIA’s CEO used to taunt the tech press. In spite of a short-lived flurry of rumors that it had something to do with a Mac Tablet, it’s now pretty clear that it was an IDC Vega 15 inch tablet. And if it was, I’ll add this to the list of devices I’d consider buying, along with the the CrunchPad. I just want to get rid of my cellphone and laptop, and do it for less than a couple grand. Take your time, Apple. As much as I love you, personally I’ll probably settle for a tablet that actually exists in physical reality.

The mystery tablet that NVIDIA’s CEO was teasing everyone with:

Turned out to be an IDC Vega 15 inch tablet:

And this is the CrunchPad mentioned above:

Don’t Discount The Five-Finger Method

admin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:19:28 +0000

I’m always babbling about innovative laptops and cool user interfaces, but the video at left explaining a new user interface concept by 10GUI is probably the most insightful rethinking of the desktop that I’ve seen in a long time. As an interface designer myself, I think the iPhone (although I feel no need to own one myself) is probably the most brilliant personal computer interface to date. I’ve been dying to own a larger device that utilizes its multitouch features, which is why I’m always drooling over the idea of a Mac tablet or dual-touchscreen laptop, but have also often thought about how a lot of the features of a multitouch screen are actually antithetical to the realities of desktop use. This video by 10GUI references that, and offers a fantastic solution. I’d have to try the deeper levels of task and file management that they demonstrate in the video before I’d know if I agree with the solutions offered, but on the surface they make perfect sense. I’d love to see this interface integrated into a real device and try it. If you’re interested in this sort of thing, the nerd all the nerds love to hate (Michael Arrington) just (ahem) touched on this topic the other day over at TechCrunch.

10GUI shows us where it hurts:

Forget That Mac Tablet – The Microsoft Courier Is Coming

admin — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:44:10 +0000

My interest in the ultimate iThingy, innovative laptop concepts, and the much-rumoured Mac Tablet borders on an unhealthy obsession. If somebody would just go ahead and MAKE one of the darn things, I’d be the first sucka in line to buy one. And now, I’m in real danger, because the Microsoft Courier may just beat the Mac tablet to market. I mean, when you’re talking about imaginary magic fairy gizmos, anything can happen, right? The impending Microsoft answer to the Mac hoopla is actually pretty intriguing. Watch the video below to see exactly how cool an imaginary Microsoft product can be. I’m just left wondering how a device that small can possibly run a Windows operating system. It must have a pretend fairy-powered CPU too. And since it’s a startlingly clever concept considering its Redmond origins, rabid PC-hating MacFreaks of course had to immediately dig up this video from 1988 showing that Apple was “already there”. Well, thank God Apple didn’t go there; if I had to look at and listen to that little bowtie-wearing dork in the video every day I’d stop using computers altogether. He’s more annoying than “Microsoft Bob” or “Clippy”. Well, maybe not Clippy. And just one last thought (swiped from Microsoft’s grinning robots or the Brotherhood of the Mac. Which is worse? ) to all you Mac-fixated zombies out there who are going to claim in advance that the Courier couldn’t possibly compare to a Mac Tablet: “Go back to your house. I know, you’ve got an iHouse. The walls are brushed aluminum. There’s a glowing Apple logo on the roof. And you love it there. You absolute MONSTER.”

Microsoft Courier
One of the coolest things ever from Microsoft. Too bad it doesn’t exist.

Apple’s 1988 Knowledge Navigator
With a bowtie-wearing helper that’s more annoying than clippy.

So far, the only source for images is Gizmodo. Are these genuine exlusives, or do they just make these products up, forcing the vendors to actually make them?

iWish iHad a Mac Tablet

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 04:34:46 +0000

This Mac Conversion Goes A Little Overboard

I have no interest in owning an iPhone. I don’t go to meetings every day with trembling hands and utter “My name is Ian, and I’m powerless in the face of Apple“. I refuse to use iTunes, and I hate their business strategy and software. I get mildly annoyed when people tell me how I’ve made so much progress since I started using a MacBook (a machine I love, by the way). In spite of all this, I literally salivate when someone says “Mac Tablet”. I saw an Apple MessagePad back before I even used computers, and was dumbfounded when I finally started using a PC in 1999 to find that the product had been quickly abandoned. So will the world of tech industry and business news PLEASE STOP TORTURING ME? Industry sources have been saying “coming this fall” since around the time of this May 2008 rumor. Yesterday’s rumor is that they just shot an ad for the new Mac Tablet at a diner in Truckee, California. This all hot on the heels of the buzz about some mysterious “veteran analyst” actually handling the thing. To fan the flames of my lustful depravity, Mashable presented this comprehensive roundup of imagined Mac Tablets last week. My pick would have to be Tommaso Gecchelin’s flexible touchscreen notebook (pictured below), which most agree is an exceedingly unlikely Apple design. For now, alas, the only available Mac Tablet is the Axiotron ModBook, which somehow seems like one of those car kits that turns a Volkswagon into a sports car. Maybe I should’ve included the Mac Tablet in my list of Disappointing Technologies…

Tommaso Gecchelin’s Flexible Touchscreen Notebook Concept:

iLong For The Ultimate iThingy

admin — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 05:11:36 +0000

For years I’ve endured Microsoft Windows for business reasons, claiming I’d buy a Mac when the price was right. Well, the price finally became right – thanks to my friend Eric – who hooked me up with a lightly-used black MacBook. My new gizmo then led me to fantasize about the perfect laptop. I’ve always dreamed of an “all screen” device that blends a multi-touch user interface, scanner, and projection device in one lightweight package. Things are getting closer. The device pictured at left is a One Laptop Per Child concept, but Mac addicts are claiming that Apple is about to announce something very much like it. Combine the flexibilty of that interface with this inspired, “holographic shadow” interface (vimeo clip) and a digital pen, and all that’s missing is the scanner.