It has everything I want on the iPad. I might look into this.
HP's competition for the iPad!
- Thread starter Brent
- Start date
This is the present... and in the present we have USB devices, SD cards and reliance on local storage.
Omitting basic functionality found in ubiquity in all other modern computers doesn't make Apple's latest toys transformative devices, it just forces suckers to buy external floppy drives or camera kits or whatever other stupid crap they can charge extra for.
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Stone_Cold_Sisko
Guest
wrong thread
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In which case Apple is controlling what apps you can and cannot use, little over a month ago they were making headlines for pulling sexually suggestive apps from the app store (except those from well known companies, of course
). And don't think they wont pull apps from well known companies, they did exactly that last summer when they pulled the Google Voice app, part of a string of retaliatory efforts by Apple against Google because Google had the audacity to enter to phone market.And, frankly, I don't like the YouTube app on my phone, I find the site much easier to navigate on my phone's native browser (which has flash) and the quality seems to be much better too. Now, if the next version of Opera Mobile includes flash lite for my phone (which is possible because they've already included a beta version of it for WinMo) then I'll be a very happy guy.
In which case Apple is controlling what apps you can and cannot use, little over a month ago they were making headlines for pulling sexually suggestive apps from the app store (except those from well known companies, of course
And, frankly, I don't like the YouTube app on my phone, I find the site much easier to navigate on my phone's native browser (which has flash) and the quality seems to be much better too. Now, if the next version of Opera Mobile includes flash lite for my phone (which is possible because they've already included a beta version of it for WinMo) then I'll be a very happy guy.
Vendor lock-in and control is a big part of why I don't buy Apple products. I dislike being restricted with what I can and can't do on my devices. It's why my current phone is a Palm and my next will probably be an Android. Were I ever to buy another tablet device (I have both a UMPC and a convertible tablet) it would be something like the forthcoming HP slate device.
I realize most people couldn't care less about hacking and tweaking. They want stuff that "just works." Apple fills that need. But it's just not for me.
I, personally, shy away from anything that involves vender lock-in... because you never can be sure that a vender will be around in the future. Everything about all my computers will function independently of the future existence of the original vender or their continued support.
As examples, I use Sun, SGI and NeXT systems, none of them are still around (as independent companies) any more, nor do I need them to be. The same is true of all my Apple products. If Apple disappears tomorrow, I could function for years (most likely 10 or more) without worrying about anything other than hardware fixes (which I've always done myself anyways).
The alternatives are nothing short of horror stories from my perspective.
For example, Windows since the release of XP. If Microsoft disappeared tomorrow, you wouldn't be able to install/reinstall Windows on your computer. Microsoft has to activate your installation. No Microsoft, no activation, no Windows.
Another example is Mathematica since either version 3 or 4. Wolfram has to activate your copy Mathematica for your hardware. I had version 4.1 installed on my PowerBook which had it's logic board die. When I replaced the logic board (which included the hardware serial number of the system), Mathematica stopped running.
As there wasn't anything I absolutely needed from that version, I just went back to using version 2.2.2 (which didn't have that issue).Another example was a number of online music stores which closed down. In the case of Microsoft's MSN Music Store, once Microsoft shut down their playsforsure server, whatever system your music was on was the final resting place of that music, it couldn't be activated on any other future systems.
I don't trust corporations... any corporation, enough to need that type of dependance on them.
If Apple disappears tomorrow... oh well. My newest Mac is 10 years old. I'll most likely keep using it for another couple years before I get something newer (but used). It could be 10 years before I end up with whatever new Macs are being sold today and another 10 years after that before I start to worry about what I'll need to replace that with (most likely a Linux system if that were the case). We're talking about nearly 20+ years before Apple's disappearance would have a direct effect on me. NeXT has been gone for 13 years (and Apple dropped support for it's products about 10 years ago) and I'm still happily using those systems today.
Decry vender lock-in all you want, I'll be standing right there at your side doing the same. None of us should be that dependent on any of these corporations. Apple users haven't yet been screwed over the way that Microsoft users have been, but the potential is absolutely there in some of these products and people should be aware of it.
So, some of the specs and price for this new HP is leaking out:
1.6GHz Atom processor
32GB of storage on board storage
8.9-inch, 1024x600 screen
5 hours of battery life
So, it's basically a touch screen netbook, and not a true PADD.
1.6GHz Atom processor
32GB of storage on board storage
8.9-inch, 1024x600 screen
5 hours of battery life
So, it's basically a touch screen netbook, and not a true PADD.
Um, define a true "PADD"?
I don't think the comparison should be to a fictional Star Trek PADD, I think the comparison should be the to the iPad, which is its clear competition.
IF the specs you posted are correct, then it seems like it will compete very well with the iPad. Certainly it has the capability to have more features than the first gen iPad.
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Stone_Cold_Sisko
Guest
That's incorrect, there were several working versions shown at CES, one on a walk-through by an HP guy.
I'm not comparing it to the trek device, I just think that the trek nomenclature is correct for this new field of device. It is a Personal Access Display/Device. Not a true computer, like netbooks, tablet pc's, UMPC's ect. It is simply an electronic device which primary function is to allow access to media and content, with limited on board storage primarily for native applications and short term storage of media content for off network access, from a central "library" computer, media server, or the internet.
I meant the video, not the actual device.
I, personally, shy away from anything that involves vender lock-in... because you never can be sure that a vender will be around in the future. Everything about all my computers will function independently of the future existence of the original vender or their continued support.
As examples, I use Sun, SGI and NeXT systems, none of them are still around (as independent companies) any more, nor do I need them to be. The same is true of all my Apple products. If Apple disappears tomorrow, I could function for years (most likely 10 or more) without worrying about anything other than hardware fixes (which I've always done myself anyways).
The alternatives are nothing short of horror stories from my perspective.
For example, Windows since the release of XP. If Microsoft disappeared tomorrow, you wouldn't be able to install/reinstall Windows on your computer. Microsoft has to activate your installation. No Microsoft, no activation, no Windows.
Microsoft's attempts at vendor lock-in are pretty piss-poor, in my opinion.
Windows Activation aside--because it is so easily bypassed--Microsoft doesn't control what software can and can't run on Windows. They don't require you to purchase a license from them to develop Windows software, and so forth.Any Linux or BSD flavor would, of course, be preferable for commodity PC hardware if you really want to avoid even the appearance of vendor lock-in.
Another example is Mathematica since either version 3 or 4. Wolfram has to activate your copy Mathematica for your hardware. I had version 4.1 installed on my PowerBook which had it's logic board die. When I replaced the logic board (which included the hardware serial number of the system), Mathematica stopped running.
Ugh. I hate hardware hashing, dongles, and all that jazz. What a bunch of nonsense.
This is why I only buy unrestricted MP3s online.
I agree. I realize the situation is different on the Mac, but when it comes to the iPhone/iPad ecosystem, Apple holds all the keys, and I'm not too keen on that.
If Apple disappears tomorrow, iPhones and iPads become expensive paperweights. At best, they would be little more than pricey phones and Internet terminals, respectively. Then again, if no one's maintaining the hardware and software anymore, I guess people would have free reign to jailbreak them with impunity.
Decry vender lock-in all you want, I'll be standing right there at your side doing the same. None of us should be that dependent on any of these corporations. Apple users haven't yet been screwed over the way that Microsoft users have been, but the potential is absolutely there in some of these products and people should be aware of it.
I realize Microsoft would love to control things to a greater extent than they do, but they just can't. The Windows platform has been around too long for anyone to put up with locking it down now. Even Windows 7's activation system was cracked before RTM.
I fear for the day Microsoft becomes remotely competent at vendor lock-in, though! That'll be the last day I use Windows on any home PC. 
The battery life shortfall will be a huge problem. So will the inevitably half-baked overlay UI to cover up Windows 7's shortcomings as a touch-enabled OS. In the end though, I think that the Slate and the iPad are targeting different markets. The HP offers the same computing experience you can get on a laptop or desktop with touch input grafted over top. The iPad offers a new experience that focuses on getting the user to his/her content with the least amount of fuss. So its entirely likely that the Slate and the iPad could be successful catering to different segements.
Or the HP could fall flat on its face, like every single Windows-based tablet before it.
Or the HP could fall flat on its face, like every single Windows-based tablet before it.
I haven't used Windows for years, but from what I've read about how Microsoft treats users and developers on Windows, I'm surprised (shocked) that you would use such a platform.Microsoft's attempts at vendor lock-in are pretty piss-poor, in my opinion.
Any Linux or BSD flavor would, of course, be preferable for commodity PC hardware if you really want to avoid even the appearance of vendor lock-in.
To my knowledge, Apple (nor any other computer/software company) can hold a candle to the things that Microsoft has both attempted and/or accomplished. And I've personally seen Microsoft bare down on people for software piracy who weren't even using Microsoft products.
But I'm curious... you seem to be holding Apple's standards for iPhone/iPad development up against Windows rather than something like the Xbox. I don't know about Windows, but I can write software for a Mac without paying a single cent. On the other hand, I don't see the Xbox as an open (license free) system for development.
Heck, I could actually start development of Mac software on a Linux or BSD system using GNUstep as a foundation as GNUstep was originally based on the OpenStep Specifications, which in turn are what Cocoa APIs (used in both Mac and iPhone environments) are based on.
So are you holding Apple to a higher standard than Microsoft? I mean shouldn't there be just one standard for everything?
It is funny... Apple is just some company, and really doesn't have the ability to effect anyone's lives if those people don't want it to. Microsoft has it's hands in nearly every aspect of our world (and by world, I mean most countries). Microsoft is much like the banks that were too big to fail... no matter what, the world couldn't survive if Microsoft disappeared at this point.
Literally, Apple doesn't know anything about vender lock-in compared to Microsoft, and Microsoft has been willing at times to pay multi-million dollar fines daily to protect that lock-in. I've seen Apple do some bad things... but they are still amateurs at lock-in.
And do multiple things with at once, and probably even actualy change the batteries on when they die for good (rather than backing up personal files and shipping your device away and being without it for a several weeks while your multi-hundred dollar battery change takes place.)
This HP device looks a little more like it in this market for portable computers.
Why would I want a device like that when I could have one that does the same thing but is also built well for storage and has flash drive capacity? What's the point of matching a device to something that you think could be cool when you can make it do even more?
DH's comparisson of this device and what maks a "true" device of this nature with the metric of TNG's PADD is... silly. And, IIRC, even PADDs had removable storage in the form of the Isolinear Chips. But even of they didn't they had the advantage of being "networked" with the Enterprise computer so anywhere on the ship, and presumably anywhere in the Federation, a person with a PADD could accsess their personal files. With the iPad, saving an internet file-storage service there's no way to get a personal file from your PC to the iPad (that I am aware of.)
So if the HP "PADD" can have a flash-drive connected to it that gives it a huge advantage over the iPad, a person can move his files from the computer to the "PADD" without having to go through the extra step of putting the file onto a web service and then download it with the iPad.
And, where is it said that devices like these can't have USB ports, headphone jacks or things of that nature?
So if the HP "PADD" can have a flash-drive connected to it that gives it a huge advantage over the iPad, a person can move his files from the computer to the "PADD" without having to go through the extra step of putting the file onto a web service and then download it with the iPad.
And, where is it said that devices like these can't have USB ports, headphone jacks or things of that nature?
Well, price, for one. More capability can push up the pricetag.
But Apple also likes to push new approaches. They were the first to eliminate the floppy drive, now they're eliminating the USB port on the tablet....maybe that backfires, maybe it pushes things in a new direction again. Time will tell.
But Apple also likes to push new approaches. They were the first to eliminate the floppy drive, now they're eliminating the USB port on the tablet....maybe that backfires, maybe it pushes things in a new direction again. Time will tell.
I'm not terribly familiar with the specs of these things, but couldn't you just remotely log into your computer over a wireless LAN and copy whatever that way?
Yeah, I suppose you could. Still seems to me that a USB port would be useful in some situations where maybe a LAN wouldn't be feasable. It just seems like an oversight that shouldn't have occured. Removable/movable physical storage just seems like one of those things that should've been on the iPad from the begining.
So can having the i in the front of it. I seriously doubt that they couldn't come out with one if they chose to for the same price.