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Handhelds Portables Apple

iPad Launches, FCC Teardown Leaked 617

Apple's much-awaited iPad officially launched today, and iFixit has gotten their hands on photos from the FCC teardown. They've done an analysis of the internals and provided directions on doing it yourself, if you're so inclined. Predictably, it's a hot topic in the media. Cory Doctorow wrote about why he won't be getting an iPad, complaining about the closed, hacker-unfriendly design and what he calls the "Wal-martization of the software channel." Daring Fireball's John Gruber disagrees, pointing out that enthusiasts — even kids exercising their curiosity — are still quite capable of playing around with the iPad through app creation, and with much more of a chance to compete with big companies than in the Apple ][ days. Similarly, others are referring to it as the "bedtime computer" — technology that has a reasonable shot at expanding into completely new areas of use, like bedtime reading for kids. Such a device was predicted in 1972 by Alan Kay, the PARC scientist credited with the epigram "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." His hypothetical DynaBook bears striking similarity to what Apple finally came up with. So, those of you who have picked up or received an iPad already: how do you like it?
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iPad Launches, FCC Teardown Leaked

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  • by Ziekheid ( 1427027 ) on Saturday April 03, 2010 @12:44PM (#31716528)

    Looks like you've gone blind watching Apple commercials. Since he can use windows he can easily use any other version of windows on a new 500 dollar pc. Since you pay for the 3G package I could argue that he, for that money, can instead also get some decent internet for his pc. Also, comparing a PC with the iPad is hilarious to say the least and there are tons of tablet pc alternatives that provide more than the iPad does for the same money.
    And yeah, these are intuitive and easy too.

  • by wampus ( 1932 ) on Saturday April 03, 2010 @12:44PM (#31716532)

    Obviously a lack of cult association. You know, marketing.

  • by betterunixthanunix ( 980855 ) on Saturday April 03, 2010 @12:56PM (#31716632)
    "They will sell millions."

    Doctorow's point was well put: if parents buy this for their kids, their kids will be conditioned not to tinker. I am sure millions will be sold...but those who would otherwise have tinkered will be deprived of an opportunity to do so. Maybe you do not care about such things, but some of us do.
  • by SanityInAnarchy ( 655584 ) <ninja@slaphack.com> on Saturday April 03, 2010 @01:56PM (#31717122) Journal

    It's trivial to filter out Apple stories.

  • by Obyron ( 615547 ) on Saturday April 03, 2010 @02:03PM (#31717244)
    I get that that's the stock response, but I think it's a copout. A netbook is in fact the nearest comparable device to the iPad that is currently common in the user space, and the fact that pretty much any comparable netbook crushes the iPad in performance and price is fact, regardless of the weak protestations that that's not what they're trying to do.
  • by Scrameustache ( 459504 ) on Saturday April 03, 2010 @02:10PM (#31717318) Homepage Journal

    Maybe in 6 months when normal people get a look at one they will see it as the same 'magical' do-nothing-special device that the iPod and iPhone turned out to be.

    And then they'll buy them by the tens of millions every year? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ipod_sales_per_quarter.svg [wikipedia.org]

    I'm sorry if you think that's "going gaga over how cool it is", but I call that "looking at the bottom line". Then again, you think iPods "do nothing", while I'm still using my 2002 model as an external hard drive.

  • by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 03, 2010 @02:22PM (#31717418)

    Well, you won't stop the fanbois from tearing into you, but you have proven your absolute misunderstanding of 90% of "anti-Apple" talk that happens here on slashdot. Granted there are the trolls that will bash the device on empty grounds, but most people will provide their *opinion,* then back it up with some technical reasoning and possible alternatives. Its you that sees this as anti-Apple and not anti-iPad.

    Personally, I refuse to purchase anything made by Apple. I know that they ship quality products, but I cannot agree to the terms in which they do business nor do I like the nature of most Apple retailers/users/communities.

  • by Scrameustache ( 459504 ) on Saturday April 03, 2010 @02:26PM (#31717464) Homepage Journal

    A thingy I can draw on and watch movies with?

    You can do those things with just about any electronic device on the market in the past 10 years...

    interactive

    WRONG. These devices are all about consumption, not creation.

    Hey, Lex [ytmnd.com], chill out and look at the first thing I would buy for an iPad: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=123112&id=6848332 [autodesk.com]

  • by fermion ( 181285 ) on Saturday April 03, 2010 @02:59PM (#31717778) Homepage Journal
    The reason that many products, specifically Linux, have not value in the consumer market is that there is no connection between the consumers wallet and the content provider. Everyone on /. may disagree, but as a software developer and a writer I expect to get paid. Maybe not huge amounts, but I need money to live and buy toys.

    Not everyone wants cheap content. For those that do there are many different venues. The people that the WSJ is aimed at does not live in a world of cheap content. In fact, like doctors, they want over priced everything so they can justify their overblown salaries.

    As far as ads, one thing with the iPad are ad free publication that may be cheaper than even a subscription. This is value. Another thing with ads is that they do pay for the content, and are in fact useful to many people. An individual may say that they ads are useless to them, and if that is true then the publisher does not really care if you read the journal or not. In most journals I read, the ads are educational. The local newspaper is still relevant because it connects consumers and products. So while ads on the computer are getting a bit out of line, they are not horrible. Even on netflix, where they want to spend five minutes talking to me about birth control, I just turn down the volume in that window and read something.

    We really don't know what the ad and price model for the iPad is going to be. I can tell you that I would rather have the iPhone than anything with flash as it does block the ads. Since I like to get paid for I do, I don't have a moral bias against others getting paid for what they do, and therefore do not have a moral bias against ads. I know many people would not help to lift a finger to help others unless there was payment involved, but whose wallets close when anything expenditure is expected from them.

    In any case, it looks like content may be expensive on the iPad, but as is said, that does not mean that one can't browse the web as normal. One might even think of become a creative agent rather than just someone who complains all the time. It is not hard to set up an ad free website that delivers original self funded content.

  • by centuren ( 106470 ) on Saturday April 03, 2010 @03:45PM (#31718154) Homepage Journal

    Apple did with media player what Sony did with cassette player. The built to a quality specification and not a price point.

    Sony made some extremely high quality portable music players. When the iPod came out, they added MP3 support of sorts to their proprietary format, coming out with new models of their extremely high quality players. Their software, however, was terrible. Both to use, and due to suffering limitations thanks to being a record label company along side as a portable music player company. In terms of hardware though, Sony didn't stop with their quality and design with the cassette or compact disc Walkman players.

  • by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 03, 2010 @10:02PM (#31720654)

    open-sourcing WebKit,

    Which they ripped off from KHTML.

    open-sourcing GrandCentralDispatch,

    Wow, that's cute, a work queue library. Nobody's ever written that before. Yes, I'm sure you can't find another open source version of that.

    Please see the forest for the trees. There might be a few token gestures here and there, but Apple is still turning the mobile internet into a walled garden.

Take care of the luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves. -- Lazarus Long

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