Ein Auditorium in Kalifornien. Der Redner trägt Brille, Jeans und einen schwarzen Rollkragenpulli. Er hat sein neues Spielzeug mitgebracht. Mit beiden Händen fuchtelt er auf dem Bildschirm herum, sortiert Fotos, vergrößert sie mit zwei Fingern und staucht sie wieder zusammen. „Es gibt keine Bedienungsanleitung. Es passiert genau, was man erwartet.“ Er dreht einen virtuellen Globus, zoomt heran, alles in einer einzigen, flüssigen Bewegung. Die anwesenden Fachleute sind verwirrt, als schauten sie einem Magier zu. Langsam dämmert ihnen, dass sie dem Beginn einer neuen Ära beiwohnen. „Wo ist Dein Labor?“, ruft einer. „Ich bin Forscher an der New York University“, antwortet der Redner. Sein Name: Jeff Han. (Source: heise.de)

Aber: Jeff wer? Nicht Steve Jobs?

Interessant ist dass der beschriebene Vortrag schon im Februar 2006 gehalten wurde, weit bevor das iPad überhaupt angekündigt wurde… iPad Version 0 quasi – und viele der Gestures auf dem großen Screen sind heute in der iPad Photo app zu finden. Das Video ist sehr zu empfehlen, nicht nur für Apple Fanboys!

Nevertheless for me the new Apple TV has been the highlight of yesterdays announcement. I think the new $99 price tag will attract a lot of buyers… well done! I’m just wondering if this also means that finally movie rental will be available in Austria? Something I complained about a while ago… and it does not look that good – Apple Austria does not even list the Apple TV right now

However – what will be available is AirPlay streaming – something I missed in the initial iPad version. Let’s see when the other open features are implemented…. iPad version 2, where are you?

(Image (c) Apple)

Theoretisch.

Praktisch nämlich nur wenn man in Deutschland wohnt und nicht im Entwicklungsland Österreich. Weil hierzulande wird im iTunes-Store kein einziges (!!!) Video angeboten. Aber die Apple TV Box wird weiterhin verkauft.

Ob die Käufer das vor dem Kauf wissen? Dass das Gerät in Österreich zum großen Teil nutzlos ist? Und ob den Filmstudios bewusst ist, dass sie so sicher nicht mehr verkaufen? Besonders wenn man die Filme auch kostenlos bekommt?

What the iPad is and what it is not

• The iPad is not a computer replacement. It is not meant to be your only computer in a household. Yes, it might work out for some special cases (my mum, my dad) but the average geek will still need a separate computer for development, hacking etc.
• The iPad does support multi-tasking. You can listen to music while browsing the Web. All well-coded applications will remember the application state, so going to a link while reading a mail will open up the very same mail once you open up the mail application again. IM has proven to work very well using Push notifications and I bet there will be better support for Push in the next release of the iPad OS (list all notifications etc.).
• The iPad cannot make phone calls and therefore is also no cell phone replacement. Well, you can make calls using i.e. Skype and a Bluetooth headset. Who wants such a large cell phone anyway? I never really understood that kind of comment…. it’s no phone at all! The iPad is a iPod Touch on steroids and targets unusable, slow Netbooks with Windows on it. So it is also no cell phone replacement.
• The iPad has three (3!) different keyboards. You can use the onscreen keyboard, which (according to my experience with the iPhone) will work very well in most cases. As alternatives you can use a Bluetooth keyboard or use the keyboard-dock. Plenty of options for faster typing.
• The pricing is quite ok – yes, you can get laptops for the same price, but take into account the quality of these low-end devices. Apple stuff is always a bit more expensive (no need to complain!), but on the other hand you get a device that just works. No fiddling with Firewalls, no RegEdit, all stuff that you don’t really need.

What I miss on the iPad
These features would make the iPad of real use to me and I think they are missing in the current version of the device:

• Wireless sync. I don’t see any reason for plugging the iPad to my computer to sync music and videos. Why can’t it sync over the air (when it is plugged to a power source)?
• Multi-User support. No need for two iPads in our household, but two separated user accounts would be great.
• Airtunes support to stream music directly to the speakers, instead of just remote-controlling the MacBook.
• A front-mounted camera would be great for Skype or iChat video conferencing. Eventually also to detect who is using the iPad (see multi-user support above).
• Cheaper e-Books. I don’t understand why I should pay the same price for an e-Book as for a paper book. The publisher saves money on printing, I have to buy a reader… so get cheaper!
• Tethering through an iPhone. I have an iPhone, so why do I need an additional 3G contract? Let me tether through the iPhone, because contract in Austria allow me to use my 3GB monthly volume how I want to use it. Could also use the iPhone GPS location…

Will I buy it?
Let me quote someone here:

To hell with it! It’s not something I need. It doesn’t solve any problems I have. I can resist. I am strong. I may be “Mr. Mac,” but I am also “Mr. Practical.”
Which is exactly what I said when the iPhone came out. 3 days later I was in the Apple Store eagerly holding out my credit card to anyone who would take it. (source)

So: I don’t know yet. Most probably I’ll skip the first generation and wait for an upgrade. It is also depending on the iPhone 4 which is to be released this summer (yes, my contract is finally over!) and what features it offers. And of course what features Apple will add to the iPad over time…

But what is it really, this “cloud”?

Well, Apple very well described in in a recent news announcement:

That’s it basically – it’s servers + virtualization with a new marketing name attached to it….

• Over 60 Apple Wallpapers
• 101 Gorgeous Wallpapers

As a bonus check out the most funny 404 error pages ever seen! Highly recommended!

One more thing, please!

So I’m gonna tell you what Apple is working on and what the strategy of their MacBooks is – and it is relatively simple and obvious to everyone who follows the news. It is:

Multi-Touch.

Yeah, right! Or why do you think Microsoft is focusing on MultiTouch in Windows 7? They already announced it, but I’m sure Apple already has it already ready for production. Or why do you think there are only “performance increasements” in Snow Leopard? They will have it ready long time before Microsoft will be able to react and it will work perfectly because of the iPhone experience. Or why do you think all of the new MacBooks have a full glass front? Glossy screens suck but on the other hand it is the only option to implement a large touch screen that also can be cleaned easily.

Enough reasons, let’s see what happens in January, if Apple will have “one more thing” and there will be another big bang when they release Snow Leopard and new MacBooks with a full multi touch enabled screen. I would hope so, otherwise their releases this year have not been that impressive…

PS: Please note that I’m not working for Apple nor am I affiliated with them in any way!

I remember a while ago when Apple announced the iPhone – speculations around the Blogsphere, lots of self-drawn images, buzz everywhere. Will they? Or won’t they? What will be included? And finally Apple delivered an amazing phone, that still beats all of its competitors in terms of usability and design. But since then – a mess with MobileMe, unresolved security bugs and missing features. Apple seems to loose its buzz?

Murphy Mac writes:

If you were looking for the blockbuster announcement you were at the wrong event. If there is one, we’ll know about it some time in December, when the Macworld rumors start leaking. Personally, Murphy hopes Apple has something big, and that they manage to keep it under wraps until the keynote. It’s more fun that way.

I could not agree more – let’s hope Apple finds back to its roots, keeps it promises and “shocks” us positively with new, amazing gadgets!

(Image from apple.com)

Apple pays around 70 cents in every dollar to the record labels, who then hand across nine cents to the music publishers who control the copyrights to the music.

No wonder that music is so expensive and that most people still try to download it for free… 60% of the money is paid to the big four! Music could be so much cheaper and lots more people would actually by it if it would be only around 40 cent per song….

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