
Steve Jobs' Prescience (Or: Who Wants A Stylus?) - lurch_mojoff
http://waffle.wootest.net/2010/05/13/prescience-or-who-wants-a-stylus/
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JunkDNA
I find this interesting from a historical perspective. You can really see the
thought process that led to the design decisions on the iPhone and iPad: Get
desktop sync right, optimize for user consumption of data, avoid handwriting
recognition (since it's inefficient anyway), the PDA is dead (instead, a phone
has to have PDA features).

I also like the subtle way Jobs deflects the issue of whether or not tablet
devices would be great for reading. He cracks a little joke and redirects the
discussion.

~~~
krschultz
It's funny because the desktop syncing is probably the worst part of the
ecosystem. They didn't even attempt to make it work on Linux (fine, its a
niche, but they also actively made it more difficult for open source software
to work with newer models) and iTunes for Windows is one of the crappiest
pieces of software on Windows, and that's saying something.

~~~
snom370
I'd say desktop syncing is a really great part of the ecosystem, since it
means that I can buy a new iPhone and be completely up and running again in
less than an hour. Upgrading the software is a breeze, which is something you
can't say about Nokia phones (last time I tried). I'd agree that iTunes on
Windows sucks, but that's not too surprising given that they are running it
inside of their cross-platform Objective C/Cocoa thingy.

~~~
jasonlotito
I hate, I hate, I hate iPod/iPhone syncing. It's intrusive, annoying, and
constantly get's in my way.

First, it interrupts whatever I'm doing. I like to listen to audiobooks, and
if I'm at my desk, I might plug my iPod in so I can charge it up, but I don't
want to stop listening to what I'm listening to. But no, it stops everything
and starts syncing.

Next, I need to jump through hoops to stop the syncing. iTunes starts up, and
has to do it's thing. I can't just cancel the sync, I have to click through
popups coming from iTunes to cancel the stupid sync before I can shut it down
again.

And god forbid iTunes actually SYNC what you mark to sync! I hate installing
it simply because if I do, I have to go find the place that says "Yes, when I
tell you to sync an audiobook, you should, you know, actually sync the
audiobook."

And then, after you are done syncing, I can't just jump back into listening to
what I was listening to before.

Yes, this happens, it happens often. Really, the entire iPod/iTunes
environment makes me regret getting the iPod.

~~~
jujjine
Deactivate automated syncing in the devices preference pane of iTunes.

~~~
jasonlotito
Why? I want it to sync automatically when I plug it in. Just not when I'm
using it.

Edit: Why is wanting this wrong? I have podcasts downloaded, and just plug my
iPod in while I get ready in the morning, and it updates without me having to
sit down and dick around with the computer. I really don't think this is
unreasonable, and these problems occur every day.

~~~
philwelch
Not only is it not unreasonable, it's a subtle design touch that you would
almost expect Apple to think of. Similar to how yanking the headphones out of
an iPod or iPhone pauses the music.

~~~
jasonlotito
I wouldn't even call it subtle. It's an obvious one. Since I got the thing,
I've had to deal with it. The worst part is when I forget. I get into work,
sit down, and plug the iPod in, and BAM, whatever I was listening to stops,
thing start to run on my computer, asking me to update QuickTime, before I can
cancel out,...

Grrr.

Yeah. About to go on another tirade.

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tibbon
One of the better comments by Jobs, "It’s really true, if you’ve got a bunch
of rich guys who can afford their third computer — you know, they’ve got a
desktop, they’ve got a portable and now they’re gonna have one of these to
read with… that’s your market!"

I've got my iPhone, I've got my Macbook Pro, I've got my gaming systems (and
we have a few Kindles floating around the house)... I need the iPad because?

~~~
JMiao
it's better at most non-geeky things than your macbook pro. i know because i
own both.

~~~
krschultz
Is it $500 better?

Compare a Macbook Pro to another laptop that is $500 cheaper. I'd argue there
is $500 worth of value there. Is there $500 worth of value for the iPad over
the Macbook Pro? I can think of a lot of things to do with $500 that would be
better for me than buying an iPad.

~~~
roc
> _"Is it $500 better?"_

For me, sure.

I looked at all the things that a desktop is _bad_ at, that the iPad is _good_
at. Like reading on the couch, occupying the kids in the car, annotation and
note-taking away from a traditional desk, reviewing a load of pictures in the
field, diagramming or sketching.

I've spent more than $500 on an assortment of devices to meet those needs and
none of them have been half as good as the iPad. So for me, it's absolutely
worth it.

But my finding value in it certainly doesn't speak to whether you will or
should. Maybe you don't have any of those needs.

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mrkurt
I don't think the _stylus_ was the biggest problem with the $2-3k tablet
computers running a generic OS with applications that were mostly optimized
for desktop use.

~~~
JMiao
did you ever use a stylus? painfully unsexy in a pocket protector kind of way.

the stylus was a big reason why app interfaces were so terrible. it allowed
lazy manufacturers to strap a pressure-sensitive screen onto a notebook and
call it a tablet pc. crappy hardware disinterests great software developers.

~~~
mrkurt
Yep, I actually owned a few tablet PCs. A stylus is a fantastic interface for
entering unstructured information, one handed input, or drawing. It's not
great for navigating.

The biggest flaw of the Tablet PCs was that no one really committed to the
interface. This was surely a result of the expense and not having much
traction. And a giant failure on Microsoft's part.

However, the "keep handwriting around" thing was (and is) a good idea. People
like to decry handwriting recognition, but the idea was really "use digital
ink, don't convert".

\--EDIT--

Also, the screens weren't pressure sensitive. They were capacitive, it only
worked with the stylus.

~~~
ugh
I think we might see a stylus from Apple at some point in the future. They are
unsexy and probably not generally something you want to construct your whole
UI around. But they are clearly useful in some cases.

It’s just that, as with the missing arrow keys (also clearly sometimes useful)
on the original Macintosh, Apple doesn’t want anyone to get into bad habits.
You can call that paternalism but that’s just how Apple rolls :)

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astine
Handwriting has at least one advantage over a full qwerty keyboard: It's
easier for one-handed text input. I remember taking notes on a small (almost
netbook small) laptop years ago during a serious of walking tours of Rome and
elsewhere in Italy. I ended up turning my backpack around and placing the
laptop on it so that I could type. An actual pen and paper notebook would have
been easier to use, but I wanted my notes on my computer. A tablet with good
handwriting recognition would have been exactly what I needed then, and I can
think of other instances where people might prefer it to a keyboard. It's
exactly what would be useful for taking notes while standing or walking.

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Yaggo
Fully agree with Jobs. Hand writing recognization may have sounded fine idea,
and is rather easy to properly implement, but the thing is that hand-writing
is dying skill. Although I learnt to hand-write in childhood and did it for 15
years, nowdays I absolutely prefer typewriting (keyboard). My one-yeard-old
daughter will be native typewriter. Speed recognization doesn't currently work
(good enough), and if it did, speaking cannot fully replace typing because of
privacy issues etc.

~~~
yequalsx
I would love it if it had digital ink. Handwriting recognition means nothing
to me but the ability to digitally add handwritten notes would make me buy the
iPad. I was disappointed with the cancellation of the Courier.

If the iPad had digital ink and the ability to digitally markup documents with
ink it would be the killer educational device.

~~~
lutorm
You _can_ do handwritten notes on the iPad, I've seen it done. A coworker uses
iAnnotate and a stylus to make handwritten annotations in pdf files. Looks
like it works pretty well.

The thing is that typing works fine for text. But as soon as you want to draw
a diagram or a formula or whatever, you're way better off freehand.

~~~
yequalsx
I'll have to check this out. My first reaction is that since it isn't part of
the operating system like digital ink is with Windows Tablet PC Edition then
it's not as flexible or as usable as I'd like. Thanks for letting me know
about this app.

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iamclovin
I would think that a stylus would be awesome on the iPad for drawing
applications (or even prototyping apps such as Omnigraffle). I haven't used an
iPad yet but I imagine drawing with my index finger to be a little clumsy.

~~~
eli
Several companies sell a stylus for iPad, just not Apple.

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heresy
He's right, though amusing that some of the arguments he mentions against a
tablet were levelled against the iPad :)

Personally, paper is still great for its flexibility, but I hardly write on
it.

I use it to scribble drawings of how things fit together, or jot down notes as
I debug a tricky problem, run over algorithms in my head, etc.

I want Caprica style digital paper for scribbling on that still allows me to
persist heaps of data without needing lots of notepads.

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yan
"We’re not the greatest to sell to the Fortune 500 and there’s 500 of them,
500 CIOs that are orifices that you have to go through to get to the Fortune
500."

~~~
pohl
Just think of all the employees that roll-up to those 500 CIOs who just had
themselves a little giggle.

My favorite quote from the interview was "...one day we realized that death
would eventually take care of this."

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Shorel
Writing normal letters is very slow, sure. And making the system recognize
ugly handwriting like mine is a torture for me and for the developers.

But, there's this thing called shorthand, used by secretaries who needed to
write faster than her boss could speak.

It is still amazingly fast. The lack of proof of concept implementations of
shorthand recognition is to me a failure in tablet user interface history.

You can't say it is not a good method without having tried it, and a
computerized interface would convert the symbols to normal words in a second,
providing instant feedback.

~~~
jodrellblank
This is something I've considered before as well; in fact, I wonder why we
aren't forced to learn it in school, considering we spend years in school,
going to lectures and taking down notes of people talking as quickly as we can
write.

In terms of computing, though, I think it would suffer many of the problems of
handwriting recognition - wobbly lines, different sizes of people's writings,
pens lifting off the page at different times - and some more of it's own.

For instance, Pitman shorthand comes in different versions - every few years
they change the standard to try to make it more concise. Many of the shapes
are in relative positions so the same thing above/on/below the line have
different meanings, and the extra informational signals such as dots and
dashes can be left off by more advanced people without changing the meaning.

Worse than that is that it's short because it's phonetic - so not only does
the computer trying to recognise it have to do everything it does for
handwriting recognition, but it also has another layer to do first - what
sounds are you using and what words are you trying to write from them? Instead
of (pen strokes -> words), you get (pen strokes -> phonetic sounds -> words).
Also, Pitman shorthand is pressure sensitive - light strokes for unvoiced
sounds and heavy strokes for voiced sounds, IIRC.

Worse even than that, it's short because it allows you to leave information
out where you know what it will be and to develop your own shortcuts where
useful to you. You might abbreviate your name to "Sh" with {name indicating
symbol}, or use "em eff ing" for manufacturing, or have a symbol for "Our
newest product" or write "would like know b prices" for "we would like to know
your best prices".

So now you have pen strokes -> sounds -> filling in missing sounds -> words ->
filling in missing words -> text.

Seems useful for taking notes in a hurry and then writing them up in full
yourself the same day or week, less useful for writing for other people or
future reference, and even less useful for computer recognition.

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fjabre
" _...for the universe of people using a PDA, 90% of them just want to get the
information out. Only 10% want to do major input on this thing._ "

I love his line of thinking here. He really does have a knack for breaking
things down to their simplest components and extracting useful information
from that perspective.

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brisance
The interesting takeaway for me is that Steve recognizes Apple's weaknesses
(not being able to sell into the "enterprise") and is laser-focused on the
consumer market. Seems to have paid off.

