

The iPad 3 and Moore’s Law - ale55andro
http://www.quirksmode.org/blog/archives/2012/03/the_ipad_3_and.html

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dorianj
This is so stupid, I'm a bit surprised it came out of a normally excellent
site.

The crux of the article is that retina graphics use more bandwidth, and thus
Apple should have "thought about it" first.

By that logic, the first iPhone never would have existed, because it used way
more bandwidth than any phones before it.

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roc
> _"In the end this is not good for the web, because it’s just too bloody much
> data."_

This reads like an ISP's argument against every form of progress on the web
since the mid 90s.

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pragmatic
I think what most of you are missing is that many cellular providers provide
only a fixed number of bits every month.

If you go over you face a large penalty.

So, this isn't such a big deal for those with the wifi version and virtually
unlimited bandwidth at home.

It's a problems for those use those fancy new 4G LTE plans (like mine) that
will use up your allocated bits much faster.

You'll be able to load those large images faster, however, that counts against
your monthly download limit.

Something to think about as unlimited plans are rare.

Verizon just sent me an offer for the new iPad.

The available data plans are:

 _2GB for $30_

 _5GB for $50_

 _10GB for $80_

Those on the 2GB should consider at least consider this point.

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sjs
Why was there no outcry about Apple including a YouTube app on iOS devices? If
you think a few retina images will burn through data try watching a few hours
of YouTube.

This is a (rare) complete miss for PPK. Very rash.

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beza1e1
The author argues that high-density displays are a problem, because you have
to download roughly twice as big pixel-images for apps and websites.

Use vector images instead! Pixel logos are necessary for small resolutions,
but 300dpi are good enough for vector graphics.

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jsz0
Totally disagree. Faster HSPA+ (DC-HSPA+) / LTE are here today. No reason to
wait on improving the end user experience. We also have DOCSIS3 and FTTH on
the residential broadband side. In any event bursty traffic like web browsing
isn't the problem causing congestion. It's the constant bit rate stuff like
video & audio streaming that puts a heavy constant load on networks. (I would
agree at least that we should have a browser option to prefer SD web sites)

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pilif
If this were such a problem, we'd already have seen it. The iPhone 4 with its
retina display came out nearly two years ago, so it's safe to assume that if
there already was some kind of retina optimization, it would already have
begun.

Most sites I visit don't do anything like that and look perfectly fine:
Because the resolution doubled in both sides, upscaling in a good-looking way
is trivial to do.

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rbarooah
If the iPad 3 retina display really does pose a problem to web bandwidth, this
piece would have been more interesting if the author had said at what point in
the future there _will be_ sufficient bandwidth.

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esonderegger
And I would argue that the greater pixel density could be a good thing,
because it may drive consumers to demand greater bandwidth from their internet
service providers.

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jcromartie
Most of the space on a website today is filled with rendered text and CSS-
styled elements. There are just not that many high-resolution images on the
average site today, unless it's media-heavy (Flickr, etc.), and then you
already know that it's a high-bandwidth site.

But, anyway, I predict that vector UI components will overtake raster images,
thanks the increasing fragmentation of display resolutions on Apple's iOS
devices.

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adengman
I think you have Moore's Law confused..

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philidem
I can't believe I wasted my time reading this.

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Bud
This guy didn't even have his facts straight when he posted.

Apple already increased its cellular file download limit from 20MB to 50MB,
before rolling out the LTE iPad. That's an increase of 2.5x, which is more
than enough to cover the expected increase in sizes of apps containing Retina-
resolution graphics.

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helios410
Doesn't the 4G LTE connection on the iPad 3 solve this problem, at least
partially?

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pragmatic
Unless you have AT&T or any other provider which limits your total download
MBits per month.

You will use up your allowed bits quite a bit faster.

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peteretep
> In the end this is not good for the web, because it’s just too bloody much
> data

What does that even mean?

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redeemedfadi
One word: vectors

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TechNewb
What is Cooper's Law, and how is it related to this article?

