
Tablet Musings - barredo
http://daringfireball.net/2010/01/tablet_musings
======
patrik
What really amazes me is the fact that even on this site, the discussion
barely touches the app store issue.

It might be true that the tablet will have a significant impact on tomorrow's
computing platforms. But what really scares me is the prospect that it might
become more and more accepted that the user will loose the freedom to decide
what software he can install and thus what to do with the machine.

This is something that goes against anything we learned from the open web and,
of course, from "hacking" (jailbreaking does not count here). It goes against
the central things I value at computing.

By comparison, _I_ could not care less whether this thing comes with Flash or
not.

~~~
orangecat
Well said. The sort of control that Apple is trying to exert is terrible for
both freedom and innovation; if Microsoft had it 15 years ago they never would
have allowed the web to develop as it did. Yet Apple's fanboys are cheering
them on as they position themselves to block any development that might
interfere with their business model.

This is a major reason why I ordered a Nexus One today to replace "my" iPhone,
which Steve has made clear is only mine in the sense that I paid for it.

~~~
jsz0
15 years ago Microsoft held a monopoly on desktop operating systems. Apple is
nowhere near a majority in the SmartPhone market today. I think there's very
little chance they will ever hold that type of dominant position in the
SmartPhone market so whatever they choose to do with the iPhone & App Store
doesn't really impede the consumer's ability to choose an open platform. I
think choice is a good thing. If someone wants an open platform they can get
it. If someone wants a nicely packaged, but extremely functional and trouble
free, platform Apple will sell it to them.

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ryanwaggoner
I really hope he's wrong about several of these things (no flash, only apps
from an app store, full Apple lockdown of everything). Why would I want
another iPhone, just with a bigger screen? Especially when it's not clear when
I'd use it over an iPhone or my Macbook? I can only handle so much of the
Apple totalitarianism, especially if the damn thing costs $1500 or something.

~~~
csuper
Unfortunately - I bet a lot of this is dead on. I can't imagine the device
being more open than any other Apple product is.

~~~
ryanwaggoner
But that's just it...Apple's products vary widely in their degree of openness,
from the iPod / iPhone / Apple TV on the end to their computers on the other
end. So is this thing more like a computer (you buy it, you own it, hack it to
hell and put anything you want on it), or an iPhone (you're basically renting
this device from us, and we're going to dictate exactly what you can do with
it)?

~~~
tcdent
It's my understanding that the original reason behind the closed architecture
of the iPhone was to keep the device secure on cell networks. Most of the
restrictions are there to protect outside access, which is a good thing for
the less savvy users. Plenty believe the App Store and SDK were an
afterthought, added only after people grumbled about the restrictions of web-
only apps, which were the simplest way to guarantee 3rd party software was
safe.

Without the risk of an insecure cellular network, greed would be the only
motivating factor in keeping this a closed device.

~~~
mkinsella
_Without the risk of an insecure cellular network, greed would be the only
motivating factor in keeping this a closed device._

What about the rumors that the Tablet will include nationwide 3G access,
similar to the Kindle? I believe this is a necessary addition -- think about
how useful the iPhone would be without Edge/3G access: not at all.

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jcnnghm
Not including flash on a tablet seems like a mistake to me. It's one thing on
a cell phone, but quite another on a device that will probably be positioned
as a casual use computer.

~~~
tentonova2
I don't think it's necessarily a mistake if your goal is to strong-arm the
industry towards abandoning Flash.

~~~
brianobush
The problem with flash (and the upside) is that it lets designers tackle the
whole problem of site design, fonts, look and feel, etc in their domain. I
would love to see flash replaced by html5 and css, but I think momentum is not
on my side.

~~~
robertj
Yeah but take projects like typekit, for instance. Clearly there are
businesses to be made in solving some of these problems, and smart designers
understand the importance of web accessibility. It seems like as developers
and designers we'll create much more wealth finding creative ways to abandon
Flash.

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jsz0
My guess is Apple's tablet is primarily designed as a competitor to PC net
books. People have speculated about it being a MacBook replacement but there's
a huge difference in the type of consumer buying a $350 net book and a $999+
MacBook. I think Apple has insulated their computer business from being
cannibalized from lower end devices. Lots of people say "if I already have an
iPhone and a MacBook why would I want a tablet?" and the answer probably is
you don't. This product is not aimed at you. It's for the people who don't
want a $999+ MacBook and are currently buying PC net books instead. As such I
think the price will be <$499 (maybe a bit higher on launch just to cover
supply & demand)

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fohlin
Check out this week's MacBreak Weekly for more Gruber tablet speculations:
<http://twit.tv/mbw174>

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fragmede
Take a traditional laptop and swap the position of the keyboard and the
screen. Then, make the keyboard detachable and turn the screen into a touch
screen. Voila, tablet PC.

With a good industrial design house, someone could give it sex appeal, and
between the iMac and the Macbook Air, thats the something different I'm
dreaming of from Apple.

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spazmaster
The browsing experience will be more of a core thing for the Tablet than for
the iPhone. One reason for this is that I expect the Tablet will replace the
low-end MacBooks and will need to offer great e-mail and browsing experience.

(Alas) too many sites currently rely on Flash to not include it in the Tablet
OS.

~~~
csuper
Form and function wise I just don't get tablets. I don't seem them replacing
MacBooks.

~~~
sophacles
Laptops are kind of awkward when doing something besides sitting and using a
laptop. So when cooking, or when gaming (bg more than vg), or fixing stuff
around the house, or whatever, tablet form makes sense. It is an information
lookup device, like puting documents on a clipboard, more than a laptop
replacement.

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_funkyboy
Probably Steve and friends think something like: why have I to complicate my
life (and the user experience ov my customers) with some 3rd party technology?

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zer0ne
How iPhone or iPad are going to be the best web browser devises if Apple
restrict content format from the Internet?

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tvon
I think the iTunes LP API (not sure what it's actually called) will play a
very big part in this thing.

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GHFigs
I'm amazed that anybody is still expecting Flash. Has the iPhone not
conclusively demonstrated that Flash is a legacy feature of dwindling
relevance?

~~~
there
no, it hasn't. for video, maybe, but there are still a lot of websites that
are useless on mobile safari without flash just for stupid things like
animated menus.

~~~
GHFigs
_just for stupid things like animated menus_

Like I said: dwindling relevance. Nobody in their right mind uses Flash for
anything important. The one small exception is games, but the iPhone platform
has no shortage of games that are faster, better looking, and better tailored
to the platform than anything you can do in Flash.

~~~
thechangelog
_cough_ _cough_ YouTube? (also, the majority of online display advertising,
Facebook and countless other uploaders, etc...)

~~~
GHFigs
The iPhone has supported YouTube through a native application _since it
launched_. It does this by streaming the MPEG-4 video directly instead of
using Flash as a player. Every other video site does this as well, and they
don't even need a native app or any server-side weirdness. The only reason we
don't do this on the desktop is inertia.

 _the majority of online display advertising_

Which no consumer gives a flying fuck about and many actively oppose. It isn't
"important". Nobody would desire Flash just so they could get Flash
advertising.

 _Facebook and countless other uploaders_

The iPhone has no user-visible filesystem for these to interface with. Even if
it did, it isn't as though Flash is the only way to upload files: it just
happens to be a way that skirts around browser limitations. A native
application (even on the desktop, like Flickr Uploadr or iPhoto's Facebook
integration) does the same thing.

I'm not trying to say that Flash is dead. Obviously it is in use all over the
place. I'm just saying it's not a vital thing to have in anything _new_ , and
can cite the iPhone's success in the past few years as an example.

~~~
thechangelog
_Nobody in their right mind uses Flash for anything important._

iPhone has, but I'd wager the vast majority of YouTube users watch videos in
their browsers.

 _the majority of online display advertising_ Advertisers are the revenue
source for innumerable online sites; they like Flash so it _is_ important.

Re: uploaders... _A native application...does the same thing._ Sure, but
again, I'd wager that most people use the on-site bulk uploaders.

The point is that Flash is useful and easily accomplishes things (with nearly
100% market penetration) that would be much more difficult without Flash
(building a native app, trying to animate ads across browsers).

~~~
GHFigs
_I'd wager the vast majority of YouTube users watch videos in their browsers._

Yes, but what are they actually doing? They're streaming the exact same h.264
video, except using the Flash plugin as a (buggy, inefficient) decoder.

 _they like Flash so it is important._

Not to users. Users are the ones who actually buy and use the devices that end
up viewing the ads. No user buys a device for a _better ad experience_. That's
nonsense.

 _nearly 100% market penetration_

This is not going to hold true as more people browse the web on devices that
lack Flash. Such devices may not be the sole or even primary way of browsing
the web for some time, but in terms of total volume of web usage, it is
_already_ significant, and will only grow. It will make less and less sense to
target a web platform that can't be reached every way that people use the web.

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ori_b
So, useless as a tablet PC, in summary.

