OSNews: http://www.osnews.com/story/19101/Axiotron_Finally_Ships_Modbook_OS_X_Tablet Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2013, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Tue, 21 May 2013 09:26:29 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif OSNews.com http://www.osnews.com Wow http://www.osnews.com/thread?293985 http://www.osnews.com/thread?293985 So you couldn't buy them before? I used to think they were available for purchase. Tue, 01 Jan 2008 23:13:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Buck) Comments RE: Wow http://www.osnews.com/thread?293988 http://www.osnews.com/thread?293988 They offered pre-order of the product. Buy it didn't shipped the actual product until now (probably duo hi-demand). Tue, 01 Jan 2008 23:21:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (JrezIN) Comments Now the question is... http://www.osnews.com/thread?294008 http://www.osnews.com/thread?294008 Will Apple be releasing their Apple-direct tablet notebook that competes with this? That seems to be where all the rumor sites are going, and with the existence of the iPhone currently in production and with the multitouch GUI working quite well, and keeping in mind past Newton experience, it wouldn't be surprising. Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:16:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (JonathanBThompson) Comments The iron grip loosens http://www.osnews.com/thread?294011 http://www.osnews.com/thread?294011 It'll be interesting to see how long it lasts. Wed, 02 Jan 2008 03:41:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (halfmanhalfamazing) Comments Clones again? http://www.osnews.com/thread?294037 http://www.osnews.com/thread?294037 This looks almost like apple is licencing their os to other manufacturers!!! Could this be a tentative step into clones?

Apple could licence to producers making machines to fill niches they dont want to touch at this time - mac Midi tower? - if the market takes off they can jump in either by buying the company involved and rebranding or simply cutting the licence are releasing their own version Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:52:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Adurbe) Comments RE: Clones again? http://www.osnews.com/thread?294038 http://www.osnews.com/thread?294038
This looks almost like apple is licencing their os to other manufacturers!!! Could this be a tentative step into clones?

Apple could licence to producers making machines to fill niches they dont want to touch at this time - mac Midi tower? - if the market takes off they can jump in either by buying the company involved and rebranding or simply cutting the licence are releasing their own version


Don't get your hopes up too much. This guy is buying macbooks and then modifying them, so he is using genuine apple hardware not a clone. Wed, 02 Jan 2008 14:00:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (jcgf) Comments Interesting http://www.osnews.com/thread?294045 http://www.osnews.com/thread?294045 Ok, color me a conspiracy nut, but ... wouldn't this be interesting if the only reason this is "Apple Approved" was that Apple wanted to see what kind of reaction the marketplace would have to one? It doesn't cost them a penny in development or production or advertising; heck, it might not have even required much in the way of tech support by them.

If this thing sells in any kind of numbers, Apple could see what people like, don't like, etc., then come swooping in for the corporate "coup de tat" (sorry, sp?) with their own, improved, slick, etc., etc. "Official" version.

Regardless, this looks like a very nice Tablet ... I wonder how many levels of pressure-sensitivity it has, or if it supports tilt like higher-end Wacom tablets? Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:56:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (MissinBeOS) Comments Windows tablet http://www.osnews.com/thread?294047 http://www.osnews.com/thread?294047 Sales of Windows tablet is not doing too well.

Let's see if OS X tablet will do much better Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:20:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Different) Comments Tablets still too expensive... http://www.osnews.com/thread?294066 http://www.osnews.com/thread?294066 I think that most IT purchasing departments have concluded that the modest increase in productivity gained from tablets isn't worth the premium being charged. Microsoft's partners are actually offering some nice products now, but the market has really been lukewarm. If tech companies could manage to bring down costs, then I see no reason why every notebook wouldn't be a tablet. I like the ability to swivel the typical laptop clamshell completely around so that either the keyboard or touchscreen can be used; because I doubt (at least for now) that the average user would want to use the tablet input device exclusively. Granted, all that could change if Apple were to implement the new UI paradigm like Cover Flow throughout its product line. Wed, 02 Jan 2008 19:05:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (tomcat) Comments Most tablet users aren't using tablet features http://www.osnews.com/thread?294071 http://www.osnews.com/thread?294071 I work for an employer with over 10,000 employees and work as a Computer Systems Analyst.

I only get involved in niche areas of application support for people that use tablets but I'm around them enough, including techs I work with that have tablet PCs.

I've noticed that they rarely use them as a tablet. A vast majority of the time they don't use any any differently than a regular laptop. When I ask them if they would pay the premium for a home laptop and the typical answer is, "Hell no! It's definitely not worth the money and if it cost the same I would only get it because it didn't cost extra." Wed, 02 Jan 2008 20:00:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Sabon) Comments RE: Interesting http://www.osnews.com/thread?294077 http://www.osnews.com/thread?294077 I'm sure Apple will watch to see how successful an OS X tablet will be, but I wouldn't read too much into it from the clone aspect.

They already tried the clone thing about 10 years ago, it was a huge flop from Apple's persective because the clone makers (Power Computing, Motorola, etc.) were able to undercut Apple's pricing. In the end, they took sales away from Apple rather than PC manufacturers and it didn't grow the Mac OS user base.

What I (and many others here) would like to see is the upgradeable mid-range Mac tower between the iMac and the Pro tower - maybe in the ~$1000 range. It may cannibalize some sales from the other desktops, but I like to think it would attract a lot of first-time buyers as well. It's ridiculous that it costs $2000+ to get a Mac with a replaceable video card.

The Modbook has 512 levels of pressure-sensitivity, here's a couple links (all the links in the Engadget article just go to other Engadget articles without any real information):

http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Modbook Wed, 02 Jan 2008 20:53:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (LobalSurgery) Comments Tablets are Not yet formidable http://www.osnews.com/thread?294106 http://www.osnews.com/thread?294106 The reason for this is with hardware technology itself.
The cursor arrow doesn't seem to follow quickly the pen tip. And when It comes to handwrite recognition (ie from handwitten text to digital text) then speed would be horrible and alot of hangs would happen on even the fastest CPU, this shows a weakness in interconnects rather than the major components.

Also the screen covering glass would dimm alot the screen luminance and makes the pen friction harder and It would never give you the feeling of a paper but rather like a whiteboard.

At to these problems the uncertinity to which form to follow convertable or slate.
It is not yet the year of the tablet. Technology must mature first. Thu, 03 Jan 2008 07:04:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (hraq) Comments RE: Clones again? http://www.osnews.com/thread?294131 http://www.osnews.com/thread?294131 Apple killed the clone licensing program because they created it to fill the server market and then discovered to their dismay that the manufacturers were going after their own desktop market.

Apple prides itself on an end-to-end sense of coverage to its users, and also derives a substantial markup on its hardware. These two things are fairly central to Apple's business model and are unlikely to change any time soon. Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:57:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (snozzberry) Comments RE: Interesting http://www.osnews.com/thread?294132 http://www.osnews.com/thread?294132 Apple's always been open-minded to other people doing their R&D for them.

Games and video on iPods was something Jobs didn't think people needed, and then the iPodLinux project proved the hardware was equal to those tasks. Suddenly, we had video iPods with games downloadable from iTMS.

There's a reasonably strong consensus that Apple combs MacRumors and the like for plausible ideas and goes with them, the iPhone being the most notable example. Thu, 03 Jan 2008 17:04:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (snozzberry) Comments RE: Tablets are Not yet formidable http://www.osnews.com/thread?294133 http://www.osnews.com/thread?294133 Right now the people who rave the most about tablet PCs are webcomic artists using illustration packages tailored to the platform.

They love, love, love their tablet PCs. Regrettably this is a tiny market.

There's also an ergonomics factor most people overlook. (disclaimer: I used to be an embroidery digitizer who used old-school digitizer pucks with crosshairs on a giant 4x3 digitizer table.)

What people forget about tablet PCs is that the last 20 years of desktop/notebook computing have been built around a paradigm of fine-motor finger and wrist movement, not gross-motor shoulder and elbow movement. Artists are used to coordinating gross-motor movements, office lackeys are not. Pen computing is closer to gross motor: try to find someone who handwrites faster than they type and you'll see one of the reasons written correspondence is dead.

If you aren't an artist, tablet computing is like virtual reality: a solution searching for a problem. Thu, 03 Jan 2008 17:15:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (snozzberry) Comments RE[2]: Tablets are Not yet formidable http://www.osnews.com/thread?294136 http://www.osnews.com/thread?294136 Yep. I, personally, HATE tablets. I don't want to do jack with a screen. Software isn't built around it and it just doesn't work with 'desktop' OSes trying to be tablet OSes. Thu, 03 Jan 2008 18:30:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (helf) Comments RE[3]: Tablets are Not yet formidable http://www.osnews.com/thread?294230 http://www.osnews.com/thread?294230
Software isn't built around it and it just doesn't work with 'desktop' OSes trying to be tablet OSes.


That's probably the biggest problem of tablet PC.

It's reminding me somehow the smartphone vs. iphone evolution. For years they ship smartphone with an OSes built for mousses and keyboards. Then an outsider came (Apple) with an OS that make using small devices easier and efficient. Afterward the procrastinating leader shows his new system feature copy on the new comer.

So, what will it take to make TabletPc a killer platform?

OS X got bigger icon in the Dock and in application, it will certainly help, but will it be enough?

We'll see! Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:55:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (sanctus) Comments