Live Blogs - Apple Press Event 12 Sep 12

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

I missed the flair and panache of a Steve Jobs presentation. Not really the same thing without him.

Doesn't really matter, since their new devices were nothing to write home about.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by Dylrob

And yet the fact is every device which draws more than that invariably uses a propriatary connector. This suggests that there are issues with trying to supply that kind of power over a standard USB cable. And as I said, Apple uses the same cable for charging and syncing. So if they used connector that could fit a standard microUSB cable there would ultimately be a lot of confusion. People would try using that cable with the charger, only to find that it doesn't work as it is missing the extra pins. They could fix a cable to the charger as the Nook does, but then you have to deal with an additional cable!



And the SB stands for Serial Bus... The fact is USB was designed to be a data connector, not a power connector. Charging high end electronics goes beyond what its designers ever intended.

You can fit a standard USB to non-standard chargers (like the NookColor charger), and it will simply tickle charge, or not charge at all, because it has no pins for the additional connectors. There is no problem, and you can make it even easier by making the charger cable non-removable. Likewise, you can use the NookColor USB cable as a standard USB cable, the additional pins remain unconnected. Really, there is no reason to use proprietary connectors for phones/tablets. And that goes for all companies, not just apple.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Doesn't really matter, since their new devices were nothing to write home about.

But Jobs could always give the "nothing to write home about" a spin to make the crowd go wild. He was a showman, there is no doubt about that. Cook, meh, he falls way short.

[Kumabjorn]

I disagree, Jobs would have made you think that the iPhone 5 was the Second Coming. He had the ability to make you think that even small incrementations were amazing and you would never forgive yourself if you didn't get the device, preferably yesterday, But yes, the improvements on iP5 are close to being in the league of PRS-T2.

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

I disagree, Jobs would have made you think that the iPhone 5 was the Second Coming. He had the ability to make you think that even small incrementations were amazing and you would never forgive yourself if you didn't get the device, preferably yesterday, But yes, the improvements on iP5 are close to being in the league of PRS-T2.

I think that it was Jobs' phoney showmanship that finally turned me off to Apple products, plus the fact that they are always overpriced. I remember that back in the 80s I was a big Apple fan, and I still am a fan of the genius of Steve Wozniak. In the beginning, Apple was a maverick and a real innovator, but they lost that somehow in the 90s.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by afv011

Cook, meh, he falls way short.

Pretty sad when the highlight of the event was the Foo Fighters

[afv011]

Originally Posted by Dylrob

And yet the fact is every device which draws more than that invariably uses a propriatary connector. This suggests that there are issues with trying to supply that kind of power over a standard USB cable. And as I said, Apple uses the same cable for charging and syncing. So if they used connector that could fit a standard microUSB cable there would ultimately be a lot of confusion. People would try using that cable with the charger, only to find that it doesn't work as it is missing the extra pins. They could fix a cable to the charger as the Nook does, but then you have to deal with an additional cable!



And the SB stands for Serial Bus... The fact is USB was designed to be a data connector, not a power connector. Charging high end electronics goes beyond what its designers ever intended.

And the smaller connector doesn't seem to add a single benefit that would justify its continued proprietary nature -- other than, possibly, Thunderbolt compatibility ("adaptive interface"). Although Schiller presented the new connector as a "feature," Apple isn't touting any faster syncing or charging. In fact, the Lightning to USB cable is a mere USB 2.0, not even 3.0. Lightning? Not so much.

m.cnet.com/news/apples-dock-connector-change-is-awful-dont-kid-yourselves/57511687

[Graham]

Originally Posted by Dylrob

And yet the fact is every device which draws more than that invariably uses a propriatary connector. This suggests that there are issues with trying to supply that kind of power over a standard USB cable.

Not every device. My HP Touchpad has a micro USB port with a standard cable which connects to a more powerful power block exactly as described.

Graham

[Dave_S]

Here is a really cute video of Apple's target audience celebrating the arrival of the iPhone 5.

Link

[JoHunt]

That's it? Only a refresh of current models and nothing new? Amazon, Samsung, Google et al must be rubbing their hands in glee.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

I disagree, Jobs would have made you think that the iPhone 5 was the Second Coming. He had the ability to make you think that even small incrementations were amazing and you would never forgive yourself if you didn't get the device, preferably yesterday, But yes, the improvements on iP5 are close to being in the league of PRS-T2.

This.

"The Jobs Factor"

[kennyc]

and this:


http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/13/the-iphone-5-event/

Apple’s Magic Is In The Turn, Not The Prestige

The opening dialogue of Christopher Nolan’s 2006 film, The Prestige:

Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called “The Pledge”. The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course…it probably isn’t. The second act is called “The Turn”. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you’re looking for the secret… but you won’t find it, because of course you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn’t clap yet. Because making something disappear isn’t enough; you have to bring it back. That’s why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call “The Prestige”.

This is what was on my mind following today’s Apple event. It’s essentially the story of the iPhone.

Apple took something ordinary, a phone, did some extraordinary things to it, and then made it re-appear in grandiose fashion. It’s a great trick. It’s so good, in fact, that I think it’s fair to call it true magic.

The problem, if you want to call it that, is that Apple has now been doing this trick since 2007. Granted, they have other solid tricks too (they are far from the one-trick pony claims that several of their competitors face). But the iPhone is the best trick in their bag. And in the last few years, some people have gotten sick of seeing it
...

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

I disagree, Jobs would have made you think that the iPhone 5 was the Second Coming. He had the ability to make you think that even small incrementations were amazing and you would never forgive yourself if you didn't get the device, preferably yesterday, But yes, the improvements on iP5 are close to being in the league of PRS-T2.

With Jobs: Decent products miraculous transformed via hype.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_distortion_field

Without Job: Decent products accepted for what they are.

Unless Apple's success was due solely to Hype they'll do fine. iPhone is stil a monster cash cow.

Besides, maybe they're saving their hype for the October intro of the baby unicorn. Maybe they split the intro because they didn't want the unicorn hype to overshadow the cash cow.

The stock market certainly didn't feel *too* let down, the way the bid the stock up some more...

[foghat]

Originally Posted by Dave_S

In the beginning, Apple was a maverick and a real innovator, but they lost that somehow in the 90s.

Come again? Thoughts/disappointments aside over the last couple models of the iphone, how can you state that Apple has not been a real innovator over the last 12 years?

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by foghat

Come again? Thoughts/disappointments aside over the last couple models of the iphone, how can you state that Apple has not been a real innovator over the last 12 years?

I kind of thought that the fact that all they make is "me too" products as far as technology is concerned was a pretty good give away?