Microsoft Courier and Asus tablet 'e-readers'

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by brecklundin

well, then why not two independent devices that can be paired together and then function as the Courier concept demo shows...then you can have what you want and the rest of us can have what we want and nobody gets to tell anyone what they need...

This is not a technically difficult idea to implement...

Huh? Why so defensive?

There should of course be all types of tablet devices out there just like there are all kinds of laptops/netbooks, smart phones etc. so everyone can find what they need. I certainly wasn't telling anyone what they need...just describing what the want. Why are so many people being defensive douchebags on this site lately?


Anyway....the courier functions look awesome, it just seems being a folding two screen devices could make it awkward to use in bed, on a the subway, on an airplane etc. Harder to hold and write on vs one screen--but maybe it just folds around so you can use one at a time?

I kind of want a tablet that's like an electronic clipboard--easy to hold and read, easy to take notes on etc. Make it like a magazine and it doesn't work as well it's harder to hold in one hand while writing with the other. And being able to take notes, mark up academic books etc. is my main need.

But again, there should be devices that fit my needs and devices that fit yours and other's. No reason they're can't be a ton of these things. They'll be like pcs, so the hardware doesn't have to be standard.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Anyway....the courier functions look awesome, it just seems being a folding two screen devices could make it awkward to use in bed, on a the subway, on an airplane etc. Harder to hold and write on vs one screen--but maybe it just folds around so you can use one at a time?

That was my thought. From the video, it looks like a two handed device, which might be difficult to manage with a folder. Have to lay it flat on a desk, or propped up easel style to slide things around like that.

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by wodin

That was my thought. From the video, it looks like a two handed device, which might be difficult to manage with a folder. Have to lay it flat on a desk, or propped up easel style to slide things around like that.

Yeah, that was my thinking.

But maybe you can fold it into one screen when you need to use it way from a desk/easel.

[fugazied]

Originally Posted by wodin

Uhhh? Aren't you thinking of the wrong company? It's Apple that is notorious for locking stuff down!

oh yeah they both lock stuff down, don't get me wrong. But with the Apple tablet I envision use of Google docs or similar. You can use the iPhone as a simple interface to open plain text, google docs and rtfs. Formats that can be used on any platform.

The way courier works it looks like it would REQUIRE a new proprietary format so it can handle all of that new meta data. Microsoft is also the kind of company that hordes market share by creating compulsory upgrades, for example creating the .docx format. They make money by compelling people into upgrades and on their locked in platforms (as does Apple to an 'extent').

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by fugazied

oh yeah they both lock stuff down, don't get me wrong. But with the Apple tablet I envision use of Google docs or similar. You can use the iPhone as a simple interface to open plain text, google docs and rtfs. Formats that can be used on any platform.

The way courier works it looks like it would REQUIRE a new proprietary format so it can handle all of that new meta data. Microsoft is also the kind of company that hordes market share by creating compulsory upgrades, for example creating the .docx format. They make money by compelling people into upgrades and on their locked in platforms (as does Apple to an 'extent').

as long as you pay aPpLe it's licensing fee to "aPpRoVE" the 3rd party who actually wrote the software you want to run on your apPLe {insert device name here}. And ApPlE is not shy about taking their cut of those fees either. Makes Martha Stewart's sweatshops look tame by comparison.

BTW, you mention "...the way the Courier works...", huh? We have no idea how it works. I suspect you are close to correct, but then again so is every device mentioned on this site as well as pretty much every PDA device ever made.

Personally I could care less...all I want is a device that lets me get the job done...they are all soul-less greed based companies intent on domination of every person on the planet...soon as people really come to grips with that concept we can all jump into the Grand Canyon together.

[Alisa]

I think eventually multifunction devices will replace readers. I think we have some time yet before that happens. The Courier concept looks very compelling to me for managing work. I don't want two screens for reading a novel but I'd love it for working with multiple documents at work. If it works like it does in the video, I'd likely buy one. It wouldn't replace my Kindle. Current LCDs need big batteries to get the kind of unplugged time we need. This adds weight and heat to the device. There are all sorts of interesting concepts out there in screens, batteries and power management technology. I think we will get to the point where we can have all that functionality in a device that was light, comfortable, readable and would last at least a day on a charge. Until I can have that, I will make do with multiple devices one of which will be a dedicated reader.

[dmaul1114]

Yeah, I'm pretty much in the same boat Alisa.

I'll wait a couple generations for a good tablet device. But I'll probably keep my K1 (or some other reader) as the smaller size is perfect for leisure reading of novels. So I'd keep that for reading in bed etc., and the tablet would be used for leisure reading when traveling for work when I need the tablet and don't want to carry both.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by fugazied

oh yeah they both lock stuff down, don't get me wrong. But with the Apple tablet I envision use of Google docs or similar. You can use the iPhone as a simple interface to open plain text, google docs and rtfs. Formats that can be used on any platform.

The way courier works it looks like it would REQUIRE a new proprietary format so it can handle all of that new meta data. Microsoft is also the kind of company that hordes market share by creating compulsory upgrades, for example creating the .docx format. They make money by compelling people into upgrades and on their locked in platforms (as does Apple to an 'extent').

At least M$ makes some concession to backwards compatibility. Mr. Jobs, on the other has abandoned the concept entirely with the iMac, and has never looked back.

[Hellmark]

The iMac was not where backwards compatibility was killed off.

Also, Apple has never greatly supported legacy products. Every release of MacOS dropped support for older machines, various types of hardware has gone by the way side (ADB, SCSI, more recently Firewire), and not to mention software. I mean, Macs have been on 3 totally different CPU architectures, not counting the various generational differences themselves. At some point, you have to draw the line. This has always been MS's biggest problem. It wasn't until recently that people stopped coding for Windows as if it was a single user OS. Stupid stuff like that causes most of the bugs, and security issues, on Windows.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by Hellmark

The iMac was not where backwards compatibility was killed off.

Also, Apple has never greatly supported legacy products. Every release of MacOS dropped support for older machines, various types of hardware has gone by the way side (ADB, SCSI, more recently Firewire), and not to mention software. I mean, Macs have been on 3 totally different CPU architectures, not counting the various generational differences themselves. At some point, you have to draw the line. This has always been MS's biggest problem. It wasn't until recently that people stopped coding for Windows as if it was a single user OS. Stupid stuff like that causes most of the bugs, and security issues, on Windows.

So you're spinning the lack of backward compatibility as a good thing?

[Crowl]

Beyond a certain point, supporting much older hardware can mean that the current stuff is being held back, finding the right balance of support for older hardware vs allowing progress is the challenge obviously.

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by wodin

So you're spinning the lack of backward compatibility as a good thing?

To some extent, yes. If something has issues, but other things rely on it, you can either break compatibility, or keep the issue (even if minimized, like if the issue is segregated).

Even Microsoft is dropping backwards compatibility. Note how any 16 bit software won't run on a 64 bit version of windows? That means all DOS and Win3.1 software can't work now. They still actively made DOS games and apps until about 10 years ago. Quake, Duke3d, DOOM, etc can't be used on newer OSs, even though the hardware is able to. You're giving Apple a hassle because they recently dropped support for Mac Classic apps on OSX, where as MS has done the same thing with apps of the same vintage.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by Crowl

Beyond a certain point, supporting much older hardware can mean that the current stuff is being held back, finding the right balance of support for older hardware vs allowing progress is the challenge obviously.

Yes, I agree. M$ did that when they moved to the 32 bit OSs, out of necessity.