Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Whoa, that's an accurate analogy.

Bottom line is, you need to gain marketshare somehow in this world to participate in it. If you want to make a difference to the world (be it positive or negative), then you have to be successful first.

Otherwise, you'll be the righteous guy shouting at everyone else with nothing to show.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

So if you aren't instantly massively popular, you should just never try? Well, screw innovation then. At least, innovation by anyone not Apple, Google, or Microsoft.

I think there's a difference between "being successful" and "making an effort," otherwise you are instantly successful or you can never be successful.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

I have an ipad and the single best thing about it is the battery life. Other then that there is nothing to write about. But it definitely is for Idiots who don't have any idea about tech.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

@ysss,
I think contributions, even small, can be massively influencial at the right place/time and are not solely dependent on marketshare. This has been shown in art and science over the ages.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

@wmarone: I would argue that in this case (mobile platforms) we DO need to marketshare to fund our cause. Just look at where Nokia (and maemo) ends up with without sufficient fuel to prople them further.

@capt'n: yes, but usually the beneficiary is someone else. (another creator most likely, capitalizing on said art/tech)

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

no n900 multitasking so no buy.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Indeed, my friend.. And good point.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

My friend told me the iPad 2 is awesome because it has an A5 core.
I disputed with him telling him it has an ARM Cortex A9.
He told me I was a liar, that Apple officially said it was the A5 core.

... I thought for a second .... told him he was correct, it is called/nicknamed "The A5 processor". But the core is still an A9.

He called me a liar. I tried to reason with him.
I tried to explain that although the Apple A4 and the Hummingbird processors are different, they both are based on the Cortex A8 reference and thus are very very similar. And that, its the same thing with the Apple A5 and Tegra2 for the Cortex A9. Still called me a liar, said I was changing my story when "he proved I was wrong".

I told him I only changed it when I realized what he was saying, and told him I thought he meant the ARM Cortex A5 processor (eg Eagle). I told him after the ARM11 set, came the Cortex A8, then the Cortex A9, then the Cortex A5 (which isn't commercially available on any device).

He got confused and I tried a few different analogies (you are a man, but also a husband .... they're different things but you are both of them). He said he based this on the fact that he watched a 90minute video on the apple site.

I told him I based these off because I'm a geek and know more background knowledge than him. He still looked at me like I was dumb, and kept repeating why I wasn't listening to him, and instead just arguing. Yes he has the iPhone 4.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Engadget has a glowing review of the iPad2! It seems like the best one so far!
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget....ipadrev622.jpg
http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/09/ipad-2-review

It seems like a very clean and polished device!

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Your tales intrigue me and I wish to subscribe to your journal.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Saw this, had to comment: Logic, proper pursuit of knowledge, and the ability to string those into coherent arguments, that gives people the right to comment on such things. Not necessarily makes them the authority on it - that's for people to determine on their own, preferably based on their own knowledge and reasoning.

But it's certainly better than dismissing such claims as hubris automatically. 'course, I'm not quite sure who you're referring to, but I don't recall anyone else making a claim that fits your criticism other than me. Anyway, for my part, I find myself disappointed that people can like the iStuff. I also see the same sociological traits that lead to masses flocking towards the iStuff as being the same ones that contribute to other problems humanity deals with. There's a major difference between that and "propagation of traits inferior within the human race".

Actually, by the same reasoning, what makes you the authority on what claims are moral righteousness, and which ones are perfectly valid reasoned out subjects? At what point can you claim to cross from simply going "you aren't an authority to make such claims because I said so", to having that claim being founded on some sage wisdom? Or for that matter any other statement you made. If you're going to say that something is someone's "right", that in itself can be condemned outright as hubris because, well, what makes you an authority on rights?

Hence my point - it's not a matter of being an authority - it's a matter of the fact that being a sentient thinking life form capable of logic means you can make such claims, and if you're properly informed and your reasoning isn't fallacious, those claims will more or less approximate the truth. Not that I ever really declare myself an authority on such things, I lay claims only to the fact that I do my best to fulfill the criteria of being as logical and as informed as I can be.

- Edit -

Right, wanted to answer this as of half a week ago:

That's actually a flawed understanding. "Point-and-Shoot" with a bow and arrow demands an intuitive grasp of how the arrow will fly under most conditions. Doesn't mean you can put it into mathematical formulas - but you have an understanding in so far as that matters.

More importantly though, ever contemplate how much work goes into making a good bow with primitive tools? Depending on culture and region, it was sometimes a year-long process, where the materials of the compound bows were treated with various oils/fats and left to soak for months, etc. Now, here's the difference and where your analogy is a good illustration of my point - no "tribe"/group/whatever would understand all the details of bow/arrow making/use. But a decent amount would get the general idea, and those who did use bows, or were likely to have to do so, would presumably have had some expectation of maintenance/repair skills for their bows. Which is one of the annoyances I have nowadays - I don't expect people to know coding languages or even be able to read them - but I want people to have at least a layman's understanding of how a computer works, what it does were, and so on. You can understand the general idea of how a computer works just like the "cavemen" wielding bows could understand how an arrow flies, approximately, without calculating parabolic arcs. And you can understand how to solve a basic technology related issue in a computer without needing to understanding CLIs or coding languages. The modern technology user majority is moving towards being the bowman without an understanding of how their bow works. They're able to shoot it while it works but the moment it breaks they're helpless. And yes, that is a problem as said tech user's portions of humanity get more and more dependent on their technology for basic life needs; that's not what I was referring to primarily though, in my first post in this thread. At the time I was thinking of the deeper issue of the fact that the more people do their best to stay rational, informed on a broad range of topics, contemplative of the world and events they do know of, etc, the better results humanity can achieve. That the majority of people do not pursue these things expresses itself in a broad, broad myriad of ways, among which is partially the success of products like the iStuff. 'course, it's more or less a symptom of a symptom, and there's other factors that make the iStuff successful, which aren't embodiments of anything negative at all.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

I'd take a cheap netbook over an iPad, nevermind a decent laptop. Tablets are toys. Nice toys, no doubt. But still toys.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

I have tablets (iOS and android ones) and netbooks (11" macbook air, some old msi netbook)... they have different uses that rarely overlap.

There are quite a few things that tablets are far superior than netbook form factors (mainly viewing documents and table-less computing); but it's a matter of form factor and proper ui/ux.

Don't write them off based on criteria used to evaluate traditional 'pc'.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

I appreciate your point, though I don't particularly agree with your examples (screen angle is adjustable on netbooks/laptops, so I would argue that it's easier to obtain a comfortable viewing angle).

I was speaking only about my use case, because I'm a 'traditional PC' kind of guy. Any tablet I were to purchase would just end up gathering dust.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Aye, I know what you mean; but with a good tablet you can comfortably:
- read without a table (bed, sofa, bus, subway, etc, even standing up)
- manipulate the document much faster and more intuitive than with mouse/trackpad (pan, zoom, flip pages with single gesture that combines multiple commands)

So it's definitely not just a viewing angle issue...

Yup, we all have different needs...

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Tablets certainly have a place in the market and the usage patterns of humans: they have sold by the tens of millions. Why is this an issue of debate?

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

For me, it isn't. I was only saying that I share the preferences expressed in the post that I quoted.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

I haven't used any of the larger tablets, but I would have thought that being able to tilt a netbook screen (whilst the device sits flat on your lap) would make it easier to read than a tablet. Obviously, a tablet has the advantage for reading when standing up.

As for gestures, I'm not keen on them. Maybe I'm an old stick-in-the-mud, but I generally find gesture controls annoying and imprecise. Perhaps this will improve as the market matures. For now, there's only one two-fingered gesture that I enjoy using. :D

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Have you actually tried a tablet, though?

Try viewing a document with an iPad. Even Android is still not as smooth and intuitive as iOS' ui defaults.

Open a multipage pdf, or even better a magazine with Zinio.

Those are things not possible to do on a netbook or notebooks.. even a high powered 'tablet PC'.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Yup this is why I hate some Apple fanboys (not fans). The iPad2 is awesome because it has a dual core A9 processor (that Apple modifies and calls their A5) but so does most other Android tablets coming out this year. There are other reasons why the iPad2 is a great product.

I remember last year I was at my fiancee's step father's sister's ex-husband's family reunion (yeah it's a strange, and a long story). And a cousin on that side was showering praise on Apple for being the first to put two cameras onto a phone and saying everyone copies those ideas.

I tried to correct him but eventually just gave up and shook my head.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

The benchmarks are coming, and it looks as though the PVR SGX543MP GPU in the iPad 2 TROUNCES the Tegra 2.

http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/...DSC0670_sm.jpg
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4216/a...p2-benchmarked

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4216/35901.png
http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4216/35902.png
http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4216/35903.png

This is reason for gloating, and should have the competition quite worried.

It seems that Apple made a remarkable decision. The competition, on the other hand played follow the leader, and it cost them a year.

I'm impressed.

I'm curious how the Adreno 220 and the Mali 400 will stack up to this formidable GPU design.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Wow that's some good gpu performances

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Something tells me that GPU specs will suddenly matter ;)

But this is most impressive.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Wow, I thought the A5 was only going to match the Tegra2... this thing really blows it out of the water (considering iOS has native apps over honeycomb's VM).

Here's a comparison:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...php?p=10822670

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Two mistakes:

1) Honeycomb most certainly has native apps (games tend to be written in c++).

2) The chart lists the nexus s as being orion, which is wrong -- it's hummingbird. The galaxy S2 is exynos (orion).

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

1) We have yet to use an Android application written in c++, let alone benchmark it.

2) That post is old, I've updated it ... see post 2 of that thread.
(I still cannot put a real "maximum theoretical polygon/sec" for the 543mp2, all things point to ~200M t/s, but the benchmark and the press release say otherwise)

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

1) What?! Where do you come up with this stuff? The Android NDK has been available since Version 2, and supports native apps. Most Android games are coded in C/C++.
http://developer.android.com/sdk/ndk/overview.html

As an aside, you should really consider doing a bit of research before making assertions.

2) Even your update post seems to include figures lifted from wikipedia (or thin air). Example, imagination states the SGX543MP triangle througput at 35Mpolys/sec not 140M (number of cores not mentioned).
http://www.imgtec.com/news/Release/index.asp?NewsID=428 (below the lists)

The benchmarks seem to confirm this.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

I hate myself. Just ordered a 16GB iPad2 for the wife. Why do I hate myself? Because I know within 2 minutes of unboxing the thing I'll be all over that mofo mumbling to myself "I hate you Steve Jobs, I hate you". Now, I still hate Uncle Steve and his iJail, but man, his worker ants sure know how to put out quality products.

As a side note, Xoom was a viable contender in my decision, and for a second I gave even Palm/HP a second look. Put in the end, Xoom was out of my price range, and having learned from Maemo5, I didn't want to be "experimenting" with an OS again so the WebOS was out.

Ok, who am I kidding, the iPad looks show shiny!

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Hahaha... Apple has the secret sauce to attract the masses.

The specs, the UI, etc, are misdirection. Apple are pros in positioning products -- making people want them. Plus, they tend to be quality products, so they appeal to those driven by rational motives.

I hope you enjoy your new toy! I'm sure if you use it for its intended purpose (ie. the apps) it will be much more than a satisfactory experience.

Just let us know your thoughts!

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

@ysss: wherever he may be

Do you remember when I said that "if the iPad 2 had a retina display, I'd eat my hat?" This was based on the knowledge that desktops/laptops have trouble pushing these resolutions and I assumed accomplishing this with a mobile was unlikely.

Well, as it turns out, the display isn't retina-class, but I'm going to eat my hat anyhow, because this years GPU technology (SGX543/Mali400/Adreno220) are all capable of pushing 'retina' resolutions, even if it hasn't been yet been embodied in a device. I'm eating said hat because my very reasons for doubting its inclusion was flat-out wrong.

This reinforced a valuable lesson that I had forgotten in that instance. Just because something hasn't been done, doesn't mean that it can't be done.

Pass the butter... :(

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Wait for a jailbreak hack to come out (only a matter of time) and jailbreak it.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 looks more appealing to the Xoom to me.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

My friend please read this:
http://www.imgtec.com/news/release/index.asp?newsid=449

Imgtec create the chips, and they claim with double the cores you roughly double the power. They claim the quadcore model delivers ~133M PPS. So the dualcore (SGX543MP2) must be at least 67M PPS. Which means the solo-core SGX543 should be at least 34M PPS. See how it compliments your previous link?

But 67MPPS is awefully low, considering the 543 has some advantages over the 540 and its dual-core, would mean theoretically is should be above 180MPPS (Imgtec's claim). So somewhere Imgtec stuffed up (I believe it was in the announcement of the SGX540's performance). But have a look at these raw figures:

Apple claims x9 the grunt which would mean: 273MPPS
Benchmarked against the iPad, it should be: 148MPPS
Benchmarked against the XOOM, it should be: 153MPPS
Anadtech's benchmark overall would put it: 202MPPS
So if I had to guestimate with all of these figures floating around, I would say 130-150MPPS (more closer to 150M).

So yeah, I did my homework but what grade I get won't be known until several months from now. By the way CC, I'm interested in what you believe the PPS for the SGX543MP2 is.

I do remember that, but don't eat your hat ... its a nice hat!
Couldn't agree more, we must think of time as progressive rather than cyclic if we are to believe in change.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

lol, yeah I remember that... and I also called it out that Jobs could've alluded that 'retina display' for tablet devices will have different resolution density than their smartphone counterpart due to the effective usage distance.

So it was probable for Jobs to launch a 10" 1080p tablet and still call it a 'retina display'.. (though I've no idea how cheap/available were 10" 1080p screens).

You know Jobs... he would dance around the audience (and facts) like a snake charmer and screw us all from behind... :D

(and everybody will still be smiling all the while)

ps: i'm witholding the butter, cause I don't want you to eat the hat... uncooked :D

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Ah, thanks for the source. And my apologies for the rude message.

Looking back, I'm rather ashamed at my behaviour. Just one of those days I suppose.


Indeed. One thing I've learned not to be ashamed of mistakes. How can a person grow if he/she doesn't admit to themselves when they've been wrong?

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Nah, man I sort of know your character, tis all good, nothing to be ashamed of. I do wonder what kind of chips will come after the next-gen-next (??), you know the ones thats supposed to run Windows Next (aka version 8).

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

After the next generation, mobile processors will start to compete with intel's desktop/notebook offerings. While the performance is not going to be 100% congruent, the OSs and APIs available will extremely efficiently utilize the feature sets of the SoCs, which seem to be far more creative in implementation as they can forgo years of legacy baggage and complexity that the x86 arch is toting around. Best of all, all of this will be done at extremely low power.


For example:

A big push among mobile chipset makers is OpenCL integration. This allows for the GPU to be used in a general way in applications for crunching computationally intense tasks. OpenCL can be used for real-time video editing, image processing, calculations, etc, or many other compute heavy tasks -- in a highly efficient way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenCL

Simply put, I think that in ~2 years mobile SoCs will be able to compete on a performance level with full-fledged entry level laptops and computers (well beyond ATOM). Weather you're using CAD, or editing video/audio, it will be possible on the coming generation of mobile SoCs.

Interestingly, Imagination, makers of the aforementioned SGX543MP, has announced that their SGX5xx line will support openCL (1.0) with new, upcoming drivers! :eek:
http://www.imgtec.com/News/Release/index.asp?NewsID=610

Apple made a bang-on decision going with Imagination; they have a proven track record, and are simply ahead of the competition. For example, reference designs of ARMs next-gen Mali T604 have *just* begun to make their way into the hands of OEMs, meaning that Mali will only start to compete in around 2 years in regards to OpenCL.*
* this information comes from an interview with Jim Davies (VP of technology in the Media Processing Division of ARM)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccsqedOeF_M

I'm not aware of another SoC on the market that has OpenCL support.


Microsoft's Win8 strategy will be interesting. I'm guessing that they are going to offer some form of backward compatibility, likely by porting all of their APIs and translating x86 code to ARM code automatically on the platform. The Win8 APIs will likely center around C# and the Common Language Runtime for portability to other architectures. But it's only a guess!

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

"will ship in 3-4 weeks"... WTF dude. Does this mean that after I hit "place order" button, someone at Apple picked up a phone and called Foxconn in Longhua, China - you know everything is made by Foxconn. Everything. - to let them know they can start building me one?

Not that I was going to wait outside an Apple Store for 9 hours just to get one. I mean it's cool and all but it is just a f***in tablet, not the cure for cancer.

Can't wait. Wait, yes I can.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

It seems that the iPad may have some non-tegra Android competition after all.

A mysterious HTC tablet has seemingly popped on to the map.
http://images.androidcentral.com/sit...ts-release.jpg

If it's anything like the maddeningly-delayed thunderbolt and the playbook, it may house the MSM8660: a dual-core snapdragon (scorpion cores) at a blistering 1.2GHz and a very powerful Adreno 220 GPU from the once popular ATI (bought out by Qualcomm).
http://androidandme.com/2011/02/news...dreno-220-gpu/
http://www.qualcomm.com/videos/snapd...inds-game-demo (1080p in stereo -- framerate unknown)

Details on the GPU are sparse, but I suspect it will blow the pants off of the T20 and roughly compare to the SGX543MP in performance.

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

Okay, so this is a bit complex discussion here - it's true that OpenCL is not (yet) widely adopted outside the Apple world - but that's not really a surprise as OpenCL originated from Apple in the first place. Keep in mind that there *are* competing solutions and approaches for the exact same problem, so when saying Apple is winning by being the major OpenCL backer you also imply that OpenCL itself is going to win (the jury is still out on that one). For example TI OMAPs include DSPs and streaming extensions that do very nifty stuff you mentioned above as target use-cases for OpenCL on very-very low power (in plain English, as I said in another thread - no self-respecting ARM SoC does video/image processing on the CPU anyway).

Re: Apple iPad 2
 

I don't particulary like the way modern technology and innovation is applied in today's market.

First, the trend used to be like this: New gadgets such as smartphones were striving to be more like a pc. Nowadays companies such as Apple bring new divices to the market wich most people don't really need, for mostly simple tasks such as email, reading, web, simple gaming. Some functions work more conveniantly than on a smartphone or pc, but it's still not much more pockatable than a notebook (wich can do alot more). By smart marketing they create a new category of products that is appealing and will sell to end-users and you know why it sells don't you? Pc-like striving is still there, but the simpeler devices sell better.

This leads to my second point, the populatity rules the market and therefore heists innovation (sort of). Companies smell money and invest in such a category, trying to benefit from the rising market. New and good hardware is put in devices that don't really need it, and often in a closed ecosystem. This disappoints me, where I'd rather see good hardware put to its maximum use, preferably in an open envoirment. Open-sourse will never disappear, but because popularity rules we will first see innovative hardware on (partially) closed platforms, leaving the unpopular open-source products to follow in its footsteps with often outdated specs.

Thats why I love the N900, its a rare case of good (up to date) hardware matching a unique piece of open software. That does not happen very often, that's why I'd love to see MeeGo evolve and actually hit the market.;)