Comments on: iPad = Comics!

By: whacko

whacko — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:42:26 +0000

I have no direct experience with Axiotrons products, but I have seen other products demos that use both Pen and Touch.

Generally the way these other products work is that if you drag your finger across the tablet it moves the mouse, and you have access to all the standard touchpad gestures. If the tablet detects the pen, then you only have access to the gestures, the pen controls the mouse pointer. However using the pen with touch also activates certain special gesture specific to use with a pen, such as dragging your little finger alongside the pen to scroll, and using two fingers and the pen to rotate images and such in creative applications.

Also, I am pretty sure that these pads will ignore anything much larger than a fingertip when using the pen, so you should be able to rest your palm ont he screen while you draw or whatever.

By: Dorje

Dorje — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:02:37 +0000

I think Ted Landau in his blog over on theMacObserver hit close to the mark with “The iPad as your second computer”. This applies more to us with big fat towers who want a secondary travel device. Personally I’m starting to see the iPad as more like the datapad from ST:TNG. Useful on its own, but much better when it can link up with a bigger badder friend. The use of VNC programs will be help there. I’ve already had great fun doing remote control with my Touch, not sure how it stacks up to a Netbook as terminal in that regard, although the pinch zooming in Jaadu VNC has let me quickly navigate around my dual tower displays (1600×1200 + 1200×1024) while hobnobbing with friends or guests out in the living room. Almost plays Flash remotely that way to, with the addition of a Bluetooth headset.

I’ve long been feeling the new-age of the Terminal system was comming (what with cloud computing and such). Again rabber (a poster on theMacObserver) pointed out that a family could get a single computer and 4 pads. Sync up to the ‘house hold main frame’, figure out some nice multi-client VNC style access software, and everyone gets computer access when and where they want it in the house.

By: Razor

Razor — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:39:07 +0000

See THAT is what I thought it was! I didn’t know it was just like a bigger iPhone, etc. I really thought it was a tablet. Bummer!

By: Treyos

Treyos — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:19:15 +0000

I’m no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but as soon as they said no flash and no USB port, I wrote it off as not interested. If it can’t support the most basic technologies then it’s out-dated before it even hits the market.

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:51:11 +0000

Pen AND multi-touch? Let’s hope the pen disables touch then – I have a real problem writing on a big screen if I can’t rest my hand on it. I think that most folks would have a similar problem with writing OR drawing.
But let’s assume they did the most basic function testing and avoided that particular howler (unlike every other touch-screen computer in history) – good luck to them! This is an exciting form-factor and the more competition there is the better. Lenovo are there (and IBM were there before them – TransNote anyone?) and HP will be soon. Me? I’m curious to see how long Sony will say it’s a passing fad before they produce a device for 2-3 times the price of everyone else’s but still make it tempting because it’ll work really well. :D

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:43:17 +0000

What is this rubbish about not multi-tasking? Is it a windows thing (i.e there aren’t any)? Because my Touch 2 will happily play music while I read email and in the b/g Twitteriffic is pulling in tweets and chirping every time I get a new message. I don’t care if I have to re-instance the app rather than tabbing to it if it brings me to the exact same place and takes no longer to get there – why would I? How much work does your word processor do while you are using another window? None. Right. Get over “multi-tasking” – all you need is already there.
Now the Flash thing? Well most of the Flash I view is Offline so I just need iTunes to import FLV to MOV and I’m golden. Think outside the box folks – the killer iPad app will rock your little world in a way you can’t yet imagine but – as a LONG time Newton fan – I am SO there.
Comics on the iPad? Well, there is already Clickwheel but the reviews are less than stellar. That’s a hole in the market I’d expect someone with a big catalogue to fill (are you listening Marvel, DC, etc.?) but if you leave it to them you’ll have half a dozen apps, not just one. Oooh! I know! Comics to PDF via email – that’ll work well :)

By: Siin

Siin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 05:23:08 +0000

To be honest, it surprises me how many people aren’t aware of Axiotron’s Modbook (already available, as from their website and stores; axiotron.com). They practically take a laptop (even your own if you choose), remove the keyboard and replace the screen, making it into a pen tablet (i.e. no touch sensitivity).

The Modbook Pro, which they’ve been developing for a year or so and due to be available around July (as far as I know), takes things one step further. It adds both pen and touch recognition, making it far better than the iPad in arguably everyway.

As far as I know, Axiotron’s a 3rd Party company which has aquired rights to modify Apple laptops and use Wacom’s pen tablet technologies.

I swear, Axiotron’s Modbook Pro is how a tablet should be, and reading to everyone’s comments, is what everyone was hoping for from the iPad.

Compared to this, the iPad’s ultimately a portable screen…

By: whacko

whacko — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:51:11 +0000

I wonder if the fact that the iPad failed to live up to any of its mythic-level hype will effect sales of the device. I mean, seriously all Apple had to do to make everyone happy was to deliver a tablet version of the Macbook Air and people would have been completely satisfied. Adding in the aspect sensing ability of the iPod Touch and you would still have had a great solution for viewing media of all kinds.

Instead Apple delivered a device that just isn’t what even the most pragmatic Apple Tablet dreamer would have considered. I mean, the iPod OS is bad enough with all of its inherent limitations. The lack of ability to install REAL software (not Apps) can almost be explained by the tablets under-powered hardware.

But the lack of a simple standard interface like a USB PORT is criminal. You shouldn’t have to buy a dock adapter to plug your camera in and put your photos on this kind of device. You should be able to save your sketches or transfer you legally purchased music from this device to another without having to rely on a WiFi connection. Apple has long resisted the move to standard USB in the majority of their devices (iPod, iPhone (in an age where most phone companies agreed on the micro-USB STANDARD for phone charging/computer interface) and they have gotten away with it because they are Apple and their product is percieved as superior, even when this isn’t always the case. But not to include a USB adapter on their iPad, and to expect people to buy an adapter kit for $30 on top of the already high price of the iPad is just an insult to Apple’s customers and every other non-competing hardware manufacturer in the world.

By: Ananth

Ananth — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:29:35 +0000

Hah, more like everyone. CNN’s already run an article about it!

By: Ananth

Ananth — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:28:59 +0000

Marvel will likely adapt, whether they like it or not.