Apple Tablet

[grawk]

I'm guessing taking that concept home means you have the future Mac and PC as the remote access computer and the future iPad like devices as the small client computers. In that idea, it sounds as though the iPad is used as a remote control using something like VNC. Its doesn't sound like it would still be supercomputing when on a small scale and ideally I wouldn't want to own more then one device for easy access to all my resources.

Now take into account the new apple datacenter in nc.

[manaox2]

Now take into account the new apple datacenter in nc.

Yeah, that seriously scares the shit out of me. I mean, um... I, for one, welcome our new Apple overlords...

I also don't want Apple to be the large remote computer I'm forced to access for my important work if that's what you want me to think of. Honestly, I'm not too concerned with supercomputers. I mean, I've never needed to use one for my personal wants or needs, not that they aren't needed. I wouldn't want it to be necessary to use them and I still hope that our small client computer that we'd have would advance in speed too enough to take care of our own needs and wants into the future, not stay the same just with access to a more powerful computer.

[grawk]

Yeah, that seriously scares the shit out of me. I mean, um... I, for one, welcome our new Apple overlords...

I also don't want Apple to be the large remote computer I'm forced to access for my important work if that's what you want me to think of.

You do important work?

[manaox2]

You do important work?

Ok, ok, maybe not to anyone else, but I do mean important as in I value it and would not want to be forced to share it in order to do anything I may need to do with it. I don't want Apple to have access to me so completely for data mining, most people on the internet seem like they should care about possibly having only one entity with not enough checks and balances in charge over overseeing something important. iPad doesn't seem to represent this concept anyway yet and I suspect the data center has nothing at all to do with supercomputing.

[Hopstretch]

I think the data center is more about just getting your iShit up in the cloud. All your photos, music, tv shows etc. accessible anytime anywhere on your iPod, iPad or iPhone. Jobs kept hammering on about how "Apple is the world's largest mobile company." Can't get much more mobile than that.

[The Monkey]

Dan just wants SUPERDUPERCOMPUTERs to control us.

[manaox2]

I think the data center is more about just getting your iShit up in the cloud. All your photos, music, tv shows etc. accessible anytime anywhere on your iPod, iPad or iPhone. Jobs kept hammering on about how "Apple is the world's largest mobile company." Can't get much more mobile than that.

Quite the shit storm of mobileness really. I think I will call it... the internet.

[grawk]

Ok, so the way it seems to me, the ipad opens options. You can use it with your windows or linux box running vnc. You can use it with your mac server. You can use it with amazon's cloud, you can use it with google's cloud. You can use it with apple's cloud. You have the ability to pick where your data resides, and it doesn't have to be on the device you bring with you. It's not limiting, it's freeing. Using a computer that's somewhere else means you're not tied to a location.

As to the OMG GOOGLE AND APPAL WANT MY BITS, honestly, I really don't get the objection. Instead of seeing ads about chevy malibus, I get ads for german sportswagons. Instead of getting ads about bose, I get ads about Audio Technica, etc. They don't want your specific data, individual data points are boring. Macro-data is what's interesting. The weather modelling systems don't report what the weather is like in sector (1112552124,126233623,774213266), they just use that as part of the model that says "It's gonna snow like a bitch in raleigh".

[Dusty Chalk]

I think I will start collecting PS3's and make my own.

[manaox2]

Ok, so the way it seems to me, the ipad opens options. You can use it with your windows or linux box running vnc. You can use it with your mac server. You can use it with amazon's cloud, you can use it with google's cloud. You can use it with apple's cloud. You have the ability to pick where your data resides, and it doesn't have to be on the device you bring with you. It's not limiting, it's freeing. Using a computer that's somewhere else means you're not tied to a location.

As to the OMG GOOGLE AND APPAL WANT MY BITS, honestly, I really don't get the objection. Instead of seeing ads about chevy malibus, I get ads for german sportswagons. Instead of getting ads about bose, I get ads about Audio Technica, etc. They don't want your specific data, individual data points are boring. Macro-data is what's interesting. The weather modelling systems don't report what the weather is like in sector (1112552124,126233623,774213266), they just use that as part of the model that says "It's gonna snow like a bitch in raleigh".

I don't have a problem with getting it and using it to access VNC, though that as a device isn't revolutionary or really much of evolutionary it seems. They basically put a big screen on it and and optimized it to run their OS just like they did until they switched to intel for processors and also put an under-featured OS with a nice GUI to help get greater speeds using less power. The only benefit would be easy access to different clouds using optimized software made for the iPad compared to using a different device not made by apple. The iPad did not invent these and I'm not certain that it revolutionized it. You could provide your own computer somewhere else and contact it without Apples help or prices.

And yes, I don't want them to have my individual data points even if its only to market it to me better. Most all social network sites and search engines do that already and I'm not certain what advantage of having the best system of developing macro-data statistics built is, but I would rather not let apple or any one entity be completely in charge of a majority of my online portal to data. I don't want to need any service from Apple or them to become a monopoly on computing just like I don't want Microsoft to either, its obvious that their job is getting money from consumers. Weather data isn't as useful at manipulated to control the weather yet. I really do think that both technology and information can be used for good and/or bad and that this is why privacy and some limits must exist.

[Dusty Chalk]

As to the OMG GOOGLE AND APPAL WANT MY BITS, honestly, I really don't get the objection. Instead of seeing ads about chevy malibus, I get ads for german sportswagons. Instead of getting ads about bose, I get ads about Audio Technica, etc. They don't want your specific data, individual data points are boring. Macro-data is what's interesting. The weather modelling systems don't report what the weather is like in sector (1112552124,126233623,774213266), they just use that as part of the model that says "It's gonna snow like a bitch in raleigh".

Here's the problem I have: Let's assume I'm also more ambitious than I am -- a day trader successful enough to make a living off of the stock market, but not enough to own my own supercomputer. And let's say I have a secret. That secret is my "system". Let's also assume that I do trust Apple/Microsoft/Google/Yahoo/AT&T/Verizon/Johnson&Johnson/Gerber/Palmolive/whomever enough to put my data on a superdupercomputer co-op as per the discussed model. I still wouldn't get any sleep, because EVERYONE ELSE would have access to my secret in a way that I couldn't directly defend against.

[grawk]

First, all the cloud computing companies promise to safeguard your data, so it's not like your codes are equally available to all, any more than they would be on any other networked system. Second, there is nothing about the ipad that would prevent you from connecting to a private system on your internal network that would then tell you how to execute your trades via a separate system.

[Dusty Chalk]

I was talking about that argument in general from the perspective of the centralized superduperprocessor/mainframe & netbook/iTouchBigger/other lower-powered CPU-based device model.

[morphsci]

I have to admit to just not getting that. So you have a bigger screen, so what? Do you really want a remote that's so busy that you need that much more real estate? I mean, the iTouch was already 320x480.

EDIT: Of course, as soon as I wrote that, I thought, "processor speed?" Twice, basically. Now that makes things completely different.

Yes increased processor speed is very important but controlling a 24" Hi-Def monitor with the touch involves a lot of zooming and scrolling so the extra real estate really does help. I also use my tablet at home as a remote and it is much easier and faster to accomplish things. So yes I really do want moar real estate

Ok, so the way it seems to me, the ipad opens options. You can use it with your windows or linux box running vnc. You can use it with your mac server. You can use it with amazon's cloud, you can use it with google's cloud. You can use it with apple's cloud. You have the ability to pick where your data resides, and it doesn't have to be on the device you bring with you. It's not limiting, it's freeing. Using a computer that's somewhere else means you're not tied to a location.

....

Yep that was the conclusion I came to after my initial techno-geek disappointment. The one ring to bind them all.

Edited January 31, 2010 by morphsci

[manaox2]

Making other promise to keep your secrets isn't good security policy. Anyone should know by now from history how easy it is for things to leak. Hopefully everyone who takes a gamble here trusting that some things will be kept secret knows that you still don't go spreading all your information around in exchange for a promise if you absolutely require privacy. Some things you don't trust even trust to your best friend. I'm definitely not altogether trusting of others who only look at me as a potential sell and I'm, as you say, not really all that interesting.

[n_maher]

Making other promise to keep your secrets isn't good security policy. Anyone should know by now from history how easy it is for things to leak. Hopefully everyone who takes a gamble here trusting that some things will be kept secret knows that you still don't go spreading all your information around in exchange for a promise if you absolutely require privacy. Some things you don't trust even trust to your best friend. I'm definitely not altogether trusting of others who only look at me as a potential sell and I'm, as you say, not really all that interesting.

Who do trust to have better ability to protect your data, some integral Windows firewall or a server farm that has a vested interest in keeping your data secure? I'd wager my home computer is 10x more vulnerable than most cloud setups so unless you're keeping your data on a dark network you're kidding yourself thinking it's "safe".

[Beefy]

Who do trust to have better ability to protect your data, some integral Windows firewall or a server farm that has a vested interest in keeping your data secure? I'd wager my home computer is 10x more vulnerable than most cloud setups so unless you're keeping your data on a dark network you're kidding yourself thinking it's "safe".

The real question isn't the security you have, but rather who has the target painted on their back?

[grawk]

The real question isn't the security you have, but rather who has the target painted on their back?

These days most attacks aren't targetted, they're worms.

[thrice]

Omni Group Commits to Bring Five Productivity Apps to iPad - Mac Rumors

This makes me very happy.

[Dusty Chalk]

Who do trust to have better ability to protect your data, some integral Windows firewall or a server farm that has a vested interest in keeping your data secure? I'd wager my home computer is 10x more vulnerable than most cloud setups so unless you're keeping your data on a dark network you're kidding yourself thinking it's "safe".

That's like asking me which I trust more -- the bookie, or the guy with the bookie -- how about neither? Pfff. I trust no-one. Sneaker net it is, for me.

[grawk]

then they'll just hire a girl in black to get the information out of you dusty

[The Monkey]

Dan controls the weather.

[thrice]

All about EPUB, the ebook standard for Apple's iBookstore

I little information about EPUB and the iPad.

[jvlgato]

The way supercomputing works is you have a large remote system where the work is done, and a small client system where you manipulate the results. This is just taking that cocept home. The future isn't less powerful computers, it's easier access to more powerful computers. You pick your interface, with the features you find important.

Yup, I think this is exactly right, and is this what the iPad is all about.

I keep reading about how tablets are used so much in health care, but I don't have one. I've thought about it, but they're big, clunky, quirky, you have to boot up, and they're just expensive. All my drug reps carry them, I ask how they like it, and ALL of them hate it - 'they're big, clunky, quirky, and you have to boot up all the time' is what they say. So I don't want to spend thousands on this thing.

I also keep reading about how healthcare is moving toward electronic health records (EHR). I fully agree that it is, and I am seeing this occur in the hospitals, but as a solo practitioner, I'm not spending thousands on EHR software that's big, clunky, and too complex for my old office computers to handle. Plus it'll be obsolete in a few years, anyway. I AM using online faxing services, and that's really great, but these middle aged eyes are squinting (even though I already look like I'm squinting all the time!), and I'm constantly scrolling, when trying to read it off my Blackberry. (I know, iPhone has a bigger screen - but trust me, I'd still be squinting.)

Well, I am now planning to switch over to EHR using an iPad some time in the next year. I have 15 years worth of patient records I'm trying to figure out where to put. I have 8 boxes of old insurance records in my home waiting to be shredded, 8 boxes of patient notes I have to keep somewhere probably forever, my helper is always complaining about thinning the cabinets, I need to thin the charts etc ... Plus, when I'm on the road, I can't access the charts. There are some online companies finally developing some reasonably functioning and reasonably priced (monthly subscription) EHR software which would keep all the records in the cloud. There are great scheduling services becoming available in the cloud. Broadband is cheap and reliable now, mobile data is becoming cheaper and more available...

I think in the next year or so, I'll be typing all my patient records into the cloud via iPad. I'll have access to every record that would otherwise be stuffing my 16 boxes of paperwork, I won't have to worry about storage space, I can access my work and personal schedule, my faxes, and maybe play a game, listen to some tunes or watch the Browns lose and the Cavs win, all on this small, easy/fun to use, light weight device. In the next 5-15 years, (hopefully) all the labs will connect into the system, and maybe the hospitals and other doctors, too, and I can also access all labwork and other doctor's info (with patient permission, of course - Dusty can decline!).

I can also envision something similar happening in many other fields. A worker in the field needs a blueprint or diagram, calls the office, and it's emailed into his hands. Need the schematic of that amp? I'll send it right over. Why bother running up to the computer, booting up, logging onto your email, downloading, then printing? Just 'instant on' the iPad, a couple of clicks, and there it is on your table next to you. I can imagine 90% of applications running on a remote supercomputer/large storage, with local access via a simple, networked 'computer' equipped with a friendly OS.

So I really agree with Grawk's statement here. Didn't Sun's Ellison say a long time ago that we'd all be working on a networked dummy terminal one day? (Could be wrong, but seem to remember that ...)

[morphsci]

^^^^ Yes, Yes, Yes. I have a tablet PC and it works great. Sitting on my desk. As a laptop it is big, clunky, quirky (Well it is Vista) and it takes fucking forever to boot up. I also need to consolidate information (with adequate backing up) and I want it all available to me all the time, everywhere. We should already be there but I will take what I can get. So wrap me up an ipad and I'm good to go.