IPAD

[RedMacGregor]

HP Previewed their tablet at CES this last year, it's not vaporware, several other companies are coming out with similar devices

[sgreger1]

ipad is 9.7" screen... the archos is 5", and is on an older version of Android than my beloved Nexus One.

the current version does not support flash, that'll be coming soon (it's in private beta from Adobe)

AhhH! No flash? God damnit. How can they support flash game sbut not in-browser flash, that makes no sense, flash is such an important part of the internet.

Sigh. Perhaps later they will figure it out.


EDIT: It says it supports flash but those who tested it say it will load youtube but not hulu, pandora, commedy central or anything else that supports flash. God this is such a bummer, HOW DO YOU NOT INCLUDE FLASH, how? I know it's a demanding piece of software but jesus all the good sites use flash.

[sgreger1]

yes, you can plug it into usb and copy files that way..

since it's android, it's a linux derivative OS, and works accordingly with shell scripts and such.

Archos says on its website that the Archos 5 Android can be connected to Windows XP, Vista or Linux. If you are a Mac user the device won't mount as a USB drive (I tried on Snow Leopard). I'm not sure why that is because it should just show up like any other USB Mass Storage device on the Mac. The fact is: right now, it simply won't mount. In theory, this is fixable, so we'll update this article if that happens.

[RedMacGregor]

i've got in-browser flash on my nexus one... the upcoming android devices that use android 2.1 and above will support flash, it was supposed to be released in Q1, but was pushed back a bit.

iPad on the other hand has no desire to support flash at all.

[sgreger1]

i've got in-browser flash on my nexus one... the upcoming android devices that use android 2.1 and above will support flash, it was supposed to be released in Q1, but was pushed back a bit.

iPad on the other hand has no desire to support flash at all.

Apple has such great, good looking products, why do they always manage to limited their capability with crazy DRM policies, boycot on adult content and now no flash????

[RedMacGregor]

my android devices connect just fine to my macbook pro.. do it every day.


I wouldn't buy the archos device anyway... I'd wait for the HP Slate or Google's offering.

[sgreger1]

So I just went to bestbuy and played with the Ipad some more and asked some questions.


Youtube worked fine for me, there is an app available for most other flash related things like Pandora etc. Hulu still won't work but they are planning on making a hulu app if the ipad sells well.

It can read AND write word documents, view pdf's etc.

All in all I think it serves every purpose I wanted minus the hulu thing, but they offer tv shows for like a dollar a piece on some of them.



ONE QUESTION FOR IPAD OWNERS: I can really only afford the small memory one (like 16 gigs or something), will this be a problem? I don't plan on putting any music on it, and I imagine e-books take up little space. I will be downloading podcasts and watching TV shows but I delete them once i'm done with them. I was wondering if temporary internet files or OS take up a lot of space on there. How much of the 16 gigs will I actually be able to use.

Is there any real reason to get the larger GB versions? I can't believe they are charging an extra 100$ for every 16gb of memory. I mena I can buy a terabyte for like 100$ nowadays.

[sgreger1]

I looked up the slate which is supposedly going to be coming out in June. If it really is coming out in june I am goign to wait for it.


It allows full in-browser Flash (which makes up 70% of videos and like 80% of internet games), has a camera and a video-conferencing capability via skype, allows SD cards and USB connectivity etc. It even has HDMI output and a camera on back/webcam up front.

Basically it doesn't water down the internet and has many other cool features, all while being significantly cheaper than the Ipad. I hope to god they release this by June.

[sgreger1]

Hey, I was wondering, could you jailbreak an Ipad? Some people claim to have done it.

I've heard that through jailbroken ones can be made to use flash via 3rd party applications.

I am not familiar with jailbreaking, even though I have an ipod touch. Is this dangerous? Like I know it voids the warranty but is there any way to undue it incase you want to utilize the warranty or update it?

[CoderGuy]

So I just went to bestbuy and played with the Ipad some more and asked some questions.


Youtube worked fine for me, there is an app available for most other flash related things like Pandora etc. Hulu still won't work but they are planning on making a hulu app if the ipad sells well.

It can read AND write word documents, view pdf's etc.

All in all I think it serves every purpose I wanted minus the hulu thing, but they offer tv shows for like a dollar a piece on some of them.



ONE QUESTION FOR IPAD OWNERS: I can really only afford the small memory one (like 16 gigs or something), will this be a problem? I don't plan on putting any music on it, and I imagine e-books take up little space. I will be downloading podcasts and watching TV shows but I delete them once i'm done with them. I was wondering if temporary internet files or OS take up a lot of space on there. How much of the 16 gigs will I actually be able to use.

Is there any real reason to get the larger GB versions? I can't believe they are charging an extra 100$ for every 16gb of memory. I mena I can buy a terabyte for like 100$ nowadays.

I got the 32GB myself, bought my parents each a 16GB. They have about 12GB free each and only have apps and books on it. Even if you put several movies on it the movies are not that big, and you can delete/replace as needed. I loaded mine up with TV shows and podcasts and it only took about 6GB of space.

CG

[lxskllr]

I'm anti Apple anyway, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but no SD; seriously? No F'n USB? The Ipad is a feature poor toy imo, designed to funnel money into Apple. They limit connectivity so you have to either jump through hoops, or go to them for content. Shady business practice AFAIC. THAT'S why I dislike Apple, typical for them....

[RobsanX]

C'mon, you know you want that iPad. It feels so good in your hand! :lol:

[f. bandersnatch]

Macintosh might work for some people, but I find the limited options for upgrades and the infuriating pricing structure to be unacceptable (why are you asking me to pay hundreds of extra dollars for key features that other companies consider standard?).

Even besides that, this non-removable/replaceable battery thing is totally out of this world. Just an insult to my intelligence, if you ask me. You are basically telling me that I should expect to buy a new one in a year and a half, or pay a "genius" hundreds of dollars to use a special screwdriver on my shit.

Apples are not user friendly, they are idiot friendly and Macintosh bottom-line friendly.

Plus, the software is pretty anti-piracy, and without that what the f*ck would I use a computer for?

[sgreger1]

They make such beautifull products but, like Lx said, are so shady when it comes to their business model. For example, they don't allow flash, not because flash isn't possible, but because they can then sell you more stuff in the app store. Like a hulu ap, an MTV app, a pandora app, etc etc.


I like everything about the new slate, from video conferencing to usb/hdmi outputs, support for a stylus and of course windows already huge "app" store (aka THE INTERNET), plus Flash capability. The problem is that it runs on windows 7 and I know it will run crappy and after a year will not work properly, like every MS product i've ever purchased.

Once again windows has the superior product, but fails to make it in a nice little package that consistently works and has a good UI. I might wait to try out a Slate for myself but I have such a bad track record with windows.


But NO FLASH? I mean fark, really, they expect the ENTIRE internet to convert to html 5 just so you have to buy shit on their app store? And they are charging 500$ for something that is really just a large smart phone?

I really love the ipad, I do, if it supported flash i would buy it in a heartbeat. I just can't believe Jobs would fark me like this. NO FLASH :evil:

[Snusify]

HTML 5 will supersede Flash altogether in the long term. Apple have foresight.

Flash is heavy on CPU the flash plugins are buggy.

Farmville the popular facebook is written in flash. It bogs down my computer when it is loaded, it is laggy, it sucks and it has nothing to do with my laptop it has a 2.4ghz dual core intel.

MafiaWars from the same company that make Farmville is written in HTML5 and has more features than farmville runs perfectly and runs well on an iPhone. Proving that flash is not needed anymore.