Sushi,
> I remember the switch to 7 from 6. For me, as soon as I found out that
> my computer would work with 7, I was there.
Agreed. Every incremental release from the inception of the Mac has brought
useful things and refinements to the user experience until we reach X.
> X is made for the future, and the new hardware that we will see down the
> road.
It's made for a future predicated on there being no change. It expects that
application, rather than data driven approaches will continue to rule. It
expects that sharing data will continue to be resisted by application
developers. It cements-in the concept of using files and harms the refined
way that metadata is used by the Mac to identify and save files in a totally
spurious attempt at conformity which also hurts usability.
> What would be wrong with a tablet or sub tablet device running X with a
> modified GUI adopted for the pen interface.
They have made it very hard for themselves. Any sized tablet from a Palm to
a Cinema display needs to have all the hardware resources to run X that a
PowerBook would require and would then have the same battery constraints
plus the added cost of a touch screen which would have to be colour as the
interface makes no sense without it. Not much with it IMHO. The appalling
waste of screen real estate in X windows and dialogs means a total redesign
once the screen shrinks to say 8 inches - below that everything would have
to be redesigned by application developers. Things like the Dock are
inconceivable on a small screen. The Aqua interface does not scale,
functionally or cosmetically.
The cost then has to be less than a PowerBook. The answer will always be to
get a PowerBook.
> I think that depends on one's definition of PDA. If a table (8.5x11) or
> sub tablet (5.5x8.5) is considered a PDA, then I think Apple will do it
> right for sure.
I use a Wacom tablet with my PowerBook instead of a mouse (alternating with
the trackpad as appropriate) as it makes menu picking and clicking so easy.
But that does not make my PB into a Newton even if had HWR. A good pen
interface requires a slightly different set of design goals and affordances
and this requires understanding of UI issues at a higher level that I
believe Apple are currently willing to trouble themselves with.
> I don't know about you, but my handwriting improves on a device the size
> of a Newt 2K vice a smaller Newt. I am left handed so that might have
> something to do with it.
Totally agree but you are assuming that future Palm devices are all going to
be small. The future of the Palm OS suggests that scaling of the screen will
be easier to implement so a range of devices may appear from the wristwatch
to the tablet.
Thanks for your comments.
Joel.
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