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Sorry for the meta-comment but why does this article has so many votes? I read the whole thing and it's nothing more than pure speculation and "analisys." What

by sker 17y ago

Sorry for the meta-comment but why does this article has so many votes? I read the whole thing and it's nothing more than pure speculation and "analisys." What I took from it is that The Apple Tablet will be a full working device like the many tablets we've seen since the beginning of the decade. Is the author someone famous in the Valley or something?

rms 17y ago
This is the time of year when people really like speculations and predictions, especially when they sound plausible and/or reasonable.
- sker 17y ago
  I agree with that, but number one article for most of the day? It seems a bit exaggerated to me. This is macrumors material, in my opinion.
dreyfiz 17y ago
The author's analysis is top-notch because he actually understands what the newest incarnation of Apple is about, unlike most of the people who write about Apple.
- dreyfiz 17y ago
  He's only been writing the piece since September: http://twitter.com/gruber/status/7250169522 http://twitter.com/gruber/status/7250169522. Does most speculation about Apple's next move strike you as something that much care was put into?
  - borism 17y ago
    http://thingsjohngruberiswrongabout.tumblr.com http://thingsjohngruberiswrongabout.tumblr.com
    - dreyfiz 17y ago
      Anonymous hate speech is tedious. It's not even any good, he just reads like a Slashdotter with nerd rage. Edit: it's also already a failed site. Its name pretends to a comprehensiveness that is belied by the meager three dates on which he's posted, the latest of which is in September, 2009. Gruber posts something almost daily-surely he's been wrong about something since September?
      - borism 17y ago
        1. no need to post every week to point out that Gruber is wrong (a lot). you may also head to Fake Steve Jobs and find out the same almost every week. 2. don't see any hate speech
        dreyfiz 17y ago
        The whole thing is a hate site. It exists for the sole purpose of one man's axe-grinding against another. This is a low-value pursuit and a complete waste of time. As for specific "hate speech" that I disliked, try the comment about a "cold dick in the mouth", or the one about how Gruber "has a hard-on" for Apple. Poor writing, pointless mission, and just an all-around waste.
- sker 17y ago
  I think the author's writing skills are top-notch. The article was entertaining to read from the beginning to the end and he looks like a smart guy with great ideas. That said, I don't think his analysis is that great in this particular article, that's why I quoted the word analysis in my original post. Like I said, this feels like pure speculation backed by intuition on the author's part. His analysis doesn't use any sort of sales numbers or statistics to show where the market is heading and why Apply would take certain decisions.
  - DougBTX 17y ago
    this feels like pure speculation backed by intuition on the author's part Yes, it feels like that. Since he explicitly says as much in the article. Few other Apple pundits are so self-aware.
  - dreyfiz 17y ago
    What sales numbers or statistics would have helped you predict what the iPhone would be like before you knew anything about it other than "Apple is working on some kind of a phone"? All we know today is that Apple is working on some kind of a tablet. There are no relevant facts or sales numbers that would have improved the article. Whatever market Apple creates or redefines with the new device will look completely different afterwards.
- cstross 17y ago
  Yes, this. Cringely opined some years ago that tech companies evolve through three categories (or stages of development): technology driven, sales driven, and marketing driven. There's an assumption in this ontology: that growth and evolution of a tech company is predicated on new technology. The new (post-1997, Jobs II) Apple breaks this rule. Apple is design driven, at a level that makes more sense to folks with a Fine Art degree than a CS background. (The reason for their success? Lots of folks with an aesthetic background like this stuff and will pay extra for it.) They're seeking a better user experience, vertically integrated at all levels with their web ecosystem. Gruber -- who's been tracking apple for something like 20 years -- gets this. J. Random Gizmo columnist doesn't.
jsz0 17y ago
I think you reached a different conclusion than others reading the article which may explain the confusion. What I took away here is Gruber thinks it will be unlike other tablets that have been released due to Apple's strong focus on practical usability and their ability to tightly integrate their hardware & software platforms unlike other companies who have attempted tablet computers. As for the authors credentials -- he makes a living covering Apple. He has an excellent understanding of Apple's corporate culture and a good feel for how people are using technology in their everyday lives.
- sker 17y ago
  Yes, I understand your point and his point. But in some parts he talks as if we were flooded by one-purpose devices like Amazon's kindle, and Apple was going to be our savior by introducing a general-purpose tablet. And that's not the case, general-purpose tablets have been the norm for most of the decade. Honestly, you and I both reached the same conclusion: Apple's tablet will be better thanks to Apple's great execution. I just don't understand why the article gets son many up-votes. We should expect those results from Apple based on what they've done with their other products.
allenbrunson 17y ago
as i write this, your comment already has three other replies, two of which i think are pretty good. but i can't help but put my own two cents in. do you remember the industry's response to the iphone when it was first announced? most observers thought it was the dumbest thing they'd ever seen. the general reaction was that apple was suffering from hubris of monstrous proportions to think they could enter into this market, with no history or reputation, and succeed. i didn't know whether it would be successful or not, but i knew i wanted one, real bad. it turns out that there were a lot of us. apple succeeded with the iphone far beyond anyone's wildest expectations. probably moreso than jobs himself thought possible. they didn't just make a successful product, they completely upended the mobile phone business. it will never be the same again. with any luck, we are now entering another period exactly like that one. apple is about to release a product that most people think couldn't possibly be successful. no one is willing to come out and say it will be a huge flop this time, because apple is now on a decade-long winning streak. betting against them is foolish. apple's tablet has the potential to shake up the computer business in the same way that the iphone shook up the mobile phone business. if it does, this could be the beginning of a very exciting time indeed.
- Adaptive 17y ago
  Evidently you are posting from some universe alternate to the rest of us. In our universe the iPhone was spectacularly well received.
  - allenbrunson 17y ago
    man, are you guys reading the same blogosphere i am? or how about even earlier posts on this same blog? how about all those 'claim chowder' posts gruber has made, quoting this or that industry person, claiming that the iphone won't go anywhere? generally speaking, the tech press is deeply suspicious of everything apple does. most of their articles are some variation of "gosh, apple sure doesn't act very much like microsoft. why is that? of course they also make computers, so they should act like a combination of microsoft and dell. if they did, they sure would be a lot more successful."
GeneralMaximus 17y ago
The author is John Gruber, who has been writing about all things Apple for a while now. Although he claims he doesn't know anything about the tablet, I have a feeling a lot of his information comes directly from inside Apple.

by sker 17y ago

rms 17y ago

This is the time of year when people really like speculations and predictions, especially when they sound plausible and/or reasonable.

sker 17y ago
I agree with that, but number one article for most of the day? It seems a bit exaggerated to me. This is macrumors material, in my opinion.

dreyfiz 17y ago

The author's analysis is top-notch because he actually understands what the newest incarnation of Apple is about, unlike most of the people who write about Apple.

dreyfiz 17y ago
He's only been writing the piece since September: http://twitter.com/gruber/status/7250169522 http://twitter.com/gruber/status/7250169522. Does most speculation about Apple's next move strike you as something that much care was put into?
- borism 17y ago
  http://thingsjohngruberiswrongabout.tumblr.com http://thingsjohngruberiswrongabout.tumblr.com
  - dreyfiz 17y ago
    Anonymous hate speech is tedious. It's not even any good, he just reads like a Slashdotter with nerd rage. Edit: it's also already a failed site. Its name pretends to a comprehensiveness that is belied by the meager three dates on which he's posted, the latest of which is in September, 2009. Gruber posts something almost daily-surely he's been wrong about something since September?
    - borism 17y ago
      1. no need to post every week to point out that Gruber is wrong (a lot). you may also head to Fake Steve Jobs and find out the same almost every week. 2. don't see any hate speech
      - dreyfiz 17y ago
        The whole thing is a hate site. It exists for the sole purpose of one man's axe-grinding against another. This is a low-value pursuit and a complete waste of time. As for specific "hate speech" that I disliked, try the comment about a "cold dick in the mouth", or the one about how Gruber "has a hard-on" for Apple. Poor writing, pointless mission, and just an all-around waste.
sker 17y ago
I think the author's writing skills are top-notch. The article was entertaining to read from the beginning to the end and he looks like a smart guy with great ideas. That said, I don't think his analysis is that great in this particular article, that's why I quoted the word analysis in my original post. Like I said, this feels like pure speculation backed by intuition on the author's part. His analysis doesn't use any sort of sales numbers or statistics to show where the market is heading and why Apply would take certain decisions.
- DougBTX 17y ago
  this feels like pure speculation backed by intuition on the author's part Yes, it feels like that. Since he explicitly says as much in the article. Few other Apple pundits are so self-aware.
- dreyfiz 17y ago
  What sales numbers or statistics would have helped you predict what the iPhone would be like before you knew anything about it other than "Apple is working on some kind of a phone"? All we know today is that Apple is working on some kind of a tablet. There are no relevant facts or sales numbers that would have improved the article. Whatever market Apple creates or redefines with the new device will look completely different afterwards.
cstross 17y ago
Yes, this. Cringely opined some years ago that tech companies evolve through three categories (or stages of development): technology driven, sales driven, and marketing driven. There's an assumption in this ontology: that growth and evolution of a tech company is predicated on new technology. The new (post-1997, Jobs II) Apple breaks this rule. Apple is design driven, at a level that makes more sense to folks with a Fine Art degree than a CS background. (The reason for their success? Lots of folks with an aesthetic background like this stuff and will pay extra for it.) They're seeking a better user experience, vertically integrated at all levels with their web ecosystem. Gruber -- who's been tracking apple for something like 20 years -- gets this. J. Random Gizmo columnist doesn't.

jsz0 17y ago

I think you reached a different conclusion than others reading the article which may explain the confusion. What I took away here is Gruber thinks it will be unlike other tablets that have been released due to Apple's strong focus on practical usability and their ability to tightly integrate their hardware & software platforms unlike other companies who have attempted tablet computers. As for the authors credentials -- he makes a living covering Apple. He has an excellent understanding of Apple's corporate culture and a good feel for how people are using technology in their everyday lives.

sker 17y ago
Yes, I understand your point and his point. But in some parts he talks as if we were flooded by one-purpose devices like Amazon's kindle, and Apple was going to be our savior by introducing a general-purpose tablet. And that's not the case, general-purpose tablets have been the norm for most of the decade. Honestly, you and I both reached the same conclusion: Apple's tablet will be better thanks to Apple's great execution. I just don't understand why the article gets son many up-votes. We should expect those results from Apple based on what they've done with their other products.

allenbrunson 17y ago

as i write this, your comment already has three other replies, two of which i think are pretty good. but i can't help but put my own two cents in. do you remember the industry's response to the iphone when it was first announced? most observers thought it was the dumbest thing they'd ever seen. the general reaction was that apple was suffering from hubris of monstrous proportions to think they could enter into this market, with no history or reputation, and succeed. i didn't know whether it would be successful or not, but i knew i wanted one, real bad. it turns out that there were a lot of us. apple succeeded with the iphone far beyond anyone's wildest expectations. probably moreso than jobs himself thought possible. they didn't just make a successful product, they completely upended the mobile phone business. it will never be the same again. with any luck, we are now entering another period exactly like that one. apple is about to release a product that most people think couldn't possibly be successful. no one is willing to come out and say it will be a huge flop this time, because apple is now on a decade-long winning streak. betting against them is foolish. apple's tablet has the potential to shake up the computer business in the same way that the iphone shook up the mobile phone business. if it does, this could be the beginning of a very exciting time indeed.

Adaptive 17y ago
Evidently you are posting from some universe alternate to the rest of us. In our universe the iPhone was spectacularly well received.
- allenbrunson 17y ago
  man, are you guys reading the same blogosphere i am? or how about even earlier posts on this same blog? how about all those 'claim chowder' posts gruber has made, quoting this or that industry person, claiming that the iphone won't go anywhere? generally speaking, the tech press is deeply suspicious of everything apple does. most of their articles are some variation of "gosh, apple sure doesn't act very much like microsoft. why is that? of course they also make computers, so they should act like a combination of microsoft and dell. if they did, they sure would be a lot more successful."

GeneralMaximus 17y ago

The author is John Gruber, who has been writing about all things Apple for a while now. Although he claims he doesn't know anything about the tablet, I have a feeling a lot of his information comes directly from inside Apple.