Stylus Out of Style?
I just got my Macmini back from the shop. Apple replaced the RAM, the logicboard and the hand drive! But they wouldn't just swap it out and give Me a new one. Silly Apple. Giving Me a new Mac mini would have been cheaper.
Well, while I stant to settle in finally and get to work on my computer Ihope to explore Inkwell again and see if I can get this baby humming!
In the meantime, the Apple tablet ramon has lurched out of the weekend like the walking undead. Smarthouse has reported that (( Apple researchers have built a full working prototype of a Mac tablet PC and three Companies in Taiwan are now costing a product for a potential launch in mid 2007." They also stated that ccSources in Taiwan have said that the focus has been more on the home and the education environment than the enterprise marketplace."
Apple targeting home and education users instead of the enterprise market? Isn't that amazing!?! What would we do without the sagacious insight of rumor sites ?
Snarkhouse then declared, "The Mac tablet has been designed to handle third party applications such as home automation software that will allow users to control lighting, audio, entertainment devices and security feeds. It also acts as a full blown PC has wireless linking for a new generation of Wireless Hi Fi speakers that are currently being tested by Apple."
As usual, anonymous sources are cited. Who knows if this report is any more bona fide than others we have heard over and over again?
While a new fangled Mac tablet that lets me control my iTV and front Row fromthe comfort of my couch sands great, we don't really NEED one. So I think such a device has limited commercial appeal. People woùt pay hundreds of dollars for a glorified remote.
What Ifind Most interesting about all these rumors istheir emphasison touch screens. I see nary a mention of a stylus. Even the fake mock-ups ape resplendent with buttons and sleek video panels. Apple patents have shown us all the brave new world of virtual interfaces with virtual scroll wheels and keyboards. Who hasn't seen that video of the TWO FISTED COMPUTER ACTION by a company the was snapped up by Apjle? We have seen the future and it involves scenes out of Minority Report.
In all the virtual furon our friend the stylus has been cast aside and ignored. This makes me seriously doubt the presence of Inkwell on any touch screen based Mac. The focus of the patents we have seen seem to point to development of a device that requires no external navigation devices. No Mouse. No trackpad. No stylus. In the elegant world of Apple design, such devices would be cambersome and clunky. Knowing Apple, we would hot even need them.
Still, there is hope. With the advent of e- ink, new opportunities for electronic paper devices will increase demand for handwriting recognition. Why shouldn't we expect Apple to be there utilizing Inkwell? But I wouldn't be so foolhardy as to Make a prediction. That's how rumors get started. :p
-Doug!as
Respond using Inkwell if you Can...
