skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
I would direct the student to the working Paper by James Besser and Eric Maskin, Sequential Innovation, Patents, and Imitation, which builds an economic argument against software patents. It and other relevant papers on software patents are available at
http://www.researchoninnovation.org/.
> 9 times out of 10, if it would increase their income, they would have

If you've ever worked on a design project inside a big company, you'd know that's simply untrue.

Big companies are not actually streamlined profit machines, they're streamlined ego-perpetuating machines. Which is why you have the 10-committee problem, the 50-stakeholder problem, and "Marketing" owns the sidebar and news area of the site, while Copywriting owns only the front page and About Our Company pages, and Operations and/or the Boss' Secretary owns everything else...

It's inefficient as hell to have 10+ people in a design meeting, for example. Wastes profits by the boatload. Committees do not create profits, they just increase the wastefulness of most meetings.

And so on, so forth -- the good news is, as a consultant, they were wasting my time at $300+ an hour.[1] As long as I was content to sit there and do nothing but count my money in my head, it was a great gig.

I remember one client that paid us quite a lot of money for research and initial redesigns, but in the end, the CEO got talked out of approving our $60k budget. Because Marketing was afraid it would cut into their budget -- which was $300k/mo.

Keep in mind: This particularly company's whole business was delivering a web video experience.

12 mos later, they went from several hundred employees to about 60. Last I heard (months after that), they're down to 20.

What a surprise.

This problem doesn't exist only at startups, though. I've worked with a lot of big name companies you'd recognize, and almost everywhere it's the same.

[1] The great thing about being a consultant to big biz is that your rates don't matter. Occasionally a client will initially balk when you throw out $300, $400, whatever per hour -- but it's usually them 'playing poker' with what they are willing to pay.

The fact of the matter is, when they overstuff meetings (which they all habitually do), they are wasting $1000s per hour of their own employee time.
Jonathan Ive interview - The designer of iPhone,iPad and Ipod
You're correct, I read the reference excerpts and took their literal implications.
cheers, any suggestions welcome, I really want to get comments in there, and if anyone can show me how to make the bottom navigation prettier/easier thatd be cool, I tried a few things but couldnt come up with a nicer way
Who is the iPad for?

I've been thinking about this for awhile. I think the target is people who use a laptop for web browsing and email most of the time. Rarely they'll need to use it to create a document or presentation. If you ask them what web browser they use - they probably don't know or care. If you ask them what email client they use - they look back at you with confusion. In almost all circumstances these users don't need a proper laptop. A keyboard dock and iPad works just as well.

My parents fit perfectly into this segment of users. They use their computers often and are content as long as everything works. They care about ease of use and consistency across applications. Apple, with their closed system, can provide that.

The ironic part from my observations is if a website doesn't work they blame the website. Apple won't be blamed by users for not allowing flash. We saw the same thing with Microsoft and IE6.

I think power users and developers will have another few years before they are happy with any Apple tablet offerings. For me I'd need a higher res screen and OS X. Or equivalent improvements to allow development. I think developers were hoping for such an improvement with iPad v1 - but alas we'll have to wait.
I bought a Mazdaspeed3 on the recommendation of someone here last year. I was willing to spend much more on a car, but ended up buying the MS3 because I was amazed at how much the car had for the price. It goes fast (enough), handles well (enough); it's fun as hell to drive, and it feels like it's really well built. It ended up being 25k fully loaded.
I'm thinking of the question exactly the opposite.

I have a $700 Dell Latitude E4300 (13" PC). It blows away the ipad in capabilities.
Couple of different options. There is a FF addon called gmail addon that makes it easy to switch. You could do the "forwarding" route which resends the email to your master account. You can add accounts to your gmail account, which will fetch via IMAP/POP3 all the emails from one to the other. However, the latter 2 options do not keep the accounts separate (although you CAN send email from either account).

Why do you want to keep them separate? If it's because they're shared and you want to separate access, I suppose you could create a third gmail account (call it username-master or something) which would fetch from BOTH your current existing accounts, without muddying either of them as they are.
Its basically like a laptop, except that apple controls _everything_ that gets into it.
Apple designs and builds their own batteries now.
No camera. No mutitasking. No choice of browsers. No plugin support in browser. Runs only what apple wants.

Definitely not worth carrying a 10 inch display for a crippled web experience.
Generate a reality distortion field.
How to Give Work to Haiti, Not Just Aid
I want a tablet like Microsoft's Courier prototype.

This is why Apple doesn't do concepts and prototypes anymore. There is undoubtedly someone at Microsoft wincing every time someone says something like that, seeing as how they don't have a product to sell you along those lines in spite of being on their third try at tablets. (I don't mean that at a jibe at you at all--what you say is perfectly reasonable!)

People are going to compare the iPad with other tablets/laptops

True, but I'm not convinced that everyone will do so and that those who do will not decide in favor of the iPad.

I mean, it compares in some ways to smart phones, netbooks, laptops, gaming portables, eBook readers, and media players. Obviously it's not going to be the best at everything, but I think it stands a good chance of being a successful blend--Apple won't win everybody, but they might win a respectable share over from each. A $500 laptop or netbook might "do more", but is the battery life there? Is it pleasant to curl up in bed and read on? Do people want Windows or do they want the App Store? The Kindle DX is about $500. Are people going to weigh e-ink against everything the similarly-priced iPad does? Is someone looking at a $400 iPod Touch going to reconsider the importance of portability?
Ask HN: iPad facts thread ?
If you have any hard facts about the iPad then please list them here, so we can collect the real information instead of hype.

Here is what I've found so far:

- base model 16G $499 (3G $629)

- 32G $599 (3G $729)

- 64G $699 (3G $829)

- 1 GHz A4 (ARM compatible)

- on-screen keyboard

- 9.7" touchscreen

- 1/2" thick

- 700 Grams (1.5 pounds) wifi

- resolution 1024x768, led backlit, IPS, 178 degree
viewing angle, 132 ppi

- works in both 'landscape' and 'portrait' mode

- claimed battery life 10 hours

- bluetooth 2.1 with EDR

- 3G up to 7.2 Mbps

- accelerometer

- ambient light sensor

- li po battery, 25Whr

- UMTS/HSDPA (4band) and GSM/EDGE (4band)

- 30 pin dock connector

- built in speaker

- built in microphone

- headphone jack

- hw options:

- keyboard dock
- stand-alone dock
- camera connection kit
- carrying case
- dock connector to VGA adaptor
- composite A/V cable

- assisted GPS

- Digital compass

- $14.99 / 250MB or $29.99 'unlimited' plans

- loaded apps:

Safari
Mail
Photos
Video
YouTube
iPod
iTunes
App Store
iBooks
Maps
Notes
Calendar
Contacts
Home Screen
Spotlight Search

Delivery: wifi in late March, 3G models in April

There is no camera.

sources:

http://www.apple.com/ipad/

http://www.apple.com/ipad/design/

http://www.telegraaf.nl/digitaal/5894147/__Eindelijk_is_iPad_tablet_Apple_een_feit__.html?p=2,2 (dutch)

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2010/01/27/what-is-the-ipad-everything-you-need-to-know/

http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/
No matter how many times I change the language on the PayPal page, I get Italian the next time. Just because Tiscali assigned me an IP from "Italian" pool... in UK. IP geolocation can be annoying.

Strangely - porn banners still show correct city in UK, not Italy... maybe PayPal should buy the geo DB from them instead?
My guess is that the viewing angle was a deciding factor there. While on notebook you can adjust the screen so it is at useable angle this is not an option for a tablet with no support. IPS matrix gets rid of that problem.
$250 is still a big chunk of change for a lot of people I know, and they're not that compelled by something that just handles books. Yes, many big readers will still choose the dedicated device. My argument is that this steals a big part of its thunder.

And the majority of the general populace doesn't give two hoots about iPhone OS and App store limitations. You and I might, but I wasn't talking about technophiles - my mom has no idea that the restrictions even exist. She's just pleased as punch about how easy it is to use.
Snow Leopard works like a charm on my netbook with similar specs. Maybe I'll buy one when I can duel boot ;)
iPad 2.0

You have to leave some features for the next release.
Cellular Automata using Pixel Bender
The logical conclusion of the personal computer revolution is the person doesn't control their device?! That's not revolutionary; that's a return to the bad old days...
Just read Apple's Web site. I don't see the point of duplicating that information on HN.
Obama wants to cancel the moon mission and change NASA to do his own plans (starting with climate, of course). This is the problem of letting politicians run a science program in the first place. Let the private companies do science, and don't give them funding to bias the research.
Except in this particular case the person could indeed be intending to buy an Ipad, just not from the first generation. Which is clearly not the "No" option.
Of the article.
Need to play with one in person to know for sure.
Of course, there are things a driver must give up with the typical $25,000 car, including leather seats, navigation systems and eight-cylinder engines.

I can get a used Cadillac and an add-on GPS all for less than 5000 dollars. I honestly don't know what happens to people's brains when it comes to cars. 25K is what your average person makes per year after paying taxes. Would you exchange a year of your life for something that costs the manufacturer maybe 1000 dollars more to produce than and is functionally identical to the entry level equivalent?
For the original discussion: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=950751

The reminder is perhaps timely given the iPad launch. My observation is that criticism on these points seems to have calmed down since the week after Christmas.
> Nothing that currently exists is going away even if this becomes popular.

I disagree. This sort of device has the very real chance of killing notebook computers.

I don't think that desktops are going away any time soon, for two reasons. First, if you are going to work for hours at a time, a big screen and keyboard re far more comfortable and practical. Second, really significant work requires the horsepower of a full OS (as opposed to apps on this device).

That said, most people don't need a full computer to travel with. They want something light, with an "always on" connection to the cloud. They want to browse the web, check email, play a game, read a book, listen to music. Sure, maybe they can tinker for a bit with a document too.

Will 90% of the world miss the openness and power of a full computer? I doubt it. And god knows that the screen and multi-touch already beats the hell out of most netbooks. I think it's a no-brainer that this thing will be wildly successful, and I do think it could (over time) kill off the laptop market. (Not for developers or hard-core geeks, but for (so-called) normal people.)
I hope he comments on this blog post: http://scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=431
The iPad might be called a non-portable PDA. It can't replace netbooks without a keyboard, and it can't replace smartphones because it doesn't fit in your pocket or on your belt; I consider it a toy rather than a tool.
A Hydrogen Highway for the US East Coast
No.It is basically just a status symbol.
Wow! This seems like a really good deal. Especially for someone who is already interested in purchasing a eBook device. You could spend your entire adult life studying everything in this list. This doesn't even include a consideration of the lifetime of free wireless connectivity to Wikipedia included with the device. The age of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy has arrived.
I think you are mistakingly comparing a closed system like the iPad to things like automatic transmissions. Of course not everyone wants to do lots of personal maintenance on their stuff or have lots of customizable features. But that's not how software development works. Everyone doesn't have to make their own software. A small subset of people create software that the rest use.
Who cares. Anyone using Ubuntu is smart enough to switch the default browser themselves. It's the cattle that use Windows that are the problem.
Let's not forget it has UI specifically tailored for the device and multitouch use

Exactly. And that's what made tablet-PC unsuccessful for the most part. Because what you ended up doing was interacting with basically the same OS with a stylus instead of a mouse. The iPad is removing the cursor altogether.
The ergonomics are still going to be horrible crouching over that thing for hours on end. It may be possible but it sounds painful.
I upvoted because even though I don't agree with you, I think it's a valid concern and I think it will be a major issue for a while.
I still like to believe that openness and usability / polish / "shinyness" are not mutually exclusive. Maybe it's idealistic (I definitely can't point to any irrefutable examples), but insofar as we're part of the people shaping technology, I don't think it's a bad ideal to strive for.
There is only one thing I want Apple to do at this point.

Open up developer ad-hoc provisioning. Keep the App Store closed, heck, make it even stricter, but give that alternative, ad-hoc channel a chance. You don't have to publicize it; all you need to do is to change a single number in a plist somewhere on your activation servers from 100 to unlimited.

Then the hacker community will focus on adding features to your product instead of on compromising its security.
I don't think it's going to impact the decision of people who care more about reading than anything else, but I think this will steal a large portion of more casual readers that would have gotten the kindle.

It's a bit heavier than the average book, but it's by no means a brick. This claims that it puts it at roughly the 75th percentile of books in terms of weight: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_does_1_book_weigh
Web 2.0 Suicide
Agreed. First step was getting the software working, the next far bigger step is figuring out how to get content into the system and distribution.
"It works in the short term, but I believe it will bite them in the ass over the long-term."

I disagree. Both Apple and Nintendo have shown proof that their closed 'circle of one' system works. Yes both of them have had a lot of big missed opportunities in the past because of this, but what matters more for these companies is profitability and not marketshare. Both Apple's and Nintendo's closed systems have led to large margins, and a healthy supply of cash flow and reserves.

Yes it doesn't really fully cater to us, but we're not their main market.
Apple's iPad Name Not the First Choice for Women. Period.
Is there life after high school?
Common misperception: there is nothing inherently wrong with being "anticompetitive", so long as you aren't acting in furtherance of a monopoly or conspiring with competitors in restraint of trade.

Apple is very definitely anticompetitive. It's not all that interesting to point that fact out; that's been the case since the launch of the iPod.

Would I like to have root access on my iPad or iPhone? Yes. Enough to use Linux? No. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that.
It came from a lot of sources, not just Apples site.

I figured that having all the facts in one spot might be useful, and no doubt there are still plenty of bits & pieces missing.

For instance, I can't find out how much ram it has.
Wrong analogy, I think. There is an important difference between desire to tinker and desire to control. I don't tinker with my car, but I'm not going to allow the manufacturer to dictate who must repair it, where I must buy gas, which roads I can use...

Apple reminds me of homeland security, but prettier!
Agreed on the lack of e-ink. When I read that Amazon and Sony would have to struggle to provide a touch-screen, full-color interface, I thought that meant Apple had come out with an e-ink tablet. It looks really cool, yes, but frankly I'm disappointed it's not e-ink. That specific feature attracted me to the Kindle in the first place, and I absolutely love that I'm not staring at light.
That reminds me of Biz and Ev of Twitter talking at Startup School about when they were first playing around with it (I wish I could remember how it was described). In essence, Biz said that it was neat but not very useful to which Ev replied "neither is iced cream".

Just because it's a toy and not a tool doesn't mean it's worthless.

Edit: After re-reading your post, I'm not sure that is what you were saying. Apologies if I misrepresented you.
What about support for external DVD players, burners, printers etc... I would be put off if USB connections were limited to importing photos from a camera.
I Just cant get past the fact that it doesn't have a front camera for video chat.

Think I might spend my money on a new imac and/or iphone4 this year.
No integrated notes/sketches/diagrams? An odd oversight for a form-factor so perfectly suited to it.

No mention of free-form annotation of documents/images? Another weird omission for a device seemingly built to free people from the limitations of traditional mobile interaction.

An iWork suite and kickstand/keyboard peripheral? That's positively Microsft-ian.

A tri-fold leather folio kickstand? Alright, now we've steered directly into Sharper Image territory.

Seriously, what in the world just happened?
http://tenonedesign.com/sketch.php

No handwriting recognition though.
This is anectodal, but I know of several developers who have had their apps approved in less time than they had expected. For two of them, who have quite a few apps each in the store (one of them over 10), the time it takes now is substantially lower than it used to take. They were never unhappy with the process, and are happier now.
Why testers?
1) How easy is the keyboard to use? I imagine most ppl at least occasionally need to do typing. (er, most ppl who can afford a $500 tablet).
2) I don't see many advantages of the tablet. A dead-simple ChromeOS netbook will run faster, do more, and be cheaper.
Frame Your Story Around The iPad
And 10 years ago a US 10 year T bill was paying around 6%

Why is anyone buying our T bills now when we are a worse credit risk and they are paying <4%
Really? Everyone I know who has used one says that bottom touch bar is a PITA. It keeps getting hit by accidental touches. Speaking of which, if you have a touch screen, why do you need that many hardware controls?
Last time I looked at an iPod touch, I said, "What is this? A computer for ants?!?! It has to be at least ... three times that size."
I'd be interested to hear his thoughts on Lisp today, considering he was a big Lisp advocate.
iPad will have the Apple iWork apps available.
Anecdotally, I had an app approved in just 5 hours after submitting it to the App Store. Granted, it was a charity app to offer crisis maps of Haiti, but they can be responsive sometimes. They also approved an update to the app in a few hours a couple days later, after I sent them this email:

====================

Hi,

We submitted an update to Gaia GPS (for Haitian Disaster Relief) that added new maps and fixed some critical bugs.

This app was originally approved just a few hours after it was submitted to the App Store, and if you could approve the update as well, that would be much appreciated.

====================

My updates often take about 10 days to approve and my new apps about 14.

It's definitely annoying, but Paul Graham is way overstating the extent to which anyone cares. The only people who really care are people who gets app rejected for odd reasons or who have apps that flop. Don't get me wrong... we care, but the tone of discord that Paul is imagining among iPhone developers is not correct. At least, my many anecdotes contradict his, and there is no real data either way.
This conversation would be much better if it were on this forum.
Apple has always treated developers in a step-motherly fashion. A few years ago, java was not supported on OSX (early versions).
Unless they kiss & make up the only people that will make any money on the 'joojoo' (what a name by the way) are the lawyers.
i guess this goes for HN links too. i submitted two links to stories about the sun/oracle merger finally closing and neither got a single upvote, buried by redundant ipad stories.
What? They have clearly segmented the market, they're not taking a "let's seal everything" approach.

The Mac Pro is made for power users and developers, it's made very easy to open and add hardware to.

The iPhone is made for everyone on the planet who can afford it, it is made to be very easy to use for normal use cases and very hard to screw up to the point where someone needs someone else to fix it.
Sprouter Helps Entrepreneurs Collaborate Globally
From my anecdotal experience the approval process got a lot quicker with the build up to the iPad announcement. I had many updates approved in 24 hours or less when they have taken weeks before. However looks like its ground to a halt again as I have an update still waiting for review after 5 days.
The sad part is that if these damn corporations (I'm looking at you Amazon/Apple) get their way, this will be the only way people trade books in the future. By Swapping devices with entire libraries on them.

/rant/
Besides actually not wanting the device anymore, why can I not press one button and have my library up for sale on eBay? Where is the Government now protecting consumer rights? Where is the Messiah administration on important rights protection for the future? Weren't there a slew of consumer protection organizations recently created?
/rant/
It doesn't look like it's actually available yet.

The developer page (http://developer.apple.com/iphone/) where the "Get Started" link takes you is still showing everything for the 3.1 SDK.
> People hate being held down, forced into one category, etc.

Here's an alternative take on this (with a story). I recently saw Thomas Keller (chef and owner of Per Se here in NYC and French Laundry in CA, among others) talking about a new-ish restaurant of his in CA, Ad Hoc.

Ad Hoc has no menus. They make meals and serve them family style. You take what you want from the dishes provided. You have choice only within that range.

He argued that true luxury was the freedom from choice. Now in a political context, this is Orwellian and terrifying. But in the context of a meal, it made a lot of sense to me. Let a great chef do his or her magic, and I will try any damn thing they put in front of me and thank them for the privilege.

For us as hackers, computer use is more like politics. We want the openness to do what we want, to dig around, to break things and fix them again, to change things. For most people, however, computer use is more like a meal. Give them some great toys to play with and they won't mind the limitations at all.
Google hates Survey.io - 32% drop in SE traffic