iPad Pro

Imagining a 13-inch iPad Pro

Great piece by Rene Ritchie of iMore.com:

The minute Apple launches one hotly rumored device, be it the iPad Air or Retina iPad mini, a new rumored device races up to take its place in the mill. Enter a 13-inch “iPad Pro” – a concept that leapt to every geek’s mind the moment they heard Apple adopt that other MacBook brand. And since Apple’s already gone down in size, where’s left to go but up? Now I’m not so much interested in the rumor – there will always be rumors – but in how Apple could realize such an object. In how iOS could be scaled to that screen size, and what it would provide beyond the existing, 9.7-inch iPad, or the 11-inch or 13-inch MacBook Air.

iPad Pro

After debating the ins and outs of how Apple might accomplish the iPad Pro, he concludes with:

Whether or not Apple will or even should make a 13-inch iPad Pro remains to be seen. Certainly a lot of artists, designers, photographers, maybe even gamers would love as big an iPad as Apple can provide. Regardless, increasing screen size is a painful thing. If Apple does indeed go to a 5-inch iPhone or a 13-inch iPad next year or at some point in the future, they’ll have to figure out the best way to handle it for them, for their customers, and for their developers. They may even have to re-visit the concept of how apps manifest on the screen. If and when they do, will it still be one step at a time? With the iPhone’s increase in size preface another increase in density? Will the iPad’s increase in density preface an increase in size? Or will Apple rip the resolution bandage off all at once?

iPad Pro
I would likely snap up an iPad Pro in an instant.  
 
Whilst in years gone by, I couldn’t imagine travelling without a full-fledged OS X laptop, I’m increasingly finding that the apps and features on my iPad allow me to accomplish the tasks as well, and in some cases better.  Tools such as Jump Desktop and Prompt give me full server access, the Chrome browser gives me all my sites and bookmarks, 1Password has all my passwords and access details, Dropbox has all my files and EverNote has all my notes, images and snippets of code.  Most of my favourite enterprise apps now have excellent mobile apps (way better than their desktop ones, if they exist) – Jive, IBM Connections, IBM Sametime etc. Add in great Twitter clients like Twitterrific and Tweetbot, and cool and powerful editors such as Editorial and I really do have my office with me wherever I go.
 
So if the more extreme of Rene’s ideas did come to fruition and we had a 13” iPad Pro with 4K display, I really do think that the days of trawling round with multiple kilos of keyboard, USB, SSD, trackpad and the like would be over.  We shall see!

IBM Systems and Software come together… InterConnect 2012

This is a announcement that I’m really pleased to see…  Too often Systems and Software are seen as two completely different markets – this event brings the two together into one integrated conference:

InterConnect: Where business and IT leaders connect

InterConnect 2012 places your business interests at the center of its agenda. It is a unique opportunity to collaborate with IBM clients, the IBM partner network and industry experts who are implementing linked business and IT solutions to succeed on today’s smarter planet.

Rapid change has become the norm as entire industries are transforming to deliver compelling new value to the people they serve. In this era of interconnected industries, businesses and consumers, a new kind of leadership is required to turn opportunity into business outcomes. Smarter businesses are capitalizing on information as an indispensable resource and using technology as the catalyst for unleashing innovation.

They are expanding the digital world of the back-office into the front-office and the corresponding business infrastructures that are at the heart of business leadership and operations; the key interconnection points among consumers, business partners and employees.

Take advantage of this opportunity to develop a personalized agenda around your business needs, collaborate with business decision-making peers, and meet face-to-face with technical decision-makers and industry experts.

I think this is an exciting conference in a fantastic location, so if you’re in the Asia-Pacific region, it is definitely one not to be missed…

I’d love to see it duplicated in Europe sometime soon…

Software lifecycles

Dave Winer on Firefox:

The problem for them, if they choose to view it as a problem, is that web browsers are done. Feature-complete. No one can think of anything to add that anyone wants, because there are no more features to add. Sadly, this happens to product categories. It happened with word processors twenty years ago. Spreadsheets, around the same time. Windows was done when XP shipped. Mac OS, yeah it’s done too. I haven’t used any of the new features. And by “new” I mean features introduced in the last eight years or so.

Software products have lifecycles. They reach a point where all they need is maintenence. Make sure it runs on new hardware. Fix security issues as they arise. Optimize. (Firefox could sure use that!) Teeny little tweaks that are almost unnoticable.

Is this where we are at with email and instant messaging too?

Hence the move to Social Collaboration tools – that’s where the innovation is taking place…