Althouse: "The iPad Pro will get a Smart Keyboard and a stylus, which has been dubbed Apple Pencil."

September 9, 2015

"The iPad Pro will get a Smart Keyboard and a stylus, which has been dubbed Apple Pencil."

"Perhaps to make us forget that Steve Jobs once mocked the stylus?"

76 comments:

jr565 said...: Jobs also mocked the idea of a smart Phone. Until he introduced the iPhone.; 9/9/15, 12:59 PM
TosaGuy said...: I am an Apple stockholder and welcome this new round of devices that will separate status-seeking people from their money.; 9/9/15, 1:03 PM
traditionalguy said...: The Stylus will make Apple into a strong, stiff, standing, sturdy , star of a Company. Females will envy the Apple Stylus. Males will brag about its length. The others will find offense that it exists.; 9/9/15, 1:07 PM
Original Mike said...: When are they going to give us a file management system? (Something else Jobs ridiculed, but is indispensable if you want to do more than just watch videos and send email).; 9/9/15, 1:16 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "that will separate status-seeking people from their money"

IMHO, they're worth buying because they're better. Other than my workstation, I always use them to run Windows. In fact I'm currently on a MacBook pro with Windows. Windows seems to work better on Macs. Even so, windows on my Mac can only run one thunderbolt monitor at a time, whereas I can run both when I boot as a Mac. [But, even better than the two thunderbolts are the two 32" 4k monitors on my Dell workstation.]; 9/9/15, 1:17 PM
Nonapod said...: I wonder if they're going after the pro designer market, like Wacom tablets?; 9/9/15, 1:17 PM
jr565 said...: "When are they going to give us a file management system? (Something else Jobs ridiculed, but is indispensable if you want to do more than just watch videos and send email)."

I love my iPad, but yes it definitely could use a File management system.; 9/9/15, 1:21 PM
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...: that we're all born with

This was also back in 2007 when you could still use micro aggressions against the digitally challenged.; 9/9/15, 1:21 PM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/9/15, 1:22 PM
Original Mike said...: jr565: Take a look at an app called GoodReader. I wouldn't have bought an iPad if it didn't exist. Took me many hours of research to plug the hole created by Jobs inane prejudice.; 9/9/15, 1:27 PM
Curious George said...: "Perhaps to make us forget that Steve Jobs once mocked the stylus?"

That was before he mocked traditional cancer therapies.; 9/9/15, 1:28 PM
Jaq said...: I really like a stylus for the few minutes I have one before I lose it.; 9/9/15, 1:35 PM
Peter said...: "I really like a stylus for the few minutes I have one before I lose it."

You don't want to lose this one: it's an active stylus that needs to be recharged, and it'll cost you $99.00 to replace it.; 9/9/15, 1:42 PM
Scott M said...: Just picked up a Samsung Note 5 this past weekend complete with stylus. Works flawlessly and I'm really enjoying it. Big HD screen too :); 9/9/15, 1:44 PM
rhhardin said...: What's a file management system?; 9/9/15, 1:59 PM
TosaGuy said...: PB&J

Apple stuff does work well. It just does a lot more than what most people need to buy at a premium price.

Kudos to Apple. Luxury has higher profit margin than utilitarian.; 9/9/15, 2:00 PM
rhhardin said...: Stylus makes the man.; 9/9/15, 2:00 PM
rhhardin said...: I've had no trouble with Dell working well. In fact refurbished and scratch-n-dent Dells.

Some of the refurbished ones still had the hidden problem that the original owner sent them back for, but I am persistent and they get fixed, sometimes after a half dozen trips back to Dell. It's not my dollar.

Eventually they'll give up and put in a new motherboard, and all is well.

My most persistent one, under how do we recreate the problem, I put "Turn it on and leave it alone for a couple of days. It will crash." New motherboard for you.; 9/9/15, 2:04 PM
Original Mike said...: @rhhardin: A file directory; 9/9/15, 2:06 PM
rhhardin said...: The trouble with some Dells is that you can't get at components you want to get at, like the coin cell battery and the hard drive, without disassembly requiring a clean room. Other Dells are okay. There are some idiot designers on the staff somewhere, though.; 9/9/15, 2:07 PM
rhhardin said...: @Original a file directory, like mkdir and cd? Every computer I've ever seen has had that.

Or is it some indexing function you want.; 9/9/15, 2:08 PM
rhhardin said...: The Goth iphone comes with a sword.; 9/9/15, 2:11 PM
Original Mike said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/9/15, 2:12 PM
Original Mike said...: @rh: Yes, like mkdir and cd. The iPad does not have one. Or, rather, it is not accessible to the user.

9/9/15, 2:12 PM; 9/9/15, 2:14 PM
Original Mike said...: Why would you want to keep track of your stuff? /sarc; 9/9/15, 2:15 PM
dwick said...: Yawn...
Like no tablet has ever got a keyboard and stylus before.; 9/9/15, 2:25 PM
Michael said...: file management somewhat solved with dropbox and goodreader; 9/9/15, 2:30 PM
Michael said...: I had a Macintosh Apple back in the 80s and used it for flight simulation and word processing and casual spread sheet work. I could work it. The IT people at my office, like legions of IT people to follow, hated the Macintosh because it could be used without an understanding of DOS. It drove them wild that an iterative devise was at hand. Microsoft came to their rescue with a system stolen (?) from Apple that was mostly iterative but which required a lot of back end "help" from the IT staff. Fast forward to the ipad which every grandpa CEO was given for pictures of his grandchildren and boats. These grandpa CEOs inquired of their IT guys if they could get company emails on the devise and, presto and within minutes, the IT guys showed off and got it done whilst slitting their own veins. Because all the IT guys had been saying for years and years was that Apple products were unstable, couldn['t be relied upon, were arcane, were for hipsters, were too expensive, etc. And now, behold, the grandpa CEO had his emails on the nifty tablet. Then they had iphones. And now, more and more, we are seeing MacBook Pro and MacBook Air and iMacs in the executive suites. Apple still has a long runway ahead because they have only barely penetrated the business world.; 9/9/15, 2:45 PM
YoungHegelian said...: @Michael,

And now, behold, the grandpa CEO had his emails on the nifty tablet.

And, now, unbeknownst to Grandpa CEO, all of his corporate email has now been automatically backed up to iCloud. You know, iCloud, that's had two major hackings that we know about.

Because nothing says secure computing like BYOD.; 9/9/15, 3:02 PM
Rocketeer said...: Congrats to Apple on their belated introduction of the Surface Pro 3.; 9/9/15, 3:09 PM
Robert Cook said...: "'Perhaps to make us forget that Steve Jobs once mocked the stylus?'

"That was before he mocked traditional cancer therapies."

No, that was after.; 9/9/15, 3:22 PM
Michael said...: YoungHegelian

Ah, but the many thousands of hours saved by not having to wait ten minutes for your MS computer to boot up can be used to accumulate enough profits to be unconcerned about someone rummaging through your old iCloud preserved emails, right there with the pictures of the grand babies and boats. Or, in the alternative, you can click iCloud off.; 9/9/15, 3:36 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Michael,

Eight, or so, years ago I had the best possible Windows phone. The IT folks set it up so it'd work with my MS based email. Back then this was unusual, therefore IT had to do all sorts of stuff.

Anywho, it had to be reset, or something approximately twice a week.

Then, I got the first iphone. It immediately worked with the MS email, and it never stopped.

How can that be! Why would the Apple device work better with MS products than an MS device? WTF?

I had never owned an Apple before that phone. Now, I do everything I can to only own Apple. Presumably other folks have followed similar paths to Apple.; 9/9/15, 3:51 PM
Sprezzatura said...: My only Apple disappointment was that I bought an awesome Mac Pro with the big aluminum chassis. And then, a few months later, they came out with the ridiculously cool cylinder Pros.

Feeling burned, I've decided that PCs are the best way to chase the bleeding edge in workstations.; 9/9/15, 4:03 PM
Bob Ellison said...: Apple hardware is expensive and worth it.; 9/9/15, 4:12 PM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: Bob Ellison said...
Apple hardware is expensive and worth it.
Half right.; 9/9/15, 4:22 PM
YoungHegelian said...: @Michael,

Ah, but the many thousands of hours saved by not having to wait ten minutes for your MS computer to boot up

No decently configured Win7 or Win8 PC takes that long to boot up. The common reason I see that happen in an office with Active Directory is because some numb-nut has set the DNS servers on the PC to point to DNS servers outside the domain. Big, but very common non-no. In home settings, it's because someone has competing antivirus programs running at the same time.

Unless, of course, you're referring to boots when updates are force-applied, in which case, yeah, live with it for the same reason you ate your spinach as a kid: it's good for you.

Or, in the alternative, you can click iCloud off.

I have honestly never, ever seen an iPad or iPhone where someone has turned off iCloud. Never. Ever.; 9/9/15, 4:52 PM
Joe said...: In other words, they are making a Microsoft Surface.; 9/9/15, 5:12 PM
Michael said...: YoungHegelian

ICloud is off on my iphone, ipad. emails reside on company server, gmail, etc. Otherwise hanging out on Dropbox.

Your two paragraph explanation on how it really doesn't take any time at all to boot up on a properly configured machine makes my point about the needed reliance on IT staff. Which staffs are disappearing at a satisfying rate.

I was constantly getting viruses, blue screens of death, pop-ups by the score, et al prior to converting to Apple about three years ago. Not one infection since. Literally no problem that was not self inflicted by an Apple newbie. Still getting used to it, by the way.; 9/9/15, 5:42 PM
YoungHegelian said...: @Michael,

Your two paragraph explanation on how it really doesn't take any time at all to boot up on a properly configured machine makes my point about the needed reliance on IT staff.

No enterprise can run without IT staff. None. Having Apple on the front end doesn't change the fact that either Windows or Unix provide the servers for all the Line-of-Business apps on the back-end. Apples are no easier to manage than Windows desktops in the enterprise. The Windows world has this whole enterprise ecosystem built up around it, and the Macs are 10 years away from having that if teams & teams of developers started in on it tomorrow.

If one is a single user in a home/home office environment, then I agree that a Mac is easier for the average user. For now, the Macs are not malware targets, but the omnipresence of iPads & iPhones will probably change that equation soon, and when the shit hits the fan it won't be pretty. There's a lot of magical thinking surrounding OS X. It's just an OS, and all OS's have security holes. You just have to have a quorum of devices to make it worth someone's while to exploit those security holes, and that day is coming soon, if it isn't already here.; 9/9/15, 6:25 PM
Michael said...: YoungHegelian

Huge companies use Google from top to bottom. Don't host their own servers.

You are right about Apple being behind the curve on enterprise, but then their nose has only been under the tent for a couple of years. The cloud will move, has moved, much IT off site and will continue to do so.

I don't find Mac any easier to use than MS. Not as intuitive as advertised, especially if one has competence with Windows. I soldier on. Flash drives are now commonplace on MS devices but that only solves the crank up time. The viruses, the fucking pop ups, I couldn't take any more. I run MS Office for Mac, btw and don't find the apple apps better with the possible exception of Pages.

They have argued for years that it was only a matter of time before Macs became subject to malware, viral assaults of all description. But not yet. The argument has been in place for at least ten years.

I cut my reliance on secretaries years ago and am less and less inclined to be roped in to "help"; 9/9/15, 7:19 PM
Sprezzatura said...: I think it's claimed that Windows 10 doesn't need antivirus.

I've been running it that way for about a month. So far, so good.

I know everybody's seen this, but why not again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EJWWtV1w5fw

Anywho, at least the built in desktop backgrounds in Windows 10 are stunning.; 9/9/15, 7:38 PM
RecChief said...: hmmm...but what about the unpardonable sin of demonstrating their software by putting a smile on picture of a WOMAN???!!!; 9/9/15, 8:10 PM
RecChief said...: I'm with TOSaGuy on this one. shareholder and I don't actually own any Apple products; 9/9/15, 8:12 PM
fivewheels said...: A comic predicted Apple's iPad Pro keyboard 3 years ago; 9/9/15, 8:21 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Can history, in an future milennia, have a figure with a picture as this?

His body leaning right (from the viewer's point of view, something Chip "Chunk" Ahoy at Lem's Learning Levity blogged the other day using seafaring terms 'port' and 'starboard' to puts learning to folks) and his evil spawn phown/tech lurching Left.

You all gave it up. There is no innocence no more for anyone ever. You thought better.

Different you called it.

I judge myself guilty first and foremost.

Firstly I am guilty of google and gmail and using it every day in ways spawning multitudes.

Foremost I call myself out for it, knowing not a damn thing will change.

Unless:

A) You lose your racist illusions and elect the Trump of my dreams

B) Gods of the Copybook Headings weren't (*&&%$&^*6 around then, this time is different (in more than *

*oh boy. My memory has shot itself now. The term James Taranto uses for something proved within itself; the thing is contained within itself is a Latin phrase but different from this one word. U.........

Does it start with U?

TOtalitgy?

HAH!

Tautology.

YES!!!!!!!!

Tautalogy.

Tautolagy.

Tautalagy.

Tautalogical.

Tautalogy.

Tautalogy.

...

tau·tol·o·gy; 9/9/15, 8:29 PM
Steven said...: You are right about Apple being behind the curve on enterprise, but then their nose has only been under the tent for a couple of years.

A couple years? Try a couple decades. Macintosh Office, AppleShare, A/UX, Apple Workgroup Servers, the Apple Network Servers, the Xserves . . . it wasn't that Apple wasn't trying. It was just that it kept failing.; 9/9/15, 8:47 PM
Beach Brutus said...: Am I a dinosaur for still missing Windows 3.1?; 9/9/15, 8:49 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: The only reason I mention it, sui dissont or whatever the smart folks would say, is because:

I was born to say it.

It defines me as a person.

To not say is to not exist.; 9/9/15, 9:14 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: "It was just that it kept failing.

Indeed all those endeavors according you failed, but to what extent?

Didd they fail to the natural conclusion the author should be a pariah, like the the Global Icing shitheads preaching doom for profit via taxpayers money speant in search of Knowledge according the process of guess, fail through peer review, guess again through peer review?

Only jerkwad idiots think without consequence for ill's missionally purpose, ill will subside on its own.

If bad people, defined as harming other's without remorse or consideration (non-90 IQ retards and children discluded for these purposes but overall after we win this big, mega argument herewith nonetheless who knows) don't stop on their own, then who are we to declaim judgement?

Your clarity will be your downfall in a certain situations, ergo I regard your input on this blog most excellent.; 9/9/15, 9:35 PM
Known Unknown said...: Macintosh Office, AppleShare, A/UX, Apple Workgroup Servers, the Apple Network Servers, the Xserves . . . it wasn't that Apple wasn't trying. It was just that it kept failing.

That's when Apple was trying to compete head-to-head for business technology. They never had the right make up to take on IBM and later Microsoft in that realm.

Jobs's reintegration signaled a big change that lead to their consumer-focused successes of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. They stopped making crap like the Quadra 850 and focused on the iMac.

They do, however, miss Jobs terribly. Tim Cook seems like an asshole, but not a big enough asshole like Jobs was to get things done right.

Apple standardized USB technology, though did not create it. Apple did not create music, nor the jukebox, but revolutionized how people consumed music via iTunes.

Apple's biggest problem is that they are turning their back on their legacy (iMac, a quirky, people-oriented affordable home computer) and trying to luxurize (Apple Watch, Apple Pencil, iPad Pro) the tech market instead of democratizing it.; 9/9/15, 10:17 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Was it they lacked morality or just didn't understand?

We all know "understand" per notquiteunBuckley is a phrase frought.; 9/9/15, 10:31 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: I felt as though I could only understand, notably, with documentation public.

Knowing my genius, I look askance.

Ascance.

Askanse.

Askunce.

Askance.

Askunce?

Uhsuckunz?

Sconie?

Wisconsin??????

>>>>/??????; 9/9/15, 10:34 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Christ I feel this might be overkill, but:

I ain't ever be meaning to offend.

You ought be thinking. More. So I make you.

And you will all pay me, every last single one of ya's.; 9/9/15, 10:38 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: The seafood many think is worth paying for the effort is not.

Buy beef, you numbskull.

Having made the best common, idiots bitch about commoness.

Led by those without a care in the world, save bitchness' necessity.; 9/9/15, 10:43 PM
Nichevo said...: EMD, good words. I would name the Mac pieces that serve the low end but the truth is the entire PC market right down to tablets and smartphones is from maturing to mature to decaying.

Not totally devoid of innovation, but its all superficial, tweaking, refinements. USB-C or wireless charging is not a moon shot. Tinder is not a moon shot. Facebook is not a moon shot, well Big Data is but for you and me, or on you and me?

SSDs and video conferencing well video conferencing is pretty hot right now, but the picture phone was promised to us at the New York World's Fair in 1964. That bill is due. (And frankly between that and jet packs or flying cars, no contest, right?)

...But I digress. Virtualization is big, though again we are out of the desktop or rather abstracting it; but in its origins goes back practically to the days of radio. Voice recognition and GPS are a good deal but that was all computer power and military necessity. And again predates the births of half this commentariat.; 9/9/15, 11:00 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Before I got cut off I was saying certainly0:

http://althouse.blogspot.com/2015/06/at-wild-white-indigo-cafe.html

And now with linkage statements further un.; 9/9/15, 11:09 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Ultra mega Buckley and my use of the letters' row.; 9/9/15, 11:11 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Kepler's Ledge shall herby be defined such that Allowing Iran The Bomb By Virtue(?) Of Officeholder's Position Regardless Of Capability Yields Resulting Genocide For/Of/About You an any potential Family Name You might portend acquire, virtue not being male for just this once.

We fucking good?

You aren't safe if Israel is nuked, and neither am I hence the concern.

You are encouraged to pretend otherwise.; 9/9/15, 11:47 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Hey I sad things groups "entities with power" might wanna destroy me for.

Welcome to this life.

No turning back.

Find me.

Worst behavior wanting Jesus Christ alone to rule this Earth.; 9/9/15, 11:49 PM
Balfegor said...: Re: Nonapod

I wonder if they're going after the pro designer market, like Wacom tablets?

The tilt functionality might facilitate that. We've had tablets with high quality pressure-sensitive styluses for over a decade at this point, but to my knowledge none of them has ever had tilt sensitivity. Wacom built that into their Intuos line, but never the Penabled technology used for tablets.

I think the key question is really going to be how it works when people use it, though. The Surface Pro 1 and 2 were fantastic drawing tools despite their tiny size because they used tried and tested Wacom technology in a solid package. I use my Surface Pro 3 extensively, including for sketching, but honestly, the pressure response curve for the N-Trig device they installed is noticeably different and the tools given don't let me configure it quite as I want. So it's not quite as good despite the significantly larger screen. On the Surface 3, the stylus is fine, but for whatever reason my pressure response is screwed up (probably because my tendency is to bear down hard on the stylus, and the N-Trig can't take that).

Curious whose tech Apple is using here and how it works -- I think that will do a lot to determine whether it survives in that market.; 9/10/15, 1:51 AM
rcommal said...: Blogger Beach Brutus said...

Am I a dinosaur for still missing Windows 3.1?

Now, this is the one comment I personally found interesting in this comments thread (which is not to say that other comments weren't also great and interesting: Indeed, I'm sure that they were, just not to me), and so to which I would reply:

Am I weird for still missing earlier-mid '90s WordPerfect, most specifically with regard to the "reveal codes" feature and the ability to edit therein, thereof?; 9/10/15, 3:01 AM
Unknown said...: Great video. I like it so thanks.

Legal Advisory Services in Chennai; 9/10/15, 5:20 AM
Original Mike said...: "Am I weird for still missing earlier-mid '90s WordPerfect, most specifically with regard to the "reveal codes" feature and the ability to edit therein, thereof?"

You can have my WordPerfect when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.; 9/10/15, 5:41 AM
MathMom said...: I did some volunteer IT work for a group, was given a new, "fast" MacBook Pro to use. I had as my own work computer a Dell D630. I was doing some statistical analysis with JMP. The MacBook would nearly choke on the work, but the five-year-old Dell D630 could do it easily, and that was two years after it fell out of the Suburban onto the concrete driveway and kept on running.; 9/10/15, 6:41 AM
Robert Cook said...: "You aren't safe if Israel is nuked, and neither am I hence the concern."

I don't know why this is posted to a thread about Apple, but:

Iran is not going to nuke Israel.; 9/10/15, 6:55 AM
Michael said...: Robert Cook

Why? They seem to use rhetoric that would suggest otherwise; 9/10/15, 8:04 AM
sinz52 said...: That's why I like my Samsung smartphone and Android-based tablets.

Android is based on Linux, and so it has a Linux-like file management system. As such, once I rooted my smartphone (got root privileges), I can do a lot of the things on it I used to do on Unix. Including run a shell (command interpreter), use mkdir and cd and all that stuff,

http://tinyurl.com/ngayn62

on my smartphone!; 9/10/15, 8:05 AM
Original Mike said...: "Iran is not going to nuke Israel."

Yeah, they just say they will for shits and grins.; 9/10/15, 8:59 AM
Michael said...: Oh,and when Iran does nuke Israel the response from the West will be..... Stop or we shall shout stop again.; 9/10/15, 9:06 AM
Original Mike said...: "once I rooted my smartphone (got root privileges), ..."

How do you do that? Does it come like that out of the box?; 9/10/15, 9:16 AM
damikesc said...: Apple is working hard to destroy itself.

Apple hardware is expensive and worth it.

IPhones are now "Stuff Samsung did better and cheaper last year"

It's sad that after decades of idiotic decisions (Steam was supposed to be Microsoft's game store but they said no), Microsoft is a more radical company than Apple is currently. Apple is just polishing the same nonsense they've had for a while.

And with the reduced battery capacity, I bet people will be thrilled.; 9/10/15, 9:31 AM
Michael said...: damikesc

As noted by another commenter, Apple is now a luxury brand, aspirational. Microsoft may be "radical" to geeks and IT people but it is not radical to the masses. Travel by a mall with an Apple store and a Microsoft store. Get back to us on radical.; 9/10/15, 11:09 AM
Known Unknown said...: "Android is based on Linux, and so it has a Linux-like file management system. As such, once I rooted my smartphone (got root privileges), I can do a lot of the things on it I used to do on Unix. Including run a shell (command interpreter), use mkdir and cd and all that stuff,"

You're probably not Apple's target market. You most likely never have been.; 9/10/15, 11:45 AM
Known Unknown said...: Apple stores are hella busy all the time around here.

Part of the reason Apple products are more expensive is simply the use of better materials. My son's Samsung Chromebook has been to repair for the same problem twice (fixed free, though, which is good) and is basically a cheap plastic shell and keyboard. My work-issued MacBook Pro is an all aluminum body with a gorilla glass screen, so naturally it will cost upwards of 8x what the Chromebook will. My brother's Dell laptop is plastic-bodied as well. Now, the MacBook ain't as light in the backpack or on the wallet for sure, but it certainly feels more seriously-built than some competitors machines.

That doesn't necessarily mean the Apple works better or has better features or more timely ones. But at the laptop and desktop level, Apple is clearly using higher-end production materials and has been for since the debut of the MacBook (over the old plastic PowerBooks).

Apple avoided the phone market specifically because the earlier screen materials weren't good enough for Jobs's specifications.; 9/10/15, 11:52 AM
damikesc said...: Travel by a mall with an Apple store and a Microsoft store. Get back to us on radical.

Apple's gone far with marketing. And they made some revolutionary things.

NOW, they are an old, fat company. They nearly died once and it took Gates to save them. Cook isn't the man to lead them (he comes across like an old nerd and has none of Jobs "cool" vibe at all) and will end up killing them over time. Luckily, they have tons of money, but their relevance is only going to wane.

If you cannot expand your market, and Apple is hitting that area, you will only shrinks, wither, and die.; 9/10/15, 12:08 PM