apple the new Amstrad?

[Carnivius]

Atari was great (is it still around ?),

The real Atari is long gone.  The twatty company using the Atari name is still around.  And still doing twatty things from what I read the other day about Jeff Minter's TxK.

[kilon]

The real Atari is long gone.  The twatty company using the Atari name is still around.  And still doing twatty things from what I read the other day about Jeff Minter's TxK.

Yeah I remember something similar but I was not surprised, it had been a long time they made a really good game. Very sad to see all these amazing companies fade out

Makes me wonder how cool would be if we still had new Amigas every year.

[dcdrac]

it did strike me as bad the holding company that Atari have become having a pop at Jeff Minter.

[Executioner]

Never owned an Apple device, and maybe I never will. I did, however, have to buy an iPad for my daughter for school, now she wants to know how to play mp3s and give it more than 32M of memory (like she could do with her cheap HP).

[kilon]

Never owned an Apple device, and maybe I never will. I did, however, have to buy an iPad for my daughter for school, now she wants to know how to play mp3s and give it more than 32M of memory (like she could do with her cheap HP).

The first generation ipad has 256 MB DDR RAM, G2 has 512 MB, G3 has 1GB and G4 1-2 GB depending on the model. Also first time I hear about a tablet , old or new , that offers memory upgrades. Which HP model is it ?

Playing mp3s on iPad is a default feature since version G1. It would be no exaggeration to state that a huge part of MP3s success is owed to Apple's iPod.   

[CraigsBar]

Never owned an Apple device, and maybe I never will. I did, however, have to buy an iPad for my daughter for school, now she wants to know how to play mp3s and give it more than 32M of memory (like she could do with her cheap HP).

I simply adore apple computers, the last model Mac pro, which is my main desktop machine is awesome (OK the current design with zero internal expansion is pretty useless), I also have a mac book pro for when I am out and about and my wife uses a Mac mini i7 (which is incredibly powerful for such a small machine). However I really think iOS devices are overpriced junk when compared to the competition. Such a shame the new Mac pro offers no one internal expansion, and the iPod classic got killed off.

[kilon]

I simply adore apple computers, the last model Mac pro, which is my main desktop machine is awesome (OK the current design with zero internal expansion is pretty useless), I also have a mac book pro for when I am out and about and my wife uses a Mac mini i7 (which is incredibly powerful for such a small machine). However I really think iOS devices are overpriced junk when compared to the competition. Such a shame the new Mac pro offers no one internal expansion, and the iPod classic got killed off.

Well I was thinking the same thing about iPads being overpriced. So even though I got a G1 when it was time to upgrade I decided not to get an iPad and instead get the best Android tablet at the time. Samsung Galaxy note 10.5. Same price as ipad, 500 euros. Spec wise superior to ipad, no doubt, especially on the gpu which what I wanted it for to give a try on coding 3d graphics on Android.

Long story short I never got around to coding 3d graphics on it because I could not stand Java coding and in the mean time I converted to a new programming language Pharo which has no support for Android. But one day I realised why , well at least for me, iPads are not overpriced. All I had to do is take the table with me on the beach. Under the Greek sun , the screen just disappeared, could not handle the brightness and even under shadow it was making thing very hard to read. At first I thought that was normal but just because I was curious I decided the next day to take with me on the beach both tablet my G1 ipad and the Note. Side by side comparison it was like night and day , I mean literally . I could read the ipad , was bright and could handle even direct sunlight from the Greek sun with ease , Note even under shadow was painful and impossible to read under direct sunlight even with brightness at maximum level. Ipad did not even need to go to maximum setting. 

I don't regret getting an Android tablet , If I did I would have not gotten also an Android Google Nexus 4 phone which by the way has the exact same issue. Now when I go to the beach I take my kindle instead or the iPad

[CraigsBar]

Well I was thinking the same thing about iPads being overpriced. So even though I got a G1 when it was time to upgrade I decided not to get an iPad and instead get the best Android tablet at the time. Samsung Galaxy note 10.5. Same price as ipad, 500 euros. Spec wise superior to ipad, no doubt, especially on the gpu which what I wanted it for to give a try on coding 3d graphics on Android.

Long story short I never got around to coding 3d graphics on it because I could not stand Java coding and in the mean time I converted to a new programming language Pharo which has no support for Android. But one day I realised why , well at least for me, iPads are not overpriced. All I had to do is take the table with me on the beach. Under the Greek sun , the screen just disappeared, could not handle the brightness and even under shadow it was making thing very hard to read. At first I thought that was normal but just because I was curious I decided the next day to take with me on the beach both tablet my G1 ipad and the Note. Side by side comparison it was like night and day , I mean literally . I could read the ipad , was bright and could handle even direct sunlight from the Greek sun with ease , Note even under shadow was painful and impossible to read under direct sunlight even with brightness at maximum level. Ipad did not even need to go to maximum setting. 

I don't regret getting an Android tablet , If I did I would have not gotten also an Android Google Nexus 4 phone which by the way has the exact same issue. Now when I go to the beach I take my kindle instead or the iPad

the screen brightness issues are manufacturer specific. I have no issues with any of my HTC phones or Asus nexus 7, although friends with Samsung devices have the same issue you report, even under the Irish sun.
BTW my work out of hours support phone is a Samsung, and the screen on that is invisible even on a cloudy day as soon as you step outside.

Samsung android devices IMHO are cheeply made, with nasty plastics and overrated. HTC and OnePlus for example make much better quality handsets.

[kilon]

the screen brightness issues are manufacturer specific. I have no issues with any of my HTC phones or Asus nexus 7, although friends with Samsung devices have the same issue you report, even under the Irish sun.
BTW my work out of hours support phone is a Samsung, and the screen on that is invisible even on a cloudy day as soon as you step outside.

Samsung android devices IMHO are cheeply made, with nasty plastics and overrated. HTC and OnePlus for example make much better quality handsets.

Its not a big issues for me as I said, I use tablet and phone 99% indoor. Its more of an issue that my Nexus battery dies after a couple of hours of normal usage but that is to be expected from a smartphone with a big screen.

[Bryce]

Never owned an Apple device, and maybe I never will. I did, however, have to buy an iPad for my daughter for school, now she wants to know how to play mp3s and give it more than 32M of memory (like she could do with her cheap HP).

Oooo, we went through that battle too! It was hilarious! The school said the kids MUST have iPads for access to material - fight broke out, especially from parents who either don't like apple or had just recently bought the child an Android device. School / parent meeting where the "IT Teacher" blundered his way through his pathetic arguments. Parents including laywers, several professional IT people etc made his evening a misery, the headmaster panicked that he might have to fund the whole project and it was killed off that evening. The sheep parents that had gone out and bought one without a fight tried to get the school to refund the money, but I don't think they got very far. In the end it turned out that all documents would be pdf anyway

Bryce.

[AMSDOS]

Have to wonder where Xerox are these days which is where Steve Jobs built his Apple GUI empire.

[Executioner]

The first generation ipad has 256 MB DDR RAM, G2 has 512 MB, G3 has 1GB and G4 1-2 GB depending on the model. Also first time I hear about a tablet , old or new , that offers memory upgrades. Which HP model is it ?

Sprry, my mistake, I wrote 32M when I meant 32GB. The shitty $99 HP Plus 7 has the ability to plug in a Micro-SD. Admittedly, it's then only 8 + 32 = 40GB, but it's a very cheap device compared to the $400 iPad Mini.

Playing mp3s on iPad is a default feature since version G1. It would be no exaggeration to state that a huge part of MP3s success is owed to Apple's iPod.

I haven't actually tried this myself, can you just copy them somewhere on it and play or do you have to use iTunes.

[awergh]

I have no interest in any modern apple products so I guess the answer to the question is a definitive no for me.

Of course this is subjective but its not subjective to consider how repairable an amstrad product is compared to modern apple products.

[Optimus]

I always thought Amstrad was moving more towards the PC. The original CPC was looking less fancy than C64 or Amiga (only the later CPC+ tried to look more like them), it was a dark grey rectangular computer, but had highres 640*200 mode for word processor, fast loading disk, felt too sturdy and serious for a computer, maybe focused more for work and learning besides gaming. Later the went on with Amstrad PCW totally for the office and even tried to get into the PC market. So, I'd rather say Alan aimed for something more useful like the PC and less fancy than Apple, C64 or Amiga.


In fact, I find it funny that the PC is the only computer without a brand. I mean, it doesn't have a characteristic sign, that you can tatoo or something. It's a generic box without soul or special identity that although is so expandable and does everything you need. Focus on usefulleness rather than brand or style. Thinking it for a second time, did the Amstrad have some identity? I mean, what is the logo of Amstrad? Some special colorful shape? That bugged me for a long. Does the CPC have a logo that is a classic? That a fan could tatoo or sticker? Maybe it's just the Amstrad letters? On Pouet for example, we have the classic Commodore logo for C64, rainbow bands for Spectrum, Atari fuji logo for atari, Amiga has the Amigaball. But CPC has the blue screen, but no characteristic brand logo. No special identity. Or is it?


Maybe Amstrad was focusing less on advertising brand, less on fandom like Apple, and more on making a machine actually is more useful overall, reaching PC status.

[Bryce]

Well repairability (or lack of it) is a problem for most modern electronics, especially for mobile devices. You can't make something sleak and compact and still expect it to be easy to disassemble. This isn't an Apple issue, it's just a fact of life. I've recently fixed both Apple and Android phones and they are a nightmare to get into and re-build.

@Optimus: The PC is an architecture, not a company. Laptops have more "identity" than desktops. With desktops the identity tends to be with Intel/nVidia or other components, rather than the entire device.
Amstrad Logo:
[attach=2]
Isn't that their logo/identity??

Bryce.

[kilon]

Sorry, my mistake, I wrote 32M when I meant 32GB. The shitty $99 HP Plus 7 has the ability to plug in a Micro-SD. Admittedly, it's then only 8 + 32 = 40GB, but it's a very cheap device compared to the $400 iPad Mini.

Thats storage , not Ram and yes you cant extend it as conveniently as a Micro-SD. There are workarounds, you should be able to share your pc/ mac storage with an ipad and move files wirelessly via airdrop. Most likely there many third party solutions and you can even connect via usb the ipad to an external hard drive though personally i prefer wifi. Some external hard drives offer wifi storage too.

I haven't actually tried this myself, can you just copy them somewhere on it and play or do you have to use iTunes.

iTunes is very easy , just a matter of drag n drop but there are tons of ways to move data between your ipad and other devices, third party apps, wifi, bluetooth, email etc etc.

[Carnivius]

In fact, I find it funny that the PC is the only computer without a brand. I mean, it doesn't have a characteristic sign, that you can tatoo or something. It's a generic box without soul or special identity that although is so expandable and does everything you need.

I find the PC pretty expendable really.   I have never had any attachment to any of the PC's I've owned.   I still have my Amiga 1200 and my Amstrad CPC 464.  Both of which still work pretty much perfectly.   The various PC's I've had since 2000 have just been junked as they broke down and got too expensive to fix.   I have no warm fuzzy memories of playing games on PC's.   To me they are just something to work on and store files.   It's true I like my laptop moreso than any of the frankensteiny desktop PC's I've had (mainly for the fact I can just fold it up and put it away and feel nicely detached from all the computer crap for a bit) but even then I'd have no second thought about replacing it when it no can longer do what I require of it.

[Optimus]

Now I am thinking it, since people talk about innovations, the fact that they made the PCs so expandable, add any graphics card, sound card, device, etc you want on the motherboard, just build it as you want, I could say is one of the most important innovations. That change of politics. It could be that it just happened, of course the hardware was designed to accept this, but yeah PC is not a brand I get it, it was just companies trying to clone the IBM. But it changed everything. We may all think of PCs like the boring stupid box and always praise Amiga or Mac or whatever, but there is your innovations. From specific hardware in classy boxes, to generic hardware that you can build accordingly to your needs. And then there was the vast software and open source movement (although I am not much into Linux, just a windows programmer/user/gamer, but it's the same logic and I respect it). It would be more boring world without PCs, there I said it

[kilon]

Now I am thinking it, since people talk about innovations, the fact that they made the PCs so expandable, add any graphics card, sound card, device, etc you want on the motherboard, just build it as you want, I could say is one of the most important innovations. That change of politics. It could be that it just happened, of course the hardware was designed to accept this, but yeah PC is not a brand I get it, it was just companies trying to clone the IBM. But it changed everything. We may all think of PCs like the boring stupid box and always praise Amiga or Mac or whatever, but there is your innovations. From specific hardware in classy boxes, to generic hardware that you can build accordingly to your needs. And then there was the vast software and open source movement (although I am not much into Linux, just a windows programmer/user/gamer, but it's the same logic and I respect it). It would be more boring world without PCs, there I said it

Its not only an innovation and I say it as big Apple fan (but not fanatic) , PC was a revolution. What IBM did pretty much reinvented the computer industry and played a pivot role in the evolution of hardware technology. I do think however what PCs did was inevitable really. Computer is far too useful not to be versatile and offered in great variety .

So its kinda idiotic to dismiss the value of the PC revolution.

[Gryzor]

Regarding the Greek sun: my dirt-cheap, especially for its specs, Nexus 7 2013/LTE has no trouble dealing with it. Although I don't take it on the beach, usually - too big. On the beach my HTC devices have served me well, even if their screen is definitely not the most bright among Android brands.

Regarding the Amstrad branding: I think @Optimus has a couple of very valid points here; working in marketing I've always thought about it: Amstrad did build a brand equity, however they did precious little to promote it. It's a pity they didn't make a nice little logo to flash upon boot or something...

[dcdrac]

for me the Macs I have provided by work no better than my non mac, computers. I like them both each has their use.

Why did Amstrad lose it's way in the 1990s?

[MacDeath]

some say it was due to a HDD provider that screwed it up a lot and Amstrad lost its reputation in the process.

[dcdrac]

some say it was due to a HDD provider that screwed it up a lot and Amstrad lost its reputation in the process.

The Seagate HDDs?

[kilon]

for me the Macs I have provided by work no better than my non mac, computers. I like them both each has their use.

Why did Amstrad lose it's way in the 1990s?

It never lost its way. You can't lose what you don't have.

Amstrad before the CPC was a hardware manufacturer of non original cheap hardware, after the CPC , with the exception of few PCs , they went back to manufacturing non exceptional hardware. Let's face it they were a mediocre company that tried to take advantage of a small market , with limited capital. They were not equipped to lead the computer revolution. Neither was Commodore. In the end home computers were mainly game platforms.

PCs were business tools. Gaming came much later and even today pcs are mainly business tools. Business software is extremely versatile and needs also a very versatile hardware. IBM knew that and they took advantage of it. 

In the end Amstrad and Commodore disappeared because they were thinking too small.

Take Apple for example. Steve Jobs is treated like a God but easy to forget he was responsible for bringing Apple down. He almost destroyed his own company. Apple was doing the same failed recipe , lets build a computer which is mainly for home use and make it fun and cool. It did not work because the computer is mainly a business tool. When he went to work for Pixar and then came back he got it. If you really want to make something fun and cool, mainly for games and entertainment then you need a super portable device. We work in the office, but we want to have fun everywhere. The rest is history.

Amstrad would need to have a much bigger focus on their computer sector even dropping other products. In the end they did not push it because they did not want to compete with the big guys. Apple did want to compete with the big guys so they put a lot of resources into inventing new products that would change the rules of the game. When Steve got back he had vision, strong desire and no intention to play by the rules. He rewritten the rule book and thats how you win.

Thats what IBM did with the PCs too. This what the next company that will bring the next computer revolution will do. First was IBM with PCs. Second was Apple with the mobile platforms of tablets and especially smartphones. Third computer revolution ? Who knows. But then the guy who knows will become a billioner and why not a trillioner too. 

[TFM]

Why did Amstrad lose it's way in the 1990s?

That was imho moving from Z80 to 8086 instead of Z180, Z280, Z380 (and later it would have been the eZ80). And that was customers being stupid and believing advertisements too much. One could call it the commodore conspiracy.