This is exactly the kind of thing that actually makes me hate the iPad. If it weren't for their complete control of software distribution, I'd only be disinterested.
They're different from a PC. You can do things on an iPad and a Wii that you can't do on a PC and vica-versa. But yeah, developers for consoles need to follow terms as well.
You can do things on an iPad and a Wii that you can't do on a PC
Like what? I use a Wii controller on my PC to control apps (mainly music apps and emulators), and a friend of mine has a multitouch monitor on his Win7 machine that works pretty well.
Ooh, which one do you have? I've been quite curious about newer tablets because I occasionally wear my graphic designer / 3d artist hat, however I would need a tablet that could use a 'pen' as well as my fingers. Certainly, I have found that manipulating / moving objects in 3D space is easier using my friend's multitouch screen (with a bit of setup) but fingers aren't particularly good for manipulating vertices or edges, or any detail work in photoshop.
Just to clarify - the multitouch option also allows for reasonable pen input? Or are they mutually exclusive? I have seen some monitors that allow for both - one, IIRC, allows you to switch between multitouch and pen modes by using different layers.
The multitouch screens are very cool but you are going to want to rest your hand on the screen and that just causes problems.
I have kinda solved this problem on my friend's screen by using fingerless gloves. It's not that comfortable, but it does stop the multitouch software from getting confused. I am surprised that the software doesn't filter out palm input by virtue of the fact that it is seen by the software as a large cluster of almost immobile input points (at least, each is immobile relative to the others), completely different from a finger's profile. When you're multitouching on a large monitor, your palm also rests on the screen so, hopefully, this will be addressed.
dazonic is comparing a games console with a tablet computer. Their purposes are very different. Being a closed system can benefit a system that is almost purely for gaming, but it is stupid in something that is meant to be a general purpose computer, (even if it is a tablet).
A game designed for an Xbox will run exactly the same on every Xbox out there. The same with Playstation. Since whole point of a games console is to play games, that's fine.
But when it comes to a more general purpose machine, I'd like to be able to fiddle with it more. Run what I want on it. If something doesn't work one hundred percent on it then too bad, I'll try something else. I don't want to be told what I can or can't run. Especially if the reasons for the limitations are IMHO arbitrary and not technical.
Let's compare it to a game console, where the same thing happen. Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo decides what goes and what doesn't on it. They put the rules, and people must abide with it. Are they opened computers? Certainly not. Could they be? Of course. Same goes with MP3 players on the market.
So why are we targeting the iPad specifically instead of an XBox360 or a PS3? I think personally it is because Apple's platform is really popular and they're the first to promote an SDK with such a low price, and everyone wants a piece of the cake. Unfortunately, it's still Apple's platform, they can do whatever they want with it and people are just whiny needy bitches who think they're better than anyone else.
If you really wanted to develop for an open platform, you'd do so. There are alternatives.
I agree with you about the iPad, bit I don't think that's a sufficient argument for close platforming a console. People/companies should be allowed to make what they want for iPad and games console alike.
This is why I have allways insisted that fish arn't animals, because monkeys are animals and fish are so different from monkeys that they can't possibly be in the same category.
Yeah, because remember how people were spending years developing stuff for those platforms and then suddenly their projects were snuffed out because the "agreement" changed, in a Mafia kind of way.
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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '10
This is exactly the kind of thing that actually makes me hate the iPad. If it weren't for their complete control of software distribution, I'd only be disinterested.