The ideal form-factors for computing and mobile devices come down to the environment they’re used in. If you’re sitting at the same desk in an office most days, a desktop is the way to go. If you sit at multiple desks or coffee-shop tables, a notebook is the thing. If you don’t sit, but either walk around or lay on the couch, you need a tablet.

There’s a gap in the available platforms between notebooks and smart phones, where a notebook is cumbersome, and most mobile devices are too small. Netbooks are edging into this gap, but a multi-touch tablet would be a better fit.

The applications you’re likely correlate to the environment. If you’re a graphic designer, you probably need to work at a desk with a full-blown application. If you’re sketching some ideas, you might relax somewhere with a tablet.

I view the iPhone OS/UI as a happy accident. Given the small screen real estate, the iPhone OS has to have a simplified and sharply-focussed UI. This clean UI makes the Touch a pleasure to use. Not only does it offer direct manipulation though multi-touch, but it’s sheer simplicity makes it very transparent.

Compare the experience of the iPhone’s YouTube application to the experience of YouTube in a web browser. On the web, YouTube is cluttered with all manner of suggestions and up-sell. On the iPhone, it’s wonderfully simple. The differences between Mail on OSX vs. Mail on the iPhone are similar.

The iPod Touch is most of the way there. It just needs to be bigger, making it more useful for reading and viewing media. More real-estate would also allow some real work product. The iPhone/Touch are really about consuming content. A bigger device would open the possibility of its use in creative and productive output.

I’ve laid-out the two product design issues that make the “bigger iPhone” the right approach for Apple: finding the usage gap between the iPhone and the notebook, and the general superiority of the iPhone OS for that usage.

Beyond those product issues, the failure of Windows tablets to crawl out of their niche (doctors’ offices) shows that putting a personal computer OS in a tablet package isn’t going to sell in any significant proportion to notebooks.

We run a Mac Mini as the “family computer”. It’s been chugging along since we got in 2005. It seemed kind of tired until we installed Leopard on it, which gave it something of a new lease on life. But lately it’s been running slower, and now often refuses to boot, giving the grey screen with the folder on it that alternates between a ? and the Mac OS face logo.

I’ve tried all manner of troubleshooting on it. When it does boot, the disk verifies, and there are no suspicious log messages. I’ve disconnected everthing on its USB and Firewire busses. Nothing seems to have any repeatable effect. Yesterday, I’ve started rapping on the case, or giving it a bump against the desk, and that does seem to have some effect. So, I’m starting to think it’s mechanical – perhaps a bad solder joint, or crappy cable connection. The next step is to disect the thing, which isn’t easy, as it’s really not intended to be user-serviceable.

I’m reluctant to even get into that, because at best, if I fixed it, we’d still have a computer that performs just barely well enough to be useful. The form-factor is nice, but compared to
my Dell desktop, it’s much noisier despite its laptop components, it’s not in anyway serviceable or expandable, and a new replacement is close to double the cost of a low-end Dell.

On the other hand, I like running OSX much better than Windows, and we need iTunes, as every family member has an iPod of some sort. I also use Garageband, have a Line 6 interface and run their software, and occationally use iDVD and iMovie. So, replacing the Mini with a Windows system would potentially save $300, but then I’d have to acquire software replace what comes bundled with a new Mini, have to move iTunes, photos and other media libraries to Windows, then reformat every iPod in the house. At the end of all that, I’d be stuck running Windows.

What I really want, is something like the mac mini, but maybe just a little bigger and user-serviceable and expandable. The Mini has a nice form factor, but it’s lack of expandability means that I have two external disk drives, a USB hub, two different iPod sync widgets, and my Line 6 outboard sound interface. In contrast, my dell mini-tower contains all its parts, with no extra wires and wall-warts required, and has USB ports on the front, top, and back of the case.

I just don’t get why Apple can’t sell an entry level, expandable system on the strength of OSX. and their ability to design hardware nicely. Why is the no desktop cheaper than the Mac Pro line, other than the Mini, which seems neglected as it is?

Also, I’m not thrilled with the Mini’s durability. It’s only 4 years old, after all. I wouldn’t expect it to avoid obsolescence, but just plan crapping-out is unacceptable. Again, this problem is made worse by it’s total lack of serviceability.

I still can’t decide where to throw money at this problem.