Mainyehc
Nov 28, 01:51 PM
Because they fear the iPod and what it — and its ecosystem — may potentially evolve into; becoming a platform in its own right, particularly with the convergence of multimedia in the home.
Yes, I though about it... It was a rhetorical question of sorts, anyway. ;)
I'm also figuring they are afraid of the "Halo effect" (pun intended :D), as that'd explain the whole shebang. They were ALWAYS afraid of losing their leadership on the PC market, and that their iron-like grip would turn loose. The problem is, they grew lazy, and are preety much aware of that, as their delays in delivering Vista prove.
"So, let's just try to find some other markets to tap into, 'just in case' ", they probably thought...
That explains the XBox, the WebTV, Windows CE, Windows Mobile, and whatnot. The Zune is just the latest iteration of that behaviour, and more specifically an attempt at stopping the advance of Apple, the iPod, and ESPECIALLY the Mac/OS X platform (while your theory certainly seems interesting, iTV won't be such a threat to Microsoft as it'll most likely be fully compatible with a Windows PC running iTunes, as are the iPod and Airport Express... But it's a valid point, nonetheless :cool: ). iPod+iTunes users can buy a Mac and keep using their nice Apple gear (and even Windows if they really must), while becoming hooked up to the rest of their iLives at the same time, whereas Zune users... well, they can hook up in basements and squirt around, and that preety much sums it up. Or they can suck up and throw them in their drawers and buy an iPod "the next time", which is the most likely scenario.
So this seems to be just a desperation move by M$, in anticipation, but the media (or the market, for that matter) doesn't really get it... In preety much the same way that they didn't get it in when the iPod was initially launched. <manic speech> Five years from now, we'll be laughing our a**es off at yet some other random M$ failure, and fondly remembering the Zune as the beginning of the end. Muhahahahaha </manic speech>... :p
Yes, I though about it... It was a rhetorical question of sorts, anyway. ;)
I'm also figuring they are afraid of the "Halo effect" (pun intended :D), as that'd explain the whole shebang. They were ALWAYS afraid of losing their leadership on the PC market, and that their iron-like grip would turn loose. The problem is, they grew lazy, and are preety much aware of that, as their delays in delivering Vista prove.
"So, let's just try to find some other markets to tap into, 'just in case' ", they probably thought...
That explains the XBox, the WebTV, Windows CE, Windows Mobile, and whatnot. The Zune is just the latest iteration of that behaviour, and more specifically an attempt at stopping the advance of Apple, the iPod, and ESPECIALLY the Mac/OS X platform (while your theory certainly seems interesting, iTV won't be such a threat to Microsoft as it'll most likely be fully compatible with a Windows PC running iTunes, as are the iPod and Airport Express... But it's a valid point, nonetheless :cool: ). iPod+iTunes users can buy a Mac and keep using their nice Apple gear (and even Windows if they really must), while becoming hooked up to the rest of their iLives at the same time, whereas Zune users... well, they can hook up in basements and squirt around, and that preety much sums it up. Or they can suck up and throw them in their drawers and buy an iPod "the next time", which is the most likely scenario.
So this seems to be just a desperation move by M$, in anticipation, but the media (or the market, for that matter) doesn't really get it... In preety much the same way that they didn't get it in when the iPod was initially launched. <manic speech> Five years from now, we'll be laughing our a**es off at yet some other random M$ failure, and fondly remembering the Zune as the beginning of the end. Muhahahahaha </manic speech>... :p
Peace
Jul 19, 03:54 PM
Woo Hoo!! Keep it up guys!!
macidiot
Jul 19, 03:43 PM
What, the analysts weren't even close? I'm shocked. :rolleyes:
twoodcc
Jul 13, 10:42 PM
dang, that would be awesome. i just hope i can buy one and put it in an external enclosure and have my mac be able to use it
weiss
Oct 23, 07:27 PM
I actually decided "the hell with it, i'm not going to wait any longer" and went to closest retail store to get myself a nice looking black macbook. It was sold out. Actually, I can't find it anywhere, so it's not much of a choice anymore (at least until they get more units).
So, I'm stuck in the waiting room again. Let's all hold hands and believe, brothers! The C2D is coming! Hallelujah!
So, I'm stuck in the waiting room again. Let's all hold hands and believe, brothers! The C2D is coming! Hallelujah!
plumbingandtech
Jan 13, 04:09 PM
Apple is supposed to be building an Ultra-Portable. Ethernet takes up space. I seriously doubt it will be in the Macbook Air or whatever apple decides to call it. Wifi will be enough. This laptop is not ment to be a main computer.
It does not take that much space. Worst case they could use a flip-jack like connector.
If it does not ship with an Ethernet port, I will eat dirt.
It does not take that much space. Worst case they could use a flip-jack like connector.
If it does not ship with an Ethernet port, I will eat dirt.

pigwin32
Aug 25, 03:27 PM
I guess we're diverging from the actual rumour - new Mac Mini real soon.
I look at the existing Mac Mini, and your wish, and see too many $ signs!.
Perhaps our wishes require a range of options. Mac Media HD vs Mac Media. ;-)
I would be happy with FW800 although it would be hard to justify an immediate upgrade on that basis. It's annoying to have a FW800 raid device that can only operate at half speed. Of course esata (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esata) would be nice but then I'd also have to upgrade my drive.
I look at the existing Mac Mini, and your wish, and see too many $ signs!.
Perhaps our wishes require a range of options. Mac Media HD vs Mac Media. ;-)
I would be happy with FW800 although it would be hard to justify an immediate upgrade on that basis. It's annoying to have a FW800 raid device that can only operate at half speed. Of course esata (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esata) would be nice but then I'd also have to upgrade my drive.
poppe
Jul 14, 10:24 AM
As purely a data storage format, obviously Blu-ray has the potential to store more data than HD DVD.
However, as someone who has been following the whole BD vs. HD DVD consumer video format war, and as someone who has bought an HD DVD player (and, until recently, had a BD video player on order), at this (albeit early) stage of the game, HD DVD is the superior video format.
HD DVD has 30gb dual layer discs available (almost all the latest video releases on HD DVD are 30gb dual layer.) There are many more titles available for HD DVD right now (probably because it's been out longer and the discs themselves are easier to manufacture.) HD DVD uses a more efficient codec (Microsoft's VC-1, which is akin to H.264, in that it's much much more efficient than MPEG-2.) HD DVD titles have either Dolby Digital Plus (a higher bit-rate multichannel audio codec) and Dolby TruHD (a lossless multichannel audio codec).
BD only has 25gb single layer discs available now. Apparently the 50gb dual layer discs are hard to manufacture and the yields are not ready for prime time. No BD retail video discs are above 25gb single layer. No timetable for 50gb discs has been announced. The video is MPEG-2, meaning it takes up more space on the disc. And, the most recent BD releases all suffer from more MPEG artifacts than any HD DVD releases. BD audio is either standard Dolby Digital or space consuming uncompressed PCM audio (which sucks up even more disc space, leaving even less for video.)
The current Samsung BD player actually has the same (Broadcom) chip that the current Toshiba HD DVD player has in terms of outputing video... and it only outputs 1080i. The Samsung player tacks on another (Faroudja) chip to deinterlace it, so it outputs 1080p (so BD can say "we output 1080p!"), except, that chip apparently stinks and makes the picture somewhat soft. In reality, any HDTV worth its salt can easily deinterlace 1080i signals, so the whole "we output 1080p" is a false advantage anyway. Both BD and HD DVD discs store the video as 1080p, by the way.
So, what you have, on the video front, BD has a smaller capacity disk with less efficient video and audio codecs (that look and sound worse). And it is TWICE the price ($500 vs. $1000). And has less titles. And is late.
If you read any reports on BD video quality vs. HD DVD video quality on boards like AVSforum.com, HD DVD beats BD hands down.
Who knows how this video format war will shake out, but Blu-ray is way behind right now.
-Terry
Another point to add is... Recently the Blue Ray eye has become in shortage as said on G4 Attack of the Show. All this talk about prices going down? How can price go down if their is a shortage... If I remember economics correctly shortages don't help decrease price...
_________________________________________________________________
I just dont trust Sony... I get realy nervous when I think about Sony crap...
Especially with the whole DRM CD they did last year...
However, as someone who has been following the whole BD vs. HD DVD consumer video format war, and as someone who has bought an HD DVD player (and, until recently, had a BD video player on order), at this (albeit early) stage of the game, HD DVD is the superior video format.
HD DVD has 30gb dual layer discs available (almost all the latest video releases on HD DVD are 30gb dual layer.) There are many more titles available for HD DVD right now (probably because it's been out longer and the discs themselves are easier to manufacture.) HD DVD uses a more efficient codec (Microsoft's VC-1, which is akin to H.264, in that it's much much more efficient than MPEG-2.) HD DVD titles have either Dolby Digital Plus (a higher bit-rate multichannel audio codec) and Dolby TruHD (a lossless multichannel audio codec).
BD only has 25gb single layer discs available now. Apparently the 50gb dual layer discs are hard to manufacture and the yields are not ready for prime time. No BD retail video discs are above 25gb single layer. No timetable for 50gb discs has been announced. The video is MPEG-2, meaning it takes up more space on the disc. And, the most recent BD releases all suffer from more MPEG artifacts than any HD DVD releases. BD audio is either standard Dolby Digital or space consuming uncompressed PCM audio (which sucks up even more disc space, leaving even less for video.)
The current Samsung BD player actually has the same (Broadcom) chip that the current Toshiba HD DVD player has in terms of outputing video... and it only outputs 1080i. The Samsung player tacks on another (Faroudja) chip to deinterlace it, so it outputs 1080p (so BD can say "we output 1080p!"), except, that chip apparently stinks and makes the picture somewhat soft. In reality, any HDTV worth its salt can easily deinterlace 1080i signals, so the whole "we output 1080p" is a false advantage anyway. Both BD and HD DVD discs store the video as 1080p, by the way.
So, what you have, on the video front, BD has a smaller capacity disk with less efficient video and audio codecs (that look and sound worse). And it is TWICE the price ($500 vs. $1000). And has less titles. And is late.
If you read any reports on BD video quality vs. HD DVD video quality on boards like AVSforum.com, HD DVD beats BD hands down.
Who knows how this video format war will shake out, but Blu-ray is way behind right now.
-Terry
Another point to add is... Recently the Blue Ray eye has become in shortage as said on G4 Attack of the Show. All this talk about prices going down? How can price go down if their is a shortage... If I remember economics correctly shortages don't help decrease price...
_________________________________________________________________
I just dont trust Sony... I get realy nervous when I think about Sony crap...
Especially with the whole DRM CD they did last year...
MicroByte
Sep 14, 12:21 PM
I went to BB yesterday and I saw the Grip Vue, but I was disappointed that they only have sharp colors. What happened to the colors from the 2G/3G??
No kidding! You would have thourhg a basic color would have been included in the line up!
I'm tempted by the green now, it would definitely be easier for me to find around the house when I misplace it!
No kidding! You would have thourhg a basic color would have been included in the line up!
I'm tempted by the green now, it would definitely be easier for me to find around the house when I misplace it!
MacVault
Aug 7, 06:51 AM
Networking in the Finder is one of the biggest complaints people seem to have. Said it before and will say it until its done, FTFF! :cool:
Yea, FTFF is right! I wish we would see this morning that Apple has finally FTFF in Leopard, but I'm afraid we're still gonna see much of the same old stuff in there that gives us reason to want to FTFF. I hope I'm wrong though.
Yea, FTFF is right! I wish we would see this morning that Apple has finally FTFF in Leopard, but I'm afraid we're still gonna see much of the same old stuff in there that gives us reason to want to FTFF. I hope I'm wrong though.
Nym
Nov 30, 10:58 AM
No way, M$ doesn't like Apple for what it is, for their history, if Apple would sink there would always be competition, and monopoly... 90% of the world's computers running Windoze? what's that? :D
VPrime
Jan 5, 10:21 PM
Sounds good then, but keep in mind the sheer downtime you will have, even if you do the repairs yourself.
FTR my E36 was a complete cream puff, one owner, full service records and regular maintenance--and it was the biggest piece of crap I ever had. I unloaded it needing $4500 worth of work, on top of the massive piles of money I had to throw into it over my four years.
Good luck, but you have been warned.;)
heh down time is nothing. My last toy was down for 2 years ;)
FTR my E36 was a complete cream puff, one owner, full service records and regular maintenance--and it was the biggest piece of crap I ever had. I unloaded it needing $4500 worth of work, on top of the massive piles of money I had to throw into it over my four years.
Good luck, but you have been warned.;)
heh down time is nothing. My last toy was down for 2 years ;)
Small White Car
Apr 12, 09:40 PM
Ground up rewrite = a whole load of bugs.
It'll be interesting to see how many shops use this for production work when it's finally released.
I bet this'll be like when they changed iMovie...it won't over-write the old version and you can keep both Final Cuts on a single machine.
At least, I sure hope so. I mean, they have to do it that way, right?
Based on the name, this is obviously going to require heavy support from Quicktime X, which is not getting an update until Lion. Don't expect this before June.
Yeah, I will not be shocked if this ends up being a Lion-only application. They couldn't be that strict with many apps, but FCP is one that they could be with.
It'll be interesting to see how many shops use this for production work when it's finally released.
I bet this'll be like when they changed iMovie...it won't over-write the old version and you can keep both Final Cuts on a single machine.
At least, I sure hope so. I mean, they have to do it that way, right?
Based on the name, this is obviously going to require heavy support from Quicktime X, which is not getting an update until Lion. Don't expect this before June.
Yeah, I will not be shocked if this ends up being a Lion-only application. They couldn't be that strict with many apps, but FCP is one that they could be with.
m2uk
Sep 1, 11:57 AM
Whatever, PLEASE PLEASE more than 2gb limit ! I am waiting for a new Imac (have my 20" intel Imac from my studio room presently in my office after selling my G5 and have been holding on for the post WWDC launch window... really don't want to wait until net year and the PowerMac replacements will be too noisy.

mi5moav
Jul 19, 07:02 PM
Well, during 2000-2001 that was a long waiting period for OSX... and then of course during the Q4 of 2001 we had 9-11
lordonuthin
Dec 19, 05:28 PM
yep, a good thing for sure. we are doing better as a team for real now. just gotta keep people interested and involved
Too bad we can't get an occational mention on the front page of this here website! ARN, are you out there, hint, hint... I'd write something to post on the front page but I'm not a good writer :D
Too bad we can't get an occational mention on the front page of this here website! ARN, are you out there, hint, hint... I'd write something to post on the front page but I'm not a good writer :D

Cobrien
Jul 14, 06:11 AM
For a start HD-DVD players can play in 1080p, its just the xbox360 that cant. Th HD-DVD player which comes out for it may be able to, I dont know yet.
Secondly, its not whether it has a blu-ray drive alone, if it did then there is no point buying it, just buy an extra hard drive. It has to have an HDMI connection so that it will also work as a blu-ray player in your HDtv.
I have both an xbox 360 (and I will get the HD-DVD player for a steal I might add) and a Sony Vaio AR with blu-ray hooked up to my HDtv. Yes it is expensive, but when you see the quality its definitely worth it.
I am going to steer clear of the Playstation3. The ps2 and psp just didnt impress me enough, although it will win the console wars simply because its a PlayStation. When you think about it, it has never really had the best console, N64 was better and would have won the first war had it not been on cartlidge and the xbox was better because of the online play, the ps2 was shocking online.
Secondly, its not whether it has a blu-ray drive alone, if it did then there is no point buying it, just buy an extra hard drive. It has to have an HDMI connection so that it will also work as a blu-ray player in your HDtv.
I have both an xbox 360 (and I will get the HD-DVD player for a steal I might add) and a Sony Vaio AR with blu-ray hooked up to my HDtv. Yes it is expensive, but when you see the quality its definitely worth it.
I am going to steer clear of the Playstation3. The ps2 and psp just didnt impress me enough, although it will win the console wars simply because its a PlayStation. When you think about it, it has never really had the best console, N64 was better and would have won the first war had it not been on cartlidge and the xbox was better because of the online play, the ps2 was shocking online.
EagerDragon
Jul 19, 07:43 PM
Vista will be out as well. Unless Leopard has revolutionary improvements, the difference between Windows and OSX+iLife would be much less than that it is today. I would still appreciate the UNIX under the hood, but I doubt most consumers care. If Mac sales or market share starts to come down a bit due to fewer switchers, the share price could easily crash.
Vista sucks, there is very little incentive for people to upgrade. Leopard will ROCK, is a lot faster then Tiger and has a lot of new functionality. They are not even going to show all the stuff under the hood at the presentation.
Windows Vista is "Asta La Vista" even the virus guys say that it wont be that secured either. Why should people upgrade? Most sales will come from new machines, people will get Vista by default.....Some time mid year, not in January BTW. Little to no sales in the first year for Vista. Large corporations take 2 to 3 years to deploy, and a lot of school are considering Macs running windows, so that is also good for the hardware side.
Redmond has a lot of problems including morale, and lack of creativity.
Our club is growing and is growing fast. We rock!!!!!
Vista sucks, there is very little incentive for people to upgrade. Leopard will ROCK, is a lot faster then Tiger and has a lot of new functionality. They are not even going to show all the stuff under the hood at the presentation.
Windows Vista is "Asta La Vista" even the virus guys say that it wont be that secured either. Why should people upgrade? Most sales will come from new machines, people will get Vista by default.....Some time mid year, not in January BTW. Little to no sales in the first year for Vista. Large corporations take 2 to 3 years to deploy, and a lot of school are considering Macs running windows, so that is also good for the hardware side.
Redmond has a lot of problems including morale, and lack of creativity.
Our club is growing and is growing fast. We rock!!!!!
KnightWRX
Apr 26, 02:22 PM
At the end of the day, I believe this is going to court.
I think the heart of the case will be hinged on proving if "app store" and/or "appstore" was in common use before apple applied for the TM. It does not matter in the least what "app" is short for, or what it means, or who used it for what. Only "appstore" or "app store."
If they were to concede it was unique, but argue that it is NOW generic, I'd think they'd lose, (because Amazon and Microsoft seem to be ones generalizing it.)
Microsoft already made their opposition known in the USPTO's opposition phase for Apple's trademark application. This will go to court sooner than Amazon/Apple does.
I think the heart of the case will be hinged on proving if "app store" and/or "appstore" was in common use before apple applied for the TM. It does not matter in the least what "app" is short for, or what it means, or who used it for what. Only "appstore" or "app store."
If they were to concede it was unique, but argue that it is NOW generic, I'd think they'd lose, (because Amazon and Microsoft seem to be ones generalizing it.)
Microsoft already made their opposition known in the USPTO's opposition phase for Apple's trademark application. This will go to court sooner than Amazon/Apple does.
bmx433
Jan 12, 05:04 PM
just because they used Air in their banner doesn't mean its called MacBook Air.. Apple is not stupid.. its all about slim and light..
I'll be the one who'll tell you "I told you so" ;) .. enjoy the show!
http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=4732961&postcount=94
or this..
http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=4733969&postcount=100
:apple:MacBook Lite:apple:
Feb 2008
that's a good point. i don't remember if they use key words in their teases. what was the tease for the ipod touch? did it have one and if so, was the word "touch" ever mentioned?
I'll be the one who'll tell you "I told you so" ;) .. enjoy the show!
http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=4732961&postcount=94
or this..
http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=4733969&postcount=100
:apple:MacBook Lite:apple:
Feb 2008
that's a good point. i don't remember if they use key words in their teases. what was the tease for the ipod touch? did it have one and if so, was the word "touch" ever mentioned?
KnightWRX
Apr 11, 12:47 PM
I'd be interested in a more complete explanation. CVT is what the particular manufacturer I'm considering calls their transmission. And, yes, you can get paddle shifters if you want.
A CVT is simply a transmission with no fixed gear ratios. It can have any gear ratio between a set minimum and maximum, it has no "steps" like "1st gear, 2nd gear". In other words, it's a transmission type where you could theoretically have the engine spin where it produces the most power (let's say at 5000 rpm) all the time while accelerating. In reality, car CVTs do still have gears, like the Honda Fit which is a 7 gear automatic CVT transmission.
CVT, DSG or the traditional fluid type are all automatics. They just differ in their inner workings. What you're talking about has nothing to do with the inner-working, the paddle like shifters or + - gates on the shifter is simply an interface that lets you override any of the automatic transmissions and select your own gear.
A distinction to make. You could technically have a CVT transmission that you put in "drive" and drive off and you could have a traditional automatic with paddle shifters. Both are unrelated in their function.
A CVT is simply a transmission with no fixed gear ratios. It can have any gear ratio between a set minimum and maximum, it has no "steps" like "1st gear, 2nd gear". In other words, it's a transmission type where you could theoretically have the engine spin where it produces the most power (let's say at 5000 rpm) all the time while accelerating. In reality, car CVTs do still have gears, like the Honda Fit which is a 7 gear automatic CVT transmission.
CVT, DSG or the traditional fluid type are all automatics. They just differ in their inner workings. What you're talking about has nothing to do with the inner-working, the paddle like shifters or + - gates on the shifter is simply an interface that lets you override any of the automatic transmissions and select your own gear.
A distinction to make. You could technically have a CVT transmission that you put in "drive" and drive off and you could have a traditional automatic with paddle shifters. Both are unrelated in their function.
Joshuarocks
Apr 19, 11:50 AM
I can't wait! My G5 iMac has officially died and gone to that big computer desk in the sky. It served me well for 5 years, but it's over. Darn thang won't even turn on anymore. I hear the apple start up chime, but the screen stays black and then the iMac just shuts off. But even if I could fix it, it's so old it can't run the latest OSX or even play HD movies. Yup...it's time to buy a new iMac.
I'm hoping that the next update sees i7s across the line...even the 21.5" models. I expect thunderbolt too since the MacBook pros got it. Other things on my wish list would be for them to include that rumored flash start up drive as standard....but I'm not holding my breath. It would be great if the 21.5" model got the same ability as the 27" to be used as an external monitor. That way in 5 years or more when it becomes unable to run the latest software, you can still use it as a second monitor. :-)
I like the 27" features, it's just a tad too big. Actually the rumor about Apple adding a 24" size back to the iMac lineup would be PERFECT. But again...not gonna count on it.
How fast is your imac G5? On my G5 Quad I can play 720,1080, and yes using HTML5, 4096p! If I recall the G5 Imacs had only one processor in there? Right? You might want to check out the powerpc forums for assistance if you want to know whats wrong with your imac. I sense a broken capacitor.
I'm hoping that the next update sees i7s across the line...even the 21.5" models. I expect thunderbolt too since the MacBook pros got it. Other things on my wish list would be for them to include that rumored flash start up drive as standard....but I'm not holding my breath. It would be great if the 21.5" model got the same ability as the 27" to be used as an external monitor. That way in 5 years or more when it becomes unable to run the latest software, you can still use it as a second monitor. :-)
I like the 27" features, it's just a tad too big. Actually the rumor about Apple adding a 24" size back to the iMac lineup would be PERFECT. But again...not gonna count on it.
How fast is your imac G5? On my G5 Quad I can play 720,1080, and yes using HTML5, 4096p! If I recall the G5 Imacs had only one processor in there? Right? You might want to check out the powerpc forums for assistance if you want to know whats wrong with your imac. I sense a broken capacitor.
Lollypop
Jul 18, 01:45 AM
Lets see how they make this happen, movies are big downloads (or so im told :p ;) ) people wont like spending a lot of time downloading a file only for it to become completely useless a while later. But if it increases the content in the iTMS then so be it!
vand0576
Sep 1, 01:11 PM
if this turns out to be true, here's my prediction on the pricing:
17" is stripped down and relegated to "emac" status and sells at a $999 price point
20" sells for $1299 or $1399
23" sells for $1699 or MAYBE $1799 at the most
these prices seem a lot more like what I was thinking. Wishful? maybe, but this would be aggressive pricing, not keeping the current 17" and 20" where they are and throwing the 23" way over their marks.
17" is stripped down and relegated to "emac" status and sells at a $999 price point
20" sells for $1299 or $1399
23" sells for $1699 or MAYBE $1799 at the most
these prices seem a lot more like what I was thinking. Wishful? maybe, but this would be aggressive pricing, not keeping the current 17" and 20" where they are and throwing the 23" way over their marks.