MacRumors Rumor Roundup for MWSF 2003

[MacRumors]

Prior to each MacWorld, MacRumors compiles a rumor summary, which is influenced by all available sources public or private.

iApp Upgrades and Costs

As first reported by this poster at AppleInsider (http://forums.appleinsider.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=13&t=000013), and later verified by both CNet (http://news.com.com/2100-1040-979129.html?tag=fd_top) and ThinkSecret (http://www.thinksecret.com/news/mwsf03apple.html), it appears Apple will start charging for upgrades to specific iApps... including iDVD, iPhoto and iMovie. The good news is that these iApps will get upgrades.

As per a previous report (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2002/11/20021121054129.shtml), iSync and iCal have already received minor upgrades in the past few days.

iMovie 3.0, iPhoto 2.0, iDVD 3.0 should debut at MacWorld SF 2003. These upgrades will provide further integration with other iApps. It does not appear that iChat or iTunes will be getting upgrades at this time.

Quicktime 6.1 (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2002/12/20021211131713.shtml) is due at any time.

New App?

We've received hints for the past few months that a new Apple application is on the way. ThinkSecret (http://www.thinksecret.com/news/mwsf03apple.html) is giving an Apple-Branded Browser a 75% chance of appearing. The iBrowse is also mentioned in the previously mentioned (http://forums.appleinsider.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=13&t=000013) AppleInsider thread as being launched next week.

Other hints include MacWorld's Bruce Fraser's (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/01/20030102040214.shtml) quote that "it will have something to do with processing pixels", while MacOSRumors hints (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/01/20030103200028.shtml) at a music authoring application.

Airport, Bluetooth, Rendezvous and iMacs

Despite the cancellation of the FCC application (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/01/20030103020311.shtml) for integrated Bluetooth, we've received word that Bluetooth is coming... with some rumors of iMac integration despite ThinkSecret reporting otherwise (http://www.thinksecret.com/news/mwsf03apple.html). Rumors of Bluetooth enabled Macs emerged (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2002/12/20021212125824.shtml) from the Inquirer in early December and was repeated by MacOSRumors (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2002/12/20021219163530.shtml) recently.

Airport is to be upgraded (http://www.thinksecret.com/news/mwsf03apple.html) to 802.11g. per ThinkSecret, and also confirmed by our sources.<P.

Rendezvous (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2002/11/20021120074737.shtml) is also poised to be a significant technology in 2003.

.Mac

The online .Mac Address Book (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/01/20030103014143.shtml) appears to be coming on Jan 7th. Rumors have all hinted at further .Mac integration with the iApp upgrades coming (see above). Beyond this, there are also rumors of discounted iApp upgrade prices to accompany .Mac subscriptions.

Xserve RAID

Last we heard, this companion product to the Xserve had been pushed back to early 2003 (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2002/11/20021119024841.shtml).

New Devices?

There have been hints towards a surprise and of new hardware at MWSF... but few reliable rumors emerging. A few of the contenders include:

A Video iPod -- first rumored by MacNews (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2002/11/20021112071728.shtml)... claiming color screen, MPEG-4 Video and AAC support. Unconfirmed submissions here claim it will act as a portable set-top player rather than a portable player in itself. These discussions have even spawned speculation (http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/030103/tech_apple_1.html) by analysts.

Apple Tablet - posted as speculation (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2002/11/20021119085448.shtml) by Matthew Rothenberg in November... but reportedly did have some basis in circulating rumors.

[trilogic]

tablet mac would be great.

color iPod? I'd like to be able to download pictures from my camera directly to iPod. But I don't think iPod will be getting an USB Port.

[Freg3000]

Gee, I hope we see a new app AND a new piece of hardware, or this MacWorld will be pretty boring. :(

[julzmon]

I just don't see a V iPod. I don't see the use and don't think there is enough storage for something like that. I could see an Airport devive that would connect to TV to stream video from your computer.

[dguisinger]

I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere, but I am expecting Apple to possibly buy Maya, maybe not by the 7th.....but Apple has done a ton of promoting for Maya, and if you buy Shake and Maya right now, Apple will knock $3000 off.... If you ask me, its one of the missing components of their professional line of software.

Also, if we see any updates happening in hardware, hopefully they start moving to 150MB/sec Serial ATA drives and controllers. There are currently only two drives from Seagate out on the market that are native S-ATA, but the floodgates should soon be opening and it would be nice to see some fast drives.

[sinbushar]

anyone think there is a possibility of an iPhone?..and apple branded phone could do really well, syncing wiht itunes and ical and the address book so it'd be a phone/pda/mp3-player...jsut my thought

adel

[dguisinger]

Originally posted by sinbushar
anyone think there is a possibility of an iPhone?..and apple branded phone could do really well, syncing wiht itunes and ical and the address book so it'd be a phone/pda/mp3-player...jsut my thought

adel

I dont think you'll see a phone from Apple quite yet. If you look at the Windows PocketPC phones, their battery life is only 1-2 hours. Apple would probably wait till the technology is there to make a better product.

[Nebrie]

They've always charged for iMovie and iDVD updates. For people who use both, they're just cheaper overall now.

[peterjhill]

The 802.11g spec is not set to be finalized until June of 2003. It is possible that apple will release a device based on the current draft, but that draft is subject to change prior to finalization. Hopefully to be fully compliant, any device would only require a firmware upgrade. 11g will be kind of silly in the home. Even computer to computer transfers rarely require more than 11 mbps.

In the workplace it will be nice. The good thing about 11g is that it is fully backward compatible with 11b, both client and AP. Of course you won't get the quick speed, but it will work.

So, I am amazed that people really think that apple will release an 11g product without the spec being finalized. I am hopeful but not confident.

[dguisinger]

Originally posted by peterjhill
The 802.11g spec is not set to be finalized until June of 2003. It is possible that apple will release a device based on the current draft, but that draft is subject to change prior to finalization. Hopefully to be fully compliant, any device would only require a firmware upgrade. 11g will be kind of silly in the home. Even computer to computer transfers rarely require more than 11 mbps.

In the workplace it will be nice. The good thing about 11g is that it is fully backward compatible with 11b, both client and AP. Of course you won't get the quick speed, but it will work.

So, I am amazed that people really think that apple will release an 11g product without the spec being finalized. I am hopeful but not confident.


LinkSys and a few other companies have just released 802.11g products in the past week. It appears the only item not ratified is the new security encryption, which is a sub-spec, and can be added by firmware upgrades.

[ivtrk]

.

[linescreen]

1) I think the most significant anouncement will be a new processor line. Its what apple needs to do most.

2) there will be no ibrowse or iOffice untill the processor situation is fixed. Now is not the time to take risks with having a slower platform, and not be able to run microsoft apps.

3) Maybe an iphone.

4) Buying maya makes a lot of sence.....do what microsoft has been doing for years....buy and make maya only run on the sgi and the mac. **** the pee-cee......

[pyrotoaster]

I'm guessing that the hardware announcement is not an iPod, but probably an iPad.
The biggest confirmed release of the expo right now is a new AirPort, and since I don't think anybody really believes that SJ will talk about AirPort for an hour and a half, there really is something big coming.
Whatever SJ is going to announce is so big that Apple has found a way to keep it totall secret. Amazing! :D
I can't wait for the keynote, I'm expecting big cool things from Apple this year (although if it is a tablet, not too big, I'd like to be able to carry it around easily :p )

[Computer_Phreak]

Well, history shows ThinkSecret to be by far the most accurate, however I think they are leaving out something.

Whatever happens, don't trust MOSR.



words of wizdom

[pyrotoaster]

Originally posted by linescreen
1) I think the most significant anouncement will be a new processor line. Its what apple needs to do most.

2) there will be no ibrowse or iOffice untill the processor situation is fixed. Now is not the time to take risks with having a slower platform, and not be able to run microsoft apps.

3) Maybe an iphone.

4) Buying maya makes a lot of sence.....do what microsoft has been doing for years....buy and make maya only run on the sgi and the mac. **** the pee-cee......

You're way off. I'll agree with anyone who says Apple needs a new processor line (as long as it isn't AMD), but the PowerPC 970 (my number one choice for Apple's new processor) won't be ready until late summer, at the earliest. I don't think Motorola is going to come through on the G5. I'll be happy if they do (assuming it's a good processor), but I don't think they will.
You say no iBrowse, I say it's the missing iApp (next to a real office suite that works well with Microsoft Office and isn't Appleworks). I don't think Apple will call it iBrowse (because it sounds like "eyebrows"), but I think (with 80% confidence) that we'll see the end of Explorer :D.
I don't like the idea of an iPhone, but that opinion aside, we've seen no evidence of such a device coming.
I'm not saying I wouldn't like new processors, I just don't see SJ announcing them.

[linescreen]

the problem with an apple branded browser is that it will be one more browser to develop for.....and that being said companies won't develop for it.

every big comapny i know of is standerdizing on ie for the pc. now i suspect that ie for the mac is a lot closer to those html, css, javascript standards than chimera.

[Gus]

I would be happy with good, legitimate (not bug fixes) to iPhoto and iMovie. I'd even be happy to pay for them if they were significant. Anything after thay is just cake for me.

I am intrigued about a new device though. Just excited about another MacWorld really. It's always fun. :)

Regards,
Gus

[pyrotoaster]

Originally posted by linescreen
the problem with an apple branded browser is that it will be one more browser to develop for.....and that being said companies won't develop for it.

every big comapny i know of is standerdizing on ie for the pc. now i suspect that ie for the mac is a lot closer to those html, css, javascript standards than chimera.

That gives Apple more reason to develop their own browser. Plug-in support for Explorer on Macs is, at times, abysmal. Do you think Microsoft cares? Apple has more influence than the Mac Business Unit at Microsoft.
I can't wait for an Apple browser. I use Chimera Navigator, and see the real potential in an Apple app developed by the Chimera guy.

[trebouchet]

I would not at all be suprised if Apple started bundling Microsoft Office in OS X. I say this for a couple reasons. It is a de facto standard, and I expect that most people own it. It is very expensive. The special offer deal ends on the 7th, the day of the keynote address. Also, it would make switching more attractive.

Also, as far as a browser goes, I think if apple did begin their own, it would be based off chimera, a mozilla based browser beautifully designed for OS X.

trebouchet

[j763]

Apple will not step on Microsoft's toes.

Sure, it's Apple, but even they're not that insane.

[dguisinger]

Originally posted by linescreen

4) Buying maya makes a lot of sence.....do what microsoft has been doing for years....buy and make maya only run on the sgi and the mac. **** the pee-cee...... [/B]

Actually, thats what Apple did with Shake and several other video and sound products lately. Shake I beleive is the only one that has been officially released since they went on their buying spree. Apple discontinued the Windows version, but kept the Linux version going. Apple then halved the price on the MacOS X version from $9900 to $5000 for Mac users.

Now on top of that, Apple has the promotion going where if you buy the MacOS X version of Maya and Shake......you get $3000 of Shake. I do beleive strongly that Apple has a lot of interest in Maya, it is one of the premeire apps used in smaller 3d animation studios from what I've heard. I'd find it hard to beleive Apple was putting aside so much revenue just because they felt like being nice. Its obviously an attempt to bring down costs of switching platforms and upgrading for the professionals in the field. Maybe they feel buying Maya right now would be too much and scare the users away, where if they wait till many switch, then there is no problem right? :)

[Centris 650]

iBrowse? Couldn't they come up with a better name? Maybe they could come out with a top for your mac and call it iLid?:D :rolleyes:

[arnette]

I'm through guessing. I'm going to sit back, laugh at everyone else's predictions, and then wait for Tuesday.

Good luck to everyone!

[dguisinger]

Anyone else notice MOSR is going to miss the announcements as they clearly stated on their website they are going to watch the keynote on Wednesday?

Are they trying to trick everyone to miss the keynote so they don't know how wrong MOSR is?

[Frobozz]

Originally posted by dguisinger
I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere, but I am expecting Apple to possibly buy Maya, maybe not by the 7th.....but Apple has done a ton of promoting for Maya, and if you buy Shake and Maya right now, Apple will knock $3000 off.... If you ask me, its one of the missing components of their professional line of software.

Also, if we see any updates happening in hardware, hopefully they start moving to 150MB/sec Serial ATA drives and controllers. There are currently only two drives from Seagate out on the market that are native S-ATA, but the floodgates should soon be opening and it would be nice to see some fast drives.

Well said. I agree 100%.

[Frobozz]

Originally posted by linescreen
the problem with an apple branded browser is that it will be one more browser to develop for.....and that being said companies won't develop for it.

every big comapny i know of is standerdizing on ie for the pc. now i suspect that ie for the mac is a lot closer to those html, css, javascript standards than chimera.

That's not true. Chimera/Navigator has the same rendering engine as Mozilla. There are no layout and design issues that are differnt from any flavor of the Mozilla 1.1 - 1.3 release and it's derivaties. In actuality, these are not only the fastest rendering engines, but the most accurate and standards compliant.

[IJ Reilly]

Originally posted by Centris 650
iBrowse? Couldn't they come up with a better name? Maybe they could come out with a top for your mac and call it iLid?:D :rolleyes:

I came up with the suggested name of "iBrowse" for a Apple-branded browser a few weeks ago in another thread. I am prepared to take the full blame -- or a piece of the action if Apple uses it, which ever the case may be.

[pyrotoaster]

I still contend that there will be an Apple browser, but they know better than to call it iBrowse.
What about iBrowser or iWeb. My best guess is as good as yours.

BTW, Kudos to arnette on kicking back, relaxing, and waiting for the keynote. :)

[Choppaface]

oh great. my mom will probably want to use iphoto v2, but the drivers for her card reader will not work above 10.2... assuming that iphoto will only be for 10.2.2-3 and above, now doesn't that make everybody happy >_<

[DannyZR2]

Anyone know how well the archos thing is going as far as sales???

http://www.archos.com/lang=en/products/prw_500375.html?country=us

I hate that archos beat apple to it, but I'm sure if Apple did do a video iPod, it would be way cooler than this one.... (but probaly more than $379 -- unfortunately)


I don't know if I'd pay more than that for a video iPod... that's what I'm afraid of.. just how much would one have to cost, coming from Apple?

[pyrotoaster]

I don't know about a video iPod, but I do know that there are times when we really pay a premium to be Mac users.
It's worth it, though (usually) :)

[Doctor Q]

I've followed all the MWSF rumor stories. I'm fully prepared for the keynote speech. Now I hope that Apple surprises us all and announces something totally unexpected!

[DannyZR2]

I still have to pay off my DP 867, 17" SD and HP Printer.... My checkbook is just laughing at me!:(

[Sun Baked]

Some people were hinting on the possibility of speed bumps across the line.

If we're lucky this'll happen, should be interesting to see if the 7457 (512k L2, and more L3) makes it with the boosted bus this month.

But that would have required Motorola and HiP7 process partner AMD to get the problems worked out. :rolleyes:

[pyrotoaster]

I'm still not sure we're going to see these video iPods, although we could see another device or DLD with mp4 video.

Originally posted by DannyZR2
Anyone know how well the archos thing is going as far as sales???

http://www.archos.com/lang=en/produ...html?country=us

I hate that archos beat apple to it, but I'm sure if Apple did do a video iPod, it would be way cooler than this one.... (but probaly more than $379 -- unfortunately)

I don't know if I'd pay more than that for a video iPod... that's what I'm afraid of.. just how much would one have to cost, coming from Apple?

I looked at the device he mentioned and it hit me. Imagine the implications of an mp4 movie device like an iPod II with something like El Gato's EyeTV!
Don't just watch home movies on your iPod, watch your favorite episode of Seinfeld or last night's CSI: Miami (why did Kim Delany leave?)! With an expansive 5, 10, or 20 GB hard drive and Firewire (2.0?) transfers, the possibilities would be limitless (assuming you have cable).
One thing. The screen would need to be at least an inch bigger.

[Marvenp]

What??!! No Final Cut Pro 4??!! I think that there will be an upgrade to FCP to support the new pro-sumer DV cameras with 24fsp frame rates. Apple has always lead the way in the pro-sumer market and this is the next evolution for DV.

If there is no announcement at MWSF, then it will probably be in the weeks that follow.:D

[awulf]

What I really would like to see is AppleWorks 7, It has been ages since AppleWorks 6 has been released. Maybe the AppleWorks developers are working on iOffice or a supercharged AppleWorks

[dguisinger]

Will you guys drop the i convention?
Not everything will have an i on the front, i am actually starting to hate all of those names :)

iMac, fine, thats cool
iBook...yup
iMovie, okay

iBrowse? no
iOffice? definately no

Apple isnt stupid...so I hope they dont rename everything they make under that convention.

[BrerBear]

Originally posted by linescreen
the problem with an apple branded browser is that it will be one more browser to develop for.....and that being said companies won't develop for it.

every big comapny i know of is standerdizing on ie for the pc. now i suspect that ie for the mac is a lot closer to those html, css, javascript standards than chimera.

Quite the contrary. I'm very involved with the HTML development across one of the largest software companies, and my team will be very happy if IE is dropped as the official Mac browser. The reason is that IE on the Mac is a different rendering engine from IE on Windows or Mozilla/Gecko on anything. So, currently we have to do extra testing on the Mac, but when Apple switches to a Gecko-based browser the Mac will be easier to support since we already support Gecko.

Go for it, Apple!

[bacon]

Originally posted by peterjhill
The 802.11g spec is not set to be finalized until June of 2003. It is possible that apple will release a device based on the current draft, but that draft is subject to change prior to finalization. Hopefully to be fully compliant, any device would only require a firmware upgrade. 11g will be kind of silly in the home. Even computer to computer transfers rarely require more than 11 mbps.

802.11b is 5 mbps, despite the advertised 11mbps, btw.

[lmalave]

Originally posted by sinbushar
anyone think there is a possibility of an iPhone?..and apple branded phone could do really well, syncing wiht itunes and ical and the address book so it'd be a phone/pda/mp3-player...jsut my thought

adel

Oh, jeez I hope so. I wonder who their carrier would be, though? I have Verizon Wireless, and I just have a feeling that Apple doesn't have any kind of deal with them...

[lmalave]

Originally posted by dguisinger
Will you guys drop the i convention?
Not everything will have an i on the front, i am actually starting to hate all of those names :)

iMac, fine, thats cool
iBook...yup
iMovie, okay

iBrowse? no
iOffice? definately no

Apple isnt stupid...so I hope they dont rename everything they make under that convention.

No, apple won't drop the "i" naming, thank you very much!! They practically own the "i" at this point, a brilliant marketing coup if you ask me. I think they need to flood the market with more "i" names! I mean, some names like iDVD make no sense - what do DVDs have to do with the internet? It's just a marketing ploy, that's all...

[lmalave]

Originally posted by pyrotoaster
I'm still not sure we're going to see these video iPods, although we could see another device or DLD with mp4 video.



I looked at the device he mentioned and it hit me. Imagine the implications of an mp4 movie device like an iPod II with something like El Gato's EyeTV!
Don't just watch home movies on your iPod, watch your favorite episode of Seinfeld or last night's CSI: Miami (why did Kim Delany leave?)! With an expansive 5, 10, or 20 GB hard drive and Firewire (2.0?) transfers, the possibilities would be limitless (assuming you have cable).
One thing. The screen would need to be at least an inch bigger.

I dunno about this whole portable video player thing. I mean, handheld TV's have been around since the 80's, and they never took the market by storm. And handheld TV's are a lot more useful, since you can actually watch live broadcasts of sports, news, etc..

[lmalave]

Originally posted by j763
Apple will not step on Microsoft's toes.

Sure, it's Apple, but even they're not that insane.

Too late, Apple already has ads saying "Get out of your Windows world, it's not worth it". Keep in mind Explorer is free and Microsoft makes half its profits from Windows. In the grand scheme of things remember that Apple has 3% market share (and internet share, as has been verified by web server logs at major sites), so Microsoft wouldn't be that perturbed if Apple switched browsers.

I agree with you there are limits to what Apple can do though, Apple NEEDS Microsoft Office to run on OS X - any kind of switch campaign is dead without it...

[pretentious]

So does anyone else thinking that Firewire II is going to be annouced or what?, maybe it's just so apperent that no one is mentioning it?

What about Apple's answer to to the Media Center PCs? a DVR w/ Apple branded software and hardware would be nice. It could carry the a single Gobi G3(for price and marketing), and would look like a DVD player or a thin desktop and could be used as either, price $699 though $1299 w/ superdrive. We could call it iHub or something, it would be cool and it would sell.

I don't see Apple marketing a browser at this MW, I think MS is going to be showcaseing IE 6 this week and it would be a very bad move to bring out an iBrowse or iWeb or the worst use of the 'i' analogy that I could think of...iNet. If Apple wants MS to continue the MacBU, this would not be the way to it.

[Blackcat]

Originally posted by Choppaface
oh great. my mom will probably want to use iphoto v2, but the drivers for her card reader will not work above 10.2... assuming that iphoto will only be for 10.2.2-3 and above, now doesn't that make everybody happy >_<

Try it without drivers. Most card readers use the industry standard for small removable media, it's a bit like firewire in that X has it all built-in so no drivers are needed.

If the card reader won't work, it probably isn't standards compliant. Your best bet is to eBay it and get one that is driverless.

HTH!

[goobus]

an iphone would just be the coolest thing out there. I jsut started to consider the sonyericcson t61i or wahtever it is but an iphone woudl definitly get my money.

[suzerain]

(1)
I don't think now is the time for iBrowse/iWeb/whatever. Chimera isn't anywhere near feature complete, and I doubt Apple has had enough time internally to make that work. If they release it half-assed, they'll be raked over the coals for it. I think a likelier scenario is that we'll see that in the summer time frame.

(2)
It's not too hard to imagine what future iApps can be...after all, they're all programs for things people want to do with a computer. They have one for making movies, one for handling photos, one for listening to music, one for maintaining your schedule. We know they bought eMagic, so they will obviously make a low-end music-creation tool at some point. I don't think enough time has elapsed for that yet, though.

I also think it'd be likely to see a WYSIWYG Web editing tool at some point from Apple that jives with .Mac. I say this simply because it is something people want to do, and they already own the code for Claris Homepage.

If they release a lifestyle device capable of storing and playing MP4 video, then the iApp would obviously be some video equivalent to accompany that. I'd call it "iTuner", but that's too confusing. But, the point of it would obviously be to act like EyeTV or a TiVO, and capture live video into an MP4 stream and send it to the device. That way, if you go out drinking, you could record your favorite shows and watch them on the subway in the morning. I went out on a limb and predicted that on my Web site back in July, because I thought it was an obvious evolution for the iPod to take.

(3)
I'm sure you've all realized that the handwriting recognition built into Jaguar is completely useless. Well...duh...eventually they will release a product which actually makes use of it. The only argument appears to be whether it'll be a PDA or a tablet Mac. Like Think Secret says, I think a tablet Mac is a huge possibility; Apple's customers are creative-types, and all the designers and artists I know use wacom tablets. A tablet Mac would benefit them tremendously (I've been saying for years that Apple should create a laptop whose screen could flip all the way around so it could be used as a sketch pad. Maybe a tablet Mac would fit that bill...You could sit on your couch, away from your Mac, and work in comfort.)

(4)
FireWire 2 can't be released without some hardware release, so we won't see that. AirPort is the 100% obvious thing, I suppose. But, I don't think they will release AirPort 2 without releasing something that takes advantage of that speed...

(5)
As far as I know, no one has mentioned this on this site, but when Jobs talked Rendezvous before, he had other companies out there on stage (one was Philips and another was HP). So, I think it's VERY likely that we'll see HP demo a wireless 802.11 rendezvous-capable printer that requires no configuration. It'd also be likely to see Philips on stage announcing a new product that connects wirelessly or through ethernet and allows you to play your iTunes playlists right through your stereo. It could have a remote control that could flip to the next song and so forth on the Mac, through Rendezvous.

(6)
Oops...forgot to mention this. I highly doubt Apple will be making a phone. They've already trotted Sony/Ericsson out on stage, and Cingular, so it seems to me they won't provide the hardware (are they really going to compete directly with Sony 6 months after they announced a loose partnership with them?). Other Web sites have let slip (not from a rumor, but from PR copy), something called the "Mac to Mobile" system. (I'm surprised Arn didn't include that in his recap.) What is it? I don't know. But it seems to me that Apple will be providing the software, not the hardware, in this equation. My guess is that the iPhone trademark is not for a phone, but for an iApp to go along with some cool new Sony/Ericsson model. It'd probably do a host of phone/fax/etc functions...or maybe allow you to do voice over IP with your phone when you're at home, so you can save your minutes. If Apple *does" release an actual phone, I would wager a lot of money it'd just be them slapping their logo onto a Sony. So, the question is: what is "Mac to Mobile"...the name for the whole system, using iSync as a conduit, that lets you keep your phone synched with your Mac?

[shakespeare]

Why not 'Internet'? I say 'Internet'. 'Mail' - 'Address Book' - no reason to complicate things - let's just call the Apple browser 'Internet'.

I bet that if Apple could wipe the slate clean without worrying about marketing &c they would call iCal 'Calendar', iTunes 'Music', &c. That seems to be their new trend.

[Chef Ramen]

video ipod? that sounds nothing short of rediculous. ill wait and see what is announced when it is announced

[pyrotoaster]

Originally posted by Chef Ramen
video ipod? that sounds nothing short of rediculous. ill wait and see what is announced when it is announced

It being marketed as a video iPod sounds ridiculous. I think we're really looking at some new iGadget that happens to play mp3s along with mp4 movies. It's that or tablet, and since I could never afford a $1500 iPad, I'm going with the iDLD.

[maehara]

Originally posted by IJ Reilly


I came up with the suggested name of "iBrowse" for a Apple-branded browser a few weeks ago in another thread. I am prepared to take the full blame -- or a piece of the action if Apple uses it, which ever the case may be.

Not a new name, though - it's the name for an Amiga web browser that's been around since the mid-90's (still under development, too - http://www.ibrowse-dev.net/ ).

So Apple may want to use another name...

[pyrotoaster]

I have no idea if I'm right, but I've posted my Mac weblog (http://macunderground.blogspot.com/) .
I think we're looking at some kind of iDLD, like what many people have been calling the iPod II.
If I'm right, let's hope Apple can price it right!:rolleyes:

[Spidermanjohn]

He11, I would be happy to pay for an iDVD update after they get the current iDVD to work on X. Just try and really push iDVD to do what Apple says it will do. Do it and you can never get a good burn. Sure, works great with a one movie and two slideshows, but try 15 slideshows and three movies and you get really nice DVD cup coasters. I have tried this on many of our systems considering we have 30 G4's at my TV station. You can't push iDVD, or it just fails, and it never presents with the same problem twice. Makes troubleshooting a pain in the butt.

We paid for FCP 3.0 and it still does not work on X like it does on 9.2.2. I know, it is not a native X program. Apple should not have been is such a hurry to move it over. If we want to get any real long-form work done we have to move back to editing under 9.2.2. Don't get me wrong, I love what will be, but Apple is not delivering on promises. We will probably not see OS X only boxes either. If they do this, FCP and PowerMac sales will fall.

Or X machines work great for everything but our multimedia apps. Not ready to make the jump back to PC yet, just VERY frustrated.

Mac evangelist warming the bench…

[Wry Cooter]

Originally posted by ivtrk


Another good possibility is the release of ProTools for OS X, which would probably excite me more than anything else.

MMm, a done deal I believe. You might want to check digidesigns site, I think they have already toured with ProTools 6, the point being OS X ready.

There might be a music creation app, or some dicussion of the audio midi layer at the expo, since they have had some time to have ownership of Logic under their direction. The big thing will be easing the parsing over the preexisting plug in architectures to the new OS level form, whatever DAW you choose.

[Doctor Q]

Originally posted by lmalave
No, apple won't drop the "i" naming, thank you very much!! They practically own the "i" at this point, a brilliant marketing coup if you ask me. I think they need to flood the market with more "i" names! I mean, some names like iDVD make no sense - what do DVDs have to do with the internet? It's just a marketing ploy, that's all...
Let's see: iMac (for internet). Then eMac (for education). Hmmm.

Apple should snatch up all the other vowels before somebody else gets to them. They can add aMac (for artists), oMac (for overachievers), and uMac (for utopian?).

[Roger1]

Hmmmm. How about a bmac? Take an iMac, put in a a few lower cost parts, take off the monitor, and sell it for about $499? "b" is for budget.

[pretentious]

Originally posted by Roger1
Hmmmm. How about a bmac? Take an iMac, put in a a few lower cost parts, take off the monitor, and sell it for about $499? "b" is for budget.

Hey wow sounds just like the old LC Macs, hey yea that what we should do bring back the most crappyest line of Apple computers ever made.
Yea that'll work! Go Apple!

[julzmon]

Originally posted by suzerain


(2)
It's not too hard to imagine what future iApps can be...after all, they're all programs for things people want to do with a computer. They have one for making movies, one for handling photos, one for listening to music, one for maintaining your schedule. We know they bought eMagic, so they will obviously make a low-end music-creation tool at some point. I don't think enough time has elapsed for that yet, though.


I think you hit the nail on the head. I completly see them having a Homepage creation iApp.

[Roger1]

Hey wow sounds just like the old LC Macs, hey yea that what we should do bring back the most crappyest line of Apple computers ever made.
Yea that'll work! Go Apple!

Why would it be crappy? If they deleted certain components (the monitor) then they would still have a decent machine, just more in line with the pc's with similar features.

The top line flat panel imac goes for $1999
The 17" studio display goes for $999

Now, I know this comparison isn't exactly "apples to apples" using retail prices to compare with, but if you take the monitor off, you could knock almost a thousand bucks off the price of the top line imac. If they go this route with the bottom line imac, they could drop the price even further. Not to mention they could sell monitors separately, helping monitor sales (maybe sell it with a crt monitor?)

[awulf]

Originally posted by Roger1


Why would it be crappy? If they deleted certain components (the monitor) then they would still have a decent machine, just more in line with the pc's with similar features.

The top line flat panel imac goes for $1999
The 17" studio display goes for $999

Now, I know this comparison isn't exactly "apples to apples" using retail prices to compare with, but if you take the monitor off, you could knock almost a thousand bucks off the price of the top line imac. If they go this route with the bottom line imac, they could drop the price even further. Not to mention they could sell monitors separately, helping monitor sales (maybe sell it with a crt monitor?)

They would be like the Performa series, Our school bought a heap of 6360's when they were new. They even have expansion slots.

But then again there are the old CRT iMac's and the eMac's. If someone wants a cheap computer they just buy the old iMac which would be cheaper than buying the Computer and Monitor. And expansion slots aren't really required because you can get FireWire or USB version of devices that ordinary people would use.

[pyrotoaster]

Don't get me started on the Performa series.
They are the most evil computers Apple ever produced (still heavenly compared to any Dell I've seen).
I had the true honor of using one as my personal computer for a good four years. Thank the good Lord my next computer was a Graphite DVSE iMac, it redeemed Apple in every way, shape, and form. :D

[michaelb1]

Has any one heard any rumors of an apple branded video recording device? A while ago someone discussed a digicam that records direct to a built in hard drive. If they made it small like an iPod and gave it smooth integration with iMovie/iDVD it would be cool. Throw in the ability to serv as a portable hard drive/ video player/ mp3 player/ 802.11g video/music/file transfer to Macs (with the rumored new 802.11g airport). How bout wireless export to homepage, cool.
Just throwing it out there with all the other hype.
-michaelb1

[pretentious]

Exactly the LC/Performa series left some very bad tastes in all computer user minds, if anything these lines contributed to many of the anti-Apple rhetoric that Mac users still have to deal with to this day.

I'm not saying that I don't want see a lower price solution from Apple, I do, but I would suggest a word of caution to anyone suggesting that they lower their standards with less than quality products and degrading their quality of computers, they would simply asking for trouble and repeating the past if they did this again.

I even think w/o hurting their dually processor PowerMacs or even their iMacs I think do that they have left themselves open for a new cheaper product that could easily be marketed, it would essentially be a headless iMac just a single processor, no screen ,no PCI slots, and up to a Gig of RAM.

I suggested a solution earlier in this thread (the iHub, Gobi G3, starting at $699) it could easily be this cheap Mac, But I suggested it being something like a Media Center Mac (even better name MacMC) because I think in this already computer saturated market you have to put clear goals for what your computers are made for (hello Cube), and I think Apple needs to change the rules on what a computer is suppose to do (again), because as computers become more as an appliance to deliver and receive content, it will increasingly be on what gives me the best user experience for giving that very content.

As we all know Apple's forte in computers has always been the best user experience, so I would think that it would be foolish not to for them not to go after the PVR market and sell a low cost computer with specialized software. This would extend there market to three different tiers, Power Macs as digital workstations, the iMac as a home low-end digital content creator, and MacMC/iHub as an appliance digital content receiver.

[MacKid]

Originally posted by michaelb1
Has any one heard any rumors of an apple branded video recording device? A while ago someone discussed a digicam that records direct to a built in hard drive. If they made it small like an iPod and gave it smooth integration with iMovie/iDVD it would be cool. Throw in the ability to serv as a portable hard drive/ video player/ mp3 player/ 802.11g video/music/file transfer to Macs (with the rumored new 802.11g airport). How bout wireless export to homepage, cool.
Just throwing it out there with all the other hype.
-michaelb1

I think that is a very good idea, and although I don't believe it will happen on the 7th, I'm confident that it will happen one day. However, I think that the Mp3/802.11g/HomePage would really bloat it up, and Apple has the uncanny ability to give you exactly what you want, no more, no less. That was the success of the iPod, many Mp3 players were either trying to be a 1/10th size solution to a CD player, or, a huge jukebox/PDA clunky combo. But, I do think that the video recording device is a very good idea, and may happen one day.;)

[sedarby]

We know they bought eMagic, so they will obviously make a low-end music-creation tool at some point. I don't think enough time has elapsed for that yet, though.

Actually Emagic has a couple of products they could just repackage as an iApp. MicroLogic AV which is their entry level product and Logic Fun which is actually free for educational use. Either of these would make a fine iAudio(?). :)

[arogge]

In the Micro Center printed advertisement with prices expiring on January 12, the following systems are listed as "Subject to mfr. availability" which might indicate product updates:

{
Dual-processor PowerMacs - 867 MHz, 1 GHz, and 1.25 GHz
iMac G3 600 MHz
All iMac G4s
All eMac G4s
}

The iBooks, PowerBooks, and iPods are not listed as being subject to availability changes.