Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2006 Rumor Roundup

[AtHomeBoy_2000]

I like the BitTorrent idea, would make downloading software updates very fast, could also be cool if its used for that movie store we have been hearing so much about

For legal uses, BitTorrent is awesome. I tried to download NeoOffice from their website, i was getting 20K. Over BitTorrent..... almost my max bandwidth. It was sweet. BitTorrent in an OS has many great possibilities.

 

[hyperpasta]

Are you "meant" to keep it under your desk? Who says? I had my PowerMac on the desk until I sold it (I will be getting a Mac Pro and I hate to put it on my desk if it's meant to go under it!)

Well some people do. For instance, when I think of a video editing setup, I think of various monitors, a computer, and other devices are all locked into some kinda big rack. But I'm no video editor.

Point is, without an IR sensor in the display, you wouldn't have the OPTION of hiding the computer away.

 

[Peace]

For legal uses, BitTorrent is awesome. I tried to download NeoOffice from their website, i was getting 20K. Over BitTorrent..... almost my max bandwidth. It was sweet. BitTorrent in an OS has many great possibilities.

BitTorrent is great if you're using a cable modem or DSL with almost equal upload/download ratios.But I'm using a Satellite..Downloads are great but the uploads are only 256k

 

[fastlane1588]

iMac - No.
iPod - No.
MacBook - No.
MacBook Pro - No.
MacPro - Yes.
Xserve - Yes.
Displays - Yes.
Leopard Preview - Yes.
iPhone - Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

why no mbp? its a pro machine so shouldnt it be updated?

 

[AtHomeBoy_2000]

BitTorrent is great if you're using a cable modem or DSL with almost equal upload/download ratios.But I'm using a Satellite..Downloads are great but the uploads are only 256k

Nothing wrong with leaching if you have to

 

[DeathChill]

Kevin Rose (?) usually reveals all the proper stuff a day or so before, no? Wonder if he'll have it this time~

 

[Rend It]

WWDC = good things != everything

I'm finally excited about Apple again! After the MacBook Pro quality issues and the underwhelming iPod Hifi announcement, I was starting to feel a little let down. Now, I just chock it up to a lull in output due to the Intel transition. I don't think WWDC will be the panacea that some want it to be, but I think Leopard alone will be enough to make us happy. Think about it:

-The first "from-the-ground-up" universal binary Mac OS
-True 64-bit support (yeah, the Core 1 Duos are 32-bit, but by the time Leopard is released, new models will have chips with 64-bit extensions).
-Redesigned Finder (I hope)
-Adjustable screen resolution (again, I hope)
-others that we may not even know about!!

Beyond that, I'm sure we'll see the Mac Pros, Xserves, and display updates. Maybe, and only maybe, we'll see a small update to the MBPs to Merom and features like magnetic display latches already in the MacBook.

And from a purely aesthetic standpoint, how does it make sense for Apple to put the IR sensor on the case of the Mac Pro? In terms of Human interface, isn't it much more desirable to point the remote at the display? It would only require a USB connection. Finally, I think if there's any support for Front Row in the Mac Pros or Xserves, then the displays must have built-in iSight.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Peace]

snippet:

Finally, I think if there's any support for Front Row in the Mac Pros or Xserves, then the displays must have built-in iSight.

Why is Front Row dependent on iSight ?

 

[VanNess]

As far as I'm concerned, my interest in WWDC rumor mongering is closed. Now that we're in the final weekend, there's too much potential for bogus, wild info from anonymous but suddenly "in the know" sources that will get a kick out seeing false info entertained in sites like this.

Insofar as all of the present rumors/claims combined, there just isn't enough there to justify the amount of "to be announced" sessions for developers that are on the WWDC event schedule, and it isn't likely they are Intel/Universal Binary-related (that particular cat is obviously already out of the bag), so at this point I have no idea what Leopard will bring. All bets are still off.

And what's this nonsense from Thinksecret?

A release date for Leopard is not expected at WWDC and it appears unlikely that the operating system will ship by the close of 2006, based on its current development status, sources say.

Well, they certainly aren't going to give an exact day and time of release, but you don't have to be "in the know" to understand that they are going to give a time frame for it's release (i.e., first quarter 07 or first half 07), as they typically do. Common sense tells you that. What's Jobs supposed to say? "Oh, I don't know. Not sure when we are going to release it. But we'll definitely get around to it one of these days."

My guess is that it won't happen until 07, about the same time frame Tiger was released. Although Apple may finish it's hardware transition for the present generation of machines come Monday, Universal Binaries are still very much in progress. Throwing in major new OS changes, new API's etc., courtesy of Leopard on top of the existing Universal Binary transition efforts isn't likely to sit well with developers if the release date for Leopard is too soon - as in by the end of the year. Risks developers either throttling back on UB support or support for whatever goodies that are new in Leopard. And by the looks of the number of yet to be announced sessions at WWDC, there may quite a number of new goodies.

With Microsoft's Vista constantly trying to steer it's way out of oblivion, in this case time is on Apple's side.

 

[hyperpasta]

why no mbp? its a pro machine so shouldnt it be updated?

The upcoming MacBook Pro is expected to use a chip known as the Core 2 Duo, versus today's Core Duo. Code-named Merom, this chip will not ship in volume until later this month/early next month. Therefore, IF a Merom laptop is shown, it will not ship for month(s). It is much more likely that we see new Macs using the desktop version of the Core 2 Duo, which is codenamed Conroe and is already being readied to ship as I write this.

 

[ahuman7341]

BitTorrent seems very NO!

The main reson I don't like the idea of it is the security issues. I Also think Apple will be aware of the security issues so I doubt that software update will use BitTorrent. Although Apple may have a client that comes with leopard or in iTunes.

 

[VanNess]

Im glad we will be getting a bit of closure on monday, while I love the rumors its been getting a bit to much, im actively avoiding all mac related sites... I dont want to be the boy that spoilt his own Xmas!

Here, let me show you the art and science of rumoring, Apple-style.

 

[50548]

According to my last chat with Steve Jobs, we're gonna have the following:

- MacPro with Woodcrest, 3 configs;

- updated XServes with Woodcrest, 2 configs;

- updated MBPs with Merom;

- NO DISPLAYS

- NO iPods

- NO iPhone

- Leopard Preview

That's all, folks...

 

[hyperpasta]

My guess is that it won't happen until 07

I have my money on 06. Tiger was an especially API-heavy release. It introduced Spotlight, Dashboard, and Automator, which all depend on developers to extend them. In addition, it introduced other technologies of interest to developers, such as Core Image and Core Video.

If we look at the Leopard rumors, we can see the following features being feasible:

*Unified Interface
*Windows Virtualization
*New Finder
*BitTorrent
*iChat with Phone Calling
*Maps application
*Random Application Updates
*Improved Speech capabilities
*Collaboration API ("Core Collaboration?")

Now lets narrow that down to features of interest to developers:

*Unified Interface
*BitTorrent
*Collaboration API

Not such big changes. Unless there are some wild cards in there (and I hope there will be!) that are developer-centric, this is a pretty easy release for developers to swallow. This will be a consumer-centric release.

 

[afields]

iMac - No.
iPod - No.
MacBook - No.
MacBook Pro - No.
MacPro - Yes.
Xserve - Yes.
Displays - Yes.
Leopard Preview - Yes.
iPhone - Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

I agree with this. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if it was just a leopard preview and mac pro announced. Remember....It's always less than you expect. I would be absolutely *shocked* if anything iphone or ipod related is announced.

 

[SeaFox]

I can't believe it's only two days away, how time flies.

I'll be expecting the new Mac Pro to show up (order now, shipping in 6-8 weeks) and new displays (to match the Mac Pro's new enclosure, and becuase they haven't been updated in waaaay too long).

I don't think anything iPod-related will happen, but I'd really like them to update the Shuffle if they're going to.

 

[MacsRgr8]

I think the Merom will be introduced:
Thus a MacBook Pro wil probably be announced, and made available right away, or otherwise very soon.

The Conroe and Woodcrest will probably take longer.
So, the Mac Pro and Xserve Pro (uuuuggghhh!!!... must. remain. Xserve) will be announced, but shipping in about 6 weeks.

 

[Rend It]

snippet

Why is Front Row dependent on iSight ?

No good, clear reason. It's just that Front Row usually goes along with PhotoBooth, so.... Also, it seems that Apple might be really pushing iChat with Leopard, especially video chatting, and the iMac, MBP, and MB all have iSights. It doesn't seem too crazy to believe that perhaps Apple wants a built-in camera in all of their hardware. In the case of the Mac Pro, Xserve, and Mini, the natural place for such a device is a display.

Pure speculation, of course.

 

[artpease]

Point is, without an IR sensor in the display, you wouldn't have the OPTION of hiding the computer away.

Yes, but just my opinion, Apple needs to get over this 'Only new computers get FrontRow' crap and provide a USB repeater. Geez, people aren't buying new computers to get FrontRow, they're buying them to get Intel, so providing FrontRow to legacy systems isn't going to cripple sales! The only error in that opinion might be the mini, both the G4 and Intel minis are so crippled, neither makes any sense in a home theater setting but, providing a USB repeater for the G4 mini might effect a few Intel mini sales.

 

[Super Dave]

Besides, I still think Apple WOULD love to include an iSight in their displays.

Too many people have dual displays (well people who shell out the dough for Apple's HD displays do) to put iSights in each one.

David

 

[Avicdar]

I'll have to wait and hope that there will be a Quicktime Stream of the keynote. It'll be on very late here in the UK so I have taken the next morning off from work to watch it Tuesday morning.

That's pretty sad of me.

I'm also not going to see what's released before I watch the keynote (I don't like to watch the making of a film before I see the film and this is similar to that). I just hope that the Quicktime Apple Channel has a link to it otherwise I'll have to visit one of t news/rumor sites to find the link.

Suggest you at least find the events page where the keynote is likely to be, and link to it now. If you just go to apple.com and start your hunt there, you are likely to be hit in the face with a brand new product. Surprise spoiled.

 

[VanNess]

I have my money on 06.

Show me the money! (lol)

In addition to the aforementioned reasons why it won't see the light of day until 07, Apple will gauge reaction to Leopard (both public and developer) and use the remainder of 06 to further tweak, well, whatever is going to be in Leopard. That takes us to Macworld in January, and another major, prime time opportunity to hype/showboat Leopard to the masses and further tease anxious Macheads to the point where sales will go through the roof when it hits the stores.

Recall that Tiger features saw significant UI overhauls (Dashboard, Spotlight, Automator) from the original Tiger demos at WWDC until it's reshowing at Macworld. Apple has no reason to rush this out after WWDC.

You can bank on 07. First Half. No sooner than April.

 

[macfan881]

im really hoping if there is a new ipod coming out they anounce it monday cause my b-day is in a week and ill might be able to get a new one and if they anounce a full screen ipod and can aford it ill get that or hope they drop the price in the curent ipods like maybe 199 for 30 gig and 299 60?

 

[emptyCup]

Xserve Pro (uuuuggghhh!!!... must. remain. Xserve)

There will be no Xserve Pro until there is an Xserve Non-Pro. Many people would love to see an xserve mini, but at present there is no need to change the name.

 

[Super Dave]

Recall that Tiger features saw significant UI overhauls (Dashboard, Spotlight, Automator) from the original Tiger demos at WWDC until it's reshowing at Macworld. Apple has no reason to rush this out after WWDC.

You can bank on 07. First Half. No sooner than April.

You're right that there is "no reason to rush" except it would be awfully fun to beat Vista to market AGAIN.

David