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AppleInsider: Scoop on two Leopard features

hyperpasta

hyperpasta

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 1, 2005
680
0
New Jersey
AppleInsider has a scoop on two features of Leopard.

The first feature, "Maps", is Apple's version of Google Earth. Apparantly future MacBooks will come with integrated GPS sensors, which will let you see your location on the map. In addition, Apple could use the sensor to find a stolen or lost Mac.

The second feature, "iChat 4", will let users call telephones from their computer.


Both very nice features. I'm looking forward to Leopard, or whatever it'll be called.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1846
 
hyperpasta said:
AppleInsider has a scoop on two features of Leopard.

The first feature, "Maps", is Apple's version of Google Earth. Apparantly future MacBooks will come with integrated GPS sensors, which will let you see your location on the map. In addition, Apple could use the sensor to find a stolen or lost Mac.
Click to expand...

Or

they could be using the GPS devices to track our movements...........Big Brother :rolleyes:
 
the GPS would be so cool, especially the tracking a stolen Mac! :D

<cynical>
So it comes with google earth, a GPS dongle, and Skype. Woo hoo.
</cynical>
 
kalisphoenix said:
I don't buy either one.
Click to expand...
Map's seems a bit crazy, Google Earth does it fine (and of course works on OS X), but VOIP, I guess Apple want to do a SkypeOut, it's another great way of making money out of your computers, totally makes sense, I'm surprised Apple (with their £79 .Mac) didn't do it ages ago...
 
Eraserhead said:
Map's seems a bit crazy, Google Earth does it fine (and of course works on OS X), but VOIP, I guess Apple want to do a SkypeOut, it's another great way of making money out of your computers, totally makes sense, I'm surprised Apple (with their £79 .Mac) didn't do it ages ago...
Click to expand...

Isn't SkypeOut free now? Apple's solution should be free... maybe with a .Mac account though. That would be a good way to drive .Mac sales.
 
zap2 said:
If iChat 4 was free to call people i'd love it!
Click to expand...

It would probably be the only time I'd ever get to use iChat, but then again if this feature were to happen it would probably only be available in the U.S. so I guess iChat remains as useless as it already is. :rolleyes:
 
Personally dont like the sound of a gps on my computer?

why do i need a map to tell me where i am? Surley you will no where you are and you can simply type it into google earth and see it,

Seems a bit pointless?

Casue like when have you ever been lost in the middle of no where with a macbook?
 
hyperpasta said:
Isn't SkypeOut free now? Apple's solution should be free... maybe with a .Mac account though. That would be a good way to drive .Mac sales.
Click to expand...

I think I heard something about it being free in America, not sure though. Thats a pretty good idea about the .mac thing btw.
 
Sam* said:
Personally dont like the sound of a gps on my computer?

why do i need a map to tell me where i am? Surley you will no where you are and you can simply type it into google earth and see it,

Seems a bit pointless?

Casue like when have you ever been lost in the middle of no where with a macbook?
Click to expand...

its a laptop, portable, makes sense. take it on a road trip and get lost, use the GPS, or use the GPS to plan the rest of your trip or avoid road work, etc.
 
hyperpasta said:
Really? AppleInsider has near-perfect reliabilty, and both make sense.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm judging the ideas themselves on their merits, not on the reliability of the site itself. And they both seem like trendy accoutrements. Buzz-words.

If they're features in Leopard, okay.... but I think it's ludicrous to have a GPS locator for tracking stolen notebooks when Apple has done precisely jack-**** in the past to help people recover their laptops. For geo-locating yourself? Meh. Possible, but it still sounds idiotic to me. Let's work on heating problems, rather than packing more stuff into the 'Book to add mass, complexity, cost, heat, and the inevitable software bugs.

VoIP? *yawns* Unless the iPhone comes out and works through Bluetooth or Wireless-G or something, I don't really picture all that many people using this. It seems like a large venture with little or no return. Unless Apple is teaming up with Google and planning to share their dark fiber, it just seems to me like an ill-timed entrance into a completely anarchic market barren of standards and with no clear profit.

What would I like to see? Well, greater stability, better performance, transparently running Windows apps on Intels/fast OS switching, updated UNIX components (Hello, Apache 2!), some more eyecandy, a far more robust Front Row, an Apple TV tuner, drivers that support the realtime H.264 encoding in our x1600's (iirc, please correct me if I'm wrong), an iChat that dependably allows file transfers over Oscar, a Mail that doesn't just randomly crash if I click "Delete" twice too fast, an iTunes that runs faster with large libraries, Quicktime that doesn't cost $30 to get full-screen, et cetera.
 
paddy said:
I think I heard something about it being free in America, not sure though. Thats a pretty good idea about the .mac thing btw.
Click to expand...

Checked. It's free in the US & Canada 'til 2007 (as a promotion). But it seems that it's uneconomical for Apple to offer it totally for free forever. I'd bet on .Mac.
 
Cool. However, I wonder what Leopard's "Spotlight" (or main) new feature. is going to be. Probably something to do with Boot Camp.
 
From here on, I'm speculating.

Maps - What if you could track the location of your friends in real time (with their permission). Or anything, really. Once you mix GPS, Maps, and Apple, you know anything is possible.

iChat 4 - Imagine that the "host" of a multi-user audio conference could invite both online users and phone numbers into the mix. All of a sudden, you can join iChat conferences from anywhere (via cellphone), and include users without microphones.
 
Not to Rehash the age old rumour, but combine the two..

hyperpasta said:
From here on, I'm speculating.

Maps - What if you could track the location of your friends in real time (with their permission). Or anything, really. Once you mix GPS, Maps, and Apple, you know anything is possible.

iChat 4 - Imagine that the "host" of a multi-user audio conference could invite both online users and phone numbers into the mix. All of a sudden, you can join iChat conferences from anywhere (via cellphone), and include users without microphones.
Click to expand...


Maps with GPS, could sound suspiciously like a most excellent SatNav solution (I know most new cars have them these days) but millions of versions, Apple's ipod like dominance for the market? - Didn't that promo of the Microsoft Handheld Device have such an equivalent?

iChat 4 - could be around the time that Leopard's announced be to coincide with Intel's next gen chips with built in WiMax tech, never mind synching from phone just crank up the confuser and hey presto GPS and phone (subject to WiMax coverage)!

Combining the two opens up the realms of an all together new type of iPhone, no MVNO needed!
 
McScooby said:
Maps with GPS, could sound suspiciously like a most excellent SatNav solution (I know most new cars have them these days) but millions of versions, Apple's ipod like dominance for the market? - Didn't that promo of the Microsoft Handheld Device have such an equivalent?
Click to expand...
iPod + iPhone + GPS + Maps + iChat4 w/ whiteboard support = Origami done right!
 
I hope it is true about the GPS. I think GPS's antenna can be incorporated into the slim notebook chassis. I have TomTom wiht Palm LiveDrive. The antenna/receiver is relatively small (it has a small battery in it as well; so, if it is inbedded into the notebook, there is no need of battery as it can get power from notebook's main battry.

I am interested in what additinonal features Apple can cram into Leopard. I like the current Tiger OS very much as I have experienced any major OS problem so far.
 
hyperpasta said:
Isn't SkypeOut free now? Apple's solution should be free... maybe with a .Mac account though. That would be a good way to drive .Mac sales.
Click to expand...
SkypeOut is only free if you live in the US, and only for calls in the US, us poor UK users still have to pay (but it's a lot cheaper than a normal phone!)
 
Mystery Solved...

When I first heard about the Map, GPS stuff with Leopard it did not make sense to me, but now that the VOIP rumor came up, now it makes sense.

If iChat gets VOIP capabilities, then Apple has to provide a GPS type tracking system (in the US) so that when you call 911, the police can determine where you are. (Think cell phones, same requirement...) While at it, they might throw in some mapping capabilities as well.
 
Sam* said:
Personally dont like the sound of a gps on my computer?

why do i need a map to tell me where i am? Surley you will no where you are and you can simply type it into google earth and see it,

Seems a bit pointless?

Casue like when have you ever been lost in the middle of no where with a macbook?
Click to expand...

lol
have you ever used a GPS? It's not only there to tell you where you are currently, but also where you're going to go. Cars have GPS navigation systems that let you plot out your trip and you can see on the map where you need to turn and how far away you are- plus, many maps incorporate where gas stations, restaurants, etc are. This would be really cool.
 
If you want to know where iChat is going, just follow AIM.

As for GPS, Microsoft are doing something with GPS in Vista. They want the ability for people to communicate with each other, but to also know where people are. Check out Bill Gates' presentation at CES. Apple will implement something similar to catchup for sure.

Also GPS will be out dated soon. Galileo for example, is far more advanced, which would make sense for Apple to use. Feedback to the user is what makes Galileo most special. Streaming weather, traffic info, information for prices of fuel or restaurants near by for example. It can also stream maps to devices. Another good feature is it has an emergency distress signal that can be sent from a device, and the user gets feedback to know emergency services are on their way and they know where you are.

Galileo is also not encrypted like GPS. Try using GPS in some part of the world with a consumer device, it will throw you hundreds of miles off.
 
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