Apple on Blu-Ray, Touch Screen Displays, Netbooks

[chatin]

Killer blu-content

blu-ray is the next killer app that should drive demand for powerful mac. Apple should be leading the charge here, not complaining about licensing.

blu-ray is stunning - a perfect mach for stunning new macs!

So it's not a perfect match for cloud computing, but you don't see Sony publishing music on them.

Major goof to not embrace this as a founding member of the club!

 

[Spymit007]

And "hearing is epiphany".

Many BD titles have 7 channel uncompressed 96KHz/24-bit sound tracks. Unfarkingbelievable on a good sound system.

And the Cupertino Fruit Company is still trying to convince y'all that 128 Kbps is "CD quality".

If you believe that crap, you deserve that crap.

Yeah, I second that. Audio quality on Blu-ray is unparalleled and unmatched though you will need a great audio system to take advantage of it.

 

[MattInOz]

Just use your imagination for five seconds. A large screen COVERED in greasy fingerprints. Not to mention the amount of arm movement required to do anything. It just doesn't work.

I really DO NOT see touch screens replacing the mouse any time in the near future.

Why do you think a VP of apple spent so much time reseaching texturing of glass for the new trackpad, that he seemed miffed that people just didn't get it like he did?

My guess is that research is bound for other products.
or the Man just really likes glass.

 

[JAT]

Just use your imagination for five seconds. A large screen COVERED in greasy fingerprints. Not to mention the amount of arm movement required to do anything. It just doesn't work.

I really DO NOT see touch screens replacing the mouse any time in the near future.

You are probably one of those that never cleans your mouse and keyboard, right?

 

[Lancer]

You people make me lol.. Download movies? I hope you do not have Comcast or is doing the same thing with their high speed internet.. Because I have Comcast and if you go over 250GB (streaming over the internet cuts into it too not just downloading) you can loose your internet or be charged on top of your monthly charge. And by the looks of it most high speed internet is going that way.. So go luck downloading them HD movies long with with a extra cost to your monthly charge for high speed internet.. I take a Blu-ray over a download any day and will keep on buying Blu-ray movies over DVD and Downloads..

You're lucky, here in Australia I'm in an area with no DSL so I'm on wireless, it's fast but I'm limited to 10Gb pre month, that's barely enough of regular internet usage let-alone DL movies or shows.

Buying real DVDs is the only option for movies.

I don't understand what Apple is waiting for, maybe they are working on it but don't want to say, which is nothing new.

Right now I'm still running my old G4-400 which has had massive upgrades over the last 7 years including a 1.6Ghz CPU but I know it's only a matter of time before I'll need a new Mac but whether to go for a MacBook or not? I was even considering a Mini Mac to hold me over until I can afford a full size tower.

 

[MAcNIAC]

"Netbook (low cost laptop) - "a nascent market that’s just getting started.""

Sure, Steve. Unlike the booming razor thin, underpowered laptop market.

netbooks arent just low cost - they're small!

i dont see why people are so discouraged by steve saying netbooks are a nascent market?". apple rarely does things first, they do them best.

netbooks ARE a developing market.

I think it's great that apple see netbooks as a nascent market - ie . just coming into existence and beginning to display signs of future potential.

it means apple will consider building a small low cost "laptop"in the future
and no doubt they will do it differently, better, and it'll cost a bit more.
so be it - i hope they have it ready for when my eee901 needs replacing.

 

[tofudc5]

there is no way in hell I am going to download any HD content from iTunes simply because in Australia bandwidth is precious!!

to the person that suggests it's hard to move your arm to use a touch screen interface...you're either way too lazy or just don't get it.

It's called the Wacom Cintiq, and the size of these things can only get bigger.

 

[Lancer]

I'd love a tablet MacBook for graphics work, carry anywhere, write onscreen!

 

[knightlie]

Do I need to explain the iPhone or iPod Touch to you also?

No, you don't. The iPhone is a phone, and the iPod Touch is a media player. They have a simple, touch-based UI that the Mac doesn't have. They are also very different a Mac.

A tablet mac is roughly just a bigger more useful one of these. And if you still don't get it, than just don't buy it. But don't shut the rest of us out of an Apple device because you don't get it! Many others get it and will buy it. I'm an electrical engineer, and I really got it after seeing and owning a multi-touch iPhone.

Once again, you can't give me an actual purpose for a tablet Mac outside of "I want one." You're an electrical engineer? What would you be doing with your tablet Mac? Tell me, that's what I'm trying to find out. Because if you're making phone calls and playing MP3s, then the iPhone or the iPod Touch will do the job already. Or you saying there's specialist electrical engineering software available for the Mac, designed for a touch interface?

It's still a device with virtually no market, IMO.

 

[ageha]

there is no way in hell I am going to download any HD content from iTunes simply because in Australia bandwidth is precious!!

to the person that suggests it's hard to move your arm to use a touch screen interface...you're either way too lazy or just don't get it.

It's called the Wacom Cintiq, and the size of these things can only get bigger.

They don't even have a flat rate in Australia and 100GB traffic costs a fortune here. lol

 

[knightlie]

It's called the Wacom Cintiq, and the size of these things can only get bigger.

And more uncomfortable to use for any length of time. Remember Apples touch screens use capacitance - fingernails and styli won't work, and bending your finger to an angle so it will work accurately on the screen is going to be uncomfortable and painful very quickly.

I can see some of the uses for a tablet Mac (thanks to those who actually give them), but I still don't see a large enough market for Apple to join in. Tablet PCs - despite the big names who are making them - are few and far between outside of vertical markets.

 

[mac man 007]

New Trackpad

Will The New Glass Trackpad have as much wear as the previous generation MacBook ?

 

[firewood]

A tablet mac is roughly just a bigger more useful one of these. And if you still don't get it, than just don't buy it. But don't shut the rest of us out of an Apple device because you don't get it! Many others get it and will buy it.

It sounds like such a good idea. But several other companies have made a swipe at this category (from startups to big ones), and I doubt any of them sold anywhere near enough to pay back all the R&D and manufacturing expenses. I think it's one of those things that many people will look at and envy, but that too few will plunk down their credit card and buy (except in specialist niches... medical, etc.)

Cheap, tiny netbooks however, that's another story. I'm starting to see a number of them in the local coffee shops (where I never once saw a tablet).

.

 

[Porco]

I think people who think downloads will kill Blu-ray in the next year or so are living in cloud-cuckoo land. People are quoting the comcast limit of 250GB a month - I'd love that much!! I get 25GB a month and a speed that can barely use that much unless I download stuff 24/7.

I'd say Blu-ray is already more successful than Laserdisc ever was, and that survived for years as a niche format.

Unless and until Apple or someone else can upgrade everyone's internet connection and bandwidth allowances to suitable levels, Blu-ray has a healthy future. Will it ever overtake DVD? Probably not. But that is not a measure of failure, only a reflection of DVD's dominance. Some DVD fans will move to Blu-ray for quality and lack of a decent enough net connection, some will move to downloads, most of us will probably end up owning a mixture of all three.

I accept downloads will win long-term, but not before Blu-ray has a perfectly healthy life.

 

[christian_k]

yeah, like 5 years ago, have you been camera shopping lately?

I have been shopping for a camera just about 4 months ago.

My choice was the Canon HV30. I have read a lot of reviews, most of them said it is the best consumer camera available. This is a tape based HDV camcorder, it has USB but movies can only be transfered using FireWire, USB is just for still images or firmware updates.

I had a look at AVCHD (hd or sd card based) camcorders. At that time there was only one camcorder, also a canon, sd card based, that could match the HV30 in performance, nut not in handling (no viewfinder, just a monitor). If you look at semi pro cameras, they still are all tape based with FW.

But there is another important thing: When I decided for that camera, Apple did not even support AVCHD camcorders! If I had bought the USB based SD Card camera, I had been forced to use Windows software or third party software for conversion. 4 Months ago the only option to work with a HD camera on a Mac was tape based, now they say "trash it and get something else?". Even today Apple does not support AVCHD very well. If you want to import an hour from a tape based device, it takes an hour and a few minutes to rewind the tape. While rewinding may not have a lot of sex appeal today, converting an hour of AVCHD recordings to an editable format takes several hours even on modern Macs. While several Windows programs can edit AVCHD natively without conversions, Apple has yet failed to offer this. They are forcing us to use a system that they don't support well.

Most tape based HD camcorders are also able to output a HD recording in standard DV resolution, which is very useful for previews or quick test edits on the go using a lower speced notebook.

So if you are a "serious" amateur and want a real camera to work with and not just a toy, it still makes a lot of sense to use a tape based one with FW. Maybe you want to get a used semi-pro instead of a new consumer camera? This can be a very interesting option, but w/o FireWire you are locked out.

At the moment this does not hurt me very much, I have a 2.8 GHz 24'' iMac which is very suitable for video editing in HD. But it may be a problem in the future.

Christian

 

[puffnstuff]

I'd love a tablet MacBook for graphics work, carry anywhere, write onscreen!

Agreed


Touch screens- I kinda do not get the point either. The only thing I can think of is making a touch netbook like I have said before. That would kinda make sense they already have the OS for something like that.

Tablet- I keep seeing it's a non existent market and nobody uses them. If nobody is using them why do companies still make them? Of course you aren't going to see them a lot what type of computer do a lot of students and designers use? As much as I want a tablet I can't stomach getting a pc.

Blu-ray- Honestly I still watch my good old fashion dvds on my good old fashion TV. If I want movies on my computer I download them if I need to back up things I get an external drive or thumb drive. Apple should just go back to the empty bay system so people can shove what ever they want into that slot.

 

[overcast]

You are probably one of those that never cleans your mouse and keyboard, right?

You aren't equating a plastic matte finish keyboard/mouse to a glass screen that you have to STARE THROUGH are you?

 

[overcast]

I think people who think downloads will kill Blu-ray in the next year or so are living in cloud-cuckoo land. People are quoting the comcast limit of 250GB a month - I'd love that much!! I get 25GB a month and a speed that can barely use that much unless I download stuff 24/7.

I'd say Blu-ray is already more successful than Laserdisc ever was, and that survived for years as a niche format.

Unless and until Apple or someone else can upgrade everyone's internet connection and bandwidth allowances to suitable levels, Blu-ray has a healthy future. Will it ever overtake DVD? Probably not. But that is not a measure of failure, only a reflection of DVD's dominance. Some DVD fans will move to Blu-ray for quality and lack of a decent enough net connection, some will move to downloads, most of us will probably end up owning a mixture of all three.

I accept downloads will win long-term, but not before Blu-ray has a perfectly healthy life.

Laserdiscs failure was it's size , NOT it's quality. It's STILL very good.

 

[overcast]

And "hearing is epiphany".

Many BD titles have 7 channel uncompressed 96KHz/24-bit sound tracks. Unfarkingbelievable on a good sound system.

And the Cupertino Fruit Company is still trying to convince y'all that 128 Kbps is "CD quality".

If you believe that crap, you deserve that crap.

I've been proclaiming this since the FIRST HD-DVD was released. The moment I took it home and heard the TrueHD and even DD+ tracks, I was in LOVE. Fantastic picture is just icing on the cake. But the audio tracks are a dream. The worst part about it, is that you can hear every flaw now. Dialogue tracks through the center channel, often have the monitor frequency noise from the recording room!

 

[overcast]

Will The New Glass Trackpad have as much wear as the previous generation MacBook ?

Unless there is some type of textured coating over the top, I suspect it will be as durable as the iPhone. Glass has a much greater hardness than your skin.

 

[spz]

Macbook Pro should be a PRO tool

I'm a professional video Editor/ Producer. I've been a mac user for over 5 years now, when I switched from a PC.

What I loved when i switched to macintosh Pro computers was the fact they had everything I needed to produce great content: Final Cut's Uncompressed quicktime codecs where great for editing, and everything was really cost efficient.

I'm typing this in a Powerbook g4, by the way (1.67ghz)

For over 3 years now, however, I've been working with High Definition. Final Cut Pro handles an HD workflow fantasticaly, with codecs like Prorez specifically done for HD editing. But, how about delivery? Yes, I can output, trough an AJA card, to professional HD decks for Broadcast deliveries, but how can I deliver an HD draft to a potential client? One thing is to show in a glorious Blu-ray disc, other is in a digital file.

I'm really, really disappointed in this update. I'm disappointed indeed because I expect a Macbook Pro to be, well, a Macbook "Pro". Apple sells Editing workflows. Its actually well behind on both encoding and the delivery aspects of HD content creation.

Funny thing is, my Powerbook actually has more connections than the new one. Isn't this going backwards?

I'm affraid the rumor of Apple abandoning Pro apps and their Costumers is true. This is truly a sad turn of events for a company that sold themselves as "cutting edge" in the early days ... The irony is Apple's "prestige" was built on the fact designers, photographers, Artists, Filmmakers, Editors and other professional trendsetters defended their cutting edge philosophy and vision. Not anymore, it seems...

 

[iMacmatician]

hile I do really like the new Macs, I would really like to see a sub $800 compact Mac, with something like an iPhone OS (bare-bones).

I can definitely see this happening, although I'd be surprised if the price started at $799.

What would be much better then bare-bones crap OS, is a cheap mac that runs NORMAL OS X.

A full OS on a small display and slow components doesn't entice me…

Seriously, some people dont want to get as little as possible for a cheap price. THey want AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE for a a low price.

A Mac OS X compact Mac would be more expensive than an iPhone OS compact Mac for the same user experience ("snappiness"). Also, for the same price, it would not only be less snappy, but would also have lower usable specs due to increased overhead (either that or it would be bigger.

iPhone OS + iLife* mobile + iWork* (with .rtf file native editing) mobile + Preview* mobile is most of what I would do on a secondary Mac anyway. If I wanted "as little as possible for a cheap price," I'd get an iPod touch.

* Given Safari mobile, I don't see how these can't go on the iPhone OS platform, even if it's just for a larger than iPhone device.

I need Blu-Ray … to backup large amounts of data.

I prefer flash drives and external HDs for this purpose.

yeah, i thought apple did all these things first, not last?

I guess it depends on the "thing." Trackpad innovations are first, but Blu-ray is last.

$20-25 Blu-Ray disc of the same movie in DVD should be $3-5 dollars right? Considering it's 6 times less resolution.

So the movie itself means nothing to you? Or the soundtrack?

Do I need to explain the iPhone or iPod Touch to you also? A tablet mac is roughly just a bigger more useful one of these.

I think the OS used has something to do with it.

 

[Spymit007]

I think people who think downloads will kill Blu-ray in the next year or so are living in cloud-cuckoo land. People are quoting the comcast limit of 250GB a month - I'd love that much!! I get 25GB a month and a speed that can barely use that much unless I download stuff 24/7.

I'd say Blu-ray is already more successful than Laserdisc ever was, and that survived for years as a niche format.

Unless and until Apple or someone else can upgrade everyone's internet connection and bandwidth allowances to suitable levels, Blu-ray has a healthy future. Will it ever overtake DVD? Probably not. But that is not a measure of failure, only a reflection of DVD's dominance. Some DVD fans will move to Blu-ray for quality and lack of a decent enough net connection, some will move to downloads, most of us will probably end up owning a mixture of all three.

I accept downloads will win long-term, but not before Blu-ray has a perfectly healthy life.

I wholeheartedly agree. Essentially, downloads will win out once the day comes when downloading gigs of data in a short period of time is commonplace. But let's take a step back and take a look at this from a larger angle. People are claiming that Blu-ray has been a slow format to adopt among the masses. While I disagree, even if it were true, you think downloading movies will become ubiquitous faster? It's my feeling that the majority of home movie watchers will not embrace movie downloads at first. They'll continue to use physical media because they are use to getting some sort of disc, popping it in their player, and then watching it in front of their television.

To have to download a movie assumes that the person will have a computer with at least a decent internet connection as well as some sort of set top device to beam or stream that movie to their TV. I know it's hard to believe in this day and age but not everyone has a computer, and not everyone has a broadband connection, and certainly not everyone has any sort of set top device. The way to go for most people is still to use some sort of physical media player directly connected to their TV and not have to go through a computer. And after this holiday season, Blu-ray players will become more comonplace and the format will really take off in home theaters and living rooms.

 

[Adjei]

No one gives a damn about blu-ray because for the general consumer dvd's are good enough, which is why blu-ray will dissapear in 5 years just like Samsung predicted and they actually sit on the blu-ray board.

 

[Porco]

No one gives a damn about blu-ray because for the general consumer dvd's are good enough, which is why blu-ray will dissapear in 5 years just like Samsung predicted and they actually sit on the blu-ray board.

If no one cares about Blu-ray then by your logic no-one would buy HD downloads either, because SD is good enough and will download much quicker and take up less disk space.