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Apple Stores Gearing Up for the Event

Re: the acrylic displays

Originally posted by TMay
I'm hijacking this sig for a few moments. My apologies.

I'm deep undercover at Infinity Loop. I'm part of the underground AppleTalk network. We use mac 512's running Forth integrated with Imagewriter II's to communicate over the power grid at baud rates so low as to appear as noise to anyone not looking.

I have ultrasecret information that these displays are the new Reality Distortion Field transducers. Yes! The rumors are absolutely true! Need more confirmation? I have the engineering data, plans and drawings that show, indeed prove, that Apple was secretly involved in the Moscone Center design. Oh, you say! What clever engineering to support the roof, but the structure looks so confining.

Those roof structures are antennae for the distortion field!

...The only way I got out of the test area intact was that I had previously wrapped myself with alternating layers of plastic wrap and aluminum foil, which created a shield. If you go into the store, take these precautions, and DO NOT forget the stainless steel spaghetti strainer on your head. I myself wore a lot of Carhart workclothes to cover it up, and it was extremely hot in this outfit, so drink lots of fluids.

As an aside, it is not only ethical but obligatory for test subjects to be PC/windows users. These give the best results by far, not unlike the proverbial canary in a coal mine.

Got to go now. My power company may be onto me.

Formula 409
Click to expand...

I must be in the wrong line of work. TMay is far more creative than I am. Although, TMay does make several good points.... I have found that a good spaghetti strainer applied to the head while whistling high pitched dolphin sounds does magically connect you to your computer. It can even be used whenever you mistplace your garage door opener. Oh, sorry. Did I say that out loud?

Well, 'nuff said. Thanks for the input! 😀
 
MoodBook

I still think that the Dynamic Ornamental Appearance concept would be really cool on a new iBook (I don't think there will be new iBooks on Tuesday, though).
 
Re: GeneR's AI

No prob, GeneR, but let me explain myself a little further, because it's an interesting point.

Technology is not going to go away, unless you escape it as some people choose to. So unless you want to and can re-create some kind of agrarian lifestyle from a pre-tech age, it's something you have to deal with. As you say it should be as simple as possible, so that ideally (as Steve Jobs has said) the computer essentially vanishes and you work 'thought-to-result' style. I disagree with you, however, that AI is the solution to tech complexity. Clarity of design and mimicking of real life, however, I agree, are routes to simplicity.

An example. Before iTunes you had your CDs, even 500 as a previous poster and myself, and life was simple enough because the options were limited. Then there was early technology, and lousy mp3 encoders came along that worked a single track with no CDDB information into an mp3 file and dumped it on the desktop as Track One etc. Apple ties up the advances in a manner that is simplified and natural, and thus simplicity is restored to the process of listening to music. Any further troubles are probably the user's fault.

Computers work fine as a tool in this way, when they are as simple and intuitive to use as possible, and for this reason Apple makes the best computers. (I'd say the physical lines of the old iMacs, and to a lesser extent the swivel neck of the new FP one are not for the sake of simplicity at all, but simply 'part of the mac look and feel' which makes apple money, but then I'm an old cynic...)

So what I'm saying essentially is that the computer needs to be eliminated in the 'thought/results' equation, and I believe that great design in the original mind-set of computer-as-tool is the best way to achieve this, and not, as you pondered, through some non-existent never-never realm of AI which is bound, other than in the comics, to be clunky and get in the way.

These are crazy ponderences when Macworld is within 30 or so hours of us...

Finally, "iPad" sounds like a tampon.
 
I just wanted to make a few points about the rumor that says we're looking a color-screen iPods because iPod stocks are very low at all the Apple Stores.
That would be wrong. I was just at the Oakbrook Apple Store and they had plenty of iPods for the purchasing.
Also, Apple wouldn't just replace the whole iPod line with color-screen models. It would make them too expensive for some consumers who just want a quality mp3 player.
I think that if there is a color screen iPod. It'll be different then the iPod, and be treated like a totally new device. It could be in tablet form, or just larger than the current models. It will be different, though.
 
Re: Re: GeneR's AI

Originally posted by Tom800
So what I'm saying essentially is that the computer needs to be eliminated in the 'thought/results' equation, and I believe that great design in the original mind-set of computer-as-tool is the best way to achieve this...
Click to expand...

This is what I think Apple pulled off in spades with the Mac/iTunes/iPod suite. A lot of devices and gadgets make me long for old, simple solutions to the same problems. But never do I think, I sure do prefer to go back to a CD player and stacks of discs, played one at a time, or at best, in a multi-disc changer. Listening to music is a low-profile, everyday experience that today we take for granted, but Apple has revolutionized that activity through elegance in both hardware and software design. Apple's vision for music listening is truly better than anything we've had before, not just cooler or more high-tech.
 
nextel

well, where i am from nextel gets very good reception and direct connect is amazing.....maybe somehow apple could include direct connect into "iphone"
 
Originally posted by thegeek187

well, where i am from nextel gets very good reception and direct connect is amazing.....maybe somehow apple could include direct connect into "iphone"
Click to expand...

I don't think Apple will ever make an iPhone, in fact it would be one of their worst faliures. It would be making a niche product for niche market. And I'm sure it would cost too much.
 
mobile phones, a niche market?

you have got to be kidding me?

mobile phones have to the hottest market there is, worldwide and growing. Maybe it is just your primitive phones you have in the States? that makes you think it is a niche market.

I just spent a couple weeks shoppng for a phone and service provider here in Japan. There are 4 or 5 services and each has 7 or 8 phones to choose from. From the expensive NTT/DoCoMo FOMA 3G service (mobile media access) to the cheap and simple Tu-Ka (actually the coolest, simplest phone, 15mm thick folded and about 75grams) they are packed with features.

I settled on a J-phone/Vodaphone service and a Toshiba T08 handset. My wife liked it cause it has radiation levels half the average of the other units. Other than voice, e-mail and web services, it has a camera, (which is old here, everyone has it) and video, the latest thing. It will record a 3 minute movie, and has two screens, the big one shows 260,000 colours. it is comepletely bilingual, I can enter text in roman characters, or hiragana or kanji. But it doesn't have bluetooth or a way to link up to my computer, that was a necessary comprimise. AU/KDDI has that in its Sonyericson phones, but the plans/talktime too expensive. Everyone has a phone here and people are upgrading all the time. How many people would trade up on thier mp3 player?

Apple has great expertise in putting all this stuff together in the digital hub, and could design a great looking phone. Most existing phones are ugly. Manufacturing is outsourced, and so is the service end of things. It is just a matter of putting it all together and some good marketing.
 
oh, and one more thing . . .

a picture of my phone,

and don't you all agree that there are many more people out there with phones than mp3 players?
jt08_pic01.jpg
 
Not mobile phones, Apple!

I never said mobile phones are a niche market.
I said there were two niches:

1. Mac users
2. Mac users willing to pay extra for an Apple phone.

I, like many others, fall into the top category, but not the bottom.
I'll bet my proverbial farm that there is no iPhone.
 
ambiguous postings

you said,

" It would be making a niche product for niche market. And I'm sure it would cost too much."

It would not be targeted at Mac users only. It would be another product competing in a large market. The iPod works with Windows and Mac, and has been hacked for Linux, so it works for anyone who wants one. So Apple branded products are not just for Mac users anymore, I think that is Apple's strategy. A feature packed Apple phone would be another iPod type trendy object to have, especially since it would actually have a function, such as making calls and syncing a iCal and Addressbook with the one on your computer.

But you are right, it may not be in the cards. But I think it would be successful. Really most of the posts about MWSF are pretty much wishful thinking and speculation, as Apple seems to have successfully clamped down on info leaks and rumour sites.
 
I agree that I was vague in my initial post about the iPhone. Sorry!

The problem about marketing it to everybody (Mac user or otherwise) is that Apple carries a stigma. A PC user wouldn't want to use an Apple phone. Trust me on this, I have PC using friends who wouldn't be caught dead with an Apple phone.
The iPod was Apple's first step into the consumer electronics market, and therefor, their first step into the PC market. It'll be a while before we have droves of PC people using Apple branded gizmos.
 
The DLD

It probably won't be the DLD announced on the 7th, but wouldn't this be cool:

An audio component (perhaps co-developed with Philips) that allows you to dock (and charge) your iPod into your home theater system to enjoy your music. It could also provide video by generating visualizations as well as present the iPod's menu on-screen with a remote laid out like the iPod's controls. In other words, don't let some other MP3 device get used for people's home theater system. For people who don't want to get a Mac, they can stop there, but they would still be using an Apple product. Remember the future of Apple doesn't mean there has to be more Mac users - the iPod is proof of that.

Also, this device, with the simple addition of an Airport card, could get the music from iTunes on a Mac via Rendezvous. Of course, you could just use it this way, without an iPod if you want. If you had a Mac and an iPod, you'd probably want to firewire dock it anyway. Put a digital audio input connector on it, and you could rip from CD player to iPod, no Windows PC needed. No Mac PC either for those afraid of switching.

In that configuration, you'd also have the potential for a remote display for your Mac (esp. with 802.11g), or more specifically, certain apps. The first being iTunes. It would not be the actual desktop app window, but a "remote face" for the app designed for this purpose that works well. You see that iPhoto would be another good app for this. In fact, so would iChat, iCal. Get the picture? This box would actually be Mac inside. For Windows users, it could be made to hook up with the likes of Musicmatch, etc. over the 802.11, but wouldn't have the extra features (iPhoto, iCal, etc.) unless you got a Mac.

Somewhat related: How about Apple providing embedded versions of iMovie and iDVD inside a DV camera that you could use with your TV via bluetooth mouse and keyboard? Maybe these could be put into aforementioned box (given its firewire port) since it's a Mac inside anyway. Secret: people don't know they're buying a Mac - just a great audio/video editing system. They can continue to use their PC for everything else for as long as they believe they could not do those things on a Mac.

p.s.: Apple, if you're listening, please make it integrate well with TiVo.
 
iPod for Windows

apparently Windows users are not so averse to using Apple produsts,
according to an MP3 zine, sitehttp://www.mp3newswire.net
apple was on track to sell 4 million iPods. I have read elsewhere, (sorry can't find the link) that half were to windows users.
that would be more iPods than Macs in the past year!
 
Would an iPhone be different from a new Airport card?

Hello again,

Sorry to intrude again into the conversation. I know I am simply displaying my ignorance on these matters, but I really would like to hear what other people think about these things.

It seems that so many people are talking wireless this and that here, especially about the idea of having an iPhone for the Mac. If Apple teamed up with one (or several) leading carriers for mobile phones and/or telephone companies and beefed up the airport card to have Bluetooth technology and the ability to turn the Mac into a cellphone/telephone, then wouldn't that mean that people with Macs and Apple laptops simply need a headphone with a microphone? In that case the laptop is the cellphone. Or for that matter so is the desktop.

I really do not know much about the cell phone industry so as an outsider I am simply putting my two cents in. Please help me understand this if you will. Thanks!



😕
 
you can kind of do that already. but what the whole thing about Lifestyle devices is leveraging the Apple brand (not Mac) and design signature to sell more than computers, at a better margin, while providing better products in each category.
and wireless is the way of the future. Wireless networking, and wireless devices, using the appropriate technology. 802.xx for files, bluetooth for keyboard, mouse, and syncing addressbook and calendars, headphones, and so on. You will have a geaky Bluetooth headphone/microphone thingy for your mobile before you know it.
 
Okay, having read the thread...

I think we can divvy up the speculation into two areas:

#1 is Hardware. This is the one that we usually focus a lot of attention on. While I expect speedbumps here & there, I think that the key hardware issues for the near term (through 2004) are:

- wireless
- hubbing
- integration

For example, we have Bluetooth & Airport for wireless, as well as cellphone technology. We also have convergence integration with PDA's and Cellphones (Palm, Blackberry) where we're looking at an organizer-cum-ecmail-cum-communication types of devices, and on the business side of things, products like the immanent release of the (likely $500+) Palm Tungsten W. Given the shortcomings of a lot of these products, a "killer" product here would stand a good chance.

Note, however, that a key issue to all of these is power management, and short battery life is one complaint I've heard about the iPod.

Nevertheless, I wouldn't be too surprized if we were to see a gizmo announcement of a short list of iHub devices that all integrate and synch together: hang an iPod sized device off of your belt that holds most of the battery/cellphone overhead, and Bluetooth it to a Dick Tracy watch for Calendar reminders, to a headset for telephone, etc. This might not happen on Tuesday, but I do expect it to happen within the next ~2 years, particularly since the DoD is looking at buying such a system as part of their "LandWarrior" initiative.


#2 is Software. We tend to put this into second tier behind the hardware; shame on us.

What I suspect is going to be the big news here soon is that someone ...why not Apple?...is going to find a legal way to get around all of the RIAA issues that have blocked digital music.

For example, the discussions about laser engravement of an iPod means that they are capable of being serialized and thus, unique devices which can then become "Keyservers" for managing & controlling a set of legally licenced music & movies.

So in theory, you would only need to carry around your licence code in your "Licence Server" iPod. Particularly when coupled with a wireless network, you could download the content on demand instead of dedicating the size, weight, **and power overhead** that a large capacity hard drive in a portable device would otherwise require.


So overall, if there is a "BIG" announcment, I'd expect it to encompass a paradigm shift, and it has just as much software (including licencing) cleverness behind it as it does hardware cleverness.

And FWIW, another "BIG" Paradigm shifter would be the "iBusiness" Mac bundle: take a Mac with all of the typical Microsoft licences that is required in a typical business and look at how M$ is now demanding annual licencing fees to support as the price point you have to compete at. Afterall, its not new news that there's a lot of really unhappy businesses considering Linux because M$ has gotten so expensive. So bundle the "iMS" business software suite at a fraction of the price (and no annual maintenance fee).


-hh
 
Yes…

Originally posted by AndrewMT
Where are they getting this information? Will the Apple Stores be showing the keynote? If so, I'll drive 15min to the original Apple Store in Mclean, VA.

Selling products the same time as they are announced at the keynote is a genius idea. There is no better way to spawn massive amounts of impulse buying. If there is a color ipod that will be available on Tuesday, then it will be sold out before Steve Jobs can walk off the stage.
Click to expand...

Actually, you can subscribe to Apple's Retail Announcements for Virginia and it will give you updates for the store in Reston and the one in McLean. I can't wait to possibly go to Tysons' Corner tomorrow and watch it live!😀

In other words, yes,they will be showing the keynote.
 
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