Apple Sues Over Leak

[rdowns]

iPod promotion was good to begin with, but I agree - everyone knows about them now, does Apple even need to promote them anymore? They're practically promoting themselves. I too would like to see more computer commercials - I think Apple needs to focus on their computers a bit more as well. Apple has an excellent opportunity to rejuvenate their computer business with the new-found focus and attention on the iPod, so I hope they don't screw it up. I did hear a story that Apple's tactic is working, and more PC-using iPod owners are switching to Macs, but I never found any articles backing up that claim. Great if it's true....

While I would love Apple to advertise on TV more, TV is a mass market medium. iPods have more mass appeal than Macs. Sad but true. That's why you see iPod TV ads and few Mac ads.

What I would like to see Apple do is come up with a new iPod TV theme that uses Macs in it. Whatever theme they use, show the person using the iPod then plugging it in to their iMac. Voice over, meet the new iMac, from the designers of the iPod.

 

[JupiterTwo]

I'd think this general MacWorld rumor from page 2 is most likely:

https://www.macrumors.com/pages/2004/12/20041209142551.shtml

It seems plausible enough to be true and it true it basically takes the wind out of the entire Stevenote.

I'd have to agree. Whle the Asteroid rumour has detail, this Line-up list is very specific. The trouble with it, is that everyone'd be terribly disappointed if that's all there was.

 

[Squire]

I'd have to agree. Whle the Asteroid rumour has detail, this Line-up list is very specific. The trouble with it, is that everyone'd be terribly disappointed if that's all there was.

The only problem is that the apparent submitter botched a Photoshop job on one of his claims in the middle of the thread and was not heard from again. Unless he was taking credit for something that wasn't his. (Or am I getting this confused with another thread?)

Squire

<edit> Check out posts #58 and #69.

 

[JupiterTwo]

The only problem is that the apparent submitter botched a Photoshop job on one of his claims in the middle of the thread and was not heard from again. Unless he was taking credit for something that wasn't his. (Or am I getting this confused with another thread?)

Squire

<edit> Check out posts #58 and #69.

A good point, the submitter didn't really help matters there (judging by their first post, the photoshop skills haven't really come on )

Now why couldn't someone have leaked the specs to the PB G5

 

[BWhaler]

OK fine, it was me.

I knew I was pushing my luck when I leaked the story about 10.3.7 being released this week.

Curse my need for attention.

 

[joeboy_45101]

the secrecy crap has got to stop. they just do this to try and make as much money as they can off of their current (old) products before releasing a new, better one for the same price.

I wish they'd do it car-manufacturer style...then they could keep secrets, but we'd still know that we were getting something soon...as it is, we may not see this device until June...and we may not see G5 powerbooks for 2 years...but at least people would know to expect something...

In my opinion I think that they should up the secrecy and security. I'm becoming extremely bored with Steve Jobs' Keynotes just for the fact that I usually have already read about the new products on the rumors sites. I would like to be surprised and shocked every once and a while. Plus, it just makes damn good business sense to be very secretive, there are many companies out there that would do just about anything to get their hands on some of the stuff the Apple engineers are dreaming up. Apple is just making sure that their asses are covered.

 

[Yvan256]

Isn't Apple shooting themselves in the foot? If they just ignored the "leaked" information then the public and other companies would remain skeptical, and not really know what Apple is doing. Now they have pretty much confirmed that whatever was "leaked" was real, and they want to know who is responsible. I don't understand it. At least sue after the actual product has been released.

There's been so many rumors and fake mock-ups, at this point I couldn't even guess who's got real infos about whatever new product Apple is going to release.

There's been "confirmation" on the eMac G5 from one of their own reunion (describing how "the eMac will have minimal external changes but major internal ones").

Then there's also the Motorola iTunes-enabled phone (already confirmed from Steve Jobs himself).

Apart from that, that leaves us with:

- Flash iPod (unknown capacity, but I do hope for 1GB, seeing as a friend just bought a 1GB CompactFlash card for only 129$CAN. Imagine Apple's cost for 1GB of Flash).

- iPod mini upgraded to 5GB (their competitors already have it, so IMO it's no big news here).

- the 80GB iPod Photo (the 60GB is iPod Photo only, so 80GB would also be iPod Photo). Maybe they'll drop the iPod Photo 40GB, so there's no overlapping on iPod/iPod Photo capacities.

- PowerBook G5 (not likely) or PowerBook Dual-Core G4 from Freescale (they *could* have prototype CPUs and have already begun the design or even be in the test phases, just waiting for the fabs to crank up production?). I did hear about the next PowerBooks having a black carbon fiber shell though.

- they could be bringing back the Newton, but I haven't seen any "iPad" rumors.

- there's also my "iCam" idea, but I haven't seen any rumor about that.

- then there's my "iBook mini" idea, but I haven't seen any rumor about that either.

Why are we hearing about this now? What's the latest, freshest rumor floating around? Are Apple usually slow to react to leaks? That might give us a hint about which product we might be seeing at the next show.

 

[virividox]

i wonder if apple will win

i mean they can fire if its an employee but if its not an employee how good are the chances

 

[~Shard~]

While I would love Apple to advertise on TV more, TV is a mass market medium. iPods have more mass appeal than Macs. Sad but true. That's why you see iPod TV ads and few Mac ads.

What I would like to see Apple do is come up with a new iPod TV theme that uses Macs in it. Whatever theme they use, show the person using the iPod then plugging it in to their iMac. Voice over, meet the new iMac, from the designers of the iPod.

Very true - I actually meant to say I would like to see more Mac advertisements an promotion in general as opposed to strictly "commericals" - I agree, TV is a specific media addressing a specific group and has specific characteristics.

That being said, I've seen many iMac adverts in magazines such as BusinessWeek, Fortune and many others, however I would still like to see them push it more.

 

[Wonder Boy]

I think iPoena sounds better

why not the "iSue"?

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

why? you prefer XM? i didnt like their premium channels that increase your monthly rate. i like one flat fee for every single channel.


back on topic.
as far as a possible deal with a satellite radio company for the iPod? thats perfect. i actually posted a couple days ago about what the people here at macrumors thought about such a partnership. it would be very cool...and incorporating the satellite radio stations into the iTunes Radio list....perfect.

First a sense of hometown pride, XM is in DC. Second the reception that I have heard from the other company has not been as good as XM. Was surprised that reception in the home/office wasn't better. With XM, never heard bad reception.

Getting back to the topic too (sort of), I think any satellite radio addition to an iPod would be a winner. Not sure about the technical details of the sound quality of satellite radio compared to ITMS. Though it seems to me that the ability to record songs from satellite to the iPod would be a killer app.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

In my opinion I think that they should up the secrecy and security. I'm becoming extremely bored with Steve Jobs' Keynotes just for the fact that I usually have already read about the new products on the rumors sites. I would like to be surprised and shocked every once and a while. Plus, it just makes damn good business sense to be very secretive, there are many companies out there that would do just about anything to get their hands on some of the stuff the Apple engineers are dreaming up. Apple is just making sure that their asses are covered.

Right you are. Like I said before it is a situation of Apple needing to protect their markets as much as possible. With electronics it is not too hard with a 30 to 60 day lead because of a leak to take and reduce the thunder from a competitor. And IMO Apple seems to try to lead the pack, not follow it.

 

[unsigned]

it takes a long time to prepare a case. this is prolly older.

we knew about iPod photo and U2 iPod wellllll in advance of it's release. I'd say it's this leak that they are suing over.

It could even be iMac G5. It could be that they timed the filing of the lawsuit just to scare potential leakers in the lead up to MWSF.

 

[Yvan256]

I could care less about a flash iPod, come on iPhone!

It would be cool if this device was BOTH the flash iPod and the iPhone. Dare to dream.

I could care less about a iPhone, come on flash iPod mini!

It would be cool if there was BOTH the flash iPod mini (1GB) and the iPhone (64MB).

(I don't even have a cellphone right now, nor do I plan on getting one. I hate those freakin' things)

 

[Heart Break Kid]

it might have to do with the people who leaked Tiger 8A323? Have they ever sued for beta leaks like this? I mean, 294 was leaked and so was the WWDC

 

[Yvan256]

I'd have to agree. Whle the Asteroid rumour has detail, this Line-up list is very specific. The trouble with it, is that everyone'd be terribly disappointed if that's all there was.

eMac G5 1.6GHz with a 64MB Radeon 9600? At those prices? Dude, I'd be more than happy!

Well, I do wish the Radeon 9600 had 128MB, but since "it can't have more VRAM than the next better computer (the iMac G5)", it has to have 64MB.

If the eMac G5 does come with a Radeon 9600/64MB, we might see an iMac G5 upgrade too (Radeon 9600 with 128MB), and maybe even G5 speed upgrade (to separate the eMac G5/1.6GHz with the iMac G5/1.8GHz and iMac G5/2.0GHz, 20" only).

 

[wdlove]

It seem that it will be very difficult for Apple to find the leaker. By the time that they seek actual redress, MWSF will be over.

 

[Heart Break Kid]

It seem that it will be very difficult for Apple to find the leaker. By the time that they seek actual redress, MWSF will be over.

Hypothetical - what happens if they leaker was an ADC select member? And they knew him then? Have they dont that before? If so, hve they ever filed anonymous suits?

 

[Mainyehc]

When you place you hard earned dollars in R&D would you revel what it is to everyone. I think not some information as you have stated is already given by companies that are involved as per Moto, IBM, Toshiba, Hitachi, etc...

Look at the clues.

Anyway, is it so bad that people now know that a different kind of iPod is being released? It's not like it's something revolutionary, IMHO. The iPod photo was even more different from the 4G (from a feature standpoint) than an iPod flash will be. We are talking about *storage media* and its form factor, not features! The competition: "Look, Apple is releasing a flash player! Let's make an iPod flash rip-off!"

Seriously, is this a big deal? Flash player manufacturers have had a lot of time to copy the iPod (in fact, some did, like the D-Cube, which is an aesthetical rip-off of the 1G iPod, but with a crappy interface and full plastic case). Apple doesn't lose anything by having their competitors know that an iPod flash is in the works. However, they might lose *sales*: Some people don't even need the 4GB of storage of the mini [yet], and would rather buy an iPod flash instead if it was already avaliable. They don't want anyone to know that an iPod flash is going to be released, for the same reason they don't want customers to know that the iPod mini will be bumped to a 5GB drive, not because of their competition

And what if there is no iPod flash, but an iPhone-thingy instead? Big deal! There are phones with mp3 playback already... Are they as cool and popular as the iPod? Doesn't seem so... Can a Apple/Motorola be as cool as an iPod? MAYBE. So, again, no problem here. They would even gain MORE if they (Apple) revealed that iPhone thing. Some people would keep from buying a cell phone this christmas, and wait for that "thing" to be released

[edit:]

Just a few more thoughts: I do understand the point of some people here that think Apple's reasons to sue are the exact opposite. It may be true that they are running out of iPods anyway, however, maybe because not all future iPod owners check on rumour sites like we do. But I still think those "60 days" may or may not be enough for some company to steal Apple's thunder, hugely depending on the company. And in some other cases, even if Apple has a ONE year lead, some other schizo weirdo monopolistic companies like Micro$oft will still think they're leading the pack. Just look at Bill Gates sayin' that they invented personal computing, and advanced desktop search and all...

I mean, Apple is getting some huge press on the iMac G5 and the iPod, even though the first still has a measly 256MB of RAM and an outdated graphics card, and the latter doesn't support line in stereo recording and is only compatible with iTMS, doesn't support all the formats avaliable there, etc etc etc... What seems to be big, these days, is not being the "first", but the "best" or, in Apple's case, the most "cool" and "balanced".

 

[Hattig]

Wonderful, sue the people that are your best fans ...

... if this is over the Motorola/Apple phone thing, then why? How many people are putting off upgrading their phone until this is proven true or false, and released? it isn't as if there are previous Apple phones to be affected by a drop in sales.

So this might be over the Flash iPod, but again this might cannibalise a few iPod mini sales (yet Apple are selling out of all stock still, so it is a moot point surely?)

Maybe it is over previous leaks over hardware, where previous generation sales could get cannibalised by rumours of a soon-to-be-released upgrade.

 

[jared_kipe]

Come on iPhone... I can hope for something completely different, but seriously, the moto razor looks cool enough.

 

[corywoolf]

i like what i am hearing about coming products, but lets face it, theres not a chance that all of these will be presented in 1 hour. I think we will just see them in this order:

-emac
-iLife 05' w/ asteroid periphial (possibly a way to record into ipod)
-itunes enabled motorola phone
-a little talk about tiger
-powerbooks w/ carbon fiber casing
-ipod mini now 5gb
-oh and one more thing- ipod micro

did i miss anything?

 

[bdkennedy1]

Dammit, that was the pic of the iPod flash. What a piece of crap. I'm pissed.

 

[swissmann]

Isn't Apple shooting themselves in the foot? If they just ignored the "leaked" information then the public and other companies would remain skeptical, and not really know what Apple is doing. Now they have pretty much confirmed that whatever was "leaked" was real, and they want to know who is responsible. I don't understand it. At least sue after the actual product has been released.

I thought the same thing at first. However, there have been a number of rumors so who is to say which one is the leaked one. Also, maybe Apple has something else to release and by putting the pressure on they hope to keep it a secret. Who knows?

 

[HasanDaddy]

I've got money that its the Sirius iPod

Apple isn't going to sue off of the Asteriod or Flash Based iPod, as products similar to those things, already exist

the Sirius iPod is VERY unique though ---- and considering that XM just released a tiny pocket player, it only proves that the technology is there to put a Sirius player, of that size, with an iPod interface and small HD out there

I would say iPhone too, but there just doesn't seem to be much evidence behind it --- plus, with the Treo 650 just coming out, it doesn't seem that Apple is trying to mount a campaign against it - maybe I'm wrong?

either way, I think its the Sirius iPod ---- if that rumor had been inflated even more, it could've have SEVERELY hurt Xmas sales of the iPods, as people surely would've held out from buying one, knowing a Sirius one is coming out

looks like Xmas sales haven't been hurt though

And lastly - all I want for Xmas is a G5 Powerbook