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Intel iBooks, Video iPod, Digital Entertainment in April?

_dob_ said:
Anybody have an idea of what the commercially viable applications of OLEDs are at the moment? In terms of the video iPod, when you triple the screen area, and decode a larger resolution video, the battery life will take a hit.

I don't know much about OLED technology (other than what Wikipedia offers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oled), but I do understand that they use a fraction of the energy of LCDs. Also, if this iPod were to be at all practical for normal music operation, it wouldn't make any sense to turn on the whole backlight of an LCD just so you can see the top half of the screen. As I understand, OLEDs operate on an individual pixel basis with no backlight, meaning when a pixel is off, it consumes no power at all and displays true black. I'd image as a complete display its much thinner than an LCD with a backlight too, leaving more space for stronger batteries.

So how does a 3.5" OLED 640x360 touch-widescreen sound? :)
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It'd be sweet but OLED screens are just too expensive for that sort of application at the moment.
 
NicP said:
LOL, thats the stupidest thing ive ever heard. I suppose its a waste of time using ALAC or FLAC then too?
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I think it depends on who he would classify as a "photographer." Does anyone who points and shoots with his 2-3 megapixel Canon qualify? If so, I would think that most people do shoot in jpg format.

The way I read it was an implication that most <professional> photographers shoot in jpg, which is simply a misunderstanding on his part.
 
Chundles said:
It'd be sweet but OLED screens are just too expensive for that sort of application at the moment.
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They claim, eventually OLEDs will be cheaper to produce than LCDs, but who knows when. That's why I ask.

I just have a hard time believing Apple, or anybody for that matter, would be able to pull that screen size with that form factor off, using LCD technology. Considering the current 60gb gets 3 hours of video on a charge.

Recently all I've come across of OLED technology, are these assingable computer keys with animating OLEDs inside them.

This thing I guess: Optimus keyboard
 
I definitely want an Intel Mac Mini to supplement my new iMac Core Duo, but I think it will be more of a multimedia file server than a TiVo (if Front Row is any indication). I do agree with those who said that making the new Mini a true "Media Center" computer with the proper audio, video, and storage will take it right out of the budget line. Then again, who knows with Apple. I'm very curious as to what kind of specs it will have, though, especially if it's part of the "Anniversary" line up. April isn't very far away, but it sure feels like it to me. :p
 
If this rumoured video iPod has othe qualities besides the larger screen, namely some PDA like functions, or maybe bluetooth/Wifi, I may be interested, but for now I don't see a reason to upgrade my 5G. I'm not going to watch videos on an iPod at home and I don't commute for long enough to watch videos at any other time.

The Media Mac Mini however is a different kettle of fish. If it has Front Row, optical out and a large capacity HDD, they have a sale here. Perfect for my AV setup.
 
itsa said:
is touch screen really all that new of an idea?
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The two or more finger stuff that has been appearing recently is a big change. Tablet-like surfaces were always limited to fishing out a single pair of coordinates and would get confused if more than one finger or pen was present.

I do hope that the next Mac mini isn't so tricked out with bell and whistles that the price is affected. They're more interesting when you can fit more boxes into the budget.
 
EricNau said:
What about the 42" iMac Media edition?
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Yes, most people have forgotten about this for the time being. I have a feeling that the 30th Anniversary event will introduce a lot of new and exciting stuff from Apple. We know what they are like in leading the way in design, a 42" TV/iMac combined would look not only cool, but may lead more manufacturers to go down the white surround on the TV route. There is however a good chance they would release a black version instead of/alongside the white. So just when TVs have switched almost entirely from black to silver, Apple reintroduce black as the must have colour.

Everybody say it with me, "Black is the new Black."
 
texasmafia said:
I think most people are failing to realize the potential for the touchscreen iPod, if it is even called an iPod.

One thing that has limited the iPod is the lack of data input. With a touchscreen this is no longer a problem. I forsee more PDA functions and obviously a totally new GUI that closely resembles OS X. I believe it will be the step between the iPod and the Apple tablet.

How much would this touchscreen go for? I'm thinking $500
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I'm thinking a little more to begin with, it depends how much memory is built in. $500 is about £300, which is the current price of the 60GB 5G here, but we would be charged a little more than you guys, but still making it not much more than a 5G iPod. If it were like the Palm Lifedrive, with about 4GB built in, it could become more of a PDA, but have much less storage for media. That could bring the price down a little. Maybe a good option would be about 10-15GB, enough for some media, but still keeping the price down and space inside for other goodies, (a card reader would be essential, maybe CompactFlash).

I like the idea of a MacPod, (hybrid of the two), but can't see that many flocking to it initially. Over the next few years, laptops will largely replace desktops and in many ways, PDAs and smartphones will replace laptops. This is the way Apple appear to be heading too. If they can get a decent foothold in the PDA market now, or even revolutionise it in the same way as the mp3 market, this year won't just be the year of the Mac, but the year of Apple in general.
 
mvc said:
Wow, I am simply speechless at this seamless combination of arrogance and ignorance. :mad:
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Come on, he's not totally out there.

It depends which pro photographers you talk to. Pro's that need the quality mostly shoot RAW but news photographers and photo journalists IME shoot JPEG, particularly if they have to transmit their shots back to base. I was at an aunt's wedding 18 months ago and the 'pro' there was shooting jpeg - he must have been as he was using 512MB cards and not swapping often enough. I was shooting jpeg too but only on a small olympus, and gave my aunt a DVD of the wedding the morning after. The shots were better than the Pro who charged 1000s and delivered them 6 months late.

Of course, unless the new iPod has wifi and a net connection, photo journalists still need a laptop so you'd have to shoot down the usefulness of using an iPod without that. I'm surprised there's not a bigger demand for an Apple sub-notebook for photographers. Carrying around a Powerbook gets a little tiresome, even the 12", with a load of other camera gear. An iPod/OQO crossover would be perfect for me.
 
iMeowbot said:
The two or more finger stuff that has been appearing recently is a big change. Tablet-like surfaces were always limited to fishing out a single pair of coordinates and would get confused if more than one finger or pen was present.

I do hope that the next Mac mini isn't so tricked out with bell and whistles that the price is affected. They're more interesting when you can fit more boxes into the budget.
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How about Apple releasing this hub alongside the Mini? I know it's unlikely, but it would still allow those looking to switch on a budget to get a cheap Mini and those wanting the hub to pay not too distant prices to an iMac and get something just as powerful.

As for the two finger work, well Apple have been using two-fingered scrolling on their portables for a while already. Few others have even bothered realising the potential of this easy to use function and preferred to stick with single finger, dedicated area scrolling.

Research money spent in one area can help functionality in another.

Edit: As for that optimus keyboard, oh yeah. On the few occasions I play games, I can't always remember the positioning of much more than the basic controls. I usually have to pause and look them up, this would mean a simple look away mid game at which keys are lit with what and back into it I go. Also functional for so many other apps.
 
aegisdesign said:
Come on, he's not totally out there.

It depends which pro photographers you talk to. Pro's that need the quality mostly shoot RAW but news photographers and photo journalists IME shoot JPEG, particularly if they have to transmit their shots back to base. I was at an aunt's wedding 18 months ago and the 'pro' there was shooting jpeg - he must have been as he was using 512MB cards and not swapping often enough. I was shooting jpeg too but only on a small olympus, and gave my aunt a DVD of the wedding the morning after. The shots were better than the Pro who charged 1000s and delivered them 6 months late.

Of course, unless the new iPod has wifi and a net connection, photo journalists still need a laptop so you'd have to shoot down the usefulness of using an iPod without that. I'm surprised there's not a bigger demand for an Apple sub-notebook for photographers. Carrying around a Powerbook gets a little tiresome, even the 12", with a load of other camera gear. An iPod/OQO crossover would be perfect for me.
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Yes, most only prefer carrying it around for the initial meeting to show examples and what can be achieved. Also, to wade into the RAW-jpg debate, if you see pictures on websites or in newspapers, they will have been shot almost always in jpeg, for professional photographers where quality matters, it's RAW. As an aspiring journo, if I went out to cover an event or story and took a photographer with me, I would leave it up to them what to shoot in, but for broadcast and published daily media, I would assume it was jpeg. If it was for a magazine, (especially a glossy publication), RAW would probably win out. For others outside that area, doing weddings, birthdays, etc, I would almost guarantee it would be RAW. They have less of a deadline to meet and so have more time to perfect the shots and need it in a more controlable format to work with.

At the end of the day, that's why we have Photoshop and Aperture on the market and the reason they both advertise their RAW capabilities.
 
steve_hill4 said:
As for the two finger work, well Apple have been using two-fingered scrolling on their portables for a while already. Few others have even bothered realising the potential of this easy to use function and preferred to stick with single finger, dedicated area scrolling.
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The potential is seen, but Apple bought up the rights to the one technology that currently makes it affordable to put in consumer equipment. That's the down side of patents, some companies like Apple have little or no interest in licensing them out to others.
 
_dob_ said:
...Considering the current 60gb gets 3 hours of video on a charge.
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Maybe the new iPods will be bundled with these: http://www.icuiti.com/index.php?page_id=38
ipod_girl_small2.gif
 
Oooh! I want! I want! I don't care if the vPod gets more scratches than a white boy at a Beastie Boys concert. Though, I already have so many damned Macs in the house I'd rather see the vPod take a more major role in the home media center--dvr/tivo, BT remote, etc.

B
 
Damek said:
Regarding "TiVo-Killer" DVR

I just don't see it. Unless they've bought out EyeTV's technology, which just doesn't seem to have happened unless they're faking us out (EyeTV just released new software), or they've out-developed EyeTV, which also just doesn't seem possible. Nope, I just don't see it.
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I've always told people about how much I like my El Gato "EyeTV USB" that I purchased back in '02. I easily consider it one of my best Mac assessory purchases. I'm using it right now to watch Comedy Central while I write this and organize some music in iTunes.

Their support for Macintosh has always been phenomenal and I've always kind of hoped that Apple would acquire them to head a PVR project.

The combination of Apple and El Gato working together would definately produce a TIVO killer.
 
craigatkinson said:
Most photographers shoot in JPEG. It's a waste of time shooting in RAW. If it could display JPEG then it would be a great tool for semi to pro photographers. The only photographers who would need a RAW format would be commercial photographers. Carrying around a laptop to a photo shoot is not always convenient.
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mvc said:
Wow, I am simply speechless at this seamless combination of arrogance and ignorance. :mad:
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Wow. "craigatkinson" really set himself up to get flamed a multitude of times by several people on this subject.

I'm not a photographer and I've never even worked
with or even opened a RAW format pic, but even I know that RAW is the format of choice pretty much across the board for anyone who's even remotely close to being considered even a little more than an amateur photographer.

Those amatuers, like me, are the one's who use JPEG as stated by others "to upload Myspace pictures" and such. :D
 
If Apple were to have a diamond shield touch screen then the problem of scratches will not occur. Oily fingers might cause a slight issues, however nothing that cannot be wiped off. :)

Apple might finally have the click-wheel as a remote control as they do with the remote FM tuner they currently sell. This would make more sense then to take out your entire iPod just to select a song or album that you want. :)

Will this New Gen iPod have PDA function-abilities, I am going to say yes as if this device can process video it has the processor capabilities to handle input. Will we see some form of Mac X x86 Mobile version running, maybe as it would not require a full OS function set to make it useful. WiFi is up in the air with this one. :)
 
shrimpdesign said:
I love all the people saying that it would smudge or that you couldn't use it with only one hand. If, and I stress IF, Apple released a touchscreen iPod, it would not smudge and you could use it with one hand. Apple makes almost perfect products, they pay attention to everything.


What? How can you say that you can't use it with just one hand? Look at this photo:
...
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I agree, apple wont release something with less functionality or have it smudge or scratch. I was thinking about holding it the other way, like how you would watch movies, it just seems akward. But im sure apple has already thought of this.

It seems like Apple is really pursing this look at this patent
Edit: Oh snugja beat me by a minute
 
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