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Jobs on Mac Netbooks: Not Yet, But...
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There already is an OSX app store. It's called the "Internet". Perhaps you may have heard of it???
That's such a BS attitude. Why doesn't Apple just roll their previous models down into lower price slots? Or what, do those older models just become junk the minute the new models are released? There are a lot of people out there who buy PCs just to do a little email and Web surfing and they're not looking to spend over $1000, not even close. Why wouldn't Apple want to offer something to that buyer? Not everyone needs the latest and greatest. The iMacs that were out last year should have been pushed down into the sub $1000 range. Same for the MacBooks. I don't know what that would hurt and there's no way to make the argument that those machines would be "junk."
Pleasing the PC crowd
Given the evolution of the notebook line-up, I have to say that Apple started to make moves which can't be understood other than pleasing the PC crowed.
Lining up all their computers since the Intel switch, one witnesses a degree of dilettantism only seen from usual PC makers.
Whereas in the pre-Intel time every Mac was not only an evolution but a revolution that was clearly ahead, design and other wise from any PC,
Apple by now just spoils the exterior of their previous great design.
This tendency is reflected in the naming PowerBook--->MacBook
the omission of the Apple symbol (do switchers get their fingers hurt by hitting that key), not providing a really stunning display, remember they used to introduce the 10:16 aspect ratio, thick bezel, wedge shaped enclosing like a Sony, etc.
The only product where I walked into the store in recent times and said wow, is and was, the iPhone. But again, that runs not on Intel, which seems to kill creativity, and second it was not an evolution but a revolution.
Same for the OS. When I saw back in the nineties the Next cube presented at the University, that was amazing, but out of the range a student could afford. Again the OS was a revolution. By now, since Tiger, OS X is only evolutionary, with tweaks and and UI that deteriorated. Just let me remember you of the inconsistency throughout apps.
So, Apple is excellent if they do something from scratch, bundling all their best people, but lame, if their B-team spoils what they once achieved.
My idea would be, that hopefully they manage to provide again in addition to mainstream Intel processors a custom processor.
To ease the work for programmers, they just would have to send their high-level code to Apple who would compile it and distribute it over the AppStore.
To remain with Universal code, is an enormous advantage.
Finally, if Steven Jobs says that Apple has some of the best and most loyal customers, I would agree.
But then Apple has to be again more sensible to those by rewarding them not only by evolutionary products, but by revolutionary ones, and giving them reasonable choices.
Given the evolution of the notebook line-up, I have to say that Apple started to make moves which can't be understood other than pleasing the PC crowed.
Lining up all their computers since the Intel switch, one witnesses a degree of dilettantism only seen from usual PC makers.
Whereas in the pre-Intel time every Mac was not only an evolution but a revolution that was clearly ahead, design and other wise from any PC,
Apple by now just spoils the exterior of their previous great design.
This tendency is reflected in the naming PowerBook--->MacBook
the omission of the Apple symbol (do switchers get their fingers hurt by hitting that key), not providing a really stunning display, remember they used to introduce the 10:16 aspect ratio, thick bezel, wedge shaped enclosing like a Sony, etc.
The only product where I walked into the store in recent times and said wow, is and was, the iPhone. But again, that runs not on Intel, which seems to kill creativity, and second it was not an evolution but a revolution.
Same for the OS. When I saw back in the nineties the Next cube presented at the University, that was amazing, but out of the range a student could afford. Again the OS was a revolution. By now, since Tiger, OS X is only evolutionary, with tweaks and and UI that deteriorated. Just let me remember you of the inconsistency throughout apps.
So, Apple is excellent if they do something from scratch, bundling all their best people, but lame, if their B-team spoils what they once achieved.
My idea would be, that hopefully they manage to provide again in addition to mainstream Intel processors a custom processor.
To ease the work for programmers, they just would have to send their high-level code to Apple who would compile it and distribute it over the AppStore.
To remain with Universal code, is an enormous advantage.
Finally, if Steven Jobs says that Apple has some of the best and most loyal customers, I would agree.
But then Apple has to be again more sensible to those by rewarding them not only by evolutionary products, but by revolutionary ones, and giving them reasonable choices.
Jobs' statement about the interesting features WHEN netbooks increase relevance reminds me of the Ford Kuga (I don't know if there's a Kuga there in the States). Ford was the latest in the party to come up with a soft-roader for the European market but critics have given it large praise because of its unheard-of-before Focus-like on-road handling. Sure, there's the Land Rover Freelander but it focused more on off-road handling, something which most owners of soft-roaders don't need. Ford (Europe) gave relevance and purpose to glorified, jacked-up wagons. (sorry, a bit off-topic there)
If Apple is releasing a netbook, I expect the best and not some cookie-cutter Atom-powered afterthought with horrible bevels around the display *coughs at LaVie and Epson*.
If Apple is releasing a netbook, I expect the best and not some cookie-cutter Atom-powered afterthought with horrible bevels around the display *coughs at LaVie and Epson*.
There already is an OSX app store. It's called the "Internet". Perhaps you may have heard of it???
Yeah, and there's the downloads section in apple.com. Though maybe he's looking for something that is a bit more intuitive and user-friendly (or someplace with an App Store-like approval process).
I for one, would like to see a stricter adherence to Apple's Human Interface guidelines regarding the apps in the downloads section. I'm just tired of seeing good programs with s**tty interfaces done by squares who have never heard of aesthetics. These OSX programmers shame Apple's quest for unparalleled elegance.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestseller..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1NJW95S07VG38RTFBD6V
Look at the top 25 computers being sold by Amazon....
Wow, so Apple told me that I'm not supposed to want a small computer, and yet I do. Interesting. It feels good to have my own brain.
queshy said:
Well a phone for one....
That's because you probably haven't even looked.
For those who have, they can easily see how much more portable an 11" system can be. I don't even need a laptop bag or backpack to carry a netbook. I could carry it easily in my man-bag/murse, or in the main compartment of my DSLR backpack. Sure, it has a laptop compartment as well, but it's really tight, and it makes other compartments a tad bit smaller.There already is an OSX app store. It's called the "Internet". Perhaps you may have heard of it???
www.macupdate.com
www.versiontracker.com
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I work as a coder in a small games developer. Since our technology is cross platform, bringing our products to the Mac is easy but in the current situation it is very hard to market such a product esp. if you are not in the USA.
The App store allows to sell a product world wide easily - even for a small developer and you don't need a publisher (that takes away an enormous part of the revenue) at all. All I can tell you is, you are right. We are WAITING for a Mac App store.
Christian
remember Apple are not stupid.. There is a surge of netbooks at present but if Apple did enter it they cant just make a "copy" they will have to create something that people will want and dont mind paying a higher premium for.
I might be wrong... but normally Apple doesnt like compromising performance and software. I cant see them making a "lite" OS X for a notebook.. Even Iphone OS X is fully fledged OS. Its the same with the macbook air, a very portable notebook which doesnt compromise the performance. Sure the "netbook" wont be in the same league as a pro book but the underline OS will be the same or very similar.
Also as someone mentioned before that Apple are keeping the white macbook on sale. They realise they need a lower end macbook so either they are waiting for manafacturing costs to come down and replace it with the new macbooks or they have something else up their sleeve and the white macbook is just a "placeholder"?
I might be wrong... but normally Apple doesnt like compromising performance and software. I cant see them making a "lite" OS X for a notebook.. Even Iphone OS X is fully fledged OS. Its the same with the macbook air, a very portable notebook which doesnt compromise the performance. Sure the "netbook" wont be in the same league as a pro book but the underline OS will be the same or very similar.
Also as someone mentioned before that Apple are keeping the white macbook on sale. They realise they need a lower end macbook so either they are waiting for manafacturing costs to come down and replace it with the new macbooks or they have something else up their sleeve and the white macbook is just a "placeholder"?
Someone should simply ask jobs "what happened?" Why no innovation at all? So bad that you had to concentrate your marketing efforts on the new case design? Has Apple reached the peak of their innovation advantage?
Fine then, if Apple doesn't want my money I'll replace my aging EEE with an MSI Wind and install OS X on that.
Sounds like they're going to do it.
I can make a $500 computer that's not a 'piece of junk'. He's obviously talking about design elegance as opposed to function.
JMHO.
either way...
I guess coverage from different sources paraphrased it a little differently. Admittedly, I haven't listened to the live recording yet, but from reading some of the posted coverage I got the impression that:
The "interesting ideas" related to the iPhone platform for when it took off, rather than the "'nascent category' of netbooks that have yet to evolve and as yet hold no interest at all for Apple".
Either way, I bet Apple has some pretty interesting ideas for both categories: both for the nascent category for some point in the future when they deem it ready for the Apple touch, and for its own iPhone platform in the near future that is even now taking off as we speak.
So I prefer to think they have some really interesting ideas for the iPhone and Touch platform soon to be revealed...
I guess coverage from different sources paraphrased it a little differently. Admittedly, I haven't listened to the live recording yet, but from reading some of the posted coverage I got the impression that:
The "interesting ideas" related to the iPhone platform for when it took off, rather than the "'nascent category' of netbooks that have yet to evolve and as yet hold no interest at all for Apple".
Either way, I bet Apple has some pretty interesting ideas for both categories: both for the nascent category for some point in the future when they deem it ready for the Apple touch, and for its own iPhone platform in the near future that is even now taking off as we speak.
So I prefer to think they have some really interesting ideas for the iPhone and Touch platform soon to be revealed...
Laptop LCDs are, at most, 6-bits color per pixel and you need at least 8-bits per pixel to get accurate and decent color representation. Fancy hardware-level dithering will not cut it here for any photographer that would care about matte vs. glossy screens.
Do not color-correct photos on your laptop's built-in LCD. Anything else but not that.
Is this still true with the new MB(P)s?
I know that the screen on the previous MBPs had a much better viewing angle than the MBs (such as my 1st gen white MB), obviously a different LCD technology. I tried to find info on what the actual LCD panel specs are on the new Ali MB(P)s such as LCD type/bit depth, but no luck so far.
Anybody able to point me in the direction where I can find this info?
The software is the only reason I'm still a Mac user at this point, having been one since back sometime in the nineties.
I have serious doubts that this is anything more than idea at this point. That's not to say it can't (or won't) get fast tracked. But bear in mind that this statement was made during a conference call targeted towards investors. With AAPL stock prices in mind, what's he going to say? This is a non-answer with lots of ambiguity and a touch of hope. Which is exactly what a good CEO would do.
But I'd really like to see Apple put something like this out. I just received my MSI Wind yesterday and already have OS X running just fine on it. Before I bought it, I went by the local apple store to look at the Macbook Airs (again) and the new Macbooks. I would have readily paid twice or even more fore a "true" product out of Cupertino, but for me it didn't come down to a matter of price nearly as much as the physical size. Sure there are a few tradeoffs at the moment, but hopefully they will be addressed shortly and even with the blemishes, the size was enough to sway my decision away from Apple.
But I'd really like to see Apple put something like this out. I just received my MSI Wind yesterday and already have OS X running just fine on it. Before I bought it, I went by the local apple store to look at the Macbook Airs (again) and the new Macbooks. I would have readily paid twice or even more fore a "true" product out of Cupertino, but for me it didn't come down to a matter of price nearly as much as the physical size. Sure there are a few tradeoffs at the moment, but hopefully they will be addressed shortly and even with the blemishes, the size was enough to sway my decision away from Apple.
Concur with that. Digital Research had a GUI initially developed by Lee Jay Lorenzen who had come over from Xerox PARC. Versions were made that ran on MS DOS, but ultimately had little success. Another proprietary version ran on the Atari 16/32 Motorola 68000, but this 'color Mac' machine, as good as it was, still didn't make it past the early 90s.
Ok, so maybe not low-cost net books, but how about smaller more feature rich notebooks? Toshiba's been putting out feature rich 9" mini laptops for quite some time now, so has Sony. Perhaps they are not the quality or style as what Apple could do, but I wouldn't say it's a nascent category. Air is not small, it's just really thin. I know Apple can deliver on a small 9" or 10" feature rich mini laptop like only Apple can do and I believe him when he says they have some pretty good ideas.
This is what will likely be relieving me of some extra cash:
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/10/03/asus-eee-pc-s101-is.html
thats awesome... but what does it say when the only full size laptops in the top 20 being sold are apple ones.
yes netbooks are gaining popularity but so are apple laptops. while i think it would be cool for a smaller form factor machine at some point. apple probably does not see the need with the release of their new machines. at this point in time. but i bet they have something in the works as we speak.
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The only answer is positively no. Anyone who answers otherwise is blowing smoke, or simply cares more about having a new and different gadget than realistic market production.
In fact, I'd bet most around here would rather Apple release a product like this and have it TANK, than not at all. Just for the sake of being the nerd who got one.
Apple stays ahead of the game by rolling out new tech that makes previous models "obsolete". They are THE king of this practice.
Only now is it becoming more and more difficult for them to do this as the models that get replaced are certainly not "obsolete" or "junk" by any standard. How could they be? They were "state-of-the-art" 6 MONTHS AGO! Keeping the old white macbook and the 17" mbp IS an example of what you're asking for, and its a new move for Apple. For the last few years through the move to Intel, the older models went to the refurbished category and were sold that way under the same concept, (buy slightly older for slightly less).
This has always been popular with those in the know for consumer buying.
But today, with rapid onset of faster and more powerful computing technology, its becoming more and more difficult to convince someone to buy the "latest and greatest," as it is only slightly "greater" than the model it replaces (which is dangerous when the product undergoes a major change away from a well adapted and accepted form.
ie: White Plastic Macbook = powerful and familiar
Standard shape aluminum MacBookPro = Very familiar, very powerful
New MacBooks = sexy, unfamiliar, more powerful?
New MBPs = sexy, unfamiliar, more powerful?
By keeping the 2 older products in the line, they will manage to not scare off the old folks who have waited until now to pick up the $1100 mac laptop they've been saving for. Its the same one that 2 of their children use and the same one they bought for their grandchild who just started college. And, oh my, its now only $999 with greater looking spec numbers than they remember seeing.
They also won't scare off the photographer who is just now finishing out the 2008 wedding season and has been counting the days til he/she can pick up a new MacBookPro to edit through the winter on. If that person, who has been too busy to keep up, shows up at the Apple store and doesn't see a laptop that looks like the powerbook or 1st gen mbp they have in their bag, they might turn right around and walk out.