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Media Event, iMac, iPod Details and Notes

DrEasy said:
I think the biggest story of the day was the iMac + FrontRow + remote combo. Now all they need to do is embed a TV tuner (well the iMac would just then gain back the inches it just lost...) and come up with some PVR software...
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...and then Apple will be where Microsoft was with Windows Media Center a couple of years ago.

Really, I don't get the excitement. The video iPod is a Portable Media Center/PSP with a smaller screen. FrontRow is Windows Media Center with half the functionality (and afaik, none of the APIs which allow developers to build their own TV-focused apps). Apple gives you the ability to buy content, but not record it (out of the box, at least).

Only the most blinkered of Apple fans could actually get too excited about this, or claim that it's "Apple innovation". It's good, though, that Apple has finally woken up to the potential of the Media Center-style market: 43% of all Windows machines sold in US retail come with Media Center edition, which shows that there's plenty of demand for that kind of functionality.
 
Powermacs Powerbooks

Powermacs are now at 3-5days shipping on US Store, 5days on German Store. Powerbooks 24h on US Store , 5days on German Store. Counting from today 5days is Tuesday next week! There is really no reason for them to have a backlog as most people are probably holding off buying with all the rumors around . So the Great day is coming!
 
GorillaPaws said:
I'm pretty sure you're SOL, but maybe someone will pirate/hack it to work w/ sailingclicker or whatever it's called and a bluetooth device. That's probably your best hope unless you wanted to take a big loss and ebay your current iMac and buy the new one.
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Oh yeah, Apple have just update the info on the Apple Remote, specifying that it only works with new computers that have built-in infra-red support. Still one would hope that they will either release an IR receiver, or a Bluetooth remote for the rest of us.... I mean an iMac G5 of whatever vintage is MADE to be in the living room! At the absolute limit, I hope that they have at least created a Front Row API that will allow 3rd-Party remotes that already exist to access it.
 
Ok ... so new iPod is actually the same H & W as the older iPods? That's very interesting! The screen really makes it look wider than it really is then.

No firewire support? How odd!

Something I don't think many have mentioned. There is no longer a remote jack, and the headphone jack is off to one side now. That means all the iPod accessories that run off the top jack have to be redesigned, like the iTrip, iTalk, etc. I rather like my iTalk!

Other than that, since they did keep the width the same, kudos for the increased battery life and improved thickness.

-OA
 
Remote uses IR

Renegate said:
Think this was overlooked by most initially : Remote is sold seperately and works with Ipod (other MAC's?); wondering if it uses Bluetooth 2.0 which was recently added to all mac's. Does this mean it works with the MAC Mini?? --> Mediacenter evrywhere?
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The Apple Remote is NOT Bluetooth, but IR:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...A6b1Tl46jCv/0.SLID?mco=CAE019BF&nplm=MA128G/A

It works with any 2005 Mac with built-in IR, as well as with most iPods & other Macs with the iPod Universal Dock:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...A6b1Tl46jCv/0.SLID?mco=DB335781&nplm=MA045G/A

I would have thought Bluetooth made more sense, but what do I know...
 
Where are the invites for the November 8th "Just one last thing, I swear" event?
 
but...

demallien said:
Oh yeah, Apple have just update the info on the Apple Remote, specifying that it only works with new computers that have built-in infra-red support. Still one would hope that they will either release an IR receiver, or a Bluetooth remote for the rest of us.... I mean an iMac G5 of whatever vintage is MADE to be in the living room! At the absolute limit, I hope that they have at least created a Front Row API that will allow 3rd-Party remotes that already exist to access it.
Click to expand...

The tech specs for the iMac doesn't mention it having an infra red reciver on it. Maybe the docks use infra red and the iMacs use Bluetooth?
 
GorillaPaws said:
I definitly think the video resolution needs to get upped bigtime for a serious set-top/ home theatre system solution whatever it is. I guess I'm a little dissapointed w/ how the vision of the iMac/Front Row concept is panning out. I feel like a unique device is the real solution as having an iMac sitting next to your plasma is a little weird. To me, it's wasting the power of the computer. I mean as great as Front Row is, it's mostly exciting in the potential it has, as opposed to it's current state. I mean, what does it REALLY do as far as in a living room capacity? How often are we going to sit down and watch our slide shows in our living room of the pics we've taken, or home movies we've edited. It seems like it's something to show off to others more than to be a useful/essential daily device (e.g. the inlaws come to visit and you whip out your remote and say "hey, check out the baby shower pictures"). It's not like you're going to sit down and edit movies from your +5' away lazy boy. So if you were going to use it as a daily machine, you'd keep it at you're desk, but that kind of defeats the purpose of having a remote/ Front Row at all. That's why I think this computer is better suited for the desk environment, but an Applerific™ :D living room solution should be based around a "work machine on your desk" (where you create your playlists, orgainze and edit your photos, manage your finances etc.) and a cheaper "play" machine that doesn't need the raw graphics/processing power, but still provides an that Apple "feel" we all love so much, that can incorporate into our home theaters and network seemlessly with our "work" box. Don't get me wrong, I was blown away by Front Row, but I think my previous suggestions would really bring it to life and make it more useful/practical for daily use, as opposed to the show-off device that I fear it is at the moment.
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i think your bang on with this one mate ! a stripped down "iplay" in your front room, basically an imac (without the ugly fat white bit at the bottom) with a massive hard-drive - combined with tivo/eyetv - airport BT everything you mentioned above, but as you quite rightly put it, not wasting the full capability of the mac as i think the whole concept of having a full blown PC in your front room is flawed.....good call!?
 
Windowlicker said:
Anyways, a word about the new iPod Ad with Eminem: hate the guy, love the commercial! Funny how they got the guy to their commercial after the little incident with the iTMS campaign.
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Maybe a part of the settlement included Eminem as a future iPod commercial-ee. I can see Eminem wanting this, to ride the coat-tails of the iPod's success, he hasn7t had much success of late and is expected to release a greatest hits collection (after, what only 3 albums?). Also remember the general public may not be aware of Eminem's and Apple's little legal tussle so they would be non-the wiser other than 'Hey, a cool Eminem iPod advert'
 
Powerbook Powermac

Update : Powerbooks Powermacs on Apple France at 6-8days, 12" Powerbooks at 24h --> Updates latest next Tuesday, 12" Powerbooks will be discontinued (anyway too much overlap with ibooks)
 
...the video iPod...
Click to expand...

Even Apple doesn't refer to the new iPod as a video iPod so i think we all should not refer to it that way either...it is the new iPod. That's it - and that is all it should be...for now

We will get something early next year I think that will truely be refered to as a 'video iPod'. Actually I prefer 'iPod AV' as the device will always be a music player at heart...
 
I purchased a couple of videos from the UK itms...

Firstly I note that you can't share them via ethernet. even in a play list they don't show up.

I think Apple has rushed the thought process with regard to the videos, and in Particular how they work with other music, and Visuliser?

Creating a mixed playlist of video and ordinary songs, itunes can't jump between fullscreen video and Visuliser (If you enable Visulizer, then videos display as a still frame art caption in the corner).

Further, the resolution is below acceptable when shown on a PAL television or projector.

Finally, Visuliser still bleeds audio artifacts into the sound output as it has (for me on 4 different Macs) since iTunes 5.

In conclusion I think this was a missed opportunity to produce what could have been a great Video jukebox (remote mac mini playing shared playlist with full screen video via a VGA adapter). A little extra polish was needed in my humble opinion.
 
grebo said:
I imagine it's just a matter of time before iTMS stands for iTunes Media Store...
Click to expand...

I don't think that you are too far off with this. Music, TV, movies, podcasts, and internet radio. There aren't many other media platforms out there.

Hickman
 
Trowaman said:
*cough* MSN and ICQ may be the items of choice in Europe but in America AIM is the norm. Here it's impossible to find someone with ICQ or MSN buddy lists.
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*coughs back*

Last time I checked all my relatives in Canada were not using AIM as well, but MSN and ICQ... Canada belongs to Europe?

That is something that ticks me off since a long time... Apple is making more than 50% of it's revenue outside the US. Still a lot of features are focussed on the US market. Some of them can't be even used when you are not living in the US. But still we are paying for it as well. On top Apple still charges at least around 10% more for their products here in Europe and elsewhere in the world. For what reason? A big share of Apples profit is probably generated by this constant overpricing of their products outside the US...

I love the Mac platform, but I really deeply hate the company...

groovebuster
 
Fitzcaraldo said:
I purchased a couple of videos from the UK itms...

Firstly I note that you can't share them via ethernet. even in a play list they don't show up.

I think Apple has rushed the thought process with regard to the videos, and in Particular how they work with other music, and Visuliser?

Creating a mixed playlist of video and ordinary songs, itunes can't jump between fullscreen video and Visuliser (If you enable Visulizer, then videos display as a still frame art caption in the corner).

Further, the resolution is below acceptable when shown on a PAL television or projector.

Finally, Visuliser still bleeds audio artifacts into the sound output as it has (for me on 4 different Macs) since iTunes 5.

In conclusion I think this was a missed opportunity to produce what could have been a great Video jukebox (remote mac mini playing shared playlist with full screen video via a VGA adapter). A little extra polish was needed in my humble opinion.
Click to expand...

It definitely seems to be a first step. The original music videos (for free) were rather good quality on a TV-Screen. Have they now sampled them down for purchase?
 
EvilMole said:
...and then Apple will be where Microsoft was with Windows Media Center a couple of years ago.

Really, I don't get the excitement. The video iPod is a Portable Media Center/PSP with a smaller screen. FrontRow is Windows Media Center with half the functionality (and afaik, none of the APIs which allow developers to build their own TV-focused apps). Apple gives you the ability to buy content, but not record it (out of the box, at least).
Click to expand...

The things introduced today in themselves may seem like no big deal. The REAL BIG DEAL is the Media convergence of TV and Computer. Yes Microsoft has the Media Center, yes others have done a video playback handheld device, but none have been able to do anything with them until now.

iTunes will do for TV, and movie content what it did for music. It may take a year or so, but before long it will catch on big time. The networks and movie studios will see what they have been missing and ink up.

For TV content to be worth playing on your TV in the home, it has to come over at a greater resolution than what it is now. However, you do trhat and you are looking at the download time being the same or greater than the watch time.

This is big. Imagine missing the episode you wanted to see of Lost and you can download the next day and save on your TV hard drive system? It may be elementary right now, but I suspect bigger and better things are to come.
 
Renegate said:
They want you to buy a new one, that way they make more than on the remote only. Maybe next week
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Also the remote is IR, rather than Frequency or 802.11G. You would have to have a base station to point it at hooked up at your comp. I suspect the new PB's and perhaps the new PM will have Front Row standard.
 
Its disappointing that iPod won't downsize videos to the 320x400 ( or whatever ) resolution.

I thought you'd be able to upload a home movie ( for example ) and just play it without any conversion.

:-(
 
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