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Merrill Lynch foresees Apple building Entertainment Servers?
- Thread starter srobert
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iDVD seems like an odd duck to include on the list... iMovie would be a more likely candidate I'd think... not that I'd really want either showing up on my list since there's really nothing there...
Hey buddy Merrill Lynch guy, this 'entertainment server' is already here, and it's called a frickin 'Power Mac.' Ever heard of the 'digital hub'?
Wonder sometimes if these analysts actually know anything about computers or are simply repackaging what they read on Cnet.
Perhaps with a little clever reworking, the whole bunch of iapps and a quality processor could be rebunched into a box no bigger than the old PS2.
With HDTV out, DVD burning and the like.
I think this is probably the way The guy was thinking.
Yes the digital hub is here in the form of a PM, but they are a little large to say the least to sit in my front room at the moment,
or perhaps the nice people at apple will add streaming Vid to airport express on it's next revision, who knows what is in the pipeline.
At least the domminace of the PC is starting to be challenged in more than one area, and from a nice spread of different companies.
Domination of the market maybe good for some, but realistically you need the "budget" and the "pro" divide to make it work, so as much as I would lie to see Apple boxes in every home, some people will not be able to afford the quality system and a cheaper, less well built version perhaps from Alba or Bush will be available for those on lower incomes. But if the boys at apple get the software rights and iapps sufficently distributed, then there should be no reason the couldn't liscence out cut down versions of the iapps for use in the non apple machines.
However I doubt this would happen
With HDTV out, DVD burning and the like.
I think this is probably the way The guy was thinking.
Yes the digital hub is here in the form of a PM, but they are a little large to say the least to sit in my front room at the moment,
or perhaps the nice people at apple will add streaming Vid to airport express on it's next revision, who knows what is in the pipeline.
At least the domminace of the PC is starting to be challenged in more than one area, and from a nice spread of different companies.
Domination of the market maybe good for some, but realistically you need the "budget" and the "pro" divide to make it work, so as much as I would lie to see Apple boxes in every home, some people will not be able to afford the quality system and a cheaper, less well built version perhaps from Alba or Bush will be available for those on lower incomes. But if the boys at apple get the software rights and iapps sufficently distributed, then there should be no reason the couldn't liscence out cut down versions of the iapps for use in the non apple machines.
However I doubt this would happen
dongmin said:
PCs/Macs and entertainment centres are used very differently. People tend to use the PC/Mac at a table or workstation, and they tend to take the users full attention; whereas entertainment centres would be used remotely (controlled via a remote control, and attached to a large screen & loud speakers for using from a greater distance).
And, an entertainment centre/server would need to be a LOT cheaper than a G5!
Why does a 'server' need to sit in the middle of your living room? The client should be within easy access, but not the server. The idea of an entertainment server is that it stores all your music, photos, and videos which you can access from various clients like your laptop, iMac, TV, or iPod. With Apple's use of Rendezvous and iSync, most of these 'server' functions are provided out of the box.KrysBaz said:
music: iTunes sharing; AirTunes
photo: same as iTunes: sharing via iPhoto
video: nothing yet
interface with TV: via TiVo
Other than video (which I think is right around the corner with Tiger and AVC), OS X does pretty much everything you need in terms of sharing and syncing. I actually prefer Apple's current solution over the server solution because the content is decentralized and people can maintain control/ownership of their own content AND share at the same time.
I mentioned the Power Mac as an example. But you could easily provide all the server functions with a $800 eMac (soon to be a G5 eMac).whooleytoo said:
i can actually see all of these media center pcs becoming the household standard and breaking the mold in television/radio/ and interactive entertainment - when HD becomes the standard.
does anyone remember the animated show batman beyond? whenever they talked about something that was broadcasted as if it were on tv - they would refer it as "the web". like, "hey did you see that story that was on the web last night?". there you go! a childs program has opened the doors to all entertainment future!
does anyone remember the animated show batman beyond? whenever they talked about something that was broadcasted as if it were on tv - they would refer it as "the web". like, "hey did you see that story that was on the web last night?". there you go! a childs program has opened the doors to all entertainment future!