New Time Capsules to Run iOS on A4/A5 Processors?

[sunspot42]

Maybe This Is How It Works...

Content you buy from iTunes can be accessed or streamed from Apple's cloud server to any Apple device you own anytime, anywhere, for $25 a year.

Your own local content, including stuff you DIDN'T buy from Apple, can be streamed from your Time Machine to any Apple device anytime, anywhere for free. (Apple's cloud server would probably hold the media catalog, but the media itself would dwell on your Time Machine connected to your network and would stream directly from there - which is great, since there's no need to leave your PC on 24/7.)

That way you cover both scenarios in a way that keeps everyone - record labels, movie studios and end users - reasonably happy.

 

[xappeal]

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Any chance the device IS the Apple TV 2. 8gb to hold updates and apps, the rest handled by iCloud.

I does have Ethernet in, wireless N and is already in the hands of a million users.

Just a though.

 

[Awjvail]

I'm hoping for an AppleTV style price drop on the Time Capsule... $300 is overpriced, even for an Apple product.

Also, maybe aluminum instead of plastic?

 

[fat jez]

I'm hoping for an AppleTV style price drop on the Time Capsule... $300 is overpriced, even for an Apple product.

Especially now the price difference between a 1TB and 2TB drive is minimal

 

[r00fus]

This is interesting, but... maybe not.

What I Hope: Apple is using A4/5 + IOS because it provides a powerful, flexible, extensible environment. The new TC is an extensible media server that can handle 3rd-party services, protocols and content.

What I Expect: Apple is only using A4/5 processor + IOS because it's convenient. The new TC has some really nice but limited media serving capabilities and is not extensible.

Don't underestimate the jailbreakers.

This could still be big for those willing to go where Apple was contractually forbidden from going.

 

[Laird Knox]

Apple had seven years to add an audio out port to their Airport Extremes and Time Capsules (the audio transmission technology started with the Airport Express in 2004). They didn't, why add an audio port to it when you sell another $99 device that has an audio port?

That is because they have been saving it for the iPad. The iPad 3 will combine all the features of the Time Capsule with the aTV.

 

[Lukeyy19]

i hope they put a modem in the things too, that is my only gripe with the Airport Extreme/Time Capsule, however good they are, they'll only be as good online as the modem attached to it.

 

[AidenShaw]

If one does a RAID configuration, i suggest not using a pre-configured RAID in the same housing, as a hardware failure could get both of them, whereas two separate enclosures in RAID configuration should be less vulnerable to that.

Note that running RAID-1 arrays across multiple external drives creates additional failure modes such as operator error in unplugging a cable. You may reduce reliability. (Windows won't allow RAID on USB or 1394 drives at all for this reason.)

It's also surprising that you had physical failures of two drives at the same time. It's quite possible that only one drive failed, but operator error during recovery accidentally wiped the good drive. Many drives have strict procedures that need to be followed to recover after a drive failure.

It's also quite possible that one of the drives had been dead for weeks or months - but the operators didn't notice the failure until the second drive failed.

If you go the external route, consider RAID 1+1 with two RAID enclosures. (Run the internal RAID-1 in each enclosure, and run RAID-1 in software across the enclosures.) You'll be protected from an enclosure failure, and up to 3 drives failing.

And of course, backup.

 

[bearcatrp]

Might as well turn it into a ATV with plenty of room for your movies and music. A 2TB drive ATV would work for me.

 

[maclaptop]

i've been using it for a long time and have never had any problems.

+1

 

[-LikesMac-]

What I want in Time Capsule...

Of course, more space (2TB to 3TB)? They should add tri-band wifi (unless it already has), and Thunderbolt connection. Imagine how fast backups would go to the harddrive with Thunderbolt XD

 

[Cougarcat]

Imagine how fast backups would go to the harddrive with Thunderbolt XD

You'd be limited by your wireless connection speed.

 

[-LikesMac-]

What

You'd be limited by your wireless connection speed.

There's no such thing as wired backups? ?_?

 

[Cougarcat]

There's no such thing as wired backups? ?_?

Thunderbolt is also ten times faster than gigabit ethernet. So to take advantage of the thunderbolt speed with an external air disk, you would need two thunderbolt connections: one to connect the device to your mac, and the other for the drive. I think it's unlikely that they would do this as it would have limited utility--no affordable thunderbolt drives on the market yet, and none have been announced.

I could potentially see them including a thunderbolt port for Time Capsule, though (along with a couple USB ports). Since the disk is internal, you would need just one port.

 

[bradbootz]

Does anyone else think it is a dumb idea to have your router/firewall serve that purpose (the HDMI bit)? So now instead of having an ATV that can be moved around or turned off, I now have my router/firewall that had to be right where my cable/dsl modem is and can't be turned off serve that purpose. Who has their cable/dsl modem in their living room anyways?

I agree. Despite my personal TV and Time Capsule sitting on the same shelf, not many others I know have their router near their TV (usually on a desk in a different room).

It would work for myself and a few others but I think Apple's recently learned strategy is to price low and go for volume (in markets where price low still earns profits). An TV or an AirPort Extreme individually for $99 is an easier sell than a combined product for $199.

 

[Cougarcat]

It would work for myself and a few others but I think Apple's recently learned strategy is to price low and go for volume (in markets where price low still earns profits). An TV or an AirPort Extreme individually for $99 is an easier sell than a combined product for $199.

This. I have no use for an AppleTV (I don't even own a TV) and $199 is too much. But in a heartbeat, I'd pick up an iOS-based Airport with a couple USB ports for AirDisk and printing, for $99.

 

[oiler]

iHome Server?

My 2 Cents/Dream/Guess: (no inside info)

I think we are going to see some incredible things come Monday. I think that
we could see an A5 based home server that will unlock that secret sector discovered on the A5. This will allow for hardware based virtualized versions of Lion apps and or iOS apps. These virtualized apps could be streamed to any
monitor via small thin client TV like device. iPad could also receive streamed apps. Printer/Scanner could be attached to any thin client anywhere in your house. Storage on home server or iCloud.

We will also see deep integration with Siri/Nuance that has the potential of
blowing us away.

This is why Apple needs the 500k square foot server farm in N.C.

 

[AidenShaw]

TBolt is not a network protocol!

Thunderbolt is also ten times faster than gigabit ethernet. So to take advantage of the thunderbolt speed with an external air disk, you would need two thunderbolt connections: one to connect the device to your mac, and the other for the drive.

TBolt is ePCI, just like eSATA is "external SATA".

It's not a networking protocol. If you want TBolt speeds for networking, then get a TBolt to 10 GbE dongle for both ends, and a 10 GbE switch (which are running in the $700/port range today).

TBolt is for people who need boatloads of bandwidth, and can put the cost of it on their expense accounts.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

This. I have no use for an AppleTV (I don't even own a TV) and $199 is too much. But in a heartbeat, I'd pick up an iOS-based Airport with a couple USB ports for AirDisk and printing, for $99.

You guys are assuming wrong here. If the guts (hardware) are the same, it won't be adding $99 more to get it to $199. It will be running the TV software on the same core platform. If a new TC is going to be built on an A5 platform, and it's going to be an iTunes media central storage device (FINALLY!!!!), putting and HDMI & optical audio port on it is not going to add much cost at all (maybe $5). The rest is just software they already have running on the current TV. This iDevice platform is made to multitask a variety of apps. If they are going to leverage it as the new router update, why should it be limited to just a router app? Why not an iTunes Server app? TV? Time Capsule app? Maybe a few other surprises?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Content you buy from iTunes can be accessed or streamed from Apple's cloud server to any Apple device you own anytime, anywhere, for $25 a year.

Your own local content, including stuff you DIDN'T buy from Apple, can be streamed from your Time Machine to any Apple device anytime, anywhere for free. (Apple's cloud server would probably hold the media catalog, but the media itself would dwell on your Time Machine connected to your network and would stream directly from there - which is great, since there's no need to leave your PC on 24/7.)

That way you cover both scenarios in a way that keeps everyone - record labels, movie studios and end users - reasonably happy.

I believe this is an excellent guess about a way to store iTunes purchased content in iCloud (one copy to feed all buyers) AND store all of your own rips, etc on a local "cloud" and let the software seamlessly blend the two. Then, all of your purchases can stream from North Carolina and all of the your non-purchases can just seem like they're in the same cloud. A little pogoplug-like functionality and this will work (and it resolves a lot of concerns about how long it would take to upload "everything", heavy bandwidth usage for downloads if "everything" is stored in North Carolina, etc).

I bet this is how they handle the personal (not purchased on iTunes) content issues.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Doubtful. Apple TV with local storage isn't "next gen" - it's going back to the Apple TV 1st Generation model. Don't see Apple going back to that.

And when you say "no computer required".. an iOS Time Capsule with a few local hard disks IS a computer.. albeit a slightly smaller one. I have Mac Mini for that purpose already, and see no benefit whatsoever in replacing it with iOS Time Capsule

With a Mac Mini being used in that way, YOU wouldn't need this. But then there's the rest of us.

Also as far as going back, look up the second gen nano, then the third, then the fourth. Sometimes, Apple does go from bigger form factor to smaller to bigger.

Besides, I don't imagine it would be pitched as the new TV. It's the new iTunes Media Server (though you know Apple will spin up some less tech-oriented name) that happens to double as an TV if you want your centralized media stored next to your TV.

If the A5 platform is used, running an TV app and a router app is no different than running a variety of apps on any other iDevice. Don't want to set it up next to the TV? No problem, set it up wherever you want to set it up as a router or as a time capsule and ignore the functionality (just like each of us runs some apps on iDevices but not others).

Point being if the rest of the hardware is there, putting an HDMI port and an optical out port on it doesn't make it cost much more (very little actually) yet makes it much more versatile for those that might want to position it next to their TV instead of wherever they store their router now. If it is going to be able to centralize all iTunes media and be an efficient bridge to all iTunes media in the iCloud, it would be a big value add to give it the software option to also double as an TV for those who are interested.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

Routers running iOS? That could be sweet for one big reason. The potentials for automation/serving with a hacked device. For example, currently you cannot run AppleTV off an NAS or UPnP device at least without hacking it to run XBMC, which means you must have a full computer running iTunes on 24/7 (or at least one ready to be woken by Lan). But a hacked Airport Extreme might be able to run a full iTunes (at some point anyway; I think the iOS versions are cut-rate) at some point and therefore operate the devices anyway (or maybe Apple will finally set it up themselves since this could easily preclude 3rd party hardware which is probably why they never let them use NAS type devices in the first place; they want your money for a router/NAS, even if they don't have one ready yet).

 

[macdragonfl]

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If the products are similar to what they have been, definitely go the AE + hard drive route over time capsule. There are better hard drive options and you don't lose both if one fails (plus you may be able to save money).

Does Apple fully support Time Machine over Air Disk in this manner, and does it work just as well as Time Capsule?

Yes it is supported and it works exactly the same. I went with this option so I could increase drive size when needed.

 

[caspersoong]

Is this the weird device we saw in the Apple Store?

 

[Cougarcat]

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Yes it is supported and it works exactly the same. I went with this option so I could increase drive size when needed.

http://http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/15139.html Doesn't look like it's supported, but good to know it works.