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WWDC Product Releases?

Forget pizza box. Think high end audio receiver. You put the computer with your consumer A/V stuff. You have a 12 foot cable that runs to your 30" Apple HDTV/Computer monitor. Macs already have everythign needed for this type of thing, digital/optical audio 5.1 I/O, DVD player... That 30" needs and all-new graphics card, why not one with good HDTV ability. Add a slot for those cable TV decoder cards. Add more audio/video inputs and outputs on the back of the box with computer controlled switching. Add a small display and some knobs on the front of the box. Add TiVo-like record/playback. Add a WiFi iPod that works as a remote. Now there's a good system.
 
Putting the processor "in" the bakc of the screen does maintain one issue, that of screens living beyond their processors life span of usability. This has been a limitation of the current iMac range. I do hope that the processor / board can be easily "detached" from the screen back and replaced by faster "brains" after a few years. That would be a very attractive option.

As for the pizza base. I think the large footprint will be needed to allow for stability, keeping the weight of the units down on the current 20".

I also think the 15" will be gone...17" widescreen coming in as standard.

I do wonder if they will produce a 23".

Obvcously now the battery is in screen as well...I wonder if the drives will be as well...

The wall hanging idea has some very interesting long term protential for macs.

As a machines usefulness to run processor demanding software deminishes over the years the iMac can still live on in another role in the household when a new machine is bought. Older machines will end up as secondary monitors, "painting/picture" frames to display photos and video, music etc, wireless network machines to view simple apps like email, cooking, play lists etc...

An interesting development if true
 
jjmaximum said:
A wild-ass guess for the trim of the new iMac to be wood...like the edges of GarageBand windows and the interior of a BMW? Hard to imagine what it would look like...but it would definitely be different.
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Hmmmm! Wasn't the first Apple computer trimmed in wood!? ;)





(That said, I doubt it will be trimmed in wood.)
 
Leveraging technology new and old...

mrkstu said:
When you haven't heard anything from Apple about an important technology for awhile, its usually because they are working on a product with that tech involved. I think Airport Express was an important clue to Apple's direction. Wireless. Integrating into the Media Creation home environment means working with video as well as audio. To me that means DVD. A wireless keyboard and mouse means you can make the Mac invisible and the Mac becomes its interface, as it always was meant to be.
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Ding ding ding! I think you may have something here. Something you may not be aware of is that, when Steve Jobs said he thought their only real competition was Sony, you need to understand this man knows what he is talking about. However, it is important to understand Steve's frame of reference, too.

Sony's VAIO line of computers includes the V and W series which are basically what many here describe: an LCD panel with a computer strapped on the back. The one series has a built-in swing-out style keyboard, and the other one has a wireless keyboard-and-mouse combo. Sony also produces something called "RoomLink" which is targeted at wireless 802.11b broadcast from a central server system running either GigaPocket or Windows Media Center. That means you can use the PC as your repository and then dump (real-time or pre-recorded) video and/or audio to a TV, etc.

When I saw the Airport Express the other day, the first thing that came to mind is that Steve is now going head-to-head with Sony. Sony has "convergence" on the mind big-time, and Apple has often espoused such thinking, too.

The Mac has always been its interface- the hardware necessarily elegant because you couldn't hide it. Now that Wireless is here, its time to intro wireless FIREWIRE! Just as the first iMac made the transition to USB, this one will move totally into the wireless realm. So this allows:

1. Making the DVD burner a wireless component that you can hook up to your entertainment center- maybe move a TiVo style recording interface to your Mac that controls the component.

2. This DVD component is controlled by a remote that also controlls Airport Express! The DVD component neccesarily has video out already- it can show its control messages on the TV screen.

3. Invisible Mac- It can hang on the back of your big screen LCD or anywhere else that makes it not noticable at all- ultimately I don't care about the box- as long as I can upgrade the RAM easily, I'd prefer it to be invisible.

If this isn't what Apple is doing- it should be!!!
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Again, this is consistent with Apple going after Sony's market. It makes a lot of marketing sense because the people who buy Sony PCs (for the most part, Sony's low-end PCs notwithstanding) are buying a premium brand at a premium price. If Apple can suddenly make Sony look dated, they could go after the same customers. It would also put Apple in a position to go head-to-head with Microsoft over their Windows Media Center Edition.

I'm going to expound on what I think in my next post.
 
I think the wooden iMac may be the right idea! then not only could we have levels of processor speed but also wood grades for the case :

Examples:
iMac G5 1.8ghz
available in the following finishes:
Oak, Cedar, Maple, Cherry, and Burled Walnut

And they could run an ad campaign like:
"How hard is your computer's wood?"

[/end psychotic babble]
 
mrkstu said:
Integrating into the Media Creation home environment means working with video as well as audio. To me that means DVD.
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There is no wireless standard being manufactured that can even remotely touch DVD video at this point. Not even 802.15.3, the standard that is being pushed as a next-generation replacement for 802.11, is up to the task. The newer system will start at 55Mbit/s and hopefully scale to 200-400Mbit/s within two years. At that point, it could stream as fast as a wired FireWire (IEEE1394a) or USB2.0 connection but not power the device at the other end. This is a bandwidth and power problem, not a system engineering one.

Now that Wireless is here, its time to intro wireless FIREWIRE! Just as the first iMac made the transition to USB, this one will move totally into the wireless realm. So this allows:
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Will you people please read up on what "wireless FireWire' is before you say things like this? "FireWire" is a transmission protocol that runs over IEEE1394 cabling, and which doesn't use traditional TCP/IP packet handling to transfer data. It's intended for media streaming, which is why Apple uses it for the iPod and camera companies include it on their devices.

The problem? A first-generation IEEE1394 cable can carry at least 400Mbit/s of data, which makes it almost eight times as fast as the quickest wireless standard. That doesn't even start to touch on the IEEE1394b, or FireWire 800, speeds of 800Mbit/s.

1. Making the DVD burner a wireless component that you can hook up to your entertainment center- maybe move a TiVo style recording interface to your Mac that controls the component.
Click to expand...

This would be ridiculously slow and laggy, not to mention insecure, because there is no production wireless interface that can handle DVD video. If you think DVD encoding is slow now, this would take it about eighteen steps backwards.

3. Invisible Mac- It can hang on the back of your big screen LCD or anywhere else that makes it not noticable at all- ultimately I don't care about the box- as long as I can upgrade the RAM easily, I'd prefer it to be invisible.
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Unless you're willing to accept a lot of noise, a lot of expense, or a G4, I just don't see this happening. Say that you cut an xServe in half and got a box that was 2 inches thick by 9 inches wide by 28 inches long (fudge that around a bit, but that's cutting the width in half for argument's sake)... What you get is one G5 processor, a lot of noise, an OLD PCI graphics card, and not a whole lot else. You can either run the fans constantly to exhaust the case, or perhaps Apple could include some kind of liquid system once more, but it wouldn't be all that cheap.

I'm stepping back from my claims that the iMac G5 couldn't be done, since the situation has changed. The 970FX is apparently in quantity now, and the use of liquid cooling changes the whole game from the ground up. However, I don't expect anything like a pricedrop unless the display is completely removed, and that means no hideously expensive wireless display.
 
My take on where Apple could/maybe should go with it's products:

If Apple sells a larger (or even same-sized) version of it's current LCD line-up and adds 802.11b/g to it, then without even having to strap a computer to it, one can have most, if not all, of what many of you are thinking and wanting.

802.11b is just about fast enough to send video and audio. If you use 802.11g instead, you now have a more robust interface for this. It so happens that another company (don't remember the name) is selling for about $2000 a 802.11b/g system that lets you watch TV. Sony is putting out a product somewhere around $1300 or $1400 that will let you do that and surf the web. Apple could easilly trump both of these offerings by simply tying the monitor into a full-fledged Mac. You could then have a Mac-on-a-wall as some of you have said, a tv-on-a-wall as others have said, and a web & email-on-a-wall as others still have said.

Personally, I don't think Apple would be wise to simply reinvent TiVo. They would lose the leverage by not giving access to full Mac technology (that is, the OS and apps) as well. Besides, with Airport Extreme, what's to say you couldn't do the reverse and put a COAX, et al, interface on the monitor and then record TV on your Mac?

If you want to play a DVD or record to DVD, why not have a WiFirewire drive somewhere handy, say on the end-table next to you? How about headphones done through WiFi?

Apple wants to always brag about how they have the best multimedia integration, and this would be a chance to show just that. I can't afford it right now, but I sure would be interested if Apple were to offer this kind of product. Right now, I'm building a house, and it would be cool as heck to toss a 30" LCD up on the living room wall and know I could watch and record TV, use Rendesvous to stream it to any Mac in the house, and have a dedicated Mac some place where I could then play back DVDs, etc., wirelessly. One could also have 802.11g connections for the sound system, thereby eliminating almost all wiring, and keep all wiring that remains local (that is, power plugs and such).
 
Rantipole said:
Hmmmm! Wasn't the first Apple computer trimmed in wood!? ;)





(That said, I doubt it will be trimmed in wood.)
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actually it was made entirely of wood(the case) having said that no no wood trimed ipod
 
thatwendigo said:
There is no wireless standard being manufactured that can even remotely touch DVD video at this point. Not even 802.15.3, the standard that is being pushed as a next-generation replacement for 802.11, is up to the task. The newer system will start at 55Mbit/s and hopefully scale to 200-400Mbit/s within two years. At that point, it could stream as fast as a wired FireWire (IEEE1394a) or USB2.0 connection but not power the device at the other end. This is a bandwidth and power problem, not a system engineering one.
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Hmmm... Interesting points. However, Sony IS doing this, albeit to a much lesser extent.

This would be ridiculously slow and laggy, not to mention insecure, because there is no production wireless interface that can handle DVD video. If you think DVD encoding is slow now, this would take it about eighteen steps backwards.
Click to expand...

I hadn't really thought about the "insecure" part of this, but yeah, now that you mention it, you're right. Hollywood would probably shoot Apple if they let insecure WiFi broadcasts of movies and music go on.
 
That beam is bigger than my mote...

thatwendigo said:
There is no wireless standard being manufactured that can even remotely touch DVD video at this point. Not even 802.15.3, the standard that is being pushed as a next-generation replacement for 802.11, is up to the task. The newer system will start at 55Mbit/s and hopefully scale to 200-400Mbit/s within two years. At that point, it could stream as fast as a wired FireWire (IEEE1394a) or USB2.0 connection but not power the device at the other end. This is a bandwidth and power problem, not a system engineering one.

Will you people please read up on what "wireless FireWire' is before you say things like this? "FireWire" is a transmission protocol that runs over IEEE1394 cabling, and which doesn't use traditional TCP/IP packet handling to transfer data. It's intended for media streaming, which is why Apple uses it for the iPod and camera companies include it on their devices.

The problem? A first-generation IEEE1394 cable can carry at least 400Mbit/s of data, which makes it almost eight times as fast as the quickest wireless standard. That doesn't even start to touch on the IEEE1394b, or FireWire 800, speeds of 800Mbit/s.

This would be ridiculously slow and laggy, not to mention insecure, because there is no production wireless interface that can handle DVD video. If you think DVD encoding is slow now, this would take it about eighteen steps backwards.
Click to expand...

Read up? How bout this from MacRumors:
The 1394 Trade Association has approved a specification which would allow the development of wireless Firewire devices.
The new Protocol Adaptation Layer (PAL) for IEEE 1394 over IEEE 802.15.3 was approved Monday. In a statement, the trade association said: ?The PAL is designed as a standard convergence layer between the 802.15.3 MAC and applications developed for wired 1394. It builds upon the 1394 infrastructure--for example, data formats, connection-management schemes, and time synchronization procedures--and takes advantage of the excellent quality of service available in 802.15.3.?

Examples of new products with the new specification include wireless connections to DVD players and hard drives from set top boxes. Prototype products are expected before the end of the year.

Apple has been an early adopter of Firewire, so adoption of this technology could be expected.
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Think different... :rolleyes:
 
Butler Trumpet said:
I was on dial up the last 3 years, and the quick time stream worked alright. Its from apple so its very reliable. Now that Im using cable internet though, I cant wait!!! its going to be awesome!! :rolleyes:
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Well you probably didn't get a maximum connection of 21.6kbps either! You can't stream video or even just the sound through that. No way in hell!
 
thatwendigo said:
There is no wireless standard being manufactured that can even remotely touch DVD video at this point. Not even 802.15.3, the standard that is being pushed as a next-generation replacement for 802.11, is up to the task. The newer system will start at 55Mbit/s and hopefully scale to 200-400Mbit/s within two years. At that point, it could stream as fast as a wired FireWire (IEEE1394a) or USB2.0 connection but not power the device at the other end. This is a bandwidth and power problem, not a system engineering one.IEEE1394 cable can carry at least 400Mbit/s of data, which makes it almost eight times as fast as the quickest wireless standard. That doesn't even start to touch on the IEEE1394b, or FireWire 800, speeds of 800Mbit/s.
Click to expand...

ive watched ripped dvds with 5.1 sound from an external hard drive over a usb1.1 connection with no problem. btw, the bandwith of a dvd-rom and a usb1.1 connection is almost the same (11mbps)

http://stream.uen.org/medsol/dvd/pages/dvdvid_pipelinecompare.html

an 802.11b connection cant reach this, but i dont see why an 802.11g cannot. theoretically it is possible

has anyone here watched a dvd over an 802.11g connection?
 
pizza box?

1) Steve walks out with a pizza box, opens it up, takes out a slice(mushroom, why not?) and says.....who wants a computer that can be delivered in 30 minutes or its free?

2) I think Dr. Frankenstein works at Dell....

3) I have a cable modem connection using Lynksys wireless to my TiBook, and the MWSF2004 broadcast was slow, and the one before that was too...but its worth the reloading and replaying....

4) My PS2 has a vertical optical drive, it works just fine....so why cant the dvd drive be on the iTap(short for tapestry) or iFrame?

5)I thought the WHOLE idea of the iMac was that it was all in one, so there is no way this new iMac will be headless, it wouldnt be an iMac then...

6)I converted a pc user to Apple today....aside from the feeling of pride and joy(like freeing a caged bird) but i think it would be smart for apple to have a conversion incentive....if you get someone to switch you and THAT person get $10 free at iTMS....that would be nice

7) I'm really going to have nightmares about that Dell Monstrosity....
 
Who wants a hangable computer?

Maybe I'm missing something, but why would anyone want to hang a computer on their wall. I guess it SOUNDS cool, but are you going to sit in front of the wall with a keyboard on your lap? Or will you place the screen on the wall across from your desk? Won't it be hard to see from that distance?

Again, WHY would anyone want to hang their computer on the wall???

I'm in the school that wants to see a 'headless' iMac. When the LCD makes up half the cost of the computer, I want the option of keeping the LCD and replacing the CPU at more frequent intervals. (Doesn't this make $$ sense to Apple?)
 
MikeTheC said:
Besides, with Airport Extreme, what's to say you couldn't do the reverse and put a COAX, et al, interface on the monitor and then record TV on your Mac?
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It's already being done with VDVHS in Hi-Def!. But with 5C data encryption it's now impossible to record anything that is even tagged "Copy Once". Unless Apple can release a 5C Compliant device it will be useless. Good thread here...
 
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