And a statement like "most college grads are not finding jobs and moving back in with moms" is just begging for a source. If you're going to make predictions based on data, rather than anecdotes, you need a source. Otherwise it's a worthless statement.
Hear, hear! Anecdotal data is the most common and most worthless form of evidence you can find online. Someone should come up with a way to flag anecdotal evidence so we can all just skip any posting that relies on such worthless blather to support its main argument.
If you look in Costco today, there are as many BR as DVDs, more in fact and the price is down to the old DVD level.
I’ve seen in-store Blu-ray players as low as $99, but have you tried to use them? They take a very long time to turn on, to load the disc and trying to scan is a nightmare. Plus, I’ve had one friend return a $170 Blu-uray player because it was freeze for a second every now and then while trying to re-buffer. With the amount of data being pushed skimming on HW performance and firmware optimizations to get a lower price isn’t the best way to with a Blu-ray player.
Apple TV clearly needs a shake-up. The TV revolution is not happening fast enough for Apple in that sector and they should bite the bullet; add BluRay and tuners or give up and come back in a couple of years.
The iPhone/iSlate platform will grow into an absolute monster over the next few years with Google the only credible competition.
They really need to follow Netflix and buy the entire back catalog of movies for streaming. Apple could afford to do this for free or low cost and I think it would really drive AppleTV adoption.
They also need to bundle the new remote. It works so much better then the old plastic one...
click on National data, click on survival (drop down), click on liver (drop down), click on survival by recipient age - center of page - to see results.
Plus Steve is fortunately in a position to pay for a second liver transplant.... maybe his odds are even better?
I'm not a doctor, just not ready to write off Steve Jobs based on currently available scientific data...
Good results there, perhaps your right about Steve.
I still think Apple is going to favor the new iPhone OS UI over OS X UI in future devices.
It's easier to use and there is a nice lock-in to the App Store which Apple controls.
Let me see if I have got this right: People will actually pay you money for saying a company did well this year and you therefore expect they might do even better the following year?
Optical discs, no matter what flavor, are on their way out. They are as dead as dead.
Streaming, downloading and hard drives are coming back in a big way.
I agree, even about the hard drives because they have become smaller and cheaper and SSD hasn't lived up to it's promise, still too expensive.
However, SDXC just came out last year, with the potential to 2TB and twice the speeds of a 7,200 RPM hard drive.
The new Mac's sport a SD slot now, can access the higher storage, but not the SDXC speed.
Eventually they will, and that might very well replace both SSD and hard drives and produce a whole new range of thinner devices.
People scoff at me when I say BlueRay isn't coming to Mac's, but I feel Apple's need for thin and stylish computers will not make BlueRay happen on their computers, not even the BTO on MacPro's, just because why bother for one device that is seeing declining pro sales? (it's the same Intel processors and hardware is cheaper elsewhere)
Apple is focusing solely on making consumer devices from now on.
However, SDXC just came out last year, with the potential to 2TB and twice the speeds of a 7,200 RPM hard drive.
[?]
Eventually they will, and that might very well replace both SSD and hard drives and produce a whole new range of thinner devices.
SSDs will get faster, too. I don?t see slot-loaded NAND on a card outpacing SSD in terms of speed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cnocbui
Not until you have fiber to the door throughout the world. I see no sign of that happening anytime soon.
I don?t understand why optical drives in a PC can?t go away until optical cables come to your home. There is no 1:1 correlation between them because they both have optical in the name.
The Apple TV never took off because Apple isn't listening to what customers want.
I know Apple likes to tell consumers what they want, but in this case it's not working. They continue to include useless crap like YouTube and Facebook and redesign the interface, which still isn't right. Ever use YouTube on the AppleTV? It's a lot of fun typing with the remote control.
Even though most consumers have 16:9 TV's, Apple continues to use a vertical user interface for scrolling through movies and music.
For 3 years consumers have been asking for DVR and tuner capabilities.
So it's not a wonder why most people won't put down $249 when they can get the capabilities they want on other companies hardware for the same price. It just doesn't have a gray Apple on it.
The Apple TV never took off because Apple isn't listening to what customers want.
I know Apple likes to tell consumers what they want, but in this case it's not working. They continue to include useless crap like YouTube and Facebook and redesign the interface, which still isn't right. Ever use YouTube on the AppleTV? It's a lot of fun typing with the remote control.
Even though most consumers have 16:9 TV's, Apple continues to use a vertical user interface for scrolling through movies and music.
For 3 years consumers have been asking for DVR and tuner capabilities.
So it's not a wonder why most people won't put down $249 when they can get the capabilities they want on other companies hardware for the same price. It just doesn't have a gray Apple on it.
That is likely true but if you look at the unusual way the AppleTV came about it looks to have been shown, but not demoed, for the studios not the consumers. They didn?t demo it until 5 months after that and I can only assume they expected to have studios on board by then, but they didn?t. They whole concept seemed focused on studios getting on board, but they played hardball and beat Apple who looks to have had to give in plenty to eventually get them on-board a year later than expected. By then, other home entertainment appliances were already integrating internet-based streaming and downloads.
I don?t see Apple being able to give it up the living room so I expect new HW and new services in the pipe. Then again, I?ve been waiting for this for awhile, along with new ACDs. \
Optical discs, no matter what flavor, are on their way out. They are as dead as dead.
Streaming, downloading and hard drives are coming back in a big way.
I think you are a bit off on that prediction. One problem is that many people do not have access to fast broadband. Another thing to consider is that some of the fastest broadband pipes (in the U.S.A) are provided by companies that also sell content. Comcast is constantly complaining about "bandwidth hogs" and are trying to push monthly data caps. 25-50 Gb a month might seem like a lot but that would be eaten up very quickly with even lower rez hd content. On the other hand they are thrilled to let you be a "bandwidth hog" when you are buying and downloading shows from them. These companies do not want their broadband services to become a dumb utility service for itunes, netflix et al because they do not get a cut of that revenue. And I believe that as streaming and downloading shows becomes more prevalent you will see a showdown between broadband providers and services like itunes and netflix. Net result IMHO will be that we the consumer will loose because of higher fees, bandwidth caps and even lose the ability to connect to certain services. That is why I believe that blu-ray and other physical forms of media distribution will be around for a good portion of this decade.
The Apple TV never took off because Apple isn't listening to what customers want. ...
Your entire post is predicated on the idea that the Apple TV "never took off" or isn't doing well in some way, when in fact this is just inaccurate.
If you read a lot of tech sites like this one, you might get the impression that Apple TV is no good, but if you talk to the people who actually own one or have bought one they uniformly love it and think it an excellent value proposition. Sales of the device are also quite good, even if not doing the gangbusters sales that other Apple products do.
Your basically posting about a popular misconception or myth, not fact.
Your assertion about the "vertical" interface is also wrong (it's actually horizontal now), and the idea that all Apple's problems can be put down to "not giving the customers what they want" is just too ridiculous to talk about.
I think you are a bit off on that prediction. One problem is that many people do not have access to fast broadband.
[?]
That is why I believe that blu-ray and other physical forms of media distribution will be around for a good portion of this decade.
1) The majority doesn?t have to have fast broadband for streaming to be a viable source for entertainment. Just look at YouTube and Hulu?s success. They?re starting to offer 1080p, too. Having to wait for a buffering due to wanting higher-def isn?t a deal breaker for many. I use torrents for shows BBC shows since I?m in the US. I don?t mind having to wait a few hours for it to complete. (BTW, the Doctor Who Special was good.)
2) Having a a viable digital streaming and downloads market doesn?t mean that optical media and other formats have to fail for the others to succeed. Blu-ray is going to be the best format for a very long time, but that doesn?t mean that other formats aren?t just as enjoyable. A lot of movies I?m fine with in DVD format, and a lot of TV shows I?m happy with 480p on Hulu.
3) I can buy a missed TV show or movie on my iPhone while sitting in an airport. That is pretty damn cool.
4) Wanting to gain back the slow, power hungry, and space hogging optical drive from my notebook doesn?t mean that I don?t want Blu-ray in my home entertainment center. I don?t want it in an AppleTV since I already have one and certainly don?t need to have two.
FWIW, Robert Scoble says he knows someone who used to work at Apple with first-hand knowledge of a tablet device. According to him, Jobs wants it to be his legacy product and he seems to hint that Jobs may be sicker than we've been led to believe.
I gather it ain't worth shit.
Why would you bother to even mention it, especially since nobody is attempting to say otherwise?
Your entire post is predicated on the idea that the Apple TV "never took off" or isn't doing well in some way, when in fact this is just inaccurate.
For a media extender appliance it looked to be doing very well, but that whole market was new and hadn?t taken off. With TiVo, PS3, XBOX 360, and other appliances getting decent to good media extender features the AppleTV and other standalone media extenders are definitely now lackluster and limiting in many ways.
Comments
And a statement like "most college grads are not finding jobs and moving back in with moms" is just begging for a source. If you're going to make predictions based on data, rather than anecdotes, you need a source. Otherwise it's a worthless statement.
Hear, hear! Anecdotal data is the most common and most worthless form of evidence you can find online. Someone should come up with a way to flag anecdotal evidence so we can all just skip any posting that relies on such worthless blather to support its main argument.
If you look in Costco today, there are as many BR as DVDs, more in fact and the price is down to the old DVD level.
I’ve seen in-store Blu-ray players as low as $99, but have you tried to use them? They take a very long time to turn on, to load the disc and trying to scan is a nightmare. Plus, I’ve had one friend return a $170 Blu-uray player because it was freeze for a second every now and then while trying to re-buffer. With the amount of data being pushed skimming on HW performance and firmware optimizations to get a lower price isn’t the best way to with a Blu-ray player.
..."most college grads are not finding jobs and moving back in with moms" is just begging for a source...
Here's two, took me a second to Google it, wasn't hard to find.
http://www.collegegrad.com/press/200..._numbers.shtml
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...ver-kids_x.htm
Can't argue with anything in the report.
Apple TV clearly needs a shake-up. The TV revolution is not happening fast enough for Apple in that sector and they should bite the bullet; add BluRay and tuners or give up and come back in a couple of years.
The iPhone/iSlate platform will grow into an absolute monster over the next few years with Google the only credible competition.
They really need to follow Netflix and buy the entire back catalog of movies for streaming. Apple could afford to do this for free or low cost and I think it would really drive AppleTV adoption.
They also need to bundle the new remote. It works so much better then the old plastic one...
According to this website, there is a pretty good success ratio for liver transplants at Steve's age.
http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/data/
click on National data, click on survival (drop down), click on liver (drop down), click on survival by recipient age - center of page - to see results.
Plus Steve is fortunately in a position to pay for a second liver transplant.... maybe his odds are even better?
I'm not a doctor, just not ready to write off Steve Jobs based on currently available scientific data...
Good results there, perhaps your right about Steve.
I still think Apple is going to favor the new iPhone OS UI over OS X UI in future devices.
It's easier to use and there is a nice lock-in to the App Store which Apple controls.
Where can I get some of this action?
What the hell are you talking about?
Macro, micro and business economics with future trends.
Care to add a bit of skepticism?
Just a dash, too much ruins the recipe.
Haven't seen it mentioned here yet... the Daring Fireball take on the tablet:
http://daringfireball.net/2009/12/the_tablet
Very sound observations.
A refreshing perspective. Thanks for posting.
Optical discs, no matter what flavor, are on their way out. They are as dead as dead.
Streaming, downloading and hard drives are coming back in a big way.
I agree, even about the hard drives because they have become smaller and cheaper and SSD hasn't lived up to it's promise, still too expensive.
However, SDXC just came out last year, with the potential to 2TB and twice the speeds of a 7,200 RPM hard drive.
The new Mac's sport a SD slot now, can access the higher storage, but not the SDXC speed.
Eventually they will, and that might very well replace both SSD and hard drives and produce a whole new range of thinner devices.
People scoff at me when I say BlueRay isn't coming to Mac's, but I feel Apple's need for thin and stylish computers will not make BlueRay happen on their computers, not even the BTO on MacPro's, just because why bother for one device that is seeing declining pro sales? (it's the same Intel processors and hardware is cheaper elsewhere)
Apple is focusing solely on making consumer devices from now on.
Optical discs, no matter what flavor, are on their way out. They are as dead as dead.
Streaming, downloading and hard drives are coming back in a big way.
Not until you have fiber to the door throughout the world. I see no sign of that happening anytime soon.
Haven't seen it mentioned here yet... the Daring Fireball take on the tablet:
http://daringfireball.net/2009/12/the_tablet
Very sound observations.
Yes very good.
So he's saying, and it looks like, that Apple is creating more devices so people can balance their portability with their needs better.
People need something between a laptop and a smartphone can get a iTablet.
The iTablet won't cannibalize MacBook sales because it won't have a real keyboard.
However, SDXC just came out last year, with the potential to 2TB and twice the speeds of a 7,200 RPM hard drive.
[?]
Eventually they will, and that might very well replace both SSD and hard drives and produce a whole new range of thinner devices.
SSDs will get faster, too. I don?t see slot-loaded NAND on a card outpacing SSD in terms of speed.
Not until you have fiber to the door throughout the world. I see no sign of that happening anytime soon.
I don?t understand why optical drives in a PC can?t go away until optical cables come to your home. There is no 1:1 correlation between them because they both have optical in the name.
The iTablet won't cannibalize MacBook sales because it won't have a real keyboard.
I?m with you there.
I know Apple likes to tell consumers what they want, but in this case it's not working. They continue to include useless crap like YouTube and Facebook and redesign the interface, which still isn't right. Ever use YouTube on the AppleTV? It's a lot of fun typing with the remote control.
Even though most consumers have 16:9 TV's, Apple continues to use a vertical user interface for scrolling through movies and music.
For 3 years consumers have been asking for DVR and tuner capabilities.
So it's not a wonder why most people won't put down $249 when they can get the capabilities they want on other companies hardware for the same price. It just doesn't have a gray Apple on it.
The Apple TV never took off because Apple isn't listening to what customers want.
I know Apple likes to tell consumers what they want, but in this case it's not working. They continue to include useless crap like YouTube and Facebook and redesign the interface, which still isn't right. Ever use YouTube on the AppleTV? It's a lot of fun typing with the remote control.
Even though most consumers have 16:9 TV's, Apple continues to use a vertical user interface for scrolling through movies and music.
For 3 years consumers have been asking for DVR and tuner capabilities.
So it's not a wonder why most people won't put down $249 when they can get the capabilities they want on other companies hardware for the same price. It just doesn't have a gray Apple on it.
That is likely true but if you look at the unusual way the AppleTV came about it looks to have been shown, but not demoed, for the studios not the consumers. They didn?t demo it until 5 months after that and I can only assume they expected to have studios on board by then, but they didn?t. They whole concept seemed focused on studios getting on board, but they played hardball and beat Apple who looks to have had to give in plenty to eventually get them on-board a year later than expected. By then, other home entertainment appliances were already integrating internet-based streaming and downloads.
I don?t see Apple being able to give it up the living room so I expect new HW and new services in the pipe. Then again, I?ve been waiting for this for awhile, along with new ACDs.
Optical discs, no matter what flavor, are on their way out. They are as dead as dead.
Streaming, downloading and hard drives are coming back in a big way.
I think you are a bit off on that prediction. One problem is that many people do not have access to fast broadband. Another thing to consider is that some of the fastest broadband pipes (in the U.S.A) are provided by companies that also sell content. Comcast is constantly complaining about "bandwidth hogs" and are trying to push monthly data caps. 25-50 Gb a month might seem like a lot but that would be eaten up very quickly with even lower rez hd content. On the other hand they are thrilled to let you be a "bandwidth hog" when you are buying and downloading shows from them. These companies do not want their broadband services to become a dumb utility service for itunes, netflix et al because they do not get a cut of that revenue. And I believe that as streaming and downloading shows becomes more prevalent you will see a showdown between broadband providers and services like itunes and netflix. Net result IMHO will be that we the consumer will loose because of higher fees, bandwidth caps and even lose the ability to connect to certain services. That is why I believe that blu-ray and other physical forms of media distribution will be around for a good portion of this decade.
The Apple TV never took off because Apple isn't listening to what customers want. ...
Your entire post is predicated on the idea that the Apple TV "never took off" or isn't doing well in some way, when in fact this is just inaccurate.
If you read a lot of tech sites like this one, you might get the impression that Apple TV is no good, but if you talk to the people who actually own one or have bought one they uniformly love it and think it an excellent value proposition. Sales of the device are also quite good, even if not doing the gangbusters sales that other Apple products do.
Your basically posting about a popular misconception or myth, not fact.
Your assertion about the "vertical" interface is also wrong (it's actually horizontal now), and the idea that all Apple's problems can be put down to "not giving the customers what they want" is just too ridiculous to talk about.
I think you are a bit off on that prediction. One problem is that many people do not have access to fast broadband.
[?]
That is why I believe that blu-ray and other physical forms of media distribution will be around for a good portion of this decade.
1) The majority doesn?t have to have fast broadband for streaming to be a viable source for entertainment. Just look at YouTube and Hulu?s success. They?re starting to offer 1080p, too. Having to wait for a buffering due to wanting higher-def isn?t a deal breaker for many. I use torrents for shows BBC shows since I?m in the US. I don?t mind having to wait a few hours for it to complete. (BTW, the Doctor Who Special was good.)
2) Having a a viable digital streaming and downloads market doesn?t mean that optical media and other formats have to fail for the others to succeed. Blu-ray is going to be the best format for a very long time, but that doesn?t mean that other formats aren?t just as enjoyable. A lot of movies I?m fine with in DVD format, and a lot of TV shows I?m happy with 480p on Hulu.
3) I can buy a missed TV show or movie on my iPhone while sitting in an airport. That is pretty damn cool.
4) Wanting to gain back the slow, power hungry, and space hogging optical drive from my notebook doesn?t mean that I don?t want Blu-ray in my home entertainment center. I don?t want it in an AppleTV since I already have one and certainly don?t need to have two.
FWIW, Robert Scoble says he knows someone who used to work at Apple with first-hand knowledge of a tablet device. According to him, Jobs wants it to be his legacy product and he seems to hint that Jobs may be sicker than we've been led to believe.
I gather it ain't worth shit.
Why would you bother to even mention it, especially since nobody is attempting to say otherwise?
I gather you don't get invited out much.
Your entire post is predicated on the idea that the Apple TV "never took off" or isn't doing well in some way, when in fact this is just inaccurate.
For a media extender appliance it looked to be doing very well, but that whole market was new and hadn?t taken off. With TiVo, PS3, XBOX 360, and other appliances getting decent to good media extender features the AppleTV and other standalone media extenders are definitely now lackluster and limiting in many ways.