Other Hardware Additions...
I understand the debate about the G5, but what we have is what we have, and until Steve opens his eyes and uses these message boards to gauge what Apple's consumers want, Apple's processor line will continue to move slowly.
However, I think we should open up our eyes to the bigger picture. Apple is trying to craft the "perfect" computer from every angle. Steve is trying to keep his hands in software, hardware, and peripherals ( i.e. the "Digital Hub") . Take some time and think about how great an undertaking that is?
With that in mind, where does Apple need to take itself right now?Where is it's area of greatest concentration? ?Software and peripherals.
I know this is a discussion about Hardware, but humor me for a second because what I am about to bring up influences the direction of hardware in Macs.
I think the greatest issues of concern hitting the Mac community today are lack of compatibility and emerging technology.
Being an audio professional and not having any of my software ( or competing software for that matter ) for Mac OSX is a real problem. Core audio was/is supposed to revolutionize what Audio pros do?we are waiting. Photoshop ? Quark ? I rest my case on software?
With USB 2.O hitting 480 kbps throughput, Firewire has a real competitor. It is past time for Gigawire. With a rumored 800 kbps to upwards of 3.2gbps, this needs to be introduces as an alternative to UltraWide SCSI, and USB 2.0. This technology is key to Apple's vision.
Finally, I think it's time for SuperDrive II . Add DVD-RW and DVD+RW support (Heck? throw in DVD-RAM readability for all those dual 500 DVD-RAM owners out there) and you've got that market cornered.
There's more to this picture than just processors?.
However, I think we should open up our eyes to the bigger picture. Apple is trying to craft the "perfect" computer from every angle. Steve is trying to keep his hands in software, hardware, and peripherals ( i.e. the "Digital Hub") . Take some time and think about how great an undertaking that is?
With that in mind, where does Apple need to take itself right now?Where is it's area of greatest concentration? ?Software and peripherals.
I know this is a discussion about Hardware, but humor me for a second because what I am about to bring up influences the direction of hardware in Macs.
I think the greatest issues of concern hitting the Mac community today are lack of compatibility and emerging technology.
Being an audio professional and not having any of my software ( or competing software for that matter ) for Mac OSX is a real problem. Core audio was/is supposed to revolutionize what Audio pros do?we are waiting. Photoshop ? Quark ? I rest my case on software?
With USB 2.O hitting 480 kbps throughput, Firewire has a real competitor. It is past time for Gigawire. With a rumored 800 kbps to upwards of 3.2gbps, this needs to be introduces as an alternative to UltraWide SCSI, and USB 2.0. This technology is key to Apple's vision.
Finally, I think it's time for SuperDrive II . Add DVD-RW and DVD+RW support (Heck? throw in DVD-RAM readability for all those dual 500 DVD-RAM owners out there) and you've got that market cornered.
There's more to this picture than just processors?.
Comments
<strong>I understand the debate about the G5, but what we have is what we have, and until Steve opens his eyes and uses these message boards to gauge what Apple's consumers want, Apple's processor line will continue to move slowly.</strong><hr></blockquote>
1. Apple probably has people reading these forums and I wouldn't be surprised if Steve himself does. (Hi, Steve!)
2. Apple doesn't control the processor speed, Motorola does, and until Motorola gets their act together or Apple switches to IBM, we're going to have slow updates.
[quote]<strong>Being an audio professional and not having any of my software ( or competing software for that matter ) for Mac OSX is a real problem. Core audio was/is supposed to revolutionize what Audio pros do?we are waiting.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I think it would be good if Apple wrote software for music. I'm sure there are plenty of musicians out there that use Macs and don't really know anything about doing stuff with music on a Mac. They could do like they did with iMovie to revolutionize that market.
[quote]<strong>With USB 2.O hitting 480 kbps throughput, Firewire has a real competitor. It is past time for Gigawire. With a rumored 800 kbps to upwards of 3.2gbps, this needs to be introduces as an alternative to UltraWide SCSI, and USB 2.0. This technology is key to Apple's vision.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I really doubt GigaWire is FireWire 2. The patent talks about communication and cell phones, etc. Besides, FireWire is such a good name. I predict FireWire will be updated and keep the same name and we'll see GigaWire used for something else. But I do agree that it's important to speed it up. Fast.
[quote]<strong>Finally, I think it's time for SuperDrive II . Add DVD-RW and DVD+RW support (Heck? throw in DVD-RAM readability for all those dual 500 DVD-RAM owners out there) and you've got that market cornered.</strong><hr></blockquote>
DVD-RW is coming soon to a SuperDrive near you. DVD-RAM would be harder as they use the cartridges and don't fit in the traditional SuperDrives. They would have to use that funky tray thing and I'm not sure how that would work for regular CD-RW/DVD-R(W)
But I do agree with you, there are lots of things they could do with the hardware.
Here's an idea that I've had for a while (it's not really original, but no one's doing it right now).
What if Apple redid the Duo in a strange sort of way.
Have a tower with a removable laptop, when joined they run together (dual processor, two hard drives, double RAM) and when seperate, they run indepentantly. Would be cool, no?
<strong>With USB 2.O hitting 480 kbps throughput, Firewire has a real competitor. It is past time for Gigawire. With a rumored 800 kbps to upwards of 3.2gbps, this needs to be introduces as an alternative to UltraWide SCSI, and USB 2.0. This technology is key to Apple's vision.
Finally, I think it's time for SuperDrive II . Add DVD-RW and DVD+RW support (Heck? throw in DVD-RAM readability for all those dual 500 DVD-RAM owners out there) and you've got that market cornered.</strong><hr></blockquote>
1. the throughput number thrown around for usb 2 are pure vaporware
2. i thought current superdrives were dvd-rw, apple just doesn't publish it, someone help me out on a link
good points overall
Which means that superdrive 2 DEFINATLY will do dvd-rw.
small little comparison
USB 2 cd-rw(16x) burns at 4x tops
firewire cd-rw(16x) burns at 8-12x tops
this is based on the USB 2 cd-rw and the firewire CD-rw that are around my campus, I've tried many things with both, but 1) I can't get 16x out of either of them, and 2) the firewire one burns better
firewire= superior technology
USB 2= good tech, but only until 1394b comes out
if apple Does manage to scale firewire2
upto 3.2 gbps, then I will be soooo damn impressed, that should keep apple ahead in the I/O market for a LONG time(it took the pc world 2+ years to catch upto firewire)
<strong>if apple Does manage to scale firewire2
upto 3.2 gbps, then I will be soooo damn impressed, that should keep apple ahead in the I/O market for a LONG time(it took the pc world 2+ years to catch upto firewire)</strong><hr></blockquote>
This will be nice for *real* FireWire RAIDs.
Umm....
<strong>
1. the throughput number thrown around for usb 2 are pure vaporware
</strong><hr></blockquote>
If you have any proof of that, I'd like to see it.
I'm currently using a PC and have both USB 2.0 and Firewire external drives. The USB 2.0 drive *does* give me greater throughput. I'll run benchmarks on them, and post the results.
[qb ]I think it would be good if Apple wrote software for music. I'm sure there are plenty of musicians out there that use Macs and don't really know anything about doing stuff with music on a Mac. They could do like they did with iMovie to revolutionize that market.<hr></blockquote>I dont use it, but pro Tools seems to be pretty good in that respect... maybe a consumer version that makes it simple?... or is that what you were getting at?
quote:
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With USB 2.O hitting 480 kbps throughput, Firewire has a real competitor. It is past time for Gigawire. With a rumored 800 kbps to upwards of 3.2gbps, this needs to be introduces as an alternative to UltraWide SCSI, and USB 2.0. This technology is key to Apple's vision.
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[quote]
I really doubt GigaWire is FireWire 2. The patent talks about communication and cell phones, etc. Besides, FireWire is such a good name. I predict FireWire will be updated and keep the same name and we'll see GigaWire used for something else. But I do agree that it's important to speed it up. Fast.<hr></blockquote> This just popped into my head. Doesn't the IEEE1394 cable change to an optical cable after a certain speed? If so maybe the old IEEE1394 ports will be called firewire and the new ones (not compatible with the older ones) will be called gigawire... and maybe there is a wireless variant?
quote:
Finally, I think it's time for SuperDrive II . Add DVD-RW and DVD+RW support (Heck? throw in DVD-RAM readability for all those dual 500 DVD-RAM owners out there) and you've got that market cornered.
[quote]
DVD-RW is coming soon to a SuperDrive near you. DVD-RAM would be harder as they use the cartridges and don't fit in the traditional SuperDrives. They would have to use that funky tray thing and I'm not sure how that would work for regular CD-RW/DVD-R(W)
But I do agree with you, there are lots of things they could do with the hardware.
Here's an idea that I've had for a while (it's not really original, but no one's doing it right now).
What if Apple redid the Duo in a strange sort of way.
Have a tower with a removable laptop, when joined they run together (dual processor, two hard drives, double RAM) and when seperate, they run indepentantly. Would be cool, no?[/qb]<hr></blockquote>
DVD-RW is already on ALL of the superdrive hardware (at least thats what I have read) just the software is missing. The DVD-RW software is implemented in 10.2 (see videos on the net...) I thought DVD-RAM could be read in regular DVD-ROM machines, but only written to in DVD-RAM machines... I could be wrong...
The Duo idea is a good one, but it seems to be too expensive/hard to engineer i mean having 2 mobo/cpu/ram/hd/SCREENS/keyboard/trackpad/mouse.... it sould get rediculously expensive... too expensive... more likely to have a "dock" and I dont think Apple will do that either. Too messsy, doesnt fit with the current designs....
I personally would like to see a "dock" for a DV cam and a digicam (maybe just the DV tape and media cards?) also, it would have a HD and batts so it could be used on the road.
A TIVO-like device with DVD support would be nice also, but APple would never do that.
maybe a HQ high powered FM transmitter so you could brodcast sound over a freqency that could be heard all over the house... THAT would be cool... your own private radio station, could be played on ANY radio... is taht even legal?!?
Edit: stupid [qb] made the whole thing bold!!!
[ 01-29-2002: Message edited by: psantora ]</p>
<strong>Being an audio professional and not having any of my software ( or competing software for that matter ) for Mac OSX is a real problem. Core audio was/is supposed to revolutionize what Audio pros do?we are waiting. Photoshop ? Quark ? I rest my case on software?</strong><hr></blockquote>
It's all coming. Every one of the major audio vendors has committed to OS X. It turns out that the CoreAudio layer in 10.1 wasn't as finished as Apple hoped, and they're working now on filling the gaps in.
Photoshop is imminent, and Quark is such a hellish codebase that... well, anyway, it's coming too. Adobe has put the fear of InDesign into them.
[quote]<strong>With USB 2.O hitting 480 kbps throughput, Firewire has a real competitor.</strong><hr></blockquote>
For raw throughput. USB 2.0 can't run in isochronous mode, nor does it treat the peripherals it attaches as peers (allowing you to, for example, transfer video from a camera to a FW hard drive). USB 2.0, like USB 1.x, is a master-slave connector: it always attaches a peripheral to a computer.
The next-gen FW standard either just got approved or is in the very last stages of approval, so the support hardware should appear before long. When it does, FW will take back the raw-bandwidth crown. And, if the claims are correct, it will get cheaper, too.
[quote]<strong>Finally, I think it's time for SuperDrive II . Add DVD-RW and DVD+RW support (Heck? throw in DVD-RAM readability for all those dual 500 DVD-RAM owners out there) and you've got that market cornered.</strong><hr></blockquote>
DVD-RW support is already in there. Apple just has to (write the software to) enable it.
DVD-RAM is more problematic, because it uses cartridges. Although, I have seen combo DVD-RAM/DVD-RW drives floating around...
As for DVD+RW, is that spec gaining any traction?
<strong>maybe a HQ high powered FM transmitter so you could brodcast sound over a freqency that could be heard all over the house... THAT would be cool... your own private radio station, could be played on ANY radio... is taht even legal?!?</strong><hr></blockquote>
Yes, but only over short ranges.You'd have to talk to the FCC to get more info. All I know is that there's a car adapter for cd players that uses FM radio instead of those fake tapes.
<strong>
DVD-RW support is already in there. Apple just has to (write the software to) enable it.
DVD-RAM is more problematic, because it uses cartridges. Although, I have seen combo DVD-RAM/DVD-RW drives floating around...
</strong><hr></blockquote>
For a point of clarity, there are two types of DVD-RAM cartridges - Type I and Type II.
Type I is not removable from its cartridge, and information can be stored on both sides of the internal disc. .
Type II has a single sided internal disc that can be removed from the cartridge, making it readable in certain DVD-ROM drives. This type for disk could have an advantage over other disks simply because of it's cartridge format...i.e.less scratches...but most have moved away from it because of the price of the surrounding cartridge. DVD was created to be a lost cost alternative to VHS. The Personal computer market just grabbed it and changed the V from Video to Versatile I'm just looking out for the audio professionals who swooped down on the DP 500 / DVD-RAM, and watched a great back-up solution look like it is going the way of Beta and Syquest.
BTW?Thanks for the heads up -- I'm glad DVD-RW support is already in there?.guess that brings me back to software concentration?.
We'll see,
<strong>
I think it would be good if Apple wrote software for music. I'm sure there are plenty of musicians out there that use Macs and don't really know anything about doing stuff with music on a Mac. They could do like they did with iMovie to revolutionize that market.</strong><hr></blockquote>
The rumors that keeps catching my attention are close to that.... an iRecord or iCompose or iMIDI type of consumer multi-track recorder. However, I believe Apple has to be more careful with this than it was with video. Mac already has 4 great DAWs for its platform?Digital Performer (my choice), Cubase VST ( or Nuendo), Logic Audio, and Pro Tools (the 800 lb gorilla of audio). Pro Tools already offers Pro Tools Free (a stripped down version of its flagship software)?My suggestion: create a partnership with one of these companies. Man wouldn't a limited track version of Digital Performer be great with every Mac?
However, any audio discussion brings us back to a little talked about hardware issue?now that Apple has eliminated it's 16 bit / 44.1 khz line input, how does the layman get his audio in ? (How does he get his MIDI in for that matter) This is where partnerships with Digidesign ( check out the newly announced M-Box) and MOTU look good.
Even though licensing is not something Apple likes to do, I suggest partnering with MOTU, getting rid of FreeMIDI, and combining technologies with Apple's forthcoming OMS solution.( We're waiting you know) This will create a global MIDI standard that ALL users will have to adopt (read: windows users) Thus giving Apple another technology that will always keep it around ( like QuickTime, Firewire?etc)
Then, creating a free 4 track digital audio program and paring it with an inexpensive firewire-based breakout box called iMusicBox (or something more original and creative...Sheesh... I can't do everything here folks) ?.. Two audio inputs, two audio outputs, one MIDI in, one midi out?that's it. iMusicBox is limited enough to not steal thunder from anything MOTU already has, and would make Mac THE audio platform for consumers. Since MOTU is the leader in firewire audio and makes arguably the best MIDI translators on the market, they would be the obvious choice.
[quote]Originally posted by MacAgent:
<strong>
Here's an idea that I've had for a while (it's not really original, but no one's doing it right now).
What if Apple redid the Duo in a strange sort of way.
Have a tower with a removable laptop, when joined they run together (dual processor, two hard drives, double RAM) and when seperate, they run indepentantly. Would be cool, no?</strong><hr></blockquote>
Absolutely love it?( I am not sure of the logistics...but ours is to dream?theirs is to create so we can play). Can you imagine the possibilities for a Digital Recording studio based around that and a firewire interface?( as he wipes the drool off his Apple pro Keyboard ).
-LKMusician
<strong>
For a point of clarity, there are two types of DVD-RAM cartridges - Type I and Type II.
Type I is not removable from its cartridge, and information can be stored on both sides of the internal disc. .
Type II has a single sided internal disc that can be removed from the cartridge, making it readable in certain DVD-ROM drives. This type for disk could have an advantage over other disks simply because of it's cartridge format...i.e.less scratches...but most have moved away from it because of the price of the surrounding cartridge. DVD was created to be a lost cost alternative to VHS. The Personal computer market just grabbed it and changed the V from Video to Versatile I'm just looking out for the audio professionals who swooped down on the DP 500 / DVD-RAM, and watched a great back-up solution look like it is going the way of Beta and Syquest.
BTW…Thanks for the heads up -- I'm glad DVD-RW support is already in there….guess that brings me back to software concentration….
We'll see,</strong><hr></blockquote>
actually, the type I (double sided) can be removed from their cartridges (sometimes forcfully) and used in non-cartridge DVD-RAM drives. in fact, a lot of set-top DVD player will read and play video from a burned DVD-RAM disc.
<hr></blockquote>
[quote]Then, creating a free 4 track digital audio program and paring it with an inexpensive firewire-based breakout box called iMusicBox (or something more original and creative...Sheesh... I can't do everything here folks) ?.. Two audio inputs, two audio outputs, one MIDI in, one midi out?that's it. iMusicBox is limited enough to not steal thunder from anything MOTU already has, and would make Mac THE audio platform for consumers.
<hr></blockquote>
the second one meets the point 'cause none of this iApps works alone. iMovie + connecting DV-cams with FireWire, iDVD to burn your own DVD's, iTunes + iPod and iPhoto + connecting digital still cams. maybe we will see a iCamera but I doubt that. a music editing software (iSample f.e.) would need external hardware like iMusicbox at once 'cause iTunes alone was nice, iTunes + iPod is great, but music editing software is no use stand alone.
all at all a very good idea, do it, Steve, I will buy it
sorry for my bad english
[ 01-30-2002: Message edited by: Notar ]</p>
However, FireWire has a lot going for it. It will be faster, and has advantages for some types of data flow. The really big advantage is that FireWire can connect devices to eachother without involving a computer. Think of the advantages of that. For example, if you are a photographer, you could have a FireWire digital camera and store your photos directly to a future iPod. No need to have memory cards or sticks with their limited storage. If that were developed into a useful system, it would be a compelling reason for digital camera makers to switch from USB to FireWire.
/<a href="http://www.felttip.com/products/soundstudio/"; target="_blank">Sound Studio : Shareware audio for the Mac</a>
I don't have it. I don't need it ( have DP 3) but for those of you wanting a FREE iMovie like program...couldn't Apple buy this improve it a little and give it away as iMusic or iRecord or iStudio...
Hey! Being priced at $50 and being OSX compatible, Sound Studio has many other digital audio programs on the ropes already....
Not full featured, but basic...some improvements and WOW another great app
PS Thanks Macnn for the heads up...