The Apple Keyboard has 2 USB ports. How about an Apple keyboard with 2 firewire ports too? Cable from the keyboard would be slightly thicker, but I could live with that.
Wouldn't that solve the problem? No need to make the machine look ugly, and more convenient because you don't have to bend down under the desk to plug in your cables (even if ports are at the front, you still need to bend).
Doesn't solve the port problem on powerbooks and iBooks, but then I don't see the ports as much of a problem on those machines...
I'm not a G4 owner, so I don't really give a flying damn when it comes right down to it.
However, on principle alone, Apple, as long as they're screaming about this whole "digital hub" thing and talking about how their Macs and OS "add value" to all these gadgets everyone seems to be toting around, really needs to make it easier for those devices to be connected to your Mac.
It's funny: the iStuff has always gone for the "ports on the side" approach, which is SO nice (I would HATE to have to spin my iMac around anytime I wanted to insert or remove a cable, like I have to on my G4 at work).
But the pro stuff? Everything is in the back. Maybe Apple thinks pro users get paid enough to reach further back and screw around with cable and feeling blindly for the proper port?
Yes, for things like scanners, printers, etc. the ports in the back ARE nice because it hides cable clutter and so forth. However, how hard could it possibly be to put one of each (one FireWire, one USB) port somewhere on the front of these Quicksilver towers? Especially with as much open, flat, dead wasted space as is available. That front panel of the Quicksilver G4, now that the pin striping and drive bezels are gone, is like looking at Montana or something!
There's no reason or excuse NOT to, especially in the era of digital cameras, camcorders, PDAs and Apple's OWN iPod! They're the beating us over the head with the whole "digital hub" philosophy, but they make it a pain in the balls to hook those very devices to half their product line.
Another example of Apple being supremely cool and ground-breaking and ahead-of-the-game in certain areas, only to look like clueless, drugged monkeys in so many others.
The problem that Apple has is that they don't coordinate the updates of their product lines, so while most of their products have adapted to the digital hub idea, with easily accessable ports, the PowerMac case has unchanged, save for the occasional cosmetic adjustment, for years.
None of the pictures posted of the VAIO MX case do it justice. I used a few of them at Comdex, and I was impressed. The problems that it has is that it doesn't do CD-R/RW (in favor of using minidiscs, which I dislike), it only has a GF2 MX, it has no internal and external expandibility (one PCI slot and one internal 3.25" bay is all you get), its face picks up fingerprints like crazy, the front slots are way too low, and its tied to a nasty OS. Still, I think that Sony is going in a very good direction, and the price of the unit represents some real added value. On the other hand, the current PowerMac looks okay, but aside from the SuperDrive, the hardware itself isn't much different from a typical PC's, so you get most of the added value on the software side, which doesn't immediately justify the premium price.
I don't think that Apple needs to go in that direction with the next PowerMac. Sure, the MX has some spiffy features, but its utter lack of expandibility kills it. Also, its Memory Stick and MD features tie one too closely to Sony. That being said, some kind of easily accessable ports are needed in the next PM case, and they should be in the top of the case, towards the front, in an enclosure that can slide into the case when the ports are not in use.
Ummm....did Apple ever say it wants its desktops to be a digital hub? I mean, I know it is marketing the iBook with the whole 'digital hub' thing...but I thought the pro-line of desktops were for...well..pros. Do pros really need Tivo?<hr></blockquote>
When I said that Apple needed to integrate the features of the Sony MX into the platform I wasn't thinking inside the box. The image you photoshoped from the Applele site would be a good starting point for the "Apple Digital Hub". Make it fit the stereo component form factor (Rack Mac?) 1.75" high by 18" wide. Rails for a 5.25" drive (SuperDrive in the high end, DVD/CD-RW standard) as well as mounts for a 3.5" hard drive. License TiVo technology, just like Sony does. Oh, and one more thing, license the Nintendo Game Cube technology as others are doing (Panasonic) and use the IBM "Gecko" iteration of the G3 to power it.
So there you have it, the "Apple Digital Hub" link it via firewire to any Mac and have standard connections for the TV and Stereo. Cool Apple Design remote control included.
<strong>The Apple Keyboard has 2 USB ports. How about an Apple keyboard with 2 firewire ports too? Cable from the keyboard would be slightly thicker, but I could live with that.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I think that is a super idea and should solve the problem fairly well without having to compromise Apple's arty designs. Another answer, which I believe someone mentioned earlier, would be to add firewire ports to Apple's monitors. These two ideas seem the best to me.
The Sony doesn't look all that great in real life but the idea is kind of nice. I would like to see Apple come out with a consumer device somethign like this - wide LCD with a minitower with one PCI slot and one bay. Kind of a high end iMac.
I like the way the little panel drops down to reveal a couple ports. On the other hand, why did they stick that display in the front panel? Can't they handle it on the main display? Also, I think there is a minidisk there just because Sony makes them. My guess is that MD is about at its peak now and will decline from here on out.
applenut I hate to say it but you're exactly the kind of user to which Apple does not need to market. You may buy their stuff, and they are glad that you buy their stuff, but I doubt they are out there beating the bushes trying to sell Macs for guys to set up in their bedrooms.
I think Apple is trying to sell its "pro" line (yes, they are professional machines) to every advertising agency, recording studio, web developer, print publisher and video production house in the world. That is where its "pro" market is. And saying that you think TiVo is a "multimedia" feature shows how far you removed you are from the pro-world. That's like saying Quake3 is a 'training tool.' TiVo is for recreation: period.
Editor's note: The main reason that Sony is offering TiVo in its PCs at all is because Sony has equity staked in TiVo and if that company fails Sony loses money. So Sony is trying to prop it up by putting TiVo in its computers the same way it is trying to keep Memory Sticks alive by putting them in its digital video cameras.
ANYWAY, back to applenut's original (and very valid) point. I understand what you mean now about having ports both in the back and in the front. So it's worth noting that the mock-up I originally ripped off above looks like it actually has a USB port and a Firewire port in the front. Is that what you're talking about?
<strong>Jonathan, could you give us some reasons why you think it is so "hideous"? I think it looks good. The buttons are a neat idea, the port door covers the unsightly ports, and the design is overall very clean. What's not to like (besides the Windows XP logo)? I think you're just criticizing it because it isn't covered with swirly colored iPlastic. Typical Mac zealotry.</strong><hr></blockquote>
It actually doesn't look too bad. I suppose I didn't really give it much thought, because I didn't have a digital camera or an MP3 player when I had my tower. It's only since having a portable I've had these other things... as much as I am plugging and unplugging these devices, it would be a real pain in the ass with a tower.
It saddens me to say this, but Apple should really take a look at this Vaio. It's pretty sharp.
<strong>USB is already on Apple Monitors. If they add Firewire, what are you complaining about?</strong><hr></blockquote>
it should be on the computer itself, not the monitor or keyboard.
people may have third party displays or keyboards but they won't have third party computer cases
it's not that difficult. everyone else does it, Apple NEEDs to do it. Apple's desktops are a joke. a joke in performance, a joke in price, a joke in competitiveness, a joke in elegance, a joke in innovation, and a joke in ease of use.
That sony isn't too bad. Chop it down to half it's height. Leave only one PCI and 1 AGP slot. PPC, of course. Only two drive bays (one with a Combo unit, the other with the HDD). Airport, TV out, ADC/VGA out. and a 1bit display (twice the iPods width) under the plastic fascia. No buttons on the front except for a nice power-button. The display is touch sensitive and controls a pure MP3/CD/DVD player-jukebox home-entertainment HD-recorder mode. Alternatively you can boot into a full macOSX environment displayed either on a monitor or TV.
Well, you ain't seen nothin' yet...just wait until MWSF when no G5 is announced and NONE of the things talked about above are implemented to the G4.
Wanna talk about "sad"...
We'll bitch and moan, then lick our wounds and get ourselves set up for the summertime letdown that is MWNY.
One step forward, two steps back. Apple is the kind of company that would redesign the motorboat as we know it, taking it to new heights of cool looks and features. Then they'd stick a chainsaw motor on it...backwards, no less.
And for a premium, you could upgrade to a dual minibike motor, so even though you have the coolest-looking boat on the lake, all your buddies are jetting by in tricked-out models with ski tows, access ramps, life jacket compartments, drink holders, horns, etc. You know, USEFUL, practical stuff.
And there you are, going 25mph with last year's fish finder and an anchor that costs too much and isn't interchangeable.
Think about the aesthetic: A cube turned on its side. Slightly larger than the cube. Exterior finished like a high-end 'lifestyle' stereo. Ports out the bottom rear panel and a huge corregated heat sink exposed through the back of the machine, in a nice milled aluminum that makes it look just like a highend audio piece. Now every angle has a beautiful finished, and yet functional/industrial appeal.
pscates- you're competely right, i've mentioned this in a few other forums ... we get our hopes so high... and then we're always disapointed. I thought after the iPod we'd calm down ... guess not
Also ... on the G4 tower, what about top mounted ports ... that'd be kinda neat, if your tower is on the floor. Then you could just drop the firewire port for you iPod/DV cam into the top ... pull it out when you're done ...
<strong>Also ... on the G4 tower, what about top mounted ports ... that'd be kinda neat, if your tower is on the floor. Then you could just drop the firewire port for you iPod/DV cam into the top ... pull it out when you're done ...</strong><hr></blockquote>
That's a pretty interesting idea. I've nevere thought of something like that.
ok, so the viao has the ports on the front hidden beneath a panel, but what happens when you want to use the ports? thats right you have to have the panel up and it suddenly looks well ugly... [in my humble opinion anyway]
Comments
Wouldn't that solve the problem? No need to make the machine look ugly, and more convenient because you don't have to bend down under the desk to plug in your cables (even if ports are at the front, you still need to bend).
Doesn't solve the port problem on powerbooks and iBooks, but then I don't see the ports as much of a problem on those machines...
However, on principle alone, Apple, as long as they're screaming about this whole "digital hub" thing and talking about how their Macs and OS "add value" to all these gadgets everyone seems to be toting around, really needs to make it easier for those devices to be connected to your Mac.
It's funny: the iStuff has always gone for the "ports on the side" approach, which is SO nice (I would HATE to have to spin my iMac around anytime I wanted to insert or remove a cable, like I have to on my G4 at work).
But the pro stuff? Everything is in the back. Maybe Apple thinks pro users get paid enough to reach further back and screw around with cable and feeling blindly for the proper port?
Yes, for things like scanners, printers, etc. the ports in the back ARE nice because it hides cable clutter and so forth. However, how hard could it possibly be to put one of each (one FireWire, one USB) port somewhere on the front of these Quicksilver towers? Especially with as much open, flat, dead wasted space as is available. That front panel of the Quicksilver G4, now that the pin striping and drive bezels are gone, is like looking at Montana or something!
There's no reason or excuse NOT to, especially in the era of digital cameras, camcorders, PDAs and Apple's OWN iPod! They're the beating us over the head with the whole "digital hub" philosophy, but they make it a pain in the balls to hook those very devices to half their product line.
Another example of Apple being supremely cool and ground-breaking and ahead-of-the-game in certain areas, only to look like clueless, drugged monkeys in so many others.
<strong>How do expect to be the digital hub when its just hard to hook up a device?
every desktop mac should have a USB and firewire port mounted on the front and the powerbook should have at least 1 usb on the side somewhere.
powermac especially. kinda hard to use the ipod if you have a tower under a desk or something.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I have a belkin hub on mty desk top, works for me.
None of the pictures posted of the VAIO MX case do it justice. I used a few of them at Comdex, and I was impressed. The problems that it has is that it doesn't do CD-R/RW (in favor of using minidiscs, which I dislike), it only has a GF2 MX, it has no internal and external expandibility (one PCI slot and one internal 3.25" bay is all you get), its face picks up fingerprints like crazy, the front slots are way too low, and its tied to a nasty OS. Still, I think that Sony is going in a very good direction, and the price of the unit represents some real added value. On the other hand, the current PowerMac looks okay, but aside from the SuperDrive, the hardware itself isn't much different from a typical PC's, so you get most of the added value on the software side, which doesn't immediately justify the premium price.
I don't think that Apple needs to go in that direction with the next PowerMac. Sure, the MX has some spiffy features, but its utter lack of expandibility kills it. Also, its Memory Stick and MD features tie one too closely to Sony. That being said, some kind of easily accessable ports are needed in the next PM case, and they should be in the top of the case, towards the front, in an enclosure that can slide into the case when the ports are not in use.
Ummm....did Apple ever say it wants its desktops to be a digital hub? I mean, I know it is marketing the iBook with the whole 'digital hub' thing...but I thought the pro-line of desktops were for...well..pros. Do pros really need Tivo?<hr></blockquote>
When I said that Apple needed to integrate the features of the Sony MX into the platform I wasn't thinking inside the box. The image you photoshoped from the Applele site would be a good starting point for the "Apple Digital Hub". Make it fit the stereo component form factor (Rack Mac?) 1.75" high by 18" wide. Rails for a 5.25" drive (SuperDrive in the high end, DVD/CD-RW standard) as well as mounts for a 3.5" hard drive. License TiVo technology, just like Sony does. Oh, and one more thing, license the Nintendo Game Cube technology as others are doing (Panasonic) and use the IBM "Gecko" iteration of the G3 to power it.
So there you have it, the "Apple Digital Hub" link it via firewire to any Mac and have standard connections for the TV and Stereo. Cool Apple Design remote control included.
[ 11-18-2001: Message edited by: Aphelion ]</p>
<strong>The Apple Keyboard has 2 USB ports. How about an Apple keyboard with 2 firewire ports too? Cable from the keyboard would be slightly thicker, but I could live with that.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I think that is a super idea and should solve the problem fairly well without having to compromise Apple's arty designs. Another answer, which I believe someone mentioned earlier, would be to add firewire ports to Apple's monitors. These two ideas seem the best to me.
I like the way the little panel drops down to reveal a couple ports. On the other hand, why did they stick that display in the front panel? Can't they handle it on the main display? Also, I think there is a minidisk there just because Sony makes them. My guess is that MD is about at its peak now and will decline from here on out.
applenut I hate to say it but you're exactly the kind of user to which Apple does not need to market. You may buy their stuff, and they are glad that you buy their stuff, but I doubt they are out there beating the bushes trying to sell Macs for guys to set up in their bedrooms.
I think Apple is trying to sell its "pro" line (yes, they are professional machines) to every advertising agency, recording studio, web developer, print publisher and video production house in the world. That is where its "pro" market is. And saying that you think TiVo is a "multimedia" feature shows how far you removed you are from the pro-world. That's like saying Quake3 is a 'training tool.' TiVo is for recreation: period.
Editor's note: The main reason that Sony is offering TiVo in its PCs at all is because Sony has equity staked in TiVo and if that company fails Sony loses money. So Sony is trying to prop it up by putting TiVo in its computers the same way it is trying to keep Memory Sticks alive by putting them in its digital video cameras.
ANYWAY, back to applenut's original (and very valid) point. I understand what you mean now about having ports both in the back and in the front. So it's worth noting that the mock-up I originally ripped off above looks like it actually has a USB port and a Firewire port in the front. Is that what you're talking about?
<strong>god, that's hideous.</strong><hr></blockquote>
It's not as good looking as Apple's stuff, but it's not so bad.
<strong>Jonathan, could you give us some reasons why you think it is so "hideous"? I think it looks good. The buttons are a neat idea, the port door covers the unsightly ports, and the design is overall very clean. What's not to like (besides the Windows XP logo)? I think you're just criticizing it because it isn't covered with swirly colored iPlastic.
you != world
It saddens me to say this, but Apple should really take a look at this Vaio. It's pretty sharp.
I don't like the looks of the iMac either though.
The reason I think the Vaio looks horrible is because it's short, wide, and dull colored.
[ 11-18-2001: Message edited by: MacAddict ]</p>
<strong>USB is already on Apple Monitors. If they add Firewire, what are you complaining about?</strong><hr></blockquote>
it should be on the computer itself, not the monitor or keyboard.
people may have third party displays or keyboards but they won't have third party computer cases
it's not that difficult. everyone else does it, Apple NEEDs to do it. Apple's desktops are a joke. a joke in performance, a joke in price, a joke in competitiveness, a joke in elegance, a joke in innovation, and a joke in ease of use.
it's sad.
Say hello to iMac 2:
DVD/CDrw Combo drive
PPC G? @ 1Ghz
3 ram slots
1 full AGP slot
1 full PCI slot
40-80GB HDD's
$999-1299-1499US (Monitor not included)
15" LCD available for $300 with purchase.
Wanna talk about "sad"...
We'll bitch and moan, then lick our wounds and get ourselves set up for the summertime letdown that is MWNY.
One step forward, two steps back. Apple is the kind of company that would redesign the motorboat as we know it, taking it to new heights of cool looks and features. Then they'd stick a chainsaw motor on it...backwards, no less.
And for a premium, you could upgrade to a dual minibike motor, so even though you have the coolest-looking boat on the lake, all your buddies are jetting by in tricked-out models with ski tows, access ramps, life jacket compartments, drink holders, horns, etc. You know, USEFUL, practical stuff.
And there you are, going 25mph with last year's fish finder and an anchor that costs too much and isn't interchangeable.
Think about the aesthetic: A cube turned on its side. Slightly larger than the cube. Exterior finished like a high-end 'lifestyle' stereo. Ports out the bottom rear panel and a huge corregated heat sink exposed through the back of the machine, in a nice milled aluminum that makes it look just like a highend audio piece. Now every angle has a beautiful finished, and yet functional/industrial appeal.
Also ... on the G4 tower, what about top mounted ports ... that'd be kinda neat, if your tower is on the floor. Then you could just drop the firewire port for you iPod/DV cam into the top ... pull it out when you're done ...
<strong>Also ... on the G4 tower, what about top mounted ports ... that'd be kinda neat, if your tower is on the floor. Then you could just drop the firewire port for you iPod/DV cam into the top ... pull it out when you're done ...</strong><hr></blockquote>
That's a pretty interesting idea. I've nevere thought of something like that.