I hope there is an 'iTV' Pro, 75% the height of a Mac mini and 50% wider and deeper, with a builtin Mac hardware so people (I) don't have to purchase a seperate Mac mini and 'iTV'.
I actually think the genius part of the iTV is that you don't need a seperate computer, you use your existing mac.
Personally, I couldn't see myself buying a $600 Mac Mini to use just for my TV. However, the iTV lets you use your existing computer even if it is in another room as your media hub. That way you have access to all your media on the TV, but you still have a PC to get your work done on. I imagine that using the computer for iTV would slow it down somewhat, but not so much so that you couldn't also use it at the same time for normal tasks such as web browsing and word processing, etc.
has anyone noticed something about two things here: Leopard's Time Machine and iTV. Both of these things would consume a lot of space, and it just seems wrong for me to have my computer running in another room just to be making use of iTV.
So, here is the postulation: Is there a third component in this? As we download more content on to our machines, we have to be starting to exceed our normal levels of capacity. However, a Home-based RAID(-like??) system which is added into a home network would relieve a lot of the stress on our home boxes. Similar to like an xServe (in that it has users, it is a server, and has storage), it is oriented to the Home environment. I.E. none of the advanced features of OS X Server needed (VPN, xGrid computing, etc etc).
I think its more interesting how the iTV pre-announcement is successfully running pass-interference on everybody else's efforts in this area. No set-top box can now be mentioned without reference to iTV and Apple.
(did I use the NFL reference correctly? 8) )
Well, pass interference is when a player of a team prevents one from the opposing team from getting the ball, by grabbing the player's body, instead of going for the ball.
But yeah, now everyone who wants to buy a set top box or Windows Media Center PC or Tivo or DVR might want to wait until Apple shows all the tricks this pony can do.
hey this was my 1000th post, with an NFL reference and all. Good job.
Also, YouTube is losing money. They have no real plan to become solvent. It looks like they're just trying to get bought out by someone. Their new deal with Warner Brothers may be a step in the right direction, but as already pointed out, their future direction is very unclear. I think Apple would not just pick one service. If YouTube straightens itself out, Apple will get them too.
1. I think with Apple continuing the MacMini form factor, that is a good indicator for 3rd parties to build in harddrives, RAID's whatever. Steve isn't going to change up, like with iPods and leave 3rd parties high and dry. Apple could also have their own hardddrive "slice" in the basement but just decided not to announce it last week.
2. I don't think we need alphanumberics on the Apple Remote. That is what your computer is for! I like the idea of doing searches or edits on my laptop, but if I'm going to watch or listen to media, I only need a clickwheel and a couple of buttons. The TV interface needs to be extremely simple - anything else if for the Mac or pc.
3. If Apple makes arraingments with Google first, why does that prevent later ones with YouTube? I'm sure some smart person here could write an Automator script that goes to YouTube, grabs some video and sends it to the iTV/FrontRow menu for access. It would take some real work to deal with the DRM, but where would that actually be used in the workflow anyway? Do my iPhoto jpegs have DRM that keeps them from being shown in FrontRow? No. So why not my QT videos? Can Apple just use Google's search function without its content provider function?
4. I wonder how the Mac experience will differ from the pc experience. Will iTV support pc's? With all 90% of iTunes folks running windows and eventually Vista, they need to be satisfied. Will Apple give special functionality to Macs, to .mac accounts?
Id like to see a displayless iPod for the remote. Complete with click wheel. Maybe take the remote they have now and add a tiny click wheel to it so you can browse the content on your tv from your couch the same way you would navigate it on your ipod.
Also with the new software on the iPod we now have information input methods. Seems like a great thing to carry over to the remote and to the phone. No one dials numbers anymore. the click wheel would be all you need to add a phone number and info into your phone.
I don't think that getting free content is going to be a reason why people will want the iTv.
It's like the Village Vioce, a newspaper here in NYC. When they were having problems, they decided to give the paper away instead of charging. The idea being that they would get a bigger readership, would get more ads, and could charge more for them.
It didn;'t work. People who didn't want it , still didn't want it.
The other problem was that people who will take something because it's free, are not good prospects for pay services, or products.
The same thing applies here.
The iTv is best used for moving valued content around.
has anyone noticed something about two things here: Leopard's Time Machine and iTV. Both of these things would consume a lot of space, and it just seems wrong for me to have my computer running in another room just to be making use of iTV.
So, here is the postulation: Is there a third component in this? As we download more content on to our machines, we have to be starting to exceed our normal levels of capacity. However, a Home-based RAID(-like??) system which is added into a home network would relieve a lot of the stress on our home boxes. Similar to like an xServe (in that it has users, it is a server, and has storage), it is oriented to the Home environment. I.E. none of the advanced features of OS X Server needed (VPN, xGrid computing, etc etc).
The raid part of the idea is going overboard for most home networks. But they do have network storage. That's been around for a few years now, and is becoming more popular as prices come down, and capacity goes up.
1. I think with Apple continuing the MacMini form factor, that is a good indicator for 3rd parties to build in harddrives, RAID's whatever. Steve isn't going to change up, like with iPods and leave 3rd parties high and dry. Apple could also have their own hardddrive "slice" in the basement but just decided not to announce it last week.
2. I don't think we need alphanumberics on the Apple Remote. That is what your computer is for! I like the idea of doing searches or edits on my laptop, but if I'm going to watch or listen to media, I only need a clickwheel and a couple of buttons. The TV interface needs to be extremely simple - anything else if for the Mac or pc.
3. If Apple makes arraingments with Google first, why does that prevent later ones with YouTube? I'm sure some smart person here could write an Automator script that goes to YouTube, grabs some video and sends it to the iTV/FrontRow menu for access. It would take some real work to deal with the DRM, but where would that actually be used in the workflow anyway? Do my iPhoto jpegs have DRM that keeps them from being shown in FrontRow? No. So why not my QT videos? Can Apple just use Google's search function without its content provider function?
4. I wonder how the Mac experience will differ from the pc experience. Will iTV support pc's? With all 90% of iTunes folks running windows and eventually Vista, they need to be satisfied. Will Apple give special functionality to Macs, to .mac accounts?
We do have companies making Mini like cases that sit under the Mini. They give a couple of extra USB 2, and Firewire ports in a hub configuration. They also provide room for a large hd. That takes care of that problem. The iTv fits underneight.
One nice compact system. hopefully Elgato will come out with a Tivolike tuner/DVR that will sit under, or on top of all that.
That would make a very nice modular system. Someone could even add a power amp to the stack.
Some good preamp/control software, and awaay we go!
1. I think with Apple continuing the MacMini form factor, that is a good indicator for 3rd parties to build in harddrives, RAID's whatever. Steve isn't going to change up, like with iPods and leave 3rd parties high and dry. Apple could also have their own hardddrive "slice" in the basement but just decided not to announce it last week.
I wish more devices were available in the Mac mini form factor.
I have a G4 Mac mini
A Belkin USB/FireWire hub under it
and a 200 GB LaCie hard drive under that.
Its a great setup and compact with minimal cabling, but i want more...
An Elgato EyeTV with mini form factor
A gigabit switch with mini form factor
a cable modem with mini form factor
an Airport Express base station with mini form factor
a battery backup unit with mini form factor
a networked attached storage drive with mini form factor
I hope there is an 'iTV' Pro, 75% the height of a Mac mini and 50% wider and deeper, with a builtin Mac hardware so people (I) don't have to purchase a seperate Mac mini and 'iTV'.
Aside from component, which isn't as good as digital output anyway, and HDMI, which is identical to DVI plus audio, the Mac mini appears to have everything your "iTV Pro" would, so, erm, just buy a Mac mini?
Comments
I hope there is an 'iTV' Pro, 75% the height of a Mac mini and 50% wider and deeper, with a builtin Mac hardware so people (I) don't have to purchase a seperate Mac mini and 'iTV'.
I actually think the genius part of the iTV is that you don't need a seperate computer, you use your existing mac.
Personally, I couldn't see myself buying a $600 Mac Mini to use just for my TV. However, the iTV lets you use your existing computer even if it is in another room as your media hub. That way you have access to all your media on the TV, but you still have a PC to get your work done on. I imagine that using the computer for iTV would slow it down somewhat, but not so much so that you couldn't also use it at the same time for normal tasks such as web browsing and word processing, etc.
The first reason Apple is going with Google is because Google is a well known brand name that potential consumers will recognize.
YouTube and MySpace may be popular with teens but they aren't the ones ponying up $299 for an iTV.
The other reason is Google...
\tDeathray
\tFree Massages
\tGoggles
\tMoonbase
\tNeural Implants
\t
I love how you snuck these things in there, It's hilarious.
Oh yeah, Google and Apple were thinking of a name for their collaboration and are going to use "Rebel Alliance".
So, here is the postulation: Is there a third component in this? As we download more content on to our machines, we have to be starting to exceed our normal levels of capacity. However, a Home-based RAID(-like??) system which is added into a home network would relieve a lot of the stress on our home boxes. Similar to like an xServe (in that it has users, it is a server, and has storage), it is oriented to the Home environment. I.E. none of the advanced features of OS X Server needed (VPN, xGrid computing, etc etc).
This is a market that hasn't been entered into by really anyone. Also, none of the competitors do not have the Apple Ease of Use© to back it up. This way we could still have all of our storage needs for both Leopard and iTV, without having to have the family computer up and running in the background.
I think its more interesting how the iTV pre-announcement is successfully running pass-interference on everybody else's efforts in this area. No set-top box can now be mentioned without reference to iTV and Apple.
(did I use the NFL reference correctly? 8) )
Well, pass interference is when a player of a team prevents one from the opposing team from getting the ball, by grabbing the player's body, instead of going for the ball.
But yeah, now everyone who wants to buy a set top box or Windows Media Center PC or Tivo or DVR might want to wait until Apple shows all the tricks this pony can do.
hey this was my 1000th post, with an NFL reference and all. Good job.
I love how you snuck these things in there, It's hilarious.
Oh yeah, Google and Apple were thinking of a name for their collaboration and are going to use "Rebel Alliance".
Teaming with youTube would be great but no one knows if they are a passing fad. Also, I think they are getting their asses sued by copyright owners.
2. I don't think we need alphanumberics on the Apple Remote. That is what your computer is for! I like the idea of doing searches or edits on my laptop, but if I'm going to watch or listen to media, I only need a clickwheel and a couple of buttons. The TV interface needs to be extremely simple - anything else if for the Mac or pc.
3. If Apple makes arraingments with Google first, why does that prevent later ones with YouTube? I'm sure some smart person here could write an Automator script that goes to YouTube, grabs some video and sends it to the iTV/FrontRow menu for access. It would take some real work to deal with the DRM, but where would that actually be used in the workflow anyway? Do my iPhoto jpegs have DRM that keeps them from being shown in FrontRow? No. So why not my QT videos? Can Apple just use Google's search function without its content provider function?
4. I wonder how the Mac experience will differ from the pc experience. Will iTV support pc's? With all 90% of iTunes folks running windows and eventually Vista, they need to be satisfied. Will Apple give special functionality to Macs, to .mac accounts?
Also with the new software on the iPod we now have information input methods. Seems like a great thing to carry over to the remote and to the phone. No one dials numbers anymore. the click wheel would be all you need to add a phone number and info into your phone.
It's like the Village Vioce, a newspaper here in NYC. When they were having problems, they decided to give the paper away instead of charging. The idea being that they would get a bigger readership, would get more ads, and could charge more for them.
It didn;'t work. People who didn't want it , still didn't want it.
The other problem was that people who will take something because it's free, are not good prospects for pay services, or products.
The same thing applies here.
The iTv is best used for moving valued content around.
has anyone noticed something about two things here: Leopard's Time Machine and iTV. Both of these things would consume a lot of space, and it just seems wrong for me to have my computer running in another room just to be making use of iTV.
So, here is the postulation: Is there a third component in this? As we download more content on to our machines, we have to be starting to exceed our normal levels of capacity. However, a Home-based RAID(-like??) system which is added into a home network would relieve a lot of the stress on our home boxes. Similar to like an xServe (in that it has users, it is a server, and has storage), it is oriented to the Home environment. I.E. none of the advanced features of OS X Server needed (VPN, xGrid computing, etc etc).
This is a market that hasn't been entered into by really anyone. Also, none of the competitors do not have the Apple Ease of Use© to back it up. This way we could still have all of our storage needs for both Leopard and iTV, without having to have the family computer up and running in the background.
The raid part of the idea is going overboard for most home networks. But they do have network storage. That's been around for a few years now, and is becoming more popular as prices come down, and capacity goes up.
1. I think with Apple continuing the MacMini form factor, that is a good indicator for 3rd parties to build in harddrives, RAID's whatever. Steve isn't going to change up, like with iPods and leave 3rd parties high and dry. Apple could also have their own hardddrive "slice" in the basement but just decided not to announce it last week.
2. I don't think we need alphanumberics on the Apple Remote. That is what your computer is for! I like the idea of doing searches or edits on my laptop, but if I'm going to watch or listen to media, I only need a clickwheel and a couple of buttons. The TV interface needs to be extremely simple - anything else if for the Mac or pc.
3. If Apple makes arraingments with Google first, why does that prevent later ones with YouTube? I'm sure some smart person here could write an Automator script that goes to YouTube, grabs some video and sends it to the iTV/FrontRow menu for access. It would take some real work to deal with the DRM, but where would that actually be used in the workflow anyway? Do my iPhoto jpegs have DRM that keeps them from being shown in FrontRow? No. So why not my QT videos? Can Apple just use Google's search function without its content provider function?
4. I wonder how the Mac experience will differ from the pc experience. Will iTV support pc's? With all 90% of iTunes folks running windows and eventually Vista, they need to be satisfied. Will Apple give special functionality to Macs, to .mac accounts?
We do have companies making Mini like cases that sit under the Mini. They give a couple of extra USB 2, and Firewire ports in a hub configuration. They also provide room for a large hd. That takes care of that problem. The iTv fits underneight.
One nice compact system. hopefully Elgato will come out with a Tivolike tuner/DVR that will sit under, or on top of all that.
That would make a very nice modular system. Someone could even add a power amp to the stack.
Some good preamp/control software, and awaay we go!
1. I think with Apple continuing the MacMini form factor, that is a good indicator for 3rd parties to build in harddrives, RAID's whatever. Steve isn't going to change up, like with iPods and leave 3rd parties high and dry. Apple could also have their own hardddrive "slice" in the basement but just decided not to announce it last week.
I wish more devices were available in the Mac mini form factor.
I have a G4 Mac mini
A Belkin USB/FireWire hub under it
and a 200 GB LaCie hard drive under that.
Its a great setup and compact with minimal cabling, but i want more...
An Elgato EyeTV with mini form factor
A gigabit switch with mini form factor
a cable modem with mini form factor
an Airport Express base station with mini form factor
a battery backup unit with mini form factor
a networked attached storage drive with mini form factor
An Elgato EyeTV with mini form factor
A gigabit switch with mini form factor
a cable modem with mini form factor
an Airport Express base station with mini form factor
a battery backup unit with mini form factor
a networked attached storage drive with mini form factor
Then how about a....
Coffee maker with mini form factor
"mini" Fridge with mini form factor
microwave with mini form factor
That would make a complete mini office setup. Perfet!
McHuman]Equinux already has something similar for your mac :
http://www.equinux.com/
I think Equinux could be in big trouble with Creative with this interface...
I hope there is an 'iTV' Pro, 75% the height of a Mac mini and 50% wider and deeper, with a builtin Mac hardware so people (I) don't have to purchase a seperate Mac mini and 'iTV'.
Aside from component, which isn't as good as digital output anyway, and HDMI, which is identical to DVI plus audio, the Mac mini appears to have everything your "iTV Pro" would, so, erm, just buy a Mac mini?