For AppleTV fans, From Gizmodo, a slightly different interpretation of things...
Quote:
In addition to giving Apple employees a free 8GB iPhone by the end of July, Steve Jobs had a few more things to say in Apple's closed-door internal meeting today.
First, Jobs talked about how new Macs they have coming up will be "off the charts," and then talked about how they want the four pillars of their business to be Macs, iPods, iPhones and Apple TVs. Right now their focus is on the iPhone, but Apple TV will get its turn later.
whatever. Steve should have given every apple employee an iPhone TODAY. period.
Steve: [interpreted for honesty] hey guys, check this out, i'm gonna give you an iphone, but not for a month... see, we don't really have enough to meet demand, so i don't want the 17,000 of you all going out and buying up almost 5% of all the phones out there tomorrow. you're gonna have to explain to everyone all july why you work at apple but don't have an iPhone. tell them it's because i'm so generous.
...i think he meant to say "off da chain", you know, stone cold lampin' pancake style. all cleared up?
as for the 3rd leg... iPhone is basically the new iPod. sure the iPod will come out w/ osx similar to the phone, but w/o a phone or "full featured web"*** ...who cares? how long until the iPhone comes w/ 128 gig SSHD?
leg 1: mac computers [an old leg that needs replacing]
leg 2: iPod [the strongest leg]
leg 3: iPhone [expected to eventually hold up all the weight of leg 2]
leg 4: apple TV [the short leg that doesn't hold any weight until you wad up a napkin and stick it underneath... that napkin = hd] ...leg 4 SHOULD be iTunes HD rentals to compete w/ netflix & blockbuster online. [sidenote, please change the name. iTuens is SOOO much more than tunes now.]
finally: Jobsey said he has the "Best Macs Ever" in the product pipeline right now. that's good to know. i expected him to say "we've got new macs in the pipeline, but they're not as good as the ones on the store shelves right now".
*** if the iPod "isn't the watered down internet", why is playboy making a site specifically for iPhone that features "NON-NUDE" playmates.
'whatever. Steve should have given every apple employee an iPhone TODAY. period.
Steve: [interpreted for honesty] hey guys, check this out, i'm gonna give you an iphone, but not for a month... see, we don't really have enough to meet demand, so i don't want the 17,000 of you all going out and buying up almost 5% of all the phones out there tomorrow. you're gonna have to explain to everyone all july why you work at apple but don't have an iPhone. tell them it's because i'm so generous.
Yeah, that'd make a hell of a lot of commercial sense wouldn't it? I'm pretty certain that the shareholders would LOVE the idea of giving away 5% of a product internally THE DAY OF LAUNCH instead of selling that 5% and making some money... let's not forget - Apple Inc is a company that is setup to MAKE MONEY. They're not in the business of giving money away - each employee is, after all, paid for their work, the iPhone give away is a little thing called a 'bonus' and you don't marinalise the bottom line in order to give your staff a bonus.
...i think he meant to say "off da chain", you know, stone cold lampin' pancake style. all cleared up?
Remove crack pipe - write comment.
as for the 3rd leg... iPhone is basically the new iPod. sure the iPod will come out w/ osx similar to the phone, but w/o a phone or "full featured web"*** ...who cares? how long until the iPhone comes w/ 128 gig SSHD?
Probably quite a while as it happens. I'm sure Apple Inc will kill the iPod and replace it with the iPhone... NOT! We're far more likely to see the iPod evolve some of the features of the music side of the iPhone and to drop in price.
leg 1: mac computers [an old leg that needs replacing]
Pardon? Why would you want to replace some of the fastest, most user friendly computers in the world? And what exactly would you replace them with?
leg 2: iPod [the strongest leg]
leg 3: iPhone [expected to eventually hold up all the weight of leg 2]
See point above. Why is it that people just can't seem to understand that products EVOLVE! Why are you assuming product stasis in the face of new products?
leg 4: apple TV [the short leg that doesn't hold any weight until you wad up a napkin and stick it underneath... that napkin = hd] ...leg 4 SHOULD be iTunes HD to compete w/ netflix & blockbuster online.
How about we not forget that this is the FIRST itteration of a BRAND NEW PRODUCT from Apple Inc? After all, this is how products get better - trial and error. Apple Inc is a lot better at minimising consumer exposure to very short product life cycles and excessive errors in product design/interface than a hell of a lot of technology companies. Apple TV WILL be a very strong leg of that chair for Apple Inc down the track - do try to have at least a LITTLE bit of vision.
*** if the iPod "isn't the watered down internet", why is playboy making a site specifically for iPhone that features "NON-NUDE" playmates.'
deckard: it's not babble, it's multiple points. here: i will make it sim-ple.
1: STEVE JOBS is trying to make himself look generous. i'm saying he's trying to limit the chance of iPhone demand far outreaching supply. [by having his employees wait a month for the "biggest mac product since the mac itself - his own words.]
2: you think the iPod and iPhone won't converge??? ...and i'm sure the iPod will never do video. it's just for music, right? OF COURSE people will want a convergence device. it all comes down to portability. smaller items and fewer of them to do the same thing. why the 'ell would someone want to carry around an iPod and an iPhone? i don't need 80 gigs of songs every day, and if i did, it won't be long until my phone has at least 80 gigs.
3: why replace the "fastest" computers in the world? how about for even faster models that aren't 300+ days old? how about to see the next great apple desktop tower design?
...apple has NEVER been the fastest. they are the best designed, most user friendly. and when the title "fastest" stands 30 - 60 days, that's fine w/ me. i want to see new apple computer DESIGNS. not an octo- or zocchiheo-core processors slapped into the same chassis.
4: i KNOW what apple TV can be in the future. it's what it is now that's premature to the party. it can replace cable boxes in every single home. it can bring all profit from ondemand to apple via iTunes. it can allow you to sit down, turn on the Apple TV [by Apple TV, i mean a 60" SED or Laser Television], and watch whatever the hell you want to through an elegant UI. it can allow you to watch the 1080p video you shot of your kids that's sitting on your computer at work. don't talk to me of having no VISION, stand back and READ something in its entirety before latching onto a tiny segment and attacking it out of context.
5: the last comment makes zero sense to you because you have no sense of humor.
No, it's nothing to do with a sense of humour. The comment just doesn't make sense.
If you're aware of all these good things then why write your original comments?
Glad you agree with me on point 1.
As for point 2, historical data does not suggest that people want or indeed will buy converged products. Granted Apple Inc hasn't produced converged products and so the market hasn't been able to enjoy the Apple Inc approach to product design, but I for one do NOT want an iPod in a phone with video and Internet access etc, etc. Maybe I'm alone in this but then again I never bought 'all in one' hi-fi either - with good reason; seperate components are more focused on what they do, by their very nature they're not a compromise of function or design. Same concept applies to any 'converged' device.
Point 3 - I'd LOVE to see a new design every 3 months, that'd be cool. One of the things that makes Apple Inc products so desired is their design, the other is their ease of use and user functionality. One of the biggest complaints from the Apple faithful is the lead time on new designs/products. However, you can't have world class design and implementation (not to mention supply chain) at the rate you'd like. It's simply not possible for a company the size of Apple Inc to maintain innovation to that level. Be happy we get the innovations we do.
As for the 'fastest' title, no, you're correct - Apple Inc computers have never been the fastest. That's for the likes of Earth Simulator or IBM Blue Gene /P (or the newly announced Sun Constellation). However, from the perspective of the desktop/laptop user I think it's relevant to label Apple Inc products in their Mac line as, at least, among the fastest.
Point 4 - I'll address your last point first - I didn't 'latch on' and 'attack out of context'. You wrote the post and I responded to that post. How is that out of context? Unless your original post is out of context with what you were intending to discuss. I suspect that this may be the case.
Clearly you have a great grasp of where Apple Inc wants to go with the Apple TV - so why your original attack and seemingly limited understanding? I don't get the original post since you clearly understand the product roadmap that Apple Inc would seem to intend.
Of course, none of the potential of the Apple TV will be realised (outside the US specifically) without several things falling in to place first: True high-speed broadband, desired content, rental versus ownership model etc, etc. After all, from a technical standpoint, we've had the ability to deliver movies on demand (and hence any media type - audio, video, game etc) for about a decade now. What's standing in the way (and will need to be sorted out quickly in order to provide food for products of this type) is distribution agreements for content as well as a content purchase model being agreed on by the content owners and those wishing to distribute... rental or ownership... part rental/part ownership etc.
In the end it's clear (at least from the Apple TV perspective) why Jobs got involved with Disney - simple, cheap content delivery is a big carrot and Disney is a big stick.
I just hope Apple Inc can pull off for movies what they pulled off for audio.
in general, convergence devices ARE inferior. i still have several components in my home theater, including a tube amp, separate tuner, and a dedicated amp for my sub. it's far cheaper to replace one item when it becomes inferior or simply breaks.
however, i believe that anything PORTABLE must perform as many functions as possible. i don't want to wear a utility belt, and will be extremely happy when my iPhone is also a gps, syncs w/ my car bluetooth, and is even an hd camcorder. the major issue is balancing screen size and battery life with features and overall unit size.
my original attack on apple tv is because i think steve waited a LONG time to release a phone, and i believe it's going to pay off in a big big way. i believe he should have done the same w/ apple tv. it's simply premature. i don't think the features presented in apple tv are enough to warrant a purchase. it's a nice start, and should be on a shelf somewhere in R&D. i compare the apple tv to the motorola rokr. nice first try, but no thanks - i'll wait for the iTV.
Waiting for the 'real' Apple TV (or, as you call it 'iTV')? That's fair enough, it's what I'm doing (as well as waiting for true broadband and some content down here in Aus). I don't really blame Apple Inc for releasing the Apple TV though, it's pretty clearly an announcement of intent and serves to get Apple Inc's foot in the door of a different market segment. Assuming that is the intention then I think they've done an acceptable job so far with this unit. Although, the pricing is a little rich for my blood (especially the 160 GB version - at around $550 AUD, it's WAY over the top)... perhaps they'll include AirTunes in the next iteration?
I guess we're going to have to agree to disagree on the converged device front. I once thought that I'd like all of my devices rolled into the one simple, portable product but experience in SE Asia with such devices has led me to return to a desire for seperates. In fact I must be really old school - I'd love a phone that was JUST a phone - well designed, high quality, lots of room for contacts - but no e-mail, no camera, no GPS, no nothing. Just an excellent phone. So there you go - really old school!
Quote:
Originally Posted by desarc
deckard:
in general, convergence devices ARE inferior. i still have several components in my home theater, including a tube amp, separate tuner, and a dedicated amp for my sub. it's far cheaper to replace one item when it becomes inferior or simply breaks.
however, i believe that anything PORTABLE must perform as many functions as possible. i don't want to wear a utility belt, and will be extremely happy when my iPhone is also a gps, syncs w/ my car bluetooth, and is even an hd camcorder. the major issue is balancing screen size and battery life with features and overall unit size.
my original attack on apple tv is because i think steve waited a LONG time to release a phone, and i believe it's going to pay off in a big big way. i believe he should have done the same w/ apple tv. it's simply premature. i don't think the features presented in apple tv are enough to warrant a purchase. it's a nice start, and should be on a shelf somewhere in R&D. i compare the apple tv to the motorola rokr. nice first try, but no thanks - i'll wait for the iTV.
I think that if you need proof of how Apple always over-promises and under-delivers, you only have to look at the WWDC presentation.
There were a lot of people around the world that watched that keynote and wondered what had happened to all the secret features that Apple trumpeted. I think that of all the Apple events I've watched, that one came off as the BIGGEST disappointment.
There was a time when I would have gotten excited by Steve's "off the scale" teasers, but like many long term Apple users, I'm now starting to develop an immunity to his RDF.
Oh come on... I really like Apple products but please.... when has Steve NOT had the hype meter set on eleven!?! Especially when speaking of 'over the next 12 months'...
If you ever had your hands on the 8-core you wouldn't ask. Unfortunately, this is the case of the horse before the cart. Fortunately, this is the case of the horse before the cart.
Until now there is only a couple of applications that can take benefit of its power and/or structure. And its not for most if any of the participants here.
And what about the new MacBook Pro? Just got the new one last week. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful, and to me, off the charts vs any other laptop I've had or seen.
Yeah I agree they are two really good machines but I guess it's just not as impressive when they don't make what you want. No 12"/13" MBP and no smaller tower. To me that would be off the charts.
I think next year will be a far more interesting year than this one for most things. Flash is coming in strongly, new types of display, great advancements in CPUs, OS X will have reached its best performance (that's this year but I'm just including it), Blu-Ray might be affordable as well as the consoles.
I think that if you need proof of how Apple always over-promises and under-delivers, you only have to look at the WWDC presentation.
There were a lot of people around the world that watched that keynote and wondered what had happened to all the secret features that Apple trumpeted. I think that of all the Apple events I've watched, that one came off as the BIGGEST disappointment.
There was a time when I would have gotten excited by Steve's "off the scale" teasers, but like many long term Apple users, I'm now starting to develop an immunity to his RDF.
As a developer, I have to disagree with you. Being there and watching it (especially by the likes of you) is entirely different.
What is quite disheartening is the constant harping coming from the same small group people. Interesting that not long ago there was an outcry (from the same small group) that Apple was so secretive and basically made them wait for the annual keynote to hear and get new stuff. Now, we see introductions, updates and pre-announcements routinely. Still the crap cometh. This year's WWDC was preceded by an number of updates in hardware, some within a few days of the conference. And yet, complaints (by the same small minded group) arose because nothing as such was announced during the event.
Now, if you can name me one other company that has been more innovative, offering more for the same price or less, or has done more in developing this industry, I could well understand your disappointment. And by the way, just what over-promises and under-deliverables did Apple so heap upon you that makes your mind so jaundiced?
No, Apple never promises anything (well perhaps a 3GHz G5).
The disappointment at WWDC is entirely our own doing and only felt on sites like these.
Apple hints of great things to come. It pretty much is a promise.
But, the reality can never meet the expectation.
An example is the iPhone. This IS a great phone, no question, but is it as great as all of Apple's hype suggests? Of course not. There are too many little things missing, performance choices for the network will hold back some of the most important features from delivering.
Will it get better as time goes on? I hope so.
He does that every year with the computer line as well. "We have GREAT" new products coming out this year." But, they are merely an evolution of what is already there.
People seem to expect by that word, that the products will be substantially different, and advanced, over what is already out, but it's not.
Even with the switch to Intel, the hints were that the new machines would be different. They weren't. What's amazing though, is that they still aren't, just marginally better.
I'm expecting an entire new line-up late this year, or sometime early next, with the 45nm process. That will allow entirely new designs, and much more powerful models due to the power consumption and speed. Express 2.0 will also make a major revamp, and overall significant speed increases possible.
If Apple chooses to use all of the possibilities, including HDMI (or newer equivalents), including HDCP in all of its models, with at least, an upgrade to HD possible, and finally, some high end gaming cards, we will see the kind of machines that Jobs just gave us to believe we will see next year.
Am I retarded? I couldn't find anything in the original that referred to new products' being off the charts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by solipsism
Not sure. The numbers mentioned permanent and temporary. I assume that most of the permanent (where the figure is from) are fulltime.
The cost is apparently 12M retail, which means about 20k. I hope Apple also gives it to new employees who came in under the past year specifically to work on the iPhone.
Don't get it: 12M retail=20k. You're not saying the cost to the company is $20,000? Is this after tax calculations are done?
Quote:
Originally Posted by desarc
deckard:
in general, convergence devices ARE inferior. i still have several components in my home theater, including a tube amp, separate tuner, and a dedicated amp for my sub. it's far cheaper to replace one item when it becomes inferior or simply breaks.
however, i believe that anything PORTABLE must perform as many functions as possible. i don't want to wear a utility belt, and will be extremely happy when my iPhone is also a gps, syncs w/ my car bluetooth, and is even an hd camcorder. the major issue is balancing screen size and battery life with features and overall unit size.
Good point. Although if cost is not a factor I suspect you can get equivalent performance. Though there is one weakness with your comparison: audio products are much more hardware oriented than computers. Isn't it the software/standards compatibility issues that create most of the nightmares for users of Apple products? My attraction to the I-Phone is centered around frustration with the poor intefacing between my Palm PDA and Mac. A device isn't convenient if you need to do as much work trying to get it to work with your existing devices as you save by using it in the first place. However, the problem with Apple products is the difficulty interfacing with a non-Apple tech world. I'm not convinced that the I-phone will solve that--it may just re-arrange the order of the problems.
Am I retarded? I couldn't find anything in the original that referred to new products' being off the charts.
From the original article, "'The first leg is the Mac business, which Steve addressed by saying that they have the "best Macs" in the new product pipeline ever right now, and that the stuff coming out in the next year is "off the charts.' Wow, sounds juicy."
I take that the "stuff coming out" refers to new products planned for next year and that they will be "off the charts."
Comments
In addition to giving Apple employees a free 8GB iPhone by the end of July, Steve Jobs had a few more things to say in Apple's closed-door internal meeting today.
First, Jobs talked about how new Macs they have coming up will be "off the charts," and then talked about how they want the four pillars of their business to be Macs, iPods, iPhones and Apple TVs. Right now their focus is on the iPhone, but Apple TV will get its turn later.
Steve: [interpreted for honesty] hey guys, check this out, i'm gonna give you an iphone, but not for a month... see, we don't really have enough to meet demand, so i don't want the 17,000 of you all going out and buying up almost 5% of all the phones out there tomorrow. you're gonna have to explain to everyone all july why you work at apple but don't have an iPhone. tell them it's because i'm so generous.
...i think he meant to say "off da chain", you know, stone cold lampin' pancake style. all cleared up?
as for the 3rd leg... iPhone is basically the new iPod. sure the iPod will come out w/ osx similar to the phone, but w/o a phone or "full featured web"*** ...who cares? how long until the iPhone comes w/ 128 gig SSHD?
leg 1: mac computers [an old leg that needs replacing]
leg 2: iPod [the strongest leg]
leg 3: iPhone [expected to eventually hold up all the weight of leg 2]
leg 4: apple TV [the short leg that doesn't hold any weight until you wad up a napkin and stick it underneath... that napkin = hd] ...leg 4 SHOULD be iTunes HD rentals to compete w/ netflix & blockbuster online. [sidenote, please change the name. iTuens is SOOO much more than tunes now.]
finally: Jobsey said he has the "Best Macs Ever" in the product pipeline right now. that's good to know. i expected him to say "we've got new macs in the pipeline, but they're not as good as the ones on the store shelves right now".
*** if the iPod "isn't the watered down internet", why is playboy making a site specifically for iPhone that features "NON-NUDE" playmates.
What ARE you babbling about?
'whatever. Steve should have given every apple employee an iPhone TODAY. period.
Steve: [interpreted for honesty] hey guys, check this out, i'm gonna give you an iphone, but not for a month... see, we don't really have enough to meet demand, so i don't want the 17,000 of you all going out and buying up almost 5% of all the phones out there tomorrow. you're gonna have to explain to everyone all july why you work at apple but don't have an iPhone. tell them it's because i'm so generous.
Yeah, that'd make a hell of a lot of commercial sense wouldn't it? I'm pretty certain that the shareholders would LOVE the idea of giving away 5% of a product internally THE DAY OF LAUNCH instead of selling that 5% and making some money... let's not forget - Apple Inc is a company that is setup to MAKE MONEY. They're not in the business of giving money away - each employee is, after all, paid for their work, the iPhone give away is a little thing called a 'bonus' and you don't marinalise the bottom line in order to give your staff a bonus.
...i think he meant to say "off da chain", you know, stone cold lampin' pancake style. all cleared up?
Remove crack pipe - write comment.
as for the 3rd leg... iPhone is basically the new iPod. sure the iPod will come out w/ osx similar to the phone, but w/o a phone or "full featured web"*** ...who cares? how long until the iPhone comes w/ 128 gig SSHD?
Probably quite a while as it happens. I'm sure Apple Inc will kill the iPod and replace it with the iPhone... NOT! We're far more likely to see the iPod evolve some of the features of the music side of the iPhone and to drop in price.
leg 1: mac computers [an old leg that needs replacing]
Pardon? Why would you want to replace some of the fastest, most user friendly computers in the world? And what exactly would you replace them with?
leg 2: iPod [the strongest leg]
leg 3: iPhone [expected to eventually hold up all the weight of leg 2]
See point above. Why is it that people just can't seem to understand that products EVOLVE! Why are you assuming product stasis in the face of new products?
leg 4: apple TV [the short leg that doesn't hold any weight until you wad up a napkin and stick it underneath... that napkin = hd] ...leg 4 SHOULD be iTunes HD to compete w/ netflix & blockbuster online.
How about we not forget that this is the FIRST itteration of a BRAND NEW PRODUCT from Apple Inc? After all, this is how products get better - trial and error. Apple Inc is a lot better at minimising consumer exposure to very short product life cycles and excessive errors in product design/interface than a hell of a lot of technology companies. Apple TV WILL be a very strong leg of that chair for Apple Inc down the track - do try to have at least a LITTLE bit of vision.
*** if the iPod "isn't the watered down internet", why is playboy making a site specifically for iPhone that features "NON-NUDE" playmates.'
This comment makes zero sense.
1: STEVE JOBS is trying to make himself look generous. i'm saying he's trying to limit the chance of iPhone demand far outreaching supply. [by having his employees wait a month for the "biggest mac product since the mac itself - his own words.]
2: you think the iPod and iPhone won't converge??? ...and i'm sure the iPod will never do video. it's just for music, right? OF COURSE people will want a convergence device. it all comes down to portability. smaller items and fewer of them to do the same thing. why the 'ell would someone want to carry around an iPod and an iPhone? i don't need 80 gigs of songs every day, and if i did, it won't be long until my phone has at least 80 gigs.
3: why replace the "fastest" computers in the world? how about for even faster models that aren't 300+ days old? how about to see the next great apple desktop tower design?
...apple has NEVER been the fastest. they are the best designed, most user friendly. and when the title "fastest" stands 30 - 60 days, that's fine w/ me. i want to see new apple computer DESIGNS. not an octo- or zocchiheo-core processors slapped into the same chassis.
4: i KNOW what apple TV can be in the future. it's what it is now that's premature to the party. it can replace cable boxes in every single home. it can bring all profit from ondemand to apple via iTunes. it can allow you to sit down, turn on the Apple TV [by Apple TV, i mean a 60" SED or Laser Television], and watch whatever the hell you want to through an elegant UI. it can allow you to watch the 1080p video you shot of your kids that's sitting on your computer at work. don't talk to me of having no VISION, stand back and READ something in its entirety before latching onto a tiny segment and attacking it out of context.
5: the last comment makes zero sense to you because you have no sense of humor.
*** if the iPod "isn't the watered down internet", why is playboy making a site specifically for iPhone that features "NON-NUDE" playmates.
Watered down? Oh really???
http://www.cepro.com/article/digital...rn_for_iphone/
Watered down? Oh really???
http://www.cepro.com/article/digital...rn_for_iphone/
mm. humor. see, imagine those playmates all watered down.
...and i'm not suprised porn is available for iPHone before it's even for sale.
If you're aware of all these good things then why write your original comments?
Glad you agree with me on point 1.
As for point 2, historical data does not suggest that people want or indeed will buy converged products. Granted Apple Inc hasn't produced converged products and so the market hasn't been able to enjoy the Apple Inc approach to product design, but I for one do NOT want an iPod in a phone with video and Internet access etc, etc. Maybe I'm alone in this but then again I never bought 'all in one' hi-fi either - with good reason; seperate components are more focused on what they do, by their very nature they're not a compromise of function or design. Same concept applies to any 'converged' device.
Point 3 - I'd LOVE to see a new design every 3 months, that'd be cool. One of the things that makes Apple Inc products so desired is their design, the other is their ease of use and user functionality. One of the biggest complaints from the Apple faithful is the lead time on new designs/products. However, you can't have world class design and implementation (not to mention supply chain) at the rate you'd like. It's simply not possible for a company the size of Apple Inc to maintain innovation to that level. Be happy we get the innovations we do.
As for the 'fastest' title, no, you're correct - Apple Inc computers have never been the fastest. That's for the likes of Earth Simulator or IBM Blue Gene /P (or the newly announced Sun Constellation). However, from the perspective of the desktop/laptop user I think it's relevant to label Apple Inc products in their Mac line as, at least, among the fastest.
Point 4 - I'll address your last point first - I didn't 'latch on' and 'attack out of context'. You wrote the post and I responded to that post. How is that out of context? Unless your original post is out of context with what you were intending to discuss. I suspect that this may be the case.
Clearly you have a great grasp of where Apple Inc wants to go with the Apple TV - so why your original attack and seemingly limited understanding? I don't get the original post since you clearly understand the product roadmap that Apple Inc would seem to intend.
Of course, none of the potential of the Apple TV will be realised (outside the US specifically) without several things falling in to place first: True high-speed broadband, desired content, rental versus ownership model etc, etc. After all, from a technical standpoint, we've had the ability to deliver movies on demand (and hence any media type - audio, video, game etc) for about a decade now. What's standing in the way (and will need to be sorted out quickly in order to provide food for products of this type) is distribution agreements for content as well as a content purchase model being agreed on by the content owners and those wishing to distribute... rental or ownership... part rental/part ownership etc.
In the end it's clear (at least from the Apple TV perspective) why Jobs got involved with Disney - simple, cheap content delivery is a big carrot and Disney is a big stick.
I just hope Apple Inc can pull off for movies what they pulled off for audio.
And hey - thanks for making it sim-ple for me!
in general, convergence devices ARE inferior. i still have several components in my home theater, including a tube amp, separate tuner, and a dedicated amp for my sub. it's far cheaper to replace one item when it becomes inferior or simply breaks.
however, i believe that anything PORTABLE must perform as many functions as possible. i don't want to wear a utility belt, and will be extremely happy when my iPhone is also a gps, syncs w/ my car bluetooth, and is even an hd camcorder. the major issue is balancing screen size and battery life with features and overall unit size.
my original attack on apple tv is because i think steve waited a LONG time to release a phone, and i believe it's going to pay off in a big big way. i believe he should have done the same w/ apple tv. it's simply premature. i don't think the features presented in apple tv are enough to warrant a purchase. it's a nice start, and should be on a shelf somewhere in R&D. i compare the apple tv to the motorola rokr. nice first try, but no thanks - i'll wait for the iTV.
I guess we're going to have to agree to disagree on the converged device front. I once thought that I'd like all of my devices rolled into the one simple, portable product but experience in SE Asia with such devices has led me to return to a desire for seperates. In fact I must be really old school - I'd love a phone that was JUST a phone - well designed, high quality, lots of room for contacts - but no e-mail, no camera, no GPS, no nothing. Just an excellent phone. So there you go - really old school!
deckard:
in general, convergence devices ARE inferior. i still have several components in my home theater, including a tube amp, separate tuner, and a dedicated amp for my sub. it's far cheaper to replace one item when it becomes inferior or simply breaks.
however, i believe that anything PORTABLE must perform as many functions as possible. i don't want to wear a utility belt, and will be extremely happy when my iPhone is also a gps, syncs w/ my car bluetooth, and is even an hd camcorder. the major issue is balancing screen size and battery life with features and overall unit size.
my original attack on apple tv is because i think steve waited a LONG time to release a phone, and i believe it's going to pay off in a big big way. i believe he should have done the same w/ apple tv. it's simply premature. i don't think the features presented in apple tv are enough to warrant a purchase. it's a nice start, and should be on a shelf somewhere in R&D. i compare the apple tv to the motorola rokr. nice first try, but no thanks - i'll wait for the iTV.
There were a lot of people around the world that watched that keynote and wondered what had happened to all the secret features that Apple trumpeted. I think that of all the Apple events I've watched, that one came off as the BIGGEST disappointment.
There was a time when I would have gotten excited by Steve's "off the scale" teasers, but like many long term Apple users, I'm now starting to develop an immunity to his RDF.
I think that if you need proof of how Apple always over-promises and under-delivers, you only have to look at the WWDC presentation.
No, Apple never promises anything (well perhaps a 3GHz G5).
The disappointment at WWDC is entirely our own doing and only felt on sites like these.
Please substantiate.
Oh come on... I really like Apple products but please.... when has Steve NOT had the hype meter set on eleven!?! Especially when speaking of 'over the next 12 months'...
Dave
I'm now starting to develop an immunity to his RDF.
Me too... not often, but sometimes I feel like something is sadly missing from my life.....
If you ever had your hands on the 8-core you wouldn't ask. Unfortunately, this is the case of the horse before the cart. Fortunately, this is the case of the horse before the cart.
Until now there is only a couple of applications that can take benefit of its power and/or structure. And its not for most if any of the participants here.
And what about the new MacBook Pro? Just got the new one last week. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful, and to me, off the charts vs any other laptop I've had or seen.
Yeah I agree they are two really good machines but I guess it's just not as impressive when they don't make what you want. No 12"/13" MBP and no smaller tower. To me that would be off the charts.
I think next year will be a far more interesting year than this one for most things. Flash is coming in strongly, new types of display, great advancements in CPUs, OS X will have reached its best performance (that's this year but I'm just including it), Blu-Ray might be affordable as well as the consoles.
I think that if you need proof of how Apple always over-promises and under-delivers, you only have to look at the WWDC presentation.
There were a lot of people around the world that watched that keynote and wondered what had happened to all the secret features that Apple trumpeted. I think that of all the Apple events I've watched, that one came off as the BIGGEST disappointment.
There was a time when I would have gotten excited by Steve's "off the scale" teasers, but like many long term Apple users, I'm now starting to develop an immunity to his RDF.
As a developer, I have to disagree with you. Being there and watching it (especially by the likes of you) is entirely different.
What is quite disheartening is the constant harping coming from the same small group people. Interesting that not long ago there was an outcry (from the same small group) that Apple was so secretive and basically made them wait for the annual keynote to hear and get new stuff. Now, we see introductions, updates and pre-announcements routinely. Still the crap cometh. This year's WWDC was preceded by an number of updates in hardware, some within a few days of the conference. And yet, complaints (by the same small minded group) arose because nothing as such was announced during the event.
Now, if you can name me one other company that has been more innovative, offering more for the same price or less, or has done more in developing this industry, I could well understand your disappointment. And by the way, just what over-promises and under-deliverables did Apple so heap upon you that makes your mind so jaundiced?
No, Apple never promises anything (well perhaps a 3GHz G5).
The disappointment at WWDC is entirely our own doing and only felt on sites like these.
Apple hints of great things to come. It pretty much is a promise.
But, the reality can never meet the expectation.
An example is the iPhone. This IS a great phone, no question, but is it as great as all of Apple's hype suggests? Of course not. There are too many little things missing, performance choices for the network will hold back some of the most important features from delivering.
Will it get better as time goes on? I hope so.
He does that every year with the computer line as well. "We have GREAT" new products coming out this year." But, they are merely an evolution of what is already there.
People seem to expect by that word, that the products will be substantially different, and advanced, over what is already out, but it's not.
Even with the switch to Intel, the hints were that the new machines would be different. They weren't. What's amazing though, is that they still aren't, just marginally better.
I'm expecting an entire new line-up late this year, or sometime early next, with the 45nm process. That will allow entirely new designs, and much more powerful models due to the power consumption and speed. Express 2.0 will also make a major revamp, and overall significant speed increases possible.
If Apple chooses to use all of the possibilities, including HDMI (or newer equivalents), including HDCP in all of its models, with at least, an upgrade to HD possible, and finally, some high end gaming cards, we will see the kind of machines that Jobs just gave us to believe we will see next year.
If not...
Suggest to take a minute to read the original article to appreciate the emphasis of his presentation. http://arstechnica.com/journals/appl...n-the-pipeline
Am I retarded? I couldn't find anything in the original that referred to new products' being off the charts.
Not sure. The numbers mentioned permanent and temporary. I assume that most of the permanent (where the figure is from) are fulltime.
The cost is apparently 12M retail, which means about 20k. I hope Apple also gives it to new employees who came in under the past year specifically to work on the iPhone.
Don't get it: 12M retail=20k. You're not saying the cost to the company is $20,000? Is this after tax calculations are done?
deckard:
in general, convergence devices ARE inferior. i still have several components in my home theater, including a tube amp, separate tuner, and a dedicated amp for my sub. it's far cheaper to replace one item when it becomes inferior or simply breaks.
however, i believe that anything PORTABLE must perform as many functions as possible. i don't want to wear a utility belt, and will be extremely happy when my iPhone is also a gps, syncs w/ my car bluetooth, and is even an hd camcorder. the major issue is balancing screen size and battery life with features and overall unit size.
Good point. Although if cost is not a factor I suspect you can get equivalent performance. Though there is one weakness with your comparison: audio products are much more hardware oriented than computers. Isn't it the software/standards compatibility issues that create most of the nightmares for users of Apple products? My attraction to the I-Phone is centered around frustration with the poor intefacing between my Palm PDA and Mac. A device isn't convenient if you need to do as much work trying to get it to work with your existing devices as you save by using it in the first place. However, the problem with Apple products is the difficulty interfacing with a non-Apple tech world. I'm not convinced that the I-phone will solve that--it may just re-arrange the order of the problems.
Don't get it: 12M retail=20k. You're not saying the cost to the company is $20,000? Is this after tax calculations are done?
The cost is a reported $12M. Divide by the $600 price tag and you get 20k full time employees.
Am I retarded? I couldn't find anything in the original that referred to new products' being off the charts.
From the original article, "'The first leg is the Mac business, which Steve addressed by saying that they have the "best Macs" in the new product pipeline ever right now, and that the stuff coming out in the next year is "off the charts.' Wow, sounds juicy."
I take that the "stuff coming out" refers to new products planned for next year and that they will be "off the charts."