It must suck to be a developer not knowing when Apple will switch processor platforms. I know if I was M$ or Adobe, I'd hate to rewrite everything again to support a new instruction set.
What's interesting to note here is that Apple did switch processor platforms. From the Samsung S5PC100 (ARM Cortex A8 core) to the Apple A4.
Is it effecting iPad/iPhone developers? Doesn't appear to be.
I love it. I bought one. But, 3 things could make it perfect for me: A DVD or BlueRay drive, increased support for other video formats, and the ability to actually USE the USB port without paying a 3rd party for the privilege (to plug in my 1 TB USB drive with all my ripped DVDs).
At this point I think an included optical drive just adds cost to the device and redundancy for many homes thus making it lose more sales than it would making an ideal device.
Using the USB port they could add an optical drive option that you would form fit on top. Blu-ray is great for the living room but the iTS is still likely a primary focus on that front, though the AppleTV is more likely than MBPs getting Blu-ray.
Using the USB for additional drives would be nice but I'd just be happy with a Home Server based of the A4. I'd also like the the USB port to be in the front of the device with access to play a video from an iDevice via the AppleTV to the HDTV with unprecedented ease.
Because of legal issues getting every codec and container isn't going to ever happen. However, there are some tricks you can do with a hacked AppleTV, like installing Perian's codec and container suite. Then, you can created a QuickTime Reference Link in QT7 which will load into iTunes. Then you can connect to that iTunes Library from the AppleTV and stream successfully. It would be great if they made the workarounds easier while still absolving them of any wrongdoing, but since iTunes still won't take any audio or video for organizing in the Library it seems unlikely they'd make any other aspect easier.
This tells me that 2011 is going to be the year of AppleTV, much the same way that 2010 is already the year of the iPad. I recall Apple saying similar things about the market for tablets, netbooks and such, just a little over a year ago......
Wrong- AppleTv is a complete and utter failure who's time has come and passed. Apple lost the living room as Blu-ray players have skyrocketed and now come complete with WiFi , rentals, etc, etc and can be had for under $200. AppleTV choked itself by maintaining itself as strictly an iTunes Digital jukebox who's sole purpose was to pump money into the Apple media store machine. It just didn't work. Only Apple fanatics go for it.
Cook said he believes the Apple TV is an outstanding product, but there just isn't a large enough market to make the hardware worth a great deal of concentration from his company. The product is a "hobby," he said, because it doesn't compare to the phone, computer and MP3 player markets in terms of sales.
I wonder if the Apple TV will soon become part of the 'Apple ecosystem' by running the iPhone OS? That would make it a very interesting device!!
I hope that you turn out to be correct, but I have a feeling we may not be this lucky. Yes, Apple did say these things about tablets leading up to their announcement of the iPad, but they have been tossing the "it's just a hobby" grenades at us for much longer. I think they are trying to make a point, which is, don't hold your breath.
Now I suppose it is possible, that with the iPad and iPhone, that it is just taking longer for them to get the Apple TV ready for primetime, but I don't think so. I think they could have easily updated the hardware 3 times by now, and wowed us with a software overhaul to catch up to the other living room competitors. But so far not a peep for hardware, and only minor software updates here and there.
They have a long way to go. I hope you're right about 2011.
What exactly are you looking for, from AppleTV? (It is a serious question).
Cook said he believes the Apple TV is an outstanding product, but there just isn't a large enough market to make the hardware worth a great deal of concentration from his company. The product is a "hobby," he said, because it doesn't compare to the phone, computer and MP3 player markets in terms of sales.
I wonder if the Apple TV will soon become part of the 'Apple ecosystem' by running the iPhone OS? That would make it a very interesting device!!
Steve doesn't want you to surf the web in your living room- afraid you might find a free movie or some porn.
Decoupling internet service providers and television content providers is probably one of the toughest things to do, but that is exactly what we need to happen if we ever want truly great online content distribution, be it from iTunes, Hulu, Netflix or something else. Making Apple TV better than it is now is trivial when compared to getting a content deal that is competitive with cable.
Google is going to offer 1GB home service to anywhere from 50,000 to 500,000 homes in the US...that would be a start.
I'm happy with my Apple TV the way it is. I guess I'm not your average user but my biggest complaint is that there's no way (that I've found) to play an entire season of a TV show without pressing play after each episode finishes.
It's called a video playlist- they will play non-stop.
Something Apple fixed like 2 years after ATV was released.
"Hobby" is code for something. It's a feint. The fence sitters who listen to the blabber from the whiners that ATV "sucks" deserve to remain in the dark.
Apple is obviously testing the waters and/or making deals before making big changes. In the mean time, ATV owners know how good ATV is. I'm one of them.
I am truly a very happy AppleTV owner too. My family and I use it all the time. It does no more, no less than what was originally promised, and does it very well, esp. with the new interface. I paid something like $229 for it, what, about three years ago? Still going strong......
AppleTV is the biggest BAg of HUrt to ever occupy this planet. An additional device that consumes thermal energy- the design is so bad you can't shut it off without turning on the TV or unplugging it?
There is also another battle it has to fight, mostly against game consoles and DVRs which have building up to and in many ways exceeding the AppleTV's media extender capabilities. Since these are sold with games being a money maker and often sold with little to no profit Apple's re-entry into the living room is touch from every angle.
They certainly can't drop the living room but they'll need something killer to win it. Creating an SDK seems to be the only thing I think of that is a golden ticket.
Games isn't going to be their weakness for aTV but their strength. Once all the games can run on both the iPod Touch and iPad it's an easy step to games for the aTV. Boom. aTV stops being a hobby and storms the living room with an A4 chip.
The AppleTV was great when it came out and has gotten better for no extra cost but it's definitely lagging behind the PS3, 360, and TiVO, as well as the Popcorn Hour and other standalone media extenders in the mix now. Any ideas how they can make it the must have home theater appliance? Or perhaps they won't have to if they just use an ARM CPU and iPhone OS with a new BackRow to run it. It's not like it's a bad investment for them with so much cross development.
You left out the BIGGEST thing it lags behnd BLU_Ray which now has Wifi and rentals.
At this point I think an included optical drive just adds cost to the device and redundancy for many homes thus making it lose more sales than it would making an ideal device.
Except that with a Blu-Ray drive, the AppleTV could replace at least one device. As it stands right now, it's just another box to clutter up the living room. That's what is so great about the PS3. It's a game machine AND a replacement for the DVD/Blu-Ray player. And there's the Playstation Store for purchase/rental of movies and purchase of TV shows. And then there's all of the functionality of the AppleTV that it duplicates (audio/video/photo streaming with local storage). All that and it managed to have an easily replaceable hard drive and still manage to be physically attractive (why does a user replaceable hard drive seem so hard for Apple to implement?). Netflix. A web browser. What does the AppleTV offer to compare to all of that?
Games isn't going to be their weakness for aTV but their strength. Once all the games can run on both the iPod Touch and iPad it's an easy step to games for the aTV. Boom. aTV stops being a hobby and storms the living room with an A4 chip.
Except that with a Blu-Ray drive, the AppleTV could replace at least one device. As it stands right now, it's just another box to clutter up the living room. That's what is so great about the PS3. It's a game machine AND a replacement for the DVD/Blu-Ray player. And there's the Playstation Store for purchase/rental of movies and purchase of TV shows. And then there's all of the functionality of the AppleTV that it duplicates (audio/video/photo streaming with local storage). All that and it managed to have an easily replaceable hard drive and still manage to be physically attractive (why does a user replaceable hard drive seem so hard for Apple to implement?). Netflix. A web browser. What does the AppleTV offer to compare to all of that?
A hand warmer?
Blu-ray has already replaced ATV in that it now has built in WiFi, rentals and comes in at under $200.
If a consumer were looking to play music from his iTunes library on his laptop or desktop, to the speaker system attached to his home theatre setup, what other options exist besides the AppleTV?
This is not a joke. I really would like to know.....
A Mac Mini, AirPort Express, a PC, PS3, XBox, plus a number of other devices
The Apple TV has been my primary TV-watching device since I dropped cable 4-5 months ago and it's been a lot better than I expected. I watch a lot of podcasts, and have subscribed to the 2 series that I actually want to watch.
Having said that, I agree with the posts here that predict that the ATV will become an iPhone/iPad OS device and will run many/most of the existing apps. Probably with the "preferred" controller being your iPod Touch/iPad/iPhone. The secondary device might a wii-style pointing device.
Games isn't going to be their weakness for aTV but their strength. Once all the games can run on both the iPod Touch and iPad it's an easy step to games for the aTV. Boom. aTV stops being a hobby and storms the living room with an A4 chip.
I disagree with your comment about iPhone games jumping to the AppleTV. Even when the inevitable change from using Mac OS to iPhone OS as the base there is the issue of input. The iPad is a natural fit for iPhone games since it's still a touchscreen, but for the AppleTV this would require some very clever reworking.
I so agree that games could be a strength, if they get a proper SDK for the AppleTV, but I don't think that would make sense this year when the iPad is just getting off the ground. Let the devs focus on that platform right now.
We've already seen the Wii outpace other consoles despite being considerably weaker in power but having more fun and cheaper games could make it work. Attack them in where it hurts, the game development and distribution method.
I disagree with your comment about iPhone games jumping to the AppleTV. Even when the inevitable change from using Mac OS to iPhone OS as the base there is the issue of input. The iPad is a natural fit for iPhone games since it's still a touchscreen, but for the AppleTV this would require some very clever reworking.
I figure it would use iPod Touches, iPhones and iPads as their controllers. A tad on the expensive side but a lot of folks own those already.
Quote:
I so agree that games could be a strength, if they get a proper SDK for the AppleTV, but I don't think that would make sense this year when the iPad is just getting off the ground. Let the devs focus on that platform right now.
Yes, I agree it's not likely to happen this year, and perhaps not the next but I expect by 2012.
Quote:
We've already seen the Wii outpace other consoles despite being considerably weaker in power but having more fun and cheaper games could make it work. Attack them in where it hurts, the game development and distribution method.
This is the gaming area that Apple has been courting...not the PS3/360 crowd.
I like this. This is a fantastic solution for neatly circumventing the problem of how to show novice users what is running in the background ? if its a background process, it has a widget.
And the physical screen size would limit the number of widgets you could show, which limits the number of apps which could run in the background, which reduces the of battery drain.
Yes, and since the Dashboard will overlay the current open app, it will prevent further interaction with it until it is dismissed, guaranteeing that the processor won't be clogged with heavy apps.
Do it Apple. Just for the fun of making naysayers eat their words
Comments
It must suck to be a developer not knowing when Apple will switch processor platforms. I know if I was M$ or Adobe, I'd hate to rewrite everything again to support a new instruction set.
What's interesting to note here is that Apple did switch processor platforms. From the Samsung S5PC100 (ARM Cortex A8 core) to the Apple A4.
Is it effecting iPad/iPhone developers? Doesn't appear to be.
I love it. I bought one. But, 3 things could make it perfect for me: A DVD or BlueRay drive, increased support for other video formats, and the ability to actually USE the USB port without paying a 3rd party for the privilege (to plug in my 1 TB USB drive with all my ripped DVDs).
At this point I think an included optical drive just adds cost to the device and redundancy for many homes thus making it lose more sales than it would making an ideal device.
Using the USB port they could add an optical drive option that you would form fit on top. Blu-ray is great for the living room but the iTS is still likely a primary focus on that front, though the AppleTV is more likely than MBPs getting Blu-ray.
Using the USB for additional drives would be nice but I'd just be happy with a Home Server based of the A4. I'd also like the the USB port to be in the front of the device with access to play a video from an iDevice via the AppleTV to the HDTV with unprecedented ease.
Because of legal issues getting every codec and container isn't going to ever happen. However, there are some tricks you can do with a hacked AppleTV, like installing Perian's codec and container suite. Then, you can created a QuickTime Reference Link in QT7 which will load into iTunes. Then you can connect to that iTunes Library from the AppleTV and stream successfully. It would be great if they made the workarounds easier while still absolving them of any wrongdoing, but since iTunes still won't take any audio or video for organizing in the Library it seems unlikely they'd make any other aspect easier.
This tells me that 2011 is going to be the year of AppleTV, much the same way that 2010 is already the year of the iPad. I recall Apple saying similar things about the market for tablets, netbooks and such, just a little over a year ago......
Wrong- AppleTv is a complete and utter failure who's time has come and passed. Apple lost the living room as Blu-ray players have skyrocketed and now come complete with WiFi , rentals, etc, etc and can be had for under $200. AppleTV choked itself by maintaining itself as strictly an iTunes Digital jukebox who's sole purpose was to pump money into the Apple media store machine. It just didn't work. Only Apple fanatics go for it.
IT's DEAD.
I wonder if the Apple TV will soon become part of the 'Apple ecosystem' by running the iPhone OS? That would make it a very interesting device!!
I hope that you turn out to be correct, but I have a feeling we may not be this lucky. Yes, Apple did say these things about tablets leading up to their announcement of the iPad, but they have been tossing the "it's just a hobby" grenades at us for much longer. I think they are trying to make a point, which is, don't hold your breath.
Now I suppose it is possible, that with the iPad and iPhone, that it is just taking longer for them to get the Apple TV ready for primetime, but I don't think so. I think they could have easily updated the hardware 3 times by now, and wowed us with a software overhaul to catch up to the other living room competitors. But so far not a peep for hardware, and only minor software updates here and there.
They have a long way to go. I hope you're right about 2011.
What exactly are you looking for, from AppleTV? (It is a serious question).
Cook said he believes the Apple TV is an outstanding product, but there just isn't a large enough market to make the hardware worth a great deal of concentration from his company. The product is a "hobby," he said, because it doesn't compare to the phone, computer and MP3 player markets in terms of sales.
I wonder if the Apple TV will soon become part of the 'Apple ecosystem' by running the iPhone OS? That would make it a very interesting device!!
Steve doesn't want you to surf the web in your living room- afraid you might find a free movie or some porn.
Decoupling internet service providers and television content providers is probably one of the toughest things to do, but that is exactly what we need to happen if we ever want truly great online content distribution, be it from iTunes, Hulu, Netflix or something else. Making Apple TV better than it is now is trivial when compared to getting a content deal that is competitive with cable.
Google is going to offer 1GB home service to anywhere from 50,000 to 500,000 homes in the US...that would be a start.
I'm happy with my Apple TV the way it is. I guess I'm not your average user but my biggest complaint is that there's no way (that I've found) to play an entire season of a TV show without pressing play after each episode finishes.
It's called a video playlist- they will play non-stop.
Something Apple fixed like 2 years after ATV was released.
"Hobby" is code for something. It's a feint. The fence sitters who listen to the blabber from the whiners that ATV "sucks" deserve to remain in the dark.
Apple is obviously testing the waters and/or making deals before making big changes. In the mean time, ATV owners know how good ATV is. I'm one of them.
I am truly a very happy AppleTV owner too. My family and I use it all the time. It does no more, no less than what was originally promised, and does it very well, esp. with the new interface. I paid something like $229 for it, what, about three years ago? Still going strong......
I agree that there is a feint of some sorts here.
There is also another battle it has to fight, mostly against game consoles and DVRs which have building up to and in many ways exceeding the AppleTV's media extender capabilities. Since these are sold with games being a money maker and often sold with little to no profit Apple's re-entry into the living room is touch from every angle.
They certainly can't drop the living room but they'll need something killer to win it. Creating an SDK seems to be the only thing I think of that is a golden ticket.
Games isn't going to be their weakness for aTV but their strength. Once all the games can run on both the iPod Touch and iPad it's an easy step to games for the aTV. Boom. aTV stops being a hobby and storms the living room with an A4 chip.
The AppleTV was great when it came out and has gotten better for no extra cost but it's definitely lagging behind the PS3, 360, and TiVO, as well as the Popcorn Hour and other standalone media extenders in the mix now. Any ideas how they can make it the must have home theater appliance? Or perhaps they won't have to if they just use an ARM CPU and iPhone OS with a new BackRow to run it. It's not like it's a bad investment for them with so much cross development.
You left out the BIGGEST thing it lags behnd BLU_Ray which now has Wifi and rentals.
ATV was never great- EVEN when it came out.
It makes a great cheese melter though.
At this point I think an included optical drive just adds cost to the device and redundancy for many homes thus making it lose more sales than it would making an ideal device.
Except that with a Blu-Ray drive, the AppleTV could replace at least one device. As it stands right now, it's just another box to clutter up the living room. That's what is so great about the PS3. It's a game machine AND a replacement for the DVD/Blu-Ray player. And there's the Playstation Store for purchase/rental of movies and purchase of TV shows. And then there's all of the functionality of the AppleTV that it duplicates (audio/video/photo streaming with local storage). All that and it managed to have an easily replaceable hard drive and still manage to be physically attractive (why does a user replaceable hard drive seem so hard for Apple to implement?). Netflix. A web browser. What does the AppleTV offer to compare to all of that?
Games isn't going to be their weakness for aTV but their strength. Once all the games can run on both the iPod Touch and iPad it's an easy step to games for the aTV. Boom. aTV stops being a hobby and storms the living room with an A4 chip.
Yawn.
Where's the i7/i5 MacBook Pro chip?
Except that with a Blu-Ray drive, the AppleTV could replace at least one device. As it stands right now, it's just another box to clutter up the living room. That's what is so great about the PS3. It's a game machine AND a replacement for the DVD/Blu-Ray player. And there's the Playstation Store for purchase/rental of movies and purchase of TV shows. And then there's all of the functionality of the AppleTV that it duplicates (audio/video/photo streaming with local storage). All that and it managed to have an easily replaceable hard drive and still manage to be physically attractive (why does a user replaceable hard drive seem so hard for Apple to implement?). Netflix. A web browser. What does the AppleTV offer to compare to all of that?
A hand warmer?
Blu-ray has already replaced ATV in that it now has built in WiFi, rentals and comes in at under $200.
Let me throw you a layup.
If a consumer were looking to play music from his iTunes library on his laptop or desktop, to the speaker system attached to his home theatre setup, what other options exist besides the AppleTV?
This is not a joke. I really would like to know.....
A Mac Mini, AirPort Express, a PC, PS3, XBox, plus a number of other devices
Having said that, I agree with the posts here that predict that the ATV will become an iPhone/iPad OS device and will run many/most of the existing apps. Probably with the "preferred" controller being your iPod Touch/iPad/iPhone. The secondary device might a wii-style pointing device.
Games isn't going to be their weakness for aTV but their strength. Once all the games can run on both the iPod Touch and iPad it's an easy step to games for the aTV. Boom. aTV stops being a hobby and storms the living room with an A4 chip.
I disagree with your comment about iPhone games jumping to the AppleTV. Even when the inevitable change from using Mac OS to iPhone OS as the base there is the issue of input. The iPad is a natural fit for iPhone games since it's still a touchscreen, but for the AppleTV this would require some very clever reworking.
I so agree that games could be a strength, if they get a proper SDK for the AppleTV, but I don't think that would make sense this year when the iPad is just getting off the ground. Let the devs focus on that platform right now.
We've already seen the Wii outpace other consoles despite being considerably weaker in power but having more fun and cheaper games could make it work. Attack them in where it hurts, the game development and distribution method.
I disagree with your comment about iPhone games jumping to the AppleTV. Even when the inevitable change from using Mac OS to iPhone OS as the base there is the issue of input. The iPad is a natural fit for iPhone games since it's still a touchscreen, but for the AppleTV this would require some very clever reworking.
I figure it would use iPod Touches, iPhones and iPads as their controllers. A tad on the expensive side but a lot of folks own those already.
I so agree that games could be a strength, if they get a proper SDK for the AppleTV, but I don't think that would make sense this year when the iPad is just getting off the ground. Let the devs focus on that platform right now.
Yes, I agree it's not likely to happen this year, and perhaps not the next but I expect by 2012.
We've already seen the Wii outpace other consoles despite being considerably weaker in power but having more fun and cheaper games could make it work. Attack them in where it hurts, the game development and distribution method.
This is the gaming area that Apple has been courting...not the PS3/360 crowd.
I like this. This is a fantastic solution for neatly circumventing the problem of how to show novice users what is running in the background ? if its a background process, it has a widget.
And the physical screen size would limit the number of widgets you could show, which limits the number of apps which could run in the background, which reduces the of battery drain.
Yes, and since the Dashboard will overlay the current open app, it will prevent further interaction with it until it is dismissed, guaranteeing that the processor won't be clogged with heavy apps.
Do it Apple. Just for the fun of making naysayers eat their words