I think the first personal computer is the Apple II though the Mac was better for the average person. The Apple I may have been is extremely rare, made of wood and was made by Wozniak himself. It wasn't massively produced.
Say good bye to the monthly cable bill and say hello to tiered internet pricing from the telecom and cable companies. They are going to take your money any which way they can just like the wireless providers do with their tiered data pricing.
Maybe, but so that Apple can make deals for getting better bandwidth, we should all fight against so-called "net neutrality" that would prevent us from using all the bandwidth that we need for iAds and content and stuff.
I have never and still do not see the value in having a set-top box that can run mobile phone applications. I mean, how are you supposed to interact with an iPhone app when you don't have a capacitive touch screen, an accelerometer, etc.?
Also, if the iTV is real, I really hope Apple does its best to resist pressure from the rest of the industry. One of the key shortcomings I see of Apple's iOS platform (especially compared to Android) is that Apple is beholden to AT&T?no videochatting over cellular networks, no telephony services (Google Voice) that compete with AT&T, no files bigger than 30 MB over cellular networks (e.g. the typical podcast), etc. If Apple partners with several big content providers for its iTV launch, I think we can pretty safely say that several excellent functions of the hypothetical iTV device (Tivo-like recording, for instance) would be banned.
But then again, Apple may pull off the launch well, only partner with other online-only content sources (Hulu), and it'd be awesome
So do I. So much I ditched cable and broadcast TV a long, long time ago. In addition to cable's utter disregard for their customers, network TV's content degenerated into 99% garbage years ago while advertisements simultaneously grew more numerous, obnoxious, and distasteful. The junk that networks pass as "news" has become packaged entertainment for illiterate morons. So what good is TV any more?
For a small fraction of cable's cost, I can pick and choose quality entertainment from Netflix or any number of similar services.
Quote:
My big deal is getting EVERY show I want, when I want it, and not a week or a month late. ... Call me picky, but as much as I don't like cable, I can't justify giving it up yet..
Try it. You may find it's the best thing you ever did. I'll only pay to have my trash removed from my home. I won't pay a red cent to have it delivered.
Cable companies have a complete monopoly, and they don't give a shit about their consumers. Much like the banking industry became - come to think of it, look for Comcast et al to come running hat in hand to Congress for a bailout
Apple's focus has been delivering what you want, when you want it, and this philosophy continues to become more prevalent. It goes back to the original iTunes Music Store - pay for what you want, not what you don't. Contrast that with the traditional broadcast TV or cable, in such context the present delivery system seems quaintly dysfunctional - kind of like buying a CD at the Tower Records Store.
Quote:
Originally Posted by msuberly
Goodbye monthly cable bill. You have just been replaced by an equally expensive monthly Internet bill.
If you don't already have broadband internet, yes, but may people are paying for that in addition to a cable subscription. Given the amount and variety of content now available online, this makes no sense to me. With the demise of a traditional cable subscription service, it's possible the cable companies will seek to recover such lost revenue in increased Internet-only service charges, but will it approach the present combined cost of TV plus Internet? I doubt it.
It may seem premature for me to write cable TV's obituary, but I believe it's certain, and just a matter of time. Like twisting the channel knob on your TV and readjusting the rabbit ears... it's going away. More often than not, such technological shifts happen faster than anyone expects. Before you know it the cable set-top converter is in your garage under the bag of cat litter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinemagic
Steve Jobs still doesn't get it. ... This is one area where Microsoft is far superior. ... the Apply TV isn't and the upcoming iTV doesn't sound like it's in the league of Microsoft's Media Center.
I've used it, I'm underwhelmed by MMC. MMC doesn't do anything you can't do with even a cheap Blu-Ray player, which isn't bogged down by Windows and the typically crap hardware that runs it. Besides, MMC's UI is simply awful - typical Windows backassward design. Let's hope Apple doesn't follow that shining example.
...and I'm curious, just what else doesn't Steve Jobs "get"
1) I can?t quite wrap my head around this $99 AppleTV. Even with only a couple GB for the OS and apps and a potential size of that of an iPod Nano with the relative performance of the iPad, the best I can see is $149, even if they are trying to get a shoe in the home entertainment market.
2) I can?t see this being the only TV they would offer. I can see a larger, hub-like media extender for the main widescreen HDTV that does 1080p, has plenty of local storage, apps, etc. (maybe built into the new Mac Mini case) for a several hundred dollars, with a much simpler TV for the many other TVs in a home that I?d assume would be common to those who tend to buy Apple?s products.
3) We have to watch out for cable companies being delegated to ISPs. They have contracts with the networks. If, for example, they lose half their revenue of paid cable they may still have to pay the full contract amount to these networks along with the support costs. That means to maintain their margins they?d have to double their prices for those sticking with cable TV (which is unlikely), or bump the cost of your internet per GB and potentially adding data caps so that heavy users pay more (very likely).
4) Somewhere in its Digital Hub hegemony, Apple has to provide a consumer-friendly iServer solution that integrates and backs up all the content from various Macs, iDevices and MobileMe.
Oh, no. You are either quite young, or (understandably) biased toward Apple.
Apple wasn't - and isn't usually - first at anything in particular. Apple's history has been to identify, adapt, and refine existing technology to the point that it's useful, then market it to the average consumer. This they do astonishingly well.
... The Apple I may have been is extremely rare, made of wood and was made by Wozniak himself.
The wooden cabinet you may have found on Wikipedia or wherever was not made or sold by Apple. The Apple I was a single board computer. If you wanted a cabinet, you had to make it yourself.
For $99 you get very limmited hardware and the opportunity to pay through the nose for monthly content. It'll be like having cable TV, but you'll need another $99 piece of hardware.
I guess its only right to be unbiased and grab all kinds of news from any blog/site but sometimes it seems more than obvious that some people/sources are only sometimes correct because of coincidence. For example, he was right about copy n paste but so were many people. Many were anticipating it. However, this guy also claims the 3G would have a front camera and that iTV will allow...viewing other angles of football on the iPad? that sounds like the dumbest idea I've heard. I don't know about you, but I like havin to look down from my big TV to a smaller screen to check some extraneous angle on football.
This guy is nothing more than some other guy who claims to know stuff. Why is AI posting this?!?
For many of the same reasons that that they allow you (and me) to post to these forums.
I love my Apple TV but look forward to the rumored improvements. There is so much potential in this area because they already have a captive, active audience - me sitting there like a stump eating salt-n-vinegar chips.
I'd like Skype, tons more movies, especially recent releases and the ability to order up old TV episodes for a sweet deal.
The Apple TV does need a much beefier CPU if only to toss the slow and goofy interface out and replace it with something snappy and easy to use (and read).
Hope you guys are looking forward to watching (yes watching) some comic books on your televisions for the first time too!
Our app (Digital Comics) will certainly be ported over, and is already the only of it's kind in the app store, allowing for a completely automated comic book viewing experience.
I have a PC running Windows 7 Media Center in my basement which connects to several XBOX 360s that serve as extenders. The result is live and recorded TV on every screen in my house for the cost of a cable bill and a cheap homebuilt PC. It's over 95% reliable and beats the pants off any DVR solution offered currently by cable or satellite.
To compete with this and "change everything", Apple will need to do ONE the following:
(1) Recording support via CableCard or Tru2Way
(2) Free Internet TV (ala HULU) which they can monetize with iAds.
If they offered both, it would be a glad slam, since more choices are always better than less.
It all comes down to economics. As long as there is free TV over the airwaves, people won't go the itunes route (pay for individual episodes or seasons) since they would end up paying more than their average cable or satellite bill.
Properly executed, Apple could kill the DVR and Cable/Satellite industries in one fell swoop. I can't wait to see how this plays out, because Internet-based television is clearly the future. Question is, who's going to own it: Apple, Google, M$?
I agree! Many of us could not duplicate your system for what it cost.
Especially those of us who live in California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico...
I think the first personal computer is the Apple II though the Mac was better for the average person. The Apple I may have been is extremely rare, made of wood and was made by Wozniak himself. It wasn't massively produced.
It wasn't made of wood. It was sold as a motherboard.
I have never and still do not see the value in having a set-top box that can run mobile phone applications. I mean, how are you supposed to interact with an iPhone app when you don't have a capacitive touch screen, an accelerometer, etc.?
Errr.... the touchscreen remote with accelerometer, etc. is in your hand (and your opponent', hand too)! They are called iPhones, iPads and iPod touches-- and maybe even the WiiMote!
Comments
the frist personal computer was the Apple 1
I think the first personal computer is the Apple II though the Mac was better for the average person. The Apple I may have been is extremely rare, made of wood and was made by Wozniak himself. It wasn't massively produced.
Say good bye to the monthly cable bill and say hello to tiered internet pricing from the telecom and cable companies. They are going to take your money any which way they can just like the wireless providers do with their tiered data pricing.
Maybe, but so that Apple can make deals for getting better bandwidth, we should all fight against so-called "net neutrality" that would prevent us from using all the bandwidth that we need for iAds and content and stuff.
Also, if the iTV is real, I really hope Apple does its best to resist pressure from the rest of the industry. One of the key shortcomings I see of Apple's iOS platform (especially compared to Android) is that Apple is beholden to AT&T?no videochatting over cellular networks, no telephony services (Google Voice) that compete with AT&T, no files bigger than 30 MB over cellular networks (e.g. the typical podcast), etc. If Apple partners with several big content providers for its iTV launch, I think we can pretty safely say that several excellent functions of the hypothetical iTV device (Tivo-like recording, for instance) would be banned.
But then again, Apple may pull off the launch well, only partner with other online-only content sources (Hulu), and it'd be awesome
Succeed!
.
I hate cable. Really I do. ...
So do I. So much I ditched cable and broadcast TV a long, long time ago. In addition to cable's utter disregard for their customers, network TV's content degenerated into 99% garbage years ago while advertisements simultaneously grew more numerous, obnoxious, and distasteful. The junk that networks pass as "news" has become packaged entertainment for illiterate morons. So what good is TV any more?
For a small fraction of cable's cost, I can pick and choose quality entertainment from Netflix or any number of similar services.
My big deal is getting EVERY show I want, when I want it, and not a week or a month late. ... Call me picky, but as much as I don't like cable, I can't justify giving it up yet..
Try it. You may find it's the best thing you ever did. I'll only pay to have my trash removed from my home. I won't pay a red cent to have it delivered.
Cable companies have a complete monopoly, and they don't give a shit about their consumers. Much like the banking industry became - come to think of it, look for Comcast et al to come running hat in hand to Congress for a bailout
Apple's focus has been delivering what you want, when you want it, and this philosophy continues to become more prevalent. It goes back to the original iTunes Music Store - pay for what you want, not what you don't. Contrast that with the traditional broadcast TV or cable, in such context the present delivery system seems quaintly dysfunctional - kind of like buying a CD at the Tower Records Store.
Goodbye monthly cable bill. You have just been replaced by an equally expensive monthly Internet bill.
If you don't already have broadband internet, yes, but may people are paying for that in addition to a cable subscription. Given the amount and variety of content now available online, this makes no sense to me. With the demise of a traditional cable subscription service, it's possible the cable companies will seek to recover such lost revenue in increased Internet-only service charges, but will it approach the present combined cost of TV plus Internet? I doubt it.
It may seem premature for me to write cable TV's obituary, but I believe it's certain, and just a matter of time. Like twisting the channel knob on your TV and readjusting the rabbit ears... it's going away. More often than not, such technological shifts happen faster than anyone expects. Before you know it the cable set-top converter is in your garage under the bag of cat litter.
Steve Jobs still doesn't get it. ... This is one area where Microsoft is far superior. ... the Apply TV isn't and the upcoming iTV doesn't sound like it's in the league of Microsoft's Media Center.
I've used it, I'm underwhelmed by MMC. MMC doesn't do anything you can't do with even a cheap Blu-Ray player, which isn't bogged down by Windows and the typically crap hardware that runs it. Besides, MMC's UI is simply awful - typical Windows backassward design. Let's hope Apple doesn't follow that shining example.
...and I'm curious, just what else doesn't Steve Jobs "get"
But will it have porn?
If it includes a web browser then the answer is yes.
1) I can?t quite wrap my head around this $99 AppleTV. Even with only a couple GB for the OS and apps and a potential size of that of an iPod Nano with the relative performance of the iPad, the best I can see is $149, even if they are trying to get a shoe in the home entertainment market.
2) I can?t see this being the only TV they would offer. I can see a larger, hub-like media extender for the main widescreen HDTV that does 1080p, has plenty of local storage, apps, etc. (maybe built into the new Mac Mini case) for a several hundred dollars, with a much simpler TV for the many other TVs in a home that I?d assume would be common to those who tend to buy Apple?s products.
3) We have to watch out for cable companies being delegated to ISPs. They have contracts with the networks. If, for example, they lose half their revenue of paid cable they may still have to pay the full contract amount to these networks along with the support costs. That means to maintain their margins they?d have to double their prices for those sticking with cable TV (which is unlikely), or bump the cost of your internet per GB and potentially adding data caps so that heavy users pay more (very likely).
4) Somewhere in its Digital Hub hegemony, Apple has to provide a consumer-friendly iServer solution that integrates and backs up all the content from various Macs, iDevices and MobileMe.
.
the frist personal computer was the Apple 1
Oh, no. You are either quite young, or (understandably) biased toward Apple.
Apple wasn't - and isn't usually - first at anything in particular. Apple's history has been to identify, adapt, and refine existing technology to the point that it's useful, then market it to the average consumer. This they do astonishingly well.
Steve Jobs is a brilliant man and a visionary. But that doesn't make him right all the time. His Newton was a tremendous failure - at the time.
Whose Newton?
Steve Jobs @ Apple: 1976 - 1985, 1997 - Present
Newton: 1987 - 1998
... The Apple I may have been is extremely rare, made of wood and was made by Wozniak himself.
The wooden cabinet you may have found on Wikipedia or wherever was not made or sold by Apple. The Apple I was a single board computer. If you wanted a cabinet, you had to make it yourself.
I guess its only right to be unbiased and grab all kinds of news from any blog/site but sometimes it seems more than obvious that some people/sources are only sometimes correct because of coincidence. For example, he was right about copy n paste but so were many people. Many were anticipating it. However, this guy also claims the 3G would have a front camera and that iTV will allow...viewing other angles of football on the iPad? that sounds like the dumbest idea I've heard. I don't know about you, but I like havin to look down from my big TV to a smaller screen to check some extraneous angle on football.
This guy is nothing more than some other guy who claims to know stuff. Why is AI posting this?!?
For many of the same reasons that that they allow you (and me) to post to these forums.
.
I'd like Skype, tons more movies, especially recent releases and the ability to order up old TV episodes for a sweet deal.
The Apple TV does need a much beefier CPU if only to toss the slow and goofy interface out and replace it with something snappy and easy to use (and read).
That's pretty much all anyone should need to hear. SIgn me up.
the frist personal computer was the Apple 1
Do you still have the user manual-- it is a collector's item?
.
Our app (Digital Comics) will certainly be ported over, and is already the only of it's kind in the app store, allowing for a completely automated comic book viewing experience.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/digit...354853921?mt=8
I have a PC running Windows 7 Media Center in my basement which connects to several XBOX 360s that serve as extenders. The result is live and recorded TV on every screen in my house for the cost of a cable bill and a cheap homebuilt PC. It's over 95% reliable and beats the pants off any DVR solution offered currently by cable or satellite.
To compete with this and "change everything", Apple will need to do ONE the following:
(1) Recording support via CableCard or Tru2Way
(2) Free Internet TV (ala HULU) which they can monetize with iAds.
If they offered both, it would be a glad slam, since more choices are always better than less.
It all comes down to economics. As long as there is free TV over the airwaves, people won't go the itunes route (pay for individual episodes or seasons) since they would end up paying more than their average cable or satellite bill.
Properly executed, Apple could kill the DVR and Cable/Satellite industries in one fell swoop. I can't wait to see how this plays out, because Internet-based television is clearly the future. Question is, who's going to own it: Apple, Google, M$?
I agree! Many of us could not duplicate your system for what it cost.
Especially those of us who live in California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico...
... first we would need to build a basement...
.
I think the first personal computer is the Apple II though the Mac was better for the average person. The Apple I may have been is extremely rare, made of wood and was made by Wozniak himself. It wasn't massively produced.
It wasn't made of wood. It was sold as a motherboard.
Aftermarket resellers added cases, I/O -- or not!
http://www.vintage.org/special/2003/apple-1/
.
I have never and still do not see the value in having a set-top box that can run mobile phone applications. I mean, how are you supposed to interact with an iPhone app when you don't have a capacitive touch screen, an accelerometer, etc.?
Errr.... the touchscreen remote with accelerometer, etc. is in your hand (and your opponent', hand too)! They are called iPhones, iPads and iPod touches-- and maybe even the WiiMote!
.