Okay, only 20 days left 'til WWDC? if it had to be put off for this long, and had to have been kept so secretive (on the QT, and very hush-hush), they had better have the biggests unvailing of the most impressive, latest and greatest fantasticon stuff I ever seen. I hope they're not setting us up for a let down. We'll just have to wait and see.
I've seen materials like these photos in several situations:
1. "Sanitized" packages are often used for packaged goods advertising photography. For examples (at least if you're in the USA), look in the Sunday coupon ad inserts in your local newspaper. Virtually all processed food and cosmetic packages in ads have elements missing such as package weight, bar codes, and product numbers. A sanitized package is much more attractive.
2. Product concepts: an ad agency will often create mock-ups of potential features or products. Sometimes it is done just to give the marketing and marcom people alternative package designs from which to select a final package. Other times it's done for market research: you can describe product concepts to a focus group and show them some prototype packages to help generate feedback. I know that Apple recently has not used focus groups for hardware, but they might still be doing consumer software research.
If this is a concept for remote access to user profiles, it hardly seems to justify unique product packaging. And if it's a combination of hardware and software, I hope the final product has a better name than "Pal".
Some of this skepticism is going way overboard. This isn't the iWalk, it's a box. These elaborate deconstructions are a little silly -- they look to me like hastily taken photographs, with a heavy flash.
Besides, isn't it more telling that how the above product fits into Panther's rumored "User at the Center" direction? And how it connects to the .Mac page "coming soon" graphic promising the same thing? Plus the fact that Apple sent out Cease & Desists right away?
Don't get why it would be in its own packaged box, though, if it's included with 10.3... (Unless it's just a mock-up as suggested above -- but somehow I don't think so.) Perhaps there'll be a seperately packaged version for Windows that costs extra? Perhaps Pal will replace (or eclipse) the marketing for .Mac...?
I guess somebody over at MacNN clicked on the iSync link this morning, and on the iSync page discovered this image;
It has since been replaced with an image of Safari, but it's still on that page on the site for Apple Spain. If those stop working I have a screen shot. It's not anything that you can really tell what it is, but it appears to be logged into somebody's .mac mail and have all their Safari bookmarks.
Since Brad closed the other thread, which was posted in Future Hardware as a discussion about what a possible Pal device might be, but quickly strayed off-topic, I'm going to reply to a post by 709 here:
Quote:
Originally Posted by 709:
OK. If I get what you're saying, I should compare a 128x128 pixel image to a full blown print graphic? Sorry, been in the biz to long to even consider that. And, by the image you've posted you've illustrated my beef entirely. Even if the iChat icon is meant to be tiny, this new Pal thingy just doesn't have the finesse that the iChat icon has.....even at TINY sizes. You have to see that.
Oh, you are so very Pro! Sorry, I'm not buying it anonymous internet dude. I did not illustrate your beef at all, what you said before referenced the "harsh edges" of the logo. So I brought to the plate a very common icon, also pictured in high resolution in several Apple ads in various magazines and available as a high resolution graphic via Apple's PR site if you download the Jaguar screen shot graphic. The two logos have very similar edges on the reflections and such. Yes, I expect you to compare them since the Pal logo is not very complicated, thus it looks much the same at small resolutions as it does at very high ones. Apple does the very same thing with the .Mac logo you mention. The image they use in print, albeit scaled down, is pasted all over their website and used at low resolutions in the software and operating system. Get over yourself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 709:
I only referenced the latest on Apple's pr site, which is usually current give or take a few days.
Those .Mac PR photos are from MWNY 02. Jaguar was released after MWNY 02. And as I pointed out before, the .Mac graphic is a very old, unmodified graphic that dates back to the days of iTools. iTools was released back in the OS 9 days. I think you know better than to say that the .Mac graphic/logo is "current."
Quote:
Originally Posted by 709:
You've lost me here. You did what? And where?
Christ, I explained it. Reading comprehension! To elaborate further, I copied the "photo" from Preview. I then launched Photoshop, created a new document, and pasted the photo. Then, I used the lasso tool to erase most of the junk around the logo itself, leaving a sort of grayish border with a bit of a gradient to it - not all that pretty. So once again, I used the lasso tool to select the logo itself, only much more precisely this time. I then used the Select menu to select inverse on the image, and then proceeded to set the brightness to 100% in order to reduce the gray. Finally, I used auto color to get back some of the depth the "flash" destroyed.
That good enough for you?
BTW, here is the image I posted comparing the iChat icon/logo and the Pal logo.
It's a "green light for the internet". In contrast, Safari's icon doesn't make any sense whatsoever. A compass? WTF? It's not a seach engine, what's a compass supposed to be?
.Mac isn't that descriptive. Neither is the finder icon. Or QuickTime. Or X11. All of those icons are the logos for that product, not descriptive. What's the difference between that and "Pal"?
It's a "green light for the internet". In contrast, Safari's icon doesn't make any sense whatsoever. A compass? WTF? It's not a seach engine, what's a compass supposed to be?
You're not using a compass to search for something, but to navigate.
It's a "green light for the internet". In contrast, Safari's icon doesn't make any sense whatsoever. A compass? WTF? It's not a seach engine, what's a compass supposed to be?
.Mac isn't that descriptive. Neither is the finder icon. Or QuickTime. Or X11. All of those icons are the logos for that product, not descriptive. What's the difference between that and "Pal"?
Barto
.Mac is a collection of net based services, so the orb with the hub/web icon is as close as you can get to that description.
The Finder isn't something you load yourself. It's ever present. It's the basically face of Mac OS. (The pun was unintentional...I swear.)
QuickTime's icon is a "Q" for "QuickTime" as well as a countdown timer like the ones you see at the beginning of a film.
X11 is not a finished product, but it uses the standard XFree icon inside a window. X11 is more commonly known as X-Windows.
.Mac is a collection of net based services, so the orb with the hub/web icon is as close as you can get to that description.
The Finder isn't something you load yourself. It's ever present. It's the basically face of Mac OS. (The pun was unintentional...I swear.)
QuickTime's icon is a "Q" for "QuickTime" as well as a countdown timer like the ones you see at the beginning of a film.
X11 is not a finished product, but it uses the standard XFree icon inside a window. X11 is more commonly known as X-Windows.
You are right on every count. The fact remains, ALL those icons are very vauge. They are partially descriptive, but much less so than other icons. Similary, if Pal is real, then it's icon is descriptive, but only vaugely (Green Light for the Internet).
I guess somebody over at MacNN clicked on the iSync link this morning, and on the iSync page discovered this image;
It has since been replaced with an image of Safari, but it's still on that page on the site for Apple Spain. If those stop working I have a screen shot. It's not anything that you can really tell what it is, but it appears to be logged into somebody's .mac mail and have all their Safari bookmarks.
maybe thats the app that runs on this small screen 'companion' device?
Product boxes have a description on them, not an advertising slogan.
You're saying "The world's most advanced operating system." (bottom text of pre-Jaguar Mac OS X box) is a description? Sounds more like marketing to me.
Apple hasn't realy shown us much of a "new style" ball (sphere!) yet. For example, we still have the titlebar widgets and .Mac logo, both of which are in the sort of old, plastic-style aqua. I think these balls come closer to the new style aqua than those I mentioned before (mostly because of the "harsh" edge on the reflection.)
Comments
1. "Sanitized" packages are often used for packaged goods advertising photography. For examples (at least if you're in the USA), look in the Sunday coupon ad inserts in your local newspaper. Virtually all processed food and cosmetic packages in ads have elements missing such as package weight, bar codes, and product numbers. A sanitized package is much more attractive.
2. Product concepts: an ad agency will often create mock-ups of potential features or products. Sometimes it is done just to give the marketing and marcom people alternative package designs from which to select a final package. Other times it's done for market research: you can describe product concepts to a focus group and show them some prototype packages to help generate feedback. I know that Apple recently has not used focus groups for hardware, but they might still be doing consumer software research.
If this is a concept for remote access to user profiles, it hardly seems to justify unique product packaging. And if it's a combination of hardware and software, I hope the final product has a better name than "Pal".
Besides, isn't it more telling that how the above product fits into Panther's rumored "User at the Center" direction? And how it connects to the .Mac page "coming soon" graphic promising the same thing? Plus the fact that Apple sent out Cease & Desists right away?
Don't get why it would be in its own packaged box, though, if it's included with 10.3... (Unless it's just a mock-up as suggested above -- but somehow I don't think so.) Perhaps there'll be a seperately packaged version for Windows that costs extra? Perhaps Pal will replace (or eclipse) the marketing for .Mac...?
Originally posted by iBrowse
I guess somebody over at MacNN clicked on the iSync link this morning, and on the iSync page discovered this image;
It has since been replaced with an image of Safari, but it's still on that page on the site for Apple Spain. If those stop working I have a screen shot. It's not anything that you can really tell what it is, but it appears to be logged into somebody's .mac mail and have all their Safari bookmarks.
HA! http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...threadid=25486
Originally Posted by 709:
OK. If I get what you're saying, I should compare a 128x128 pixel image to a full blown print graphic? Sorry, been in the biz to long to even consider that. And, by the image you've posted you've illustrated my beef entirely. Even if the iChat icon is meant to be tiny, this new Pal thingy just doesn't have the finesse that the iChat icon has.....even at TINY sizes. You have to see that.
Oh, you are so very Pro! Sorry, I'm not buying it anonymous internet dude. I did not illustrate your beef at all, what you said before referenced the "harsh edges" of the logo. So I brought to the plate a very common icon, also pictured in high resolution in several Apple ads in various magazines and available as a high resolution graphic via Apple's PR site if you download the Jaguar screen shot graphic. The two logos have very similar edges on the reflections and such. Yes, I expect you to compare them since the Pal logo is not very complicated, thus it looks much the same at small resolutions as it does at very high ones. Apple does the very same thing with the .Mac logo you mention. The image they use in print, albeit scaled down, is pasted all over their website and used at low resolutions in the software and operating system. Get over yourself.
Originally Posted by 709:
I only referenced the latest on Apple's pr site, which is usually current give or take a few days.
Those .Mac PR photos are from MWNY 02. Jaguar was released after MWNY 02. And as I pointed out before, the .Mac graphic is a very old, unmodified graphic that dates back to the days of iTools. iTools was released back in the OS 9 days. I think you know better than to say that the .Mac graphic/logo is "current."
Originally Posted by 709:
You've lost me here. You did what? And where?
Christ, I explained it. Reading comprehension! To elaborate further, I copied the "photo" from Preview. I then launched Photoshop, created a new document, and pasted the photo. Then, I used the lasso tool to erase most of the junk around the logo itself, leaving a sort of grayish border with a bit of a gradient to it - not all that pretty. So once again, I used the lasso tool to select the logo itself, only much more precisely this time. I then used the Select menu to select inverse on the image, and then proceeded to set the brightness to 100% in order to reduce the gray. Finally, I used auto color to get back some of the depth the "flash" destroyed.
That good enough for you?
BTW, here is the image I posted comparing the iChat icon/logo and the Pal logo.
Safari = A detailed compass (slightly angled)
iChat = A chat bubble (slightly angled) and AIM dude
Mail = A postage stamp (slightly angled)
iTunes = A CD and musical notes (the basic design of the icon predates the release of OS X 10.0)
iPhoto = A photo (slightly angled) and camera
iMovie = A film slate with an image in it (slightly angled)
iDVD = A film slate with a DVD in it
iCal = A calendar (slightly angled)
Calculator = A calculator
et cetera
This "Pal" icon doesn't tell you anything about the software's job or capabilities.
.Mac isn't that descriptive. Neither is the finder icon. Or QuickTime. Or X11. All of those icons are the logos for that product, not descriptive. What's the difference between that and "Pal"?
Barto
Originally posted by Barto
It's a "green light for the internet". In contrast, Safari's icon doesn't make any sense whatsoever. A compass? WTF? It's not a seach engine, what's a compass supposed to be?
You're not using a compass to search for something, but to navigate.
Originally posted by Barto
It's a "green light for the internet". In contrast, Safari's icon doesn't make any sense whatsoever. A compass? WTF? It's not a seach engine, what's a compass supposed to be?
.Mac isn't that descriptive. Neither is the finder icon. Or QuickTime. Or X11. All of those icons are the logos for that product, not descriptive. What's the difference between that and "Pal"?
Barto
.Mac is a collection of net based services, so the orb with the hub/web icon is as close as you can get to that description.
The Finder isn't something you load yourself. It's ever present. It's the basically face of Mac OS. (The pun was unintentional...I swear.)
QuickTime's icon is a "Q" for "QuickTime" as well as a countdown timer like the ones you see at the beginning of a film.
X11 is not a finished product, but it uses the standard XFree icon inside a window. X11 is more commonly known as X-Windows.
Originally posted by Eugene
.Mac is a collection of net based services, so the orb with the hub/web icon is as close as you can get to that description.
The Finder isn't something you load yourself. It's ever present. It's the basically face of Mac OS. (The pun was unintentional...I swear.)
QuickTime's icon is a "Q" for "QuickTime" as well as a countdown timer like the ones you see at the beginning of a film.
X11 is not a finished product, but it uses the standard XFree icon inside a window. X11 is more commonly known as X-Windows.
You are right on every count. The fact remains, ALL those icons are very vauge. They are partially descriptive, but much less so than other icons. Similary, if Pal is real, then it's icon is descriptive, but only vaugely (Green Light for the Internet).
Barto
Originally posted by iBrowse
I guess somebody over at MacNN clicked on the iSync link this morning, and on the iSync page discovered this image;
It has since been replaced with an image of Safari, but it's still on that page on the site for Apple Spain. If those stop working I have a screen shot. It's not anything that you can really tell what it is, but it appears to be logged into somebody's .mac mail and have all their Safari bookmarks.
maybe thats the app that runs on this small screen 'companion' device?
who knows...
Originally posted by iBrowse
Product boxes have a description on them, not an advertising slogan.
You're saying "The world's most advanced operating system." (bottom text of pre-Jaguar Mac OS X box) is a description? Sounds more like marketing to me.
Originally posted by othello
maybe thats the app that runs on this small screen 'companion' device?
who knows...
No, it's the webinterface for your bookmarks (.Mac is not yet updated, but it will be soon).
Originally posted by Nebagakid
one the second one, why are the balls old stlye aqua, but the light build is new stlye aqua with curvvy shadding>?
Because it's a hoax, maybe?
Originally posted by Eugene
Let's take a look at various Apple software icons:
iTunes = A CD and musical notes (the basic design of the icon predates the release of OS X 10.0)
This disc in the icon is (slightly angled).
Does anyone remember the Logo for the Newton?
Wasn't it a light-bulb?