iSight is Mac Only. Why???

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Apple is a hardware company. Apple is currently making a lot of money selling iPods to Windows users. Why would they make the iSight Mac only? Nobody is going to switch from PC to Mac because of an advance webcam. It seems Apple is losing out on a possible revenue stream.



Comments??

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Happened with the iPod too at first. It will probably get to PCs in a few months, a yearat the most.
  • Reply 2 of 16
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Dave K.

    Apple is a hardware company. Apple is currently making a lot of money selling iPods to Windows users. Why would they make the iSight Mac only? Nobody is going to switch from PC to Mac because of an advance webcam. It seems Apple is losing out on a possible revenue stream.



    Comments??






    I totally agree. Perhaps the backing software is not available to PCs. Maybe AOL will be adding support in a future version if their messenger. My Sister has a PC I would love to conference with her but we need to cross that great Platform Divide first.
  • Reply 3 of 16
    stoostoo Posts: 1,490member
    Huh? It's not just a Firewire webcam?
  • Reply 4 of 16
    ipeonipeon Posts: 1,122member
    Heh!!! A friend of mine and I where at CompUsa getting our iSights. There was a PC user asking and looking into how he could use it on his PC. A while later my friend and I where at the cashier paying for our iSights when the PC guy went by us on his way out.



    "So what did you find out?", I asked him. With an almost sad face he said. "It only works on Macs. You guys are lucky."



    I almost felt sorry for the guy. Almost, until I saw the image of windows in my mind and thought, "This guy is a fool for using a PC in the first place."



    I'm so mean and insensitive.
  • Reply 5 of 16
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Dave K.

    Apple is a hardware company.

    Comments??




    i believe they are a software company no?
  • Reply 6 of 16
    foadfoad Posts: 717member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Dave K.

    Apple is a hardware company. Apple is currently making a lot of money selling iPods to Windows users. Why would they make the iSight Mac only? Nobody is going to switch from PC to Mac because of an advance webcam. It seems Apple is losing out on a possible revenue stream.



    Comments??




    Here is the way I look at it.



    Maybe just the iSight won't cause a user to switch but I don't think that is the way they are looking at it. The WHOLE Mac experience will cause a user to switch. Everything from OS X to the machines, to the ease of use, to the hardware (iPod and iSight). Also, iChat and the iSight rely on certain things that are only in OS X, one of those being Rendevous. Now I know it is a open standard but I haven't really seen it implemented on other platforms. (correct me if I am wrong)



    Another reason I don't think Apple will move iSight to the Windows side, is because unless they use AIM (which doesn't support video conferencing, at least not right now) or port over iChat, which I don't see happening, it jsut won't be a good deal. One way they might be able to use iSight on the windows side is if they use another protocol like MSN or Yahoo, which I also don't see happening. it is just too easy to use on OS X and I think that there is too much of a vested interest in them keeping it as a COOL ASS feature for OS X. I mean iChat A/V was one of the keynotes cool features.



    Now I know that the iPod works on Windows and iTunes is coming to Windows but I think that is a very special case. If it wasn't for the Music Store you would never see iTunes on Windows. That thing is hopefully going to be a huge cash cow, more so then a FireWire webcam.



    Here is the thing though..only time will tell. Maybe if there is enough demand, as was the case with the iPods, it might have PC support. We shall see.



    Sorry if this all sounded wierd, but I am dog tired and might not be making any sense right now.
  • Reply 7 of 16
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    because apple likes to milk mac users before they give PC users a shot at it



    face it, we are a good test market, if something works well on this side of the fence, chances are it will work on the other side as well.



    but I think the real reasoning here is that the iSight+iChat AV will be a mac-only thing to convince users to upgrade to Panther... The main thing will be convincing other companies to stick with the iSight videoconf spec so we can interact with them. When other users see how much easier and how much better quality iSight and iChat AV is compared to the competition that this will be a major reason to switch...



    I'm not saying that apple won't offer the iSight to PC users, but I highly doubt they will support any one video conferencing software like they did with the iPod and music match. PC users will be able to pick from a variety of different apps and they will see how crappy the experience will be--not because of apple, but because of the mosaic of crap software developers on the PC side that don't care about quality...
  • Reply 8 of 16
    mac voyermac voyer Posts: 1,294member
    I think there is truth to all of the reasons given. In addition, I believe that that are using iS as a switch tool, but not Win to Mac, but Mac to Mac. They are sick and tired of the OS 9 hangers on and they are looking for a way to get them on board. Additionally, they are looking for ways to up sell G3 users. I believe that the G3 limitations are mostly artificial. Other Web cams work just fine on the G3. DV cams work just fine on the G3, therefore I think that Apple is artificially restricting the functionality of the iS and iC to get switchers of a different variety. Just my opinion.



    By the way, if there is a tone of bitterness in my post, it is because I am one of the ibook owners who is feeling a little like a second class citizen right now. I have an 800 MB system and broadband, yet i cannot use my DV cam with iC. Apple is forcing me to buy a $150.00 Web cam if I want to use iC AV. I refuse to be bullied. Take that, Apple!
  • Reply 9 of 16
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    It works in Movie Maker on my PC...
  • Reply 10 of 16
    ipeonipeon Posts: 1,122member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Mac Voyer

    By the way, if there is a tone of bitterness in my post, it is because I am one of the ibook owners who is feeling a little like a second class citizen right now. I have an 800 MB system and broadband, yet i cannot use my DV cam with iC.



    And why can't you use it?



    By the way, I have a PowerMac 350 G4 and iSight works great.
  • Reply 11 of 16
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    G3s will not work with DV cams period...

    G4s no matter what their speed will work with both iSight or DV cams

    G3s will only work with iSight if they are faster then 600Mhz



    MacVoyer is pissed that he is being strongarmed into buying an iSight (or a new machine) when he has a perfectly capable DV cam he would like to use...
  • Reply 12 of 16
    ipeonipeon Posts: 1,122member
    That's interesting. I would have thought that any Mac with FireWire would work. That does suck.
  • Reply 13 of 16
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    Why doesn´t iSight work on PCs?



    Because APple is using drug dealer tactics.



    Give them their first shot (iPod) for "free" (don´t have to buy a mac) and when they are hooked milk them into prostitution.
  • Reply 14 of 16
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    iT's just a firewire web cam, it should work, but there wouldn't be any software to support it.



    I DO NOT think Apple should write an iChatA/V for the PC. iTunes is different since it will serve as the client for their store and the interface for their iPod.



    I don't see a potential store front in iChat, unless it becomes the iAmateur Pr0n exchange!



    what is important is for Apple to continue to use open standards and promote them and make sure that iChat plays nice with PC's when they get their version.



    They could work with AOL to sell iSights to PC users through AOL and let AOL supply the software. Good marketing for both companies. Cool feature for AOL to attract customers, profitable iSight sales for Apple.
  • Reply 15 of 16
    chrisgchrisg Posts: 239member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Paul

    G3s will not work with DV cams period...





    Since when? The original iMacs biggest thing was desktop movies with iMovie and DV Cams. The reason only G3s 600Mhz and high is because the lower speeds can't reliable encode the incoming video from the iSight to broadcast over iChat AV.
  • Reply 16 of 16
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    All I am talking about is iChat AV and the encoding is not THAT computational intensive as my G3 400 can do it in realtime from QT broadcaster with the iSight (I didnt check DV cams)....
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