What will Apple come up with next???
I've had my Ti Powerbook for over a year now. It's the best darn laptop I've ever used. And it shows no signs of slowing down, or going old or becoming obselete. Unlike my old old Dell Inspiron 3500 PII which practically depreciated the second I purchased it. It was a good laptop that served me well but in the end, it was old before it's time.
Now even though the NEW powerbooks are out, every time I go into an Apple store I try them out and I still think that my Ti is just as good. I'm in no hurry to change anything nor do I have the money to do so, heheheh.
But this just leads me to wonder, what will Apple think of next? They're always in the forefront of technology, regardless of what PC users think.
I was listening to a discussion between to tech people about how much Apple was in the forefront of technology and the PC side hadto come back with, "...well, apple was just as much a thief as Microsoft because it was xerox who invented windows and the mouse..." which is all true. But, does that make Microsoft any better then Apple?
And maybe Apple didn't invent the first graphical user interface but weren't they the first to market it? Does that make them punks next to Microsoft? I mean, besides BASIC and DOS, which if my history is correct was stolen from someone else, what has Microsoft come out with that was their own? There has to be something I just can't rememberwhat it is. Hopefully a PC historian will refresh our memories?
If making and saving the all-mighty dollar wasn't such an overwhelming motivation for some people how good do you think hardware and software would be today?
Anyway, I'm just waiting for the next great thing from Apple. And hopefully by the time something really cool comes along I'll be ready to go along too..
Now even though the NEW powerbooks are out, every time I go into an Apple store I try them out and I still think that my Ti is just as good. I'm in no hurry to change anything nor do I have the money to do so, heheheh.
But this just leads me to wonder, what will Apple think of next? They're always in the forefront of technology, regardless of what PC users think.
I was listening to a discussion between to tech people about how much Apple was in the forefront of technology and the PC side hadto come back with, "...well, apple was just as much a thief as Microsoft because it was xerox who invented windows and the mouse..." which is all true. But, does that make Microsoft any better then Apple?
And maybe Apple didn't invent the first graphical user interface but weren't they the first to market it? Does that make them punks next to Microsoft? I mean, besides BASIC and DOS, which if my history is correct was stolen from someone else, what has Microsoft come out with that was their own? There has to be something I just can't rememberwhat it is. Hopefully a PC historian will refresh our memories?
If making and saving the all-mighty dollar wasn't such an overwhelming motivation for some people how good do you think hardware and software would be today?
Anyway, I'm just waiting for the next great thing from Apple. And hopefully by the time something really cool comes along I'll be ready to go along too..
Comments
Great we have legal downloads now. But now we need support to be extended to the automobile and home. No one yet has created the perfect home server. Can Apple do what they cannot? I believe so.
STB handsomely style. Wireless support as well as Ethernet and Firewire.
Playback of AAC, MP3, Photos and Video.
PVR functions to internal HD. This is ran by stripped OSX and requires no server softtware from outboard computer.
Built in DVD recorder. DVI outputs. Built in Tuner for XMradio or Sirius satellite radio.
Requires .mac plus. Which handles the scheduling and sync features via new functions in iCal 2.0 and isync.
Tiger will also be well covered at the WWDC and, depending on beta testing, sold be out by Nov.
Then they will introduce the next generation iMac - held back because of the IBM fab problem.
The iPod with a color screen? Really needed big time. Any day now and I order one on Day 1.
Home Media Center? More of a new iMedia app that will work within (or with) iLife, allowing current users to have a great reason to spend $49. I believe that this approach is far better than a new box because it means increased sales of Macs (all levels) and can the the last bit in place to get Winny users to look at Macs. Especially the Window iPod users. It also continues to show that "you can do more on the Mac" . . .
They might even come out with new displays and surprise he hell out of everyone . . .
The situation, as I see it, is that Apple will first want to recover from the delayed G5 speed bumps and the backorders on the iPod mini, give the original iPod a big kick in the marketplace (and color sure will) and get some major movement on the iMac side.
Get these ducks in a row and they can consider one of the neat things they play with in the labs. To do that, the color iPod is needed today, the G5 PM at 3 gig needs to be announced at WWDC with delivery in Sep/Oct and the next generation G5 iMac announced at WWDC with immediate delivery. Speeds on the iMac need to be just under the PM so if the PM is up to 3 gigs then het iMac needs to be something like 2.4, 2.6 and 2.8 - with corresponding bumps in the FSB, memory, etc.
This leaves a time frame for new, exciting products for the Christmas season. A G5 PB and a new iBook are two leading contenders, updates to both lines in the iPod range and some speed bumps on iMacs and PMs. Probably greater integration between the iPod and iLife would also increase market interest and sales.
Fab problems have changed this years road map and I see the majority of the effort being directed towards catching up with the road map - and I think that this was a very exciting road map when originally finalized.
Color iPod? Meet the Convergence Phone which does *everything* under the sun (Windows PDA which can take pictures, video, play games, play MP3s/WMA, Bluetooth, Wireless internet, IM, email, etc. etc.). Trust me, products like the O2 XDA II are only the beginning...
When the prices come down, those will be the hot products over the next few years. It won't be long before you will be able to watch TV as well, wireless Remote Desktop - and through that - control over your TV, etc.
C.
Those things are great and I think they are the future of mobile computing.
-Dr.Bimane
We already have voice recognition and language translation software - just take it one step further and have it on a portable device that would take what was spoken into it and translate it into whatever language you wanted. You could display it onscreen or play it back as translated audio.
You could even take it one step further and have it translate entire meetings by separating out individual voices (which you could then assign names to) - that would be sweet.
It would require significant processing power to do right now so it would only be viable for software on a portable computer but eventually it could make it's way to the "convergence phone" which would be an absolutely killer app for it.
Cheers,
C.
Originally posted by hmurchison
... Requires .mac plus. Which handles the scheduling and sync features via new functions in iCal 2.0 and isync.
I like the idea, except for this. It needs to be a stand alone device. There might be some "extras" that .Mac service can add to the experience (like TiVO style TV listing and recording access), but it shouldn't be required for standard schedueling of recording. It should however be AppleScriptable (so that "geeks" can toy with it and build schedueling scripts of their own), work with iCal and iSync.
Originally posted by kenaustus
... Home Media Center? More of a new iMedia app that will work within (or with) iLife, allowing current users to have a great reason to spend $49. I believe that this approach is far better than a new box because it means increased sales of Macs (all levels) and can the the last bit in place to get Winny users to look at Macs. Especially the Window iPod users. It also continues to show that "you can do more on the Mac" . . .
An iApp for schedueling, play back, Database management, and linking up to the device, yes this would be a good idea. However the hardware is needed to support it. Apple took out video in when they moved to the B/W G3's and dropped their TV tuner, without these components you kind of need to have hardware to go along with the software. Even if they added them back in tomarrow, standard on all Macs, there would be a large base of legacy Macs that couldnt take full advantage of the software.
Also, once you have the video in are you going to watch it on your computer? It's been said before, most people watch movies on their TV's, that's were Apple needs to get their video to if it is going have a chance at being the success that the iPod is, and that requires hardware. Apple should also do thier best to have Windows support for the hardware as close to initial Mac lauch as possible, preferably simultanious.
Originally posted by Dr.Bimane
I think the best and newest technology out there today is laptop/tablet hybrids......and Apple missed the boat on that.
Those things are great and I think they are the future of mobile computing.
-Dr.Bimane
I agree.
Originally posted by O-Mac
... what has Microsoft come out with that was their own? There has to be something I just can't rememberwhat it is. Hopefully a PC historian will refresh our memories?
I'm gonna take a stab at this question. It's all from memory so correct me if I'm wrong.
I think Microsoft was the first to market a WYSIWYG word processor on a mass-produced personal computer (Word for Mac). They were the first to market optical mice. Scroll wheel?
That might be it.
On the other hand, Apple:
First PDA. First GUI. First to use 802.11b. First to attempt full-motion video on a personal computer (quicktime). First to build-in a TV tuner. First to use laser printer? First to utilize square pixels. Hmm. That's all I can think of.
I wanted to like Cocoa, I really did. But it's primitive, and suffers from the stultifying Model-View-Controller structure, with two objects required for every true object. I wanted to like Applescript, but it's too hard to do anything. I wanted to like PostgreSQL, but it takes too much work to get configured. There's Java, but it's MVC too and takes so much work to build even the simplest application. I suppose we have Perl/Tk... and there's always SuperCard 4... I'm a professional programmer, I'm not afraid of C or even assembler, but I'm also keenly aware of how much work and time it takes to get things done, and keenly aware of how much time I have available to do things, and if I don't have time, things don't get done.
Apple needs to offer more of a vision than just "user-friendly Unix". I'm happy with the "hardware that just works", too. Out of the box, Macs just work right, and keep working right. But the original vision of the Macintosh was, "You can do these things yourself". That vision was more than just desktop publishing, it was HyperCard too... and HyperCard has been left to die.
There isn't any reason to build an application on a Mac. Any tool we have, there are tools just as good on Linux and Windows.
Originally posted by cubist
There isn't any reason to build an application on a Mac. Any tool we have, there are tools just as good on Linux and Windows.
Oh I don't know. Sure it won't get as many sales, but I think cross-platform is definitely a way to go. Tools on Linux better than on a Mac? Oh I don't know about that, nothing as integrated as say xCode. I wish there were BETTER third party developers releasing software on the Mac, rather than just waiting for Apple to code everything for their platform. But I guess we will see what's new in this area next month at WWDC.
"Philips believes that once OLEDs can be manufactured using so-called roll-to-roll techniques, they will be cost-effective enough to rival LCDs and plasma display panels (PDPs). "OLEDs will undergo a paradigm shift when roll-to- roll manufacturing takes over," said industry consultant Malcolm Thompson, president of MJT Inc. "At 15 inches, XGA-resolution OLED panels have a great cost advantage once volume production takes off." By all estimates, that will happen next year."
Either a cure for cancer, or an 86 pound mutant gerbil.
Yah know, on second though? I don't know how I could be this confused. It will DEFINATLY be the gerbil.
Now I guess they should have banned me rather than just shut off posting priviledges, because kickaha and Amorph definitely aren't going to like being called to task when they thought they had it all ignored *cough* *cough* I mean under control. Just a couple o' tools.
Don't worry, as soon as my work resetting my posts is done I'll disappear forever.
Originally posted by hmurchison
The next device is bringing multimedia to the networked home.
Great we have legal downloads now. But now we need support to be extended to the automobile and home. No one yet has created the perfect home server. Can Apple do what they cannot? I believe so.
STB handsomely style. Wireless support as well as Ethernet and Firewire.
Playback of AAC, MP3, Photos and Video.
PVR functions to internal HD. This is ran by stripped OSX and requires no server softtware from outboard computer.
Built in DVD recorder. DVI outputs. Built in Tuner for XMradio or Sirius satellite radio.
Requires .mac plus. Which handles the scheduling and sync features via new functions in iCal 2.0 and isync.
...I wish. I don't know why Apple has to move so slowly at things like that. The iPod was a big hit because they spend almost nothing developing it. How about a similarly cheap home-pod. No reason why it actually couldn'y be cheaper. 80 gb 3.5" drives are mucho cheaper than 4gb Hitachi drives they use in the mini.
I don't need the DVD recorder, but I'll take simple iPhoto integration, and iTunes integration. DVD player not necessary. Have one of those too.
Just a nice thin client for iTunes/iPhoto/iMovie. Ethernet standard, WiFi optional. $249 and up.
PVR would be nice, but really I just want something for my HDTV and stereo.
If you want to throw in an remote that looks like an iPod with a LCD, that would be nice too.
Originally posted by onlooker
I agree.
They have been selling like fresh steaming turds.
Apple is missing nothing right now.
Yea a nice quiet 80GB drive would be just what the doctor ordered. Maybe even a 120GB drive for those Lossless codec fans.
I say add a DVD Burner because they are now economical and can be had for $85. You don't want to rule out the possibility of video and having this unit burn Video would be another added plus. How hard would it be Apples been shipping iDVD for years.
Thin client is nice but many people want to run a STB without the need for Server/Client software. There needs to be a level of autonomy that ensures functionality sans external computer.
Originally posted by hmurchison
The next device is bringing multimedia to the networked home.
Great we have legal downloads now. But now we need support to be extended to the automobile and home. No one yet has created the perfect home server. Can Apple do what they cannot? I believe so.
STB handsomely style. Wireless support as well as Ethernet and Firewire.
Playback of AAC, MP3, Photos and Video.
PVR functions to internal HD. This is ran by stripped OSX and requires no server softtware from outboard computer.
Built in DVD recorder. DVI outputs. Built in Tuner for XMradio or Sirius satellite radio.
Requires .mac plus. Which handles the scheduling and sync features via new functions in iCal 2.0 and isync.
I think you have the kernel of a great product idea. I sent an idea to Apple once, a long time ago. Apple legal department sent my proposal back to me, saying they cannot accept any unsolicited product ideas. I don't know whether things have changed, but I think that something like what you describe would sell.
If it can record TV programs on the hard drive, and can be setup with iCal 2.0 (or a separate iApp for that purpose), then it could be setup remotely. This would be a significant feature. If you are away from home and hear about a program you would like to record, set it up on your laptop. Then, connect to the internet and run iSync to activate your Apple set-top box.
To work, I guess the set-top box would need to stay powered up and be connected to broadband internet, either with AirPort or a hard wire connection. Also, iSync would need the address of the set-top box and relay all program schedule changes when they occur. Maybe something like that could be made to work.
Originally posted by snoopy
I think you have the kernel of a great product idea. I sent an idea to Apple once, a long time ago. Apple legal department sent my proposal back to me, saying they cannot accept any unsolicited product ideas. I don't know whether things have changed, but I think that something like what you describe would sell.
The problem with sending in product ideas to a company is that, if they actually use it, you can sue them for copying your idea unless you've sorted out a contract / deal. This is generally a fair bit of hasstle, and considering they have geniuses who think stuff up while being paid for it, and contracted for it, generally not worth it. It's the same with sending authors ideas for books, etc.
Personally, my vote for the next Big Thing from Apple is - they'll come round and give everyone a Big Hug. The challenge? You ever tried going round, and giving all X Billion * people on this planet hugs?
* I can't be bothered looking up this number, so insert a big number of your choice here...
Originally posted by hmurchison
The next device is bringing multimedia to the networked home.
Great we have legal downloads now. But now we need support to be extended to the automobile and home. No one yet has created the perfect home server. Can Apple do what they cannot? I believe so.
STB handsomely style. Wireless support as well as Ethernet and Firewire.
Playback of AAC, MP3, Photos and Video.
PVR functions to internal HD. This is ran by stripped OSX and requires no server softtware from outboard computer.
Built in DVD recorder. DVI outputs. Built in Tuner for XMradio or Sirius satellite radio.
Requires .mac plus. Which handles the scheduling and sync features via new functions in iCal 2.0 and isync.
Hey man....keep talking...you got my attention.....don't stop now!!!!!!
Originally posted by O-Mac
I've had my Ti Powerbook for over a year now. It's the best darn laptop I've ever used. And it shows no signs of slowing down, or going old or becoming obselete. Unlike my old old Dell Inspiron 3500 PII which practically depreciated the second I purchased it. It was a good laptop that served me well but in the end, it was old before it's time.
Now even though the NEW powerbooks are out, every time I go into an Apple store I try them out and I still think that my Ti is just as good. I'm in no hurry to change anything nor do I have the money to do so, heheheh.
But this just leads me to wonder, what will Apple think of next? They're always in the forefront of technology, regardless of what PC users think.
I was listening to a discussion between to tech people about how much Apple was in the forefront of technology and the PC side hadto come back with, "...well, apple was just as much a thief as Microsoft because it was xerox who invented windows and the mouse..." which is all true. But, does that make Microsoft any better then Apple?
And maybe Apple didn't invent the first graphical user interface but weren't they the first to market it? Does that make them punks next to Microsoft? I mean, besides BASIC and DOS, which if my history is correct was stolen from someone else, what has Microsoft come out with that was their own? There has to be something I just can't rememberwhat it is. Hopefully a PC historian will refresh our memories?
If making and saving the all-mighty dollar wasn't such an overwhelming motivation for some people how good do you think hardware and software would be today?
Anyway, I'm just waiting for the next great thing from Apple. And hopefully by the time something really cool comes along I'll be ready to go along too..
Every time I read this "Apple stole it from Xerox" I keep thinking isn't there ANY difference between buying a technology that was about to get trashed from Xerox and then Microsoft downright copying it without permission from Apple? I mean can't ANYBODY tell the difference between buying technology and backwards enginering without permission? It baffels me everytime! I've even seen journalists write this and seamingly think they've made a good case...