I’ve started work on a new blog along with Bryan Greenway from Home Theater Blog focused on the use of the Mac Mini as a Home Theater PC. It’s called Mac HTPC – The Mac Mini HTPC conveniently enough. We are just getting started but are looking forward to collecting and sharing ideas on how to best utilize the new system as a living room device for connected entertainment!
Mac (Mini) Media Center
And so it begins…
Mr. Zippy is the host of a forum for those interested in developing a Mac Media Center application. I’ve joined in to follow the progress and immediately install any betas as they come along… but that will be a bit in the near future.
Mac Mini Car Bound
Not surprising, but certainly quicker than I might have expected…
Auto Enthusiasts Reved-up for New Mac Mini – Classic Restorations First to Offer Custom Mac Mini Auto Installations [PR Web] via
Jalopnik]
Mac Mini – Obsessive HTPC thinking
I can’t get the Mac Mini out of my head and some quick browsing today has led me to all but pre-order it immediately. All elements that might seem to be missing from the ideal HTPC configuration can easily be solved with the help of third part products.
Current Plan
- Mac Mini – Faster model, but just 512MB…debating on super drive needs, it might just be nice to have the option.
- Apple composite/S-Video adapter – direct to my 34″ Toshiba HDTV via Composite Connection
- M-Audio Transit to enable digital audio out to my stereo
- Griffin just came out with the Firewave which is another digital surround sound option
- iTunes for Audio – nice!
- I can either use the eyehome for video playback or instead just go with VLC, Quicktime or Mplayer. Pop in a DVD and it’s on!
- I just discovered a great new remote from Macally that allows for remote mousing as well as simple App control.
As mentioned earlier the EyeTV 500 now supports digital cable (hell yeah!) and OTA broadcasts. Optional… I was also just checking out a Miglia Director’s Cut 2 to use as a video/VCR out from my HD cable box to archive those programs I might not be able to initially capture and archive for certain reasons with the EyeTV.
There’s also a very cool program called DropDV which will let you convert MPEG2 to DV for editing. Bye bye commercials for permanently archived TV.
Another option is to run MythTV directly on the Mac Mini. Using the same parts to enable TV capture and digital audio out, I’d be able to have a standard media center UI which is something I mentioned yesterday that I thought was definitely missing to make this whole thing easy to use without a keyboard and mouse — at least after the initial set-up. The set-up certainly has a much higher geek quota, but seems to be worthwhile for the end game.
This could be really slick!!
Mac Mini destined to be your Media Center?
I’ve been thinking quite a bit about the Mac Mini since seeing it pop up today through the MacWorld Keynote IRC feeds and finally reviewing the specs on the Apple site and store. While it certainly would make a great Mac if you are a developer looking for a small footprint machine or a second mac at home (actually even as a first mac), I think the real application this box wants is a media server.
People are already using their macs as media servers through various other tools like an Eyehome or a Squeezebox, but this is a standalone super capable device that could easily be used (perhaps in conjunction with an EyeTV for DVR functions) as a full media center Mac. The only thing that seems to be missing in the box is a digital audio out option.
What’s really needed now though more than anything is a simple application or User Interface for the bigger screen that would enable dare I say the 10 foot experience you’ve heard quite a bit about from Microsoft. If I was Slim Devices, or El Gato or probably quite a few others who have been playing in this space, I would be all over the opportunity to customize the Mac Mini into a media center. I actually just noticed that El Gato is about to release something called eyeconnect, which looks quite promising! Perhaps a great start to the Mac Media center foundation…
11th Hour MacWorld Prediction
OK – More of my dream than prediction, but certainly reasonable given existing technologies within Apple. Of course I want the video iPod and iWalk (remember that beauty?), but today will really be more about content management through the extension of Quicktime.
I believe Apple has been waiting for the right moment to unveil a competing DRM strategy to Microsoft’s Window’s Media play and has a strong chance of success based on various industries reluctance to adopt Microsoft software for fear of lock-in. Apple has a great story with iTunes and the iTunes Music Store and this experience can directly extend to the transfer of content across a variety of devices. Sure it would break the potential iPod lock that has been developed so far, but the capability to get Apple software utilized across movie, cable and satellite broadcasts is too great to ignore.
Apple’s MP4 /AAC Fairplay combo can work on computers of all types, wireless devices (we’ll clearly see at least one example today through Motorola), iPods and other players as well as media servers in the home. The sub $500 iMac is all about the delivery and management of media created or delivered within the home. While clearly an Apple product, it will work seamlessly on Windows and even Linux. Apple’s reliability and design will enable such a device to be seen more as a consumer electronics appliance rather than a PC which many people have difficulty seeing installed in their living rooms — let alone being able to afford.
That’s it. I think this type of announcement would be nothing short of revolutionary.
Motorola’s iTunes Phone
Engadget scores a picture from the Motorola Keynote at CES which showed off the first of quite a few iTunes capable phones coming this year. This looks like a very nice form factor and will allegedly use a similar interface to the iPod Photo which so photos, and pictures will most likely sync through in the same manner as an iTunes connected device.
While I personally like the idea of this phone and could consider something like this as a second device (maybe for my wife) this particular phone is not for me. While the masses don’t want tightly converged devices, I do. The thought of going back a step to carry a second device for email and other Palm related activities is not going to work for me. Looks like the headphone jack is on the top… no word yet on whether it will be a 2.5mm jack or whether standard headphones will be easily supported. I’d bet that if this is a 2.55mm jack that a variety of new accessories to support this and other pending phones will soon arrive benefiting those of us on the Treo and other similar units.
Let the year of the MP3 phone begin…
Headless iMac = Beautiful Home Server
Think Secret reports that Apple is going to make an announcement of a headless (no monitor) iMac at MacWorld san Francisco and I am very excited at the prospect.
According to the report, the idea is to get a machine below $500 to attract Windows users currently using iPods who might buy Macs if the prices were just a bit lower. This machine certainly would achieve that goal, feeling like an iBook, but looking more like a white XServe / or closed laptop. To me, this type of box represents a machine most Mac users would want!
A headless machine is perfect for a home server! It takes little space either under an existing iMac (I have the 15″ 800MHz version) or taking up a small corner on your desk, or even in a closet. You can operate the whole thing via Apple Remote Desktop connect all your peripherals and run iTunes, file and print sharing, scheduling, sync your handhelds etc and etc…
Even though it would be considered a lower end machine by desktop standards there would be more than enough juice to handle all of the tasks and more I just mentioned. Our current home machine, that trusty iMac has been doing just that for a few years and has yet to let me down. You could utilize the DVI or VGA connector to use the machine as a great home theater mac as well … something I’ve often wondered just how to do with my current iMac since the monitor, while nice to look at, would stand out a bit much in my stereo rack. Home automation would be another simple to add feature / task for a machine like this…
I really hope this is true. A machine like this would really be a great addition to any Mac home.
Dvorak…. ah yes, I’ll bite
John Dvorak chums the water today with some serious Mac bait and I just can’t help but comment.
He initiates his silly rant stating that the Mac is stagnant, having maintained the market share rather than growing. I can’t argue that point actually, but I don’t even think it matters since there are plenty of people buying new macs as both new customers and as repeat customers. Dvorak starts to make a point that Apple has secured its niche but makes no actually point other than loud obnoxious forum users ruin it for everyone with their noise… right. I guess those jerks do ruin the fun, but I can’t really see how they make a damned bit of difference in mainstream views or in any outward marketing by Apple or anyone else.
Dvorak also points to Job’s division of attention through Pixar and the iPod and iTunes making a distraction and again not impacting Mac market share. I can’t say I disagree more… The iPod, while dual platform has led to quite a few switchers and has put the Apple brand in more people’s minds than ever before. Imagine what’s next that will capture our attention again and shake up the industry again and again? Where’s the PC side innovation? Oh that’s right, it’s cheaper faster, yet no simpler and still ridden with issues like viruses, worms and spam sent from your systems thanks to unattended security holes in the OS.
Comparing the PC to the Mac is a poor comparison. They are both computers, but I’ll gladly pay for style, ease of use and reliability. I don’t usually consider Mercedes and BMW in the same class of car as say a Ford or Chevy. Sure, many people won’t care about some of those details… that’s why Ford and Chevy outsell Mercedes and BMW. It’s not a volume game. It’s about the quality of the experience. It’s yours to choose.
iPod? Hellomoto…
Forbes reports on the long standing rumor of an Apple / Motorola joint development, but beyond the MOT phone that might handle some iTunes stuff. Seems this is going to be a mid-priced phone capable of connecting via bluetooth to your computer to share a subset of your tunes. As Jobs was heard to say, “Think of it as an accessory for your iPod.”
If the phone is as far along as Cue suggests, then Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs would be likely to announce it during his annual keynote speech at MacWorld Expo, scheduled for Jan. 11, 2005 in San Francisco.
In true Apple style, Cue declined to say whether Jobs will indeed address the phone at that event. “What we’ve talked about is a something that is valuable for the mass market,” Cue says. “It has to be a phone in the middle-tier of the market, not a $500-tier phone. It has to be very seamless to use. And we’re very happy with the results.”
iPod returns!
I got my iPod back today from Apple and was pleased to see it was a brand new 3G 40GB unit. Guess the old one was too messed up to bother repairing…
This is Broken
Apple’s Mail.app refuses to display HTML mail for my .Mac account for mail sent by Apple.
I received the .Mac newsletter tonight and also a notice about the mini store opening in my area and both were broken disjointed text versions. You’d think they could nail the text version, but if the HTML does not work through an entirely Mac pipe, I guess not.
HTML mail sent to my main account viewed in Mail.app is a mixed bag. Some work, some don’t. Thunderbird works fine for HTML on all the messages I’ve gotten in all my accounts.
Sync Happens
Sync just works on the Mac which is what makes it so great through iSync… it’s a tad slow at times when you move large databases of info across multiple computers, and portable devices (phone, Palm, iPod etc…). You can do this via cable or over bluetooth. Apple gets it and they’ll be extending the reach of sync across the greater system when Tiger arrives..
I don’t care if you *never* use your mobile for internet data, you still want your address book backed up in case you lose your phone, right? That’s syncing. But then it goes from there to any piece of data you store on your phone. You want to not only back it up, but make sure it’s synced with the rest of your digital world. Calendar and PIM information is what Palm does best. Also apps (again Palm does it perfectly), then music files where the iPod shines. And then it goes on to every file you have on your mobile device. You want to make sure it’s the latest version, that if you change that data it’s reflected anywhere else you use that data and finally, that if in case you lose that data, it’s backed up somewhere you can get at it. It’s simple. I don’t care if this all happens over a USB Cable, A Bluetooth Connection or a Cellular Network. It just needs to happen, and seamlessly. If you have to think about syncing, it’s not syncing. [Russell Beattie Notebook]
How to heed the call of VoIP
Open Letter to Steve Jobs: How to heed the call of VoIP is an interesting point of view from Aswath Rao writing at GigaOm on how Apple could greatly enhance the VOIP market.
Mossberg digs the G5 iMac
I actually got to see this beauty last night at the Apple Store in San Fran. It’s gorgeous… definitely something we’ll have to upgrade to at home in the near future.
The iMac G5 is another winner from Apple. It’s a computer that’s a real pleasure, not a hassle, to use. [WSJ.com]
Apple needs to fix iPod limitations
Something that bothers me about the limitation of the iPod is that I can’t easily put music on my iPod from multiple computers. I know I am not alone in this, but it’s continually frustrating.
I manually sync since my digital collection is way larger than my 40GB iPod and I use iTunes now on 3 computers (Powerbook, iMac and now a PC laptop). I’d like to just connect to each of them when I want to push new tracks to the iPod while on the go.
My main collection is on the iMac but my main computer is the Powerbook and now with the PC Laptop thrown in — plus iPodder, I need an easy way to add tracks to the iPod from any of my systems.
I appreciate the copyright and DRM issues, but still don’t get why if you play within the limits of the iPod / iTunes licensing you still have to use a single computer to sync or update the iPod.
UPDATE —
Clearly I was wrong in my understanding that this was impossible… I have to get a cable now though to sync with the PC – at least transfer tracks at will. I’ll also be looking forward to doing this on my Powerbook.
I was definitely under the impression that you were not able to move tracks to the iPod from more than a single system even in manual sync mode, which is actually how I use it to sync a single large playlist from our desktop at home.
Apple – iTunes – Affiliate Program
What the hell took so long???
iTunes may rock, but Microsoft will win??
Biran Cooley over at ZDNet believes that simply based on scale and relative goodness that the the MSN music service will knock iTunes down. I am not so sure… I’d bet that enough people have been exposed to the simple elegance of iTunes and iPod that they get how it should work. Microsoft has a high bar to match even if they can outspend Apple… they probably won’t out-cool them.
There’s also the missing piece of the player itself. They just have a store, and many others will probably roll out very similar stores based on their platform — and let’s not forget confusing DRM.
It’s all part of the objectivity and professional skepticism that goes with the job, but come on. In the end, Microsoft’s strategy for the music wars should simply read like Reagan’s plan for the Cold War: they lose, we win. Then, you just spend your competitors into a hole.
Apple’s iTunes store and iPod players have been earning a 4.0 grade point average. But Microsoft merely has to get a 3.0, multiplied by the Windows user base, and it wins. All of the online music stores sell the same music from five major labels (and a handful of indies who don’t make or break anyone’s business). And even if Apple does have leverage with the labels now, I can assure you that all five of them will throw Steve Jobs under the bus when the Windows music store starts heating up. [ZDNet AnchorDesk]
iMac G5
The new Apple iMac will definitley be finding a place in our home at some point… wow! I love the design and the specs are fantastic.
Microsoft to Gut Longhorn to Make 2006 Delivery Date
Assuming this is the reality, it’s quite disappointing to hear. Though I am primarily a Mac user I was really interested in seeing Redmond push the limits. If anything this is a fantastic opportunity for Apple to really hit a homer with Tiger. It will give them an enormous technology lead and given the hits Windows has taken over security, reliability and cost…
According to developer sources, Microsoft is cutting back Longhorn client’s planned feature set so as to be able to make its current delivery targets: Beta 1 by next year and final release some time in 2006.
Microsoft is expected to announce officially later on Friday its future roadmap for the desktop version of Longhorn. And while developers and customers who expected they’d be required to rewrite their applications to take advantage of Longhorn may be happy with Microsoft’s roadmap changes, others who were banking on promised Longhorn features, such as the next-gen Windows File System, will be far less so.
The end result? Longhorn is going to be a lot more of an evolutionary than a revolutionary Windows release.