Believe what you want to believe. I definitely think something is coming for April 1 as was alluded to by Steve at Macworld for the big anniversary. It would be cool if it was the full screen iPod AV… I had been hoping for a more intense Front Row w/DVR piece myself, but I would be quite happy to add something like this to my gear bag.
Live from San Francisco!
OK – it’s many hours after the keynote and you’ve probably read all the news from your various sources, but here’s my perspective…
MacWorld is really happening this year! I got to the show at about 5:50am in order to pick up my badge and get in line for the keynote and there were already people going well around the corner of the Moscone Center.
Once in line however, it really started to move and we shuffled pretty quickly inside…to wait. After a few hours and a few minutes to 9 we made our final move inside the main auditorium which was close to full. My colleague and I were able to find two seats together pretty close up on the right side which provided a really nice perspective for the Stevenote.
Steve delivered.
Apple announced stellar sales for Q4 with close to 20% of sales coming direct from foot traffic at retail.
There was a nice and brief update on ipod with some new content shown from Saturday Night Live and the recent Rose Bowl piece from ABC / ESPN.
iLife is getting a truly fantastic update today. Each of the 5 core apps gets a nice boost connected to .Mac and RSS.
You can easily record create an enhanced Podcast with GarageBand including recording an interview through iChat. iMovie includes some beautiful new motion transitions that are professional grade in how they allow anyone to present their clips. You can develop vidcasts as an export option and of course go right to your iPod as well. iPhoto is looking very strong with photocasts and full-screen editing with some UI tweaks that make iPhoto and Aperture look more like siblings. The new addition, iWeb is a way to easily publish to .Mac includes easily published and discoverable RSS feeds and has many seriously cool features for sharing your thoughts and self-published content. I’m looking forward to upgrading my home systems so I can play with all of this …
Finally, the real magic happened when Steve started to give the Intel update.
Paul Ottelini came out on stage in a bunnysuit bearing the gift of the Core wafer. He proclaimed that Intel was ready to which Steve replied that Apple was also ready… leading very nicely to the new iMac. Everything you know and love about the (previously) current systems stays the same, except they are now MUCH faster courtesy of Intel’s Core Duo Processor.
Steve then revealed that the keynote up to that point had been running on a new iMac powered by Intel… That was a very cool move considering the new machines were out on stage before Steve and no one had a clue!
One More Thing…
MacBook Pro, the new Powerbook is a killer. A couple of very nice enhancements beyond the addition of the Core Duo, are a built-in iSight and Front Row which an IR sensor near the front latch release. The new book is a bit thinner and seems a touch more curvy, but is essentially the same form factor as the Aluminum book of yesterday. It’s a welcome upgrade that’s long overdue.
The real punch which was a shocker to everyone is that unlike the usual Macworld show, the products are available now. You can order a new IMac and they are apparently available while the MacBook will be ready in February which is MUCH sooner than any previous portable I can recall.
MacWorld 2006
I am heading to San Francisco for the MacWorld Stevenote on Tuesday and I am extremely pumped! I’ve been to Boston and NY a bunch of times but this is my first west coast show and I am truly expecting some great things.
There are so many good rumors floating out there as usual. While I find that there are some clear must-haves like the updates to older machines, I am really interested in the “one more thing.” I’m sure there will be some sweet things discussed and shared leading up to that moment, but the main event will certainly be what’s under the curtain.
Given all the attention the tech industry has placed on the digital home with video and enhanced content services and Apple’s ability to distill the complex into simple and killer applications and devices, I am looking to what I thought the Mac Mini was going to be a year ago.
A few details to consider… The PowerPage reports on Apple HDTVs with OS X inside running bluetooth and Airport with an enhanced remote … previous rumors have included hints of a wireless iPod and of course there is the whole Intel deal. Apple is already a leader in content aggregation and distribution with iTunes. It’s still unknown how this will all connect, but quite a few pieces are there waiting to be dropped into place.
Apple has an amazing opportunity to iPod the living room and I am looking forward to being there live if it’s unveiled.
Technorati Tags: Macworld, Apple, Stevenote, Keynote, San Francisco
AtomicParsley
This looks quite handy if you have or plan to make video for the iPod, and use iTunes to manage.
I recently found this little utility, AtomicParsley, which has the ability to change data within iTunes M4A and M4V files and make iTunes believe they are of a different type. [Command-Tab]
Technorati Tags: iPod, Mobile, Movies, Long Tail, Apple, TV, 5G
Audio Tools
I’ve added a few new tools of note to my gadget bag and thought I’d share…
First, Ashley was kind enough to get me a new 60GB 5G iPod and it’s a wonderful change from my previous 3G 40GB model. I love the color, size and resolution of the screen. The overall size is remarkable – expecially compared to my previous full size iPod. The only negative thing I can consider is that in video mode the battery life is MUCH shorter than I might like. It’s probably around 3 hours total if you do video, so plan accordingly. I was watching Battlestar Gallactica on my flight west last week and had to end before I was really ready when the battery gave out.
On my return I decided I finally deserved some real headphones and picked up a pair of Shure E4c E4c Sound Isolating Earphones. the sound improvement is simply remarkable compared to my older Sony Fontopia headphones which I liked and in fact had used through a second pair. The Shure headphones blow the doors off previous headphones I’ve tried. I used the foam ear pieces on my flight back but have since tried all the parts and find that the smallest rubber (black) fit my ears best. I love them and will be using these on my (1 hour) commute and through all my travels.
For iTunes, I added an audio plugin called Volume Logic which I would also recommend. It’s a significant sound enhancer and makes on computer listening that much better.
Apple’s new media experience
According to Think Secret, Apple is planning a serious run on the living room at MacWorld in January.
The new content system and related media deals, which will include feature-length content, expanded televisions offerings, and more, will further cement Apple’s increasing lead in digital media delivery.
In an effort to appease media companies wary of the security of digital rights management technology, Apple’s new technology will deliver content such that it never actually resides on the user’s hard drive.
Apparently this whole deal will work through a combination of your .Mac account and an intense caching / streaming piece that Apple has worked out. Assuming that H.264 can stream effectively at a high enough rate whether home or away, you could have a central source for content across a variety of machines — not too mention a reliable backup of all your premium works.
Technorati Tags: media center, Apple, Macworld
iMac the Gold Standard of PCs
We’ve been testing this new iMac, and our verdict is that it’s the gold standard of desktop PCs. To put it simply: No desktop offered by Dell or Hewlett-Packard or Sony or Gateway can match the new iMac G5’s combination of power, elegance, simplicity, ease of use, built-in software, stability and security. From setup to performing the most intense tasks, it’s a pleasure to use. And, contrary to common misconceptions, this Mac is competitively priced, when compared with comparably equipped midrange Windows PCs; and it handles all common Windows files, as well as the Internet and email, with aplomb.
I know Walt Mossberg is a Mac fan, but the above slice from his latest piece really says quite a bit.
Mac Mini Reborn as Media Center?
Apple’s Mac mini will be reborn as the digital hub centerpiece it was originally conceived to be, Think Secret sources have disclosed. The new Mac mini project, code-named Kaleidoscope, will feature an Intel processor and include both Front Row 2.0 and TiVo-like DVR functionality.
While just a rumor for now, this is a very exciting thing to consider as the essential pieces are in place. I saw this possibility almost a year ago and still believe that the Mini and certainly the future Intel-based version holds a serious amount of potential for the living room.
In my quick tests of Front Row on a mini in our kitchen it’s a nice starting point. The missing pieces are clear — DVR capabilities and developer extensibility. Of course there is some UI tweaking to be done as well, though that type of stuff is less of an issue from stopping the roll of an Apple based media center. As you might recall Apple hired the CEO away from ElGato to run Apple Germany, and ElGato is the current leader in both Mac-based DVR systems as well as UPnP support through their various technologies.
Apple could seriously shock the system with a solid media center product. They possess the indisputable capabilities to make the complex simple and there is a clear need for such a thing if you look at the current space. An integrated platform with access to premium content, TV and your own collected media, all simple to use in a system that just works… sign me up!
technorati tags: Mac Mini, Media Center, Intel, Apple, TV, DVR, PVR
Dell to roll with AMD
First it was discovered that Dell is selling AMD processors online. Then Dell made public noises about rolling out AMD servers. Now, the other shoe has dropped: Forbes is reporting that Dell will indeed sell a broad range of AMD systems.
I think Dell is legitimately running scared. They are getting killed in servers – especially with the lacking Xeon delivery from Intel this Quarter. Their earnings fell nicely in the past Q as well…
Michael Dell has publically stated he’d be very interested in building an OSX86 machine if Apple would license to him, though I can’t imagine that ever happening given the opposite approach to basic aesthetics the two companies have (GM vs. BMW). (even given my previous post on licensing)
Of interest… Only a few years back (1997) Michael Dell suggested Apple shut down and give the money back to shareholders
The rumor mill is brewing pretty hard on what Apple’s first Intel products might be. If they were to come out with a low-end / low price system they would make a VERY attractive machine to an existing massive base of PC users. There is no reason why any Intel powered Mac can’t do everything you need – running the superior OSX while retaining the option of flipping back to a Windows app you might not have a replacement for on Mac. If low end is not first, it will definitely arrive before Vista… If the take rate on the new Macs is big (and I’d bet it will be significant) Microsoft will be next in line to try and maneuver… As if Google was not enough of a problem.
Dvorak on the future of PC Marketshare
I was just listening to the latest this WEEK in TECH podcast and found myself really thinking about John Dvorak’s final thought on the logical future of the PC. He feels and I agree, it’s bound to be Linux on the server, OSX86 (Apple) running on the desktop with Microsoft controlling the office applications.
This of course all depends on a related POV which would have Apple both building systems and licensing the operating system. The view is that Apple would be able to at minimum maintain their market share for hardware, if not grow it… not too mention all the new sales from the more mass makers.
Apple on Intel. 2006 like 1984
With the initiation of the Intel Power Mac project last month, all five of Apple’s Intel Macintosh projects are now said to be underway and moving at an exhaustive, yet fruitful pace. It should come as no surprise that Apple chief executive Steve Jobs is reportedly leading the charge, with his heart set on making 2006 the next 1984.
This makes me very happy… Good news for all Apple fans.
Amazon Rocks
It looks like Amazon has quietly rolled out a new feature called Digital Wallet that allows customers to stream full digital audio from albums they have pre-ordered. No word if the service will extend to all CDs purchased through the store, specifically CDs that are currently available, but at least it’s a step in the right direction.
Amazon Rocks – literally. This was something previously discussed as an idea for iTunes as well, though instead of a stream offer physical fulfillment so you get both instant gratification and control over future formats and playback.
Premium Distributed Content from Apple?
I’ve been thinking about the iPod 5G and the video capability in iTunes and the ITMS and considering the success announced this week believe that it’s quite possible for things to accelerate much more rapidly towards a new network model.
If you think about the manner in which you subscribe to a podcast and apply that to a TV show, you can probably agree that it’s easy to see offering beyond the single pricing for programs. If you add in the rest of the networks and possibly some cable access (Comedy Central) – even consider shows from premium networks like HBO and you can see a pretty intense disruption to how we collectively understand how TV works.
The current iPod supports a doubling of the current 320×240 resolution, which is great, but not ideal yet for true home watching. It’s even better for portable viewing, but that’s about it for now. Perhaps what’s missing is some additional networking capabilities within iTunes… like Bit Torrent. As you enable a richer level of subscription content, it’s quite likely that the economics of delivering the materials could change considerably. Let’s not forget that there’s more than just licensing to deal with here and in fact the bandwidth required to deliver high resolution content on a mass level could be quite considerable. Assume Apple can nail this piece – if not Bit Torrent for political sensitivities, than perhaps Kontiki or some other more acceptable private version of P2P. I don’t want to understate the shift this would create with how iTunes works, but it could be a very good thing to consider.
If Apple cut deals with quite a few networks for content – even movies, you would not need a cable or satellite box to bring you programming you like. I’m hopeful that when the day comes, we’ll see something similar to how HBO on-demand works which is that if you choose to watch on the day, you can, but if you want the on-demand option (not recorded from DVR) you have to wait 24 hours. This is quite reasonable to me and matches how ABC is offering their shows to Apple now.
You would still probably keep traditional viewing going for “appointment TV.” Things like sports, and special live events are prime candidates, though streaming is an option as well especially as our network access speeds increase…If you still retain the basic options through your cable or satellite provider, you’ll need to pay more just for the right to have that option, unless you switch over to antenna viewing.
At $1.99 per video how much would your subscription run with Apple? Well, if I look at my own viewing habits… I watch (or try) to watch about 7-10 shows a week. It’s pretty hard currently to keep up with my DVR actually and I usually watch a few in succession on Friday or Saturday night. We record a few more shows for my wife and daughter so if I add it all up we probably consume closer to about 15 shows a week. That’s about 30 bucks a week to Apple if we could subscribe on a per show basis and 120 bucks a month which is WAY more than I currently pay for cable and for considerably fewr channels. Let’s not forgot as well that this is the current pricing for low res material and that the cost for high res (not even high def) would be more.
Clearly there are some economic issues that quickly add up with per show pricing. Admittedly I don’t have the solution here…
I do however see a future through iTunes with Front Row and what else might be planned here. Any subscribed video would be available through Front Row and as we already know this runs on machines beyond the current iMac so a small form factor box like our friend the Mac Mini makes an excellent future candidate for the living room. I’m sure though this type of machine gets even more capable when the switch to Intel takes place. Intel already has reference platforms of this size and has shown their Viiv technology running on them. Imagine the enhanced capabilities with a more powerful processor, digital audio and surround capabilities. Enhanced transcoding capabilities (PDF) will make transfer to portable devices like the iPod or multi-room viewing very attractive and allow for higher resolution content to delivered to a larger screen (whether TV or computer).
As we step beyond single show downloads towards subscription models through syndication and P2P, TV and of course the Long Tail content we already download becomes an extremely viable source of programming through non-traditional sources. On-demand services are just beginning to deliver and will hopefully continue to grow rapidly to meet the pent up demand.
Update – I was just checking in with Memorandum and see that News.com has a piece on this worth a read.
Technorati Tags: Apple, Marketing, P2P, TV, Intel, dual core, transcode, Front Row, Kontiki, Bit Torrent, Viiv, Intel
Apple sells 1 Million Videos
“Selling 1 million videos in less than 20 days strongly suggests that there is a market for legal video downloads,” Jobs said. “Our next challenge is to broaden our content offerings so that customers can enjoy watching more videos on their computers and new iPods.”
Not quite the 4 days it took for music sales to reach 1 Million, but still quite impressive. I’d say there is a legitimate desire for video and that people are definitely comfortable on the small screen.
Nano returns!
My Nano returned today from Apple which is most excellent as I was seriously missing my commuting partner. Apple replaced my previous model with a brand new replacement — certainly the right move in my book. I was actually suprised by the DHL delivery which just arrived as I was not expecting things until Monday at the earliest. I guess Apple allowed for Saturday delivery, which also is great in my book!
Viagra iPod Spam
On Aperture
I mostly run it on my 15-inch PowerBook. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy the refreshing wind-blowing-through-my-hair feeling when I sit down in front of a G5 running Aperture. But a PowerBook is fine for what a lot of photographers do in the field with their laptops: browse images quickly and step through the thumbnails. Maybe tag the images they like, maybe zoom in closely on one. The photo edit stage. For that, a PowerBook does take a speed hit, but it’s totally usable.This is where our scheme of loading a proxy image comes in — the 1024 proxy is often all I need to see at this stage. Depending on how many megabytes each image is, Aperture on a G5 can load the full Raw image in less than a second. On my PowerBook, that same image may take three to four seconds to load fully.
creativepro.com – Stripping Raw Naked
I am so pumped to give this application a try and now that it should run reasonably well on my powerbook I am even more excited. From what I can tell, Aperture will be my ideal application for photo management and editing. I don’t have too many needs on the compositing side of life and Aperture seems to leave that work for Photoshop.
Technorati Tags: Apple, Aperture, RAW, Nikon, Photography, Software
MCE — I’m with Stupid
I just caught this hilarious post on BYOPVR courtesy of Channel9. This piece chronicles the adventure of a seemingly highly techncal geek setting up their own MCE box from scratch. The main way MCE gets sold is through packaged boxes which have addressed (in theory) some technical issues, but it’s still quite amazing to read of the troubles… and of the amount of work to get things configured in the HDTV world in which we live…
What Media Center does really well is show many ways there are to mess with an HDTV monitor that it doesn’t like, and allow you to practice starting in “safe modeâ€.
What is does really poorly is most of everything else. I retired from battle with a strategic retreat: moving the whole shebang to the bedroom, cohabitating with me, spouse, two medium dogs, and a vanilla 27†CRT.
DVR – Sort of
As a DVR, one tuner was just OK, with a second tuner working, it was still OK, provided you weren’t too picky about mouths moving at the same time words came out. Out with the snazzy Realtek integrated sound on the ASUS-A8V motherboard. In with an Audigy 2ZS to lessen the load on the AMD 64 3000+ processor. More gadgets. That cured the synch. The picture still was no where close to a vintage Tivo. [Build Your Own PVR]
I would certainly recommend the read to anyone interested in the category. The final point pretty much sums up what I know I’ve said, experienced and certainly read from others…
The Netopian dream of the refrigerator that orders more milk when you run low remains elusive. But in the 21st century, with Media Center, your VCR can now offer to sell you Viagra. And it has a social disease.
That is the final curse of Media Center. Even if it worked, it would still be Windows .
While the Apple Front Row solution is similar in that it’s an application / UI running on top of an existing OS, the underlying system is easier to manage, and generally speaking free from hassle. It’s quite unlikely that you will see a Virus warning pop-up at any time while running a Mac.
The more transparent the system – from setup to playback – the better the whole HTPC category will do. While TiVO can be a challenge to setup and configure to the average consumer, HTPC devices which seek to do far more than handle “simple” DVR functions will blow the minds of most — if not the just the early adopters who crave the technology, but can’t stand the issues. This stuff is getting close, but is still not where it needs to be for a consumer technology to be accepted on a mass level. Regardless of how many boxes MS says they’ll ship in the next year courtesy of bundling…
Technorati Tags: MediaCenter, BYOPVR, Microsoft, Apple, Front Row
Front Row running on MY Mac mini!
So as soon as I read the info and watched the video in my last post I could not help but think how I could get it going myself… well – it took all of 5 minutes to find the link and begin my download adventure.
Front Row kicks ass! Even in the limited hack version that’s out, it is a far superior way to travel through content than in my experience with MCE. Seriously. Things move quickly and it really is quite simple. I know you don’t have TV and quite a few other features, but who cares. I can get where I want without any fuss and it works (or will if we had the release version rather than a hack).
In the few minutes I’ve played with this, I’ve noticed one interesting thing. The iApps need to be running. Mine were not initially and it took a bit for my initial load to happen in iPhoto (5868 photos) and iTunes (21,501 tracks). At first I thought it was a large library issue, but when I dropped back to the desktop I noticed both apps were running when they had not been previously.
I would gladly pay money for this application today. There’s no reason why it can’t be sold as a package with either a USB IR Remote or with a Bluetooth remote for those with capable machines.
What a cool start… this could (and I am sure will) get very interesting in the near future. The mini is a nice platform, but it’s actually quite a bit underpowered compared to what Intel will be able to deliver in a similar form factor for Apple in 2006.
Technorati Tags: Front Row, Apple, MediaCenter, Mac Mini, iTunes, iPhoto, iApps, Intel
Mac Mini running Front Row!
From TUAW, I see that Zeno (of the MacMiniCenter Wiki) has Front Row running on a Mini, which just totally rocks! This is the vision many of us had when the mini was released and it’s one step closer today. The implementation is still in hack mode, but certainly a great indication of what lies ahead…
Well Done Zeno!!
There are some good pics on Flickr of another implementation as well…
I can’t wait to get my hands on this to play.
The addition of an EyeTV or certainly DVR via Azureus would be a relatively simple way to maintain a regular flow of new video content.
Technorati Tags: Mac Mini, Front Row, HTPC, MediaCenter