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New iMacs (and iPods)
Dilaudid writes "According to
this story at MacWorld Apple has just announced three new iMac models - all with Bluetooth and AirPort Extreme. More importantly there are new iPods too. Cool." The iMacs got a speed bump up to 1.25GHz, and the iPods were capacity-bumped up to 40GB.
To fill the 40GB iPod with 40,000 songs you'd spend $40,000 on the iTunes Music store.
Did anyone else notice that with this announcement came a speed drop of the Dual 1.42 Ghz PowerMac to 1.25 Ghz???
I thought you were saying that the new iPods had BlueTooth and Airport Extreme support, heh.
Now, that would rock. Apple, are you listening?
It's been a while since the iPod came out, and it still seems to be one of the best MP3 players out there. So what's next? Seems like more storage doesn't make a difference at some point (ooh 15,000 songs instead of 10,000).
warning: epoll_wait is not implemented and will always fail
All current models are pretty old and especially the 15'' (introduced November last year). The rumour is that Motorola has trouble churning out the latest G4 in any significant quantities. Or maybe they'll go G5 :) Anybody got any info?
Is there anyone out there who has actually filled up a 20Gb Ipod and would want a 40Gb version?
I'm not trying to knock Ipods- I'd actually really like to know if anyone does have that many MP3s etc. I think my entire CD collection would fit several times over in that much space.
I love it when my beloved mac rumor community misses stuff like this ipod. Chaos mint knew about an ad campaighn but no numbers 'The apple rummor community was caught napping with its trowsers down'
Also announced along with larger capacity ipods (20 and 40 to replace 15 and 30 GB models with no other changes in HW or SW stated) and faster iMacs (the 1.25 Ghz 17" now packing a 160 GB HD) there is even more significant news.
The real news here is that since April 28th when the iTunes Music Store opened, there have been more than 10,000,000 songs downloaded by the US Apple consumer base runing OS 10.1 and iTunes 4. Very impressive in my opinion. The 10,000,000th song was "Complicated" and was sold on September 3rd. Apple stated they are selling 500,000 songs per week.
The first week Apple stated they sold 1,000,000 songs so that plus half a million a week after corroberates the 10 MM song claim and shows a steady rate.
It would be interesting to know how BuyMusic.com is doing with their knowck off...especially after all the bad press and sites like BoycottBuyMusic.com and DontBuyMusic.com have exposed some shady dealings with artists, consumers, and their advertising.
And Apple a day keeps Windows at bay
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
No, there's no actual proof that they're ever going to make one, but c'mon, isn't it the obvious next step? Record your entire classroom lecture for study purposes, record the next Phish show, record your own demos -- with a simple little multitracking app, it could kill portable 4-tracks. Or, plug your iSight into a video in and turn it into a video camera.
Also, with a mic in, you'll be able to use Apple's speech recognition software to give it voice commands -- no more fuddling around with menus, just speak into the mic: "iPod, play Smashing Pumpkins, album Gish" or something like that.
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Guess I know now. They were clearing out the 30s to be replaced by the 40s at the same price. Ah well. It holds more than enough music to keep me engaged.
Out of curiosity though, did anyone get lucky and order a 30, then get notice that they'd receive a 40 at the same price? That they aren't selling the 30 at all right after the announcement makes me think they waited until they'd completely exhausted inventory before the release.
The new Imacs have grown an analogue audio in port.
What are they thinking? This is what everyone wants.
This is what everyone is screaming for! (at least I am)
I mean, what with Sony being paranoid with their MD format, the market is screaming for a digital recorder that you can actually use.
Why is this so hard for Apple to understand.
-- I drank WHAT!!??!! , Socrates
Sure, but none of 'em can run OS X. I'm all for Mac (switched in January when they released the 17" PowerBooks) but what makes it great is not as much the machine as the OS.
Sure the machines are sexy but the OS beats anything else that I have ever used, hands down.
Stability, simplicity, flexibility, speed, features, eye candy, all of it -- nothing else is even in the same league as OS X. With Panther just around the corner it puts OS X up another rung in the OS superiority ladder.
Let's not forget about the recent Virus fun most Windows users just had. Yay Windows, congratulations on winning -- and likely close to losing the US DHS contract.. you bunch of tools!
Sure, underneath OS X is BSD. BSD is godely, but you can't get an out of the box BSD distribution that has it's stuff together as good as OS X does out of the box. Sleep actually works (within 2-3 seconds of opening or closing) too. This is something that was hit and miss with Windows and a pain in the butt with Linux.
I am beginning to wonder when apple will be brave enough to release what has to be the "killer" 802.11 application for mp3 players - personal streaming.
l
;)
Just imagine how cool it would be to share your music and playlists with any other ipod user within range. Tired of your own collection? Try listening to Bob's ipod 4 seats behind you.
The register has also thought about this - http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/39/28467.htm
What do people think? I would love this, but there are - erm - interesting legal aspects..
10M songs? Yeah, but it's only 0.99 per song, so that's less than $10M. IIRC, Apple keeps about a third of that, so ~$3M.
How much did it cost to program, to feed the lawyers to get all the contracts, to set up the servers/bandwidth needed? (And the Apple Store is *fast*- they didn't skimp here.)
I can't imagine this is going to have a big positive impact on Apple's bottom line, unless (and it's a big unless) the publicity they are getting sells more Macs/iPods. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the sole reason they are bothering.
"Seven Deadly Sins? I thought it was a to-do list!"
Surprised no one has mentioned it yet, but I think the next 'big' thing in the iPod line is adding a good screen and video capability.
The cube was anything but cheap. Personally I think they should revive the cube line because its more in line with what I'm looking for in my next system - something headless because its going to be acting as a server, deco enough to sit in the living room, quiet enough to go unnoticed, and with a cheap price. The last Linux box I built to serve this purpose was just too loud. All of the Intel and Athlon processors are too hot. If Apple doesn't come out with something I may just try something with a VIA C3 in it.
Assuming that a Apple user only downloads songs legally through iTunes MS.
The 40GB ipod would hold $10,000 dollars worth of songs. That's a little too much change to be carrying around in you pocket don't you think. You could get mugged for that kinda dough.
Mugger: hand me you wallet.... no wait, Say, that's one of em new 40GB iPods ain't it, whats that iPod worth.
Guy being mugged: I'd say about 5 grand, it's only half full.
Mugger: Screw the wallet, hand me that iPod.
Man, I was really hoping to see a G5 in there. Too hot? Or would that spread the limited G5 supply too thin? BTW US dollar prices are: $1299 $1799 $2448
Maybe partying will help...
Because that defy's the business strategy of "Bleed those artsy-fartsy halfwits dry"
You mean those halfwits who make enough to actually afford a Mac?
Reliable, Great Value Hosting: $7.95/mo 2.4G/120G
I thought about this, and I came with at least 4 reasons.
Babar
I've been waiting for this... not because the extra speed is so great, but because I want a 17" 1ghz iMac at a more reasonable price than $1800. I've read on mac rumors sites that the channel is flooded with inventory (I think Insight had several hundred units in stock), so when will the price drops come to help clear out inventory? Macmall has the new models, and "add to cart for new lower price!!!" on the 1ghz model. I was stunned this morning to see an amazing... $22 price drop. Although now that it's a little later in the day, it's down to $1594, a $200 price drop. That's more like it.
clicky clicky...
In fact, there are 8 iPods in the top 20 best sellers. The question is would the new models kick the competitions out of the top 10 altogether.
5 663
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t g/browse/-/300330/ref=br_bx_c_1_5/002-8192629-304
I see your point. But I amvery much active in the music arena. Not just listening but writing, performing, scoring,....
.02
I have already found the iPod to be great in the editing and scoring field. It allows me to carry entire scores and move them from home to the recording studio for laydown onto film.
Yet having the ability to be able to record a practice, or live instruments, along with the portability of the iPod would make it ideal.
I know that several hundred would be sold here at UCLA film just for that reason alone.
I just think lots of people would find that a useful feature if it was there. recording voice memos, phone numbers while you are driving. I think there would be many uses othere than just music....
Just my
75% of games nowadays use OGG, simply because they don't have too pay the 50 cent patent fee. This usually means they install a ogg codec. While I agree that mp3 is not very popular on kazaa etc, I'm sure it will do as people realize they can fit 160k mp3 into a 80k ogg, and know that they can play it on other peoples PCs...
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Does not play iTMS DRMed files .62", 5.6oz.
Costs the same amount as the iPod ($399, 20GB Models)
Is larger and heavier than the iPod: 5.3" x 3.1" x 1.3", 9.4 oz. vs 4.1" x 2.4" x
Cannot use Firewire or USB 2.0 without a special "backpack" (iPod uses a USB/2.0 adaptor kit to translate pins)
Not nearly as good looking
Difficult syncing
No smart playlists
No Mac support
Your average listener does not have any OGG Vorbis files. The FM transmitter and tuner sound cool but not cool enough. Apple will add voice recording to the iPod with a firmware update, the hardware to do so is already in place. This player sounds cool but it's by no means at all an iPod killer. Has any one out there actually used one as well as an iPod? How do their features compare? Ease of use?
10M songs? Yeah, but it's only 0.99 per song, so that's less than $10M. IIRC, Apple keeps about a third of that, so ~$3M.
Forget about the money Apple is making from the store, and notice that it is a great big Get Out Of Jail Free card for Apple.
The Apple platform is so great for digital media because it provides a set of powerful and easy tools for manipulating digital content. With a moto like "Rip, Mix, Burn," and products like the MP3-playing iPod apple was about half a step from Napster's legal trouble.
With the iTunes Store, Apple has turned into the best way for the music industry to market their wares online. Legal trouble averted. Cool thing is that they have made three million dollars doing this. Double Cool!
Apple Store has previous generation ten gigs for as low as $170
I actually bought a second-gen 10 gig from Target for $199.99 when they clearenced them when the 3rd-gerneration ones came out.. Drove around to 3 targets until I found one that had several, bought all 5, resold the other 4 for a profit. I love iPods.
I have blog like everyone else
Instead of increasing the disk capacity of the iPods, they should include bluetooth or WIFI.
This would allow one to listen to live stream with their iPod. This could also be used to use the iPod as the computer headset so you can ear the system sounds while listening to your music.
Another use (which the RIAA would certainly not approve) would be to allow one to stream it's music to somebody else (make it to one device at a time with not recording feature, so the "industry" is not to grumpy about it) listen to ones tracks.
Wow, re-reading the score 4-5 /. posts when the iPod was first announced is really quite interesting.
/. to run a "year in review" and highlight some threads of technology announcements and other geek worthy news with 365 days worth of hind sight to see how people's first impressions can be accurate...or not.
It would be interesting for
I particularly like the Apple share holder who was upset at the pricing...that it won't sell because it was $400, not $200. I suppose teh same share holder is pretty happy the high margin audio player is the #1 digital music device in the world.
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
And if anybody could do it well and end-to-end then it would be Apple. Anybody who's ever used Rendezvous in iTunes can attest to how easy and freaking cool it is to listen to other people's music in their libraries over the network.
But the tradeoff would be that doing that much streaming would either increase the size of the ipod (big no-no) or make the battery life seriously dip off (another no-no)
I wouldn't hold my breath, however cool it would be.
rule of thumb: your stereo should cost about as much as your CD collection.
so, if you've got a small CD collection (10 CDs * $20) - then you should get a $200 gheto blaster to play them on.
if you've got a larger CD collection (100 CDs * $20) - then you shouldn't feel bad about getting a good stereo (~$2000) to listen to them on.
your mileage may vary...
john
Anyone else notice that the new iMac configurations are shipping with Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4? Right on.
Just follow the day, and reach fo
I don't live in the States either, but if I'm posting prices, I post in either US dollars or Euro. Why? Because those are two currencies that MOST people in the world are fairly familiar with.
The simple fact of the matter is that there are only three hard currencies in the world today, the US dollar, the Euro and the Yen. My Canadian dollars are just fine here in Canada, but everywhere else they're pretty useless. Same with the british pound, it's only good for Britain (hell, sometimes you can't even use Scotish-British pounds in England or Northern Ireland-British pounds anywhere aside from Northern Ireland!)
Fortunately it seems that the British parliment actually does appear to be considering taking their blinders off and switching to the Euro (something they SHOULD have done two years ago if they had been smart).
Apple laptops are effectively unusable for unix users.
I am a long-time Unix user. That means I need to have the Ctrl key to the left of the A key. This is a genuine need, not merely a want; it is based upon ergonomics. The Ctrl key is heavily used in unix, and it must be easily accessable. It cannot be off in the lower left corner of the keyboard where it is difficult to get at, and where it distorts the position of your left hand such that you can't easily type other keys while holding the Ctrl key down.
Apple desktop keyboards are now all USB. They are all OK. The CapsLock key can be re-mapped into a Ctrl key.
Unfortunately, even in this modern age, all Apple laptops have built-in ADB keyboards. The ADB keyboard is broken-by-design. It is, in general, not possible to remap the CapsLock key into a Ctrl key.
There are some exceptions, but they are horrible kludges. They are horrible kludges because the original design of the ADB keyboard was a horrible kludge. The correct solution would be for Apple to re-design their laptop motherboards to use built-in USB keyboards. This hasn't happened yet. If you run Linux, use Debian's solution. For Mac OS X users, uControl works. There are no solutions (that I know of) for either NetBSD or OpenBSD. Please note once again that the "solutions" above are in fact kludges, because of the original bad design of the ADB keyboard.
Apple provides a technical note on how to remap the keyboard, but provides no solution to the hardware problems caused by the design of the ADB keyboard. This tech note helps foreign language users, but does nothing for the CapsLock/Ctrl problem.
Apple is (currently) ignoring Unix users! This is not merely speculation on my part. In an on-going email exchange I am having with an Apple employee (whom I won't name) in their marketing department, the Apple marketing person directly stated to me that Apple was catering to their historic Mac customers, and is purposely ignoring the Unix market. He also claimed that Apple would soon start paying more attention to the Unix market. I won't hold my breath. Apple has been ignoring Unix users for more than 13 years. I expect that trend to continue. (Also note that my Apple contact indicated that Macs would never ship with a 3-button mouse, even though Apple intended to port almost all X-window software and deliver it either on a CD/DVD or installed directly on each Mac's hard drive. How Unix friendly is a 1-button mouse with X programs that often require 3 buttons?)
Apple has now lost two opportunities to sell me hardware. I really wanted an Apple laptop for their superior battery life, and for the PowerPC with Altivec CPU. (The Altivec is vastly superior to the x86 line for DSP.) Because I can't live with the broken-by-design built-in ADB keyboard in all Apple laptops, Sony and IBM sold me laptops instead. If Apple fixes this problem, they will sell me a PowerBook next year; if they don't, I'll still be running OpenBSD on x86 hardware, and wishing I could use a Mac.
I remember attending one of Apple's World Wide Developer Conferences and getting in a bit of a fight (many years ago) about the need for a 'headless' consumer Macintosh. Their argument then was that Apple could provide an all-in-one system for a lower cost than buying a CPU and monitor separately, because there would only be one power supply, simplified cabling, etc. I'm not sure that this is still the case...
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