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Mac mini, Apple DVR?

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the a-want-my-atv dept.

CDPatten was one of several to note the rumor of a new Mac PVR... code named Kaleidoscope and featuring an Intel CPU and Front Row 2.0.

73 of 487 comments (clear)

  1. Plus an iPod dock by axonis · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Dont forget the all important iPod dock which was left out at last minute from the PPC version

    --
    bæ8Ã0sÃOE?5r©oÂÃ?âz:ÃÃAÃ?ÃOEÂ6fXÃ?]Â
    1. Re:Plus an iPod dock by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 4, Informative

      I thought the conclusion for those solder points was that it couldn't be for a dock because the number and spacing of pins was wrong.

  2. In other news... by tlacuache · · Score: 5, Funny

    The MPAA filed a lawsuit against Apple this morning, citing massive revenue losses due to the new Apple DVR.

    1. Re:In other news... by Lonesome+Squash · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Quite seriously, one wonders what irritating DRM Apple will put in to avoid just those suits -- Or worse, add in later "upgrades".

      --
      Behold the riant ape! Beware, his crooked thumbs!
    2. Re:In other news... by God'sDuck · · Score: 5, Interesting

      one wonders what irritating DRM Apple will put in

      True...although considering that the mac mini isn't all that much bigger than a VHS tape, if all i wanted to do was tape something and bring it to a friend's house, even if they drm'd it to death i could conceivably just pick up my whole pvr and take it with me everywhere. intriguiging...

    3. Re:In other news... by network23 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      ...one wonders what irritating DRM Apple will put in...

      Apple doesn't irritate me with DRM. iTunes is a very good ripping machine that doesn't care about what you are doing.

      You can even drag folders and folders of illegal MP3s directly into iTunes to be automagically sorted and becoming a first class citizens together with your legally purchased music from iTunes Music Store.

      And you can mix. Burn.

      And transfer all your files to as many iPods you want.

      And you can copy ALL your music - except songs bought from iTMS - to whatever crappy non iPod player or SonyEricsson cell phone you have.

      The same goes for podcasts and vodcasts. It is quite easy to make your own iPod compatible videos with open source solutions like mencoder or with QuickTime Pro if you want a pretty GUI.

      For me, Apple has choosen the least irritating DRM possible, and ONLY used it to protect the songs and/or videos bought from iTunes Music Store.

    4. Re:In other news... by MaestroSartori · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Straying dangerously off-topic now, but...

      Some things broadcast on TV are entertaining. There's nothing wrong with wanting to watch entertaining things, so a system which helps me sift the entertainment out of the vast mass of TV crap out there is a winner.

      Why people like you advocate the wholesale boycott of TV instead of embracing the ways to cherry-pick the good stuff while ignoring the rubbish is beyond me. "We have the technology", and not all of us are vegetative couch potato folks sitting in front of the tube watching rubbish while waiting for the good stuff.

      --
      Game dev and music blog
    5. Re:In other news... by daviddennis · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Let's give credit where credit's due here. I've bought a lot of music through the iTunes Music Store, and other than being asked for a password when I buy a new machine, I've had zero trouble with iTunes DRM. I download the music, and it just works on the computers I have registered for it.

      If any company can manage seamless, quality DRM acceptable to all parties, it's Apple.

      D

    6. Re:In other news... by mrtrumbe · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Just turn the fucking thing off, okay? For ONE FUCKING DAY?

      No.

      Also, fuck you.

      I'm a TV viewer. I've also managed to hold a great development job in the financial industry, learned to play the guitar and piano (well, I might add), brew beer, exercise regularly, be fairly well-read, travel frequently, do development on the side and maintain (relatively) healthy friendships and relationships.

      Christ, does my life suck, huh? If only I hadn't watched so much TV!

      You know what I hate as much as you seem to hate TV and its viewers? Self-righteous assholes who think anyone not conforming to their way of life is a loser. Man, those guys blow.

      Taft

    7. Re:In other news... by Tim+Browse · · Score: 5, Funny

      I used to not watch TV, but I found I was spending so much time telling other people (who didn't want to know) about how I don't watch TV, that it took up less time just to watch the damn TV instead.

    8. Re:In other news... by timeOday · · Score: 4, Insightful
      True...although considering that the mac mini isn't all that much bigger than a VHS tape
      But the Mac Mini as we know it is not a PVR. The obvious problem (mentioned in the article) is the use of laptop hard drives, a very bad choice for a PVR. Then they need somewhere to put a tuner for analog signals, and hardware video compression circuitry. They need a digital audio out, plus composite, s-video, and hopefully component video outputs. In other words, of all the specialized requirements for a PVR, the Mac Mini hardly meets any of them, and doesn't have any room inside for expansion.

      Besides, I doubt Apple would try to push portability in a PVR design anyways. They'd probably rather people use the video iPod for that.

    9. Re:In other news... by tomhudson · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That's okay, as long as you take the appropriate precautions:

      Safe TV Viewing: You can watch all the TV you want - just don't plug the damn thing in!

      Because if you're going to go blind, you should at least go blind because you're doing something that gives you pleasure.

      How TV is like a bad girlfriend:

      1. They both encourage you to empty your wallet as fast as possible
      2. They both lie to you
      3. They both think they're the center of the universe, and you should pay attention only to them
      4. A lot of tease, but you never get to score
      5. They're always ready to make time available for the highest bidder
      6. They're always telling you what you should do to improve yor life, but talking to them is like talking to a wall (or a TV)
      7. They both take time away from your friends and family
      8. You only get their side of the story - as far as they're concerned, their side of the story is the ONLY side of the story.
      9. The opinions of airheads in muffin-top pants, or kooks like Tom Cruise, are just SO important ...
      10. Shop shop shop spend spend spend buy buy buy shop shop shop
    10. Re:In other news... by AeroIllini · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well, its not really off-topic, because PVRs are supposed to help you "cherry-pcik", but in reality people use them to consume even more junk. Just like the original VCR - people tape stuff "becasue they can", and nver get around to watching half of it.

      Then I'm glad you are here to tell us how to use our technology properly. News flash: everything on TV is there because lots of people watch it. That's the reality of the business. Just because you and I don't like 90% of the programming available doesn't mean that no one likes it. Obviously people are watching it, or the networks would replace it with something else. The whole point of television is to get people to watch, so they can sell advertising. And as a ten-percenter (someone who only likes 10% of available programming) I'm grateful for technologies that allow me to find what I want without having to watch the things I don't. And if I record something with the intention of watching it and never do, it's not a problem. I didn't pay to record that program, and once I delete it the disk space can be used for other things. No sweat.

      So, how much TV have you watched the last year, including the time spent doing the "cherry-picking"? Mine stays off for weeks at a time. Actually, its pretty much only been on this year when friends come over to watch a dvd.

      Actually, I've spent quite a bit of time watching program's I've "cherry-picked", but almost all of it was because of my automatic script pulling episodes out of RSS feeds and downloading them via BitTorrent. The actual television was off for most of that time, and the time spent doing the actual "cherry-picking" was minimal; it amounted to me typing a regular expression into my filter list and letting the script automatically download the episodes. Sometimes I hear about a new show, and I download one to try it out. If I like it, it goes into the regular rotation. If not, I delete it and get on with my life.

      I am currently in the process of building a MythTV box, to free up my cable modem. And, so I can sit on the couch and watch the episodes, instead of at my desk. And, so I can see them on my big TV instead of my smaller LCD monitor. And, so I can record sports to timeshift (no one on BitTorrent seems to care about distributing NCAA basketball games). And, to free up my hard drive.

      The DVR has essentially turned television into a pull medium instead of the push medium it has been since its debut. It has put the consumer back in control. How is this a bad thing, again?

      --
      For security, the MD5 hash of this message and sig is 09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0.
    11. Re:In other news... by gnasher719 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      >> Then they need somewhere to put a tuner for analog signals, and hardware video compression circuitry. They need a digital audio out, plus composite, s-video, and hopefully component video outputs...

      Fortunately I live in Britain, where all you need is a demultiplexer to grab the digital signal and record it completely unchanged on the harddisk. Since a settop box with receiver, demultiplexer and decoder costs less than £30, all the functionality should be quite cheap.

      If you then consider that I don't need a DVD player anymore, and no games console, a Mac Mini PVR looks quite good. Just make it a bit higher to fit a 3.5" harddisk with 250 Gig, a fast processor so that everything can be recompressed to H.264 to save three quarters of the space, and it will sell.

    12. Re:In other news... by mrtrumbe · · Score: 2, Insightful
      So you have no problem that by the time kids finish high school, they've spent more time in front of a TV than with a teacher?

      First, my kids will not have watched nearly that much TV by the time they finish high school. Why? Because I believe in good parenting, which shouldn't include the TV as a babysitter.

      Second, do I care if other people's kids watch crazy amounts of TV? Not in the slightest. If parents want to stuff their kids with junk food, sit them in front of the TV for hours, then teach them that evolution is crap and God created all I don't give a goddamn. The great thing about freedom is that it's their choice to make. Their bad decisions shouldn't effect me or my own so long as I'm careful, so what's the big fucking deal.

      Look, TV isn't the problem here. It is just a product like any other. Just like any other product that provides some amount of enjoyment, it can certainly be abused and can cause problems if it is. If you are looking for somewhere to focus blame (which it seems to me that you are), point the finger at the bad parents who let their kids watch obscene amounts of TV.

      My question to you: why do you want to waste your time? These people obviously think there is nothing wrong with what they are doing, and seem perfectly content watching. They aren't going to change because you are arrogantly screaming at them to give up their junkie ways. Why waste your energy? Just raise your kids right and move along.

      FYI, I haven't watched commercials in a few years so I most certainly didn't notice the format changes they have made to ads in the last few years. TIVO keeps me well insulated from the shit on TV I don't want to watch. For those of you without TIVO, I hear the mute button also works pretty well.

      Taft

    13. Re:In other news... by tomhudson · · Score: 3, Funny
      Clued-in moderators rate funny stuff as insightful, b/c funny mods don't increase karma, whereas a corresponding downmod will decrease it. Its the weird slashmath. For example, say you get 5 +1 funny mods. You get no karma points for Funny mods. Then someone else bitch-slaps you with 5 -1 troll mods. You get a -5 karma hit.

      Besides, you have to have a bit of insight to be funny ... otherwise it wouldn't be funny, so its karmic (ok, moan and groan, that pun was pretty bad)

    14. Re:In other news... by Smurf · · Score: 2, Informative

      Dear Anonymous Troll,

      Apparently your bigotry doesn't allow you to educate yourself before writing stupid trash. Otherwise, you would know that the DRM in Apple's AAC files (or most any other DRM scheme, for that matter) will NOT prevent you from BACKING UP your files.

      Yes, dear Troll, you can still burn the files on CDs/DVDs or copy them to as many computers as you want. If one of the computers registered to PLAY the music dies, you can still register another one (and Apple will allow you to unregister the corpse).

    15. Re:In other news... by tomhudson · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think everyone noticed the gm vans - it was damned annoying.

      Now, if we're going to talk advertising impressions, and really amazing numbers, we have to go with the pros - pro sports, that is.

      Take hockey. You know all those ads on the sideboards in in the ice? Advertisers have people who count the number of times each ad shows on-screen. The more, the better. It means it was a fast-paced game, and had people looking. It also meant that the camera-work was good. We're talking about generating hundreds of ad views in under a minute. And this is what the advertisers who buy those spots want. They would rather you got 20 quick glimpses of their ad in the space of 30 seconds of hot action that you're really in to, than a 30-second spot that you'll either click away from, or fast forward through. And there's the bonus exposure on the news shows. A good hockey game can generate 10,000 - 50,000 or more "ad views".

      But hockey and football are small potatos compared to Formula 1. Spotters count every time each sticker on a car is on-camera. If only some of the stickers are visible, only those stickers count. The car passes someone on the outside, the stickers are hidden temporarily, - well, that's 2 impressions. Bonus! Now, if you've seen an F1 car, the're covered with ads. So don't be surprised when you find out you're getting over 100,000 ad views per hour. Heck, a really good race should generate a million ampressions or more, if the camerawork is done properly. That's what the advertisers pay for - good camerawork. Not for your benefit - for theirs. And someone has counted each ad view. And someone else has audited the counts. And a third someone else writes a check for them.

      They account for them that way, and pay for them that way, because that's what works for them. Follow the $$$.

      Kind of makes the 5,000 ad impressions your kid got watching the monster trucks featured on The Learning Channel's Big Machines pale in comparison.

  3. Re:Name sounds familiar by ergo98 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If they keep that name for production, I have a feeling these guys may have an issue with it. But I guess the way justice works in the US, whoever has more money is right, so Apple shouldn't be worried.

    When's the last time a code name was also used for the retail product? I can't remember that ever happening. It's a "code name" for a reason - the developers and designers needed something to call it, without the hassle of all of the due diligence and legal work.

    For a media center to really work, it needs to be anointed by the cable and satellite companies: If it's unable to work with the digital EDTV and digital HDTV signals on their networks, with all of their DRM, then it is close to useless. Microsoft recently got that blessing, though apparently it won't be supported in retail deliveries until next Christmas.

  4. The excuse I need. by Shivetya · · Score: 4, Interesting

    To own a Mac is to have it give me some functionality I cannot easily derive from my Windows PC in a format that doesn't collide with my entertainment center.

    I would like to have a Mac around to experience OS/X but I don't need it and therefor have no reason to spend the money. Make it do something useful for me that I would have to already spend money to have and then I can consider it.

    Yeah I know TiVO is big, my friends have them. I also see MCE and some Linux solutions. The first is proprietary and the other two require work on my end to have something that both looks decent and might actually work.

    If Apple can deliver a PVR that also allows me to dabble with OS/X who knows where it might lead. The big IF is, will they price it for the market or let their ego do the pricing?

    --
    * Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
    1. Re:The excuse I need. by utexaspunk · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yeah I know TiVO is big, my friends have them. I also see MCE and some Linux solutions. The first is proprietary and the other two require work on my end to have something that both looks decent and might actually work.

      So you dismissed the TiVo because it's proprietary and yet would like a DVR from Apple? I seriously doubt whatever Apple releases will be any less proprietary than TiVo...

    2. Re:The excuse I need. by soft_guy · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Apple used to have the best support in the business, hands down. Support that today you would marvel at. Amazing support.

      At the exact same time, people were abandoning Apple in droves for competitors who had lousy support.

      So, you can't blame Apple for bad support. You have to blame the invisible hand of the free market.

      --
      Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
    3. Re:The excuse I need. by multiOSfreak · · Score: 2
      OS X is indeed very nice, however Apple customer support is the worst I have ever encountered. The first time I sent my PowerBook in for repair, they lost it and didn't replace it with a working one until two months later.

      That's too bad. I just had a fantastic experience with Apple support. My iBook fell prey to the heinous iBook Logic Board Screwup. It didn't break until a week after the free replacement program ended, but Apple agreed to fix it anyway for free. They sent me a nice box to ship it in and paid for the shipping costs to and from the repair center. I got it back in 5 days, and they had also fixed the lid latch (which I had broken) at no charge. That's been my only experience with Apple support, but it was a good one.
      --
      Transistors and Beer!!
  5. Will MythTV run? by drewzhrodague · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I wonder if MythTV will run, or how their software stacks-up against MythTV. I really enjoyed having a Myth in the living room, but it is pretty annoying to make a PC into a set-top, with cables, adaptors, and stuff. Machines built for the set-top are (obviously) more specialized, but generally lack major features (like keyboards, mice, MAME, etc). Maybe I should have picked up a PVR-250 yesterday during the non-sale.

    --
    Zhrodague.net - I do projects and stuff too.
  6. Apple iProduct. You'll buy it. And you'll like it. by voice_of_all_reason · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Reminds me of the line "What is it? We're not saying yet, but that won't stop you from posting about it on every message board you have access to."

  7. video ipod by aberson · · Score: 5, Insightful

    this is an obvious step... it better be able to sync with a video ipod.

    Seriously, who cares about "Watching their music"

    1. Re:video ipod by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Seriously, who cares about "Watching their music"

      Those of us on acid, naturally.

    2. Re:video ipod by tpgp · · Score: 4, Insightful

      this is an obvious step... it better be able to sync with a video ipod.

      I can guarantee that it will not sync with the video ipod in a useful way (ie transcode TV shows to ipod's low res format)

      Because:

      1) I doubt this thing will be fast enough to transcode a TV show in a timeframe deemed acceptable to Apple's high QA standards.

      2) Revenue sources (why would anyone buy what they can set their shiny new Apple PVR to record?)

      3) Fear of getting sued.

      --
      My pics.
    3. Re:video ipod by Gulthek · · Score: 4, Insightful

      1) I doubt this thing will be fast enough to transcode a TV show in a timeframe deemed acceptable to Apple's high QA standards.

      Apple has a QA standard to tv transcoding? The closest thing I can think of is an iDVD encoding which can take hours on my dual 1.8Ghz. I'm sure that a mac mini can transcode a tv show to low res in less than hours. Hell, even with the hardware that's in the little boxes now shows could almost be transcoded on the fly. How is that not good enough?

      2) Revenue sources (why would anyone buy what they can set their shiny new Apple PVR to record?)

      The same reason people with tivos still buy DVDs, extra content. If you refer to the music store, then I submit that their ultimate goal is to be the content distribution medium for videos and shows that *aren't* on network television. Think of Star Trek: Beyond; now replace Star Trek with New, Brilliantly Written, Made by the Viewer tv show. Such a beast could never hope to reach a market via television unless they were very lucky; but now anyone can make a show and get it on iTunes.

      3) Fear of getting sued.

      Silly. It would be no more than a portable tivo.

  8. It's good, but... by ian_mackereth · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hate the way that it keeps charging me 99c every time a music track plays in the background... At least it won't have some of the annoying features of Windows Media. I hate it when Clippy appears and says "You seem to be watching pro wrestling. Shall I e-order beer and pizza for you?"

    1. Re:It's good, but... by cmossell · · Score: 5, Funny

      "...Shall I e-order beer and pizza for you?"

      I wish clippy did anything as useful as suggesting beer and pizza.

    2. Re:It's good, but... by Betaman · · Score: 2, Funny

      Or: "Based on vocal patterns and poor video quality you seem to be watching porn. Click here to order more lubricant!"

  9. MythTV already runs on Mac OS X by JonTurner · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Myth front-end (the part used for viewing) already runs on the Mac. It's the back-end, the part with encodes video streams, that is not yet ported.

    http://www.mythtv.info/moin.cgi/MythOnMacOsx

  10. Mini-mac PVR by dvdungeon · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm already using my mini-mac as a pvr. Mini-mac, plus eyeTV (via firewire) plus 21" lcd = pvr. It does recording, live pause thingy, editing, plays dvds and music. I use an external 160 usb drive for recording, and can archive to dvd. The eyetv software gets listings from the internet. Not bad for a quite little box. Matt

    --
    oops...
    1. Re:Mini-mac PVR by Golias · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Likewise. The EyeTV 500 is a nice little HD tuner that lets the mini do the work of a PVR, along with all the other usual stuff.

      Since I use a projection system and don't really need my media computer to be teeny-tiny, I'm actually replacing it this week with a refurb G5 tower. The mini is going into my music studio rack as a headless digital audio processor. Versitile little gadgets, those minis.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

  11. Apple's move to get video on the ipod by mattyohe · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This makes perfect sense. Now you will be able to have some sort of integration between the DVR app and iTunes to load up your iPod with your saved tv shows...

    But now that I think about it, this would cannibalize iTunes TV show sales... Maybe this is all rumor?

    --
    - what is the definition of simultanagnosia?! I've been meaning to look it up!
    1. Re:Apple's move to get video on the ipod by Ravnsgaard · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Apple couldn't care less. They will make more money on hardware, than on selling tv shows. Short term and long term. -Remember that they are gunning for total iTunes dominance.

  12. Re:Name sounds familiar by ergo98 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Uh...Tiger?

    Tiger's real code-name was Slate. Apple was playing a bit of a game, and choosing actual retail names that they publicly disseminated as "code names". Of course they could be doing it with this product, but the instant hit on a competing product proves that close to impossible.

  13. Re:Name sounds familiar by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Man, I was just about to build one of those out of MythTV:
    Scripts. Scripts allow users to create and play any sequence of DVD discs, movies, trailers, episodes, favorite scenes, home videos, cover art, and other Scripts. This makes it easy to incorporate customized movie openings and intermissions for a truly personalized theatrical experience.
    I'd give their system a try, but "How much does it cost" is not in their FAQ, and I'm in one of the 14 states that doesn't have a dealer. I guess I'll forge ahead with tuning MythTV to my needs
    --
    Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  14. Times Have Changed by PacketScan · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Wow I am very happy with the direction that apple has taken in the past few years. They are truly coming back as a worth while competitor.

  15. Re:Apple iProduct. You'll buy it. And you'll like by greginnj · · Score: 2, Funny


    Yep, it looks like the Apple Product Cycle is operating 100% according to spec on this one.


    --
    "Threads pop up around feature wish lists, favorite colors, and likely retail price points..."

    --
    Read the best of all of Slash: seenonslash.com
  16. Kaleidoscope by derniers · · Score: 5, Informative

    way back when Kaleidoscope was a nifty UI app for OS 9 and the guy who wrote it (Greg Landweber) went to work for Apple

  17. Re:Name sounds familiar by sootman · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The disclaimer is only to avoid confusion. The Mac was named after the Macintosh apple, "America's favorite apple."

    On the other hand, who in the industry should we look to for originality--Microsoft with "Media Center"? Fucking Windows?!?!? "Windows" in a GUI were called "windows" long before MS came along and co-opted the word for their whole stupid OS.

    Then again, Apple and MS have one product that infuriates me--both of them call their remote-control app "Remote Desktop."

    --
    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
  18. Form Factor by Snorklefish · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If Apple wants to be at the center of the A/V world, I suggest they build a machine that can physically sit at the center of a typical A/V ensemble. The mini's size makes sense on a crowded desk. But putting a mini on top of your tower of A/V components looks silly and feels cheap.

  19. Why build when... by WebGangsta · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Apple should just go ahead and buy TiVo and get it over with.

    TiVo already negotiated the ability to transfer files to the Video iPod, so why not go the next step and put the iPod connector directly on the box itself?

    1. Re:Why build when... by renderhead · · Score: 4, Informative

      TiVo negotiated nothing. They're just incorporating the technology to automatically convert the video they record into a format that the iPod supports (which is completely open - simply MPEG-4 video that fits within certain dimensions). A nice feature, but they didn't require or receive Apple's cooperation.

      --
      I wish that my inferiority complex were as good as yours.

      -RenderHead

  20. Price cut? by HappyCakeOven · · Score: 2, Informative

    As it stand now the base cost for a Mac mini is $499. Seems a little expensiveif you're only using it for a DVR considering replayTV starts at $179 and TiVo at $199 ($79 and $49 with instant rebates).

    --
    It makes real cupcakes, with a 40 watt bulb, and there's icing packets....but the secret ingredient is love.
  21. In the meantime... by sootman · · Score: 3, Informative

    ...I'm a huge fan of MediaCentral. It does just a few things and does them very well. Amazing that it's just a 0.1 release, unlike CenterStage, which--as neat as it will surely be, someday--has been in development since February and is currently at a semi-functional 0.4. It's also very simple to use. Key features:
    - plays movies
    - plays DVDs
    - plays DVDs ripped to a VIDEO_TS folder and the parent folder name is what shows up in the menu
    It also works with EyeTV products, but I don't have or care about that--being a happy DirecTiVo owner, I was just looking for something that does everything the TiVo doesn't. Works with some ATI remotes, according to the site, and it also works with my $30 Keyspan DMR remote control. Just set '*" to be 'quit' and 'stop' to be 'eject' (in addition to the regular keys--left, right, up, down, enter=middle, space=play/pause, escape=menu) and you're in business. Runs fine on my base (1.25 GHz, 256 MB) Mini.

    --
    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
  22. Kaleidoscope "skins" were unreal -- take a look by ianscot · · Score: 5, Informative
    Greg Landweber ascended to the mother ship? Decent example of Apple taking on someone whose main product Jobs didn't really agree with. Steve-o has never much liked the custom "skins" idea, and basically killed it with OS X.

    For those who aren't familiar, the old Kaleidoscope gave you the ability to drop "skins" over the OS 9 finder and OS, to the point where you could go with a complete BeOS or any number of completely outlandish looks and feels.

    Half of the results weren't amazingly useful, exactly, but it was so easy to develop a new scheme that you could easily tinker around and produce yout own flavor. The archive of schemes pretty much says it all.

    --
    "Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
  23. Re:Name sounds familiar by bhtooefr · · Score: 2, Informative

    Lisa?

    That was a code name, IIRC. They ended up reverse acronym-izing it, but it certainly didn't begin life as a real name...

  24. all-important? by frankie · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Really wouldn't say that iPod integration is "all important". It would certainly be a nice touch with elegant Apple style, but the value add is maybe 10 bucks max.

    True DVR capability though... if it has both well-designed, powerful iSoftware AND true plug-n-play hardware, that would make it a serious killer device that launches Macs into millions of living rooms.

    If there really is a Macintel mini next month, most likely they'll release a low-end model comparable to the existing high-end, and a premium version with built-in DVR. Personally I'm not prepared to accept this rumor just yet, but boy would it be a nice birthday present.

    1. Re:all-important? by timeOday · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Really wouldn't say that iPod integration is "all important". It would certainly be a nice touch with elegant Apple style, but the value add is maybe 10 bucks max.
      The iPod is Apple's #1 springboard into content distribution. How much does the value of the high-margin video iPod go up if you can simply drop it on your DVR and automatically get all your selected programming to go, with no further hassle?

      Compared to dedicated products like TiVo, an Apple PVR could have a lot to offer if it is not a closed, locked-down system. Provide a high-quality usable product up-front, but in addition turn the user base loose and see what they come up with. Remember, Apple did not invent podcasting.

      Would an Apple PVR go anywhere Microsoft's media PC hasn't already gone? Since Apple already has content distribution deals with major players like ABC, I'd say it's a possibility. Hardly anybody even knows that Microsoft has its own music-store competitor to iTunes.

  25. This is interesting... by Fahrvergnuugen · · Score: 4, Informative

    There is software available as part of the Apple FireWire SDK that lets you record MPEG2 streams direct from a firewire enabled cable box. Hmmm....

    Check here, here and here: [use this link: http://machdtvtimer.home.comcast.net/%5D for more info.

    --
    Kiteboarding Gear Mention slashdot and get 10% off!
  26. The famous butt-head astronomer by coinreturn · · Score: 3, Interesting

    When's the last time a code name was also used for the retail product? I can't remember that ever happening. It's a "code name" for a reason - the developers and designers needed something to call it, without the hassle of all of the due diligence and legal work.

    Of course, this being America, you can sue any time you want - including when it's just a codename. That's what Carl Sagan did over the use of Sagan as a codename by Apple. Apple responded by using the codename BHA, which stood prominently for Butt-Head Astronomer.

    1. Re:The famous butt-head astronomer by frankie · · Score: 2, Informative
      In partial defense of Carl, let the record show that Apple was designing three PowerMacs right then:

      1. PM 6100: codename Piltdown Man, famous archaeology hoax
      2. PM 7100: codename Sagan
      3. PM 8100: codename Cold Fusion, overhyped physics flop du jour

      In his place, I'd also be unhappy about the implication of being placed in between those two.
    2. Re:The famous butt-head astronomer by coinreturn · · Score: 4, Insightful

      In partial defense of Carl, let the record show that Apple was designing three PowerMacs right then:

      PM 6100: codename Piltdown Man, famous archaeology hoax
      PM 7100: codename Sagan
      PM 8100: codename Cold Fusion, overhyped physics flop du jour

      In his place, I'd also be unhappy about the implication of being placed in between those two.

      That's one take on things. Another is to note that the PM6100/7100/8100 were the first Macs to be powered by the PowerPC - a major evolution for Macs (first processor family change). Piltdown man was supposed to be the missing link that would revolutionalize the theories of evolution, whereas Cold Fusion was supposed to revolutionalize power generation. Did Carl Sagan revolutionalize physics? Well, he certainly brought it to the masses.

      Still, it was a friggin' internal codename. I'm glad he lost the suit (and the BHA suit).

    3. Re:The famous butt-head astronomer by coinreturn · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Okay, so the PM7100 wasn't the greatest machine they ever made. You have to admit that their changing to a completely new processor was an amazing accomplishment - fat binaries, 68K emulation/translation. That successful transition is the only thing that makes investors and users believe that the Intel switch is even possible.

    4. Re:The famous butt-head astronomer by Judge_Fire · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Strange.

      We came to appreciate all of our 7100's as the sturdy, reliable ones. Later abominations, such as the 4400, would keep crashing all day while the 7100 just chugged along.

      J

  27. Deal by Tom · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Two years ago, I put my old notebook in the living room as an entertainment center. Since then I've tried MythTV and half a dozen other solutions, but none of them satisfy me (I want DVD, video and music playback, no TV functionality). Today I run mplayer or xine from the commandline, it's the least hassle.

    If this thing actually appears, I have an old notebook for sale.

    No way in hell am I giving M$ the keys to my living room. Linux was tried, but didn't quite work out. I do have confidence in Apple to pull this off. I'm very much looking forward to the Expo.

    --
    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
  28. Re:sorry guys... by tgibbs · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sorry guys, this is nothing but another geek masturbatory fantasy. Cheap, good-enough DVRs from the cable company already beat down Tivo, and now, rather than buy a $200 Tivo, you expect me to pay $500 for a DVR mini? And you expect me to use this on my SDTV? Not everyone has HDTV yet.

    If everybody was happy with "good enough" then Apple would have gone out of business years ago. As for HD, I'm seeing rows of cheap ($500-600) HD TVs at Walmart. In a lot of areas, all it takes is a cheap roof antenna or even rabbit ears to bring in perfect HD, so why pay for cable, anyway?

  29. Disappointed by Mac Mini as entertainment center by Cereal+Box · · Score: 5, Insightful
    This may be a little offtopic, but I just wanted to share my disappointment in using the Mac Mini as an entertainment center (didn't even bother with the DVR stuff).

    • Cost -- the Mac Mini is a little expensive. But that's OK, I had originally bought it as a general-purpose desktop, and later decided to it a shot as an entertainment center and having constant problems with my Windows entertainment center.
    • Audio -- the only decent 5.1 audio solutions for the Mini are USB or Firewire hardware from M-Audio. The cheapest one I could find that does proper AC3 passthrough was something like $80-$100, and it was just some cheezy little USB thing! Turtle Beach sells pretty much the same thing for $20, and it works on the Mac, but without the AC3 passthrough (if you're curious, AC3 passthrough works on Windows). Oh, and let's not forget, the M-Audio units require you to do a manual AC3/PCM selection! I.e., you can't just go from listening to MP3s to 5.1 sound when watching a movie unless you manually change the output format. Geez.
    • Video -- the DVI connection works great on my HDTV. Unfortunately, I have to shell out $20 for a program that will allow me to set the Mini's display resolution to 1280x768 (the TVs native resolution). VGA is not an option, because my TV will do image realignment every time I switch back to the VGA input, and if I'm watching 4:3 pillarboxed material, the image will be shifted quite a bit to the left.
    • Remotes -- The only IR remote I could find was the crappy Keyspan remote. That thing has only like 20 buttons! You've really got to get creative if you want this thing to control your entertainment center. And before you ask, I can't use the ATI Remote Wonder because it's an RF remote, and I want to use my IR universal remote to control the Mini.
    • Software -- By far the worst offender. CenterStage just plain didn't work with my ripped DVDs (a series of VIDEO_TS folders on a share). Matinee didn't seem to work either. I wasn't going to bother with MythTV (way too much hassle on OS X). There really is a stunning lack of passable frontend software for the Mac. It's a shame, really.


    These are all the problems I ran into, and I can't imagine how much trouble it would've been getting emulators to work in addition to movies/music (none of the frontends seemed to support emulators).

    So to all those that think the Mac Mini is a good entertainment center choice, I say think again! It's really expensive, the software is terrible, and the hardware issues are a real pain. You know what I did recently? Spent far less money on an XBox and put XBMC on it. It works just the way I expect it to, and with a lot less hassle!
  30. Mac mini done better by wootest · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm not at all terribly into the DVR aspects of the new Mac mini. It's nice, but there are plenty of other things to get more excited about.

    First... An Intel Mac mini means a sub-$500 computer that runs OS X and Windows. Steve Jobs quipped during the launch of the first Mac mini that they wanted to price it so that "people who are, you know, thinking of switching, will have no more excuses". With this they won't even need to keep their own PC - assuming the storage is plentiful and drivers available, they can transfer over all old files from their PC and keep their old environment truckin' in addition to working in OS X.

    Speaking of storage. Think Secret's report notices that a 3.5" HD might be in the cards (instead of the current 2.5") which would, even after adding bulk to the relatively small machine, be a good move as it would allow for more storage and cheaper drives. The most spacious 2.5" drives Apple offer today are 120GB for the Powerbook and only 100GB on the mini - the smallest 3.5" Apple will let you get away with on the iMac is a 160GB drive.

    While we're dreaming, I hope Apple will make Superdrive (DVD+-RW and Dual Layer) standard, and add Gigabit Ethernet, an extra USB port or two and certainly an extra RAM slot.

  31. Why do people buy from iTMS? by Johnny+Mozzarella · · Score: 3, Insightful

    People can get music on their iPods for free. Why would anybody buy from iTMS?
    Once Apple has millions of these in living rooms, there will be a much larger potential audience for paid video content.
    Not a lot of people are buying iTunes TV shows because not a lot of people have a Digital Home Theater.

  32. Not going to happen. Apple wants no part of DVR. by jocknerd · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Apple is too close with Hollywood. Cable and Satellite companies own the DVR market from here on out. Unless Apple and them agree on a way to extract the recordings off the cable box, it just won't happen. Apple knows this.

    Apple will make a Mac mini running an Intel chip that will be a media player though. It will connect to your television and stereo. It will show photos, play music, and play videos that are on the computer. But it won't record television broadcasts.

  33. What about games? by bigpat · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You hook up a couple USB or bluetooth game controllers and you have yourself the best looking game console around. Maybe not as its main feature, but there are plenty of games out for OSX to make a Mac Mini a versatile PVR, game console, DVD player/recorder and living room PC.

    The key would be not to limit functionality to make it feel too much like a special purpose device, but to have a simple button to switch the software from one mode to the other. Maybe just have a remote like a multipurpose remote, with buttons on the top for switching between different modes, and a cool ipod like menu wheel. That would be pretty slick.

  34. makes sense, but... by penguin-collective · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The Mac Mini makes sense as a PVR, from its form factor and appearance. But, as someone who has been trying to use it for just that purpose, I have to say: they need to do something about performance, both of the hardware and of OS X itself. It's not just that the system needs MPEG hardware encoding/decoding, they also need to make OS X less of a resource hog (or ship with 1G of memory), need to make the screen rendering more efficient, and fix a lot of other performance issues. None of that matters much on a big Macintosh, but on these little machines, it is an issue.

    As it is, I use my Mac Mini for DVD playback and as a jukebox; as a PVR, it's not all that usable in its current form.

  35. It's all about the content... by BoraSport · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Disclaimer... I am an Apple zealot. I have tasted the Koolaid and it was good.

    The new iMac with the built in camera, remote, and Front Row was interesting. It was tied to the iTunes music store and created (either by accident or design) the largest iPod on the planet, complete with 20inch LCD if desired. If we apply the remote technology and Front Row from the iMac to the Mini we can in effect turn it into a giant iPod dock.

    With the new video iPod we can already perform almost everything we can do in Front Row on a TV by just connecting the iPod. To be really interesting the Mini will need to tap into a greater source of content. It is the content that is the key to any PVR/DVR solution IMO. Comcast manages their content through OnDemand, Tivo was wildly successful because it taped into a huge content store, starting with over the air, then moving to satellite. Unless the Mini can at a minimum support the content I already pay for (digital cable in my case) then I'm really not interested.

    There is another post here talking about connecting to digital cable through the firewire connection on the cable box. That would be the least desirable method, but even that would be enough for me to make the purchase. HOWEVER, this firewire connection must be native to the product, not a hack. Ideally I would like to see a cablecard slot in the Mini but that is because I pay for cable. I'm not sure what the best solution is for the folks out there that are using satellite.

    My prediction is that the new features of the Mini will tap into a Apple managed content pool, the iTunes store. The launch of this device will coincide with the launch of a much larger video content pool on iTunes, and, if we're lucky, the ability to rip your DVD's to the mini.

    Ripping DVD's creates its own set of headaches on the Mini. Even with a switch to 3.5 inch hard drives there would still only be room for 1 drive in the system. Even if that drive were a 500gb SATA monster my DVD collection would not fit on the drive. My hope is that Apple will recognize this and let the Mini be the engine or brain allowing me to access a much larger NAS storage solution. I don't want to have to stack external firewire drives next to my Mini in the entertainment center.

    This type of separation is a week spot already in the iTunes library. I keep all my music on a NAS appliance at home so that my wife and I can access it at the same time with out a server. When I add new music to the NAS appliance I have to go to my wife's machine and add the new folder to her library. My hope is that a new media center focused Mini could solve this issue by allowing our computers to access the Mini as a server for all of our content, music, video, etc. But if the Mini is limited to internal storage it really won't be able to keep up with the volume of content.

    PVR/DVR solutions don't really have this problem because by design, you never own the content. It is assumed that the content on these drives would be overwritten over time. Apple on the other hand sells their content through the iTunes store so it is expected that the user would keep their content because they own it. It is the balance between these two sales models that needs to be addressed, prior to releasing any PVR/DVR functions on a new Mini.

  36. Re:Name sounds familiar by Rosyna · · Score: 3, Informative

    Slate? Where did you get slate from? Tiger's codename was "Merlot", named after the wine. In the pre-Jobs days around the time when System X.X was renamed to Mac OS X.X, all versions of Mac OS had musical related codenames (or were somehow linked to Gil "Buster" Amelio). After Jobs, all OS X code names (at least since the cat names were used in marketing) were/are Wines.

    Since I am so freakin' awesome, I've gone ahead and found evidence to support what I say. See http://www.opensource.apple.com/darwinsource/10.4. 3/CF-368.18/Base.subproj/CFUtilities.h and search for "Merlot". It also has the codenames for Panther (Pinot) and, presumably, Leopard (Chablis).

    And just in case you don't have an ADC account, here is the relevant section:

    typedef enum {
            CFSystemVersionCheetah = 0, /* 10.0 */
            CFSystemVersionPuma = 1, /* 10.1 */
            CFSystemVersionJaguar = 2, /* 10.2 */
            CFSystemVersionPanther = 3, /* 10.3 */
            CFSystemVersionPinot = 3, /* Deprecated name for Panther */
            CFSystemVersionTiger = 4, /* 10.4 */
            CFSystemVersionMerlot = 4, /* Deprecated name for Tiger */
            CFSystemVersionChablis = 5, /* Post-Tiger */
            CFSystemVersionMax /* This should bump up when new entries are added */
    } CFSystemVersion;

  37. Re:Disappointed by Mac Mini as entertainment cente by ElectroBot · · Score: 5, Informative

    Audio -- the only decent 5.1 audio solutions for the Mini are USB or Firewire hardware from M-Audio. The cheapest one I could find that does proper AC3 passthrough was something like $80-$100, and it was just some cheezy little USB thing!

    Last year I bought myself a Creative Soundblaster MP3+ (paid around $42 US then, its $36 now with FREE ship). The device works great with my iBook G4 and provides me with 1/8", 2 RCA, and OPTICAL inputs and outputs. When connected to the iBook it doesn't require any drivers and all the outputs are recognized under Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4.

    Here's the link to the Creative Sounblaster MP3+ on Amazon.com:
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000095IMS/102-14 60630-4949731?v=glance&n=172282&n=507846&s=electro nics&v=glance

  38. Moderators, WTF??? by coinreturn · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Apple loves stealing names. Look at what they did to "Apple Records" and "McIntosh Audio" (which they still print a disclaimer about in all their documentation).

    That's modded as informative?? That's troll/flamebait if I've ever seen it. I seriously doubt Apple goes looking for names to steal - they do not like all the legal attention. Apple Records sued Apple Computer simply because it saw a chance to gain some revenue. Why don't they sue AppleOne Employment http://appleone.com/? At the very least, they should be suing Bad Apple Records, Big Apple Records, Black Apple Records, Crab Apple Records, Mountain Apple Records, Screaming Apple Records, and Zapple Records, or the very least the City of New York for use of "The Big Apple."

  39. Weak article, all speculation. by tji · · Score: 3, Informative

    We all know how reliable Think Secret is with there "inside info". This looks like another case of ass-talking.

    Some of their quotes from this article just seemed silly.. "It is similarly unknown whether Apple will scrap the 2.5-inch hard drive currently featured in the Mac mini in favor a standard 3.5-inch hard drive". WTF? Have they seen a Mac Mini? A 3.5" drive would require a completely new, much larger, case. Also, 3.5" drives account for 10W+ more power/heat, which is a no-go in the tiny confines of the Mac Mini.

    Ever since the x86 announcement, people have been speculating that the Mini would be one of the first to go Intel. I don't see this.. Even the Pentium-M processors can't go as low in power/heat as the PowerPC G4's. The extremely small space of the Mini tells me that it would be the last to go x86, not the first.

  40. Re:sorry guys... by dancpsu · · Score: 2, Informative

    In a lot of areas, all it takes is a cheap roof antenna or even rabbit ears to bring in perfect HD, so why pay for cable, anyway?

    I know quite a few families who have cable only because over the air reception is fuzzy for the local stations. When I tell them that they can get a $200 box at wal-mart that gets crystal clear over the air stations, plus up to 3 extra channels per station built into the signal, they can't believe it. I'm really surprised that there are no commercials on the regular stations for ATSC set-top boxes. The only thing I hear about is satellite and cable. In fact, most people who I talk to believe that HD is *only* available on cable and satellite. I suppose those companies like it that way.

    --
    "Scientists don't change their minds, they just die." -- Max Planck
  41. Re:Disappointed by Mac Mini as entertainment cente by rjung2k · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This may be a little offtopic, but I just wanted to share my disappointment in using the Mac Mini as an entertainment center

    Considering the current incarnation of the MacMini isn't advertised, promoted, or intended to be a media center-style PC, why are you disappointed?

    --

    --R.J.
    Electric-Escape.net