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Macworld Rumor Round-Up
seamuskrat writes to mention that LoopRumors has a round-up of many of the different Mac rumors making the rounds for the next Macworld. Among the front runners are the ITV, iPhone, and Mobile OSX. From the article: "In an uncharacteristic move, Steve Jobs previewed this new digital lifestyle device and gave us a release timeframe of 'early 2007.' iTV will stream movies, pictures and more from your Mac or PC to your television wirelessly. We expect to see the 'hidden features' of iTV spelled out, and a release date announced, if not immediate availability at the keynote. Apple has said it will not use the name iTV for the product, so we can expect a new moniker for the media device."
If they open up the protocols for this, thus allowing other devices to be compatible and streaming software to be created, say goodbye to over-the-air, cable, and satellite TV.
Knowing Apple, that isn't going to happen. A shame.
I wonder if I use bold in my signature, people will notice my posts.
Isnt there a british TV Channel called ITV? If so, that might be why he wont call it iTV.
I've read 'em in the last year, for whatever they're worth:
Q: What does the "B." in Benoit B. Mandelbrot stand for? A: Benoit B. Mandelbrot
Since the site is being /.'d. Here you all go.
As promised, LoopRumors is posting a round-up of all the rumors we expect to become a reality at this year's Macworld Expo. Please take into consideration that the following article is purely speculation, and nothing is concrete until Steve Jobs says it is. This is our best hypothesis as to what we might expect at Macworld based on the information we've been given. If you have any comments or questions regarding this round-up, or the Macworld keynote, you may address them here. So here's what we have:
iTV:
In an uncharacteristic move, Steve Jobs previewed this new digital lifestyle device and gave us a release timeframe of 'early 2007.' iTV will stream movies, pictures and more from your Mac or PC to your television wirelessly. We expect to see the 'hidden features' of iTV spelled out, and a release date announced, if not immediate availability at the keynote. Apple has said it will not use the name iTV for the product, so we can expect a new moniker for the media device.
Leopard:
Steve Jobs has been touting Apple's next generation operating system, Leopard, for quite some time. He promised to hold back on unveiling some 'Top Secret' features so Microsoft wouldn't be able to copy them prior to their Vista release. We initially thought Steve might surprise the crowd with an early release of the new OS at Macworld, but that seems to be more unlikely as the time draws near. New information targets a release date of Saturday, March 24th, exactly 6 years to the day of the initial OS X release.
Mobile OS X:
LoopRumors told you first that Apple is developing a mobile, 'lite' version of its OS to be used in smaller devices. It's possible this OS may make its debut at Macworld. Some of Leopard's hidden features may have tie-ins to this mobile OS. One possible 'Top Secret' feature of Leopard may be the ability to sync with the scaled down version of itself.
New Macs:
After all, this is Macworld. We expect Apple to introduce new Macs at the Expo. Signs point to new Mac Pros, with Core 2 Quad processors by Intel. Apple's flagship models have been lagging since there is no native Intel version of Adobe's creative Suite software available yet.
New Displays:
Apple recently discontinued its iSight camera which enables iChat video conferencing for computers without built-in displays. Since updating to Intel processors, all of its computers with the exception of the Mac Pros have included built-in iSight cameras. Information suggests that Apple will include iSight cameras in its new displays which are expected to be unveiled at Macworld. Some reports have expected the new displays to come in sizes up to 50-inches. The new displays are said be even thinner, with a lighter design and have more mobility.
Partnerships:
We've heard a lot of rumblings about Apple making partnerships with other companies such as Google and Disney. Expect more partnerships, possibly a collaboration with Google. Also, we expect more movie studios to make their films available on iTunes. Apple has worked very hard to ensure its iTunes Store stays up-to-date and offers a wide variety of media. Currently, only Disney movies are available for download on iTunes, but we expect that to change in the very near future. This won't happen over night, but the information we gathered suggests Apple will offer new films from other movie studios with the launch of iTV.
One more thing...
iPhone?
Notice the question mark. We are skeptical about this one. So much speculation about an Apple Phone has been made all over the internet and television, that we are going to remain conservative on this one. So-called authorities in the tech business have claimed unabashedly, that Apple will deliver a new iPhone at Macworld. At this point, the possibility of an iPhone at Macworld may be more wishful thinking than actual concrete evidence. We do believe that Apple is developing an iPhone, and there is information to support that. But Apple is
iTV, the $299 TV device showed last time
Leopard, the new OS
New displays, some rumors about that going around
iLife '07, new year, new iLife, new iWorks
video iPod, new full video iPod's? Maybe
Apple Phone, lots of vibe about that
Mac Pro with 8 processors. Intel got the chips, did Apple implement them?
Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
Digital Lifestyle Device = DiLDo
I spend most of my time in bed, darling.
That's what I'm hoping for anyway. Dedicated graphics, matte screen option, and under 4 lbs. would seal the deal so I can finally upgrade my aging 12" Powerbook.
All of these products are already available in the market from several manufactures.
Apple is just playing catch-up.
let's look at Colbert Report and The Daily Show. These run on one of the smaller cable-only networks (Comedy Central), and many /. readers should be familiar with them. Daily show has a team of 40+ writers (iirc) and Jon Stewart (the "face" of The Daily Show) makes $1.5M+/yr (last I heard). Now, surely by doing a weekly show instead of a daily one, you could probably operate with substantially less writers (maybe three or four, if they are quite good), and maybe the face of your podcast is even going to be as comedically talented as Stewart (which is very doubtful, the guy is a genius). But there are still so many other elements to the production. Assuming you're broadcasting in standard def or below (320x240), you could get away with having simple DV cameras ($3k/each), of which you'll need at *LEAST* two for coverage, and probably would want three. Lighting will mean several thousand watts of very hot incandescent lights, or more expensive fluorescents. Cameramen. Production staff (cue card/teleprompter guy, boom operators, etc). Editing (equipment, trained editor, etc). A set. It gets expensive very quickly.
The bottom line is, shows like The Daily Show and Colbert Report have millions of dollars of budget per year, and even their day to day production values are pretty crappy. Comedy Central may run a lot of teaser compositing done by Interspectacular, but for the most part the graphics in the shows we're talking about are pretty low in quality (and this is coming from productions who have millions of dollars to play with.. if they have trouble coming up with slick graphics on a show-to-show basis, imagine the hurdles you will face).
Even if you're lucky and you already own a lot of the equipment and posess many of the skills needed, you will still be several orders of magnitude below anything produced for TV nowadays. The only place where video podcasts may excel is in giving people *SUBSTANCE* that they can't find on tv-- a different opinion or commentary from what you normally hear from broadcast media, access to interviews and coverage of subjects that would never make it on tv (because they are too specialized, or too tabboo or whatever the case). For instance, a Vegan Cooking Podcast may be able to draw many viewers simply because even the most specialized shows (on the cooking channel) don't ever cover vegan foods (let alone regularly devote a timeslot to it).
Video podcasts can definitely outperform traditional broadcast media in some ways, but to even imagine that they will supplant/usurp regaulr television is naive. (I know one post mentioned "goodbye to regular tv" and another mentioned this would be a "good opportunity" for new media.. so I want to make it clear I am not combining those posts inside my head.. re: post #2, this could indeed be a good opporunity for new media.. but even under the best circumstances, it won't even draw a fraction of a percent of users away from watching American Idol [which is what i am trying to say by agreeing with my parent post])
However, let me temper my analysis by saying that obviously some videos on YouTube, with low production values, have garnered hundreds of thousands or even (in a few cases) millions of views. It would be unlikely that all but a handful of video podcasts could regularly do this themselves (other than LonelyGirl15 and a few select others, most of these videographers don't have repeat success), but some might see this type of success.. which, when measured against the daily viewing of even reruns of Alton Brown or MythBusters, may not shatter any records, but it's still pretty impressive.
As someone who has done a lot of independent videography.. (spending one to two years shooting and traveling just to put together a film wit
I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.
I predict there will be an as yet unknown piece of software announced by the man in the black turtleneck. It seems Apple generally announces new hardware in the early summer and fall. Don't expect the ipod picoshizzle. By 'unknown' this excludes the iphone, itv, upgraded 'book, monitors/TV's.
I'm just here for the sigs
TO START
PRESS ANY KEY
Where's the 'ANY' key? I see Esk, Kitarl, and Pig-Up...
The one I was specifically referring to was the Allegro-Lite rumors which Apple came straight out and denied on the Newton developer conference call in 1997.
Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
On a personal note:
I purchased a MacBook (black) and maxed out the RAM at 2GB (Crucial), all for a mere $1750 dollars.
Also a Mac Mini Core Duo and maxed out that RAM, for about $850
Both of them kick the crap out of my desktop (P4 HT 3.0E Ghz) which I haven't booted in a month.
I'm not a fan of the 400 dollar rebated notebook from Compaq.
I guess it depends on your preferences. I was able to effectively eliminate the Windows based PC's in my life for Under the 3 grand you speak of.
Maybe you should change your supplier?
Huh? In order to spend $3k on an iMac, I had to really crank it up.
I would never actually buy RAM from Apple, as they charge an arm and a leg for it. I would think that if you need this much of a machine, you would get a Mac Pro and buy additional components off the shelf.
Angleyne: You can't bend that girder - it's unbendable! Bender: Well I don't know anything about lifting, so that ju
There isn't, however, "enough demand to make it worthwhile and profitable."
a quick glance at past predictions for MacWorld illustrates that virtually NO ONE gets this rumor stuff right. between MacWorld predictions, mergers and acquisitions that never materialize, and the perennial articles about how Linux is soon to become the Next Big Thing for desktops, we are left with just a few quasi-interesting articles about cows, Mars robot software upgrades, and gaming devices. /. says it reports 'STUFF THAT MATTERS'. does a report on an possible branding lawsuit (with ITV) really deserve a post? or are your contributors just all cracked up on latte and thinking maybe they have ideas that matter?
What about those new 100GB iPod. http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/05/toshiba-announc es-100gb-1-8-inch-hdd-apple-swoons/
I'll take my argument from authority (which, frankly, I don't see, as I simply stated my opinion) trumps your proof by assertion.
I have had good experience with Apple hardware is a factual statement. You have had bad experiences with Apple hardware is an equally factual statement.
"Apple computers have had comparable performance to PCs costing 50-70% of their price"
I'm not chasing you down this rathole. Apple machines are priced more competitively than ever, and when you compare them against other manufacturers, they look pretty darn good.
Is your white-box PC cheaper? Maybe. Depends on which corners you're gonna cut.
"expansion slots that are standard on even the shonkiest PCs"
And are empty on most of those PCs. What are you going to put in the expansion slot? A better video card? OK, if that's what you're into. Most computer users don't care.
Is it suitable for your needs? Maybe not. But that doesn't make it bad.
So you like big clunky keyboards. Cool. They still work just fine, don't they? What's your argument here?
"The single button mouse and the passive-aggressive tricks"
Oh, come on. Get over it. I shouldn't have to explain to you how ridiculously easy it is to get a multi-button mouse on a Mac. It's been true for as long as I've had one.
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
I agree with most of what you're saying. The problem is that there *is* room for good video podcast content. You simply need to focus on what you do well and skip all the other stuff. It relies on creative talent though. If the actors/writers aren't talented, the show would stink with a $10bn budget.
Like all small ventures, it needs to focus on what it can do that larger productions can't. A video podcast can: address more controversial issues, use humor/language that is not FCC approved, be distributed freely in any form, and release on its own schedule.
If it does what you suggest as a minimum and get 3 cameras and try to compete on production value, it will fail. 1 Camera. 1 or 2 Anchors. No graphics, just talented actors and writers.
The iPod was actually an impressive product for the time, just taking into account the specs. It was almost as small as flash players of the day, with a hundred times the capacity. It had about 10x the transfer rate of any other portable thanks to the Firewire connector and disk storage.
The iPod was great for the time, and as a hardcore PC backer it was EMBARASSING for me to see how slowly the rest of the industry responded.
Today, however, a good chunk of the industry has caught up. The iPod has serious large-market competitors from Creative and Sandisk. The iTV already has to compete with an installed base of almost 10 million Xbox 360s, not to mention the industry push from Intel (VIIV) and AMD (Live) to create "living room" PCs.
Also, now that Apple is Intel's bitch, I think it is bad that Apple is so set on the "Macworld major release schedule." Apple pulled some strings with the Core launch so it coincided with the x86 OS X launch, but I doubt Intel will ever cooridinate like that again for such a small vendor. Intel did not wait for January to release their quad-core, so the quad-core Mac Pro will end up looking more like a "me too" product instead of a market leader.
Apple can still shake things up, but in their current situation they will need to pull off some serious magic. All the "obvious" stuff just isn't that impressive.
Man is the animal that laughs.
And occasionally whores for Karma.