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CNET UK Credits Claim That Apple Will Release Networked TVs
r2k writes "While the Apple rumours posted yesterday highlight some of the most commonly talked-about opinions, a writer for CNet UK sat down with Mahalo's Jason Calacanis, who told CNet he knew for a fact that Apple is developing fully networked LCD TV sets. As the writer points out, Apple dropped 'Computer' from its company name for a very good reason."
On one hand it's a logical progression: integrate an AppleTV into an LCD screen, analogue to an iMac. On the other hand, you'd expect the TV to be usable long after the computer has become obsolete, so you end up with a TV that contains useless parts (and knowing Apple, limited options for connecting other peripherals).
You know, except for Apple the PC market has pretty thin margins :)
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
Phillips showed one off back in 2004. A very quick search turns up several good examples with varying features and capability.
That won't stop the Apple fanbois from drooling and going "OMG STEVE'S SUCH A GENIUS!" and acting like Apple invented it, though.
i don't want DRM in my TV set
btw I recently got a big LCD and hooked up the x360 to it, now i get to enjoy all the 1080p goodness without paying a cent for content thanks to usenet and x360 being able to play HD mpeg4 :) oh and you get a games console on side :P
This is precisely the opposite of what we want.
People don't want a TV OR a computer, they want to watch/see media. The TV is only a screen with built in receiving components. So separate the screen from the components, and you end up with a controller and a screen. The pc is the best controller possible. It's upgradeable not just in hardware but also software, to enable upgrades of both types of technology while keeping the same display.
You should be able to choose which software you use to manage your media, not just blindly accept whatever comes down the pipe. Your suggestion seems to accept that big media will run the (video based) internet.
Not for me thanks. I'd prefer the stream to be open and I choose what to view. Letting the media companies decide what content my device can view is not an option. If companies want to cater for people who want an easy life then let them cater to that market with simple locked down boxes, but I should be able to build a device to my specs too, and still be able to access the big media content.
Building a set proprietary functionality into a display device is backward.
I entirely agree - that's two articles in a row now that's not been about actual news, but news - based on rumour - that they might make some announcement in future. Why not just wait until the actual news itself?
There are enough perfectly good articles about actual news that get rejected - why take up valuable space on the page with posts based on rumour about vaporware, that will either turn out to be dupes if the thing's released, or false if it's not?
(On another note, anyone noticed tagging recently seems to be broken in any browser except Firefox? I now have to wait for that to load, in order to tag the article "Vaporware"...)
exactly. there will be a convergence of the TV with the PC, but it's not the PC that will be replaced. you replace specialized hardware with generalized hardware, not the other way around.
right now we have a bunch of redundant communication networks and hardware appliances. we have radios, telephones, and TV all using very specialized communications networks, and all running on application-specific hardware. but with the widespread adoption of broadband internet access, there's no need to have different communications infrastructure for sending audio data for radios, audio data for telephones, and video and audio data for TV, when all of this data can be transmitted digitally over the internet. soon all of these parallel technologies will be merged into the more generalized/flexible internet.
it's more efficient to run a single generalized data network like the internet than having a bunch of parallel application specific networks because it allows for better allocation of resources and eliminates redundant infrastructure. not only that, but the internet is also an open/democratic network (at least while there's net neutrality). like the computer for which the internet was originally developed, it gives users complete freedom of access, which is a stark contrast with the closed proprietary networks of traditional radio/TV/telecom. this decentralization of media distribution allows independent artists, musicians, film producers, etc. to reach billions of users around the globe without having to go through the traditional distribution channels which are tightly controlled by a handful of media conglomerates.
it's become harder and harder for big TV networks like NBC or radio networks such as Clear Channel to act as the gatekeepers of information. because of this, we're seeing a free culture developing where cultural contribution isn't a privilege reserved for major label artists, Hollywood studios, or corporate execs that have up until now decided what the public watches on TV. neither Apple nor anyone else is going to convince consumers to go back to the cultural bondage of pre-internet media.
a LCD TV is simply an LCD monitor with a built-in tuner card. why buy a TV and a set-top box when you can just have an HTPC or media center pc that can be used to check e-mail, surf the web, burn DVDs, play games, etc., etc.? a computer with a tuner card can watch both, regular TV as well as internet video streams like Miro (Democracy Player). it just doesn't make sense to replace the computer with a locked down and functionally crippled equivalent.
i imagine that once open wireless internet access becomes a common public infrastructure across the country we'll start seeing AM/FM radio being replaced by portable smart devices that can stream internet radio. people want freedom of choice, so that's the direction that media convergence will take.
Which explains why the Nomad totally kicked the iPod's ass.
Seriously: technology enthusiasts make choices from different criteria than most of the market. For most, ease of use and aesthetic appeal are much more important than flexibility as long as the device does its primary task well.
"It is our blasphemy which has made us great, and will sustain us, and which the gods secretly admire in us." - Zelazny
Holy crap, a TV that receives programming wirelessly, over the air??? What will they think of next??
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