I have wondered for the longest time why a number of news outlets use Windows Media on their web sites, when the quality / stability totally blows. Maybe they're Microsoft trained gnomes who only use FrontPage, write ASP, and use IE. I don't know. But QuickTime blows the $hit out of everything else. I just wish more people recognized that.
Yes, I too want to see what it's like with a keyboard, mouse, etc, etc, but damn, it looks incredible. I love the fact that the monitor is suspended off your desk. I own a LCD monitor, and thought I gained a ton of deskspace after ditching my CRT. But with this, you're talking about something not much larger than 6-8 inches round. The rest is suspended. THAT'S way freaking cool.
Bundle it with iDVD, iTunes, and now iPhoto, and you've got one amazing digital machine for all your creative interests. Nothing Microsoft has created can hold a candle to Apple's applications in this field. Great stuff.
Granted, Gateway, HP, etc have come out with flat panel consumer PCs, so the fact that Apple can stir up a bunch of rumor news with a flat panel product may leave some scratching their heads wondering what the big hoopla is.
Think about the iPod. Yeah, there are plenty of mp3 players out there, but it took the design team at Apple to create the best one. Apple took their time, and GOT IT RIGHT.
The same can be said for the next iMac. It may have the same specs as some other machines out there now, but it'll make everything else look like junk when it comes out. Obviously I haven't seen it, but knowing Apple's track record I'm sure it'll be amazing.
...what REALLY knocks me out about this is that it's essentially an insanely small, light, portable firewire hard drive. In case you didn't get this, any space not used by MP3s is mountable on the desktop. So I could transfer a bunch of design files to it, plug in my headphones, walk to a company I'm freelancing for, take off my headphones, plug it in, and transfer a couple of gigs worth of stuff.
That sounds really, really cool to me. And the fact that it recharges via FireWire. USB is looking pretty lame right now.
According to the latest sales figures from Apple (released in their quarterly financial results last week) notebook sales now represent close to 40% of their hardware sales.
Think about that -- 40% -- that's a BIG chunk compared to what it was just a few years ago.
There are lots of laptops out there, but only one PowerBook -- I can't count how many times I see people with old, beat up PowerBooks in cafes, parks, etc. People love those machines, and with good reason.
I recently picked up a dual-usb iBook, and couldn't be more pleased. It's one hell of a fun machine. I loaded up 10.1, PHP, MySQL, and use it as a test / play machine for my web development work. And when I'm not using it, my wife is playing M.A.M.E. Ahhh.... the bliss.:)
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RE: Cathy (windows only)
If you need a similar app for OSX, check out DiskTracker (http://www.disktracker.com/download.shtml)
I have wondered for the longest time why a number of news outlets use Windows Media on their web sites, when the quality / stability totally blows. Maybe they're Microsoft trained gnomes who only use FrontPage, write ASP, and use IE. I don't know. But QuickTime blows the $hit out of everything else. I just wish more people recognized that.
Yes, I too want to see what it's like with a keyboard, mouse, etc, etc, but damn, it looks incredible. I love the fact that the monitor is suspended off your desk. I own a LCD monitor, and thought I gained a ton of deskspace after ditching my CRT. But with this, you're talking about something not much larger than 6-8 inches round. The rest is suspended. THAT'S way freaking cool. Bundle it with iDVD, iTunes, and now iPhoto, and you've got one amazing digital machine for all your creative interests. Nothing Microsoft has created can hold a candle to Apple's applications in this field. Great stuff.
Granted, Gateway, HP, etc have come out with flat panel consumer PCs, so the fact that Apple can stir up a bunch of rumor news with a flat panel product may leave some scratching their heads wondering what the big hoopla is. Think about the iPod. Yeah, there are plenty of mp3 players out there, but it took the design team at Apple to create the best one. Apple took their time, and GOT IT RIGHT. The same can be said for the next iMac. It may have the same specs as some other machines out there now, but it'll make everything else look like junk when it comes out. Obviously I haven't seen it, but knowing Apple's track record I'm sure it'll be amazing.
...what REALLY knocks me out about this is that it's essentially an insanely small, light, portable firewire hard drive. In case you didn't get this, any space not used by MP3s is mountable on the desktop. So I could transfer a bunch of design files to it, plug in my headphones, walk to a company I'm freelancing for, take off my headphones, plug it in, and transfer a couple of gigs worth of stuff. That sounds really, really cool to me. And the fact that it recharges via FireWire. USB is looking pretty lame right now.
According to the latest sales figures from Apple (released in their quarterly financial results last week) notebook sales now represent close to 40% of their hardware sales. Think about that -- 40% -- that's a BIG chunk compared to what it was just a few years ago. There are lots of laptops out there, but only one PowerBook -- I can't count how many times I see people with old, beat up PowerBooks in cafes, parks, etc. People love those machines, and with good reason. I recently picked up a dual-usb iBook, and couldn't be more pleased. It's one hell of a fun machine. I loaded up 10.1, PHP, MySQL, and use it as a test / play machine for my web development work. And when I'm not using it, my wife is playing M.A.M.E. Ahhh.... the bliss. :)