“Despite Bill Gates’ announcement of new partnerships with LG, Discovery Channel and many others, his dream, of a Media Center where all media can be controlled with one remote and shared among all possible devices, will come true but not for Microsoft,” Frank Ottink writes for YEALD. “So far the only company who has control over most aspects and has proven that it can pull together the parties is of course Apple with the iPod/iTunes combination.”
Ottink writes, “I’m not sure, but like many others, I suspect the rumored below $500 Q88 or ‘headless’ iMac, will be the first step of Apple to create a seamless media experience. The fact that it is headless makes it very suitable to become a TiVo like Personal Video Recorder sitting under or on top of a TV. Add some nifty Media Center software, connectivity to the iPod, the house network, and the internet, preferably wireless, and you have the perfect Media Center solution without having to buy a new high-end Media Center PC. “
“Just connect it to your existing PC or Mac and you have the best of both worlds a dedicated workstation anywhere in the house connected to a dedicated media center in the family living room sharing whatever media they have stored on them without wires. To make it all worthwhile for Apple, assure that with the remote control, songs and videos can be bought, downloaded and/or streamed. The users then have access to all the media they want,” Ottink writes. “If Apple would succeed in achieving this it certainly will attract a lot of first time Mac buyers and can take a large byte out of the Media Center market away from Microsoft, just as it did with the iPod and iTunes in the portable audio and on-line music market. This will eat into Microsoft’s and the related hardware vendors’ market share as the Media Center is one of the few growth drivers left in the PC business. On top of that it will convert more buyers completely to the Mac platform further reducing Microsoft’s overall market share.”
Full article here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Apple vs. Microsoft rivalry heats up again – January 10, 2005
“Smithy”
You’re so uneducated you can’t even invent your own name!
By looking at your last message I’d estimate your age to be 11-12 years old.
XBox is NOT the best games console on the planet – since every time you apologists mention Windows you mention market share etc. so if we use that as the basis of “best” then PS2 is by far and away the best console.
Does that mean I win?
Media Centre computers emerge as living room contenders
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/TechNews/TechAtHome/2005/01/07/823939.html
Surely you can do better than this. Tech Journalists fall under the same category as Meteorologists, they can predict stuff, but usually miss the mark.
Anymore worthless FUD you can show and tell us?
Aren’t you suppose to be in school boy??
“By looking at your last message I’d estimate your age to be 11-12 years old.”
Are you sure you ae even 6?
You do sound like a retarded 6 year old.
Daddy may not like you playinmg with his computer you know.
“XBox is NOT the best games console on the planet – since every time you apologists mention Windows you mention market share etc. so if we use that as the basis of “best” then PS2 is by far and away the best console.”
Rubbish.
XBOX has the best graphics, the best sound, the best everything for all the current generation consoles.
Its superior by a long shot.
Jack A –
Even though Gates had a mishap last week, Steven Birch is largely correct — these days, viruses and malware will take down a Windows PC completely before it gets anywhere near showing a blue screen of death.
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All those X-Boxes. And to think that M$ has lost money on everyone of them. Quite a marketing feet.
“Tech Journalists fall under the same category as Meteorologists, they can predict stuff, but usually miss the mark.”
Mac jourmalists like the one who wrote above article nearly always miss their mark. They live in dreamland.
Normal journalsist tend to be right a lot of the time.
Media Centre is ALREADY taking off.
“Anymore worthless FUD you can show and tell us?”
I’ll leave the worrthless FUD to the Mac nuts. You guys invented worthless FUD.
“Aren’t you suppose to be in school boy??”
You sure you even old enough to be playing with Daddy’s computer child?
“All those X-Boxes. And to think that M$ has lost money on everyone of them. Quite a marketing feet”
Watch Microsoft’s earnings report come Jan ending.
You may be in for a surprise.
Halo 2 sales may have pushed the Microsoft games division into profits.
Watch Microsoft’s earnings report come Jan ending.
You may be in for a surprise.
Halo 2 sales may have pushed the Microsoft games division into profits.
Microsoft only has 3 successful divisions out of the 7; Windows division , the MS Office division and MacBU. Everything else is a money loser. Windows is successful because of its monopoly on the desktop, once Linux pulls the carpet from under that, MS Office will follow suit since it needs Windows (mostly) to be successful.
Alternative computing will succeed in dominance and Linux will lead the charge. Of course Apple won’t be affected by it as much (if at all) as Microsoft will.
“Microsoft only has 3 successful divisions out of the 7; Windows division ,”
Watch Microsoft results Jan ending. Games division may just be in the black.
Plus MSN is already in the black, so that makes FOUR divisons.(Severs, Clients (Windows), Desktop apps(Office) and MSN)
“Windows is successful because of its monopoly on the desktop, once Linux pulls the carpet from under that,”
Linus on the desktop eh?
What is that?
Plus Linux is taking share from the Mac, will soon overtake the Mac on the desktop.
“MS Office will follow suit since it needs Windows (mostly) to be successful.”
DReam on.
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XBox…..?? Give me a break! Even the Atari units were better built than XBOX. Microsoft just had to steal another idea and create a Game Machine to continue their attempts to dominate another market. Well, 15 millions XBOXES doesn’t do anything to the market when compared to the impact of almost 10 million iPods, and growing.
When is the last time you saw a major magazine pick up and article on XBOX, yet everywhere you turn the masses are talking about the next iPod…. Some people are just out of touch with Reality…..
As usual the MAC crowd have nothing *NEW* to say…. The fact that while you are bashing Microsoft, the consumer market just woke up to the many alternatives to the ipod! (and there are many!)
I bought a mini iPod for christmas – it sucked so sold on ebay and got myself a RIO Carbon!
APPLE may have a few cute products but they just don’t get it when it comes to the main stream markets…
That’s why they will NEVER be as big as MSFT.
“XBox…..?? Give me a break! Even the Atari units were better built than XBOX”
And the Atari is very very dead too.
The XBOX easily smokes the Atari in every department that you care to name (graphics, sound etc etc).
Thay are not even on the same planet.
DReam on.
I don’t need to dream, it’s already happening. HP is a prime example of it happening, it’s Linux PC sales grew 100% last quarter from the year before, they’re currently shipping nearly a million Linux PCs a year, and if they numbers keep growing, it’ll be 2 million next year. This doesn’t include the many other OEMs shipping Linux.
Linux is growing faster than Windows in a BIG way.
As for Mac and Linux, both share a Unix heritage, so as long as it is Unix versus Windows and Unix wins, I could care less who has the most share. And Linux supposedly already surpassed the Mac is share, which is a good thing overall because that’s eating right into Microsoft’s wallet, not Apple’s
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“When is the last time you saw a major magazine pick up and article on XBOX”
Every major games mag did cover stories on the XBOX or Halo 2 in the past 2 months.
What planet have you been living on? Pluto?
what’s up with all the trolls in this thread?
Psuedo-Smithy, please get a new name. We’ve already got too many mike’s, and two smithy’s with opposing views doesn’t help either.
Smithy & ipodsucks – why are you on this discussion?
A little curious maybe?
Potential “Switchers?”
END OF DISCUSSION.
” don’t need to dream, it’s already happening. HP is a prime example of it happening, it’s Linux PC sales grew 100% last quarter from the year before, they’re currently shipping nearly a million Linux PCs a year, and if they numbers keep growing, it’ll be 2 million next year. This doesn’t include the many other OEMs shipping Linux.”
Umm… what is the maret share of desktop Linux again?
Windows has over 90% share of desktop sales.
I bet smithy drives an SUV or wants to, but can’t afford one. Voted for G. Bush if he’s old enough (doubt it), and thinks Microsuck is real “mericun iron”, and sleeps with his sister. Unfortunately the jerk represents fifty % of Americans I’m sad to say. He’s brain dead and brain washed, can’t think for himself, and will always be an a hole. as well as an idot.
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in regards to the XBox…
I bought into the hype and bought the Xbox when it was first released. Since then I traded it for the original NES. A successful gaming consoles is not necessarily about harddrive size and components, but on the gaming experience, which is why Playstation is better than the Xbox.
Smithy,
You’re not helping. The XBox is certainly a success in terms of getting us into the market. But it’s been lackluster to this poing. And yes, it’s based on an Intel processor. But the XBox 2 is going to have a processor off the same line as the Sony PS3 – that would be the Fishkill plant owned by IBM that produces the G5 processor. Yes, we’re going to PowerPC with the XBox 2, that doesn’t mean anything pro or con to G5s or XBoxes. It’s just the best technology for the kind of work we want the processor to do.
And yes, Halo2 is a great game. We think it’s the best. But in the end, it’s hardly HalfLife or Quake. XBox has a long way to go. I hope we can continue to borrow…er…innovate in the future.
As for this new rumor of a media center Mac/Apple, I do have something to say abou that.
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGG! Steve Jobs, you commie pinko leftie! How could you dare to challenge my monopoly!!!!!! I am the Gatester, desroyer of virtual worlds! Heed my warnings or die a Netscape death!!!!!!
Ah, well now, a little Rolfing always makes me feel better.
“Smithy” you’re pissing me off now. Get yourself your own name or fuck off. And BTW, this is a MAC discussion site. If you don’t like Macs what the hell are you doing posting? Your factless, baseless arguments don’t work, just like Windows.
If you’re gonna troll, at least have some facts to troll with.
MadMac :”He’s brain dead and brain washed, can’t think for himself, and will always be an a hole. as well as an idot”
You don’t say.
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But hey, guess who’s got the word “Mad” in his name.
You are crazier than a coot.
’nuff said.
“But it’s been lackluster to this poing. “
Umm..the XBOX console sold more than any other console during the holiday Nov and Dec period.
“But the XBox 2 is going to have a processor off the same line as the Sony PS3 “
XBOX2 is in the future.
XBOX is now, and it still ROCKS big time.
Smithy,
Why don’t you go play with your XBOX right now.
To all of you pushing the marketshare numbers of XBOXes, etc. It isn’t necessarily about market share – it’s about profit. M$ loses at least $100 (closer to $200) per console. They won’t make up the profit with volume… Now, how many games to you have to buy in order to erase the loss on the console?… Lots.
That said, a $500 xMac can’t lose money because Apple doesn’t have the kind of cash M$ has, but if it exists, it will have a razor-thin margin. Apple hasn’t been able to produce anything in the type of quantity it wants with a high-margin product, let alone a commodity box.
This rumor is certainly something to watch!