“When Apple rolled out its Mac mini in January, a lot of Apple enthusiasts excitedly claimed that the device could easily become a living room-based “iHome” device that might eventually incorporate DVR capabilities,” Paul Thurrott writes for Internet-Nexus.com. “…one thing I never bought into is the idea of the Mac mini as an iHome device. It’s just not suitable for that purpose. But [Microsoft’s] Xbox 360. My God.”
“The Xbox 360–while still six months away from shipping–kicks the Mac mini in the butt and makes the whole iHome concept look like a non-starter to begin with. I’m starting to believe that the digital media hub of my home will indeed be in my living room, and not in my home office. But it will be an Xbox 360, and not a Mac,” Thurrott writes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Is Thurrott suggesting that Apple’s ceased all R&D and will not be releasing any new or updated products between now and Christmas 2005? By the way, Apple never suggested the Mac mini’s purpose to be anything other than an inexpensive Mac OS X machine that Windows users could pick up and easily use with their current collection of monitors, keyboards, and mice. Comparing Microsoft vapor to currently shipping Apple products seems to have become a very popular pastime with the Wintel-centric press outlets lately (Thurrott’s now taken it to an even more ridiculous level by trying to compare a game console to an entry-level personal computer). Thankfully, we don’t have to stoop to comparing future Apple products to currently shipping Microsoft products (while twisting products’ intended uses) to make ourselves feel better about our platform choice.
[UPDATE, 1:55pm ET: Changed “MDN Take” to “Christmas 2005.”]
I think it will be a hard sell for the XBOX 360 to anyone over the age of 25. I love video games, but have gotten past the age where I HAVE to have the latest and greatest. Trying to make an “all-in-one” system just doesn’t make sense. Most people will view it for what it is: A gaming system. The average person isn’t going to want it.
That’s the problem, in general, with the iHome concept. Most users don’t get what it is, or have a need for it.
I think it’s typical Microsoft. Try to be everything it can, and fail at all of them, instead of just concentrating on making something solid that does its job the best it can.
Just what I always wanted… Viruses on my TV!!!
The Xbox is a great gaming platform, but M$ has no concept of end-user-functionality… Their attempts are convoluted piles of disjointed features thrown together with no real structure to let you do what you are trying to accomplish. They have all of the pieces to do great things (WebTV, Windows, MSN, XBOX, money) but they don’t seem to care how the elements are combined to create a new product or feature.
They make a non-secure OS, so what do they do? Start selling security as an additional feature…
You can’t search the Windows OS natively… Their solution? Create an external ‘add-on’ application to find pre-indexed files.
The day I use a joystick to direct my XBOX to http://www.myhomecomputer.com to find a photo of my son (hoping I remember what it’s file name was) is the day after I send my G5 to Mrs. Thurrott with a letter of repentance!!
Paul, get your resumé together, I hear Bill ass can only hold so many noses…. putz
Who cares. The Xbox 360 will be dog meat once the Sony PS3 comes along in 2006. They had better enjoy their very brief time at the top while it lasts…
“MDN editorial offices…” HAHAHAHHAH….LOL too funny
anybody wonder how they are going to cool this thing? Dual G5 2.5 and 2.7 have to use liquid cooling. and large venttilation areas.
MDN — why do you keep promoting Thurrott’s insane views??? Stop reading his useless website and stop sending us to it — it just gives him more hits and that means more advertisers, more money in his pocket, and more validation of his writing!!!
He probably spends so much time bashing Apple because he knows that when he does, sites like MDN will send over thousands of hits.
We all get that Thurrott is bitter about being entrenched in a mediocre system — and he’s stuck there for the rest of his career. Stop enabling this sad little man and start ignoring him as he should be ignored.
You mean 2005. The XBox 360 is scheduled for release this year, while MDN implies that Apple has 1.5 years to respond (“Christmas 2006”.) And no, I don’t think Apple will have any answer to the XBox 360 in 6 months. I think the best thing Apple could hope for is to license the design, and port MacOS X to Microsoft hardware. Otherwise, Thurrott is right. You’ll be getting more for less with the XBox 360– what’s the point of a mini?
I’m surprised Paul hasn’t made a comparison between the gameboy and the iPod, or iPod vs. PSP.
It can only mean one thing: MicroS#@t’s pay check has FINALLY ARRIVED!!!!
The G5 used in the XBox is a different animal and won’t require the cooling the Mac does.
MDMW: hand – as in: People who use the Xbox have simply got to get out of the house more and stop lovin’ the hand.
As soon as Apple ups the specs (grafx) of the mini to really handle the HiDef H.264 Quicktime 7 and Core technologies, it will be just as good as the 360, just lacking the sheer # of games, but will have all the entertainment features (music/movies/pics/DVD) as the 360 plus the ability to create and burn and share your own creations and do actual work on it. The new 100gig 7200 RPM laptop drives will make this a much more viable option.
I think the xbox specs look good, especially since its based on the technology that run our favorite machines. But there will specific differences. Really is Apple made a double-wide mini with 2 removable drives and built in WiFi/Bluetooth, 128meg Vid card and HD-DVD burner, it WOULD BE the perfect living room machine
Dont forget these consoles are sold at a LOSS on purpose. Apple will not sell its hardware at a loss, so price comparisons are moot.
Scott, it will be water cooled.
The CPU (and presumably the GPU) is cooled by a water cooled heatsink and twin fans. The motherboard is built on a 4-layer PCB, which is to be expected from a cost standpoint. Despite the trend away from Windows/PC architecture, the Xbox 360 does appear to still be very computer-like inside.
http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2414
dresified, although I too would think that the specs would not lend itself to be under at least $500, I have heard rumors of 300-350. Although it might be early for that.
“As soon as Apple ups the specs (grafx) of the mini to really handle the HiDef H.264 Quicktime 7 and Core technologies, it will be just as good as the 360,”
So Apple plans to produce a Mini with three 3.2 GHz G5-like cores for $499? Hmmm, no.
The Mini is not a gaming/Home Entertainment machine plain and simple. It was never designed as such, regardless of what MDN wants you to believe.
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/4833/
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/4802/
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/4795/
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/5011/
“Is Thurrott suggesting that Apple’s ceased all R&D and will not be releasing any new or updated products between now and Christmas 2005?”
Yeah, thats about right. Will there be a XBOX 360 killer in 6 months? hmm, no. Apple doesn’t even have an XBOX 1 killer. Will Apple update its hardware to be midly competitive by Christmas 2005? Yes.
IBM coined the 360 moniker, didn’t they?
It’s funny how defensive some of you get when someone says something that could possibly suggest that an Apple product might have a weakness. Thurrott wasn’t insulting the mini, all he was saying is that if you want an iHome like device (which obviously many people want to believe the mini can be) the XBox might be a better choice, especially for the price.
Regarding the price, do you think anyone actually cares if MS is losing money on each sale? Of course not, people are only going care about the fact that they are getting some pretty good technology for a really low price.
You guys are so caught up in your MS vs. Apple wars that you can’t seem to practical about anything.
HAHA.. the funny thing is the Xbox reverts Bill Gates’ old ideas about XP Media Centres..
how, you ask?
Because the idea that a computer belongs in the office is reinstated as this GAME MACHINE takes over the living room.
Makes sense, doesn’t it?
In fact.. Media Centers have been the non-starters.. a PC with a 30 inch screen? No no.. a TV with a keyboard.. wait.. no.. hold on..
The Xbox is cool and, unfortunately, comes with Windows. Is it time for another anti-competitive lawsuit?
I didn’t know Xbox had iMovie.. that’s impressive..
I didn’t know the Xbox would sync my iPod (75% marketshare).. impressive..
I didn’t know I could upload my photos from my camera into my Xbox360 and edit photos with a gamepad.. impressive…
The XBOX is cool, but in the same way that the current xbox is cool.. as a gaming machine.. all this other stuff is pure hype.
having said that, we don’t know what Sony and Nintendo are doing.. most likely it has something to do with making a profit.
Enough with the freaking Thurrott stuff! You guys take the bait every time!
The biggest fan boy or admirer of Mac is Bill Gates. He copies everything that happens on the Mac/Apple albeit it does take a good number of years to bring it to furition.
MacTV= Windows Media center PC
emate= Tablet PC
MacOs X= Windows Xp (MS changed the name from Whistler to Xp after Os X came out; I am only referring to the X in the name not the OSes!)
Now the X-box looks very much like the Panther/Tiger boxes. It is shaped like an X. (Yes, I know it is a game console and not an OS, but the resemblence is quite striking).
‘Stealing’ is MS’ middle name. It is not surprising the name was influenced by Mac360 or similar
You may argue it is all a coincidence. But I don’t think so.
Yeah and remember Longhorn looks great on paper, but Microsoft has been hying that one for three years and by their own admission they’re a year and a half away from releasing it. If and when the new X box is released it will likely have a scaled down set of specs than those listed in their press release. This is vintage Microsoft – all blow and no dough.
Lollll. The guy who writes the “MacDailyNews Take” is so funny…
First you say that Apple will be doing R&D and will realease new or updated technology between now and Christmas 2005.
And a couple of lines later you ask people not to talk about non-existent(vapor) products. Well how come this is vapor, and the earlier one is not?
If you have not, please go re-read (or should i say, just read?) your earlier “Takes”. You are the one who keeps comparing Apple products to MS products. When someone else does that, you want to take the high road.
What a hypocrite!
its the xbox 360 rather than XBOX 2 because it would have sounded lame next to the PS3. Who wants a 2 when you can buy a 3 ?
i love how MS is getting into proprietary (like apple) hardware for its software (like apple). Less bugs, more fun.
apple has grand designs imho, we’ll see a mac gaming rig before long, possibly branded ‘sony’…
haha.
The iHome IS a non-starter. WTF are we talking about?
I’m sorry to say it, but MS has much bigger purchasing power than Apple. MS can turn around to IBM and say we will buy at least 10 million CPU’s over 5 years and get a huge discount. They can pay for more R&D on chips specifically for their machine. This financial power will put Apple Mac’s running at 2 to 3Ghz in the shade compared to multi-chip games consoles selling for a fraction of what you can buy a Mac for. Apple can’t even use the same chips as MS as they are cut down PowerPC processors designed for entertainment and not scientific computing (floating point precision, etc.). It’s a sad thing to admit but it’s true.
After all the speculation about Apple using the same chips as Sony’s PS3 (cell processor) earlier in the year and now this I seriously hope that Apple have got something amazing up their sleeve. The recent speed increase to dual 2.7Ghz was underwhelming as far as I was concerned. I was considering purchasing a G5 system to compliment my 17″ PB, which at 1.5Ghz is starting to feel a little bit of a slouch compared to my AMD/Windows machine at work.
I am hoping for dual-core dual processor machines from Apple this year…. bring back the Quadra name for them please
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> and make them at least 3Ghz per core.
I think that Apple needs to drop some of that huge cash reserve they’ve got on CPU development with IBM, or whoever, and speed up the motherboard interconnect. I’d also like to see PCI-E slots for video, optical audio on all machines for 5.1/7.1 (THX please!) and increase the resolution (not size) of their laptop displays and no more shitty low-end video chips in any machine – Tiger can use the power so deliver it in all machines including the Mini.