“The ‘Apple Media Center’ din is growing, again. For those of you who dare ride the bucking rumor bronco, you know that the Apple DVR rumor mill reached significant output levels in November of last year when Apple rumor sites reported that their “sources” could confirm that Apple was going to launch a DVR at Macworld in January. At the time I expressed serious doubt, and lo and behold, there was no announcement. The rumor sites, however, were so firm in their predictions that some of the faithful believed that the product was perhaps merely delayed, and would be soon introduced (yeah, that’s the ticket!). The big February 28 show came and went, and still no DVR,” Ken Fisher writes for Ars Technica.
“Now rumors are heating up again because Steve Jobs purportedly said ‘we hear you loud and clear’ in response to a vague question about Windows Media Center. There’s no official transcript and no reliable information, so as you can see, all the pieces are in the right place for another round of rumors. And inasmuch as the topic has entered my inbox in force, I feel inclined to address it again, op-ed style,” Fisher writes.
Full article here.
Advertisements:
• Get the new iMac with Intel Core Duo for as low as $31 A MONTH with Free shipping!
• Get the MacBook Pro with Intel Core Duo for as low as $47 A MONTH with Free Shipping!
• Apple’s new Mac mini. Intel Core, up to 4 times faster. Starting at just $599. Free shipping.
• Apple’s brand new iPod Hi-Fi speaker system. Home stereo. Reinvented. Available now for $349 with free shipping.
• iPod. 15,000 songs. 25,000 photos. 150 hours of video. The new iPod. 30GB and 60GB models start at just $299. Free shipping.
• Connect iPod to your television set with the iPod AV Cable. Just $19.
• iPod Radio Remote. Listen to FM radio on your iPod and control everything with a convenient wired remote. Just $49.
Related article:
Notes from Apple shareholders’ meeting: ‘exciting’ TV ad campaign to launch next week – April 27, 2006
The above post was meant for BuriedCaeser.
iTrolla
Professor: “iTrolla”
That will be name of the Dell or Korean knock-off.
MW: fact
It should have an engraving of an angry, vengeful Greek woman on the top.
Then, they can market it as the “Apple Medea Center.”
Let’s hope it comes in the form of a mac news page where no one advertises their cheesy blogs or kitchen table t-shirt bid’nesses.
Apple will NOT release a media center.
That battle has already been fought and Apple lost.
What they WILL release will be a improved, finally, Hi-Fi Boombox.
Finally with more connectivity and a screen to see across the room.
This is verified, you heard it form me first.
Ampar, when I first read that I thought you said “vengeful Geek woman”! lol
A Cable Card Slot.
Since I already have an EyeTV setup on an iMac with Front Row, I’m most of the way there. Set your Eye TV to output your recordings to iTunes and your shows are automatically in Front Row.
The achilles heel is the lack of Cable Card support. With this, the EyeTV 500 would be able to access encrypted Digital Cable.
pat: “vengeful Geek woman”
That would have changed Euripides story a bit too much. Well, at least Angelina Jolie could play the part.
here is what it looks like. DVR-sized iServe mini.
http://66.134.41.67/~ron/apple/index4.html
Ampar & BuriedCaesar:
Actually the Victrola was a late comer. The early machines I’ve used had foil covered cylenders for the media. These were replaced years later with hard wax, then hard “plastic” (bakelite?) media.
But my Sir Harry Lauder records still play on my Victrola (and my other turntables) at 16 RPM. (The 78s, 45s and 33 1/3s did not come until later.) Of the records I have, my personal favorite is “Coming through the Rye”.
Ah the changes in music media since the days of red wax records! Music has gotten higer in fidelity and then lower in fidelity since then (peaking with the limited edition, very high fidelity LPs).
My vote for a Multi Media Mac form factor? A Mobius Band… and of course it will come packaged inside a Klein bottle. Now THAT would be innovation!
Wonder if the Mac tablet that the rumor mills have been talking about with the touch screen interface is actually the remote control the the Mac media center?
http://www.victor-victrola.com/DUMMIES.htm
very interesting
Apple won’t be producing a DVR anytime soon. As the article lays out so well, that would needlessly cannibalize iTMS video sales. It’s also antithetical to having DRM on all these new Macintel machines, which they do. If you allow digitizing of video willy nilly, and then provide the iLife tools to manipulate it (cut commercials, burn to DVD, and so forth) and essentially you’ve made both things irrelevant – and I just can’t see Apple investing the kinds of time and money they have in both to allow that.
My call at the time was that all this talk about Apple makng a DVR was a poker play, designed to get the recalcitrant hollywood studios to stop dragging their feet and offer content on iTMS. I find it no coincidence whatsoever that literally weeks after that ‘rumor’ hit, suddenly we started hearing how paid-for video downloads was soon on it’s way, and the Disney/ABC?iTMS announcement soon followed. I think the fear that Apple would circumvent the whole paid-for business model, after they showed so much success in music, scared the hell out of every CEO who was stonewalling Jobs to prevent his becoming as powerful in video as he had in audio. They thought that was the least risky way to go, to try to keep Apple from making more money than they thought ‘proper’, and were soon faced with a scenario where ONLY Apple would make money on digitized video. They blinked.
Now that battle is over – the video download genie is out of the bottle, Apple is again leading the pack, and will no doubt ride until there’s no more joy to be had. Until and unless the video download market proves itself to be a dry well, Jobs won’t need a DVR – or the threat of one – again, so I sincerely doubt we’ll see it. If the well does go dry, then everything is fair game again.
“That battle has already been fought and Apple lost.”
Apple LOST? You hae got to be kidding. Windows based media PCs are total crap. Some day soon MS is going to learn the hard way that you can’t just continue to use your large market share as an excuse to continually produce crap products. Everntually, even the most dim witted people will figure it out.
Speaking of dim witted, aren’t there some fries somewhere that need to be salted Andrew?
“Ah the changes in music media since the days of red wax records! Music has gotten higer in fidelity and then lower in fidelity since then (peaking with the limited edition, very high fidelity LPs).”
Oh Yeah! Those special pressings on virgin vinyl played through a good system were SO enjoyable. I loved when the neighbors would come out on their porches and scream at me to “Turn it DOWN!!”
Ahh… good days.
Here is what I think: Apple will release a Blue Ray Mac Mini and a price drop for their 23″ Display. This would cost more than a regular Mini but less than an iMac.
I hope it can help you travel at light speed, cure aids and change your hair color, with a 3 button remote control