“The competition between the competing next-generation optical disk technologies of Blu-ray and HD DVD has entered a new phase, as optical drive makers start rolling out the first products based on the rival technologies,” Jim Dalrymple reports for Macworld. “Apple enjoys a long track record of embracing emerging technologies—think FireWire, Bluetooth, and wireless networking, among others—and incorporating them into its offerings. Also consider that Apple is on the board of directors for the Blu-ray Disc Association, and it’s not hard to envision a future where Macs are sporting Blu-ray-based drives.”
“As with any future product, Apple is keeping its plans for Blu-ray under wraps. But industry analysts don’t think we’ll have long to wait before Apple puts a Blu-ray drive in an Intel-based Mac,” Dalrymple reports. “The most likely candidate? The as-yet unreleased machine that will replace the Power Mac as Apple’s professional desktop offering. ‘Apple’s past practices favor bringing new optical technologies to professional systems first,’ said Jupiter Research senior analyst Joe Wilcox. ‘DVD-RAM and DVD-R formats are excellent examples.’”
“Ross Rubin, director of analysis at market-research firm NPD Group, agrees that Apple will work with the professional machines first. However, noting that Intel-based pro desktops have yet to appear, he predicts Blu-ray drives won’t wind up in Apple systems for a few more months,” Dalrymple reports.
Full article here.
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