“When I heard Steve Jobs’ ‘special’ announcement about a new product for 2007 called the ‘iTV,’ [I] just rolled my eyes thinking ‘you’ve got to be kidding me,'” Cynical IT Guy blogs for Business 2.0. “I guess Steve Jobs thought he’d really get away with it. I mean, sure, what kind of pissed off freak would remember something as obscure as that from 11 years ago and then nail him on it today?”
“The MacTV inspired another product (other than my performa) that is virtually unknown and will amaze you. And in 1995, I repeat 1995, this amazing product was called the ‘Apple Interactive Television Box,'” Cynical IT Guy writes.
Cynical IT Guy writes, “It was designed to stream content into a television. And this product looks awfully familiar to something Steve (11 years later) invented and called the iTV. But I guess when Steve Jobs announced the iTV, he must have forgotten that his own company had already made the iTV over a decade ago.”
MacDailyNews Note: “Stream content into a television” via wired connection, not wirelessly.
Cynical IT Guy continues, “It’s called iTV. That’s a codeword. We need to come up with a better name. -Steve Jobs quote from the iTV announcement speech. Aren’t you excited? It has a ‘codeword’ because it is so new that no one has even figured out what to call it yet. Now, I’m a nice guy, so when I hear Steve Jobs say that he’s trying to think of a name for an 11-year-old ‘new- product, I get confused and just want to help. So Steve, how about calling it the ‘Apple Interactive Television Box’ like Apple did in 1995. It’s catchy huh?”
Full article with more photos here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Michael” for the heads up.]
Wikipedia says:
Since the box was never marketed, no official technical specifications have been released by Apple. The following describes a typical unit:
• A/V ports include composite video on an RCA jack with two additional RCA jacks for stereo sound, an S-Video port, two RF coaxial cable jacks, and two SCART jacks.
• Mac-like ports including a Macintosh serial port, an RJ-45 ethernet port, and a SCSI port.
• The front of the unit has an Apple logo and an infrared receiver, apparently for interface via the remote control.
• The unit contains a 68LC040 CPU, and 4 megabytes of built in RAM, but no hard drive.
• An internal expansion slot of a type not found on other Apple products. There is speculation that this may be based on Apple’s PDS expansion slot.
Apple intended to offer the set-top box with a matching black ADB mouse, keyboard, Apple 300e CD-ROM drive, Stylewriter printer and one of several styles of remote controls.
“Apple Interactive Television Box” via Wikipedia here.
Related articles:
Apple’s new iTV universal remote control patent application published – October 12, 2006
Apple’s iTV will be much more like an upscaled iPod than a downscaled PC – September 30, 2006
Apple’s iTV: Where’s the DVR? – September 27, 2006
Intel’s Conroe-L the brains behind Apple’s iTV? – September 22, 2006
Cringely: Apple’s iTV strategy is iChat on steroids – September 22, 2006
The Motley Fool examines Apple’s iTV victims – September 22, 2006
Disney CEO Iger: Apple’s ‘iTV’ has ‘small hard drive on it’ – September 19, 2006
Disney sells 125,000 movie downloads via Apple’s iTunes Store in first week – September 19, 2006
The most exciting feature of Apple’s ‘iTV’ may be its USB port – September 15, 2006
Cringely: How Apple plans to own your living room – September 15, 2006
LA Times: With iTV+iTunes Movies, Steve Jobs stumbles over the last 100 feet – September 14, 2006
BusinessWeek: If anyone can make bridge the great divide, Apple can with ‘iTV’ – September 14, 2006
The Beeb asks: Would you buy the Apple iTV? – September 14, 2006
Three markets that are different today after Apple’s ‘It’s Showtime’ event – September 13, 2006
Cramer: Apple’s ‘iTV’ all about ease-of-use; Apple shares are going higher – September 13, 2006
Apple + Living Room = Logical Marriage + Boon for Stockholders – September 13, 2006
The Register: Apple event more like ‘No Show’ than ‘Showtime’ – September 13, 2006
The Telegraph: Steve Jobs’ genius making people desire gadgets for which they have absolutely no use – September 13, 2006
The Guardian: Steve Jobs needs ‘a charisma download, Apple risks being left behind’ – September 13, 2006
Mark Cuban: Things that are special about Apple’s announcements – September 13, 2006
Apple’s ‘iTV’ strategy – September 13, 2006
How will Apple’s ‘iTV’ work? – September 13, 2006
Apple eyes living room market with device codenamed ‘iTV’ – September 12, 2006
Analyst: Apple ‘s iTunes+iPod+iTV model ‘the gold standard for the digital home of the future’ – September 12, 2006
Analyst: Apple ‘s iTunes+iPod+iTV ‘will be hard for other players to match’ – September 12, 2006
Apple gives sneak peek of ‘iTV’ set-top box to debut Q1 2007 (with images) – September 12, 2006
Apple’s QuickTime stream of Steve Jobs special event now live – September 12, 2006
Apple debuts iTunes 7 – September 12, 2006
I guess that’s why he is the “Cynical Guy”. Someday he’ll see the genius and simplicity of it.
Glad I’m not the only one who remembers that, but it wasn’t Steve and it wasn’t released. It was also ahead of it’s time. Here’s a product we’ve allowed the PC world to play with and we’ll perfect on the Apple side.
so when apple releases the iphone, they’ll just say it was a 15 year old product called the newton and the cell phone. i wonder when apple will think of something original. </sarcasm>
What a jerk…
IT Guy seems to miss the point entirely, it’s not about who thought it up first, It’s about the implementation and usability of a devise.
There were MP3 players on the market before iPod, yet Apple stole the market, based on the iPod & iTune implementation and usability.
Finaly, to put a positive spin on this (shit) story, this article and the accompanying picture finally prove that Apple is the ultimate innovator, in that they had the insight to come up with a device that has taken 11years make a reality
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What “cynical IT guy” doesn’t take into account is that 9/11 changed everything.
Heck, I have been dreaming and hoping of somebody doing something this for around 20 years…
Thats Steve jobs for ya, what an imbusill he is.
Yeah, and not only is the iTV a recyculled product, but when the iMac came out they acted like it was a new product….those liars had been making computers for yeers.
And those stupid so-called CDs, they are just redikulis small records, not very orijinul.
And the “mouse” I had one in my garage all the way back in 1975, and that thing was actually alive….way better than the computur ones.
9/11 was an inside job.
You don’t know the history of cynicism, I do.
what a bunch of BS….. First and foremost, there was never a product for streaming movies to a TV, and the technology for doing so in 1995, was primitive at best. Apple did have a product called “Pippin”, that was destined to be a set top box, but primarily for games. Pippin was never released.
This goon thinks that no one else would remember 11 years ago, but I’ve got a newsflash…. Get over yourself and quit making up stories to make yourself seem important!!
Calling it the Apple Interactive Television Box is not the Apple way. Making up ridiculously obvious and pseudo-techincal sounding names is what Microsoft does.
Besides, there are many ideas that are way ahead of their time. It would be stupid to not do this just because it had been tried before and the market wasnt ready for it.
“What “cynical IT guy” doesn’t take into account is that 9/11 changed everything.”
Rofl. Thanks for this Jooop.
@ Joop.
huh? 9/11?
Jas–9/11 was an inside job.
Yeah–Inside a mosque.
The contention is bogus. The product was never released and the iTV sounds worlds different than what was being designed in 1995. Amazing how people can’t see the obvious when they want to troll for hits.
4MB of RAM and a 68LC040 CPU?! Wow, it IS the iTV!
wouldn’t ‘bitter boy’ be more appropriate
Just goes to show: Apple – 11 years ahead of the competition
Great ideas never die, they just get reserected when the time is right…
I remember these back when I worked at Oracle. We had a bunch of these set-top boxes from different manufacturers like Scientific Atlantic, General Instrument, Motorola, Apple and others. They were connected to an MPP (Massively Parallel Processing) Oracle Media Server for some interactive tv trials.
Apple made good-looking, elegantly designed products even in 1995 when Steve Jobs wasn’t working for Apple.
If Dell, Gateway, HP, Bill Gates, et al, came up with something as innovative back then, there would be racing stripes, cup holders, and gazillions of endorsement stickers on the thing.
Jooop,
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!
That guy is just sick!
Yes, there may have been made products, which build on the same basics as iTV, but none of them, is just like it. Many things we didn’t have 11 years ago, we have now, soo the product is no where near the same today, as then!
It’s like saying: “Hey! that car looks just like mine! the engine is even sitting in the front, just like 11 years ago!!! YOU BASTARD!!!!!
See what I mean?..
ron,
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!
I can’t wait for itv. It seems so obvious, you’d thing some one would have it out already.