What is Digg?68 Comments
- danieleran, on 10/12/2007, -10/+29Hi jcr,
The reason I have to post the story originally is to build the DIgg link on my site. Digg has no API for the story to identify itself. So to use Digg's icon as they intended, I have to submit it myself.
I can't even put on a generalized link (as I do for delicious), because they don't support that. Even better, Digg draws the icon on my site (via a javascript) that looks messed up in Safari. So everybody gets to think I can't do the graphic right, when it's just poor Safari support by Digg. - NSResponder, on 10/12/2007, -15/+27Dan,
I like your stuff, but don't digg your own blog. That's just lame.
-jcr - deadcow, on 10/12/2007, -6/+17insightful observation of two fundamentally different approaches to product development:
1. develop strategically targeted products that add value to the existing market and customers, vs.
2. use a shotgun approach (pc is the solution for everything), with little thought towards innovation and much thought towards domination.
while a bit black and white, that observation alone was worth the read. - felchdonkey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8My only real disagreement with this article is the observation that the iPod entered a market that already had simlar products available. I was reviewing MP3 players for a magazine during the pre-iPod era, and I can attest that it really was a different offering.
There were very few hard-drive based players at the time. The only two that I recall off hand were the Creative Jukebox and the HanGo Personal Jukebox. The Creative product was a dog, at best - it was the size and shape of a bulky CD walkman, came with frustrating software, and was a pain to use. The HanGo actually had a beautiful interface, worked seamlessly with my PC, and actually looked kind of cool, if you got the black one. Unfortunately, it was also huge - like MS Origami huge. Not a pocket device by any means.
The iPod's main selling point at first was its storage capacity and small size. There simply was nothing else that you could use to carry 5gb of music in a real pocket.
I think the iTV will succeed, but for different reasons than the iPod. I can already set up a Mac Mini in my living room, and it will work with a remote, and get all my media from the larger Macs. A Windows Media Center would do just as well.
Both of those cost more than $299, however, and come with a bunch of things I don't need them to do.
I won't get an iTV at launch, but once they get to Rev. B, and once the price drops under $200 - it's a no-brainer. - Ikioi, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Well, and Apple does have a strategy. TV over IP was an bad idea 5 years ago (not enough broadband saturation). MP3 players were a bad idea 10 years ago (everyone was forced to Napster or burn CDs they already own, and flash/mini-hd had horrible space and device battery life was terrible, also not enough usb saturation). Apple's plan is simple. They innovate by not trying to invent a brand new technology out of thin air. Apple didn't invent the MP3 player, they just did it really really well after watching everyone else fail on multiple fronts.
Here, Apple is not inventing either. They have many competitor products to look at, from on demand cable programming, to YouTube, to Tivo, etc. All of these are good solid products as well. So, like Apple did before by crushing Rio, they will come into this market with no baggage, and from a clean slate create something phenominal. Whether or not it sets out to kill any existing products remains to be seen.
HOWEVER, you will start seeing a dramatic shift. Forget podcasts, video casts will become the rage. Whether it's RSS from Youtube, or what have you, it will change the video landscape. Think Tivo for net videos. Network TV is gonna take a major ratings hit if and when this product reaches critical mass.
I don't own an iPod. Too expensive still, imo. But if the iTV is within say, the $500 or less range with HDTV compatibility and no forced subscription fee (just optional pay-per-view, but plenty of free content), I'll buy one. If I can watch any web video with it and watch some free content like AOL-TV, it'll pay for itself in a year after I cancel my cable tv account. Then I'll be willing to pay for certain online channels. BTW, Apple, if you are reading this, do it right. Packages are fine, but make sure you include A-la-carte channels and per episodes!
"The iPod didn't kill the CD, it embraced it and added value..." Just say it, Embrace and Extend, a page from the MS school on how to take over a market. ;) - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Way too much thought went into that comment...
- Ray_Justice, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7when i plug my Mac Mini up to a 42" LG Plasma it switches right over to the proper resolution (1360x768 or something close) I have no problems at all
edit: using a DVI to HDMI cable by the way - wisewaif, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I think the most exciting thing about iTV is that it will finally open up a market of independent television that hasn't been available before, and allow it to happen before IPTV takes off worldwide.
Basically I can see that it's about competition with the broadcasters today. Jobs said in his presentation that most video podcasts suck, but with this new distribution method, there will be more investment into independent television and studios that produce it.
This will not just mean some sort of "Tech TV lite" forever, but will mean that content will be created that can compete directly and with the same tools that the BBC, The Travel Channel, or Soaps, whatever...
It will finally allow a platform for this new content that is easier to get than traditional TV or even TiVo. And because the iTV is a "dumb box" and will drop in price, it can evolve into the standard, and people will be giving them away in 2 years. People already understand the iPod, and this has the potential to be bigger than any aspiration of the iPod as far as bringing down traditional media. - Ireland, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6"I also love that he always submits his own stories and then refer to himself as a third person."
I'm sure you mean to say: and then refers to himself in the third person.
Anyhow that description is not in the third person. - wisewaif, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6I think it's obvious that they will. With the 802.11n chip already in the iMac, it will no doubt allow for the bandwidth to stream 1080p content.
And it already has HDMI built in. - daedalus790, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"jarland, plug your laptop into the TV. Then open System Preferences, choose Displays and click Detect Displays."
You can also press and hold the apple key and the brightness-up (F2) key together, which is the shortcut to do the same thing. - felchdonkey, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Would you rather have Apple go through a longer R&D process on every product, so that you have to wait an extra year or two for them to come out, then pay twice as much once it does?
iPods and Macs have to be designed by incredibly talented (and expensive) engineers and product designers. They don't spring fully-formed from the forehead of Zeus. - jayesbee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I agree that this process seems to have been unnecessarily prolonged in the case of the iPod, but this is true across the whole of the tech industry, the auto industry, small appliances, etc.
- Ireland, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Hi Daniel!
Never mind the haters. People tend to have a very strong opinion round here, and if they disagree with you, they get the noose out. I think you do a great job with your site, and I always enjoy reading it.
For anyone who disses you: Where's your site? - danieleran, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I'm sorry your reading comprehension isn't very good, but I would like to point out that "Led Zeppelin" is a band named after an expression equivalent to "lead balloon," in other words, something that would be impossible to fly.
The exploding airship pictured with the Zune logo is the Hindenburg, a bad idea that failed spectacularly (the Nazis used hydrogen because they didn't have access to helium - the US cut them off). It's therefore a fitting bit of artwork used to illustrate an article pointing out the imminent failure of the Zune.
Glad I could help educate you. - monkeybutler, on 10/12/2007, -13/+15Yet another issue of Daniel Erans patented *****. This guy is the biggest mac apologist on earth and he makes the rest of us mac lovers look like morons. If Apple built in a potato peeler this guy would figure out a way to justify it as genius and revolutionary.
iTV is nice for a very small percentage of people. But it is useless for the people smart enough to realize TV is free and movies on DVD are still best on a physical medium.
Okay, digg me down for not blindly believing that a big money sucking corporation really knows whats best for us. - Ireland, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"But if the iTV is within say, the $500 or less range with HDTV compatibility and no forced subscription fee (just optional pay-per-view, but plenty of free content), I'll buy one."
Buy away, cause Apple has already said that it will retail for $299. - danielwsmithee, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3The best part about their development approach though is when something is released it works and works well. I can't tell you how many tech gadgets I have had that had a ton of features but half the time they didn't work or were very difficult to use.
I'm glad they don't bite off more then they can chew with each product. - daedalus790, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The final name of the product isn't going to be iTV, it's just a working name. At least that's what Jobs said in the keynote when he introduced it.
- ronaldst, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3TiVO changed TV as we know it.
iTV is just another implementation of past failed projects. Apple could probably the first one to get a success out of this concept (computer stuff streamed to TV.) XBox360 has it but it's stuck on Media Center. People who have Home and Pro need to fork out extra $$$ or wait for Vista. Which puts a huge handicap on the success of that feature of the XBox360.
The other thing: DiVX. Most of my stuff I want to stream to an eventual "iTV" won't come from Apple's store or Apple apps. Will we be able to steam WMV and DiVX stuff to it? iTunes tries to convert WMA files to another format to use it. I hope this won't be the case with the iTV. - joe90210, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4did this guy just claim that Microsoft failed against the Palm Pilot?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Yeah, xbox it does it all...very very poorly. And people like my parents won't put an xbox in their living room, but something like iTV, they would.
- smitting, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3We hook up our MacBook all the time for TV here... basically when we don't feel like ripping our netflix disc of the day to ipod.
I'm excited about this new iTV. I had a job developing software for Windows Media Center Edition at one point, and I had an 802.11a setup with 2 media center extenders (Cisco/Linksys), so I had 3 tvs with the same content. Great feature set, just not reliable enough. The thing that really got me to get rid of the system was that the automatic DRM on the HBO channels didn't always work correctly on the extenders. I think Apple might actually do it right.
I was going to buy an XBox360 so I could have an additional extender until that started happening. Not anymore. - BenBenMan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3We need a Bury as Propaganda feature on Digg.
- h3xley, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1www.duggmirror.com
- Sunwalker, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Here is what I would like in an "iTV" device:
1.) Replace my wireless router
(make wireless security easy and better as a feature)
2.) Replace my DVR
3.) Play all my CDs, DVDs and iTunes library on any device in my home
(wireless and wired connection accessories required)
4.) Act as large network storage device
5.) Employ controlled BitTorrent like technology to deliver faster downloads
(isolate and secure BitTorrent activity to the router)
(this would allow iTunes to use the network to deliver content more cheaply) - monkeybutler, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Daniel Eran is the very definition of Machole. He fully supports any product by Apple yet if an identical product is made by someone else he finds a way to deem it shoddy or inferior without even trying it.
That is the biggest problem with Mac bigots like him. They work harder at defending the big corporate giants rather than acknowledging the needs of the consumers. I'd like to see someone give a reasonable justification for how purchasing, downloading and streaming video over a proprietary set-top box is any easier than plopping in a DVD like we've been doing for years.
Just because Apple tells you this method is "better" doesnt mean it really is. - egarc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2jarland, plug your laptop into the TV. Then open System Preferences, choose Displays and click Detect Displays.
I hope this helps. - Ninjamonk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I like the idea but I think there is a bigger issue with the name of the product.
for those not up on UK tv there is a channel called itv. goto itv.com
how are they going to get around using this name when itv trademark for tv services are owned by a tv company.
I think they will have to call it something else in the uk. - Tilneys, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Don't be put off by those who live on pro-Microsoft spin and can't bear to see something similar on behalf of Apple.
For the doubters, my guess is they will look back on these articles in time and wonder why they weren't on board too.
Keep up the great work.
- A grateful Apple user that will no doubt be running i / AirTV in the new year. - consonance, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@danieleran
Thank you for alerting me to that. I was so frustrated by your article that I was unable to even think straight, so I forgot all about the Hindenburg. The Led Zeppelin album cover is the most iconic rendering of that event.
I find it a bit disappointing that your only refutation to my argument is a misplaced graphical reference. Am I wrong in any way, or do I point out valid criticisms?
Also, I am unable to deduce why the Zune will be an imminent failure. Perhaps you could educate me on that, too. I think it's a bit premature, judging by the Digg reaction, to say that the Zune will fail so badly. - whiteyMcBrown, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I'm a huge mac fan, but absolutely not an apple zealot. This will be a pretty cool system for a bunch of people (and yes.. I may even get one). I agree that this won't mean a huge shift for everyone and their living rooms. I hope they are very sucessful, but I won't be holding my breath for this to become a common appliance in most people's houses. Again.. I REALLY want this thing to be good. I hope Apple does a complete overhaul of the UI for this thing. Media Center looks absolutely awesome (a good friend has one) and it makes Steve Jobs' demo of ITV look amateur.
- berfmurret, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2this is a great list of wishes. i just want a media center that makes it easy to rip dvds and catalog them. but that always makes the riaa nervous. ive heard that with user written objects with sageTV this is possible... anyways. lack of 5.1 on apples 'iTV' is a major flaw in my ideals for a media center. so im looking more into a modded xbox or a computer running sagetv for my media center needs.
- evansls, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4I've always said that TV wants on the internet and the internet wants on the TV. iTV will make all of this happen.
- dracula7, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1i feel like this television "revolution" is long over due, and there are going to be a lot of available technologies that serve the same purpose.
once nintendo opens up development for the wii channels, there will be an almost limitless potential to aggregate information on the tv screen. frankly all im looking for are my video podcasts to be easily viewable... that, and the adult swim friday night fix. - exobyte, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1The bigger question: what about Cisco/Linksys and Scientific Atlanta? Those brands have more consumer recognition with networks and TV.
- scaleslea, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@mos6507
Do you honestly think that Apple could have come out with the 80 GB Video iPod and the 8GB nano from the get go? Apple isn't revising products just to rip people off, they're adding value as they go along. Just like any other company does. Do you rip on Ford because the Model T didn't have a cup holder?
My 3rd gen 40 GB iPod still works. Just because Apple comes out with an 80 GB 5.5 Gen iPod doesn't mean I need to buy a new one. If you have to have the latest and greatest, the problem is with YOU, not with the company that keeps innovating and improving its products. - terrax, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Good list. A device like this would be very, very expensive and difficult to mass market.
- monkeybutler, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1This is the problem with Apple bias. The $299 XBox currently does what the unreleased iTV does. Yet there they go declaring the XBox doesnt do it right but the iTV will work perfectly just because it has an Apple tag on it.
- nrighton, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I have always owned an Apple from the original Performa days but at $299.00 what does the iTV do (play streamed music, pictures, movies) that my Xbox 360 doesn't do ( other than play rights restricted, lower than DVD quality, 2+ hours to download movies?). And the 360 is a killer HD game system. I will probably spend the 200 bucks on the HD DVD player for my 360 rather than clunk down 300 for the iTV ( as it stands right now), and keep computing away on my Powerbook.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3"Yeah, xbox it does it all...very very poorly."
What do you mean by "poorly"? It seems to work quite well. Where are you pulling this "poorly" nonsense from?
"And people like my parents won't put an xbox in their living room, but something like iTV, they would."
Most "parents" have multiple gaming consoles in their living room because they have children (more than half of American families own at least one game console). If their child (who would know details about his console) explains to his parents the useful functionality that is already built into a piece of electronics they already posses, why would the parents then go out and spend several hundred dollars on redundant features and redundant technology? Just because it has an "Apple" logo instead of a "Microsoft" logo?
Are you honestly basing your entire point on the fact that you think "parents" are ignorant, easily-persuaded consumers who are more likely to base their expensive purchasing decisions on presentation and marketing tactics rather than functionality and price/value ratio? I would think that your parents would be insulted by such an assertion. - simonbp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0You can already get one of these in the form of modded Xbox running Xbox Media Center. The ability to have it run python scripts allow it to integrate well with sites like Lauch, YouTube, and Google video. There's even a MythTV frontend for it called XBMCMythtv.
Now I know that Xbox modding is not for everyone, and will obviously never be as mainstream as this device, but I *really* love my modded Xbox. I think this iTV will be a big hit, as long as it connects well with other devices and steers clear of too much DRM - Clodagh, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Ah Ireland? Always there rooting for the underdog! Any friend of yours, is a friend of mine.
- dignick, on 10/12/2007, -9/+8Very good. In general, Dan says what I think the majority of the time. I love xbox and its successor, and I also like office, but apart from that where is microsoft going? It's trying to go everywhere and (IMO) not doing it very well. Apple seems to be hitting all the right spots at the moment, and I can see them doing very well very soon in all the markets they target.
- gries818, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1intesting article. it seems that the write hates anything that doesn't come from apple (read some of the other articles on his site).
- consonance, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Why Apple will change TV? Give me a break.
Yes, Apple will change TV for Apple consumers, but change TV entirely? Yeah, right. Let me explain:
TiVo changed TV and is currently doing so. In response to TiVos (and the successive onslaught of DVRs), NBC changed the starting times of TV shows by one or two minutes in an attempt to defeat DVRs. The MPAA and NFL had seizures when TiVo announced TivoToGo, and they only stopped complaining once TiVo explained that shows would not be transferable to a PC until shows had finished recordings. This fall, CBS signed a deal with TiVo to distribute the first episode of "The Class" to TiVo boxes one week before the show aired. In addition, TiVo signed deals with Comcast and DirecTV to use TiVo boxes as DVRs. When DirecTV announced that they would discontinue the TiVo + DirecTV package, DTV customers were furious.
That, my friends, is changing TV. Do you really believe iTV will change television like the TiVo?
And that's just the title. I have problems with the entire article. For instance:
"That also means the wireless networking on the iTV will have a functional purpose beyond frustrating users with slowly shared, adware wrapped exploding media while the battery quickly dies.
Zing! Snaps on Zune!"
Am I the only one who noticed that? The only purpose that paragraph serves is to score one on Zune, despite the fact that Zune and iTV are completely different products and serve entirely different purposes.
Some of the things mentioned in the blog entry are false. Mr. Eran claims that the Zune is simply a Toshiba Gigabeat. Excuse me? Have you even seen the Gigabeat? Just because Toshiba is making the Zune doesn't mean it's another product Toshiba has made.
And I love the images scattered along the column depicting situations including a surprised TiVo and the Zune going up in flames a la Led Zeppelin. Huh? Of what is Mr. Eran trying to convince me? That Microsoft sucks and TiVo is stupid? Clicking on those images brings me to pages like "Apple’s iTV & The Case of the Missing DVR" and "10 Ways Microsoft Can Salvage their iPod Killer." Mr. Eran, do you really expect me to believe you after spew steaming bull and link to it?
The article fails to convince me that the iTV will change anything. An entire section of the opinion is devoted to specifying the different Microsoft products that "failed." Another is devoted to saying that Microsoft copied the Newton and subsequently failed to Palm. Directly above that section is one that says that Apple doesn't copy anyone, which is why Aperture is successful. In fact, very little of the opinion piece is even about iTV. It's just more masturbation material for Apple fans meant to tweak the unconverted.
Little focus is placed on facts, because there are very few facts mentioned in the article, and those mentioned are unrelated to iTV. The article doesn't even say WHY the iTV will change TV. It will add value because it won't replace other products? Huh? The entire article is a precursor to five upcoming opinion pieces about how Apple will change TV. I have little incentive to actually read those upcoming pieces, because the most this article did was inflame my sense of objectivity to the point that I became frustrated by how utterly inflammatory the post was.
Articles like these remind me of an tech columnist who once talked about the wonders of BOZOs, like Apple fanatics - belligerent, obstinate zombie orders. - drumpat01, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3A very good read indeed. I cant wait to read the 5 parts.
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