weblogs.jupiterresearch.com — "I've been thinking more about Apple introducing a Mac mini with a DVR and the more I think about it, the more interesting the implications become," analyst Michael Gartenberg blogs for JupiterResearch. "Steve Jobs will likely do what Microsoft could not and that's make the press believe. The enthusiasts will follow."
Nov 30, 2005 View in Crawl 4
etandribDec 1, 2005
Microsoft should have been worried about this two years ago. If they got out of bed last week and read that headline and said, "What the… we need to do something about this!", then it is too late. I think Microsoft has known this was coming for a while. That is why the 360 is a media center extender and why any worthwhle version of Windows Vista will come with media center. Where they lack is getting machines that look good and are quiet enough to be in a living room. Apple does the computer beautification very well. They offer the whole package where Microsoft offers the OS and has other manufacturers put together the machine which results in some big, ugly, loud, machines that no one except early adopters would put in a living room.
kitykityDec 1, 2005
There is a level playing field for the world right now when it comes to creating video content. I can make a daily vlog (which I have), set it up with a news/rss feed, submit it to itunes, and bam--millions can watch my "TV show" every day. The monopoly that is regular television has a lot of competition coming up fast.
wilf_brimDec 1, 2005
I see the Steve Jobs reality distortion field is turned up to "high" this week.Please read the ArsTechnica (a group not know as Apple haters) article. The MacMini can, in no way, compete in the DVR market, except for rabid Mac fanboys/fangirls, the same idiots who paid $50 for the Mighty Mouse. It is over priced, under powered, and uses (don't forget) laptop hard drives. Slow and expensive. If this is just for SD, then who cares. As was pointed out, a series 2 TiVo is only 50 bucks, which leave you $450 to buy the subscription.If this is for HD, well, completely forget it. There is no room for an HD tuner card, and trying to encode/decode a 720p signal would bring the MacMini to its knees (or worse).
mindtriggerDec 1, 2005
I think what Apple is doing now is brilliant. The ipods are making Apple a household name. People love them, and are growing to love Apple because of it. If they slip a couple more personal devices under the radar suddenly buying an apple computer won't be the big leap of faith it is now. People will just excersize brand loyalty.It would to take a lot for me to switch to an Apple, but I'm an IT pro who has been using PC's since '93 when I bought my first 386DX-33. (of course im not including the use of Commadore stuff when I was a kid, because they aren't "PCs" in the x86 sense of the term.) I'd say my main hold-up is software. Macs are still treated like the "red headed step-child" when it comes to software titles.I believe the first computer I ever sat down to was an Apple in the 7th grade. Like almost all schools at the time, we had a bunch of Apples with the green mono screens :) I remember when my school upgraded to Apple IIGSs in the mid 80's... wooooo we were stoked :)
thelimitDec 1, 2005
I like having "millions" of choices in my software as apposed to thousands. When I look for software, whatever it may be for, I like getting online and having many, many different products to choose from. I don't want to be locked into the few titles Apple can offer.----------------------???Wha??? Apple isn't the only company that makes software for Apple computers, you know. I assume you are comparing only Windows XP and OS X, and if so you are completely backwards. Thanks to it's Unix heritage, OS X has hundreds of thousands more share- and free-ware software titles available than WinXP. If in fact you are counting other OSs such as Linux or Solaris or BeOS or whatever, then the playing field is even.As for the gaming part, I agree. Gaming has never been a strong suit of Macs, and anyone who tries to say otherwise is in fanboy denial.
mindtriggerDec 1, 2005
Don't bring *nix crap into this discussion. Your average computer user doesn't have a clue how to even FIND *nix software, let alone friggin install, and in some cases COMPILE the crap. The main people who flock to Macs now enjoy the mind-numbing simplicity it offers. They won't be over at Sourceforge downloading freeware anytime soon.
chasemarDec 1, 2005
Well, as long as Apple can have a succesful demonstration, they should be fine. It's doubtful they'll have Conan O'Brien to save to show.
chevyorangeDec 1, 2005
There is nothing mind numbing about my Mac. It just gets the job done in style with little input from the OS.And if I want, I can poke around under the hood - some of the *nix stuff if at the very least is amusing!
skellenerDec 1, 2005
You will never see an Apple DVR. Not in the Mac mini - not ever.Expect more video content in the iTunes Music Store. "Pay for downloads" is their model. Not "recording television".
deepsubDec 28, 2005
You missed my point compeletly oepapel... I did not asssert that window resizing was not needed. My point was that you don't need to resize windows from every side -if- the gui is well designed. And... The arrogance in saying my post is 'one of the dumbest things posted here' is well, more techincally arrogant than anything I posted.You don't have to be a dick to get your point across, even if it's the wrong point...