[SMacSteve]

Well, I don't really know what the announcement on the 23rd will be but here is my guess....

It will be a device that through using a digital hub such as a G4 or iMac with OS X you will be able to play your digital library and internet radio using Airport through your home theater or home music system. Basically this will be the missing link that we've been looking for to link up the digital hub to the rest of the house using Airport wireless. The device should be some type of equipment that is a 802.11b reciever that hooks up to your stereo/ home theater system. It should be less than $150 and will be a big seller to every Mac user that has Airport wireless. And a great reason to adopt a Airport system if you don't already.

If I'm wrong, they should be doing this!

Any body have a better guess?


[ 10-19-2001: Message edited by: SMacSteve ]

[naden]

You bet your ass they should be doing it.

This is what I imagined and to say it would rock would be an understatement.

Apple would win for so many reasons:

a) Airport adoption would skyrocket. I'd actually buy one for my standalone G4.

b) Meaning to that Digital hub hype.

c) Take a huge bag of wind out of the Windows XP release.

How can Apple lose ?

[Immortal K-Mart Employee]

My guess is that this is the 10th thread on this topic and it is in the wrong forum.

Other then that I think you are right though.

[SMacSteve]

Originally posted by Immortal K-Mart Employee:
<STRONG>My guess is that this is the 10th thread on this topic and it is in the wrong forum.

Other then that I think you are right though.</STRONG>

OK, what forum would you suggest I move it to? I posted it on this one and Airport and networking.

[jwblase]

The cool thing about this idea is that since Airport uses standard networking, any PC could potentially hook up to this Apple branded device. It wouldn't necessarily be limited to Mac users, although iTunes users would probably get a huge boost somehow. (Unless, Apple ALSO decides to release iTunes for Windows... hmmmmm........)

JB

[Nile Crocodile]

I think you guys are wrong. I think a device like that would not sell well.

I do not think, that Apple would call it "ground-braking", just for such a small thing, I guess it will be different.

[wr11]

Yeah, I will have to disagree too.

Apple wants to extend itself. You can not extend yourself by selling some "ground braking" device to people who already own compatible hardware, ie: Macs from Apple. Apple needs to make something that consumers want, maybe its a Music Player, but what ever it is...it better not require a Mac. Apple has a great brand, its time to use it for other purposes.

Of course, it should somehow connect to Macs, for added benefit, but not actually required it. That way they can encourage more Mac sales. If it does require a Mac then Apple is only selling it to us, you know that 8-10% of the computing public.

iPhone, iMate, iMusic, iPhoto, iTime, iWalk, iDon't have a clue what it is?

[ 10-19-2001: Message edited by: wr11 ]

[J.W. Pepper]

This won't work ... not enough bandwidth.

[M�lum]

well, a "music device" can only be "groundbraking" if it adds some new features, like airport. This will surely boost Airport as a technology, but I don't think Apple is going to get much richer from it. And making money is more and more Apple's aim.

So I guess it will be something more complete. The rumors say that the iTunes, Quicktime and a third secret division are involved.
So maybe it's something more then a music device.

Didn't Apple buy large amounts of LCD displays, a size that's not used in any of it's machines?

The bandwith is no problem, it all depends on how intense you use that bandwith.

iPhoto? Sitting on the sofa, looking thru pictures on this handheld device but are stored on your Mac upstairs?

It's all guessing, and hoping.
Personally I hope to see a cell phone combined Palm with a small but nice screen, combined itunes player, ready for 3G.

[Sam Agnew]

Originally posted by M�lum:
<STRONG>Personally I hope to see a cell phone combined Palm with a small but nice screen, combined itunes player, ready for 3G.</STRONG>

...for $150. You don't ask for much, do you?

[davi]

How's this for ground-breaking: it's hand-cranked!

This Wired article http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,18381,00.html connected Apple with Freeplay http://www.freeplay.net , a wind-up radio maker who's just announced a partnership with Motorola on its portable phones.

Now there's a Freeplay Music folder on our iDisks, which an earlier thread most likely associated with http://www.freeplaymusic.com the royalty-free music distributor.

Coincidence? Or is Apple about to deliver a hand-cranked Airport-equipped iTunes and iDisk savvy media player that will never ever need plugging into anything other than your headphones?

You be the judge...

[sadie]

You know what this device is really for?

It's to make us all talk about what exciting things Apple could be coming up with. We reaffirm our faith in Apple's innovation, and if they're very lucky we might even think of some ideas they hadn't.

Classic PR move.

[Hornet]

The fact that a third division is involved should make it obvious that this is not *just* effectively a cable'less set of speakers for my G4

[qupte]Didn't Apple buy large amounts of LCD displays, a size that's not used in any of it's machines?

The bandwith is no problem, it all depends on how intense you use that bandwith.[/quote]

Your getting close, I'd say 75% there, there is ony missing part to that. I can only give a little hint:

Raycer.

Figure the rest out, this thing will be amazing.

[n1ce]

Originally posted by Hornet:
<STRONG>The fact that a third division is involved should make it obvious that this is not *just* effectively a cable'less set of speakers for my G4

Didn't Apple buy large amounts of LCD displays, a size that's not used in any of it's machines?

The bandwith is no problem, it all depends on how intense you use that bandwith.

Your getting close, I'd say 75% there, there is ony missing part to that. I can only give a little hint:

Raycer.

Figure the rest out, this thing will be amazing.</STRONG>

Tablet device ?
Netboot ?
With some kind of custom graphics acceleration ?

[ 10-19-2001: Message edited by: n1ce ]

[scarab]

Originally posted by n1ce:
<STRONG>

Tablet device ?
Netboot ?
With some kind of custom graphics acceleration ?

[ 10-19-2001: Message edited by: n1ce ]</STRONG>

OMG is that really going to happen? That will really kick ass! You sound like you've got some inside info...

[The DJ]

Originally posted by Hornet:
<STRONG>Raycer.</STRONG>

OK this is what i found about Raycer: http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/...2.raycer.shtml
Acvanced 3D graphics chipmaker???? Wow!!!!

Something else about them. A translated news item. http://www.applebits.com/okt.html
Raycer develops SoC (Silicon on Chips) techniques to combine multiple tasks, like video, audio and data on one chip

This is gonna be a biggie!!!

[scarab]

Originally posted by The DJ:
<STRONG>

OK this is what i found about Raycer: http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/...2.raycer.shtml
Acvanced 3D graphics chipmaker???? Wow!!!!

Something else about them. A translated news item. http://www.applebits.com/okt.html
Raycer develops SoC (Silicon on Chips) techniques to combine multiple tasks, like video, audio and data on one chip

This is gonna be a biggie!!!</STRONG>

Think speedy OS X UI on tablet? Or some video and audio gadget? This is going to be an exciting time... Fred Anderson mentioned in the recent financial results conference call that this was going to be the first gadget in the series!

[The DJ]

What do we have now.

- Digital device
- Connected to mac but standalone (Airport/USB ?) (Digital HUB concept)
- iTunes
- Quicktime
- Graphics (Or possibly just 'integration' of audio and video on hardware)
- Free downloadable Music (FreePlay)

Isn't FreePlay all about burning your own CD's?
- burn (on the mac? that would keep the device cheap)

This pretty much tells me MP3.
Only thing i'm wondering is the following. Will we see portable device or something like a hometheater system. Quicktime suggests video is involved. I say a portable DVD viewer with MP3 playback would be real nifty and possible.

[ 10-19-2001: Message edited by: The DJ ]

[JLL]

The FreePlay Music has nothing to do with the device.

This is from Apple's iMovie page:

"Check your iDisk for 2,100 royalty-free songs in 35 genres from Freeplay Music. These original songs were created for use in TV broadcast and come in 120, 60, 30, 20, 15 and 10 second cuts. Now your movies can have a professional soundtrack. The song libraries are now available on iDisk for Apple users. Go to the Mac OS X Software and open the Extras folder to get your professional soundtrack library now."

[grannysmith]

how about this?

loading music, sounds, movies etc. over the mac onto the digital device. the payment for new movies or for everything that needs to be payed works with the device and only with the device. you can pay for buying the comlete product forever or for renting it, say if you want to look movies with friends in the evening...

after download you can look and hear your stuff or play your games on tv, with your stereo or a normal monitor or can get a preview out of that device...

??????

[MacGorilla]

Its an 8-track player . Think different!

[oranjdisc]

I could be stating the obvious here, but think about this &gt;&gt; whatever the "device" is, it must be something that all of us, Mac users and owners, would want. That means it has to accomplish some task that goes BEYOND the capabilitites of a Mac. I mean, we can already play MP3s, burn DVDs for God's sake, so what else could there be?

It must be something that doesn't cause current Mac owners to reply, "why would I want that? I can just....[fill in the blank] ...with my Mac."

So here's what I'm thinking -- Apple will position the Macintosh as the EDITOR and CREATOR of media, whether that means editing movies in iMovie and burning them on DVD, or rotating / cropping digital photos, etc.

This new device will be the bridge between the desktop and the television. It will take your photos, your music, your iMovies, and play them. It will be a multimedia player of the truest sense.

But that's where it ends. It can display FINISHED data, but to edit / create anything, you must buy a Mac.

That way one purchase leads to the other -- their ultimate goal.

Got me?

Oh baby....I'm getting moist.

[pmoc]

That's exactly it, a multimedia player. A well designed device that can display photos on an small LCD screen, play MP3 music along with graphic a la iTunes, play QuickTime movies that you have build with iMovie.

That's a player, that's what it is.

You would take it instead of your photograph book, you CD player, your cam, ...

I'm not sure if this will be a big seller though

What do you think?

Cheers.

[pmoc]

Well, to be successfull, this device would have to include a PDA function as well wouldn't it?

[DNA man]

I have started yet another post in the PowerBook category (since the new device will be portable and there is not a future ware category).

Visit the interesting URL.
DNA man

[Mongrel]

Originally posted by MacGorilla:
<STRONG>Its an 8-track player . Think different! </STRONG>

Hehheh, I betcha it's decked out in Flower Power plastics, too! Steve's been trippin' again

[SteveTech]

I had heard that it's going to be a device that plays round, black, & flat disks made from vinyl. Apple is going to call it the iTune-A-Graph.

I'm looking forward to it!

Steve
x()

[ 10-19-2001: Message edited by: SteveTech ]

[bewebste]

It's gonna be a Steve Ballmer action figure, most definitely. What better way to scare people away from using Windows XP?

[mattstoton]

Who said it was about music? Revolutionizing the computer market is what Apple does... more music junk ain't gonna do it. If I'm wrong then so is Apple.

[snodman]

IT is a personal transportation device. People laugh when they see it for the first time.

[Bouba]

It is an iTamagotchi!!!

or an iGinger?!?!?!?!

oh well, we'll see!

[rantweasel]

Originally posted by SMacSteve:
<STRONG>
It will be a device that through using a digital hub such as a G4 or iMac with OS X you will be able to play your digital library and internet radio using Airport through your home theater or home music system.
[ 10-19-2001: Message edited by: SMacSteve ]</STRONG>

One of
these, only wireless? I don't know that wireless is the way to go with that - all of the experience I've had with wireless, you get too many dropped packets and too much latency for streaming audio or video to be reliable enough for my taste. Still, wireless or not, something like that that turns my Mac into part of my stereo is a Good Plan.

[SteveTech]

The rumor going around now is that it's going to be a "portable hard drive device" that syncs with you Mac, through firewire, allowing you to sync with iTunes. Isn't that just an MP3 player. Unless it allows you to to copy over AIFFs too. This should be interesting

-Steve

(if I could spell I'd be dangerous)

[ 10-19-2001: Message edited by: SteveTech ]

[KidRed]

iPod

[JLL]

Originally posted by DNA man:
<STRONG>I have started yet another post in the PowerBook category (since the new device will be portable and there is not a future ware category).

Visit the interesting URL.
DNA man</STRONG>

Who said that it will be portable?

[Cory Bauer]

Listen Up.

I can buy a radio transmitter at Radio Shack for $30 that can send the sound of my Mac (or any device with a headphone jack) to the stereo wirelessly.

So...

Why would I want to spend $300 for an airport base station and $100 for an Airport card plus the cost of this new device, just to do the same thing I can do for $30? On that note, if you were transferring music across your house via an Airport stream, what bandwidth would be left for your 'Book to browse the internet via the same Airport Station?

I don't believe it's going to be used to interact with your stereo/Television. Apple doesn't sell stereo's or television's, so they wouldn't create or sell a device that needed more than a mac to use. Think about it: Anything you create via their free "i" software can be viewed in it's final stage right on the same mac you created it on. Your MP3's, your CD's you make, the iMovie's you make, the DVD's you make with iDVD, they're all viewable on the Mac. The focus remains with the Mac, which is what Apple sells. You don't NEED anything but the Mac to view/hear your creations.

So, what do I think it is? Well I don't have a clue. But I'll tell you what I'd want: a Firewire-capable MP3 player that's durable, less than $300, and has over a GB worth of storage(or offer different sized models). I'd want syncing capabilities with my iTunes library, so my MP3's would always remain the same on both machines. It would also have to support Quicktime, as there's no telling when MP3's will be out and "the next big thing" will arrive. Quicktime would also be synced with your Mac, so you'd always have the latest version of Quicktime on your device, making way for support of new media types, and of course, movie clips. The devices would have to be able to plug directly into another of the same, so you could exchange songs/files with people on the spot (just so long as you both had this thing). That way, if my good friend Ronald Reagan had Tenacious D's "Tribute to the Greatest Song in the World" and I wanted it, I'd plug my Apple-branded device into his via the included firewire cable, and pull the song off. Now, how the interface would work I have no clue. It's all beyond my comprehension. But use your imaginations.

-Cory Bauer
[email protected] http://www.sboobtv.com

[Richard Clark]

Originally posted by JLL:
<STRONG>

Who said that it will be portable?</STRONG>

What???

Think Smaller, Faster, Cheaper (I hope)




Hopefully it's a portable - if they want it to sell....

[Richard Clark]

My guess???


A portable CD/Airport/MP3 device for everyones Leer Jets!

You'd think Steve would let Apple buy a jet like that and not come up with a music solution???

[M�lum]

Originally posted by Sam Agnew:
<STRONG>

...for $150. You don't ask for much, do you? </STRONG>

Where is it stated that it has to cost $150?

[BuonRotto]

My final prediction:

YOU WILL ALL BE DISAPPOINTED NO MATTER WHAT!

Tell me I'm wrong. I dare you!

[kelix]

OK. for those of you who know me.. here goes.
It's a Media tool... being briefed Monday...
All i can say is verry little. Thats because 1) im under NDA 2) you want this to be a surprise.
Oh and yes it is a seperate unit from the mac itself and will be either USB or Firewire. and for those who have TiBooks look for IRDA support soon!!!

[havannas]

Gotta be one of three things...

1. Cordless net2phone(steve comes full circle... stealing phone calls) or

2. LCD Media frame(loops video/pics of the grandkids... a la billgatez' wall pictures) or

3. In dash MP3 player with visualizer(why convert back to aiff for 74 minute CD when instead you could have 10hrs of mp3s per disc)

...or maybe not...

[Mac The Fork]

Tell me I'm wrong. I dare you!

You're wrong. Do I get any money?

Seriously, I think/hope/pretend that people predicting an expensive MP3 player or a WebTV device will be pleasantly surprised. This is one of those cases where we (and the PC industry) can't just augment current numbers to see an upcoming product. It's entertaining for us and good business for Apple.

[michaelb]

My prediction:

A mystical little device with a pair of earphones.

When the tech journalists first try it out by putting the earphones on, Steve flicks a switch and a DEAFENING EARSPLITTING ROAR deafens said journalists for 72 hours.

Just long enough for them not to hear the Windows XP launch 2 days later, and thus not be able to report on it.

(Doing them a favor actually!)

[Alex Duffield]

OK, here is my total speculation�

It will be much more than the $150 others have guessed at.

It�s a box for your TV/Entertainment system.

It plays DVDs, CDs and

It has iTunes built in, can store song local and on remote systems via 802.11 as well as from cdrom or dvdrom with mp3s on them.

It is a TiVo type thing (Can record TV programming to be played back later)Apple has some great people on there DVD team that are very good at MPEG2..

Now here is the cool part�

Ever heard of Nintendo Game cube??
It uses a PPC chip.
Nintendo is licensing it to third party developers
( http://cube.ign.com/news/37782.html )

Put that all on one box, and do it just befor the Xbox hits the market�


Aaaa that would be sweet!!!

(Maybe it is a base station to...)

[abfishkind]

...the Handspring TREO....

[Alex Duffield]

Originally posted by abfishkind:
<STRONG>...the Handspring TREO....</STRONG>

Yes, a very cool thing!!!

Just needs color....

[superlarry]

i'm not sure what it'll be, but we know it'll be a big deal in 2-3 months when HP or Dell "invents" it.

[3R1C]

HAVi