Apple poised to take over living room

Apple poised to take over living room

Digital media is poised to take over traditional mediums, and Apple may just be the company to help cement that transition. As Apple, Microsoft, and Sony race to become the most widely accepted "living room" entertainment platforms, Apple's current technology could easily be adapted for mainstream home use. The main objective for any company desiring to replace the TV, stereo, and VCR/DVD is ease of use, since more Americans own TVs than computers, and many do not feel comfortable with computer use. Current, traditional entertainment systems "just work," explains Robert Acker, vice president of digital music services at RealNetworks.
"Part of our challenge as an industry is to create something that's just as easy to use as what we want them to replace-- in a way that doesn't require any [time] investment on [the user's] part," notes Acker.

According to The Street.com, the main obstacle is that "PCs simply aren't stable enough to take over the role of the beloved TV."

"If you're in the middle of your favorite TV show and you get the blue screen of death, you're going to go crazy," Gartner media analyst Van Baker says.

Microsoft already offers the Xbox 360, which is capable of playing most digital media but targets only a certain niche. Song downloading appears to be taking over, with 14 percent of active internet traffic now dedicated to Apple's iTunes store, and the iPod becoming more and more common in the home. Many Apple and aftermarket products are available to help users play their iPods at home over their speakers, and with Apple's video downloading service's rocketing sales, it is only a matter of time before Apple integrates its products into a mainstream-accessible home entertainment solution. With AirPort Express wireless, users can play song bought at iTunes over their home stereo systems, if equipped with a wireless network.

Currently the videos sold via iTunes download service are low-resolution, intended for play on the video iPod. However, high-resolution video content would not be any more difficult to offer, and would be playable on television displays.

Apple's Front Row software is shipping with a remote control, allowing users to access all their digital media files from the couch, much like a multi-use television, but without the live TV feed. The only thing really missing at the moment is the ability to capture and record live TV: "It currently offers a piece of the whole digital living room play," says Tim Deal, an analyst with Technology Business Research. Apple, however, is missing a direct way to view and record live television, according to Deal.

Apple sees strong sales of Intel Macs

Sales of new Intel-based Macs may be stronger than expected, according to a new report. Despite anticipation of lagging sales of Apple's new Intel Mac computers, Apple is have having some difficulty meeting demand for its Intel-based Macs, according to analyst Shaw Wu at American Technology Research. Sales of the Intel-based iMacs are being fueled by consumers who waited for the release of the new Macs to purchase computers, according to Wu. In a note to clients, he said that there was a noticeable purchasing trend in the K-12 and higher education, content creation, and consumer end markets. Meanwhile, pre-orders for Apple's new MacBook Pro are also strong.

Following Apple's strongest quarter in its history, sales of iPods continue to flow, despite the traditional after-holiday taper in consumer purchasing. Sales of PowerPC-based Macs, iMac G5s, PowerBook G4s, iBook G4s, and Mac minis appear to be lagging; however, Wu beleives this is due to Apple's marketing message that the Intel chips in the new Macs are so much better than PowerPCs, and has refused to discount the previous generation PowerPC-based iMacs, which are still available at the same price points as the new Intel-CPUs.

"We are seeing some customer confusion in the field but we do not anticipate this to last," Wu said.

Wu expects Apple will quickly migrate the PowerPC product line to Intel processors in the next 1-2 quarters to forgo any further customer confusion in Apple's product line.

"We continue to believe it is in Apple's best interest to migrate the rest of its PowerPC product line to Intel within the next 1-2 quarters as selling two processor families and marketing one as superior to another adds to customer confusion and isn't a sound long-term strategy, in our opinion."

The firm says that Apple's fifth-generation video iPod sales also remain strong. The newest iPods have seen the lowest decline in sales, compared with sales in the other iPods. The sales trend could increase in the average selling price of the iPod from $207 last quarter to $210 in the March quarter.

Given the strong Intel-Mac sales (and pre-orders) as well as strong iPod sales, the firm believes strongly that Apple will deliver on its guidance for one of the strongest quarter's in the comany's 30-year history: "We remain comfortable with out above guidance March quarter estimates of $4.4 billion in revenue and $0.42 cents in earnings-per-share (EPS), above Apple's guidance of $4.3 billion and $0.38 cents."

Wu has set a price target of $101 and maintains a 'Buy' rating on Apple.

http://www.macnn.com/

My iBook updated!!

Apple MacBook Pro, Intel core-dual based

From the outside, Apple’s new MacBook Pro looks suspiciously like a 15-inch aluminum PowerBook G4. Yes, the ports are slightly different, and it’s slightly wider and thinner. But inside, it’s a completely different machine.


Intel’s Core Duo processor gives Apple a combination of speed and energy efficiency that the company never could get from the PowerPC processor family—one of the big reasons why Apple kissed those processors goodbye and made the move to Intel. As a result, the MacBook Pro has the potential to dramatically improve the experience of running a Mac laptop.

No, we never did get a PowerBook G5. But the MacBook Pro seems to be a fitting replacement. So here’s what you need to know about Apple’s newest laptop.

Wait a second. Why is it not called PowerBook? Is it because the “Power” in PowerBook stood for PowerPC chip?

Actually, the name PowerBook precedes the release of PowerPC Macs by several years. But Apple apparently wants the word Mac to appear in every computer it sells. Also, during the unveiling of the MacBook Pro, Steve Jobs indicated that Apple is simply tired of the word Power, regardless of its origins. We’re going to miss the PowerBook name a lot, and “MacBook Pro” is a mouthful, but we’ll all get used to it eventually.

MacBook I get. Why “Pro?”

Clearly there’s another shoe waiting to drop here. What the regular “MacBook” will be is anyone’s guess. The replacement for the iBook? A new subnotebook? Something else? We’ll all have to wait and see.

So what’s new in the MacBook Pro?

What isn’t? Almost every element in this laptop has been updated and improved when compared to the PowerBook G4.

The new processor, the Intel Core Duo, makes this the first dual-processor laptop Apple has ever made. The MacBook Pro’s system bus runs at 667MHz, four times the speed of the PowerBook’s 167MHz bus. The new PCI Express-based graphics technology offers 8GBps of total bandwidth, which is eight times that of the PowerBook’s 4x AGP graphics system. The drives now use the fast Serial ATA technology. The RAM is dramatically faster.

As a result, Apple claims that these new laptops will be four times as fast as the old PowerBooks. The Mac world’s assumptions of the past few years—that using a PowerBook requires a serious speed compromise—are about to be turned on their heads.

But I heard that some of the MacBook Pro’s features are actually inferior to the PowerBook’s. Is that true?

Yes. The MacBook Pro’s optical drive is slower than the PowerBook’s (4x, instead of 8x), and it won’t burn dual-layer DVD discs. Apple says this is because, the company has to use a new ultra-slimline optical drive in order to get the MacBook Pro down to one inch of thickness. Currently, the 4x DVD burner with no dual-layer capacity is the best drive in that class. (But fear not—the drive will still burn single-layer DVDs and CDs, and it plays back all your DVDs and CDs just fine.)

The PowerBook’s built-in S-Video port is also gone, although you can buy a $19 adapter to convert the output of the MacBook’s DVI port to either S-Video or composite.

And, oh yeah, the MacBook Pro doesn’t have a modem.

Are you serious? Apple’s selling a portable computer that doesn’t have a modem in it?

It’s true. Clearly someone at Apple wants the modem to die, and soon. Like the elimination of the floppy drive with the release of the original iMac, this strikes us as a move that’s just a little ahead of its time. True, these days, most laptop users rely on broadband connections, either via Ethernet or wireless. True, the Internet is rapidly becoming an experience that requires high-speed connectivity. But still, there’s always going to be that time when you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere and need to check your e-mail. And now, if you’ve got a MacBook Pro, you’re going to need to make sure that you pack a $49 Apple USB Modem in your bag just in case of emergencies. Road warriors, you may commence your groaning now.

What is an ExpressCard/34 slot? Can I still use my existing PC cards with it?

ExpressCard is a faster, serial replacement for the parallel PC Card standard used on many laptops, offering up to 250MBps of throughput in each direction. The ‘34’ refers to the width (34mm), which is much slimmer than the 54mm of a PC Card module. Current PC Card peripherals won’t fit in the new slot and aren’t compatible. However, the ExpressCard slot does have a lot of potential on its own: it’s got access to the full speed of the USB or PCI Express buses, meaning that cards attached via the slot will be able to move data at tremendous speeds.

Apple removed the FireWire 800 port from the new laptop—what gives?

Quite frankly, FireWire 800 hasn’t really taken the world by storm. And Apple says that forthcoming cards for the MacBook Pro’s ExpressCard slot will be able to provide FireWire 800 ports for people who need them. (In addition, ExpressCards should be able to provide high-speed connections for other storages, such as external Serial ATA.)

Is the MacBook’s display any different from the PowerBook’s?

Yes, and there’s both good and bad news here. The MacBook’s display is slightly shorter than the PowerBook’s—60 fewer vertical pixels than the 15-inch PowerBook. But it’s also much brighter, going from 180 nits (a standard measurement of brightness—or luminance—whose name comes from the Latin for “to shine”) to 300 nits. The end result is that the screen is the same brightness as Apple’s Cinema Displays.

Will having a dual-core processor mean shorter battery life?

Apple hasn’t given an official battery life rating to the new MacBook Pro, but told us it expects battery life to be similar to that of the current PowerBook line (which ranges from 4.5 to 5 hours). Apple says that the MacBook Pro’s new, thin lithium-polymer battery is state-of-the-art, and that the Core Duo chip that powers the MacBook pro is roughly comparable to the power consumption of a G4 chip, or slightly higher. The MacBook Pro also has a much brighter screen than previous models, and that screen may negatively effect its battery life as well.

So it the PowerBook dead?

Not yet—at least not officially. With the first Intel laptop only coming in a single, 15.4-inch display size, Apple is still selling all the members of the PowerBook line under the “Portables with PowerPC processors” section of the Apple Store. Apple says that the 15-inch PowerBooks will only be available while supplies last, but won’t make a similar statement about the 12- and 17-inch models. That’s a good sign that Apple is far from done when it comes to releasing Intel-based laptops in 2006.

What is the MagSafe Connector?

Apple has redesigned the way the power charger connects to the laptop. (Yes, laptop users who have collected a zillion power adapters, this means you’ll have to invest in all-new adapters.) The MagSafe Connector uses magnets in the cable and the computer to secure the connection. Apple did this to prevent accidental cord snags that can damage the laptop while creating a more snug link between the two parts.

The MagSafe connecter is made up of a magnetic ring surrounding four small power nubs; when you move it close to the MacBook, the magnetic attraction takes over and it snaps in place. There’s no up or down on this connector—it’s perfectly symmetrical, so either direction works fine. A small light (on both top and bottom of the connector) indicates your MacBook’s charging status.

www.apple.com

Apple iMac, Intel core-dual based

Do people really have burning questions about something as familiar as Apple’s iMac? They do when that iMac ships with an Intel-built processor inside.


Apple kicked off the Intel transition at this year’s Macworld Expo by unveiling two new iMac models, powered by 1.83GHz and 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo chips, respectively. Both the 17-inch and 20-inch iMacs are shipping now.

What can you expect from the first batch of Intel-powered iMacs? We’ve done some digging to find out the answers to your questions.

If all the software out there won’t run natively on the new iMac, why should I buy one instead of the old model?

That all depends on how adventurous you are. The new Intel iMacs cost the same as the PowerPC iMacs, but offer two processor cores instead of one, faster RAM, and improved video features. At the same time, however, if the programs you use most often haven’t yet been made Universal—that is, designed to run on both PowerPC and Intel-based Mac—they’ll run slower because Apple’s Rosetta technology will have to translate their PowerPC code into instructions the Intel chips can understand. That, in turn, will slow those programs down. (For more on Rosetta and Universal software, see our Intel FAQ.)

Does this new iMac have that “Intel Inside” sticker on them?

A box from Apple with an Intel sticker on it? Perish the thought. Besides which, a few weeks ago, Intel changed its logo and added a new tagline, “Intel. Leap ahead.” Nice change, but it’s still not going on our Macs.

Hey, Apple just updated the iMac a few months ago! What gives?

When the new iMac G5 was announced last year, Apple pointed out that despite its outer similarities to the previous-generation iMac, its innards were quite different. Turns out that those engineering changes—speeding up the bus and RAM, adding PCI Express graphics support, and the like—were laying the groundwork for the switch to Intel. As a result, these new Intel-based iMacs aren’t that different from their immediate G5-powered predecessors. There are only a few areas where there are notable changes: processor, RAM, and display.

So what’s new with the iMac’s processor?

You may have heard something about it being made by a company named Intel. The new iMac uses the Intel Core Duo processor, which essentially offers two processors on a single chip. As a result, Apple reports that these new iMacs are up to two times faster than their predecessors, even though the chips in these new iMacs actually have lower clock speeds (1.83GHz and 2GHz) than their G5 counterparts (1.9GHz and 2.1GHz).

How has the RAM changed?

The new iMacs use 667MHz SDRAM; the SDRAM in the iMac G5 runs at 533MHz. Also, the RAM configuration has changed slightly: the new iMacs max out at 2GB of RAM, while the iMac G5 could take up to 2.5GB.

So can I finally use an iMac with a second, external monitor?

Yes! At long last, the iMac has gotten the video upgrade it deserves. Rather than the moldy old VGA port of previous models, the new iMacs sport mini-DVI ports—so you can finally get crystal-clear digital-video output from an iMac. Even better, iMacs are no longer limited to displaying a duplicate of what’s on their main screen on an external display. This means you can run a projector, TV, or even a flashy 20-inch or 23-inch Apple Cinema Display as a second screen, in addition to the iMac’s built-in display. That’s good news for teachers, Front Row fans, and people who simply can’t work without secondary screen space.

What else is new when it comes to iMac video?

The video card has been somewhat upgraded, from an ATI Radeon X600 to an ATI Radeon X1600. More importantly, buyers of the 20-inch iMac can opt to trick out the card with extra RAM, taking it from 128MB to 256MB—good news for gamers and anyone else who wants speedy graphics performance on an iMac.

Wait…that’s it? That’s all that’s new with this iMac?

Yeah, it’s true. With the one (major) exception of the Intel Core Duo processor powering it, this new iMac is very much like its predecessor. The big changes to the iMac line came a few months ago, when the new iMac G5 was released, complete with its built-in iSight camera, remote, and software. But the Core Duo’s extra processor core gives these iMacs speed potential the iMac G5 lacked, and the upgraded video features patch one of the iMac’s few other remaining weaknesses. Given that these new iMacs are the same price as the previous versions, they appear to be an awesome value.