2

1/15/2008 2:02:08 PM

1.1.3 is coming down now

1/15/2008 2:16:56 PM

I didn't realize the superdrive addon was usb powered. That's pretty sweet.

I wonder if you can buy those separately. $99 for a dual layer burner that's that small isn't a bad deal.

1/15/2008 2:18:58 PM

the SSD is an extra 1300. not 1000.


RAPE

1/15/2008 3:02:27 PM

no, the standard model with the SSD also has a slightly faster processor.
if you start with the base model and choose the upgrade to the SSD it's $999.

it is, of course, still a rip off, but you can't exactly just take the price of some SD cards and multiple that and come up with a reasonable estimate for what a large amount of drive-quality (as far as speed and reliability) flash memory packaged in an SSD should cost.

1/15/2008 3:10:44 PM

newegg sells 32gb 1.8" SSDs for 399. So a 64gb for 999, while still a pretty nice sized markup, isn't totally unwarranted.

1/15/2008 3:22:46 PM

sweet new stuff. Expensive but nice

1/15/2008 3:36:53 PM

^^^ahh... I was just taking what gizmodo had up earlier.

1/15/2008 4:10:47 PM

I think the coolest thing released was the AppleTV.

Being able to rent HD movies (only 720p) via broadband, and supposedly able to watch instantly for $5 a pop is going to be very appealing to people, especially when the AppleTV is cheaper than most HDDVD players and all blu-ray players right now, PLUS can stream music, PLUS can stream YouTube videos.

1/15/2008 4:17:10 PM

yeah, it is nice new stuff. I'm in a bit of a quandary now, though, having just gotten and Airport Extreme for christmas.
Recall back when Leopard was announced, one of the features was that Time Machine would work over a network. It was assumed that this meant you could put a drive behind an Airport Extreme and use it for Time Machine. But right before Leopard was released, this feature was quietly removed from the Leopard feature list. It was speculated, though, that the feature wasn't quite ready, and maybe it would be re-added to a later update to 10.5. I went ahead and (foolishly) got an AP Extreme last month based on this assumption.

We now know, though, that the feature was removed from the Leopard spec so they could sell us another Airport Extreme model instead, one with a hard drive included in it as Time Capsule. I still really want to use my Extreme as a backup solution, but i don't want to have to buy another one......

The 500GB model is reasonably priced, though, at $300 considering that a normal AP Extreme is already $170 (of course the APE is already overpriced, but $130 extra for an included 500GB HDD is not bad).
If I can sell my month-old, now nearly obsolete Airport Extreme for $130 or so, i'll probably do that and get a Time Capsule instead.....

1/15/2008 4:19:57 PM

It still has the built in print server right? That's the only thing that ever redeemed the airport extreme in terms of value/dollar.

1/15/2008 4:22:46 PM

yeah, i just read the product page on Time Capsule. it does everything the existing Airport Extreme does, but adds an internal HDD.
You can even add additional drives to the USB, or use a USB hub and put a printer and additional hard drive behind it, like I have currently set up

1/15/2008 4:46:14 PM

*sigh* but no time machine patch to allow use with current airport usb attached drives... guess they don't want to shoot a new product in the foot.

1/15/2008 4:47:35 PM

Quote :

"Being able to rent HD movies (only 720p) via broadband, and supposedly able to watch instantly for $5 a pop is going to be very appealing to people, especially when the AppleTV is cheaper than most HDDVD players and all blu-ray players right now, PLUS can stream music, PLUS can stream YouTube videos."

Xboxlive

a year ago.

1/15/2008 5:13:52 PM

^Well yeah everyone knows apple is usually the last company to implement new technolgy.

Some other company always comes up with the idea first, then apple takes that idea and makes a pretty, expensive version of it. For example creative came up with the first HD based mp3 player, but the IPOD was so user friendly and "hip" that it easily took the market even though the first HD based mp3 players still had more features than the current HD based ipods (optical inputs, video, radio, recording, etc etc). I remember the archos jukebox years ago that had video/photo/music capability while the ipod was still a black and white mp3 player.

Another example is the appleTV. Tv tuners have been around for ages. My friend just discovered an old HP media center PC from like 95 that had a tv tuner in it. Not to mention HDTV tuners have been out for a while too. Apple is rarely the first to come up with an idea. They just make a user friendly, nice looking version of older stuff and make people believe it's "new" technology. Lets not even get started on gaming on apples.

I guess you could argue the iPhone is more original than previous apple products, but apple in no way invented the 'touch interface'. They just perfected it into a phone.

1/15/2008 5:37:21 PM

^^ true

i can't stand microsoft points
how many movies or tv shows are available on xbox live now?
the interface to search/browse those movies and tv shows is awkward (though i think the latest update helped that a bit)
for streaming music, video from computers on the LAN, unless you have a media center extender it's like 18 steps to get something to play
i don't want to leave my xbox360 on all day long

^

Quote :

"Another example is the appleTV. Tv tuners have been around for ages."

apple tv doesn't have a tv tuner

[Edited on January 15, 2008 at 5:41 PM. Reason : .]

1/15/2008 5:40:39 PM

Quote :

"for streaming music, video from computers on the LAN, unless you have a media center extender it's like 18 steps to get something to play"

What? That's not even remotely correct.

1/15/2008 5:55:23 PM

the shared optical drive is just networking the drive... The only thing that's different is that to do it, it's simplified on a mac and the resource doesn't look like it's network. Also, at least they didn't make a proprietary connector that combines usb, dvi, headphones and other connectors so you have to pay $$$ for the adapter to use it. $1800 isn't that expensive for what you get and it's also a mac.

1/15/2008 5:56:23 PM

Quote :

"Another example is the appleTV. Tv tuners have been around for ages."

you obviously have no idea what an AppleTV is.
i'm not defending its feature set or claiming that it is worth the cost, but the one thing is clearly is not is a TV Tuner or cable box.

1/15/2008 6:14:45 PM

^Opps i didn't mean to relate the tuner with appleTV. My apologies. Still 230$ for a 40 gig HD and only streaming capability w/ no tuner or dvr doesn't seem like a good deal. Also because so many major networks are posting free HD (low bitrate though) tv shows, it seems odd to pay for each show. It would seem smarter to build a HTPC with linux on it, and get something like myth tv or some of the newer alternatives.

Oh and "Mean Girls" is the top movie rental on itunes right now. I guess that tells you something about the people who pay for movies through itunes.

[Edited on January 15, 2008 at 6:31 PM. Reason : /]

1/15/2008 6:29:05 PM

Quote :

"It would seem smarter to build a HTPC with linux on it, and get something like myth tv or some of the newer alternatives."

Nothing in Linux should ever be considered a smarter alternative.

1/15/2008 6:35:27 PM

^That's either really good sarcasm, or i'm missing the point. I won't get into the linux argument, but from what i understand some of the best HTPCs are linux based. Maybe this has changed, i don't know.

1/15/2008 6:38:11 PM

Quote :

""for streaming music, video from computers on the LAN, unless you have a media center extender it's like 18 steps to get something to play""

Yeah, but it's only bad for some versions of windows (xp home, 2000, possibly vista home basic.)

Are you talking about the number of sub-menus you have to go through just to play a song? How about the amount of waiting you have to do for it to load your song list if its particularly large? I've experienced THOSE annoyances - plus the fact that it will only search one computer at a time and you have to reselect new machines if the music is on another one. That makes it extremely annoying if you have multiple roommates with music and video libraries since it seems to "forget" the play-list info every time you tell it to connect to a new computer.

But yeah, that seems like stuff that can be fixed with software upgrades. The despicably low hard-drive size that the platinum xbox's came with and the annoyingly high price for their upgrade drives is what kills me. The sad thing is that it's actually easier for an inexperienced user to replace the HDD in an Apple TV than it is to do it for a 360. That shouldn't be nescessary, as any device with DVR potential and an expected ownership of more than 3 years should have felxible expandable storage (from a consumer point of view, obviously not a rip-you-off-on-accessories frame of mind.)

This lack of space is more excusable in the Apple TV though since you can easily distribute purchased content on your network (they let you sync through itunes so you can actually move it off easily) or just rent content. The pathetic size of the 360's drive is made more painful by your inability to transfer it to your computer or other storage devices. While this was made less painful by an update that allows you to re-download purchased content, that can be rather annoying if its a long HD movie.

Apple TV gives you the option to pay less for something you wouldn't watch again anyways, or sync something you would want to actually keep. I'll won't buy one as long as I have hulu and netflix- but the improvements here do make it a decent content delivery system, as opposed to the abysmal one it was and the frustrating one that the xbox can be.

Before this I had briefly considered the $179.99 replacement harddrive for my 360. Now... I don't see why I wouldn't just pay 50 more and get a system that does the job better. I have enough storage on my desktop that the 40 gb local size (plenty for rentals) wouldn't be a problem for me since anything I purchased could be synced with my desktop.

1/15/2008 7:27:25 PM

MacWorld = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8

its pretty sad

1/15/2008 7:42:35 PM

hahahah @ linux

1/15/2008 7:48:45 PM

^^ why is it sad? ironic perhaps

1/15/2008 7:54:46 PM

^ The irony is beautiful. Dramatic and situational irony in one commercial+some perspective granted by time. The company that once derided the pc world as one of Orwellian conformity now relies heavily on the near-ubiquitous adoption of its iPod among the trend-conscious conformists of materialist America.

1/15/2008 8:18:08 PM

^

WAT

1/15/2008 8:20:48 PM

maybe i'm missing something but how the hell do you rent a movie? There is no 'rent' button...only buy. So i thought maybe only some movies are rentable and i clicked on the top rented movie and also...no button?

1/15/2008 8:35:01 PM

rentals don't work for terrorists

1/15/2008 8:35:41 PM

well, it looks like Apple has finally run out of new ideas.

1/15/2008 8:37:19 PM

MacWorld = cult meeting.

Not saying Mac is bad, but so much loyalty and brand following that it's sickening. I wouldn't mind a mac, but damn, every mac person I know and met are stuck up bitches and this includes my brother. What an arrogant motherfucker.

But you have to admit, they have some slick products and great marketing campaigns. I always do a brand analysis on Apple in almost every marketing class. They are a top tier in their niche market segment.

1/15/2008 8:40:11 PM

Quote :

"rentals don't work for terrorists"

thats cool..nice of apple to keep an eye out for national security...but that doesn't answer my question.

Why don't I have a rental button?


^LOL?

[Edited on January 15, 2008 at 8:42 PM. Reason : lol]

1/15/2008 8:41:21 PM

^ I didn't think the Apple TV software update had rolled out yet.

[Edited on January 15, 2008 at 8:43 PM. Reason : ]

1/15/2008 8:43:13 PM

i dont have apple TV i am renting through iTunes.

1/15/2008 8:44:27 PM

Did you download the update for iTunes then

1/15/2008 8:46:27 PM

It's funny because a lot of people at my work place were just sitting around one computer with a co-worker just clicking and refreshing the macworld's blog to find out new info. I mean shit, they probably huddled around for 3 hours straight talking about mac... When a new post came up, they acted orgasmic...

It was kinda sad. Sad for my standards and I'm a fucking computer geek, through and through.

1/15/2008 8:48:03 PM

you mean they were doing something OTHER than working at work???? that IS sad!

^^yes i did.

[Edited on January 15, 2008 at 8:51 PM. Reason : .]

1/15/2008 8:51:34 PM

Then it looks like it hasn't started yet I guess.

1/15/2008 8:52:10 PM

i thought it did? How else would they have "Top Rentals" listed on the home page

1/15/2008 8:53:34 PM

Quote :

"you mean they were doing something OTHER than working at work???? that IS sad!"

It was as if they were watching porn all together, that's the sad part...

1/15/2008 8:56:01 PM

no it's not, no one watches porn for more than 5 minutes

1/15/2008 8:58:14 PM

I've gone 6 mins but my hand got tired...

1/15/2008 9:00:45 PM

the way I see it is they were all being social at work rather than each sitting in their own cube and watching the keynote alone. We do that all the time at work whenever someone finds something of interest on the internet be it funny or keynoteish.

1/15/2008 9:01:15 PM

yeah, I do it to, but it was just straight 3 hours of them glued to the PC and watching for the play by play of the presentation. I'd actually would say it was more like they were trying to hear stats about a football game.

"Any news yet?"
"Hang on, refreshing." *click*... "Nope not yet, we'll have wait a few more seconds"
"How bout now?"
*click*... "Dude, check it out, it's ultra thin. No pictures yet. Man they are slow to post pictures." *click*...
"Gosh, I wonder what it looks like"
"Me too. Lets see if they have it up now" *click*... "Not yet." *click*... "Nope" *click*

+ 3 hours

1/15/2008 9:07:36 PM

Quote :

"Yeah, but it's only bad for some versions of windows (xp home, 2000, possibly vista home basic.)"

What? How hard is it to have Windows Media Player 11 installed and click like 4 buttons?

1/15/2008 9:09:07 PM

haha yeah that's what I love about tabbed browsing. just let it refresh in the background every 5 minutes and check when you're bored. If more people did that instead of hitting refresh every 10 seconds, Ars would have done a little better.

Quote :

"What? How hard is it to have Windows Media Player 11 installed and click like 4 buttons?"

Well if you want to ignore that the wait between some of those buttons (more like 8 if you have to change computers it's looking at) can take minutes if you have a large playlist then sure that's an honest way to portray it.

When WMC wasn't incorperated into windows media player, you had to download it seperately and it could be kind of annoying to even find on MS's website. It was kind of a pain to install and would take up a decent ammount of resources starting up. Also, how hard is it to install WMP 11 on windows 2000? Please, tell me the easy steps for that. My previous roommate never got it to connect to his machine.

[Edited on January 15, 2008 at 9:19 PM. Reason : ]

1/15/2008 9:10:55 PM

Quote :

"MacWorld = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8 its pretty sad"

As a side note, an NC State professor was responsible for this commerical.

1/15/2008 9:10:58 PM

We use crappy PC's at my work place and IE 6. The fastest PC there is a P4 with 1GB of ram... My personal e1705 is the fastest PC there and I've had it for 18 months.

1/15/2008 9:27:59 PM

Gah, same for me. They don't let me bring my computers in though and we're not allowed to install things - even windows update or virus definition updates.

1/15/2008 9:35:14 PM