Rumors of iPod mini, 100 Million Songs, Xserve G5 All True

Steve Jobs announced the oft-rumored iPod mini today in the keynote address at Macworld Expo in San Francisco, a $250 MP3 player with a 4GB hard drive that comes in several colors. Jobs also introduced the Xserve G5 and updates to Xserve RAID, and announced updates to several media applications, and introduced Garage Band, a music-making program and part of iLife. Also previously rumored, and true, is that Pepsi will be giving away 100 million iTunes Music Store songs.

The iPod mini, compared to other similar MP3 players Jobs described, is about half the thickness (half an inch), holds a lot more (most hold 256MB), and costs about $50 more. Jobs noted that most similar MP3 players require additional memory at additional cost, so if you go that route, you may as well just get the iPod mini.

The mini is anodized aluminum and comes in silver, gold, blue, green, and pink. Accessories include a dock and armband. It can be connected to the computer via FireWire 400 or USB 2.0.

Jobs also announced some changes to the existing iPod line, including a bump from 10GB to 15GB for the $300 version, and new in-ear headphones for $40.

The Xserve G5 is, like the previous Xserve, a 1U server. It can hold up to 8GB of ECC DDR 400 memory, and up to 750GB of storage. It includes an unlimited client license for Mac OS X Server 10.3, and comes in three configurations: 2GHz for $3,000, dual 2GHz for $4,000, and cluster node dual 2GHz for $3,000.

The Xserve RAID got a bump, too. The 3U RAID has a 500GB increase in capacity to 3.5TB for $11,000; 1.75TB for $7,500; and 1TB for $6,000. And, it is now certified for use with some versions of Windows and Linux.

Jobs, with the help of recording artist John Mayer, introduced the newest member of the iLife media application family: Garage Band. It is a music instrument and recording tool, that can mix up to 64 tracks, comes with 50 software instruments, over 1,000 professional loops, and 200 effects. It can record live instruments and take input from a USB or MIDI controller. It simulates various modern and vintage amps for guitar playback.

The optional $99 Jam Pack adds 100 more instruments, 2,000 more loops, 15 more amps, and more effects.

iPhoto, the most maligned of the iLife apps for its performance problems, received a much-needed update. It can now handle up to 25,000 photos (instead of mere hundreds), and adds automatic and smart albums (similar to iTunes), ratings of photos, and sharing via Rendezvous. Like iTunes, you apparently can't modify descriptions and titles through sharing, but unlike iTunes, there are no copyright restrictions.

iDVD and iMovie also got updates: better control, new and improved effects, and more. iMovie has exporting directly to your iDisk for use on your home page and importing directly from an iSight camera, and iDVD adds a navigation map and archiving projects for burning on another computer. iDVD also gets higher-quality Pro encoding, with 2 hours per DVD.

iLife, for $49, and the Jam Pack are available starting January 16. There was no indication that any new components of iLife will be available for free download, but iLife will be included with all new Macs.

Final Cut Express was bumped to version 2, and is basically updated to include the features from Final Cut Pro 4. Upgrades are $99.

Microsoft announced Office 2004, an upgrade to Office X. People who purchase Office X now until the spring, when 2004 is released, will be eligible for a free upgrade.

Pepsi's iTunes Music Store giveaway will begin on February 1. Yellow caps noting the 100 million song giveaway will have a 1 in 3 chance of winning.

Jobs also noted that iTunes Music Store has 70% of the market share for online music purchasing; that 50,000 audio books were sold for the quarter; that 500,000 songs are now online, making the store the largest online; and that one person has spent $29,500 on iTunes Music Store. Yes, $29,500.

No Space in GarageBand

[lamz]

Note that it's not "Garage Band" but "GarageBand". (Straight from Apple's InterCapitalizationNounFactory.)

iPhoto has photo sharing

[CptChipJew]

Don't Steal Photos.

Re:Mixed response

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't wait to get the new version of iLife.

I think what you need to get is called aLife.

Still a ways to go.

[Anonymous Coward]

[I]one person has spent $29,500 on iTunes Music Store. Yes, $29,500.[/I]

$10,500 more and he'll fill up his 40GB iPod.

Let me be the first to call it...

[sulli]

"GarbageBand"

Not because the app is crap - it's probably fine - but because of all the rock & roll clip-art that will begin to seep out onto the airwaves and P2P networks of the modern world.

Think "Mr. Tambourine Man" by Shatner is bad? Just wait for the version by pudge!

Apple's motto for the new iPod

[Anonymous Coward]

Half as good at 7/8ths the price!

Re:Mixed response

[mblase]

However, I was a little dissapointed by the price of the new iPod mini. At $250 (just $50 less than the (now) 15Gb iPod) I can't really see how it's worth it. I'll just pay another $50 and get an iPod that can hold my entire music library. Not sure what they were thinking with that price.

But it has a shiny aluminium case! In colors!

Re:Not a very great day from Jobs..

[Matey-O]

what crock of crap... only a 4gb model for 249 and a new 15gb for 299... Why would I not spend 50 dollars more for 3 times the storage space?!?!

Ah my young padawan, you're not thinking deeep enough. Instead of an additional $50 giving YOU 3 times the storage space, Jobs thinks 'Here's $300 _I'M_ receiving that you didn't intend to spend yesterday.'

$29,500

[cnb]

and that one person has spent $29,500 on iTunes Music Store. Yes, $29,500.

This one person also bought a SCO license and invested in Enron.

Girl on the airplane

[kyoko21]

The new iPod will be a cooler conversation piece when you site next to a hot girl on the airplane and your new iPodmini has the same color as her favorite color.

Why Do They Have To Be So Mean?

[bfg9000]

I think they're all cool and stuff, then they go threatening us with something like this! [akamai.net]

If there's ONE thing I DON'T want, it's that.

Apple lets us down again

[gonerill]

I was expecting the announcement of a $10, 3-petabyte nuclear-fusion-powered player with collapsible 60-inch plasma screen and direct bluetooth link to the Mars Rover, but all I get is this mini piece of crap. I mean, come on. In protest I will buy the 128mb NinFuju HappyListen, which only costs $200 and supports Ogg Vorbis.

Obligatory

[Anonymous Coward]

I will not be buying any Apple hardware or software you fucking cocksuckers. You can take that IPod and IRamItUpYourAss. OS X can OSuck my dick. I will take a G4 PowerDump on your PowerBook. QuickTime can QuickBlowMe. iTunes, more like shiteTunes. Expose? I'll Expose my fucking nuts to your chin.

I will be using Linux, XFree86, and Gnome. You Apple cockgobblers can keep taking it up the ass from Panther, or whatever new animal you like beastial anal sex with. Penguins never rape anyone, although they bite if they have to.

Apple is just another company that wishes they were Microsoft, so they can ass-ream you repeatedly with ease. If they had the market share that Microsoft had, they would be ass-fucking you harder and faster than Microsoft is. They already have a small group of willing homosexuals that let them do this to them already. But its not enough. What they want is the whole world to be forced to bend over and take a huge titanium iCock up their rectums.

Re:Don't be suckered by the trendyness

[blackmonday]

Hey, for mere $3 a GB you can just cart around an Xserve RAID. [apple.com] You think i's got a headphone out and battery back yet?

iLock

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.tofslie.com/files/ilock.jpg [tofslie.com]

Re:Classic ad updated, too!

[mblase]

They updated the classic 1984 commercial for it's 20th anniversary. The girl is now wearing iPod...

This is George Lucas' doing, isn't it?

Re:Classic ad updated, too!

[gmhowell]

Damn. I was gonna say that Greedo was wearing one of these when he shot first.

Ipod Mini - cool!

[ZipR]

Now when the feds come knocking down your door, you can just swallow all of the tunes you got through file sharing!!! Is annodized aluminum digestible?

i don't understand

[jford235]

Ok, so I know this has probably been stated, but for my own sake of mind, I can get 4 gigs for $250. Or I can spend another $50 and get 15 gigs. What the hell kind of sense does that make?

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

queer eye for the straight guy colors......

[Hallowed]

Bleh. Need I say more?

Re:Classic ad updated, too!

[MouseR]

An it she's not sporting *mini* iPods either.

Must be the 36d ^H^H^H 40g model...

Re:Apple Playing Catch Up

[shawnce]

I guess Apple saw Rio's announcement at 8 am and decided that they needed to catch up so two hours later (after finishing the design, testing, pricing, etc.) they announce the iPod mini.

The new Rio sure has me excited! Actually any device with a clitoral button control just gets me excited, is that wrong?

Anyway let the market decide... I personally bet the iPod mini will do well against the Rio Nitrus.

Re:Apple lets us down again

[mccalli]

was expecting the announcement of a $10, 3-petabyte nuclear-fusion-powered player with collapsible 60-inch plasma screen and direct bluetooth link to the Mars Rover

Ah, well there's your problem see. It had a direct bluetooth link to the Beagle instead...

Cheers,
Ian

Re:Mixed response

[shambalagoon]

They should create a gyroscopic hard drive so that when the iPod accesses the drive, it becomes weightless and starts to move in funny ways.

But Rio likes the attention

[AlgoRhythm]

Quote from the Rio Cali website:

"As featured in the Steve Jobs keynote at Macworld 2004" [digitalnetworksna.com]

And btw, *I* think that the Nitrus looks like ass, nyah! :-p

Natural marketing crossover...

[CrazyTalk]

Since they cross-sell the iPod with the VW Bug, maybe now they'll sell the iPod Mini with the BMW Mini

Re:iPhoto has photo sharing

[sTalking_Goat]

Photo sharing doesn't just hurt the big companies like Kodak and Fuji, it hurts the little guy like me Manny Elkins. I push that button that says 'START' on the developing machine at Walmart that always makes your pictures come out dark...

Re:Apple lets us down again

[Anonymous Coward]

I read that same article on a rumors site...it sounded pretty sweet until they said you'd be able to play Duke Nukem Forever on it. Once I read that, I knew they were making stuff up.

Re:Mixed response

[Moofie]

OK, so the reason that Apple's over-$200 music player won't sell, is because the only people who can sell an over-$200 music player succesfully is...Apple?

Your logic no workee.

Re: Mixed response

[soft_guy]

Who would possibly consider getting a 4 GB model for $250 when you could get a 15 GB model for only $50 more?

Rumors had the price at $100

Yeah, I predict that Rumors will sell a lot more of them at that $100 price. Everyone should buy it from Rumors!

Re:Apple lets us down again

[Anonymous Coward]

You should totally post a review of the NinFuju unit, as I was considering picking up the HappyListen myself...

Adam T

Missed opportunity

[babbage]

GarageBand looks okay and all, but they totally dropped the ball on the name. For one thing, they broke then "clever" iName scheme that the rest of the iLife suite uses. For another thing, they missed a chance to get an oblique 80s punk rock reference, which clearly all software should aim for. How could they have fixed this?

iRock [deadmilkmen.com]

Or if they wanted to go for that trendy leetspeek "we meant to mis-spell that, thankyouverymuch", they could have used...

iRockz [google.com]

Is it too late to go put new label stickers on the packaging, and to change out the strings in the software? I hope it's not too late...

Joe - Wow, Pretty good Jim Morrison impersonation there.

Rod - Yeah, I hope those guys have a good sense of humor and don't take us to court. Joe - Uh, what's the court?
Rod - Never mind that,
Joe - Oh, you mean like the People's Court?
Rod - Well, that's another story; the important thing here is you gotta ask me how I'm gonna get down to the shore.
Joe - Uh, how you gonna get down to the shore?
Rod - Funny you should ask, I've got a car now.
Joe - Oh wow, how'd you get a car?
Rod - Oh my parents drove it up here from the Bahamas.
Joe - You're kidding!
Rod - I must be, the Bahamas are islands, okay, the important thing now, is that you ask me what kind of car I have.
Joe - Uh, what kinda car do ya' got?
Rod - I've got a BITCHIN CAMARO!

Re:Only good stuff here.

[0x00000dcc]

Then this 'Pepsi' thing... Looks like I'm gonna drink Pepsi instead of Coke soon. And I mean a lot of Pepsi. Definitely a good idea for Pepsi.

Yeah, but my question is does this just apply to Pepsi or does it also apply to Pepsi- products?

This could make for an interesting match between the products and their presumable stereotypes:

Pepsi: Downloadable rock tunes.

Diet Pepsi: Britteny Spears and Boy Bands.

Mountain Dew: Speed Metal and rap-metal.

Sierra Mist: Nothing. No one likes this..

Slice: Show Tunes and Vaudeville

And the list goes on ... I anxiously await the flames from the "anti-generalization-and-links-from-certain-types- of-people-to-certain-types-of-drinks-even-if-the-g eneralization-was-made-in-an-attempt-to-be-humour" peeps as well as the now enraged Sierra Mist fans ...

Re:Mixed response

[edgar_is_good]

Crap! Now I'll have to remove the falling-from-15-feet-landing-on-my-mp3-player part from my jogging regimen. Oh well, older and fatter I go...

Re:Bulk?

[MrAngryForNoReason]

a fraction of an inch IS pretty impressive.

You just keep telling yourself that, oh and its what you do with it that counts.

Re:Xgrid

[Anonymous Coward]

But, can I make a Beowulf cluster out of it?

I'm gonna sell a knockoff

[enigmatichmachine]

I'm gonna sell a knockoff That is a simple anodised brick the same size and shape as these new things, so that when girls come up to me and ask, "whats on your Ipod?" like Jobs says the will, i can show them the words "you are shallow" inscibed on a lifeless aluminium brick...

Trouble at VT

[cbustapeck]

Can't wait to see the looks on the faces of the people at Virginia Tech when they see the xServe G5

WHAT?!? We could have waited 6 months, and for the same price, had a setup that takes 1/10 the space?

Re:Mixed? No...disappointed

[bennomatic]

I knew they came in colors now, but flavors?!

Can I get...

[Anonymous Coward]

..a 1U armband to take my Xserve jogging?

Re:Mixed response

[rixstep]

I jog with my 17" PowerBook all the time too. But I don't listen to music - I watch movies. Or streaming video with Steve Jobs. No problems with the hard drive... Next week the g/f and I are taking our Xgrids for a walk in the park.

Re:Ugh

[Concerned Onlooker]

That was simply aweful.

I know. It filled me full of awe as well.

Re:$29,500

[Oh-es-eX]

If the guy/girl really was a normal customer then he must have a painful finger from this one-click-buy thing.

Re:Apple lets us down again

[Anonymous Coward]

Ha, ha. That's funny because you used sarcasm to prove your point that wanting more features for less money is a stupid idea.

Re:Mixed values

[dianebrat]

she couldn't explain the difference between a Megabyte or a Gigabyte for the life of her.

As a fully qualified geekgirl I can assure you that for one, I DO know the difference between a MB, GB, and the 200TB of data I back up daily..it's pretty demeaning to assume gender has a hold on tech knowledge.

and dammit... I want one.. cause it's cute and pink....

so there ;-)

Re:You confuse usability and ease of learning.

[Anonymous Coward]

Dear God, man.

*Its, *Its, *Its, *Its, *Its, *Its, *Its, *Its, and last, but not least, *Its.

:-P

Re:Classic ad updated, too!

[knightbg]

the ad has not been updated. the runner is wearing an ipod. the runner has always been wearing an ipod.

a message from the ministry of truth [studentsfororwell.org]