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Media (Apple) Media

Apple iPod with Video and WiFi Capabilities? 225

Posted by CmdrTaco from the speculate-wildly-please dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Apple is currently seeking an engineer for its iPod hardware division. However, they are not looking for just any engineer. They are seeking an engineer with WiFi and Video integration experience. 'The iPod group is looking for a Hardware Engineer. Experience in the following areas is important: system integration, digital logic, SDRAM, Flash, ASIC's, processor selection, ATAPI, various communication protocols (ie: GSM, Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11, Firewire, and USB), display types and video and analog integration.'"
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Apple iPod with Video and WiFi Capabilities? More

Apple iPod with Video and WiFi Capabilities?

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  • Slashdot's posting help wanted ads now? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:38PM (#10110777)
    How much does this cost? Or is it free for Apple?

  • salary? (Score:3, Funny)

    by ack154 ( 591432 ) * on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:39PM (#10110789)
    Lifetime supply of iPods!

  • Career choice (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:40PM (#10110798)
    Well I'd apply, but I'm too busy hanging around Slashdot.

  • What??? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:40PM (#10110799)
    What is this, Monster.com? We get product ads as articles, now we get ads for people to make new products as articles so we can get more products and therefore new articles?

    My head is going to explode....

    • Re:What??? (Score:5, Funny)

      by Stevyn ( 691306 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:51PM (#10110942)
      Yeah, it's one thing when it's articles based entirely on speculation but are at least written by columnists.

      Now articles are appearing based on what's in the classifieds? Next we're going to see headlines like this:

      "Bill Gates is looking for whores!"

      with a link to:

      "Seattle, Washington local single white male is seeking hot blonde."

  • very likely that it's likely? (Score:5, Funny)

    by randyest ( 589159 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:40PM (#10110804) Homepage
    From TFA:

    "The iPod group is looking for a Hardware Engineer. This person will be an individual contributor on a top notch team with responsibilities for the design, implementation, and integration of digital and analog electronics. Experience in the following areas is important: system integration, digital logic, SDRAM, Flash, ASIC's, processor selection, ATAPI, various communication protocols (ie: GSM, Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11, Firewire, and USB), display types and video and analog integration."

    Does this mean we are very likely to see an iPod with a video display and capable of sending and receiving music via WiFi? This is very likely.

    What strange language the author uses there. Is he answering his own question about whether it's very likely by saying yes, it's very likely? Or is he saying that it's very likely that it's "very likely?"

    I think it's very likely that I'm confused ;)

  • Expanded iPod (Score:5, Insightful)

    by fussili ( 720463 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:41PM (#10110814)
    Well, Apple's already moved into the 'home broadcast' sector with the Airport express streaming music via 802.11 protocols, so it wouldn't seem too far a stretch for them to start streaming video or DVDs around your house, perhaps onto a vPod.

    However the amount of battery consumption for such a beast would be epic.

  • Hopefully They will... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Donjo ( 797935 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:41PM (#10110816) Homepage Journal
    ...set the standard for this sort of thing and give other people something to copy off of so we can start getting some better products of this type. I really thought they would have jumped on this bandwagon a while ago....

  • Synapse (Score:3, Funny)

    by FauxPasIII ( 75900 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:41PM (#10110817)
    Obviously they're running into troubles... their adapter can't overcome the bandwith limitations of wireless handhelds. The
    picture goes fuzzy...

  • Disinformation? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by sulli ( 195030 ) * on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:41PM (#10110818) Journal
    I wouldn't put too much stock in a job ad. If I were Apple I would add as much miscellany to the ad posting as possible to distract the competition.
    • I'm not sure that the competition will come up with a really "competitive" device on such short notice. It doesn't sound like Apple's just starting to think about this, but imagine if you were working for [insert other portable media device manufacturer here] and saw this ad? Would you immediately start spending money to try and come up with it, or would you let Apple create a market for it? I doubt that many companies would pour the money required into something like this without a solid business plan and

    • Re:Disinformation? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by AKAImBatman ( 238306 )
      Assuming this job ad is real, it wouldn't be that big of a surprise. For one, Apple did the same thing amid the rumors that iTunes would be ported to Windows. Apple later confirmed this. For another, I thought that Apple had already stated that video was a direction they were considering taking the iPod. Why are we bothering with this front page post when we already know it's coming?

      Besides, Microsoft has already started releasing specs for their own portable multimedia handhelds. Apple announcing that the
      • I disagree. Apple doesn't mind being first (Firewire, Quartz Extreme, colored cases, etc). They don't mind being second or third, either. Apple develops at its own pace, using their own research which may or may not include ideas from competetors, and releases products when they're well designed and ready for prime time. If Apple is searching for a video and wireless development team now, expect to wait at least two years for a video ipod.

  • 2 things (Score:4, Insightful)

    by StevenHenderson ( 806391 ) <[stevehenderson] [at] [gmail.com]> on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:42PM (#10110823)
    Two thoughts:

    1) Why do they feel the need to complicate the iPod? People love the fact that it does one primary thing, and does it brilliantly. The iPod is expensive enough without any more frills.

    2) If they are just looking for an engineer now, just think how long before any product sees the light of day.

    • Re:2 things (Score:5, Insightful)

      by artemis67 ( 93453 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:52PM (#10110946)
      Considering that their Airport Extreme is geared towards wirelessly serving up music from your computer to your stereo system, making the iPod wireless is just a natural evolution.
    • I'd imagine they want the skills for another unrelated media product (set-top box?), but its convenient to advertise it for iPods...

      That said, they did advertise the iTunes for Windows dev job openly before admitting the product was pending.

    • Re:2 things (Score:2, Insightful)

      by s_mencer ( 239965 )
      who says they are going to complicate the iPod. perhaps they are just looking to the engineers from the iPod group to come out with a NEW device. they did a great job designing the iPod, now maybe they will design a great video device.

    • Re:2 things (Score:3, Insightful)

      by NanoGator ( 522640 )
      "1) Why do they feel the need to complicate the iPod? People love the fact that it does one primary thing, and does it brilliantly. The iPod is expensive enough without any more frills."

      a.) Complication? Eventually the market will be saturated. There is competition out there. They need to distinguish themselves to keep getting new sales. Besides, how much more complicated would it really be? It's all passive entertainment.

      b.) The iPod's not being sold at cost. They have some wiggle room on the pri
    • Even if they are looking for an engineer with wireless and video experience, it doesn't necessarily mean that the iPod is going to change a lot, or become significantly more complex. The iPod DOES have a display; maybe it needs optimizing. The iPod connects to various devices, so maybe cordless updating of your music is an option. (Cordless updating whenever you got near to your computer would be a simplification in some ways.)

      I wouldn't worry about Apple putting out a video iPod or a wireless super-iPod a

    • Re:2 things (Score:3, Insightful)

      by SilentChris ( 452960 )
      "does one primary thing, and does it brilliantly"

      Meh. I own one, and while I think it's the best MP3 player on the market, I wouldn't call it "brilliant". The fact that I've had to restore on 2 different generations is reason enough to call it "great, but not perfect".

    • Re:2 things (Score:3, Insightful)

      by kitzilla ( 266382 )
      1) Why do they feel the need to complicate the iPod? People love the fact that it does one primary thing, and does it brilliantly. The iPod is expensive enough without any more frills.

      A Wi-Fi iPod will allow you to stream internet broadcasts. It will be the beginning of a terrestrial competitor to what we now know as radio.

      Worth doing.

  • What's up with it? Yes, a small HDD with an old cellphone level electronics. $300 bucks it is not IMO. With "Video and WiFi" it won't be below $600 I guess and there are clearly better ways to spend them on quite cool gadgets.

  • Diamonds (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Klar ( 522420 ) * <curchin@g[ ]l.com ['mai' in gap]> on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:42PM (#10110833) Homepage Journal
    I'm supprised they aren't looking for more jewlers after making P Diddy a diamond iPod [tacyltd.com].. damn

  • Sigh... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Rxke ( 644923 )
    Not again, please.... Macrumors had this too, and a gazillion other messageboards, I'd bet.

    Everytime Apple hires someone, people want to think it has to do something with the iPod.

    They make pretty good computers too, you know?

  • job requirements can lie (Score:5, Informative)

    by Infonaut ( 96956 ) <infonaut@gmail.com> on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:42PM (#10110836) Homepage Journal
    I remember seeing plenty of ads in the DC metro area back in the mid-90s, in which corporations were seeking Java programmers with 5-8 years experience. I'm not kidding.

    Obviously Apple knows their job announcements are scrutinized, and it wouldn't surprise me if they were casting a broader net than they need to be, as insurance against future needs that may or may not materialize.

  • Logical Next Step (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Maestro4k ( 707634 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:43PM (#10110851) Journal
    This isn't too surprising, it's a logical next step to take since digital video runs a close 2nd behind digital music in terms of popularity online. It'd also be a bit of a boon to portable video devices since not having to waste power to spin a disk would give longer battery life.

    The only thing I wonder about is how the MPAA and its member companies will take this. Hopefully Apple's talked to them already or is in the process or they could find themselves with a wonderful videoPod without any way to get movies for it legally. Given their success with iTunes and the iTunes store I'm inclined to believe they have this worked out already though.

    I wasn't as excited about the iPod since I have a portable CD/Mp3 player and it works fine for me. I would be quite excited and interested in a video device though.

  • iP0D (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    ur n3w 1 570p 5|-|0p 4 pr0n

    Not only carries music, but it'll take in 40 gigs worth of divx or mpeg for your viewing "pleasure"

    Included in the posh packaging is the new ipod, battery charger, headphones, and hand lotion. How thoughtful, Apple. Thanks.

  • My guess goes for revamped Airport Express (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Trurl's Machine ( 651488 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:43PM (#10110857) Journal
    I think in the next future Apple will improve its often underlooked yet very interesting piece of hardware - the Airport Express [apple.com] base station. Since we have now iTunes music streaming to your home stereo system, video streaming to your home cinema system sounds like the next logical step. I'd rather expect this "engineer" to work in this field. I don't believe in video iPod as it would be simply not feasible. You can walk the street and listen to the music, you can't walk the street and watch a movie (especially not on a 3-inch screen). At least not unless Apple introduces some nano-implants allowing the movie to be streamed wirelessly directly to your retina...
    • I don't believe in video iPod as it would be simply not feasible. More like already been done [archos.com] Maybe not sellable, but that's a different issue. Here's a hint: video out is pretty cheap and easy to implement, so that 3-inch screen is NOT a limitation. Look at how many people are buying DVD players for their cars. Look at the cars that are already iPod ready. Now put 2 and 2 together!
      • Maybe not sellable, but that's a different issue.

        I'd say it's a quite important issue for a commercial enterprise :-).
      • A video iPod could be just the thing for long commutes and frequent fliers. I lived an hour outside NYC and had to take the train an hour and a half each way, every day for a while... I would've loved something like that. Sure, most Americans drive-- but on the East Coast, in the Bay Area, in Europe and Asia there are millions and millions with similar commutes.

        Add video-out, and the 3-inch-screen complaints are meaningless. It's a handheld VCR. Anyway, a tiny screen is more watchable than you might t
  • I just setup airtunes in my house (2 seperate places) and I have to say its been a lot of fun... with an Ipod wirelessly connected into it, I could see it being a whole lot easier, especially with friends coming over and bringing their own party list without the hassle of bringing them into the computer room

  • Nothing succeeds like success. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Doc Ruby ( 173196 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:46PM (#10110887) Homepage Journal
    I wish job postings for *my* company made it to Slashdot's front page on a Monday afternoon.

  • Re: engineer (Score:2, Insightful)

    by EmperorKagato ( 689705 ) *
    Why only one engineer? I could understand if there is a hiring budget or time constraint(getting the new employees up to speed). If I was in charge or necessary resources for the project i would consider hiring more than just one. No telling what may happen(the Engineer's a control freak etc...)

    • Why only one engineer?

      Because this is a replacement position for an already existing project team.

      SteveM

    • The single engineer is probably being brought in to work on an existing proof of concept. I am sure that this first engineer is just a pebble in the pond. Soon enough they'll get together a whole team

      On a side note.. I think that the next iPod should have some kind of celluar integration. It would be nice to talk about with a 60 GB hard drive that does more than play music and solitare. It would also be nice to walk about with a picture phone that does more than ring when I am needed.

      Think of the
    • They probably already have a team put together and just need to fill it out a bit more.
  • It seems like a natural progression for the device. What I really want to know is what sort of WiFi they're looking into. Will it simply stream music and not video? If Apple does intend for this to stream video as well, as the "article" implies, 802.11* works well enough for audio, but the chop factor gets to be a big problem with video.

    No mention of ultra wide band in there. It would be interesting if they tried it though. The iPod might have enough buy-in with consumers to make this technology finally take off.

  • The Ultimate Plugin? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Dark Paladin ( 116525 ) * <jhummel.johnhummel@net> on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:48PM (#10110916) Homepage
    Apple should probably know by now that the iPod has a lot of "value added" potential, outside of the music player.

    It functions exceptionally as an MP3/AAC/AIFF/Audible player - no dispute about that. It works well as an audio recorder from what I've heard. And it also functions "decently" as a calendar/address book/note taker.

    Apple might be seeing something beyond a "video iPod". Personally, based on what Mr. Jobs has said, I'd be surprised if it went that route. Most people I know don't care to be watching video as they walk/exercise/work/drive.

    But what if the iPod became more of a hub? Take the current Airport Express device - 802.11 device plus audio player and print server. What if your iPod could wirelessly transmit audio to it, so you wouldn't need another computer on all the time - just pick up the iPod, and it would be like a little remote. Or you enter the room with your iPod, and the Airport Express starts playing what's on there, so you have seamless music from your earphones to your speakers.

    Imagine if that could be done with video as well - just take the videos you made with iMovie or one of Apple's major movie editors, and plunk it onto the iPod. Now you can go to the other room and demo the movie on the TV set.

    Remember how The Lord of the Rings was downloaded onto iPods and transferred to the editing room? Imagine a digital video camera that, instead of a small tape, just plugged in an iPod - direct from video to hard drive, and then just plug it into the computer and edit away. Or, if you have a digital camera, same thing - and now you can wirelessly transmit those photos to your computer for editing/emailing and the like.

    So rather than a "video iPod", I wonder if Apple won't make the iPod an extension of the "digital hub" idea. Of course, knowing Apple, those features will work best with a Mac - but if they get other companies like HP to jump on the bandwagon and support these functions with their devices and software, Apple won't care - they'll still be selling iPods and cashing in the checks at the bank.

    Of course, just an idea. I could be wrong.
  • Its a cover. With WiFi and BT it's going to be a way for Apple to control the masses with portable Reality Distortion Field generators everywhere!

  • Plug-ons (Score:3, Interesting)

    by mveloso ( 325617 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:54PM (#10110986)
    You'd think that all this stuff (wi-fi, video) could be plug-ons for the iPod, much like the Media Reader and microphone.

    Why burden the base unit down with this stuff when you can blast it to a plug-on? As long as the firmware supports it, of course.

  • Shipping (Score:3, Funny)

    by The_Rippa ( 181699 ) * on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:56PM (#10111006)
    Here's a request from Apple: Instead of working on wifi, make enough of the fucking iPods you have now so that every retailer but you isn't backordered for weeks!

    • Re:Shipping (Score:2, Interesting)

      by jhurshman ( 722388 )
      If I recall correctly, the difficulty in obtaining iPods is more due to the constrained supply of the Toshiba hard drives they are built around than to anything Apple has control over.

  • how could this not be true? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Hollins ( 83264 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @02:59PM (#10111038) Homepage

    This particular story may be a hoax, as others have pointed out, but how could Apple not be looking to add wireless to the iPod?

    Wireless means:

    • no cables when synchronizing
    • play songs on the stereo while holding the iPod on the couch
    • share songs with people you don't know (and can't see) at the airport (ok, less likely given DRM, but cool).

    With mp3 functionality being integrated into all-in-one cellphones, Apple could also being looking into this market, which may be critical for the survival of the iPod. And who better than Apple to give a simple interface that controls all these functions? BTW, I'm willing to give out gmail invites in exchange for completed referrals at freeipods.com.

  • How can I get one of this... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by NeoCode ( 207863 ) <unnamedplayer@nospam.rogers.com> on Monday August 30, 2004 @03:01PM (#10111048)
    Oh vanity, thou name is a dimond studded ipod [engadget.com]

  • Apple Psyops... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by macthulhu ( 603399 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @03:01PM (#10111049)
    I think they get together in the boardroom once in a while and come up with stories to mess with people. Apple has a history of setting the bar on new tech, yet they don't (for various reasons) often get the credit for doing so. Perhaps it's a dual effort... Their "competitors" get thrown into confusion trying to figure out who they'll need to reverse engineer the product as soon as it's available, and the forums on places like /. go crazy trying to speculate what it is, and how it will perform... despite complete ignorance to what the product is.

    If I were running Apple, I would do it just to read what all of us armchair quarterback types have to say about it. Think about it... People's guesses may be combinations of tech that Apple didn't think of yet, and they get free market feasability research at the same time. Plus, it's funny.

    Of course, if I were running Apple I'd stop making products that get handled a lot out of white plastic (iPods, keyboards, and the like).

  • I qualify with my A+ cert!! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Mateito ( 746185 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @03:06PM (#10111085) Homepage
    Experience in the following areas is important:

    system integration - Check. I installed Samba last week

    digital logic - Check. That's ones and zeros, right?

    SDRAM - Check. I use that in my camera

    Flash - Check. I flashed my DVD-rom thingy to be region free

    ASIC - Um. That's like a CPU for a nintendo.

    processor selection - Check. AMD beats Intel every time. Only fan boys use Intel.

    ATAPI - Check. I've installed Harddrives before

    various communication protocols (ie: GSM, Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11, Firewire, and USB) - Check: I've got a GSM phone and a USB flash drive.

    display types and video and analog integration. - Check. How easy peasy! Just match the colors on the cable plugs and the sockets.

    Apple, here I come!

    Wonder if I should change my name to "iMateito"?

  • I love my iPod, but really.... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Omega1045 ( 584264 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @03:07PM (#10111095)
    I just bought an iPod (new 20gb with the click wheel, 12 hour bat) about 3 weeks ago and I love it. It is easily the highest quality electronic device I have ever owned or used.

    That being said, do we really care about an Apple job posting? I think bluetooth or Wifi integration would be very cool in the iPod. But this story just seems down right silly. If Sony posted an ad in their Walkman division for the same skills would it be noticed? What about Rio? We don't even know what this means, and speculation before they have even gotten going on the hiring process just seems like a waste of time.

    This is pre-vaporware, if there is such a thing.

  • People regularly complain about the iPod's relatively small battery capacity. A video iPod would be much worse.

    Ninety percent of the time, an iPod does nothing more than decode MP3's from a RAM cache and drive a pair of headphones.

    If you add to that a backlit color LCD, a WiFi transceiver and video decoding, you'd be lucky to get an hour's worth of play time. For that reason, I don't expect to see a video iPod any time soon.

  • Jebus... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by jayhawk88 ( 160512 ) <jayhawk88@gmail.com> on Monday August 30, 2004 @03:10PM (#10111114)
    ...how'd you like to be a member of that interview team?

    "OK, we need to find someone that can take our flagship, multi-million dollar product and add a layer of function and complexity onto it not yet realized in the electronics field anywhere."

    I mean, unless the designers of the Walkman or Gameboy come strolling in, what kind of candidate is it going to take to fill this position?
  • The iPod's core functionality for me is as a data repository. That includes music, so it plugs into my car stereo. But it is also one of my backup drives, and emergency boot disk, plus it has all my contacts and calendars on it. Mine is one of the old ones so it doesn't record audio, but if it did I would certainly make use of that functionality.

    I could care less if I can watch movies on it -- I think the portable movie-player market is tiny anyway. Functionality that WOULD be great for me would be a firew

  • Does no one else have an Apple ID? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Have Blue ( 616 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @03:14PM (#10111147) Homepage
    Sign into Apple's job site and go to job requisition ID 2142016 . You should find this:
    The iPod group is looking for a Hardware Engineer. This person will be an individual contributor on a top notch team with responsibilities for the design, implementation, and integration of digital and analog electronics. The applicant should be familiar with computer system architecture and digital design. Duties include schematic capture, prototype bring-up and debugging, hardware bug tracking, functional verification, signal characterization, and manufacturing support.


    The ideal candidate is someone from a consumer electronics background dealing with high volume, low power, high quality products.

    Required Experience:
    • BS/MS EE or equivalent required.
    • Must have great EE fundamentals.
    • 5+ years overall experience needed, 3+ years in a lead role preferred.
    • Experience in the following areas is important: system integration, digital logic, SDRAM, Flash, ASIC's, processor selection, ATAPI, various communication protocols, display types and analog integration.
    • Broad experience: both digital and analog.
    • Experience building actual products in labs.
    Note that there is nothing in there about video or wireless; the parenthetical expression in the article text was added by the reporter and the video integration comment is completely out of left field. This is either extremely wishful thinking on the part of Overclockers Club or an outright fabrication.
    • In addition, if you search for job #2164666, you see a slightly different opening paragraph:

      The iPod and Special Projects Group (SPG), the team that invented the iPod and iSight, is looking for a Hardware Engineer. This person will be an individual contributor on a top notch team with responsibilities for the design, implementation, and integration of digital and analog electronics.

      Yeah, the group that also came up with the iSight has no reason to be looking at "display types".

      I would be interested i

    • Re:Does no one else have an Apple ID? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by slashdot.org ( 321932 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @05:04PM (#10112201) Homepage Journal
      Of course you failed to mention the other alternative, which is that Apple _removed_ that section. (which is, what it sounds like, what happened)

      Still, looking at job adds is an old trick for competitors and journalist to 'research' a company, and Apple of all places should know that.

      On the other hand, it's not terribly reliable though. I've known plenty of companies that posted job openings that did not exist, just to get competitors on the wrong foot.

      So this 'news' really isn't 'news'. What it basically says is either:
      a) Apple is going to do something with video; their job add said so and then they tried to cover it up, see?
      or:
      b) Apple wants there to be some spread of rumors about video; they released a fake job add and then deleted certain parts to make it more believable.

      (b) is maybe too tin-foil, but if I can think of it, I'm sure the people at Apple can too.
  • I would think that with the library of music and movies Sony owns, and its electronic audio/video division, it should be way ahead of the computer company. Will Sony come out with a next-generation portable entertainment device? Will Apple beat them to the punch? Stay tuned!

  • Just to point out the obvious (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Cyberllama ( 113628 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @03:25PM (#10111256)
    Keep in mind that the ipod already has a screen, the requirements listed don't necessarily mean that they plan on improving on it any. "Display types and video and analog integration . . ." knowledge would probably be necessary for the existing ipods as well.

    My guess? They'll make an ipod with a color screen, but it probably still won't do video.

  • Speculating on Vaporware... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Billy the Mountain ( 225541 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @03:25PM (#10111258) Journal
    ...looks a whole lot more intelligent now that people have started speculating on the meaning of job postings :\

    I think that Sig I saw was correct after all: The earth's intelligence if finite yet the population is growing.

    BTM
  • Why not stuff a GPS in there too? That would be cool. Sell a ruggedized version with optional topo map software, maybe even a location-based voice note taking setup. The hardware is all out there, just begging to be integrated. DeLorme has packages with all the hardware and software alreay put together, so there's even a potential tech partner to help them avoid re-inventing the wheel.

  • more likely ... (Score:3, Informative)

    by for_usenet ( 550217 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @03:41PM (#10111432)

    If this link/posting was indeed true, I would think this would be more for someone working on the video version of the airport express base station, as the audio/WiFi version is already out there.

    Little steps at a time folks, little steps ...

  • Still no radio? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by s7uar7 ( 746699 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @03:44PM (#10111457) Homepage
    You can keep your wi-fi and video, the main thing that puts me off buying an iPod is the lack of FM radio for listening to sport & talk radio. Seriously, how much would it cost Apple to add such a simple feature?

  • Important distinction (Score:3, Insightful)

    by realinvalidname ( 529939 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @04:15PM (#10111720) Homepage

    iPod group, not necessarily iPod product. It's possible that this group will evolve into a multi-faceted consumer electronics effort, but there's no point in Apple publicly acknowledging as much now. So for now, they call it the "iPod" group, after its one product.

    Or, maybe someone actually wants to watch videos on a twinkie little 2" screen.

    --realinvalidname

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