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Media (Apple) Media

Rumors of Next Generation of Ipods 426

Posted by michael from the back-fence-gossip dept.
xyankee writes "Apple is on the verge of releasing a 60GB iPod that will not only hold a ton of music, but also sport photo-viewing capabilities! Think Secret is reporting that the new iPod will also have a 2-inch high-resolution LCD display, video-out, and enhancements to iPhoto for synchronizing photos. The best part is it'll be just 2mm thicker than regular iPods. Does this mean that iPhoto for Windows might not be far behind? Also, as a note to all the rumor pundits, Think Secret nailed the iMac G5 specs a month before its announcement, so I'm inclined to believe them with this bit as well."
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Rumors of Next Generation of Ipods More

Rumors of Next Generation of Ipods

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  • Gimme more! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 08, 2004 @08:41AM (#10469100)
    60GB = Lots of pr0n

    • Re:Gimme more! (Score:3, Informative)

      by SilentChris ( 452960 )
      Get one of these [archos.com] and you can watch pr0n movies in DivX and XviD. And it's the same size as an iPod.

  • Ultimate geek device (Score:5, Funny)

    by XiC ( 207670 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @08:42AM (#10469107)
    P0rn to go.....

    How handy !(pun intended)

  • Credible (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 08, 2004 @08:42AM (#10469108)
    Think Secret, while not 100% accurate, does have a pretty darn good track record for pre-release specs. It's certainly the most credible Mac rumor site out there. I'm inclined to believe them as well. Now I just have to find $500...

    • Re:Credible (Score:5, Informative)

      by nine-times ( 778537 ) <nine.times@gmail.com> on Friday October 08, 2004 @09:33AM (#10469405) Homepage
      Yeah, I would be totally dismissive of this rumor if it weren't from ThinkSecret. It seems very quick to be coming out with a new iPod revision, and it just sounds like typical Mac-head rumormill stuff. "Like, OMG!!! The new Powerbook G5 is coming out in three days!!!"

      But ThinkSecret tends to be weary of these sorts of rumors, and usually doesn't post something like this unless they have someone they believe to be a credible inside source. Still, you're right, they're not 100%.

    • Re:Credible (Score:3, Informative)

      by SilentChris ( 452960 )
      "Now I just have to find $500..."

      Save your money and get a gmini400 [archos.com] that does more for cheaper.

    • Re:Credible (Score:3, Interesting)

      by the_Librarian ( 17089 )
      They have a decent track record, but read the article - they claim that Apple will market a 60gb ipod as holding 20000 songs _and_ 25000 pictures? I can feel the monkeys flying out of my butt right now... a 40gb ipod will hold (according to Apple) 10000 songs, so somehow a 50% increase in space will hold another 10000 songs and 25000 photos?

      Sounds like someone's on the wish-fulfilment crack pipe there.

    • Re:Credible (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Mark Hood ( 1630 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @10:11AM (#10469766) Homepage
      I suspect it'll just be a larger 4G iPod, with the ability to show Album Art stored in the ID3 tags.

      As others have pointed out, most digital cameras have a larger screen, so the only advantage here is additional storage... Nice as it is to have all your photos with you, and of course it'll have TV-out, I can't see it being used to really show them off with the same size screen as the current iPod.

      Who knows, maybe there'll be the long-fabled firmware release that makes the current 4G iPods colour-screened ;)

      Mark

  • Yeah...but... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by bugbeak ( 711163 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @08:42AM (#10469109)
    didn't the iPod make it because it played MP3s, and played them well?

    • Re:Yeah...but... (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Jakhel ( 808204 )
      if it can do both, why not let it? Don't fear convergence, embrace it.

    • Re:Yeah...but... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by geekwithglasses ( 734205 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @08:55AM (#10469189) Homepage
      Yeah, the iPod does well because it does one thing better than any other player. I have an Archos that does video and music, and I hate it. Clunky interface, heavy, and over all, just poor design.I take my iPod everywhere and I get a TON o use out of it.

      If Apple can make a portable image/video player that has the functionality and respnosiveness as the iPod, then I'm in.

      After the deal [slashdot.org] with Steve Balmer and his comments that Microsoft will dominate the convergence market for computer based entertainment, I'd love to see Apple come in and lay down another big seller.

    • Yes it did, but also... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anaphiel ( 712680 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @08:56AM (#10469195)
      ... the iPod functions as a portable hard drive with a fast FireWire connection, which influenced my buying decision. I use it to carry files back and forth to clients and school more than I do for playing music.

      And if the new iPods can be connected directly to a digital camera to store, sort, review, and manage photos in the field, I'd be able to leave my laptop behind on shoots.

      The only time a new feature is a bad thing is if it impairs the access or usage of an existing feature. If Apple can implement picture viewing without changing the UI dramatically, or the input method (click wheel), and doesn't make the form factor too large or the battery life too short, I'm all for it.

      • Re:Yes it did, but also... (Score:5, Informative)

        by Omega1045 ( 584264 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @09:16AM (#10469316)
        As did the Lord of the Rings movie crew. They used iPods as portable hard drives because the place Peter Jackson was staying at was a few blocks from high speed internet. They would dump large movie files onto the iPod (I assume via Firewire) and take them over to his place to view.
      • And if the new iPods can be connected directly to a digital camera to store, sort, review, and manage photos in the field, I'd be able to leave my laptop behind on shoots.

        I know Steve Jobs said in the past he's against the idea of mixing different stuff into just one gadget, but I'd really like an iPod with an integrated camcorder. Especially with a 60gb HD.

      • Give this a try iPodbackup [mac.com]

        It's the best thing, ever.

        I was using my iPod as a manual backup, now it's a mirror of my home folder, synced every time I plug in.

    • Re:Yeah...but... (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Stone316 ( 629009 )
      Yeah the iPod was successfull because it played music well (and a good ad campaign) but in all seriousness most people don't have 40+ gigs of music files. So that extra space is either useless or can be used for other purposes such as backups or carrying around important files (like your resume). Personally I think its an excellent idea...

      I have a 2 meg digital camera and have taken about 7k pictures of the past couple of years.. Thats still less than 10 gigs of space. With this device I could carr

  • Well.... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by plazman30 ( 531348 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @08:42AM (#10469110) Homepage
    Think Secret also spent a lot fo time showing the new Apple PDA along with supposed screen shots and that never surfaced...

    • Re:Well.... (Score:3, Interesting)

      by mirko ( 198274 )
      Exactly, it's not the first time they discuss such new iPods, they actually overhyped some similarly featured iPod as soon as Spring 2004 but they had to admit they were wrong.
      I don't think Apple will do it, because it's just not convenient to use a 2 inch lcd screen to see photos that have been most probably taken on a dig camera with a dedicated similarly large screen...
      Anyway, if Apple does such a device, I guess it'll more and more look like the PDA Newton lovers have been expecting for years...
      I sugges

    • Re:Well.... (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Steve Jobs is on record as saying that they developed one, but that they didn't bring it to market - so Think Secret weren't that far out.

    • Re:Well.... (Score:2, Informative)

      by loquacious d ( 635611 )
      I think you might be thinking of SpyMac, with their perpetual iWalk hoaxing. ThinkSecret AFAIK has never jumped on that particular rumor bandwagon.

      • Re:Well.... (Score:3, Informative)

        by plazman30 ( 531348 )
        You're right. I was thinking of SpyMac. ThinkSecret is a pretty good site. My bad... Either way, KEEP A COLOR SCREEN OFF THE IPOD. Color screens suck outdoors.

    • Re:Well.... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by kitzilla ( 266382 ) <.moc.liamg. .ta. .gorfrepap.> on Friday October 08, 2004 @10:11AM (#10469768) Homepage Journal
      That's true, but Jobs has hinted that Apple *did* design an updated version of the Newton that never made it to market. Think Secret might have been right.

      While no rumor site is 100% on-the-money, I've found TS to be the best of the bunch. They're not given to empty speculation.

  • iPod slightly less Mini (Score:3, Informative)

    by X_Caffeine ( 451624 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @08:46AM (#10469127)
    the iPod mini is also rumored to bump up to 6gb [appleinsider.com]. (less is more, suckaz!)

  • Viewing photos? Hmm (Score:3, Informative)

    by twocoasttb ( 601290 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @08:47AM (#10469135)
    I'm not sure that the ability to view photos would be an incentive for me to upgrade to a newer iPod; the screen would just be too small to make it worthwhile. However, the idea of integrating the iPod with iPhoto to make it easier to transport photos from one place to another would be appealing. Being able to sync a smart list of recent photos to the iPod before going back east to visit the family would be really cool...

  • Next 30-60 days? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mystereys ( 673518 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @08:47AM (#10469137) Homepage Journal
    The article says in the next 30-60 days. Although that makes sense in terms of the holiday shopping season, didn't they just come out with the 4th gen ipod, oh, 3 or 4 months ago? You still have problems finding accessories for the 4th gen--most of the cases sold in the stores are still for the 3rd gen ipod.

  • FM Tuner? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by dl107227 ( 632747 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @08:48AM (#10469141)
    Someday they will manage the technological feat of incorporating an FM tuner into the IPod. When I have the option of listening to NPR or my music collection I may switch to the IPod. Right now I will stick with my IRiver player.
    • Better still, have a DAB digital radio receiver. I would happily shell out for a decent personal DAB radio with multi-gigabyte digital music storage.

      Is it that much to ask?

    • Re:FM Tuner? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by mgs1000 ( 583340 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @09:15AM (#10469306) Journal
      I'm guessing most people buy an iPod so they don't have to listen to the crap that's on FM radio today.

  • more screen? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by anocelot ( 657966 )
    I thought the screen was the part on the iPods that broke most often... If that's true, (and it was in my case) I really hope they have better design to go with that larger screen.

  • The Killer App Would be... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Mean_Nishka ( 543399 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @08:52AM (#10469164) Homepage Journal
    ..an Apple smartphone ala the Treo 600. Imagine a mobile OSX based device with a 60 gig drive for playing music. Now that I'd pay a few hundred bucks for..

    When I bought my treo, I was so happy to ditch having to walk around with two geeky devices. So of course I ended up buying a 20 gig iPod and still walk around with two geeky devices. Jobs has said the smartphone is the future of the PDA - does that mean an eventual merging of these technologies?

  • Maybe (Score:4, Informative)

    by blackmonday ( 607916 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @08:53AM (#10469174) Homepage
    This rumor seems plausible, but go to macrumors and there's always some rumor or another. Thinksecret may have the best record in getting it right, but their word isn't gold. Having said that:

    I'm not that excited about a photo iPod. I worry about battery life, because my 3rd gen gets only about 6 hours. The 4th gen is better, supposedly double, but it seems to me a color screen will severely drain battery life.

    Now that my powerbook has a DVD burner, I find it pretty easy to burn a picture DVD in DVD Studio Pro (not free), but it plays pretty much everywhere and the media is now dirt cheap in bulk. And it has music, menus, etc. The iPod just seems like a gimmick in this arena. But maybe Stebe will surprise me!

    PS Hey Stebe give me the wifi iPod rather than the photo iPod!

  • Wait a moment... This thing has "sport photo viewing capabilities"? So I can only look at sport photos? I dunno... I prefer to see my sports through a video feed of some sort more than I like still photos. :)
    • Maybe they meant that not only can you listen to your iPod while jogging, you can look at those photo albums you always wanted to look at while jogging or walking. Watch out for that treem though.

  • Only 6:55 AM in california, (Score:4, Informative)

    by Jucius Maximus ( 229128 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @08:57AM (#10469201) Journal
    How long until Apple forces this article off the net?

    EXCLUSIVE: 60GB iPod to pack photo-viewing features

    By Ryan Katz, Senior Editor
    October 8, 2004 - After three years of being synonymous with "digital music player," Apple's iPod will widen its horizons and gain photo-viewing capabilities within the next 30 to 60 days, highly reliable sources tell Think Secret.

    The new iPod, which will sit at the top of Apple's fourth-generation line-up, will pack Toshiba's new 60GB 1.8-inch hard drive, a 2-inch color liquid crystal display, iPhoto synchronization, audio/video-out capabilities, and will sell for $499.

    The new iPod is currently in production in Asia after delays from Toshiba in delivering its new 60GB drive hampered a planned early-September ramp up. Sources confirm Toshiba started shipping the drive to Apple in mid-September and iPod manufacturer Inventec began building the new device in the last two weeks.

    The new iPod's form factor will be identical to the existing 4G iPods, sources report, but will be two millimeters thicker than the current 40GB iPod and marginally heavier.

    The 2-inch color screen is identical in size to other iPods, but will sport a higher resolution for photo viewing. However, the new device's real shining feature will be its video-out port, which will enable users to tote their photo galleries with them, ready to be plugged into any television for big-screen viewing.

    The 60GB iPod will feature only rudimentary built-in software for viewing photos, with no editing tools, sources say. Photo albums will be navigated in a similar fashion to music playlists, and a slideshow feature will provide transitions with user-specified background music, similar to iPhoto. Synchronizing features similar to iTunes will also be added to iPhoto.

    The new iPod won't feature built-in flash memory stick slots for downloading photos from digital cameras, although such a feature will presumably be able to be employed through Belkin's $99 Media Reader.

    Sources indicate that Apple will market the new photo iPod as being capable of storing 20,000 music tracks and 25,000 photos. As an added bonus for music fans, album artwork will be displayed on screen when it's available for a selected track.

    Rumors of a 60GB iPod first surfaced in June, when Toshiba said that it was in the process of developing a 60GB drive and, much to the ire of Apple, confirmed that the iPod maker had already committed to buying it in quantity.
  • Photos, eh? No thanks. I'm all in favor of throwing some additional functionality into the iPod, but I'm not sure photos should be it, any more than I'm sure that a camera goes with a cell-phone. I for one would rather them port iCal to Windows and add some more advanced PDA functionality to the iPod. People who already want an iPod might finally drop the cash if it was also a decent PDA and could replace their old Palm or what have you. That's something people need. Does anyone really need a a portab
    • Does anyone really need a a portable digital photo album?

      I'm guessin' you don't have children (or, especially, grandchildren).
      • "I'm guessin' you don't have children (or, especially, grandchildren)."

        That's true. But I never said no one would want the feature. I just don't think it's going to be the must-have feature that pushes people that are on the fence into picking up an iPod, especially when you need to pay $200 more to get it (20GB vs this one).

  • Great for digital cameras (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 08, 2004 @08:57AM (#10469204)
    As digital cameras keep producing larger and larger file sizes, it's getting to be quite worthwhile to have someplace to dump the contents of your flash cards.
    If this new i-pod has a CF reader built in, I wouldn't need to carry half a dozen 512MB flash cards, I could just fill one card, dump it into the i-pod and keep on shooting.
    Devices like this do exist already, but none of them are really easy to use and carry.

  • Not a chance (Score:3, Interesting)

    by boredMDer ( 640516 ) <pmohr+slashdot@boredmder.com> on Friday October 08, 2004 @09:00AM (#10469220)
    They've pretty much just released the 4th gen; no way they're coming out with a 5G so soon.

    Simple as that.

    • Re:Not a chance (Score:5, Informative)

      by twbecker ( 315312 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @09:10AM (#10469280)
      They're not going to market it as a 5G, but rather the top of the line 4G. From TFA:

      "The new iPod, which will sit at the top of Apple's fourth-generation line-up, will pack Toshiba's new 60GB 1.8-inch hard drive, a 2-inch color liquid crystal display, iPhoto synchronization, audio/video-out capabilities, and will sell for $499."
  • the way of the cell phone? assuming this rumor to be true, are we seeing yet another device have "features" added on to a product who did its job well and is now going to be ruined by unnecessary additions?

  • Visualation (Score:3, Interesting)

    by moberry ( 756963 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @09:03AM (#10469240)
    What i would like to see is a winamp style visualation feature. Just use a QVGA 16-bit color screen.

    I know, you dont NEED it, but it would be better than picture support.
    • iTunes has the best visualisation I've ever seen, so if anything, Apple are experts at visualisation and don't need to stinkin points on it from AOL.

  • Add-ons could be great (Score:5, Interesting)

    by MacEnvy ( 549188 ) * <jbocinski@NospAM.bocinski.com> on Friday October 08, 2004 @09:04AM (#10469247) Journal
    Not only would this be a great image dump for memory cards (with a firewire adapter), but think of the possibilities with another add-on:

    A digital camera adapter

    I could see a 4 MP camera that would attach right to the bottom of the iPod. Now that would be cool, an iPod with photo-taking capabilities. There might just be a good market for that. Plus, 60 GB of photos in your camera would be sweet ...

  • Does this mean that I can store videos (avi, qm, mpg), and have it played on my TV also?

    Now that would make me buy it if I could not only have my music and images, but also a few movies that I can play via my hotel rooms TV when I'm on the road!

  • Cost? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 08, 2004 @09:18AM (#10469323)

    The best part is it'll be just 2mm thicker than regular iPods.

    Yeah, but how much thinner will your wallet be?

  • I can imagine being able to dump data from your camera to your ipod via firewire on the fly. While compact flash and SD cards are coming down in price, it would still be a whole lot cheaper to have a 60GB storage device ($400?) that would double as a viewer -- saving your camera battery.

  • Album art (Score:5, Interesting)

    by dimer0 ( 461593 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @09:20AM (#10469338)
    Oh, it would be wicked cool if the iPod would display the album art of any songs it's playing - with the song name superimposed over the top. Ahh

    Imagine what this capability would do for the interface in general...

    Yum. I'd buy.

  • Gee...innovative (Score:3, Interesting)

    by HMV ( 44906 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @09:23AM (#10469355)
    My antiquated 20 GB Archos Jukebox Multimedia has been playing MP3s and showing photos and videos for a few years (not to mention taking photos and videos through a low-quality camera attachment).

    The iPod succeeded because of its tight integration and sync via iTunes and its superior UI. Syncing my Archos is a pain, but it is well ahead in the feature set.

  • What about recording? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by gidds ( 56397 ) <slashdot&gidds,me,uk> on Friday October 08, 2004 @09:29AM (#10469380) Homepage
    I'm still waiting for the much-rumoured ability to record music on my 3G iPod...

    And I'm not talking about voice notes, either, but CD-quality, stereo, uncompressed audio, from a mic or line input. The iPod chipset is supposed to support this already, so all it would need is a software update. Apparently...

    I do concert recordings (with permission), and that would make things so much easier. [fx: sigh]

    • You could get an iRiver. Not quite as slick as the iPod, but it is comparable (and a bit cheaper if you get it online). It has line in and digital in and can record wavs or mp3s up to 320kbs. It would be a lot better than carrying a DAT around at least.

      Just a suggestion. I own both a 3G iPod (10gig) and an iRiver (40gig) and think they are both great. I would have stuck with the iPod if Apple ever added significant new features to it. I'm a little tired of Apple releasing minor revisions with nothin

  • Archos? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by smartguy ( 157742 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @09:45AM (#10469498)
    Yawn...

    Archos AV400 supports audio, video (divx/xvid), photos and act as a USB external drive too. 80GB models are available today and work with most any OS.

    It seems to me that iPods tend to be more of a status symbol than a breakthrough in technology.

    [This is not meant as a flame. I own a 17" Powerbook myself.]

  • Check out Olympus m:robe (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jonr ( 1130 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @09:52AM (#10469562) Homepage Journal
    (Yeah, silly name)
    dpreview.com (scroll down) [dpreview.com]

    dpnow.com [dpnow.com]

    Looks very interesting...

  • Battery life? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by MacGod ( 320762 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @10:09AM (#10469749)
    Should this come to pass, I hope they do something about the battery life. While the battery life on my iPod is fine for me (makes it through the workday), it seems to be the biggest complaint people have (other than price) when comparing the iPod to the Dell, Archos etc MP3 players. I'm worried that adding a colour screen (including the requisite, brighter, always-on backlight), as well as the TV display will sap too much power.

  • The beginning of Apple's "media center" strategy (Score:5, Interesting)

    by daveschroeder ( 516195 ) * on Friday October 08, 2004 @10:10AM (#10469758)
    This is it. The beginning of Apple's "media center" strategy.

    And it's completely different from the way Microsoft and others are approaching it.

    Everyone else has been going about it from the respect of making a whole freaking separate *computer* a part of your entertainment/AV center. A computer with its own maintenance and patching needs, another computer that needs to be upgraded, another computer to break, etc.

    Apple started it with AirPort Express...a wireless device, that integrates with your existing wireless or wired network, integrates with your entertainment center, has analog and digital optical audio outputs, and seamlessly meshes with the applications and techniques you ostensibly already use (or will switch to) for managing your music collection.

    Now, an iPod, with a massive amount of storage, and clearly with a dock or some other capability to attach to an external video device, such as a TV, even if only for viewing photos. This means that some type of interface - whether it's on the TV or the iPod's own screen - has been built to navigate through items that reside on the iPod. Meaning that video playback (as long as the iPod and/or dock can handle the playback/decoding) would be trivial.

    Imagine this: download a movie or other video content on your Mac. Perhaps via the iTunes Store. Sync with your iPod. Drop your iPod into its dock at your entertainment center. Select content (a movie?) and play. Simple. Clean. Doesn't require you to have 45 computers.

    So, yes, this new iPod is "just as expensive" as a PC someone might build or buy to integrate into your entertainment center as a media PC. But think about NORMAL PEOPLE for a second. Think about how unbelievably cool this is.

  • iPod + iSight = camcorder (Score:5, Interesting)

    by waffffffle ( 740489 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @10:14AM (#10469810)
    If this turns out to be true, and the iPod ends up having a nice color screen then Apple could have a real winner on their hands with the iPod + iSight combination. Right now the iSight only needs a firewire connection. With a color screen it would now be possible to use the two as a camcorder if Apple would support this. Apple sent college students to both the democratic and republican conventions with iBooks and iSights to do interviews with the delegates. It seems pretty obvious that that camcorder-like feature is on Apple's radar screen. Personally I could care less about video and more about audio recording. I wish Apple would allow 44.1khz lossless recording with the iPod. Then the iPod (plus external battery) would supplant the portable DAT recorder as the primary tool for LEGAL concert tapers. This is not piracy, but sanctioned recording from the artists. For more information see archive.org/audio

  • ew (Score:3, Interesting)

    by nuggetman ( 242645 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @10:22AM (#10469897) Homepage
    those of us w/ color screen cell phones know they're a bitch to see in sunlight

    i assume it'd be the same on the ipod... since a lot of people (city workers, college kids, people who walk to work in general) are gonna be using these outdoors, i think a color screen would just piss a lot of people off.

  • Hmmmm...iPorn... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Gilmoure ( 18428 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @10:31AM (#10469996) Journal
    on my PornPod. Cool!

  • This had better come soon (Score:3, Interesting)

    by niall2 ( 192734 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @10:48AM (#10470180) Homepage
    This had better come on the 30 day schedule for Apples sake. Christmas is just around the corner and a late Novermber release will not have the splash that a mid to late October one will. Especially if they keep it under wraps as Steve is prone to do.

  • One step closer to Portable Profiles (Score:3, Interesting)

    by amichalo ( 132545 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @10:56AM (#10470330)
    The real benefit of this type device is that it brings us one step closer to a 'Portable Profile' feature - allowing one to connect to ANY Mac via Firewire and 'login' to their roaming profile. With an iPod to transport LARGE files like A/V and a .Mac Account [mac.com] for managing preferences when you are Internet connected but don't have an iPod. The two (iPod and .Mac) would work well together and would help bolster the recurring revenue stream for Apple.

    (PLUS, they would show non-Apple users how much farther ahead Apple is in the user experience game.)

  • How to use your iPod for video/photo playback! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by celerityfm ( 181760 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @01:32PM (#10472529) Journal
    One of the features brandied about when talking about "the photo iPod" is the ability for the thing to plug into a TV and playback slideshows and hopefully one day video.

    I propose that this can already be done. Just look at what these guys have accomplished [engadget.com]. Think deeply about this. If we can encode IR signals into audio files, why not encode images into audio files, dump that audio out the headphone jack of the iPod into a device with a decoder and an RCA jack, and plug that sucker into your TV?!

    In fact they already have something commercially available that can do part of this, converting digital bits into audio-- its called a MODEM (remember those?). The band Information Society was putting samples of MODEM audio onto records and tapes for you to somehow decode back in the 80s! So this idea is really overdue and I believe we are only a few figurative moments away from this becoming a reality, mod this post up to help make it happen or reply with why it won't work ;)

  • sport photos? (Score:3, Funny)

    by corian ( 34925 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @06:44PM (#10475742)
    and we geeks want to view sport photos....because???

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