CNET UK Credits Claim That Apple Will Release Networked TVs 110
r2k writes "While the Apple rumours posted yesterday highlight some of the most commonly talked-about opinions, a writer for CNet UK sat down with Mahalo's Jason Calacanis, who told CNet he knew for a fact that Apple is developing fully networked LCD TV sets. As the writer points out, Apple dropped 'Computer' from its company name for a very good reason."
Wi Fi and Security? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Wi Fi and Security? (Score:5, Funny)
Welcome to GoatseTV.
Distended anus, 24/7.
Re:Wi Fi and Security? (Score:4, Funny)
Great, another channel with crappy programming.
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Distended anus, 24/7."
Ewwww....gives new meaning to the Discovery Channel....
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Yeah, hence the 'GoatseTV' quip.
But I'm only commenting to point out how much the thinkgeek advertisement I got when expanding this post bothers me. "MORE FLEXIBLE SCREWING". Yeah, just the mental image I needed on a Saturday morning. Thanks a lot.
Re:Wi Fi and Security? (Score:4, Informative)
I think you are indeed paranoid. I guess it wouldn't be any different from anything else that's got a wireless connection. Including your laptop.
Unless I'm the one that's not paranoid enough.
This is silly (Score:3, Interesting)
Furthermore, the very idea of hacking into someone's TV to display images on it is pure Hollywood sci-fi.
Think about it for a moment. Even on a completely open network, even imagining some wacky DAAP overflow exploit existing on this imaginary Apple product that allowed local peers to execute arbitrary code over the WLAN, you're talking many minutes of patiently sitting outside, dutifully screwing around in a shell.
No one's going to hack your TV unless they can just drive by, hit a "HACK" button on their la
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Pure Hollywood Sci-Fi??
http://www.videosift.com/video/Original-Max-Headroom-TV-signal-hack-on-22-November-1987 [videosift.com]
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Thank goodness good old fashioned analogue telly had advanced protection against some using a RF transmitter to beam stuff into your home. Errrr
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Holy crap, a TV that receives programming wirelessly, over the air??? What will they think of next??
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Yah, my grandfather's old tube TV already handled [UDP][TCP]/IP, so what's the big deal?
if they did away with the need for the computer... (Score:5, Interesting)
...they could open up a whole new market.
i see a net-equipped TV, with a minimal ARM-based computer built-in, running a lightweight itunes; shows are bought and played entirely with the remote, which has a simple kb for searching for stuff and entering credit card info.
owners could then download shows straight to the tv, which has an upgradable hard drive/flash module
people don't necessarily want a computer, they want to watch tv
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There are plenty of network aware TVs. Take off your apple shaped glasses and visit the real world some time. You'll be surprised how many other companies already do products that apple rumor mongers and fanbois desire.
Yep (Score:4, Insightful)
Phillips showed one off back in 2004 [pcworld.com]. A very quick search turns up several [digitrexusa.com] good examples [sharpusa.com] with varying features and capability.
That won't stop the Apple fanbois from drooling and going "OMG STEVE'S SUCH A GENIUS!" and acting like Apple invented it, though.
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Apple didn't invent the mp3 music player, but they sure as well ran with it.
Apple didn't invent the cell phone, but seem to be doing pretty well in their niche.
Apple didn't invent the non-grey-box computer, but they seem happy with the numbers they are selling.
Apple didn't invent the laptop, yet sell a lot of them.
Who cares what they invent. They are apparently very good with taking an idea that was not-invented-here and making it something the average person will not only pay for but pay a premium for.
No
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But you could replace "Apple" with any number of companies in there! Gasp - Apple make products - big deal!
The point is that Apple fans do try to make some special claim - that they were first to do it, or when challenged, this is then modified with some special qualifier, or some odd reason is made as to way the actual first doesn't count.
Lots of companies make mp3 players, phones, desktop computers (and non-grey ones too, but I'm not sure why the colour matters - that's what I mean by the special qualifie
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The point is that Apple fans do try to make some special claim -
Yeah, that it actually works and connects to something usable.
Re:Yep (Score:5, Insightful)
That won't stop the Apple fanbois from drooling and going "OMG STEVE'S SUCH A GENIUS!" and acting like Apple invented it, though.
You're missing the point. Not inventing something for the first time, never stopped Apple from dominating the market with their own version.
The key asset here is iTunes. iTunes is the first store of its kind to enjoy simplicity, availability and mass support by content providers and consumers alike.
When other companies add networking, WMV playback and photos slideshows to their TV-s, you have a set of possible uses for that, especially if you're a geek, but you need to figure it out on your own.
When Apple puts iTunes in a TV, you have a complete product your entire family can sit back and use out-of-the-box.
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Not to mention that by tying the TV to you MacBook, iMac and iPhone through .Mac (take picture with iPhone, family sees it on their TV) Apple sells many more of their gadgets.
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Plus they could feedback system where viewers can say how good or bad they thought the movie was, and call it iRate.
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Not inventing something for the first time, never stopped Apple from dominating the market with their own version.
Well yes, they could become market leader. But then any company could. Any such claims are pure speculation, and there is no reason to consider Apple alone over all other companies.
The fact that they dominated one market before (mp3 players) is no judge of future markets - by that logic, we should be betting on a Microsoft TV to be the winner.
When Apple puts iTunes in a TV, you have a complete p
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Toasters (Score:2)
If I invented the toaster, and my model required two minutes of winding a spring, calibrating the heating coils, balancing the ejection mechanism, and still burned the toast half the time, and then you invented a toaster where you just press a button and you get nice toast in 20 seconds, does that make you a lame imitator?
Are your satisfied customers who say "OMG dreamchaser's such a genius!" just lame fanbois? After all, I invented the toaster. You just made one for noobs who can't be bothered to calibrate
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Cars (Score:2)
Not if there are already toasters on the market that you decide to ignore, that already do it simply in 20 seconds. That's what the situation actually is.
What is this - arguing by coming up with an analogy that has no relevance? What that's easy - I'll just claim that Windows is better than Mac OS, because Mac OS is a car that blows up all the time, whilst Windows drives perfectly. It has no grounding in reality, but who cares if we can just make up analogies?
To pretend that pre-existing mp3 players, phones
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That's standard apple practice. They don't really do anything new, they take old ideas and do them well. Mostly.
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Yeah wait what?
My windows media center box does that now... with the remote, and the buying and selling, and the bsods. It also does TV, epg, timeshifting, etc. Its also a laptop with a $90 usb dvb-t dongle so I can pick it up and take it on a plane. And apart from installing the crappy korean drivers for the dongle, it all worked out the damn box.
Also full length movies are only like 30c more expensive than the local rental joint (probably less than the fuel cost to get there), and you DRM-Rent them for a
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You're venting on Apple because a random blogger - not Apple mind you - used the term 'internet tv'?
Also, you readily, ever gleefully, admit on Slashdot that you have 'windows media center' as your primary laptop OS.
-1, WTF?
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Vista Home Premium on my old primary laptop, hooked up to my TV.
Im venting on the Apple fanbois touting this as an "innovation".
Re:if they did away with the need for the computer (Score:4, Insightful)
People don't want a TV OR a computer, they want to watch/see media. The TV is only a screen with built in receiving components. So separate the screen from the components, and you end up with a controller and a screen. The pc is the best controller possible. It's upgradeable not just in hardware but also software, to enable upgrades of both types of technology while keeping the same display.
You should be able to choose which software you use to manage your media, not just blindly accept whatever comes down the pipe. Your suggestion seems to accept that big media will run the (video based) internet.
Not for me thanks. I'd prefer the stream to be open and I choose what to view. Letting the media companies decide what content my device can view is not an option. If companies want to cater for people who want an easy life then let them cater to that market with simple locked down boxes, but I should be able to build a device to my specs too, and still be able to access the big media content.
Building a set proprietary functionality into a display device is backward.
Re:if they did away with the need for the computer (Score:5, Insightful)
exactly. there will be a convergence of the TV with the PC, but it's not the PC that will be replaced. you replace specialized hardware with generalized hardware, not the other way around.
right now we have a bunch of redundant communication networks and hardware appliances. we have radios, telephones, and TV all using very specialized communications networks, and all running on application-specific hardware. but with the widespread adoption of broadband internet access, there's no need to have different communications infrastructure for sending audio data for radios, audio data for telephones, and video and audio data for TV, when all of this data can be transmitted digitally over the internet. soon all of these parallel technologies will be merged into the more generalized/flexible internet.
it's more efficient to run a single generalized data network like the internet than having a bunch of parallel application specific networks because it allows for better allocation of resources and eliminates redundant infrastructure. not only that, but the internet is also an open/democratic network (at least while there's net neutrality). like the computer for which the internet was originally developed, it gives users complete freedom of access, which is a stark contrast with the closed proprietary networks of traditional radio/TV/telecom. this decentralization of media distribution allows independent artists, musicians, film producers, etc. to reach billions of users around the globe without having to go through the traditional distribution channels which are tightly controlled by a handful of media conglomerates.
it's become harder and harder for big TV networks like NBC or radio networks such as Clear Channel to act as the gatekeepers of information. because of this, we're seeing a free culture developing where cultural contribution isn't a privilege reserved for major label artists, Hollywood studios, or corporate execs that have up until now decided what the public watches on TV. neither Apple nor anyone else is going to convince consumers to go back to the cultural bondage of pre-internet media.
a LCD TV is simply an LCD monitor with a built-in tuner card. why buy a TV and a set-top box when you can just have an HTPC or media center pc that can be used to check e-mail, surf the web, burn DVDs, play games, etc., etc.? a computer with a tuner card can watch both, regular TV as well as internet video streams like Miro (Democracy Player). it just doesn't make sense to replace the computer with a locked down and functionally crippled equivalent.
i imagine that once open wireless internet access becomes a common public infrastructure across the country we'll start seeing AM/FM radio being replaced by portable smart devices that can stream internet radio. people want freedom of choice, so that's the direction that media convergence will take.
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Which explains why the Nomad totally kicked the iPod's ass.
Seriously: technology enthusiasts make choices from different criteria than most of the market. For most, ease of use and aesthetic appeal are much more important than flexibility as long as the device does its primary task well.
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what exactly does that have to do with media convergence?
a more appropriate example involving the iPod would be its evolution from:
portable music player -> portable media player -> iPhone
other examples of specialized technology being replaced by generalized technology include:
the PSP: PMP + handheld gaming + internet tablet
the DSi also follows a similar trend
Smart Phones: PDA + PMP + Phone
just because one device sells better than another with less features doesn't change the fact that there's an obser
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a LCD TV is simply an LCD monitor with a built-in tuner card.
Resolution! Resolution! Resolution!
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If the trend is always from specialized devices to
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You mean a bit like the AppleTV?
The only problem with it at the moment is that you can't actually watch TV on it.
Re:if they did away with the need for the computer (Score:2)
this is almost like duct taping my Wii to my tv and watching youtube, only prettier.
This either won't happen or won't work (Score:2)
Not in 2008. You basically have two markets here:
People who already own an HDTV and just lost 20% of their 401(k) last week aren't in the market to drop $1500 on a new HDTV. Maybe they can be convinced to buy a box for their existing one. But not a whole TV that's so close to what they already have, not in 2008.
People who don't yet own an HDTV are a more likely target market for this. And yet, these folks haven't had the disposable income to buy one so far -- with possible layoffs looming at their employers
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What do you think happens in a recession, or even a depression? Do you think people walk around in sacks and barrels, barefoot? Do you think industry grinds to a halt and retools for discount potato peelers and barrel repair kits?
How many $500+ tech items did you buy last year? You don't go from that to barefoot, even in a depression. You go from that to half that.
From that to barefoot isn't a depression, that's a full economic collapse. It's riots in the streets.
Some people seem to be shocked that Apple wo
sort of there already (Score:1)
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Except 24" is WAY too small for any real TV watching....ok, maybe ok for the kitchen tv, but certainly not large enough for the living room...hell, these days 36" is too small...gotta be in the 50" +
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EyeTv which comes with the Elgato USB things can pick up the Apple Remote. It's not part of FrontRow but the remote does work.
I'm of two minds here (Score:4, Insightful)
On one hand it's a logical progression: integrate an AppleTV into an LCD screen, analogue to an iMac. On the other hand, you'd expect the TV to be usable long after the computer has become obsolete, so you end up with a TV that contains useless parts (and knowing Apple, limited options for connecting other peripherals).
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"2. Not everybody has a computer, but everybody has a TV"
This is an argument for people buying a TV?
Re:I'm of two minds here (Score:4, Insightful)
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You can load XBMC on it now, which makes it partially awesome. it still has a fairly useless HDD in it. Also, there's another app you can install on it called atv, that significantly increases its abilities, as well as enabling USB Mass Storage devices. Sad to say, but the reason the apple TV sucks, is because apple is making it useless by completely strangling its features.
not necessarily (Score:2)
Wrong market for Apple to be in (Score:2)
The bottom has fallen out of the LCD TV market, and I don't think Apple can compete with the razor-thin margins that result.
Re:Wrong market for Apple to be in (Score:4, Insightful)
You know, except for Apple the PC market has pretty thin margins :)
Re:Wrong market for Apple to be in (Score:5, Interesting)
Which is exactly why they add value by building in an HD content delivery system...
Why buy a TV, and a Blu-Ray player, and a load of discs when you can buy AppleTV and rent/buy your content without levering your fat ass off the couch?
Now how much would you pay...? :)
Sure, the margins on LCD TVs are low, but if someone says they can save $300 or more by not needing an HD source, they might pay almost that for a shiny Apple logo...
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Picture quality? Cost? Media portability?
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Re:Your Sig (Score:1)
No Slashdot comment, no matter how helpful, is worth spending £8.98 on a total stranger.
On the other hand, No Slashdot comment, no matter how useless, deserves the poster being bought a Will Young album...
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Why buy a TV, and a Blu-Ray player, and a load of discs when you can buy AppleTV and rent/buy your content without levering your fat ass off the couch?
But ... that's how most people already watch things using just a TV.
Re:Multitouch?!?! (Score:4, Funny)
Yes, because having finger prints all over the TV screen is just what everyone wants to improve their viewing experience.
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Not to mention, y'know, you'll have to GET UP to change the channel..
Wait! Maybe he's on to something! Couch Potato's no more!
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no thanks (Score:4, Insightful)
i don't want DRM in my TV set
btw I recently got a big LCD and hooked up the x360 to it, now i get to enjoy all the 1080p goodness without paying a cent for content thanks to usenet and x360 being able to play HD mpeg4 :) oh and you get a games console on side :P
Re:no thanks (Score:4, Insightful)
rumor has it you can play all the mpeg4 content you want (and more) on a mac. the DRM only comes into play if you actually buy content... having the option to legally buy content is nice sometimes you know.
besides MS has shown its willing to please content providers over consumers disallowing recording of certain content.
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Name the "certain content". What magical "certain content" does MS block from recording but other companies can record without getting "the crap sued out of them"? I thought so. Back in your box.
I agree on the DRM issue though. I've watched DRM'd movie rentals from the Bigpond Movies store in vista media center. I was playing with media center, noticed the store and really wanted to watch Top
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http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/18/broadcast-flag-rides-again-courtesy-of-nbc-and-microsoft/ [engadget.com]
Happy now?
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What other companies can circumvent that *cough* mechanism without getting sued. Your PVR box will respect that flag too.
Undoubtably Apple's product will do the same.
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You won't tolerate DRM in your TV set but you will in every set-top box (or console) attached to it?
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The person who has an x360 hooked up to an LCD is not really in the target market for this device, I imagine.
With out ture2way what is the point? (Score:2)
Without ture2way what is the point? you will still need a cable box. The sat boxes, u-verse and the TIVO boxes can do more then the apple TV can do.
And if apple where to make a DVR then it will need a Much bigger HD + E-sata ports.
The Direct Tv boxes can do some of the stuff that the apple tv can do and there is a new Direct TV coming So I don't see a apple TV for Direct comeing any time soon.
May for cable where the cable co boxes suck but then you need to hope that the cable co don't mess up ture2way for t
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No need for the TV itself to have storage.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/03/13/apple_tv_dvr_interface_revealed_in_patent_filings.html [appleinsider.com]
The content goes onto your iPod like remote (which might, in fact, be an iPod Nano / iPod Touch with connectivity) which means you can take it with you and display it on any Apple TV.
Knowing apple... (Score:1)
The Apple cycle... (Score:5, Funny)
News about possible news? (Score:4, Insightful)
I entirely agree - that's two articles in a row now that's not been about actual news, but news - based on rumour - that they might make some announcement in future. Why not just wait until the actual news itself?
There are enough perfectly good articles about actual news that get rejected - why take up valuable space on the page with posts based on rumour about vaporware, that will either turn out to be dupes if the thing's released, or false if it's not?
(On another note, anyone noticed tagging recently seems to be broken in any browser except Firefox? I now have to wait for that to load, in order to tag the article "Vaporware"...)
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Why not just wait until the actual news itself?
Because people read/click on the rumors? You certainly did.
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Read the article? Here on Slashdot?
9... (Score:2)
8. Anti-Apple Fanbois post on Slashdot sarcastically detailing the cycle.
9. Anonymous cowards attempt meta-sarcasm
10. ???
11. This page contains a thread which is taking an unusually long time to finish. To end this thread now, mention Hitler.
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Adolf Hitler lived from 1889 to 1954.
Oh wait, I think Godwin's Law only applies to comparisons. Steve Jobs is most likely taller than Adolf Hitler was.
There. Totally aced the Hitler comparison.
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You're right. His number 8 really should be at number 3.5. In fact, had you done that, it would have been rather clever. Maybe next time.
Not this time (Score:2, Interesting)
The teasers they are sending out clearly indicate that the next event will concern notebook laptops. These days, Apple events are very tightly focused on a particular product line--the last event was for iPods, and they barely even mentioned the iPhone, much less the Mac.
Fundamentally, I think that it is a good idea, and given that they already have the AppleTV name, I imagine that they are looking to go in this direction. But I don't think the Apple TV as it currently exists adds enough value to get an App
I'll believe it when I see it (Score:2)
C-NET has a very bad track record when it comes to predicting future Apple products.
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Are you kidding?!?! (Score:2)
Yeah, they're called iMacs.
A Television Set. (Score:2)
The "next great thing", according to Steve Jobs?
Oh well.
But then again, it's "Apple Inc." now, not "Apple Computer, Inc."
Going, Going... (Score:1)
MythTV (Score:3, Interesting)
How long before someone figures out how to jailbreak the TV and reload it with Mythbuntu?
Then it might actually be useful.
If the iPod and iPhone are any indication, I don't want the gilded cage of an Apple TV set.
Well, yet another present for my girlfriend ... (Score:1)
So after a G4 a while back, a MacBook Pro last year, this year will probably be an iPhone G3, provided that it is offered unlocked in the country where we live.
Hey, an Apple iTV in 2009, one less thing to scratch my head about thinking.
I use Linux and AIX because I like to, Windows XP sometimes because I have to. Usually, when I have to do something on those
Tell them to HURRY!! (Score:2)
OMG I can't wait, I have been fretting that I don't pay enough via TV license fees and cable charges for repeats of crap films and series from 20 years ago. Can I pre-order yet?
Put a tuner in an iMac (Score:2)
Or get an external one...
Problem solved.