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Big Words from former CEO of Apple - Sculley

565 views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  fjnmusic 
#1 ·
#2 ·
I just had to respond to one of the comments I found interesting in the followup discussion to this article. It's about whether TV's at their heart or too complicated or actually very simple.

@Onerunjunior · 2 hours ago

"I think that televisions are unnecessarily complex."

Opinion is not fact. Tv's are NOT complex. You literally have on/off, volume up/down, channel up/down and source. How stupid or old do you have to be to not understand those 4 things? If you think operating a TV is too hard, you shouldn't be allowed outside in society. Tvs aren't hard to use, people are stupid and lazy. The main problem with people is that they would rather **** and moan for a half hour and bitch about thier "overly complex" whizbang device rather than spend 15 minutes looking at a manual first. Of course not everything needs a manual, but spending 5 minutes LEARNING something would save alot of time and frustration. Not everything with even iOS is immediately apparent and hitting up a 15 second Google search can teach you all kinds of neat things you didn't know were in iOS.

If he had said "I think that TV menus are unnecessarily slow" I would agree. Changing options and using even simple menus are agonizingly slow when they shouldn't be. Too complex? Not hardly. You literally have no appliance that is easier to use except for a toaster.

The only reason that you reported this Christian is not because it's true or interesting, it's that you and everyone else at 9To5Mac WANT this to be true. You are DESPERATE for Apple to release a TV, so you continue to run every stupid rumor you get your hands on. One of the stories on the front page even makes the statement that DigiTimes is unreliable, but you guys will continue to regurgitate anything those idiots say. You have no facts, no confirmed reports of it being even prototyped, and nothing but ignorant hopes and dreams that this will become reality. Everything you report, all the stupid rumors you regurgitate are debunked by basic knowledge about the HDTV market behavior, common sense, and rebuttals based in fact. You have nothing to support this happening. Literally nothing. LET. IT. DIE.
You make many fair comments about TV's and their ease of use. It is the programming of them or the hookups via TV/audio receiver that are more complicated than they need to be for the average user. Your position might be defensible that Apple has nothing in the works except for the fact that Apple TV (the set top box) has already been in existence for almost 5 years now and continues to improve as it evolves.

If you want to know what an actual independent Apple television unit is going to look like, just imagine a TV monitor with the current AppleTV and Apple Extreme router already built in, along with AirPlay functionality for all the devices hitting the market with that chip already inside, and you have your answer. There's a reason Apple doesn't license the AirPlay receiver part for any other TV's apart from the one it is allegedly building—they can persuade people to buy their hardware over their competitors, just like they did with iPods and iPads. This isn't rocket science. Apple just takes the things it already has on hand and extrapolates with them.To add functionality, such as live TV streaming, they just add a software update. Instead of limiting your options to channels per se, you would choose from onscreen apps.

Those of us with the iPhone 4S or iPad 2 can already do much of this via AirPlay mirroring using the AppleTV 2 set top box and any HD monitor, with only one HDMI cable to plug in. You can already theoretically watch LiveTV on Apple TV by accessing an EyeTV app on your computer, choosing a Live TV channel, and using AirPlay to show that channel via AppleTV2 on your monitor (though it seems a little bass backwards right now, since you're still paying a cable bill and it's easier to change channels with a cable set top box or via the TV itself. Nontheless, it still can be done). I imagine that there will also be an option if you do not wish to cut your cable bill entirely, but maybe opt for a cheaper package, so the cable carriers will not be cut out completely but may have to play a more limited role. As long as all the players stand to benefit somewhat, rather than lose their revenue due to cable cutters, then this system can work. Or you could try your luck with GoogleTV.
 
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