[Macaholic]

"Pippin II", perhaps?

I've no idea how well Windows XP Media Edition is selling, but Gateway's new Media Center PCs got me wondering if Apple should be doing this -- only better. Like, finally, Gateway has done a form factor that at least fits in your home entertainment unit rather than a tower. What is also needed is a built-in wireless hub to network the computer with others -- among other things a media center should have. Dunno 'bout all those media card readers, though. kind of dumb to not use the device that USED the media card in the first place...

What does the Mac community here think of this?

 

[sansabelt]

I think if anything Apple should focus on fixing those logic boards on their ibooks and come out with an reponse to intel's centrino lineup.

-sb

 

[Macaholic]

Good idea.

 

[used to be jwoodget]

A response to Centrino? Errr.. Centrino is a Pentium M and 802.11b chipset backed by US$300M in marketing. With Centrino, Intel has actually levelled the GHz playing field for Apple. Now Intel is proposing a new wireless chipset (Grantsdale) to couple to Prescott to integrate a wireless base station into desktops. Hmmm... buy a whole new PC or buy a $50 base station from Linksys or DLink.

Centrino has at least provided the Wintel world with laptop form factors that don't look like phone directories but the Wintel market is still split between the Titanium-like Centrinos and the higher GHz (but crappy battery life and armour-plated) P4s.i

I do think Apple should market a more media-centric Mac that fits into a sound system. The Gateway (and Sony and HP) media centres actually look half decent but are struggling because they don't have integrted software solutions. Apple could do this a lot better. An X-serve-like media station might be cool. 802.11.15 will also help coordinate computers with sound and video components by removing all wires and allowing auto-configuration. In the meantime, the iMac could be re-positioned as a decent media centre by addition of a few I/O options and flattening of the dome to allow shelf-mounting.

 

[Macaholic]

Yeah. The Centrino isn't THAt big a deal -- but the QC problems that Apple has exxperienced recently is.

Apple could definitely execute the best "Media Pod" idea. And maybe the time might be right for it. they'd have to not only flatten the iMac, but remove the display, too. Software-wise, they would have to obviouly add TV capability and great TV program management abilities. And, a great Apple designed remote

 

[Ohenri]

Hmmm... I have to see this @ work.

So what do we use a Media Center for? Not just music I hope. Are we taping shows right to the HD? DO we simply want a unit that is all we want converged into 1??

H!

 

[gordguide]

I thought they always did.

I owned a Mac that had:
TV tuner
FM radio tuner
16bit stereo in/out
Video in/out
CD player

... right from Apple. I bought it 8 years ago. No, they weren't popular; people complained that nobody wanted that stuff in a computer.

Meanwhile, in the 1999 fiscal year-end report of IBM (released 2000), they noted that a PC milestone had been experienced by their retail division; that's the year the number of IBM PCs sold with soundcards reached 50%.

 

[ehMax]

Steve Jobs put it in a way that really made sense to me (And any effect of the RDF would of worn off by now).

Don't think the PC and the TV will ever combine. If I want my TV controller device to record Survivor, it darn well better make sure that it records Survivor. That's going to be tough to do if Mrs. ehMax decides she wants to use the PC to balance the books or check her email, or if one of 3 little ehMaxette's wants to play Finding Nemo. Or what if someone wants to watch The Bachelor XVII when I want to make some posts on ehMac?

As Steve pointed out, people go to their Mac to turn their brains on... to read, to create, to edit.... People go to their TV's to turn their brains off. To "not do" but to be entertained or spoken too. That's not at all saying TV's a bad thing. But when I'm done on my computer and I want to watch TV and be entertained, I'm not going to roll back by office chair, sit in the couch behind me, call the family that the Entertainment Centre is free, and make some popcorn and stare at my Mac.

There will be some cross between. I think my Mac can play music nicely in the background. When I'm traveling, my laptop plays DVD's nicely. But I don't think there will ever be a market to merge the home PC and the entertainment centre.

Maybe a specific entertainment centre "Tivo" type device, but not a merge between the two.

My 2¢.