syklee26
Sep 13, 09:27 PM
this is definitely a style over functionality....how da heck do you dial a number with clickwheel?
of course, if this is a slider phone like chocolate, then this is an awesome design.
of course, if this is a slider phone like chocolate, then this is an awesome design.
sinsin07
Mar 23, 05:04 PM
I live in KC too and whenever theres a checkpoint I get about 3-5 texts that day warning me and telling me to forward it to everyone I know. :rolleyes:
When you live in the boonies so what?
When you live in the boonies so what?
Bob Caruthers
Mar 22, 02:07 PM
Great news!
My six year old iMac G5 just gave up the ghost yesterday, so I am eagerly awaiting the new models.
My six year old iMac G5 just gave up the ghost yesterday, so I am eagerly awaiting the new models.
batchtaster
Apr 11, 08:40 AM
you seem, like so many people these days, to be wanting everything while giving nothing...
Hey Apple / music / movie /etc etc industry, why cant you just let me have whatever I want, whenever I want, all for free?
And let me moan and whinge non-stop while you're doing it.
QFT.
And not just free - employ people and sink resources into it to make it happen, so that Apple (and other companies making great products) actually pays for these things they want, like they're 5 year olds pawing through the candy in the check-out line at Walgreens, demanding one more piece. You want the candy? Buy it.
On another tack, I can't help thinking this guy has opened up a can of worms for himself, DMCA-wise.
Hey Apple / music / movie /etc etc industry, why cant you just let me have whatever I want, whenever I want, all for free?
And let me moan and whinge non-stop while you're doing it.
QFT.
And not just free - employ people and sink resources into it to make it happen, so that Apple (and other companies making great products) actually pays for these things they want, like they're 5 year olds pawing through the candy in the check-out line at Walgreens, demanding one more piece. You want the candy? Buy it.
On another tack, I can't help thinking this guy has opened up a can of worms for himself, DMCA-wise.
econgeek
Apr 14, 12:28 PM
USB3=native to all platforms
TB=Mac Only
Sounds like TB just died.
This is why Apple was wise to do Thunderbolt in partnership with Intel. It is not at all Mac Only.... it is built into Intel's support chips.
For FireWire, manufacturers had to incur the cost of a FW controller chip. For thunderbolt, it is built into the chipsets they are using already, and therefore, is simply a matter of adding a connector to the motherboard.
This should drastically lower the barrier for adoption.
Plus, being built into the displayport standard-- which is also open, and has been adopted by Dell for its displays-- there is a good incentive to offer a combo tunderbolt/mini-displayport port on their motherboards.
be called iPod Touch 5G.
The next gen iPod touch is
ipod touch 5g features.
images of ipod touch 5G.
ipod touch 5g 2011.
apple ipod touch 5g release
Rumors, itouch g isnew ipod
apple ipod touch 5g release
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ipod touch 5g release date
Other than the iPod Touch 3G
ipod touch 5g 2011.
ipod touch 5g release date.
ipod touch 5g release. ipod
Reacent Post
TB=Mac Only
Sounds like TB just died.
This is why Apple was wise to do Thunderbolt in partnership with Intel. It is not at all Mac Only.... it is built into Intel's support chips.
For FireWire, manufacturers had to incur the cost of a FW controller chip. For thunderbolt, it is built into the chipsets they are using already, and therefore, is simply a matter of adding a connector to the motherboard.
This should drastically lower the barrier for adoption.
Plus, being built into the displayport standard-- which is also open, and has been adopted by Dell for its displays-- there is a good incentive to offer a combo tunderbolt/mini-displayport port on their motherboards.
EagerDragon
Sep 10, 08:40 PM
I understand the need for a mid level consumer tower, but right now
50%+/- of the market is looking at notebooks.
The cluttered, wire infested desktop is also none too popular with many people.
That's why the AOI iMac is so popular.
The MacBook is already more powerful than the majority of desktops MOST
average users have in their home.
The mini does a respectable job filling the affordable hassle free niche.
Heck, if you don't count the extra RAM cost, the Xeon powered Mac Pro 2.66 Quad is priced neck and neck with the mid level MacBook Pro.
That's amazing when you really think about it.
Even so, I do see a place for a Max mini of some sort starting
with at least the power of half a Mac Pro Tower for $999.00
If the iMac would come with a top of the line graphic card or as a BTO, it would be even more popular.
But the top gamers want more than one card with SLI and that means a different form factor.
I agree something is coming, but it does not have to be a mini. It could be a modified Mac Pro enclosure with liquid cooling for the graphic cards, CPU(s) and chip set. Mini or Maxi not sure. The system will also need to support overclocking of the CPU and Graphic cards. We will find out soon (prob October) for the holidays.;)
50%+/- of the market is looking at notebooks.
The cluttered, wire infested desktop is also none too popular with many people.
That's why the AOI iMac is so popular.
The MacBook is already more powerful than the majority of desktops MOST
average users have in their home.
The mini does a respectable job filling the affordable hassle free niche.
Heck, if you don't count the extra RAM cost, the Xeon powered Mac Pro 2.66 Quad is priced neck and neck with the mid level MacBook Pro.
That's amazing when you really think about it.
Even so, I do see a place for a Max mini of some sort starting
with at least the power of half a Mac Pro Tower for $999.00
If the iMac would come with a top of the line graphic card or as a BTO, it would be even more popular.
But the top gamers want more than one card with SLI and that means a different form factor.
I agree something is coming, but it does not have to be a mini. It could be a modified Mac Pro enclosure with liquid cooling for the graphic cards, CPU(s) and chip set. Mini or Maxi not sure. The system will also need to support overclocking of the CPU and Graphic cards. We will find out soon (prob October) for the holidays.;)
Dmac77
Mar 23, 07:16 PM
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)
Don't do it Apple!
Seriously, apps like trapster have saved my ass from the doughnut eating porkers in my area (not DUI, rather speeding). Seriously don't give into the government, they just want the police to be able to slowly rape more and more of our rights and freedoms (including my right to do 75 on a empty back road if I want to).
-Don
Don't do it Apple!
Seriously, apps like trapster have saved my ass from the doughnut eating porkers in my area (not DUI, rather speeding). Seriously don't give into the government, they just want the police to be able to slowly rape more and more of our rights and freedoms (including my right to do 75 on a empty back road if I want to).
-Don
skellener
Mar 22, 07:52 PM
Still rockin' the 2008 24" Core2 Duo 3.06 Ghz iMac. Best Mac I've ever owned. Next Mac will be whatever the largest screen they make and fastest chip they have whenever this one dies. 100% sold on the iMac.
vitaboy
Aug 24, 12:01 PM
No, but they lost in every other sense that matters. I am really failing to understand why some people are having such a tough time comprehending this. Apple capitulated on the patent challenge, Apple paid a huge sum of money to Creative so Apple could continue business as usual. Apple lost. That's all, folks.
Sorry, but I think you are taking the settlement at face value and making just a surface interpretation.
There are already several industry analysts who have now gone on record saying this is a win for Apple.
$100 million may be a big load of money for you, me and Creative, but it's chump change when we're talking about the fact that iPod makes $6+ BILLION PER YEAR (and growing) for Apple.
It's like Creative accused Apple of stealing the goose that lays golden eggs. In return, Apple gives Creative one of the eggs and Creative goes, "Wow! Thanks! You can keep the goose!"
The face-value interpretation says that Creative won because it was a pauper who now has a golden egg that's worth a lot of money. The deep interpretation is that Apple still has the goose and Creative just gave up all claims of ownership over it.
What's so hard to understand about that?
BTW, some months ago, Research in Motion coughed up $450 million to settle a patent dispute with NTP over the popular Blackberry devices. RIM made a total of $2 billion in fiscal 2006. NTP basically had RIM by the throat with its patents and extracted a heavy licensing fee as a result.
You're telling me Creative supposedly had Apple by the throat, and extracted 1/4 the licensing for a product that generates 4X the revenue of Blackberry? Riiiiiight....
To put it another way, $450 million was about 25% of RIM's entire annual revenue. $100 million is less than 1% of Apple's, and in fact, is less money than Apple makes on interest each year on its cash horde.
Sorry, but I think you are taking the settlement at face value and making just a surface interpretation.
There are already several industry analysts who have now gone on record saying this is a win for Apple.
$100 million may be a big load of money for you, me and Creative, but it's chump change when we're talking about the fact that iPod makes $6+ BILLION PER YEAR (and growing) for Apple.
It's like Creative accused Apple of stealing the goose that lays golden eggs. In return, Apple gives Creative one of the eggs and Creative goes, "Wow! Thanks! You can keep the goose!"
The face-value interpretation says that Creative won because it was a pauper who now has a golden egg that's worth a lot of money. The deep interpretation is that Apple still has the goose and Creative just gave up all claims of ownership over it.
What's so hard to understand about that?
BTW, some months ago, Research in Motion coughed up $450 million to settle a patent dispute with NTP over the popular Blackberry devices. RIM made a total of $2 billion in fiscal 2006. NTP basically had RIM by the throat with its patents and extracted a heavy licensing fee as a result.
You're telling me Creative supposedly had Apple by the throat, and extracted 1/4 the licensing for a product that generates 4X the revenue of Blackberry? Riiiiiight....
To put it another way, $450 million was about 25% of RIM's entire annual revenue. $100 million is less than 1% of Apple's, and in fact, is less money than Apple makes on interest each year on its cash horde.
Manic Mouse
Jul 18, 05:33 PM
Any one know when the 45nm architecture processors are going to appear?
I'm gonna wait for those, for OS X 10.5 and iLife 07 to invest in a Mac
In about a years time, maybe slighly more...
I'm gonna wait for those, for OS X 10.5 and iLife 07 to invest in a Mac
In about a years time, maybe slighly more...
Kaibelf
Apr 19, 10:42 AM
So what? They're already getting sued by Apple, so what's another lawsuit? Point is, contract breach or not, Samsung could cripple Apple's whole ecosystem within days by halting all processor shipments. Apple makes the vast majority on iDevices and this would kill Apple's whole economic model. And this doesn't even account for Samsungs components that go into their Macs. As a result, Apple would have no hardware to sell. They would dip into their treasure chest. It could be devastating to Apple.
And then Apple would ruin Samsung, cratering them with winning lawsuits. Also, Samsung would lose their reputation in the supply chain as well as their credibility, and it would likely damage the Korean economy as a whole, and South Korea politically as well. You're talking about one company causing problems for tens of millions of consumers, and a mountain of negative news. If Samsung wanted to be bankrupted within a decade, this would be a way, for sure.
And then Apple would ruin Samsung, cratering them with winning lawsuits. Also, Samsung would lose their reputation in the supply chain as well as their credibility, and it would likely damage the Korean economy as a whole, and South Korea politically as well. You're talking about one company causing problems for tens of millions of consumers, and a mountain of negative news. If Samsung wanted to be bankrupted within a decade, this would be a way, for sure.
WannaGoMac
Apr 11, 08:21 AM
Because what I ultimately want is an airplay/airmusic station ready to play from any of the 9 iOS/iTunes devices in the house wirelessly in the family area.
Home sharing from your Mac won't do that?
Home sharing from your Mac won't do that?
vi2867
Oct 12, 12:36 PM
http://static.flickr.com/121/267917812_57f5b710af.jpg?v=0If it is a 4 GB iPod, it has to be a Nano, right???
What else, could it be??
What else, could it be??
TheKrillr
Aug 28, 04:14 PM
this goes to show how behind apple is in updating.
clearly they arent ready to adapt to an intel platform. the cant even make simple processor adjustments on time!
all the major companies have made this transition.
apple needs to stop being so secretive. they need to start acting like a real computer company, and let there customers know when upgrades are coming.
i wouldnt be surprised if we didnt see these upgrades till october.. no.. january.
this is ridiculous.
/end rant
On time? The other companies just announced, and are not actually shipping. Give apple time, I'm sure they'll be shipping before the others. :-)
clearly they arent ready to adapt to an intel platform. the cant even make simple processor adjustments on time!
all the major companies have made this transition.
apple needs to stop being so secretive. they need to start acting like a real computer company, and let there customers know when upgrades are coming.
i wouldnt be surprised if we didnt see these upgrades till october.. no.. january.
this is ridiculous.
/end rant
On time? The other companies just announced, and are not actually shipping. Give apple time, I'm sure they'll be shipping before the others. :-)
whenpaulsparks
Sep 15, 05:54 PM
as a proud owner of a SLVR L7, which i love to DEATH (greatest phone ever), i probably won't be buying one in 2007. maybe 2008? depends on what service it's on. if it's on cingular like the L7, then i'll get one without thinking twice.
tpavur
Apr 4, 11:48 AM
being the CCW permit holder that I am... I sure hope this guys did more than break some glass; security guard is going to feel a lot of pain for this one... doesnt matter if that guy was running with the whole damn store being pulled behind him, can't shoot at all for this one. I really hope there is more to this story.
BRLawyer
Oct 12, 12:35 PM
It's a nice cause, but red iPods are really ugly, I must say...
JGowan
Sep 5, 03:12 PM
I honestly don't buy very many movies at all, because I rarely watch a movie twice. I do like to rent them though, and anything that made that more convenient would be great.NetFlix! I've received 25 movies since the first one shipped July 24th! Incredible turnaround time! I'm on the 3-@-a-time plan. Honestly, if you don't want to watch more than once, just join Netflix! I'm glad I did.
addicted44
Mar 29, 11:56 AM
He means CUT and paste hence the caps. Not copy. i.e. The text you select is both deleted and copied to the clipboard. I use it a lot myself in Windows and do miss it in OSX. Also allows you to easily move files around by CUT and pasting them :D
SL has cut and paste. CMD+X, CMD+V
Finder does not support Cut and Paste for files, and is unlikely to do so. Its a philosophical difference, and to bring that up as an example of Win7 superiority is silly, at best. Apple could easily implement it, but they choose not to. Its another one of those "One button Mouse" deals, where Apple is being obstinate.
Windows 7 is a much better OS than its predecessors, but to claim it does the "little things" better than SL is so hilarious I don't know how to respond. There is literally no consistency between anything. Just go to the Control Panel, and while clicking dialogs you will be transported between windows that look like they are modern Web Pages (especially the network panels, with blinking computers) and panels that looked like they haven't realized that Windows 95 is obsolete yet.
Windows 7 is a UI and usability nightmare (compared to SL, although much better than Vista). What I do give credit to MS for is that its security model is rock solid (probably better than Linux and most Unixes). Mac OS X has fallen behind in security. This, however, is not that big an issue anymore, IMO, because all OS security is complex enough that attackers are relying on OS vulnerabilities less, and Social Engineering more to gain access. Again, Windows's bad (and more important in this context, horribly inconsistent over the years) UI has made its users more vulnerable to such attacks.
SL has cut and paste. CMD+X, CMD+V
Finder does not support Cut and Paste for files, and is unlikely to do so. Its a philosophical difference, and to bring that up as an example of Win7 superiority is silly, at best. Apple could easily implement it, but they choose not to. Its another one of those "One button Mouse" deals, where Apple is being obstinate.
Windows 7 is a much better OS than its predecessors, but to claim it does the "little things" better than SL is so hilarious I don't know how to respond. There is literally no consistency between anything. Just go to the Control Panel, and while clicking dialogs you will be transported between windows that look like they are modern Web Pages (especially the network panels, with blinking computers) and panels that looked like they haven't realized that Windows 95 is obsolete yet.
Windows 7 is a UI and usability nightmare (compared to SL, although much better than Vista). What I do give credit to MS for is that its security model is rock solid (probably better than Linux and most Unixes). Mac OS X has fallen behind in security. This, however, is not that big an issue anymore, IMO, because all OS security is complex enough that attackers are relying on OS vulnerabilities less, and Social Engineering more to gain access. Again, Windows's bad (and more important in this context, horribly inconsistent over the years) UI has made its users more vulnerable to such attacks.
iMacZealot
Sep 18, 12:48 AM
I'm sure I late getting into the argument, and that fanboyism depending on what network youre own will not change, but I really think GSM does have better voice quality than any other network.
I think the two of them are hard to compare. In this arguement, I'm not advocatinig CDMA, I'm just trying to show that there's no need to bash them as they are hard to compare.
CDMA and TDMA both get the job done; they divide up bandwidth so that multiple users can use a base station at the same time. They way they do that is just different. That cliche phrase of "comparing apples to oranges" applies to the age old question of GSM vs. CDMA.
I think the two of them are hard to compare. In this arguement, I'm not advocatinig CDMA, I'm just trying to show that there's no need to bash them as they are hard to compare.
CDMA and TDMA both get the job done; they divide up bandwidth so that multiple users can use a base station at the same time. They way they do that is just different. That cliche phrase of "comparing apples to oranges" applies to the age old question of GSM vs. CDMA.
MagnusVonMagnum
Apr 12, 03:52 PM
I'm confused... What will this give us in XBMC that we don't already have? Since I'm assuming you're running XBMC on Apple TV2, Airplay already works just fine...
Airplay and Airtunes are two different things AFAIK. I was under the impression that AUDIO was routed ONLY through AirTUNES and that AirPLAY was purely the VIDEO portion of the stream. Thus, you could stream a video to XBMC from an iPad, but you would get no audio and/or music could not be streamed with it. At least this was the jist I got from a thread on the matter when Airplay functionality was first added. Cracking the Airtunes key would enable XBMC to be seen from within iTunes as a full fledged audio device and thus you could output audio to it and other speakers at the same time, etc. and control it all from "REMOTE" on an iOS device.
Come to think of it, I see the thread title is "AirPLAY Private Key Exposed". So either that is a misprint or this thread is terribly out of date. AirPLAY has been known for quite a long time and it has NOTHING to do with an Airport Express, which is only AirTUNES so I'm assuming they mean the Airtunes key has been exposed (Airplay was not encrypted to my knowledge, only Airtunes). AppleTV Gen1 only has AirTunes, not AirPlay, for example as does Airport Express.
Hi
Not simultaneous control like AirTunes. You can stream to multiple computers, but it will need to be controlled separately -- as far as I know.
I can't think of a good reason to stream strictly audio to multiple computers, even if each is connected to speakers. Seems very clumsy to me, and you'd be better off getting an Airport Express ($69 refurbished (http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB321LL/A?mco=MTY3ODQ5OTY)) for each speaker system or getting AirPlay-supported speakers.
Why would you want to buy another device and/or set of speakers for a given room if it already has a good set of speakers connected to a computer, especially if that computer is already turned on? You'd need switching of some kind (e.g. receiver) to even use the same speakers with another device and it would just be a waste of money (unless you never plan to have that computer turned on and/or that is not the main speakers in that room). For example, my whole house audio/video server is on 24/7 and has Klipsch THX speakers connected to it. Why on earth would I want an Airport Express in that room, especially when it's normally the computer that is spooling out the iTunes information to begin with?
It makes me grin a little when I see posts like in this thread posted by people who obviously have no shortage of money (with their multiple mac systems) and yet dont want to hand over a little money for something thats been out for 5 years and makes the audio elements of airplay completely redundant.
Sonos. Easier, way better quality, more options, fully upgradeable, completely unrestrictive. And it just works.
For videophiles get a popcorn hour, 1080p streaming goodness which plays formats Apple TV can only dream of.
To host the content (if you dont want to buy an internal hard drive for Popcorn Hour) a simple NAS.
- Sonos is not "way better quality" (AppleTV2 output is DIGITAL and so the "quality" depends entirely on the stereo you connect it to. So sorry but you have no point there.
- It may not be better quality, but it IS "way more expensive". AppleTV2 costs $99 (same price as an Airport Express which is "audio only" like Sonos). Sonos OTOH costs $349 for a basic receiver which then still requires to either be connected directly to a router (wired) OR you have to pay ANOTHER $99 for a "bridge" to send a separate wireless signal off your router just for Sonos devices (waste of bandwidth and clutters the band with more wireless signals instead of just using your existing wireless router, which most people already have (how many used a wired only router and if you did you cannot use the Sonos wireless for anything else). So already you are at LEAST $450 in the hole for a single room with Sonos and you have ONLY AUDIO capability.
-But then I would be forgetting you need a SOURCE of music. You tout the use of an NAS, but most NAS devices aren't exactly cheap or anything. For all intensive purposes they are a just a headless computer and most run Linux. AppleTV2 is out of the box a PITA if you don't want to leave a computer on, but you can put XBMC on it which will use any NAS or networked source. You then have the same functionality as Sonos BUT you also have full video capability. You could instead get a cheap Netbook for $250 (cheaper than most NAS devices) and connect a hard drive to that and run iTunes and the full Apple interface if you'd like and still have XBMC available as well. Personally, I just use an old PPC G4 PowerMac as a server and 24/7 Internet terminal. Intel machines can also be set to Wake On Lan, so you can have your machine sleep while AppleTV is not in use. In short, NAS isn't as great as you make it sound (most are also dog slow compared to a real computer) and there are alternative options even with Apple software like a cheap Netbook as a server.
-Now I come to the heart of the matter...VIDEO. You suggest a Popcorn Hour in ADDITION to the already out of this world priced Sonos system. They start at $179 and go up to $299. That brings your total minimum price for a wireless system for a single room to $629 AND you have to switch between two separate devices to listen to audio and/or watch videos. With AppleTV you have all your movies, tv shows, photos, music, music videos, YouTube and Internet Radio (plus the options of XBMC with a quick hack including non-Apple formats) and your TOTAL COST for **one** room wireless using an existing wireless router is $99. $629 versus $99...Hmmmmmm. And then there's the matter of Popcorn Hour's crappy interface versus Apple's polished one. XBMC makes Popcorn Hour look bad as well. Bugs or popcorn? :confused:
So for the price of your ONE room audio and video, I could have SIX rooms using AppleTV2 with both video and audio and still have $29 to spare. With XBMC installed, it can play any format (just like Popcorn Hour). With the Apple interface running, it can sync audio to all rooms or play independently (just like Sonos). And it all can be controlled by an iOS device as well or programmed to accept the signals from any IR remote out there with extra buttons available.
Using ONE device (AppleTV), I have menu access to ALL my media collection without even having to switch the input on the receiver. I can play slide shows to my music collection and watch my entire video library (including VHS/Laserdisc/DVD/Blu-Ray conversions) and rent HD movies at the push of a button (Netflix is available on ATV2 as well).
I see ZERO advantage to Sonos and it costs a LOT more (what restrictions are you referring to with ATV? iTunes handles WAV, AAC, MP3 and Apple Lossless and seamlessly plays DTS music CDs that have been dumped). 3rd party formats like Flac are easily converted or they can be played in XBMC. Popcorn Hour's only advantage (once you figure XBMC into the fold) is that it can output in 1080p (ATV2 downconverts the final output to 720p at the moment, although my Gen1 ATV can play 1080p with XBMC using the Linux OS install and a cheap Crystal card in the one room where it matters here with a 93" screen).
In other words, I need lack nothing here at a fraction of the price and way better integration than your solution.
Airplay and Airtunes are two different things AFAIK. I was under the impression that AUDIO was routed ONLY through AirTUNES and that AirPLAY was purely the VIDEO portion of the stream. Thus, you could stream a video to XBMC from an iPad, but you would get no audio and/or music could not be streamed with it. At least this was the jist I got from a thread on the matter when Airplay functionality was first added. Cracking the Airtunes key would enable XBMC to be seen from within iTunes as a full fledged audio device and thus you could output audio to it and other speakers at the same time, etc. and control it all from "REMOTE" on an iOS device.
Come to think of it, I see the thread title is "AirPLAY Private Key Exposed". So either that is a misprint or this thread is terribly out of date. AirPLAY has been known for quite a long time and it has NOTHING to do with an Airport Express, which is only AirTUNES so I'm assuming they mean the Airtunes key has been exposed (Airplay was not encrypted to my knowledge, only Airtunes). AppleTV Gen1 only has AirTunes, not AirPlay, for example as does Airport Express.
Hi
Not simultaneous control like AirTunes. You can stream to multiple computers, but it will need to be controlled separately -- as far as I know.
I can't think of a good reason to stream strictly audio to multiple computers, even if each is connected to speakers. Seems very clumsy to me, and you'd be better off getting an Airport Express ($69 refurbished (http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB321LL/A?mco=MTY3ODQ5OTY)) for each speaker system or getting AirPlay-supported speakers.
Why would you want to buy another device and/or set of speakers for a given room if it already has a good set of speakers connected to a computer, especially if that computer is already turned on? You'd need switching of some kind (e.g. receiver) to even use the same speakers with another device and it would just be a waste of money (unless you never plan to have that computer turned on and/or that is not the main speakers in that room). For example, my whole house audio/video server is on 24/7 and has Klipsch THX speakers connected to it. Why on earth would I want an Airport Express in that room, especially when it's normally the computer that is spooling out the iTunes information to begin with?
It makes me grin a little when I see posts like in this thread posted by people who obviously have no shortage of money (with their multiple mac systems) and yet dont want to hand over a little money for something thats been out for 5 years and makes the audio elements of airplay completely redundant.
Sonos. Easier, way better quality, more options, fully upgradeable, completely unrestrictive. And it just works.
For videophiles get a popcorn hour, 1080p streaming goodness which plays formats Apple TV can only dream of.
To host the content (if you dont want to buy an internal hard drive for Popcorn Hour) a simple NAS.
- Sonos is not "way better quality" (AppleTV2 output is DIGITAL and so the "quality" depends entirely on the stereo you connect it to. So sorry but you have no point there.
- It may not be better quality, but it IS "way more expensive". AppleTV2 costs $99 (same price as an Airport Express which is "audio only" like Sonos). Sonos OTOH costs $349 for a basic receiver which then still requires to either be connected directly to a router (wired) OR you have to pay ANOTHER $99 for a "bridge" to send a separate wireless signal off your router just for Sonos devices (waste of bandwidth and clutters the band with more wireless signals instead of just using your existing wireless router, which most people already have (how many used a wired only router and if you did you cannot use the Sonos wireless for anything else). So already you are at LEAST $450 in the hole for a single room with Sonos and you have ONLY AUDIO capability.
-But then I would be forgetting you need a SOURCE of music. You tout the use of an NAS, but most NAS devices aren't exactly cheap or anything. For all intensive purposes they are a just a headless computer and most run Linux. AppleTV2 is out of the box a PITA if you don't want to leave a computer on, but you can put XBMC on it which will use any NAS or networked source. You then have the same functionality as Sonos BUT you also have full video capability. You could instead get a cheap Netbook for $250 (cheaper than most NAS devices) and connect a hard drive to that and run iTunes and the full Apple interface if you'd like and still have XBMC available as well. Personally, I just use an old PPC G4 PowerMac as a server and 24/7 Internet terminal. Intel machines can also be set to Wake On Lan, so you can have your machine sleep while AppleTV is not in use. In short, NAS isn't as great as you make it sound (most are also dog slow compared to a real computer) and there are alternative options even with Apple software like a cheap Netbook as a server.
-Now I come to the heart of the matter...VIDEO. You suggest a Popcorn Hour in ADDITION to the already out of this world priced Sonos system. They start at $179 and go up to $299. That brings your total minimum price for a wireless system for a single room to $629 AND you have to switch between two separate devices to listen to audio and/or watch videos. With AppleTV you have all your movies, tv shows, photos, music, music videos, YouTube and Internet Radio (plus the options of XBMC with a quick hack including non-Apple formats) and your TOTAL COST for **one** room wireless using an existing wireless router is $99. $629 versus $99...Hmmmmmm. And then there's the matter of Popcorn Hour's crappy interface versus Apple's polished one. XBMC makes Popcorn Hour look bad as well. Bugs or popcorn? :confused:
So for the price of your ONE room audio and video, I could have SIX rooms using AppleTV2 with both video and audio and still have $29 to spare. With XBMC installed, it can play any format (just like Popcorn Hour). With the Apple interface running, it can sync audio to all rooms or play independently (just like Sonos). And it all can be controlled by an iOS device as well or programmed to accept the signals from any IR remote out there with extra buttons available.
Using ONE device (AppleTV), I have menu access to ALL my media collection without even having to switch the input on the receiver. I can play slide shows to my music collection and watch my entire video library (including VHS/Laserdisc/DVD/Blu-Ray conversions) and rent HD movies at the push of a button (Netflix is available on ATV2 as well).
I see ZERO advantage to Sonos and it costs a LOT more (what restrictions are you referring to with ATV? iTunes handles WAV, AAC, MP3 and Apple Lossless and seamlessly plays DTS music CDs that have been dumped). 3rd party formats like Flac are easily converted or they can be played in XBMC. Popcorn Hour's only advantage (once you figure XBMC into the fold) is that it can output in 1080p (ATV2 downconverts the final output to 720p at the moment, although my Gen1 ATV can play 1080p with XBMC using the Linux OS install and a cheap Crystal card in the one room where it matters here with a 93" screen).
In other words, I need lack nothing here at a fraction of the price and way better integration than your solution.
uv23
Sep 12, 09:20 PM
Apple's whole new "black is top of the line" trend is thoroughly idiotic. I literally removed my credit card from my wallet when I read on the event stream that Apple had released an 8gb nano, then replaced it when I read on about the 8gb model being black only. I hate black electronics. I want an aluminum 8gb iPod to match my PowerBook. Is that so much to ask?? Fine, if they want to only allow black for 8gb, but why limit us. Stupid stupid stupid.:mad:
destroyboredom
Mar 30, 12:52 PM
Go to about 1:03
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko4V3G4NqII
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko4V3G4NqII
mohaukachi
Sep 14, 01:29 AM
so who else thinks this looks just like the chocolate?
http://www.dagadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/03/lg_kg800.jpg
http://www.dagadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/03/lg_kg800.jpg
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