“Apple generally wants to have all its ducks in a row before moving into a new market. That you can buy a cheap HD camcorder is only part of the equation right now.” Insofar as Apple sells video-editing software, it already has moved into the market and it’s got one nice fat duck in the water right now. I could imagine Apple marketing some kind of improved video box with the the premise that it would help you “get the most out of iMovie and Final Cut.” What would such a box actually do? Well, it might be useful for an editor to be able to throw his work-in-progress onto a real t. v. to see what it would look like, and it certainly would be nice if you edit your own video on your Mac and then route it wirelessly to the t. v. in your den, so you can kick back and enjoy the finished product. Add this to what Apple TV does now and it becomes a more flexible and interesting product. Maybe it would be possible to dream up other uses as well (my impression is that the current Apple TV isn’t exactly flying off the shelves, since when people list Apple’s recent successes it conspicuously fails to make the list).

“Maybe I’ve just missed it, but I haven’t seen a single learned PC pundit all day predict the imminent death of Apple. What’s going on???”

Expect Thurott to chime in, in a day or two.

Maybe I’ve just missed it, but I haven’t seen a single learned PC pundit all day predict the imminent death of Apple. What’s going on???

Well, Rob Enderle was ranting as to how Leopard presales hadn’t been too good. He’s living in another universe, not even a paranormal one

Peace,
Gene

I guess there aren’t many Macs in Japan, but from watching new Japanese movies and dramas you’d never guess that. The elite class characters and private businessmen are always using Macs. Usually iMacs and MacBook Pros. Maybe they just keep moving the same ones around after filming or going to Rent-A-Mac shops.

Maybe I’ve just missed it, but I haven’t seen a single learned PC pundit all day predict the imminent death of Apple. What’s going on???

I don’t think Apple is going to put HD content online until there’s a way to get it to you in a reasonable amount of time. Apple generally wants to have all its ducks in a row before moving into a new market.

That you can buy a cheap HD camcorder is only part of the equation right now.

The problem with the Windows marketplace is that companies may be first to get a feature into production, but quite often that feature isn’t really ready.

Peace,
Gene

Apple TV so far is pretty much a one-trick pony, it is useful for routing video content acquired from the Apple Store to your t. v. but, as far as I can see, not for much else. So its value is pretty much exactly proportionate to the richness and depth of Apple’s library of video offerings. I can’t help doubting that this library is nearly as large or as compelling as Apple’s music library. In any event, I don’t feel too interested in shelling out the bucks for any one-trick pony, I suspect that to make Apple TV really attractive to consumers it needs a lot more versatility as well, of course, as HDTV capacity. For example, why couldn’t it be developed into a useful tool for both amateurs and pros who make and edit their own video? (And in this context, Gene, Apple ought to go ahead with HD right now and not wait for better bandwidth — the cost of an entry-level HD camera is well within the reach of many consumers.) In an ideal world, I’d like to have a two-way box so that broadcast material could also be routed to my Mac for recording, editing, and long-term archiving, although I realize that copyright considerations will no doubt keep such a box from ever being made.

I agree. As long as the bandwidth isn’t there, there is no point in spending more development money on AppleTV. The HD content and other ducks will all fall nicely a row once the bandwidth is there.

“That’s sick. Just like Google, way too much money and nothing to do with it.”

Well, they are helping my E*trade account AND building 40 new stores over the next 12 months (1 in Beijing).

They should spend some finishing AppleTV so it’s really killer. DigitalTV is coming soon– change is in the air. IPTV is getting bigger all the time. As things stand, AppleTV still doesn’t blow MS media center out of the water. I don’t know this from experience; Andy Inknato has said as much from HIS experiments. AppleTV IS a good 1.0 effort, though; people who have them seem to like them.

I think Apple admits that AppleTV is just a test to see where such a product might go, and you may not see much of a change until HD content is routinely available for download — and lots of people have the bandwidth to handle it without waiting hours or days to get a single movie.

I still stay with Netflix and my HD DVR, and I’ve not felt the need to transfer video content from my Mac.

Peace,
Gene

“That’s sick. Just like Google, way too much money and nothing to do with it.”

Well, they are helping my E*trade account AND building 40 new stores over the next 12 months (1 in Beijing).

They should spend some finishing AppleTV so it’s really killer. DigitalTV is coming soon– change is in the air. IPTV is getting bigger all the time. As things stand, AppleTV still doesn’t blow MS media center out of the water. I don’t know this from experience; Andy Inknato has said as much from HIS experiments. AppleTV IS a good 1.0 effort, though; people who have them seem to like them.

No, a billion isn’t a stretch at all, seeing that analysts think that Leopard will bring in $250 million. The most interesting statistic that surfaced in the conference call was that 250,000 iPhones have been sold to unlockers (approx. 17% of the 1.4 mil. total units sold). This is very much higher than Wall Street estimates (Piper Jaffray thought 10% at most), and in view of this one wonders how much more customer pressure it will take before Apple caves and adopts a different business model.

I believe Apple gets its Switcher number (as well as a wealth of other market research) from surveys that result from registering a new Mac. It seems to me that I always get a survey request a week or two after registering a new Mac.

Depends on the questions you answer, of course.

And, frankly, I haven’t gotten any surveys of that nature during or after any new Mac purchases. Color me unlucky, I suppose.

Peace,
Gene

I believe Apple gets its Switcher number (as well as a wealth of other market research) from surveys that result from registering a new Mac. It seems to me that I always get a survey request a week or two after registering a new Mac.

Bet Apple posts over a billion dollar profit next quarter.

Not that much of a stretch, Neil, considering their projected revenue.

Peace,
Gene

Bet Apple posts over a billion dollar profit next quarter.