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Special Apple Event Scheduled for September 12

Posted by Hemos on Mon Sep 11, 2006 06:29 AM
from the here-comes-the-itunes-for-video dept.
Media Media (Apple) Businesses Apple
davidmcg writes "Macworld are reporting that Apple is hosting a special media event on Tuesday, September 12th 2006 in San Francisco, CA at 10AM Pacific. The event will also be simulcast to a location in London where journalists have also been invited. The invitation to the media was entitled It's Showtime — suggesting Movie-related announcements. Rumors sites had originally expected iMac updates during the event, but Apple surprised everyone with iMac and Mac mini updates last week. This leaves iPods, a Movie Store and the possibility of a new streaming Media device for the Tuesday event."
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[+] Apple: Apple Announces iTunes 7, Movies, Set-Top Box 710 comments
necro81 writes, "As anticipated, Apple announced several additions and upgrades to its iPod and iTunes lineup. The iPod now comes in an 80 GB model, with a $50 price drop for the 30 GB model. The 2nd generation iPod Nano harkens back to the iPod Mini with metallic, multi-colored shells (though as diminutive as ever) and comes in an 8 GB model. The Shuffle has been completely redesigned and shrunk down to the size of a matchbook. All of this comes with the release of iTunes 7, which includes support for downloading full-length movies from iTMS." All 75 movies initially available are from Disney-related studios. The new iTunes will download cover art for all the songs in your library, no matter where you got them from, as long as you have an iTunes account. (A confirmation dialog says: "Information about songs with missing artwork will be sent to Apple. Apple does not keep any information related to the contents of your music library.") There's a new album-cover browsing view of your library. And Steve Jobs gave a sneak preview of a project code-named iTV: a Mac Mini-like wireless set-top box. Engadget has a blow-by-blow of Steve Jobs's presentation.
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Special Apple Event Scheduled for September 12 50 Comments More /

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  • Well duh. (Score:3, Funny)

    by popeyethesailor (325796) on Monday September 11 2006, @06:37AM (#16079934)
    This leaves iPods, a Movie Store and the possibility of a new streaming Media device for the Tuesday event."
    Oh wow. I thought it was a new musical with Steve Jobs as the lead with a consort of white furry bunnies.
      • But they said 'it's showtime'. That must mean that it's a musical song-and-dance affair where Apple Computer unveils plans to dominate the universe in a giant Apple space station which suspiciously resembles a Death Star.
  • is this expected to be a "wireless monitor" or an airtunes-style limited app stream?

    if the latter then hopefully there'll be an Airfoil equivalent, but I hope it turns out to be wireless monitor and speakers. /dream
    • if the latter then hopefully there'll be an Airfoil equivalent, but I hope it turns out to be wireless monitor and speakers. /dream

      What is the value in a wireless monitor? Unless you're referencing a monitor that has touch screen and can be carried around the house. Because a monitor on a desk less than 3 feet from the workstation doesn't need to be wireless. That's just stupid. Same with speakers - absolutely no point in wireless speakers.

      • Re:streaming media device (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Yahweh Doesn't Exist (906833) on Monday September 11 2006, @07:16AM (#16080065)
        the point is I only have 1 computer - a laptop I take with me to work and home every day.

        at home I have wireless:
        keyboard
        mouse
        internet
        speakers
        phone (sync + remote)

        why NOT have everything wireless if it can be?
        my laptop is only 3 feet from the monitor because it HAS to be to use the monitor.

        and if it makes my computer easier to use and I'm willing to pay for it who the fuck are you to stand in the way of progress?
        • my laptop is only 3 feet from the monitor because it HAS to be to use the monitor.
          My laptop is directly connected to the monitor and I can just close a lid and bring it along with me. What kind of shitty laptop did you buy that doesn't include a display?

        • and if it makes my computer easier to use and I'm willing to pay for it who the fuck are you to stand in the way of progress?

          I guess that depends if they happen to be an executive at a telco. I've noticed that far fewer Macintosh owners use bluetooth to sync their address book to their phone than one might think. The reason? For certain phone companies including at least Verizon and Quest, the vendors offer almost no bluetooth enabled phones to start with, special models of the same perfectly good pho

        • I've never understood the wireless speakers thing. I mean - you still have to plug them in, right? How is having a big power cord sticking out the back (and possibly an AC Adapter brick) more agreeable than simply running some speaker cable? Also, ideal speaker placement may be compromised if you don't happen to have an outlet nearby.
          • the Apple airport express with airtunes is a wireless hub with a audio port. you plug speakers into it and they can then be accessed by anyone on the network (wireless or LAN, optional password). the speakers are normal speakers not wireless ones; wireless is handled by the airport.

            think of your speaker amplifier with all the inputs and outputs. instead of having an input from your laptop that you plug and unplug every time you move your laptop you just have the wire go the airport and your laptop automatic

        • the point is I only have 1 computer - a laptop I take with me to work and home every day. at home I have wireless keyboard, mouse, internet, speakers, [and] phone (sync + remote). why NOT have everything wireless if it can be? my laptop is only 3 feet from the monitor because it HAS to be to use the monitor.

          So you just plonk it down on the desk and it knows to associate with the nearby peripherals? That reminds me of this bit from one of my favorite authors, Douglas Adams (RIP):

          "How... does it work?" he sa

      • I don't have much use for a wireless monitor either, but they sure are popular. This site [pricegrabber.com] has dozens of them, all at different price points.
  • Please give us a good media center application. I want to connect a mac to my tv and record tv shows, play my dvds and everything else from itunes.

    PLEASE, blow away windows media center and mythtv!
    • Please give us a good media center application. I want to connect a mac to my tv and record tv shows, play my dvds and everything else from itunes.

      PLEASE, blow away windows media center and mythtv!

      Beyond blowing away WinMCE and MythTV I'd like to see them blow away TiVo.

      (:

      • If this is the direction they go into then they are probably risking over-diversification.

        Historically, Apple has made a mighty fine user-centric computer and have even set that standard of what a Graphical User Interface means. They have done well in terms of GUI design since the early Mac up to today with a consistent and well behaved interface.

        I personally do not believe there is any real merit in trying to consolidate everything into one box. When I say everything I mean: computer, game console, vis

        • I personally do not believe there is any real merit in trying to consolidate everything into one box. When I say everything I mean: computer, game console, visual media center, audio media center, all things that are audo-visual in nature beyond a book. The problem that you will ultimately experience is that this one unit for all services becomes a choke point in your house, unless you only have one room. It is very common in my multi-user domestic facility to have a stereo on in one room, a television on i

          • >>Wouldn't it be nice to be able to do away with the cd player, dvd player, and vcr (used mostly as a poor man's TiVO) sitting in my entertainment center and just have one box that connects to my primary workstation?

            Yes, until the moment comes when 1) you want to surf the web/hack some code/write a paper and 2) your wife/kids/friends/etc. want to watch a movie or listen to music.
            (Here's a little tip from a married guy... #2 wins, every time).

            Besides, I'm not sure that a fragile laptop is appropriate f
    • Why would you want to blow away MythTV?

  • iTunes 7 (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Jacob Moogberg (876462) on Monday September 11 2006, @07:47AM (#16080197)
    I'd say that iTunes 7 is also a given:
    - last year, iTunes 5 then iTunes 6 (iTunes 5.1 in all but name) were released within a month, mostly to make iTunes release version coincide with the business year. iTunes 6 = 2005-06. iTunes 7 = 2006-2007
    - update of some core components to include the movie store
    - need to address the competition, particularly WMP, whose ergonomy is improving with v. 11, especially concerning visual interface and the use of artwork.

    iTunes is still well thought as a MP3 player but Apple needs to put some more buzz and hype into it as it hasn't much evolved for the last two or three years. It's the piece of Apple music strategy that has been the least covered by rumor sites for the last few months but it's determining none the less.
    • I think we'll see two changes with iTunes 7.0:

      1. It will be easier to configure and use.

      2. It will be designed to work with Apple's true video iPod player (aka vPod), as some have suggested for its name).

      • 2. It will be designed to work with Apple's true video iPod player (aka vPod), as some have suggested for its name).

        Now that's just stupid. If Apple was going to call it a vPod, then the original iPod would have been called an mPod or tPod. The i is from the branding they use for most all their consumer products - iTunes, iMovie, iDVD, iMac - and the Pod is a name that, as we are seeing, was intended to allow future expansion beyond music (remember everyone asking about the 1G why it was called iPod and not

      • 1. It will be easier to configure and use.

        How could it get any easier?

        Nah, it'll have more integration with the iTunes Music Store.

        It'll integrate some kind of Dashboard-like visualizer based plugin mechanism for controls that'll work better on Mac OS than Windows.

        It'll have "video podcast" support and a way to let you drop your own files into the podcast tab to automatically share and stream them via .mac as podcasts posted to the iTMS.

        And a new DRM scheme to allow people to put restrictions on their Podca

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by ben there... (946946)
        It'd be nice if they dumped QuickTime non-Pro and put all non-Pro QuickTime functions in iTunes.

        No, that would really suck.

        I don't want to open up iTunes just to watch a movie I downloaded/purchased from the web.
  • Well big deal. Letdown of the week last week was the absence of Conroe chips in the "new"" iMacs. Huge screens running on laptop chips is not what I call great technology.
    • Apple made the right decision updating the iMac to a 64-bit processor and using the low power version of the same 64-bit dual core chip family in the product. How many tons of coal will be saved over the lifetime of the first million of those iMacs sold, compared to the same system were it to use the desktop chip, whose primary technology advantage from the home user's perspective would have been that it runs hotter and slurps more electrons.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by laffer1 (701823)
      In case you haven't noticed, iMacs are consumer systems. They also have a small form factor and have had heat issues in the past. A laptop chip is exactly what is needed. If you want power, buy a Mac Pro. Apple doesn't fill the in between market like dell tries to do. You either buy a workstation or a light, friendly desktop.

      I'm seriously considering a new iMac now that they are 64bit. That was my holdup to the mac intel switch. I need something I can test emt64 based stuff on. And no, i don't just

  • please be a phone, please be a phone (Score:4, Funny)

    by bunions (970377) on Monday September 11 2006, @11:40AM (#16081875)
    Dear Steve Jobs,

    Just make a goddamn phone already, Jesus fucking Christ!!

    Sincerely,

    bunions

  • Powerbooks? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by david-bo (578532) on Monday September 11 2006, @02:42PM (#16083629)
    What about updated Merom based Powerbooks? All major PC brands has announced Merom based laptops. Apple can't lag that much without losing brand value etc.

    Ooh, and I want to order a new Powerbook ASAP!

    • 16:9 touchscreen ipod would be mighty sweet

      I love the way no one is even considering the possibility of 4:3 ratio film downloads, even though the 5G iPod's screen is small enough as it is without films taking up even less of the 320x240 resolution if they're going to remain backwards compatible with it. Sure, a widescreen iPod plus film downloads that you'll need to upgrade to the 6G in order to watch on the go seem likely, but it still amazes me how quickly people will refuse to put up with something l

      • Re:Widescreen movies (Score:5, Informative)

        by MichaelSmith (789609) on Monday September 11 2006, @06:52AM (#16079971) Homepage Journal
        It's like there's an unwritten agreement that we'll never speak of VHS ever again, like it was an embarrassing mistake that it ever took off in the first place.

        It was the tubes, no, not the ones the internet uses, the ones which people used to watch pictures on. If you make it wider you have to make it deeper so you may as well make it higher and then you have a square screen again.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by TomHandy (578620)
        Well, a lot of people "put up with" pan and scan for a variety of reasons; in some cases they didn't have much choice (only "full screen" versions of certain movies were easily available). In other cases, a lot of consumers were convinced that "pan and scan" was better because they didn't like those "black bars" at the bottom and top of their screen.

        I think the success of wide screen has at least something to do with consumers becoming a bit more savvy about buying movies....... I think that more consume

          • How are they displaying the 1.85 stuff? I've certainly seen plenty of 4:3 stuff displayed "fathead" style on widescreen TVs in stores, but I don't think I've ever seen them screw up the 1.85 stuff (it's essentially 16:9).

      • I love the way no one is even considering the possibility of 4:3 ratio film downloads [...] but it still amazes me how quickly people will refuse to put up with something like pan and scan, the format everyone watched films in at home until only a few years ago in most people's cases.

        Almost all movies are shot in widescreen. In order to display them in 4:3, you have to remove content. Look at the ending of The Fifth Element for a clear-cut indication that you really don't want to remove content. (Hint: you

        • For a lot of music produced in the '60's, the mono mix was the original, which had all of the effort put into it. Stereo mixes were afterthoughts, with gimmicks like putting the vocals on one side and most of the instruments on the other. A few CD re-reissues have included both mixes (often only a few bonus tracks, and not the entire album), but there's still a lot of lost content out there as most were made without thought from the stereo masters. Ironically, while there are some mono tracks available o
        • Studios that are trying to sell me a 4:3 version of their movies ("The Forbin Project" comes to mind) is the same as if a music studio would try to sell mono versions of their songs.

          And just because a DVD is widescreen doesn't mean it isn't also pan-and-scanned. For example, the movie Head Office was filmed at 2.35:1 [imdb.com], but the DVD release was 1.78:1.

      • I love the way no one is even considering the possibility of 4:3 ratio film downloads, even though the 5G iPod's screen is small enough as it is without films taking up even less of the 320x240 resolution if they're going to remain backwards compatible with it.

        Its too bad that there is no 'software' way of dealing with pan and scan. One could see a method whereby the videos are encoded in anamorphic format, like widescreen DVDs. That way you could have true widescreen output when hooked to a TV, but 'pan

    • What could it be??? A different colour iPod? A slightly larger iPod? A slightly smaller iPod?
      It will be the iNuke [youtube.com], of course.
    • Most of the time, there is something equal or better out than the Apple product for a lower price.

      Hardware-wise, pretty much all of the time.

      Software-wise? Apple's been the leader pretty much since Jaguar came out.

      Apple's a software company. Their hardware is an expensive "dongle" for their software.

      • What is better than the current 5G 60GB iPod for a cheaper price?

        "Better" is a vague term. I hear that some products have more features, or support free (as in liberated) formats, but that they are harder to use and look less elegant. Either way, they're probably made by teenagers working 60 hour weeks plus overtime. So by "better," could you please clarify if you mean easier, better looking, more featureful, more liberated, or more ethical?

        • Re:guess I'm just a skeptic (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Yahweh Doesn't Exist (906833) on Monday September 11 2006, @08:51AM (#16080513)
          for me better is all about the user experience. I don't believe there is anyone creating anything even remotely close to iPod + iTunes + iTMS, and some of the players put out there with better hardware specs than iPods treat their users horrifically (the one suggested by the other replier can't autosync and can't browse by artist, album, or genre!).

          every aspect of Apple product design is an order of magnitude greater than their nearest competitor. and every great new product Apple releases makes the integrated experience even stronger. so I don't expect to even consider moving away from iPod in the near future but am still curious what "the best of the rest" is.

        • the only video format is uses is hard to make except via their software, and it does not show off the better screen quality

          I think the question was "What is better than the current 5G 60GB iPod for a cheaper price?" not "What product costs the same as a 5G 60GB iPod but sucks?"

          What is the point of the "better screen quality," looking at album art? If the video format is screwy and proprietary and doesn't look better on the screen than non-proprietary formats do on the iPod, what is the point of your

        • (I hate doing this, seriously)

          Why do I care if it supports FLAC? Apple provides a compressor and decompressor for ALAC, and you can freely convert between lossless formats without fear.

          Better audio output? Prove it.

          I don't need a simple hard drive interface, it'd be tougher for it to be simpler than iTunes, and I already like Apple's menu organizational structure (the one they paid Creative $100M for), so I don't feel the need to rearrange my menus by rearranging my files.

          What does the Cowon do with USB hos

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