Machead III
Aug 29, 06:17 AM
What makes you think that they are not being paid enough as it is?
"...decreases in the rate of performance improvements, if it meant that the people who manufactured the computers..."
"...decreases in the rate of performance improvements, if it meant that the people who manufactured the computers..."
PghLondon
Apr 30, 01:48 PM
Okay, so now all I have to do is hope for SATA 3 SSD connections and the prices to drop to i5 @ $1699 and i7 @ $1999. Some REAL good GPUs and more standard ram. :cool:
I hate to say it but I'll keep holding off if the interface connections don't start jumping up in spec. It's retarded to see Thunderbolt and no SATA 3 or USB 3. It will a (re)selling point later on when you're looking to sell it off for the next new one.
USB3 is dead tech. You'll never see it on a Mac. Would be VERY surprised to see eSATA, as well.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8G4 Safari/6533.18.5)
Thunderbolt drives will be out this summer.
Yup. Not sure why people are surprised that the machine with Thunderbolt came out before the drives/peripherals. Do you really think it would happen the other way around?
Compare:
"Here's a computer with a port that you can't use yet, but will be able to soon as peripherals are built. You can still use the rest of the computer, though"
to
"Here's a peripheral with a port that isn't supported by any computers yet. There should be something out soon, though"
Not really a tough decision, eh?
I hate to say it but I'll keep holding off if the interface connections don't start jumping up in spec. It's retarded to see Thunderbolt and no SATA 3 or USB 3. It will a (re)selling point later on when you're looking to sell it off for the next new one.
USB3 is dead tech. You'll never see it on a Mac. Would be VERY surprised to see eSATA, as well.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8G4 Safari/6533.18.5)
Thunderbolt drives will be out this summer.
Yup. Not sure why people are surprised that the machine with Thunderbolt came out before the drives/peripherals. Do you really think it would happen the other way around?
Compare:
"Here's a computer with a port that you can't use yet, but will be able to soon as peripherals are built. You can still use the rest of the computer, though"
to
"Here's a peripheral with a port that isn't supported by any computers yet. There should be something out soon, though"
Not really a tough decision, eh?
LagunaSol
Apr 4, 12:54 PM
I often wondered what kind of people could find a homeowner who shot an armed intruder guilty of a crime or culpable in civil court. Having read many of the comments in this thread, now I know.
The scary thing is some of these people may be sitting on the jury if this ever happens to you. :eek:
The scary thing is some of these people may be sitting on the jury if this ever happens to you. :eek:
alvindarkness
Apr 11, 05:08 AM
Lucky its not Sony. Those that exposed it would be in a never ending court case, and everyone's IP that visited macrumors would be subpoenaed by a federal judge.
BoyBach
Aug 28, 01:25 PM
I see people still talking about big announcements at the Paris expo. Considering there will be NO keynote of any kind I find it unlikely.
Agreed. I think there will be 'quiet updates' of the Mac range in the coming weeks, plus a 'Special Event' or two in the coming months for the announcements of the new iPods and Movie Store.
Agreed. I think there will be 'quiet updates' of the Mac range in the coming weeks, plus a 'Special Event' or two in the coming months for the announcements of the new iPods and Movie Store.
donlphi
Sep 5, 08:25 PM
I agree with everyone here who says that when Apple starts their own movie store they should also release a new Application along with it.
Playing video in iTunes is pretty bad.
They could call it iMovie... wait that won't work.
iFlix (too netflix-ee)? iPix(too pixarish)? iMedia (too micro$oftish)? nah.. just stick with iTunes... everybody knows how to use it, but fix the video playback.
Playing video in iTunes is pretty bad.
They could call it iMovie... wait that won't work.
iFlix (too netflix-ee)? iPix(too pixarish)? iMedia (too micro$oftish)? nah.. just stick with iTunes... everybody knows how to use it, but fix the video playback.
asdf542
Apr 22, 01:24 PM
Netbooks do not have optical drives. Ultraportables do.
The MBA looks good as a netbook. It looks bad as an ultraportable.
MBA and MBP are two different markets.
MBA is for people that want light. MBP is for people that want a full featured notebook.
So you want a big MBA.
If they could have the same processors, that would happen already at 13".
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/gadgetreviews/new-asus-eee-pc-netbook-with-optical-drive/2658
The MBA looks bad as an ultraportable? L.O.L.
The MBP is for people who want a powerful notebook. People who want a laptop capable of using parts that equal 85-watts or higher.
I don't want a MacBook Air. I want a MacBook Pro without an optical drive that is slightly thinner than the current MacBook Pro.
If you think the only thing that separates the MacBook Air from the Pro is an optical drive then I'm wasting my time arguing with you. Clearly someone that thinks a 15" Zacate notebook with an optical drive makes a 15" MacBook Pro with a quad core 45 watt CPU and a 25W+ GPU without an optical drive look bad is someone that knows little about what they're talking about.
I don't see HP Envy owners complaining about their lack of an optical drive inside their machines nor do I see people knock that particular fact about the Envy.
The MBA looks good as a netbook. It looks bad as an ultraportable.
MBA and MBP are two different markets.
MBA is for people that want light. MBP is for people that want a full featured notebook.
So you want a big MBA.
If they could have the same processors, that would happen already at 13".
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/gadgetreviews/new-asus-eee-pc-netbook-with-optical-drive/2658
The MBA looks bad as an ultraportable? L.O.L.
The MBP is for people who want a powerful notebook. People who want a laptop capable of using parts that equal 85-watts or higher.
I don't want a MacBook Air. I want a MacBook Pro without an optical drive that is slightly thinner than the current MacBook Pro.
If you think the only thing that separates the MacBook Air from the Pro is an optical drive then I'm wasting my time arguing with you. Clearly someone that thinks a 15" Zacate notebook with an optical drive makes a 15" MacBook Pro with a quad core 45 watt CPU and a 25W+ GPU without an optical drive look bad is someone that knows little about what they're talking about.
I don't see HP Envy owners complaining about their lack of an optical drive inside their machines nor do I see people knock that particular fact about the Envy.
cube
May 3, 11:13 AM
Ivy Bridge will bring it up to 3 displays. AMD has 6 displays for embedded systems now.
These iMacs have discrete chips supporting 6 displays, too. But they are crippled by Thunderbolt, like the MBPs.
These iMacs have discrete chips supporting 6 displays, too. But they are crippled by Thunderbolt, like the MBPs.
rmhop81
Apr 22, 08:43 AM
This is exciting, since my music library already tops 16 GB and isn't shrinking any time soon. Now, I saw a little bit about it in the article, but does anyone else know if the general consensus is that ALL of ones music could be stored? As opposed to just iTunes-purchased songs. That's crucial.
knowing how apple is.....probably itunes purchases only.
knowing how apple is.....probably itunes purchases only.
rmhop81
Apr 22, 07:52 AM
Not to mention blowing through your entire battery running the radios to stream what you could just as easily sync.
If you really want to stream your own collection over the WAN, there are already NAS appliances and streaming applications on the market that can deliver the goods. And if Apple prices this like their completely underwhelming Mobile Me offering, those alternatives could end up being a lot cheaper.
go look at the pandora app. i don't see anyone complaining about that. This would essentially be the same thing except every song would be of your choice bc it's YOUR music.
If you really want to stream your own collection over the WAN, there are already NAS appliances and streaming applications on the market that can deliver the goods. And if Apple prices this like their completely underwhelming Mobile Me offering, those alternatives could end up being a lot cheaper.
go look at the pandora app. i don't see anyone complaining about that. This would essentially be the same thing except every song would be of your choice bc it's YOUR music.
cube
Apr 22, 11:48 AM
And I'm honestly kind of impressed that the MacBook Pro still doesn't give you an option to buy one without a DVD drive; I have a 2011 MBP and I swear, it doesn't get any use whatsoever. Apple's obsession with using every square millimeter of space on a portable device apparently ends when it comes to optical disk drives on MBPs.
It doesn't happen because what they should really be putting is Blu-Ray.
It doesn't happen because what they should really be putting is Blu-Ray.
MacRumors
Apr 20, 09:43 AM
http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/20/researchers-disclose-iphone-and-ipad-location-tracking-privacy-issues/)
A pair of security researchers today announced (http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/04/apple-location-tracking.html) that they are sounding the privacy warning bell about the capability of iOS 4 to track the location of an iPhone or iPad on an ongoing basis, storing the data to a hidden file known as "consolidated.db" in the form of latitude and longitude and a timestamp for each point.All iPhones appear to log your location to a file called "consolidated.db." This contains latitude-longitude coordinates along with a timestamp. The coordinates aren't always exact, but they are pretty detailed. There can be tens of thousands of data points in this file, and it appears the collection started with iOS 4, so there's typically around a year's worth of information at this point. Our best guess is that the location is determined by cell-tower triangulation, and the timing of the recording is erratic, with a widely varying frequency of updates that may be triggered by traveling between cells or activity on the phone itself.While the consolidated.db file has been known for some time and has played a key role in forensic investigations of iOS devices by law enforcement agencies, the researchers note the data is available on the devices themselves and in backups in unencrypted and unprotected form, leading to significant privacy concerns. Once gathered, the data is saved in backups, restored to devices if necessary, and even migrated across devices, offering a lengthy history of a user's movement.
Article Link: Researchers Disclose iPhone and iPad Location-Tracking Privacy Issues (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/20/researchers-disclose-iphone-and-ipad-location-tracking-privacy-issues/)
A pair of security researchers today announced (http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/04/apple-location-tracking.html) that they are sounding the privacy warning bell about the capability of iOS 4 to track the location of an iPhone or iPad on an ongoing basis, storing the data to a hidden file known as "consolidated.db" in the form of latitude and longitude and a timestamp for each point.All iPhones appear to log your location to a file called "consolidated.db." This contains latitude-longitude coordinates along with a timestamp. The coordinates aren't always exact, but they are pretty detailed. There can be tens of thousands of data points in this file, and it appears the collection started with iOS 4, so there's typically around a year's worth of information at this point. Our best guess is that the location is determined by cell-tower triangulation, and the timing of the recording is erratic, with a widely varying frequency of updates that may be triggered by traveling between cells or activity on the phone itself.While the consolidated.db file has been known for some time and has played a key role in forensic investigations of iOS devices by law enforcement agencies, the researchers note the data is available on the devices themselves and in backups in unencrypted and unprotected form, leading to significant privacy concerns. Once gathered, the data is saved in backups, restored to devices if necessary, and even migrated across devices, offering a lengthy history of a user's movement.
Article Link: Researchers Disclose iPhone and iPad Location-Tracking Privacy Issues (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/20/researchers-disclose-iphone-and-ipad-location-tracking-privacy-issues/)
feddy84
Mar 29, 01:15 PM
i wouldnt be suprised, apple is heading for the same thing they did with mac vs pc battle. they are 1 company, that means they can be VERY succesfull with introducing new products but in the end they cant keep up when the other companys throw in their overdrive. just watch not with duelcore android phones. coming halv a year before "iphone 5" if thats even gonne get released. android or wp7 is going to be the dominant mobile operating system withing a few years cause they arent closed systems.
Peace
Sep 5, 05:51 PM
That makes no sense. Why wouldn't it just download straight to the computer in the first place? That's where it's stored, that's where it's streamed from. You just added an extra step and made it that much more complicated.
Tell ya what..If I want to watch a full length movie I'm gonna do it in my living room in front of my TV NOT wherever the computer is.
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Tell ya what..If I want to watch a full length movie I'm gonna do it in my living room in front of my TV NOT wherever the computer is.
needo
May 1, 03:11 AM
Crap... I just ordered a 27" iMac from store.apple.com Friday morning. It hasn't shipped yet as i did some custom changes. I am going to call in the morning to see if I can hopefully cancel the order. I also purchased a 27" Cinema Display but that has already shipped. And doesn't look like it is in this upgrade round.
Mr.damien
Apr 19, 06:54 AM
Of course, Samsung's Android phone has many additional items such as their pulldown notification shade with built-in radio and orientation lock controls... which many people would love for Apple to copy.
No ... YOU want.
No ... YOU want.
w00master
Nov 14, 12:44 PM
Serious, dude. You seem to be like those people who have their fingers in their ears singing "la, la, la, la, la I can't hear you".
Apple is the copyright holder of those images and they provide the right to use those images in Applications running on macs via the API on a Mac running OS X. Rogue Amoeba was taking those images and distributing them via a WiFi network to another device where they have not licensed the display of those specific icons. This is really no different than if you licensed icons for use in your desktop application and then decided to use it in a few websites or a client server app without clearing it with the licenser first.
Rogue Amoeba could avoided all of those trouble by supplying their own icons. It also appears from the screenshot that they were taking two icons from OS X and superimposing them on each other.
There is one possibility that perhaps not been considered. What if Apple does not own the exclusive copyright to those images and has instead licensed them for a specific use within OS X on a mac and any other use would be a violation of that license?
Sorry, but I disagree. Personally, it seems to me that the extreme fanboys have their fingers in their ears. I completely understand Apple's need to protect their trademarks and copyrights. However, in this case, I do not agree that Rogue Amoeba did ANY of this.
Again, to quote Gruber:
"the Airfoil Speakers Touch iPhone app does not contain any of these images. It contains no pictures of Apple computers. It contains no icons of Apple applications. It displays these images after they are sent across the network by Airfoil for Mac. Airfoil for Mac reads these images using public official Mac OS X APIs. I.e. Airfoil Speakers Touch can only show a picture of the Mac it is connected to because the image is sent from the Mac it is connected to."
To continue on... these apologies and justification has been going on for a LONG time now on. Normally, I side with Apple. However, I'm sick and tired of people calling us "whiners" or continually try to justify "Apple's actions." I love Apple, but imho I am a CONSUMER first before I am a fan. Constantly hurting top tier developers hurts me as a consumer, because it potentially restricts the type of killer apps that can come out of the amazing iPhone platform. All I'm asking is for Apple to ease up a bit. Give these developers room to thrive.
w00master
Apple is the copyright holder of those images and they provide the right to use those images in Applications running on macs via the API on a Mac running OS X. Rogue Amoeba was taking those images and distributing them via a WiFi network to another device where they have not licensed the display of those specific icons. This is really no different than if you licensed icons for use in your desktop application and then decided to use it in a few websites or a client server app without clearing it with the licenser first.
Rogue Amoeba could avoided all of those trouble by supplying their own icons. It also appears from the screenshot that they were taking two icons from OS X and superimposing them on each other.
There is one possibility that perhaps not been considered. What if Apple does not own the exclusive copyright to those images and has instead licensed them for a specific use within OS X on a mac and any other use would be a violation of that license?
Sorry, but I disagree. Personally, it seems to me that the extreme fanboys have their fingers in their ears. I completely understand Apple's need to protect their trademarks and copyrights. However, in this case, I do not agree that Rogue Amoeba did ANY of this.
Again, to quote Gruber:
"the Airfoil Speakers Touch iPhone app does not contain any of these images. It contains no pictures of Apple computers. It contains no icons of Apple applications. It displays these images after they are sent across the network by Airfoil for Mac. Airfoil for Mac reads these images using public official Mac OS X APIs. I.e. Airfoil Speakers Touch can only show a picture of the Mac it is connected to because the image is sent from the Mac it is connected to."
To continue on... these apologies and justification has been going on for a LONG time now on. Normally, I side with Apple. However, I'm sick and tired of people calling us "whiners" or continually try to justify "Apple's actions." I love Apple, but imho I am a CONSUMER first before I am a fan. Constantly hurting top tier developers hurts me as a consumer, because it potentially restricts the type of killer apps that can come out of the amazing iPhone platform. All I'm asking is for Apple to ease up a bit. Give these developers room to thrive.
w00master
Nomadski
Apr 13, 07:07 AM
MagnusVonMagnum -
- 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.
Unless you've purchased / converted music in Apple lossless format it IS way better quality. Im making the comparison of my situation listening to FLAC vs the masses who purchase mp3s on iTunes. You could rip your music in Apple Lossless for sure, but then your hooked into iTunes, cant play on WMP or most other mp3s other than iPods. Like with a lot of stuff iTunes related, if you go that route, your stuck. Even the all inclusive Sonos S5 sounds better than the best iPod dock on the market (Bose 10 / Zeppelin whichever grabs your boat the most).
- 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.
Sonos isnt cheap for sure, but that is why I said people who have no shortage of money at the start of my thread. Some people have massive Mac systems, those people shouldn't skimp when it comes to music, if they like music, or video for that matter.
One of the big features of Sonos which you obviously arent aware of is that Sonos DOESNT hog your bandwidth. It uses its own Mesh network which works independantly of your home wireless network, hence no bandwidth constraints, which is why you can have up to 32 Sonos units all working AT THE SAME TIME on the same or different sources whilst not affecting the bandwidth capability of your home network. Try using even 2 AppleTV2s at the same time and see how much of your bandwidth is left.
Also, if you live in a large house, or one with thick walls, or you want to listen outside, because Sonos recreates its own Mesh network each time it hits a Sonos unit strength signal on the opposite side of the house to the router is still very high, each Zone Player acts like a new Sonos signal source.
Yup its expensive but I bought my first Sonos bit of kit in 2006. Since then ive added 3 more units, 2 of which were new redesigned units released a couple of years ago. Ive also added a second controller when they moved to touchscreen 2 years ago. And you know what? It all works seamlessly with each other. Old hardware, new hardware, built up over time. New features added over time (for free) seamlessly updated into even the oldest bit of hardware with a firmware update, they even added full Touch, iPhone and iPad control options so I could use any of them to control the audio around the house. Can you integrate AppleTV2 with 1? Can you honestly say in 5 years time your money spent will still work with the rest of your AppleTV system as they upgrade and add new features? When 3 year old sounddocks wont even charge new ipods I would hazard a guess...no.
-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.
NAS or WHS arent cheap but youve just contradicted yourself.
Sonos will also play from any networked PC, MAC, External hard drive on Airport, netbook. To use a NAS you dont have to install XBMC on it, it works out of the box from any source you want. That PPC G4 would also work with Sonos, or you could play Last.FM, or Pandora, or Spotify, or Napster, or unlimited internet radio (you can even add your own internet radio addresses).
Best of all, you DONT have to use iTunes. You can if you want, but you dont have to.
Sonos also gives you multi room grouping. Group 2 or more zones together and enjoy synced music wherever you want it. Not miliseconds out syncing like Sony or Logitech but 100% synced. Dropping zones can be done at the flick of the controller.
Read a review of a new album in the newspaper? Listen to it 5 seconds later on Sonos.
So the kids can listen to their own music streamed in their rooms upstairs, my wife can be listening to the TV, or some music in the living room, and I can be in my little den listening to my music whilst enjoying near full speed wireless capability on my pc or mac, or maybe my wife likes a song shes hearing upstairs and links zones so she can hear it downstairs.
You can buy a standalone unit which sounds better than the B&W Zeppelin, or get the amped unit for attaching to any speaker system you want, or get the small unit for use (as you do) with your existing stereo system. You can add these anytime you want, building up your Sonos system over time, without the fear it will be redundant over time.
Its a high end multi room music system vs a limited single streaming unit.
-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:
Cost seems to be the big issue with you, so I wonder if you own a mac mini as opposed to 3 macbook pros, an imac, apple tv2 etc etc as many posters here have? If so, Sonos etc wont be for you. If you do own multiple Apple systems why are you so concerned with price? If you want the best you got to pay for it.
With Apple TV you DONT have all your movies or music or internet radio. you have limited experiences with all 3. No 1080p, no DVD images (Popcorn will load your dvd image in exactly the same way your dvd player would), wont play .mp4 .m4v .mkv .wmv .avi .aac .divx, doesnt have full support for all subtitle formats, wont play FLAC or anything else outside of your iTunes library audio wise and its internet radio function is gimped.
Its sure nice to have it in one box, but *it* is very very limited. Dedicated systems will always trump jack of all trade systems.
The interface is nice on AppleTV2 for sure, my popcorn looks better though with my skin on it. The default layout looks boring ill agree.
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
Except you couldnt do that could you? Your wireless network would be crippled with half that many running at the same time. I can assure you I can play a 1080P movie AND have 3 other Sonos units streaming at the same time. Try that sometime with 4 AppleTVs...
With XBMC installed, it can play any format (just like Popcorn Hour).
No, no it cant. DVD isos? All subtitle formats? 1080P? Also your slightly expanded feature set (not out of the box) is achieved by essentially hacking your AppleTV 2, so good luck on the next firmware update.
Hell, I can even buy a cheap 3.5" internal hard drive and slot that into my popcorn hour if I want to store the films locally, what sized hard drive does Apple TV2 have? Oh wait.
Your not seeing the advantages with zero configuration audio system, and a play all with no hassles video system? The only mucking about in my system is if you want a nice shinier interface with Popcorn Hour. You have to convert audio, replace (essentially) the OS to XBMC, have a linux system and a Crystal card to play 1080p on an OLDER Apple TV (your not factoring in this stuff with your price or integrated system arguments are you?) and you STILL have a far more limited setup.
Reading thru your post I guarantee you your costs are higher than $99 and in about 2 years time your system will be redundant.
Im not saying the AppleTV 2 is useless for everyone, for many of the dumb masses who are locked into iTunes already its probably the best thing since sliced bread, and really its only advantage is a cheap price and movie rentals, in glorious 720P, but if I want to feed my 42" 1080p plasma with subpar 720P video I could use the xbox or PS3 sitting under the TV, which I also dont bother with. For audiophiles or moviephiles it doesn't cut it.
- 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.
Unless you've purchased / converted music in Apple lossless format it IS way better quality. Im making the comparison of my situation listening to FLAC vs the masses who purchase mp3s on iTunes. You could rip your music in Apple Lossless for sure, but then your hooked into iTunes, cant play on WMP or most other mp3s other than iPods. Like with a lot of stuff iTunes related, if you go that route, your stuck. Even the all inclusive Sonos S5 sounds better than the best iPod dock on the market (Bose 10 / Zeppelin whichever grabs your boat the most).
- 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.
Sonos isnt cheap for sure, but that is why I said people who have no shortage of money at the start of my thread. Some people have massive Mac systems, those people shouldn't skimp when it comes to music, if they like music, or video for that matter.
One of the big features of Sonos which you obviously arent aware of is that Sonos DOESNT hog your bandwidth. It uses its own Mesh network which works independantly of your home wireless network, hence no bandwidth constraints, which is why you can have up to 32 Sonos units all working AT THE SAME TIME on the same or different sources whilst not affecting the bandwidth capability of your home network. Try using even 2 AppleTV2s at the same time and see how much of your bandwidth is left.
Also, if you live in a large house, or one with thick walls, or you want to listen outside, because Sonos recreates its own Mesh network each time it hits a Sonos unit strength signal on the opposite side of the house to the router is still very high, each Zone Player acts like a new Sonos signal source.
Yup its expensive but I bought my first Sonos bit of kit in 2006. Since then ive added 3 more units, 2 of which were new redesigned units released a couple of years ago. Ive also added a second controller when they moved to touchscreen 2 years ago. And you know what? It all works seamlessly with each other. Old hardware, new hardware, built up over time. New features added over time (for free) seamlessly updated into even the oldest bit of hardware with a firmware update, they even added full Touch, iPhone and iPad control options so I could use any of them to control the audio around the house. Can you integrate AppleTV2 with 1? Can you honestly say in 5 years time your money spent will still work with the rest of your AppleTV system as they upgrade and add new features? When 3 year old sounddocks wont even charge new ipods I would hazard a guess...no.
-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.
NAS or WHS arent cheap but youve just contradicted yourself.
Sonos will also play from any networked PC, MAC, External hard drive on Airport, netbook. To use a NAS you dont have to install XBMC on it, it works out of the box from any source you want. That PPC G4 would also work with Sonos, or you could play Last.FM, or Pandora, or Spotify, or Napster, or unlimited internet radio (you can even add your own internet radio addresses).
Best of all, you DONT have to use iTunes. You can if you want, but you dont have to.
Sonos also gives you multi room grouping. Group 2 or more zones together and enjoy synced music wherever you want it. Not miliseconds out syncing like Sony or Logitech but 100% synced. Dropping zones can be done at the flick of the controller.
Read a review of a new album in the newspaper? Listen to it 5 seconds later on Sonos.
So the kids can listen to their own music streamed in their rooms upstairs, my wife can be listening to the TV, or some music in the living room, and I can be in my little den listening to my music whilst enjoying near full speed wireless capability on my pc or mac, or maybe my wife likes a song shes hearing upstairs and links zones so she can hear it downstairs.
You can buy a standalone unit which sounds better than the B&W Zeppelin, or get the amped unit for attaching to any speaker system you want, or get the small unit for use (as you do) with your existing stereo system. You can add these anytime you want, building up your Sonos system over time, without the fear it will be redundant over time.
Its a high end multi room music system vs a limited single streaming unit.
-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:
Cost seems to be the big issue with you, so I wonder if you own a mac mini as opposed to 3 macbook pros, an imac, apple tv2 etc etc as many posters here have? If so, Sonos etc wont be for you. If you do own multiple Apple systems why are you so concerned with price? If you want the best you got to pay for it.
With Apple TV you DONT have all your movies or music or internet radio. you have limited experiences with all 3. No 1080p, no DVD images (Popcorn will load your dvd image in exactly the same way your dvd player would), wont play .mp4 .m4v .mkv .wmv .avi .aac .divx, doesnt have full support for all subtitle formats, wont play FLAC or anything else outside of your iTunes library audio wise and its internet radio function is gimped.
Its sure nice to have it in one box, but *it* is very very limited. Dedicated systems will always trump jack of all trade systems.
The interface is nice on AppleTV2 for sure, my popcorn looks better though with my skin on it. The default layout looks boring ill agree.
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
Except you couldnt do that could you? Your wireless network would be crippled with half that many running at the same time. I can assure you I can play a 1080P movie AND have 3 other Sonos units streaming at the same time. Try that sometime with 4 AppleTVs...
With XBMC installed, it can play any format (just like Popcorn Hour).
No, no it cant. DVD isos? All subtitle formats? 1080P? Also your slightly expanded feature set (not out of the box) is achieved by essentially hacking your AppleTV 2, so good luck on the next firmware update.
Hell, I can even buy a cheap 3.5" internal hard drive and slot that into my popcorn hour if I want to store the films locally, what sized hard drive does Apple TV2 have? Oh wait.
Your not seeing the advantages with zero configuration audio system, and a play all with no hassles video system? The only mucking about in my system is if you want a nice shinier interface with Popcorn Hour. You have to convert audio, replace (essentially) the OS to XBMC, have a linux system and a Crystal card to play 1080p on an OLDER Apple TV (your not factoring in this stuff with your price or integrated system arguments are you?) and you STILL have a far more limited setup.
Reading thru your post I guarantee you your costs are higher than $99 and in about 2 years time your system will be redundant.
Im not saying the AppleTV 2 is useless for everyone, for many of the dumb masses who are locked into iTunes already its probably the best thing since sliced bread, and really its only advantage is a cheap price and movie rentals, in glorious 720P, but if I want to feed my 42" 1080p plasma with subpar 720P video I could use the xbox or PS3 sitting under the TV, which I also dont bother with. For audiophiles or moviephiles it doesn't cut it.
xlii
Mar 22, 03:03 PM
Wife said Yes
But will Apple say No? (mac mini update)
But will Apple say No? (mac mini update)
Hattig
Mar 29, 12:37 PM
Wow, I didnt even realize they took CUT away
They didn't, you're being trolled when someone says you can't cut text.
Files, in Finder, that's another thing, and quite annoying. This is the only place that the comments about Mac OS X lacking cut functionality have any relevance.
They didn't, you're being trolled when someone says you can't cut text.
Files, in Finder, that's another thing, and quite annoying. This is the only place that the comments about Mac OS X lacking cut functionality have any relevance.
apolloa
Apr 30, 06:09 PM
Thing is though... if the new top end MacBook Pro 2.3 can keep up with and beat even a current 8 core Mac Pro in some instances and trounce the quad core model, just how powerful is a top end Sandy Bridge iMac going to be :eek::confused:
And seeing as Apple blessed us with quad core in the laptops, I would bet my remainder of my hair on my head that the top end iMac option at most will have six core sandy bridge :D
And seeing as Apple blessed us with quad core in the laptops, I would bet my remainder of my hair on my head that the top end iMac option at most will have six core sandy bridge :D
lilo777
Apr 19, 05:16 PM
And as I said, they are their number one customer, also as reported in the WSJ. If you don't think some bonuses were rewarded at Samsung for landing the account with Apple, and that your number one customer isn't important, then you know very little about business.
First, Apple is not Samsung's biggest customer. Sony is (link (http://www.mobiledia.com/news/87370.html)). Secondly, Apple is not your regular customer. They are the customer that is suing them! It's not your regular business situation. Thirdly, Samsung is the biggest supplier of LCDs, RAMs and flash memory. Apple simply can not replace them (there is no spare capacity available around). That's why Apple will be screwed.
First, Apple is not Samsung's biggest customer. Sony is (link (http://www.mobiledia.com/news/87370.html)). Secondly, Apple is not your regular customer. They are the customer that is suing them! It's not your regular business situation. Thirdly, Samsung is the biggest supplier of LCDs, RAMs and flash memory. Apple simply can not replace them (there is no spare capacity available around). That's why Apple will be screwed.
AidenShaw
Sep 9, 10:01 AM
Good - now we won't have to wade through any arguments with fanbois who claim that the iMac is the "most powerful desktop on the planet"....
:D
:D
braddouglass
Apr 19, 12:57 PM
Yep, he's the only iPhone user in the world who wants a better notication system, and a built in radio so he doesnt have to stream it over the internet. :rolleyes:
+1 on the notifications
Who would want to have a s*itty radio tuner on their iphone? that's why I download music So I can listen to the music I want at good quality. with no commercials? And you can multi task any ways so what the big deal of streaming music? at least streaming is the genre you like haha
+1 on the notifications
Who would want to have a s*itty radio tuner on their iphone? that's why I download music So I can listen to the music I want at good quality. with no commercials? And you can multi task any ways so what the big deal of streaming music? at least streaming is the genre you like haha