Tag Archives: Apple

Apple TV: The price of simplicity

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Apple TVI spent part of the weekend playing with Apple TV. George came over Saturday and we had the thing up and running within 15-20 minutes. I won’t try to “review” this device because a) I don’t have the technical chops, b) I’m not a videophile or power user by any stretch and c) lots of websites and blogs have provided professional reviews.

And just for the record: Windows Media Center is light years ahead of Apple TV. Superior in every way. A different league. Cheaper, better, faster, taller… you name it. I have no experience with Media Center but happily stipulate to the above.

George described Apple TV as “your iPod on steroids.” A pretty good description. I liked this from a review in PC World:

“The basic rule of Apple TV content seems to be: If you can play something in iTunes, you can play it on Apple TV. That puts some limitations on users, but then, that’s the price of simplicity.”

The price of simplicity. Yes, I will pay that price. Gladly. And Apple TV does everything I wanted to do. And just those things. And does them beautifully.

When we turned it on, all of my photos and all of my songs and podcasts immediately transferred (wirelessly) to the Apple TV.

So I can now play my music through the TV speakers or the sound system speakers.

I created a couple of slide shows in iPhoto (with music from iTunes) and shoved ’em over to Apple TV. So easy that I’ll do this a lot more now.

Probably as much fun as anything was to put the music on shuffle and let Apple TV shuffle images from iPhoto. And, as you might expect, Apple does this in a very cool and visually interesting way. You’d have to see it.

Navigating the Apple TV menu is as easy and intuitive as… well, the iPod. No learning curve. Which also describes the Apple remote [far right in photo below].

Apple Remote

Bottom line for me: I will do a lot more with my music and my photos than I have in the past. Just as the iPod changed the way I listen to music (and podcasts)… Apple TV is going to change how I use my TV. Like the box says, “Now there’s always something good on TV.”

The truth about switching

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This post purports to be an “honest word about what it’s like to switch” to a Mac. It certainly mirrors my experience. My favorite was #13: “You’ll be amazed at how little there is to modify”

“I was the ultimate tweaker in Windows – registry entries, options, toolbar buttons – and was taken aback at how few things there are to tweak on the Mac. At first it seemed to be restrictive, but I’ve realized it has actually freed me to do things other than tweaking, like work on this website.”

If you’re thinking about getting a Mac, this is worth a read.

AirPort Extreme: Fast and Easy

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One of the more frustrating computing challenges I’ve encountered is setting up a wireless network in my home. I knew enough not to attempt to try this on my own and called on some of very clever men and women I work with. But it was a booger, even for them.

Today my buddy George came over and set up my new Apple AirPort Extreme (“Easy as a Mac”):

“Just take the AirPort Extreme out of the box. Plug it in. Install the software, and in five minutes or less, you’re good to go.”

And it literally took George 5 minutes to install and configure the base station. My Netgear base station was doing the job but the AirPort Extreme had a couple of features I wanted.

Before, I had to have my Dell desktop box turned on to print from our laptops. We can now print directly through the router.

I also now have an external hard drive hooked to the router…and visible on my MacBook desktop when I’m at home. No more storage issues and three times a week the MacBook does an automatic back-up.

Yes, I’m sure it’s possible to accomplish these things in Windows on PC’s. But the folks at Apple just made it fast and simple. And I promise to share any problems I have with the new base station down the road.

Speaking of down the road… the Apple TV is scheduled to start shipping in early March and George tells me our new TV has the necessary connections and cables to take advantage of the features.

Update: Surfing from the couch (base station upstairs in the office) and –perceptually– pages are loading twice as fast as before (on the Netgear base station).

Apple TV: node on the iTunes peer-to-peer video network?

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I ordered one of the new Apple TV doo-dads right after they were announced. Didn’t/don’t fully understand it but it sounded like fun, so… Since then I’ve been hearing and reading all kinds of knocks on the gadget, usually from serious video-philes.

Then I came across an interesting theory about where Apple might be headed:

“Here is what I think is happening with the Apple TV hard drive. I think sometime this summer Apple will ship a firmware upgrade for the Apple TV and it will suddenly gain an important new capability. That’s when the Apple TV becomes a node on the iTunes peer-to-peer video network. ”

“Apple would have one or many content channels roughly equivalent to an HBO, Showtime, or perhaps Discovery. Yes, I think Apple will do direct content deals, buying programming that it will then either distribute to subscribers or support with Google ads, thanks to Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s position on the Apple board. Apple’s network will give you the same content with or without ads, delivered from the same servers, one of which may be underneath your TV.”

Hmmm.

Another Mac Attack

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GomerMy alternate headline was, “Gomer Does the Big Apple,” but the Jim Nabors reference would be either too dated or unflattering to Learfield President and Chief Operating Officer Roger Gardner, the latest Learfielder to break down and “Get A Mac.”

Like Phil and me, Roger has been flirting with the idea of buying a Mac for sometime. He’s been teetering at the precipice for weeks and finally went over the edge this week and purchased a 17″ MacBook Pro (with all the fixin’s)

In all fairness, Roger has two teenagers at home and they needed another computer and –like a lot of folks these days– couldn’t come up with a good reason not to try a Mac.

“Computers for people who believe in feng shui”

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That’s how Charlie Brooker describes Macs. He really wails on Macs, people who use them, people who associate with people who use them, etc, etc.

“I hate Macs. I have always hated Macs. I hate people who use Macs. I even hate people who don’t use Macs but sometimes wish they did. Macs are glorified Fisher-Price activity centres for adults; computers for scaredy cats too nervous to learn how proper computers work; computers for people who earnestly believe in feng shui.”

You can read his full article here and it’s worth the registration. I hope to god he never stumbles across my “Mac Lust” post from last April. [via Jeff Jarvis]

Chris Pirillo: “Apple gets the consumer”

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“My brother Adam isn’t a geek – and he’s never written to me about any other device (from Apple or any other manufacturer). It’s not even out yet and I already hate the iPhone… largely because someone else didn’t make it four years ago. Seriously. Apple gets the consumer in ways that no other company ever will. It makes my new Smartphone seem so… ancient.”

Apple TV selling faster than iPods

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Despite the fact the product isn’t even out yet, Apple says its upcoming PC-to-TV device is the fastest-selling item on its website, even beating out iPods. Apple TV is poised to become a surprise hit, says analyst Shaw Wu of American Technology Research. “If Apple were to convert 1 percent of those iPod owners to Apple TV owners, it would be a success. That would be a million units,” he said. [LostRemote]

I ordered one, too. Supposed to ship in February. I’ll report here once it’s up and running.

iPod sales drive Apple’s billion dollar profit

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Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2007 first quarter, ended December 30, 2006. The Company posted record revenue of $7.1 billion and record net quarterly profit of $1.0 billion, nearly double last year’s profit. These results compare to revenue of $5.7 billion and net quarterly profit of $565 million, or $.65 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.

Apple shipped 1,606,000 Macintosh computers and 21,066,000 iPods during the quarter, representing 28 percent growth in Macs and 50 percent growth in iPods over the year-ago quarter. [Podcasting News]

“It’s just a fad. I can go down to Target and get a perfectly good MP3 player that will do everything an iPod will do and only pay $30. And why do a need an MP3 player when I can listen to music for free on the radio?”