adambyte, you cued in to my point - Apple could put this together and it would be great. It IS happening and going to happen more and right now Apple is missing the beginning of it.
Randman - I think you misunderstood me. I said all this stuff is possible and available, but it is not plug and play. Only geeks like you or me would put together the peices to make things like this work and even then, it isn't perfect. No offense, but some of your points fall short and hardly offer something seamless/automated - I don't want to burn disks or synch anything manually. Let the hardware/software take care of that for me. It is time for the computer to evolve and do more for me all by itself.
I think Apple will never gain back share on Windows unless they provide something people want and Windows doesn't have. The business market - outside graphics, video and some web developement, is largely a goner for Apple. They will never get it back. Education is not doing so hot these days either. The one area they have strength is in the home market. You seem to think I am asking for too much, but it is already here. Why not let Apple do it and do it right.
The Escient Fireball is a $2000 box that does many things I am asking for:
http://www.escient.com/fireballline.htm Here is the touch panel that goes with it:
http://www.escient.com/etp1000.htm
The page says "More than a Hard Drive" - and they are right - it is a really just a specialized computer. It may be expensive, but cheaper versions and knock offs are coming soon. Cheaper similar products will be in Best Buy within two years tops.
I tried one out the other day and my reaction was this: Almost everything it does my computer can do - just not as elegantly or automatic. Why is that? Why should I spend $2000+ on this thing when my $2500 computer is so close to being this same thing? Why can't my computer have the same features + the same convenience and flexibility? 80% of it is just software and interfaces to other devices (TV, stereos...). Why can't my Mac be the center media/information "brain" of my house (e.g. the "DIGITAL HUB"!!!) like the Escient Fireball? Unlike the Esceint, my Mac has two processors and a multitasking operating system, yet it hardly utilizes the full capabilities of either one. Why not?
You say Apple can't risk investments in new hardware, but I think they can't risk standing still. Home theater, home automation is growing rapidly. Faster towers and lighter laptops are hardly innovative or market shaking events, but when Apple does something new and innovatiive they do it right it and it pays off - iPod for example. Apple could lead this and back up the talk Jobs makes about a digital hub. I didn't say it, he did! If they can't do the hardware, they could find a partner and promote standards and interfaces and/or the software to drive this kind of thing.
Off topic: Rather than post a new thread, did you see the shameless Apple music download ad rip-off by buymusic.com! I thought it was an Apple ad until the very end. God, what a world of shameless no-talent people we live in. Don't they teach people not to plagarize in school? Still, like all the other clones, they don't get the subtle details that Apple pays attention to.