Apple - two words to consider: "Home Automation"

Amen Arden! :) Isn't it nice to see Bill himself go through the agony and embarrassment so many of his customers go through every single day!!! And you know they spent a fortune and had a small army there to make sure it all worked! Gees...

Any way, that's all we need - Miscrosoft reliability and ease of use not just in our computers, but in our home media devices. If MS takes over I can look forward to calls from my dad on how to turn on his TV!!!
 
Also - the Mini might have a lot of potential as a little home media machine. For example, I use Indigo to control a lot of my X10 devices, but Indigo needs to be running. My G4 DP is a bit of a power hog (trust me, I see it on my bills) so I would rather not have it on 24/7. A little dedicated Mac Mini could run my X10 software as well as be a great little iTunes "server." Now we just need a little better music and video "server" software and hardware out there - from Apple and others. EyeTV is just not it - not yet!

HP has its own media server: http://news.com.com/1606-2-5519860.html
Tivo, pics, music... Man, can't apple do this better? Again, a Mac Mini with some added sw might do it!
 
The thread that won't die... Why, because the world is moving ahead on home media and integration while Apple's digital hub strategy seems (IMO) incomplete and not evolving. Latest? Just read a NYT article about the new X Box which will double duty as a media server. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/13/technology/13xbox.html

The thing has a ton of processing power (3 IBM processors) - " the console houses three 3.2-gigahertz I.B.M. microprocessors that could qualify it as the most powerful home computer on the market."

How about this quote:
"But part of the challenge of this next generation is how do we cultivate a broader mass audience."

Part of that strategy, he said, includes designing Xbox 360 to perform a range of nongaming functions suited to the living room, like streaming digital music and pictures, or videoconferencing. "

If you want to write off Microsoft for any reason, realize the Playstation 3 is reported to be even more powerful. I'm not saying Apple should be into game consoles, but Macs need to be a bigger part of a total digital hub gig. It is going to happen with or without Apple.
 
It is frustrating, isn't it?! ;)

I do remember reading speculation that there might be a new video Airport Express - allowing the Mac Mini to stream movies as well as music...

We shall see!
 
You guys are both right. Apple certainly must be thinking about this and planning? No? I'm hoping they come up with something really slick. You know, a new approach that nobody else thought of. Sure, the new XBox and PS3 will do similar things, but will it be easy and/or elegant to use? I think Airport Express was just a little taste of what they have in the works for media device integration. I just have a problem with delayed gratification and would like to see something soon! :)
 
I woke up this old thread because Apple really did it - Apple TV is COOL! Okay, so right now iTunes may not have a lot of TV shows, movies or be super price competitive, but it is opening a world where I can use my computer to drive my TV, and NOT a box with a horrendous UI from Comcast (at over $125 a month including cable modem). It also seems to have the potential to serve up music as well as video - all over the house. This is just what my doctor ordered! Give it time people. Apple having content is, I think, the way to go. They have more control this way and can control the evolution of how this advances. Again, I'll take Apple over greedy Comcast any day!
 
Wow, nice bump.

I've got a 360 and love the thing. I rarely use it for media stuff, but I know some people who do. Problem is that you have to convert stuff to wmv (and it's not too obvious how to use the connectivity software- it's buggy).

The 360 itself has a killer interface, it's really nice esp coming from Microsoft.

now- to your point about Apple TV. I agree, I'm excited to see something like this come along. It's not quite ready (for me at least), but it reminds me of a few years ago when I was wowing people at parties, plugging my ipod into random stereos, and later, setting up streaming music around my apt. Won't be long for the next step, and I'm glad Apple's bringing this stuff to market.
 
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