Exclusive Insider News - iBox

Alex said:
I've never seen the Columbus before... *searching google for Apple Columbus*
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You might try searching for "Apple Media Player" these are pretty old links so you may have to wade through some Google pages.

MacEdition has an interesting article from "back in the day".
 
my thinking is that i would buy it if it comes out, ive been looking for a way to reduce the clutter of my bedroom, and besides buying XP MCE, wicth is when you face it what iBox will be, i would prefer to have a Mac MC then a Xp one,
 
TiVo is TOTALLY worth the money. They can be had for $199 + the required $299 lifetime (of unit, not of yourself) or $12.95 monthly.

For $99 (one time fee) you can play MP3s and view photos on your TV. It works great with iTunes and iPhoto.

Of course, I'd wait 48 hours or so to see what Apple might have...but TiVo is totally cool and well worth it's price!
 
mindbend said:
Based on its described purpose, a G3 is plenty as well as 128 RAM. It's not like it's really doing much. It's just a storage, throughput and playback device as I see it. The G3 will let be quiet and cheap(er).
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I think you all are forgetting the little fact of AltiVec enabled G3s from IBM. That could help with the whole MPEG decoding/encoding thing, if they don't use dedicated hardware for that purpose. Well, that's just my two cents. :cool:
 
Even if it would contain a G3 FX, I don't think it will be marketed as such, rather they will say "an innovative IBM PPC chip with altivec".
I also still doubt the "iBox" name. While the product would be great and might even be true, there are still some strange details that won't fit IMHO.
I cannot believe it would run a "Watered down" version of OS X, nor that it would include iPhoto/iTunes light. Besides that, modders and hackers all over the world would quickly overclock and fine-tune it to run the Full Monty OS X and any version of GNU/Linux... I don't think Apple would be so happy with that and I can't yet see how they would avoid it.
 
Cat, there is already a product exactly like that in millions of households right now: the Xbox. It runs a heavily streamlined, modified version of Windows, and it lacks a definitive GUI for accessing the machine itself, though many people have hacked it to the breaking point. I can't see this "iBox" being much different, besides recording TV or whatever instead of playing games.
 
I know that there are a lot of such offerings: Xbox, TiVo etc. and even the HomePod now. What I am saying is that I am not yet convinced that Apple would make one. There are 20+ different current versions of Windows out there, and just two of the Mac OS. For the iPod, Apple licensed or bought another os, instead of making an OS X "lite". I simply don't see them doing it. The thing will most probably run another OS/shell entirely. However, this would entail that they would have to port iPhoto and iTunes which can be quite some work. The way of least resistance would mean that the device simply enables you to Rendevouz/wireless share your pics and tunes from your Mac to your Stereo/TV and viceversa. Thus it would not be usable independently of your Mac but simply act as link between Mac and Stereo/TV. The iBox however seems to claim a lot more.
I don't know. Jobs has always said that TV and computers would not merge. The iBox seems to do just that, merge some functionality of the computer with that of the TV. What I sketched however, already exists: the TiVo. Such a device would simply connect your Mac and your Stereo/TV which doesn't go against what Jobs said.
Whatever, we'll know by tomorrow anyway.
 
When I saw this I remembered this from earlier this year.

http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,58310,00.html

It was all over the place same name and all! I think apple should make a tivo style box its an important step. I do think it should have a G4 and I also think it should be semi-upgradable like tivo. But who know if apple will release the beast at macworld.
 
monktus said:
This sounds interesting. The problem with stuff Apple has done in the past, like Pippin and the Newton is that the products have been a bit ahead of their time and the market wasn't quite ready for them. Now however, with iTMS, iPod and the crossover between the PC and home entertainment, it looks like iBox could work.

Also, don't want to go too off topic but has there been any more news about the small/cheap iPod? There were rumours about a cut down 2GB or so version but the reaction didn't seem to positive. However, one of my friends told me he had heard that it was definitely going ahead and would be released in the spring for about £65/$100. Supposedly there had been some mention of it by Steve himself. Can anyone confirm this or am I just dragging up dead rumours? :)
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I've never had any interest in TiVo but if this is true and the price is also true I'd be interested. I don't like Tivo's forced subscription and I don't use regular phone service and couldn't use tivo anyway. "Cheap" Ipod would be great.
 
This device seems like pure balderdash to me. At least people could come up with something that is reasonable!
 
I don't get this thread's obsession with the specs on this supposed iBox. What on earth is a G4 and more memory going to get you for a device that simply plays back and archives media? It's just a hard drive with enough of a GUI to move media around (speculative on my part).

I edited three full length documentaries on an iMac 400 G3 with 128 MB of RAM. If those specs were good enough for that, they'll be plenty good enough for an iBox which has WAY less technical demands. Likewise, FW800 is overkill for this product.

I'm not saying better specs would be completely useless. I'm just saying they are overkill and not needed at all for this product to do what it needs to do at a good price point. Hey, if they feel like shoving a G4 and half a gig of RAM in there, great. It's simply not necessary.
 
frickeBob said:
I've never had any interest in TiVo but if this is true and the price is also true I'd be interested. I don't like Tivo's forced subscription and I don't use regular phone service and couldn't use tivo anyway. "Cheap" Ipod would be great.
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But you can use Tivo with broadband...
 
Or they're saving it for later. Not everything is released at Macworld Expos now. IIRC there was an update to the PowerMac G4s a few weeks after one Expo.
 
Yes, an update. Not a completely new product. I would expect Apple to at least announce a new product such as this at an expo.
 
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