SandynJosh
Apr 23, 09:41 PM
I will be honest and truthful and say for a mobile device on batteries, I'm very impressed as what the iPhone and iPad can do gaming wise.
However I will also state, and I think we all should be honest, that at the moment, Apple are bringing the games DOWN to what their hardware can do, as opposed to making Hardware so great that gaming is being pushed UP to take advantage of Apples industry leading performance.
In your first paragraph you talk about Apple's mobile products, which is where Apple will be putting most of their effort in the foreseeable future. To have successful portable products, having a long time between charges is highly important. The old brute force methods of throwing power and RAM at the gaming performance problem can not be part of the design mindset. Game designers know this and are becoming much better at coding for portable games, but they are not quite there yet. Meanwhile Apple is working to find ways to build in performance and not increase power draw.
THIS is the future as Apple sees it, and their acceptance in the broad general market shows that they are on the right track.
When Apple release GTX580 beating desktops, and/or Xbox360 / PS3 beating gaming devices, I will happily bow down to them being the greatest in graphics.
NOW you have switched to talking about desktop and console gaming computers. THIS is a whole different area. First off, it's a tiny segment of the whole computer market. It's big, but not nearly as huge as what Apple is aiming for with their products.
In a nutshell, Apple's strategy is to capture the mobile device market as completely as they can. They are being highly successful at that strategy from iPods to iPhones, to iPads, to Laptops.
Meanwhile they are growing rapidly in the iMac desktop and tower market due primarily to the halo effect of their success in the portable arena. They are doing this even while the desktop and tower markets are shrinking overall. Can you see why Apple will not be putting a lot of effort into this segment?
But right now, they are trailing by miles due to years of neglect as they just did not have products that could compete, and their one semi attempt at a console got nowhere.
Note: I would LOVE LOVE LOVE Apple to turn this around.
You are right. Apple did not have products that could compete in the desktop and console markets. This was primarily due to game developers not interested in writing games for Intel chips and PowerPC chips. Since the installed base for Intel-based computers was more then a order-of-magnitude larger than the installed base of Macs. Apple was never going to enjoy being a suitable gaming platform until they switched to Intel CPUs.
Once Apple made the switch, they have come a long way towards being an acceptable gaming computer, but they have no desire or plans to go after the high end of this market... it's just not that profitable or large. Remember AlienWare? They had the best gaming computer, IMO, and they had to sell themselves to another company to stay alive.
As for the console market, it's crowded with established competitors and will likely see one squeezed out. Not the kind of market that Apple or anyone else should want to jump into.
They need to ditch the "Laptops on a Stand" design of the iMac for starters, but I feel they never will as they have decided they won't compete and they cannot compete in this sector of the market.
I addressed this above. As for the "Laptops on a Stand" design, it's such a bad design that the largest computer company, HP, as well as others, have copied it.
Console wise, I'm not sure they could compete against a 360 or a PS3. Let's say Apple against a PS4 or a Xbox720
Nope, can't see that happening either.
I address this above. Apple doesn't want to be in this arena. It's small and the competition is deadly.
The low power/trimmed down, casual gamers games, seems to be the only area they are going for.
Once more you are correct. There are many many times more gamers that want a short diversion while they have a few minutes away from home, then those who want to spend thousands on an immersive game experience that requires a larger block of time. "Portability with games optional" trumps "wired to the wall and game-focused" all the way to the bank.
But Again, I would LOVE Apple to turn this around and take high end graphics seriously in their future products.
The high-end gamer is not on Apple's radar at the moment and likely never will be unless a way is found to address hi-end graphics on a portable device without impacting battery life.
I know you'd like Apple to chase this rainbow, but they won't, there's no pot of gold at the end.
However I will also state, and I think we all should be honest, that at the moment, Apple are bringing the games DOWN to what their hardware can do, as opposed to making Hardware so great that gaming is being pushed UP to take advantage of Apples industry leading performance.
In your first paragraph you talk about Apple's mobile products, which is where Apple will be putting most of their effort in the foreseeable future. To have successful portable products, having a long time between charges is highly important. The old brute force methods of throwing power and RAM at the gaming performance problem can not be part of the design mindset. Game designers know this and are becoming much better at coding for portable games, but they are not quite there yet. Meanwhile Apple is working to find ways to build in performance and not increase power draw.
THIS is the future as Apple sees it, and their acceptance in the broad general market shows that they are on the right track.
When Apple release GTX580 beating desktops, and/or Xbox360 / PS3 beating gaming devices, I will happily bow down to them being the greatest in graphics.
NOW you have switched to talking about desktop and console gaming computers. THIS is a whole different area. First off, it's a tiny segment of the whole computer market. It's big, but not nearly as huge as what Apple is aiming for with their products.
In a nutshell, Apple's strategy is to capture the mobile device market as completely as they can. They are being highly successful at that strategy from iPods to iPhones, to iPads, to Laptops.
Meanwhile they are growing rapidly in the iMac desktop and tower market due primarily to the halo effect of their success in the portable arena. They are doing this even while the desktop and tower markets are shrinking overall. Can you see why Apple will not be putting a lot of effort into this segment?
But right now, they are trailing by miles due to years of neglect as they just did not have products that could compete, and their one semi attempt at a console got nowhere.
Note: I would LOVE LOVE LOVE Apple to turn this around.
You are right. Apple did not have products that could compete in the desktop and console markets. This was primarily due to game developers not interested in writing games for Intel chips and PowerPC chips. Since the installed base for Intel-based computers was more then a order-of-magnitude larger than the installed base of Macs. Apple was never going to enjoy being a suitable gaming platform until they switched to Intel CPUs.
Once Apple made the switch, they have come a long way towards being an acceptable gaming computer, but they have no desire or plans to go after the high end of this market... it's just not that profitable or large. Remember AlienWare? They had the best gaming computer, IMO, and they had to sell themselves to another company to stay alive.
As for the console market, it's crowded with established competitors and will likely see one squeezed out. Not the kind of market that Apple or anyone else should want to jump into.
They need to ditch the "Laptops on a Stand" design of the iMac for starters, but I feel they never will as they have decided they won't compete and they cannot compete in this sector of the market.
I addressed this above. As for the "Laptops on a Stand" design, it's such a bad design that the largest computer company, HP, as well as others, have copied it.
Console wise, I'm not sure they could compete against a 360 or a PS3. Let's say Apple against a PS4 or a Xbox720
Nope, can't see that happening either.
I address this above. Apple doesn't want to be in this arena. It's small and the competition is deadly.
The low power/trimmed down, casual gamers games, seems to be the only area they are going for.
Once more you are correct. There are many many times more gamers that want a short diversion while they have a few minutes away from home, then those who want to spend thousands on an immersive game experience that requires a larger block of time. "Portability with games optional" trumps "wired to the wall and game-focused" all the way to the bank.
But Again, I would LOVE Apple to turn this around and take high end graphics seriously in their future products.
The high-end gamer is not on Apple's radar at the moment and likely never will be unless a way is found to address hi-end graphics on a portable device without impacting battery life.
I know you'd like Apple to chase this rainbow, but they won't, there's no pot of gold at the end.
Arcus
Apr 25, 08:50 AM
The info circulating around is false.
So Steve is saying there is no database of locations? Thats just an outright lie.
So Steve is saying there is no database of locations? Thats just an outright lie.
GregA
Nov 26, 09:30 PM
5. The tablet computer. The reason the tablet computer has been a failure is because the writing interface isn't very good yet, and because the damned things are the same size and weight as a notebook, so there's little point in dumping the notebook for a tablet. A smaller form factor with the same power, but one that it a little more usable and compelling than the UMPC might be very successful.
I think the reason tablets have failed is that they haven't got their own identity... people want it to do what their laptop does but without a keyboard. Of course, as you say, that means the writing interface has to be foolproof.
If Apple can identify or create a new market, it could be very interesting.
I think the reason tablets have failed is that they haven't got their own identity... people want it to do what their laptop does but without a keyboard. Of course, as you say, that means the writing interface has to be foolproof.
If Apple can identify or create a new market, it could be very interesting.
Eidorian
Jul 22, 11:04 AM
Nearly the entire line of majot Apple products is in need of an update.
http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/
http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/
AaronEdwards
Apr 26, 03:30 PM
You don't hear about Ferrari and Porsche worrying about their market share. Neither should Apple. Let the other guys squabble in the lower end of the market leaving Apple to continue to deliver a premium product and user experience.
Fiat owns 85% of Ferrari.
Volkswagen owns 49.9% of Porsche.
Fiat owns 85% of Ferrari.
Volkswagen owns 49.9% of Porsche.
dontwalkhand
Mar 30, 12:59 AM
Hey Apple,
I don't want my iPhone 5 to be leaking radiation...
Too soon? :cool::rolleyes:
I hope you know that cell phones emit radiation.
I don't want my iPhone 5 to be leaking radiation...
Too soon? :cool::rolleyes:
I hope you know that cell phones emit radiation.
roland.g
May 4, 03:54 PM
On yesterday's MacBreak Weekly they were talking about this. The consensus was that the d/l version will be ultra cheap similar to SL b/c Apple wants people to migrate quickly. And then there will be a retail box that will sell for more for those who either can't or don't want to d/l. There is a patter of this in iLife, iWork, Aperture, etc., where the d/l version is much less expensive than the retail box.
And I'm fine with that. Bought Aperture when the Mac App Store debuted because of the new price. However, while people will say "partition your drive for OS and Apps and another partition for data so that you can wipe the OS partition for installs, etc." - because I like to do a clean install of the OS when I get it, and typically with a new machine I still reinstall it without all the languages, print drivers, fonts I won't ever need, I don't want to get a new iMac now and then in a couple months install Lion clean after just setting up the new machine. I'll wait. Get the new iMac with Lion. Wipe the OS and reinstall it slimmed down. Then add my Apps and data.
And I'm fine with that. Bought Aperture when the Mac App Store debuted because of the new price. However, while people will say "partition your drive for OS and Apps and another partition for data so that you can wipe the OS partition for installs, etc." - because I like to do a clean install of the OS when I get it, and typically with a new machine I still reinstall it without all the languages, print drivers, fonts I won't ever need, I don't want to get a new iMac now and then in a couple months install Lion clean after just setting up the new machine. I'll wait. Get the new iMac with Lion. Wipe the OS and reinstall it slimmed down. Then add my Apps and data.
Hattig
Nov 26, 06:52 PM
This can be done quite cheaply, if Apple doesn't use off the shelf PC components - which is why current tablet PCs are so expensive. An Intel ULV processor is not cheap.
Shame that Apple moved away from the PowerPC really, when it comes to applications such as this. They could use a $20 PPC 750CL processor (16mm^2 die size, compare to the ~150mm^2 PC processors) at up to 1GHz (~2W power consumption at 700MHz), with a 30GB 1.8" hard drive (same as iPod), 512MB memory ... that'd be cheap (the display would probably be the most expensive part).
However if this is aimed at Q12008 then Intel will have some processors on 45nm, which will reduce size and power consumption. Also the chipsets are cheap and good.
I don't understand why PC tablets cost so much when they use components that you see in cheap laptops. Maybe there's a hefty OS + software cost, which Apple would not have as its inhouse. So there is a good chance for Apple to be competitively priced. The cost is the major issue with tablets - $500 - good. $1000 - can deal with probably. $2000 - haha.
Shame that Apple moved away from the PowerPC really, when it comes to applications such as this. They could use a $20 PPC 750CL processor (16mm^2 die size, compare to the ~150mm^2 PC processors) at up to 1GHz (~2W power consumption at 700MHz), with a 30GB 1.8" hard drive (same as iPod), 512MB memory ... that'd be cheap (the display would probably be the most expensive part).
However if this is aimed at Q12008 then Intel will have some processors on 45nm, which will reduce size and power consumption. Also the chipsets are cheap and good.
I don't understand why PC tablets cost so much when they use components that you see in cheap laptops. Maybe there's a hefty OS + software cost, which Apple would not have as its inhouse. So there is a good chance for Apple to be competitively priced. The cost is the major issue with tablets - $500 - good. $1000 - can deal with probably. $2000 - haha.
cciliberto33
Mar 28, 10:22 AM
I have an upgrade in May no new iphone im getting an inspire.
BJB Productions
May 7, 11:29 AM
"It should be free. It's craptastic; painfully slow and full of bugs."
--I agree with you, this is why I dumped it; I did not want to pay $90 for a service that was slow, and buggy. I switched to Gmail, although I still liked Mobile Me calendar, photos etc better.
If they want to compete with Google, I think this is a good idea. I like Gmail better than Mobile me mail, but I love the other features of Mobile me like calendar, photos, iDisk, etc. Google has also still a very "basic" feeling to me. While Apple has a much nicer look and more options.
--I agree with you, this is why I dumped it; I did not want to pay $90 for a service that was slow, and buggy. I switched to Gmail, although I still liked Mobile Me calendar, photos etc better.
If they want to compete with Google, I think this is a good idea. I like Gmail better than Mobile me mail, but I love the other features of Mobile me like calendar, photos, iDisk, etc. Google has also still a very "basic" feeling to me. While Apple has a much nicer look and more options.
DakotaGuy
May 6, 12:10 AM
Moving away from Intel in their notebooks and desktops would be a HUGE mistake in my opinion. Intel is the big dog and they have the resources to keep innovating. I guess if they plan on making everything iOS then it makes a little more sense, but for true blue OSX machines Intel has the muscle.
altecXP
Mar 30, 10:12 PM
I have to say Dev2 is much more buggy performance wise for me, but less buggy appearance wise. I also get random CPU spikes and the fans kick up to 5000rpm then slow down after a minute or two.
Chrome won't quit with out a force quit, Chromium won't launch. Safari has a bug where in order to have a file download you also need to have it listed as "preparing to download" or the speed on it drops to 12KB/s.
Mortal Kombat Sub Zero Trailer
The scrapped plans for Mortal
sub zero wallpaper mortal
Mortal Kombat 6
Sub Zero Mortal Kombat Legacy
With the hype of Mortal Kombat
Classic Sub-Zero - The Mortal
Chrome won't quit with out a force quit, Chromium won't launch. Safari has a bug where in order to have a file download you also need to have it listed as "preparing to download" or the speed on it drops to 12KB/s.
-aggie-
May 4, 12:15 PM
so now we have to wait until mscriv tells you his intentions?
this could take a while. he's probably busy torturing flies or sommthing ;)
We can spend our time insulting him until then. :)
this could take a while. he's probably busy torturing flies or sommthing ;)
We can spend our time insulting him until then. :)
Half Glass
Jul 24, 07:54 AM
Yeah something just doesnt feel right. OS X recognises a 2.93GHz chip as 4GHz? and since when does Apple put in CPU features in system profiler?
Ok, so I hate to admit it, but I can confirm from my experimental days that OSX 86 reports at least P4 CPUs innaccurately as mentioned above. The system profiler in OSX86 does attempt to describe the chip. My HT P4 2.4 GHz was reported as a 3.something. Don't know if it was the hyperthreading or the HT coupled with the OSX86 hacked version itself was the problem in the reporting.
I can say that I never got anywhere in terms of stability with the experiment. Video card was the biggest problem. Hey, I was curious.
I still have an eMac (wife's) and just like Multimedia mentioned above, I sold my PowerMac dual 2.0 last week for top $$ before the new ones are released. Have you ever met anyone who made a profit on a computer 9 months later? Bought the dual processor from the apple store *right* after the dual cores were announced. They took $500 off. I can't believe what people are paying on eBay knowing that the change is days away. But, they still got a great machine below current market value.
Since I don't make a living on my Mac and I have my wife's for email/internet I can go without one for a few weeks (but it's hard!). I am anxiously awaiting the announcements with Conroe/Merom. I bought my P-Mac only because of the original deal I got. With the $$ from it's sale, I don't know if I'll be getting a P-Mac or an iMac.
Add my name to the list of people wanting a midrange tower.
--Half Glass
Ok, so I hate to admit it, but I can confirm from my experimental days that OSX 86 reports at least P4 CPUs innaccurately as mentioned above. The system profiler in OSX86 does attempt to describe the chip. My HT P4 2.4 GHz was reported as a 3.something. Don't know if it was the hyperthreading or the HT coupled with the OSX86 hacked version itself was the problem in the reporting.
I can say that I never got anywhere in terms of stability with the experiment. Video card was the biggest problem. Hey, I was curious.
I still have an eMac (wife's) and just like Multimedia mentioned above, I sold my PowerMac dual 2.0 last week for top $$ before the new ones are released. Have you ever met anyone who made a profit on a computer 9 months later? Bought the dual processor from the apple store *right* after the dual cores were announced. They took $500 off. I can't believe what people are paying on eBay knowing that the change is days away. But, they still got a great machine below current market value.
Since I don't make a living on my Mac and I have my wife's for email/internet I can go without one for a few weeks (but it's hard!). I am anxiously awaiting the announcements with Conroe/Merom. I bought my P-Mac only because of the original deal I got. With the $$ from it's sale, I don't know if I'll be getting a P-Mac or an iMac.
Add my name to the list of people wanting a midrange tower.
--Half Glass
geta
May 6, 08:06 AM
Apple only went with intel because IBM was never going to be able to make a G5 laptop chip. Why are people so closed minded when it comes to change?
its not about 'closed minded' , some ppl's working with the mac's for living, and not only playing games, watching movies D\L mp3.... !
im still working with PowerMac G5 - yap you heard right, G5 !
i've got no problem to finish my projects with it, but i do have a problem with all the new programs i need for my work.... they not support the old CPU :mad:
so now i need to upgrade to new MacPro that will cost me �3000 + the extra cards (the one's im using it PCI... so i need to upgrade them to PCI-e) coz of that.
so if they will move to the new CPU's, it will append all over agin..... couple years after the move, all the programs wont support intel based macs....
its not about 'closed minded' , some ppl's working with the mac's for living, and not only playing games, watching movies D\L mp3.... !
im still working with PowerMac G5 - yap you heard right, G5 !
i've got no problem to finish my projects with it, but i do have a problem with all the new programs i need for my work.... they not support the old CPU :mad:
so now i need to upgrade to new MacPro that will cost me �3000 + the extra cards (the one's im using it PCI... so i need to upgrade them to PCI-e) coz of that.
so if they will move to the new CPU's, it will append all over agin..... couple years after the move, all the programs wont support intel based macs....
tivoboy
May 9, 09:36 AM
I for one, feel that what I pay per year (about 35$) for the MM services it TOTALLY worth it. for 20GB of online photo album storage, idisk offline syncing, syncing my calendar, addressbook etc. (which WORKS with iphone and macs MUCH better than the google solutions) being able to find my iphone and my nephews when he drops it, being able to send people files, data, pictures for them to download, creating iweb sites for photos, updating family via simple RSS, etc. It really does work well. I have never really used the email services since I have so many others, but the implementation is good nonetheless.
If it were free and I simply got more space and services, I think it would be even more positive, but I wonder WHY/HOW they would make it free. I don't see it being in any way a compelling reason for someone to BUY a mac. I don't want them to plunk advertising all over it. It MIGHT be part of their cloud services solutions that are coming to stream YOUR content to ANY device, so your payments for THOSE products could cover it. Not really sure what the operating model would be.
If it were free and I simply got more space and services, I think it would be even more positive, but I wonder WHY/HOW they would make it free. I don't see it being in any way a compelling reason for someone to BUY a mac. I don't want them to plunk advertising all over it. It MIGHT be part of their cloud services solutions that are coming to stream YOUR content to ANY device, so your payments for THOSE products could cover it. Not really sure what the operating model would be.
cyberone
Nov 22, 11:20 PM
colligan:
I went through 8 - eight - treo 650, because the hardware quality was so poor, not to mention the constant resets.
now, imagine, i have a phone without a reset button. no, its not a palm device.
and i bet the iphone wont have a reset button.
your phones were decent - compared to the competition - three years ago with the announcement of the 650.
others have long overtaken you. and you have no answer.
I bet you cant wait to see that iphone and realize what you've all missed.
I went through 8 - eight - treo 650, because the hardware quality was so poor, not to mention the constant resets.
now, imagine, i have a phone without a reset button. no, its not a palm device.
and i bet the iphone wont have a reset button.
your phones were decent - compared to the competition - three years ago with the announcement of the 650.
others have long overtaken you. and you have no answer.
I bet you cant wait to see that iphone and realize what you've all missed.
AndroidfoLife
Apr 5, 03:57 PM
Godwins Law "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1"
Smartphones Law "As an online discussion about Smartphones grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Android or iOS approaches 1"
Smartphones Law "As an online discussion about Smartphones grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Android or iOS approaches 1"
Maury
Mar 31, 09:16 AM
I had a nasty feeling then it would mark the decline of Apples great computers & here we are.
Yes, here we are, with the best computer lineup ever, best sales ever, and best OS ever.
The sky is falling!
Yes, here we are, with the best computer lineup ever, best sales ever, and best OS ever.
The sky is falling!
TennisandMusic
Apr 5, 01:04 PM
Kind of weird, Apple should not be meddling in that stuff. Way way too domineering.
steadysignal
May 6, 06:59 AM
I can't think of a worse idea!
nor can i.
i just remember all the problems i had with those processors in the past.
nor can i.
i just remember all the problems i had with those processors in the past.
macenforcer
Aug 7, 04:57 PM
The NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT is cool with me. It is actually based on the same chip the GeForce 7600 GT is, just with 4 Pixel Pipelines disabled.
Exactly. And here's to hoping it doesn't have a fan so it is quiet. :)
Exactly. And here's to hoping it doesn't have a fan so it is quiet. :)
Substance
May 7, 01:39 PM
The only future for MobileMe is to adopt the DropBox model. Which is a shame really, because Apple was so close to it years ago with iDisk but never put it all together.
Have your home folders automatically backup to MobileMe and access them anywhere, iPhones, iTouchs, iPads, other Macs, you name it. It would also put the downright draconian file sharing implementation of the iWorks apps on the iPad out to pasture.
It would be smart to make part of OS X itself and offer it for free, then sell extra disk space at a modest premium to get people to backup their iTunes and iPhoto libraries to the cloud.
Most of all though, it all has to be transparent. Anything I save to the Home folder is automatically backed up to the cloud in short order so I can have almost immediate access to it elsewhere. No need to mount iDisk as a separate volume, just connect to a MobileMe account in the System Preferences and your home folders are automatically synced with the cloud.
It's just makes too much sense for Apple to pass up.
Have your home folders automatically backup to MobileMe and access them anywhere, iPhones, iTouchs, iPads, other Macs, you name it. It would also put the downright draconian file sharing implementation of the iWorks apps on the iPad out to pasture.
It would be smart to make part of OS X itself and offer it for free, then sell extra disk space at a modest premium to get people to backup their iTunes and iPhoto libraries to the cloud.
Most of all though, it all has to be transparent. Anything I save to the Home folder is automatically backed up to the cloud in short order so I can have almost immediate access to it elsewhere. No need to mount iDisk as a separate volume, just connect to a MobileMe account in the System Preferences and your home folders are automatically synced with the cloud.
It's just makes too much sense for Apple to pass up.
shawnce
Aug 4, 05:07 PM
The only thing 64-bit gives you is more addressable memory. Oh, and some operations (like adding two doubles or longs) would only take one cycle on the integer unit, instead of more. Yeah... that's about it.
..and in the case of x86-64 (Intel and AMD) the 64 bit mode of operation allows the CPU to expose more registers for use at compile time (and few other improvements). This can improve optimizations that the compiler can make which can improve the performance of the application it builds.
Also the ability to do integer math using 64 bit wide registers with 64 bit wide functional unit can be a decent performance win for several types of tasks.
..and in the case of x86-64 (Intel and AMD) the 64 bit mode of operation allows the CPU to expose more registers for use at compile time (and few other improvements). This can improve optimizations that the compiler can make which can improve the performance of the application it builds.
Also the ability to do integer math using 64 bit wide registers with 64 bit wide functional unit can be a decent performance win for several types of tasks.