Apple announcement recap

[Scott Lewis]

On Jan 15, 2008, at 2:59 PM, LuKreme wrote:

> This is a pretty nice bit of kit, really.  A full 802.11n AE with a  
> 500GB or 1TB NAS integrated into it and three gigabit ethernet  
> ports.  I am sorely tempted by this, though my cable 'modem' is  
> already a router.

Price is pretty good. If your cable modem is half as flexible as my  
DSL modem it can be configured into a bridge, to avoid the NATing a  
NAT connection. :) $499 for 1 tb is pretty good, especially if it's  
really a "server grade" hard drive (sorry, I'm still having trouble  
coming to grips with 'server grade SATA').

Considering the going rate for 1 TB drives is about $299 to $399 for a  
USB external (I just got a MyBook for $259 at Circuit City which I  
thought was a steal), this is a dirt cheap solution, considering it  
comes with a 802.11n router and 3 gigabit ports.

> I think the triangulating cell towers is very very cool.  In a way,  
> better than GPS as I often want to know what's in the area, not what  
> I can see from where I'm standing.

Just nit picking, but with GPS can't you still do that? Just zoom  
out. :) I will say that I tried this feature out today, and it was  
spot on in 3 locations I tested with. I was within the circle every  
time. I know Google does this on other phones now, but it seems Apple  
also relies on a third party company that does a similar thing with  
WiFi routers, so perhaps Apple's is more accurate?

>> This makes the Apple TV a lot more attractive to me, but still no  
>> xvid/divx without hacking, which just seems stupid to me.

Apple is pushing the iTunes store. That'd be like iPod's with WMA  
support - just  not worth it. MP3 is kind of a universal format - you  
can't stop it. DIVX and XVID kinda compete with Apple's format of  
choice, just like WMA competes with AAC. Does the XBOX 360 play  
QuickTime (I actually don't know, but would guess not).

>
>> 6. MacBook Air—wicked thin, 13.3" widescreen LED backlit display,  
>> built-in iSight, full-sized backlit keyboard with multi-touch  
>> gesture support trackpad.
>
> Forgot the key 'feature'
>
> No ethernet :/

True, although apparently they offer a cheap (did I see $20) USB  
dongle for that. If hotels would across the board go WiFi this would  
be a non-issue for me. Had to be a trade off, for sure. Me? I love  
it... but my MacBook (original one bought just after the launch) is  
still so fast, I can't justify a new notebook ... yet!

> Oh, and the optional SSD drive is $1000.  Bet it does wonders for  
> the speed and battery life though.

 From what I hear this is $500 cheaper than many vendors.

>