Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

Some kind of Blu-ray support. I had hoped they would offer a Blu-ray option in iMacs before I finally bought, but that ship has sailed. I'd like to see some kind of external Blu-ray drive at reasonable cost, but I'm not even sure it's even possible with copy protection (HDCP, BD+, etc).

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

i'd like to see the appletv get a blue ray drive. i bet they would sell tons of em

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

I want V2 iPhone, but a little bird told me June a couple months back.

Apple would be nuts not to include some BD announcement - either BTO for the pro or other hardware.

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

A non Mac Pro, non all in one, desktop Mac that allows user selectable video cards from both ATI and Nvidia

Blue Ray Support for all machines

HD downloadable movies

AppleTV HD

Mac Mini HD

iPod Touch 32GB

iPhone 3G

Games for the iPod Touch

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

I agree but I would add the following:

16 GB 3G iPod nano in black and Product Red case colors

iTunes 8.0 with downloadable movie rental support and improved, easier-to-use interface.

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

An updated Macbook Pro. Rumor is that the next ones will look radically different, like the G4 Titanium Pros.

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

How can reverting to a style two generations old be considered radically different? Considering the dual hinge case on the Titaniums were prone to breakage, I would hope they don't take a step back with that type of case design.

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

From Apple:

• Blu-Ray RW option on iMacs, MacBook Pros, and Mac Pros.
• Early release of the iPhone SDK, or at least previews of some third-party apps built with it.
• iTunes update with movie rentals (this is all but certain to be announced based on recent news reports). I'd love these to be HD, but I'm not expecting it, at least at first.
• Update to AppleTV software allowing purchases & rentals direct from unit. There will likely be a new AppleTV as well.
• New, more competively-priced displays.
• Some kind of subnotebook.
• Finally, the device Andy Ihnatko has speculated on recently (on MacBreak Weekly and the Apple Phone Show podcasts). A bigger-than-the-iPhone but smaller-than-a-subnote handheld based on the iPhone's touch interface. Big enough display to comfortably surf the web, watch movies, etc., but small & light enough to slip into a purse, briefcase or even jacket pocket. Built-in WiFi & 3G to get on the net anywhere.

From third parties:
You and I are of like mind on this one, Dave.

Also looking forward to see what Delicious Monster has come up with for Delicious Library 2.

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

Oh please let there be...no new enticing announcements because I have barely recovered from Christmas gift giving!

Seriously, I would welcome (and some of this will be duplicative of above posts) the following products, and are ranked in order of "most likely to get me to buy immediately" to "will wait a while before buying":

1. 2nd gen iPhone with 32GB+ RAM, 3G wireless.

2. "In-Between" Desktop Mac: more powerful than iMac, not as "server oriented" as Mac Pro. Uses Intel desktop chipset (as opposed to iMac which uses the same chipset as the MBP) but does not use ECC RAM. Customizable video card options. Blu-Ray option.

3. "Macbook Air" - the rumored ultralight notebook. I love my 2.33 MBP, but a super-light notebook would essentially get me to turn my MBP into a "desktop replacement" (and I would hook it up to my 20" Dell LCD monitor) and the new Air would be my true mobile solution. Even at 5.5lbs there are times I don't want to lug around my MBP (and I used to own an 8.8lbs laptop!). If the power adapter to the Macbook Air were lighter and more portable than the one for the MBP, I'd take that thing everywhere!

4. Apple TV/Mac Mini Hybrid. Supports 1080p and Leopard. 250GB+ built in HD, support for firewire devices including external HDs. If they also added some OTA HD tuner + DVR functions this would shoot up to #1 on my purchase list.

5. iPod Touch with 32/64GB RAM - 32GB would still be a wait and see, because that's only half of my library. 64GB would hold most everything and I'd buy that right away.

6. iPod Classic with 160GB+ HD but with touchscreen comparable to iPod Touch/iPhone.

7. 24" Apple Cinema Display at 1920x1200 with HDMI input and support for HDCP, 1080p/24, and more competitively priced.

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

This would be cool, but I don't think you'll ever see iTunes (or any Apple product) directly support DVD-ripping. The studios will NEVER get on board with that, and Apple needs them to provide content.

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

I hear ya Dave. This was just my "hopes" - I figured we wouldn't see v2 until summer.

On a side note, i can understand the furor over the near-immediate price drop. But you can't hope for technology to stand still. The iPhone was released six months ago and that's usually plenty of time to expect hardware upgrades. I think if they hadn't had the price drop fiasco, they could have announced a v2 tomorrow [and perhaps given a street date of mid-February] and people wouldn't have blinked.

EDIT - while iPhone v2 may not be announced tomorrow (with 3G support), I fully expect a memory upgrade because now that the iPod Touch has released with 16GB [and iPod Nanos are up to 8GB, right?], I'm thinking they have to at least match that with the iPhone.

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

Not only that, but it is plain and simply illegal, thanks to the DMCA. Consider the case of Kaleidescape, which after a long legal battel is off the hook (for now) regarding their "products that enable (indeed encourage) individuals to copy protected DVDs onto hard-drive servers."

As theirs is a proprietary and totally closed system, there is absolutely no chance Apple could get away with allowing individuals ripping their own DVDs. The article above ends with this: "Even the newly introduced Fair Use Act of 2007, which is meant to tone down the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998, would not allow consumers to rip DVDs."

So everyone wishing for a DVD ripping feature in iTunes needs to wake up and stop dreaming.

-Christian

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

Hmmm. Now THAT'S interesting.

It's already been reported that certain DVDs are going to come with iTunes-ready movie files right on the disc - just import 'em in to iTunes and sync with your iPod, iPhone or Apple TV. Supposedly they'll be tied to a fixed number of computers just like content purchased from the iTunes store (that tying will take place durung the import to iTunes).

A ripper that put the same "stamp" on the ripped files certainly seems feasible.

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

Rumoured, or perhaps more accurately speculated, to use the 72GB flash HDD that Sandisk unveiled at CES.

Imagine if this is coupled with the OLED that Sony unveiled, this could be a seriously light machine. But that OLED TV alone costs US$2,500...

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

I'd love to see that.

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

Per Apple's website, 'There's something in the air........'.

Any guesses? ;-)

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

Ditto.

If this happens I'm jumping into the HD fray.

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

Moved to Official Keynote Thread.

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

There isn't going to be a Quicken 2008. Intuit's releasing a new product for the Mac later this year.

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

1.5 out of 7. I'll count getting some of my AppleTV request fulfilled, and of course the Macbook Air was leaked the day before the event, but struck out on everything else.

I will say this: iPod Touch with those new functions is making me rethink of that purchase over the iPhone, since I don't really want to pay the additional fees over my monthly phone bill. I'm just curious how often you can get any sort of wifi service with the iPod Touch.

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

For the people that have been jonzing for Google to put out a Mac version of Picasa, it looks like your wish has been granted.

Re: Oh please, let there be... (Your MacWorld hopes)

Wow. That looks horrible. Intuit clearly hasn't got a clue when it comes to the Mac. Intuit - all we want is a feature & file compatible version of Windows Quicken that runs as a UB. How hard is that?? Instead we have to wait another 8 months to get tag clouds & cover flow - oh, and limited investment features because they're not going to have time to implement them into this initial release.

I've been using Quicken for almost 2 decades. As much of a PITA as it's going to be, I guess it's time to jump ship.