Aehso’s Output

iTunes Music Store (iTMS) now open in Ireland.

Apple have quietly launched their Irish iTMS - wohoo!

For bulk purchases it is very hard to resist the pricing at AllOfMP3 though…

Apple Freakness

So I’m a little bit of an Apple freak - I’ve made ‘the switch’ and I havn’t regretted it one bit. I still have to use a PC in work but I can live with that - I’d play too much if I had a Mac in work.
You may also have noticed from some of my previous postings here that I’m usually curious about what Apple are going to release next. That might seem odd to some of you but most Mac users fall into this loyalty trap (and worse).

But I can honestly say to myself that I am quite normal in comparison to folks who spend hours producing iPod Micro Concepts - designs for a product that doesn’t formally exist. It’s amazing the lengths these folks go to to and Apple themselves must just love these free concept contributions. Of course, you can be guaranteed that if Apple do release an iPod Micro it will not look like any of them.

Unless one of them was really leaked from an Apple design lab. Doh - now I’m at it!

Is a Mac-based Media Centre on the way?

More recent speculation that Apple may be going to release a PVR media system has got me all excited again. If Apple had (or licensed) something like EyeTV then they’d have nearly all the hardware/software requirements. They’d just have to wrap it up in a simple box and noone is better at that than Apple (Sony can get close sometimes).

The only component Apple are missing is a decent remote control, but hold on - wasn’t there recently some more speculation about an EU design trademark filed by Apple back in May 2004? Some may have subsequently thought it related to the subsequently released new iMac units but if you consider such a device acting as a remote control to a media server then it makes a lot more sense. All it needs is a lightweight windowing system, WiFi, a 10-12″ display and pen based input (given Apple’s Newton experience that should be no problem).

I just hope to God they make sure the battery doesn’t suck. Hmmm, maybe I should take back those comments I made about Apple’s share price.

The iPod “halo” effect.

Sometimes I can be a little impatient. When I got my 40g iPod I though to myself “Apple is on a bit of a winner here, I wonder if their stock is cheap”. Over a year later, AAPL stock has nearly tripled in price (he notes, kicking himself selling out 4 months ago - doh!).

Way back, when the original iPod was released, folks didn’t think there was much of a market for that type of thing. A posting to SlashDot at the time is worth quoting:

Raise your hand if you have iTunes …

Raise your hand if you have a FireWire port …

Raise your hand if you have both …

Raise your hand if you have $400 to spend on a cute Apple device …

There is Apple’s market. Pretty slim, eh? I don’t see many sales in the future of iPod.

I can remember reading that way back then and thinking that was a reasonable observation - the technical requirements of the 1G iPods did limit it to a narrow target market. The strategy Apple took from there was so correct it’s scary - don’t refactor the iPod itself (beyond capacity and form changes) but adapt it’s interface and software to expand the target market. In retrospect, it is quite spectacular how Apple’s simple decisions to sell 99c songs, release iTunes on Windows and to a lesser extent add USB support, catapulted the iPod into a product that would double their earnings.

Analysts are now projecting that Apple will sell around 23.5 million iPod’s by 2006.

That said, I wouldn’t recommend buying AAPL stock in the new year for a number of reasons - I have a feeling Apple may well become a victim of their own success. Apple are at a fairly critical juncture at the moment and I can’t help thinkin they will suffer a significant popularity backlash when all these new iPod users realise the battery life of their new toys just gets worse and worse. I think my iPod is one of the coolest toys I’ve ever bought, but I will not buy another - my 40gig unit lasts for less than two hours on an overnight charge. I’m waiting for Sony to enter with a decent Network Walkman (but only if they get it working with iTunes). Of course, if Apple fix the battery life issue then I may stay loyal

It would seem the irrational exuberance has affected Apple’s stock price which must be unusal for them. Apple were always very good at making noise in their own space and are famous for having incredibly loyal customers but mainstream popularity is a difficult beast to manage.

EyeTV.

This is quite cool - the EyeTV is a simple DVR and Video Encoder that consists mostly of a tuner (digital satellite/cable and/or analogue) and a firewire port, to be connected to a Mac. Quite an elagent solution - the Mac provides the UI and storage for the EyeTV.

In contrast, most other DVRs (TiVO, ReplayTV) have everything they need built in but consequently getting anything off those boxes (i.e. mpeg-2 files) to archive them is difficult if not impossible. With the EyeTV, you can take recorded programs and watch them on your Mac (or back onto your TV?) whenever you want. I like that, record onto a Powerbook and when you go away for the weekend, you can bring missed programs from the week with you.

A review in What Satellite and Digital TV magazine seems to approve but the picture of the remote control has ruined it for me - that’s the same unit that controls an NT Digital STB. If there was ever a price for digital STBs with slow reactions, that NTL box would win hands down - consequently, I can’t stand handling that remote! Lets hope the EyeTV doesn’t act the same way.

Oh, and their Electronic Program Guide, run by tvtv covers Irish terrestrial channels. I just wonder how well it integrates with a NTL Digital STB?

It is a bit pricey though!

Cold, bold iPods.

Do you worry about your poor little iPod in the cold winter months? Well, then Apple have just the accessory for you - socks for your iPod, I kid you not…

If Apple spent a little bit more time working on the iPod’s Dirty Little Secret I might in the future invest in a whizz bang X-generation iPod to replace my 40gig that currently has a battery life of around 1 hour. Until then, I’m looking at alternatives.

For what it’s worth, a little insight to the iPod-less after over a year using said 40G iPod - despite white Apple’s marketing dept and whatever inflated opinion you have of your music collection, no average person needs to carry 10,000+ songs around in their pocket all the time. Plan to keep all your songs on your Mac/PC, buy an iPod mini and synchronize it with an iTunes playlist (a subset of all your music) rather than the whole iTunes library. Trust me, you’ll actually be able to see the wood for the trees if you do this, and your battery will last a lot longer.

Oh, and don’t leave your iPod in your jacket pocket when you get home - you know it will end up in the washing machine at some stage if you do.

Special Edition iPods

I can claim that for some daft reason when I first saw the U2 iPod I thought Knight Rider but it would appear someone else thinks differently. Ho hum, I still think it reminds me of Knight Rider more…

But more seriously (not) don’t miss the The Ashlee Simpson Karaoke Edition iPod in the above entry, great stuff.