I expect to buy an iMac soon after the conversion to Intel cpus.

A few things I would like to see:
a) display based on 23” Cinema display
b) audio in/out
c) video in/out
d) upgradeable cpu
e) ability to drive a second monitor
f) ability to accept DVI from my PowerBook
g) Firewire 800
h) ability to act as Wi-Fi base station

Any comments/additions?

thanks,
rj

pdx_johnsonr - 22 August 2005 10:06 PM

I expect to buy an iMac soon after the conversion to Intel cpus.

A few things I would like to see:
a) display based on 23” Cinema display
b) audio in/out
c) video in/out
d) upgradeable cpu
e) ability to drive a second monitor
f) ability to accept DVI from my PowerBook
g) Firewire 800
h) ability to act as Wi-Fi base station

RJ, not sure I follow your list of ‘wants.’

a) An iMac with a 23” display? That wouldn’t be cheap.
b) audio in/out (USB is where it’s going)
c) video in/out (won’t happen; USB/Firewire instead—maybe DVI of some kind)
d) upgradeable CPU (Apple usually lets that go to 3rd party vendors)
e) second monitor (should be OK on higher end machines)
f) DVI as an output or input?
g) likely only on higher end machines
h) Macs with Airport Extreme already do this

Me? I want more SPEEEEEEED!!

a) An iMac with a 23Ó display? That wouldnÌt be cheap.
True - and the 20” iMacs do offer a lot of screen real estate; but with the push into High Def TV, I think the option is mandatory.

b) audio in/out (USB is where itÌs going)
USB is a popular, though not an ideal interface for live capture. The analog world is still very real - the electronics for decent audio capture (as on the PowerBooks) is not very expensive. Throw in a program like Audio HiJack Pro and you can have a lot of fun.

c) video in/out (wonÌt happen; USB/Firewire instead—maybe DVI of some kind)
Again, the Powerbooks do have S-video out already, and the graphics hardware vendors know how to provide this. I think this would probably be low on most people’s wish list. But in context of making an iMac that is the centerpiece of a home media center, it could make sense and help out in the marketing dept.

d) upgradeable CPU (Apple usually lets that go to 3rd party vendors)
Understood, but I thought that due to design, the iMacs were not especially easy targets for CPU upgrades. To support the higher cost of a 23” HD Cinema display (#1 wish!), I think the design needs to be amenable to upgrade.

e) second monitor (should be OK on higher end machines)
A nice wish, though again I don’t know how practical for most folks.

f) DVI as an output or input?
Input - the idea is to let other machines use your beautiful and expensive display. Perhaps it would be possible to establish a data/audio/video communication link over Firewire/USB.

g) likely only on higher end machines
Yeah, but I have an external FW800 drive! Okay, this is a non-practical, personal wish list!

h) Macs with Airport Extreme already do this
Excellent! Maybe one could add FM output to stream iTunes onto the home stereo…

Me? I want more SPEEEEEEED!!
Naturally!!! I jusy hope the CPU’s don’t run too hot - fan noise contributed strongly to the early retirement of my PC.

rj

pdx_johnsonr - 23 August 2005 08:29 AM

a)h) Macs with Airport Extreme already do this
Excellent! Maybe one could add FM output to stream iTunes onto the home stereo…

Apple’s Airport Express already lets iTunes stream music to the home stereo. Airport Express has audio outs that can plug direct to a stereo or TV. I use mine on the TV (great sound) and let iTunes in the laptop deliver music right to the living room. Sweet.

Bambi Hambi - 23 August 2005 04:05 PM

Apple’s Airport Express already lets iTunes stream music to the home stereo. Airport Express has audio outs that can plug direct to a stereo or TV. I use mine on the TV (great sound) and let iTunes in the laptop deliver music right to the living room. Sweet.

Trying to imagine the configuration…  Laptop connected to Airport Express Base Station or is the connection wireless?  Airport Express Base Station receives signal and retransmits it.  Airport Express card is connected to TV to receive Base Station signal.  Will the Base Station still provide wireless Internet connectivity for other clients while this is going on?

... JJ

Jebedee - 23 August 2005 07:56 PM

Bambi Hambi - 23 August 2005 04:05 PM

Apple’s Airport Express already lets iTunes stream music to the home stereo. Airport Express has audio outs that can plug direct to a stereo or TV. I use mine on the TV (great sound) and let iTunes in the laptop deliver music right to the living room. Sweet.

Trying to imagine the configuration…  Laptop connected to Airport Express Base Station or is the connection wireless?  Airport Express Base Station receives signal and retransmits it.  Airport Express card is connected to TV to receive Base Station signal.  Will the Base Station still provide wireless Internet connectivity for other clients while this is going on?

If I’m not mistaken, to get a Mac to become a ‘base station’ requires that the Mac have a physical ethernet connection to the internet, AND an Airport Extreme card.

Assume the above. Under Sharing in System Preferences, select the Internet button. That will give you a drop down menu choice of Airport and Built-in Ethernet. Select Built-in Ethernet. That’s where the connection to the Internet will originate from. Below that you’ll see two choices: Built-in Ethernet and Airport. Select Airport. Then click the Start button to turn Internet Sharing On.

There are some Airport options, too. You can name the Network, set channel and encryption and password.

In the end, your Internet connected Mac becomes an Airport Base Station which broadcasts WiFi to other computers.

pdx_johnsonr - 22 August 2005 10:06 PM

I expect to buy an iMac soon after the conversion to Intel cpus.

A few things I would like to see:
a) display based on 23” Cinema display

However expensive/unlikely this is bound to happen eventually. Note that the iMacs use lower quality LCD/lamps than the Cinema Displays.

b) audio in/out

? This is there already. use USB if you need other formats.

c) video in/out

As someone already stated you will need a firewire device for this.

d) upgradeable cpu

That’s a huge maybe. Intel generally packages their CPUs so that they are replacable. Don’t assume that Apple won’t solder them to the mainboard.

e) ability to drive a second monitor

I don’t think Apple will enable this until 2007, if at all.

f) ability to accept DVI from my PowerBook

Not going to happen. Boot the PowerBook as a Firewire Target.

g) Firewire 800

Will this survive SATA? time will tell.

Jebedee - 23 August 2005 07:56 PM

Trying to imagine the configuration…  Laptop connected to Airport Express Base Station or is the connection wireless?  Airport Express Base Station receives signal and retransmits it.  Airport Express card is connected to TV to receive Base Station signal.  Will the Base Station still provide wireless Internet connectivity for other clients while this is going on?

* You can have the Express plugged into both your stereo and your WAN connection to perform DHCP and AirTunes music streaming.

* You can have your Express plugged into both your stereo and your ethernet switch to provide an AP to the existing network and AirTunes.

* You can have your Express plugged into your stereo for AirTunes and also peforming WDS to extend another AP’s range.

Then, on top of all that, you can connect a USB printer to the Express and have a networked printer.

All you have to do is put the Express close to a stereo or other device with a 1/8” or optical audio input and plug it in. It sits there and does it’s thing (see above). Then, from any 802.11 and iTunes enabled device (your wireless laptop, desktop or wired computer plugged into a wired network that is connected to your wireless network) you can select in iTunes to send the music to the Airport, which pipes it out the Express’s audio out jack.

The only complaint I have is that iTunes does not allow you to send the music to the computer _and_ the Express. For example: I had a party with a G4 tower in one room with decent speakers and in a another room an amp hooked up to the entertainment system speakers and the outdoor speakers on the patio. iTunes would either stream to a: the amp (through the Express) or b: to the computer’s speakers. So, I went for c: have iTunes play through the computer and using AirFoil (from our friends at Rogue Amoeba) to hijack the stream and repeat it to the Express. I’d think you could also use this to stream to two Expresses by sending iTunes to one, then hijacking iTunes and sending AirFoil to the second Express.

All this leads me to believe a number of things are on the horizon for the next 12 months.

1 - faster Macs using Intel’s newest chips; faster laptops, faster, mini, much faster PowerMacs with dual, dual-core honkers

2 - Video Express; think Airport Express with wireless video streaming from Mac to Airport

3 - iPod video with wireless (different form factor), or,

4 - smaller, wireless, ‘tablet’ device with OS X (bigger than iPod, smaller than half an iBook)

What else?

Bambi Hambi - 24 August 2005 03:14 PM

All this leads me to believe a number of things are on the horizon for the next 12 months.

1 - faster Macs using Intel’s newest chips; faster laptops, faster, mini, much faster PowerMacs with dual, dual-core honkers

2 - Video Express; think Airport Express with wireless video streaming from Mac to Airport

3 - iPod video with wireless (different form factor), or,

4 - smaller, wireless, ‘tablet’ device with OS X (bigger than iPod, smaller than half an iBook)

What else?

1ÛDefinately but no Intel PowerMacs until 2007, Jan timeframe.

2Ûbandwidth is there with H.264; should be able to broadcast decent SD in 2Mb/s, smooth decoding/shuttling will remain an issue for horsepower. I suspect Apple will partner with Intel on this one and their newly announced VIIV platform

3&4ÛI’m not entirely certain these are independent devices yet, but Apple’s job posting for a handwriting software engineer leads one to believe a tablet of some kind is 12-18 months out.

I would like a TV tuner.

Make front row really a media center

I’m rather certain we won’t see that in a Mac. There’s already solutions for TV (via USB and Firewire) so why add the cost for only a small percentage of users?

I’ve been reading about the nextgen CABLEcard, too. That may change the landscape of PVRs.

jonny_m - 24 October 2005 12:24 AM

I’m rather certain we won’t see that in a Mac. There’s already solutions for TV (via USB and Firewire) so why add the cost for only a small percentage of users?

I’ve been reading about the nextgen CABLEcard, too. That may change the landscape of PVRs.

Apple has positioned the iMac to be a digital hub.  So the TV tuner is a possability, maybe even a made to order option.

But like alot of apple things we never know until Steve tells us.

oh and firewire 800 would be very very good!!!

I wouldn’t hold my breath for that. Firewire 800 seems to only be reserved for Power machines. Plus, in my opinion at least, it seems that firewire is a dying technology. In some ways it’s too bad. In others, good riddance.

Clarification on iMac as base-station.

The original idea is that the iMac is a fixed installation, particularly if it is your media hub - I would like it to provide Airport services to other devices/portables in range.

On the other hand, other folks mentioned an AirVideo concept which might not be a bad solution either.

rj