walkingmac2's Profile

Personally, I don't want a computer on the back of my TV. The Mac and Apple have been very clear it seems that the "Digital Hub" is the direction and it is both shocking and alarming they are taking this route. I don't want an outdated machine that I can't really upgrade on my TV in 5 yrs. The Mac should be connected to the TV via ports like any other stand alone system and thus replacing them. Frontrow seems like a great product, but it needs to be something that is available on all systems. I am actually very surprised that Apple released an iPod that has video capabilities. While true, it is a product I would want, just not necessarily in it's current form-factor and I would have to agree Apple has something they are cooking up. What I can't believe is that they released this video playing iPod without major movie support. I am sure that is direction they want to go and based on the direction of their computer line, a direction they are pursuing, it is just kinda curious. Then again it is holiday buying season coming up so they needed new hooks I suppose. While the Mac Mini would make a great home entertainment system with a few changes, I think those limitation as intentional. I would say what would be better is (the much rumored for years) a "top box" system that has all the best connections to your TV and sound system and with the OS/software integration to provide a great user experience in the living room. At that point there is some real basis to have a iMedia store with a full movie catalog so that you can watch your movies right there, move them on to your new iPod (with proper form-factor) to watch your travels and commutes, send them to iDVD and burn them DVDs with pre-developed menus for that movie that were included with the download, stream them to your bedroom via Airport Express Video. This is the paradigm that will ring in video to come. All-In-One systems are rarely efficient or effective and are not flexible enough to have any longevity.