SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Okay fellow geeks and IT faffers
The time for another 'Steveathon' is just around the corner (Monday 9th to be exact) and whilst the rumour mills have been in overdrive, both with some credible fact and a lot of fiction, just exactly what are you lot looking forward to ?

Obviously the iphone v 2 will dominate the news as predicted and I for one, have been holding out for the arrival of it. My LG Viewty has done sterling work so far as a stop gap, but with the launch of the new one, then I shall be moving over.

messiah

Cash waiting for iPhone 2 - can't wait.

As WWDC is a developer confernece, and seeing as MS are making noises about Vista's successor having a touch interface, I'm really hoping Apple start working towards the long-rumoured iMac Touch. Highly unlikely but I can dream can't I?

Some rumours I've heard suggest a cheaper desktop alternative to the Mac Pro - something I'll be very interested in as the upgrade limitiations of the iMac & Mini has put me off jumping off the PC ship for a while.

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Sorry I meant WWDC, not Macworld...doh

It seems your wish of a touchscreen/tablet device may be nearing

Larger or Smaller Touchscreen Device from Apple? - Mac Rumors

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

and good news if you are already with 02

messiah

I've heard rumours about different sizes too - 2.8" & 3.2" - both smaller than the current 3.5".

on the subject of an iMac Touch - there's a monitor manufacturer releasing details of it's 22" touch screen at the moment

TG Daily - Windows 7 multi-touch LCD demonstrated

- It think it's way too early for Apple to annouce anything along these lines as something like that will probably be reserved for OS11, but there have been rumblings of a redesign for the Cinema display to include HDMI, displayport, side USB ports, and an iMac style glossy screen - and it is a bit overdue, the Apple displays look nice but their performance, spec & price leave a lot to be desired.

Glad to hear about the price cut also, I was planning on unlocking my prospective purchase to stick with Orange, but if it means saving about £200 if I change my mob. no then I'm more than willing to do that.

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Yes I heard those rumors as well.... but just how well would an iMac Touch work ? I currently have sat in front of me a whopping 24" imac with the glossy screen and very nice it is. But playing DVD's or watching anything onscreen whilst there are reflections nearby are a bit offputting. So how well would a touchscreen imac work when you watch movies with bloody finger marks all over it ??

oh and just to cheer you up..here is a little bit more on the proposed 02 pricing structure in terms of iphones

Markus

I think there could well be mention of Mac OS X 10.6, allegedly code named Snow Leopard. It's meant to be more akin to a dot upgrade (eg; 10.5.0 to 10.5.3) than a full upgrade. The new version makes sense if you consider there is talk they'll drop PPC support in 10.6, something you could not really do via a dot upgrade.

There will obviously be a lot about the iPhone, both current and the new one, which will hopefully be announced, but I doubt it'll be released at the show, unless it's already been FCC certified. It will possibly be like the original launch, where it was launched but not available until the FCC certification came through.

There is talk that the iPhone 2 might not be released at all, and as others have suggested, there may well be a completely new device being released, or at least announced.

messiah

So , if you choose to upgrade, you have to give your current iPhone back?

messiah

I read somewhere that a product cannot be released until the FCC have certified it and published it's spec's - but the manufacturer can choose to delay that publication which be the case here, Apple asking the FCC not to release details until the Jobsnote, and then the new phone going on sale a few days later. My guessing is that Applestore will go "be back soon" then reappear with it available on pre-order.

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Yes in that scenario, but like the report said, many will just take the offer of a new one with the contract and sell the existing one on.

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

I shall have to thump you soon

wash yer mouth out

Markus

I should have clarified the remark to say that iPhone 2 might not be released at WWDC, but I'm guessing it will be, simply as we know the US Apple Store and other stores, are displaying "Currently Unavailable" for the ship date.

Another rumor on the 10.6 front, it could be that Apple might be considering OS X for normal PC's. Banners at WWDC mention OS X Leopard and not *Mac* OS X Leopard. DotMac is rumored to be changing it's name to DotMe, which would make it platform agnostic, plus the aforementioned dropping of PPC. Of course, as the iPhone runs leopard, these changes could just be to harmonize things between the Mac computers and their mobile devices, which does make sense.

Roll on Monday!

messiah

Aw man, Vista really will be in for a kicking if thats the case.

Markus

Another bit to add to that. These Pystar chappies, who came out with the PC machine running OS X, well, they haven't, as far as anyone is aware, been given a talking to by Apple, this could be because Apple does not see them as a threat, or that the legal point they make is valid, or it could be because Apple is about to do the same and it'd be seen as *very* anti-competitive if they had previously told a company to stop doing something they will be allowing themselves.

I'm not sure I'd be completely happy with OS X on generic PC's. Yes, it sounds like a good idea for the consumer, and especially so for education, as we know they never have any money, so if they could stick OS X on all their PC's (or dual boot them) for a fraction of the cost of going to Vista or switching the machines for Macs, then they could do it (good news for us, we sell mainly to education).

From the viewpoint of those of us in support, I'm not so sure it's a great idea. Having a locked hardware platform is very nice from a support viewpoint, we know there aren't going to be problems coming from some motherboard, processor and graphics card combination. Obviously there would have to be some base requirement for OS X on generic PC's, which might stop some of the problems. Maybe I'm wrong and it'd just run happily on whatever you chuck it on.
I know that Apple Support will have a lot more calls if they do allow OS X on generic PC's.

The other major factor here is that Mac sales will drop, whose going to buy a new Mac when they can take their existing PC and legally, and easily, install OS X on it, especially if they can dual boot? Yes, Mac design is very nice, but if you said that OS X for PC's was $200 and I could build a new PC for $400, or use my existing PC, then would it be worth shelling out the additional money for a real Mac? I'm not so sure.

Vista has had it really, Windows 7 (or whatever it's called) is seemingly being fast tracked as it's obvious vista wasn't the big hit MS thought it would be, hell, they are still offering XP as many people won't go to vista for various reasons. You don't see that many people holding off on going to Leopard, unless they are moaners who cannot live without the Classic environment (do NOT get me started on that topic!)

jowl

I was excited about the Leopard launch - but I can't remember getting this hyped up for a computer event for a very long time.

My cash is ready for an 'iPhone 2' right now. If it's subsidised under £200 then the other half will also get one (I'll call it her birthday present though )
That's also assuming there will still be the same £35 a month tarrif.

I've got a sneaky feeling about a tablet Mac - although that might not be announced at WWDC.

10.6 - I dismissed this rumour as rubbish.....but the rumours of releasing it for generic PC's has got me wondering. But I don't think Apple would really do that would they? They're all for fantastic looking machines and tight hardware/OS integration.

Can't wait for Monday - hope I'm not disappointed


Edit: Just read Markus' post - people are still wanting to use Classic Envirnoment? WTF?!?!

messiah

Tricky one, it would certainly be a surprise if Apple released OSX for PC's, and no doubt hardware sales would take a huge hit, but Apple's brand has become so huge, and the popularity of the iPod such that the increased software sales would probably offset this loss.

As you say, there'd be some minimum spec and it be be limited to 64 bit CPU's, I don't think they'll be too keen on the idea on advertising that OSX can run on fairly low spec machine, only for it to perform like a complete dog.

RichB

Dont forget this is a Developers conference not MacWorld so best not to get too excited just yet.

That said I await news from my shopping list of a new MBP, iPod nano and iPhone 2

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Aye, I changed that error to WWDC earlier on

Markus

Yes they are! It's because they have some ancient application that they absolutely must use, because their files are in the format that only this app reads, and there isn't an OS X compatible version. Unless it's some very specific app I cannot see why they cannot find a solution with an OS X application. As I see it, if your business relies on this critical bit of software you either fork out money to a developer to write you an OS X compatible version, or you find a similar OS X app and convert you files across. Yes, it'd take time, but it's better than moaning and complaining, and you'd be futureproofed.

What happens when you're machine running classic breaks and you cannot replace it and you're forced to a new machine that can only run Leopard? You'd have to convert things at that point, so why wait until the situation occurs.

OS 9 died when OS X came out, Apple was gracious enough to let it continue as a classic environment for a while as people transitioned themselves over. People moaned when they could not boot into OS 9 and had to use Classic, now they moan they cannot use Classic. What are they going to be like when Apple prevents PPC apps from running on OS X? Oooh, now *that* is an interesting thought, perhaps that is another reason for 10.6, to remove Rosetta, which is what allows PPC apps to run on Intel. That would make sense too. If you're looking to generic PC support, you really don't want to have anything in there that is emulating PPC.


If they were to do it, I can see it being a single DVD regardless of the hardware, in which case they cannot make it 64-bit only, as the original Early 2006 iMacs are not 64-bit. It doesn't make sense to have two separate versions of the OS, one for Macs, one for generic PC's, it'd cause confusion, plus it would need to retain the Mac OS X monicker, rather than just OS X.

We all know they could do it, and when the intel iMacs launched, we all wondered how long it would be until we saw OS X for generic PC's, but it hasn't happened yet, and they could have done it with 10.5. Perhaps the master plan was to have a final major OS upgrade for PPC, and then all subsequent OS versions are Intel only. They did a similar thing when they went from 68k to PPC (can't remember what the OS version was though, probably OS 8 or 9), and it's a logical progression.

One thought has popped into my mind, Firewire Target Disk mode. Do most modern PC's come with Firewire on board? I know all macs, bar the Air, come with built-in firewire. Ok, I know it's a small feature, but for me it's a godsend as I can TDM a machine that isn't booting and rip off any files, then re-image it, and more importantly, install software onto it that I could not otherwise get onto it .

mike1210

Aye but these days eSATA is the option of choice due to the extra speed it offers.

Do you mean Target Disk mode to a MAC to access PC OS files or MAC OS Files? If the former take a look at Barts PE

Bart's Preinstalled Environment (BartPE) bootable live windows CD/DVD

boxst

If Apple decide the let the OS loose on PC's I think they will lose the credibility of being an 'it just works' company. The only reason that Mac's work out of the box without messing about is because Apple have control of everthing: The hardware, software and integration.

Steve

Markus

My thinking was, if OS X for Generic PC's comes out, then you might not be able to target disk mode to/from machines, as they might not have on-board firewire. I suppose Apple could come up with USB Target Disk Mode (not sure why they don't already offer this) which would work as the majority of PC's have USB. TDM is just one of the things I find really useful.

JackClark

3g and 32gig will open my wallet on Monday.

messiah

Ditto - I'm more interested in the increased storage over 3G - GPS seals the deal too.

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Not long now, the rumour mills are in bloody overdrive

flat4

I shall be canceling my Voda contract this afternoon in readiness anyone want an ever so slightly dented unlocked V1 iPhone?

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Hello Kev
Dont cancel it just yet !! ETA of these babies will be anything a month to two and expect massive hype and oversubscription of course.

BTW well done at Silverstone. I was there but didnt have time to come and say hi

flat4

Thanks

Word has it 19th for O2, which gives me 20 days after that until it all goes pear shaped Although common sense would say just wait till after O2 officially announce a date

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Aye I am with 02 as well and I will hasseling the nice ladies at the Select call centre to extract their digits from their large posteriors and to supply me with the latest phone

messiah

Is the Jobsnote today or tomorrow then?