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The iLounge posting Apple TV 2.0 vs. Blu-Ray, DVD & HD Cable: The Comparison provides an extensive comparisons using the same material on each technology.

(Credit: iLounge)

Bottom Line

From where we stand, frequent and quality-sensitive video watchers will find Netflix or Blockbuster to be better month-to-month values for HD video rentals than Apple TV or on-demand cable services, while Apple TV provides an option that’s in the upper middle of the pack on quality and the best on convenience, so long as you’re willing to pay the $229-$329 cost of entry. The question is: are you?

To my eye, Apple TV is looking good, especially since it is running HD at 720p.

I have an Apple TV on my lust list. I may wait until it supports 1080p. The Robert X. Cringely’s weekly column I, Cringely posting Blu-ray Blues: With the HD War Over, Why Aren’t We Seeing Blu-ray Drives in Apple Computers? discusses and hypothesizes about Apple and 1080p.

Here are some interesting tidbits from the posting.

Jumping to 1080p is a huge challenge for iTunes. Just look at the comparative sizes of the QuickTime HD trailers for the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on Apple’s own web site. The 480p trailer (that’s standard definition and slightly better quality than the 640-by-480 shows most people download through iTunes now) requires 47 megabytes while the 720p file is 78 megabytes and the 1080p version requires 126 megabytes. The trailer runs just under two minutes (1:51). The three prior Indiana Jones films were 115, 118, and 126 minutes, respectively, so let’s take the average and figure this new movie will come in right at two hours in length. Extrapolating from the size of the trailer, then, a good guess about the ultimate file size for the H.264 download versions of this upcoming blockbuster are 3048 megabytes, 5059 megabytes, and 8172 megabytes, respectively.

Apple faces a number of challenges offering files of this size for download, the least of which is economic. Yes, it will probably cost Apple four times as much to offer downloads of a 1080p version of a movie than its 640-by-480 version, but the market is already expecting to pay an HD premium, at least for a while, so money isn’t really a major factor. The real speed bumps are the sheer impact of a true volume HD service on the Internet, itself, and the sad fact that most Macs can’t even play 1080p video. They simply aren’t powerful enough.

As for giving Macs enough grunt to play 1080p video, I explained more than a year ago that Apple has privately committed to putting an H.264 encoder/decoder chip in its entire range of machines. That specific chip began sampling last July so Apple should be able to start shipping the new Macs any time soon, certainly long before Christmas.

Most interesting, Robert.

…John

The Information Week posting Mac Buyer’s Guide: Which Apple Should You Pick? begins by saying

We’ve tested the Mac Pro, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, the iMac, the Mac Mini, and the XServe. There’s not a bad Apple among the bunch, and some are truly superb. We’ll help you choose one that’s right for you.

Maybe that most recent e-mail virus was the last straw. Maybe you’ve been longing for a computer that “just works” and that you actually look forward to using. Maybe Microsoft Vista finally just sent you right around the bend. Perhaps it was that “Mac guy” on the commercials. Or maybe you are the “Mac guy.”

My lust list contains a Mac Pro.

(Credit: Apple)

My Mac G4 is serving me well. My PhotonJohn.com high dynamic range imaging (HDRI), super-resolution (SR), and panorama panels, rendering processes are taxing it.

(Credit: Apple)

My lust list also contains a MacBook Pro for the photography studio, so I can control a tethered New and Improved Canon 450D / Rebel XSi camera. Once the camera is positioned for a shot, all fine tuning and firing is done from the MacBook Pro. The image is then downloaded for close inspection and initial rendering.

(Credit: Apple)

I’m a happy Mac camper. When I need to work on a Windows machine, I Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) to a Windows XP workstation.
I’ll be able to run Windows directly on the two Mac computers on my lust list using VMware Fusion.

…John

It is official. Toshiba on February 19th officially ended its bid to establish HD DVD technology as an industry standard.

The Business Week posting R.I.P., HD DVD raises some interesting questions about the victor, Blu-rey.

MIDDLE-GROUND BATTLEFIELD
…six years after Blu-ray’s unveiling, consumers are being wooed by ascendant technologies such as $79 DVD players that “upconvert” low-resolution video recordings for giant-screen sets, as well as video downloads from the Internet that may one day obviate the need for physical discs and players. “Blu-ray now becomes the high-definition packaged media of choice, but it now finds itself squeezed between [cheap] upconverting DVD players on the low end, and digital distribution in the future,” says Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for researcher NPD Group. Even the middle ground is becoming a battlefield. Apple, TiVo, Sling Media, VUDU, and cable and satellite TV providers are all rolling out equipment that lets couch potatoes download high-definition movies directly to their set-top boxes. The video is not as high-quality as a Blu-ray recording, but it may be good enough to put a crimp in the format’s growth.

I’m thinking about augmenting my NetFlix account with Apple TV instead of buying a Blu-ray DVD player. If Apple TV pans out, I may drop NetFlix.

Looks like “disruptive technology” is once again shaking things up.

…John

Don’t want to continue on the Microsoft trek? Maybe dumping Windows is your ticket.

(From: InfoWorld)

The InfoWorld posting Time to dump Windows? says

Can it be done? Is it the right time? Find out what it’ll take to finally switch to desktop Mac OS X or Linux

The Mac OS X option
Of the plausible alternatives to Windows, Apple’s Mac OS X has the largest market share and history. InfoWorld chief technologist Tom Yager has written that the latest version of the Mac OS, Leopard (10.5), is simply the best operating system available.

The PC Mag posting Apple OS X 10.5.2 (Leopard) says

After three months with Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard Version 10.5, I have three main things to say about it. First: Despite minor problems, it’s by far the best operating system ever written for the vast majority of consumers, with dozens of new features that have real practical value—like truly automated backups, document and spreadsheet preview images in folders, and notes and to-do lists integrated into the mail program. Propeller-heads with IT know-how will no doubt hold up Linux as the better choice, and Vista has its devotees as well (and will probably have more when SP1 is widely available), but, for the average user, Leopard is the most polished and easiest to use OS I’ve tested. Second: Leopard started out with a generous share of first-version glitches, but almost all of them have now been resolved by the second of two automated updates, which brings Leopard up to version 10.5.2. Finally, Leopard is extravagantly overdressed for the jobs that it’s designed to do, and its pervasive eye-candy starts out looking dazzling but soon becomes distracting. Fortunately, from the beginning, the OS started out with options that let you put it on a low-eye-sugar diet, and the latest update has even more.

I’ll second that. My only regret about switching to a Mac is I didn’t do it sooner.

The Linux option
The more technically inclined may be attracted to Linux, the most popular form of desktop Unix. Linux desktops typically are challenged by limited hardware compatibility (due to lack of drivers), limited application options, and user interfaces that require active participation to get work done, which tends to keep Linux away from the general user population. But those who work with a Linux server all day may find that using it on the desktop as well actually makes their lives easier.

InfoWorld Enterprise Desktop blogger Randall Kennedy argues that desktop Linux is doomed to remain a tiny niche OS, given the Linux community’s lack of interest in providing a UI that regular people could use.

Before switching to a Mac, I gave Linux desktop a shoot. I like may attributes of Linux. Unfortunately, I agree with Randall Kennedy view about the desktop.

I regularly connect to local and remote Windows server and workstations using the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) client running on my Mac. Thanks Microsoft.

…John

Ready or not, the iPhone is slinking into the enterprise. The InfoWorld posting Outfitting the iPhone for business gives some of the details.

“You’ve heard it all before. The CEO buys an iPhone, falls in love, and leans on IT to shift its stack of tasks to make work-enabling his new gadget IT Priority No. 1.

But as IT departments scramble to sync e-mail and slap together Web apps for Safari-based iPhone access, the question remains: Can Apple’s ear-candy crush object draft off this executive effect to true enterprise mobile legitimacy, or are execs’ iPhone fetishes jeopardizing the integrity of their company’s mobile strategy?”

Read the article for more about the ups and downs of the the contemporary iPhone in business. One would think that some of the down sides will be fixed with the new and improved iPhones to come.

…John