October 18, 2001
What would it take to sell YOUR soul?
Exciting day today. Apple finally fessed-up to having a buggy ethernet driver that could cause OS9.04 and 9.1 machines to randomly disconnect from file servers. This, if you remember, has been a terrible problem that has been haunting me for months. I installed the updated ethernet driver on a bunch of machines, so we'll see what effect it has in the next few days.
While reporting their $66 million profit for the quarter, Apple said that they will be holding a press conference on October 23rd to announce a "breakthrough digital device." The rumor and speculation mills immediately went to DEFcon 5 on this topic. What some people may not realize is that every time Apple gears up to release a new product, the Mac community goes absolutely bonkers speculating on the product to be released. Some have called Mac users a cult. I disagree. We're much more fanatical than a cult. It really is amazing to be a part of such an energetic community of "followers".
So what do I think it's going to be? My wildest dreams tell me that it's going to be an Apple-based handheld computer. It would run a pocket version of OS X and be able to play MP3s, view and edit photos, and play QuickTime movies. It would have a beautiful color screen, handwriting recognition, and a PCMCIA or CompactFlash card slot. And it would all be packed into a really slick Titanium enclosure with a big ole' Apple logo on it. And how much would it cost? Who knows? If they DO release it, cost will not be a factor to me. I don't think I've ever said this about something, but: I think I'd sell my soul to get my hands on a device like the one I outlined above.
Back to planet Earth. Realistically, it looks as though they're going to release some sort of digital music devide that connects to an ethernet network and your home stereo (and possibly TV). It doesn't really make sense for them to develop a portable MP3 player. Lord knows there are too many on the market now to choose from. But, if it were marketed as a digital home audio device, it may be interesting. By all means, I hope it's the handheld..but something tells me that my hopes are in the wrong place.
By popular request, here are some recent photos of Gizmo:
 our sponge mop |  |
Mogwai!
Posted by: Gizmo at October 18, 2001 05:29 AMJeff, did you make that image of the handheld running OS X? That's pretty cool. :)
Everyone--
Ya know, Apple has already come up with a handheld device. In fact, it came out so long ago that it flopped because people didn't think it would catch on. It was Apple's Newton. Think really hard, folks, and you'll remember that it was like a brownish-gray, monochrome display... WAY before its time. I wonder how many other innovations Apple has thought of and just shelved because they didn't think the public was ready for it based on their experience with Newton.
Posted by: Brian Korte at October 18, 2001 10:49 AM"how much would it cost? Who knows? If they DO release it, cost will not be a factor to me."
This is Jeff Pollard dot net, right? As in Jeffrey Randall Pollard? The tech geek? I did go to the right page, didn't I? :)~
Posted by: a sarcastic bastard at October 18, 2001 10:51 AMApple has come up with so many cool little innovations it's crazy. I have an entire book of Apple industrial design stuff..ideas that they came up with for products, but never took them to market. It's a great book to look through. Tons of photos.
Posted by: Gadg3t G33k at October 18, 2001 11:01 AMYes, apple is great. I'm still using my Apple IIGS, in fact I'm online with it now! ... believe it or not....
Posted by: 2gs guy at October 18, 2001 04:15 PMYou can't go online with a IIgs, you liar!
Posted by: Computer know-it-all at October 19, 2001 02:48 PM