Apple has Media Center contender in the works?
By Paul Miller 
posted April 27th 2006 10:56PM
posted April 27th 2006 10:56PM
With Apple's general method
of publicly denying the demand for a product until they announce its imminent release, Steve Jobs' words at today's
annual shareholder meeting were quite telling. Without giving much away, Jobs stated: "The new products in the
pipeline are the best I’ve ever seen in my life." But in response to a particular shareholder's request for
Apple to develop "the ultimate media center" to give Microsoft's WMCE a run for its money, Jobs responded:
"we hear you loud and clear." Quite the strong words from such a secretive man, though he was on a bit of a
roll. In regards to the recent 17-inch
MacBook Pro's release, Jobs let everyone know, "Everyone wants a MacBook Pro because they are so
bitchin’." Thanks for that, Steve. Jobs also mentioned the possible demise of the CRT in their lineup, due
to environmental concerns and their general lack of bitchin-ness.
CoffeeJedi, thanks for the info.
This event was an annual (i.e., routine and mandatory) shareholders' meeting. The comment about MCE was to address one shareholder's direct question. All the other stuff is the CEO talking to the shareholders. None of them are apparently alarmed by anything going on with the company and are eager to find out what's coming up, so Steve Jobs gets to say things like "bitchin' stuff is coming, dudes" instead of fending off questions about falling market share or whatever.
Likewise, Steve Jobs is himself a shareholder of Disney when the acquisition of Pixar gets finalized. So Apple is a portable electronics, software, computer, and multimedia distribution company that has a CEO with experience in, an understanding of, and an increasing personal stake in digital content production and content protection. I think this explains a lot of what is going on with Apple in particular. Disney is a whole other kind of company (they imagineer dreams), and it's interesting that they feel comfortable moving into digital content distribution with Apple.
I guess this arrangement of corporations and interests is more sensible and functional than the Sony megacorporation's position, which has everything going on under one umbrella. If you look at the names we're throwing around, some (Apple, Lucasfilms, Disney, Pixar, Henson) are in the independent American capitalism camp - i.e., US companies with an international presence - while the multinational megacorporation camp is represented by Sony and whatever it owns right now, which I can never keep track of.
Microsoft has some other thing going on here which I can't really get a hold of. But it's true that Gates does not really have acute personal financial interes in the US market, in the sense that he's just too wealthy. He'll probably end up establishing the biggest single private foundation in world history which will hold that title for a long while... until someone else figures out how to make even more money. As acting CEO of MS, Gates is meeting with the Chinese president and contributing personal wealth to world organizations. In contrast, Jobs, not being a multimegabillionaire, is in a different situation, and now that he has a stake in Disney, he's feeling bitchin'.
windows is horrible, front row needs some refinement, but a lot sexier than WMC, and with center stage development, that would be key
http://centerstageproject.com/
if you say so bill. everyone else thinks it sucks. oh and apple "got" the idea of a gui from xerox, yet everyone else COPIED it. LOL. why do you guys keep defending them like they invented everything? please just stop. you're just making yourselves look like fools.
@ Kevin,
So Apple has made no money off of the more than 1 BILLION songs sold on iTunes?
Anyways....didn't they stop marketing the eMac a while ago? It hasn't been on the Sales page for a while now....theyr'e probly selling it for the education market only.
@ Enzyte Bob
Agree with you on that one. But since Apple stole/borrowed GUI to start with and Microsoft actually payed Apple for the license anyway - it's not theft on Microsofts part. Plus Apple has borrowed back from MS, like it's OSX Dock and borrowed gadgets or 'widgets' from StarDock - the sam people they sue every week for giving Windows users OSX themes...
Great I give Apple loyalists 5 months after this comes out before we start hearing how MS copied Apple on creating a Media Center.
if Apple would team up with Sony.
There would be no stopping them.
Sony with there movies,music,and retail network.
Apple with there look and feel,and there killer OS.
plus the cost of making there laptop would be cheaper.
Apple + Sony = the killer media company.
APPLE WILL MAKE A PROGRAM VERY SIMILAR TO MCE BUT ALLOW IT TO WORK ON ANY COMPUTER. IT WON'T JUST BE AN OS LIKE MCE 2005 IT WILL JUST BE A PROGRAM SIMILAR TO ITUNES. EXCEPT IT WILL BE CALLED iMEDIA. then apple will absorb nintendo and together they will make the Nintendo Hapwii (Elmer Fudd way of saying Happy)