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You're the Pundit: Last chance to predict the hardware for tomorrow
When it comes to forecasting the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is tomorrow's hardware announcements. Update: Who won? %Poll-69573% During last night's Talkcast, the TUAW family was split over their predictions. One of us felt that Apple would limit themselves tomorrow to a single iPhone model. Others disagreed. Strongly. Here's how our guesses broke down. The Lord of the Rings: Erica felt there would be only one phone to rule them all, with more RAM, an A5 chip, better internals and possibly more sensors -- all powering new user features. She didn't care whether it was called a 4S or 5, but felt it likely would follow the current case shape. Twins: Doc Rock theorized that Apple would introduce two models: a fully powered Schwartzenegger version and a lower-cost DeVito model, offering a bargain-basement intro price. Steve and Kelly jumped on the Twins-scenario bandwagon as well. Austin Powers: Mike Rose posited that we'd see a variation of the Twins approach, but that the inexpensive mini-me phone (likely an 8GB iPhone 4, an alternative of the DeVito, but not a truly new unit) would be sold out-of contract, as a standalone multi-carrier device at a rock-bottom price. Invasion of the Body Snatchers: One other theory floated during the talkcast was about the iPod touch. We suggested that Apple might discontinue the iPod touch as we know it and re-introduce it with 3G capabilities, much as the iPad offers. The iPod touch would be taken over and assimilated into the iPhone family in addition to a new 4S or 5. So those are how our theories broke down according to movie genre. Agree? Disagree? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your predictions. %Poll-69518%
You're the Pundit: Does the classic iPod have a future?
When it comes to forecasting the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is the iPod. Are the non-touch units examples of dead devices walking? The iPod classic and shuffle lines have had a big "expiration date" stamped on them for quite some time. Maybe it's time for Apple to hold the funeral for these formerly ground-breaking devices. The classic, with its large capacity hard drive and touch wheel, and the shuffle, with its tiny form factor and limited interface, have each served a niche market for quite a while. Does the shrinking demand for these items and the greater capacity and lower cost for the touch and nano mean an end to the ten-year-old classic collection? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your predictions. %Poll-69103%
Daily Update for Sept. 2, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes, which is perfect for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
John Gruber releases new Daring Fireball t-shirts, quits day job
John Gruber has answered the call for more Daring Fireball t-shirts and released two new designs (pictured) in addition to his original (not pictured). As before, purchasing one shirt for $29 (shipping included) will also score you a one year membership to full RSS and Linked List feeds, but now you can purchase additional shirts for $19 each, again with free shipping (bonus points to anyone who can point out the Mac nerdery significance in the POS shirt without cheating and checking John's post). Already established members can purchase any of these shirts at the already lowered price of $19.Now before you pull that 'if only he wrote more often' complaint out of your back pocket, John has answered that call as well by launching an Initiative - he quit his day job last week to write Daring Fireball full time.Those membership perks of full RSS and Linked List feeds just got a whole lot more valuable. Yes, I've had a membership for almost a year now (and I'll definitely be renewing), but no - John didn't pay us for product placement.
Cringely: blame Vista's delay on OEMs, Apple to sell OS X for PCs
You've got to love the pundit on their soapbox, don't you? This week Cringely, whose previous insightful predictions have rung true in Intel buying Apple and Apple quitting their iPod business, in his usual roundabout prose blames OEMs like Dell or HP for Vista's delay. He connects the two by asserting that Microsoft must not have anticipated the buffer / test period required by their larger OEM partners to get the OS running stably on their boxes before release; thus, since Vista had to go gold long before launch -- and MS wasn't ready for release to OEMs -- they had to delay so as to give their partners the time necessary to confidently release Vista boxes. (All of which kind of invokes the hysteron proteron fallacy of the unproved premise supposing its conclusion). But Cringley's not done: after we're all integrated and settled with our Macs with Boot Camp either as beta or in Leopard, he'd like us to believe Apple will become a Windows OEM and start selling Macs with Vista and OS X out of box "if it will help sales." Um, ok, but there are lots of things Apple could do to increase sales. And what's more, he goes on to suppose Apple will again fork their processor platform by going to 64-bit Intel chips, which they'll use as a ploy to sell a standalone 32-bit version of OS X to Windows users for installation on their non-Apple PCs (since you'll no longer be able to get 32-bit Apple boxes). Whoa, Cringely, you're gonna have to slow things down next week, ok? So many absurd suppositions at once are making our heads hurt a little.
