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Ex Apple TV Engineer: New Apple TV UI is actually one Jobs threw away years ago

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Re: Ex Apple TV Engineer: New Apple TV UI is actually one Jobs threw away years ago

#31

Post by gonzo »

MaysonL wrote: post #22
encoderer wrote: post #19

A few of the other engineers I work with think I'm crazy, but I'd bet $100 that in the next few years, Apple will produce a TV itself and remove this product from the market. The well-known comment in the Jobs biography tipped their hand about a further commitment to TV. Literally everybody I've talked to about it balks at the idea of a full-on Apple tv set. That it's too murky, too much tangling with cable providers…

What would be the difference between say a 21" or 27" iPad with Netflix and HBO Go and iTunes movies and TV shows, and an Apple TV set? We may just wake up a few product cycles from now and realize that the TV isn't necessary anymore.

What is the difference between a 21" or 27" iPad, and a 21" or 27" TV that supports AirPlay from a regular iPad "with Netflix and HBO Go and iTunes Movies and TV shows".

OK, now make the "TV" a monitor, perhaps with an HDMI input for the cable box.

Re: Ex Apple TV Engineer: New Apple TV UI is actually one Jobs threw away years ago

#32

Post by samstave »

encoderer wrote: post #19

A few of the other engineers I work with think I'm crazy, but I'd bet $100 that in the next few years, Apple will produce a TV itself and remove this product from the market. The well-known comment in the Jobs biography tipped their hand about a further commitment to TV. Literally everybody I've talked to about it balks at the idea of a full-on Apple tv set. That it's too murky, too much tangling with cable providers…

This is an absolute certainty.

I am reminded of years ago getting into an argument with the Apple fanatic on my staff (he was my net eng at lockheed) and I was saying that it was a certainty that apple was moving to Intel. He swore up and down this would never happen, that it was the stupidest idea he had ever heard and Apple would never leave the PowerPC platform...

Re: Ex Apple TV Engineer: New Apple TV UI is actually one Jobs threw away years ago

#34

Post by streblo »

encoderer wrote: post #19

A few of the other engineers I work with think I'm crazy, but I'd bet $100 that in the next few years, Apple will produce a TV itself and remove this product from the market. The well-known comment in the Jobs biography tipped their hand about a further commitment to TV. Literally everybody I've talked to about it balks at the idea of a full-on Apple tv set. That it's too murky, too much tangling with cable providers…

> The murky part is: How exactly do you deal with existing cable content.

I know Apple doesn't have a history of big cash acquisitions, so take this comment with a big grain of salt.

My guess was that they were going to use that big pile of cash to buy in to the cable business, either by purchasing a premium television network like HBO, or by buying a cable provider. I dont know how realistic that is, but what if?

Re: Ex Apple TV Engineer: New Apple TV UI is actually one Jobs threw away years ago

#35

Post by mikeryan »

encoderer wrote: post #19

A few of the other engineers I work with think I'm crazy, but I'd bet $100 that in the next few years, Apple will produce a TV itself and remove this product from the market. The well-known comment in the Jobs biography tipped their hand about a further commitment to TV. Literally everybody I've talked to about it balks at the idea of a full-on Apple tv set. That it's too murky, too much tangling with cable providers…

Literally everybody I've talked to about it balks at the idea of a full-on Apple tv set.

Not sure who you're talking to but within the CE industry this sentiment is reversed, almost everyone believes Apple is making a TV. It was expected at CES and perhaps as a surprise at the March event.

Re: Ex Apple TV Engineer: New Apple TV UI is actually one Jobs threw away years ago

#36

Post by ceejayoz »

MaysonL wrote: post #22
encoderer wrote: post #19

A few of the other engineers I work with think I'm crazy, but I'd bet $100 that in the next few years, Apple will produce a TV itself and remove this product from the market. The well-known comment in the Jobs biography tipped their hand about a further commitment to TV. Literally everybody I've talked to about it balks at the idea of a full-on Apple tv set. That it's too murky, too much tangling with cable providers…

What would be the difference between say a 21" or 27" iPad with Netflix and HBO Go and iTunes movies and TV shows, and an Apple TV set? We may just wake up a few product cycles from now and realize that the TV isn't necessary anymore.

> What would be the difference between say a 21" or 27" iPad with Netflix and HBO Go and iTunes movies and TV shows, and an Apple TV set?

Half the price and a larger screen?

Re: Ex Apple TV Engineer: New Apple TV UI is actually one Jobs threw away years ago

#37

Post by 10dpd »

samstave wrote: post #32
encoderer wrote: post #19

A few of the other engineers I work with think I'm crazy, but I'd bet $100 that in the next few years, Apple will produce a TV itself and remove this product from the market. The well-known comment in the Jobs biography tipped their hand about a further commitment to TV. Literally everybody I've talked to about it balks at the idea of a full-on Apple tv set. That it's too murky, too much tangling with cable providers…

This is an absolute certainty. I am reminded of years ago getting into an argument with the Apple fanatic on my staff (he was my net eng at lockheed) and I was saying that it was a certainty that apple was moving to Intel. He swore up and down this would never happen, that it was the stupidest idea he had ever heard and Apple would never leave the PowerPC platform...

Go look up dependent versus independent events.

Re: Ex Apple TV Engineer: New Apple TV UI is actually one Jobs threw away years ago

#39

Post by DarkShikari »

encoderer wrote: post #19

A few of the other engineers I work with think I'm crazy, but I'd bet $100 that in the next few years, Apple will produce a TV itself and remove this product from the market. The well-known comment in the Jobs biography tipped their hand about a further commitment to TV. Literally everybody I've talked to about it balks at the idea of a full-on Apple tv set. That it's too murky, too much tangling with cable providers…

The current fragmentation of the "smart TV" market is a mess: it's something that a unified environment could easily tear through.

But making the deals with content providers to create that environment is going to be astonishingly difficult. These are companies responsible for messes like http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones , along with the recent removals of films from Netflix by Starz. They love their monopoly on content and would likely be terrified to death by the concept of giving up control to Apple.

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