Paging Robert Morgan

Posted September 12, 2006 By The Macalope and has 7 comments.

That convergence you ordered ten years ago is here.

For those who don’t remember Robert Morgan, he wrote a rumor site ostensibly aimed at investors and then a column for MacWeek before it became eWeek.  He preached the convergence of computers and consumer electronics in long, sometimes rambling posts.  But these were some of the rumors the Macalope was weaned on when he was but a young Mac buck.

Morgan wrote around the time of the original iMac’s introduction when the rumor mill heavily bet that it would be a set-top box.  Witness this CNet article from 1998 which is both astoundingly wrong and accidentally prescient:

Apple Computer (AAPL) is working on portable and TV set-top entertainment devices that offer Internet access and play everything from music CDs to DVD movies, as the company refashions itself for the convergence of consumer electronics and PC technologies.

The top-secret project could throw the computer maker back into the limelight of the high-tech industry if, as planned, the company combines a WebTV-like Internet access device with a CD or DVD player to create an easy-to-use, low-cost computing device, sources close to Apple said.

Apple declined to comment, but one source said the convergence project is code-named Columbus.

Columbus turned out to be the iMac.  On the prescient side, the article notes:

“Studios need critical mass. It’s hard to justify new channels (for distributing) content if the subscriber base is small,” said one entertainment industry source.

Which pretty clearly describes how it’s Amazon and Microsoft that face the uphill battle here in 2006.

So, it’s been a long time coming – and it’s still not actually here yet – but the Macalope will be hefting a flagon of mead to Robert Morgan along with the modest portion of crow he’ll be eating tonight.

Because the Macalope was certainly wrong about wireless video vs. wireless audio.  Judging by Gizmodo’s specs, it appears the “iTV” doesn’t have a hard drive (although Gruber speculates it has one for caching) so it is, in fact, receiving streamed video from a Mac and, for smaller content, from the iTunes Music Store.  Certainly the “TubePort” was also wrong, though, and simply based off last night’s crop of rumors.  No dongles and no “iDisk-like storage component hosted by Apple.”

And no “true” video iPod.  We’ll just have to soldier on with these “fake” video iPods.

HD video requires transfer rates of 25 mbps and regular ol’ fashioned non-extreme Airport and mixed Airport/Airport Extreme environments only get up to 11 mbps.  So, while the Macalope hates to say it, it’s time to ditch that stylish but antiquated key lime iBook.

UPDATE 9/13 – Correction:  25 mbps is for uncompressed HD.  Commenter Jeff notes you could copy the movie file over 802.11b in less time than it would take to watch it, so you should be able to stream it.  He also points out the use of the term “802.11 networking.”  Is that because it’s 802.11b and 801.11g or because it’s 802.11a?

Special Event Eve

Posted September 11, 2006 By The Macalope and has no comments yet.

Ah, Special Event Eve. Much like Christmas Eve. Visions of a [sometimes] bearded gentleman who wears the same thing every time [one a black turtleneck and jeans, one a red suit] delivering presents [that you’ll either pay for monitarily or emotionally].

The Macalope is here to go out on a limb with his educated guesses about what Apple will deliver tomorrow.

  1. Movie download service – Unfortunately for Apple, this will come as a surprise to no one. At least the rumor sites aren’t to blame this time. What would be surprising is if Apple is able to deliver a studio besides Disney. For those looking to see how Apple conducts a real leak, the Macalope suggests looking at this instance. Amazon made a pre-production announcement and Apple made the headlines read “Apple, Amazon to Deliver Online Movie Stores.”
  2. New iPods – Will this be the long-heralded “true” video iPod?. Someone please shoot the Macalope at the thought of the year-late rumor site triumphalism. As with any large woodland creature, you’ll need at least a 12-gauge.
  3. Not an Airport-streaming video system

Come again, Macalope? But all the late night buzz is about the wireless video streaming device! Get with the program!

Well, speaking of the program, the Unofficial Apple Weblog may have one.

But the Maclope’s not buying “TubePort”.

Let’s get this straight. TubePort streams – presumably via Airport Extreme – video content that is being streamed to your Mac from an “iDisk-like storage component hosted by Apple.”

That’s a whole lotta streamin’. The Macalope hopes they don’t accidentally cross the streams in his living room, causing his sofa and plasma TV to shoot off in opposite directions (OK, no one is more aware than the Macalope that two Ghostbusters references in fifteen posts is not good).

Also, if it’s Airport-based, why two dongles? All of the Macs this system would be likely to work on have Airport Extreme cards included.

And if mom and dad decide to watch National Treasure downstairs while the kids are trying to watch The Lizzie McGuire movie upstairs, that’s two movies streaming through the same Airport connection in two different directions – once from Apple to the Mac and then from the Mac to the TV.

Personally, the Macalope doesn’t want his Airport network so active it gives him a tan. Nor does he want to watch jerky video that makes Nick Cage stutter more than he did in Peggy Sue Got Married.

There are, of course, no certainties in this game, but the Macalope suspects that if there is wireless transfer shown tomorrow, it’ll have to do with music, not video. And that if there’s a Mac-to-TV connection for viewing videos, it’s wired.

Now, the Macalope must be off to bed. You know what they say about Special Event Eve. If you don’t go to sleep, it’ll never come.

Woe is Jon Ellch!

Posted September 5, 2006 By The Macalope and has 1 comment.

Perhaps the most laughable element of the SecureWorks saga is the idea that Apple has orchestrated a “smear campaign” against David Maynor and Jon Ellch.

George Ou-the-Humanity! has pimped this idea for over two weeks, but now Jon Ellch has broken his silence (antler tip to Daring Fireball). Silence, that is, if you don’t count the frequent conversations with George Ou.

Ellch refuses to take Gruber’s bait and mostly focuses on the technical details of the exploit SecureWorks demonstrated, implying it’s all very complicated and it’s really only the kind of thing experts understand.

While the Macalope is sure the technical intricacies of the exploit are beyond his reckoning, he’s fully qualified to discuss the PR elements of this story. And Ellch and Maynor still have a number of steps to complete in their 12-step journey to PR recovery.

Ellch:

Am I doing a very good job of winning this PR smear campaign lynn fox ignited? No.

Sorry, Jon, but don’t look any further than the mirror when you’re looking to place blame for this PR debacle.

You and David Maynor shot your mouths off about a vulnerability in the MacBook and then backpedalled when angry Mac users demanded you prove the vulnerability exists. Now you claim you don’t want to confirm it because it wouldn’t be responsible.

You can’t be rogue hackers on the edge and button-down businessmen.

Some have taken Lynn Fox’s statement as a refutation of the existence of an exploit. It’s not. It’s a refutation of Maynor and Ellch’s professionalism. If the argument was soley about the science of whether or not Apple’s Airport is vulnerable to SecureWorks’ exploit, Maynor and Ellch would simply sit back and wait for their vindication via an Apple update.

But Apple took a shot across the bow of SecureWorks’ professionalism. They botched their delivery and then – according to the Macalope’s Apple sources – provided only vague information to Apple about how the exploit can be executed.

Maybe they felt they should be paid for their time to help reveal a problem with Apple’s drivers. And maybe they should. But the Macalope would suggest that getting the attention of a prospective client by publicly dissing them isn’t such a great business model.

What's that clanging sound?

Posted September 1, 2006 By The Macalope and has 8 comments.

Why, that would be the sound of John Gruber’s large brass balls.

How goes the battle, General Custer?

Posted August 28, 2006 By The Macalope and has 1 comment.

The MacBook wireless controversy enters its 127th week and George Ou is circling the wagons in the comments at his blog.

George appears to be surrounded with hostiles closing in. The Macalope suggests he look over his shoulder, too. That might be Maynor skedaddling to the hills behind his back.