Posts tagged apple
Regarding the Impending Doom of Mac OS X
(The following is the result of a sleepless late night writing session. It is long, and if you’re not particularly interested in the future of computers, I wouldn’t waste my time. I should also note that I’m writing from an Apple-using context; I mean no offense to Windows or Android users.)
The computing world is at a crossroads, and it’s going to get awkward.
Down one street is the classic desktop computer at its peak; these machines have never been more powerful or more functional, and they open its user up to an incredible world of creative possibilities. However, it is still reliant upon admittedly antiquated computing paradigms: the Finder, complicated hierarchies, criss-crossing reference files, command-line tweaking, and maddening software/hardware drivers. But for power and productivity, the classic desktop is unmatched.
“Random pictures I found on my SD card that I used to test iPhoto for iPad”
iPad 3 Bingo
Tomorrow, Apple will do their thing. Specifically: hold a press conference and show off a shiny new product, which will–barring a major disaster–find its way into many millions of eager hands. Meanwhile, the analysts and journalists have been doing their thing. Specifically: spend months chasing rumors and rumors of rumors, making predictions, and praising/criticizing unannounced products– all in hopes of luring a few more readers to their websites.
So, hey, I’ll join in.
What will happen
Pretty cocky, I know. But if there’s one thing Apple hasn’t done in a while, it’s surprise people. The leaked parts and specs are partly to blame– we pretty much know all there is to know about a new Apple product before it is released. But Apple is also being deliberately conservative. For one, they’re the comfortable market leader, and they’ve done so by releasing a revolutionary product every few years, which then evolves and grabs more market share. And it’s worked for them. But it’s also the way Apple designs: it needs to be thin, and it needs to have solid battery life. That means we won’t be seeing an octo-core monster of an iPad tomorrow. It’s not that it’s not possible, but Apple would have to sacrifice thinness and battery life. Not going to happen.
So, anyways, what will happen:
The iPad HD
-Dual Core A5X Chip with improved graphics processing
-“Retina Display” (Double-resolution from iPad 2; virtually print-like)
-Improved front and rear camera
-The exact same design as the iPad 2
…and that’s about it. Expect some new app demos and a lot of talk about how much money they’ve made with iOS devices. Maybe a new case. And that’s about all on the iPad front. It’s all about the Retina Display this year.
What could happen
1080p Apple TV
-This seems really likely. The stock of the current model has run completely dry. And the invitation, referring to something to “see” and “touch”: I’m guessing the Apple TV is the “see.”
-It’ll probably have some new streaming partner (Hulu?), but the long-rumored Apple-streaming service isn’t going to happen yet (or if it does, it’ll just be ABC). The Cable companies and Networks want nothing to do with Apple.
What should happen
Buttons and more buttons
-It would be very un-Apple like, but I want to see Apple innovate with buttons. The iPad as a touch-screen only device is amazing. But having used a third-party iPad keyboard case over the last week, I’ve come to embrace the iPad as capable of so much more than what most people use it for. So, I’d like to see Apple release its own, amazingly-designed keyboard case (the keyboard dock they released with the first iPad doesn’t cut it by a long shot). A large part of the market that’s been hesitant would then jump onboard, I assure you.
-But what I’d REALLY like to see in the realm of buttons? A game controller. Seriously. This needs to happen. Apple has transformed the game market with its touch-based, easily-accessible, inexpensive garage games. But it could evolve into so much more if developers simply had the option of proper buttons. Then transfer those games to the Apple TV over Airplay… then things really start getting serious.
iOS 6
-All of the obvious upgrades have made their way to iOS: Copy & Paste, tethering, cloud syncing… there aren’t any features that we nerds are clamoring for. And that’s what makes the next version of iOS potentially exciting. It’s a chance for Apple to take the software into a direction that we’re not expecting, instead of checking things off of the expected feature list.
What’s not going to happen
Updated Mac Pro
-Pleeeeeease?
Sharing: iPad 3 Concept
(Or, more realistically, iPad 7 Concept)
Link: Steve Jobs' Eulogy
I’ve tried and failed several times to write some sort of a send-off to Steve Jobs. My feelings about Steve are complicated, mixed, and often changing. He was hailed as a visionary– a once-in-a-generation sort of figure. He was dismissed as a tempestuous, stubborn, and overly-demanding leader. He was loved, hated, mocked, worshipped.
However, Steve was a private man. We know a lot about the “public” Steve, from his rousing press conferences to his reputation as a stickler for absolute perfection.
Steve’s sister, Mona Simpson, had a bit of a different perspective- different from the pundits, the Silicon Valley insiders, and you and me. The touching, revealing liturgy that she delivered at his memorial service is worth a read, especially if we feel compelled to pass judgment on a guy that none of us really knew.
Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.
FINALLY, a level-headed view of FCP X. The flame war is just getting old.
Final Cut Pro X
Muchos gracias. (via The Loop)
It’s Final Cut Day (Probably)!
At some point today, supposedly, Apple is going to drop a bomb on the creative world in the form of a massive overhaul of its popular Final Cut Studio software. We at North Point Media have been waiting for this day for a very, very long time. We rely on Final Cut heavily, and it gets the job done, at least. But it’s getting painfully long in the tooth, especially with how much Adobe Premier has stepped up its game over the last two years. (And lets face it, Apple’s Motion has always been merely a bench player against After Effects). Video professionals that have been given an NDA’d sneak peek at the new Final Cut are casually dropping descriptors such as “revolutionary,” “amazing,” “a huge jump forward,” etc. So what will it bring to the table? Here’s what I’m hoping for:
-A complete UI overhaul of Final Cut Pro
I’ve always loved how uncluttered the Final Cut interface is. It gets out of the way and lets you get to work (take notes, Adobe). But otherwise, you can tell that it’s a decade-old program. It’s ugly, for one. Interface aesthetic is not nearly as important in the creative professional world as it is in say, the world of iMovie or Garageband, but it would make all of our days a little bit more pleasing if we didn’t have to stare low-resolution grayscale for hours on end.
The iPad 2 Cometh
(image: Gizmodo, Jesus Diaz)
Time for some tech-blogging. If such talk makes you nauseous, I suggest you avoid. Or consult your doctor.
For the most secretive US organization outside the Pentagon, Apple has been pretty leaky lately. Although, it may be Apple’s culture of secrecy that directly produces these leaks; even the mainstream press is now addicted to the “next big thing” Apple rumor mill (not to mention the private details of Steve Jobs’ health). This all came to a head last spring when someone may or may not have stumbled upon (or stolen) a field-testing iPhone 4 in a bar and may or may not have sold it for a very high price to tech blog titan Gizmodo. Then- and since then- it seems we know just about everything there is to know about the next Apple product months beforehand, taking nearly all of the drama out of Steve’s famed keynote speeches.
Such is the case with the “iPad 2” or whatever it’s going to be called. Thanks to case prototypes, “reliable” sources, and part providers, the last week has left little to wonder about the little tablet that will make last year’s iPad look like a fossil (at least in our minds). Here is what we think we know:
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