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I didn't know Michael Dell worked at Wawa.

He doesn't.... he's just their sandwhich delivery guy!

so Apple is venturing further into Sony's territory. they are not going to like that.

I was talking to the local 711 man and he told me the apple would come out with a 4 Gigahertz laptop.... but he was later arested for selling me sandwhiches with 512 MB of ram in them. silly man...

Wow: "so Apple is venturing further into Sony's territory. they are not going to like that."

Sony: "Of course you realize...this means war."

Apple: "Get in line."

I'll have a 4 MG RAM sandwich on rye extra UNIX, please, with a side order of HDTV and internet streaming. Oh, and add a remote control for dessert.

If that were remotely true, that would be the sweetest thing on the planet!!!

If this is true, watch for the stock to actually go UP after Macworld, instead of its usual downward direction.

Not in my budget.

What if the TV's are being made by Sony ? Nah.

Not to mention the barely pronouncable names (well, Viiv is Intel's, but still).

Most people would not understand the logic of this type product.
"An Apple TV? And it only gets stuff you can order through that `iToonz´ thing? No way."

Steve can´t figure out how to market his computers or OS; how´s he going to market something more complicated? Black silouettes dancing around a plasma tv.

And a plasma tv? So...so-so - LCD is the way to go.

50 inch? 50 INCH?!??? Come onnnn . . . maybe 50 inches is good enough for Michael Dell, but you know what they say about him: "Hey, Michael -- you're pretty high-function for a retard."

Hey, I keed. I keed those among us who will one day, in de near future, put a gun in their mouths because Apple has bitch-slapped them into oblivion.

And I keed because I care about Michael.

Just kidding . . .

No I don't.

Well it would make an interesting twist on an Apple PVR. In some respects it does make sense to bundle something like that with the TV.

Thing is though - at 3 grand a pop, it doesn't really make for a high volume product. Sure they will sell them but not a huge number. Apple really need to continue to increase their market share. I'm sure they could sell a lot more Viiv capable mac mini's and other intel based macs and in the long run it would help them consolidate their presence in the computer / home entertainment market.

Let the Gateway comparisons restart...

The Wal-Mart welcome dude told me that Apple is bringing back the Newton.

uhhh ...so will the keynote be web-casted ??

Anyone got a handle on that yet ?

I first got wind of this "rumor" about a week ago. Since then I'ved been trying to confirm it via other sources, with no direct luck.

There has been indirect confirmation coming from articles published in the mainstream press.

For instance. JP Morgan's Delaney issued a research note for Intel this past week in which he states, "Intel will ship 4.8 million processors to Apple during CALENDAR 2006. Those processors represent 55% of Apple's needs for the year."

4.8 Million processors is 55% of 9.27 Million processors. Now Apple only shipped 4.573 Million CPUs during Fiscal 2005, a 40% increase over 2004.

I'm forecasting a 29% increase in CPUs during 2006.

After factoring out total CPUs and those requiring two processors, I get about 2,000,000 processors unaccounted for. There's some slop in there, asw I had to adjust my CPU estimates from fiscal to calendar year. Does wild assed guess come to mind?

Anyway, could those unaccounted processors be destined for an Apple branded HDTV? Keep in mind that a few years back Apple partnered with Samsung to construct a new glass panel fab. The HDTV may be part of the reason for that investment.

Tuesday should be very interesting.

Well, the announcement would have perfect timing, the projected costs are right in line with what my roommate is looking to spend on a TV in the next few months, so it's something that I'd look forward to.

Bring on the 4 hour keynote!!! All speculation and rumors are TRUE!

"Thing is though - at 3 grand a pop, it doesn't really make for a high volume product."

17" PowerBooks plus $500 2GB RAM and $349 3 yr. AppleCare [both you'd opt lest ya get the 17" for looks and not productivity and are mindlessly fearless about the unpredictable] will cost you $3,348.

Now, I dunno about 'volume'.

Nor about wall-mount vs portability demographics

But 17" vs 50" for less than the same price?

one demo: a lotta public gathering places-for-profit [pubs, eateries, what-have-you] might consider 3 thou a steal for 12-button Front Row GUI/content...crowd content-ability

Well I just picked up my new 2006 John Deere tractor, it has a iPod dock and hookup built in.

My cousin Joey told me Apple is coming out with an iCar at MacWorld. OMG!!!!!!

Why Apple would stuff a MacMini equivalent into a plasma TV and NOT include a mouse or keyboard is ridiculous. Having OSX right there in a living room with no way to use it other than to "work your media" would be a supreme waste of resources.

Let's see,

Apple displays:

1.5": iPod nano
2.5": iPod [video]
12": iBook/PowerBook
14": iBook
15": PowerBook
17": iMac/PowerBook
20": iMac/Cinema
23": Cinema
30": Cinema
42": ???
50": ???

Jobs, as a rule, habitually covers all bases. HMMMmmm...

"Apple to debut 42- and 50-inch widescreen plasma HDTVs at Macworld Expo"

Ain't gonna happen.

Too high end, too low volume, too much competition in too small of a market. Not to mention too big: would YOU sacrifice large areas of retail floor space for a slow-moving product?

"Sandwich Man"

So now we're getting inside scoops from guys restocking sandwich shop shelves. Let's cross-check this with someone working a fast-food drive through. And yes we'd like fries with that.

Wingsy

Keyboard and Mouse would be optional like with the Mini.

at least the 12-button remote would include mouse functions

that's one down

media's the message

the OS X'd be a loss-leader teaser: "purchase the optional wireless keyboard"

My 7-11 guy told me Apple was picking up Arrested Development for another two seasons on iTunes. Oh and it's free and instantaneously downloads and is really really funny.

As a residential designer one the problems I face in high-end houses is the integration of electronics. With the switch to lcd/plasma tvs it has given me some flexibility but then you always have the other equipment that has to go somewhere. We are seeing new HDTVs now incorporate the DVD player so why not incorporate the DVR function as well? As most people have not yet gone to HDTV this would give Apple a couple of years to ramp up production before HDTV becomes the new standard. I hope this is true.

Job's shoe shinning guy in the executive men's room told me an iBook is comming Tuesday.

A friend of a friends second cousins uncle told his exwives new girlfriends brother that they will be releasing a new combo Mac mini/toaster with a bluetooth remote microwave.

I dont see this being true.

The entire consumer electronics industry is moving away from plasma. Sony has drastically reduced its plasma line.

There are various LCD based technologies that are superior to plasma.

When you think about it, Apple has already done this with the iMac G5. All they have to do is to tweak it a little and enlarge the screen. Done finish and simple..

MDN word "making" as in Apple is making a whole new category which will blow the media center PC out of the water ( if this rumor is true).

"Job's shoe shinning guy in the executive men's room told me an iBook is comming Tuesday."

I thought Gods son wore sandles. Besides.....When you can walk on water what is the difference!

Gregg,

When counting processors don't forget every iPod has one also.

I was just down at the local Shell convenience mart picking up some diet Dr Pepper and a replacement set of iPod ear buds. In the next aisle there were two guys wearing black turtle necks and blue jeans. I overheard them discussing a revolutionary new recording product from Apple that will allow TV content from a variety of sources to be recorded (on ultra low cost media) for viewing on any standard or HD monitor. It's a new Apple branded VHS deck! Very cool! Anyone remember the MacTV? Now there was a cock product. They were black and had built-in TV tuners. I wanted one in the worst way... maybe I mean in the best way

WTF? Quick, get this sandwich into the witness relocation program!

*rolls eyes*

Whoops. I meant "Sandwich Man."

"Well it would make an interesting twist on an Apple PVR. In some respects it does make sense to bundle something like that with the TV.

Thing is though - at 3 grand a pop, it doesn't really make for a high volume product. Sure they will sell them but not a huge number."

There is an optional TV tuner for Viiv. Wanna bet any Apple 50" display/PVR comes with a tuner and a cable connection? Now how much would you pay? What's a typical 50" HDTV sell for these days? Low volume? I think not.

As far as the setting of this story, if you wanted to reveal something real of this magnitude and not get sued, you'd probably couch it in terms of a fairy tale setting, with no hint about real sources, and later on plead that it was just a good guess.

Maybe this is where that flash memory is going... so they turn on fast.

(Who really knows what's going on. Trusting a guy who makes your sandwich? Might as well get your palm read while you're at it.)

In fact, his friend of a friend probably suggested it as a lark.

"Hey, Mac enthusiasts really love rumors... why don't we make one up and give 'em hell?"

Ok this may change my plan as 2006 being the year of the big screen tv for me.

Listen, when something this exciting comes along I have to hedge and be very, very skeptical.

PCs are reaching maximum market penetration in Apple's markets at their current prices at the high end, and they've long been commodity items. The average consumer PC is now selling for something like 1/16 of the cost it did (in real dollars, adjusted for inflation) when Apple created the market, and prices are continuing to fall as China ramps up.

The iPod brand is strong, but the market is probably going to disappear over time considering convergence with other mobile devices and the inevitable falling cost of memory.

High end video is somewhere Apple has been for years and years. It just makes sense. So much sense. There's always going to be an opportunity to make a buck at the high end, and we're all going to be replacing our televisions when the US goes to HDTV in '07-08.

If it can run windows too, I can see myself buying one and not bothering to keep a traditional PC or Mac at home. But that's not the exciting bit, the exciting part is that if an American company and an American brand becomes the biggest thing in consumer electronics it's good for America. It could also good for Microsoft, their OS, their servers, their XBox, and turn a competitor into a partner.

I eagerly await the details.

>> ... the exciting part is that if an American company and an American
>> brand becomes the biggest thing in consumer electronics it's good for America.

Yea, but the toys will be made in Asia. Who's it really helping? Back when Apple started the PC market, the computers were made in America (and some Asia for other markets), nowadays it's just Asia.

Am I the only one here who thinks that O'Grady was kidding? This line was the giveaway, "The shift manager is the former Asteroid PM from Apple and I don't want him to hear me!".

I think he's just being funny. The Asteroid info refers to the audio box Apple was working on last year to be used with GarageBand (which still has never come out). Last year Apple took umbrage with O'Grady for posting rumors about Asteroid that he supposedly got from someone inside Apple (from his joke, I'd guess it was the PM who is now making sandwiches).

Still, I'd like to see it happen. I need a new TV and that would be awesome. This would be a great way for Apple to move further into the realm of CE, but take the Mac with them. I'm not going to hold my breath though.

His Steviness did say that 2005 was the year of HD. Maybe a HDTV Plasma iMac is not out of the question! I would buy the first one to roll of the assembly line. Oh a 50" inch HDTV iMac in my living room. Your Steviness bring it on. It's hibernation time:coolhmm:

As skeptical as I am about this... I'd love to see it happen! In the unlikely event of it happening (hey, stranger things HAVE happened) they better introduce a set-top box with the extra functionality to go along with this for those of us who just invested in a ~3k HDTV in the last year too... Now that would shake the industry, and I really hope it happens... however unlikely it is.

--mAc

The tricky thing with TV is getting interoperability with cable and satellite. What good is a DVR if it can interact with the cable box? There's a lot of hype about video distribution over the net and Apple have demonstrated that there is some market potential there.

My problem is that I won't want to spend 3 grand on something that will allow PVR functions for Apple mandated services but not for content coming from my cable or satellite feed. If a computer has this function, then that's okay because the computer can have other uses in addition to its PVR and video distribution functions.

There will be plenty of people with money to spend who'll love this type of technology, but I think that for it to really take off the system needs to co-operate with current distribution feeds. Look at it in this way; how successful would the iPod have been if you could only use content sold by Apple? The majority of music on Pods come from previously bought CDs.

mac dood - No live webcast, but it will be available on the web a few hours later, as in the past few years.

>> Yea, but the toys will be made in Asia. Who's it really helping?
>> Back when Apple started the PC market, the computers were made
>> in America (and some Asia for other markets), nowadays it's just Asia.

Well, the point isn't who works in the plant, it's who owns the plant. Whatever a company makes these days, they're going to make it in the cheapest place possible. If they don't, they're not competitive. If Apple can remain competitive keeping the dollars, the designers, the knowledge, the influence and most importantly, the labor standards American, that's a good thing for everyone.