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picaman
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Joined: 16 Aug 2005
Posts: 1444
Location: NYC
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 Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 3:17 pm Post subject: More idle speculation about the Mac Mini Media Center |
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Apple lobs grenade into Microsoft media center camp
From the article:
"Now consider that hardware enthusiasts who took apart the original Mac Mini noticed there was an unused header on the motherboard for an iPod dock connector. At the time they speculated that during prototyping, Apple had made a Mac mini with a dock connector built in, and an engineer had carelessly forgotten to remove the header from the motherboard design.
Finally, consider that one of the best TV recording solutions on the market is from a German company called ElGato. Their software makes it easy to record TV (even glitch-free high definition) and burn it to DVD with no stuffing around.
The CEO of that company, Freddie Geier, has just been made Managing Director of Apple Germany. Starting to get the picture?
Now imagine: a tiny, silent Mac Mini with an inbuilt iPod dock connector, an inbuilt DVD recorder, and a video iPod which could automatically synchronise with the TV programs automatically recorded on your Mac Mini the night before."
Interesting reading. Especially good that it's an MSN website.
Jamie |
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andp
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Joined: 28 Jan 2005
Posts: 358
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| Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 3:37 pm Post subject: |
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That would be really cool! Here's something else to ponder. The new iPod dock has an IR port built in for the Apple remote. Maybe Apple has bigger plans for that unused dock connector in the mini. It would be perfect for Front Row.  I'm beginning to think this Mac mini update (The one that hasn't been officially announced yet) is going to include something else we don't know about. Fingers crossed!  |
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Ranter
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Joined: 07 Jun 2005
Posts: 223
Location: Palm Springs, CA USA
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| Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 5:43 pm Post subject: |
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Hollywood could not tolerate a product that was this useful and free of encumberments. I feel certain they would purchase as many US Senators, in addition to the ones they already own, as required to outlaw any product that would make it this easy to watch what you wanted when you wanted.
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xmen65
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Joined: 05 Feb 2005
Posts: 620
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| Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Ranter wrote: | | Hollywood could not tolerate a product that was this useful and free of encumberments. I feel certain they would purchase as many US Senators, in addition to the ones they already own, as required to outlaw any product that would make it this easy to watch what you wanted when you wanted. |
TiVo faces the same challenge. Hollywood trying to get TiVO to put time limits on how long you can store certain TV shows and Movies on the hard drive. |
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Susurrus
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Joined: 05 May 2005
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Location: Providence, Rhode Island
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| Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 1:06 pm Post subject: |
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I read somewhere that the extra FW chip and connector was removed shortly after the Minis started shipping: either around when they made the first revision (free wireless+RAM) or a little before. Can anyone confirm this? I have a really old Mini that has the extra connection, but I thought I read somewhere that they don't have them anymore.
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kuro
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Joined: 27 Oct 2005
Posts: 83
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 9:50 am Post subject: |
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| Susurrus wrote: | | I have a really old Mini that has the extra connection, but I thought I read somewhere that they don't have them anymore. |
They don't. Can you post a picture?
Here is how most of them look:
http://www.lbodnar.dsl.pipex.com/macmini/macmini_ipod.html |
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bubba
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Joined: 01 Feb 2005
Posts: 227
Location: Raleigh, NC
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:29 pm Post subject: |
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yeah.. but the new iPods do not support firewire (there wasn't enough room), so this wouldn't work.
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xmen65
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Joined: 05 Feb 2005
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| Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2005 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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| bubba wrote: | | yeah.. but the new iPods do not support firewire (there wasn't enough room), so this wouldn't work. |
That really urks me! Apple is making a mistake by going USB only. |
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picaman
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Location: NYC
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