Andreas Wacker

The device is pretty much clear in everybodies head. A bigger iPod with a big screen that plays clips. There are non Apple ones on the market, but why does it take Apple so long to come up with one?

One plausible explaination is that they don’t have to. As long their market share remains unchallenged it is better for the bottom line to hold the next Version back. The longer you wait with a high tech device the more time you have to get the system right. Write the proper software for it. And prices are declining on all components. A video player will have allot of hardware in it that is still in the beginning of it’s life cycle. Hightech component prices pretty much follow the same curve: They are very expensive in the beginning of their life cycle and then get much cheaper. The longer Apple waits the more profits will be left for them.

While using the iBook G4 for all things the MacBook Pro sits there, downloading stuff and doing other things that don’t need my attention. Annoying: that whinning noise. Disabling the 2nd CPU with ‘chud’ helps, but when the thing goes to sleep it does forget it. Another observation is that when the screen goes dark the noise goes away as well. Try setting the brightness to low and it stops.

As an extension to the ‘old people can’t hear high frequencies meme’ I think that the MacBook Pro does have this annoyance since Jobs simply can not hear it. His ears are not as sharp as his mind people say. That’s why the iPod is so loud, and that’s why is claiming that he replaced his fancy rich-man-stereo set with that thing called ‘HiFi’.