Tag Archives: apple

More Than Words

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It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words. The San Jose Mercury News has a  gallery of pictures worth 2.8 million square feet. The gallery shows an intricately detailed model of the new lair headquarters Apple plans to build in Cupertino, California.

The campus was approved this week by the Cupertino City Council, with comments from Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer available via video. In the video Oppenheimer mentions that Apple plans to put the sizable square footage to good use “for decades to come.”

If the plans, renders and model are any indication, this campus going to be an amazing work environment.

Pulling The Thread

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Sony has announced a new console. No not that one. Not that one either. No, that one was Nintendo. No, Sony has made the very intriguing move of releasing the PS Vita TV.

Combining the likes of a Roku or Apple TV, the PS Vita TV makes a play for the affordable set top box / media streamer market. The unique differentiator Sony hopes to leverage here is its games: the ability to access an online game store and physical Vita game discs, all controlled with a venerable PlayStation controller. This is in addition to video access from companies like Hulu and other Japanese-centric services.

Technically, Nintendo was first to market with a mini console from the big three, with the Wii Mini. While probably the right idea, the Wii Mini has not garnered much attention. Sony, however, has the opportunity to zig while Microsoft is zagging; while the Xbox One attempts to be the ultimate all-in-one, Sony is segmenting the market with a high-end (PS4) and low-end (PS Vita TV) model. This move could be very influential as we test the theory of whether or not we’ve reached peak console. If released world wide, the PS Vita TV could also be terrible news for the OUYA and its fledgling Android console brethren. The mini console / micro set to box market would seem to be growing crowded, and without any movement from Microsoft to an Xbox mini or a more substantial push for games on Roku.

Tim Cook has coined the phrase that Apple feels there is something in living room, and they keep “pulling the thread.” The PS Vita TV could be just the direction that thread is leading.

The Written Oral History

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I sometimes joke that when I die, my tombstone will say, “Here lies the guy who hired Jonathan Ive.”

If you’ve got the time, Fast Company has a six-part series of articles looking back at the history of design at Apple, as told by former employees. Comprised of interviews conducted by Max Chafkin (and others), the interviews have been chopped up and presented in a sort of quotable chronology.

Have too much more time on your hands? For two bucks you can read the extended 14 chapter version as an ebook from iTunes or Amazon.

Mac Mini Speculation

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The Mac mini has seen just two form factors since its introduction in 2005. I think we could see the third this fall.

The mini serves many roles thanks to its price and size: as the gateway Mac for curious developers and switchers; as a entry-level server; as a media center; as an efficient desktop client; as the “insert your application here” device. The adaptability of the mini has led to a healthy aftermarket of accessories and amazing resale value.

The basic formula for a Mac mini has historically been to reconfigure the logic board and hard drive (and optical drive back when they where standard) of the entry-level portable system into the smallest possible package. This contrasts with basic, entry-level, cost conscious PC systems which rely on the ATX standard and are mostly empty space on the inside.

For the third revision to the Mac mini package, I think we’ve already seen the future in recent revisions of the Airport Extreme and Airport Time Capsule. The rounded square base and extruded body design started with the second generation Apple TV in 2010, followed by the Airport Express in 2012 and the rest of the Airport family in 2013.

Imagine this new mini housed in an extruded black plastic polycarbonate enclosure the size and shape of the Airport Time Capsule with these specs:

  • 1.7GHz Dual Core i5 (Optional 2.2GHz Quad Core i7)
  • 128GB PCIe storage (optional up to 512GB)
  • 4GB DDR3 (optional up to 16GB, non user upgradable)
  • Intel HD 5000 Graphics (Supports one 4K display)
  • 802.11ac / Bluetooth 4.0
  • Built in speaker
  • Built in power supply

For the port selection, I imagine something like this:

  • Headphone port
  • SDXC card slot
  • Three USB 3 ports
  • Two Thunderbolt ports
  • Gigabit Ethernet port
  • Power
  • Power Button

Wildcard factors:

  • Accelerometer to light up the ports when the system is turned, like the soon to be released Mac Pro
  • Second internal drive bay for fusion drive (2.5″ SATA) or a second PCIe drive
  • Possibility that a 47w Core i7 could be too much heat for the form factor
  • Retaining a dedicated video port such as HDMI
  • Retaining an IR receiver
  • Vertical space limiting number of ports
  • Could use SODIMMs instead of soldering on LPDDR3
  • Costs for logic board could be prohibitive
  • Availability and cost of Falcon Ridge Thunderbolt 2

This redesign could happen soon, say the fall time frame shipping in time for the Holidays. Given that it has taken three years since the second generation Apple TV was introduced to adapt the Airport family it could also take more time (say 12 months or more) to ship a redesigned mini. As with any speculation, it could also be fantastically wrong– that’s the fun.

Britta’d it.

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“Those that have come from other failed or failing retailers will be allowed to peddle their poor ideas at Apple, and tarnish what has been one of the single greatest retailers on the planet.”

IFO Apple Store has a great write up on Apple retails latest misstep. The dead on quote above really does a good job of summing up the apparent britta’d direction of the retail stores.

Reports Persist of Budget Cuts, Emphasis on Revenue