DISQUS

It does have usb (3 ports - 2 on back and 1 on the front). It also has a fast ethernet (1G/s) connection that I think you can connect directly to your computer if needed. And it does regular NAS as well.

forecasted trend (at least that's what a trend spotter email told me a week or two ago...). it's the end of the world, all over again.

well, it might be "cheap" but not cheap. I think I might agree with your super-awesome-professionally-sound review!

Apple is changing. In the past year, they have blatantly profited off of their insanely loyal customer base (iPhone rebate after 3 months), and a good number of fans are more cautious. I believe that there is a current shift toward viewing Apple as another computer company (not necessarily on the same level as other companies - b/c of their clean design and interfaces) and people will expect corporate-style behavior from apple (and not so much buddy-club-fan behavior).

Apple HAS to move this direction to increase their market share. It's a tactical move and probably very profitable for them. They will milk the fan-base for as long as possible - but they are definitely moving toward the middle. With the slump in iPod / iPhone sales, I definitely expect to see a lower price entry point machine sometime soon.

Steve made the "thinner is better" obsession / mistake and I'm willing to bet that his next move is "Apple for Everyone" - now everyone can enjoy the highest quality design and interface (and not just on a mac mini). Though there is something to be said for taking into account that the mini has not performed extremely well. That might hurt my cause a bit here.

All that being said - as Apple moves toward the middle (or splits into two apples, the high end shiny super machines, and the low end everyman machine) - there will be new ways for them to open up, that were not available / appropriate before.

I could be way off - but that's my 2 cents.

Oh, btw - I think that in the next few years, a high end business focused computer from Apple will be some sort of super portable that runs "light" versions of mail, webbrowser, office (etc.) while on the go, and then docs (into cradle w/ attached harddrive) at your desk and lets you run full versions of all your programs, office (etc.) on your desktop screen and keyboard. But it's all one, portable machine. And it's your phone too - of course. Wouldn't work for design - but would be perfect for general business use.

Whoops, I think I'm ranting at this point.

Of course, on a blog that is linked to my employer's blog, there is a case for being sensitive. I'm up for being cautioned. And have taken note.

Kris,

That's an awesome and well articulated perspective. I definitely approve of that sort of lifestyle. And I'm not a proponent of stealing or profiting off of someone else's intellectual property. However, I do also believe that there are viable (and measurable) ways for distributing content (and I'm referring to TV shows specifically here) that the major media entities have not been willing to utilize. I believe that they are unwilling to use new technologies because they do not have control over them, and have not yet gained a vision for how to monetize them. Just because those entities or their partners (particularly the RIAA) claim that some actions should be illegal, does not make those actions wrong. I absolutely do not endorse stealing, but I do think the lines that have been drawn around popular media are the desperate and often confused attempts of an archaic media machine trying to keep it's monopoly on the market. That does not make stealing appropriate, but it does make the issue less black and white.

link / url?

testing comments.

From my tech blog, posted Dec. 27th. Mostly about apple's rentals, but is still relevant - as I feel that 3.99 is WAY to much for a rental, and netflix may have more of a success (even if not as sexy as apple) with their offering:

So, this is 1/2 tech wish and 1/2 apple rumor (sorry for the rumor half). Rumor part: Apple to offer movie downloads as RENTALs You can read a Wall Street Journal article about it (HERE). Now, the good WISH part: WISH 1: Please, please, please let us pay $20 a month for unlimited rentals. Be the digital netflix and everyone will love it. If I have to pay 1.99 per rental (and especially if it's more) I'll use it occassionally, and apple would maybe make $100 off me during the year. BUT - if I could pay $20 a month for unlimited rentals, I'd sign up right away and apple would have $240 of my cash. No problem. WISH 2: Sync this to the freakin iPhone and iPodTouch. If I rent a movie, let me do it wirelessly via my iPhone too. Particularly if I'm paying 1.99 per rental (which is just a price I've made up - btw), I want iTunes to remember that I rented it on my desktop, and let me also download it to my handheld device/whatever without paying for it again (and vice versa). If you make iTunes remember where I stopped watching it on my machine, and then let me download it to my iPhone while I'm at the coffee shop it remembers where I left off - well, hell, you'd almost have my faith in Apple won back over again.