[Cialug] OT: Apple iPhone and digital media

[Daniel A. Ramaley]

On Monday 15 January 2007 20:51, Nathan C. Smith wrote:
>So I saw the Keynote Steve Jobs gave and I have to say I'm pretty
> blown away by the iPhone.
>Anybody else have a reaction to it?

I don't have a cell phone, and i'm a bit opposed to cell phones in 
general (there are too many people who use them inappropriately such as 
in movie theaters or while piloting a swerving car). However, the 
iPhone is the first phone i've seen that i actually want to own. I'm 
thinking 2010. That will be the year i finally get a cell phone. By 
then the iPhone should be a little cheaper, not tied to one provider, 
and i expect it will have GPS built-in. So it could replace my iPod 
Nano, my GPS, and the pager that my boss gave me. Usually i don't carry 
any of those devices with me, but if all of them were consolidated into 
one device that could also make phone calls and with an interface as 
simple as what Apple can design, i'd be interested.

>Apple TV looks a little more polished than MythTV, but I don't see
> anything outstanding there.

This product also interests me, but i've not spent as much time reading 
the specs or what all it does. I intend to wait a few weeks after it is 
released and articles about it start to show up. I'm curious to see how 
easy it is to make it support codecs other than the ones QuickTime can 
play. Failing that, i'm curious to know how well it supports Linux. My 
PVR is a VHS VCR, but i'd happily replace it with something better if 
it didn't require much work and didn't cost too much. I could afford 
the cost of the Apple TV, and if it works the way i would want it to 
out-of-the-box or can run MythTV (or some other easy-to-install Linux), 
then i might get one. Basically, if it is hackable i'll probably get 
one. If it isn't, i'll pass.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dan Ramaley                            Dial Center 118, Drake University
Network Programmer/Analyst             2407 Carpenter Ave
+1 515 271-4540                        Des Moines IA 50311 USA