My simple wishlist regarding Apple-products...

[Evangelion]

There are few things in Apple's product-line that make you think "why haven't they done this already?". Of course all of us would like to have uber-fast machine and the like, but there are lots of those "little things" that need to be done as well.

- Mighty Mouse. Is there ANY reason why this thing is still corded? When are we going to see cordless Mighty Mouse? And make it standard in all Macs. (except Mini of course).

- Related to item above: cordless keyboard as standard would be nice as well . Unclutter the desktop.

- 512MB of RAM standard? I would like to see Macs that are really usable "out of the box". Having just 512MB of RAM in the computers by default is a major handicap. Just bite the bullet and put 1GB of RAM in all machines. Low-end PC's quite often ship with 1GB of RAM these days, Apple's top of the line quad-core workstation ships with 512MB.... What ARE they thinking?

- The displays... We need iSight in those. And do they have microphones? If not, we need those as well. Otherwise, how do you use iChat AV with PowerMac and Apple-display? With external microphone? iSight is about to happen (I hope), so this isn't so far off .

- Quicktime nagware. So you just spent about $2000 on a new Mac. Everything is running smooth... Except Quicktime which expects you to spend just tiny bit more (what was it, 30 bucks?) to unlock those "pro" features. Make it nagware on Windows, but if someone spends loads of cash on a Mac, asking them for thirty bucks more to activate few "pro" features in Quicktime is quite insulting IMO.

These aren't major issues, but they are still issues. Yes, it would cost Apple a bit. But I think that it would be worth it. Besides, Apple can afford it, and they always pride themselves on user satisfaction. These little things would improve that satisfaction quite a bit IMO.

Am I right, or am I Right?

 

[jellybean]

Good list. I'd also like to add...

- One or two more consumer desktops. At the moment the only options are iMac and Mac mini. Adding a third consumer desktop like a revamped eMac or something would offer a bit more choice

- Decent graphics. Something beyond integrated graphics or an underclocked x1600 with just 128mb would be nice

 

[Evangelion]

Good list. I'd also like to add...

- One or two more consumer desktops. At the moment the only options are iMac and Mac mini. Adding a third consumer desktop like a revamped eMac or something would offer a bit more choice

True, but that is a more drastic change to their product-lineup than the thing I mentioned . The things I mentioned were relatively minor things in the end.

 

[menziep]

Good list. I'd also like to add...

-2 more laptops like a UMPC and a 13Inch MacBook Pro

-Apple Xserve(Macserve) in 2U and 4U form factors

-iWork Free on all macs sold for over $2000

-Discontinue the iPod Shuffle and bring in a (See Pic) style iPod

 

[mkrishnan]

- The displays... We need iSight in those. And do they have microphones? If not, we need those as well. Otherwise, how do you use iChat AV with PowerMac and Apple-display? With external microphone? iSight is about to happen (I hope), so this isn't so far off .

The iSight apparatus has a microphone in it -- if you notice, when you plug an external iSight into a Mac, it comes up on your list of audio input options. On all Macs with built-in iSights, the iSight also has the microphone built into it (that's why there's no separate microphone embedded to the side of the screen like there was on PBs and iBooks...). So agreed that displays with iSights in them make sense in any event... but the microphone issue is a non-issue.

Oh, and with respect to QT Pro... I totally agree. Although I would probably even have been happy if it had been a BTO line item. Although I would have had to buy it again at least once. I do think it's slightly insulting... and it would enhance Apple's image to have those features as base OS features, without really eroding their profits that much....

Edit: Menziep, is that Napster request a joke?

 

[calculus]

- Mighty Mouse. Is there ANY reason why this thing is still corded? When are we going to see cordless Mighty Mouse? And make it standard in all Macs. (except Mini of course).

Because my kids would lose it!

 

[dejo]

-Apple Xserve(Macserve) in 2U and 4U form factors

Why thicker?

-Discontinue the iPod Shuffle and bring in a (See Pic) style iPod

Noooo....

 

[Evangelion]

Oh, and with respect to QT Pro... I totally agree. Although I would probably even have been happy if it had been a BTO line item. Although I would have had to buy it again at least once. I do think it's slightly insulting... and it would enhance Apple's image to have those features as base OS features, without really eroding their profits that much....

IMO it wouldn't be as insulting if those features were just quietly disabled. But they throw the fact right at your face.

Edit: Menziep, is that Napster request a joke?

I think the point is that they could replace the Shuffle with a Shuffle that has a display, not with a Napster-device as such.

 

[mkrishnan]

I think the point is that they could replace the Shuffle with a Shuffle that has a display, not with a Napster-device as such.

With the existence of the Nano, what's the point?

 

[Evangelion]

With the existence of the Nano, what's the point?

Um, because the Shuffle is cheaper and smaller? Why do we need the Nano when we already have the regural iPod?

 

[mkrishnan]

Um, because the Shuffle is cheaper and smaller? Why do we need the Nano when we already have the regural iPod?

Yes, you're right. Desperately following the strategies of every company that fails to make either substantial profit or gain significant marketshare in the music player industry is a much better option than the one which Apple has used to date to generate ... how many iPods have they sold again?

 

[Evangelion]

Yes, you're right. Desperately following the strategies of every company that fails to make either substantial profit or gain significant marketshare in the music player industry is a much better option than the one which Apple has used to date to generate ... how many iPods have they sold again?

So, you are basically saying that updating the Shuffle with a screen would fail because "Napster has a Shuffle-like device with a screen, and Napster sucks!"? Well, Apple DID add video-playback to the iPod, in a way "imitating" other companies that had similar players for sale. Does that mean that Apple is doomed because they are "imitating" less successfull companies?

No-one is saying that Apple should imitate Napster. What was said is that it would be cool if Shuffle had a screen, period. That does NOT mean that Apple would be following on the footsteps of Napster, and since Napter sucks, Apple would suck as well.

Does Apple suck because they released multi-button mouse, and those crappy PC-manufacturers have offered multi-button mice for years? Is Apple doomed because they moved to Intel, thus "imitating" those PC-manufacturers?

In short: your argument does not hold water.

 

[wmmk]

So, you are basically saying that updating the Shuffle with a screen would fail because "Napster has a Shuffle-like device with a screen, and Napster sucks!"? Well, Apple DID add video-playback to the iPod, in a way "imitating" other companies that had similar players for sale. Does that mean that Apple is doomed because they are "imitating" less successfull companies?

No-one is saying that Apple should imitate Napster. What was said is that it would be cool if Shuffle had a screen, period. That does NOT mean that Apple would be following on the footsteps of Napster, and since Napter sucks, Apple would suck as well.

Does Apple suck because they released multi-button mouse, and those crappy PC-manufacturers have offered multi-button mice for years? Is Apple doomed because they moved to Intel, thus "imitating" those PC-manufacturers?

In short: your argument does not hold water.

Adding a new supported codec and totally changing a product line are two very different things.....