MacNoob

Yesterday’s introduction of “High Definition” (in quotes because there doesn’t seem to be a good definition of the term) movies to the iTunes store leaves no doubt about Apple’s intentions to compete in the movie space the same way it does with music.  It was a move they had to make if they want to keep up with the big digital players like DirecTV, Dish, Netflix and Amazon and with physical media.

I’m a DirecTV customer and have a PS3 and a Dell Studio PC for my Blu-ray needs on two separate entertainment centers.  One includes a 52” Sony XBR 1080p LCD and the other a Samsung 52” 1080p LCD.  To say I’ve been disappointed with the quality of DirecTV’s HD content would be accurate for the most part.  The so-called “Premium” channels (HBO HD, Showtime HD & Starz HD) have never impressed me with their picture quality.  Compression artifacts have always been a problem as is contrast, especially in darker scenes.  My quality reference is a recent Blu-ray release of Indiana Jones playing on my PS3 to the Sony LCD.  Home movie viewing just doesn’t get any better.  The PS3 is still arguably the best Blu-ray player and while not the latest Sony offering, the 52” XBR4 is one hell of a fine display.  The point of all this name-dropping is to establish that I have some fairly solid equipment for testing HD quality.

Back to Apple.  The iTunes store has become nearly ubiquitous.  The stunning success of the iPod and iPhone has made that a reality.  Movie purchase and rental was a logical outgrowth of Apple’s music business, the largest in the world.  Before yesterday, I thought the movies offered by Apple in standard definition (853 x 362) were quite good, even on a 52” screen.  The quality is nowhere near that of Blu-ray, but even though the resolution is a bit less than DVD (720 x 480) the picture quality is comparable.  One major downfall of Apple’s format is the audio.  So far, every movie I’ve downloaded is only available with stereo sound.  That’s great for an iPod or laptop, but I find I miss 5.1 surround sound when viewing Apple’s downloads on one of my entertainment centers.  I guess Apple is trying to keep the file sizes low to make downloading less painful, but good audio doesn’t add that much and I have to believe it’s just a matter of time before this gets upgraded.  For now we’re stuck with synthesizing Pro Logic to fill all the speakers.

Apple appears to be taking a few “baby steps” into the high definition movie market (just like they did when they first offered movies).  There are only 12 titles currently available with a couple more available for pre-order.  To test the ecosystem, I selected Transporter 3 from the HD Movie gallery and iTunes took me to the usual detail page with a $19.99 “BUY HD MOVIE” button added to the page just above the usual $14.99 “BUY MOVIE” one.  Clicking the HD button began the download immediately (I have one-click purchases turned on).  What’s different is both versions of Transporter 3 began downloading, a 3 GB high definition file and a 1 GB standard def.  This was a bit of a surprise, but after I thought about it a minute the reason was obvious.  The standard def version is for your iPod or iPhone.  This is a nice addition, and something Apple didn’t have to do, I suppose.  An hour later [using my 6 Mb internet connection] both files were on my Mac.  One curious addendum: iTunes only lists the HD version in my library even though both files are in my “Movies” folder.

I was anxious to see what the new format looked like on my big screen so I started iTunes on my Vista media center PC, browsed to the shared library on my Mac and began playing the movie over my wireless N connection.  It was a little jerky for the first few seconds, but then it settled down and streamed flawlessly.  The picture was beautiful, and while not quite Blu-ray quality, I had to look closely to tell the difference and it was certainly better than the so-called high definition offered by DirecTV.  iTunes lists the resolution at 1280 x 544, but I just call it sharp!  Motion was smooth and the color was quite nearly perfect.  The H.264 codec Apple employs is [obviously] far superior to the compression method used by DirecTV.  If quality is your only deciding factor when choosing between the two, Apple wins hands down.  Another plus for Apple is portability.  When I record something on my satellite DVR, that’s where it has to stay.  I can’t even watch it from another DirecTV DVR in my home even though the two are networked.  DirecTV has recently offered a beta version of their software (Windows only) to run on a PC, but it is still too buggy for “lean back” viewing, and forget ever getting satellite content onto your iPod.

The downside?  Apple is charging twenty bucks per movie.  Compared to Blu-ray, it’s quite competitive but an on-demand DirecTV HD movie is $4.95.  It’s easy to give up a little quality and portability to pay 25% of the iTunes rate.  Apple is obviously not trying to compete with the satellite companies.  The Blu-ray market is a different matter.  Right now, assuming availability won’t be a problem soon, I’d say Apple has a leg up on the physical media HD standard.  With new Blu-ray releases going for $25-30 a pop, the $20 Apple offering is a visual equivalent (for most people) and you don’t have to leave your chair to buy one.  Plus, you can put a version on your iPod at no additional cost.  I was disappointed when Transporter 3 only played a stereo soundtrack but I’m not sure most people will care.

The next few months will be interesting.  Will Apple greatly expand their HD offering?  Will they offer Dolby 5.1 or TrueHD audio?  Is a higher resolution format in the works?  One thing that’s not in question: Apple is going after the Blu-ray market.  And, with infinitely more copies of iTunes out there than Blu-ray players, they may have a shot.

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I really want to set up my new game room entertainment center with a Mac Mini, but the value just isn’t there.  I want the iTunes integration, the slick Front Row interface and above all, OS X, but the Mini’s hardware falls way short of other PC offerings.  In fact, its hard to even consider the Mac Mini when designing a media center.  With its relatively tiny hard drive, low memory and lack of Blu-ray and HDMI support, the Mini is only viable if you’re a completely apologetic, Jobs-worshiping fanboy.  Cupertino would have me buy an AppleTV, but that ain’t gonna happen either!  Neither box is anywhere near cost-effective, especially when compared to offerings from Dell.

I’m not asking for a lot.  I need a sub-$1000 internet connected media hub that can stream media from my other computers, download content from the internet and play DVD and Blu-ray disks, all while connected to my HDMI-switching AV receiver.  It would also be nice if the machine looked like it belonged on the shelf of my entertainment center.  On the PC side there are literally dozens of machines that fit the bill, but woefully, Apple makes it difficult to justify using anything in their lineup.  If I were absolutely picky about the capabilities I just listed, a Mac is almost out of the question unless I want to drop three Gs on a Mac Pro .  If not, then I’m left trying make a Mini work.  In either case, I’ll have to find another Blu-ray solution.

Lets say I can’t possibly stand using Windows and decide on the Mac Mini.  Here’s what I would need to make it do almost what I want and how much it would cost:

• Mac Mini (2.0 Core 2 Duo, 2 GB, 160 GB HDD, Wireless KB + Mouse): $1053
• Add a DVI to HDMI adapter: $30
• Add an External HDD:  $100
• Add a 3.5 mm stereo to RCA adapter: $10
• Add a Blu-Ray player: $200 (maybe optimistic)

• Total for a Mac Mini Setup: $1393

With just a little shopping I was able to find a Dell Studio Hybrid machine with better specs for just over half of that price.  The Dell looks like this:

• 2.1 Ghz Core 2 Duo
• 4 GB Ram
• HDMI out
• 320 GB HDD
• Blu-ray ROM + CD/DVD burner
• Optical audio out
• Vista Home Premium (Windows Media Center incl.)

• Total for a Dell Studio Hybrid:  $749

As I mentioned, I really want OS X, but not at a $644 premium.  On top of that, choosing the Mac would mean giving up Dolby Digital sound also.  Arguably, the real comparison should be made between Windows Media Center and Front Row, since that is what will be running 95% of the time.  I might even wind up using XBMC.  It is a really slick open source Media Center package and available for either platform (and Linux).

So, decisions, decisions…

I guess I’ll go with the Dell!  Duh!  You think?

The really bewildering part about all this is the number of lemming-like Apple cultists who would still rather use the Mini, even at twice the price!  Call me a crazy conspiracy theorist, but Jobs must be broadcasting some sort of mind control from Cupertino that a certain portion of the populous is susceptible to.   How else can you explain Apple EVER selling a Mini given this huge price discrepancy?  Maybe I’m naive, but I just don’t get it.  I’ve been using OS X for a year now and I really like it, but not enough to pay almost double for it.  In this particular instance, “I’m a PC”.

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I really want to buy an Apple desktop. I mean, REALLY! The problem is, an iMac is sort of like a laptop with a stand. By that, I mean there’s nothing user-serviceable except the memory, just like a laptop. The Mac mini is much the same and way underpowered for my needs. Buy what you want or think you’ll ever need, because upgrading a Mini or an iMac is virtually out of the question. That leaves the Mac Pro starting at a whopping $2700, way out of my league. As much as I hate to admit it, I’ve seriously considered a Psystar machine because it offers something Apple doesn’t, an upgradeable OS X platform for under $1000. Maybe I’m showing my PC roots, but for the life of me I can’t understand why Apple can’t provide a user-serviceable chassis for under three grand. I know Apple’s philosophy about providing a seamless and complete user experience, but would it kill them to throw us tinkerers a bone? All this switching to Mac that’s going on may very well peak prematurely as switchers like myself quickly feel trapped by our machines. I’m already starting to feel it with my Macbook Pro. I bought the largest 7200 RPM hard disk Apple offered (160 GB) at the time and I’m starting to feel the pinch. I’m a bit claustrophobic and don’t like feeling as crowded as my 20 gigs of free space makes me feel. With my Dell XPS, upgrading the disk was as simple as removing two set screws and sliding the drive tray out. My Macbook Pro will require a complete disassemble to get to the drive. I’ve viewed the procedure and it’s not for the feint of heart. It’s the same sort of thing for the iMac and Mac Mini. Sure it can be done, but who but the most ardent geeks are willing to do it?

So, instead of a just a $2700 Mac Pro, why doesn’t Apple offer a $1200 Mac Semi-pro or $900 Mac Amateur? You know, something for the rest of us without engineering degrees who want to swap hard disks or video cards occasionally.

The Mac technorati are all aflutter about a new Macbook “Brick” carved from a solid chunk of aluminum, but I’d be more excited if Apple would drop the worthless Mac Mini in favor of a real desktop machine. You know, like the ones Dell, HP, Acer, Gateway and every other computer manufacturer in the world make. I know, I know, I’m supposed to “Think Different”.

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My nine-year-old daughter has been bugging me for a laptop for months.  She coyly asked her mother and I if Santa Claus could afford a Macbook.  She really loves my Macbook Pro and wants the freedom of a portable machine.  Her room is adorned with more computer hardware than most people twice (or three times) her age, but every time I get up from the sofa for more than a minute or two I find her tapping away on my laptop which usually sits on the coffee table.  My cookie folder is filled with Nick and Disney crap all the time.  If someone didn’t know me better, a casual inspection of my Mac’s browsing history would indicate I’m some sort of “Chester the Molester”. She needs her own laptop!

The wife and I discussed getting her a laptop and I said that I really wanted her to have a Mac.  When I mentioned the price of $1000 however, she looked at me like I was nuts.  I guess I am nuts, but I still want our daughter to be a “chip off the old block”, as it were, and fostering her techno-lust fits nicely into that agenda.  OK, on to plan B…

So, with my buying criteria promptly adjusted, I focused on the sub $750 category.  I want my daughter to have something cool and portable.  Lots of laptops in my price range fit the latter criteria but most are butt-ugly, chunky or both.  When it comes to cool factor, the possibility list gets pared significantly.  If there is one thing Asus has accomplished, it has wowed the geek world with this new form factor.  So much so that we’re beginning to see copy cat offerings from the likes of Dell and Acer.  There’s even a light bulb company (Sylvania) manufacturing a netbook!

The $479 (street price) Eee PC 1000H model comes pretty loaded and the newest version packs a 160GB hard drive.  Plenty of punch for my 9-year-old’s surfing and chatting.  The one big drawback to all of these sub-notebooks is the lack of a CD/DVD drive.  My daughter is a movie freak and I know I’ll be burning up my Macbook ripping DVDs until she has a decent catalog of her movies stored.  There’s always the external drive option, but my daughter has a hard enough time keeping up with her power cord, much less a bunch of peripherals.

Dell Studio

If I choose the normal laptop route, it looks like I’ll need to shop the refurb shelves to keep the price in the $500 range.  Dell’s XPS 1330 can be had for around that price and comes with a bigger display, CD/DVD burner and same 160GB hard disk, but the real difference is the processor.  I know battery life will suffer, but the 1330′s 1.66 GHz Core 2 Duo will run circles around the 1.6 GHz Atom plant of the Eee.  I think you could probably run Spore on the Dell quite nicely and that sort of “future proofs” the machine.  Well, as much as you can with any computer.  It’s sort of like buying shoes for a kid who’s feet grow three sizes every year.  I know the Eee is just her size. It will do almost everything she wants to do and the battery will last almost all [school] day. But what about next year?

I’m hoping all the manufacturers will start their holiday specials early.  Sometimes, if you stick to your guns you can buy a real bargain.  Dell has perfected the “bait and switch” technique though, so I’ll have to be careful.  They’ll advertise a $500 box that looks pretty complete and then trade you up to another [higher priced] model or nickel-and-dime you to death with add-ons.  Before you can spit, your $500 machine is closer to $900.  That’s one check mark in the Eee’s favor.  Every place I’v seen the Eee for sale sells just that, the Eee, period.  Dealing with Dell and other on-line retailers is an exercise in saying NO if you want a real bargain.  Even the Dell Outlet web site won’t let you buy a PC without first navigating through several pages of option questions.

All said and done, I don’t know what the hell to do.  Any constructive suggestions would be welcome.  I guess the main reason I’m struggling with this is because I really want to get her a Macbook.  I guess hoping Apple will have a big holiday special is just a pipe dream.  A $1000 Macbook has the same hardware as a $600 Acer with one exception, the Apple logo.  Apple charges what they do because they can.  The company’s market share is growing at a rate other PC makers only dream about and at the expense of everybody else in the game.  I can’t think of a single reason for them to change their pricing except that, if they would my daughter would grow up using a Mac instead of a Windows machine.  I wonder if my quandary is unique?

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Sorry for the absence of the last few days.  The MacNoob household was right in the path of hurricane Ike.  We wound up with two feet of water in the bottom floor of the MacNoob household, but looking at the film from Galveston and High Island (~ 25 miles away) I consider myself lucky that we are all safe.  I just got my first internet connection at my office today.  It’s still down at home, but I feel very fortunate because our power was restored yesterday afternoon.  At last count there are still over 1.2 million customers in Houston without electricity.  Hopefully things will get back to normal soon.  Until then, updates may be spotty at best.

As much as I love my Macbook Pro and use it at the office for almost everything, there’s no way I could consider converting our site to Apple.  As an IT manager, I have come to love the security and reliability OS X represents, but when I think about the logistics of converting our 120 workstation site to Macs, I hit more than one brick wall.

Let’s suppose for a moment that my servers are fine and I wouldn’t need to change a thing for them to work with Macs.  Lets also suppose everyone on-site would love a new Apple computer and would use it without question.  There are still a number of problems Apple has no solution for.

First, Apple doesn’t make a computer suitable for a managed business environment.  For a company with an IT staff, you must provide a workstation that meet these criteria:

• A small to desktop form factor
• A “tool less” chassis with user-replaceable parts
• $1000 maximum cost (w/o display)

Apple has nothing that fits this model.  A Mac Mini is the only machine less than $1000 and it doesn’t even come close to meeting the other two criteria.  An iMac can be had for around a grand and its’ form-factor is OK, but if its’ hard drive fails there’s no way to fix it.  Additionally, an all-in-one form factor marries the display to the CPU, removing even more flexibility from the IT department.  A Mac Pro has user-serviceable parts, but it is huge and there’s no IT manager in the world (who wants to keep their job) willing to pay $2800 for business machines.  Besides, it’s way too much computer for anyone but a graphic artist or a film editor.

Another gaping hole in Apple’s business offering is service.  Enterprises are not going to designate an employee to make appointments with a Genius Bar at their local mall’s Apple store whenever there’s a service issue with a machine.  Dell and HP offer a next business day, on-site service plan at a nominal fee for enterprise customers.  If Apple wants to make even a small dent in the enterprise market shares of these two companies, they must put a much better service model in place.

What Apple needs to do to be a real enterprise player is build something like Psystar is building.  By that I don’t suggest they make a cheap, flimsy computer but rather build a mid-sized, mid-priced machine that meets the above criteria and add a service plan businesses are willing to consider.  This new computer could also be sold to every day consumers as well.  In fact, I’m pretty sure it would be a hit.  Maybe the reason so many people are willing to roll the dice with an unknown like Psystar is because Psystar is filling a huge vacuum created by a hole in Apple’s product line.

When you look at the “Business” section of Apple’s web site, it’s apparent they’re not serious about providing anything close to an enterprise solution.  Apple devotes its’ web space to small businesses like lawyers, doctors and real estate offices.  That’s all well and good, but contrasting Apple with Dell or HP reveals a huge difference in focus. On their sites you see server farms, floors of endless cubicles and service centers with world-class response and distribution networks.  Yes, it may well be smoke and mirrors, but it does, at least, illustrate their intent and focus.

For now, Dell and HP rule the enterprise roost.  Mr. Jobs is certainly aware of what the other guys are doing.  Maybe that type of low-margin, high volume business is something Apple is just not willing to invest in.  I guess the real reason Apple doesn’t put up bigger numbers in the enterprise market is because they just don’t want to.  Yet.

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