News & Views

Well, the new iMacs are out, and they look pretty sweet to me. (My wife might even let me get one! Finally Apple has come back to producing an iMac that has some real value for the dollar.) These machines appear to answer the needs of most mortal people, and are fully Tiger-compliant.

What do I mean when I say Tiger-compliant? There seem to be two things at work here: Tigers CoreImage technology and Quicktime7. For both of those to shine, you need a killer graphics card in your machine. The new operating system technologies are offloading more and more tasks to the graphics card. If yours is not up to snuff, you dont get all the features of these technologies.

For example, a few minutes ago I installed Apples DVD Player update 4.6. I happened to notice as the various installer screens flashed by that the software will install on any G3, G4, or G5 running Tiger, but if you want HD playback (high definition video), a G5 is required.

For those of you who dont keep one eye on Apples product matrix, the Pro desktop machines sport two G5 chips, and the new iMacs sport one G5 chip and the absolutely bare minimum graphics card needed for all the new stuff that Quicktime can do. (See article elsewhere in this issue.) So, if you were the type of person who was going to want HD playback of DVD content, then the Mac mini, the iBook, and the Powerbook would be scratched off your list, because HD playback requires a G5. Ill bet that made your shopping a whole lot easier, huh?

Now, lest you think Im a big bore and you could care less about HD playback, let me share with you this press release:

New York (April 29, 2005) "Forging a groundbreaking partnership with a filmmaker known for his avant-garde vision, 2929 Entertainment through its HDNet Films production arm has inked an agreement with Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh to direct six high-definition films. The company, which partners Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban have steadily built into a vertically integrated venture, intends to mine its diverse holdings in order to produce, distribute and deliver each of the Soderbergh films simultaneously across theatrical, TV and home video platforms. The result will create a new day-and-date paradigm that collapses traditionally staggered release windows and gives consumers a choice, for the first time, regarding how and when they want to see a film. Final deal points were negotiated at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival. Wagner serves on the board of the Tribeca Film Institute."

HD is big stuff. And some people are saying cinema is dead, although that remains to be seen. Apple is at the forefront of this push. For the first time, new movies from a reknowned director will debut not only in theaters, but from Day One be available for viewing in TV and home video platforms. So if youre saying HD is not going to affect you, then guess again. If this is really going to be the year of HD as Apple said it would, then they better get their butts in gear and get the rest of the hardware running G5 chips. If the Mac mini is in fact going to have some role in an Apple home media center, it needs an upgrade NOW.