Apple Unveils Mini Mac, iPod Shuffle

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2005-01-13 09:42pm

YT300000 wrote:Ah, the iPod Shuffle dock is meant to pump in power? That makes sense, but it doesn't jive with the second part though, the USB cable extender. There won't be any power coming through that.

Why not?

darthdavid · Post by **darthdavid** » 2005-01-13 10:09pm

Howedar wrote:
YT300000 wrote:Ah, the iPod Shuffle dock is meant to pump in power? That makes sense, but it doesn't jive with the second part though, the USB cable extender. There won't be any power coming through that.
Why not?

Because he doesn't realize that some USB cables get power pumped throug them and some don't. The cable extender is more for people who only have ports on the back of their machine incase they don't want to reach around back there.

YT300000 · Post by **YT300000** » 2005-01-13 10:45pm

darthdavid wrote:
Howedar wrote:
YT300000 wrote:Ah, the iPod Shuffle dock is meant to pump in power? That makes sense, but it doesn't jive with the second part though, the USB cable extender. There won't be any power coming through that.
Why not?
Because he doesn't realize that some USB cables get power pumped throug them and some don't. The cable extender is more for people who only have ports on the back of their machine incase they don't want to reach around back there.

No, I know all of that, its just they're saying that some computers may need the port or an extender. The first one makes sense, but the cable is a little weird. I can see why you would want one, length-wise, but why would your computer need one to link with the iPod?

Maybe its a few too many Nigerian e-mails, but something seems not right here.

darthdavid · Post by **darthdavid** » 2005-01-13 10:55pm

If your computer is in a position where you have to get on your knees to access the back panel (luckily I have front usb ports

) then you might not enjoy the iPod shuffle very much...

YT300000 · Post by **YT300000** » 2005-01-13 11:04pm

darthdavid wrote:If your computer is in a position where you have to get on your knees to access the back panel (luckily I have front usb ports ) then you might not enjoy the iPod shuffle very much...

So the only thing they mean by that is physical accesibility.

I wonder why that warning is on their site in the first place, then.

darthdavid · Post by **darthdavid** » 2005-01-13 11:08pm

YT300000 wrote:
darthdavid wrote:If your computer is in a position where you have to get on your knees to access the back panel (luckily I have front usb ports ) then you might not enjoy the iPod shuffle very much...
So the only thing they mean by that is physical accesibility.

I wonder why that warning is on their site in the first place, then.

So that asstards with crappy comps w/ no front usb ports can't complain to them.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2005-01-13 11:44pm

You need the dock if you are plugging it into a USB port which does not pump enough power through.

You need the extender if you have no easily accessible USB ports.

It's just that simple. No grand conspiracy to give Macs a secret leg up with regards to how the iPod shuffle plugs into the computer.

Shadowhawk · Post by **Shadowhawk** » 2005-01-14 12:03am

Man. I'm about as PC-centric as they come (I hate the Macs at work, although they're all first-or-second generation iMacs and G3s or lower (LC 575s! Ugh! Nothing more recent than OS 9.2), but even I'm considering getting a miniMac. I could sit it on top of my TV and plug the DVI directly into it. It wouldn't work well with my KVM (4-port PS/2 IOGear), but a 47" HDTV and maybe a wireless keyboard/mouse combo would be great.
I'll give it a few months (Probably until the next OS release and maybe a minor upgrade or two) and see what the general concensus is, though.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2005-01-14 12:06am

YT300000 wrote:
darthdavid wrote:If your computer is in a position where you have to get on your knees to access the back panel (luckily I have front usb ports ) then you might not enjoy the iPod shuffle very much...
So the only thing they mean by that is physical accesibility.

I wonder why that warning is on their site in the first place, then.

I've seen USB ports that some dumbass buried in plastic cladding that makes a wide, short object (as the Shuffle appears to be) unable to plug in. In that case even an inch long cable would do it.

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2005-01-14 11:12am

Shadowhawk wrote:Man. I'm about as PC-centric as they come (I hate the Macs at work, although they're all first-or-second generation iMacs and G3s or lower (LC 575s! Ugh! Nothing more recent than OS 9.2), but even I'm considering getting a miniMac. I could sit it on top of my TV and plug the DVI directly into it. It wouldn't work well with my KVM (4-port PS/2 IOGear), but a 47" HDTV and maybe a wireless keyboard/mouse combo would be great.
I'll give it a few months (Probably until the next OS release and maybe a minor upgrade or two) and see what the general concensus is, though.

Well, just to let you know, despite being a Mac fanboy, I think OS 9 is the scum of the earth

I hated Macs until one day I met OS 10.1...
Remember, Apple threw OS 9 completely out the window and started from scratch. OS X is based on FreeBSD and UNIX. OS 9 is not. OS X rules. OS 9 sucks.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2005-01-14 11:22am

As a nitpick, OS X is based on OpenStep. There are components of FreeBSD in it, but the OS runs on the Mach microkernel (again, from OpenStep).

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2005-01-14 11:34am

phongn wrote:As a nitpick, OS X is based on OpenStep. There are components of FreeBSD in it, but the OS runs on the Mach microkernel (again, from OpenStep).

It's more or less a hodgepodge of BSD and NeXTStep under the hood. I don't think there's any one operating system you can say that OS X is "based" on.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2005-01-14 11:42am

AFAIK the BSD layer runs on top of the Mach microkernel.

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2005-01-14 11:19pm

NP, I appreciate nitpicks.

I've learned tons from people's nitpicks