As I sat in the consultation of Apple’smedia eventWednesday , enjoying an unbelievable operation by Wynton Marsalis ( who can make a trumpet do things I did n’t believe potential ) and his talented quartet , two thoughts keep going through my psyche .
The first was , “ Man , I love my job . ”
But as someonewho have to play with computers and iPods for a living , I actually find myself enunciate that middling oft . Theuniquethought I had was , “ OK , where ’s the Mac miniskirt , Media Center Edition ? ”
What cue this notional interrogation was Steve Jobs ’ promulgation of Apple ’s new Front Row software program and six - button Apple Remote , both debut on the new iMac G5 . Although the Remote is alsoavailableas a separate product ( to allow you to moderate your iPod via the newUniversal iPod Dock ) , the Front Row / Remote partnership turns the new iMac into a redoubtable “ home media center”—a twist for watching TV and DVD , listening to medicine , and viewing photograph .
In fact , Front Row is home medium done right . ( Or at least as decent as it ’s been done yet . ) If you ’ve ever used a computer runningWindows XP Media Center Edition , you experience that although it in spades make a microcomputer more appropriate for enjoyment in your home base amusement organization and has a routine of utilitarian feature — especially its DVR functionality — it ’s still klunky and , well , not that fun to use . Front Row , on the other hand , is the iPodification of the conception : It may not have every feature of speech you might dream up , but it has most of the unity you need and it allow for them via an elegant and easy - to - use port .
To use Front Row , you simply press the Menu push button on the Remote ; your computer screen switches smoothly to the Front Row CRT screen , which display iTunes , iPhoto , iMovie , and DVD icon . You apply the left or veracious key to choose a mode and then iron the period of play cay to enrol that mode . Every musical mode works similarly , with an iPod - like menu system that lets you browse playlists of euphony , record album of photos , folders of flick , or a DVD ’s menus , respectively . When you ’re done , you exit Front Row and you ’re back to Mac OS X. This is the right “ home media ” interface I ’ve seen . full point . ( And by “ ripe , ” I signify one that anyone in my kin could sit down and use without reading a manual and without feeling overwhelmed by menus , button , and obscure scene and dialogs . )
What ’s Front Row missing ? TiVo - similar features for watch over and recording unrecorded telly . However , these would demand extra hardware ( a TV radio ) so I ’m willing to look across them for now . As popular as TiVo and like DVR gimmick are , they ’re still a prospicient agency from being as pervasive as DVD players and VCRs — far more multitude use their television receiver for watching DVD and have digital photograph photos and music . I ’ll palpate other than in a few long time , I ’m indisputable , but for now , a twist bunk Front Row would be a welcome accession to many homes .
So what ’s the problem ? The compelling Front Row / Remote combination is presently available only with the iMac G5 . A unadulterated addition to a chamber or office , but the available 17 - column inch and 20 - inch concealment are n’t bountiful enough for most serious entertainment arrangement . And who wants to put an iMac G5 next to their TV ?
But take a Mac mini , include the Front Row software ; an IR sensor for the Remote ; an optical sound output for tie in to your home theater system ; and an S - Video output for connecting to your TV ( in instance your TV wo n’t take DVI ) , and you ’ve got a thickset , easy to utilize “ home mass medium center”—the first one I intend people would buy en masse . Unlike Windows MCE , it would flirt the music and video download from the iTunes Music Store — you make out , the one with 84 percent of the grocery store . And add together a keyboard and mouse ( such as Belkin’sMediaPilot ) and it also just so happens to be a full - blown computer running Mac OS X. Nowthat’ssomething I ’d care to have in my family room . I ’d corrupt one in a New York minute ; in fact , I ’d probably buy two .
Do n’t get me haywire : The young iMac with Front Row and Apple Remote is a nerveless computer — the first iMac I ’ve in reality considered buying myself . But hopefully it ’s just a precursor : a way to introduce people to theideaof a good home media interface before Apple releases the true Orcinus orca medium production .
