m2cw - my 2 cents worth

well, after well over a year, i’m trying again to predict what’s going to be announced on tuesday (remember, i have a pretty good track record… ;-))

anyway, once again putting 1 and 1 together i get:

1. updated appletv: i’m not sure i buy into the blue-ray rumors but i think jobs will open up appletv (with an SDK - as it is planned for the iphone). now eyetv 3 (rumored today) points into a somewhat interesting direction. an open appletv would make it possible to use the USB connector with interesting add-ons (video conferencing, PVR etc.). this way, apple would not get in the way of their relationship with the studios but at the same time make the appletv a much more interesting device (think add-ons market of the ipod!). i think other upgrades (e.g. storage, wireless keyboard input etc.) are a given in some way

2. SDK for iphone: given

3. “something’s in the air”: now that’s interesting. i think apple might pull a product out of their hat without any wires, incl. power. that would be innovative. it could also mean wireless sync for iphone/ipod touch.

4. 3g iphone: almost a given (but i’m not sure if they announce it way before they will/can ship it). probability: >50%

5. subnotebook: i’m not so sure. i think that’s more wishful thinking than anything else by the rumor-mongers. tablets did not work (except for a niche group of people). knowing jobs and ive (well, not personally but you know…) if they do something like this it’s gotta be with an “awe” factor. it’s either a large display (10-12″) without a keyboard (and the possibility of using a wireless keyboard) or it’s what the patent says: a dockable macbook (into a larger screen) - so here i’m not sure what to expect really… - i really would not have use for a subnotebook. with the iphone my computer is in my pocket anyway and with an SDK this will even improve further. so who would buy a subnotebook. making the macbook lighter and thinner isn’t really a subnotebook, it’s a lighter and thinner macbook. so, if there some truth to the rumors, we’ll probably once again be blown away…

6. wishes: using apple’s wireless keyboard for the iphone;

now let’s wait and see what steve jobs has up his sleeves…

food for thought and discussion: if the apple tv is nothing but a stationary ipod (which basically steve jobs said during his keynote), then i wonder where the dock connector is.

well, you might say, it doesn’t need one as it is always connected. correct, i respond, but the ipod’s dock connector is not only used for syncing and connecting it to your computer is primarily used by heards of people to connect the ipod to a myriad of third party tools/gadgets etc.

at the same time the apple tv has a USB interface nobody really understands so far.

so here’s a thought: has anybody ever considered that this usb interface could be a “dock connector” in disguise? if so, it would mean that third party devices could be connected to the apple tv!

just a couple of ideas spring to mind: DVR (digital video recorder), direct camera connection, video conferencing system, karaoke systems (not my favorite), stream music to other stereos in the house, etc. etc. etc.

now that would be COOL! (and i think that’s what it is…)

(remember: my track record with predicting these kind of things hasn’t been all that bad… ;-))

this wordpress tutorial saved my life…

i’m trying to predict the future again… (here is the note to my first, very successful, attempt)

at this first attempt i already predicted that apple would sell movies through itunes. well, i was wrong for a little over 12 months because it is already almost a given that steve jobs is going to reveal movie downloads on the special event this tuesday, sept. 12, dubbed “it’s showtime”. rumour has it that it’s only movies from disney. for some reason i just can’t believe that. so my prediction: movies from at least 2 (if not 3) major studios.

now for prediction number 2: here i’m putting one and one together. first: you need an easy way and relaxing way to enjoy those movies. you can surely watch them on your ipod and your tv using your ipod BUT first of all not everyone has an ipod and secondly ever since the introduction of “front row” in january this year, apple has started to make the living room experience much better. now the rumor is that there will be a video enabled airport express. i think that this is right on the money.

why? because elgato doesn’t sell it’s eyehome any more. i found out today that elgato does not list it’s eyehome on their homepage anymore (only on the support pages). eyehome, for those who don’t know, was a product to “stream” videos (but also music and photos and webpages) to your tv (either via wifi or wired). i used to have an eyehome but just a couple of weeks ago it stopped working (don’t know why).

now why is elgato a good proxy? because they have been very good in updating their products and eyehome was nowhere near perfect and they haven’t changed it in a while and now they even delisted it. so i think: they know that apple is coming out with a product similar to the eyehome. so they concentrated on producing tv recording products (which they did in breath-taking speed) and let the eyehome slip without a lot of noice.

just my two cents…

as for a new ipod: i’m not convinced it will happen. yes, bigger hard drive etc. but feature-wise, nothing new. this will all come further down the line with the iphone…

mind you: i have no relation with apple (as much as i would like to) and these predictions are mere brain farts and withful thinking…

here is a short tutorial on how to set up a jabber server using the unix build for wildfire:

1. download the .tar.gz unix build from wildfire
2. unzip it and move it to the desktop, if it isn’t already there
3. go to the terminal and type:

cd desktop
sudo mv wildfire /usr/bin/

and type in your password
4. then go to /usr/bin/wildfire and start the readme.html
5. in your browser click on the “documentation” link and then “installation guide” (as you can see, we have already done the first linux/unix steps, so skip those)
6. click on database and follow the instructions (btw, i decided to go with the internal database option as i did not want to fiddle around with my mysql database)
7. go back to the installation guide and click on “running wildfire under linux/unix” and follow the instructions there (if you want to start the jabber server as a service, do NOT follow the instructions provided but just read on…)
8. if everything worked out you will now be able to access the admin console by following http://127.0.0.1:9090/ - enter the appropriate things and off you go…

that’s it - sweet and simple!

for those of you who do not want to start the server by hand each time, here is how you can do so at startup using lingon, a launchd editor:

using lingon’s assistant enter the following:
page 1: “run job at startup”
page 2: give it any label you want and UNcheck the log in checkbox
page 3: enter the following command: /usr/bin/wildfire/bin/wildfire start

the result is put under “user agents” in lingon and will start the server immediately upon load.

PS: here are two pages from the wildfire forum which might be helpful, especially if you have troubles with java:
some more mac os x build & java details
autostart