MacRumors

BusinessWeek is reporting on research firm iSuppli's analysis of how much it is costing Apple to assemble the Apple TV.

According to the report, Apple's margins on the product appear to be uncharacteristically slim from a consumer electronics product. While Apple is used to margins in excess of 50% on such products, iSuppli estimates the 40 GB Apple TV's bill of materials at $237, leaving a margin of $62 (approximately 20%). The newly released 160 GB version of the Apple TV is estimated to have a better margin at 30%.

Of all component suppliers, Intel stands to make the most off the Apple TV. The Intel under-clocked Pentium M is the most expensive component at $40. Intel also supplies a chipset valued at $28, bringing Intel's material share to 28% of the total bill of materials.

iSuppli's numbers do not account for research and development or marketing costs, and actual material costs may vary depending on special deals Apple may have acquired.

Today, Apple delivered LED backlit displays to the 15" MacBook Pro. Apple's plan to use LED displays was revealed in May.

Gizmodo was able to get some answers from Apple about the new LED displays:

- The 15" LED MacBook Pros extends battery life 30-60 minutes when compared to the older MacBook Pros. This includes battery savings from the LED itself as well as the new Santa Rosa chipset.
- Instantly at full brightness, no warm-up necessary, unlike traditional LCDs.
- Same brightness and color range as previous screens.
- Only 15" LED displays currently available, so 17" LEDs will come later.

Our MacBook Pro forums are abuzz with early photos, comments and reactions to the latest MacBook Pro.

Apple's recently upgraded MacBook Pro lineup features many new or upgraded features, but one feature many expected that is not present is Intel's TurboMemory (aka Robson NAND Flash Caching).

For review, Intel's TurboMemory is a technology that embeds flash memory onto a motherboard to allow for theoretically twice as fast boot times and speed improvements to frequently used files/applications as well as increased battery life.

However, TurboMemory's effectiveness has come into doubt recently, with benchmarks showing little to no performance improvement (1, 2). As such, HP today announced that it will not be including the technology on any of its Centrino Pro notebooks. From ZDNet:

Steve Doddridge, senior notebook technology consultant for HP Personal Systems Group for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), added: "We looked at the baseline system performance of a standard system (with 1GB of RAM) without any Robson or ReadyBoost type of technology added, and we then compared that to the same system with Robson, and the same system but just with an (equivalently sized) SD card or USB stick."
[...]
The greatest improvement came as a result of adding more actual RAM to the system. "We added 1GB of RAM and saw a much higher improvement in performance compared to using any of the ReadyBoost or Robson technology," Doddridge said. He added that: "If you have enough system RAM in the system already, ReadyBoost doesn't give you a lot."

One of the key upgrades today was a boost to 2GB of RAM standard across the MacBook Pro line.

While it is premature to categorically say that Apple is not going to use TurboMemory in any of its machines, the speculation that had surrounded Apple's use of the technology may be less grounded then initially thought.

AT&T is reportedly optimizing its EDGE network ahead of the iPhone, according to Gizmodo.

EDGE is slow, but at least at AT&T, the implementation isn't limited by the protocol itself. Rather, the limiting factor is, according to our source, the data backend and the way the towers are configured to allocate bandwidth to data and calls. And according to an internal doc, they're dropping in more T-1s in their poorest performing towers, hoping to get that paltry 40kbps performance to a new minimum of 80kpbs. (EDGE's real world max is about 200kbps.)

The iPhone can perform web browsing from either EDGE networks or faster 802.11g WiFi networks when in range.

While 3G capabilities can be expected in future models, the tuning of AT&T's EDGE network looks to maximize the user experience for early adopters.

Today, Apple has introduced (Press Release) the new MacBook Pros as expected.

With Intel Core 2 Duo performance, more memory and state-of-the-art graphics, this MacBook Pro is a portable powerhouse for creative and professional users," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Apple's notebooks have always led the industry in innovation with features like built-in 802.11 and the MagSafe Power Adapter, and now the industry's first 15-inch LED-backlit display is another step toward completely eliminating mercury from our displays."

The new MacBook Pros utilize the Santa Rosa chipset and come in the following configurations:

- $1999. 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo. 2GB RAM, 120GB HD, 15" LED. GeForce 8600M GT 128MB
- $2499. 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo. 2GB RAM, 160GB HD, 15" LED. GeForce 8600M GT 256MB
- $2799. 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo. 2GB RAM, 160GB HD, 17". GeForce 8600M GT 256MB

The 15-inch model uses a new LED display, while the 17-inch model now offers a new optional 1920-by-1200 high-resolution display.

The new MacBook Pros are available through the Apple Store (UK Store)

Visit our MacBook Pro forums to discuss the new MacBook Pro. Screenshots and Benchmarks and more first hand accounts.

With updates likely only hours away, a few final tidbits prior to the launch...

The iTunes Store reveals an image promoting the expected Back to School Promo:

The promo which launches on Tuesday, allows college students to get a free iPod Nano with any Mac purchase (excluding the Mac mini). Students may opt to take a $199 credit against a more expensive iPod if desired. Unfortunately the iPhone seems to be excluded from this promo.

Some Page 2 MacBook Pro specs were posted earlier, pointing towards 2.2GHz / 2.4GHz MacBook Pro updates with GeForce 8600M GT video. Appleinsider has updated with comparable specs of the rumored 15" notebooks.

Update: Apple Store is down.

Engadget reveals some early marketing material for a new Dell notebook which carries a familiar and appealing set of specs:

- 13.3-inch screen, configurable with LED backlight
- Core 2 Duo processor (up to 2.4GHz)
- Santa Rosa chipset (965PM/GM)
- Slot-loading dual-layer DVDRW drive!
- Optional NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS / 128MB
- Ethernet, 802.11a, a/g, or n options, Bluetooth option
- Dimensions with LED 12.5 x 9.4 x 0.87 - 1.33-inches (318 x 238 x 22.1 - 33.8mm)
- Weight starts at 4 pounds

Pricing and availability are not given. This new Dell "ultraportable" carries an internal design that many have been hoping for from a new Apple MacBook Pro. Indeed, there have been rumors that Apple would be incorporating the Santa Rosa chipset and LED backlit displays into their own "ultraportable" design.

Apple is expected to release new MacBook Pros in the morning (Tues, June 5th), but whether or not they will represent more than just a minor bump remains unknown.

The New York Times reports on the upcoming iPhone. They mention Steve Jobs' comments last week that 3rd party application development for the iPhone was in the works, but also cites sources that Apple will be unveiling a method for developers to port Mac apps to the iPhone:

A person briefed on Apples plans said that at its software developer conference this month, Apple intends to announce that it will make it possible for developers of small programs written for the Macintosh to easily convert them to run on the iPhone.

Apple's developer conference (WWDC) kicks off next week on June 11th with a keynote speech. We will be providing live coverage at MacRumorsLive.com.

Apple and AT&T advertised tonight on television that the iPhone will be available starting on June 29th, 2007. The advertisement demonstrates the various functions of the iPhone.

While we have a Youtube video capture thanks to Aperture, Apple has now posted official full quality versions of the ads:

Update: There are 3 iPhone ads, now posted on Apple.com.

Some observations about the ads from Baron58

Logo on the phone is 'AT&T' not 'at&t'
Date (on iPhone) is 3 June (today), nice touch
Time (on iPhone) is 9:42 all the way through on all three ads. Faked for consistency, obviously.
Icons on the main screen are in a different order than in the older pictures.
The 'Web' button/icon at the bottom of the screen has been renamed to 'Safari', presumably to build brand awareness and make it easier for people when they see references to 'Safari' on websites (for compatibility, say).
2 year contract required, no other details (i.e., no separate statement about voice vs. data service)

Following the discovery that Apple was embedding iTunes account information in iTunes Plus songs, Erica Sadun at O'Reilly speculates that Apple may be using Steganography within the AAC portion of iTunes Plus tracks.

The conclusion came after purchasing the same iTunes Plus song from the iTunes Store using two accounts. After having stripped the files of their meta data (where iTunes would store account information, and any extraneous information), she compared the files and found 774 bytes (out of 6.7 MB) were different in the AAC data itself. Her conclusion: "Clearly some sort of fingerprinting/steganography is going on in the data itself."

The EFF has apparently also begun investigating the issue, although they do not indicate how far they will pursue the issue.

Most forum users appear to not be dissuaded by the revelations, and appear to accepting the move as a compromise allowing music companies to have some recourse against those who illegally share music, but opening the DRM restrictions for legitimate users.

Of note, Apple does not indicate that it uses such technology in its iTunes Terms of Service.

Steganography (from Wikipedia): "the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no one apart from the intended recipient knows of the existence of the message." Different from cryptography in that the existence of the message itself is not disguised, but the content is obscured.

Update: After an independent MacRumors investigation, it does not appear that watermarking is taking place in the AAC data itself, and it may be presumptuous to claim that steganography is taking place. A recount of our investigation is posted here.

A forum post suggests the differences seen in the files are simply a result of differences in modification dates embedded in the files, rather than any sort of embedded identifying information.

A patent application unveiled yesterday (#20070123207) indicates that Apple is working to help Cingular AT&T Wireless remain the carrier with the "least" dropped calls.

The patent application describes a method of determining whether an attached accessory would interfere with the wireless communication of a handheld device (i.e. an iPhone).

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a wireless handheld device includes one or more antennas and a connector configured to couple with one or more external accessories. The handheld device further includes an accessory detector coupled to the connector and configured to detect whether an external accessory coupled to the connector may interfere with wireless communication with the handheld device.

Apple says that the device may alert the user (via audio or visual message), or may try to rectify the situation by tuning the handheld's RF frequency.

Earlier this week, Apple announced that YouTube.com videos would become available on the Apple TV after a software update that will be made available in June.

iLounge spoke with Apple's Vice President of Worldwide Mac Hardware Marketing, David Moody, who provided more details about this upgrade.

According to Moody, not all of the Youtube catalog will be available on day one. Instead, "thousands of videos designed for Apple TV" will be available at launch, but that the remainder will become available by the fall. The reason for the delay is that Youtube will be encoding all of their videos into a "H.264 streaming-efficient compression format" specifically for the Apple TV. All of Youtube's videos are currently encoded in Flash Video (FLV) format.

While no official reason is given for the mass transcoding of Youtube's entire catalog, Macformat.co.uk believes it has to do with the iPhone.

As far as I know even now, Flash content per se might not play on the iPhone from day one. But Apple clearly doesn't indeed, shouldn't care, as YouTube is for many people the most critical site that uses Flash.

Indeed, both the iPod and iPhone can play H.264 encoded video, and so it seems the entire Youtube catalog may also become available to those devices later this year.

Updated: In an early iPhone FAQ, Jobs described this exact scenario:

Markoff: Flash?
Jobs: Well, you might see that.
Markoff: What about YouTube
Jobs: Yeah, YouTubeof course. But you dont need to have Flash to show YouTube. All you need to do is deal with YouTube. And plus, we could get em to up their video resolution at the same time, by using h.264 instead of the old codec.

Reliable sources indicate that Apple has released new builds of Mac OS 10.4.10 for testing. The build versions are reported as 8R208 for PowerPC and 8R2208 for Intel.

Areas of change include fixes involving Image RAW, WebCore JavaScript, and ImageCapture. Previous seeds had also addressed issues with mds and network home directories, and an issue with BSD.

MacRumors first posted that Mac OS 10.4 "Tiger" would receive another minor update on May 17th, with the first seed (8R205 PPC / 8R2205 Intel) showing up a day later.Update: Developer builds 8R2210 (Intel) and 8R210 (PowerPC) have new graphics drivers and a framework for Yahoo synchronization, likely added for the iPhone's integration with Yahoo! services.

While we had heard convincing reports that the MacBook Pro updates would have to wait until WWDC (June 11th), a few new reports have started trickling in that the MacBook Pro could see updates as soon as this Tuesday (June 5th).

Mac4ever.com (French) posts the following from a reseller (roughly translated):

There's some news. We've just ordered the new MBP ! Launch expected for next tuesday... But Apple didnt't say anything about the specifications. We have to order blind-eyed... If i've got some other news, i'll keep you informed.

This information alone would not necessarily be convincing, as resellers tend not to have much lead time on new products... but a few other tidbits we've heard leads us believe that this could be legitimate.

Sources are unclear if this will be the LED / Santa Rosa updates that users have been hoping for, and some sources still insist we will have to wait until WWDC for the new MacBook Pro.

Update: There is some speculation that Apple may be releasing MacBook Pros next week rather than at WWDC to coincide with their Educational Back to School Program which launches next week. (If Apple waited until WWDC, the MacBook Pro specs would change a week into the Back to School promotion.)

Engadget claims that AT&T is working on plans to offer IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) through the Apple TV:

A well-connected source tells us that AT&T and Apple are working on adding IPTV capabilities to the Apple TV beginning sometime next year. (A launch window hasn't yet been determined, our source says that plans are still being worked out.)

Few details are available, but AT&T does offer a form of IPTV with its limited U-Verse service now. Whether this represents full TV programming through the Apple TV, or simply on-demand programming, remains unclear.

Apple did recently announce added functionality to the Apple TV, in the form of YouTube video support to be launched in June.

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates shared the stage at the All Things Digital conference with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher.

Soon the great Silicon Valley soap opera will come full circle. Not since Apple CEO Steve Jobs famously interviewed Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates as a possible suitor during the Macintosh Dating Game back in 1984 have the two men appeared in a joint bill. And in a few moments, the two will share a stage tonight for the first time in more than 20 years for what promises to be a historic discussion.

Live transcripts are available at the following sites:

All Things Digital
Engadget
Macworld
Gizmodo

Video

Macintosh Software Dating Game Video - Bill Gates and Steve Jobs in 1983
Jobs and Gates - Part 1/7 - much more enjoyable to watch than the transcript.
Jobs and Gates - Part 2/7
Jobs and Gates - Part 3/7
Jobs and Gates - Part 4/7
Jobs and Gates - Part 5/7
Jobs and Gates - Part 6/7
Jobs and Gates - Part 7/7

Summary / Highlights

"In a certain sense we build the products we want to use ourselves. [Steve Jobs'] really pursued that with an incredible taste and elegance and had a huge impact on the industry. Apple literally was failing when Steve went back and reinfused innovation and risk-taking that have been phenomenal. So the industry has benefitted immensely from his work. I'd say he's contributed as much as anyone," said Gates. - Macworld
"Kara: Are you competitors? I have to admit, I really like PC guy. Steve: The art of those commercials isn't to be mean, it's for those guys to like each other. PC guy is great. PC guy is what makes it work! Big laughs." - Engadget
Apple's goal is much more modest than world domination, said Jobs. "We don't think we're going to have 80 percent of the market," he said, doubtlessly disappointing legions of Mac enthusiasts. "We're happy when our market share goes up a point." - Macworld
"Walt wants them to estimate the core functions of the cellphone-like user device in five years. Gates believes ultimately you won't ever want to edit things on your small device... talking about flexible and rollable displays. Steve: the art of devices is the editing function, what's on it and what's not on it. But it will primarily be a communications device." - Engadget
Walt: .Mac... you guys didn't really develop it. Steve: I couldn't agree more, and we'll make up for lost time in the near future. - Engadget

Steve Jobs also took the stage earlier today. Video and transcript of that talk is now available.