Apple's secret weapon: Apple TV 2.0
Steve Jobs announced the Apple TV at Macworld Expo last January and then in May relegated it to a "hobby."
In the Fast Company article All eyes on Apple, Jobs told USA Today that he hopes that Apple TV will be the fourth leg on the Apple chair.
"We've got two strong legs on our chair today," he told USA Today. "We have the Mac business, which is a $10 billion business, and music--our iPod and iTunes business--which is $10 billion. We hope the iPhone is the third leg on our chair, and maybe one day, Apple TV will be the fourth leg."
PowerPage commenter "Dustin" had a great idea in light of the imminent removal of the optical drive from Apple's forthcoming subnotebook.
I think that Apple could remove the optical drive from all computers, and put it in a new Apple TV device as an external accessory. A networkable optical drive (Blu-ray option?) that can also do double duty as an entertainment center device would be pretty cool.
It's a great idea. Beef up the Apple TV with an external optical drive option. Want a SuperDrive? Fine. Prefer Blu-Ray? Ok. Hybrid? Coming soon. An external optical offers the ultimate in flexibility and doesn't cost a cent for people that a) don't want an optical drive or b) have a format preference. It also gives Apple a way to ship the drives are they become available.
My only requests are that Apple make the new external optical drive easily networkable to any Mac with the proper access (ala Leopard sharing) and that they make it bus-powered and able to connect directly to any Mac (via Firewire or USB) for travel and times that you want extra speed.
Apple TV is really the dark horse in the Macworld Expo race but it has the most potential.
Apple is rumored to be close to announcing movie rentals via the iTunes Store and Apple TV is perfect platform. Add a 1TB hard drive and BitTorrent downloading technology and you have the beginnings of a great living room experience. Enable the iPhone and iPod touch as a remote control for Apple TV 2.0 to replace the bogus "gum stick" remote and they'll surely have a hit on their hands.
Some people think that Apple should merge the Mac mini and Apple TV into a single device, but I think that they'll keep them separate for the time being. What about you?