Audio Video News

On Tuesday Apple introduced the iPod Hi-Fi and two new Intel-based Mac Mini computers, each orders of magnitude faster than their predecessors. Of course, the iPod Hi-Fi stole the headlines, but it was one of Mac Mini's new features, Front Row with Bonjour, that offered the best and clearest glimpse of what an Apple-powered digital living room might look and feel like.

If you've been reading the UAV News Desk for the last few months, you’ve observed the computer industry aligning its troops on the borders of your living room. Intel and Microsoft aligned with HD DVD because they believe that format best fits their vision for sharing next-gen media over their home networks; Cisco Systems purchased set-top box manufacturer Scientific Atlanta, and then partnered with Intel to revive MovieBeam; and Intel's announced plans for Viiv-based entertainment PCs that will offer advanced DVR-like features in the same box with photo sharing, online gaming, and shared movies and music. And Apple's first response is in the Front Row, with Bonjour.

Like the friendly name suggests, Bonjour allows computers and other devices on a network to give each other a quick hello and communicate. Even Windows-based PCs can be recognized and share files quickly and easily with no setup and configuration required. True plug and play, but that's not half of it. With a Mac Mini running Front Row and its impishly small, six-button remote control a user can share music, photos, or video from any computer on the network (Mac or PC) running iPhoto and/or iTunes.

Front Row has as clean and effortless an interface as you'd expect from Apple. The iconography, and everything about it is completely familiar to anyone who's used iPhoto or iTunes already- and according to Apple that last group includes at least 42 million iPod buyers already, and still counting! During the keynote introduction, Apple's Steve Jobs used a Mac Mini to stream shared files from a coworker's MacBook Pro over a wireless network. He was able to find a quickly play a photo slideshow, a song, and even an episode of Desperate Housewives!

The Mac Mini has a DVI output and analog and digital audio outputs as well, which means instead of being confined to your office and your computer monitor it could just as easily be connected to your HDTV and home theater system, grabbing files from any computer in the house. There's no DVR option yet, but the iTunes store already sells music videos, TV shows and animation shorts from Pixar. And, while the iTunes store is currently selling only TV shows and shorts, Front Row already has a button for "Shared Movies." Oh, and have you heard that when Disney "bought" Pixar, Steve Jobs became Disney's largest shareholder and now has a rather nice seat on the board of directors?

This might seem a modest beginning , but Jobs reminded everyone at the press event that while it took McDonald's eight years to peddle a billion burgers, the iTunes Store only needed three years to sell a billion songs!

The Mac Mini starts at $599 for the Intel Core Solo model, and goes up to $799 for the Intel Duo Core dual-processor model. Both Mac Mini options and all iMac computers ship with Front Row.