FOR WANT OF A NAIL...
Well, the third next most anticipated Apple product after the iPhone and Leopard, the next major version of OS X, is finally shipping and available in Apple stores.
And guess what? Walt likes it. The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg gives Apple TV a thumbs up, saying:
"In our tests, Apple TV is a pleasure to use. Setup was stunningly simple. We just plugged the unit in and hooked it up to the TV with a single cable (not included).
The unit found and connected with Walt's Wi-Fi network almost instantly. To link to each computer, we just typed into iTunes on that computer a five-digit code number the Apple TV put up on the TV screen. This needs to be done only once."
I've been in line with an online order for months, and finally received word from Apple that my unit has been shipped. Look forward to installing it when I get back from a current trip.
But there'll be a minor delay in the installation when I do get to open the Apple TV box.
Why?
Well, it's the one thing that Walt mentions in the review. The cable necessary to connect the thing to the TV is not included. And given that there are a variety of complicated choices (HDMI, component, etc.). As David Pogue of the New York Times observes in his review of the Apple TV:
"Apple TV doesn’t come with any cables. You’re supposed to supply the one your TV requires (HDMI, component video or HDMI-to-DVI adapter). They cost $20 at Apple’s online store."
So it's one thing I need to research. Which one do I need? How do I install it? Then, go to an electronics store and get it.
If only Apple had shipped the most common cable most people would need, a simple component cable. This is particularly true since there's not much you can view in all it's HDTV glory just yet, as David Pogue goes on to explain:
"Furthermore, it’s a little weird that menus and photos appear in spectacular high-definition, but not TV shows and movies. All iTunes videos are in standard definition, and don’t look so hot on an HDTV."
So, a simple component cable would have made the product more convenient to get started with for most people.
It's kind of like how the first iPods shipped with all the cables and cradles folks needed when getting used to a whole new kind of gizmo, to do a whole new kind of thing.
It's only later, when tens of millions of customers had been trained, that they took out some of the cables and cradles and made them "optional" accessories.
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