[ghoti]

I'm tempted to post that whole article here, but I'll just do a little excerpt. Ars makes fun of a Forrester Research paper outlining the next few steps in Apple's fight to dominate the digital home.

There are reasons Forrester Research analysts are not designing products for Apple, and some of those reasons can found in a report entitled: The Future Of Apple Inc. Both the Wall Street Journal and Computerworld have apparently spent $279 to read predictions that can be found on any hardcore RDF message board on the web. The report, subtitled, By 2013, Apple's Product Mix Will Make It A Credible Hub Of The Digital Home, envisions a gadget-driven Apple focused on the consumer lifestyle. [...] There could also be digital picture frames with speakers, and, of course, clock radios that stream music and video.

So get ready for that Apple iWakeUp clock radio at Steve's keynote in a few weeks!

[Kickaha]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Analysts is so funny.

[psmith2.0]

What's funny is that people (people who should friggin' know better by now) still listen to - and hang their hopes on - them.

Once every week or two, AppleInsider or other Mac sites will run a piece about what some analyst from some firm has to say about Apple, their products, future moves, etc. No one ever seems to really bring up that they're...never right. Ever.



MOSR has more credibility and accuracy than these guys.

They'd really be funny if their boneheaded, know-nothing proclamations and "analysis" didn't actually have an effect on stock prices and public perceptions. That's what I hate...that so much "nothing" actually somehow seems to matter, and have a real day-to-day impact.



Maybe a small handful of these guys have a slight clue and some sort of legit insight. But I'm thinking no more than 2-4, tops. The rest? They're throwing darts and engaging in wishful thinking, just like any of us here. Except we don't get paid to fling around such goofy, uninformed bullcrap. We do it for free!

[Kraetos]

Apple rumors (in general, not the site) used to be interesting and fun to follow. Now they just suck. Every analyst with less than half a brain wants to throw their two cents in for a little diggbait.

I suppose it goes hand in hand with Apple's rising popularity. But it still makes me a little sad

[apple007]

Originally Posted by ghoti So get ready for that Apple iWakeUp clock radio at Steve's keynote in a few weeks!

This isn't all that far-fetched (although likely not for 2008): If you can already stream music, pictures, movies, etc., all over your house with Apple products, why not a simple device for the night stand that takes advantage of the capability? It's not like alarm clocks are becoming obsolete.

[Mugge]

Originally Posted by apple007 This isn't all that far-fetched (although likely not for 2008): If you can already stream music, pictures, movies, etc., all over your house with Apple products, why not a simple device for the night stand that takes advantage of the capability? It's not like alarm clocks are becoming obsolete.

My phone has an alarm feature. I'm sure the iPhone doesn't also have this.

Seriously, who uses alarm clocks in this day and age?

[chucker]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Except we don't get paid to fling around such goofy, uninformed bullcrap.

WHAT?

Dammit Brad.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by chucker WHAT? Dammit Brad.

Oh yeah, we had a glitch in the accounting system. I'll get the engineers right on that.

[Kickaha]

Unfortunately, that means everyone pay is docked for wasting all our time on AN.

[Xaqtly]

Originally Posted by Mugge My phone has an alarm feature. I'm sure the iPhone doesn't also have this. Seriously, who uses alarm clocks in this day and age?

I do! I use the same alarm clock my mom gave to me about 25 years ago. However I do use my iPhone as a backup alarm clock.

[Bryson]

Originally Posted by Mugge Seriously, who uses alarm clocks in this day and age?

I love my Sony Dream Machine. Don't you dare try and take it from me!

Bizarre how I don't listen to radio at any other time except before 8am.

[hmurchison]

My clock needs may already be taken care of

http://www.ihomeaudio.com/products.a...7&dept_id=1006




Though my hard earned picture frame business is still up for grabs.

[Kickaha]

I actually use a brass bowl gong clock. No, I'm not joking. It's the nicest way to wake up I've ever found. It chimes at the time set, then 3.5 minutes later, then 2min, then 1, then every few seconds until I get up and shut it off. It doesn't slam me awake, but it definitely wakes me up. I'm usually up by the second gong, where previously I'd sleep through 30 minutes of the radio clock blaring some insipid morning show at me. (It's funny, I bought it for my wife because she wanted a new alarm clock that wasn't so harsh, but I'm the one that totally fell in love with it - she's usually up before the alarm even sounds, while I'm the one who always had problems waking up.)

And the sound is really nice, a pleasant resonant *thongggggggggggggg* that isn't really loud at all. The tone is adjustable based on where you place the bowl in relation to the striker, so ours is actually a bit deeper than that.

OTOH, I do have a Sony radio clock set to jar me awake on full volume as a backup set for 20 min after the gong, so y'know, that's the stick.

When I travel though, I use my crappy little Nokia's alarm clock.

[ghoti]

Sounds nice ... I think I would like being woken up by a thong, too!

But back on topic, somebody on ars compares these ideas to The Sharper Image - and that really hits the nail on the head. Apple isn't the type of company that just slaps its trademark on every product it can get its hands on. An Apple alarm clock won't happen under Jobs, or any decent successor. Perhaps if Icahn decides to go after Apple next, once he's done with Yahoo, but otherwise ...

[apple007]

Originally Posted by ghoti Sounds nice ... I think I would like being woken up by a thong, too! But back on topic, somebody on ars compares these ideas to The Sharper Image - and that really hits the nail on the head. Apple isn't the type of company that just slaps its trademark on every product it can get its hands on. An Apple alarm clock won't happen under Jobs, or any decent successor. Perhaps if Icahn decides to go after Apple next, once he's done with Yahoo, but otherwise ...

But coming from Apple, it wouldn't be *just* an alarm clock .. it would be The Alarm Clock That Changes Everything.

(But really, it wouldn't even have to be marketed as an alarm clock at all. It could simply be a desktop or tabletop device that streams one's pictures, RSS feeds, weather conditions, etc., that *also* has an alarm clock feature. With Apple's whole digital-hub focus and the capabilities the touch screen will bring to so many current and conceptual devices, it makes a lot more sense than people here are giving it.)

[Kickaha]

Originally Posted by apple007 But coming from Apple, it wouldn't be *just* an alarm clock .. it would be The Alarm Clock That Changes Everything. (But really, it wouldn't even have to be marketed as an alarm clock at all. It could simply be a desktop or tabletop device that streams one's pictures, RSS feeds, weather conditions, etc., that *also* has an alarm clock feature. With Apple's whole digital-hub focus and the capabilities the touch screen will bring to so many current and conceptual devices, it makes a lot more sense than people here are giving it.)

Honestly, I'm tempted (if I ever get a jesusPhone) to record the gong with a high quality mic, and use it for a ringtone/alarm sound on the phone.

[ghoti]

Originally Posted by Kickaha And the sound is really nice, a pleasant resonant *thongggggggggggggg* that isn't really loud at all. The tone is adjustable based on where you place the bowl in relation to the striker, so ours is actually a bit deeper than that.

Now that I've listened to it, I'm actually disappointed. I thought it would sound more like the bells at the beginning of AC/DC's Hell's Bells. Would be much more fitting, too!

[Kickaha]

Originally Posted by ghoti Now that I've listened to it, I'm actually disappointed. I thought it would sound more like the bells at the beginning of AC/DC's Hell's Bells. Would be much more fitting, too!

There's just no pleasing you people. PHILISTINES!

[Swox]

If I ever got a cell phone (which, god willing, I never will have to), I'd want the Final Fantasy "Victory Fanfare" as my ringtone. That would be *SO* sweet.

Maybe I should get a cell phone after all...

Oh, yeah, those analysts are idiots. I wish that was my job - I can make shit up too.

[joveblue]

I wouldn't mind trying one of these out!



It uses light rather than sound to wake you up.

[Is it 1981?]

Originally Posted by joveblue

Bedroom Disco mod, coming soon!

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Originally Posted by Is it 1981? Bedroom Disco mod, coming soon!

Hey, if it comes with built-in epileptic check (strobe light), I'm there!

Chalk me up as another alarm clock user, though I'm usually wakened by my 3 year old or my wife's church bell alarm clock before my radio tortures me with Clear Channel programming.

[joveblue]

WHOOO!!

But then you'd need a separate alarm clock to pump out some Fedde Le Grand...