Thanks for the advice, Hex. I'll probably do the same. I had a Mac Mini set up as my primary iTunes machine (I had it underneath my bar with an LCD for a jukebox setup). I've since moved my iTunes serving to my Windows 7 machine upstairs. I'm looking at other options. Needless to say, my sole reason for buying a Mac (actually, I bought several) just went out the window. Stupid move on Apple's part, IMO... Loss of FR support is a BIG DEAL to me. Just because something's not getting headlines doesn't mean that its not important. The reason that we didn't hear much about it is because it "Just Worked."
There are SO many reasons why they shouldn't be killing FR:
1. It's a HUGE differentiator between MacOS and Windows. Think about it: Microsoft STILL doesn't have a proper FR competitor. Media Center is getting close, but it doesn't work NEAR as well with networked computers, in my experience. I bought my first Mac because of Front Row, and I showed it off to all of my friends.
2. All of those fancy (and EXPENSIVE) Apple remotes. Useless now.
3. Apple has two feet in the door when it comes to owning the television set. They already have the store, and they have more flexibility there because of the software framework (though the AppleTV network is crap and doesn't work well, in my experience). They just need to fix AppleTV and come up with a business model that competes. Tom Neumayr (Apple spokesman) is full of it; people don't mind renting TV shows, but they aren't going to do it at $0.99 a pop for TV shows. Netflix/Hulu illustrates a business model that can work. Front Row can do a lot to help them gain in this market. It is very easy to use, and people are already used to the interface.
4. They already have the codebase, so why waste it?
I think that this is a really short-sighted move on Apples's part. I understand the desire to cut costs, but Front Row is more important than they think it is, in my opinion. I hope this is not a sign of things to come...
