The hits just keep coming: now there's a new Apple Remote

"...and iMacs introduced since 2005 that have a built-in infrared receiver."

The official report indicates compatibility with all Macs introduced post-2005, not just iMacs.

Anyone have a picture of this thing next to the old remote, or something else to get a sense of scale? If it's the same hight of the old remote then it got a ton skinnier, and if it's the same width it got a ton taller.

Anybody tried out "Remote Buddy"? It solves many of the problems you all are complaining about here. It's really nice...a software solution that makes the past remote and (I assume) updated remote more functional w/o adding more buttons.
EXAMPLE:
When in a DVD menu (in FrontRow) you can set it up to hold "up" or "down" to adjust the volume. This same set up works really well in "Hulu Desktop" because "up" and "down" only adjust the volume in the app, not the "system volume". Otherwise, you've got to remember to turn the system volume up before you open "Hulu Desktop"...really a great fix to a huge annoyance.

And who really wants more buttons? For my Mac Mini HTPC setup, I love that it uses a very simple remote because the whole concept boggles most of my extended families minds...but when they use it...it's not hard to navigate at all. Universal remote? No thanks. Universal system? Yes!

EyeTV + Hulu Desktop + Boxee (w/Netflix) + Plex + FrontRow
...and Remote Buddy ties them all together nicely.
No need for a remote besides the basic Apple Remote. (I put our TV remote back in the box long ago.)

I agree this remote is no better than the old one. What about making it compatible with the AppleTV?

And What about adding some desperately needed buttons like On/Off (i.e. On/Standby) etc.

Turning off (ie putting to standby) an AppleTV is a real pain. You must navigate through menus. Yuck.

This thing looks like a bad highschool fanboy mockup. What, did Jonny Ives call in sick?

I'm not sure if I share the "long overdue" sentiment, but one thing would make me agree: they really, REALLY need to add an on-screen interface to the iPhone/iPod Touch when it's in the Universal Dock. If I could aim my remote at the iPhone/Dock, and see my choices in a pseudo-FrontRow interface on the TV, it would totally obviate the need for an AppleTV.

To confuse everyone, that's what the next iPod Shuffle will look like, except the iPod bit will be built into the remote.

And one more thing.... iPod Shuffle/Remote.

Bah. Still too few buttons. It's a bit of a pain how many levels of menus you have to go through in Front Row to do some things. It'd be nice if 'Quit', 'Eject', and a few other things were permanent. And you can't turn the volume up/down if you're at a DVD menu where up/down selects different things on the screen. Etc etc etc. Plus I'd love nothing more than to be able to use one remote to quit Front Row and launch Hulu Desktop. (I've got a 3rd party remote but it has its own issues, plus requires a separate driver, and I just like it when things are built in and perfectly integrated.) Would it have killed Apple to add a couple user-definable buttons? Certainly wouldn't've made it any uglier. :-)

Am I seeing right that it has a D-pad now? That's a nice addition, though it doesn't do anything for the AppleTV...

Yea what's up with no mention of tv? That's horrible news!