MW Jan '09

Yeah, not posting much recently. But my job on top of having our second child in September has really knocked me out. Stayed up late with Jason to catch Apple’s supposed “last” MacWorld conference in January and have been ruminating about Schiller’s presentation.

First, the coverage was fairly broad with all the usual crew sending feeds, along with newcomer gdgt (Ryan Block & Peter Rojas). Unfortunately, their feed bogged down totally about 30 minutes in and never recovered completely. Too bad for them, as they had the best photo shots, IMHO. The other feed we followed was Ryan & Peter’s old blog, Engadget. Their feed updated fairly regularly, though not with autorefresh. The other coverage we were following was MacRumors, which got hacked in the first 15 minutes and the feeds were full of bizarre things, including a claim that Jobs died (not funny) as well as some truly hilarious stuff which had me rolling on the floor. There was a column of ‘desu desu desu“, for example among other things. Some folks felt sorry for MacRumors, but I don’t particularly. Although they do have original content, on slow news days they simply parrot what AppleInsider publishes - often with identical headlines. I’m not saying they deserve the hacking, but it was comical. I don’t know what happened to other feeds.

Second, most folks were expecting actual Mac hardware products, not software, so I think overall people were disappointed. From what I can tell Wall Street was also disappointed as Apple stock went down a buck fifty. Given the real need for an updated MacMini, it’s surprising Apple didn’t do something more. Even the Engadget folks were quipping about how bored they were getting after an hour of iLife / iWork demos.

The only hardware introduced was the new ‘unibody’ 17“ MacBook Pro. Price is the same, but new aluminum enclosure, and option for matte screen (vs. glossy), non-removable battery, higher res screen. Given that this MacBook is not a huge seller, and has features better suited for a desktop - meh. It weighs in at a hefty 6.6 lbs, a decrease in 0.2 lbs. This isn’t as much as I would have expected from this new lightweight enclosure. However the 15” MacBook Pro ‘unibody’ actually gained weight, a tenth of a pound to 5.5 lbs. I can’t understand why Apple needs to make heavy notebook computers when they are already horribly behind on this feature. (Note: the unibody MacBook actually lost weight from its predecessor.) I’m guessing for the new 17“ MBP, most of the weight is in the new battery. Some Mac sites seem to be touting the new tech in this battery. The new tech, however, seems to be that the battery is actually larger than in previous 17” MBPs. Larger battery, longer battery life is what Schiller said. He left out “heavier”. I also found it laughable that Apple was proud its new aircraft carrier deck laptop was the thinnest in its class. Dude, if you are lugging one of these around, its thinness is the least of your worries. And with the extra graphics processor, your gonna need all the power you can get. My guess is that the Japanese market remains unimpressed by stats like this.

Most of the presentation was focused on Apple’s consumer software, iWork and iLife. This puzzled me because I’d always heard we shouldn’t expect Apple hardware announced at the developer conferences. Now we have a software (and not much hardware) focus at MacWorld. I guess this really shows Apple’s disdain for MW or indication that they would release stuff when they want and not when others expect it. Although the flashy features demo’d for iWork and iLife seem impressive, one word permeated my thinking: bloatware. The geotag and integration with GoogleMaps/Earth is nice, but the inflexible paradigm of organizing your photos pisses me off. I still use iLife '06 on my desktop Mac, because it allows me to organize by date in the side bar (best way to organize photos!) and it's enhance function works BETTER than that in '08  for underwater photos. I can rely on tagging  for my events, places, and people. Face recognition sounds good, but apparently isn't good enough to rely on completely.

OK, this is brief, but I finally published it! If MacJournal had allowed me to send the post from the app, I'd have had this up a month ago. Next up, my review of the EyeFi Explorer card.

Hiatus, MWSF, and MBA

Wow! ひさしぶりです！ It's been a LONG time since MWSF and I've not posted jack. 

I just want to quickly run down what I thought of the new Apple stuff at MWSF (OK, it was almost 3 months ago), and why I bought an MBA right away.

- AppleTV Redux: Apple was desperate to boost its flagging sales and give some functionality that users actually need or want. The new software is supposedly a major improvement. For me, I'm not that thrilled. I just am not sure I need a way to move my Mac content to my TV. But then again, we don't have a very large set or watch much more than news, sports, kids shows, and the occasional Japanese drama.

- Time Capsule: As a hard drive, it's rather expensive. But you could justify the extra cost because it serves as a full fledged WiFi-n base station. There is a USB port for printer or another hard drive, as well as 3 Gigabit Ethernet ports. The problem I see is that if you purchase Time Capsule, it's an all in one solution. You are stuck with this hard drive, no matter what. Furthermore, Apple is billing this as the only wireless Time Machine solution. 

Although a recent Airport firmware update finally enabled the ability to use hard drives plugged into your base station with Time Machine - Apple is stating that this feature is unsupported. Perhaps they are doing this to boost Time Capsule sales, which may not be doing very well. I notice on the Apple Store's Time Capsule page, several very poor ratings. This doesn't bode well.

- Google Maps, Mail, and more for iPod Touch: This should have been free. I paid for it, because I needed the Mail app alot, and didn't want to hack my Touch. Shame on Apple for not providing this for free, regardless of the accounting BS allowing them to do so.

- MacBook Air: I saved the best for last. F-f-f-f-finally! Apple makes a lightweight laptop! I will still maintain that they didn't need to add all the bells and whistles to make a lightweight MacBook. However, when comparing it to lightweight Wintel laptops, some that came out in response to the Air, it comes out ahead on the best balance of features. And given many of us don't need a speed demon to take our show on the road, the MBA really suits the bill. I ordered mine the night they were announced, and received it in the second week of February. In my next post, I'll give a comprehensive review of the MBA, complete with unboxing photos.

OK, there were a few other things at MWSF too - like vid rentals. And I'd have to say my prognosticating was pretty good this time around, if you check out my previous post.

SteveNote Game

This is pretty cool.

Jan-07 MacWorld Predictions

I think:

Small MacBook - at a hefty 5+lbs, the current MacBooks are not really portable. Whether Apple overdoes it with a functionally crippled ultralight MacBook or just a thinner, small screen version of the current line - I'm not sure.

Regardless, either would be a welcome move by MacKenchi's standards. (Less than this is not acceptable for us folks in Japan!)

Speed Bump MacBooks - could be the whole current line up, and maybe upgrade the screens of the 17" Pro to backlit.

Monitor Refresh - new versions of the current crop with built in iSight and more ports (USB/FW).

16GB GSM iPhone - no 3G yet.

MacTV 2.0 - BluRay whatever.... Yawn

iPhone/Touch SDK Kit - Announced, but not shipping until at least Feb.

iPhone/Touch firmware 1.1.3 - Watch out modders!

iPhone/Touch Games - Way late, but hey.

iTunes ≥v.7.6 - Vid rental, whatever.

OSX 10.5.2 - Make things like Back to your Mac and Spaces actually useful.

Mac Mini - no change in configuration, but decreased price.

Some of the product upgrades won't be announced at the Keynote, but be discovered as new products on the Apple Store - like before.

FWIW...

AppleTV and iPhone - WOW! But...

Unless you were living in a cave, you know that Apple released details on two products: the AppleTV coming in February and the iPhone, coming to the US in June. 

The Apple TV turns out to be better than I expected, with a hard drive and all sorts of streaming tech for 720p HD video to your TV. At $300, it will be a good value.

The iPhone is... utterly amazing. Simply a work of art and technology. Revolutionary in every way and a dream. Something that, if works as demonstrated, would be great just as an iPod or PDA. Unfortunately the phone network used, GSM isn't available in Japan. It's old tech and frankly should be retired. Furthermore, it's not slated to get to Asia until 2008. I think I've said here before that Apple will have problems getting iPhones into Japan's closed system and through its archaic business negotiation practices. I would guess we'll be lucky to see it in 2 years. Other phone makers will be doing everything they can to block this product. And although Softbank has some promotion with Apple, it's hard to believe they could support these phones better than Docomo or AU. 

So, I've gone from elation to sort of complete deflation. As this amazing device (forget the phone) will likely not be available any time soon.

There was one other announcment, that Apple was changing it's name from "Apple Computer, Inc." to "Apple, Inc.". That was underwhelming.

And there was an unannounced product, a new Airport extreme base station using 802.11n and an AppleTV form factor. $179. Neat! Available in February. Too bad it doesn't have music streaming functions. But you can get that from your AppleTV if you don't have an Airport Extreme.

So - what did this Keynote do for me? Well, I was really impressed by the iPhone, but disappointed in its limited availability. I'm further upset because it's apparent that Apple has no portable computing product that supports my needs. I can't justify hauling around a 5+ lbs laptop. And now that my old G4 is becoming long in the tooth, I'm going to seriously start looking at Windows laptops. WTF is Apple doing with its laptop R&D when unimaginitive companies like ASUS can release small laptops like this. It's really depressing.

Anyway, if you are lucky enough to get your hands on the Apple iPhone this Summer, send us a postcard.

2007 - Expections for MacWorld Expo & Beyond

Mac Faithful are looking forwards to the upcoming MacWorld Expo in 4 days, to see if Apple and Steve Jobs can wow them with more techno-lust magic.

Scads of pundits are already weighing in on what will be announced in the 9 January Keynote by Jobs. So, I figure I'll do the same. I'll start off with what Apple needs to introduce, and then speculate on what Apple will and won't actually introduce.

Needs:

• New iPods - We got a refresh on the Nano and Shuffle lines, but the 5/6G iPod line is in dire need of an overhaul. Screens on the current iPods are a joke - much too small for any real movie enjoyment. A portrait format iPod would really rock, something with a screen the size of a PSP. Give this thing some rudimentary PDA functions and we've got a winner.

• iWork that Works - iWork is incomplete without a spreadsheet, and the other apps in the suite need a boost. Make this product useful for those of us who really do work, with 100% MS Office compatibilty, or get out of the market and give MS reason to truly innovate Mac Office.

• Ultraportable Portable - I thought the whole reason for moving to Intel chips was to enable Apple to make small, lightweight, cool-running laptops. What happened? To be certain, the MacBook Pros are great machines (though they run hot) and the consumer level MacBook is very affordable. However, these things are WAY too heavy when compared to Windoze laptops by Sony, Panasonic and others - particularly the MacBook. FIVE LBS?!! What a joke for a 13" portable. In Japan, MacBooks are displayed without batteries, or consumers will think they are much too heavy compared to what they see across the aisle in the computer store. Yeah, maybe the 'drive everywhere' culture in the US doesn't appreciate this - but those of us who commute to work by bus, train, bike, or foot really need lightweight laptops. There's no excuse for this lapse, given the past success of 12" G4 laptops. We don't care if it's cheap or has nonsense like the hard drive 'roll-bar' or 'Mag-Safe' power cords. Just make it light - under 2 kg. And if Apple won't make one, at least license the OS so I can run it on a Panasonic ToughBook that tops out at 1.2 kg.

• iPhone/MacPhone - This is needed, because it's getting talked to death. Apple is in danger of letting the moment pass by, and not having generated any sales. Do it now, while the interest is there. There are already plenty of decent music phones out there - at least in Japan.

• iPad /MacPDA/Internet Tablet - Yeah, I can buy an iPaq or some other piece of crap that runs Windoze CE or even PalmOS. But I don't want that. I want something that plays nice with my Mac and has an intuitive MODERN interface. We don't need a freaking camera or phone functions - just something usable. Fold this in with an iPod (see above) and you might shock the world.

• OS 10.5 - We don't need it right away, but some time this year after it's truly ready. The current OS, Tiger, already bitch-slaps Vista around - don't worry about Vista. Just make Leopard great. We don't need an overhaul on the AquaInterface (Geez the new iTunes is fugly!), just improve the functionality and make it rock solid. Give us windows that maximize instead of inconsistently 'zooming'. Allow Front Row to work with not only iTunes Radio channels, but a TV/Cable/Video input source (like my EyeTV250). Make it easy to sort Spotlight searches by date (within file type) or otherwise with a click of a button. Make all apps save documents to the same place you opened their previous incarnations (including PDF files). Make Dashboard truly usable, by allowing active widgets on the desktop (ala Amnesty), instead of hidden somewhere.  Make sure Leopard doesn't leave PowerPC Macs behind, by offering full functionality (except for BootCamp). Make Safari as compatible with websites as FireFox is. Simplify and improve fileserver and filesharing functions, so that they can be always accessed with one click. Make iTunes' interface experience match its improved functionality. (Incorporating song lyrics downloads doesn't count!) I could go on.

• Re-Vamped iWeb - Make something that works like SandVox (usually) does, not the stifling, limited mess that iWeb '06 is. Don't make it seem like you have to use .Mac to get the maximum out of iWeb, and improve the interface. Open up the themes architecture (or give us more themes) so that we don't have to spend money on third party offerings.

• Stable iPhoto & iMovie - Improve memory usage issues with these apps so that they don't crash when you are working with large files or photo collections.

• Truly Mighty Mouse - The current Mighty Mouse form factor really blows and is quite archaic compared to the functionality in current offerings from Logitech and Microsoft. Yeah, the wireless version is an improvement - but the damn thing still works like its wired ancestor. I know very few serious Mac users that can tolerate the Mighty Mouse for more than a few weeks. Lose the goofy left/right 'tip-click' for a left and right button and just put two buttons on the damn thing. Make the nipple larger or turn it into a wheel. Do you think the hundreds of other mice on the market look different, because their manufacturers believe they are subpar to the mighty mouse? 

• Greenify Apple - Al Gore sits on your BOD and uses a Mac. You ever listen to him? How about addressing those issues that Greenpeace has brought up, instead of accusing them of being wrong? They have some very valid points, though you may not care about the behavior of your OEMs. Take responsibility and be a leader in Environmental consciousness, instead of a denier/apologist. The fact that Dell is number one on Greenpeace's list (and Apple last) should be shameful to all Mac users. Profit isn't an excuse to utilize materials and OEMs that aren't environmentally friendly.

Reality

In truth, it's unlikely that we will see all of the above things in this week's Keynote or even over the entire year. My guess is what we will see is the following.

• iLife 07 & iWork 07 - Duh! These application suites have been released during the January MacWorld since their inception. Even Amazon.com thinks so.

• Boosted iMacs, MacMinis - These seem to be most likely to get boosts, though it is conceivable the entire line may get speed bumps. Quad Core Mac Pros?!

• Boosted iPods - I can't help but wonder how long Apple can wait to upgrade their large capacity iPods. Look for larger capacity, in the least. The form factor is getting a bit long in the tooth.

• iTV - There was too much noise about this product when it was previewed. It seemed well on the way. Apple probably can't wait much longer on this one. And it's not exactly rocket science to implement.

Reality Check

There are some things I would surmise won't be released (though they may be needed).

• iPad /MacPDA/Internet Tablet - Sadly, I think that Apple is losing its innovative steam. They don't want to put effort into anything that could be regarded as a niche product. Furthermore, the Newton has left a stale aftertaste in their mouths. Don't expect these, unless they are part of an iPod or controller for another product. (The ModTablet doesn't count...)

• iPhone - Given all the attention garnered to this product or potential product - it's a wonder it hasn't been released. Though there is an expectation for it, my guess is that it isn't ready yet or it would have been available at Xmas. And it's not a hardware issue. There could be a licensing quagmire with telecom companies. If you don't believe me, look how long it took to get local versions of the iTunes store in Japan and other countries. And keitai providers aren't going to swallow a simplified payment model or sharing their profits with Apple. So unless Apple has found a way to control the whole shebang, it seems unikely. Unless it's a WiFi phone...

• Ultraportable Mac - Sadly, Apple hasn't show much public interest in replacing the 12" G4 PowerBook in its line up with an Intel equivalent. And I don't see this changing, unless a hit in Japan sales (where small is 'in') is significant. Jobs seems more interested in selling a lot of cheap, heavy MacBooks, rather than a smaller number of lightweight, expensive 12" MacBook Pros. There's been some suggestion that an ultraportable is in the works, but little to support it. Hopefully I'm wrong on this one.

• OSX 10.5 - All indications are that Leopard is not ready for primetime, but could make it in the Spring or Summer. With Apple gearing up to polish 10.4.9, their efforts aren't fully on Leopard yet. And Apple needs to ensure this release is rock solid, to magnify its OS benefits over Windoze Vista.

Well, I've said my piece. We'll see what will happen in a few days. And don't be surprised if something totally unanticipated happens. That's what all of us hope for.

MacTablet Coming 9 January.... Sort of.

This is interesting. There will be a MacTablet announced at the MacWorld Expo. Only, it won't be coming from Apple.

Other World Computing (long-time Mac-centric distributor and reseller) and a company called Axiotron will announce the Axiotron ModBook on January 9th. Although they aren't showing what the unit looks like, the product will be a true tablet with built in handwriting recognition, iSight Camera, CD/DVD combo drive, and GPS (!). It's supposed to be housed in a magnesium alloy shell 'for all terrain use'. OWC will be the exclusive retailer, while Axiotron will make the product.

The Axiotron home page gives a bit more revealing image of this product. Sort of. It also provides more detail absent from the OWC site in their press release. The ModBook uses Wacom's Penabled hardware for pen input with Apple's Inkwell handwriting recognition. (Does that actually work?) There doesn't seem to be any info on what Intel chips will be used, nor any other features, such as hard drives or memory. There is a bit more info on the GPS, and it seems to be an optional feature.

I'm not sure what to say. 

First, it's hard to believe this product will be very compact, given all that's stuffed into it. Or very lightweight, give the magnesium housing. (Why not high impact plastic?!) In fact, the form factor is described as 'condensed' and 'slim'. My fears are a MacBrick crammed into a heavier case...

Second, you have to wonder if it will be all that slick or elegant or functional. Apple generally devotes quite a bit to styling and functionality in their products. One wonders if a small company can do this product justice.

Third, I wonder how Apple will react to the commercial retailing of their products in modified form. Will they stymie it somehow? One could hope that they would squish the ModBook by releasing a real Apple tablet. I sort of remember the MacPortables causing some sort of legal stir a while back, though the details escape me.

Fourth, this would likely be quite expensive, given the hardware and engineering involved. 

I admit I'm attracted to any small form factor Mac. If these guys can pull it off, and it's functional, it could be interesting. 

In the least, it might spur Apple to consider alternative platforms more seriously.

Looks like we will have to wait until 2:30pm on 9 January (California time) to find out.

(Thanks to O'Reilly Mac DevCenter for the scoop.)