New Mac Stuff - No Ultraportable Again :-(

Well, last Tuesday, you probably all know, Apple had a press event and released all kinds of goodies. I somehow stayed awake for most of the blog feeds, despite lengthy feature demos with little or no running commentary. MacNN and Engadget had the best live feeds, with Engadget's photos giving it the crown. MacNN's started well and updated more frequently initially, but it pooped out halfway and had to be manually refreshed at one point. For whatever reason, MacRumors didn't do a live blog this time. I'll review what was announced, and give you my take:

1. New iMacs

The good - Thinner screens, new keyboards, more ecofriendly glass front and aluminum covers, new slim keyboards, same price.

The bad - No info on whether these use less electricity, wireless versions of keyboards are MORE EXPENSIVE ($79 vs $49) and smaller because they LACK A NUMBER PAD. WTF. The 17" iMac is now gone (bad for some folks), and the new low end iMac is more expensive. Also, I read on TUAW that the Apple remote no longer clings to the side of the iMac.

The ugly - I'm sorry, but the new black border around the screen is butt-ugly. It makes the screen appear smaller for some reason. Plus, these iMacs still retain the wasted space below the screen with the Apple logo, whose only purpose seems to be for the attachment of postit notes.

2. iLife 08

The good - Highly anticipated update to the package, enhanced .Mac integration (along with .Mac giving you a whole 10GB now) enhanced iWeb features, completely revamped iMovie that is much more user friendly, improved iPhoto.

The bad - New iMovie lacks much of the advanced features of iMovie HD 06. It is so late in coming that the package has to be renamed '08 instead of '07.

The ugly - They are still trying to use iLife to justify the existence of .Mac.

3. iWork 08

The good -  Pages gets reworked and becomes more modular to separate word processing from page layouts, NEW NUMBERS spreadsheet (!!!) actually justifies the 'work' part of the application name, can import the new Windoze Office 07 .docx and other lame MS formats, improved Keynote, still very affordable at $79, smaller install size than iWork 06.

The bad - Numbers has problems importing many Excel files, in part because it lacks a third of Excel's advanced functions, no HTML export from any of the iWork apps.

The ugly - Not confirmed, but the delay of the new version of MS Office for Mac announced a few days prior is suspicious. It begs the question of whether MS will ever finish development of it.

4. .Mac

The good -  More space (10x more at 10Gb), better interaction and more functions with iLife.

The bad - 10Gb is still very small and free services give you a better value.

The ugly - not enough of a refresh for the service, still too tied to iLife for my tastes.

5. New MacMinis

The good - kept the same price points but bumped up the processors to 1.83 and 2.0 Ghz Core 2 Duo, plus bumped up base RAM to 1 Gb (woohoo!), sticks it in the face of those morons anticipating the Mini's demise.

The bad - kept the same enclosure, while a nice form factor it is a bitch to open.

The ugly - Steve didn't have the balls to mention this during the actual presentation, only during the Q&A session after. Lame Steve, lame.

6. Overall Presentation

The good - Apple hasn't forgotten its Mac side and seems to be continuing development of new technologies and style.

The bad - the emphasis on integration with the iPhone is pathetic, given it's only available in the US and will only be available there for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, not everyone wants a freaking iPhone. Steve perpetuates sales problems in Japan (it's bad here again), by not giving us a freaking real portable MacBook. FIVE POUNDS doesn't cut it here, Steve!

The ugly - The continued lack of a replacement for the 12" PowerBook is pathetic. The "rest of us" here in the world's second biggest consumer market deserve better.  

iPhone Stupidity

Although I suppose we should be happy that sites like Engadget and TUAW are giving iPhone free feeds... The shit they do cover is really pathetic.

Who 

Gives

A 

Rat's

Ass

About...

the stupid crap going on in the lines for the iPhones!!!

Absolute nonsense. Why hype this crap any more than it needs to be? 

I can understand live-blogging a keynote. But live-blogging the lines for the iPhone? WTF?

Give us a break MacSheep blogs and provide some useful news about something else - OK?

WWDC Wrap Up

Dear Steve Jobs...

BOOO!

Lots of eye candy for Leopard, but no meat.

Thanks for yet another disappointing KeyNote.

Apple Post Record Sales in Q207*

*except in Japan.

Everywhere around the world, apparently, Apple sales are up for both desktop and laptop computers. But they can't their act together in Japan for like the last 2 years.

According to Apple Insider, "Apple Japan continued to "frustrate" Apple, accounting for just $283 million in revenues, down 8 percent year-over-year. This included the sale of 79,000 Macs, down 4 percent year-over-year."

Why do Apple's sales continue to suck ass here? This is the second largest consumer market in the world!

Part of the problem, according to some Japanese friends, is related to the ease of Windows Japanese text entry system, compared to the Mac's Kotoeri system. I've only used Kotoeri, so I can't compare. However, I'm told the system on Windows is more established and gives you better Kanji choices after typing in the alphabet.

Another issue is the COMPLETE LACK OF AN ACCEPTABLE PORTABLE COMPUTER. You've heard me say it before. I'll say it again until Apple gets it right. The MacBooks are fine machines for performance, but their weight and size are outrageous in comparison to other options. Ultraportable Windoze laptops are coming in with 12" screens, Core 2 Duos, and 1.5 - 2.0 kg - many even lighter. That's not to say that all the Windoze laptops in Japan are microscopic, but the preference for public commuters is SMALL. Even the 13-15" laptops are lighter than Apple's.

And don't give me this nonsense about "it would cost too much", because it's not so. If ASUS can do it, so can Apple.

What makes things worse, is that recent reports suggest Apple has put their ultraportable project on the backburner, perhaps not until next January. WTF!

I can't respect a company that makes a freaking phone a higher priority than its computing systems. 

I'll be looking for a Windows ultraportable in June if Apple can't make one and hope to get OSX running on it to make it useable.

Final Cut? Kiss my #$@@!

Rant mode on.

Yeah, I know it was the NAB show. Yeah, I know that 8 core Duo Mac Pros were announced last week or so. But COME ON Apple. Show us some hardware that "the rest of us" can actually use.

Joe Average doesn't give a nezumi's oshiri about Final Cut. It won't run fast enough on most user's machines, and is priced too highly for most of us to even blink at. I'm glad I didn't stay awake for this 'event' or the neighbors would have heard me yell "BFD"!

Yo Apple! Your iPod line has been obsolete for the last year. Your Mini's are too slow and over-priced, and your laptops are too freaking overweight for most public transport users to to carry around.

Do you really think that Final Cut is going to solve your crashing sales in Japan?!

Delaying Leopard to get the iPhone on-line isn't really an excuse. The iPhone is only going to be available in the the US market, not everywhere else in the world. And the iPhone is going to be using outdated transmission tech (GSM) that most of the rest of the industrialized world has dropped in favor of 3G. The iPhone won't do jack shit for your sales in Europe or Asia this year, or probably even next year. And by the time you do get it into those markets (if you ever do), there will be so many functional clones it won't matter.

And WTF happened to the ultraportables? I dunno about you, but my 12" G4 isn't cutting it these days and is starting to fall apart. Before I go out and buy one of these, and hack it to run OSX, how about you do us the justice of making a laptop that actually keeps up with the current Windoze laptop fare in performance and compactness.

I've said it before - less fluff and more stuff!