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06 Keynote First Impressions
I didn’t have the chance to go to Macworld today, however I spent most of the morning glued to a computer screen, following everything that was going on. In lieu of more in-depth analysis (which you’ll get tomorrow, after I go to MWSF and play with the goodies), here’s a quick rundown of my initial reactions to the goods unveiled during Steve Jobs’ keynote.
The iPod remote thingie
The lack of iPod FM capabilities has been something that some have complained about for a while. Well, they’ll still complain, but at least there will be something. This little device serves as a remote for your iPod, much like the headphone-remote combo that was available for the older iPods (which I happen to own), only it plugs into the Dock port and comes with an extra feature--FM radio reception. It’s not a huge deal, but I’m sure for some this will be a welcome addition to Apple’s iPod accessory line.
iLife 06
I haven’t had a chance to really spend a lot of time pouring over Apple’s iLife site, but from what I have seen, it makes an already great suite of applications even better. the addition of Core Image and Core Video support to iPhoto and iMovie are welcome. I also like the calendars feature in iPhoto. Photocasting sounds interesting, but I’m not sure if it’ll really catch on. iWeb, however, looks like it’ll step on some developers’ toes. Again. And having access to photos in GarageBand just seems...weird.
iWork 06
I like Pages and Keynote, and I’m looking forward to the additions (reviewer comments!), but a standalone spreadsheet app would have helped fill out iWork. At least the price is unchanged.
iMac
An already outstanding machine receives a nice upgrade. The G5 iMac is already very fast; I am looking forward to seeing what a Core Duo-based iMac can do at native speeds. Too bad it’ll be hobbled in the short term by the lack of native apps. I was already tempted by the previous iMac. I am even more tempted. Mmm, dual core…
PowerBo--er, I mean MacBook Pro
This is probably the star of the show so far. The performance increases are certainly welcome to say the least. Crappy name aside, I like the way this is going. Except for the part where it’s missing Firewire 800. And S-video. And few ports. I do like the fact that Apple kept the same basic design, but part of me would like to see Apple’s designers go nuts and release a laptop the likes of which nobody’s ever seen. MagSafe, though, was Apple design at its finest. Mmm, Radeon X1600…
Come back Wednesday night for more in-depth looks at these new goodies.
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| Nick | comments | views |
thinkback
Yeah, I’m surprised they haven’t come up with a spreadsheet app yet.
I’m curious, does a PowerBook read/write any faster with a FireWire 800 drive than a FireWire 400 drive? Are there any benchmarks?
I don’t know, but I’m inclined to think that a PowerBook doesn’t have the ability to even take advantage of a FireWire 800 drive. But maybe I’m selling it short… 
| Jan. 11, 2006 | ||
| 10:49 am |
FireWire apparently was not well implemented in the G5 chip set. The G4 PowerBook gets better performance from Firewire 800 than the towers do. I don’t know if this has been addressed in the current dual core G5 towers though. The new Intel based MacBook does not have firewire 800. Only 400.
A good reason for Firewire 800 has been the lack of adoption by third-party makers and the Windbloze group. Beyond that issue though, read between the lines, noting especially the AP report that Apple will not prevent people from using windows on a MacIntel unit. This opens a tremendous opportunity for people to recognize the Mac platform as more consistent in its OS, the high quality of its componentry and the low-savings of not having to have the extensive tech support in business or, as a consumer, dealing with telephone tech support. Within the one computer, they can work with both systems, and real experience can be very effective.
Given the vulnerability of Windows to computer viruses and the need to reload the Windows OS, users may find the Mac can more than serve their needs. Also, look at the consistency of the applications in their use and their inter-relationship to each other. Apple has taken real steps to make digital documents workable by including audio, video, presentations, etc. My hope is that they exploit it further with innovative advertising that can make computers consider the Mac as more than a specialty computer. At least, it drives the industry with Apple doing real R&D;, taking the risk to be innovative. Otherwise, we’d all be back at the old c: prompt.
It’s very possible that the lack of a spreadsheet, aka Numbers, has something to do with MBU announcing their 5-yr support for Apple. You know, they saw Keynote, they saw Safari, they saw what Apple did to Adobe with FCP, they saw Apple incorporate PDF into its OS. They saw the writing on the wall and made a deal. That’s my take.
1.
I also watched the Keynote with interest. Is it just me, or did the crowd seem luke warm? IMO the more conventional Jobs becomes the less people root for him and APPLE. I couldn’t help thinking that he was a poor speaker compared to his reputation. I got tired of hearing him transition with “SO” and I thought it was lame that he had to rely on a replay of the Intel commercial to get any enthusiasm at all out of the crowd.