My Review of MacWorld 2008

I didn't realize AE had a Tech Forum!! =]

Don't know if anyone will be interested, but I'll post one of my blog entries about Steve Jobs '08 Keynote.

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(Okay, I just wrote all of this...and I scrolled up to check length, and geezus, I'm a geek! I wrote more about MacWorld '08 than I did for my senior term paper...::sigh:: total nerd....a cookie to anyone who actually reads this whole thing, lol)

Did anyone else catch the '08 keynote?

No? Well, I did. Let me break it down...just because I'm procrastinating, and I clearly have nothing better to do.

2007 ...awesome, awesome year for Apple. Excellent marketing shift. You guys made Apple (even more) trendy. Let's hope the fad doesn't fade out too quickly...

Steve Jobs ...you are an expert at 'selling' to all your high-brow cash cows - the investors... You always do well with that...but seriously, Steve, not too much exciting substance going on with Apple right now.

Leopard ...meh. It's alright; it looks pretty; the stacks are nice. Overall? Over-hyped. Wait for the next one...unless $130 doesn't mean anything to you. Tiger is just fine.

Time Capsule ...nice...but, hello?! $500 for 1TB?! I find it hard to believe that people would pay an extra $200 just to eliminate that little bitty wire from a normal external 1TB hard drive, which retails for around $300. I know, I know...the Time Capsule is a router as well...but don't most of us have routers already? Yeah, that's what I thought. All those trendy little kiddies MIGHT have bought Time Capsule last year...but you guys already sold them those other pricey AirPort Extreme routers!

iPhone ...4 million sold? That's awesome! Too bad you pissed off a lot of those people when you slashed the price before christmas, not to mention that unholy alliance with AT&T... and you BRICKED the phones of those costumers smart enough to unlock them....but you made a TON of money so...::shrugs:: whatever, right? I'm just glad I saved my $600 and didn't jump on that bandwagon...I'll wait for iPhone v. 4.2, thanks.

iPhone Update ...it's free and therefore, the BEST thing presented in the whole 1.5 hour-long keynote. But really, not all that exciting...ou, multi-person SMS text-messaging?! No way! I can do that with my $50 Sony Ericsson...::rollseyes:: lame!

iPod Touch Update ...$20? Whatever. -_-

iTunes Movie Rentals ...I'm hoping that it works out, but I'm skeptical. Largely because of the viewing restraints. 30 days to start watching, 24 hours to watch from start to finish before you are locked out? The 30 days is fine. But once you press start, you only have 24 hours to finish it...you can watch it as many times as you want in those 24 hours...but still, would it have broke the bank to make that 72 hours? Kudos on getting the major studios on board before the launch though...

AppleTV "Take2" ...Apple did a smart thing here. Eliminating the previous necessity to sync from the computer to transfer to your television, Apple opened up the appeal of AppleTV. Only downside would probably still be the 24 hour rental restriction and the title selection. Although AppleTV has a much more convenient delivery method, Netflix has iTunes beat to hell on title selection (not to mention, no time restraints)...so I won't be giving up my Netflix subscription just yet, even if it does take a little more work on my part.

Fox CEO ...I knew Hobbits were real!

MACBOOK AIR ...the most anticipated product presentation of the evening. If you haven't heard about the AIR, it's basically the world's thinest notebook. They didn't lie about that. It is extremely thin and sleek. It's honestly a gorgeous design. However, it misses on a lot of things that make popular portables popular.

My prediction is that the AIR's consumer base will be very limited to tech fashionistas and art gallery owners.

Anyone who wants a notebook that he or she will actually need to USE will most likely be disappointed in the MacBook Air for these reasons: no optical drive ...this means no playing or burning DVDs/CDs or making CD data backups. Steve addresses these problems by basically saying "buy an ipod and a time capsule AND rent/buy all movies/music from iTunes, problem SOLVED!!!"

....whoa, okay there, Steve...I think your idea of coporate synergy marketing for the MacBook Air is a little too ambitious.

In addition, no optical drive also means no local installation drive for all that software we can't live without. This problem was addressed quite well with "Remote Disk"...but it still means that you have to run another computer in order to install ANYTHING on the new AIR.

There's also no ethernet port. Hence the reason why the AIR is going to be marketed as a truly wireless notebook, because IT HAS TO BE in order for one to get his or her $1799 worth from it. Just don't get caught in an area without WiFi...

Other problems that will not be good for sales include non-expandable RAM, a small hard drive, use of periphals will be severly limited, and a non-removable battery.

So, there's no room for expandablity, you'll only be able to use one USB periphal at a time, you need another computer to install games and programs, and when your battery burns out...well, that's going to be pretty much the end of your MacBook Air, unless of course you have an insanely lengthy warranty that will cover that.

Considering all the cons...the MacBook Air is still an interesting product and completely usable for the tech savy that do not have problems setting up multiple wireless networks. I might consider poking around on one...but this is a product that is CLEARLY not for the average notebook user...

Still Trying to be GREEN ...I admire that Apple is acutally making an effort and putting some thought into how technology is impacting the natural world. Good job, guys.

Closing with Randy Newman ...you got a friend in me, Mr. Newman. He's brilliant.

Which brings me to the exact reason why I ultimately like the Apple Company, despite my criticisms. They have taste. Almost everything they roll out is well polished; and for the most part, Apple's a very self-aware company (they know that they aren't going to top last year's numbers with the current product line)...even if they have to do the necessary job of trying to fool investors every once in a while.

So if Apple does lose its shirt on a few things this year, at least they'll do it in style...

Be an Apple fan this year... ::edit:: but if you're a shareholder...dump half your stock before it plunges...and re-buy when it tanks, because you know they'll bounce back...it's APPLE!  

=]

Peace out, queers. I'm going to go watch Cashmere Mafia now. lol