Macworld San Francisco 2007 - Page 5

If this were real it would have been removed with a C&D letter by Apple. I dunno, maybe it is just me but the interface seems a bit complicated.

Also note how dark the image is? Perhaps this was to hide the flaws in the mockup

*Begins Taking notes on possible ideas from posts in the last 48 hours*
Items marked in Red likely won't happen

iMac Pro
iPhone (not at Macworld)
Everything I put into my Test Temp. Insane Post

*closes notebook*

Sebastian

how about new keyboards and mices (wired and wireless)? I think apple keyboards and mices are not the best in the market, even microsoft hardware is a lot better than apple's ..how about new I/O interfaces for FCP and other proApps like 3dconnexion? mac and iPod accesories will sell like hotcakes!

New displays with iSight cameras?

I also want apple external hard drives (SAS or SATA) with Firewire and USB 2.0 connexions. For TimeMachine or for the "Portable Home" or "iPod Home" rumored feature.

what exactly would apple branded external HDDs bring aside from a price premium?

it's a massively saturated market, they'd be fools to enter it. I'd prefer to see cheap low power usage personal servers, and that's the way we're going, just look at commercial uasge of servers, it trickles down.

the same was said about a hard drive based mp3 player called iPod.

also, the thing I have been asking for a long time: an apple docking solution for the mac book pro laptops, with support for connecting two 30" apple displays.


SLI and CrossFire support in Macos X

Because there were so many HDD based players when it was introduced, weren't there?!

It was the simple interface and elegant styling that made the ipod, and the fact that it was a status symbol to show off to everyone else on the train or bus.

An Apple HDD would be a white box with firewire and usb, that's it, that's what a hdd is. Maybe they could add media playback capabilities and a scroll wheel, but we've been there havn't we....?

The software would make it, and we have time machine on the way anyways, there's no point or use in apple introducing this, and i really wouldn't want to see apple do it, it de-values their products.

"the same was said about a hard drive based mp3 player called iPod."

Before the iPod, MP3 players sucked. Ugly designs, ugly interfaces. External HDDs are already great, they don't need the kind of Apple treatment that the clumsy pre-iPod players lacked.

It's Apples fault that you don't have a life?

iWork/iLife has always had new additions come out at MWSF. NOT THIS TIME! I don't think we will see these new updates until later.

As far as what we can expect for new features for these apps when they do arrive - I don't know. Except that I am quite certain we will see an application that can work with numbers and provide some calculating abilities. iWeb will be touted as adhering to web standards to a greater degree and have some new type of capability in regards to blogging and publishing. Something like supporting the ability to post/publish from a mini version of iWeb. Maybe an iWeb Widget that you synced to .Mac in order to access through another Mac at your aunt's house or maybe at work.
iPhoto? Don't know. iDVD? Don't know. GarageBand? Don't know.

I don't believe that Cinema displays will get built in iSights. This capability will arrive in some other form/fashion to fill the now discontinued iSight.

Some new communication based device will be announced. Probably utilizing Intel's software-defined radio for adaptability... and to also cut costs. Originally, I had thought Apple would redo their Shuffle to work as a stand alone player while also plugging into their new phone/communication type of device and be used in conjunction with it (playing music, selecting ring-tones, etc.) while also providing extra storage, BUT in seeing the new Shuffle, I am now obviously doubting this. I am at a loss as to how this will be designed and marketed.

I think we will see Leopard sooner than these April/May/June/July predictions everyone is giving. Not much to go on here other than 10.4, if you recall, was actually released 3 months ahead of what Apple announced. So... I believe it is entirely feasible that Leopard could ship sooner as well. In addition; this has been the longest time span between OS X releases yet so at this point, each passing day is moving farther and farther from the average.

Leopard will eat up a large part of the keynote in various facets.

Aperature 2.0 This definitely won't be seen. Apple will gladly give Adobe the spot light to let the world know Adobe products are finally UB ready. Don't expect Aperature 2.0 until a time closer to when Adobe releases their new version of the similarly styled app.

.Mac
I truly believe that Apple will upgrade yet another element of .Mac soon. It will correspond with the release of Leopard or soon thereafter (a couple weeks out maybe). I suppose it could be possible that Apple will pre-announce this new .Mac feature. What is this new feature, you ask? Oh, I will tell you. :-) Apple will give .Mac the ability to share calendars, schedule events and exchange information just like with Mac OS X Leopard Server edition utilizing the new CalDAV standard. This, along with some other marginal improvements in syncing, will be the feature to finally start attracting customers to .Mac. Regrettably, I don't see Apple upping the storage capacity of iDisk. I wish I was wrong.

The streaming media device will be released - well, they will announce WHEN it will be released anyway. Probably about three weeks and two days, at the most, from the announcement date to wait for it to arrive in stores. Apple will not simply talk about an upcoming product for 2 big publicity shows in a row without releasing it. We can also count on this new "iTV" thing to mirror some of the functionality of Airport Extreme and Airport Express.

It doesn't feel like Apple will give us too much in the way of new iPod related products at this Macworld. It feels to me like they are setting themselves up for a whole other event in which to cater to this, now obviously, completely additional platform Apple has nurtured. Maybe some sort of iPod World New York !?!?! :-)
I could be completely wrong here, BUT that is what I am feeling.

Now to negate everything I said here relating to iPods (because I don't feel THAT certain about iPod World New York); Apple could go the other direction and take a step towards tying these 2 platforms together further by introducing some new Newton-sized device that would be similar to iPods as we know them but have a larger screen and act as a deluxe remote control to the new "iTV" thing as well as any Macs a person may have - possibly acting as a secondary screen to these Macs with a whole other desktop space.

In addition, the full size iPod has not had any real added capabilities or innovative functionality added to it in quite some time (a mere capacity increase does not count in my book). The iPod Nano is the one who has recieved all the new thought and functionality and capabilities. The top of the line iPod has stalled - going on 2 years now. Something will hit very soon and it is likely to arrive this January. There that pretty much shoots my theory above about no new iPods coming out for MWSF.


Jumping around here: onto the iTS.
3 New studios are joining Apple to sell movies through the iTS.

Mac mini will not change shape. Why would Apple change something that is so successful in gaining new users. Oh, wait! I forgot about the iPod mini. They changed that, didn't they. WAIT!!! Counterpoint. Why would they change the Mac mini if they are releasing the new iTV type device to mirror its appearance? They wouldn't. BUT, they WILL upgrade it. Typical incremental upgrades with the addition of full support for the "iTV" type device.

New iMac? Not so certain. Not looking like this will happen. Maybe a slight bump in specs the week after.

That's about all I can think of right now. It seems that most of what I am writing is going against the grain. Hmmm...

iMac Pro

Bring it on APPLE!

Another round of extracting the true possiblities and discarding the rubbish.


I don't get this one. Out of nowhere you dismiss new releases of iWork and iLife, which if you haven't noticed, are named by the year, without an explanation as to why. I suppose you figure, like many others, that Apple would stick them both in Leopard and call it a day. *buzz* Try Again.


I'm not sure whether to agree or not. I'm rather 50/50 on the point myself, but signs do point to this. However it would probably make more sense to just release a new iSight. On the other hand I think Apple could do a lot more with the iSights currently built into Mac displays with an iSight 2.0.


If by radio you mean that piece of Junk Nextel builds into their phones so really cheap people will allow us to listen to both sides of the conversation, then no, no, and no.


That's an interesting possiblity, but there is no point hoping that Apple will do the same thing this time, thought it would be nice.


I'm counting on this one


While this sounds nice, the only thing I truly want to see with .Mac is QoS improvements and storage upgrades. Still, an Online Calendar solution is the next step.


As long as Scanners (an All-In-One came with my Mac) are supported, bring it on, I'd be happy to upgrade my Airport Express just so I could stop unplugging my Printer from my Router and jacking it into my Macbook whenever I need to scan something.


Going to have to agree with you... for the most part. Most of Apples Events (Fall iPod announcements, Macworld) are here in SF though


I'm all to ready for this one. 3 seems like a good guess though, so no further comments on this one.


Absolutely Positively Will NOT Happen.

Sebastian

Not soon, but it will happen.

In the sense that eventually an iMac will outclass the current Mac Pro, yes.

In the sense that a pro computer can sell in an AIO form in the same way a prosumer computer can, no.

An iMac sells fine since prosumers and consumers don't mind buying their computers all at once. The average consumer isn't gonna be replacing video cards or adding multiple HDDs, but a pro likely will. Such a computer would need a replaceable GPU and several eSATA ports at a minimum.

Also, with regards to a monitor, 30 and 24 inch monitors are so expensive that people might still want to hang onto them after they upgrade their computers. I mean, 17-20 inch monitors are $200-$300, but 23 inch and up monitors are $600 at a minimum.

The only people who need to regularly update their computers with Video Cards, HDDs, etc. are Pros and Enthusiasts who do it for a hobby. The Mac Pro covers both, well almost. The only thing the Mac Pro doesn't cover is the people who build their computers from the ground up, Hardcore Modders.

Considering Apple offers Zero Options for that, they can either stick with Linux or Stick with Windows. Apple doesn't try to be everything at once and that gives them an edge. Windows may end up on the Majority of computers till the end of Time, but if Apple can overtake HP then Apple will be the largest Personal Computer manufacturer in the world. That's years off, likely won't happen for a very long time, but you never know, with people going out to buy new computers with Vista coming out soon, shoppers in need of a new computer, or just a computer may turn to Apple who has a stronger Retail prescence then ever.

Enough about that though, Apple has absolutely no reason to introduce a new iMac line. The iMac is the iMac. Macs are Macs and Macbooks are Macbooks. It's the same reason the Mac Mini won't be getting a Mac Mini Pro line. It wouldn't make any sense

Sebastian

yeah, there was huge opposition for 24" iMac as well last year, but it happened.
time will tell ... AIO will eventually replace Monitor and Box

statistics already suggests Notebooks are sold more than half compared to desktops...

for gamers and enthuasist there is always Mac Pro (RAW power and expandability)

these things will happen CPU/GPU technology goes when there is no spceial heat sinks needed and air cooling is suffcient enough to cool the cpu
or
entirely new (cool) cooling system

I wonder then, why it hasn't caught on in the windows world. I'm not sold yet. I had a mini, now a Power Mac. I don't want to have to replace my display at the same time as my computer.

Still hoping Apple intros a mid-range headless Mac for the masses.

Windows world still cannot do it rite yet! (even after copying the iMac desgin)
have you seen Sony AIO design??? it looks horrible, thats why people buy iMac and run windows on them ...

The difference here is that the 24" is an addition to the iMac line, which is a line in the Mac line, and not an additional line to the iMac line leading down to iMac (consumer) and iMac Pro. If Apple ever makes a 30" iMac, GREAT, but it's still an iMac.

Apple Mac Lines explained for Clarity Products in Red are Rumored but do not exist
-Mac
--Mac Mini
--iMac
---iMac Pro
--Mac Pro
-Macbook
--Macbook
--Macbook Pro
--Macbook Tablet (would likely fall in here anyways, if it ever existed)

Apple has no reason to make an iMac Pro. If they make a larger iMac with more expandiblity, it's STILL an iMac, branding and all, and would still be directed towards the iMacs current target audience. However, Apple cares little about the future. If you want an expandable Mac now, look at the Mac Pro. If you want an AIO Mac, look at the iMac. If you want an expandable AIO Mac, look at nothing. It doesn't exist.

Sebastian

They are not using HyperTransport they are using intel chip sets the they do not supprt links like that.
Hyper Transport lets you add chips like that.

By "people" do you mean the 95% of computer buyers who do not buy Macs? Those 95% (for the most part) are buying windows towers or portables and are perfectly happy. It's hard to understand, but they are NOT buying iMacs or any other Macs. The all-in-one computer doesn't really exist in the windows world and there's no reason to think it will any time soon.

All-in-one is simply not popular. The only reason it does well in the Mac world is because Apple forces it on us, giving us no other choice in the mid-range. It's stupid, really. Many people look to buy mid-range computers and the only thing Apple offers is the damn iMac.

I know this has no chance at Macworld, but I really do wish to see a Mac Tablet. Hell it may not have a chance of ever existing, but in the education Market, Apple is lagging behind. Not only do they not offer a proper low cost solution for the Education market (by low cost I mean ~$500-600) but the Mac they recommend is not properly configured for the education market: iMac for Education.

It's just a slightly watered down iMac. Cost cutting, cut out iSight, cut out iLife, stick in iWork or Apple Works (they do still sell it so why not besides the fact that it's about 5 years out of date) and cut out Bluetooth and Airport. Schools (K-12 at least) simply do not care about those. They all use Wired connections anyways. I would absolutely LOVE to walk into each and every classroom at school and see an iMac, and in the computer labs rows of iMacs, but so far it's just 1997 iMacs and Windows 2000 Dells (says Made for Windows 2000 on it) running XP instead.

The education market is shot, schools will forever be 10-15 years out of date, and neither Apple or even Microsoft and Friends has been able to do very much to fix that.

Thus we come to the Tablet Mac. It would be absolutely perfect here. Sell it to College Students for taking notes in class using Ink Well. Offer a good set of Tablet Mac Applications (for Notes, Mail, Spreadsheets, etc.) and use a custom version of OS X (as opposed to simply sticking OS X into the Tablet much like how Microsoft and Friends simply stick a copy of Windows on a Tablet and call it "Tablet Edition) and really I could go on but I think I've said enough on the topic for the moment. Well one last thing, a Tablet Mac would be even better in the K-12 market, especially High School if it was marketed as a low cost solution that Just Works. Perhaps Apple doesn't have the proper infrastructure yet, but either way, a Macbook Tablet would rock.

Again, I'm questioning whether this one will ever exist, but I'd love to see it anyways.

Sebastian

Well technically Notebooks are AIO themselves, and the iMac is designed much like a Notebook. Now quickly name the 3 best selling Macs right now.
.....
....
...
..
.
Macbook, Macbook Pro, and iMac. I'm not sure what order they go in, but I believe, last I checked anyways, these are the 3 best selling Macs at the moment. Each and every one of them can be considered AIO. The iMac is brilliantly designed, and is popular because of that.

Truthfully I believe people look at Hardware far too much. If given a choice between a Voodoo running an FX-62, and the Mac Mini, I'd probably choose the Mac Mini because Windows drives me nuts. Doesn't Software and the OS account for anything anymore?

Sebastian

The Voodoo is a gaming system and the macmini video card can't even run some games

Notebooks are not at all like all-in-ones. They run on batteries and are easily moved around the room or taken with you to work or on a trip. All-in-ones by their design must sit in one place, plugged in the wall, just like a tower with external display. These are two different categories in almost every way.

I will not argue that the iMac is not a nice design. Some people really like them. But when I walk into an Apple Store and see the iMacs, they look like toys which should go in a kid's bedroom and not on my desk. I suspect there are millions of other people who feel the same way and might consider a Mac if they could get something they're more familiar with, like a mid-range tower to use with the display they already have. And that doesn't mean a Mac mini, with its mobile hard drive, etc.

I'm not knocking the Mac OS one bit. I hate Windows and would never consider running it on my computer. The fact remains that most people don't get it and they're driven by the function of the hardware, price, familiarity and what everyone else is using. Offer them a Mac that looks like a computer for less than $2500 and they might consider it.

Why is it that you hear "computer" and immediately think "games"? If all you want a computer for is video games, then you're probably better off with a BYO PC. Period. End of Discussion.

For the 96+% of the computer-buying public to whom games matter very little, you might as well have said "But the Voodoo is shiny." 90% of the computer-buying public buys a graphics card accidentally. They have an x300 or a 7600GS because their computer came with one. Only gamers, professionals, and geeks (like me) really care if they're getting a GPU or IG.

The guy's point was pretty straightforward: He'd rather have a computer that's easy to use with a better OS than a "better" computer. His point was that we're focusing on what new hardware is available instead of the OS and the software, which are what really make Macs worth buying.

Definetely not suggesting Apple include these apps in Leopard.
I am just thinking Apple may be changing their upgrade strategy in regards to iLife and iWork updates due to changes in the hardware line-up.


I mean the kind of radio found in phones for cellular communication. Intel has been working for a number of years on a software based radio that can change based on the software setup. One phone, one radio, many possibilities: Wi-fi, GSM, Sprint PCS, GPRS or even WiMax.

I would prefer to buy a external hard drive from my hardware vendor than some other brand. I would like the hard drive to match my system. Something like a xServe raid express. a cage that will accommodate two SAS or SATA drives that will connect to the workstation using firewire 800.

... but at the end of the day, this is just a wishful thinking. = D

Congratulations on stating the obvious. I have nothing against fantastic performance but the Mac Mini runs OS X, and Windows drives me nuts. Hence the reason I am fully against Boot Camp and the ways Parallels advertises their Software (they say Windows but it runs Linux as well as FreeBSD.. -_-)

Hopefully with PC Vendors *cough* HP *cough* ripping off the iMac design, people will come to embrace it. I don't get the part about it looking like a Toy though. Towers take up valuable Desk Space, and they have all the power of a tower. Hell my Macbook can outdo an Old G5 (Xbench) on a good day fairly easily, it's usually the Disk Tests that bring my scores down though.

As for iMacs looking like toys; they're just a little too white and shiny and cute and cuddly. The big white chin just looks odd. I much prefer the aluminum look of the Cinemas Displays and the dull black look of most displays on the market.

Yeah, towers take up desk or floor space, especially if they're monster-sized like the ProMac. A nice flexible mid-range Mac could be made much smaller. I'm sure of it.

Speed isn't an issue. All recent Macs are plenty fast.

Just like with audio equipment, some people prefer individual components and some prefer boom boxes. I prefer components, and I think most people expect their desktop computers to consist of components that can be replaced/upgraded one at a time. The windows world would seem to demonstrate that.

I see, well it's a matter of preference, but Apple keeps their Mac lines at a minimum. 1 Entry price Solution, 1 Midrange solution (though it is AIO), 1 High end solution, and 2 Notebook solutions which are essentially the same thing with minor differences. I don't see any room in there for a Mid Tower.

Sebastian

NO. We need camera. All consumer electronics are belong to apple.

We need this:

Exactly two weeks to go!

Happy Holidays Mac Tower fanboys!
Happy Holidays to iMac fanboys!

Yay, only 2 weeks until my iWork 06 Trial is used up and iWork 07 comes out.

Happy Holidays
Sebastian

Yay, 2 more weeks until the real Christmas!

OK, I think this is the first time that I am more excited about what software is in store than the hardware, especially Leopard and iLife '07. I am pretty happy where Apple's at right now. Of course, there could always be hardware improvements, and I would take those any day. What's in Leopard is going to drive any future Apple hardware. I am kind of curious about the iTV thing. Can't wait! Bring it on!

Yep, Steve Jobs stole Christmas and delayed it

I'm not expecting too much on the iLife 07 side, though I plan to upgrade anyways. iWork however is due for a major upgrade

Sebastian

Has this been mentioned - whether iTV will let a Windows iTunes user stream stuff? I don't see why not - the iTV has its own Front Row so there is no need to port Front Row to Windows.

They'd have to be nuts not to make it usable by Windows iTunes users if possible. That boosts the use of iTunes, boosts sales of the iTV, and helps kill WMA and whatever that crazy Zune format is.

It's Confirmed

You mean WMA

Sebastian