The more important question: what's up with that smoky, deep pink, partially obscured Apple?
It's Halloween! Fog and smoke! And Pink because October is month of Breast Cancer awareness. Just my thoughts.
The accompanying images are always directly or indirectly related to announcements. This one's tricky because of smoke but I'm guessing iCloud related product. And by "hello again", it says to me that it's a new hardware product, not just another new laptop or desktop. The only thing that comes to mind is Apple's Echo/Siri/Home device because it relies on the cloud and is a new category of product for Apple.
Bring it on...!! I've been waiting for over two years as has my best friend (on my advice). It hasn't been too hard with a late 2013 13" maxxed out i7 MBA and I haven't been doing intense image work, so if the form factor and overall design advance the state of the portable high performance Mac (without crippling it with a crap KB, e.g.) I'll be ready to take a hard look, but I'm hardly suffering so will take a minute to evaluate what we've been given and where IT"S going and when it might get there.
If they dump the 3.5 jack ,I'll live with it (I don't need a waterproof MBP, and real estate isn't at SUCH a premium, so hope it sticks - I have an application where I power a plug in external speaker AND a bluetooth amp further away for home theater applications, e.g.). Ditto for MagSafe although I really like it, and can personally live without a built-in SD card slot. But yeah at least four ports total of some sort.
Though, since I'm still aways from the big jobs I plan to use this for, I may yet wait for the first chipset iteration which I understand will make high throughput more baked in at the core chip level (someone else can say this better than I can at the moment).
But if that's gonna be a year instead of six months from now (the Apple way especially in a reduced-emphasis-on-the-Mac era), I may wait to pull the trigger until after the Kabylake chips that would do that job come out if Apple doesn't jump on them as it may be more engineering than they want to do after just six months into a new model.
Meanwhile hoping for many more Mac-related (iMacs, Minis (?), a little love - or a requiem announcement - or something - for the trash can (???), and other new goodies (the 5K monitor, a new ATV, e.g.).
I had been getting very gloomy about Apple until a few months ago - and questioning my commitment to them as a company after all these years. The iPhone 7, however, is a most solid release by all accounts on many levels. And if you want to live in Apple's world of services (which I don't but respect those it works for), iOS 10 is a big advance.
I never get early Mac OS upgrades (old peripherals and such), so can't comment on Sierra, but we'll see. From what I read, I wish Apple would go to biannual OS upgrades with more things carefully scrubbed and old small details and inconsistencies finally cleaned up. I don't need the new OS learning curve every year and and haven't been that wowed by any particular change since, well, Tiger to be frank, although the cumulative effect is large over the years. As in they could still be "here" now with more polish without having to whip all the engineers to put a whole fresh coat of paint on every year.
Even the watch (which I'll pass on until it really hooks up with my medical care team) update was very solid and well-considered. So I'm hoping this good halo effect portends great things for the announcement on the 27th......
Also, that looks like colored dust/chalk, like the kind used at color runs, or at the Hindi holi festival, which I believe has been featured in an Apple commercial before, and which makes for good photo op.
It looks more like an artists canvas. Maybe they changed the ID of the old thunderbolt display and added 5K and Pencil support.
Also, that looks like colored dust/chalk, like the kind used at color runs, or at the Hindi holi festival, which I believe has been featured in an Apple commercial before, and which makes for good photo op.
Hmm, now that you mention it, the high contrast of the smoke and the black background would certainly point to something like an OLED screen, as that kind of contrast would be the primary benefit of such a screen!! Hope so!
Finally, the MacBook Pro is also believed to sport reversible USB-C ports, ditching legacy input methods like USB-A, HDMI, and the SD Card reader ...
I hope they keep the SD card reader. I find it very handy while on a photoshoot. I really don't like dongles very much, especially on a portable device.
I think that would be a stupid decision to ditch the SD card reader.
"hello" used for intro of Macintosh. And iMac. Hmmm....
That's a pretty significant and monumental implication ... in that context it's either going to be that impressive, or very disappointing.
My thoughts, too. Referring back to previous usage of "hello" (which was the first thing I thought of when I saw the invite) implies pretty significant changes to the product line. A pretty tall order for Apple to live up to give the lack of any rumors along those lines.
Of course, the real problem is that this will clash with my mother's birthday. Unfortunately, she doesn't want (or need) a new Mac at the moment, or else I might have had an easier time getting her a present. (Except for the whole not having that kind of money thing.)
"hello" used for intro of Macintosh. And iMac. Hmmm....
That's a pretty significant and monumental implication ... in that context it's either going to be that impressive, or very disappointing.
My thoughts, too. Referring back to previous usage of "hello" (which was the first thing I thought of when I saw the invite) implies pretty significant changes to the product line. A pretty tall order for Apple to live up to give the lack of any rumors along those lines.
"A pretty tall order for Apple to live up to give the lack of any rumors along those lines."
This could be one those cases of Tim Cook doubling down on secrecy.
Would seem odd to have an event only for Macs these days, wouldn't it? I hope there are iPad updates coming, and maybe something new with Apple TV (if not a new unit, then some new functionality). This is the big quarter for everything, so Apple should be wanting to get some good coverage and focus on these areas.
Color me impressed. I figured the IBM thing wouldn't have legs. Nice job, Tim and Co.
When IBM decides to do something it does and it will give big boost to MacOS in enterpeise. I know, because I worked their.
One unexpected side effect of the move from Windows to OSX/MacOS is that IBM is planning to or actually releasing more of their Enterpise level software on the Apple OS. One dev team leader I know told me that almost 50% of his Dev team are using Apple kit now and many of them are testing the forthcoming MacOS Client release. The Apple branch of this product went out of service around 2004. It is nice to know that Apple is getting some love from IBM these days. All we need are the servers that can run OSX/MacOS.
It is nice to know that Apple is getting some love from IBM these days. All we need are the servers that can run OSX/MacOS.
Mmm...
Apple introduced the A7 64-bit ARM chip 3 years ago. Thinking out loud here, but what if Apple has been developing and testing 64-bit ARM Server SOCs in the last 3+ years?
Could they be ready to internally deploy [let's call it] the A10s internally to Apple server farms? (Aside: Maybe they've been deploying them all along -- resulting in occasional disruptions to Apple's cloud offerings).
Could they be ready to market it to SMBs?
Could they be ready to market it to others, like IBM, as a general purpose server offering?
Crazy?
Look at this from 2013 comparing a Calxeda cluster of 24 32-bit ARM SOCs against Intel Xeon chips. It's a long article, but worth reading:
In news that will send shivers up the spine of many in the server world, a group that includes Foxconn just bought Calxeda’s assets. More interestingly this consortium that also includes ARM and AtGames Cloud Holdings will keep going with their products.
The more important question: what's up with that smoky, deep pink, partially obscured Apple?
It's Halloween! Fog and smoke! And Pink because October is month of Breast Cancer awareness. Just my thoughts.
The accompanying images are always directly or indirectly related to announcements. This one's tricky because of smoke but I'm guessing iCloud related product. And by "hello again", it says to me that it's a new hardware product, not just another new laptop or desktop. The only thing that comes to mind is Apple's Echo/Siri/Home device because it relies on the cloud and is a new category of product for Apple.
This makes a lot of sense. The primary product featured will be a Siri based-device along the lines of Amazon's Echo. MBP updates will be a secondary announcement. If the rumors hold true for the MBP updates, I never really thought there was enough there for justify a media event. A new product category would be that justification.
The show will open with the Siri device introducing itself, just like the original Mac did.
Hmmm I love Apple annoucements.... haha but I a really hope they don't annouce much in terms of iMac's.
Hoping for just a spec bump this year. Just bought an iMac 27", i7, 32gb ram, 1tb ssd and 4gb 395x graphics and hoping it doesn't get anything that makes it outdated too quickly! Planning to keep this machine for 5 years +
Comments
If they dump the 3.5 jack ,I'll live with it (I don't need a waterproof MBP, and real estate isn't at SUCH a premium, so hope it sticks - I have an application where I power a plug in external speaker AND a bluetooth amp further away for home theater applications, e.g.). Ditto for MagSafe although I really like it, and can personally live without a built-in SD card slot. But yeah at least four ports total of some sort.
Though, since I'm still aways from the big jobs I plan to use this for, I may yet wait for the first chipset iteration which I understand will make high throughput more baked in at the core chip level (someone else can say this better than I can at the moment).
But if that's gonna be a year instead of six months from now (the Apple way especially in a reduced-emphasis-on-the-Mac era), I may wait to pull the trigger until after the Kabylake chips that would do that job come out if Apple doesn't jump on them as it may be more engineering than they want to do after just six months into a new model.
Meanwhile hoping for many more Mac-related (iMacs, Minis (?), a little love - or a requiem announcement - or something - for the trash can (???), and other new goodies (the 5K monitor, a new ATV, e.g.).
I had been getting very gloomy about Apple until a few months ago - and questioning my commitment to them as a company after all these years. The iPhone 7, however, is a most solid release by all accounts on many levels. And if you want to live in Apple's world of services (which I don't but respect those it works for), iOS 10 is a big advance.
I never get early Mac OS upgrades (old peripherals and such), so can't comment on Sierra, but we'll see. From what I read, I wish Apple would go to biannual OS upgrades with more things carefully scrubbed and old small details and inconsistencies finally cleaned up. I don't need the new OS learning curve every year and and haven't been that wowed by any particular change since, well, Tiger to be frank, although the cumulative effect is large over the years. As in they could still be "here" now with more polish without having to whip all the engineers to put a whole fresh coat of paint on every year.
Even the watch (which I'll pass on until it really hooks up with my medical care team) update was very solid and well-considered. So I'm hoping this good halo effect portends great things for the announcement on the 27th......
'that's what she said'
<ducks>
The new AirPods will be on sale, post the take down of the online store, to put up the new Macs!
Of course, the real problem is that this will clash with my mother's birthday. Unfortunately, she doesn't want (or need) a new Mac at the moment, or else I might have had an easier time getting her a present. (Except for the whole not having that kind of money thing.)
This could be one those cases of Tim Cook doubling down on secrecy.
Posted the following to another thread:
It is nice to know that Apple is getting some love from IBM these days.
All we need are the servers that can run OSX/MacOS.
Mmm...
Apple introduced the A7 64-bit ARM chip 3 years ago. Thinking out loud here, but what if Apple has been developing and testing 64-bit ARM Server SOCs in the last 3+ years?
Could they be ready to internally deploy [let's call it] the A10s internally to Apple server farms? (Aside: Maybe they've been deploying them all along -- resulting in occasional disruptions to Apple's cloud offerings).
Could they be ready to market it to SMBs?
Could they be ready to market it to others, like IBM, as a general purpose server offering?
Crazy?
Look at this from 2013 comparing a Calxeda cluster of 24 32-bit ARM SOCs against Intel Xeon chips. It's a long article, but worth reading:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6757/calxedas-arm-server-tested
Lots of charts, here's a few:
FWIW, Calxeda bit the dust in December 2013 -- because it could not find additional funding. Both Google and Amazon hired former Calxeda employees.
And this:
Foxconn, ARM, and AtGames buy Calxeda assets
Updated 2x: Better yet they will continue on with the roadmap
The show will open with the Siri device introducing itself, just like the original Mac did.
Hoping for just a spec bump this year. Just bought an iMac 27", i7, 32gb ram, 1tb ssd and 4gb 395x graphics and hoping it doesn't get anything that makes it outdated too quickly! Planning to keep this machine for 5 years +