Macworld 08 discussion

Let's try to keep the initial discussion of all the announcements here

First up, Time Capsule
Looks like a NAS with a router built in. 500GB $299, 1TB, $499.
Ships Feb

Next, iPhone
New software!
Web clips, Maps with location, customize home screen, SMS lots of people at once, chapters in videos, subtitles, lyrics (sounds like firmware 1.1.3)
Available as free update today.

iPod Touch
Getting Mail, Stocks, Notes, and Weather. Maps will do WiFi location.
Costs $20 for existing users, ouch!

Next up is iTunes
Movie rentals.
Touchstone, Miramax, MGM, Lionsgate, Newline, FOx, WB, Disney, Paramount, Universal, Sony. Wow! That is a lot more participation than I expected!
30 days to start watching your rental and then 24 hours to finish it.
New release $3.99 Library $2.99
Launches today. HD and DVD quality! Looks like they can be bought thru AppleTV!
100 HD titles available today, they rent for $4.99
New UI on Apple TV (new box?) Will be a free software update for all Apple TV owners.
Price drop. Entry $229. New software in two weeks.

MacBook Air
Thinnest notebook on planet. .16" to .76". Fits inside an envelope.
13.3" LED display
iSight
Full size keyboard
ambient light sensor
Generous trackpad with multi-touch gestures
1.8" 80GB hard drive standard, 64 GB SSD optional
Core2Duo 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz
No optical drive. Add-on for $99
Only 1 USB port
micro-DVI
Remote disk allows "borrowing" of another computers optical drive. (How will that work with copy protected disks I wonder?)
5 hour battery life
2GB memory standard
$1799 shipping in 2 weeks.

 

I might actually get a Time Capsule, haven't gotten a back-up drive yet, just backed up all my files on my PC.

iPhone, meh, I don't really need one, at least not for their price.

 

I would probably get Time Capsule if I didn't already have an AEBS and a 500GB external. Guess this means no AirPort Disk support for Time Machine.

 

From a Canadian morning newscast this morning:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj5hqAIx59s

 

Great for you Canadians! And the new software looks awesome!

 

Nice, Apple Store is down

 

Indeed, about time, but I fear for what plans Rogers will ravage us with. currently $65 for 1gb of data...

 

I've seen Apple's new commercials regarding being able to undelete documents, and now we have the time capsule for notebooks.

I am unfamiliar with this feature,

How is this different from google desktop?

 

Time capsule is interesting. When/if I migrate to a Mac, I'd be in the market for a 802.11n router anyway ($100) and I could also use more NAS. And $299 for 500GB plus router isn't too far off the mark of buying them separate, saying performance is decent.

 

$4 for movie rentals? Awesome! Wheres the catch?

 

The catch is that netflix just announced UNLIMITED online viewing for all customers except base 4.99/month subscribers.

 

Unfortunately, Netflix is online only and not great quality, and Windows only. This is Windows/Mac HD and DVD quality, and can be played on a TV, iPod, iPhone, and your computer. Plus it is first run titles, where Netflix has terrible selection.

 

-CELEBRATES-

IPHONE HERE I COME!
I will soon join you, JM, in teh e1337 iPHONE OWNERS GROUP!

WOOOO.

 

Ugh. But I will too, eventually. Theres a relatively good chance that I'll be switching over to ATT either next week, or in August, and obviously, that means an iPhone for me.

And this really does prove that you are spoiled, WinWin.

Now wheres that ultraportable...

 

True netflix is windows only, but quality isn't bad. We have 22" 1680x1050 flat panels at work and the movies look good at full screen...it ain't HD, but not bad. Right now they have ~6000 movies online. Hey competition is good

 

I agree with that. It looks ok here, but not great on Netflix. And the 6000 titles are old. The nice part about iTunes is they will be first-run.

**EDIT** This has to be the most popular Macworld to date. Engadget and TUAW are both having trouble and now ars is starting to hang.

 

I'm sticking with the macrumorslive.com...seems to be working well. I had the cnet.com live blog book marked as well, that went down within minutes. Even before uncle steve took the stage!

my edit now cnet seems to up now, I guess they had a big onslaught of F5 pushers around 9am PST

 

Gizmodo is working pretty well and MacRumors is excellent, with the auto updating and stuff. I think Engadget and TAUW are sucking up the rest of the Weblogs Inc server bandwidth too, since Autoblog (car site) is lagging like all hell too.

And uhh, I agree with Peter Rojas from Engadget: [Can't we just hurry up and get to the new laptop? - Peter]

Heh.

Steve, my friend, I have class in 20 minutes, can we please get this Fox person off the stage and get that laptop on the screen? Excellent, Fox dude is off, Steve is back on.

MAC BOOK AIRRRRRRRR

 

Here it comes. Apple make the best notebooks he says. Wow they really are calling it MacBook Air!

 

Here we go, the 4th note - Something is in the air!

MBA it is!

aka. "The World's Thinnest Notebook"

 

Well, he's got a point, since, well, they do make the best notebooks.

And dissappointingly, its placed between the MB and the MBP. Halleluya (sp) for a $1700 price tag.

.16" O.O. O.O

 

hurrah, this is what i've been waiting for...anxious for specs

 

13.3", LED backlight, .16-.76" thin, 3lbs, backlit keyboard, fits in a manila folder. Waiting for the tech specs.

Multitouch trackpad! Aluminum with black keys. Multitouch used for resizing stuff, pinch/pull like on the iPhone.

OK, tech specs: 1.8" HDD, 80GB standard, 64GB SSD optional! C2Ds, 1.6GHz standard, 1.8 optional, looks like they are LV processors!

In a side note, engadget appears to have died permanently.




Intel shrank their CPU package 60% for Apple to use in this thing.
Paul Otellini: "The processor is as thick as a nickle and as wide as a dime."

Other stuff: 45 Watt MagSafe on one side, 1 USB 2.0 port, Micro-DVI, Audio Out on a flip down door on the other side.

No optical drive, as expected, but external USB SuperDrive available for $99. 802.11n and BT 2.1+EDR, duh. Interesting thing called Remote Disc: Special software loaded on other machines with optical drives that allows MacBook Air to borrow their drives to install things from CDs/DVDs. You can even borrow drives from PCs.

5 hour battery life with wifi on. 2GB memory, $1799 price. Preorder now, ships in 2 weeks.
Full specs:



Environmentally friendly stuff: fully aluminum case (good for recycling), first fully mercury and lead free display, circuit boards are BFR free, retail packaging are 56% less volume than MacBook.

 

0.16" thick at thinnest point, the iPod Touch is 0.3" thick, so half of that?


Seems really fragile atm


It looks pretty ugly too in my opinion, well, not ugly, but really weird. Though this is just from the early pictures, until the official ones come out, we'll see...

 

1.8" drive is not going to be reliable.

 

True, it'll be slow since 4200rpm is the only speed for it - however, there is also....SSD, for a price, like 1/4 of the notebook price if not more heh

Black keyboard on the white bezel doesn't really look nice.

edit: One USB 2.0? ONE?!

 

I'd say your lucky to get 1 USB port considering the thickness/size, 2 would have been ideal IMHO to have a USB mouse and external USB accessory at the same time w/o needing a USB hub.

 

I agree it is kinda ugly. Very un-Apple. And one USB port is not enough if you are going to use an external USB optical drive. This better have a good price attached to it.

 

That is very true, but one USB port is just compromising way too much. 2 would be really nice, one of each side for example. Of course, a USB hub would easily solve this, but, as mentioned, sacrifices needed to be made.

I was a fan of the Macbook styling and looks, more then the MBP, and if they just made the MB smaller, thinner and with the specs of the new 'MBA', then it'd be a hit.

 

Starts at $1799.


Hrmmm....

 

Survey says $1799

 

I agree. I think they compromised a tad here. 2 USB ports is kinda necessary. Although I assume this is intended as a second machine and not expected to be plugged into to anything.

 

give me 10.5.2 and a new cinema display or give me DEATH! booo.

 

I'm waiting for the "One more thing"

 

No penryn for MBP neither? I guess that's an easy bump not really worthy of big Macworld hype.

 

Good call Redline, hopefully there is "one more thing"

 

"One more thing...We've decided to be kind, and reduce the price of the MacBook Air to $799, effective now."



Hell with it, I don't think I can wait for his one more thing, I have to go to class. I'm already 10 minutes late....

 

Macbook Air site is up:

http://www.apple.com/macbookair/

 

From cnet's live blog, LOL:

"10:29: The Mac Pro unveiled last week gets a mention, as we recap the major announcements from today. Something gives me the sense we're building, heightening the anticipation, soaking up the audience's attention before he hits them with the...

Nothing? Really, that's it?

Hold that. Well, it's not "One more thing." It's Randy Newman. Randy Newman?"

http://www.news.com/one-more-thing/8301-13579_3-9850085-37.html?tag=bubbl_1

 

That's it. Store is back up. The MBA actually does not look bad. I take back the ugly comment.

iTunes 7.6 is in Software Update. Still no iPhone update.

 

Ohhh, the 64GB SSD version for $3098

 

well the ipod nano 3G looked ugly in the pics until it turned out to be a thing of ultimate beauty IRL

dissappointed about the lack of update on the MBP...

 

WoW! That is outrageous!

 

and no 10.5.2!!!!! all the new stuff looks great, but I can't believe they have still not updated the Cinema Displays.

 

Well its not over yet is it? I'd be surprised is they dont update the mbp

edit- i guess it is over, thats a surprise they didnt update the mbp, i guess theyll do it later in the year >_>

 

Arrrgh, I held out so long for the "Macbook Pro Penryn Update" !

 

me too I'm kinda grr about it...but oh well still getting a new MBP!!!

 

They wouldn't announce that sort of update. It's trivial, not worth the press.

I want the air!

And I think the AppleTV has finally hit a good spot. Not a bad price and much more useful now!

 

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees! The new 1.1.3 is now out for download for the iPhone.

*downloads*

 

Surely not? Their flagship notebook model, the laptop they say is the best laptop in the industry? I can't imagine they or the press would view any updates to it as trivial?!
When I saw them announce the multi-touch trackpad for the Air I thought that would be included in an imminent MBP announcement too