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Official Macworld 2009 Thread of Schiller-mania!!

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I predict.

A new Mac Mini.
Upgraded iMac (I doubt they'd change the design much, if at all).
Newly designed Mac Pro.
Snow Leopard being showcased.

I must say I'm looking forward to it.
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
Also, in regards to Snow Leopard, there are plenty of people who think it'll be a free update because it's not offering any real new features, just lots of performance tuning. And it's' not like Apple hasn't released an OS X update that for free before.
Click to expand...

That would be great because I don't really see myself paying for it. 10.5 is running just fine.
 
I wouldn't hold my breath on Snow Leopard being free. Granted there are no "wiz-bang" new features akin to Time Machine but there are certainly plenty of new smaller features. The one I'm looking forward to is full Microsoft Exchange support in Mail and iCal. That's a doozy.
 
ckohler said:
I wouldn't hold my breath on Snow Leopard being free. Granted there are no "wiz-bang" new features akin to Time Machine but there are certainly plenty of new smaller features. The one I'm looking forward to is full Microsoft Exchange support in Mail and iCal. That's a doozy.
Click to expand...

I don't need Exchange at all so that's no incentive for me. Maybe a good presentation can win me over.
 
ckohler said:
I wouldn't hold my breath on Snow Leopard being free. Granted there are no "wiz-bang" new features akin to Time Machine but there are certainly plenty of new smaller features. The one I'm looking forward to is full Microsoft Exchange support in Mail and iCal. That's a doozy.
Click to expand...

While I'm not certain it'll be a free upgrade, I do know it'll be a tough sell to the mainstream crowd if they charge for it. I'd probably pick it up, since I see the benefits in it, but the average consumer probably won't.

For reference though, Apple did release OX 10.1 for free back in the day, so there is a precedent for such speculation.
 
Although so far 10.6 shows no PPC support, I still hope for it in the final version... though I doubt that sadly.

But ah well, I have a new Macbook Pro anyway.
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
While I'm not certain it'll be a free upgrade, I do know it'll be a tough sell to the mainstream crowd if they charge for it. I'd probably pick it up, since I see the benefits in it, but the average consumer probably won't.

For reference though, Apple did release OX 10.1 for free back in the day, so there is a precedent for such speculation.
Click to expand...
Yeah but lets be honest, 10.0 was nothing but a Beta you paid for and for many it was unusable.
 
gigapower said:
Yeah but lets be honest, 10.0 was nothing but a Beta you paid for and for many it was unusable.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I'd go that far, but yeah, it was missing a lot of features. Still, it was a major update, mostly focused on tuning, much like Snow Leopard.

Like I said, I'm not sure I buy that it's going to be free either, but I do know it's a tough sell to the average consumer to charge full price for it.
 
I'm also attending the expo.

Any suggestions for someone who is going for just one day as a tourist/consumer? (In SF for the week for a vacation, MacWorld happens to overlap)

Besides Apple stuff, I'm into photography.
 
I'll be happy enough if they just roll out Mini and Apple TV updates. I'll buy the next Apple TV iteration pretty much no matter what at this point.

I'd love to see them extend the display sizes back up to 30", but I have no illusions that I'll be waiting for quite some time for that to happen.
 
I'm hoping for an Airport Extreme/Express update possibly myself, to the latest N specification, and maybe a better range. If one doesn't get announced, I may buy the existing one. I just didn't want to get burned, and, together with CES, to see all my options.

And I'm really looking forward to Snow Leopard as well. First I've ever heard of it being free. That would be amazing. But I would pay, so either way I'll be there day one.

Outside of official Apple stuff, what other good third party things are shown? This is my first year as a Mac owner where I'll be paying attention.
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
I'm not sure I'd go that far, but yeah, it was missing a lot of features. Still, it was a major update, mostly focused on tuning, much like Snow Leopard.

Like I said, I'm not sure I buy that it's going to be free either, but I do know it's a tough sell to the average consumer to charge full price for it.
Click to expand...
Maybe they'll do a MIB for those who can prove they bought a copy of Leopard. Doesn't matter though I've bought every release of OS X so far and I don't see that changing.
 
gigapower said:
Maybe they'll do a MIB for those who can prove they bought a copy of Leopard. Doesn't matter though I've bought every release of OS X so far and I don't see that changing.
Click to expand...

Same here. It's going to be well worth it for powerusers with the right Macs.
 
So here is what I'd like to see in the Mac Mini update:
  • Easy access to the HD and Memory
  • Quad Core CPU option
  • nVidia graphics, discreet as an option
  • eSATA port
 
LCfiner said:
iPhone nano announcement: Small iPhone. no info about screen resolution, features, etc. just... smaller.

My take: No way in hell. Higher res screen to ensure app store compatibility would be expensive and harder to type on due to the tiny size. reduced functionality phone (no appstore or no internet apps) would eliminate one of the key benefits of the iPhone in the first place. just seems to early to fracture the iPhone ecosystem right now.
Click to expand...
I've said it before and I'll say it again... some people don't use a lot of the cooler shit in an iPhone and find it too expensive of an investment. Some people just want a phone/iPod hybrid without too many bells and whistles. Making a nano gives Apple an option to put out a phone with their coolest talking points (multi-touch, slick OS, iTunes syncing, iPod convergence device) without being a smartphone with hardware and software bloat that the general public doesn't care about, which allows them to set an accessible pricepoint for the device itself, like... $49-99. You think there's no market for a $49 iPhone for the less technically inclined? It also allows more flexibility with monthly rates, as a device that appeals to this demographic is likely not as eager for a data plan, opening up pay-as-you-go options. There's a TON of reasons for Apple to want to enter that sector now that they're a proven player in the mobile phone market.
 
Terrell said:
I've said it before and I'll say it again... some people don't use a lot of the cooler shit in an iPhone and find it too expensive of an investment. Some people just want a phone/iPod hybrid without too many bells and whistles. Making a nano gives Apple an option to put out a phone with their coolest talking points (multi-touch, slick OS, iTunes syncing, iPod convergence device) without being a smartphone with hardware and software bloat that the general public doesn't care about, which allows them to set an accessible pricepoint for the device itself, like... $49-99. You think there's no market for a $49 iPhone for the less technically inclined? It also allows more flexibility with monthly rates, as a device that appeals to this demographic is likely not as eager for a data plan, opening up pay-as-you-go options. There's a TON of reasons for Apple to want to enter that sector now that they're a proven player in the mobile phone market.
Click to expand...


And some people want a 500 dollar computer. Apple doesn't sell products to those people.



I'm not saying it could NEVER happen. Just not this year ... or next. :D


concerning snow leopard. I heard that systemwide automatic text correction (like the iphone or MS word) will be part of this update. I am a bad enough typist that I would pay 100 bucks just for that feature. :lol
 
Terrell said:
I've said it before and I'll say it again... some people don't use a lot of the cooler shit in an iPhone and find it too expensive of an investment. Some people just want a phone/iPod hybrid without too many bells and whistles. Making a nano gives Apple an option to put out a phone with their coolest talking points (multi-touch, slick OS, iTunes syncing, iPod convergence device) without being a smartphone with hardware and software bloat that the general public doesn't care about, which allows them to set an accessible pricepoint for the device itself, like... $49-99. You think there's no market for a $49 iPhone for the less technically inclined? It also allows more flexibility with monthly rates, as a device that appeals to this demographic is likely not as eager for a data plan, opening up pay-as-you-go options. There's a TON of reasons for Apple to want to enter that sector now that they're a proven player in the mobile phone market.
Click to expand...
Apple will never ever sell a phone (or any other product?) for 49$.
 
Terrell said:
I've said it before and I'll say it again... some people don't use a lot of the cooler shit in an iPhone and find it too expensive of an investment. Some people just want a phone/iPod hybrid without too many bells and whistles. Making a nano gives Apple an option to put out a phone with their coolest talking points (multi-touch, slick OS, iTunes syncing, iPod convergence device) without being a smartphone with hardware and software bloat that the general public doesn't care about, which allows them to set an accessible pricepoint for the device itself, like... $49-99. You think there's no market for a $49 iPhone for the less technically inclined? It also allows more flexibility with monthly rates, as a device that appeals to this demographic is likely not as eager for a data plan, opening up pay-as-you-go options. There's a TON of reasons for Apple to want to enter that sector now that they're a proven player in the mobile phone market.
Click to expand...

A great deal of the "cooler shit" that's on the iPhone is there purely in the form of software. As a matter of fact, making a "nano" version may be an even more expensive proposition since you have to factor in cost of smaller hardware and more compact PCB design. I really don't see how you take out any of the "cooler shit" and actually make that into a tangible hardware savings cost that would result in the kind of price point you're talking about.

There's alot of speculation (or it might not even be speculation, I'm not sure) that the only reason the 3G phone saw a price drop is because Apple is banking on App Store revenue - they're not about to introduce a "loss leader" phone that wouldn't even support the App Store and not give them that revenue stream.
 
Looking forward to Macworld.

I've been waiting to buy a Mac mini for what seems like forever. I was so sure it'd come out this time last year that I bought an apple bluetooth keyboard in preparation. Then not only was the mini not updated but they released those all-new aluminum keyboards too. First and last time I ever do anything like that :lol

I wonder if there'll be an iLife update - they usually came out every Macworld although the last one came out in the summer. It's been like 18 months though so we're due for an update there. Also curious about Snow Leopard, I doubt it'll be free but that would be nice.
 
Souldriver said:
Apple will never ever sell a phone (or any other product?) for 49$.
Click to expand...
But that's the thing, THEY aren't. Carriers are. Subsidy, remember? They get all their money back anyways.
 
Terrell said:
But that's the thing, THEY aren't. Carriers are. Subsidy, remember? They get all their money back anyways.
Click to expand...


All that does is train the market to expect the phone at that price and have the carriers start to ask for the phones cheaper. Doing that hurts future brand equity pretty significantly. Not a smart move.
 
teiresias said:
A great deal of the "cooler shit" that's on the iPhone is there purely in the form of software. As a matter of fact, making a "nano" version may be an even more expensive proposition since you have to factor in cost of smaller hardware and more compact PCB design. I really don't see how you take out any of the "cooler shit" and actually make that into a tangible hardware savings cost that would result in the kind of price point you're talking about.

There's alot of speculation (or it might not even be speculation, I'm not sure) that the only reason the 3G phone saw a price drop is because Apple is banking on App Store revenue - they're not about to introduce a "loss leader" phone that wouldn't even support the App Store and not give them that revenue stream.
Click to expand...
If you rework an App Store-less iPhone nano OS in the same vein, it would allow them to shrink the PCB. Take out Safari (and maybe Maps and YouTube), for instance, and you need less RAM on the board, as well, because you're not loading content-heavy information that requires a lot of rendering and such. And smaller hardware isn't that expensive depending on its tech spec.
Also, because it's a new device, it also opens up new contract stipulations for this device, which means that the nano could go back to a profit-share model to compensate for the (alleged) loss of App Store sales. But I don't even think that's an issue, since Apple was actually making profit on the device sold to carriers for subsidizing (though not as tidy a profit as they used to make).

Phoenix said:
All that does is train the market to expect the phone at that price and have the carriers start to ask for the phones cheaper. Doing that hurts future brand equity pretty significantly. Not a smart move.
Click to expand...
Can you elaborate? I'm not exactly understanding what you're saying here. How is this "hurting brand equity" when they're already subsidizing a more expensive iPhone with more features?
 
Terrell said:
If you rework an App Store-less iPhone nano OS in the same vein, it would allow them to shrink the PCB. Take out Safari (and maybe Maps and YouTube), for instance, and you need less RAM on the board, as well, because you're not loading content-heavy information that requires a lot of rendering and such. And smaller hardware isn't that expensive depending on its tech spec.
Click to expand...


Do you really think Apple would make this device? Or are you just playing Devil's advocate?

Because what you describe does not sound like anything Apple would create with the iPhone name at any point in the near future. Honestly, I don't see why they would make this device at any point, ever, considering how people are getting used to using more an more internet features on a phone (and paying for the data plans) and not less.
 
I'm looking for some kind of media center device, which hopefully this new mac mini will provide.

Very pumped for a new mac mini...don't disappoint!
 
LCfiner said:
another late rumour.

report of a 17" macbook pro redesign as per the existing 15" but with a non-removable battery. it's supposed to have extended life but this would piss off folks who need their laptops to run more than 4 or 5 hours.

http://www.macrumors.com/2009/01/04/17-unibody-macbook-pro-with-non-removable-extended-life-battery/
Click to expand...
God I hope Apple is not dumb enough to do this.

Mr. Wonderful said:
So the Airport devices have been receiving firmware updates keeping them up to date with the latest specification? Apple's specs list it as only Draft 2.0 of the now 7 Draft-N specs.
Click to expand...
Are any devices up to Draft 7. The Wi-Fi Alliance only has certified Draft 2.0 I thought, meaning all Wi-Fi badged 802.11n devices are Draft 2.0. My entire house is 802.11n now and its a glorious thing.
 
RubxQub said:
I'm looking for some kind of media center device, which hopefully this new mac mini will provide.

Very pumped for a new mac mini...don't disappoint!
Click to expand...
I hope they drop the price on the mini too, but that of course is probably going to be impossible.
 
Fireblend said:
I'm in an indefinite wait for a 64GB iPod touch. Too bad it doesn't seem it will happen anytime soon :lol
Click to expand...
That actually should be coming soon. The iPod Touch has 2 solid state NAND chips, the iPhone has one (cell phone and camera internals take up that space). So, the current highest capacity iPhone has 1x16 NAND chip, the 32GB iPod Touch has 2x16 NAND chips. 32GB NAND chips are going into mass production this winter, so I wouldn't be too surprised to see a 32GB iPhone and 64GB iPod Touch in February.

SuperPac said:
Getting back to new product talk...

I'd love to see something come of the patents Apple has on multitouch mice.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/05/apple-applies-for-multi-touch-mouse-patent/
http://www.macblogz.com/2008/12/19/one-more-thing-apples-new-multi-touch-mighty-mouse/

The ball on the Mighty Mouse frankly sucks ass. Builds up dirt/stops working so easily that it's due for a redo.
Click to expand...
Yeah, give me a multitouch bluetooth mouse that recharges a lithium-ion battery via a USB cable. The current Bluetooth mouse is a piece of crap that constantly disconnects from my mom's iMac G5 which is why I don't use one with my newer iMac (don't know if the problem is with the computer, but a friend of mine who used to have an Intel Mac mini had exactly the same problems). I like the idea of the scroll ball but yeah, it gets utterly filthy. Multitouch would be perfect, impossible to jam up, and absolutely worth whatever the price tag would end up being.
 
gigapower said:
God I hope Apple is not dumb enough to do this.


Are any devices up to Draft 7. The Wi-Fi Alliance only has certified Draft 2.0 I thought, meaning all Wi-Fi badged 802.11n devices are Draft 2.0. My entire house is 802.11n now and its a glorious thing.
Click to expand...
I've heard of some Draft 4 being out there (from CNET.) 7 just got approved in November or something though, so, of course, we haven't seen one yet.

And I wish I was completely N in my home. Unfortunately, my current router doesn't do multiple frequencies.
Liu Kang Baking A Pie said:
Because Draft 2 is the only one that has been certified for use in products. It is the latest.
Click to expand...
Tell that to all the draft-N products that came out before the 2.0 specification.
 
Mr. Wonderful said:
Tell that to all the draft-N products that came out before the 2.0 specification.
Click to expand...
They couldn't be badged with the Wi-Fi Alliance 802.11n badge and there fore are not within spec to be cross product range compatible.
 
"Confirmation" of 17" unibody MBP & Mac mini with firewire

http://www.macrumors.com/2009/01/04...7-macbook-pro-battery-mac-mini-with-firewire/

In what's sure to be a controversial move on the part of the Mac maker, those familiar with the new unibody 17-inch MacBook Pro confirm that it will not share the same panel-covered battery layout as its 13- and 15-inch cousins. Instead, the notebook's battery will be fixed in place and not easily removable by users, similar to the MacBook Air's.

--

In addition to sporting both a Mini DisplayPort and a Mini DVI connector, it's now also rumored that the new Mac mini will see the addition of a FireWire 800 port and a fifth USB port, with the legacy FireWire 400 port going away. The Mini DVI connector will allow the mini to continue to cater to users who already own a display, while the Mini DisplayPort will offer support for customers of Apple's latest LED-backlit Cinema Display.
Click to expand...
 
I care oh so little about what ports are on the Mac Mini. I care about what software is on it that make it dominate my living room.

Make me want this thing...I want to give you money Apple...just ask for it nicely and it's yours.
 
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