January 8th, 2009

CES: Where's the Mac pavilion?

Posted by David Morgenstern @ 9:09 am

Categories: Conference, Consumer electronics, Macworld Expo

Tags: Consumer Electronics Show, Apple Macintosh, Apple Inc., Macworld Expo, Desktops, Marketing Research, Hardware, Marketing, David Morgenstern

Exhibitors at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco are taking advantage of deals for next year’s show, if it happens. On the show floor, some say a Apple pavilion at CES in Las Vegas might be a better option.

Some consumer market exhibitors said they might skip next year’s Macworld Expo in San Francisco — if it is held in its traditional week and if it occurs at all — if an Apple-centric presence is offered at CES in Las Vegas. Some floated the idea of an Apple pavilion there, which could present iPod and iPhone developers a strong venue but also a place for vendors of Mac consumer content creation software.

And unlike the brouhaha over Apple’s pullout of next year’s Macworld Expo, vendors don’t think that an Apple presence is necessary for a successful showing.

“It wouldn’t matter if Apple is there or not, this [pavilion] would be a “hot destination at CES,” said Jeff O’Shea, founder and executive vice president of marketing at IntelliTouch of San Diego.

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January 6th, 2009

Macworld Expo: Color freak

Posted by David Morgenstern @ 6:28 pm

Categories: Display, Macworld Expo, Software

Tags: Calibration, Monitor, ColorMunki Photo, Printers, Monitors & Displays, Hardware, Peripherals, Components, David Morgenstern

ColorMunki Photo was released earlier in the year but I hadn’t had a chance to see it in action. I admit that I once worked in the color calibration industry, so I’m a soft touch for a demo.

(If you don’t get what the deal is about color calibration, it’s the search for ways to improve the consistency and accuracy of your color devices, such as a monitor and a printer, so that what you see on one device you may get on hardcopy. It’s not easy technology, nor inexpensive. The ColorMunki Photo has a list price of about $500; and it’s around $400 online.)

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January 6th, 2009

MacBook Pro 17 (Early 2009) observations

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 4:49 pm

Categories: Hardware, MacBook Pro, Macworld Expo

Tags: Apple MacBook, Battery, Apple Inc., Apple MacBook Pro, MBP, MBP17, Screen Option, Engineering, Notebooks, Hardware

For me the new, unibody MacBook Pro 17-inch (PN MB604LL/A) is probably the most exciting thing announced here at Macworld Expo. Not only because I’m more of a hardware guy but also because I’m a MacBook freak. So, where to start? The MBP has three compelling new features.

The new MBP17 has a matte screen option. Can I get a Hallelujah?!

I’ve been a staunch critic of glossy displays in MacBooks, and I’m not the only one. It appears that Cupertino is finally listening. The unibody MacBook Pro 17 is the first in the new form-factor MacBooks to offer a configuration with a matte screen Apple calls “antiglare.” It’s a $50 option though, which is a bit of a slap in the face. If I’m spending $2,800 on a notebook computer you’d think that Apple would throw in the matte screen option. But at least it’s available, which is excellent. The question that remains is if the matte screen option will trickle down to the MBP15 and even the MB13. Representatives in the Apple booth didn’t know the answer when I asked them today.

The new MBP17 can support up to 8GB of maximum RAM (and has 4GB standard) which is a huge step in the right direction. If you can get past the 8GB $1,200 sticker price, that is. I’m sure that the RAM price is so high because the new 17 ships with two, 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM modules and both have to be removed and replaced with two, 4GB modules to get to 8GB. Prices will eventually come down and 8GB is an attractive option for memory hungry applications and anything to do with virtualization.

Look ma, no latches!

The MBP17’s fixed battery is a bit of a scandal. It’s as if Apple didn’t learn its lesson with the MacBook Air and iPhone batteries. After watching the video by the battery engineers during today’s keynote, I’m partially convinced. Their justification is that fixed batteries save a lot of room previously occupied by connectors, latches and doors. A fixed battery can use more internal real estate in the enclosure to store power – goes the refrain. As a result the MBP17 fixed battery holds 40 percent more energy and will last up to 8 hours on a charge (7 hours when using the faster NVIDIA 9600M GT chip) according to Apple.

I’m curious about the real-world run times though. Most companies base their battery benchmarks on perfect world conditions and it will be interesting to see how long the new battery really lasts. The third USB port is a welcome addition but it comes at the expense of a dedicated FW400 port on the previous model. Solid State Drives (SSDs) are now available as 128MB (+$500) and 256MB (+$900) options. In case you’re wondering, a maxed out MBP17 configuration (2.93GHz, 8GB, 256GB SSD and anti-glare) will set you back $5,250. Start saving your nickels and dimes, kids.

I’m going to wait and see if the anti-glare screen trickles down to the MBP 15-inch before diving in, although the 8GB of RAM is attractive.

What about you?

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January 6th, 2009

Macworld Expo 2009 keynote stream posted

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 3:24 pm

Categories: Macworld Expo

Tags: Apple Inc., Apple MacBook Pro, Apple Online Store, Notebooks, Podcasts, Digital Music, Digital Media, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Internet

Apple has posted a stream of today’s keynote address by Phil Schiller at Macworld Expo here in San Francisco. The Apple Keynotes podcast (iTunes) has not yet been updated as of this writing.

Apple’s Web site features rotating pages with new announcements today. All the information can also be found in new product pages for iLife ‘09, iWork ‘09 and the MacBook Pro 17-inch.

The Apple online store is open and press releases are posted for the new products.

• Changes Coming to the iTunes Store
• Apple Introduces 17-inch MacBook Pro With Revolutionary New Built-in Battery That Delivers Eight Hours of Use & 1,000 Recharges
• Apple Introduces iLife ’09
• Apple Unveils iWork ‘09

After watching the stream, how do you rate Phil Schiller’s performance?

January 6th, 2009

Cloud Computing: Apple vs. Microsoft

Posted by David Morgenstern @ 12:13 pm

Categories: Mac BU, Macworld Expo, Microsoft, Office, iWork

Tags: Microsoft Office Live Workspace, Apple Macintosh, Cloud Computing, Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Document Collaboration Companion, Microsoft Office, Desktops, Office Suites, Software

Both Apple and Microsoft rolled out the beginnings of a cloud computing strategy on Tuesday. Apple introduced a beta of its iWork.com document sharing service and Microsoft’s Mac Business Unit unveiled Document Collaboration Companion for Mac Beta.

At the Macworld Expo keynote, Phil Shiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, announced the beta of iWork.com as a trailer of its iWork ‘09 introduction. The service will let iWork ‘09 users post documents to the online site as well as send notifications users and workgroups.

According to Shiller, the program converts the iWork document into a number of cross-platform formats for sharing files with Windows colleagues, including PDF and MS Word.

In a browser, the iWork.com document supports multiple notes along with related discussion threads as well as separate, document-wide discussions.

Analysis: While some folks want more cloud strategy, this implementation is clean, user-friendly and looks do-able for Apple. With all the problems with Mobile.Me, this service looks like a winner.

Meanwhile, stealing a bit of Apple’s spotlight on the cloud, Microsoft took aim at Office for Mac users will soon have “simplified and efficient collaboration” with connections to Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies and Microsoft Office Live Workspace. Due later this year, will be the result: Microsoft Document Collaboration Companion for Mac Beta.

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January 6th, 2009

Live: Philip Schiller keynote at Macworld 2009

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 8:45 am

Categories: Apple, Macworld Expo, News

Tags: Keynote, Taxes, Corporate Communications, Free Trade, Desktops, Recruitment & Selection, Financial Planning, Finance, Marketing, Hardware

This page is the live, real-time coverage of the Phil Schiller keynote at Macworld Expo 2009. It is presented in reverse chronological order. Read from the bottom up if you prefer to start from the beginning.

See other live coverage from CNET News, Engadget and Techmeme. See live photo gallery of event too.

## END ##

10:31 a.m. PST: Schiller kicks last Macworld keynote to Tony Bennett. “The best is yet to come.” Bennett performs stage right on a slide-out stage.

10:25 a.m. PST: “One last thing,” says Schiller. iTunes time. 75 million credit cards account on file, 6 billion songs sold, No. 1 channel in the U.S….Three things new. Price (three tiers starting in April–99 cents, 69 cents and $1.29). What is this Taco Bell. iTunes Plus is the second thing with 256 Kbps encoding and 8 million songs DRM free starting today. Big applause.  10 million songs DRM free by end of quarter (bigger applause). iTunes now also allows purchase over 3G–not just Wi-Fi. Same price and selection. iTunes over 3G starts today.

10:22 a.m. PST: Here’s the line on the 17 inch MacBook Pro:

• $2799 2.66 C2D, 4GB, 2 GPUs, 320GB HDD;
• Starts shipping in late January;
• Environmental report card: EPEAT Gold 2009

10:20 a.m. PST: So what exactly do I do after 1,000 recharge cycles. Leave it to Apple to spin a fixed battery. Pass the Kool-Aid. Schiller says the battery lifespan is five years. Schiller gets applause for battery but it’s 5 out of 10 on the applause-o-meter. Schiller says there will be less batteries thrown away.

10:15 a.m. PST: Schiller steals Jobs’ line and says “one more thing” as he mentions a 17 inch MacBook Pro. Schiller said it quickly. The MacBook Pro will be unibody aluminium (no surprise), will be .98 inches (world’s thinnest) and 6.6 pounds (the lightest for 17 inches. it also has a 1920 x 1200 screen with $50 anti-glare option. Death to the glossy and my prayers have been answered. However, there’s the “integrated battery connector” when showing the side ports and referring to the LED battery gauge. Schiller confirms the fixed battery on the 17 inch MacBookPro. Other details: Up to 8GB RAM, 9400M with 512, both GPUs built in, SSD option. Battery is the most important feature though.  Battery lasts up to 8 hours and 1,000 recharge cycles without adding to weight or size.  There’s a 40 percent larger battery since Apple made it fixed. The battery has custom shaped cells an lithium polymer.  The lifespan of the battery is supposed to be three times longer than the industry average.

10:09 a.m. PST: Some clarity on iWork pricing. For now it’s a free beta but will be a new fee-based service at some point. No word on iPhone editing.

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January 5th, 2009

Mac OS X Snow Leopard: What price?

Posted by David Morgenstern @ 5:42 pm

Categories: Leopard, Mac OS, Macworld Expo

Tags: Developer, Apple Macintosh, Apple Inc., Apple Mac OS X, Apple Mac OS, Operating Systems, Software, David Morgenstern

Behind the scenes at Macworld Expo, developers have mostly good things to say about OS X 10.6, called “Snow Leopard.” While details may emerge during Tuesday’s keynote presentation, the biggest question mark is the cost of the update.

One developer wondered about Snow Leopard’s marketing: “From a marketing point of view, if you call something ‘Leopard’ and the next version is ‘Snow Leopard,’ then that [latter version] has to be free. Maybe [Apple can charge] a slight bump, but not a $99 upgrade.”

(All of the developers requested their discussion be without attribution.)

Another developer agreed that Snow Leopard would be a “tough sell” as an update. However, the cost question was important to developers’ plans and for customer support.

“Will it be it free,  or a $29 update? That answer will define on our end whether we can use any [new] APIs and how we will continue to support Leopard and Tiger.”

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January 5th, 2009

Jobs releases statement about his health

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 9:46 am

Categories: Macworld Expo, Steve Jobs

Tags: Job, Health Care, Apple Inc., Vertical Industries, Benefits, Healthcare, Enterprise Software, Software, Human Resources, Jason D. O'Grady

Apple released the following statement from CEO Steve Jobs to address the persistent rumors that his health is failing due to his visible weight loss over the last year.

Dear Apple Community,

For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.

Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.

I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.

As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.

Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause - a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.

The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.

I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.

So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.

Steve

January 4th, 2009

Oh crystal ball, what will Macworld Expo 2009 bring?

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 11:51 pm

Categories: 10.6, Hardware, Mac OS, Mac mini, MacBook Pro, Macworld Expo, Rumor, Software, iMac, iPhone, iPod touch, iWork

Tags: Apple iPhone, Apple Macintosh, Apple Intel Mac Mini, Apple MacBook, Apple iMac, Apple Inc., AppleInsider, Desktops, Notebooks, Hardware

San Francisco – Ah, Macworld Expo. Don’t you just love this time of year? Thousands of Mac faithful descend upon the fair city by the bay for a week of excitement, nostalgia and imbibing.

The buzz in San Francisco’s downtown is palpable, especially in the bars, restaurants and hotel rooms within walking distance of Moscone. People are yammering about this Mac or that and what Tuesday might hold. But it’s not like it used to be.

Perhaps it’s because I’m here a day early (I usually don’t arrive until Monday) or because I’m still on east coast time, but there isn’t quite the buzz I usually see in San Francisco this year, at least not yet. Don’t fret though, things are bound to ramp up as we get closer to the StevePhilnote on Tuesday.

After getting chided for calling this the “last Macworld Expo” I’m determined to be more positive about the show and to make the most of it. I’m actually quite excited to see how Phil Schiller performs during the keynote address under the hot glare of 6,000 calculating, judging eyeballs. This is Phil’s job interview for the CEO position, isn’t it?

That being said, here’s a rundown of what Apple is likely to announce here on Tuesday…

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January 2nd, 2009

MWSF09: Images from the show floor and Apple booth

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 8:50 pm

Categories: Macworld Expo

Tags: Booth, Apple Inc., Photograph, Jason D. O'Grady

Days before the opening of the (last?) Macworld Expo in San Francisco, setteB.IT has published two photo galleries (1, 2), some of which show the Apple booth in various stages of assembly. The pictures good for getting pumped up for The Big Dance next week. The text is in Italian but the pictures are in English :)