Finally, I Can Breathe
Posted by Sam at 3:06 PM

It's over. The MacWorld '05 Keynote is done. Many happy new toys to pine over... like the Mac Mini, the iPod Shuffle, iWork, iLife, Final Cut Express. Well done everyone. Pats on the back for all!

So, let's do the final scoring:

From the rumors, I predicted:
- Flash-memory based iPod: Probably
- Hardware Audio Interface (a.k.a. Asteroid?): Not Likely
- iWork Office Productivity Suite: Probably
- $499 Headless iMac (a.k.a. the iHome): Probably
- iPhone: Not a chance in hell

Not too bad. I was sort of right on all of them... missed a few updates though.

Now, let's discuss the new goodies:

I'm mostly excited about the Mac Mini. $499 and $599. Cute and Tiny. This is the kind of machine that would make an ideal mp3 jukebox/media center type thingy. My only hesitation is the fact that you'll need to buy a ton of stuff to get this machine up to speed. Keyboard, mouse, Bluetooth, Airport... and all of this needs to be purchased separately. Not to mention that 40gb is a bit weak for the $499 model (assuming you'll use it as a media center... which is only an idea. I guess 40gb is ok for general use. I'd kill that 40 in a heartbeat... and I ain't talkin' 'bout no forty ounces of the O.E.). Still though... this is what Apple needs. If only I wasn't on such a tight budget these days...

Next up is iWork. I'm all for an Apple branded Productivity suite. Will it do everything that Office can? I doubt it. Will it take the place of Office in the workplace? Probably not. Will it suffice for the student or someone who doesn't need all of the extraneous stuff that exists in Office? Probably. It's a much needed and well timed successor to the dated Appleworks. (Cool packaging too!)

Ok... The iPod Shuffle. Why am I not really excited about this? The price is right. The capacity is right. Oh... that's it, no display of any kind. That alone makes it a "no go" for me. What saves it though, is the ability to double as a usb flash drive. That's pretty cool. It's the size of many flash drives too. So, if you look at it as a usb flash drive that also plays mp3s... i guess that makes it ok. Well, at least better. But no display? Come on now...

I think that's enough for now. The other stuff isn't too thrilling (for me anyway). I think I'll let things sink in for a little while. I'm sure this isn't the last MacWorld '05 related post. That's a promise. Or, a threat. I guess it all depends on where you stand on the matter.

Oh... a favor: If anyone is at the expo this week, check out the Crumpler Bags (booth #2339) booth for me. I'll be very interested to see what they have in store for their product line. Photo's too (if you can)! Thanks! That would rock... Enjoy the expo!

Comments: 4 | Post a Comment | Permalink

All hail the techno-sage!

I humble myself in suplication before you and your infinite wisdom.

May the Mac-gods reward you with a thousand "mini macs"

All hail the Dork Lord,

Seriously nice job on the predictions.

Comment By TheDarkLordDerfla on January 11, 2005 3:33 PM

I think the Mini is very close to what they need. Possibly close enough that it, well, is in the "10 ring"(that's near the bulls-eye, IIRC). It'll serve well, but it really is a lot of extra stuff to buy. A 40GB HDD? That's not that big. I haven't been able to really get to the Apple page, a bit busy. Can you at least pop this bad boy open and do some minor upgrades? anyone know? I mean, someone we can actually have normal communication with. It needs to be minorly user upgradeable to really hit it off. With the plethora of HDD options floating around in the stores, an 80GB is $40, it would be a simple, cheap upgrade.

The Shuffle. Well. Is the street price going to be any lower? Are Mac released prices pretty much IT? It's almost a bit too high, in my opinion. 1GB for $150? It's good, but $50-$100 more does get you an iPod mini with 4GB...and a screen. I agree. No screen? Kinda weird. I guess, pricing is a tight squeeze between a standard USB mem stick and the iPods. So, well, I guess the price maybe as good as they can hit it, off the bat.

I guess this thing got big enough, I shoulda posted it on my site....

Comment By Blackwatch on January 11, 2005 3:34 PM

the mini ipod thingy is so cute! that is about all i got out of the whole post. so way to go on the cute stuff apple!

Comment By Anonymous on January 12, 2005 8:42 AM

Great job on your predictions from the rumors. I definitely agree with you that the Mac mini is the product to get most excited about. Why didn't Steve talk more about it? It seemed to me that he went on and on about iPod shuffle and Tiger. I agree that the 40 is too small. If Apple expects Windows iPod users to switch, after they load all their music and if they start using iPhoto there probably won't be much disk space free. Of course this might be Apple's strategy so Mac mini purchasers upgrade after using it a while.
Too bad the HD is not the standard 3.5", or I might buy one in a heartbeat, and upgrade the drive. What do you think about the eMacs future? Will Apple continue to sell one with a built in CRT?

Rob

Comment By Anonymous on January 19, 2005 5:11 PM