Thoughts on This Years MacWorld
My thoughts on what happened with this years
MacWorld Announcements.
It's a funny thing being an Apple computer user.
If I were to judge the way people reacted to the announcements here at MacWorld
this year I would think that Apple *owes* me for using their
computers.
Apple announced a few new products. The first being the new iPod-mini and the second being an updated iLife software package.
The first was rumored all over the place, dreams of sub-$200 iPods if even $99 iPods were flying like mad. The much ballyhooed 2GB mini-iPod everyone wanted failed to materialize. Instead we got a 4GB multicolor option mini-iPod at $249, and the 15GB iPod became the 'low end' iPod at $299.
People have obsessed about the $50 difference and 11GB space difference. What every seems to gloss over is the fact that the iPod mini is the size of a business card. It's also less expensive than flash mp3 players that have only 256MB of space.
If I didn't already have my second generation 20GB iPod I think I'd go for it. 20GB of space holds 10 days of music. Something I never get through. And they have a nice armband that would let you ride a bike or jog with the mini-ipod that you can't do with the regular iPod because the hard drive can't take the beating like the mini can. But yet the various boards are full of whining and griping about the cost. I'd bet money these are the folks that wanted $99 for one. They can't seem to fathom the amount of technology & cost of that technology that went into these things.
The next big scoff is that iLife costs a whoppin $49. It also appears they will not be offering the usual ones (iPhoto, iMovie) for download anymore off Apple's website. However last time they announced iLife it took a week or so and then it was online.
All the iApps have gotten and update, and a new one is introduced. The new one being the most groundbreaking one yet I think. You have GarageBand (and I still think they should have named this iStudio but oh well). GarageBand is your personal sound creation & mixing station. You can even then take a creation and save it to AAC/MP3 and store it on your iPod or put it upon a website for download. Along with this were several accessories including a keyboard, I don't know why but I fell in love with this idea instantly.
So we picked up the less expensive keyboard option and are waiting for it all to arrive. The grandiose thoughts I have is we could make soundtracks for our movies that we send out to the family or I could just have some good fun. I also thought it'd be a good way to introduce Becca to music other than The Wiggles that she enjoys on Disney. We'll see how it goes.
However, yet again, the 'you owe us apple' crowd was in a complete uproar. Many were complaining about the $49 price. $49??? that's a Gamecube game, or a dinner for two. Also if you buy a new Mac of any kind (iBook, PowerBook, iMac G5) you get it for free on them. Many wanted just one of the apps (like iPhoto) and felt they were being ripped off for paying more than $10 for it. It is true that these applications have been free for a while. But iLife did introduce and cost money last year to get iDVD updated due to its size. Also there has been *no* official confirmation or denial that these won't be for download. So the pages and pages of frothing at the mouth rants by these fools could all be for naught. Still $49 for a freaking software package isn't all that. Try and find these five applications on a PC without paying some dough. Unless you *buy* a $1000 camera and it comes with it, they're going to run you easily $300 - $400 for all five, if not more. Because we all know studio type applications cost a fortune.
What's really cool is after you get going with GarageBand you can then buy an expansion pack that adds 2000 more 'loops' of various instruments. The loops sound pretty cool too where as you play in your music (either through the keyboard, guitar, or microphone) it'll adjust the tempo of the loops to match what you are playing. Rather ingenous. Now of course there are limitations but for the beginner sound maker this is a great product.
They of course have Soundtrack that appears to have a ton more features for $299 itself. It has features like other sound formats that are lossless, etc. Seems really cool and I always wanted to 'play' with it. With GarageBand I can now.
iPhoto had some serious speed improvements apparently, which I think we were starting to hit here at home due to all the pictures I take of the kids. So that should be nice to see the other minor and major changes in it.
iMovie got some updates that were to improve the rendering of titles and a few new titles including a 'star wars crawl' type title. Though from what I can tell if I ever want to make something shoot lasers I'll need Final Cut Express which was updated to version 2.0 there at MacWorld. I've always wanted to make my own star wars movie like we did in eighth grade. But I think I must be getting to old because I don't have any friends any more that would like to roll around in the woods acting like they're making a star wars movie anymore. Maybe when the kids are older we can have some fun.
Nostalgia bit here. Boy to be maybe about 7th grade right now. From a communications state of view I could have a *blast*. Communications class would have been so much more fun than it was with 8mm film. Not that it was boring then either. But special effects could have been more than a few frames with a day-glo pencil as a laser. Seth Wiley and his movie that he did back then had me in such awe. Not that he didn't do too bad recently either. I know someone who worked with someone off a star trek TV show. Butthead didn't look me up and introduce me though :)
The last update announced was the updated Xserve G5. This brings apple into the G5 on their server line and is pretty intersting. Single or Dual 2.0GHz G5s and Serial ATA drives (up to 3). I've been investigating Mac OS X Server and I'm really interested. Maybe one day. Our family file server is ok but it's several years old so the drives might start crapping out on me. Plus it's so dang big. Having this little 1U monster in the closet might be really interesting. Nobody bitched about this one, but then the people that bitched about the other two are probably too cheap to even consider this.
So all in all I was pleased with the updates. I would have liked to have seen speed-bumps for the G5s and maybe something new in the iMac world, but the year isn't over yet. Traditionally Apple doesn't make a big deal out of a speed bump so it's possible to see 2.2/2.5/2.6GHz speeds maybe, or they might go 1.8 single as the low end and then dual 2.0 and dual 2.2 or so. Either way that would be neat, not that I could afford it right now anyway. A lot of people also wanted monitor refreshes as well. I would just like a price drop so I could swing the 23" LCD when I finally upgrade my P4 to a G5 of some kind one day.
Apple announced a few new products. The first being the new iPod-mini and the second being an updated iLife software package.
The first was rumored all over the place, dreams of sub-$200 iPods if even $99 iPods were flying like mad. The much ballyhooed 2GB mini-iPod everyone wanted failed to materialize. Instead we got a 4GB multicolor option mini-iPod at $249, and the 15GB iPod became the 'low end' iPod at $299.
People have obsessed about the $50 difference and 11GB space difference. What every seems to gloss over is the fact that the iPod mini is the size of a business card. It's also less expensive than flash mp3 players that have only 256MB of space.
If I didn't already have my second generation 20GB iPod I think I'd go for it. 20GB of space holds 10 days of music. Something I never get through. And they have a nice armband that would let you ride a bike or jog with the mini-ipod that you can't do with the regular iPod because the hard drive can't take the beating like the mini can. But yet the various boards are full of whining and griping about the cost. I'd bet money these are the folks that wanted $99 for one. They can't seem to fathom the amount of technology & cost of that technology that went into these things.
The next big scoff is that iLife costs a whoppin $49. It also appears they will not be offering the usual ones (iPhoto, iMovie) for download anymore off Apple's website. However last time they announced iLife it took a week or so and then it was online.
All the iApps have gotten and update, and a new one is introduced. The new one being the most groundbreaking one yet I think. You have GarageBand (and I still think they should have named this iStudio but oh well). GarageBand is your personal sound creation & mixing station. You can even then take a creation and save it to AAC/MP3 and store it on your iPod or put it upon a website for download. Along with this were several accessories including a keyboard, I don't know why but I fell in love with this idea instantly.
So we picked up the less expensive keyboard option and are waiting for it all to arrive. The grandiose thoughts I have is we could make soundtracks for our movies that we send out to the family or I could just have some good fun. I also thought it'd be a good way to introduce Becca to music other than The Wiggles that she enjoys on Disney. We'll see how it goes.
However, yet again, the 'you owe us apple' crowd was in a complete uproar. Many were complaining about the $49 price. $49??? that's a Gamecube game, or a dinner for two. Also if you buy a new Mac of any kind (iBook, PowerBook, iMac G5) you get it for free on them. Many wanted just one of the apps (like iPhoto) and felt they were being ripped off for paying more than $10 for it. It is true that these applications have been free for a while. But iLife did introduce and cost money last year to get iDVD updated due to its size. Also there has been *no* official confirmation or denial that these won't be for download. So the pages and pages of frothing at the mouth rants by these fools could all be for naught. Still $49 for a freaking software package isn't all that. Try and find these five applications on a PC without paying some dough. Unless you *buy* a $1000 camera and it comes with it, they're going to run you easily $300 - $400 for all five, if not more. Because we all know studio type applications cost a fortune.
What's really cool is after you get going with GarageBand you can then buy an expansion pack that adds 2000 more 'loops' of various instruments. The loops sound pretty cool too where as you play in your music (either through the keyboard, guitar, or microphone) it'll adjust the tempo of the loops to match what you are playing. Rather ingenous. Now of course there are limitations but for the beginner sound maker this is a great product.
They of course have Soundtrack that appears to have a ton more features for $299 itself. It has features like other sound formats that are lossless, etc. Seems really cool and I always wanted to 'play' with it. With GarageBand I can now.
iPhoto had some serious speed improvements apparently, which I think we were starting to hit here at home due to all the pictures I take of the kids. So that should be nice to see the other minor and major changes in it.
iMovie got some updates that were to improve the rendering of titles and a few new titles including a 'star wars crawl' type title. Though from what I can tell if I ever want to make something shoot lasers I'll need Final Cut Express which was updated to version 2.0 there at MacWorld. I've always wanted to make my own star wars movie like we did in eighth grade. But I think I must be getting to old because I don't have any friends any more that would like to roll around in the woods acting like they're making a star wars movie anymore. Maybe when the kids are older we can have some fun.
Nostalgia bit here. Boy to be maybe about 7th grade right now. From a communications state of view I could have a *blast*. Communications class would have been so much more fun than it was with 8mm film. Not that it was boring then either. But special effects could have been more than a few frames with a day-glo pencil as a laser. Seth Wiley and his movie that he did back then had me in such awe. Not that he didn't do too bad recently either. I know someone who worked with someone off a star trek TV show. Butthead didn't look me up and introduce me though :)
The last update announced was the updated Xserve G5. This brings apple into the G5 on their server line and is pretty intersting. Single or Dual 2.0GHz G5s and Serial ATA drives (up to 3). I've been investigating Mac OS X Server and I'm really interested. Maybe one day. Our family file server is ok but it's several years old so the drives might start crapping out on me. Plus it's so dang big. Having this little 1U monster in the closet might be really interesting. Nobody bitched about this one, but then the people that bitched about the other two are probably too cheap to even consider this.
So all in all I was pleased with the updates. I would have liked to have seen speed-bumps for the G5s and maybe something new in the iMac world, but the year isn't over yet. Traditionally Apple doesn't make a big deal out of a speed bump so it's possible to see 2.2/2.5/2.6GHz speeds maybe, or they might go 1.8 single as the low end and then dual 2.0 and dual 2.2 or so. Either way that would be neat, not that I could afford it right now anyway. A lot of people also wanted monitor refreshes as well. I would just like a price drop so I could swing the 23" LCD when I finally upgrade my P4 to a G5 of some kind one day.
Posted: Sun - January 11, 2004 at 02:02 PM |
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Published On: Jun 07, 2004 11:27 AM
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Published On: Jun 07, 2004 11:27 AM