Apple Introduces MacBook Air—The World’s Thinnest Notebook
The keynote has finally come and announcements have finally been made. Of course nothing could possibly top the iPhone anouncement last year so some people’s might be a little disappointed with the events in San Francisco.
Steve Jobs takes the stage and the world listens. So first off,
1. Time Capsule – Wireless backup device or so they say
There’s a lot that this device has to offer. Think of putting a terabyte of hard drive in an airport extreme base station and you get Time Capsule. The gigabyte ethernet connection should improve the remote backup system that Time Capsule promises but only for Leopard users.
If you’re on Leopard and you need a lot of backup and a wireless N router as well, the price is quite good.
2. iPhone and iPod Touch software Updates 1.1.3
The iPhone finally got some 21st century feature such as forwarding of sms messages and mutli-recipient sending capabilities. The iPod Touch however is a different story. Applications that were default on the iPhone are now “default” on the iPod Touch such as Mail, Stocks, Weather, Notes and Maps. The big catch is that it’ll cost early adapters (such as myself) TWENTY DOLLARS!. But it will be free on all new iPod Touch sold.
Now I’m a big fan and I liked Apple for not charging a whole lot for their software updates but this is crazy. Charging for something that should have been in the first place and screwing loyal fans who paid for the device when it first came out. I mean where’s the love Steve?!?! And what about regions where there is no local iTunes store such as every place in the world with the exception of Europe and Japan. Where are they going to get their updates? On a disc sold at the store?!? bad move in my opinion. While a jailbreaked iPod Touch does a whole lot more. Tsk tsk. We’ll wait and see on this one.
3. iTunes Movie Rentals and the Apple TV Take 2
Apple TV was admittedly a big flop for Apple and they’re trying again with the Take 2 version. The first version needed another computer where all the media is stored and purchased and is just played on the Apple TV. I guess most people with macs just bought either a 360 or a PS3 or any other device on the market and just pay $20 for software that will stream everything (except DRM content) to your TV.
The movie rentals is a big improvement and all of the major labels are involved. Obviously they need the money. The prices however are something else. It is cheaper than buying the movie outright but renting it is kinda iffy. The good thing about it is the HD content that is finally available in the store and the ability to purchase or rent movies and songs without having to go all the way to your computer.
Now how do I sync content that I buy off the Apple TV to my iTunes and iPods?
4. It’s lighter than air.
Apparently the big announcement of the day was the “ultra thin” macbook air. Hmm. It’s thin. It’s got stuff that the Macbook doesn’t but the price tag puts it waaay out of the hands of the regular consumer.
The good:
1. Thin
2. Backlit keyboard
3. Full features of OSX
4. $99 for an external superdrive is not so bad
The bad:
1. Pricey $1799 +++ (sure it’s cheaper than Japanese portables but it wont hold against those made in China)
2. One USB port (EEPC has four)
3. No Firewire (Why sell the option of FCP Express at the store when you can’t connect the camera)
4. No built in ethernet. (But you can buy an add on)
So will I get one? Wait and see as always. There’s still a lot that Apple needs to do about it and let all the bugs crawl out. The price has to go down though. It is very expensive. If it had all the firewire and USB ports that I need, then maybe it would warrant a purchase. But as of the moment. This is one expensive toy.
Procrastinating in the Heat 