MacRumors Rumor Roundup for MWSF 2003

[MacRumors]

Prior to each MacWorld, MacRumors compiles a rumor summary, which is influenced by all available sources public or private.

iApp Upgrades and Costs

As first reported by this poster at AppleInsider, and later verified by both CNet and ThinkSecret, it appears Apple will start charging for upgrades to specific iApps... including iDVD, iPhoto and iMovie. The good news is that these iApps will get upgrades.

As per a previous report, iSync and iCal have already received minor upgrades in the past few days.

iMovie 3.0, iPhoto 2.0, iDVD 3.0 should debut at MacWorld SF 2003. These upgrades will provide further integration with other iApps. It does not appear that iChat or iTunes will be getting upgrades at this time.

Quicktime 6.1 is due at any time.

New App?

We've received hints for the past few months that a new Apple application is on the way. ThinkSecret is giving an Apple-Branded Browser a 75% chance of appearing. The iBrowse is also mentioned in the previously mentioned AppleInsider thread as being launched next week.

Other hints include MacWorld's Bruce Fraser's quote that "it will have something to do with processing pixels", while MacOSRumors hints at a music authoring application.

Airport, Bluetooth, Rendezvous and iMacs

Despite the cancellation of the FCC application for integrated Bluetooth, we've received word that Bluetooth is coming... with some rumors of iMac integration despite ThinkSecret reporting otherwise. Rumors of Bluetooth enabled Macs emerged from the Inquirer in early December and was repeated by MacOSRumors recently.

Airport is to be upgraded to 802.11g. per ThinkSecret, and also confirmed by our sources.<P.

Rendezvous is also poised to be a significant technology in 2003.

.Mac

The online .Mac Address Book appears to be coming on Jan 7th. Rumors have all hinted at further .Mac integration with the iApp upgrades coming (see above). Beyond this, there are also rumors of discounted iApp upgrade prices to accompany .Mac subscriptions.

Xserve RAID

Last we heard, this companion product to the Xserve had been pushed back to early 2003.

New Devices?

There have been hints towards a surprise and of new hardware at MWSF... but few reliable rumors emerging. A few of the contenders include:

A Video iPod -- first rumored by MacNews... claiming color screen, MPEG-4 Video and AAC support. Unconfirmed submissions here claim it will act as a portable set-top player rather than a portable player in itself. These discussions have even spawned speculation by analysts.

Apple Tablet - posted as speculation by Matthew Rothenberg in November... but reportedly did have some basis in circulating rumors.

[trilogic]

tablet mac would be great.

color iPod? I'd like to be able to download pictures from my camera directly to iPod. But I don't think iPod will be getting an USB Port.

[Freg3000]

Gee, I hope we see a new app AND a new piece of hardware, or this MacWorld will be pretty boring.

[julzmon]

I just don't see a V iPod. I don't see the use and don't think there is enough storage for something like that. I could see an Airport devive that would connect to TV to stream video from your computer.

[dguisinger]

I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere, but I am expecting Apple to possibly buy Maya, maybe not by the 7th.....but Apple has done a ton of promoting for Maya, and if you buy Shake and Maya right now, Apple will knock $3000 off.... If you ask me, its one of the missing components of their professional line of software.

Also, if we see any updates happening in hardware, hopefully they start moving to 150MB/sec Serial ATA drives and controllers. There are currently only two drives from Seagate out on the market that are native S-ATA, but the floodgates should soon be opening and it would be nice to see some fast drives.

[sinbushar]

anyone think there is a possibility of an iPhone?..and apple branded phone could do really well, syncing wiht itunes and ical and the address book so it'd be a phone/pda/mp3-player...jsut my thought

adel

[dguisinger]

Originally posted by sinbushar
anyone think there is a possibility of an iPhone?..and apple branded phone could do really well, syncing wiht itunes and ical and the address book so it'd be a phone/pda/mp3-player...jsut my thought

adel

I dont think you'll see a phone from Apple quite yet. If you look at the Windows PocketPC phones, their battery life is only 1-2 hours. Apple would probably wait till the technology is there to make a better product.

[Nebrie]

They've always charged for iMovie and iDVD updates. For people who use both, they're just cheaper overall now.

[peterjhill]

The 802.11g spec is not set to be finalized until June of 2003. It is possible that apple will release a device based on the current draft, but that draft is subject to change prior to finalization. Hopefully to be fully compliant, any device would only require a firmware upgrade. 11g will be kind of silly in the home. Even computer to computer transfers rarely require more than 11 mbps.

In the workplace it will be nice. The good thing about 11g is that it is fully backward compatible with 11b, both client and AP. Of course you won't get the quick speed, but it will work.

So, I am amazed that people really think that apple will release an 11g product without the spec being finalized. I am hopeful but not confident.

[dguisinger]

Originally posted by peterjhill
The 802.11g spec is not set to be finalized until June of 2003. It is possible that apple will release a device based on the current draft, but that draft is subject to change prior to finalization. Hopefully to be fully compliant, any device would only require a firmware upgrade. 11g will be kind of silly in the home. Even computer to computer transfers rarely require more than 11 mbps.

In the workplace it will be nice. The good thing about 11g is that it is fully backward compatible with 11b, both client and AP. Of course you won't get the quick speed, but it will work.

So, I am amazed that people really think that apple will release an 11g product without the spec being finalized. I am hopeful but not confident.

LinkSys and a few other companies have just released 802.11g products in the past week. It appears the only item not ratified is the new security encryption, which is a sub-spec, and can be added by firmware upgrades.

[ivtrk]

Hmmm....something to do with processing pixels....

A guess...

Could be a Mac Tablet or a pro-version of iPhoto.
Is Photoshop gonna see competition from Apple?

Another good possibility is the release of ProTools for OS X, which would probably excite me more than anything else.

[linescreen]

1) I think the most significant anouncement will be a new processor line. Its what apple needs to do most.

2) there will be no ibrowse or iOffice untill the processor situation is fixed. Now is not the time to take risks with having a slower platform, and not be able to run microsoft apps.

3) Maybe an iphone.

4) Buying maya makes a lot of sence.....do what microsoft has been doing for years....buy and make maya only run on the sgi and the mac. **** the pee-cee......

[pyrotoaster]

I'm guessing that the hardware announcement is not an iPod, but probably an iPad.
The biggest confirmed release of the expo right now is a new AirPort, and since I don't think anybody really believes that SJ will talk about AirPort for an hour and a half, there really is something big coming.
Whatever SJ is going to announce is so big that Apple has found a way to keep it totall secret. Amazing!
I can't wait for the keynote, I'm expecting big cool things from Apple this year (although if it is a tablet, not too big, I'd like to be able to carry it around easily )

[Computer_Phreak]

Well, history shows ThinkSecret to be by far the most accurate, however I think they are leaving out something.

Whatever happens, don't trust MOSR.



words of wizdom

[pyrotoaster]

Originally posted by linescreen
1) I think the most significant anouncement will be a new processor line. Its what apple needs to do most.

2) there will be no ibrowse or iOffice untill the processor situation is fixed. Now is not the time to take risks with having a slower platform, and not be able to run microsoft apps.

3) Maybe an iphone.

4) Buying maya makes a lot of sence.....do what microsoft has been doing for years....buy and make maya only run on the sgi and the mac. **** the pee-cee......

You're way off. I'll agree with anyone who says Apple needs a new processor line (as long as it isn't AMD), but the PowerPC 970 (my number one choice for Apple's new processor) won't be ready until late summer, at the earliest. I don't think Motorola is going to come through on the G5. I'll be happy if they do (assuming it's a good processor), but I don't think they will.
You say no iBrowse, I say it's the missing iApp (next to a real office suite that works well with Microsoft Office and isn't Appleworks). I don't think Apple will call it iBrowse (because it sounds like "eyebrows"), but I think (with 80% confidence) that we'll see the end of Explorer .
I don't like the idea of an iPhone, but that opinion aside, we've seen no evidence of such a device coming.
I'm not saying I wouldn't like new processors, I just don't see SJ announcing them.

[linescreen]

the problem with an apple branded browser is that it will be one more browser to develop for.....and that being said companies won't develop for it.

every big comapny i know of is standerdizing on ie for the pc. now i suspect that ie for the mac is a lot closer to those html, css, javascript standards than chimera.

[Gus]

I would be happy with good, legitimate (not bug fixes) to iPhoto and iMovie. I'd even be happy to pay for them if they were significant. Anything after thay is just cake for me.

I am intrigued about a new device though. Just excited about another MacWorld really. It's always fun.

Regards,
Gus

[pyrotoaster]

Originally posted by linescreen
the problem with an apple branded browser is that it will be one more browser to develop for.....and that being said companies won't develop for it.

every big comapny i know of is standerdizing on ie for the pc. now i suspect that ie for the mac is a lot closer to those html, css, javascript standards than chimera.

That gives Apple more reason to develop their own browser. Plug-in support for Explorer on Macs is, at times, abysmal. Do you think Microsoft cares? Apple has more influence than the Mac Business Unit at Microsoft.
I can't wait for an Apple browser. I use Chimera Navigator, and see the real potential in an Apple app developed by the Chimera guy.

[trebouchet]

I would not at all be suprised if Apple started bundling Microsoft Office in OS X. I say this for a couple reasons. It is a de facto standard, and I expect that most people own it. It is very expensive. The special offer deal ends on the 7th, the day of the keynote address. Also, it would make switching more attractive.

Also, as far as a browser goes, I think if apple did begin their own, it would be based off chimera, a mozilla based browser beautifully designed for OS X.

trebouchet

[j763]

Apple will not step on Microsoft's toes.

Sure, it's Apple, but even they're not that insane.

[dguisinger]

Originally posted by linescreen

4) Buying maya makes a lot of sence.....do what microsoft has been doing for years....buy and make maya only run on the sgi and the mac. **** the pee-cee...... [/b]

Actually, thats what Apple did with Shake and several other video and sound products lately. Shake I beleive is the only one that has been officially released since they went on their buying spree. Apple discontinued the Windows version, but kept the Linux version going. Apple then halved the price on the MacOS X version from $9900 to $5000 for Mac users.

Now on top of that, Apple has the promotion going where if you buy the MacOS X version of Maya and Shake......you get $3000 of Shake. I do beleive strongly that Apple has a lot of interest in Maya, it is one of the premeire apps used in smaller 3d animation studios from what I've heard. I'd find it hard to beleive Apple was putting aside so much revenue just because they felt like being nice. Its obviously an attempt to bring down costs of switching platforms and upgrading for the professionals in the field. Maybe they feel buying Maya right now would be too much and scare the users away, where if they wait till many switch, then there is no problem right?

[Centris 650]

iBrowse? Couldn't they come up with a better name? Maybe they could come out with a top for your mac and call it iLid?

[arnette]

I'm through guessing. I'm going to sit back, laugh at everyone else's predictions, and then wait for Tuesday.

Good luck to everyone!

[dguisinger]

Anyone else notice MOSR is going to miss the announcements as they clearly stated on their website they are going to watch the keynote on Wednesday?

Are they trying to trick everyone to miss the keynote so they don't know how wrong MOSR is?

[Frobozz]

Originally posted by dguisinger
I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere, but I am expecting Apple to possibly buy Maya, maybe not by the 7th.....but Apple has done a ton of promoting for Maya, and if you buy Shake and Maya right now, Apple will knock $3000 off.... If you ask me, its one of the missing components of their professional line of software.

Also, if we see any updates happening in hardware, hopefully they start moving to 150MB/sec Serial ATA drives and controllers. There are currently only two drives from Seagate out on the market that are native S-ATA, but the floodgates should soon be opening and it would be nice to see some fast drives.

Well said. I agree 100%.