This all seems incredibly half-arsed to me! I was looking forward to seeing some great things today. I've recently bought an iMac and am truly in love with the thing compared to anything else I've used up until now. I was waiting for something similarly mind blowing to keep the enthusiasm alive...
But I just can't understand why, in the first instance on the displays front, from their 'current' range of 20", 23" and 30" screens, they've ONLY updated the 23" by making it look like 'an iMac without the iMac' and giving it the extra inch, without transitioning the rest of the range - it's just going to make the Apple Stores look a little untidy with all this mismatched hardware all sitting next to each other!
On the MacBook Pro - what the hell is updating the 15" and not the 17" all about? Even if a refresh is due on the 17", why not just wait until they were ready to introduce both to the marketplace together?
And keeping the white base model on the MacBooks? Wierd - not Apple-like at all - wonder how share prices are doing right now. It seems as though the positives are in the minority right now.
I'd have thought that maybe the 2.8Ghz MBP would be one of the standard configs with the 3.06Ghz as the BTO (do any other mfrs make a 3Ghz laptop) - or maybe that would run too hot? I'm going to reserve judgement about what using them will be like until I see it in the metal. But I'm used to my iMac's glossy screen now and I think it's great. I've also used a glossy laptop (not a Mac, but don't shoot me...) and I haven't had any issues with that either, so it's obviously horses for courses in that regard - if you don't like it, keep it to yourself. Enough whining...
Quite honestly, I saw a lot of people setting themselves up for a fall on this one and it's happened. The hype was too much (like the previous media event with the new iPods) - I think that Apple's marketing people are smoking something a little stronger than they should. Next time around, I'm certainly not going to be taken in - chances are I'll probably avoid the rumour forums for about a week beforehand and then be mildly surprised by what's unveiled.
My prediction is that the star of the event will probably be a G5-powered Mac Mini replacement (the Nano), with its largest selling point being its 40% smaller form factor - SJ calls it 'his baby'.
An *optional* bolt on module (in a co-ordinating, stacking design) will contain 2xUSB ports, 1xFirewire 400, 1xGb Ethernet and a mini DVI port, along with the choice of a combo or superdrive. These items are not located on the base Nano unit which, due to its small size can only manage a MagSafe slot.
Another *option* (which isn't included in the box but is needed to be fitted as the machine won't switch on without it) is an external freon fan system (again as a co-ordinating, stacking unit) which by now actually makes the form factor 250% that of the previous Mac Mini).
Jobs also hails his patented Micro-PCI architecture interface (tiny little thing, smaller than a headphone jack, located on the rear of the fan unit) a breakthrough in putting unrivalled graphics power into such a 'small' machine. What is rapidly skipped over is the extra footprint that the required (co-ordinated, stacking) unit containing 8 REGULAR SIZED PCI slots for connecting up to 4 double-headed graphics cards, giving the ability to drive 8 30" monitors at once. As an aside, SJ announced that the 30" ACD has been dropped.
The machine now weighs in at nearly 6 times the size of the original Mini.
"Now onto the subject of RAM expansion". As the Nano is too small to come with any RAM at all, expansion is by way of an *optional*... co-ordinating, stacking unit containing RAM slots to the tune of up to 16Gb.
"Now onto the subject of the hard drive options". The Nano has no hard drive. It's too small. Storage is added by way of... a co-ordinating, stacking module containing hard disk arrays containing 4x 250Gb, 500Gb or (BTO) 1Tb drives.
Keyboard and mouse are extra. As is a power lead. Overall, the Nano is 3'4" tall and weighs 250lb. Apple is proud to announce that the packaging is the most environmentally friendly in the world. There isn't any. Ships tomorrow, for the incredible price of just £99*.
The Mac Pro will be discountinued.
*Nano unit only
See if I'm right...
