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MacWorld 2008 Predictions

ErikAndre said:
I see what you mean... but I also hope they can cater the profitable crowd in the middle. I talk with consumers all the time about Apple and that's the biggest obstacle.. they don't want an all-in-one, but they can't afford the $2400 Mac Pro. But i do see what you mean, i just Apple will surprise us one day and fill this gap. Here's hoping anyway. :D
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Profitable crowd? I thought the PC makers were on miniscule margins.

(happy to hope though)
 
Digital Skunk said:
[Apple] also killed the God awful modem port on the laptops (thank you GOD!)
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Why are you so against there being a built in modem on laptops? The built in modem is super tiny, light, and cheap, so it doesn't detract anything from your laptop if you don't use it. And I can tell you from first hand experience that there have been many times when it's been a massively useful feature!

There are still many many places where you can't get a wifi signal where and when you need it, even in New York. When I'm working away from my home there are times when I absolutely need to get online right away to look up some info on the web or email a crucial document, etc. In those cases all I need is any plain old telephone jack. I unplug the phone, stick the phone cord in my Powerbook's modem port, and the day is saved!

Most broadband services come with a small number of dial up hours included in addition to your high speed. I get 20 hours or dial up along with my unlimited DSL. I can't tell you how crucial this feature has been. It's not a feature I need on a regular basis, but on the rare occasion when there's no wifi around and I absolutely have to get on the net, I really do need it. And the built in modem saves the day.
 
all that i know about MWSF is that people are going to get their hopes up and be let down. happens every time.

i can only hope for an ultra-portable though or some nice revisions to the current line up. mac mini needs some work as do the portable lineups.
 
ErikAndre said:
I see what you mean... but I also hope they can cater the profitable crowd in the middle. I talk with consumers all the time about Apple and that's the biggest obstacle.. they don't want an all-in-one, but they can't afford the $2400 Mac Pro. But i do see what you mean, i just Apple will surprise us one day and fill this gap. Here's hoping anyway. :D
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I can see certain consumers wanting a tower, but I can bet that not everyone in the middle crowd is looking for an all-in-one, or any type of machine outside of the one that works. I do wish Apple would make a smaller cheaper upgradeable tower (the whine of the century that also includes myself) but as long as Apple is pushing the iMac sales and portable sales through the roof I don't see them doing it. Games play very well on the high-end iMac and other than that I can't see a reason for Apple to create one anymore.

What I'd rather see them do is bring the price of the Mac Pro (professional tower) back down to $1600 - $1800 so that many of the college students and gamers that want one can get one. Or at least give the Mac Pro a desktop processor BTO option so that we can shave off a few hundred bucks.

motulist said:
Why are you so against there being a built in modem on laptops? The built in modem is super tiny, light, and cheap, so it doesn't detract anything from your laptop if you don't use it. And I can tell you from first hand experience that there have been many times when it's been a massively useful feature!

There are still many many places where you can't get a wifi signal where and when you need it, even in New York. When I'm working away from my home there are times when I absolutely need to get online right away to look up some info on the web or email a crucial document, etc. In those cases all I need is any plain old telephone jack. I unplug the phone, stick the phone cord in my Powerbook's modem port, and the day is saved!

Most broadband services come with a small number of dial up hours included in addition to your high speed. I get 20 hours or dial up along with my unlimited DSL. I can't tell you how crucial this feature has been. It's not a feature I need on a regular basis, but on the rare occasion when there's no wifi around and I absolutely have to get on the net, I really do need it. And the built in modem saves the day.
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The only thing I didn't like about the modem port was that I never used it and it was something that could have been done with a dongle, like they do now. I am a strong proponent of kill the obsolete tech. I chucked all my floppy disks when the first thumb drive reached a reasonable price, actually, I did that before they did and just sent files via email.
 
Digital Skunk said:
The only thing I didn't like about the modem port was that I never used it and it was something that could have been done with a dongle
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I hate dongles, and for someone like you who sounds like a fan of good technology and good design, as I am as well, I'm kind of surprised to hear you be pro-dongle. The point of a feature like the modem port is that it's there to save the day when you least expect it. Dongles, especially for infrequently used functions, invariably don't wind up most places you take your laptop.

Dongles are a terrible kludge. If Apple were gonna remove the modem port anyway, I'd almost rather they didn't offer the feature as a dongle at all so that 3rd parties would come up with better alternatives, such as an unobtrusive pcmcia card modem that matches the appearance of Apple's laptops. That way I could just leave the modem card in the pcmcia slot and basically have a built in modem. I'm aware that there are pcmcia modem cards now, but because Apple already sells a modem dongle the manufacturers have little incentive to make them especially attractive to Apple laptop users.
 
motulist said:
I hate dongles, and for someone like you who sounds like a fan of good technology and good design, as I am as well, I'm kind of surprised to hear you be pro-dongle. The point of a feature like the modem port is that it's there to save the day when you least expect it. Dongles, especially for infrequently used functions, invariably don't wind up most places you take your laptop.

Dongles are a terrible kludge. If Apple were gonna remove the modem port anyway, I'd almost rather they didn't offer the feature as a dongle at all so that 3rd parties would come up with better alternatives, such as an unobtrusive pcmcia card modem that matches the appearance of Apple's laptops. That way I could just leave the modem card in the pcmcia slot and basically have a built in modem. I'm aware that there are pcmcia modem cards now, but because Apple already sells a modem dongle the manufacturers have little incentive to make them especially attractive to Apple laptop users.
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I am not saying that everything should be a dongle, or that everything should be kept as standard tech.

Look what happened to the floppy when it was kicked off the Blondi Blue iMac. It went USB external. Look what happened to the modem... it went dongle. All I am saying is that it could have gone dongle a long time ago, and that it took Apple a little while to make the move.

As for using it in an emergency, it can still happen. If I had that USB modem thing and I needed access to the web then I would just pull that out and plug it in, as many did with the floppy drive, and many are proposing to do with the optical drive for this supposed new Mac Tablet coming at MWSF.

And now that broadband is so cheap and widespread, I am sure that many users will opt for that feature built in to their laptops or having a cell phone with phone as modem features (unlike the iPhone :mad:) and the like.
 
You know... all i really want is for a new Mac Pro at the MWSF08 conference.

Apple can come out at MacWorld with a new iCar, reinvent the wheel or even introduce teleportation... all I care for is a new Mac Pro.
 
i would like to see the price cut in the Macbook Pro's... something like $1800 although $1500 would be amazing :D
 
New ipod touch?

I want to know really bad if there is going to be a new ipod touch coming next year really bad... please is yal know anything tell me please please please... plus if a new one is coming out i have to wait to buy it... :confused:
 
Digital Skunk said:
...many are proposing to do with the optical drive for this supposed new Mac Tablet coming at MWSF...
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I think you're missing the point of a tablet. It's not supposed to be a fully functioning version of a laptop, it's for purposes when a laptop is too unweildy - think of the applications it could be used for:

Doctors doing their rounds (no more unreadable handwriting)
Students in lectures taking notes
IT technicians
In fact any job where the person has to be mobile

The tablet isn't going to replace anything (if and when it comes out) it's going to fill a gap, which is why I don't think it's going to have a lot of the features people are expecting. Apple usually look at where everybody else has got it wrong and then devise a better solution. PC manufacturers tried to squeeze a laptop into a tablet which is where they failed, I don't think Apple will make the same mistake (and they already make laptops).

Anyway - predictions, there's been so much going on with Apples' consumer products over the last year, I'd like to see some new Pro equipment:

1. New Mac Pro (with a redesign of the case)
2. New Mac mini (Pro?)
3. New Cinema Displays (don't care about touch screen or isight here, that's not what they're for. Oh and by the way Steve, don't you dare put glossy screens on them :mad:)
 
My prediction is that 1/3 of us will be pleased, 1/3 of us won't really care... and the remaining third will moan and whine for the following week after the event.

Here's to new ACDs at the very least. Doesn't need a fanfare; just a quiet update on the store. Puhleaze.
 
Retrograffica said:
I think you're missing the point of a tablet. It's not supposed to be a fully functioning version of a laptop, it's for purposes when a laptop is too unweildy
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Absolutely agreed. It's for someone who needs to hold the computer while using it.

Anyway - predictions, there's been so much going on with Apples' consumer products over the last year, I'd like to see some new Pro equipment:
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I agree the Mac Pro and cinema displays are due for a refresh. However, typically MacWorld is more consumer focussed. WHo knows though eh?

1. New Mac Pro (with a redesign of the case)
2. New Mac mini (Pro?)
3. New Cinema Displays (don't care about touch screen or isight here, that's not what they're for. Oh and by the way Steve, don't you dare put glossy screens on them :mad:)
Click to expand...

If Apple releases a tablet, I wouldn't be surprised if they slowly integrate touch screen into all their products. Apple likes novelty and points of differentiation, and if they're designing an interface that handles touch very well it may be worth adding to computers... (I'm still not sure on that, so I'd say that'd only happen if they can add it cheaply enough)

As for Mac Mini Pro :), what do you mean pro, and what makes you think that is likely (seriously interested)? As I said above, if you're meaning a standard PC form factor I doubt it (they'd be better off making a deal to sell OSX for a range of HP desktops).
 
-Mac Pro Update
-Cinema Displays Update
-Ultra-Portable Macbook, No touch screen, 11", Very thin, Very light
-iPhone SDK

-iPhone 3G?
-iTunes HD?
-Apple TV Update?
 
riverpl8 said:
Maybe something like this........... I found it on flickr

2066969618_131dda3e08.jpg
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that is simply beautiful. My credit card is waiting.:D
 
I have paid zero attention to Mac up until about a month ago when I decided to buy one- I want a Macbook but lets say a super new fancy redesign of the Macbook comes along and we have the 13 inch "ultraportable" whatever you want to call it- is the Macbook going to still be available? Is it going to drop in price? Common sense would say Macbooks will drop in price for awhile until they are gone but Apple does some weird things (The whole "that might cannibalize our other products") - I never understood that line of thinking. Basically I'm wondering what apple does with the old products pricewise after a big change.
 
tuneman07 said:
I have paid zero attention to Mac up until about a month ago when I decided to buy one- I want a Macbook but lets say a super new fancy redesign of the Macbook comes along and we have the 13 inch "ultraportable" whatever you want to call it- is the Macbook going to still be available? Is it going to drop in price? Common sense would say Macbooks will drop in price for awhile until they are gone but Apple does some weird things (The whole "that might cannibalize our other products") - I never understood that line of thinking. Basically I'm wondering what apple does with the old products pricewise after a big change.
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The macbook will still be around. It will not be considered an old product. The ultraportable is the missing piece in Apple's current line-up, a very portable pro-level notebook designed for road warriors. The macbook is Apple's consumer level notebook and not considered a pro-machine. Thus, despite introduction of a new ultraportable, it will not replace the macbook nor hail a major redesign of that series. It has just recently been updated so it is a great time to get a macbook. Now a macbook pro...I still argue that the entire line will see changes in 2008 but who knows.

-Josh :apple:
 
Some people must be going about with hands over their eyes (and ears). The UP in January will not replace the Macbook. It is not a Macbook any more than the 12" Powerbook was a 12" iBook. Did the 12" Powerbook "replace" the 12" iBook, or vice versa, upon release? Why not? Because they were aimed at different consumer groups, and thus, fitted at different price ranges? Then why do people keep deluding themselves that a new super-duper Macbook will be offered (but in aluminum, and with MBP components) at MB prices? Every day there are threads where people ask if they should buy the MB now, or wait until January. News flash -- if you aren't considering an MBP now, you aren't going to have the cash for one in a month when another MBP (not MB) is released. There seems to be some kind of fantasy world where people believe that if they just held on for a little while longer, Apple would reward them with a brand new computer with MBP specs at MB prices. It's so weird.
 
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