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MacWorld 2008 Predictions

GoKyu said:
Wow, that's very, um...detailed - sure you don't have some sort of insider knowlege? :D

(Would be pretty awesome if it works out that way though!)

-Bryan
Click to expand...

No insider knowledge. I just took the wishes/dreams/desires/rumors of what people are talking about, and tried to organize it the way a typical Steve Jobs keynote address would look like.
 
n1ght said:
:apple:TV probably won't have an LCD screen. I don't think any recent Apple product has ever had a secondary display. They tend to go for indicator lights which seem to be enough.

Macbook having an OLED screen would be crazy. LED-backlit, maybe, but OLEDs are too new to use, even for Apple.

Everyone's crying for an ultraportable MBP, but it could be an ultraportable for everyone, or a 15" MacBook.
Click to expand...

The Apple TV LCD screen and the ultraportable are from recent rumors from analysts. They also cite that the ultraportable is going to be around $1500, which, if true, isn't a consumer laptop, IMO.

I agree that the OLED would be a stretch, but I do think that the Macbook is going to have a big design change, but I think internals aren't going to change that much.
 
ChemiosMurphy said:
I hope you might be on to something....

I just hope they bring out the new 'Pros. The HDMI on the Mini is interesting because then it seems more of a Home Theatre Unit. I find it VERY interesting that you brought up MSoffice2008....
Click to expand...

HDMI on the Mac Mini does a few things. A lot of people use the Mac Mini as a home theater unit now, and this makes it a little easier to hook up the Mini to new TV's. Plus, it makes it more obvious to new buyers that the Mini can be used this way.

Then, if you consider the new Front Row interface on Leopard, any improvements to iTunes, plus the DVD drive, you have (in essence) that "Apple TV Pro" that some people were talking about.

Plus, it allows games created for the Mac to be used on bigger screen TV's, something that would help games development (IMO.)

Regarding Office - I think that while Apple has developed iWork, it still wants to have a good relationship with Microsoft to continue Office development on the Mac. Hence, it will be showcased, considering that it just went "gold".
 
Did that on purpose

Brianstorm91 said:
You forgot the MacBook Pro, which, by my reckoning, hasn't been updated as recently as the MacBook.
Click to expand...

If the ultraportable rumor is true, at the $1500 price point mentioned, I think that's going to be the big Macbook Pro announcement at the show. They could announce more changes to the rest of the lineup (speed bumps and/or design changes), but I think this would steal the show if announced.
 
Agree - kinda

aswitcher said:
I still think they could merge the mini and Apple TV to make a much more powerful hybrid without a huge jump in cost
Click to expand...

See my other post. I think if you take the Mini and add an HDMI port, exploit what is currently in Leopard (new Front Row interface), throw in the Mini's DVD drive and (hopefully) some new features, you have that Apple TV Pro.

I also think that Apple would like to have a lower cost device than the cheapest Mini for people who don't want/need a full-fledged computer, or already has iTunes running on another machine they own (whether PC or Mac.)
 
TV Shows and Movies for ALL Countrys that iTunes does business in. I thought that would come around at the music event but it didnt. We'll have no more nonsense now , please!
 
Hi,

I would quite like to see at least one of the iPhone apps made available for the iPod Touch; I would still be happy if it was sold.

I would also like to see the iTunes Wi-Fi Store for the AppleTV, maybe even Safari.
 
had to reply

hey guys,

I firmly believe that apple is going to stay consitent with the upgrades they have made to the ipod nano and ipod. This 2008 year these updates will be more tailored to computer users. To continue consistency among apples products and designs, I think that the macbook will get a aluminum case with choice of colors which is a similar change to the nano's of last year. Additionally I think they will introduce some sort of apple tablet which would be similar to the upgrade from the ipod to ipod touch. Additionally i feel that the MBP will just get a chip upgrade. tell me what you guys think....this is all speculative
 
I know for sure, from a reputable source, that there will be no Apple hardware updates. Ever.
:eek:
 
nsbio said:
I know for sure, from a reputable source, that there will be no Apple hardware updates. Ever.
:eek:
Click to expand...

EVER? :apple: shut down? ;) or they just got bored with producing products? :D
Better get a macbook now then, they'll be worth so much more actually if Apple would dissapear over night...cult objects and all that.
 
Guys, guys! Listen! You've got it all wrong!

I just got back from the future, and this happened.

"Oh... and one more thing. I know many of you have been wondering, with a name like Apple, why haven't we come out with any food products? Well let's take a look at the utensil industry.

[slide appears with 2 forks and 2 chopsticks]

Here are some of the leading utensils on the market today. They both get the job done ehh, fairly well. Fairly well, not great. Just ok. But they also take up a lot of space and can be difficult to handle at times. On top of that, you have to switch utensils when you want to eat something they don't work with.

We noticed the market needed something new. Something smaller. Something that could pick up anything, but be simple and elegant.

Well we got tired of waiting around for that to come up, so we went ahead and made it ourselves.

It's called the iEat. And here it is!

[shows the iEat]

Side view... that's the top... bottom... other side, and front again.

[crowd goes insane with amazement, some people are throwing their chair up in the air]

Simple, elegant, and fits in any pocket for easy travel! Just push the sleep/wake button and it's ready to go! It adjusts itself in strength, number of prongs, or you can even have it prongless, like a chopstick! Now I'll show you how it works.

[Steve starts eating]

Isn't that great? Now I'm eating some rice, but let's say I want have some soup right after. I just put the iEat over the soup, wait for about a second, it just takes a second for it to recognize the food, and boom! Now you're ready to eat the soup! Look at that! Changes right before your eyes!

And it works great for any kind of food. Not only that, it works on Windows too! Just sync it up to iTunes and it takes care of the rest, uploading the different kinds of food you can eat right to your iEat!

And it's available today."

Wow!
 
RoboCop001 said:
Guys, guys! Listen! You've got it all wrong!

I just got back from the future, and this happened.

"Oh... and one more thing. I know many of you have been wondering, with a name like Apple, why haven't we come out with any food products? Well let's take a look at the utensil industry.

[slide appears with 2 forks and 2 chopsticks]

Here are some of the leading utensils on the market today. They both get the job done ehh, fairly well. Fairly well, not great. Just ok. But they also take up a lot of space and can be difficult to handle at times. On top of that, you have to switch utensils when you want to eat something they don't work with.

We noticed the market needed something new. Something smaller. Something that could pick up anything, but be simple and elegant.

Well we got tired of waiting around for that to come up, so we went ahead and made it ourselves.

It's called the iEat. And here it is!

[shows the iEat]

Side view... that's the top... bottom... other side, and front again.

[crowd goes insane with amazement, some people are throwing their chair up in the air]

Simple, elegant, and fits in any pocket for easy travel! Just push the sleep/wake button and it's ready to go! It adjusts itself in strength, number of prongs, or you can even have it prongless, like a chopstick! Now I'll show you how it works.

[Steve starts eating]

Isn't that great? Now I'm eating some rice, but let's say I want have some soup right after. I just put the iEat over the soup, wait for about a second, it just takes a second for it to recognize the food, and boom! Now you're ready to eat the soup! Look at that! Changes right before your eyes!

And it works great for any kind of food. Not only that, it works on Windows too! Just sync it up to iTunes and it takes care of the rest, uploading the different kinds of food you can eat right to your iEat!

And it's available today."

Wow!
Click to expand...

For some reason that made me feel very very sick inside :eek:
 
RoboCop001 said:
Guys, guys! Listen! You've got it all wrong!

I just got back from the future, and this happened.

"Oh... and one more thing. I know many of you have been wondering, with a name like Apple, why haven't we come out with any food products? Well let's take a look at the utensil industry.

[slide appears with 2 forks and 2 chopsticks]

Here are some of the leading utensils on the market today. They both get the job done ehh, fairly well. Fairly well, not great. Just ok. But they also take up a lot of space and can be difficult to handle at times. On top of that, you have to switch utensils when you want to eat something they don't work with.

We noticed the market needed something new. Something smaller. Something that could pick up anything, but be simple and elegant.

Well we got tired of waiting around for that to come up, so we went ahead and made it ourselves.

It's called the iEat. And here it is!

[shows the iEat]

Side view... that's the top... bottom... other side, and front again.

[crowd goes insane with amazement, some people are throwing their chair up in the air]

Simple, elegant, and fits in any pocket for easy travel! Just push the sleep/wake button and it's ready to go! It adjusts itself in strength, number of prongs, or you can even have it prongless, like a chopstick! Now I'll show you how it works.

[Steve starts eating]

Isn't that great? Now I'm eating some rice, but let's say I want have some soup right after. I just put the iEat over the soup, wait for about a second, it just takes a second for it to recognize the food, and boom! Now you're ready to eat the soup! Look at that! Changes right before your eyes!

And it works great for any kind of food. Not only that, it works on Windows too! Just sync it up to iTunes and it takes care of the rest, uploading the different kinds of food you can eat right to your iEat!

And it's available today."

Wow!
Click to expand...

With the rumors of Apple hardware problems floating around and the fact that Apple hardware is never really what it seems I would love to see the flaws in a fork/spoon/spork/knife that Apple would create. How many people would get stabbed in the tongue because their iEat was running Leopard?
 
Digital Skunk said:
With the rumors of Apple hardware problems floating around and the fact that Apple hardware is never really what it seems I would love to see the flaws in a fork/spoon/spork/knife that Apple would create. How many people would get stabbed in the tongue because their iEat was running Leopard?
Click to expand...

Never fear, the iEat may have been clunky and heavy when it was first released, but the next generation, the iEatmininanoprotouch will be smaller and easier to use, though somewhat squat looking.
 
I think we all ought to be very excited about MW2008; I'm sure a teaser on apple.com on January 1st will get the laggard Apple fans properly pumped for the weeks following. It's my personal feeling that a solid number of Mac hardware will see updates at MW2008 or very shortly thereafter. I think there will also be some significant software updates as well.

Some of my speculation is clearly informed by reading rumor sites.

On the software front, I think MW2008 and the weeks immediately following will bring:
-10.5.2, which despite being only the second update to Leopard, will be more than a simple maintenance/security release IMHO
-The most substantial iPhone software update yet, with support for the SDK, a new Apple app, and enhanced functionality like video recording
-iTunes 8, with movie rentals costing $1.99 for three days' use, and support for the eventual storefront for iPhone/iPod touch developer apps.
-An Apple TV software update that will mainly bring iTunes WiFi to the device. I think we'll get a nice price drop, too, by the way.

On the hardware front: Upgrades to the Pro lines. What, did you think MacWorld was a consumer-focused show? Well, before last year, we thought it was a Mac-focused one. ;)
-New Mac Pros. Believe.
-Updated MacBook Pros with a case sprucing up
-iMacs and MacBooks untouched for the time being
-3G iPhone in May (probably not mentioned in keynote)
-I'm still iffy about the Mac Mini's fate.
-And the star of the keynote: TouchBook Pro. First off, I think this will be designated as a "Pro" machine, with a base TouchBook arriving later in the year a la the MacBook Pro-->MacBook. Second, I'm reading arguments for a tablet computer and arguments for a slim notebook. I believe the TouchBook Pro will be a tablet/slim notebook hybrid, combining the best of both worlds. It's clear that Apple's fond of convergence; Jobs made much ado that the iPhone was a mobile phone, "widescreen"/touchscreen iPod, and Internet communications device all in one. In other words, I guess we'll see Apple's slimmest notebook yet, making surprisingly practical use of multi-touch in place of a trackpad (i.e. the 13" display isn't what is multi-touch). Flash memory is a probable inclusion; an optical drive is doubtful. Price? I'm going to guess a start at $1599.
 
Nice post, I like and agree with most of it.... except the following :)

Maniamac said:
TouchBook Pro. First off, I think this will be designated as a "Pro" machine, with a base TouchBook arriving later in the year a la the MacBook Pro-->MacBook. Second, I'm reading arguments for a tablet computer and arguments for a slim notebook. I believe the TouchBook Pro will be a tablet/slim notebook hybrid, combining the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...
When I hear tablet/notebook hybrid, I almost think of a motorcycle/bus hybrid - combining the best of a motorbike (good acceleration, gets into tight places, little petrol) with the best of a bus (holds lots of people, comfortable). A bus/motorbike hybrid just isn't going to cut it.

Then again... I am imagining that an Apple Tablet could be reinvented by Apple, rather than just a laptop without a keyboard.

(btw: take a "traditional" tablet (ie: a laptop without keyboard) and add a keyboard, you should just get a laptop eh?)
 
I think ( and hope) the ultra mobile will turn out to be a suped up ipod touch like device. The touch is basicly a tablet already. Just give it some reasonable power and FULL osx and double the screen size and we've got an awesome tabet pc.
 
I feel like the whole MacBook Pro lineup will get a case change (along with updates) and this new "ulta-portable" we keep hearing about will actually be part of the new MacBook Pro lineup.
 
Stridder44 said:
I feel like the whole MacBook Pro lineup will get a case change (along with updates) and this new "ulta-portable" we keep hearing about will actually be part of the new MacBook Pro lineup.
Click to expand...

I think that would make a lot of people happy.

Personally though, I'd like to see something decidedly non pro. Some thing NAND based priced around $700, with a 7 or 8 inch screen running full OSX.
 
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