Steve Jobs to Give WWDC 2007 Keynote

[MacsRgr8]

I have this feeling that we are going to be utterly dissapointed with whatever these "Top Secret" features are.

But we all know that's what this WWDC must be all about.

What else "earth shattering" can be announced? Upgrades to Macs? I don't think so. Introduction of the G5, Intel switch... yeah.. those were real über "upgrades" well worth Steve's time on stage @ the WWDC.
But mere upgrades boasting some <insert low percentage> speed increases aren't worth it.
The iPhone will be mentioned, but that should be about it. Maybe some new features which weren't shown @ MWSF but not too much time... please.

Nah.. it should be all about Leopard's new features. Boasting the speed of it versus Vista on the same Xeon, etc.

 

[dernhelm]

Keep in mind that we (probably) already know about one of the "top secret" features: ZFS.

You and I are on nearly the same page. I've felt for a while that one of the huge omissions from Vista was when Microsoft dropped WinFS, not just from Vista, but possibly forever. That left a gaping hole through which Apple could run like a halfback on fire - and sprint way out ahead. The problem is that being tied to HFS derivatives really limits them.

It could behoove Apple to get really serious about this and replace HFS+ as the default file system with something more advanced (e.g. ZFS). This would be a huge undertaking, but the payoffs would be equally huge. My only problem is that up to now, while the latest 10.5 builds can support ZFS drives, they cannot as yet even boot from a ZFS partition. While I agree that Apple could be holding this feature back as "super-secret", I doubt that they would.

The ZFS support while, not officially announced, was released to developers some time ago. If they were serious about replacing HFS+ as the default file system in Tiger, one would think they would release the ability to at least boot from ZFS in a developer build by now.

But I'm with you on one thing, I would love to see this happen. ZFS is far enough beyond HFS+ and even NTFS, that Apple would leapfrog Windows from an enterprise support standpoint - and as you indicated, even consumer oriented features (like time machine) would benefit from it.

Self-correction: It may be possible that the boot from ZFS thing is close to working:
http://milek.blogspot.com/2007/03/latest-zfs-add-ons.html
There may be hope yet!

 

[mtrctyjoe]

Rumor Mill.... zzzzzzzzzz

Since the iPhone became reality.... this is the quietest I can ever remember the rumor mill....... man it is quiet......

.......still quiet.....

....nope, nothing.......

zzzzzzzzzzz .....

 

[tgildred]

There better be product annoucnes on top of Leopard...

I hope he doesn't fall off, though.

 

[Detlev_73]

Lol, enter the fat, toothless Apple employees

Oh, goodness, I didn't know that some Micro$oft employees had defected to Apple.

 

[whooleytoo]

I read on one 3rd party developer blog some time ago that NetInfo is gone, and it seems there will be a new network browsing mechanism in 10.5. Is this true, or old knowledge?

 

[MacsRgr8]

I read on one 3rd party developer blog some time ago that NetInfo is gone, and it seems there will be a new network browsing mechanism in 10.5. Is this true, or old knowledge?

That's interesting.
NetInfo has been around in Mac OS X since, well.... NeXT p ), and has only really been replaced by LDAP for its primary "network hosting database" since the later builds of 10.2.x.
But NetInfo has been the local database all the time.

I think everyone here will welcome a new network browsing mechanism, assuming it will be faster. Must be.

 

[Tadros]

i don't think Santa Rosa is coming yet. wouldn't that require design change? with everyone workin on iPhone in these days, I dont think Apple has the manpower to work on redesigning of Macs to utilize santa Rosa's features.

I would say it is coming on October with the release of Leopard.

Any time-frame outside of a summer release would be ridiculous on Apple's part. October is down right unheard of! Penryn is aiming for an end of 2007 release, so for Apple to wait for Santa Rosa to be released near the introduction of Penryn would mean they would be a chip set behind. And I don't know about you, but being a chip set behind PCs isn't top of the line quality that I expect from Apple. If anything they could skip Santa Rosa all together, but that in itself is just as stupid, they would lose market share if they didn't upgrade with every other company. And that's a fact. switchers that plan on using Windows on the Mac wouldn't want to switch to Mac if it's not as amazing as the PC laptops. Imagine still paying for a Macbook Pro in its current state 2000+ dollars, when you can buy a new SR laptop running windows for the same price. Yea. bad idea. . . very bad.

 

[ejsavage]

I agree that the Mini needs either a price drop or update, but what do you want the iMac to be updated to??

Well I was guessing Santa Rosa and a Speed Bump in the CPU. They could bring a true desktop processor to the IMac, I think that may be to much to ask for, as Apple is stuck on making the worlds largest laptop that stays on the desk.

 

[b0ned0me]

But now I have to wait until oct for a product that should have been released in january.

Fer crying out loud, just break out your credit card. In october there'll be some fantastic new widget due in december, and in december there'll be only two months to the new wotsit is released in Feb, and in Feb it'll be a couple of months until Intel release thingummy 2.0 chipsets, ad infinitum. By the time you get your new mac you'll have Alzheimers.

 

[Peace]

Fer crying out loud, just break out your credit card. In october there'll be some fantastic new widget due in december, and in december there'll be only two months to the new wotsit is released in Feb, and in Feb it'll be a couple of months until Intel release thingummy 2.0 chipsets, ad infinitum. By the time you get your new mac you'll have Alzheimers.

So true but I'm still holding out for a "new" Mac Pro with better specs.

 

[Whiskerdreams]

Fer crying out loud, just break out your credit card. In october there'll be some fantastic new widget due in december, and in december there'll be only two months to the new wotsit is released in Feb, and in Feb it'll be a couple of months until Intel release thingummy 2.0 chipsets, ad infinitum. By the time you get your new mac you'll have Alzheimers.

And then you won't know to care about it...

 

[Ja Di ksw]

What will happen

Steve will talk about Leopard. There will be nothing major new, or if there is, it won't be as amazing as most people want, and many will be very upset while a smaller number tell them to relax.

Steve will talk some about the iPhone. It's a new product. They're happy about it. Some people want to know about it. Deal.

Any upgrades to current products, *if* they happen, will just be a little step. That's natural. Again, deal.





What I hate about the Apple hype is that now people expect them to constantly come out with software/hardware that is utterly amazing and tailored just to "me." People seem to get angry if Apple makes something they don't want, or that isn't revolutionary, or perfect in every way. It won't happen.

And just because you can think/type "Apple should . . . . " does not mean that they are physically/financially/whatever capable of doing it, or that it's a good idea.

 

[whooleytoo]

That's interesting.
NetInfo has been around in Mac OS X since, well.... NeXT p ), and has only really been replaced by LDAP for its primary "network hosting database" since the later builds of 10.2.x.
But NetInfo has been the local database all the time.

I think everyone here will welcome a new network browsing mechanism, assuming it will be faster. Must be.

I just found the article here (not a developer, actually a user group):

"NetInfo is dead and gone in Leopard. This includes the NetInfo tools. NetInfo will be replaced by a transparent local data store which has additional functionality. The Directory Services tools (introduced back in OS X Jaguar) are taking over."
.
.
"So the summary of the architectural changes for Leopard is as follows:
--directory services, lookupd, and memberd are merging to simplfy the system directory resolution infrastructure
--NetInfo no longer supported (in WWDC build, but not in GM)
--removed Bonjour, SLP, SMB, and Appletalk plugins. Their functionality is being picked up by a new network browsing infrastructure adopted by the Finder (the speaker could not reveal any details)."

 

[Eric5h5]

I agree... they can't afford to woo some top notch people to help immediately? its not like they're throwing their money away by hiring 5-10 people, shortened product dev time means income sooner.

You're assuming that simply adding more people = immediately shortened dev time. All this tells me is that you have no experience whatsoever with product development.

--Eric

 

[donlphi]

I predict that Steve will be wearing jeans during the keynote.

I predict jean bib-overalls, a black flannel mock turtle neck, and a Kangol brand straw hat.

Keep your fingers crossed. THIS COULD BE THE YEAR!

 

[Project]

Seriously, will someone burp you guys? All the whining and crying makes me think I'm home with my three kids.

Apple innovations come out far more quickly than most any other industry leader, and yet you piss and moan because Leopard gets delayed a few months over iPhone development. Probably the same people who were wetting their shorts when the iPhone was first announced over how cool it was and they just had to have one.

How do you think they got so good at what they do? By being a lean, streamlined organization. Sometimes that means things get delayed. I'm glad this is a Mac Forum and not one for Vista! Imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth there would be!

Let's all remember that quality takes time.

Amen. Im getting pretty tired of the constant whining on the board. Youd have thought Apple have canceled OSX development altogether such is the level of crying on Mac Rumors.

iPhone (a brand new product in a brand new sector for Apple) is the bigger release than Leopard (an upgrade to an existing product in an existing sector for Apple. Deal with it.

 

[Rot'nApple]

I have this feeling that we are going to be utterly dissapointed with whatever these "Top Secret" features are.

Maybe not.

Maybe Steve called them Top Secret features because they had to do something with the interoperability of the iPhone and OS X Leopard. Since Steve wouldn't announce the iPhone in January 2007, he couldn't say what the Top Secret features were when the Leopard OS was first introduced back in August 7, 2006?

Who knows, but keep a hopeful outlook and then rant or rave the day after Steve's keynote address.

 

[adamcz]

bunch of crap if you ask me. I agree... they can't afford to woo some top notch people to help immediately? its not like they're throwing their money away by hiring 5-10 people, shortened product dev time means income sooner.

Apple has over 15,000 employees. You honestly believe that hiring 5 new ones is the solution to all future product delays? And even if you're right, where do you find these 5 top notch people who do not need to be trained or brought up to speed?

"Hello unemployed software engineer? This is Steve Jobs. I need you to begin work on the iPhone, starting tomorrow at 9am. You'll be in charge of avoiding launch delays. No, don't worry about training. Just be here at 9am and start working on whatever you want, with a focus on getting the product out the door ASAP."

 

[mtrctyjoe]

New Lap Tops Pleezzzz

I would just like a screen that is bigger then 13 inches and does not cost $$$ TWO GRAND $$$.

How about a 15 inch Macbook ??? Is that too much to ask for???

 

[unixham]

I agree that the Mini needs either a price drop or update, but what do you want the iMac to be updated to??

Processor bump, RAM capacity bump, vid bump on the smaller models, price drop.

 

[robPOD]

New iPod, come on apple you have pretty much ignored the iPod. Bring the 6g out!

 

[Egomaniac]

Sounds very like the Waffle file system/OS that is used by NetApps. The implementation of the technology was great. Mounting the backups to the end users removes a significant amount of support for restores.

Anyone thought of problems yet ?

How about user education. "Yes, I know you have a backup but it is on the same disk."

Time Machine requires a dedicated backup volume. For most users, who wouldn't have a clue how to partition a disk in the first place, that's going to mean a separate physical disk. The ones smart enough to partition are hopefully going to understand the stupidity of keeping their backups on the same physical device as their data.

It could behoove Apple to get really serious about this and replace HFS+ as the default file system with something more advanced (e.g. ZFS). This would be a huge undertaking, but the payoffs would be equally huge. My only problem is that up to now, while the latest 10.5 builds can support ZFS drives, they cannot as yet even boot from a ZFS partition. While I agree that Apple could be holding this feature back as "super-secret", I doubt that they would.

The ZFS support while, not officially announced, was released to developers some time ago. If they were serious about replacing HFS+ as the default file system in Tiger, one would think they would release the ability to at least boot from ZFS in a developer build by now.

You've got ZFS working in the current Leopard seed? How? It disappeared as a format option from Disk Utility, and the zpool and zfs commands just tell me they can't initialize the ZFS library. I haven't tried a disk that was already formatted as ZFS, since I don't have any lying around, so maybe that would work.

I think where we disagree is that I don't believe the ZFS leak was intentional. The ZFS support in its first appearance was barely functional, and it seems entirely non-functional in subsequent seeds. Apple has been deathly silent about it. This does not sound like "we intended to reveal this to developers" to me; it sounds more like the code was accidentally integrated before it was ready to be revealed. I've seen it happen on other projects before, so it's not unprecedented.

As far as replacing HFS+ as the default filesystem, I certainly wouldn't expect that in Leopard. Even offering boot support, so power users could make the switch by choice, would be a minor miracle (which isn't to say I'm not fervently praying for it). But as a default? I just don't see it happening anytime soon.

 

[p0intblank]

Excellent news! It's always good to know that Steve will be doing the keynote. I can't wait to see these "Top Secret" features. Bring on WWDC!

 

[scrambledwonder]

I predict that Steve will wear a turtleneck sweater.

Just call me Nostradamas.