Here on the east coast we had to wait until noon for the keynote to start at Macworld. Finally, it was time and I had to go to class, but after class at lunch we broke the notebook out to see what was going on. At this point nothing that big was announced and towards the end of lunch it came. The Macbook Air had arrived. We now headed off to the last class of the day where one of my friends sat across from me and I would glance at him to see if anything else big was announced, he shook his head after checking his iPhone under the desk. Macworld had ended and we were left with four new products.

Macbook Air
This thing is amazing. It is the world’s thinnest notebook computer. In order to get it this small they have created some great new technology, both on the software and hardware front. The CPU could be a little faster, I don’t think 1.8 GHz will work for me and others who have to run Adobe Creative Suite and other design, video, and motion software. However, when looking at the notebook line it goes from 1.8 (Air) to 2.6 (Pro), which is not a huge difference. On an interesting note the Macbook Air website does not have an Intel Core Duo section like the Macbook and Macbook Pro has. Overall, I think that it could be faster, the price is to high, that it is a really smart move for Apple, and that it is just down right amazing.

iPod Touch
They came out with some new applications for the iPod Touch including Maps, Mail and more. This is a good move and the price is worth it, though it doesn’t cost Apple anything to provide these new applications to you. I think I would get one if it had a camera, but this would make it to similar to the iPhone. The iPhone also got a nice update, and if I wasn’t already signed onto a contract with Sprint I would have to save some money up and get one. Someday.

Time Capsule
Apple came out with a wireless backup hard drive and made it a wireless internet hub as well. I think that this is a great concept and if it works well, it will become a convenience for many people. I plan on using this in my dorm room for college, not to provide wireless internet, but so that I can backup wirelessly from anywhere.

iTunes Movie Rentals and Apple TV
Jobs started off by admitting that they had failed, along with others, on their first try. And this time it looks like the will succeed. They have partnered with all of the major studios, which is a key here. It is all done through the Apple TV, which has a new menu design. To be able to not leave your house and just pick a movie to rent will be an amazing experience. And then to be able to transfer it to multiple devices is a great feature. While I still support the small guy video rental store and have not bought a Blue-Ray HD DVD player yet, I think that this is a very strong product. And it will become even stronger when it can record my television shows. Also, with the new Apple TV, you can see the photos from Flickr. (Dave Winer recently released software that also puts Flickr photos on your television, would love to know what he thinks about this. And Steve wasn’t able to get Flickr to work in the demo, so we shall see.)

For the record, I still love my Macbook. It looks great and gets the job done. Even though the new Air is amazing, I don’t think it should deteriorate the value of my Macbook. Khoi Vinh actually wrote about this at length and made some great points about how we don’t design products to deteriorate. Instead we make them to look beautiful when they are sold instead for the future when they have wear and tear. He says that this is just wrong. The Macbook Air looks brilliant, and I’m sure it is, but my half year old Macbook works wonders and looks great.

Apple seems to be focusing more on the environmental impact their products have and this is a great start for them with the Macbook Air. Steve said talking about this would become a normal thing when new products are launched. As for new product launches I think that if they made the Macbook this thin we will see an updated iMac soon. And you can of course check out Apple’s website for all the information and photos.

Do you think 1.8 GHz is fast enough?
What are your thoughts in general on everything new?

I thought I might as well talk about what Apple came out with yesterday, after all I am an Apple fan.

The iMac looks pretty nice and its great that it is thinner. But I don’t really like the color. I always thought that the Aluminum was better for their professional products and the white kinda made it feel more “home-y” and personal. But it still is a nice machine.

Then they updated iLife. The update to iMovie is by far the best thing about the new iLife. Why? Because they started from scratch and made an awesome application with a whole new way of making movies. Here is a screenshot.

And then of course there is the stunning keyboard.
Looks awesome, if I do say so myself.

Check out the video from the event.

And while we are on the topic of Apple, I thought I would announce that I am going to be writing for Macteens, an online website about Apple. The site is in the process of being redesigned and after that my first article will be up.

UPDATE: The New iMovie is terrible, my mistake.

My latest project is putting together a book on the sotry of the iPhone. It will include stories, blog posts, and photos from the community. It will document the days up to the iPhone, the release day, and the days after.
Check out www.iphonethebook.com

UPDATE: My MacBook should be arriving today on Monday the 18th just like Apple said. Sorry about that Apple. As for FedEx, they are the ones who said it would deliver on the 20th and I suppose it is good that they are delivering before, thus making their customer happy.

Apple makes wonderful products and software but I am recently having some issues with them. I placed an order for an iPod and MacBook. The iPod came when they said it would without my free laser engraving. I then contacted their support team to figure out why I couldn’t get videos on it. It was a combination of updating Quicktime and OS X which the first person I talked to couldn’t figure out.

My MacBook is supposed to be here the latest on Monday, June 18th according to the Apple Order Status website. Well according to FedEx it isn’t coming until June 20th. And according to the email Apple sent me its coming on the 19th. It has overnight shipping and was shipped today, so I don’t know how they came up with three days later. The reason it took so long to actually ship in the first place was because I ordered 2GB of memory instead of the 1GB which is what they stock. Where do you think all customized orders come from. Try China. They outsourced the very simple task of adding a little memory to China.

One last thing, I just wrote all that as I was on hold for the next representative. Although, on the positive side of things, I will end up having a great piece of hardware and some awesome software.

I was at Virgin Records in Union Square, NYC this past Thursday. Here I was able to play with the Zune. I have to say that I did like it. The interface was a little more flashly and had more graphics. The screen was bigger and I was able to turn it onits side when watching videos. It sounded good and the screen looked good as well.

However, I wasn’t able to feel its weight or experience the battery life. Several times I couldn’t understand why it was not working, as it turns out I was attempting to spin the wheel like an iPod when I was instead supposed to be pressing the buttons. The interface was a little too flashy for me, though it was a nice change from the simple interface of the iPod. I was not able to use the sharing and community features on the Zune, but from I have heard I didn’t miss out on much.

Overall, I like it and it was a pretty decent atempt from Microsoft. But the iPod will of course live on with all its glory and beat the Zune.

Apple’s Pro site is a really nice resource and way to see what the professionals are doing with Apple’s products. They show examples and stories from design, film and video, photography, and music and audio. Each profile includes pictures, a list of hardware and software the uses, techniques, and sometimes videos. You should definitely go check out the site…Apple Pro Site