Macworld San Francisco Random Thoughts

Systems
The MacBook Pro looks like a great machine, even if the name takes a little getting used to. While CPU performance may very well be 4-5x that of the 1.67ghz G4 Powerbook, remember that many of the applications you will be using for the first year of it’s life will be running in emulation. It’s for this reason alone that I will be waiting about a year before I trade in my Powerbook G4 1.5ghz 17″. Right now in my applications folder I have two applications that are “Universal Binaries” – Quicktime 7.04 (just released) and Transmission 0.4. Now that the machines are out, you will see most of the smaller developers who have Cocoa apps release their Universal Binary versions. However, apps like Creative Suite 2 and Microsoft Office will not be native before the end of the year (if we are lucky). Macromedia Studio will be even longer, since it was just recently released.

Also note, the new Mac Book Pro does not come with a Modem. I suspect that no new Mac will ship with a modem anymore, as the Apple USB Modem for $29 allows them to cut the price of the machine and still offer it to people who want it. Personally, I never used the modem to dial up to the internet, but I did use it often to Fax pages to clients. Still, if it’s something that is important to you, it’s only a $29 option.

The iMac also looks like a home run, and a safer bet since most of the home apps you would use would probably be Universal Binaries quicker than the pro apps.

In a strange move, both the previous Powerbooks and iMacs using G4/G5 chips are still available – at the same prices! I guess Apple isn’t really too worried about clearing out the inventory.

It should also be noted that Developers who “rented” the Developer Transition Kits will be given a nice gift for their efforts – a new iMac. That’s right, upon turning their DTK in, Apple will provide them with a a new Intel iMac. However, Apple is exchanging the DTK kit for the 17″ model, not the 20″ (full specs: 17″ iMac 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo/160GB Serial ATA drive/SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD+RW/CD-RW)/ 512MB 667 DDR2 SDRAM. )

Software
iLife ’06 looks like a solid upgrade. Garageband is “reinvented” as a Podcast studio, iPhoto gets some very useful additions, and iMovie gets a little attention paid to it with the addition of “Themes”. iDVD didn’t look like it received much of an update apart from it’s new widescreen themes.

iWeb, the newest addition, looks interesting. It’s not what I was hoping for, but for those of you who want to publish blogs or webpages to .Mac with the template mentality that is iLife, it will fit the bill. I have a lot of unanswered questions regarding iWeb… How easy is it to create new themes, if you can at all? Can you modify the code of any of these pages within the application? Can I create a page “from scratch”, with a blank slate, or am I forced to pick a template? I’ll have an update on these when I receive my copy later this week.

You have to feel bad for Dan Wood at Karelia Software. iWeb does exactly what his Sandvox application does, and probably does it a bit better. Dan’s a smart guy, and with a bit of persistence, he’ll be able to add features that distinguish Sandvox from iWeb. Just remember to listen to your users Dan, and all will be well.

iWork got barely a mention, although the keynote was driven by Keynote 3. Both apps were upgraded with the same features: 3D charts, a table editor that allows for calculations, freeform shapes, curves and masks, and reviewer comments. Pages 2 also received mail merge capability with address book.

Missing from the announcement was the expected inclusion of a spreadsheet application, rumored to be called “Numbers”. Oddly, during the keynote, Microsoft announced a new 5 year commitment to provide Office for the Mac. Quid Pro Quo? You be the judge.

Apple also announced the iLife ’06 and iWork ’06 are shipping as Universal Binaries. Also, the system installed on the new Intel Macs is Mac OS X 10.4.4 which is billed as entirely native.

Apple also set a release date of March to have Final Cut Pro, Logic and Aperture available as a Universal Binary. For $49, Apple will ship you a CD with the Universal Binary for the application that you own. No specifics were given on whether “Final Cut” meant “Final Cut Studio”, and included DVD Studio Pro, Motion, and Soundtrack. Also no word was given on the “prosumer” apps – Final Cut Express and Logic Express.

The best statement that was made though was the proclamation from Jobs that all Macs would be transitioning to Intel chips this year, and by the end of the year, all of the lineup will have completed the transition. This will go a long way towards fostering Universal Binary conversions and hopefully prod Adobe and Microsoft along to get their Intel compatible applications out the door before years end.

Category: News