Today was Steve Jobs' keynote speech, which kicked off the Macworld San Francisco expo. Several new products were added to Apple's line.
1. The most exciting new product (in my opinion) is the
Mac Mini. It's an entire computer that's not much larger than a CD (6.5"x6.5"x2") all for a price so attractive (starting at $499 US) that even the computer illiterate can justify the cost. I like this computer, though I would never buy one. It's geared toward the beginner computer user and the Windows-user who would like to test the waters of OSX.
2. The
iPod Shuffle was also announced at MacworldSF. This is another product aimed at the entry-level user. It's priced at $99 US for the 512MB model and $150 US for the 1GB model. This new iPod uses flash media. The Shuffle is extremely small, about the size of a pack of gum. It also has no screen. I don't quite understand the decision to forgo the screen here. I guess it's a way to cut costs, but especially with 1GB model things might get confusing. The Shuffle has two modes: shuffle, where the songs play in a random order and a mode where the songs play in the order you put them on the device.
It seems like on the hardware side, this Macworld's slogan should be 'Apple for Everyone.' The new products are very nice but don't pack enough punch for me to purchase. However, there were some very exciting announcements on the software side of things, too.
* The next generation of Apple's definitive iLife suite will ship this month, packing a good deal of new and expanded features.
* The Apple iWork suite was announced, which will include Keynote 2 (think Powerpoint) and Pages (like Word.) This suite basically combines the Appleworks and Keynote softwares into one low-priced package.
* Final Cut Express HD was announced. FCE is a slightly stripped-down version of Apple's Final Cut Pro software. This new version includes support for High Definition and widescreen digital camcorders, as well as adds the Soundtrack and LiveType software.
* Apple confirmed that the next version of OSX, Tiger (also 10.4) is on track to ship in the first half of 2005. There was no official date given.
I find each of these announcements exciting, but I love the additions to Final Cut Express most of all. For the $150 I'd pay for an academic copy I can't imagine that there's anything better for the price out there on the market today. Soundtrack is a nice inclusion. Soundtrack was a stand-alone software package until last week, and it was priced at $150 by itself. The software allows you to create a royalty-free soundtrack (duh) for your movies. I'm going to have to just find the money for that.....