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A laptop on the road is becoming the equivalent of a 1954 salesman sample case. John Candy hauled a suitcase full of shower-curtain-ring samples in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (Not the best movie). When I see someone pull out a giant Dell surfboard in an airport terminal or hotel lobby I think, “Wow, I can’t believe they have to haul that thing around.” When I see people with GIANT laptop bags slung across their shoulders and walking to the parking deck I think, “Wow, there has to be a better way.”
There’s something about opening a laptop lid that’s just too much. Opening it, the added thickness, the weight. The laptop in its current form-factor is the best catalyst for tablet development. And don’t even get me started on the tablets that are really laptops with the lid spun around. My doctor carries one around all day. I’d cry.
Dozens of blogs have published their Mac Tablet (Mac Touch) wish list. Here’s the quick and dirty on what Murphy wants: Not much thicker than an iPod touch. Six by eight - no bigger! Cellular built-in and modular. Bluetooth, wifi. An Apple-branded wireless travel keyboard accessory. Mini-USB.
Why do I want this? I can leave my laptop behind now that I have an iPod touch. But everyone keeps saying the touch and the iPhone are computers. They’re so close. But I need easy USB connectivity to copy files onto the device. And the ability to connect a card reader. Does anyone else want that? I don’t know, but the lack of USB connectivity is what stops me from calling the touch and the iPhone computers.
Will it run Snow Leopard, or an OS more like the touch and the iPhone? Interesting question. With all the apps in the app store it seems like the lighter OS is a possibility. Wouldn’t bother me too much, as long as there’s Flash support! What if it could run in either of two modes: Full OS X or the Mobile flavor?
Think about how easy the device would be to slip in and out of a bag on an airplane. Instant on. Light. Simple. Connected.
Back to the touch for a second: I heard Paul Thurrott saying he uses his iPhone to triage his email. And that’s about all I use my iPod for with regard to email. I can’t stand to write more than a few sentences on the iPod. I use it to read and delete emails that don’t require action. The interface is great for scanning, deleting and filing emails. But I don’t write big replies.
The tablet touch keyboard won’t be much better, unless Apple comes up with something none of us have thought of yet. A wireless keyboard is nice, but it’s not a perfect solution. And here’s the biggest problem. How do you prop the tablet up when you don’t want to hold it? It wouldn’t look very Apple-like with a pop-out stand. Without an easy way to really type I won’t be better off on the road than I am with my iPod touch.
Ireland - a frequent commenter on AppleInsider, would like a low angle stand. Then you’d type on the keyboard while the device is resting on the table. Hadn’t thought of that. It’s an interesting idea, but sounds like an ergonomic mega-lawsuit in the making.
Unfortunately, I think the chances of a tablet at Macworld are nil. It would have been a perfect last keynote for Steve. But the rumor mill has been far too quiet. There was more noise about a $99 iPhone at Wal-Mart than there’s been about new products for January 5. The last few product announcements have been well-leaked, so I’m not expecting anything that will make your jaw drop. As my friend Ireland says, it’s too soon - they’re working on it but it’s not ready yet.
What Else?
New iMacs. A new Mac Mini. Maybe some more Cinema Displays. I’m still hoping my FM tuner will work with my iPod touch but I suppose it’s time to let go of that entirely reasonable expectation.
What do you expect on Monday? What do you think of the following?
A 12″ Macbook Pro. (It’s why they pulled FW from the new Macbook)
Apple television
Apple hardware accesories for iPhone and touch. Like card-readers.
What about a touch screen iMac? (I don’t see the point, but HP is selling a few of them…)
More services for Apple TV
We don’t have long to wait…
Some interesting Mac Tablet mock ups:
Stand
Kindle-Like
iPad
Popular Mechanics Not Even Close
I like this one
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Well, the screencasts have slowed down. They’re brutal to make and I’ll tell you why if you ask. But 200 posts isn’t bad.
Murphy’s first screencast posted two years ago: how to close lots of windows with a single click. For some reason we thought the anniversary was Nov 28 so this post was held until today. But it was actually Nov 20. Oops.
There have been some big posts over the last two years. Murphy’s screencasts have been featured on Digg, TUAW, Lifehacker, and Ars Technica. I’m still waiting for Leo Laporte to tell everyone how he waits for Murphy’s next screencast to come out. Are you there Leo?
Quickly, here are some of my favorite posts:
Retrieving a Remote File by Email
Sleep Your Mac by Email
Mail a File by Dragging to a Folder
Google Calendar on Your Desktop (with GeekTool)
How to Make a Quicktime Skin
Command Line File Encryption
Split Files into Smaller Files
Browse the categories in the sidebar, there are plenty of screencasts to look through.
Notable Mac Websites:
Silver Mac
OS X Daily
Tim Margh
Do you have an idea for a Murphy Mac screencast? Post it below…
Web Hosting
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Murphy is always on the lookout for decent online television listings. i.tv for the iPhone / iPod touch is remarkably good.
The format is quite iPhone-ish, the listings for a given hour look something like the native iPhone video player’s listings. The listing includes a thumbnail and episode title. When you select a show there’s a synopsis, a rating, and an option to thumbs-down a show. Some shows have a preview available.
The thumbs-down is one of the most useful features. When you tag a show as thumbs-down you’re given the option to either hide the show or the channel from your listings. I’ll never see Murder She Wrote in my listings again, which makes scrolling that much more efficient. There’s also a thumbs-up button that adds the show to a tab of your favorite media.
Murphy really likes the iPhone tumbler for selecting the date and time, which is how you select your listings range. There are also arrows to bump forward or backward quickly.
There’s more! i.tv provides movie listings. This application is full featured, allowing plenty of customization and even parental controls. You can check out the i.tv FAQ here.
Murphy already uses his iPod touch as the remote control for Apple TV and iTunes. Now I’ve got a great tv guide too. Things just keep getting better and better.
i.tv is free and the developers report they have no plans to charge for the service.
iPod touch at Amazon
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This isn’t another post about whether or not Apple should have left Firewire on the new Macbooks. If that’s what you’re looking for you’ll find about 600 comments on this AppleInsider post.
Instead, let’s look at how the lack of Firewire highlights a gap in Apple’s notebook lineup. The gap, introduced when Apple went to Intel, could have been closed last week. It wasn’t.
For some reason, Apple thinks “pro” notebook customers are defined by the physical dimensions of their machine. Years ago this wasn’t the case - when you could buy a 12″ Powerbook. Since the switch to Intel there isn’t a small form-factor Pro machine. Just the Macbook.
When the Macbook went aluminum its features started to merge with the Macbook Pro. Macbook got the nice case and a backlit keyboard (on the high end model). The Macbook Pro got the magnetic latch. The differences in the machines became more about the guts - and less about aesthetics. Seemed like the perfect opportunity to put Pro guts in a small machine.
And make no mistake, small is in. Look at netbook sales. Still, Apple decided against introducing anything smaller than the Macbook. Could it be they’re holding something back for Macworld? Five of the top ten laptops at Amazon are Apple machines. Along with a few netbooks.
Consumer video cameras requiring a Firewire port? Yes Steve, they exist in droves, not matter what you decided about the Macbook. Pro cameras and audio equipment - it’s out there too. And people that tote that stuff around value space in their work area, in their hardcases, in their bags. Maybe Firewire was slated to go, but it seems a little premature.
Apple should consider using a spec other than display size for determining whether or not a machine is pro caliber.
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A quirky presentation today that leaves us with a messy mix of products: No overhaul for the 17″ MBP. A 24″ LED display - but what about other sizes? Has Ives been to Toastmasters? The white plastic Macbook lives on. Why so many speakers in such a short presentation? And why all the brick buzz if it’s in the Air? Where’s the mystery product alluded to during the last earnings call?
Murphy’s thoughts on the following:
AAPL
Rumors
Display Port
Brick
Macbook Pro
Macbook
New 24″ Display
Steve
Conclusion
AAPL
The reaction of Wall Street to today’s event was bound to be something of a non-event. Obviously, huge market forces are at work this week, and it’s difficult to separate the effects of today’s announcments from all the other noise. That said, the share price didn’t drop as much as I would have expected, given that nothing monumental was announced outside of the rumors. The lack of a $899 notebook could have been an anchor on AAPL today, but it wasn’t.
The stock is in for a drop regardless of what happened today. Short of a new line of Apple-branded flying cars and a 7-inch tablet nothing announced today was going to move the shares north. Maybe that $899 notebook could have nudged it up. Maybe.
Why is AAPL in for a drop? It’s hard to see Apple predicting a holiday quarter that matches up with Wall Street’s lofty expectations. As we’ve seen in the past, it doesn’t matter if Apple beats on the current quarter. Without highly optimistic forward looking guidance AAPL will be adjusted downward.
Rumors
There were complaints from contributors on various mainstream forums, like Engadget and Fortune this morning, as readers realized there weren’t going to be any surprises today. “There’s nothing to look forward to,” posters said. We’re starting to see a pattern here, remarkably accurate predictions based on leaks: manuals, photos, and placeholders in retailer inventory systems. If this keeps up, it’ll be hard for Steve to awe the audience with “one more thing.”
We saw the phatty iPod before it was released. Last month’s nano was leaked all over the place. And today’s products were all pre-announced to a remarkable extent before Steve took the stage.
Remember the days leading up to the initial iPhone announcement? There were mockups of every kind making the rounds. Most of them were wrong. Those were the good old days.
Display Port
Did you notice Steve mentioned a couple times that Display Port is going into “all our new products” and “everything we make” ? Could that include iPods? Well, obviously we can’t take it too literally. It won’t be in an iPod Shuffle for example. But Steve’s choice of words seemed a little curious. He didn’t say every computer. Maybe the tablet we’re getting in January will have a Display Port?
Brick
Again, congrats to the rumor mongers. You pretty much had this one nailed, and I have to say I was skeptical along the way.
Ives wasn’t exactly a compelling speaker. But most hardcore Apple fans are familiar with his accomplishments. If he thinks something is important fans will listen. Clearly Steve thinks the case is a monumental accomplishment, but why didn’t we hear about it when the Air was launched?
There were definitely problems with the old case. My Macbook Pro was never the same after Apple opened it. It took some voodoo to reassemble in a way that the trackpad button wasn’t obstructed. It wasn’t easy to disassemble either. After a fan repair and multiple attempts by Apple to get the mouse button right they gave me a new Macbook Pro.
If the new case is more serviceable it’s probably worth the hype we’ve heard.
Macbook Pro
The big curiosity is the trackpad. No mouse button! That’s definitely interesting and I’m looking forward to trying one out asap. I think people who love computers might love this. People who struggled with trackpads are really going to miss the button.
The glass display alienates a lot of users. The question is how loud will the outcry be and will Apple listen? I predict a matte finish being available sometime in January.
Losing the mechanical latch? Fantastic.
Macbook
The Macbook is a pretty compelling piece of hardware at this point. I expect impressive sales for the rest of the year. Students will eat it up.
We’ve got a Macbook Pro and a Macbook in the house. The Macbook is easier to grab when your’e lying on the sofa. It’s great for a trip to the coffee shop. It’s not so great for apps that need screen real estate or use multiple apps side by side.
Still, I’ve been using the Macbook more and more. I don’t like the plastic. It’s a little flimsy. It’s cracked in one place. And the keyboard isn’t backlit. Fixing those issues is a slamdunk for Apple.
A lot of people are itching for something smaller, like the old 12-inch Powerbook. Clearly it’s not coming. Because that need will be filled with the Mac Touch in January. Right?!
24″ Inch Display
That was a long wait. What took so long? Can I use my notebook with it and have the lid closed? Will the notebook overheat?
Steve
Murphy thought he looked healthy. But he’s working so hard to give other people stage time that the presentations are a little jerky. Steve’s obsession with these presentations is well documented, it’s weird to see them get so choppy. And for anyone who thought Ives would be the new keynote man I think the search is back on as of today. Genius? Yes. Presenter? No.
It looks like Steve is holding open tryouts for the keynote job, but they’re going to have to dig a little deeper. The guys today don’t have it. Talk about big shoes to fill: Who else has the history that Steve has with Apple? Nobody. That history carries a lot of clout when Jobs takes the stage. It’s the same with Gates. Being there from day 1 means something.
Steve did look better than he did last month, and much better than he did at the 3G launch. But with so many people sharing the load on an easy presentation you have to assume he’s a little worn out. Or something. Murphy wishes him well.
Conclusion
If you were looking for the blockbuster announcement you were at the wrong event. If there is one, we’ll know about it some time in December, when the Macworld rumors start leaking. Personally, Murphy hopes Apple has something big, and that they manage to keep it under wraps until the keynote. It’s more fun that way.
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