Musings at the Beginning of MacWorld Expo Week
Once again, the annual cycle in the life of a Mac user begins. For the last few weeks, Mac users and their publications have been swimming upstream, like salmon preparing to spawn, toward the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco where we know new Mac products will be announced. Speculation is ripe there will be a new sub-notebook, a flash-drive based model similar to yesterday’s 12 inch PowerBook. A few years ago, before I bought my MacBook Pro, I would have been in the market for just such a thing. But too much money has passed between Apple and me to make that likely, at least from what I can foresee right now.
I’m more interested in the possibility of an iMac-like docking station. Speculation had it that this device would be usable with a MacBook. Much to my chagrin, because I’d really love such a set-up, I suspect that’s true for one simple reason. The MacBook’s optical drive is on its side, the side that would be “open” to the user when the MacBook was in place inside its shell. The MacBook Pro’s optical drive is on its front, implying (from the device’s patent drawings) that the optical disk would have to eject downward toward the desk (not practical) or upward through its top (awkward). If Apple does release such a docking station and applies it to its consumer-based laptops only, then it’ll be another shot across the bow of its professional laptop user base. We’re already suffering from the
hard drive in the MacBook being user-upgradeable but the MacBook Pro’s is not.
On the other hand, if the iMac-docking station is introduced and works with the 12 inch portable only, both MacBook and MacBook pro users will grudgingly accept that. That’s not to say there wouldn’t be a lot of pressure on Apple to adapt the docking station for its other products. It’s just that everyone is used to Apple introducing a new concept you have to buy into, as expensive as that might be. Bad for us; good for them.
If I get surprised and they introduce a 20 or 24 inch docking station that works with the MacBook Pro, essentially converting my portable into a working iMac desktop, I probably will buy that product. It would be more elegant than the solution I’m using now, i.e., a MBP plugged into an external keyboard and mouse, even though it would be no more efficient or flexible. It’s a quality of life improvement I’m after. Less chords. More pleasing appearance and interface.
That’s not to say this week won’t already be expensive enough. Along with the keynote on Tuesday, Microsoft will be releasing the new Intel-native Office 2008. We will buy one copy of the Home and Student version primarily for my wife’s use, though I also intend to load one copy up for me to evaluate. (I’m awaiting a copy of Office 2008, the Special Media Version, which won’t arrive for another six to eight weeks. That was part of Microsoft’s Black Friday deals, one of which –the $100 rebate—they’re reneging on by claiming I didn’t include the front cover from user manual of the Office 2004 Student and Teacher version I bought and I damn well did!) That said, it actually looks like Best Buy may have the best price on the software, and we plan to buy it from there. This Sunday’s newspaper ad touted the Tuesday release; I’ll let you know whether the local store has any copies or not then.
I’m really not looking for Apple to introduce an iLife09 and hope they don’t; I haven’t really pushed out the investment I made in iLife 08!
Will Apple respond to user criticism of the glossy-only iMacs by releasing a matte screen version? There’s been no mention of this in any of the rumor mills, but it is something I’d like to see.
I think it’s likely, though, that Apple may indeed announce the release of 3G capable iPhones. As compelling as that extra speed might be, I don’t see a large horde of present day iPhone users selling off their phones to get the newer models. We certainly won’t. But that might become an option when our current AT&T contracts expire, though a year and a half or so from now that may be. If our current iPhones were still working well, I could see us offering the old phones to younger family members who might otherwise not be able to afford them and paying the extra money to upgrade phones and service.
Apple will undoubtedly hand down some surprises Tuesday; they always do. To be honest, though, I’ll be content if this is an “off” year when Apple doesn’t do something that really rocks the computer world or releases something my wife or I “just gotta’ have!”. Otherwise, I’ll be just like Wimpy in the Popeye cartoons but with a slightly twisted quip:
“I’ll gladly pay you back on Tuesday for a new Apple today…”
I’m more interested in the possibility of an iMac-like docking station. Speculation had it that this device would be usable with a MacBook. Much to my chagrin, because I’d really love such a set-up, I suspect that’s true for one simple reason. The MacBook’s optical drive is on its side, the side that would be “open” to the user when the MacBook was in place inside its shell. The MacBook Pro’s optical drive is on its front, implying (from the device’s patent drawings) that the optical disk would have to eject downward toward the desk (not practical) or upward through its top (awkward). If Apple does release such a docking station and applies it to its consumer-based laptops only, then it’ll be another shot across the bow of its professional laptop user base. We’re already suffering from the
hard drive in the MacBook being user-upgradeable but the MacBook Pro’s is not.
On the other hand, if the iMac-docking station is introduced and works with the 12 inch portable only, both MacBook and MacBook pro users will grudgingly accept that. That’s not to say there wouldn’t be a lot of pressure on Apple to adapt the docking station for its other products. It’s just that everyone is used to Apple introducing a new concept you have to buy into, as expensive as that might be. Bad for us; good for them.
If I get surprised and they introduce a 20 or 24 inch docking station that works with the MacBook Pro, essentially converting my portable into a working iMac desktop, I probably will buy that product. It would be more elegant than the solution I’m using now, i.e., a MBP plugged into an external keyboard and mouse, even though it would be no more efficient or flexible. It’s a quality of life improvement I’m after. Less chords. More pleasing appearance and interface.
That’s not to say this week won’t already be expensive enough. Along with the keynote on Tuesday, Microsoft will be releasing the new Intel-native Office 2008. We will buy one copy of the Home and Student version primarily for my wife’s use, though I also intend to load one copy up for me to evaluate. (I’m awaiting a copy of Office 2008, the Special Media Version, which won’t arrive for another six to eight weeks. That was part of Microsoft’s Black Friday deals, one of which –the $100 rebate—they’re reneging on by claiming I didn’t include the front cover from user manual of the Office 2004 Student and Teacher version I bought and I damn well did!) That said, it actually looks like Best Buy may have the best price on the software, and we plan to buy it from there. This Sunday’s newspaper ad touted the Tuesday release; I’ll let you know whether the local store has any copies or not then.
I’m really not looking for Apple to introduce an iLife09 and hope they don’t; I haven’t really pushed out the investment I made in iLife 08!
Will Apple respond to user criticism of the glossy-only iMacs by releasing a matte screen version? There’s been no mention of this in any of the rumor mills, but it is something I’d like to see.
I think it’s likely, though, that Apple may indeed announce the release of 3G capable iPhones. As compelling as that extra speed might be, I don’t see a large horde of present day iPhone users selling off their phones to get the newer models. We certainly won’t. But that might become an option when our current AT&T contracts expire, though a year and a half or so from now that may be. If our current iPhones were still working well, I could see us offering the old phones to younger family members who might otherwise not be able to afford them and paying the extra money to upgrade phones and service.
Apple will undoubtedly hand down some surprises Tuesday; they always do. To be honest, though, I’ll be content if this is an “off” year when Apple doesn’t do something that really rocks the computer world or releases something my wife or I “just gotta’ have!”. Otherwise, I’ll be just like Wimpy in the Popeye cartoons but with a slightly twisted quip:
“I’ll gladly pay you back on Tuesday for a new Apple today…”
posted by Andy Foster at
8:08 PM
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