Steve Jobs’ MacWorld Expo 2006 keynote came and went. All last week I eagerly waited for this day to come. It’s not very cool that Apple has stopped web casting the keynote since 2003 (or maybe 2004?). But maybe the cost of keeping up with the bandwidth was just not worth it.
Whatever the reason. I intentionally avoided reading all those “live update” sites just so that I could watch the keynote in one piece and hear everything for myself. But instead of holding out, I started reading stuff from various Mac news sites.
So I read the headlines one by one…
Intel iMac with the same features but faster…. big deal.
iLife gets an update… blah… whatever.
iLife gets iWeb… yawn…
iWork gets an update… whatever… where’s the real news?
iPod gets Apple-made FM tuner… Um… two years too late…
Blah blah blah…
What a stupid boring keynote, I thought.
But then Apple made the keynote available for steaming. And Apple’s website was updated.
HOLY SHIT. I immediately got sucked into the reality of Steve Jobs, a whole other dimension in space and time. As the keynote progressed, he introduced products I’d already read about earlier. But for some unexplained reason, I felt excited, energized and wowed by everything he introduced (except the iPhoto and speed bench demos).
I have problem with one thing though…. MacBook Pro? What the hell is wrong with that name? MacBook? Com’on… give us something original like Apple’s been doing with one-word names on its applications. Or lose the “book” — that sounds so 2001!
Launching MacBook was a calculated move. PowerBook has been long overdue for a new life. And this delivered that for everyone who were just waiting for that new Intel PowerBook. PowerBook buyers are also known to be early adopters. They are not afraid of becoming Apple’s unofficial beta testers for the first generation of Intel Macs. They are survivors and fighters. Even if all the MacBooks burst into flame, they’ll get free replacements simply because they would be the same crowd who’s smart enough to get AppleCare!
It’s my suspicion that iBook will be replaced with a, quite simply, MacBook (no Pro). I believe this is a consolidation of Apple’s new branding strategy (just look at the iPod line of products) in an effort to tighten its image and focus in products. I wonder what the new PowerMacs will be called.
Out of all this, one thing did surprise me. Kyung, of all people, pledged his allegiance to the new MacBook Pro if there was ever a 17″ version. But claims OSX would be replaced by Linux and Windows as soon as he gets his hands on one.
In conclusion, Steve Jobs’ Reality Distortion Field is for real. But I am still a little bit disappointed with what came out of this year’s MacWorld Expo (MacTV?). I will be eagerly waiting for other announcement throughout the rest of the year for that “one more thing” announcement.