 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
BEST MAC MAGAZINE |
|
Have you checked out the #1 Mac Magazine? With over 240 pages of Mac hottest info! |
|
 |
|
| EXCLUSIVES |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| MAC CULTURE | |
| MAC
GAMES |
|
| MAC
MUSIC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| Boston, MA - |
MacDirectory @ Macworld Expo 2008: Touring the Floor Words and Pictures by Ric Getter January 2008
The first piece of news became obvious from the start. Registrations were up from 40,000 to 50,000+ this year with a proportional increase in exhibitors. Also, the post-CES timing of the Exp contributed to making this a fully-fledged media circus. Those of us who requested our credentials a mere six weeks before the event were left out in the cold for the keynote. (Okay, we were left in the media room drinking free coffee and following the event online via "live" blog-casts. However, it remains a mystery why IDG (the Expo's organizer) couldn't provide an overflow viewing area for an event being captured by a full, multi-camera TV crew.) A Matter of Time Time Capsule, the stand-alone wireless network storage device has some potential, but we'll really need to see how it performs in the real world. Doing backups on a gigabit wired network is bandwidth challenging. Running them on 802.11n or Bluetooth could be interesting. Bringing the iPhone and iPod touch into software parity was happy news in spite of the moaning about Touch owners having to pay $20 for the upgrade. Sadly, the updates failed to add either Java or Flash capabilities.
But the real breakthrough is a feature that will probably migrate throughout Apple's laptop lineup. Up to now, it's been a bit of a mystery how the unique iPhone/Touch multi-touch interface could manifest itself on a larger device. Speculation abounded about the possibility of a touch-screen tablet (cool, but not a particularly happy thought for those of us who have to do a lot of typing). The trick turned out to be a larger touchpad that supports multi-touch features. Right now, only a few of Apple's in-house applications can exploit the new interface. But after a few minutes with sliding through iPhoto with multi-touch, the once-revolutionary point-and-click interface begins to feel like a clay tablet and stone axe. Google's growing interest in Apple, demonstrated by their ingeniously updated mapping software the mob around their booth at the show, was exciting. But until the Touch and iPhone start being fed by Apple's most vibrant resource (the independent developer community) the selection of available applications is still quite sparse when compared to other portable devices. The search-giant's enhanced mapping application for the iPhone/Touch proved to be only the tip of the corporate iceberg. The company is finally warming up to Apple. It's presence at Macworld grew from an un-manned kiosk to a much larger (and more crowded) display area. Mark Sabec from the Google Mac team (and unofficial in-house Mac evangelist) was obviously pleased at the response to the warm reception of the various Google Widgets on display. According to Mark, the Windows and Mac versions share a good deal of code with the install process being tailored for each platform.
The Office Microsoft provided the press with a chance to chat directly with some of the suite's developers and they glowed like proud parents. What was most impressive were not the big changes as much as the brilliant little bits that aren't immediately obvious. For example, Excel now includes an interactive formula builder that lets you search for the obscure expression you need, offers help on how it works and provides a fill-in-the-form based method of entering it into a cell (so you don't have to understand the often esoteric syntax). There's also a remarkably cool way of entering preferences. Click the corner of a command panel and it flips over like a Dashboard widget. Office now incorporates OS X's advanced font technology, which provides niceties like the grouping of font families, ligatures and kerning. For the first time, Publisher has been ported to the Mac and should prove to be an aggressive competitor to Apple's Pages.
Serving Up Your Fonts The ModBook Mac tablet from Axiotron [www.axiotron.com] was attracting a lot of attention at its sizable booth occupying some prime turf at the show. Now that the form factor of the new Mac laptop has been revealed (not a tablet, as some rumors predicted), this modified Mac Book remains in its unique niche as an object of significant desire for artists. The other modified Mac of note appeared in Victor Systems' [www.victorysystems.biz] somewhat smaller booth in Moscone's West Hall. There you could see a completely rebuilt, highly ruggedized, Mil Spec Mac Mini being developed for the Department of Defense's successor to the Humvee. Victor Cohen, the company's rep at the booth, said the decision to go with the Mac was a no-brainer, considering the platform's inherent hardware quality and the OS's security. Unless Sport Utilility Computers suddenly come into fashion, it's not something many of us we'll see in action, but it's an interesting bit of engineering.
And it's not just your typical selection of hardware accessories like speakers, chargers, cases, and earphones. The wave of software development for the platforms is beginning to build. Susteen [www.susteen.com] showed off DataPilot, a sophisticated tool for migrating contact lists between the Mac and a variety of mobile phones. One of the least conventional applications came from Pzizz, a group of scientific programmers turned Mac developers. Their new-age application lets you create relaxation and sleep-inducing sound and video tracks for your iPod (or your Mac, if it shares your bedroom). The software is a key element of the MetroNap EnergyPod [www.metronaps.com], a unique, chair-like power-napping device being promoted for workplaces and public spaces. Apple's recent growth, both as a computer company and as a catalyst in burgeoning markets, is unparalleled in the company's history (at least since the heady days of the Apple II). Since that time, their annual (and, for a period, bi-annual) gatherings in the US had the overtones of a cult convention, rich in a sense of community and strong in an optimistic belief in success. Now that Apple is beginning to achieve those long-sought goals, Macworld Expo is beginning to take on the atmosphere of the major industry trade show it has, in fact, become. Some analysts expressed a modicum of disappointment at the lack of dramatic announcements (perhaps the MacBook Air would have made a better "One more thing..." coda than Randy Newman). But the world of Apple and the legendary Cult of the Mac/iPod/iPhone is growing and evolving. Some years we'll see the company radically changing our lifestyle. At the very least, at Macworld 2008, Apple has provided some polish to its own products that's reflected by the many companies that have grown up around it. |
||
 | ||
Who would have imagined? Last week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) turned out to be a real yawn-fest. Except for a potentially fatal shot fired in the high-def DVD format wars, there was nothing particularly notable from the glittering Nevada oasis. Even the Bill Gates conference wrap-up seemed to be a source of more nostalgia than news. Apple's pre-Expo release of the long-awaited Mac Pros represented some of the biggest tech news of the week. Not to demean the significance of the move to the newest Intel silicon, few could avoid speculating that the early announcement in the shadow of the CES could represent a need to open up some time during Jobs oft-lengthy keynote address for even more spectacular things.
Something in the Air
A Growth Industry