So, the good folks over at Apple Computer released some new stuff the other day. Not the gigantic announcements that some were hoping like 3Ghz G5 computers or anything like that. The new things that were announced are still darn cool but not so earth-shattering.
I’m sure that’s why they decided not to broadcast the Developer Keynote speech live this time. Not that I would watch a developer keynote speech live. What do you think I am, a geek? Ok, so maybe I watched one or two. So what?
Anyway, Steve Jobs announced the next version of Apple’s Mac OSX code name “Tiger”. It has many improvements and new features that seem pretty cool. Not the least of which is the new iChat or TChat as I call it. This app will allow three people to video conference at the same time and up to ten people audio chat at the same time. That’s cool. Go to the link above to check out the rest of the new features of Tiger.
Also announced were new displays in three sizes. 20″, 23″ and a massive 30″. Shiny new displays made out of the same shiny aluminum as the G5 and the recent powerbooks. Better yet, they are bigger and badder than the previous versions. As a proud owner of the 20″ Cinema display all I can say is they make great monitors and I can’t wait to be able to afford a 30″ one. Very nice but again, not earth-shattering.
It makes me wonder if the days of the jaw-dropping innovation are gone. It seems like the great leaps forward are fewer and farther in between. Or, maybe Apple is working on something even bigger and is about to spring it on us. Really, they are just the guys (and girls) to do it.
I still have my fingers crossed for an Apple iPhone which combines a cell phone, pda and camera, syncs with my Mac perfectly and runs a scaled down version of OSX called OSX mobile or something. I also think it would be fantastic if Apple purchased TiVo and put their development might behind it to make something even more fantastic.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my Tivo and have said that to anyone who will listen. I just think that a partnership between Apple and Tivo would yield an even more extraordinary device that this gadget-lover would snap up in an instant. I’m sure I would not be the only one.
Time will tell. If anyone from Apple is listening, get on it before Microsoft buys Tivo or something and turns it into another version of Replay TV or some other crap. You guys are smart and make great stuff, even if it sometimes frustrates me. It’s still the best computing platform out there. The future could be interesting. At least it probably won’t be boring.
Later.
