well, the stevenote at mac world expo is over. sadly, no “media center” mac mini or anything like that. however, we now have some pretty cool new things to play around with. and here they are:
the new MacBook Pro (say so long to the Powerbook name) which runs on Intel Dual Core processors and looks basically the same as the 15″ Powerbook. i’m sure a redesign of the casing is in the works. just not for today.
also, a new Intel based iMac with the same look as its G5 based brothers. also with Intel Dual Core processors. that’s cool. unless you just got an iMac last week.
and, osx 10.4.4 is out today. its for “old” macs as well as new Intel macs. runs on both. i’ve been using it for a few weeks now and it seems to work just fine. still, i might wait a few days for the initial early adopters to install it and have problems before i would rush out and get it. also, updated the iLife suite to iLife ’06 (catchy name, eh?) including the new iWeb app which lets you create web pages and share your photos, podcasts or blogs with the world at the touch of a button (or a mouse, as the case may be).
there is also an update to the rest of the iLife apps which take advantage of the new .mac features announced today. all in all a pretty cool package to get your stuff up and seen.
the mac book is a step in the right direction but still not enough to make me really want one. yet. i’m waiting for a 12″ version with all flash based hard drive that weighs 2.5 pounds. that would really be something.
as for the iMac i might pick one of those up to check out. but maybe after the first revision. i’m a little tired of being an apple beta tester after my experiences with my first dual 2ghz g5 tower. these macs are just the first step this year anyway so its not over by any means. by the end of the year, it will be all Intel all the time. i can wait. plus, my G5 tower is working just fine at the moment so what’s the rush?
it would have been nice to get a mac-mini based hd dvr that runs mac osx and allows you to stream audio and video and record it to dvd like tivo-to-go does for windows (maybe even for the mac soon). not yet though. i would bet money that its just around the corner. i guess i can put my amex away. for now.
for the rest of what’s hot (or not) from the stevenote, go to apple.