By now, you’ve probably surfed through the legions of blog posts about Apple’s “Back to the Mac” event on Techcrunch, Cult of Mac, Gizmodo, TUAW, and other tech sites. However, if you were trapped in a cubicle all day or just got back from your trip to the Amazon jungle and really wished you could watch the Apple keynote, you’re in luck.
As always, the keynote is available to watch at the Apple website. However, the video cannot be played unless you are viewing it with Safari and Mac OS X Snow Leopard. It might be possible to watch it on your iPhone or iPad but, don’t quote me on that. So much for an open system.
But, wait! There is hope! You can view the video podcast of the keynote via iTunes! Just go to the iTunes Store, head over to the Video Podcasts section, and look for Apple Keynotes. The podcast can be found there. You’re welcome.
For those intrepid readers who shun all forms of video content, please continue reading and you’ll find my take on the event. Cheers!
Mac OS X Lion. MacBook Air. iLife 2011. Facetime on Mac.
That list is ordered in the descending level of excitement I felt after hearing the product’s respective announcements. Let’s start from the bottom.
By now, you’ve heard of Facetime about a gazillion times. And maybe even Facetime porn. But I digress. Cue the necessary icon introduction….
Luckily, no public outcry over the design. Unlike our infamous friend we love to hate, iTunes.
Besides the fact that Steve Jobs only talked about it for approximately the amount of time it takes to read this sentence, there really wasn’t anything spectacular to take away from it. Oh, did I mention its available today in beta?
iLife 2011
What can I say about you, iLife? I’ve never used you much with the exception of the instances in which iPhoto launches as my default photo viewer. Since I’m not musically talented outside of my shower, I don’t ever touch Garageband. Don’t get me started with iMovie.
What’s worse is that if you just bought a Mac no later than October 1, you’re eligible for a free upgrade to iLife 2011 for only seven George Washingtons. Wait, it’s not free? Now you know how I feel.
“One more thing…”
Then, there was the MacBook Air. The center of attention when you visit Apple’s homepage, and the lucky winner of today’s “one more thing…” moment. In all honesty, I’m not sold one little bit. It’s smaller? Yes, but do I really want more things in my life shrinking besides my dwindling bank account funds? On top of that, think about the numerous hospital visits I’ll have to make dealing with the fatal paper cuts (or shall I say, MacBook cuts) that the living-shuriken in disguise will inflict upon me! I don’t care if that thing is barely over 2 pounds! It starts at $999!!!!!
The worse thing about the MacBook Air’s announcement was that there was absolutely no product demo. None. Zippo. We didn’t even see the beast in the flesh. Nada. Maybe the damned thing was so damningly thin that people just wouldn’t be able to see it? Perhaps?
That’s enough for my conspiracy theories today.
It’s quite revealing when a product isn’t even demoed or shown in person. Why, maybe we should just run an ad and show our famous intro videos to let everyone drool all over themselves! Wrong idea, Apple. No product demo whatsoever only tells me that this computer isn’t worth buying at all. Looking at the specs and astonishing price tag don’t help either. Then again, when has those things ever been a selling point for Apple products?
Here’s my formal, outlandish statement of the day: the MacBook Air will fail.
In retrospect, I was an idiot. Macbook Airs are selling like hotcakes! Apple can’t make enough of them!
Mac OS X Lion
Let’s move on to the the “winner” of the underwhelmingly, unpraise-worthy event: Mac OS X Lion. The King of the Jungle, indeed. After a long line of wild cats preceding it, the next iteration of Mac OS X is looking like the update worthy of its name (Yea, that was cheesy, but who doesn’t love cheese?).
Mac OS X Lion will bring together the best of iOS and integrate with the Mac. Put it another way, Lion will be the final chain in the link that consists of iOS(iPhone, iPad), and Mac OS X(the Mac). Goddamit, here’s a fucking picture if that didn’t make an ounce of sense.
Ahhhhhhhhh…. Now you get it!
So, what features exactly does that entail? Sadly, no multi-touch. That’s just stupid.
How about Instant On? App saving? Full-screen apps? A Mac App Store?!? Mission Control??
More like Mission Accomplished (Cheesy cliche #2!) !
The first three are difficult to describe. If you’ve ever used an iPad or iPhone, you’ll know what I mean. Every time you start your iPad, it turns on instantly. That’s gonna show up in Lion. Remember those apps that save your current position when you close it and brings you back to normal when you launch it again? That’s gonna be in Lion. Full-screen apps? Enough said.
Now, the Mac App Store. That was definitely a surprise. Macs are already well-known for having beautifully designed apps. With an App Store, will that mean more exposure for these and other apps? I would guess so. iTunes already has an App Store for the iPhone integrated into it. Having an App Store for the Mac only seems like the natural next step.
The only concern I would have is that the terms of the program may not be far different from the much criticized iOS App Store. As you may know, developers have voiced their concern over its lack of clear guidelines of what is acceptable according to Apple. With an App Store, it seems likely that there will be a barrier to entry in the form of the ever-popular app approval process. At the end of the day, what matters to developers is whether the process is even worth it. Can they make more money publishing their apps at the Mac App Store. And, if so, how much are they willing to deal with Apple’s stringent terms?
Wrapping up…
Well, there you have it. 1 hour and 15 plus minutes of an Apple keynote condensed to less than one thousand words. Let me know what you thought about the announcements in the comments section below!
