MacWorld 2008

My belated MacWorld reaction... I’m going to take Job’s four things in reverse order. 4. MacBook Air All I can say is that it is “not for me”. I don’t want a no-compromises computer in an ultra-small but extra-expensive package. I’m looking for something between an palmtop and a laptop; something between an iPhone and a MacBook. In size, features, and price. The big, multi-touch touch-pad is cool. I expect to see that on future MacBook and MacBook Pro models. 3. iTunes Movie Rentals, Apple TV updates, and Digital Copy for iTunes The Apple TV updates look good, but it still has a long way to go to be a no-brainer purchase. The iTunes Movie Rentals seem interesting. We might try those out. The Digital Copy for iTunes on Fox DVDs is the most interesting part of this segment to me. It’s only a small step towards where the movie industry should be, but it does seem to be a positive step. 2. iPhone and iPod touch updates Good stuff here. The $20 cost of the iPod touch upgrade would be easy to rant about, but I honestly don’t think it’s that big a deal. While the iPhone updates don’t blow me away, they are important for two reasons. Firstly, they demonstrate Apple’s continued path of moving forward. They make me confident that I can buy an iPhone today and have good and useful updates. Secondly, it suggests that a second-generation iPhone isn’t just around the corner. 1. Time Capsule The thing Job’s started with is perhaps the thing I’m most excited about. Possibly my biggest worries for my family’s computers are that my NetGear Wi-fi router has issues and that we don’t back-up enough. An Airport Extreme with built-in backup storage that integrates with Time Machine...yeah, that’s not a hard-sell to me.