Macworld (Not) Cancelled
Just a little humor from the good folks at the Crazy Apple Rumors Site…
This is just coming off the wire and has forced us to shelve a detailed exposé on Chris Breen’s hair, but the staff Crazy Apple Rumors Site wanted to get it out as soon as possible so everyone would know that…
MACWORLD HAS BEEN CANCELED.
That’s right. Canceled. We know it’s disappointing but…
There it is.
Let’s all try to be grownups about it.
The reason, according to Apple, is that the announcement of the new Mac Pro and the new Xserve was a mistake.
“Yeah, Larry did that,” said an apologetic chief operating officer Tim Cook. “I told him about fifty times that it was next Tuesday but Larry is, well, Larry. Juice Box Larry we call him.
“Anyway, the Mac Pro and the Xserve are all we had, so… no Macworld. Sorry!”
But Apple is not, apparently, the only reason Macworld has been canceled. A quick check of recent press releases reveals the following:
- San Francisco hookers announced they were raising their hourly rates for the whole week because “the damn Mac geeks just want to talk and won’t get down to brass tacks”.
- The highly popular “Shower with Adam Engst at the Mosser” event has been canceled as Adam has come down with a bad case of athlete’s foot. Our best wishes to Adam for a speedy recovery.
- Someone saw Rob Enderle in the vicinity of the Moscone Center.
Cook said that Steve Jobs would make it up to us by taking us all out for ice cream later in the year.
They also have a hilarious post about how to stay safe during Macworld.
Moscone Center is Being Prepped
Moscone Center, the location where Macworld is being held, is already being prepared for the upcoming event. There are banners being put up everywhere, especially near the entrance. The most exciting aspect of this is the “clue” Apple is giving us about whatever they will release on Tuesday. The banners read, “There’s something in the air.”
As for what the cryptic sentence actually means, I think it could mean the use of wireless technologies in some new and innovative way. Or perhaps a 3G iPhone. Let me know what you think. Also notice that Apple chose not to use their default marketing font, “Myriad Pro Semibold.” The new font they have chosen, which is skinnier than the previous one, looks a lot more professional and refined. It’s a nice change.
Visit AppleInsider and Ars Technica to see more photos of the prep work.
Schoolwork is Done!
At last. These last few days have been very tough in terms of school work. I have completed 2 essays, 5 quizzes, and a test over the span of three days, and it was really starting to get to me. Now, I can finally shift gears and start getting things together for Macworld. It might have been a lot of worth, but the experience I’m going to have next week will be well worth it.
Gizmodo: “something big is coming from Apple”
Gizmodo has posted an article explaining how Macworld 2008 will have some of the most significant product releases ever. Again, the very fact that Apple has released the most powerful Mac ever before Macworld shows that Boom Count™ is going to be off the charts this Tuesday. Can’t wait to experience the reality distortion field for myself.
Mr. Chovanes’ Official Keynote Predictions
Mr. Chovanes, my Digital Video Production teacher, just gave me his own official keynote predictions in response to the predictions I posted earlier. The idea is to see which one of us is closer to the actual events of the keynote, and the loser of this bet has to buy the other person a sandwich. Without any further ado, here are Mr. Chovanes’ Official Keynote Predictions (in a lame, bulleted, and non-chronological form)…
Hardware
- iPhone nano – This will be a smaller and more affordable version of the iPhone, aimed at the average consumer and below the smartphone market. It will be the “One more thing…” revealed at the end of the keynote.
- Mac mini – The Mac mini will undergo a significant change and have a new form factor. Could also sport a new name, such as the Mac nano.
- Miniature Laptop – This could be the new sub-notebook that everyone has been talking about, or it could be a thinner version of the current MacBook. The name could be the MacBook nano.
- Touch Mouse – Apple will release some kind of small, relatively insignificant device that will be overshadowed by the other hardware releases. This will most likely be a new kind of mouse.
Software
- New iMovie – There will be a new version of iMovie to replace the current version in iLife ’08. In response to the complaints that iMovie ’08 has less features than the version it replaced, this new iMovie will have all the features of iMovie HD, and possibly more.
- iFlicks – Apple’s movie rental service will bring with it a totally new application which takes care of movies and diverts movies away from the iTunes Store. Movies will be downloadable in complete DVD form, meaning all menus and extras are included. Even better, movies can be burned to a DVD.
- AppleTV Software Update – There will be a software revision to the AppleTV to work seamlessly with the movie rental service, which may or may not be called iFlicks. The software update also adds features to the AppleTV to take advantage of some of the I/O capabilities.
New Mac Pro with 8 Cores
Apple has just released a significant revision of the Mac Pro. With processing speed of up to 3.2GHz, 8 cores, and amazing graphics and memory, this is truly the most powerful Mac ever created.
Even more significant is the fact that Macworld is only a week away. If they are getting this out of the way now, what amazing products could Macworld have in store? Only time will tell. I believe this graphic, by Jesus Diaz for Gizmodo, really shows what I’m saying.
Exactly Seven Days Before the Keynote
It is now 12 noon, and I’m sitting here eating lunch at ELHS. The reason I’m posting right now is to let everyone know that there is exactly seven days left (to the minute) until the Steve Jobs keynote at Macworld 2008. This is because it is actually 9:00 am right now in California, and the keynote is scheduled to start at the same time next week.
So excited right now, even though none of this seems quite real. It probably won’t until the night before the keynote.
MWSF 2008 Keynote Bingo!
Yet another sign that the keynote is coming soon. Before every Steve Jobs keynote, someone makes a single bingo card with various predictions and expectations of the keynote. John Siracusa of Ars Technica has posted the bingo card for the Macworld 2008 keynote.
For anyone that doesn’t know, the idea is to have everyone in the keynote room scream BINGO at the same time, if we’re lucky enough. I’ll definitely be there with my bingo card. Here is what the card looks like:
10-Day Forecast for San Francisco
Finally, the 10-day forecast from the Weather Channel reaches the week during which I will be waiting in line for 6 hours before the keynote. The weather forecast for Tuesday, January 15 (the day that really matters) is “mostly sunny” with a high of 58˚. The rest of the week is supposed to be sunny and (relatively) warm. Let’s hope that’s how the weather will be, and not as rainy as it is right now in California.
How many people entered?
After I won the conference passes from Your Mac Life, I’ve been wondering how many people actually entered. Others have been asking me too, so up to this point I have liberally told them that anyone in the world could enter. But still, I wondered how many people would have actually entered the contest.
Today, I finally got my answer. After asking Shawn King, the famed host and producer of the show, he posted this simple response:
*Thousands*
I believe that says it all.