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June 4, 2007

events

WWDC ‘07: One week and counting

Posted Jun. 4, ’07, 9:44 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Apple » Events

wwdccountdown.jpgBy my myriad of WWDC Countdown Widgets (still amusingly in disagreement about the precise moment that constitutes WWDC), I now see that the event of the summer is just roughly a week away. Next Monday, Steve Jobs will take the stage at Moscone West. What will he do there? Will there be a song? A dance? News about Leopard? iPhone third-party developments? Other bombshells conjured from within the sleeves of the black turtleneck?

This I promise you: MacUser will be there, at the keynote, to bring you the latest up-to-date information on Steve Jobs’s every little move—no matter how insignificant. Want to know how many times Steve takes a drink of water? Done. Need to hear every “boom,” “pretty cool,” and “one more thing?” Done, done, and but of course. Consider this keynote duly noted. So don’t go anywhere.

Seriously. Nowhere. For the next week. Stay put.

Hm. As long as you’re there, what are you looking forward to/hoping for at WWDC?


11 Comments

Jack said:

hoping for:

That the "Top Secret Features" will actually be cool.

High Def Movie rental service for apple tv.

And most importantly, the Mac Pro Jr. You know, a Macintosh Computer that actually uses a desktop chip in it (which are cheaper than mobile chips).

Also, really high end ACD's to replace the current crop, and the introduction of a couple affordable dispays to go with the new Mac Pro Jr.--as well as with the redesigned Mac Mini.

Oh and really nice new iMacs.

But what we will really see is new Macbook Pros. Probably the Santa Rosa version of the Core 2 chips, updated graphics cards, higher dpi displays with hopefully LED backlighting and improved battery life.

Oh, and a one more thing that no one in their right mind would ever think of except for apple that will solve a problem that we didn't know we had. You know, a classic new apple product.

And I want iChat on the iPhone.

June 4, 2007 10:50 AM
Moe said:

Leopard: Spotlight 2.0 will be FAST and 100 accurate. Please upgrade .mac to a fully functional and fast web product. Stop stealing my $99. iWork 3.0 will have tons of templates and be fast. Include a spreadsheet. iLife Leopard (rename). Include iWeb 2.0 with better functionality, use Jpgs instead of bloated png's. Better photo management in iPhoto, give us photoshop elements capabilities. New lightweight Macbook Jr. with new design. Iphone with GPS, Ichat and a price cut with a contract with att ($399). All major movie studios on iTunes available now. Rentals coming by September.

June 4, 2007 11:33 AM
Andre Da Costa said:

Jack, I have theorized for a while now that the iPhone has always been the top secret feature of Leopard, in fact it has been rumored to be running a variant of Leopard. When SJ told attendee's at WWDC '05 that there are some top secret features left to be revealed, this was pre iPhone. So assuming someone new about the iPhones existence 6 months in advance and its running OS X, that would have been pretty big news.

As for the Mac Pro Jr. there is a Mac that already utilizes a desktop chip, its called the iMac Core 2 Duo, you are confusing the fact that Apple's mobile systems such as MacBook and MB Pro are using a variant of the Core 2 Duo for laptop systems. Even the XEON used in the Mac Pro is using technologies derived from Merom to make it more energy efficient. Now if you are referring to Quad Core, I agree, I think its time the iMac delivers.

As for MacBook Pro's using LED and Santa Rosa, your wish might come true tomorrow morning. iChat on the iPhone is asking for accident's while driving and walking on the sidewalk, you don't want a feature that is going to explicitly break the users concentration. You might say the person can sit down and chat, but then it becomes unproductive but also, it would drain the phones battery to 0 just executing the chat to begin with.

MacUser, please don't follow SJ to the bathroom. Suppose you frighten him and he accidentally drops his iPhone in the toilet? We wouldn't want that to happen, would we? ;)

June 4, 2007 12:23 PM
Dave-O said:

Gee, Moe. Sorry to disappoint you, but I figure it's better than letting you get your hopes up. SJ has already made it clear that the phone will be $500 or $600 with the contract.

June 4, 2007 12:49 PM
Dave-O said:

I'm looking forward to the new UI, Pyro! Between Mac OS and Vista we've had Aqua and Aero, so we'll see Pyro next week and leave the remaining element (Earth) to the next Windows UI--as in buried 6 feet deep.

June 4, 2007 1:05 PM
Andre Da Costa said:

Pyro - LOL, thats the name of an aerosol used as an insecticide here in Jamaica.

June 4, 2007 2:31 PM
Jack said:

Andre: There is no mac using the Conroe desktop chips. The iMac uses Merom, the Mac mini uses merom, the macbook and macbook pro uses merom--all mobile processors, and all more expensive than conroe. Now in truth, the Xeon processors are just branding. But if Apple would make a friggin' desktop mac half the size o' the pro, it could use conroe and be affordable, and all us "give us a mini tower headless iMac, small mac pro" whiners could shut up and get to our "prosumer" work.

June 4, 2007 2:38 PM
Blue Throat said:

I hope Apple comes out with with full HDCP compliant 30" monitor displays. I have been waiting for oone. Their current line is desperate for an update.

June 4, 2007 2:58 PM
Andre Da Costa said:

Jack, did I say anything about Conroe and iMac? I said, if Apple implemented the Core Quad in their iMacs since those are desktops then it would be a different story. As for the Mac Mini, its still using Core Duo which based on Yonah, not Merom. I also said, all of Intels current processors are using technologies derived from Merom which is the energy efficient aspect of the processor.

June 4, 2007 6:24 PM
Jack said:

Andre: No you didn't say anything about Conroe and iMac...you didn't say anything about Conroe at all. What you said is that I'm confused that the iMac is a desktop. You think that anything called a Core 2 Duo sitting on a desk is using some variant of a desktop chip.

Look, I'm going to suppose we're having some kind of communication problem here. What I am saying is simple: Intel's mobile processors cost more than their less efficient desktop processors. Merom (and Yonah in the mini as you said) are great and all, but Conroe is cheaper per cycle. That translates into huge savings by the time it gets to the end user. To some of us who want an affordable prosumer tower from apple--something in between the iMac and the Mac Pro in terms of performance and expandability--the fact that Apple doesn't make such a machine with Conroe is baffling.

To you it is not baffling. To some of us it is. Long, long threads on many forums exist about this non existent mini tower that uses the cheaper conroe chip. Let's leave it be. We were asked what we would "like to see" and what we "think we would see" as I understood the question. What I expect to see is macbook pros given the venue. I'm a heavy MBP user, so thats cool with me.

Are we clear on the difference between chips now? Core 2 Duo is an architecture. Intel has laptop class chips (expensive), desktop class processors, and server processors (some of which are rebranded). Which one does apple not use? That's what I'm sayin'. It's my "what do you want to see" answer. If you are arguing that we are not going to see such a thing, then I completely agree. But the question i was asnwering was what do I "want to see". That's all.

I read somewhere else that you are a pc user who seems to know a lot about Apple. All I can say is. Welcome to the party dude. Have some cool aid and stay awhile :) .

June 5, 2007 12:33 AM
Moe said:

Dave-o.

I can dream, can't I? Dream crusher :)

June 5, 2007 7:59 AM

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