Macworld2007
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WSJ reports Apple and Cingular launching cellphone
"People familiar with the situation" have apparently informed the WSJ that Apple is launching the Applephone (or whatever it's called) as early as tomorrow. (See, even the kings of MSM aren't omitted from the Apple rumor mill.) They don't really give any more than that, but it's the WSJ, and conventional wisdom kind of states that when the business journal of record goes on the record, you should perk your ears up and listen (at least). Maybe we're interested just because we want to be done printing rumors and rumors about rumors from blogs and papers alike.
Dress Steve for the Keynote
Sure, there's the black shirt and blue jeans look. But don't you think that Steve Jobs deserves more fabulous choices? In this perennial favorite geekculture interactive Flash game, you can dress Steve up (or down) for the big event. Lots of secret, and not so secret, jokes are scattered around the clothing (try undressing Mr. Jobs all the way down) and it's a lot of fun to play with. Sure there's pretty much no intrinsic value to this exercise but can you think of a better nonproductive way to get yourself into the Keynote spirit?
Final Macworld predictions?
In just 24 hours we should know exactly what Stevie J. has in store for us, so we're giving you a final chance to put forth your Macworld predictions and prove once and for all how good (or bad) you are at prognosticating. The smart money is on them introducing a phone of some kind, as well as giving a proper rollout for the iTV, but Jobsy can get fickle and pull a product at the last minute, which means that all bets are off until he actually gets up on stage and does his "one more thing" thing. We'll have live coverage beginning tomorrow at 9am PST right here.
iChat's Update 1.0 promises secretive functionality, speculation abounds
If you're getting the Macworld jitters, easily identified by the recurring dreams of Steve Jobs showing up for the keynote with nothing but a loaf of bread tucked under his arm: "I give you... the iLoaf! Oh, and one more thing, here's some butter." then you might be glad to hear the latest bit of rampant speculation, just to take your mind off things. Apple just busted out the iChat Update 1.0, which "renews the .Mac certificate required by iChat for encrypting text, audio, and video conferences." But that's all Apple is saying for now, instead keeping mum with a vague "This document will be updated as more information becomes available." It seems a pretty odd time for Apple to be updating iChat encryption and other vague features, given the fact that Leopard is right around the corner, so we're going to chalk this one up to Applephone interoperability, specifically of the video conferencing ilk. Mac OS X 10.4.9 is apparently just around the corner as well, and we're getting good vibes from all these software updates -- hardware releases seem just as good an excuse as any. Then again, an iLoaf wouldn't be half bad. Mmm. iToast.[Thanks, Scott]
Mac tablet at Macworld -- it's not what you think
Who knows what Steve Jobs and co. have in store for us next week at Macworld, but we'd be pretty damn floored if they trotted out a Mac tablet for the awaiting hordes. But never fear, it looks like OWC and manufacturing partner Axiotron are stepping in to fill the void with what they dub the "ModBook, the first ever Mac® tablet computer solution." While we'd have to take issue with the claim of first, since resourceful hackers have been modding up their own Mac laptops into tablets for years now, but the fact that these two companies are bringing the slate-style notebook to the masses for what we presume is a high but attainable price point is plenty noteworthy. The touch input comes courtesy of WACOM, and thanks to Apple's Inkwell technology, there's already plenty of pen-based interfacing available in OS X. Axiotron and OWC also managed to stuff a GPS option into their ModBook, for even more good times, but unfortunately that's all the info we've got so far. We'll be finding out more when the computer is officially unveiled on January 9th at Macworld.[Via TUAW; thanks Matthew H]
2006 was great, will 2007 be even better?
2006 was an incredible year for Apple. A year ago today you couldn't buy a Mac with an Intel chip (unless you were a developer) and today every single Mac in Apple's lineup is powered by a tiny little Intel chip (remember that awesome commercial that Apple released last Macworld?). Ryan Faas, writing for Computerworld, ponders what is in store for Apple in 2007. He highlights Leopard (both client and server), iTV, and even the mythical iPod phone.Soon enough we shall see what his Steveness has in store for us.
Widget Watch: MWSF 2007 Countdown Widget
Who is excited about Macworld? I know I am, and just to fuel the excitement Jesper has created the MWSF 2007 Countdown Widget (I took the above screenshot a few hours ago).TUAW will be giving Macworld the full court press with a number of our bloggers, including yours truly, pounding the show floor looking for the cool stuff that the other sites have missed. It is going to be great, and it is only a week away!
Macworld SF 2007: O'Reilly Speaker Schedule
It's that time of the year again-that wonderful sense of anticipation while we wait for the big day and the new toys. No, not Christmas, Macworld San Francisco! Well O'Reilly and company are trotting out their heavyweights for MWSF, including David Pogue, Derrick Story, and others. Anybody who is thinking of going, check out the schedule to whet your appetites (and on that cold January morning, spare a kind thought for your faithful scribe who will be gazing fondly in a westerly direction while his unpardonably lucky fellow-bloggers are in San Francisco providing TUAW coverage).[Via MacVolPlace]
Macworld "Best of Show" award ceremony open to all, submission deadline looms
Every Macworld Expo brings us the Macworld Best of Show Awards, which is exactly what you'd expect it to be - the anointing of the Expo's best, most innovative new products, as chosen by the editors of Macworld magazine. Previously the award "ceremony" was closed to the public, but this year Macworld is shaking things up a bit by opening it up to all registered Macworld attendees.If your company has something worth considering, time is running out to get your submissions in. The deadline for guaranteed consideration is December 15th, 2006, so get cracking!By opening the awards to all, companies will get even greater exposure and attendees and contestants both will get to hear, first hand, why certain products were chosen.The Best of Show ceremony will be held on January 10, 2007, at 2:45 p.m. at the Moscone Center. We'll be there. Will you?
