This week is THE Apple event of the year.  Macworld is how the dedicated apple users start their year.  The Stevenote - Macworld’s keynote address is one of the more anticipated tech events of the year.  Today was no disappointment, I think that this may have been the busiest one yet.  As the various internet feeds lit up I noticed they were not just slow, they were extremely slow.  More than I’ve ever seen on a Macworld Keynote day.  Also Apple’s stock fell.  Historically when Apple does something right the stock drops immediately.  Seems like business as usual.  The Steve talked about four, related things.  They all had a theme including wireless connectivity, portability, and multimedia.  Without further ado here are the four things covered.

#1 - Time Capsule

This is simply a wireless NAS/base station from apple.  What makes this interesting is that it enables Time Machine over wireless connections.  This is something that a number of people have been wanting since Leopard was released.  The device comes in a 500GB and 1TB configuration.  I can see the market for this device.  One question that was not answered - does it only work on OS X Leopard?  That is a question that needs to be answered I think.

#2 - iPhone Updates

This is a big one for me.  Apple included a host of updates in the latest firmware update for the iPhone.  The updates included changes to SMS, ipod functionality, the home screen, and a “GPS”.  The update was immediately available as well.  Of all of them the GPS functionality and the home screen changes may be the most striking.

It looks like Apple may again be changing the way we do things.  In this case watching movies.  Apple will start offering movie rentals from all the major studios by the end of the month.  They also are releasing an update to the AppleTV.  the AppleTV  started as an interesting idea that needed more work.  Well they did more work, and it’s very attractive now.  The best part is that current owners are not left in the dust.  A software update will add all the functionality.  I look forward to seeing the update.  I am sure Netflix is not.

#4 - Mac Air

This was the big one of the keynote.  Rumors have been flying all over the internet about a mac sub-notebook.  Well the rumors were true, more true than anyone could have though.  It’s attractive, well featured, and the price is not bad.  I may end up getting one.

Overall I was impressed by the keynote address.  While I was not there in person, I did follow the live feeds on the internet.  Over the next few days I am going to talk about each in more detail.  I need time to mull over what all these new products mean.

Technorati Tags airport, apple, iPhone, ipod, itunes, keynote, mac air, macworld, notebook, steve jobs, sub, time capsule