Macworld Expo/SF 2001 Review

What is Macworld? Macworld is a major Mac event attended by users, buyers, developers, the media, etc., for its keynotes, exhibits, breakfasts, conferences, seminars, workshops, soirees, dinners, and parties that happens annually for 3-4 days in January in San Francisco (by ~85,000 people), in February in Tokyo (by ~180,000 people), in July in New York (by ~55,000 people), and in September in Paris (by ~60,000 people).

Keynote   Software      Mac OS 9.1     Mac OS X     Alias|Wavefront Maya     Microsoft Office 2001     Microsoft Outlook 2001     iTunes     iDVD   Hardware      Monitors & Sound     PowerMac G4     PowerBook G4

MUG Specials *   Aladdin Systems    Apple MUG Store   Casady & Greene   MacHome Magazine   Macworld Magazine   NetBarrier/VirusBarrier   The Digital Universe

Books & Learning *   IDG    New Riders Press   O’Reilly Press   PeachPit Press   MacAcademy   Macromedia University   MediaSchool   Virtual Training Co.

Employment *   Adobe & ePeople    Aquent   Creative Group   Demo Catz   Hire Knowledge   MyMacCareer.com   Paladin   Print Staff

Keynote — Steve Jobs began by saying that the last few months of 2000 were particularly challenging for Apple and the entire computer industry, so we’ve decided to start 2001 w/ a bang
  Software 
    Mac OS 9.1 — not mentioned, but released; check the reports at MacCentral, MacFixit, Macintouch, etc.
    Mac OS X
      — Apple just finished its beta which it released in September, and it was a stunning success
      — Apple expected to sell ~10,000 Betas, but sold over 100,000
      — Apple got *lots* of feedback; Apple expected ~3-4,000 comments, but got over 75,000, some quite long, so thank you
      — great features: incredibly stable, love Aqua, easy install, Classic works, Mac+UNIX=awesome
      — missing features: AirPort, Location Manager, PPPOE, printing, etc., all added now; as well as a cool screensaver of icons and a slideshow
      — improved features: Apple menu back in upper-left, has Recent Items, and replaces Special menu for Sleep, Restart, Shut Down, etc.
      — clock is back in upper-right, Finder toolbars are now customizable, Finder windows can now be narrow, and folders in Dock are now hierarchical
      — available for sale Saturday, March 24th, for $129, and preloaded on systems in July
      — OS X apps will arrive in a bell-curve, w/ some at launch, most during summer, and “laggers” in the fall
    Alias|Wavefront Maya — demonstrated for Mac OS X; Maya is to 3D what Photoshop is to 2D
    Microsoft Office 2001 — not demonstrated but announced for Mac OS X in the fall timeframe
    Microsoft Outlook 2001 — not demonstrated but announced for Mac OS 9
    iTunes — Apple’s new MP3 encoder, player, burner; 320 million CD-R disks sold last year, the Census counted only 280 million people; other MP3 encoders, players and burners are complex w/ restrictions; iTunes is simple (one app w/ one window) w/ no restrictions (requires Mac OS 9)
    iDVD — Apple’s new DVD authoring/burning s/w, for new high-end Power Mac G4; also excellent for photographers and photographic slideshows

  Hardware (0:30)
    Monitors & Sound 
      — Apple Studio 15" flat-panel Display now $799  (was $999)
      — G4 Cube Speakers now available separately for $59
    PowerMac G4 
      — Jobs unveiled new Power Mac G4s under the theme “Power to burn — CDs, DVDs and Pentiums”
      — And you all know, we’ve been coasting at 500Mhz for 18 months, too long, so today we’re taking it up to 733Mhz

— What’s a “SuperDrive”? It can read and write both CDs and DVDs and it’s by Pioneer. DVD encoding is fierce. DVD-R hardware costs ~$1K-$5K, and DVD-R software encodes at 25x, i.e., 1 hour of video takes 25 hours to encode. Because of the G4’s Velocity Engine, the PMG4 can encode at 2x, i.e., 1 hour of video takes 2 hours to encode. Apple will also sell Apple-certified DVD-R media at $10 each (~4GB, 135 mins).

CD DVD Read CD-ROM DVD-ROM CD-RW DVD-R Write

      — What about Pentiums? In a Photoshop 6 Demo, a G4/733 v. P4/1.5Ghz, the G4 finished in 24 seconds v. the P4 in 36 seconds, 33% faster, so a G4/733 = P4/2Ghz

      — What’s next? (0:45) Not a tombstone, though industry analysts and pundits say the PC is waning or has become boring, Compaq says “We don’t think of it in terms of a PC business anymore,” and Gateway says it’s “clearly migrating away from the PC as the centerpiece.” No, Apple sees the PC as evolving.
      — 1976-1979 were the prehistoric days of computers
      — 1980-1995 was the 1st golden age of computers, an age of productivity w/ word processing, spreadsheets, and DTP
      — 1995-2000 was the 2nd golden age of computers, the age of the Internet
      — 2000-   on   is the 3rd golden age of computers, the age of the Digital Lifestyle
      — Right now we’re surrounded by digital devices — cell phones, palmtops, portable CD players, portable MP3 players, digital cameras (which are 15% of all cameras sold, will be 50%), digital camcorders, DVD players

      — What is our Vision? “The Mac can become the Digital Hub of our emerging Digital Lifestyle, adding tremendous value to our other digital devices.”
      — How can the Mac be a Digital Hub? Because it can run complex applications, it has a big screen, it can burn disks, it has large inexpensive storage, and it can get on the Internet
      — iMovie connects your camcorder, allows professional, personal, emotional, affordable editing, communication and distribution back to tape and over the Internet, and adds incredible value to your camcorder
      — iTunes (0:50) connects your CD and MP3 player, allows personal playlist organizing, and distribution back to CD and to your MP3 players, and adds incredible value to your CD and MP3 player
      — iDVD (1:10) connects your camcorder and DVD player, allows professional, personal, affordable editing, and distribution to DVD, and adds incredible value to your camcorder and DVD player

    PowerBook G4 (1:30) — Oh, and there’s one more thing... Let’s talk notebooks...

We have the most powerful notebook in the world, but they have the sex... We want both... Today we’re announcing a totally new PowerBook...

Build-to-Order Options:   from 400Mhz to 500Mhz = $400   from 128MB  to 256MB  = $300   v. $149 @ ramjet.com   from   10GB   to   30GB   = $500

Accessories:   Airport Card = $100   Extra Battery  = $130

      — Note: the new PowerBook G4/500 runs Final Cut Pro 60% faster than the PowerBook G3/500 can

Notes: Titanium is stronger than steel but lighter than aluminum, but Sony’s VAIO does weigh 3.75 lbs, v. Apple’s PBG4 at 5.3 lbs. Sound out port has been moved from the back behind the door to the left, door-free. Sound in port has been removed to allow for better USB adapters. Apple’s PBG4 wakes up incredibly fast. It’s in production right now and will ship by the end of January.

MUG Specials
  Aladdin Systems — Save $5-$30 w/ order code “MUG 91000"
  Apple MUG Store — Save big on refurbished Apple hardware
  Casady & Greene — Save $10-$30, no order code needed
  MacHome Magazine — Get six months for $10
  Macworld Magazine — Get six months for free
  NetBarrier/VirusBarrier — Save ~$20 on this Internet and Mac security software
  The Digital Universe — Save ~$15 on revolutionary astronomy simulation software

Books & Learning
  IDG — publishes For Dummies series, and Mac Bible series
  New Riders Press — publishes excellent Flash and Photoshop books
  O’Reilly Press — publishes the Missing Manual series (AppleWorks, iMovie, Mac OS 9, etc.)
  PeachPit Press — publishes such series as Classroom in a Book, Visual QuickStart, Real World, etc.
  MacAcademy — publishes training videos and CDs, most for less than $50
  Macromedia University — offers help w/ Macromedia products, from the source
  MediaSchool — offers online courses and virtual seminars in media arts 24/7
  Virtual Training Company — publishes simple training CDs for complex applications

Employment
  Adobe & ePeople — get paid to help Adobe customers
  Aquent — formerly MacTemps
  Creative Group — for marketing, advertising, creative and web professionals
  Demo Catz — for staffing trade shows
  Hire Knowledge — putting superheroes to work
  MyMacCareer.com — for Mac engineers and specialists
  Paladin — for marketing and advertising specialists
  Print Staff — for print, copy and digital specialists