Tech Blog

[#1]

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away, as I prognosticated on what today's Apple Preveiw event would hold. Remind me not to get a job as a fortune teller

I'm not going to cover all the announcements, but let's see what I missed, where I was wrong, and the few times I hit the mark:

The Beatles on iTunes: Yesterday - I was wavering to believe it once the Yoko Ono rumor hit yesterday, but held fast. Today - No Beatles on iTunes announcement was made. The best way to get your Beatles fix is to check out the newly released remastered collection.

The Apple Tablet (or iPad):  Yesterday - I said it wouldn't be announced. Today: no tablet computer was announced. My thinking remains that it's too soon in the product cycle, and now, that Apple's waiting to see where the Netbook / Laptop markets shake out. I still think late 2010 or 2011.

iPods get a camera: I'm calling this one a hit, though there was a surprise and even a miss related to the iPod Camera:

• Yesterday:The END of the iPod Classic? - perhaps, but I can't see this one yet.
  • Today: HIT - the iPod Classic is not dead. Same price, more storage (160GB or 40,000 tunes)
• Yesterday:
• iPods get cameras - Makes sense. I'd love to have one on my Touch..oh wait...
• Here's one now - iPod Touch with camera...but when?
  • Today: MISS - and disappointment. I was hoping the new Touch would have a camera.
• iPods with cameras to be delayed - darn
  • Today: HIT/SURPRISE/MISS - Yes the iPod Nanos get cameras. Not still, but Video cameras. They're entering the market currently dominated by Flip, though the Nano video camera resolution (640x480) doesn't touch the res of the Flip UltraHD.
  • Today: Other new features rolled into the new Nano include:
    • FM Radio with live pause
    • Pedometer
    • Voice over - reads artist and tune info to you
    • Genius integration - better AI song mixing
• Yesterday:The Nano returns to its 'stick' design
  • Today: My bad..old news...the Nano-slim returned last year, but the Nano did get a larger colour display screen
• Yesterday: I have to tell someone about it - iPods to get social networking features
  • Today: a bit of a MISS - iPods didn't get social media, iTunes did:
    
    "And if you’re an avid social networker, it’s easy to tout your favorite music, movies, and TV shows on Facebook and Twitter right from the iTunes Store."
• iPod Shuffle: SURPRISE/MISS
  • Today: New colours on the Shuffle, and new headset-agnostic controls on the cable.

The iTunes store:

• New data centre - no announcment, but
• iTunes LP - the album format for music was announced:
  • The visual experience of the record album returns with iTunes LP. Download select albums and experience a beautifully designed, interactive world right in your iTunes library on a Mac or PC — many are created by the artists. While you listen to your favorite songs, you can dive into animated lyrics and liner notes, watch performance videos, view artist and band photos, and enjoy other bonus materials. And become an even bigger fan.
• Home Sharing
  • iTunes makes it easier to share music, movies, TV shows, and more. With Home Sharing, you can browse the iTunes libraries of up to five authorized computers in your house, import what you like, and automatically add new purchases made on any of the computers to your own library.

So overall I didn't do too badly. The most significant announcements appear to be the enhancements to iTunes and the additions to the iPod Nano. Very cool stuff indeed.

My biggest disappointment was the lack of camera support for the Touch (though who knows, that may yet make an appearance this year).

And as for Canadian pricing and availability, check out this Future Shop page with all the details on the new Apple technology.

Message Edited by bgrier on 09-10-2009 02:21 PM

[#2]

We set up home sharing tonight. Very slick. Kinda fun picking an choosing from each others collections!

[#3]

Nice. Still not updated or done anything with new iPhone/iPod OS and iTunes. Darned Beatles Rock Band sucking up my free time