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Macworld '09 - New MacBook Pro, New iLife & iWork


nano2nd
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OK, so Apple's final keynote at Macworld SF is over and the big news (for me at least) is what was NOT announced. Given the rumours over the last few weeks, we were expecting some great things including:

  • Mac Mini update
  • New iMac
  • Introduction of Quad Core in non-Pro form factors
  • iPhone Nano

The new Mini and iMacs looked like a dead cert given the recent discoveries of impending MCP79 chipset usage by Diabolik: NVIDIA MCP79 based Mac Minis and iMacs coming soon.

 

Both the Mini and iMac were well overdue for refreshes as well - the last revision of the Mini was introduced way back in August 2007 and the iMac's last revision was the glass/alu update in April 2008.

 

Quad core also looked like a certainty given the rumours around use of a new cooling system and the recent launch by Intel of a quad-core mobile CPU. As we know, Apple makes use of mobile processors in non-Pro desktops as well as in the MacBook range.

 

Well, maybe the iPhone Nano was a long shot but there were some indications plus that recent third party case manufacturer leak. But no - nothing.

 

So where are our updated iMacs and Minis? Given the time since the last updates to these lines, and the recent technical developments from Intel, I'd expect a "special event" in the style of last Autumn's iPod event. Apple need to reset people's expectations. Consumers and investors have developed greater and greater expectations around Macworld etc announcements. Rather than these big one-off announcements, there could be more smaller releases of updates and new products throughout the year.

 

So.. What we got instead were:

  • New iLife and iWork
  • New 17-inch MacBook Pro
  • DRM-free songs in iTunes

iLife '09 looks pretty good - especially the facial recognition capabilities. Definitely worth investing in.

 

faces.png

 

The new MacBook Pro looks pretty good but I'm sure there will be some controversy over the non-replacable battery. Also, this also looked like a contender for a quad-code upgrade but hey...

 

And I'm pretty pleased about the removal of DRM from purchased music, although the kind offer to upgrade fix my current purchases is still going to cost me!

 

upgrade.png

 

So what do you guys think? Disappointed? Still patiently waiting for the updated Minis and iMacs? Any technical revelations that will impact the world of OSX86 (i.e. support for 9600M GT)?

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I think the cost to upgrade your music is fair. You aren't paying $0.30 to simply get the keys to your music. You get to redownload an unprotected version at double the bitrate. Let's see what that would cost:

 

75 million tracks * 3 minutes/song (average) * 256bps ~= 400 TERABYTES

 

You can't expect Apple to cover the cost of all that bandwidth. Granted, probably only half their customers will upgrade, but that's still 200TB of bandwidth someone has to pay for.

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Patience...they will be updated. They just weren't judged exciting enough to go into the keynote. Probably later this week...pleeeze Apple!!

 

I sure hope you're right... I'm getting really impatient to put one in my entertainment center... and if it's not there soon I'm going to have to seek other hardware. ;)

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I think the cost to upgrade your music is fair. You aren't paying $0.30 to simply get the keys to your music. You get to redownload an unprotected version at double the bitrate. Let's see what that would cost:

 

75 million tracks * 3 minutes/song (average) * 256bps ~= 400 TERABYTES

 

You can't expect Apple to cover the cost of all that bandwidth. Granted, probably only half their customers will upgrade, but that's still 200TB of bandwidth someone has to pay for.

 

You're right - an increased bitrate/sound-quality is worth something. Not so sure about Apple's network costs though. At the level they operate at, I doubt they are paying a hosting company per gig transferred. Also, see the breakdown below hypothesised by AppleInsider a year or so ago...

 

"For each $0.99 song, we estimate that Apple pays $0.70 to major labels, which own over 85 percent of the market, and $0.60 to $0.65 to independent labels, which drives an average price per song of approximately $0.69," he explained. On top of that, of course, are Apple's network fees, transaction fees, and general administrative expenses associated with operating the iTunes Store.

 

Hargreaves calculated the network fees at $0.05 per song, which includes the delivery fee, and the hardware and software to facilitate delivery. "Operating expenses are likely less than $0.05 per song, based on the relatively small number of employees we believe work on iTunes," he wrote.

 

Then, of course, there's the transaction fee -- or royalty paid to credit card companies each time a sale is processed -- which Hargreaves argues is "the primary reason iTunes profitability has not been higher historically." However, he notes hat Apple has recently adopted a number of measures to limit those fees, such as managing a weekly sweep of its credit card transactions, broadly distributing gift cards, and by encouraging larger transactions through services such as "Allowance."

 

Therefore, the analyst believes the iPod maker is now forfeiting only around $0.10 per song per song to credit card firms, compared to as much as $0.25 per song when iTunes first launched. "Going forward, we expect Apple to continue improving its payment schemes to cut down on transaction fees and improve the profitability of iTunes," he added.

 

I've added emphasis on network costs. Interesting that they are likely paying more to card processing companies. But, your point is valid - $.05 for network PLUS $0.25 for transaction fees = $0.30. So the real winners here are the credit card companies and Apple, if the above is correct, simply break even.

 

Original AppleInsider Piece

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(i.e. support for 9600M GT)?

 

 

been working ever since the unibody (alu) macbook/macbook pros

 

-D-

 

(there has been a few 9500m GT's working prior to that but thats because they were on g86 chipsets.)

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EPIC FAIL.

 

 

 

That's the only words I can use to describe todays keynotes. NOTHING was delivered by Apple that the consumers actually wanted. They could have at least updated the hardware. To hell w/ a 17inch MBP.

 

 

Then to make things worst they added something nobody wanted(glossy screen) AND then they decided to charge people to take it off. But hey, that's apple for ya? Guess it's pc from now on. At least I can get some blu-ray drives on it.

 

 

SMH @ this {censored}. All that hype for nothing. How misleading. Apple should be ashamed. I know I am.

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It was a total disappointment for me as well. I almost got excited when he said that today was being focused on the Mac, but it was all downhill from there. The only bright spot was DRM-free iTunes

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Kind of disappointing for me as well, iLife/iWork 09, a new MBP and DRM free iTunes songs (don't really care about that :() are cool and all, but I was really hoping for those nForce based Mac Minis and iMacs. A $499 nForce based Mac Mini that could easily play 1080p was too good to be true -_-

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Dude, chill out, I've seen lots of posts on forums clamoring for a 17" MBP. Glossy Displays aren't really so bad, what's the problem? Matte displays also have issues - they look washed out and also get glare. You can't say "nobody wants them". iWork + iLife updates are awesome.

 

Anyway iMacs + Mac Minis are coming soon, I'm sticking my head out here, but I believe it.

 

EPIC FAIL.

That's the only words I can use to describe todays keynotes. NOTHING was delivered by Apple that the consumers actually wanted. They could have at least updated the hardware. To hell w/ a 17inch MBP.

Then to make things worst they added something nobody wanted(glossy screen) AND then they decided to charge people to take it off. But hey, that's apple for ya? Guess it's pc from now on. At least I can get some blu-ray drives on it.

SMH @ this {censored}. All that hype for nothing. How misleading. Apple should be ashamed. I know I am.

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Face recognition? Well, Picasa has it since version 3 and for free. And now Picasa runs on Macs. 17'' Mac Pro? About f***ing time! But where's the hardware consumers want? I say mac new mini and some kind of "mac mini tower". And "upgrading" itunes music for 0.30ct? I don't know if you know it Mr. Apple, but we are on recession, a big one f***ing recession, don't you know that? So, that must be for free, considering that DRM was a an annoyance nobody wanted and you, Mr. Apple, forced down our thorats. And I was hpoing price reductions. Everybody is doing that, because, again: we are on recession. Lower prices = more sales.

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That was so huge disappointment! Focusing on "not-so-revolutionary" software and not "famous apple" hardware was really something that I did not expect... I was waiting for mac mini or iMac news! That's _Mac_World for ... sake! And 17'' MBP... well... If I could afford one I'd probably be interested.

Overall - very poor experience...

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That was so huge disappointment! Focusing on "not-so-revolutionary" software and not "famous apple" hardware was really something that I did not expect... I was waiting for mac mini or iMac news! That's _Mac_World for ... sake! And 17'' MBP... well... If I could afford one I'd probably be interested.

Overall - very poor experience...

 

I agree, MBP is for people who have the cash to spend thousands of dollars in a laptop. I was hoping for the mini to be released but... oh well, let see if they will update the mini soon :rolleyes:

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So then we must w8ting for other 6 months before to know some interesting news?

 

Ok for the new battery system but for the rest im really sad...

 

no new mac mini, no new iMacs (quadcore intel and new cooling system)

 

BAH... only {censored}....

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I'm pretty much of the same feelings as most here: the keynote announcements were incredibly uninspiring. Aside from OS X itself, I just don't care about Apple's software products (truth be told I wouldn't care about their hardware either if it weren't for them being the legit and simple way to run OS X). That Mac Mini update I was pretty much banking on. Another friend of mine who still has one of the original G4 mini's and wants to upgrade was waiting on the news too. Alas, no update to the Mini.

 

Like I mentioned on another thread, the Mini has gone so long without an update that it's embarrassing. It's almost time to just drop it completely if they're not going to update it.

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I think it will be the standard Apple response "MONEY, MONEY, MONEY...GIMME, GIMME, GIMME - oh you want something that's worth the price we're asking... and maybe some flexibility so that you could at least re-use that expensive monitor and keyboard you already have... well, bend over... Stevie's got a present for ya." :P

 

Oh while I'm ranting... I guess I should add - "Oh you want to use some hardware that's been available to everyone other than Apple customers for more than a year... well, I guess you should buy a Dell then and load OSX on it - because we're not going to have anything like that until it's obsolete anyway!" (Along with maybe a plug for iTunes again as if that makes everything all better).

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$99 for iLife 09 and $79 for an upgrade, not much of a deal. I wonder what Apple's policy is for MacBooks purchased within the last 30days...I bet its still $79 for the upgrade :)

http://www.apple.com/ilife/uptodate/

"If you’ve purchased a qualifying computer on or after January 6, 2009, that does not include iLife ’09, you can upgrade to iLife ’09 for US$9.95 plus tax."

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