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

Darn. I was so sure we were gonna see a Mini refresh. Ah well.

mmmm... I hope they don't kill the mini...

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

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.

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.

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

(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.)

weren't judged exciting enough? everywhere i've looked everyone has been commenting on 'i hope there's a new mini' I hope they say something about a new mini soon.

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.

Whatever happened to Snow Leopard? There was no mention of it. Do we have to wait until October again?

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

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

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.

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.

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...

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

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}....

glass/alu update of te imac is from september 2007, in april they just got some improved specs

I announced the release of the new 17" MBP first. Look at the Reader News and Reviews section.

Hope they launch updated iMacs and Mac minis.

glass/alu update of te imac is from september 2007, in april they just got some improved specs

Thats right - the April update was the 3 GHz 24-inch model.

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.

$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

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."

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).

$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."

Totally agree. Replacing a whole imac just to upgrade its potential is stupid, expensive and not very ecologic either. If I want a to bring new life to my PC, I just have tho change the CPU or the GPU, o whatever I please: my case, keyboard, monitor, etc will remain the same. I spend less money to achieve the same level of performance with less money and less envoirement damage.

And what about the "buy obsolete hardware at premium price"?... its SAD business, Core i7 is already on the street, and from today Phenom II, and the fastest thing you can buy on an imac is a Core 2. Or a quad xeon on the pro models, which is a server (WTF) chip, requiring registered RAM and so on. Got a Quad 6600 Core 2 with an Efix chip, couldnt be "computationally" happier.

Ecology and bucks fellaz. And remember: we're on recession. Apple just doesn't make sense right now.