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The Keynote Address

Dan Knight
2002.01.07

Streaming QuickTime isn't a mature technology, at least not over today's Internet. Connected via cable modem at home, quality of the Stevenote ranged from excellent to inexcusably bad and even sometimes nonexistent.

Mac OS X & X Applications

Steve Jobs proclaims OS X, "The most crash proof, secure OS in the world."

In March 2001, Apple said it would take 12 months to completely transition to Mac OS X. Six months moved it to 10.1, and the last three months focused on applications - 2,500 apps for X.

Photoshop for OS X - "It's almost here." New version includes spell checking.

Palm - synching is as easy as dropping your Palm into its cradle and hitting the hot sync button.

Final Cut 3 introduces real time effects, real time titles, and real time color correction.

Aspyr - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for X should be available in a couple weeks.

"Starting today, all new Macs will boot up into OS X."

The Digital Hub & iPhoto

Jobs introduced the digital hub concept at Macworld San Francisco one year ago.

Apple has sold over 1 million blank DVDs since introducing the SuperDrive a year ago.

But what about digicams? There are 6 million digital cameras in use in the U.S. Today Apple introduces the fourth digital hub application, iPhoto.

iPhoto will automatically import photos via USB or FireWire, let you edit your images and print them easily and accurately with ColorSync, and organize your shots - even creating thumbnails and displaying them at whatever size you want.

Although you can edit your images in iPhoto, you can also tell it to use your favorite photo editor.

To share your images, you can create a slide show (complete with a sound track and dissolves), publish them on the Web using iTools and Home Page, print individual images or contact sheets on your printer, order Kodak prints on photographic paper online using one-click shopping, or even order a hard bound book containing your photos.

Storybook, a feature of iPhoto, lets you automatically design your book. You tell it how many pictures per page, add any text, and iPhoto does the rest. You can even order the book online and have it shipped anywhere you want. Turnaround? About one week. Cost? As little as $29.99 for a ten-page book.

And the cost of iPhoto? It's a free download from Apple's site.

iBook

500 MHz iMac now $1,199. 600 MHz Combo unit now $1,499. Apple tops off the iBook line with a big brother, a 14" iBook - 600 MHz, 256 MB, 1.35" thick, 5.9 pounds, Combo drive, $1,799.

iMac

Apple has sold 6 million iMacs, but today we're saying good-bye to that iMac. The new iMac is designed to be the ultimate digital hub: flat screen (15" 1024 x 768, official death of the CRT), 700-800 MHz G4, SuperDrive available (and DVD blanks are now $5), Nvidia GeForce2 MX, five USB ports, and two FireWire ports. The new iMac also takes 1 GB total RAM, and the bottom comes apart with just four screws.

Apple has been working on a new design for two years, but a vertical design just didn't work. The whole computer is in a 10.5" hemispherical base, including the power supply. The screen can be moved with just a touch, providing superior ergonomics. And all the ports are in the back.

Three models: 700 MHz G4, 128 MB, 40 GB, CD-RW, $1,299. 256 MB, Combo drive, $1,499. 800 MHz, 60 GB, SuperDrive, $1,799. The SuperDrive model will be available this month, the Combo drive iMac in February, and the CD-RW version in March - and Apple is taking orders today.

Expect to see some major blowout pricing on the old CRT iMacs. Or maybe not, since there will be no $799 and $999 iMacs when the flat-panel models replace the current line in March.

Reflections

What's wrong with this picture? Quite simply that the iMac, Apple's consumer entry-level computer, runs faster than the pro PowerBook (550 and 667 MHz) and some Power Macs (particularly the 733 MHz model). We anticipate these will be upgraded in coming months.

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