[Macworld.com]

Intel-based Macs were the biggest news to come out of Tuesday’s Expo keynote. So how come both the MacBook Pro and iMac felt like afterthoughts? [more]

[hmurchison]

I too knew something was "off" when Jobs was still talking iLife after 40 minutes. iWork 06 is a debacle...it was a poor seller last year and Apple basically "knifed the baby" with this version albeit with a duller knife. No spreadsheet, drawing and database? Ironic that a half-baked iWork 06 coincides with an announcement that Office will be developed for Macs for the next 5 years. I think we can all read between the lines.
However it's understandable why Apple cannot rev the iBook and Mac mini. Intel won't ship their Intel Core Solo processors for another couple of months. I'm looking at an announcement in by Apple then of new consumer Macs. iLife is ready.

[booga]

How did .Mac get MORE valuable? Instead of improving the free web site tools that comes with your subscription, it's now assumed you're going to pay $180 a year for full .Mac functionality (iLife+.Mac). It seems like a package deal is in order here.
Of course, I'm going to pay it. But to claim that .Mac's $100 buys you more today than yesterday seems to be, well, the opposite of true.

[xanthus1]

Most of the keynote was actually a sly demonstration of the new Intel Macs. He just didn't reveal that until near the end. Smart guy. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
-George

[dmfett]

Good news bad news...macintel is the death notice for clasic...glad I got a mini 3 weeks ago so I can use classic for at least the next 5+ years...love my mini with 10.4.3 but I have apps that will never move to OS 10...so my cube will be used on 9.2.2 for as long as I have the cube...

[dannsh]

.Mac account value has increased and so has the .Mac cost if you have to pay full price of the new version iLife. Family accounts are now around $300 dollars a year. I know iLife has alot in it but I don't use GarageBand or iMovie. I use Final Cut Express and professionl music programs. We do use iPhoto, iDVD.
I think sometimes Apples marketing does not think through their ideas.

[seanmcg]

The fact that so much emphasis was put into demoing the software shows that Apple wants to 1) show that the transition is going to be easy and 2) continue to differentiate themselves from Windows by providing slick, integrated applications on an OS that just works. Remember, he did all his demos before he announced that he was doing them on an Intel iMac. This had the effect of de-emphasizing the chip transition and re-emphasizing Apple's programming superiority.
I think that was also the point of keeping the case design the same as the iMac G5. When the average consumer walks into the store, they are looking for a computer that works. Most won't care about the chip. Now what if the case was actually designed looking forward to the Intel processors and they had to put the work into getting a G5 in there that would stay cool in the meantime? Just a thought...
As for the MacBook Pro, I had a gut feeling all along that it would be the first Intel laptop from Apple. Despite the iBook's age, the PowerBook had not changed significantly compared to the other machines when it came to architecture. I just want to know about battery life and how difficult it will be to create a bual-boot machine since I do have to work in a Windows shop.

[MacGod]

My thoughts (for those that care);
1) I was dissapointed in this keynote overall. I thought the updates to iLife and iWork were not that significant (3D charts? Photocasting? Faster iPhoto? Even iWeb doesn't seem that imrpessive to me). While the iMac is a nice solid bump to Intel, the MacBookPro is, in many ways, more limited that the PowerBook it supplements (and whose sales it will undoubtedly steal): one screen size, no DL burner, no FW800 etc. I would have liked to see a full-on PB update, two mouse buttons, nicer screens across the board, etc.
2) I think the the biggest question on everyone's mind will be how to install Windows apps on these machiens? Will some brilliant developer get WINE going? Will they run at full speed under some as-yet-unannounced VirtualPC 8? Can we dual-boot to play games that never make it to the Mac side?
3) Apple has to walk a very fine line with the above points. If running Windows apps is TOO easy, there is the risk that more and more developers will simply not bother to make Mac ports (which are a significant cost) if an increasingly-large portion of the user base can easily "make do" with the Windows version.
4) I'm curious as to whether, in the long run, Apple will stick to Intel or the x86 command set more. Specifically, as apps get ported to IntelliMacs, will we see Apple machines based on AMD chips? VIA? Transmeta? The x86 world is much more than just Intel.
5) I think this will be a watershed event, but I don't know if the current situation is as dire as "Its a move that will not just ensure Apples survival" makes it out to be. I think this is a good move overall for Apple, but they would've done just OK sticking with PowerPC as well.
6) I think it's good that Microsoft has committed to stick with Apple for another five years. As good as iWork currently is, and as good as it could get with a capable spreadsheet app and high-end Mail/Group info program, MS Word has enough power in terms of mindshare that it needs to be available for users (especially business users and educational users) to feel comfortable going Mac.
7) I hope that Adobe/Macromedia, Quark, and all the other big-wigs in the Mac software field (fewer and fewer of them as these mega-mergers happen) would get their act together soon and get Universal Binaries out.
8) I also think it's ridiculous for Apple to charge $49 for an upgrade to FCP, Aperature et al, if they only improvement is Intel-compatibility. If there are other features, fine. But to charge your early-adopters a $49 penalty seems unconscionable. Apple makes its money on the hardware: if anyone should provide free upgrades to Universal Binary (but otherwise unchanged) versions of the software, it should be them.
Anyway, just my random rants....

[deemery]

Let's assume, just for fun, that Apple decides to take on Adobe. A good place to start would be for Apple to buy ACD Systems, the people who own Canvas. Canvas is a good productd with a long track record, and would be a great alternative product for Apple to produce a one-stop alternative to Adobe's Creative Suite. Intended target would not be the high-end professionals, where Photoshop, et.al. is pretty well unbeatable. Rather, it would be for smaller graphics departments and for people who produce graphics/layout as -part- of a business that they do (e.g. one-person in-house tech pubs departments.)
I have -no interest- in this, other than I've been using Canvas for more than a dozen years and happen to like it a lot. And I thought this might be an interesting idea to kick around...
dave

[fribhey]

what "white bunny suit"? he was wearing a lab suit, the same suit's work in the new intel/mac commercial.

[jdb8167]

I didn't find the keynote announcements disappointing at all.
How long can you demo an iMac and a MacBook for? In actuality they demo'd the Intel iMac for the whole keynote anyway which makes the point. The whole idea here is NOT to change the Mac OS X experience. So, how do you demo an Intel Mac? By showing that your current software suite works flawlessly.
I really don't get all the negativity.
You also have to consider that Apple has another 12-months of selling PPC based Macs. That is a very difficult line to walk. You can tell they are nervous about it because they moved up the whole timetable for the Intel switch by a year. Done by the end of 2006 instead of 2007. As more models are moved to Intel, it is going to be a tough sell for current PPC machines. So anyone who was hoping for wholesale changes in models and features isn't looking carefully at Apple's business needs. The first generation of Intel Macs is going to be pretty boring from a feature point of view. Of course this is also true of the last generation of PPC Macs. If you can't get excited over significant performance improvements then you are going to have a disappointing year.

[thelem]

Everyone seems to agree that Steve spent too long on iLife and not long enough on the new Macs. He's not stupid - he did it deliberatly so there must be a reason that is not immediatly obvious.
My guess would be that on the one hand Apple are expecting a massive rush of orders for the new Intel-based Macs anyway and they don't want to be immediatly overwhelmed by orders for them. On the other hand, Apple still has a range of PowerPC-based Macs to sell and doesn't want sales of them to dry up any more than they already will.

[hmurchison]

In reply to:

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one screen size, no DL burner, no FW800 etc. I would have liked to see a full-on PB update, two mouse buttons, nicer screens across the board, etc.

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The lack of a DL Burner is a mystery. However FW800 was dead the minute eSATA began to gain steam. The screens "are" nicer with much higher brightness which was a complaint of the previous generation. The Dual Core is great, battery life should be good but Apple is providing no estimates.

In reply to:

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I also think it's ridiculous for Apple to charge $49 for an upgrade to FCP, Aperature et al, if they only improvement is Intel-compatibility. If there are other features, fine. But to charge your early-adopters a $49 penalty seems unconscionable. Apple makes its money on the hardware: if anyone should provide free upgrades to Universal Binary (but otherwise unchanged) versions of the software, it should be them.

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Taking an app from PPC to Universal Binary means programmer resources are being taken. I don't see where Apple guaranteed anyone that they'd get free updates that enable new features. Universal Binary "is" a feature. Professionals don't expect to give their services for free and neither should Apple.

[pcharles]

I'd say it certainly more valuable to the new mac users who get iLife 06 bundled. I understand your concern about having to buy iLife 06, but only 1/6th of the suite is really dedicated to .Mac. The rest is pretty useful whether you have .Mac or not.
It would have been nice to see a few more things added to the website, but right now I am quite happy with what it offers me and cant wait to see what iLife offers me when it arrives on Friday! PodCasts of my classes will be really popular, I am sure!