iMac, iLife, iWork redux
Today’s Apple press conference:
Aluminum-and-glass iMac. Looks nice; as usual, Apple’s new product design makes the previous version look clunky. (Though I wonder what the metal case will do to the AirPort signal.)
It’s odd—this is the quickest I’ve ever seen Steve Jobs introduce a new product. He usually builds up with a considerable lead-in. I wonder what he’s got up his sleeve.
’08? Well, okay, let’s see.
Updated iPhoto. Automatic “Event”-based albums with easy splitting and merging of events—which will certainly streamline my iPhoto library management. Better integration with .Mac: one-click web gallery publishing, plus the ability to provide print-resolution images for download. That’s nice. Plus the ability to upload photos by email, and to allow visitors to upload photos! If you choose to enable it, of course—there’s some sort of permissions system to control who can view, who can download, upload, and such.
New iMovie. A completely new program, apparently, that makes a video library like the iPhoto library. Some sort of newer, easier, faster editing methods. Many video formats: HD, standard, footage shot with digital still cameras. Auto-upload to YouTube.
Updated iWeb. Er…nothing earth-shaking in the paragraph at Engadget, but…well, we’ll see how this looks later. (You can easily embed Google Ads, interestingly.) Steve seems to be moving fast.
Updated iDVD. Whoops, Steve’s already blown past this. Well, I’m sure it’ll be quite nice.
Updated GarageBand. Includes something called Magic GarageBand that…I dunno, helps you make a song or something. Steve is moving at light speed. Hmm.
Updated .Mac. In addition to the heightened integration with iLife ’08, users now get 10GB of storage. That’s pleasing. And…100GB/month of bandwidth! Okay! That’s very pleasing!
Updated Keynote. I don’t have this, so I can’t really say how much better it is, but since it’s the software Steve uses, it’s gotta be in good shape.
Updated Pages. Blah blah easy to just word-process blah blah. What the heck is Steve barreling toward, here?
Numbers. A spreadsheet! Well, that’s good to hear. It reads and writes Excel, of course, and is easier to use, of course, and is gorgeous, of course.
Hey! Steve opens up the floor for Q&A! That’s new. A few good exchanges, which you can check out at the Engadget and MacWorld pages.