MacWorld Keynote Was Big Enough
January 8, 2009
Rumors of an iPhone Nano and a new Mac Mini abounded before the 2009 MacWorld Expo, but they were just as absent as Steve Jobs. This led to disappointment from some onlookers, but there was plenty of interesting new stuff.
Here were the main announcements from the keynote:
- iLife 09 announced. ability to tag your photos by places or face. Auto face detection.
- iMovie 09 announced
- GarageBand 09 announced includes some instrument instruction
- iWork 09 announced ships today
- iWork.com announced, An online sharing tool
- 17″ MacBook Pro announced, $2799 one configuration
- iTunes DRM free
A close second in the “Top Announcement” award goes to the iTunes announcement that all songs will be available DRM-free by March. It’s about time.
My favorite announcement was the 17″ MacBook Pro. With the thinness, the long battery life, and the screen real estate, this MacBook is miles beyond other laptops in its class.
The new 17″ MacBook Pro is thin, kinda like the MacBook Air, but actually useful
I like it!
I think those of us who spend time talking about and writing about technology and music make more of the DRM issue than the average consumer. Most iTunes users play their music on iPods, on their computers or burn it to CD’s. They use iTunes because it is convenient and works well with their iPods.
If DRM was of significant importance to the average user, Amazon would’ve had customers FLOCK to them to buy MP3’s, especially since Amazon already offers deep discounts on album downloads.
But they didn’t because the interface and ease of use are more important than the rights protection for most people.
Doesn’t mean I’m not glad it’s gone or that it isn’t a move in the right direction though.