Red's Ramblings v.2

Along with many other of my Mac ‘nerd’ brethren I sat at my screen yesterday using whatever resources were at hand to monitor proceedings in Steve’s MacWorld keynote. I settled on an IRC channel and a dodgy live video feed that got rumbled by security half way through. I’d seen all the rumours and had put my money on the MacBook Air being announced which it duly was but not before three other announcements of varying significance. Having read the supporting information and having seen reaction from others I offer my initial thoughts.

1. Time Capsule

I’m not getting overly annoyed about this one as I don’t think that it would make one scrap of difference but it does leave me frustrated that the Airport Extreme Base Station (AEBS) that I invested in, and that was being touted by initial Leopard specs as being a Time Machine target (having had a USB HDD attached), was left out in the cold. Sure Time Capsule is no doubt an excellent product factoring aside that you are fixed to initial capacity and it does make so much sense as Steve told us. The point is, we know. That’s why so many people bought the AEBS. There is no way that I can accept that there is any reason that if the Time Capsule works then there is any difference between that and a AEBS/USB2 HDD. Its essentially the same product. Besides, Time Machine should only need network visibility. I have a Mac Mini here that is backing up to a USB HDD attached to and shared from the PowerMac.

2. iPhone and iPod Touch

Mail on an iPod Touch. Fantastic! Seriously. For anyone not in the market for an iPhone for whatever reason it makes it so much more of a complete Internet product, well nearly. Where’s the instant messaging? You can also level this at the iPhone which to some degree hides behind SMS with its iChat like SMS conversation history. It’s still not ‘instant’. It’s a massive omission.
Cost wise I do have an issue. I’ve seen it pointed out that the iPhone and AppleTV have subscription based models and as such can offer ‘free’ software upgrades, and sure the new iPods are discounted to compensate but why not a token $1 (or 50p over here)? All this to me is academic as I couldn’t hope to consider a Touch with the current storage capacities.

3. AppleTV and iTunes Movie Rentals

This is one that I’m particularly happy with. Not because I will be making use of it any time soon (ok, so its not in the UK yet anyway) but because its brought AppleTV back from the brink. Apple TV had to survive because its a basic building block of a distributed media environment. In my case its not an issue that it can now sit independent to any host computer, its not as if i even need one as I currently use an Xbox 360 with Connect360 but if it wasn’t for that it would be an essential purchase. I listen to my music while working and do so when out and about with my iPod. I even watch the occasional bit of video when travelling but I have no desire to sit in my study and watch a film on the Mac. No I want to sit in front of my big TV on a large comfy couch with a beer (other drinks are available).
So, that’s why it had to survive and with yesterday’s announcement it has. Bringing all the major players on board is a great achievement yet to be matched by the current physical HD formats it should be said and while I’ve read grumblings on the time model of this I don’t have a problem with it. The 24 hour limit is no different to other similar models I’ve seen and you do get 30 days to start that 24 hours in case of any unforeseen change of plan. For me as one who enjoys films I want to enjoy a film as it was intended. Not a TV show that you dib in and out of but an end to end experience. Sure you have the liberty to pause a film for a quick toilet stop but if in the cinema you would never dream of standing up and asking if you could watch the rest tomorrow as you’re a bit tired. If you can’t put time aside and respect the film then don’t watch it.

4. MacBook Air

This all brings me to the big one. The MacBook Air. The one that had all the channels buzzing and I must admit that I got really drawn into it. But now the dust has settled I’m a little more objective on it. Its not that I wouldn’t dive out and buy one tomorrow. Apart from cost and having a PowerBook that has loads of life in it yet (that’s one of the reasons i buy Mac after all), its just that for me small doesn’t just mean thin, it means small. I heard Steve talk about there being no compromise in the screen and keyboard but if i wanted that size of screen and keyboard I’d get a MacBook, or even a MacBook Pro. When I look at my notebook bag the thickness of it has never been a concern. Its the other dimensions. Ok, so it may look ok to have a despatch bag or record bag over your shoulder, and while I’d never admit to having or even considering a ManBag, my last notebook before going to Mac was a Sony Vaio C1 pictured here. I never found there to be a compromise on the keyboard, it still needed an external drive (no problem with PCMCIA, USB, Firewire, etc) and if it had been built today it would have had wireless built in rather than the card adapter I used. The only compromise was not the size of the screen but its aspect. It was very letterbox and very non standard which made it a little awkward with some applications but it was a small price to pay. Now I know that someone will point out something in the current range of PC notebooks but I’m coming from a Mac perspective. There is a demand for a smaller Mac and there is certainly a user base of people still using their 12″ G4 PowerBooks waiting for that replacement.