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Macworld Keynote Impressions

Rich January 15, 2008 6 Comments

Just finished up attending the Steve Jobs keynote for the first time. From a security perspective, as expected there wasn’t anything worth noting. Being a product-launch event we really weren’t planning on seeing any discussion of security, and the other updates don’t seem to have many obvious security ramifications. One potential area of interest is the new location based service, which appears to be a combination of Google’s location (which I use on my BlackBerry), and a WiFi based service by Skyhook Wireless that’s been around for a few years. Google’s location based on cell towers is only accurate to about 800 meters so it will be interesting to see what Skyhook provides in urban areas. Being WiFi based I’m looking forward to getting my hands on it and doing a little WiFi sniffing. It will be interesting to see if it leaks too much information about you. The other iPhone updates are interesting enough that I might make the leap. I was waiting for the 3G version but that’s probably still 6 months away. I’d really like a better web browser for mobile blogging, and even the Opera browser on the BlackBerry isn’t cutting it. We’ll see what I end up flying home with after I take some time outside the Reality Distortion Field of Jobs. As for the other product announcements my impression is they’re solid, but overall a little disappointing. The MacBook Air looks absolutely amazing with excellent performance for the size. Hopefully some of the power-friendly technologies like LED backlit display and SSD drive will make their way into the rest of the product line. iTunes movie and TV rentals were surprising only for the studio support- every single major studio. Pricing is in-line with Unbox and other services, but you get better quality. A lot better if you pay $1 more for the HD version, which might be worth it since you don’t have to buy a Blu-ray or HD DVD player to watch them. I was mostly looking forward to attending the keynote to watch Jobs present, and that’s one area where I wasn’t disappointed. I love his use of simple slides, basic animations, and smooth style. it’s not something that will necessarily translate into the more information-laden presentations we industry pundits tend to have to give, but his overall quality is far better than anyone else in the industry I’ve seen. Most of my Macworld coverage will be over at TidBITS, but I’ll post my less formal impressions here as the week goes on. Share:

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