Sunday, December 14, 2008

countdown to Macworld 2009

One of the two most significant yearly events on Apple's calendar, Macworld 2009 begins three weeks from tomorrow, and the obligatory frenzy of anticipation and speculation should be beginning soon, certainly no later than a week before the event itself.

If previous Macworlds can serve as a guide, there will be a keynote address by Steve Jobs and company, on Tuesday, January 6th, but this has yet to be confirmed.

Since Apple's portable computers were recently updated, early speculation has centered on new desktop machines (Mac mini, iMac, and Mac Pro), and possibly a reshuffling of the low end of Apple's product line, recombining functionality as well as bumping component performance. There's also been considerable talk about the possibility of an iPhone-like portable device with a larger screen, sometimes referred to as a tablet computer.

Personally, I have no predictions to offer at this time, other than, if there is a keynote, I'll be watching the streaming version of it within a few days after it's delivered, as well as the altogether safe prediction that we'll be hearing more about Snow Leopard, the next version of Mac OS X, and arguably the biggest Mac OS X related news to come along since version 1.0 went gold master.

Update: Apple has announced that while there will be a keynote, Phil Schiller will be doing it instead of Steve Jobs. What's more, this will be the last Macworld in which Apple will actively participate.

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