A Steve Jobs Macworld Keynote Minus the Mac

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A Steve Jobs Macworld Keynote Minus the Mac

Jan
09

By: switchtoamac at: 4:55 PM on January 9, 2007 | Comments (3)

Today's Macworld 2007 Keynote address by Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs although exciting thanks to the preview of the iPhone, the announcement of the Apple TV, and the addition of Paramount movies to the iTunes Store, left much to be desired.

Where's the Mac?
The name "Macworld Conference & Expo" implies that the event would be Mac centric. Yet the keynote made no mention of the Mac or software for the Mac. Is an iLife update on the way? What about iWork? Are speed bumps or revisions to the Macintosh line in the works? Who knows.

More than a name change?
Has today's keynote address and more importantly Apple's name change from to Apple Computer Incorporated to Apple Incorporated begun a shift away from the Mac? Will the Mac no longer be a central focus of the company?

Jobs even quoted the NHL's all-time leading scorer Wayne Gretzky when he stated: "I skate to where the puck is going to be not where it has been", a clear reference to how Gretzky would anticipate where the hockey puck would be prior to it actually getting there. Gretzky had a sixth or perhaps even a seventh sense on the ice. We all know that Jobs is a visionary and has been able to see anticipate trends in the marketplace before they actually materialized. The parallels to Gretzky would therefore be understandable.

Yet a keynote without a mention of the Mac, Mac OS X, or Mac software will have several Mac enthusiasts disappointed. What does Apple have planned for 2007 and beyond? My position is that Apple is laying the groundwork to fuel Macintosh sales in the future. We all know how popular the iPod is and how it has facilitated the expansion of the Apple brand. In my view, the iPhone and Apple TV will eventually lead to a larger Mac footprint.

What's your take?

3 Reader Comments

Paul Lustgarten on: January 9, 2007 7:18 PM said:

Yet a keynote without a mention of the Mac, Mac OS X, or Mac software will have several Mac enthusiasts disappointed.

What?!?! Today's announcements ARE all about OS X and Mac software! The iPhone is, operationally, a "pocket Mac". It runs OS X. It has Mac software on it ... explicitly Safari, and some variant/cousin of iPhoto and Mail.app, just for starters. And the AppleTV brings a substantial piece of my (iLife) Mac experience directly into the living room and splashes it on my TV.

Any complaints on this front are like someone complaining that we're no longer talking about the jungle, simply because we're talking about more than just coconut trees. Computing, communications, entertainment ... they're all ecosystems. And the Mac ecosystem just got a lot bigger!!!

John M on: January 9, 2007 9:36 PM said:

True, this MACworld was a bit light on the Mac. I mean isn't Leopard due out in a few months? Where was the joyous Stevenote demo of the new UI? In fact ... it wasn't even him who demoed the rough version back at WWDC either. Don't tell me that his heart's moved to another place!

Seriously though, the message from this Macworld was evidently a winner. Apple stands dominating the media tonight, old and new, while a good chunk of the world's population are hearing all about this spectacular new piece of kit coming to a credit card bill near you soon!

I do hope that Leopard isn't just pushed out the door with as little fanfare as the (highly significant and immensely successful) MacBook was last year. I want a Stevenote!

But the above comment is quite right that this is extending the whole idea we currently consider to be the Mac. The more people Apple has in its system, the better off is the Mac. Sure, an iPod is just a little sliver of a taste of Apple's style. But look at that iPhone. Tell me you don't recognise OS X! It'll sync with Windows iTunes too, but expect even more of a halo effect once people get a real bite of the forbidden fruit courtesy of the phone to beat all phones.

By the way, is that Leopard it's running? ;-)

Jon T on: January 10, 2007 10:06 AM said:

I agree with the first post. Just asking the question is a bit small minded.

This handheld Mac running OS X is all about Mac. How easy for example is it to scale up to a full tablet, or half sized tablet?

Something as momentous as this product deserves to be given the full limelight.

We have the spring to enjoy loads of Mac announcements including Leopard, iWork, iLife and who knows what else.

Let's not respond to the silly comments from a few Micrsoft trolls who were out in force immediately after the keynote.