Why no special event...

So Apple did release a ton of new and improved products today, two days before the Windows 7 launch.

I won't regurgitate all the details as I'm sure you're fully aware, but in summary:

• A brand new advanced Mouse with multitouch
• A spectacular update to the iMac with larger 16:9 displays
• An updated Macbook with a new unibody enclosure
• Revisions to the Mac mini including a new Server option with in effect, a free, unlimited licence copy of Snow Leopard Server (of potentially huge significance)
• A new Apple remote  
• An updated Airport Express
• Two updated Time Capsules

Excuse me?

As @patmahon said on Twitter:

When you think about it Apple have released more today than at some past Macworld events with nothing more than fanboy tweets. Clever stuff

My sentiments exactly! (well except for the references to fanboys but I'll excuse Pat, as I know he's a big a fan as the rest of us)

Seriously, Apple could have announced a "Special Event" for these announcements quite easily and I've no doubt that they could have filled an hour easily and it would have been very well received.

The "Magic Mouse" is crying out to be demo'd, the gorgeous new iMacs prime to be drooled over, an examination of the new Macbook unibody easily shown off, along with an opportunity for the new Mac mini server with it's amazing value proposition to be spelt out to all the Small and Medium sized businesses (SMBs).

But no announcements, no special event, just a Tuesday store take down and back up again?

So why no event?

I've no idea!

I don't think Apple have ever launched such a wide ranging update to their range without a live demo. Was it due to timing? Too late to organise something before the holiday season? I don't think so, all these changes would have been planned ages ago, so the decision for the low key launch was most definitely deliberate.

A change of strategy from Apple perhaps?

Perhaps they want to elevate the "Special Event" type of product announcements to radically new products, products that warrant a truly "Special" event. Perhaps there's another product launch coming soon that they wanted to distance from these announcements. A really "Special" product.

Can't think of what that might cover though.

Cough!

Back to business...

Just arrived back home from Blogworld.

Great event and I'll blog some more about it when I'm firing on all cylinders and over the jet lag.

One thing that caught my eye is this post by Business Week:

Copyright BusinessWeek - Click on the image to see the original article

Oh yes, it's the Apple earnings call later today and as ever, good financial results are anticipated.

Microsoft are launching Windows 7 in a couple of days time on the 22nd October.

It's Tuesday tomorrow, two days before the launch and the usual day that Apple release new products. What if tomorrow, Apple launch a new range of iMacs (or similar) at a cost conscious reduced price?

If you had the choice of buying a new PC with Windows 7 or a new Mac at a reasonable cost, which would you do? OK, so if you're reading this blog, chances are you're already a Mac user....

I wonder if Apple have something special in the wings ready to release once the quarterly earnings call is done, something that could impact Microsofts big day?

We'll soon find out! 

Whilst at Blogworld...

If you follow this blog, things may be a bit quiet this week whilst I'm out at Blogworld. This blog (The MAc ScreenCast Guy) is my main blog for pontificating all about the Mac and things connected with ScreenCastsOnline.

Whilst I'm away, I'll probably not update it much.

However, I will be posting snippets, audio clips, video clips, etc to my Tumblr blog.

This is more of a scrapbook where I can post small interesting (I hope!) items directly from my iPhone. It's really just a way to keep an informal/ad-hoc record of what I'm up to.

You can access the Tumblr blog at http://screencastsonline.tumblr.com/ or you can subscribe to the RSS feed

All the Tumblr posts are forwarded to Twitter so if you're following me on Twitter (DonMcAllister) you'll see them in real time. The beauty of the Tumblr blog is that it's a central place to aggregate all the various media streams together so if you miss a Tweet, they are all there to review - assuming of course anyone would want to review them! 

Any how, I hope you enjoy my random postings!

Blogworld 2009…

You might have noticed the badge in the side bar but in case you didn't, I'm off to speak at Blogworld next week. It's certainly crept up on me but as the week draws closer, I'm really looking forward to it.

I've been attending the New Media Expo for the past couple of years but following last years NME, the event has been combined with Blogworld to make a much larger event. This can only be a good thing I suppose, as podcasting, blogging and all things "new media" starts to become blurred.

As well as the many sessions, I'm especially looking forward to meeting up with many of my Mac podcasting buddies from the Mac Roundtable including Victor, Chuck, David, Dave and Allison along with many other friends I've made over the years at the NME and Macworld.

This year, I'll be presenting on a subject that I should know a lot about and that's ScreenCasting….surprise, surprise! My session is scheduled for Saturday the 17th from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM in room 229. It goes without saying that I'd love for you to turn up if you're attending!

The main Blogworld site seems to have had a lot of work done on it as we get nearer to the event, including the addition of the 2009 Blogworld Conference Speakers Preview. You can access this from the main site and each speaker or panelist has their own Yubby Channel. This is a video aggregation channel where you can watch videos gathered from various sources. Mine is on the second page (I'm not bitter!) but I only have a few videos anyway. I think I'll have to get my face in front of a few more cameras this time round.

But I'm English...

Lots and lots of chatter on the Interwebs over the weekend around the subject of making money from podcasting. Most of it was generated by the venerable Leo Laporte (my gracious host when I appear on MacBreak Weekly and fellow MacMania presenter) who went public with the revenue of the TWIT network during a talk he was giving last week. 

Basically, TWIT has an annual revenue of $1,500,000 but costs of $350,000 along with a staff of 7. As well as staff costs, Leo also has the upkeep of the TWIT cottage, a rented house in Petaluma where all the shows and live streaming video are recorded. It's also worth bearing in mind that Leo produces almost 20 podcasts per week and many hours of live TV. It's really quite a significant operation.

As well as this nugget of information, I've previously mentioned an article by David Sparks in which I and several other podcasters discuss the various models for podcast monetisation has also been published. This is now available from Mashable although Leo is actually not included in the list.

I'm not sure if the upcoming Blogworld 2009 has been the catalyst for this sudden flurry of activity or it's just co-incidence. 

Now I did submit a few sessions on the subject of podcast monetisation and running a full time podcast but these were rejected in preference to a session on screencasting, which is fine by me, but probably would disappoint a few people attending.

The problem I would have however, is discussing the actual figures of running a full time podcast from my own perspective.

You see I'm English!

It's sort of in our DNA not to discuss money and finances in public. It makes us very uncomfortable and we are actually embarrassed by telling others of our success.  

Not only that, but unlike in the US where success is celebrated, we (I?) harbour fears that too much success might turn people against you.

So I won't be spilling the beans about how successful ScreenCastsOnline has become in actual terms.

My operation is completely different to Leo in that I produce a single show, have only two people (myself included) that cover all aspects of the show production, website, and membership. I don't take traditional ads but do have show sponsorship but mainly rely on a membership scheme to sell premium content.

Even so, I make a good living, am able to travel the world, send my son and daughter to further education, fund my Mac gadget addiction and save a good chunk of change each month, something I never was able to do in my previous well paid salaried position.

Just don't ask me how much!

I probably should close this off with some final thoughts before you think all is too rosy..

I mostly work seven days a week, often 12 hours a day or more, I read and answer every piece of email that comes in (for now anyway) and I've never worked as hard in my life.

The up side is I've never enjoyed working as much in my life either.