Obligatory Pre-Apple Event Blog Post

The new iPad....

• Faster
• Thinner
• Lighter
• Dual Cameras
• No Retina Display
• More internal memory
• Subtle changes in styling to make the original iPad look outdated

There, that should do it!

I'm really looking forward to the event later today, but prepared to be underwhelmed with the new iPad 2 specs. Most of the features above should make it into the new version, but I'm expecting more of an evolution than a revolution, sort of like the transition from the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 3GS.

What else can we look forward to?

I'm pretty sure Apple will announce the release of iOS 4.3 with the new iPad and it's availability for existing iPads a day or so before the new device is released. I hope some of the new gesture based controls make it into the final release.

Another given is a preview of the roadmap for iOS 5.0. Today's keynote is pretty important for Apple as it will position them to respond to the onslaught of competing (?) tablet devices, due to be launched in the next 12 months. If they can come up with some whizz bang features for iOS 5, and some innovation in the new hardware platform, it should give the competitors a lot to think about, and more importantly, make it more even more difficult to catch up. As it stands, the existing iPad has given Apple at least 12 months head start over the opposition, even longer if you factor in the development time for the 1st gen ipad. The new device and iOS should extend that lead.

No matter what the iPad 2 looks like, Apple will most certainly have another runaway success with sales of the new device. There is certainly pent up demand from those who decided to wait (misguidedly, IMHO) for the next generation iPad. Honestly people, you've missed so much by hanging on for a camera!

Then there are the current iPad users looking to upgrade.

One of the criticisms of the original device was its lack of support for multiple users or family sharing.

It was never going to happen!

Apple wants the iPad to be a personal device, not a shared device. Strictly one iPad per person!

So for all the people sharing their iPads, whilst it would have been a stretch to buy a second 1st gen iPad, just to remove the pain of sharing, a new model gives them a great excuse to buy that much lusted after, second iPad. The only issue then is, who gets the new one.

I'd like to think that MobileMe and Apple TV might well figure in the keynote, but Apple have tended to have a laser focus on the main topic of the day and as such, they may wish to keep the message undiluted and just concentrate on the iPad.

It's possible that MobileMe is actually a significant part of iOS 5 so we may see something.

The only reason I mention Apple TV is that the BBC are holding an event scheduled for the same time in London. It may well be that this will just be a simulcast for the keynote, but why hold a special event if the stream is going to be broadcast live anyway? Rumours of Steven Fry hosting also give the impression of a joint announcement?

I'd love for it to be the opening of the AppleTV platform to more content delivered by "Apps". A BBC iPlayer app for the Apple TV would be fantastic and a huge boost to the Apple TV platform. What if they'd got the licensing sorted out for BBC Worldwide and could distribute the BBC iPlayer app to all Apple TVs. It would be a major boost to the currently "under utilised" platform.

OK, sorry, rampant speculation mode off.

Hopefully Apple will live stream the event, but as they seem to leave announcing the live stream until a few hours before, it's unconfirmed at the moment.

So now in the UK (9:36am at time of writing), there's a full working day ahead of us before we find out just what will be announced. It's alright for those in the US that can just roll out of bed and watch, some of us have to work a full day.

Distracted, me?

Nah!

PS I'll be on MacBreak Weekly live immediately following the event, so catch me there if you can.

The New Mac App Store...

Well, it finally happened and the Mac App Store has been launched.

Delivered as part of a new OSX update - 10.6.6 - the new Mac App Store (MAS) has surprised a few people by not being a part of iTunes, but a completely separate app.

First impressions are extremely positive, except for the fact that it irritates me there are so many games in the store and in the top categories. I'm not a big gamer! It would be great to be able to exclude all games, except when I want to see them.

Installation of apps is a breeze and in some respects too easy!

Once logged in, it's just a single click and the app jumps out of the store and into your dock. I know some people don't like this, but it's a great visual aid for new Mac users to see where the app is and start using it straight away. Of course, this is a precursor to OSX Lion where we will have the Application grid, and your apps will jump straight in there.

Some other surprises...

Apple surprised us on several accounts, not just with the separate MAS application:

• Heavily discounting some of their own applications - notably Aperture 3 and Apple Remote Desktop. Both on the MAS for just a quarter of their usual retail price. If fact, only on the MAS, as they are still up on the Apple Online Retail store with their usual price

• The rather hit and miss aspect of identifying existing pre-installed applications within the MAS on your Mac. Not just for 3rd party apps, but also their own. iLife apps were identified correctly but iWork apps not. Some 3rd party apps were marked as installed, some not. The main issue here is how the MAS will handle updates.

  If an app (other than Apple applications) has not been installed by the Mac App Store, even if the MAS is showing it as installed, it will not be managed by the MAS and any updates will need to be delivered the normal way!

Whether this ever gets resolved is open to question, but currently, the only way to get an existing app managed by the MAS is to re-buy it through the MAS. I'm sure this is not the last we'll hear of this.

• They didn't release iWork '11 - One of the more popular rumours. One can only assume that they didn't want to "overshadow" the MAS launch with a new version of iWork. I'd say give it a few weeks and it will appear. I wonder if this had anything to do with the current versions of the iWork '09 apps not being identified as installed in the MAS. Perhaps, they pulled iWork '11 at the last minute?

• Originally there was some confusion over the number of Macs you can update under a single Apple ID. The premise is that once you buy an app via the MAS, you can install in on another Mac that you own. It works brilliantly and is a really easy way to keep multiple Macs in check. The problem is I was under the impression you could install on up to five Macs but it may be in fact, any number of Macs you own and control - for personal use only. Following on from a recent Twitter exchange, I decided to check it out for myself, and was able to install and run an paid app on six different machines, all using the same Apple ID - sweet!

Conclusion

I like it!

Still some issues to be sorted, but I think we'll look back on the launch of the Mac App Store as a hugely important day for the Mac.

Making it simple and painless to find and install software will help the platform tremendously and will contribute significantly to wider adoption of the platform.

Developers will benefit from an easy distribution method although we'll still have the problem of managing the scale of the MAS as more and more apps get installed.

Personal recommendation and guidance will be paramount when trying to find good quality apps.

There's also a great opportunity for anyone who can put together a decent quality screencast or two to help developers promote their apps....

;-)

MacBook Air 11" Un-Boxing Video

Picked up the 11" MacBook Air over the weekend. Here's a brief un-boxing video:

I'll be doing a few more to compare the 11" to my current MacBook Pro as well as to compare it to the 13" fully maxed out MacBook Air when that arrives.

Watch this space!

Thoughts on the new MacBook Air

Let's get this over with and I'll say it straight out...

I've just ordered a new MacBook Air.

Now I know that my initial reaction to the MBA was that it was a great machine and I'd tweeted I'd pass for now, but I've had a change of heart.

This post isn't really meant to justify my actions (honest, it isn't!) but I thought it might be useful to explain how I reached my decision.

I popped into an Apple store on Friday and saw the machine in the flesh. I'd previously owned one of the original MacBook Airs, so the form factor was no real surprise, even though the new machine is even thinner.

The 11" machine is cute but a bit too ultra portable for my needs, but the 13" seems to be perfect. I really enjoyed my original MacBook Air but had eventually become frustrated with some of the limitations of the original machine and upgraded to a 15" MacBook Pro (15" 2.66GHz) about 18 months ago.

I still wasn't convinced that the new MacBook Air was a good fit for me however, especially with the iPad fulfilling most of my mobile computing needs...

But by now, there were plenty of reviews of the MacBook Air on the web and three things really impressed me:

1 - The screen resolution of the 13" MacBook Air is the same as my existing 15" MacBook Pro. Seriously! One of the major reasons for swapping away from the original MBA to the MBP was the need for some additional screen real estate.

2 - The speed! The MacBook Air has a Core 2 Duo processor but only running at 1.4GHz for the 11" or 1.86Ghz for the 13" (with an optional 2.13GHz available as a BTO option).

A far cry from my 2.66 Core 2 Duo processor in my 18 month old MacBook Pro.

However, the Air doesn't have a standard hard drive but uses Solid State memory, attached directly to the motherboard. From all accounts, this boosts performance significantly. In general day to day usage, it would appear that the MBA is faster that current MacBook Pros with the i5 and i7 chips. Not in heavy number crunching of course but in speed of response, opening apps, browsing etc,.

I did upgrade my current MacBook Pro to a 256GB SSD so I have some experience of the difference in using a solid state drive. I have to say though that allow the 3rd party SSD exhibited stunning performance initially, it does exhibit some performance degradation over time, something the Apple supplied Flash storage should not.

3 - The graphics chip has been improved and on spec is now faster than my existing MacBook Pro.

Now as you know, I'm a video editor by trade and as such, my recent thought process had been to upgrade to a 17" MacBook Pro for off site video editing and use my iPad for all my mobile needs. I held off and held off upgrading to the 17" MacBook Pro for reasons I couldn't quite put my finger on. On reflection, it was most likely the price (which is significant for the 17" MacBook Pro), and the realisation that I don't actually do much editing when I'm away from my home studio. If I needed a portable machine to be my primary machine, then the 17" MacBook Pro would probably be the one. As it is, I can't really justify the expense, for the limited time I need to be able to edit on the move.

The MacBook Air will probably suffice for editing the occasional YouTube clip and I may experiment more with using the Elgato Turbo H.264  HD USB stick for encoding with the MacBook Air, as hey, there's now two USB ports.

So the final spec I decided on was:

• 13" MacBook Air
• 2.13Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 4 GB RAM
• 256GB Flash Storage

The only thing that the MacBook Air is lacking is the backlit keyboard, something I really like on the MacBook Pro.

One other thing I need to point out is that I also had an Apple Developer Discount available from my Apple Developer Select membership. This got me around 10% discount off the price of the notebook plus I can claim back the VAT as it's a business machine, making the additional options more affordable. If I didn't use the discount by November, I'd have lost the discount and I'm not in the market for another Mac Pro!

So, the new MacBook Air is ordered and should be here in a week or so expect to see a review and some YouTube footage once it arrives.

Just one thing if your a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! member (or thinking of becoming one)...

It's been a while since I did a members prize draw so I've decided to acquire an 11" MacBook Air and give it away as during a members prize draw at the end of November.

If you're and existing member (as long as you're not on a complimentary membership) there's no action to take, just make sure your membership is current on the 30th November and you'll be enetered into the draw automatically. Any new members who sign up between now and the end of November will also be entered automatically. If you want to sign up as a member, you can do that here!

Caveat Emptor - AppleCare via eBay

I've previously bought Applecare for various Macs at hugely discounted prices via eBay, from a couple of reputable eBayers of good standing.

These have previously been accepted by Apple and the AppleCare agreements have gone through without a hitch.

So, with my Mac mini approaching the end of it's 12 month warranty period, I had a quick look on eBay for any bargain AppleCare agreements. I found one from an eBay merchant with a good record and they confirmed that the AppleCare was not just a number, but a legitimate boxed version, fully sealed.

I week or two later, the sealed AppleCare box arrived and I duly set about registering the AppleCare agreement.

To my surprise, I consequently received an email from Apple requesting a copy of the original valid sales receipt documenting the purchase of the AppleCare Protection Plan from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller.

It would appear that proof of purchase via eBay (or any other online auction or classified advertisement service) is not sufficient. I've sent off the request to the eBay merchant and if it's not forthcoming, I'll be requesting a refund,

So, does that spell the end of cheap AppleCare via eBay?

I hope not.

But in future, before you enter into any arrangement with eBay or similar, you might want to confirm in advance that a copy of the original valid sales receipt documenting the purchase of the AppleCare Protection Plan from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller is available, otherwise, forget it!

Update: I've been in touch with the eBay vendor and she bought a bulk load of AppleCare packages from another eBay merchant. Mine is the first to have required proof of purchase via Apple. She has agreed to refund the cost of the package on return.

Looks like I'll be sticking to Apple and Apple authorised resellers for my AppleCare in future.

Final Update - The eBay vendor has refunded my money and is confused as to why this has affected me and no-one else from the batch of AppleCare products she has resold.

Bottom line for me now is that I'll be buying my AppleCare from Apple or Amazon - pity!