Jan 15 2008
Our 2008 ”Mercworld” coverage transcript
In case you missed it, I have posted (after the jump) our coverage as it appeared on our site during Steve Jobs’ 2008 Macworld keynote address.
Official details on all the announced hardware, software and services will be posted to the site later today.
Thank you to all the people who participated in our IRC chat and to the moderators who kept things hopping.
10:43 AM – It ain’t over until the fat man sings…oh, wait–he did!!
10:41 AM – You know there’s another store you should check out…
10:37 AM – Scratch that. Store back up. GO SHOP!!
10:36 AM – Store still down
10:36 AM – MacBook Air now on the front page of Apple.com
10:34 AM – Newman sings a song apologizing for the US’s awful leaders and proceeds to compare them to worse leaders in history…oh boy
10:31 AM – Oh crap! It’s Randy Freakin’ Newman!!
10:31 AM – Steve Jobs = Willy Wonka
10:30 AM – One more thing?
10:30 AM – That’s 4 things…
10:28 AM – Any bets on how soon Staples and Office Depot will be selling individual manilla envelopes in the computer section as “MacBook Air Cases”?
10:26 AM – Steve shows MacBook Air marketing
10:25 AM – USD$1799. Ships in 2 weeks. Preorders today.
10:25 AM – 2 GB of RAM, BTW
10:25 AM – Now how much would you pay?
10:24 AM – 5 hours of battery for wireless internet use. YMMV
10:24 AM – Cheeky
10:24 AM – Remote Disc feature allows MacBook Air users to hijack and use any optical drive of any machine in the area with Apple’s Remote Disc software installed.
10:22 AM – USB SuperDrive (not included USD$99)
10:22 AM – no optical drive, so…
10:22 AM – MacBook Air has a 45 Watt MagSafe, 1 USB 2.0 port, Micro-DVI, Audio Out, 802.11n, plus Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
10:21 AM – Steve kicks the Intel guy off the stage
10:20 AM – CPU is thick as a nickle, as wide as a dime…wasn’t that the incantation from “The Craft”?
10:19 AM – Paul Otellini from Intel here to talk about how thin the CPU is
10:18 AM – Yeah, Steve, but how much $$$?
10:18 AM – Core 2 Duo. 1.6GHz standard, or optional 1.8GHz.
10:17 AM – How much is this gonna cost?
10:17 AM – 80 GB hard drive. 64 GB SSD option.
10:16 AM – 1.8″ hard drive
10:16 AM – “How does it all fit?” Steve asks.
10:15 AM – iSight. Backlit keyboard. Big trackpad with multi-touch support.
10:14 AM – 13.3″ screen. Magnetic latch.
10:13 AM – Thinner at its thickest point than the comparable Sony TZ is at its thinnest point. Make sense? It’s frikkin’ thin!
10:12 AM – Weighs about 3 lb
10:12 AM – MacBook Air is 0.76″ thick and tapers to 0.16″ at one end.
10:11 AM – Poo-pooing other thin format notebooks. Too heavy. Not all that thin. Crappy keyboards. Now let’s look at the MacBook Air…
10:10 AM – The rumors were actually true?
10:09 AM – 4) something in the Air…MacBook Air–The world’s thinnest notebook.
10:09 AM – Steve’s back
10:08 AM – Family Guy Blue Harvest DVD (Star Wars Special) has a digital iPod-friendly copy included on the DVD.
10:07 AM – Homer iPod poster displayed
10:06 AM – “This will be a transformative version of the rental model.” That sounds like
10:05 AM – Gianopulos is talking up making great movies and making them available to the people. MPAA snipers in position and ready to strike in command.
10:03 AM – Jim Gianopulos, CEO/Chairman of Fox takes the stage…please don’t let him be reading off of index cards
10:02 AM – New features will be available in 2 weeks.
10:02 AM – Apple TV price drop. Entry price drops from $299 to $229. Hmm…
10:01 AM – Next?
10:01 AM – Apple TV: Free software upgrade for the new stuff.
09:59 AM – I blame Gizmodo
09:59 AM – Can “theoretically” stream pics from Flickr, but when Steve tries, the screen goes black.
09:58 AM – Apple TV can grab photos from .Mac to use as a screensaver
09:55 AM – My buddy from Microsoft says, “somebody wake me when his majesty announces something worthwhile…
09:51 AM – Movie store is very much like what we’ve come to expect from iTunes: previews, recommendations, top rentals.
09:50 AM – Keynote is not even 1 hour in yet
09:48 AM – Demoing the new Apple TV
09:48 AM – 100 titles available today.
09:48 AM – HD movie rentals USD$4.99
09:47 AM – Apple TV Take 2 = no computer required. Podcasts, Flickr, .Mac galleries, iTunes.
09:47 AM – Apple TV Take 2
09:45 AM – How to get movies on Flat Screen TV?
09:44 AM – International movie stores to open later this year
09:44 AM – Movie rentals in the US start today
09:43 AM – old movies: USD$2.99, new releases: USD$3.99
09:42 AM – How much?
09:42 AM – You’ll have 30 days to start watching the movie and 24 hours to finish.
09:42 AM – Watch “instantly” 30 seconds with broadband connection.
09:41 AM – Made available 30 days after the DVD launch.
09:41 AM – Over 1000 movies.
09:40 AM – Every major studio is on board. First run films now out on DVD will be available.
09:39 AM – iTunes Movie Rentals
09:38 AM – 125 million TV shows sold. 7 million movies sold.
09:38 AM – 20 million songs sold XMas Day
09:37 AM – 4 billion songs sold
09:37 AM – 3) iTunes
09:37 AM – Ah, but not a free upgrade…USD$20 for existing iPod Touch owners
09:36 AM – Finally!! Mail, Stocks, Notes, Weather and Maps
09:36 AM – iPod Touch: New Software
09:35 AM – iPhone software update is available today as a free upgrade.
09:34 AM – Just a reminder, our Worst. Keynote. Ever. Shirts are still available in the MacMerc Store.
09:33 AM – Keep any 4 icons you wish in the dock
09:32 AM – You can now rearrange icons on the main screen by holding down on them until the jiggle and let you drag them.
09:32 AM – Jiggling icons!
09:31 AM – Demoing Web Clips…make, bookmark, add to main page
09:28 AM – Demoing Maps with Location…getting directions
09:27 AM – Custom Home Screen, Lyrics
09:27 AM – Maps with Location, Web Clip and Multiple SMS
09:25 AM – iPhone SDK coming in Feb
09:24 AM – iPhone horn tooting
09:23 AM – …about 20,000 per day
09:23 AM – 200 days after iPhone launch, 4 million sold
09:22 AM – 2) iPhone
09:21 AM – Time Machine “Get A Mac” Ad
09:21 AM – 500 GB = USD$299, 1 TB = USD$499
09:20 AM – Time Capsule = Airport Extreme + Hard Drive
09:19 AM – Time Capsule: Time Machine for notebooks.
09:19 AM – Leopard horn tooting.
09:18 AM – 1) Leopard. 5 million sold in first 3 months. Most successful Mac OS X yet.
09:17 AM – Steve’s got 4 things to talk about today
09:16 AM – Going over the highlights of 2007…iPhone…Leopard…etc.
09:15 AM – Steve
09:15 AM – Mac ad: Happy New Year
09:14 AM – Lights…
09:08 AM – Apple Store is down. Natch.
09:07 AM – Music still playing…waiting for the show to start
09:00 AM – Keynote time!
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