POSTED IN GADGETRY...

January 10, 2005

Apple lunacy reaches fever pitch as Macworld approaches...

One of the fun, but admittedly kind of stupid things about owning a Mac is the amount of rumormongering fervor that gets churned up right before a big Apple announcement. Apparently Apple is going to introduce a flash memory iPod, a monitor-less iMac for under $500 US and a suite of office software dubbed "iWork."

That's all cool, but it's equally fun to watch the Cult of Mac true believers whip themselves into a froth over the amazing delights Apple has in store for them. No-one cares what HP or Dell are up to, but everyone gets into a tizzy when it seems Uncle Steve is ready to drop a well-designed, somewhat underpowered but damned purty bit of kit our way. I'm as guilty as the rest of the throng; I'm dying to see what gets released tomorrow, and I'll be checking the rumor pages periodically for the "OMG! Dalmatian iPods" announcements that are sure to be coming. :)

4 comment(s) so far (Post your own)

1

On January 10, 2005 8:58 PM, Warren Frey said:

Though it'd be cool, I don't have much use for a headless iMac, or for the "iPod shuffle." I'm more looking forward to the word processor app, believe it or not, as long as it's up to the same high quality as Safari and iTunes.

But the one thing I think they should do with the headless iMac is give it some sort of Tivo capability. All the components are alreay there, and all it needs is a tv tuner and some sweet assed Apple software for managing your TV shows. I have my doubts that'll happen, but it'd be cool.

2

On January 10, 2005 10:10 PM, cam c. said:

The thing that pissed me off about that story is the bit about Apple security demanding that the guy who took the photo of the iPod flash banner delete it even though he was in a public place.

In the US (and Canada) it is legal to take a photo of anything from a public place... you can stand across from a mall and take photos of it, even if the security hassles you. In fact, if they try to force you to hand over your film, delete photos, or make a grab for your camera, you can press assault charges against them. There seems to be this "ignorance creep" (to borrow a phrase from Joi Ito) regarding copyright law, and also the rights of photographers, videographers, and artists in the post-911 (I once read a blog by a guy who almost got busted by Homeland Security for taking photos of shipping locks in WA state for a school project)), copyright-law laden world...

3

On January 10, 2005 11:01 PM, Warren Frey said:

Yeah, that is crap. I don't care if it is some Apple-hired goon, I would have raised an unholy stink and gotten said rent-a-cop to pull in an official Apple flack, then tell him to go to hell since the law was on my side.

Or I'd offer to delete the pics, provided they gave me a free model of whatever it was I took a picture of. :)

4

On January 11, 2005 7:41 AM, Warren Frey said:

Dan Gillmor throws down on Apple going all lawsuit-happy on the rmour sites...

http://dangillmor.typepad.com/dan_gillmor_on_grassroots/2005/01/arrogance_at_ap.html

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