Love this video, and the pointers are all true. Of course, you can’t replace his charisma, which is the other 80% of his speaking success – you either have that or not. But this will help even the most mousy person give better speeches at work or publicly:
I was underwhelmed by the MacBook Air. I think it is geared to the business traveler who doesn’t need an actual optical hard drive or any serious storage space because they will only us it to write letters and such. I don’t want a laptop I have to buy a separate hard drive for to store photos, movies, files, etc on. I think they should have kept this in development until someone made a ultra slim hard drive to put in it. Because the MacBook Air with a massive slim hard drive of 160GB or more PLUS the Ram and Flash is has already would have truly been stunning. I’m guessing some gadget heads will buy the air out of a need to have the latest thing right out of the starting gate. I keep seeing comments around the net from people who don’t get that it only has a flash drive and RAM who think the 500GB is plenty of space for a computer, but trust me, it isn’t that kind of memory, folks.
As for the rest of it? The iTunes movie subscriptions and the improvements on the AppleTV and such? That was better than the MacBook Air, frankly. I still wish the AppleTV was also a true DVR, but this is a step in the right direction. Too bad Time Warner countered the innovation with an announcement of a crippling price hike based on bandwidth. Sometimes the entertainment and technology sector can’t win for shooting itself in the foot all the time.
I was also concerned with Apple’s recent Bad Apple legal tactics against bloggers and other fans, and had high hopes they would do something to rectify the situation a bit, but this reaction to a fan tells me I shouldn’t hold my breathe. I had a press pass to this even this year, and no way to go. Now I’m a bit glad I didn’t try harder to find the money for airfare. I would have enjoyed seeing my friends in California, but I would have been disappointed with the overall Keynote. I probably would have had fun wandering around after though – maybe next year.
I got a bit busy this week, as I mentioned over on Smoke Rings. That means I missed some excellent Apple news for you. By way of apology for tripping over my own deadlines this week, here is a quick recap of some of the highlights:
Have a great rest of your weekend! Can’t wait to see what Apple news and rumor abounds in the coming week.
You can also read my work today at Profy (NovelMaker, Mog vs LastFM), The Writer’s Well, and Smoke Rings. Enjoy!
If you are one of the many who are not at Apple’s famous WWDC conference right now, don’t worry. There are plenty of sources for up to the minute WWDC information you can rely on.
Gizmodo is running a WWDC live blog during the conference, which you can see at the Gizmodo website.
Engadget is running a WWDC live blog during the conference, which you can see at the Endgadget website.
See the complete list of WWDC live bloggers from Michael Yurechko.
iPhone Alley is offering a live audio stream.
Did I forget a site with a stream, blog or video feed? Let us know in the comments.
 The much anticipated WWDC is here, and Steve Jobs made one of many cool announcements: a new animated OS for apple. The software he used to illustrate the point, a disc burning software named Disco, blows smoke while it burns. Why is that cool? Because if you blow into your Mac’s built in microphone the smoke blows across your desktop. It’s not only animated, it’s reactive animation. Very cool.
At the annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Jobs will probably show off Leopard, a Mac OS X update due in October that he has promised contains “top secret” features. But perhaps the most important feature is one that has been overlooked by many Apple fans: a new set of tools for building program interfaces called Core Animation.
I can’t wait until Monday for the official unveiling of the rest of the features. Look to Apple Reporter to get the scoop.
[tags]apple, wwdc, steve jobs, animated desktop, os x leopard, disco, wwdc conference[/tags]
Who has the industry clout to bring Steve Jobs and Bill Gates together for an appearance on stage in what is an industry first? The Wall Street Journal, apparently. Their columnist, Walt Mossberg, has achieved the impossible: bringing Jobs and Gates together on stage at the Wall Street Journal’s D5: All Things Digital conference. What I would give to be in attendance there!
This is an historic moment in the technoverse. Two industry titans, normally at odds, playing nice for a day? Unheard of.
The tech titans from Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. didn’t even appear together when they announced a partnership that helped Jobs save Apple at Macworld in Boston 10 years ago. (Gates teleconferenced in remotely, appearing on a screen looming over Jobs.) It could be the first time they’ve been together in such a setting since Jobs famously interviewed Gates as a possible suitor for Apple’s new computer in an onstage version of the “Macintosh Dating Game” back in 1984.
So when is the big day? Wednesday at D5 is when computer junkies everywhere will get this rare treat. And what will be the big topic for the day? That is a hotly contested secret. Chic geeks everywhere are hoping for a true dialog on operating systems, the future of computing, the possibilty of bridging the Microsoft / Apple gap, future plans for each company, and so much more. Whether or not they delve that deeply into their 20+ year rivalry and look that closely at their respective futures remains to be seen.
I’ll update this post with links to transcripts and video of the historic meeting when they start appearing online after Wednesday’s momentous occasion.
Source Slashdot | Gates and Jobs to Share A Stage
DON’T FORGET TO ENTER THE MOD YOUR MAC CONTEST! CLICK HERE!
[tags]D5 All Things Digital, The D, Wall Street Journal, Walt Mossberg, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jobs and Gates, Conference[/tags]
At the shareholder meeting this week, Steve Jobs took the time to address shareholders’ questions on recent Apple news like the Greenpeace ranking, iPhone release, Mac OS X Leopard and more. Read more about it here from someone who was there. (more…)
From the Apple News Page, breaking news on the release of Apple’s next generation operating system, Leopard, and the release of the iPhone:
Apple Statement
iPhone has already passed several of its required certification tests and is on schedule to ship in late June as planned. We can’t wait until customers get their hands (and fingers) on it and experience what a revolutionary and magical product it is. However, iPhone contains the most sophisticated software ever shipped on a mobile device, and finishing it on time has not come without a price — we had to borrow some key software engineering and QA resources from our Mac OS X team, and as a result we will not be able to release Leopard at our Worldwide Developers Conference in early June as planned. While Leopard’s features will be complete by then, we cannot deliver the quality release that we and our customers expect from us. We now plan to show our developers a near final version of Leopard at the conference, give them a beta copy to take home so they can do their final testing, and ship Leopard in October. We think it will be well worth the wait. Life often presents tradeoffs, and in this case we’re sure we’ve made the right ones. [Apr 12, 2007]
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
It is possible that a release date of June 11 has been confirmed for the much anticipated iPhone. On CNET today a blog was posted that Cingular has confirmed the release date to CNET. If you contact Cingular directly, they do in fact, confirm the date of release, although they don’t have any further information. The date makes sense – it’s the opening day of Apple’s World Wide Developer’s Conference, so it fits.
Update: Or Not. According to suppliers of the components, the iPhone will not be ready in time for a June 11 release.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
Intel/Flash suggest new features for Macs? Maybe. This goes along with another rumor of how Flash might be used in a new line of “mini notebooks” that would use Flash instead of the regular hard drive.
Apple filed an RFID patent recently. I can’t say I stand behind RFID technology in Macs, as RFID is so prone to security issues and so easily hacked – it doesn’t fit with the hack-free Mac environment.
Apple is well known for keeping on top of any and all security issues by releasing regular operating system patches and upgrades. They have a relatively secure OS for a reason. They release the latest this week, 10.4.9, and the rumor surrounding it say it may be the last upgrade for Tiger prior to the release of Leopard.
I’m not sure why people are having fire issues with their Mac laptop batteries – I installed the recommended firmware update the moment I unpacked my little darling, and my MacBook runs cool. Regardless, people are having trouble, as evidenced by all the fires being reported.
Don’t forget! Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference is coming up in June 2007!
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
There is a little thing called the SXSW Interactive Festival going on right now in Texas. Maybe you’ve heard of it? If not let me fill you in.
This is geek heaven on Earth right now, with a Who’s Who of Interactive technology and media names, music and film and more. Everyone is there, from vlogging superstar Ze Frank (known Apple enthusiast) to music’s own Pete Townsend, film’s Eli Roth and everyone in between.
While the panels are in session, there are plenty of laptops and gadgets around. In fact, during at least one of the Interactive panels there was a multiple Apple sighting! Check these photos of the Mac attack out:
Don’t you just love seeing everyone’s favorite computer glowing in the crowd? I know I do!
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
Get a free Mac OS X Hints – Tiger video from MacWorld! Download found here.
And don’t forget to read this morning’s post about Daylight Savings Time updates for your Mac here.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
Bloopers from past Apple Keynote speeches. Pretty Funny. “Whoops!”
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
Apple has already announced it will hold a “special event” at NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) on Sunday, April 15, 2007. In the past these Apple events at NAB have given us the larger MacBook Pro (17″ model) and software like Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro and Motion. Already rumors are flying about what this event will bring to the Apple fanatics who eagerly await the reveal. Apple’s large booth, traditionally located at the entrance to the show, has also been moved this year to accommodate its increased size and a few undisclosed special features.
The biggest rumors surrounding the NAB show are that Final Cut Pro 6 will be unveiled (finally) in addition to a high end Final Cut Extreme specialty package that combines the hardware and software for the hefty price tag of $10,000. Speculation abounds that there will be optical drive changes announced for the MacBook Pro, in addition to a possible High Definition burner upgrade. Because Apple has been involved in Blu-Ray technology, it is assumed that this will be the High Definition format base of choice for the burner include. Hopefully Apple will continue on its path to increased market share and its history of user satisfaction and greater flexibility than the PC by offering a burner for both next generation DVD technologies and not just one.
To find out more about the NAB Show, visit the official site here.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
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