New Apple Products

Boy, writing a book is not as easy as it sounds. Sure, I have been doing this Mac writing gig for almost a decade now, but book writing is a different beast all together. Not as much fun, and not the instant gratification you get writing online. But it does pay the bills much better, let me tell you. My problem right now? Finding enough iPod software that my publisher wants to include on a CD-ROM. There is like, a hundred iPod programs for the Mac and Windows, but most of them all do the same thing.

A bevy of new products from Apple was announced in the last few weeks. There was a time when any new Apple product announcement would have filled me with oodles of goody-good feelings, but nowadays, not so much. Here are the new Apple products that were recently announced.

Airport Express
A cool concept, a mobile 802.11g wireless base station that allows you to stream your iTunes to your stereo, share a printing, and connect to the internet. It plugs right into the wall, which is very cool. Very small, very handy. Great for mobile users, as it can easily fit in your laptop bag.

I know there are some who are really excited about this product. I wish I were, but it just seems too, I dunno, 2002 to me. It is also way overpriced. Maybe if it were priced around forty-bucks, rather than the $129 than it is, I would be really geeked about it.

PowerMac G5 upgrades
So now we have a dual 1.8GHz G5 for $1,999, a dual 2.0GHz for $2,499, and the new top-of-the-line G5 dual 2.5GHz for only $2,999.

First, all the new G5’s are dual processors. That is great, will make short work out of all but the most demanding tasks, though they won’t let you browse the internet any faster. And the price is very competitive with the PC world on a feature-to-feature basis.

As an owner of a G5 (single 1.8GHz model) I don’t feel any compelling desire to get one of these machines, even the dual 2.5GHz. Why? Because Mac OS X is STILL not a 64-bit operating system! Apple has YET to release an operating system that takes advantage of the hardware I ALREADY have, let alone an even faster processor. Will the next version of Mac OS X, version 10.4 (Tiger) be a 64-bit OS? I don’t know. But until Apple actually makes a matching OS for their hardware, I refuse to get a new Mac anytime soon. Personally, I think this is a ridiculous situation, and Apple has really dropped the ball here.

GIVE ME A 64-BIT MAC OS X ALREADY!

iTunes 4.6
What’s new with version 4.6? The ability to send your tunes wirelessly to the above mentioned Airport Express. And, from my own experience, the application does launch faster now. Otherwise, besides a few minor fixes, nothing new here.

So there has been very little out of Apple as of late to get me really exited. Apple has made no bone-headed mistakes I am aware of, so I have nothing to complain about. (Besides the above mentioned 64-bit OS X, but that is an old complaint on my part.) Apple has not released any “WOW!” products since GarageBand, so I have had no desire to run home to play with the latest Apple toy. So my writing about Apple, or the Mac, has been lax for quite a while.

Third-party vendors, on the other hand, seem to be doing fantastic. There has never been a better time to be an iPod owner, for instance, with the unbelievable amount of third-party products out there for it.

GarageBand websites are seeing great growth, as more and more people are now using their Macs to produce some really great music from home.

The iTunes store continues to offer a better collection of music of very diverse flavors. Which is great for me, a person always on the outlook for something new to listen to. I really enjoy listening to other users iMixes, and have found a lot of new and interesting artists that way. Very cool, indeed.

Back to the book writing, I suppose!