WWDC ‘06
It’s that time of year agian. The time of year when a young man’s fancy turns to love Apple. Once again we have arrived (metaphorically speaking) at Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference. As usual the rumor mill has been running overtime in churning out rumors of everything from the plausible to the insane.
We have rumors on the expected features for Leopard. New Intel-based PowerMacs MacPros are nearly guaranteed. The ever-pervasive iPhone is being bantered about. And of course, you can’t have a conference without an iPod update rumor.
Here’s what I think…
Look for some great features in Leopard with an improved UI and better Finder and I am sure there will be something unexpected that will make it a must have (ala Dashboard or Spotlight). I just want them to really blow the doors off of Vista (which still suffers from Fisher Price Syndrome). I also hope that they really optimize it for the new Intel processors. The rumored virtualization would be awesome as well. Intel-based MacPros are definitely going to be announced.
I really hope that they announce a Merom-based upgrade to the MacBook Pros. I am set to buy one this Fall (since my school is working out a deal that puts Apple’s educational discount to shame) and having a Merom upgrade right before I buy would make my day &8212; big time.
I don’t think we will see an iPod update. Firstly, because this is a developer conference and not a consumer affair. And secondly, because Apple is running their “Buy a Mac. Get and iPod” back to school deal through September 16th. They may update the iTunes Music Store with movie rental/purchasing, but I don’t feel like an iPod update is in the cards.
As much as the iPhone idea appeals to me I don’t know if it will happen. I really like the iChat Mobile mockup that circulated last week. If that is true i would absolutely love it. I just hope they make it affordable.
It’s now 2 hours to go time so we’ll see how my predictions hold up. Check back for my reactions to today’s announcements.