The MacWorld Predictions

Intel iBooks or widescreen iBooks

Intel PowerBooks or iMacs

MacMini DVR / media-center

FrontRow 2.0

iLife '06

Enhancements across the existing apps

Garageband and iMovie (podcast enhancements?)

FrontRow added?

A small "mistake" on the GarageBand web site may have revealed this one along with a new "iWeb" addition? Possibly a web site creation app.

color iPod shuffles

Maybe with a small screen

Maybe not as 1GB Shuffles are now back in stock at Apple online store

AirPort Express for Video

A spanish listener noticed this in the help viewer for Airport Express after running the latest update:

"Control de la calidad de reproducción en tiempo real de audio y vidéo"

translated to english is something like:
"Real time quality control for audio and video playback"

"Instant on" booting using NAND Flash memory and Intel Robson cache technology.

Think sort of how the iPod or Newton boot almost instantly.

I have one listener who insists they have "insider" info that this is true.

Apple plasma HDTVs (Totally fictional?)

O'Gradys PowerPage

powerpage.org—Plasma Mac

42 and 50-inch plasma HDTVs with DVI-HDCP and VGA hookups. Intel VIIV computers with Mac OS 10.4.4 for x86.

$2599 and $3299 respectively.

Frontrow 2.0 w/DVR included.

iPhone?

Additional MacWorld info

No Live video stream from Apple, but the video should be posted immediately following the event.

.Mac will be undergoing scheduled maintenance, so the speculation that Apple is added feature to deliver media content, especially movies, are still going strong.

Adobes Aperture competitor, Lightroom

Aimed a photographers Adobe says it's “the efficient new way for professional photographers to import, select, develop, and showcase large volumes of digital images."

Designed around a workflow methodology and has four modules:

Library to manage and organize

Develop for color correction and image manipulation

Slideshow. Also for creating web galleries.

Print. Contact sheets, templates, etc.

Looks like it is a little more slimmed down and targeted than Aperture

Written ground up and is Cocoa based, but does not use Core Image. Public BETA is NOT Universal binary, but Adobe promises Intel support.

Public Beta for Mac should be available on Adobes site today (1/10/2006).

Adobe Lightroom Beta

Widgets on your iPod?

Macsimum News is reporting on a January 5th patent filing from Apple.

macsimumnews.com - iPod Widgets

“Widget authoring and editing environment."

One part describes, "Widgets will be able to run on a “handheld computer, mobile device, consumer electronic device or the like.”

Lego Mindstorms NXT

Saw these at CES and the new generation will come with Mac support standard

The current version you can order the OS X software from LEGO Educational Division

LEGO Robolab 2.5.4 for OS X

The RCX brick will have direct USB transfer (no IR) and Bluetooth

New sensors including a sonar sensor

Available in August 2006 for $250.00 USD

Apple laptops don't fair well in "reliability" study

An informal survey of 10,000 iBooks and PowerBooks done by Macintouch

macintouch.com - Laptop Survey

This had some startling results

41% repaired (lifetime), with 22% in first year, 18% in 2nd-3rd year

Fewest Repairs:
* original (colored) iBooks
* PowerBook G3
* 12" PowerBook G4 (2005)
* 12" iBook G4 (recent models)

Most Repairs:
* iBook G3 (esp. in 2003, motherboard defects)
* 15" titanium PowerBook G4 (esp. in 2003, optical drive, case/latch/hinge)
* 15" aluminum PowerBook G4 (first version, screen defects)

These results seem to contradict what you hear about the quality and reliability of Macs.

People who complain are more likely to take the survey

Certain models have had issues in larger numbers.

Sandvox a new web development app from Karelia

Karelia, the makers of Watson the original Mac "web services" app.

www.karelia.com - Sandvox

The new have a public BETA of a really cool looking web site creation tool.

Looks like it has some really nice templates, a great UI and "pagelets", little segments of code for adding video, audio, RSS, etc.

The obvious comparison is to RapidWeaver

realmacsoftware.com - RapidWeaver

iPod Film Festival

The Flux is holding the 1st iPod film festival

theflux.tv - iPod Film Festival

Submit films under 10 minutes in these categories: Student film, Indie film, Family Clips, and Music Video. By January 25th. 2006.

You will be able to download, view and vote on the films beginning February 1st, 2006.

Microsoft OS X... oh, I mean Vista.

Had a chance to see this at CES

It would have been nice to see one item that wasn't "borrowed" from OS X. Doesn't Microsoft have like a gazillion dollars?

Video of MIcrosoft marketing audio synced with OS X video screen captures showing the OS X equivalent of Vistas "revolutionary" features

Vista Parody Video Part 1
Vista Parody Video Part 2

Still won't be out until the end of the year.

Good news is the must really know a good OS when they see it.

Follow-up: Mac equivalent to Norton GoBack

I suggested Mac Shield Enhanced and an Apple Store employee wrote to say that is what they use at their store to protect systems from customers.

centuriontech.com - Mac Shield Enhanced

Many suggested Faronics DeepFreeze. All changes are eradicated on a reboot.

faronics.com - DeepFreeze

Works with Apple Remote Desktop

apple.com - Remote Desktop

If you are a real UNIX geek there is a set of command line tools called Radmind. These allow remote administration and the ability to watch for and reverse changes.

RadMind

Follow-up: iMovie HD transitions with "popping" audio

Lots of confirmation of this issue so something Apple is going to need to address.

Play solution from Starfire

I will try to post additional suggested fixes and work around to the Followup section of the MacCast forum

www.forum.maccast.com

Free Soundseeing Tours of San Francisco

If you are at MacWorld and from out of town, Chris from the Amateur Traveler is doing audio tours of SFO

amateurtraveler.com

They are available in his Podcast feed and via his web site. He also has Google maps with photos to accompany the tours.

Getting "status" in Apple Mail

Listener Nick asked about something that took me a long time to find when I first started using Apple Mail. How can you see the progress when you are sending/receiving mail.

Activity Viewer. You'll find it under the 'Window' menu. The shortcut is Command (Apple) + 0.

Podcasting + Books = PodioBooks

Free audiobooks great new delivery method.

www.podiobooks.com

Play promo from Evo