MacWorld 2008
MacWorld 2008 starts tomorrow at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, and the rumors are running wild about the gear that Steve Jobs is going to unveil during his keynote address. Last week, Apple fueled the rumor-mill by releasing updates to its MacPro and XServe lines. Further fueling the fire is the tag line on banners raised by Apple at the convention center. It reads, “2008. There’s something in the air.”
Many geeks and fanboys have taken that enigmatic tag line and tried to figure out what sort of hardware it refers to. Hence, ideas about the “MacBook Air,” a sub-compact laptop.
I think they’re on the wrong track.
I don’t think “air” refers to a new moniker but an old one. Apple already has a couple of products with “air” in their names. Those are the AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express base stations. And what would be the something which is in the air? Data.
I think Apple is going to announce some sort convergance between its wireless routers and the AppleTV, which will include updated AirPort stations. WiFi, WiMax, and streaming HD video are some of the features I expect.
On the other hand, I’d love to see an ultramobile Mac. Having a form factor of the iPhone’s big brother, this handheld computer would feature the full version of MacOS X, and include a multitouch screen. That would rock, but I’m not getting my hopes up, because it’s rather unlikely.
