Apple Makes Me Excited
To be honest, the announcements that have come from the last WWDC and MacWorld weren’t all too exciting for someone like me. Unlike most Apple customers, consumer electronics (iPod, Apple TV, iPhone, etc.) aren’t my major focus (though I will admit that I love owning those products as well).
Instead, I’m a Mac user to the core: I love Apple’s computers and software products. Which is why Steve Jobs’ announcements today have made me more excited than I have been about Apple in over a year. Let’s find out why:
Mac Mini: I’m not using a Mac Mini, but I’ve been trying to get my parents to buy one for quite some time. While it may not have received a mention in the keynote by Jobs today, it’s nice to see that they’re refreshing the Mini. Maybe I should go and buy one for my mom.
Keyboard: The one reason I’ve stuck with my Macbook rather than going to buy a Macbook Pro is because I absolutely love the Macbook keyboard, and I can’t picture myself using any other style of keyboard. Luckily, the new keyboards that Jobs announced today use the same layout.
iMac: I’ve been looking for a desktop computer for a while, but have held out from buying an iMac because I had always heard a big update was on the way. Turns out, it wasn’t a lie. I have a feeling there might be a new 20” iMac on my desk in a few months.
.Mac: I’ll admit that I’m not a .Mac user, and I’ve heard nothing but bad things about the service in the past few years. While Apple’s .Mac refresh seems to be a good one, I’m still holding out for when Jobs announces a Google-Apple partnership for .Mac.
iLife: I became overwhelmed with my iPhoto library size a few months ago and stopped using the product. The new update for iPhoto should help me manage my photo collection much better. In addition, the new iMovie finally does everything I want it to do - including YouTube integration - quickly and easily. Fantastic software upgrade for Jobs here, even when the previous version of iLife was still miles ahead of the competition.
iWork: My favorite piece of Mac software just got better, and Jobs at the same time threw a big F-You at Microsoft. With the addition of Numbers, a spreadsheet tool, and a word processing mode for Pages, there really is no reason to wait for Office anymore.
So that’s a lot of gushing there, but really, you can’t blame me, can you? These are the kinds of products that people like me - Apple computer junkies - salivate over. Be expecting a new iMac with new keyboard and new iWork and iLife on my desk pretty soon.