Michael Braun's Blog

It was a really, really good Keynote this year. I doubt it will top last year’s (recall a little thing called the iPhone), but I think that it is quite solid in the new offerings. With all the talk about the MacBook Air (strange name, by the way; MacBook Nano would have been way cooler), I suspect you all might think that I’m all about that. And sure, I do think that it’s a pretty sweet piece of hardware. But as I commented on Tony’s blog, I don’t think it’s small enough to actually be a real competitor to replace my MacBook. Same screen size+thinner = still too bulky to slide in my pocket or stack with some books.

No, instead, the most exciting thing I think that Jobs announced was movie rentals right thru iTunes! Why is this so awesome? A few reasons.

1. The price points are great. $2.99 for older titles, $3.99 for new releases. That’s cheaper than Blockbuster. If you’ve got an AppleTV and HD-TV, you can watch them that way. Or, just watch them on your computer screen. Lauren and I have done that plenty of times while streaming television programs.

2. The portability is awesome. Picture this – you know you’ll be traveling. You can go ahead and rent some movies on iTunes, download them to your iPod, and be all set for the car or plane ride. You’ve got 30 days to watch the movies and a full 24 hours to complete the film once you start watching it. Or, how about this? You’re traveling and stuck in an airport in desperate need of some entertainment. You can quickly and easily rent a movie on your laptop and watch it that way. Or, maybe you’re off in a hotel room in need of something to do that evening. There are so many ways to get movies to where you are, it’s amazing!

3. Apple puts their elegance on another idea. People have been renting movies for a long time, but now it seems that Apple has come along and made the process quick, seamless, and easy. Sure, Netflix offers movie streaming, but I envision their process as difficult, bug-ridden, and expensive. With Apple, I have none of that fear. I’m sure their movie rentals will be simple and easy to use. Maybe just like other services, but now I don’t have to find out. Apple provides me with a service that I didn’t even know I wanted.

Anyway, with this new rental stuff in place, I don’t believe there is anything holding me back from buying a new iPod Nano. I love my old one, but am definitely ready for an upgrade, especially if it means easy, portable video. We’ll see how the other announcements impact Apple sales, but I predict the movie rentals to be a huge hit.

The Keynote will be starting soon! I’m following it from these websites:

http://www.macrumorslive.com/

and

http://live.gizmodo.com/

Oh man, today is the one day of the year that I am completely proud to be a Mac Geek and not afraid to admit it to the world! It’s Steve Jobs’ Keynote address at the annual MacWorld Conference! Much rumors have been flying around about what will be released. I’ve been reading a lot of them and offer below what I think will most likely be announced.

1. New Notebook Computer. With a small screen (perhaps 11 inch widescreen), flash memory, and a nice low weight, this guy will be priced between the MacBook and MacBook Pro (meaning it’s a bit too much for me to go out and purchase on a whim).

2. iTunes Movie Rentals. I think they are missing a huge opportunity with the AppleTV if they don’t offer an ability to rent movies thru iTunes. Hell, I’d rent them and watch on my computer screen. I hate leaving the house on a cold, cold night to go to Blockbuster.

3. AppleTV Update. Maybe so that it can actually be used on non-HDTVs! But probably not. Instead, higher capacity, more functionality, something. This will go along nicely with the iTunes rentals.

4. New Cinema Displays. They’ll include an iSight Camera and the IR port for FrontRow.

4. One More Thing. But I don’t know what it will be. Maybe an update to the iPhone, but probably not. I’ve also read about possible update to the AirPort Express (maybe even to use N wireless!), but I don’t know if that is Keynote worthy.

Anyway, I hope you are all excited!