Macworld Thoughts

So Macworld finally happened without Steve Jobs. In similar fashion, nothing really mind blowing was announced today.

I would say the most significant announcements to me would include the fact that iTunes will be DRM free by the end of Q2, but you have to remember all the songs are encoded at 256kbit/AAC, which precludes you from using them on any device other than an Apple one without transcoding them first. Also, not all songs will just be $0.99 anymore. Instead, there will be a 3-tiered pricing scheme in which the more popular songs will be priced higher compared to lesser known bands, which makes sense when you think about how strongly the music labels think about DRM.

In addition, the fact that the new Macbook Pros will not have a removeable battery is pretty risky unless they've really improved the battery overall. My 15" Macbook Pro had to have its battery replaced after only one year as it could no longer hold its charge. In addition, the magsafe power adapter doesn't really "play well with others" and you don't really have an option that I know of if you want to plug into some other portable power source.

I also find it funny that iPhoto got an overhaul just after Google released Picasa for OSX just the other day. Includes face recognition, Google maps like functionality for geotagging, and more.

Now to wait for Snow Leopard.