Macworld SF 07 preview in HD

It's that time again - Macworld, as I write this it about three and a half days till Steve walks out on stage lifts his hands and says welcome. Apple has had both good and bad press lately but people will continue to buy the innovation that comes out of Cupertino. Journalism is mostly the chronicle of facts and events; the bigger picture is called commentary. Accurate commentary usually comes long after the buzz is gone and by then few people care.

My predictions:  First of all, whatever Steve rolls out this year will be improved in successive versions. While I am no guru in the Mac community I am a user of Mac's since their inception in 1984; the amazing disk swapping 128K Mac; yes folks thats "K". We've come a looonnnnggg way! So what are we going to see? I think Video, some sort of video device beyond the iTV which will undoubtedly better the tivo method. It could be the rumored widescreen iPod; I am calling it the iPod HD. Said device may or may not include the following: Wireless streaming, Connectivity with things like address book, iCal and email. In general a better experience of viewing video. Questions do remain such as; do you hold the thing in your hand, does it have a dock on the side. Leopard ship date will be announced with  the new secret features revealed and a few revelations that will now make sense. As with all new OS deliveries, it will get better over time. A key to Apple's strategy is that they are a computer company who of late has used media to leverage it's position in the marketplace. Audio, Video, Photography and Design all play a key role in their approach. Unless there is something really new I don't think they will burn keynote time on minor upgrades to the desktop and laptop lines. They will make those later; simply announcing on the website. So what about the phone? I am really torn on this one, so many people want it for the obvious syncing and usability improvements that Apple is likely to make. If it's ready we'll see it, how's that for a dodge.

As I reflect on recent keynotes and announcements the trend I see is slow and steady. So this year I am guessing that Macworld will be both more and less than we expected.