iMac Keyboard iWork 08 iLife 08... my thoughts
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
The announcements Apple made yesterday made a lot of people happy, disgruntled a few and for myself, well, it was mixed feelings. As promised, I would love to share my thoughts, it may leave you wanting to add something in the comments, so feel free.Well, to kick things off, Steve Jobs did a grand job, nothing could have made me happier than seeing how Steve delivered the news. Sitting at my desk, the iMac amazed me. Great specification, better pricing, well worth while to upgrade with the new graphics and processor power. Then Steve delivered a big blow, that word 'glossy'. Do not get me wrong, the MacBook glossy screen was fine, so why not on the iMac. I suppose it was just that my screen of choice is matte. Although I will most likely buy an iMac, it would be great if there was a matte option, but there is not, so I could never see myself using it for pro type work.
The keyboard that now accompanies the all new Macs (except the mini) is fantastic. I love the slimline design and having had a MacBook, the flat keys are nice and very easy to get used to. Two USB 2.0 ports is also a welcome addition, as are the quick keys that have been added. The wireless Bluetooth 2.0 version is also great, and due to its compact size will be a great companion for laptops.The Mac Mini also got a revision, but nothing to really shout about. Speed bumping the Mini at least means it'll be around a bit longer. Shame it didn't get some graphics love, maybe a dedicated GPU, even at 64MB would have attracted a lot of users. If Apple ever added dual display capability this little wonder would be an even greater success.
On the software front, at last we got iLife and iWork 08. The new iLife adds some fantastic new features. For myself, iMovie sounds fantastic, having just got a lot more involved in video work for Geekanoids, I am very keen to try it out. The improvements to iPhoto also sound very interesting. In the past I have only ever used it to quickly import photos and never really organised my photos properly, so my task when my software arrives, is to really get organised using the new Events and better Keyword features.
iWork 08 is also on my review list. I used previous versions, but never really stuck with them. This was really due to using Quark Xpress for my page layout and TextEdit for everything else. Another promise to Apple coming up, that apart from the review of iWork, I will stick with it and give it a chance to shine. The addition of Numbers also made perfect sense, and if it works in the style I would expect, should negate the need for anyone to invest in the new MS Office, when/if it ever arrives.Yesterday was a great day for Apple and they really delivered on all fronts what all Mac users have been waiting for. At last we can sit back and start enjoying the new software and hardware, content that the software will be safe for a while, and that new hardware is just around the corner. Many thanks Steve and the rest of the Apple team, on behalf of all your fans.
Labels: Apple News, Opinion
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Dave
Dave has been in the graphic design industry for 14 years. Long time reviewer of technology related products, he is Owner/Editor of Geekanoids.
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