Our Sources: What We Learned
October 15, 2008
The event today was a good lesson for Mac Soda, in that we learned what sources we can trust and who we cant. We had two “scoops”: the result is below.
nVIDIA in MacBooks:
We completely nailed this one. Mac Soda was the first site to report that this would in fact be the chip Apple chose to use in their upcoming MacBooks. So to all the people who say we have no source: we do.
iLife and iWork Updates:
We completely failed this one. The source turned out to be bogus: after tracking his IP address, it was just a college student who tried to mess with us. He succeeded.
While its a bummer that we messed up the iLife rumor, its encouraging to know that we do have a source we can fully trust in the future. We expect another scoop out of this guy before the next Apple event.
Notebook Event: Reflections
October 15, 2008
– Why on earth did they not update the 17 inch MacBook Pro? It baffles my mind. If anyone, anywhere can think of a good explanation as to why it remains the same, and for the matter, more expensive than the new MacBook Pro, please tell me, because I can’t think of anything.
– Why did Apple update just the 24 inch cinema display and leave the 20 and 30 exactly the same? How much effort would that have taken them? If they had updated the 30 inch, I would have bought it. Instead, I must wait even longer.
– 999 for the MacBook. Really? Try 799. If they had bumped it an extra 200, they would have sold a ton of them. At least the combo drive is gone…
– I love the new MacBook Pro design. It is unbelievable. It is perfect in every way. Apple is the best. But why no 17 incher?!?
– Apple, I love you, but you baffle me sometimes. Why is the 17 inch model the same!
– Sorry if I appear to be stuck on the 17 incher, but I can’t figure out why it didn’t come.
Overall event score: B+
A 17 incher would have made that an A, and a 30/20 inch ACD update would have made it an A+
Keynote Liveblog!
October 14, 2008
Mac Soda’s Keynote Liveblog will kick off at 9:30 PST! I will be posting my thoughts on the event as it happens, so don’t miss out! You can also discuss parts of the event you like and don’t like via the comments.
Oh, and we will make sure to call Bingo if we get it…
And We’re Off! Click the Read Link for Our Updates!
Boom! (Updated Like Crazy)
October 14, 2008
This is Mac Soda’s crazy, random, and out of control live blog. We will be posting updates until the keynote, so keep clicking refresh: because a lot is going on!
Are You Excited?
October 14, 2008
Because I am! What product are you looking forward to the most? What do you think will be Steve’s “one more thing”, if there is one? Do you think there will be any surprises, or do you think the event will be underwhelming? How do you plan on watching the keynote? Sound off in the comments.
Speculation: Glass Trackpad
October 12, 2008
I want to make this clear from the start: THIS IS SPECULATION. This is not something I heard from a source: this is shear speculation. That being said, if you think you can bear to read the whole article without telling me how stupid I am for believing this as fact, click the read link.
iLife ’09 and iWork ’09 For Tuesday?
October 11, 2008
Click Above to Buy iLife 09 Now
I just got the latest version of iLife, iLife 09, and am very impressed. You can see my whole review here.
For those of you who aren’t in the market for a new laptop, and thought you were going to make it through this event without spending money, we’ve got news for you. Mac Soda has heard that iLife ’09 and iWork ’09 are going to be announced this Tuesday. Similar to last year, when Steve introduced the iMac, and then branched off into the iLife and iWork updates, Steve is expected to do the same thing this year, announcing the iLife/iWork update with the introduction of a new laptop. We were not told any specific features this update will include, so your guess at this point is as good as mine, but we would assume it will be fairly substantial.
Click Above to Buy iWork 09 Now
Mac Soda’s Final “Spotlight” Predictions
October 9, 2008
Today Apple sent out an invitation two days late for an event scheduled on October 14th at 10:00 AM PST. Mac Soda posted it’s early predictions for this event a few weeks ago, and I think it was pretty close to what is going to happen. Nevertheless, I felt the need to update them today, so that they can be as close to the truth as possible. So without further ado, I give you, Mac Soda’s final predictions.
Note: Many commenters are saying that we are simply taking information from around the web and posting it. While most of the things here we have posted with our independent knowledge, a few things, such as the MacBook Pro’s graphics card and amount of RAM, is speculation, or is taken from a reputable Apple blog who we can trust. If you have any questions about what is Mac Soda’s, and what is speculation, shoot me an email, or ask me in the comments.
MacBook
The MacBook's enclosure will look something like this...
Enclosure: Despite popular belief, Mac Soda believes that the outside enclosure will not be made of aluminum (UPDATE: 9 to 5 Mac has heard the same thing). Similar to the iMac, we believe that the exterior will be made of black, iPhone-like plastic, but the inside will be made of aluminum. Expect the machine to be slightly thicker than a Firewire port (.5+ inches).
Screen: 14 inch, 16:9, LED display, with an iSight camera with improved quality at the top.
Keyboard: Chicklet keyboard, similar to the one it currently has, but backlit (more like the MacBook Air’s).
Trackpad: Glass! More advanced gestures.
Processor: The processor will be from the Centrino 2 family. Expect 2.1-2.4 GHZ speeds, but improved battery life to go with it.
RAM: Up to 4 GB.
Graphics Card: As reported first by Mac Soda, the MacBook will replace Intel’s integrated graphics card with nVIDIA’s. Read more about it here.
Ports: MagSafe, Ethernet, two USB ports, mini-DVI, audio in/out, Kensington slot.
Optical Drive: Expect an updated Superdrive, with support for Blu-Ray.
Bonus Goodies: Possibly a smaller power adapter.
Price: As we predicted earlier, expect the MacBook to drop fairly significantly in price. We are expecting a 300-400 dollar price cut, pricing the MacBook at 699-799 for the base model.
MacBook Pro
Enclosure: All aluminum, all the way around, like it is today. It will be about the same thickness as the MacBook (.5 inches+).
Screen: 16 inch, 16:9, LED, iSight for the base, and 18 inch, 16:9, LED, iSight for the top model.
Keyboard: Chicklet keyboard, backlit.
Trackpad: Glass. Advanced gestures.
Processor: Centrino 2 family, up to 3 GHZ, Quad Core offered, improved battery life for all models but Quad Core.
RAM: We anticipate that the MBPs will allow for up to 8 GB of RAM.
Graphics Card: In order to please video professionals like myself, Apple will definitely offer a better graphics card than they do now. We have not heard exactly which cards they will offer.
Ports: ExpressCard/34, audio in/out, mini-DVI, two USB, FireWire 800, Ethernet.
Optical Drive: SuperDrive updated to Blu-Ray!
Bonus Goodies: The obnoxious latch the MacBook Pro has now will be replaced, as will the denting power button. The sound quality will be improved greatly, as Steve has been obsessing over sound lately. Potentially a new Firewire standard.
Price: While I wouldn’t be surprised if the price stayed the same, I believe that the MacBook Pro will boast a 1799 starting price.
MacBook Air:
Enclosure: Same as it is now. If it changes, I would be very surprised.
Screen: Same.
Keyboard: Same.
Trackpad: Glass. More advanced Gestures.
Processor: A better, more efficient, 45 nm, faster, processor will be added to the air.
RAM: 4 GB.
Graphics Card: Not much improvement, if any.
Hard Drive: Bigger, and cheaper.
Optical Drive: Nowhere to be seen!
Bonus Goodies: Can’t really think of any…
Price: 1499 (or cheaper).
iLife + iWork
5 days seems like an eternity…
It’s On!
October 9, 2008
The spotlight turns to notebooks! Hamza Barbouche informed us that Apple has released an invitation to a special event on Tuesday, at 10:00 AM. The invite came two days later than anticipated, giving me the pleasure of reading many hateful comments telling me how terrible I am, but nevertheless, the event is happening, so as promised, here is the caption closest to the one Apple put on their invite…
“New Books for everyone”
– Mackan
I’ll post a link to my favorite Live Blogs, along with my last minute prediction list, in the next couple days.
MacBook Pro Leaked Picture
October 8, 2008
Stop the presses. Engadget has uncovered a leaked picture of the new MacBook Pro from the forums of MacRumors. If this is real, which I think it is, we can see that it is made from a solid brick of aluminum as 9 to 5 Mac reported, it will have a clicklet keyboard, and more importantly, that it is extremely thin! Judging by the distance between the headphone jack and the top and bottom of the laptop, it appears that the laptop is at least half as thin as the current model. Also notable is that it appears there are two Firewire 800 ports, and no Firewire 400 ports, which, if true, would be devastating for me.
Now that we see the picture, the question arises: how much longer until the product is announced? We didn’t get an invite yesterday as I had anticipated, which eliminates the opportunity for an October 14th launch, the 21st is already reserved for the conference call, meaning there is no shot of seeing the laptops then, and its unlikely we will see an invite come out that day as well, meaning October is not looking like the month the laptops will be announced. I think we all should bank on a November launch: and if not then, I guess we’ll all have to wait until MacWorld.
UPDATE: Many of the commenters are suggesting Apple will release the laptops without an event. While nothing isn’t possible at this point, I am very doubtful Apple would do this. If an SDK, a new iPod, and a new iMac qualifies for an event, I think a complete redesign of Apple’s best selling computers is worthy.
Mac Soda 