[vladinecko]

Originally Posted by txusa03

Only thing I see people complaints about apple is their laptop and desktop are priced very high compare to PC.

that is not true, anymore. i know there are some piece-of-shit laptops that you can get for $599 or desktops for $399 but you're basically getting an empty box that somehow works for a short period of time. with apple, their starting prices went down significantly in past couple of years. their low-end desktop that still gives you plenty of power is priced at $499 and you can get a really good laptop for just $999. i'm not trying to promote them here or anything, but the myth about apple having only high prices is just a myth now...

[vladinecko]

3 hours to keynote...

[txusa03]

I agreed with you. Apple has given consumers more choices now with affordable products that still provide solid dependable performance.

[eleven24]

Originally Posted by txusa03

I agree, it is a very good company and has very reliable products. in 2005, many pc users have cross over to the apple arena. I forgot what the percentage was but it was not a huge number of cross over but it took a good bite out of pc market. Only thing I see people complaints about apple is their laptop and desktop are priced very high compare to PC. But you get a solid good product for the price. I like apple eventhough I use pc 80% and apple 20%. I don't know as much in apple but I know they don't crash or get hit with viruses.

I speak from both perspectives, as I choose to use an Apple but am often forced to use a PC. I own a top of the line 17" Powerbook G4 and a single processor G5 desktop. I bought both systems new and they probably cost $5k combined. I also own a Toshiba laptop & a Dell desktop, which cost about $3k combined.

The difference between Mac & PC is the lifecycle of the products. Every 2-3 years I need to purchase a new PC because the once great latest and greatest system will become slow and sluggish. Conversely, prior to purchasing a new Powerbook (this past November) I was using a 5 year old Powerbook. Additionally, my G5 desktop - which is now 2 years old - replaced a 5 year old G4.

If you consider my situation, I spend about $5k every 5 years on Apple hardware. For PC hardware I'm spending about $6k every 5 years. When you consider this, along with the outstanding operating system Apple has, it's a no brainer why so many people never go back to a PC.

[eleven24]

Originally Posted by vladinecko

3 hours to keynote...

I'm warming up my credit card in anticipation.

[vladinecko]

1.5 hours to go now...

what do you think of that new rumor about 15" intel mac laptop? that beats the previous rumors of a 13.3" iBook...crap, i can't wait!

[eleven24]

Originally Posted by vladinecko

1.5 hours to go now...

what do you think of that new rumor about 15" intel mac laptop? that beats the previous rumors of a 13.3" iBook...crap, i can't wait!

I heard a separate rumor that the new Powerbook is supposed to be black aluminum (like the RAZR phone). That would look sweet. Oddly, I'm not too psyched about an Intel iBook. I want to see a media center... or an iPhone made by Apple, not Moto (Cingular removed the ROKR from their site last night).

Now if only I can figure out how to use the Nav screen in my E90 as a MacMini display!

Do you have the link for the keynote stream? (Even if it is after the fact)

[vladinecko]

they usually post it here so i believe it is going to be the case today as well.

i have a lunch meeting just when the whole thing starts, crap!

i'd like to see some kind of handheld device, like newton, but with today's technology. or a tablet pc. i'd get it in an instant

[eleven24]

FYI - Apple's stock jumped up $3.43 (4.51%) to $79.48 just 20 minutes into Steve Jobs' Keynote.

Announced so far -

* 4Q05 highest sales ever for Apple - $5.7billion
* 14mil iPods sold in 4Q05, which equates to over 100 iPods every minute 24/7 for the entire 3 months (WOW!)
* iTunes holds 83% market share...
* 850 million songs sold...
* 8 million videos sold...
* 40% of cars sold in 2006 will have iPod integration...
* new iPod remote w/tuner...
* OSX 10.4.4 w/new widgets today...
* iLife '06
* completely revamped iPhoto - allows "Photocasting" where others can subscribe to your photocast & automatically see your new photos via .Mac (thus the 1TB increase)
* updated iDVD - includes support for 3rd party DVD burners
* new to iLife 06 - iWeb - personal webpage creation integrated with the entire suite.
* Podcast authoring built into new garageband & iChat


...waiting for the "one more thing"...

[vladinecko]

holy shit!!! i wish i had like a million of their shares right now!

no groundbreaking announcement yet though! i also wait for the "one more thing" it better be good!

[eleven24]

Originally Posted by vladinecko

holy shit!!! i wish i had like a million of their shares right now!

no groundbreaking announcement yet though! i also wait for the "one more thing" it better be good!

Hey, I told you to get it yesterday It's now up $3.85 to $79.90 (do I smell $80?)

Where the *&#$* is the "one more thing"!!?

[eleven24]

Granted, it will come back down a bit but my God... up $4.29 to $80.34... and climbing. Steve Jobs certainly knows how to market his product.

[vladinecko]

i think the end still an hour away. he usually takes exactly 2 hours to finish the whole thing. i expect something major announced in the next 10-15 minutes because then he has to elaborate on it for some time too, show commercials, invite someone from intel to give a speech, etc, etc.

[eleven24]

1:07 PM Steve updates progress on move to Intel... out from a cloud of smoke walks a helmet clad man in a white lab suit w/helmet... ...helmet comes off & its Paul Otellini, Intel CEO .

"Steve, I want to report that Intel is ready"

Jobs: "Apple is ready too"...

Out rolls an iMac. Avaliable in 17" and 20". It looks no different, except.... under the hood are DUAL Intel Core Duo chips...


<SIX months ahead of schedule.... got that Mr. Gates?>

[eleven24]

I should really be working right now... lol

Now to $81.27, up $5.22

[vladinecko]

Originally Posted by eleven24

<SIX months ahead of schedule.... got that Mr. Gates?>

i hope he doesn't stay with just the iMac, they better introduce a laptop!

[eleven24]

They just showed an ad for Intel that goes:

"The Intel chip. For years it's been trapped inside ordinary PC's... Doomed to performing dull little tasks..."

LOL Right hook to the chin of Gates

Steve issues his "one more thing".

"For years we've been trying to shoehorn a G5 into a Powerbook..."

HERE IT COMES!!!

[eleven24]

and includes a name change. The MacBook Pro... with the same dual processor Intel chip that is in the iMac. 4-5x faster than current Powerbooks... 15.4" display as bright as a Cinema Display... includes an iSight on top

[eleven24]

Power adapter no longer plugs into computer - it is held in with magnets so if someone trips over cord, the laptop doesn't get yanked off the desk...

...also includes FrontRow built in w/IR sensor & remote

(looks like no iMini Media Center... maybe in June?)

[eleven24]

$1999 1.67mhz Dual Core Duo, 512mb RAM, 80gb HDD, 4x superdrive, airport extreme...

$2499 for faster model

Both ship in Feb.

[vladinecko]

i pretty excited about the laptop but the pricing kind of disappointed me.

also, i'm not sure if it's worth to order the first release of it. just like pre-septmber E90s. as much as i want it NOW, a part of me make me wait for an update first. i've owned every generation of powerbook to date, except the newest G4 one, so i'll see how long i can hold out from the new one.

[vladinecko]

by the way, apple stock is now at over $81. i think a lot of people will sell now at its highest which will draw it back down a bit but overall, i think they will be way up for the year...