Article and photos by Dave Game
 Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced a new pay-for-play version of iTools called .Mac (dot Mac), an August 24th date for the OSX update known as Jaguar, a $1999 17" flat panel iMac, a 20 GB iPod, and lower prices for some iMacs and iPods.
At Wednesday’s Keynote address kicking off Macworld Expo New York, Jobs also detailed a new series of applications intended to extend Apple's digital hub, including iCal, a calendar application which allows your events to be organized by lifestyle; iSync, an application which allows the iPod, cellular phones, and Palm computing devices to be synced together en masse; iChat, an AOL compliant chat application which allows you to exchange contact information, transfer files between chat members, and do other life synchronization events; and a new version of iTunes, which allows you to rate music and track how many times you've played a song, among other categorizing functions.
Most of the new applications are available online, and as with the other Apple iApps, are free.
Apple also announced the re-launching of its heretofore free iTools service, renaming it dot Mac, and charging $100 a year for e-mail and an expanded range of services, including an iDisk which is expanded to 100 MB. Current iTools members can sign up for the first year at half price. dot Mac will be launched in September.
The announcements were made before an audience of thousands of Mac enthusiasts and media representatives in what’s become Apple’s semi-annual blue print for the next six months. Jobs concentrated most of his nearly two hour keynote on software, particularly the features of OSX 10.2, once code-named but now officially called Jaguar. Even the OSX logo, until now a stylized Aqua X, has been changed to a Jaguar-skin X you could see everywhere.
JAGUAR
The next generation of OSX will be released August 24th and will cost $129. There was no mention of an upgrade price for current OSX users, and employees at the Apple booth could not answer questions  posed by Gold Coast Mac regarding the possibility. Buyers of Macs between now and the release will be eligible to get Jaguar for $19.95.
The OS sports a claimed 150 enhancements and improvements, including a multi-threaded finder which allows for faster operation, QuickTime 6, which brings the new MPEG4 video standard to the Mac, and a completely re-worked version of Sherlock, which concentrates on a new role as an Internet concierge, because Jaguar finally brings the role of finding things on your computer into the Finder, with a find search box added to virtually every window.
Sherlock 3 adds mechanisms for tracking stocks, snagging news, find movies playing in an area (along with the film's poster and a trailer), eBay locating and bidding, finding restaurants and maps, and more. If you’ve seen the shareware utility Watson, you’ve seen much of what the new Sherlock will do, and Jobs says even more expansion is in the future.
Jobs and Apple’s Phil Schiller showed Rendezvous technology, an open standard, which automatically discovers devices over any IP network without any configuration. It will do things like share music between Macs, and use network printers without confusing configurations. Epson, Hewlett Packard, and Lexmark have joined Apple in supporting this and plan to build the technology into their printers. iTunes will get the technology in 2003.
The much criticized OSX Mail program has been beefed up, allowing multiple accounts and a sophisticated Spam filter. Technology known as adaptive latent semantic analysis will go through and figure out what is junk mail. Jobs explained that it works automatically, but users can teach it to make it even more efficient.
Also beefed up was the OSX Address Book. There's a fast edit mode, sophisticated searching, and hot links to maps, iDisks, and more. Since Jaguar integrates Bluetooth short range wireless networking technology, you can actually dial phones from the Address Book. If someone calls you, you'll get a popup message on your Mac screen, and you can even send a text message in reply.
IChat instant messaging is also built into Jaguar. Rendezvous technology works with iChat to go out and find people and help build buddy lists. Web addresses can be embedded in iChat messages, and files can be sent to people with whom you’re chatting. You can even drag and drop URLs into the utility and do file transfers.
NEW APPLICATIONS
Jaguar got a warm response, as did a number of new applications Apple will offer.
iSync lets you synchronize address books and calendars between your Mac and a wide range of devices, including properly enabled cell phones, iPods, and Palm OS handhelds. The technology allows you to updated multiple devices at once, and provide the ability to automatically sync a device when it’s attached. It will be a free download available in September.
ICal is a calendar which allows you to have different calendars for home, office, and personal events, and even share calendars on the internet. Users can publish calendars on the web, and can even check for updates and make changes so the web versions are always current. iCal will also work with iSync to keep mobile devices current. It requires the Jaguar upgrade, and will be a free download available in September.
Available today is iTunes 3, which brings smart playlists to users, as well as compatibility with Audible.com. Greater sorting and categorizing features are included, as well as support for Apple’s newest iPods.
HARDWARE
An update to the iPod line was one of only two hardware announcements made in the keynote. New on the table is a 20 GB iPod, thinner than the original, and a revamped 10 GB model with the same design. Both feature a new, solid state jog control, and updated software. The FireWire connection is now protected by a door, and both units now come with accessories, including a case. The 20 GB model lists for $499, the 10GB model drops to $399, and the 5 GB original iPod, in the original case and without accessories, now drops to $299.
The only other update in hardware came in the iMac line, which got a beautiful 17 inch flat panel display. The bigger display drew applause, but it also drew a bigger price tag, $1999. It will be available in a few weeks. The current top of the line iMac, with a superdrive and 15” flat panel, now drops to $1799, while the two other 15” screen models remain at the same price.
GET REAL
While Jobs touted the benefits of MPEG 4 with an impressive demo, much applause was also given the announcement that Real Player is now available for OSX as a download. Apple allowed Real Networks to do a demo at the keynote, and the results were impressive.
 BYE BYE iTools
The normally enthusiastic Expo crowd sat on its hands for one announcement, the word from Jobs that Apple is re-naming the free iTools online tools to .Mac (dot mac) and giving it a price tag of $100 annually. The news follows the lead of Microsoft and its dotNet service, but Jobs promised to do a better job at delivering services. There is a core of new services added to existing iTools webmail and home page publishing, including an iDisk expanded to 100 mb, virus checking, and an online backup service. Jobs promised other services would be added in the future, and said current iTools members will get a 50 percent break in price for the first year.
.Mac will launch in September, and those who don’t ante up to keep their currently free iDisk and mac.com e-mail addresses will apparently be left in the cold. That was the reaction the audience had to the change, withholding even polite applause when Jobs finished his demo on the changes.
Gold Coast Mac leaders attended the Keynote and spent the day visiting with developers on ths show floor. GCMac was given private demos of some of the newest software innovations, some updates for old friends, and a look at some neat new hardware such as hard disks which can record video directly from  FireWire cameras. A number of OSX versions for popular programs are being released at the show, and we'll continue our meetings with the developers to get the details and bring them here to you as time permits. Thursday, members of the GCMac team have appointments with a host of software companies eager to show off their new offerings, and, of course, the team will be scouring the show looking for the unusual and the fascinating.
FILEMAKER 6
GCMac representatives have already started meeting with developers, spending an hour Monday with representatives of Filemaker. The company gave Dave, Rose, and Esver a tour of the new Filemaker 6, which implements the ability to import pictures to a database directly from most digital cameras. The filemaker team showed how users can build a picture based database, by setting up a database template and then importing an entire folder of pictures, creating an entry for each one. The new capability has implications for businesses who need to capture images into a database in realtime, as well as collectors who want to import and categorize large groups of images. Filemaker 6 can even import the data about each picture stored by digital cameras, such as the date and exposure information.
The Gold Coast Mac team was impressed with this major improvement, which takes advantage of the ease of use of OSX. Filemaker 6 also now uses the XML languages to allow developers to create scripts which can import data from previously unavailable sources, such as websites. The company is releasing a number of templates to highlight this feature.
Filemaker 6 is available now, at $299 for new buyers, and a special discount price.
Cross platform users note: Even thought the box might not note it, Filemaker is cross platform, and each disk includes versions for Mac and Windows.
USER GROUP UNIVERSITY
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We all scream for Ice Cream!
A cool way to start UGU! |
User group leaders from across the US and Canada gathered Monday in New York for the fifth User Group University, a program to help give user group leaders tools to make their groups more fun and effective.
Those who arrived early enough took part in an Ice Cream Social sponsored by CZ Robertson, the independent meeting planner Apple uses to help make its user group events run smoothly.
CZ has formed a company with two friends called All By Myself, which produces 'how-to' videos for toddlers and young children completely in iMovie.
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| Garr Reynolds and CZ Robertson welcome the UGU Members |
CZ and Apple User Group Program manager Garr Reynolds took to the stage at the event, showing highlights of the video and bringing a laugh with a blooper reel of the kids used in making the videos. The Ice Cream Social was designed to get people into the swing of the day long session of seminars, including four sessions featuring members of Gold Coast Mac, who have been presenters at virtually every User Group University since the first was staged two years ago in New York.
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| GCMac Team at User Group University with Garr Reynolds |
While the sessions offer a full day of work, events like the Ice Cream social allow User Group leaders to network and to get to know each other, the first step in exchanging ideas for making user groups more effective, and more fun.
July 2002
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