Emperor Jobs is revitalizing his kingdom’s army! Actually, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc., just announced the revitalization of many of Apple’s products during a press conference on Oct. 20, 2010. The releases include an update to the Apple operating system, Mac OSX, the MacBook Air line of laptops, and some of the Macintosh software, including the iLife suite.
Mac OSX 10.7, dubbed “Lion,” is not a huge evolution from “Leopard,” but it has taken quite a few steps in the right direction in terms of the user interface. One example is the push for fullscreen functionality in all programs, meaning the programs fill the entire window without borders, making use of all available space. Apple also introduced an App Store for the Mac line up, hoping to build on the success of the wildly popular App Store for iOS devices. Another change for the operating system is a feature Apple calls Mission Control, a new way to keep track of the goings on in the user’s computer. When Mission Control is activated it spreads all windows and applications out so they can all be easily seen and managed.
The Macbook Air update was the biggest at the Apple event, revitalizing a laptop that has not seen an update for two years, which, judged against Apple’s other products, is a long time. The changes include a big 13.3 inch brother to the 11.6 inch notebook, a new, thinner design, extended battery life and a revolutionary storage system. Some pundits have called the thin front edge of the computer “sharp enough to cut yourself on,” but Apple is marketing the world’s thinnest laptop as being super portable. Along with the new battery, which is capable of powering the Macbook Air for up to seven hours on a single charge, Apple has also brought innovation to the realm of data storage. Instead of making space for a solid state drive and it’s enclosure within the laptop’s case, they attached only the flash chips to the motherboard, thereby taking up only half the length and a fifth of the height.
The last of the releases at the conference was an update to Apple’s iLife software package, which includes iMovie, iPhoto and Garageband. A relatively minor update, these applications got UI updates, usability improvements, and a few more features.
As with all of Apple’s product releases to date, the October event was open only to a select few reporters and industry experts, by invite only. As in the past, many of the reporters were “live blogging” during the event, getting audio, pictures and quotes out to the curious public via overloaded WiFi and cell signals. However, Apple decided to stream live video to the internet making it substantially easier for the common “Apple fanboy” and tech enthusiast to keep abreast of the proceedings.
