This is the second time that I have stayed up to somehow take part in an event by Apple. The first one was in September of 2007, when they unveiled the new iMacs and iPods, including the iPod Touch. I stayed up pretty late then… and the way things are going now, it seems that I would be doing the same the second time around.

For those wondering, I am going through the experience via the live blogs of Engadget, The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) and Macworld. Thanks for the excellent coverage everyone!

Time Capsule

Airport Extreme + hard drive… not bad. I’ve been thinking about ways on how to fully utilize Time Machine wirelessly, and it seems that the Time Capsule is Apple’s view on the subject. I have even gone to the point of researching on the various routers and NAS. Too bad I just got an external hard drive. I guess I will have to wait and see how things go with this one.

iPhone upgrade

Maps, Google, customizing the home screen… we’ve heard of it before, but this time its official. iPhone software update v.1.1.3

iPod Touch upgrade

With all the available software via hacks, its amazing how Apple has decided to charge current owners of the iPod Touch USD$20 to add Mail, Maps, Stocks, Notes and Weather. Man, and I thought the wait for this type of news would be worth it.

iTunes movie rentals

A hit for the rumor mills. Its good we will be able to watch in anywhere we want, be it a Mac, PC or iPod.

Apple TV Take 2

The little project on steroids. We can now do more on the Apple TV, and it doesn’t even need to sync with a computer. Photos from Flickr and .Mac can be viewed too. Best part of it is working with the iTunes movie rental feature, we can rent movies in DVD quality or HD, with 5.1 sound. This, plus content in your iTunes library = Cool.

Macbook Air

I must admit, I didn’t think the rumors about the Macbook Air were true… mainly because the name didn’t really sound right. Although the iPod Touch did seem a bit awkward sounding to me at first too.

This thing really is thin… Steve Jobs opening a manilla envelope with the Macbook Air in it. The stuff circulating about a strange trackpad with multitouch turns out to be accurate.

What seems to be the most promising is the actual absence of an optical drive. When the need for an optical drive arises, you can just “borrow” one from another Mac within your wireless network using Remote Disk, and it will act as your own. This does sound pretty good. But just one thing… what happens when you’re outside your wireless network and nowhere near a friendly Mac or PC?

Consumers out for really thin notebook computers will probably lap up the Macbook Air. But the lackluster processor, insufficient storage and the absence of a separate video card will probably take the prosumers to the Macbook Pro side of things.

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