WWDC 2012apple

If you think Apple ran out of gas with the passing of Steve Jobs you ought to take a look at the most recent keynote from WWDC. I suppose it is possible that these products are the cleaning out of the pipeline of the last few products the great one presided over. But even so I think a couple of things are obvious. Jobs created a culture that can survive without him. The other thing is that the Apple approach to design and close integration of software and hardware works. So long as the Apple approach meets the needs of the consumers and does not have to adapt to new times the company is going to remain a juggernaut. What amazes me is dthat companies have not begun making strides to imitate the core element of their success and that is integration at all levels.

Ok... That aside lets take a look at what Cupertino served up.

1. Fairly standard MacBook lineup hardware refresh with a move to faster cores, graphics and SSD technology. Prices lowered or remaining the same. Absent and later confirmed as no longer in the lineup is the longstanding odd child of the family, the 17" MacBook. Now whether you are in the small dedicated minority of those who see this machine as a one of the kind system unable to be replaced by smaller options or one of the many non-initiated who think they serve the same purpose for geeks that ferraris do for investment bankers... Let us observe a moment of silence for the apparent passing of this remarkable machine. Because if there was anything both groups could appreciate about the 17" inch MBP is that it was an incredible machine. I myself am an owner of the penultimate generation of this beast and have had a love hate relationship for it and find myself at a difficult cross roads for trying to decide on what my next machine will be... Which of course brings us to a very likely candidate.

2. The introduction of a next generation MacBook Pro that is classic Apple in that it is not a common denominator formula machine. This new box is attempting to read the tea leaves of the future market of professional mobile work power or perhaps more likely attempting to shape that landscape. Gone is the optical drive. Gone is the FireWire port, gone is the express card slot, gone is the Ethernet port and gone is the platter based hard drive. In addition to the same updates announced in the rest of the line you can say hello dual thunderbolt , dual USB 2/3 capable ports, HDMI, SD card slot, svelte form factor damn near as thin as the air consumer level machines, and last but definitely not least... HELLO 220ppi laptop retina display. If laptops were playmates this one would be playmate of the year because it's specs and designs are pure techno porn. Apple has continued its regression ( Or perhaps march in regaining) a fully customised internal component design across its products. While this is causing a great deal of controversy re: self upgrades and repair ability there is no doubt this marks the continuing return to the roots of the company as a designer of hardware. That aside this is not just being driven by Apples desire to do a whole lot of expensive redesigning as much as it is a necessity if Apple wants to continue to distinguish itself from the competition. Things have reached the point in laptop design that the exterior dimensions are largely a function of the standard components being housed inside by everybody.. So the only way to significantly change the exterior dimensions became the customisation of the internal components. I suspect the cost of this redesign and related machining changes in addition to some fundamental tech limitations is what killed the 17" machine.

3. OS X is moving to mountain lion and the name of the game is integration. Facebook, iCloud etc... And of course Retina HiDPI support. Safari in particular got a lot of updates. Also of note is the increased symmetry between OS X and iOS as dictation, notifications, reminders, iMessage etc have all made their way to the full OS.

4. iOS development continues apace with the introduction of a fully functional navigation solution, increased SIRI abilities, and some pretty nifty user friendly modes of operations that are finally moving beyond simple silent mode or not. A major move is afoot to present iOS as a Chinese friendly solution which is pretty damn important for anyone that might be envisioning a future where iOS is universal.

So having become a firm acolyte of Cupertino devices... will I be jumping on the new Retina MacBook? Not sure yet to be honest. I have seen the new screen in person now and it is impressive. It is still a mirror but it is noticeably muted in comparison to the older panels with an independent glass front. It is still not as good as the matte option screen but it might be bearable. The scaling system seems to work extremely well with none of the typical fuzzy or awkward edges endemic to current systems when not displaying native resolutions on an LCD panel. However no matter how many pixels it has it still is physically smaller than my current 17" screen and that is the catch for me. It does have a 1920x1200 mode... however In the past I had a 15" 1920x1200 screen and even with 20/20 vision I ultimately had to admit it was just to small for comfortable use. On the other hand switching between the scales looked to be very snappy and zooming options are much better supported these days. Might could work. But ideally... for someone like me that utilizes screen space with multiple windows a large percentage of the time the loss of physical space compared to the 17" is quite possibly a deal breaker. I understand the financial and technical realities that likely drove the demise of the 17" system but that does not make me stop wishing for a 17" Retina MacBook Pro. I will put it this way. If they had simply updated the 17" the same as they did the other MacBooks I would opt for it over the retina 15". As is I may opt for the Retina system due to a lack of a better alternative.

To Apple Care or not to Apple Care? Phones and iPads are mostly no-brainers on this front with AppleCare+ but I have never really been tempted on the laptop front. In general the design choices Apple made just made this laptop far LESS likely to suffer from a failure during a 3 year extended warranty period. If Apple adds accidental coverage to Apple Care for the retina macbook I would suggest getting it if you will be hauling it around with you a lot. On the other hand if it is largely just component failure coverage I would not sweat it to much. Any fundamental design flaws will surface in the included year of coverage all devices come with. Now that spinning discs are gone the next most likely failure is the battery and a battery replacement will be much cheaper than the $350 for the laptop Applecare. The only caveat to this is if in the next couple of weeks we find out that mass production has introduced issues that compromise the thermal management system. Though in that case I would advise just avoiding the Retina MBP all together.

Finally there is a good reason to not pony up for the New Retina machine. Ivy bridge is a nice processor line but the Haswell architecture may be worth the wait if you are not in need of a new machine. Perhaps more importantly is when Haswell lands Apple will also certainly increase the graphics horsepower. The current setup is capable of running the screen but it is definitely being pushed to the limits. So far this device looks like it is avoiding any major new device gremlins but it is still a device on the edge or what is possible and with that comes some headaches. The 2nd gen of this device has a good chance of being a very very nice machine.

Other than the iOS and Macbook upgrades and Retina display Apple also Previewed Mountain lion. The merge of iOS and OS X continues. I am wondering if Apple will never ship an OS XI and instead choose to go numberless from iOS and OS become simply OS. One of the upgrades that has my attention is supposedly multiple screens will be handled better than the current blank linen screen that has myself and many others screaming in frustration when trying to use full screen mode in Lion.

Google Glass: Next big thing or another scrap heap addition for VR?

Well first off I suppose VR is an inappropriate term. The new Google Glass project is part of a growing field of devices and technologies aimed at AR or Augmented Reality as opposed to the older awkward vision of Virtual Reality. The main difference is the mobility of the user. VR was and is aimed at transplanting a static user into an immersive digital world. AR is about taking the technology out into the real world. The technology is really a bit older than you might think and in many ways is already far more successful than VR. If you have ever seen a Heads up Display in action you have seen a form of AR. Lately smart phones that use cameras, accelerometer, and GPS to overlay information on the world around you have become as common as your nearest iPhone or similar device. Google Glass wants to take the next step and instead of having us look at a screen like a phone, they want us to wear a headset with a display ready and waiting just outside of our eye line... ie look up and perhaps a bit to the right and there it is. The clunky design of eye wear displays seems to be slimming down considerably judging by the early prototypes breaking cover though battery life remains as a major stumbling block to a truly svelte design powerful enough to rest comfortably in the design space afforded a pair of glasses.

How big a deal is this? Consider it this way. If the brains of this device is your phone then it doesn't have to break its way into the market so much as present a strong case for its use in conjunction with equipment you already have. So think of the phone as just a mobile computer. It has entertainment, directions (GPS), contacts, communications etc... It could for example connect wirelessly to your car and allow you to control music, conversations, display trip information and basic operation information like speed, temperature, warning signals etc... All in an integrated display you take with you everywhere. IE Get into another car and the experience is the same. Sit on the sofa and control your TV or other entertainment system. When playing a movie or video game be able to see ancillary information if desired. Provided the optics are accurate enough imagine walking through a grocery store and shopping with a running total that updates as you place things in your cart or put them back on the shelf... displayed against a pre-set budget amount and reminders of special occasions (little pete likes hotdogs for his birthday in two days etc...). When you get to the counter it helps you compare the cost expected vs what rings up and works via NFC to authorize the transaction with a real time update on your remaining bank balance/budget etc... imagine walking up to a vending machine and browsing the nutritional value information of the items inside and selecting one without touching the machine. Imagine getting onto an elevator that knows what floor you need based on the person you are in the building to see and it has directions provided as you navigate the building including a detour to the nearest restroom. When you see something you want a picture of you can decide to keep the last few seconds of time being constantly recorded or snap a higher quality still shot (also possibly happening periodically or based on surprising changes (guess at something interesting). Imagine it running facial recognition on anyone you engage in conversation and helping you remember someones name or connections to you.

There is a LOT of promise in something with a quality camera, an unobtrusive always there display and access to the internet and other smart phone type information. It will also change a lot of notions about what constitutes privacy.