Anthony Frausto-Robledo (afrausto@architosh.com)

3 Jan 01

Architosh's Crystal Ball: MWSF 2001 Keynote

Alright! none of us really know what Steve Jobs may pull out of his hat at Macworld SF this year. Or do we?

What we surely know is that Apple needs a show stopper. We also know that some product lines are in desperate need of a refreshing and that Jobs himself said that the best product line in his career is coming up for 2001.

So here's my predictions for MWSF 2001 Keynote:

1. New PowerPC 7410 G4 -based PowerBook (all new enclosure - show highlight). May run at speeds up to 800Mhz. Must have for mobile users.

2. New Power Macs with V'Ger G4 processors running at up to 800Mhz. These feature two embedded AltiVec units which means four AltiVec units on dual G4's. This will make a tuned OS X scream! We may also see new enclosures for the Power Mac line as well.

3. Mac OS X Feb. 24th Ship Date Announcement. Demo of new features.

4. New iMusic Application (Does for online music what iMovie does for video editing).

5. New DVD Authoring Application (will work with iMovie and Final Cut Pro)

6. New Mac OS X Server (will replace AppleShare IP 6.3). May not ship until Feb.

Pretty Full Plate So Far, No?

7. QuickTime 5 and Final Cut Pro 2.0 Introduced.

Ok, About 2 + hours into keynote now...

But wait, there is one more thing!

8. Mystery Product between PowerBook and iBook. Cube Book? Who knows, your guess is as good as mine but something will fill that spot come January 9th.

In the process of introducing most of these items Apple CEO Steve Jobs will no doubt talk about Apple's strategy for 2001, its new strategies for the education market, its new software strategies related to Mac OS X Development and its new ad campaign for OS X.

We will likely see new TV commercials on a new ad strategy for both the new PowerBook G4 and the new mystery product. We may even see ads for Mac OS X. Once again Jobs will gauge the success of each ad with audience applause metering ;-)

Overall this is going to be a great show (quite possibly the best Macworld keynote ever, though I personally feel that will come in New York next summer).

What do you think? Did I miss anything serious?