MacWorld

2nd Event – While CES has a much wider array of Apple-centric products/solutions than this year's Macworld/iWorld, the event was still an opportunity for the fans to see what all of the iTalk was about and to renew old acquaintances.

If you spent a few days in SinCity for Macworld I (CES) to see the star-studded array of Apple-centric hardware, software, semi-ware; it sorta' took your breath away.

Then you go to San Francisco to see Macworld II to see a lot of the same only with a dramatically smaller venue.

At Macworld I, there were thousands of booths and hundreds of thousands of people jamming in booths, standing in cab lines and hoping for a dinner reservation.

At Macworld II, there were hundreds of booths, thousands of people checking out stuff with credit cards in hand, hailing cabs, eating at charming out-of-the-way restaurants.

The biggest news at the event wasn't the stuff on the floor but:

• Apple's blow-out results for the quarter in sales/profits
• Apple's huge cache of money (nearly $100B) sitting in offshore accounts
• Apple passing HP in PC sales
• The assertions that Apple didn't care about the working conditions for employees at their suppliers (fortunately, Cook subsequently and vehemently said wasn't true)

January 7, 2009 --At the Consumer Electronics Show and Macworld Conference and Expo, Shure Incorporated today unveiled the SE115, the newest, most affordable, and most colorful member of the Company’s acclaimed family of Sound Isolating Earphones. The SE115 arrives in four vivid hues – Blue, Pink, Black, and Red – and at a $99 price point. Already a likely icon for its aesthetics and affordability, this newest earphone, like the Company’s other SE models (SE210, SE310, SE420, and SE530), is most remarkable for how it reproduces sound. Read more

During the past five years, Shure has delivered a personal listening experience unlike any other, making the brand synonymous with exceptional sound quality. While many have tried, none have been able to achieve the same combination of reliability, comfort, portability, style, and audio performance without compromising one requisite for another. Now, with the SE115, creative Shure engineers have achieved a new breakthrough and fit a dynamic driver capable of delivering incredibly rich bass into the sleek, compact form factor once only attainable with a smaller driver.

January 7, 2009 -- Sling Media is demonstrating a version of SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone being developed for the iTunes store at this year’s Macworld. Sling Media will deliver a version of SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone to Apple for certification in Q1.

Sling Media is also unveiling a prototype of the new SlingPlayer for Mac HD which allows Slingbox PRO-HD users to stream HD content to their Mac desktop or laptop computer. The new SlingPlayer for Mac HD is a web-based version of the SlingPlayer software that will be accessible from Sling.com, Sling Media’s recently launched video entertainment web site. Sling Media can be found in two locations at this year’s Macworld: The Mac Developer Pavilion- South Hall, #1438 (next to Apple) and the Digital Media and Multimedia Pavilion: North Hall #3526-Q. Read more

January 6, 2009—Apple today unveiled the new 17-inch MacBook Pro featuring a durable and beautiful precision aluminum unibody enclosure, and a revolutionary new built-in battery that delivers up to eight hours of use and up to 1,000 recharges for more than three times the lifespan of conventional notebook batteries. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro has a high resolution LED-backlit display and the same large glass Multi-Touch trackpad introduced with the new MacBook family in October. In addition, the new 17-inch MacBook Pro includes state of the art NVIDIA graphics and the latest generation Intel Core 2 Duo mobile processors. As part of the industry’s greenest notebook family, the new 17-inch MacBook Pro is made of highly recyclable materials, meets stringent energy efficiency standards and is made without many of the harmful toxins found in other computers.

“We’ve developed new battery technology that is better for the user and better for the environment,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Apple’s advanced chemistry and innovative technology deliver up to eight hours of use on a full charge cycle and up to 1,000 recharges.”

Apple uses advanced chemistry, intelligent monitoring of the system and battery, and Adaptive Charging technology to create a revolutionary new notebook battery that delivers up to eight hours of wireless productivity on a single charge and up to 1,000 recharges without adding thickness, weight or cost to the MacBook Pro’s incredible design.* The longer battery lifespan equals fewer depleted batteries and less waste, which is better for the environment. Read more

January 6, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Apple today introduced iWork '09, the latest version of Apple's popular office productivity suite, which adds powerful new features without sacrificing Apple's legendary ease of use. Keynote '09 introduces advanced object transitions, which automatically animate objects with a choice of effects and Magic Move, an innovative way to create sophisticated animations just by applying a simple transition. Pages '09 features a new Full Screen view that helps you focus on your writing and an outline mode to organize your thoughts. Numbers '09 introduces a quick way to group and summarize data and a dramatically simplified way to create complex formulas. Apple also announced iWork.com public beta, a new service Apple is developing to share iWork '09 documents online.

"Millions of Mac users have fallen in love with iWork," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "With iWork '09, Apple continues to demonstrate that innovation is possible in office productivity software, and that creating impressive presentations, documents and spreadsheets doesn't need to be complicated." Read more

January 6, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Apple today introduced iLife '09, which features major upgrades to iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand, and includes iDVD and an updated version of iWeb. iPhoto '09 builds on the ability to automatically organize photos into Events by adding Faces and Places as breakthrough new ways to easily organize and manage your photos. iMovie '09 expands on the revolutionary super fast movie creation introduced in iMovie '08 by adding the depth users want through powerful easy- to-use new features such as the incredible new Precision Editor, video stabilization, advanced drag and drop, and animated travel maps. GarageBand '09 introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar with 18 basic lessons and optional lessons from top artists such as Sara Bareilles, John Fogerty, Norah Jones and Sting. iLife '09 is included with every new Mac purchase and available as a $79 upgrade for existing users.

"iLife continues to be one of the biggest reasons our customers choose to get a Mac," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "With iLife '09, we've made working with photos, making movies and learning to play music a lot more fun, and iMovie users are especially going to love the advanced but easy-to-use new features." Read more

January 6, 2009 -- Building on its success of creating products with exceptional innovation and design, HP today unveiled a broad portfolio of consumer and business products designed to provide an unsurpassed customer experience.

Announced just ahead of the opening of CES 2009, the world’s largest annual tradeshow for consumer technology, the new HP lineup includes thin and light consumer notebooks, a high-performance desktop, a durable business mini PC, colorful accessories and a photo printing application for the Apple iPhone.

HP additionally announced a contest for CES attendees. Highlights of the announcements include: Read more

January 6, 2009--Etymotic Research, the inventor and world leader of in-ear high-fidelity earphones, is showing all of its iPod earphones and iPhone headsets at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco, January 6-9, 2009, in booth #2418 South Hall.

“Etymotic Research has a longer design cycle than most companies,” said Mead Killion, Ph.D., founder and president of Etymotic Research, “but when we introduce a new product, it usually receives widespread acclaim – which happened again this year with our hf2 iPhone headset. In fact, the ER-4 (developed in 1991) received another Editors’ Choice Award this year.”

Here are some Etymotic Research highlights for 2008: Read more