One of the nerdy highlights for me in January is the Macworld Expo in San Francisco. It’s the traditional event for Apple to announce sweeping changes to their tech lineup. This year the buzz has been all about an iPhone, which didn’t really interest me at all. The irony is that I’ve already adopted many of the technologies the iPhone encompasses: I have a Tungsten E2 Palm device, an iPod nano, and a cheap cellphone. None of them needs replacing, so even the ultra-cool interface and widgets (WIDGETS!) of the iPhone can entice me to spend $499 to $500 on it. I mean, that’s like buying a luxury item. Like a PS3!
So unlike last year, where the Expo keynote got me so hyped up I bought a new-fangled Intel iMac within a month, this year left me wanting more. Where is the stuff I could actually afford? Where is Mac OS 10.5? Or iWork? Even iLife, even though the only part I use is iPhoto? Or 3rd party things like an Intel-native Adobe Creative Suite or Office (though I admit that listening to their speakers send chills up my spine; Steve Jobs just has so much more stage presence). Or even, you know, Macs?
Well, at least in a few years I can have a neat iPod-phone thing.