Why Macworld 2009 wasn't a dissapointment at all
Apple’s final keynote presentation at Macworld is behind us, and some tech pundits are already calling it a ‘snoozer’ and a ‘disappointment’. Wall St. also didn’t respond to favorably to Apple’s announcements, or lack thereof. But all of these critics are missing the bigger picture. The reason Apple has been so successful over the past few years is because it has adopted a strategy of releasing advanced and innovative products that it slowly but surely adds value to. Ever since Apple introduced the iPhone at Macworld in 2007, the hype and expectations surrounding every Apple event have grown to epic proportions. Apple essentially became a victim of its own success, and as can be seen with the reaction to this keynote, pundits started criticizing Apple for what it didn’t announce, while ignoring the products and advancements it actually did announce. That said, Phil Schiller’s keynote presentation yesterday may not have included an iPhone Nano that can start your car and do your dishes, but there were still some interesting and important hardware and software updates that shouldn’t be glossed over, and aren’t as ‘boring’ as people are making them out to be. While everyone is rejoicing over a DRM free iTunes Store or debating the merits of an irreplaceable battery, an impressive number of improvements to Apple’s iLife software are flying under the radar. iPhoto ’09 adds a number of new and exciting features such as geo-tagging, but the most eye-catching of them all is face recognition. Once a user tags an individual in a photo, iPhoto ’09 is able to analyze that person’s face, and subsequently tag all photos of that person automatically. While not a new technology, Apple’s implementation of it adds a few new wrinkles, and more importantly, makes it more accessible to the masses. Also noteworthy is Apple’s foray into the world of social networking with integrated support for both Flickr and Facebook. Over 700 million photos are uploaded to Facebook each and every month, and the new iPhoto makes creating an album as simple as can be. Users can now upload pictures to their Mac, select which ones they want, and create a Facebook album automatically, with tags and everything. The overall improvements to iPhoto exemplify Apple’s attention to detail, and one example in particular is the way that iPhoto ’09 handles slideshows – the new iPhoto uses ‘face detection’ to ensure that photos used in slideshows are positioned so that the faces of the people in each picture are centered throughout the slideshow. It’s also worth pointing out that Apple has further integrated its hardware and software by allowing users to create and download slideshows from iPhoto directly to their iPhone and iPod Touch. If there’s a better way to show off your photo library while on the go, I haven’t seen it. Now are these improvements as revolutionary as the iPhone? Of course not, but they’re darn cool, and they’re a perfect example of how Apple creates incremental improvements to its product line that create more overall value in its products. In a similar vein, iMovie ’09 has a number of improvements that will hopefully make us forget about the travesty that was iMovie ’08. The latest version of iMovie simplifies some otherwise complex editing tasks, while also introducing some professional level tools such as video stabilization. Overall, it’s a solid upgrade, and hopefully an indication that iMovie is back on the right track after a brief detour. As the keynote went on, Phil Schiller also introduced a new Macbook Pro with a significantly longer battery life, a DRM-free iTunes, and a significant update to iWork as well. Okay, I’ll admit a new iWork is boring, but otherwise, this keynote was only disappointing for those who expect a new iPhone model every 8 months. So while this wasn’t the most spectacular of Macworlds, it’s important to remember that the majority of Macworlds aren’t – but that’s not really the point. Apple doesn’t throw a knockout punch with every product it releases – no company does. Rather, Apple throws a few jabs to set up a knockout like the iPhone, and the updates to iTunes, iWork, the Macbook Pro, and especially iPhoto and iMovie, were all jabs that hit the mark.
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