On making MacWorld predictions
Tomorrow MacWorld SF will kick off with the annual keynote address where Steve Jobs traditionally showers the loyalists with new products. So sing along...
It's the most wonderful time of the year...
Along with it comes the speculation, rumors and wish lists for everything from new phones to flying cars, though that was a joke at lunch about how wild people's guesses are. I get irritated by this because it gets to the point of religious fervor and when Apple fails to deliver on some dream machine it's seen as a disappointment.
For the next few weeks the parts of the blogosphere I hang out if get jaded and harp on perceived flaws instead of the real improvements. A year ago it was the MacBook Air, costing more, but delivering less power than an ordinary MacBook, with it's non-removable hard drive and a lone USB port. It was certainly doomed to failure, destined to be the next Cube right? Apple already addressed those user needs with the MacBook and MacBook Pro, the Air was for people who wanted a really light weight Mac. I know several people who made just such a compromise and the Apple Store online ranks it as a better seller than the Mac Mini at the moment.
Rumor has it the 17" MacBook will get updated to the new look (I didn't think it would be eliminated, the focus was just to get the consumer laptops out for the holidays) and will have a non-removable battery. Though a non-removable battery has never doomed an Apple product it hasn't stopped the vocal minority from harping on it anyway.
Chuq Von Rospach wrote about how much of a non-issue it is, with a bit of history and asking how many people change their battery anyway? He's already got a string of comments which miss the point entirely and insist a removable battery is important.
I wanted to make another point about the same Venuture Beat quote he starts with.
One of the biggest complaints about Apple's iPhone is that you cannot remove and replace the battery yourself.
My biggest complaints are stability and the time it takes the camera to start up, both of which were better under the 1.x software, but leaving that aside and getting to the battery...
This complain the battery should be removable is just asking to treat a symptom, not the real problem: battery life. The iPhone 3G, iPhone, MacBook Air, iPod, iPod Nano, iPod Shuff, iPod Classic and iPod Touch, are all slimmer for having done away with a removable battery.
