Mac opinion. Punditry. Whatever.

I got to meet my fellow MacJurors face-to-face at Macworld San Francisco 2010 for a live version of the MacJury podcast. Host Chuck Joiner and our panel recorded the session live on the floor of the Moscone Center — in the Music Theater stage, to be more specific — in front of a live audience. The panel consisted of Tanya Engst, from TidBITS and TakeControl Books, Ted Landau from Macworld and The Mac Observer, Jeff Gamet from The Mac Observer and the Design Weekly Podcast and yours truly. The audience was super, the conversation lively and it was a typically fun session. Thanks to all who attended and for Chuck for putting it together. The session — in all its video glory — is now available on the MacVoices.tv website.

I just wrote a post for The Mac Observer as part of a series on how the site’s staffers use their iPhones. (My contribution is Part III of II; you have to read it to understand.) Here’s a snippet:

One of the best things I’ve found about the iPhone is that it’s not really a separate device at all – it acts as an extension of not just my Mac at home, but of the accumulated knowledge of the human race. OK, that’s a bit hyperbolic, but that’s the way it feels. Before the iPhone came out, I wrote about the need for a “convergence device” – one that could be used away from my home Mac, but allowed me to access its power and functionality. The iPhone has very much become that convergence device for me. And that convergence has, well, converged even more over time, thanks in large part to the over-the-air synching capabilities rolled out via MobileMe and the speed of 3G networking.

The full article is on The Mac Observer — Don’t forget to read parts 1 and 2 for some insights from more “regular” staffers like Dave Hamilton, Bryan Chaffin, Bob LeVitus, Jeff Gamet and others.

I joined a great group of Mac pundits for a session of Chuck Joiner’s new MacVoices TV podcast. It’s a 20-minute or so round table discussion about Apple’s last Macworld keynote and Phil Schiller’s performance as a substitute for Apple CEO Steve Jobs. The panel included Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus, Mac author and columnist for the Houston Chronicle and The Mac Observer, Terry White of Adobe, Adam Christianson of the MacCast and of course, Host Chuck Joiner.

I like the video format and I think Chuck Joiner’s onto something here. Video’s bound to have a different set of obstacles, especially once the panelists are no longer in the same location, but the production values so far have been pretty good and improving. While podcasts are likely to remain a commuting activity (and therefore audio-only) for me, seeing the panel is a lot more compelling than just hearing them. It will be interesting to see how the format works over Skype, but given Chuck’s track record, I’m optimistic that he’s got another hit on his hands. For the video-resistant, the show is also available in an audio-only version through the MacJury feed.

I’m back from what was a very interesting Macworld, and possibly one of the best. (It was surely one of the most exhausting.) I delivered three sessions this year (well, one session delivered three times), and they seemed to be very well received. The crowds were definitely smaller than I expected — an observation I heard repeatedly at the show. But just from the timing, it seems to me that the decrease in attendance was more a result of the economy than Steve Jobs’ absence.

I also wrote a column for The Mac Observer — an opinion piece on my reflections on the Phil Schiller keynote. I also took part in a MacJury/MacVoicesTV session on the same subject. I haven’t seen this posted anywhere yet, and it’s probably past the point where it’s relevant anymore. I love the idea of doing video, but if it’s going to mean this kind of delay in making it available, it’s probably better to stick with audio. Who knows — maybe I was so awful that host Chuck Joiner decided to scrap it altogether.

Finally, the band I’m in — the Macworld All-Star Band — played our 11th Macworld gig and our sixth Cirque du Mac show hosted by The Mac Observer. The party, originally meant as the successor to the Mac the Knife parties, has taken on a life and mystique of its own. This year, we had caricaturists, a superb light show by Andrew Stone — and even a trapeze artist. Attendance jumped from 500 people jammed into the Red Devil Lounge to 850 in the very stylish Broadway Studios. I think we sounded great and I know we had a blast. It’s an incredible group of very talented people who have become some of my dearest friends in the world: Paul Kent, IDG vice president and the executive in charge of Macworld; Dave Hamilton, president of Backbeat Media and The MacObserver; Christopher Breen, Mac author and senior contributing editor for Macworld magazine; Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus, Mac author and columnist at the Houston Chronicle; Duane Straub, former administrator at Lawrence Livermore Labs; and Bryan Chaffin, executive vice president at The Mac Observer.

Apple’s latest financial results call was an interesting one on several fronts. Indeed, I think it may be looked upon years from now as a milestone in the company’s history.

Why? Mainly, because it marks a clear point in time where the company stopped being a computer company and started being a consumer device maker. As Steve Jobs pointed out in a recent keynote, Apple is a company that stands on a three-legged stool. Macs — computers — are obviously one leg; iPods are the second; and now, iPhones make up the third leg of that stool. The analogy is an apt one. Apple’s not a computer company that makes iPods and iPhones as a side business: the three-legs more or less equally support the company. As Apple reported, iPhones made up 39% of Apple’s business (using the non-GAAP figures — we’ll get into that in a minute.) That’s an astonishing statistic. In just 15 months, the iPhone has become the biggest single contributor to Apple’s bottom line, with lots of room to grow. iPods account for 31% and Macs themselves make up the smallest portion of revenue at 30%.

A brief word on GAAP
A lot of Apple-watchers are getting a quick lesson in economics over the company’s decision to use GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) and book the revenue generated from its iPhones (and Apple TV’s) using a subscription method. That means that rather than booking the entire revenue generated from a sale in the period in which the sale was made, Apple spreads out the value of the sale over 24 months. In its interpretation of the rules, Apple believes that method allows it to provide free software updates over the course of those two years, rather than having to set a value for them. That’s why iPod touch owners have to pay for the updates that iPhone owners get for free. The company doesn’t make more of less money using either method; it just gets counted differently. So, if the revenue generated by iPhone and Apple TV sales did not have to get spread over two years, Apple’s results would be even higher. That’s why the company also reported what its results would be under non-GAAP accounting. As Jobs said in the call, the iPhone story was “too big for Apple management or investors to ignore.”

So, adjusting for non-GAAP reporting, take a look at Apple’s performance in the fourth quarter over the past three years.

Fourth Quarter Revenue (non-GAAP)

• 2006: $4.84 billion
• 2007: $6.22 billion
• 2008: $11.68 billion

The growth is stunning and illustrates a truly transformation period in the company’s history.

Wither the Mac?
I think this is wonderful news for that first leg of the stool, the Macintosh. It gives Apple a lot more breathing room than if it remained primarily a computer company. The diversity brought by the iPod and iPhone is insulating. It means Apple does not have to have a huge hit with every computer product. It means it has the luxury of being innovative, of spending money on R&D (Forget not, either, that the company has no debt and cash on hand of $25 billion — an increase of almost $10 billion since just last year.) And let’s not forget that much of the innovation on the other two legs of the stool begins or is to some extent reliant on what Apple does to the Mac. It’s a symbiotic product mix that I think Apple views in a holistic way, so I don’t see the Mac going away any time soon.

A few other notes
Steve Jobs couldn’t resist delivering the news in person that Apple outsold BlackBerry maker RIM in this quarter, and that by revenue, Apple is now the third-largest mobile phone seller in the world — again, in just 15 months in the market.

Rumor mongers will point to the fact that Jobs was on the call as some sort of sign regarding his health. The truth is that Steve does occasionally take part in these calls — though not often. I think he was there primarily to crow about the success of the iPhone and the fact that the 10 million unit goal for 2008 was reached two months early; and to talk to analysts about the uncertainty of the economy over the next period and its potential impact on Apple.

I’ll be on a MacJury podcast panel later this week to talk more about the conference call and other Apple matters. Visit the MacJury webpage or check back here for a link when the show is posted.

I stayed up past my bedtime last night to be part of a great MacJury panel, which included Jean MacDonald of SmileOnMyMac, podcaster Adam Christianson, blogger Dan Pourhadi, RadTech’s John Grzeskowiak and, of course, host Chuck Joiner. The topic, naturally, was the Apple media event where the company unveiled updates to its laptop line and introduced new cinema displays.

On the podcast, I referred to the event as the “Snow Leopard for hardware announcement.” By that, I mean that the new offerings don’t offer a ton of new features or improvements (the processor bumps are so insignificant they weren’t even mentioned, for instance.) The only true new feature I can think of is the glass the-whole-trackpad-is-a-button trackpad. Even the “unibody” construction is a process enhancement, not a new feature, and like its software counterpart, what’s new under the hood is essentially designed to make what’s there better, not provide new capabilities.

The laptops are also remarkable for what’s not there: no more matte screens, no more Firewire on the new MacBooks (although it remains on the “remaindered” $999 white MacBook) and, as mentioned, no more button on the trackpad. For the first time in a long time, the laptops’ hard drives are easily upgradeable. The RAM is less accessible than in some recent laptops, but for a good reason: Apple’s shipping them with enough to start with (2GB on the new MacBooks, MacBook Air and lower-end MacBook Pro; 4GB on the higher-end models. The $999 MacBook still ships with an insufficient 1 Gig.)

Much has been made of the elimination of Firewire from the new MacBooks. While I may mourn its passing, the writing’s been on the wall for some time now: Firewire is considered a pro-level feature, not for consumers. The push to USB 2.0 has been going on for a while and the marketplace has chosen. My last couple external drives have been USB, in fact, because I knew it would give them a longer useful life. If you’ve got an old Firewire camcorder around, hang on to a Mac with Firewire, or choose a new MacBook Pro if it matters that much to you. Or, use it as the excuse you’ve been looking for to get a camera with USB or removable media. Go on, you know you want to.

Similarly, we fans of matte displays are going to have to just give it up, because the rest of the world (and now Apple too) seem to have decided that it’s a glossy world after all. While purists may howl, and pre-press designers may scramble for matte display shields, the out-of-the-box experience is going to be bright, saturated colors and highly reflective screens. Even the new Cinema LED Displays are going glossy. As of now, though, Power Mac users will not have to worry about the decision — the new displays are clearly and specifically intended for the new laptops only. They use the new DisplayPort connectors and are incompatible with the DVI ports on Apple’s desktop lineup. And while you can get a DisplayPort to DVI (or VGA) adapter for your laptop, you cannot (at least as of this writing) get a DVI to DisplayPort adapter for your desktop machine. You can, however, still buy a non-LED Cinema Display; the entire lineup is still available (and promoted on) Apple’s website.

The MacJury panel touched on a slew of other issues, as well, including the DRM aspects of DisplayPort, the blurring of the distinction between consumer and prosumer branding (Will that be plastic or metal?), and more. It’s a very engaging session from a podcast I’d recommend even if I wasn’t part of it. I’m a big fan of the show’s rotating panelist format and the concentration on one or two specific issues rather than the more generic “news of the week” approach.

You can listen to this episode directly from the MacJury website or subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

For once, the rumor sites seem pretty consistent with their predictions and leaked photos in advance of Apple’s laptop-centric special media event.

According to the photos, the laptops appear to be aluminum, possibly forged from a single piece of metal, which, while not a first in the laptop market, could spell benefits in terms of production efficiencies, heat dissipation, noise reduction and even price. Daringfireball’s John Gruber has added a litany of specifications for the expected new computers, calling for the hardware equivalent of “Snow Leopard-style” changes — built for overall system performance improvements rather than new features. One exception is a new trackpad, that “is bigger and supports additional multi-touch gestures.” But, writes Gruber, the MacBook Pro’s new trackpad is made of glass, and is a physical button as well. “You just press and it clicks,” he writes. “This is not like the current software option where you can enable ‘Tap to Click’ in the trackpad preferences, but instead a glass trackpad that acts as a physical button, with a click you can feel. Sounds odd, but I hear it’s very cool in practice.”

More information is obviously forthcoming at today’s special event. I will be discussing the announcements — including any possible surprises — on the MacJury podcast.

Acknowledging continuing problems with its successor to .Mac, Apple sent another note of apology to subscribers tonight.

We have already made many improvements to MobileMe, but we still have many more to make. To recognize our users’ patience, we are giving every MobileMe subscriber as of today a free 60 day extension. This is in addition to the one month extension most subscribers have already received. We are working very hard to make MobileMe a great service we can all be proud of. We know that MobileMe’s launch has not been our finest hour, and we truly appreciate your patience as we turn this around.

A FAQ page has been added to Apple’s Support website.

MobileMe

MobileMe customers are getting a note from Apple regarding the shaky transition to MobileMe services. As an apology for the transition trouble, the company is extending all MobileMe subscriptions by one month. I love the straightforwardness of this line, the second sentence in the letter: “Unfortunately, it was a lot rockier than we expected.” The ability to just plain admit there were problems is very refreshing, even from Apple.

Microsoft would never be so direct.

After finally getting my iPhone re-activated (thanks to the free WiFi at the Livingston, NJ public library), I spent much of yesterday examining the new features of iPhone 2.0 and happily downloading apps from the App Store.

The new iPhone OS is impressive, full of wonderfully polished touches and new features. One that I didn’t know was coming was the ability to take a screenshot (hat tip to Jason Snell): just press the Home and Power buttons simultaneously, and an image of the current screen is added to your Photo Roll, ready to email, sync or be sent to a web gallery — or added as wallpaper, if it’s not your phone and you’re in the mood for a prank.

The availability of iPhone applications makes my 1st Gen iPhone feel like a brand new device. I don’t think I was mentally prepared for the difference the additional functionality would make in how I regard the phone. There’s a subtle but profound shift in seeing the iPhone as an essentially closed ecosystem versus the boundless potential it has through third-party apps. The mind can’t help but think of new possibilities that no longer seem remote, but rather inevitable. It brought me back to the early days of the Palm PDA, when you could find an app for almost any function you could imagine. Thank goodness iTunes lets you manage which apps are synced to the phone — app management is sure to be the next “First World Problem” for iPhone owners.

Speaking of apps, the quality of applications available already ranges from incredible to appalling, and for that reason alone, I’m glad third-party apps weren’t available when the iPhone first launched. It was much better to build a baseline for expectations around quality, battery life and stability.

I’m fairly confident that the market will shake a lot of the crappy developers out of the space over the next few months, but right now, there’s a lot of chaff mixed in with the wheat, and a lot of developers who are not familiar enough with the Mac market. Lousy UIs, cheesey implementations and overpriced one-trick ponies abound, but are already getting hammered by bad reviews. Pricing, too, should stabilize, but there’s a lot of naivety on both the developer and user sides. It will be interesting to see what the market settles on as a “fair” price for most iPhone apps.

Some of my favorite apps so far:

• Pandora
• Cro-Mag Rally
• WeatherBug
• Remote
• TapTap
• Twitterific (although it seems to crash my entire phone every fourth or fifth launch)
• French Phrase Book (other languages are available, too)
• MobileNews
• BoxOffice

My battery life is certainly suffering, but it’s too early to tell if it’s the result of all the new apps, or the increased amount of time I’m using my phone because of them.

Oh, and if someone would create a WordPress admin app along the lines of TypePad, I’d really appreciate it.