Apple Music Event 9/1

It's that time of year again...here's my predictions:

• iPod Touch 4 - 32 and 64 GB models will be updated with iPhone 4-level hardware (A4 chip, Retina display, Facetime camera). The 16 GB model will be the same specs as the current models. Same prices as the current lineup (and the storage sizes will not increase this time around)
• iOS 4.1
• iTunes X (no idea what the new features will be)
• iTV (née Apple TV) running iOS

I don't think there will be any mention of the iPod Classic or Shuffle. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say they won't even mention the Nano. I think everything announced will be based around iOS.

Windows Phone 7

Surprised that we don't have any threads about this!

Here's some links to reviews/discussions:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/19/windows...-depth-preview/
http://www.winsupersite.com/mobile/wp7_handson.asp

Overall, WP7 actually looks quite good. The UI is pretty interesting - certainly unique and recognizable. The panorama effect is cool, and I like the idea of "hubs" that keep all related information together in one view. Thurrott had a good comparison to the iPhone - instead of separate apps/websites for Flickr, Facebook photos, MobilMe galleries, etc., WP7 just has a "Photos" hub. All your photos from all sources in one place. Slick.

Two downsides that I see with the UI. The big one - it's not clear at all what parts of the UI are tappable buttons/areas and what parts aren't. The UI is largely just flat colors and plain text. Sometimes things are outlined with a rectangle to indicate they're tappable, but not always. I know that's the look they're going for, but they need to do something to make this clearer.

The other downside is that I feel they went a bit overboard with the font size and spacing. There's a lot of empty space on the screen, and combined with the oversize fonts, you can't fit much information. Look at the 6th screenshot from the top of the Engadget review (showing a list of Facebook updates) - the giant "People" header takes up about 25% of all the available screen space, and then the large titles leave little room for actual content. You have a beautiful large display, and you can barely fit 4 short status messages on it at once.

Of course, both of those issues are entirely in software, so they can be changed/fixed down the line.

Otherwise, looks good. I don't know if it's anything that will have people switching away from iPhone/Android in droves, but competition is always good

Apple special event tomorrow

Well, this should be interesting...

Here's how it'll go down:

- First, a recap of how the iPhone 4 has been Apple's "most successful" product launch
- Then, they'll acknowledge the reception issue, but downplay it by saying that it only affects a small number of people
- If you're affected, come in to the Apple store for a free bumper case
- In a few weeks/month's time, a silent "rev. B" iPhone 4 will be released with a small glass/plastic piece covering the antenna gap

MacBook firmware update

You know when you wake your Mac from sleep and the optical drive reads for a second? The little whirring sound? Apple's released a firmware update for certain models (not sure which ones exactly) that actually "fixes" that.

Weird, right? I figured there was a reason why it did that and thus wasn't something that could be changed. But I installed the update on my wife's MacBook, and lo and behold, when you wake the computer from sleep now it's dead silent. Nice!

Did anyone else get this update? Is it only for 10.6, or only for Intel machines, or both? Didn't show up on my PowerBook.

Mac OS X 10.7

Since we already have a thread on Windows 8, why not OS X 10.7 too?

Just a gut feeling, but I think 10.7 will be a big update. I think resolution independence will finally make its way in - it was supposed to have been completed by Leopard, I think, and I'm surprised it didn't make it into Snow Leopard either.

How about a new filesystem? ZFS was going to make it into Snow Leopard Server until they pulled it due to licensing problems. I think Apple will create their own replacement for HFS+.

I'd like to see a TRUE new Finder. I want actual sorting and grouping options, and I want those same options available in a search results view. Seriously, is this so hard? The Spotlight results window from Tiger was excellent and then they canned it. Bring it back! Or something like it!

No idea what else they'll have in store.