macworld

The product Jobs won't announce, but should

Mac fans across the world are eagerly awaiting Steve Jobs keynote at Mac World with bingo cards in hand, but despite all the rumors of the " MacBook Air" and the iTunes video rental store, there is one feature that I wish Steve would announce but that I know will not materialize anytime soon. What I'd like to see from Apple in 2008 is an iTunes marketplace, a place where independent media creators can set their own price for their work and share the profits with Apple.

Yes, some independent artists have been able to sell their music in the iTunes store, but there is no means to sell video podcasts or other similar materials through Apple.

… Read more

Is Apple readying a wireless announcement? Maybe not

A banner at the Moscone Center in San Francisco where Apple will host its annual Macworld conference has many in the technology sector buzzing about a possible wireless announcement coming from CEO Steve Jobs' keynote on Tuesday.

The banner that reads "There's something in the Air" has prompted much speculation that Apple is readying itself for another big wireless announcement. The most persistent rumor is that Apple will include WiMax on Apple notebooks.

WiMax is a wireless broadband technology that will deliver faster download speeds than 3G wireless over longer distances than is possible with Wi-Fi, making … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 639: What will happen at Macworld

EPISODE 639

There's something in the air

Hmm. What. Could. That. Be?

Apple TV wireless content downloading? Wireless backups? WiMax-enabled laptops? Free bean burritos under every seat?

The Macalop's leaning toward WiMax right now. It seems a typical Apple-y move and one that's occurred to the horny one ever since he got his iPhone. "Boy it'd sure be nice to be able to have ubiquitous Internet access with my laptop," the Macalope would say to the dryads and nymphs around him.

They'd just mumble "Yeah" and go back to playing Wii bowling.

The Macalope never should have bought them … Read more

Be here Tuesday for live Macworld coverage

LIVE NOW: coverage of Steve Jobs Macworld Keynote

I've already started doing the dexterity exercises, with less than 24 hours to go before Macworld.

Once again, I'll be providing live blow-by-blow coverage of Apple CEO Steve Jobs' keynote at Macworld on Tuesday, starting at 9 a.m. PST. We expect to see some combination of new laptops, an iTunes movie rental service, iPhone details, and whatever else is trickling out of Cupertino this week.

Live blogs are fun, if a bit demanding on the old fingers. It's always interesting to bring news to people as it happens, … Read more

Ultimate liveblogging tool: CoverItLive

CoverItLive is a new hosted service for blogging events in real time, or "liveblogging." It's a useful tool for people covering major industry events, speeches, sports, and the like. I first saw the product in use when I was watching the CrunchGear team cover the Bill Gates keynote at CES.

I've liveblogged several events myself in the past, but I've used tools not designed for the job. My hack has been to set up a unique Twitter account for each event and embed a widget from that account into my blog (example: YouTube's Steve Chen interviewed at the NewTeeVee Live conference). … Read more

What Apple should (and shouldn't) announce at Macworld

With all the rumors surrounding Macworld, it's difficult to sift through those possibilities that could actually come true and those that are pure rubbish. And while I don't think I have all the answers, it seems more and more likely that some of the expectations some of us have for Steve next week may not come true.

As it stands, most people are saying that iTunes movie rentals will become a reality next week and an ultraportable Mac is in the works. Still others believe Jobs will revamp the Apple TV and some people believe he'll refresh the entire MacBook line. As for me? I'll tell you what he should (and shouldn't) do when he takes the stage next week.… Read more

Macworld leads tech out of the desert

Apple has the third week of January all to itself this year, and although it probably won't top last year's Macworld, the company will likely make everyone forget about the Consumer Electronics Show.

Trade shows are a necessary evil in the tech industry. Everyone claims to hate them, but the opportunity to have all the major players in the same town at the same time is too much of a draw. And usually, the parties are decent, leading more than 140,000 business types to CES in Las Vegas this week for a chance to make deals and … Read more

Countdown to Macworld

With the new year under way and the holidays on the back burner, CNET's first big coverage extravaganza of 2008 was CES. The annual Consumer Electronics Show, which runs through the end of this week, was predictably brimming with cool gadgets and new technology. Many of our editors were on hand to give their take on all the sleek new products. Check out our extensive coverage of CES here. Though I was jealous to see all of the cool new items coming out of Las Vegas while I remained in San Francisco, I knew the next week would be … Read more