Beyond the well-rehearsed revelations of his Steveness, the Macworld Expo is also an opportunity for the rest of the Mac ecosystem to show off its latest and greatest wares. I’m obviously not in SF, but I caught up with some cool-looking stuff via Macs Only and Macworld. Keep in mind that I haven’t actually touched most of this stuff, let alone played around with it, so these are just ticklers for products to keep an eye out for at your local Apple store.
One big problem in our house is the proliferation of power chargers for the multitudes of laptops, digital cameras, cell phones, iPods and so on that we’ve acquired. It’s an unsightly mess in the kitchen and half of the time I can’t find the cord I need anyway. Well, from Anthro, the people who brought you expensive but ergonomic desks, comes the eNook. It’s kind of a folding desk that you can nail up on the wall. Inside are shelves to hold all your chargers (and all you gadgets as they charge). Fold closed the desk and the unsightly mess is gone. Then again, it’s not exactly beautiful on the outside. And it’s $400. Ouch.
I’ve tried various computer cases to protect my laptop but most have fallen short when they fell, so to speak. The aptly named HardCover Case is a sort of slip-on laptop protector that makes you look more like a snazzy attorney carrying a really fat legal pad than a geek with a bulging computer bag. Could work for me and — only $40.
But really this may be the coolest of all — a fabric keyboard that connects via Bluetooth and can literally be rolled up when not in use. Then again, I wonder if the keys are totally mushy. Then again again, it only includes drivers for Symbian and Windows Mobile. What are you doing at Macworld? Doesn’t look like it will work with my Motorola phone, which is what I really need it for. Ever try tapping out even a short email using a phone’s number keypad. Not fun.
Macworld magazine’s best-in-show picks are more focused on software. I can’t say I’m as impressed as they are by Adobe’s new Lightroom beta photo library software that’s a competitor to Apple’s Aperture program. I downloaded it the other night and it seems much less intuitive and useful than Aperture, which I played around with for 15 minutes at an Apple store. Neither seems like a dire need in our household. I do, as previously expressed, share their excitement about Google Earth for Mac and iLife ’06, especially iPhoto 6.
Finally, and this one I found on my own, I’m in desperate need of a new microphone cum line-in port for my iPod with video. The Griffin Technology Voice Recorder served me well with my old 3G iPod but it’s not compatible with Mister Latest & Greatest iPod Video. And Griffin has yet to unveil a successor that I’ve seen. So I’ll be on the look out for the Xtrememac Micro memo which features a detachable mic and line-in port. Matches my black iPod too.
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