Randy Ubillos (Apple’s chief architect for video applications) Showing off iMovie ’11:
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• Schiller on stage to talk iPhoto.
• Full screen
• Awesome Slideshows with Maps — maps appear behind photos to show location
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• Apple’s Mac revenue: 1/3 of Apple’s total revenue last year, which would equate to $22 billion — on Mac sales alone, Apple would be number 110 on the Fortune 500. Cook jokes the company doesn’t plan to spin-off the Mac division.
• 2.5x market 18 quarters in a row.  Mac has outgrown PC’s for 18 quarters in a row, that’s 4.5 years.
• NPD 20.7% of US Retail market
• 50 million Mac users around the world.
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Below is one you can probably view on your PC at work…

http://cdn.livestream.com/grid/LSPlayer.swf?channel=gizmodo&color=0xe7e7e7&autoPlay=false&mute=false&iconColorOver=0x888888&iconColor=0x777777

…hadn’t you heard?
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Crunchgear updates the running specs with a faster processor at 2.6GHz but only 2GB (Sonofa!) of RAM for the New Air.  They also say the Air will be on lockdown so no upgrades unless you have some soldering skillz.  Engadget says 2GB of RAM (upgradable) but slower GHz processors right around 2.13-2.33GHz.

Smaller 11.6-inch display, 2 USB ports and an SD card reader seem to be a lock since the prototype Air was found, but of course all these things can change.  There could also be two Airs, one at the current 13.3 inch size (hopefully with updated higher rez and 4GB of RAM.)  I think it is time for a Touch screen but the commenters think I’m full of it.
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Apple has confirmed it will offer live streaming of its event today.  Setteb.it had it first in Italian.

Thats the streaming video truck!

Media Alert
Apple to Provide Live Video Streaming of Today’s Event
What: Live video stream of Apple’s October 20 event
When: Wednesday, October 20, 2010, 10:00 a.m. PDT
Where: www.apple.com

Live Video Streaming will be here folks: http://www.apple.com/apple-events/october-2010/

Apple® will broadcast its October 20 event online using Apple’s industry-leading HTTP Live Streaming, which is based on open standards. Viewing requires either a Mac® running Safari® on Mac OS® X version 10.6 Snow Leopard®, an iPhone® or iPod touch® running iOS 3.0 or higher, or an iPad™. The live broadcast will begin at 10:00 a.m. PDT on October 20, 2010 at www.apple.com.
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The early birds at Setteb.it got the first shots of the Back to Mac event at the Cupertino campus.

There is something in the Air?
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Amazon just updated their Mac Kindle Application with the following new features:

• Add, edit, or delete notes and highlights
• Search for words or phrases within the book you’re reading
• Multi-column reading mode
• Improved look and feel: Enjoy a slick new look

Good for new MacBook Air owners?  Download here:

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What’s interesting about the MacBook Air that is likely to be introduced tomorrow is that it is painfully overdue.  Not just milked by Apple longer than normal, but kept back artificially for some reason.  To put it into perspective, Apple’s “least bang for buck” high-end, low-power laptop will be exactly 500 days since its last update tomorrow.  Apple hasn’t ever let any other MacBook/Pro go even a year without an update of some kind.

So what’s up?

I think Apple had to hold the MacBook Air back for OS 10.7, Lion.  Some Lion features must be integral to the new MacBook Air (and maybe other new MacBooks?).  We know Lion was originally slated to be released earlier and has been in testing for over a year.

So what could these new features be?
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Adobe CEO Shamu Narayan says that they are going to remain independent. No Microbe.

Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com

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RIM Co-CEO Jim Balsillie didn’t let Steve Jobs’ comments during the call yesterday go without a response.  here’s the statement from the co-CEO:

For those of us who live outside of Apple’s distortion field, we know that 7″ tablets will actually be a big portion of the market and we know that Adobe Flash support actually matters to customers who want a real web experience. We also know that while Apple’s attempt to control the ecosystem and maintain a closed platform may be good for Apple, developers want more options and customers want to fully access the overwhelming majority of web sites that use Flash. We think many customers are getting tired of being told what to think by Apple. And by the way, RIM has achieved record shipments for five consecutive quarters and recently shared guidance of 13.8 – 14.4 million BlackBerry smartphones for the current quarter. Apple’s preference to compare its September-ending quarter with RIM’s August-ending quarter doesn’t tell the whole story because it doesn’t take into account that industry demand in September is typically stronger than summer months, nor does it explain why Apple only shipped 8.4 million devices in its prior quarter and whether Apple’s Q4 results were padded by unfulfilled Q3 customer demand and channel orders. As usual, whether the subject is antennas, Flash or shipments, there is more to the story and sooner or later, even people inside the distortion field will begin to resent being told half a story.

Wow, it’s getting hot in the smartphone biz!

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On one hand, Apple’s announcement that it had sold a quarter of a million AppleTVs in just 18 days seems like a solid number.  At that rate, a million in a little over two months (and 100M in revenue!).  Steve Jobs said he was very pleased with the sales.  But is it really that many?

A few stats to consider:

• There are three times as many TVs used on earth as mobile phones, close to 5 billion.
• Apple sells 275-300,000 iOS devices a day.  Those now include AppleTVs.  Over the three week launch period, less than 5% of iOS devices sold were AppleTVs (btw, that’s up 45,000 devices a day since new iPod/AppleTV announcement)
• AppleTV, even though it has the biggest screen, is by far the cheapest iOS device at only $99.  It costs 1/5th the iPad and significantly less than half of the iPod touch.

All we’re saying is there is a lot more room for growth.  When people see what they can do with Airplay, things should pick up.
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Wow, the commentary didn’t do it justice.  Jobs really took aim at Android during today’s conference call but the most impressive bits were the numbers: Apple has been activating 275,000 iOS devices/day and up to 300,000/on some days.  Google still hasn’t announced anything beyond 200,000.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUQVIqjkzD4&w=640&h=390]
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What’s not to like about this idea?  The Style 9670 Clamshell will fit right into Snook’s purse.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUehwO4nrDk&w=640&h=390]

Interesting details on the new MacBook Air from CultofMac today:

• – The new model is also apparently much snappier than its underpowered predecessor. ”It boots so fast, it’s unbelievable,” our source says. “It’s amazing how fast it boots up.”
• – A faster 13-inch model with upgradeable options should appeal to pro users, while a cheaper 11-inch MacBook Air might be more attractive to students and casual users.
• – A 50-percent bigger battery, delivering 8-10 hours of battery life. The current MacBook Air has a 5-hour battery.
• – The new machine is thinner and lighter, weighing less than the current model’s 3lbs, our source says.
• – The new enclosure is also an aluminum unibody design, like the current model — but not as curvy.
• – Same black keyboard as current MBA, same single-button Multi-Touch trackpad. [wha? Current MacBook trackpad has separate button, unlike the rendering]
• – Upgradable RAM (base 2GB [-boo!], SSD.  Also NVidia GeForce 320M integrated graphics
• – Two configs: 2.1Ghz (with 2GB of RAM) and 2.4 GHz (with 4GB of RAM).

In pricing, it gets a little more foggy:
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Hypermac, in order to be able to continue negotiations with Apple, has notified the public that it will cease selling its MacBook external batteries.  At the heart of the matter is that these devices, in order to connect to the MacBooks, need a MagSafe connector, which is patented up and down by Apple.

Here’s an idea: Instead of selling the batteries with a MagSafe connector, just have an “airplane” or car lighter interface.  Then let customers go out and buy the $49 Apple MagSafe Airplane adapter.  This way, you don’t lose the energy from a DC-AC-DC inverter and you can keep the price pretty low.  Plus consumers can charge other devices that utilize the car lighter interface.
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We’ve spent the past month with the Hitachi G-Drive Mobile ($128) which is an attractive Firewire/USB portable hard drive that will look great next to your Unibody MacBook Pro.  But are the aesthetics worth the price?

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It would appear likely, not only because everyone else (including iChat) allows multiple video chat  but also because there is a kext string in the FaceTime code which seems to indicate it is on the way:

<key>AllowsMultipleConnections</key>

	<false/>

We’re also hearing Facetime is coming to the desktop as well.
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If you like Rows and Columns of  Apple Analyst forcasts, Fortune has the master sheet for you on Apple’s upcoming earnings call.

The big questions: Will Apple break through $20 billion in sales?  Will they be up over 60% YoY?  8.4-13.5M iPhones?  4 million Macs?  5 million iPads?  10 million iPhones?  40% margins?  What is the over/under?  Tune in Monday to find out.

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Frankly, we are not amused. Here’s a prototype MacBook Air from April that Engadget dug up.

According to the person with the goods, it is a 13-inch variety, just like the current version.  We’re obviously noticing those new battery compartments where the hard drive/SSD used  to be.  Additionally we’re seeing a black hinge which would make it look a little more ‘modern’.  We’re also seeing USB plugs on the left and right sides, Mini DisplayPort and an SD card reader on the left, and a power plug on the right.

But here’s where it goes bad:
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