I’m watching the WWDC Keynote and I’m thrilled with the new Macbook Pro updates, the upcoming $29 Snow Leopard, iPhone 3.0 software, and the iPhone 3G S. (why the space?) I can’t wait to ditch my iPhone Classic for a new voice activated, compass directed, Youtubified Video pocket-sized computer. My iPhone offered me the great opportunity to ditch a laptop, and I seriously need the extra battery life.
Snow Leopard looks like it will deliver an OS that will color even the most hard core Linux fans a slight shade of green. (10.5.7 is pretty stable now- but 10.5, in it’s initial offering, was possibly Apple’s worst user installation/upgrade since OS8). I’m certain my Apple-fanatic customers will all go for the 13″ Macbook Pro now that it has firewire again (what was up with that?)and a drop-dead low price (you’ll still want to add memory).

Bang for the Buck- that’s what Apple delivers, and the WWDC keynote as the premiere stage for unveiling these much rumored devices and quelling overarching expectations can be an super-geek-salivating experience or a frazzled limpy hack disappointment. On a scale of Ripe to Rotten I give this keynote an Almost Ripe with a worm. Here’s why.

Apple doesn’t know how to deliver the “bad news” effectively. I’m specifically talking about issues with ATT-MMC support (which is on other platforms) and Contract service options (ATT has had a seriously huge contract expansion because of the iPhone). When Scott Forestall popped up the MMC support vendors and then said something like “um err ATT is working on it….” you could hear the air suck right out of the room. Probably why thy the “Balloon Burst” demo failed. I think they should have had a guy from ATT come out and publicly THANK Apple for having this tremendous opportunity of exclusivity.
Some folks might say this is a ridiculous idea but listen- All the iPhone holdouts I know are either waiting for the Verizon iPhone
(people keep asking me about this- and I swear to them it won’t happen with an iPhone- but perhaps with something else) or in
a fervent state of deniability (my Blackberry is better because….of course it’s not- Blackberry is fine, but its not an iPhone either).
ATT has a unique and fantastic product which doesn’t get stranger as it progresses (I’m referring here to the Palm products – anyone care about pen computing anymore?) Apple’s phone is getting better- much better with 3.0 software looming.

I have to say kudos go to Keynote presentation software-courtesy of Demo Demi-God Steve Jobs – Phil, Bertrand, Craig and Scott did well enough- and seeing the developers sweating on stage -kind Demo Gods or not (who hasn’t done a blown demo) all of these folks do better than most under this unbelievable pressure (ever see Steve Ballmer’s youtube’s -that guy exemplifies Windows these days)- but Keynote is an awesome package that all presenters should use.
Still, I wish an iChat or an iPhone call was made to Stave Jobs. I think that would have tipped the keynote over into exuberance land. Or in lieu of that- Wozniak in a pink satin shirt dancing on stage would have been sufficient. I mean – geez- the Two Original Garage Developers that this particular crowd ultimately respects and owes their livelihood to – should be frontmost at this particular Keynote Developer presentation. It would have also distracted from failed demos or the curious lack of luster with ATT’s Apple-centric benefits.