So here we are. It’s time for Macworld 2008. Refresh your browsers and get ready for an exciting morning. The keynote starts at 9 AM PST.

8:15 AM: People are beginning to get press badges for the keynote. No one has been allowed in yet, as far as I know.

8:50 AM: Press is about to be let in to the Center.

9:00 AM: People are in the Center now, Coldplay playing while we wait for the Stevester.

9:05 AM: Starting the keynote in a minute or so..

9:13 AM: Lights beginning to dim.

9:14: Get a Mac Ad playing..

9:14: Steve is on stage, talking about Leopard selling 5 million copies, almost 20% of installed base has upgraded.

9:17: Microsoft Office 2008 is shipping as of today.

9:19: Time Machine is good, but not good enough for notebooks. New product announced: Time Capsule

9:19: Time Capsule is Airport Express with build in hard drive for backups.

9:20: Two versions announced: 500 gb - $299, 1 TB - $499.

9:20: Showing Mac/PC ad for Time Machine

9:21: Second thing: iPhone

9:21: iPhone been out on market for 200 days, 4 million sold. 20,000 sold per day average

9:23: iPhone holds around 20% of Smartphone market in US

9:25: Talking about SDK coming out in February, “we wanted to give everybody something today too”… New features announced: Web Clips, Maps with GPS location, home screen customization.. etc, (just like 1.1.3 firmware)

9:28: Still demoing all the different features, SMS texting, etc.

9:30: Showing “Add to home screen” feature

9:31: Up to 9 Webclips on your home screen at a time

9:33: Showing off Locate Me feature on Google Maps, uses Google and Skyhook wireless

9:34: Update 1.1.3 is available today.
9:35: Mail, Maps, Stocks, Notes, and Weather are now available for iPod Touch (finally). $20 upgrade for iPod Touch users (WTF?)

9:35: Third Thing: iTunes

9:36: 4 billion songs sold as of last week, 20 million sold on Christmas day. 125 million TV shows sold. 7 million movies.

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9:37: iTunes Movie Rentals

9:38: Every major movie studio is on board, Touchstone, Miramax, MGM, Lionsgate, Newline, Fox, WB, Disney, Paramount, Universal, Sony.

9:40: Over 1000 movies available. Watch on Macs, PCs. all iPods and iPhones on the market.

9:40: Watch the movies instantly.

9:41: Library titles are $2.99, New Releases $3.99.

9:42: Launches today in U.S., International is later in the year. Updates will follow for iPods/iPhones and iTunes.

9:45: Apple TV take two, no computer requirement, rent movies, DVD and HD + 5.1 Surround sound. Audio and Video podcasts, and photos from Flickr (woo) and .Mac.

9:46: Syncs with iTunes, HD rentals are $4.99, 100 titles available today

9:47: Showing demo of Apple TV

9:49: Preview movies from interface, see what other renters of that movie have rented.

9:51: Showing a scene from Die Hard, third time we’ve seen Justin Long today.

9:52: Searching through iTunes Movies

9:53: Showing off new UI for Apple TV

9:56: Showing Photos feature, stream directly off of .Mac servers

9:58: Showing Flickr on Apple TV, really nice looking.

10:00: Flickr causing some technical difficulties.. demo is now over, reviewing the features

10:01: Apple TV update is a free software update. Price has been dropped $70 to $229. New software update will be out in two weeks.

10:02: Welcoming CEO of Fox to stage, Jim Gianopulos.

10:05: Apple is reinventing the movie rental model

10:07: Talking about DVDs, Family Guy DVD has a iTunes compatible copy.

10:07: Stevester is back on stage.

10:08: Fourth Thing: There’s something in the air..

10:09: Macbook Air. “The World’s Thinnest Notebook”

10:10: Comparing to Sony TZ notebooks, 3 lbs — too much compromise with other features.

10:12: Macbook Air is 0.16″ to 0.76″ thick. It fits inside an envelope.

10:12: Magnetic Latch, 13.3″ widescreen

10:13: LED backlit, iSight, Macbook-like keyboard but with light sensor, multi-touch trackpad

thanks to Gizmodo for the pic

10:15: Showing off trackpad, moving windows, rotating windows, etc.

10:16: 1.8″ hard drive, 80 GB hard drive standard, 64 GB SSD as an option.

10:17: 1.6 GHz standard, 1.8 GHz option — kinda slow, isn’t it?

10:18: Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel taking stage, talking about processor size.

10:19: Steve back on stage

10:20: 45 Watt MagSafe, 1 USB 2.0 Port, Micro-DVI, Audio Out

10:21: 802.11n + Bluetooth 2.1

10:22: New feature called Remote Disc for installing things via CDs and DVDs, Macbook Air has no optical drive, Superdrive accessory for $99.

10:23: 5 hours of battery life

10:24: 2GB RAM standard

10:25: $1799, ships in two weeks, preorder today

10:25: Showing ad for Air

10:27: Environmentally friendly, recyclable case, mercury and lead free display, BFR free circuit boards, etc.

10:29: Steve–First two weeks of 2008, we have updated MAc Pro, introduced Time Capsule and Macbook Air, updated iPhone, iPod Touch, and Apple TV, and added movie rentals for iTunes.

10:31: Randy Newman about to perform

Well, that seems like it is it. Thanks for all of you who stayed for the whole thing, and an overview of all the new products will be up this afternoon.

As some of you may know already, I will not be attending the Macworld Keynote this year. Unfortunately, the requirements for a press outfit to attend the keynote does not allow Apple Reporter to attend. Specifically, there must be two writers at Apple Reporter, and it must get at least 1k readers each day. Obviously these aren’t goals that are being met right now, but perhaps next year Apple Reporter will be there.

But onto the keynote. Tomorrow at 9 AM PST (12 PM EST), Steve Jobs will begin the annual keynote that has the entire internet predicting. Since we won’t be there, we will be Liveblogging the Liveblogging as it were, and by that I mean liveblogging what I’m hearing in the Apple blogs around the internet.

It’s going to be a busy morning for the entire blogosphere. I’d like to thank Engadget, TUAW, and Gizmodo in advance, as they will probably be the blogs I’ll be liveblogging. Obviously those sites will have more info since they will be there, but I hope that you will stick around to read it here.

For those uninitiated to the Keynote procedure, it is a good idea to refresh this page every 30 seconds to a minute to get the most up to date announcements. Check back at this page tomorrow before the keynote begins so you can stay on top of the announcements right from the beginning. Overviews of the product announcements will be posted in the afternoon after the keynote. Have fun reading!

MACWORLD LIVE COVERAGE CAN BE FOUND HERE

Happy New Year! It’s 2008, and that means Macworld is in about two weeks. Unfortunately, I will not be attending (Apple Reporter doesn’t meet the requirements for a media organization), but I will keep up with the big stories from Macworld, including Steve Job’s keynote on January 14th. Also, if readers wish to inform me of any news they’ve picked up on, you can email me at kristianfreemanATgmailDOTcom.

Products

2007 was a big year for Apple. All of us who have been waiting for the moment that Apple really broke into the mainstream were ecstatic when iTunes had reached 3 billion downloads on July 31st. We were amazed when the iPhone was released on June 29th to rave reviews. And like always, we were happy to see that the iPod was/is the best MP3 player out on the market, thanks to the release of the third generation iPod Nano, sixth generation iPod (classic), and iPod Touch.

Reputation

In 2006, Apple was pretty much known for the letter “i”. There was the iPod, iTunes, the iMac, if you saw something that started with that lower-case “i”, it had to do with Apple and one of their products. This year, Apple was more than just the creator of the iPod. Apple’s market share in the computer industry rose to 8.1%, and it is now the third most-selling computer vendor in the United States. With the release of the iPhone and new iPods, Apple’s stock (AAPL) rose to the highest they have been in 4 years this December. 2008 looks to be a great year for Apple’s reputation, if they continue on the streak they’ve been going on so far.

Macworld

Like I said earlier, Macworld is in less than two weeks. With the expected announcement of the Macbook Slim and a 3G iPhone, Macworld is sure to be a big hit. The Slim, one of the most anxiously awaited products in Apple’s lineup (behind any new iPhone, of course), will probably be one of Apple’s best-selling laptops, assuming it is announced. And since AT&T’s CEO Randall Stephenson has already been quoted as saying the 3G iPhone is in the works, it would be surprising if it wasn’t announced at Macworld, but more surprising if it wasn’t announced this year.

Apple has a lot going for them, and with another year of high sales, it seems they can do no wrong. 2007 was my first year of being an Apple fan and a Mac user, and I am eagerly waiting 2008 and the new products I can hopefully get. As a reporter, I’d like to say congratulations to Mr. Jobs and Apple in whole for another good year. Keep on keepin’ on.

Apple has posted their Black Friday deals for this year up on the Apple Store. While there are no extravagant deals on the expensive items, there are many small price cuts that are sure to appeal to a variety of shoppers.

Here’s a list of some of the most important cuts (note: these are not all of them):

• Macbook, save up to $101, now from $1048
• iMac, save up to $101, now from $1148
• Apple Bluetooth Headset, save up to $21, now from $108
• iPod Nano, save $11, now from $138
• iPod Shuffle, save $11, now from $68
• iPod Classic, save $31, now from $228
• $100 off Office 2004 with mail-in rebate, and with purchase, only a $6.95 upgrade fee to Office 2008

For all the great deals, either visit the Apple Store today, or download this simple image containing all the deals below.

Who has the industry clout to bring Steve Jobs and Bill Gates together for an appearance on stage in what is an industry first? The Wall Street Journal, apparently. Their columnist, Walt Mossberg, has achieved the impossible: bringing Jobs and Gates together on stage at the Wall Street Journal’s D5: All Things Digital conference. What I would give to be in attendance there!

This is an historic moment in the technoverse. Two industry titans, normally at odds, playing nice for a day? Unheard of.

The tech titans from Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. didn’t even appear together when they announced a partnership that helped Jobs save Apple at Macworld in Boston 10 years ago. (Gates teleconferenced in remotely, appearing on a screen looming over Jobs.) It could be the first time they’ve been together in such a setting since Jobs famously interviewed Gates as a possible suitor for Apple’s new computer in an onstage version of the “Macintosh Dating Game” back in 1984.

So when is the big day? Wednesday at D5 is when computer junkies everywhere will get this rare treat. And what will be the big topic for the day? That is a hotly contested secret. Chic geeks everywhere are hoping for a true dialog on operating systems, the future of computing, the possibilty of bridging the Microsoft / Apple gap, future plans for each company, and so much more. Whether or not they delve that deeply into their 20+ year rivalry and look that closely at their respective futures remains to be seen.

I’ll update this post with links to transcripts and video of the historic meeting when they start appearing online after Wednesday’s momentous occasion.

Source Slashdot | Gates and Jobs to Share A Stage

DON’T FORGET TO ENTER THE MOD YOUR MAC CONTEST! CLICK HERE!

At the shareholder meeting this week, Steve Jobs took the time to address shareholders’ questions on recent Apple news like the Greenpeace ranking, iPhone release, Mac OS X Leopard and more. Read more about it here from someone who was there. (more…)