The 2008 WWDC Keynote begins in about 15 minutes, and the internet is abuzz with predictions for what Apple is planning. Here are some of my predictions for what we will see at this year’s WWDC 2008 Keynote.

• 3G iPhone: Duh. While the first generation iPhone has only been around for about a year or so, the demand for a 3G iPhone is extraordinary. There has been way too many “leaks” for Apple to deny the fact that they are making a 3G iPhone. My expectations: standard 16GB, maybe a 32GB as well, starting at $199 and $299 respectively.
• “Snow Leopard“: While I’m not entirely sure about this one, I believe there has been enough development for the iPhone in order to necessitate some sort of “developer” edition of Leopard. Maybe it is a less memory-intensive version of Leopard; built for pure developing. Price will be $99, offered at WWDC immediately following the keynote, available across Apple stores starting tomorrow.
• Mac Tablet: It is probable that Apple has been in the works making a Tablet for a while, maybe even before the iPhone. Meant for graphic designers, engineers, etc. Starts (begin extreme speculation) at $1499, 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM.

That’s my short list of predictions. I won’t be liveblogging the liveblogging like I normally do (I’m in Biology class right now) but I will be reading the liveblog at MacRumorsLive and posting important announcements as they are.. announced.

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.

>

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

Ryan Block, editor of Engadget has posted his predictions about Macworld 2008. From the post:

“…a day doesn’t goes by I’m not asked at least a few times what inside dope I’ve got on what Apple’s introducing at Macworld. My stock response is (and always will be), “Everything I know is published on Engadget.” Now, I’m also not usually one to grasp at predictions (just not my thing), but what the hell. If you’re curious as to what I THINK — and not necessarily know — will go down at MW08, here’s the shortlist…”

Some of the predictions are pretty interesting, certainly things I wouldn’t think about, such as refreshes to the Cinema Display and different video outputs on the laptops. While Ryan has said that the list are guesses, I am sure that the chief editor of the most popular tech blog on the Internet is likely to know at least something about Macworld.

I’d like to put in my opinion on some of the items that Block addressed also.

Number 1 - iPhone SDK: The SDK, which has been promised by Jobs already, is sure to be given an official release date, as well as more insight into what the SDK really is. Hopefully the SDK will be powerful enough that Apple will have to continually shutdown third-party apps in every firmware update.

Number 2 - The Slim Laptop: Already been covered.

Number 3 - iPhone 2.0/3G: Something that everyone is pretty much expecting, the 3G iPhone has already been confirmed by the AT&T CEO, and Steve Jobs himself has said that the 3G iPhone will be out next year.

For the remainder of the predictions, you can go to Block’s site and read the predictions there.

Note: The above picture is a mockup from MacNewbTube that has been used in previous posts.

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.

AppleInsider reports that a source has seen what could be the first Macbook Slim at Apple’s Cupertino campus.

From AppleInsider:

Most recently, a source described a “dark grey” or “gunmetal” colored notebook of slender proportions making the rounds in an area where Apple traditionally conducts stress tests.

Though noticeably thinner but otherwise similar in size to the company’s 13-inch MacBooks, the notebook appeared to have a metallic sheen to it, which set it apart from the current black MacBook.

If this source is trustworthy, then it appears all our suspicions have come true. Either a new Macbook Slim, or at least a Macbook refresh is in store for us at Macworld ‘08.

Around this time for the past two years, there has been a slew of rumors all focused around one thing. A slim laptop by Apple. Ever since Apple and Intel first partnered up, people have been clamouring for a new Intel version of the iBook. I’ve spent a few days reading all the rumors, and I’d like to put my two cents in on what I think the slim laptop will be.

First off, I do think there will be a slim laptop announced at Macworld ‘08. The iBook was amazingly popular in its 7 year run, and is still used in many schools and businesses as the standard. Once the Macbook came in 2006, the iBook was discontinued, and the Macbook, which was superior to the iBook in terms of system specs, became a commercial success, like the iBook did before it. But for some, the old 12″ iBook is still the best laptop made by Apple, because it is so small that it is extremely portable. Not to say that an increase of an inch makes it less portable, but for some the iBook just seemed like the perfect laptop.

Here in 2007, Apple has revolutionized the computer market with their designs. The iPod keeps getting thinner and smaller, while still retaining its storage size, and the laptops get sleeker and sleeker. But why shouldn’t there be a iPod Nano version of laptops? By that, I mean why can’t there be a slim laptop for the consumers who love the way the iPod continually gets smaller.

Back to the rumors, everyone from AppleInsider to CNBC expects Apple to have a “super-laptop” (as CNBC puts it) at Macworld ‘08. The persistent rumors are this:

• 12-13″ screen
• NAND flash memory, similar to that used in the iPhone and iPod Nano
• An all-around slimmer laptop, reports range from 30-50% lighter and thinner
• The possible exclusion of the optical drive, but this is the most uncertain of all rumors.

As for my opinion, I don’t have any informants or anything of that sort, I can just say that I am speculating based on Apple’s previous announcements and product releases. I would not be surprised to see NAND flash memory in the Macbook Slim (as I am now going to call it) as Apple has been producing many of their products with this technology in mind, and new advances in technology will certainly allow the Macbook Slim’s hard drive to reach levels never seen before in flash memory. As for screen size, I believe that Apple will not venture far from the tested and true 12-13″ screen level, but perhaps as low as 10-11″ could be announced. Perhaps a 10-11″ and a 12-13″ will be released simultaneously. Finally, for aesthetics, a slimmer or thinner product is almost guaranteed, because without it, there would be no point in releasing the new Slim.

Whether it is announced at Macworld or not, the Macbook Slim rumor is something that will still persist because it seems like something Apple would definitely produce. Looking at the evolution of the iPod and other Mac computers, it seems almost inevitable that the Macbook Slim would eventually appear somewhere in Apple’s product lines.

Thanks to MacNewbTube for the beautiful mockup.

Dear Apple,

We love your products. Some of us get our paychecks writing because of you and your products. The amount of care you put into your products is visible, sometimes, but other times it just feels like you build the products that we so graciously buy half-heartedly.

I myself have had numerous problems with my Apple purchases. I received my Macbook Pro January of this year, and from day one I had a problem. I realized that it would not play DVDs. I promptly sent it in to AppleCare, and within two weeks I had it back. Since then, I have not experienced much problems with it, until recently, when a slew of problems have all shown up instantly.

The Macbook Pro, since its creation and release in early-2006, has experienced numerous issues, and I myself have fell victim to a few of them. About 4 months after I purchased the Macbook Pro, the fan began to act up. After the installing of a third-party application to detect the fans’ speed and temperature, and it was then that I discovered that one of my fans was completely unresponsive, and that the entire computer was relying on only one fan.

The next issue I can’t blame on Apple entirely. In the Northwest during the Fall, we are victim to strong winds and along with that, power outages. As I left for school in the morning, I left my Pro plugged in to the Magsafe adapter, while it was asleep. Throughout a series of power outages, my Pro stayed charged, but asleep. When I used it on a Friday night, in my bed while it was unplugged, I shut it off. The next morning, I realized my Macbook Pro was completely inoperable unless plugged in. I, for the second time, called AppleCare and began the lengthy process of sending my Mac in for repair. I’m not blaming this issue on you, however, this event spawned a new set of problems.

My grandmother, who is quite tech-savvy, let me borrow her white Macbook while my Macbook Pro was in repair. I have had it for roughly 10 days, and already there has been a problem. I have treated it excellently, almost exclusively keeping it in a case when it was not sitting on my desk. But the plastic trim at the end of the Macbook, near the trackpad, is slowly coming off, leaving a disfigured area near the trackpad.

Around the same time, I also noticed that the Magsafe adapter that came with the Pro, which as you will remember I have had less than a year, is beginning to malfunction. I have discovered that I am not the first to experience problems with it. The wiring around the Magsafe end of the power brick is now exposed, and is only functional around 33% of the time.

Note, as I mentioned earlier, that people receive their paychecks from writing about you and your products. I am one of those people. I blog about exclusively Apple news at applereporter.com. But my experiences with Apple products have been less than satisfactory, to say the least. My next item on my Wish List, which I am vigorously saving up for, is an iPhone. But will I be subject to the same problems on the iPhone as I have been with my Macbook Pro? I hope not, because both are beautiful and quite functional products, but based on my previous and current experiences, I’m not sure I can safely trust that my iPhone would be durable enough to last even past a few months.

I urge you Apple, please take the time to actually work on your products. Do not be so eager to ship things out quickly, think back to the original Macintosh, which Apple spent years on creating before they released it. I am not saying that the products right now are horrible, on the contrary, I believe them to be some of the most useful and aesthetically pleasing products I have ever seen in my life, but instead, I ask that you think about the quality of your products and how, with a little bit of time, your consumer model could change from the generic fanboy who will buy your products, regardless of the quality of the products themselves, to the regular computer user, who should not have to be afraid of bad quality.

Sincerely,
Kristian Freeman
http://www.applereporter.com

Aspyr, primary porter of popular PC games to the Mac, has announced that the ported version of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will be coming to the Mac December 10th. No word on system requirements yet, though I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the best features are Leopard only.

The game will come with a USB-operated guitar controller, similar to the ones used for other systems. The price has not yet been announced either. Is anyone planning on purchasing it?

Update: The article has hit the front page of the Apple section of Digg, and along with that a lot of new information from assorted people has come in.

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.

After a series of power outages in the Northwest, my Macbook Pro was left a little messed up. By messed up, I mean that it wouldn’t turn on unless it was plugged in via Magsafe adapter. Realizing that this, combined with the broken fan that had been ailing my Macbook for the 10 months I’ve owned it, probably warranted a call to Apple support, I promptly began my phone call into 1-800-MYA-PPLE. The first thing I noticed was that instead of using the standard “Press 1 for etc., two for etc.,) I was told to say the name of my product. “Macbook Pro” elicited the “Sorry, what did you say?” response. Obviously, they aren’t using the same speech recognition as their operating systems. After about 5 minutes of navigating their automated systems, I was put on hold, with an estimated 15 minutes of wait time. After 25 minutes of horrible waiting music (think Nickelback and fake Oasis), I was connected to an Apple Customer support technician.

Being a 14-year old kid, mostly on customer service lines I am treated like an idiot. I was used to this, even though it infuriates me. For the first time I can remember, I was treated like I should be: like any other Apple customer. The two problems with my MBP were promptly addressed, and he promised a package for me to return my Macbook Pro back to them with in less than two days. The box came today, almost 48 hours since I hung up with them. This is how customer service should be, I have now decided. Kudos to Apple for their amazing customer support, and kudos for helping a broke teenager repair his Macbook Pro for absolutely free. Anyone else have any other Tech Support experience they want to share?

Apple quietly updated their line of Macbook laptops, which have been due for an update for a while, to Santa Rosa chipsets.

Specifically, the new update changes the processors to either a Core 2 Duo 2.0 or 2.2 GHz, and offers the GMA X3100, the integrated video card replacing the GMA 950. Prices still remain the same as before the update, so if you’re looking for a quality low-end Mac laptop, the Macbook has never looked better.

Update - It would seem now that the Macbook Pro line has been updated as well, offering a new 2.6 GHz Core 2 Duo processor, and new 5400 RPM hard drives.

UPDATE: THIS CONTEST HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

I am creating a new masthead for Apple Reporter. That little “talking bubble” is getting so passé now that Apple Reporter is gathering momentum (and readers) don’t you think? There are some guidelines to follow, of course, and a deadline, and of course, prizes! So what’s the scoop? (more…)

Today marked the much anticipated release of the updated MacBook Pro line from Apple. (Press Release)

CUPERTINO, California—June 5, 2007—Apple® today updated its MacBook® Pro line of notebooks with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, memory up to 4GB, and high-speed graphics in a stunning, lightweight, aluminum enclosure that is just one-inch thin. The new MacBook Pro is available in 15-inch models with a new mercury-free, power-efficient LED-backlit display and a 17-inch model with an optional high-resolution display. All models include a built-in iSight® video camera for video conferencing on-the-go, Apple’s MagSafe® Power Adapter that safely disconnects when under strain, and built-in 802.11n wireless networking for up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g.*

(more…)

Open Office is one of the fantastic programs that has come out of the whole Open Source software movement. I love it - it’s a fantastic program set to use in place of Microsuck Office, and it’s developed for free. Up until now the version of Open Office for Mac has lagged behind the windows version in features and updates. According to today’s news, that will happen no more. Sun, creators of the Open Office suite, have decided to put more effort and energy into developing Open Office for Macs.

The Open Office for Mac OS X will have a full Aqua interface to better match with the look and feel of OS X that we’ve all come to love. The last incarnation of Open Office for Mac ran on Apple’s X11 - a version of the windows server interface that had to be installed from the Mac OS disks as an extra. After that they tried Java as an interface, but neither the X11 or JAva version of Open Office worked smoothly on Macs. The development of a native Open Office application for Mac is huge news, and will be well received by the Apple community who have been waiting for a viable alternative to Microsuck Office.