Real Kato Blog: Apple Watch: Rumor Roundup

The rumor mill for Apple at the Macworld Expo in January.

So once again, Apple rumor site Think Secret is giving the scoop on upcoming Apple product announcements, and every other Mac web site is republishing these rumors as actual news. Maybe it's because Think Secret's track record on rumors has been pretty good lately.

The biggest rumor is that Intel-based Macs will make their debut at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco. This includes Mac minis and iBooks based on the Intel's new dual-core, low-power "Yonah" processor. I'm not sure I believe this: would Apple really update the iBook to make it more powerful than the pro-level PowerBook? I think if there's going to be a laptop update, it's either going to be an entirely new line (ultra-lights?), or it'll be the PowerBooks first. Or perhaps both iBooks and PowerBooks will be updated simultaneously.

And similarly, a $499 Mac mini that outperforms a $1299 iMac G5 seems like an odd proposition. Not as odd as the iBook/PowerBook scenario, but enough to cast doubt.

Think Secret also predicts updates to the iPod shuffle. This is bolstered by the fact that the Apple Store is sold out of the 1GB shuffle until January. Some are predicting a 1GB iPod nano to replace the shuffle, and a price drop on the low-end 512MB model.

There's talk of Apple dropping Firewire support in new Macs. I think this is rubbish. It's quite likely that Firewire 400 ports will drop off, in favor of Firewire 800, but that's small news (especially since older devices can be connected with a simple adapter). Though Firewire has disappeared from the iPod line, it's still big in home video, and that's a critical piece of Apple's multimedia plans. And if the rumors of an Apple DVR are true, Firewire will surely be a part of that picture.

Recycled rumors from the past include Apple introducing an "iPhone", a new Apple-branded digital camera, a tablet computer, or a handheld. None of these rumors seem credible.

Oh, and this isn't a rumor, but in the "Who Cares" category: Microsoft is officially dropping support for Internet Explorer on the Mac. This program hasn't seen an update in over two years, and just about every Mac user has stopped using it anyway. Good riddance, I say.

Permalink 1 Comment

Posted by Ken in: techwatch

Comments

Comment #1 from Javi (Guest)
2005 Dec 22 - 4:25 am : #

just don't tell me that the video ipod i'm getting for christmas and haven't even used yet is already obsolete!

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