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Mac announcements are random
We don’t have a lot of celebrities in the world of consumer technology, so when Steve Jobs does his twice-annual MacWorld speech, it’s the equivalent of checking out what Pearl Jam is up to every now and then for most tech geeks like me. This week’s announcement about the iPod shuffle (“Lowercase that ‘Shuffle!’” says Apple. We, weakly, do.) and about the new sub-$500 Mac mini (“Didn’t you hear us the first time? Lowercase the ‘Mini,’ too! Just call us e. e. apple, inc.!) were interesting in that:
On the iPod front: It seems that Apple is determined to create an iPod for every price point and function. You have iPod photo for wealthy digital shutterbugs and now a $99 iPod with no screen for those who just want to take some music with them and don’t care if they can see what track is playing. (How novel. We used to call those “cassettes.”) The $99 price point is the sweet sweet spot of consumer electronics, the point at which a luxury item like an iPod goes from a “would like to have” to a “will definitely have and won’t even mind lending it out” purchase. The future of iPod, as I can see it, includes iPods that clean kitty litter, iPod answering machines and the “iTunes snooze,” the one meant to replace your alarm clock.
My brother, who should be paid many dollars for his keen insight into the 20-year-old mind (it’s not that hard; he carries one around in his skull every day), likes the switch in the back that lets you toggle between playlist and random play. He also likes the accessories available — a lanyard to carry it around on your neck for that “Baywatch” slo-mo jog, the sports armband and even the water-resistant sports case. If Apple had made one in the shape of a lipstick tube, I think we’d have a full scale run on their retail stores.
But back to Steve Jobs as a celebrity — when he announced this product, he was asked by the tech press whether the device’s ad campaign (“Life is random”) had anything to do with his being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in the last year. That’s the tech press for you. We’re so desperate to make a story about technology carry even the shadow of a human element that he gets asked a stupid question like that. Jobs’ response, which I’ll paraphrase: “Huh. Sure. Why not,” was gracious, to say the least. I’d have taken one of those snazzy new iPod shuffle lanyards and throttled the reporter with it.
The Mac mini: Apple discovers, four years too late, the sub-$500 computer. People love cheap computers and this one is not only cheap, but it’s puny in terms of computing power. If all you’re doing is Web surfing or writing angry letters about bike trails to the Austin Chronicle, then this is the computer for you. The computer, like “America’s Top Model”, is meant to get by on looks alone, and in that respect it works fantastically. It looks like something you’d put your martini glass on at a metrosexual’s dinner party.
Usually you have to watch an entire season of reality TV to get the number of sheer “Ohmygod!” moments as you got on this week’s premiere of VH1’s “The Surreal Life.” Where to begin? The highlights: lady-looks-like-a-dude ex-wrestler Chyna Doll (trying hard, with the bikini and fur coat, to look like a rap video extra), the former Peter Brady (Christopher Knight) as the voice of reason (you know you’ve got reality gold when the voice of reason on your show is Peter Brady), former rapper (at least I think that’s what she did) Da Brat, who is so above all this, and Verne Troyer (they shall call him “Mini-Me” forever) doing, well, anything. Verne fights with Chyna, gets drunk and rides his tiny vehicle naked. Naked, people.
This isn’t just Must-See TV. It’s “Must TiVo This Until My Dying Days” TV.
Green Day is back at #1 on the album charts, and their nine-minute epic “Jesus of Suburbia” from “America Idiot” certainly deserves TV airplay, but couldn’t they do better than “Last Call with Carson Daly?” I know it’s a long song, but these guys have seven Grammy nominations and the top album in the U.S. Was Letterman overbooked? Does Conan hate Bay-area punks? Hasn’t Leno — nevermind, forget I said “Leno.”
Still, what is the deal? To be fair, “Tool Time” Carson devoted a huge chunk of his show to the group (although “Wasn’t she in that one movie…?” actress Kyra Sedgwick got top billing. Ouch.), and their performance in front of a close-up live audience was awe-inspiring. But where I live, at least, it was on at about 2 a.m.
TiVo, folks. If you don’t have it, you’re missing a lot of the good stuff.
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