Tuesday 6th January 2009

Although the Macworld Expo '09 keynote did bring us new iWork and iLife releases as well as a 17" MacBook Pro, there are quite a few rumors and predictions that didn't come true.

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The new 17-inch MacBook Pro joins its lighter, Air-ier cousin with a built-in battery. This may be a bummer for some users, but Apple offers a battery replacement program that should help some anxious potential customers.

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There is a lot more to the new GarageBand than Phil Schiller let on in Tuesday's keynote. Ars shines a light on some of the lesser-known new features in GarageBand '09.

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We reported last month that The Sharper Image would be rebranding itself as a gadget maker here at CES, and now we have our first hands-on with their cheap iPod docks. Welcome to the future!

Yes, now instead of a store in the mall to buy your stepdad a spatula mixed with a thermometer, The Sharper Image is going to be a line of iPod docks sold at places like department stores and Bed, Bath & Beyond.

What I saw were some decent-looking but uninspiring iPod docks. One model rotates your iPod touch automagically into landscape mode for watching movies. Another has a pair of detachable, wireless speakers.

The goal is to sell iPod docks that are cheaper than what's out there, but with most of the prices hovering well over $100, they really only seem like they'll be cheap when compared to something like Bose. In any case, these things won't be hitting stores your mom shops at until November of this year, so we have a good long while to get excited about piano-black iPod docks again.

Pandora's personalized internet radio player is one of our favorite iPhone apps—and tonight it got better, adding custom stations from a single track, a snazzy Coverflow-like song history and a playback progress bar (finally).

You can also take said "genius" stations (previously only generated via artist) and e-mail them to friends, just like the old artist stations. Artist biographies also show up inline now to supplement Pandora's ingenious descriptive tags.

The update is available now on iTunes, even though the App Store page still says version 1.2.1: [Pandora via TechCrunch]

Pandora's personalized internet radio player is one of our favorite iPhone apps—and tonight it got better, adding a snazzy Coverflow-like song history, bookmark previewing, in-line artist bios and a playback progress bar (finally).

You can also take your track-based stations (previously only generated via artist and e-mail them to friends, just like the artist stations (Update: Pandora says something here is new, but you folks are right, you could do this in the last version. Weird. The emailing bit is still true.) Artist biographies also show up inline now to supplement Pandora's ingenious descriptive tags.

The update is available now on iTunes, even though the App Store page still says version 1.2.1: [Pandora via TechCrunch]

iWeb '09 didn't get any face time during Apple's final Macworld Expo keynote, so we gave it a whirl on the showroom floor. Thanks to the arrival of some handy new features and much-requested fundamentals, iWeb '09 is a much more viable option for any user (not just MobileMe members) who needs good-looking sites with minimal fuss.

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This one slipped even below Jim Goldman's rumor radar: The Apple Keynote Beer Goggles. Judging from today's snoringfest, I won't be surprised if they make them obligatory for every event in 2009.

Many people are bashing the Philnote because it was a bore and there were no new new NEW toys. In reality, the keynote wasn't very different from many other that Steve Jobs did in the past. I remember some who were mostly the same: Endless software demonstrations plus a hardware update here or there. In fact, I think there were even worse keynotes, like that time when an endless parade of third-party software directors came on stage to show their support to Mac OS X. It took me several Guinness pints to get over that one.

So given what he had to present today—and I've to say that I love the new iPhoto and iMovie—El Schillerino did quite a good job. But even while he was good, apparently he's not Steve Jobs and people weren't as enthusiastic as when El Esteban is on stage. I don't know what's going to happen when Jobs finally retires from Apple, but maybe the key for success goes through free beer for everyone at the door. And probably free pizza too. [Image based on the original beer goggles from Urban Spectacles via Dark Roasted Blend]

Aside from the actual speculated products, the big news surrounding the Apple Macworld keynote was that Steve Jobs would be out sick. But as I refreshed the Gizmodo liveblog, I wondered, did it matter?

I'm a sucker for any Apple keynote, whether I'm in the stands with the press or F5'ing away at my browser like most of you. There's a certain hypnotic timing to them, a clean presentation and a controlled, meticulous unveiling process that makes even the less exciting products seem monumental in scope.

During today's last Apple Macworld keynote, not having been there, I actually forgot at times that Steve Jobs wasn't presenting with Phil Schiller taking his place instead. Indeed, from the text/content alone, I wouldn't have even noticed. The presentation style was intact—from the clean slides to the dramatic structure, it was an Apple keynote, even if it wasn't Steve's Apple keynote. But I want to know, do you feel the same way?

Our liveblog is great, but nothing beats seeing the last Macworld keynote with your own eyes. Fortunately, Apple has posted the entire event online in QuickTime. [Apple]

Ars gets a little face time with the newest version of iMovie and Apple's crack demo team.

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If this morning's breathless commentary from us and other media outlets wasn't enough for you, you can catch up with the Macworld '09 keynote with Phil Schiller by watching the video stream that was just posted online.

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The new Mac Box Set: a great deal out of an otherwise tame Macworld Expo keynote.

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Apple released a major update to iWork '09 during its Tuesday morning keynote at Macworld Expo 2009. Keynote, Pages, and Numbers all received new features and better integration, but Apple also announced a new iWork.com web service for sharing and collaborating on documents.

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