the Forty-Second Parallel

Alright, now that it's been a few days since the MacWorld Keynote, I'll through my reactions into the collective blogosphere (you know, for posterity).

For the most part, only two things from this year's MW keynote warrant comment - GarageBand and the iPod mini.

I wish GarageBand had existed when I was in high school and college. I remember fudging with dinky four track recorders - recording; mixing down; recording again; mixing down to make more room; etc. Ugh. GarageBand just flat out rocks (or at least looks like it will).

The iPod mini, on the other hand, doesn't rock - it's defenders keep saying that it's not about price; size matters; etc. Hmm ... sorry, I don't buy that. Price matters. I think, for the majority of people, $249 is still a little steep for a portable music player. Besides, if you're ready to pay $249 for an iPod mini, you're probably willing to plunk down $50 more for a 15 gig iPod.

Apple is treading on thin ice here - they're kings of the hill until someone (perhaps Sony?) finally gets their act together and releases an iPod mini type device priced in the $150 - 200 range with a decent user interface. When that happens - the iPod's in trouble.