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Big Announcement Day
Big big news today! First, Apple announced the Mac mini, the iPod shuffle, and iWork (including the new “Pages” word processor and graphic design app). Oh, and all the updates to the iLife apps. This greatly increases the odds I'll be getting a new computer this summer when the next update to OS X (“Tiger”) comes out. It just doesn't make sense to pay close to $200 for the os upgrade, plus the iLife upgrade, and the new iWork bits, only to run them on a 600 mhz G3 machine. Since all that new software will come on any new machine I buy, I'll practically be saving $200! (Er, or something like that.) The other big news: Howard Dean announced he's officially running for Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. I don't know what to think about that. It could be great. Or really not great. I'm pretty pessimistic about the chances for it being great, though. Too much money would really hate to see Dean in any position of “official” influence that it's unlikely he'll get the job, and even if he does, all that money will still be working very hard to make him “behave” and serve its interests. If he refuses, the money will make the position of DNC Chairman irrelevant. (And obviously its not just big money doing the talking, but also lots of people with positions of various amounts of power who would be threatened by Dean as an official party leader.) In short, the status quo does not like to be messed with, hence my pessimism. But I'd be happy to be proven wrong. I think.Posted January 11, 2005 04:02 PM | general politics mac geek
I think, despite my endorsement of Dean, it might be best to split the chair back into two positions as it was under Fowler the father. Dean could serve as the party's face and Simon Rosenberg as its strategist. Both of them support a 50 state strategery (bushism, I know) and Rosenberg was very complimentary of Dean's presidential candidacy, so it would appear (at least on its face) that the two would get along.
Plus, I do not think that Dean is a particularly adept strategist (as proven by his collapse in Iowa), whereas Simon's strength is in that field.
Posted by: musclehead at January 11, 2005 06:20 PM
Yummy Mac goodness. I admit it, though, I was sort of hoping for a powerbook announcement: like backlit keys on the 12" .
Posted by: kristine at January 11, 2005 06:54 PM
Musclehead: Your plan sounds excellent. I know nothing about Simon, so I'll just have to take your word for it. Would he be willing to push the Dean grassroots agenda, or would that be contrary to his strategerizing?
Kristine: Yeah, who knows when that G5 powerbook will come out. As for me, I'd like to see a real subnotebook, something like a half-inch thick, three pounds or less. If they can make the Mac mini less than three pounds, why not a laptop? Screens can't be that heavy, can they?
Posted by: ambimb at January 12, 2005 08:14 AM
