The iSomething Announcement!
Genesis On My iPhone? Yes, Please!
Sega is releasing an official Genesis emulator for the iPhone either today or sometime in February (depending on which report you believe). It'll be free and come with Space Harrier II... A game I don't remember even a little bit... But will have in-app downloads of Sonic The Hedgehog for $5.99, Golden Axe for $4.99, and Eco The Dolphin and Shining Force for $2.99 each.
I'm currently nerding out over the idea of playing Sonic on my iPhone... Let's just hope it's better than Super Monkey Ball was, amirite?
Via Gizmodo.
Apple Event? Game On
Everyone in the tech blogging community has received an invite to the January 27th Apple event that is expected to introduce the Apple Tablet, iPhone OS 4.0, and maybe some new iLife/iWork awesomeness.
Added bonus? It happens on my day off! Score!
As most blogs are noting, the use of ink splatters and the word "creation" would imply that the Apple tablet would be more bent on creating content than necessarily delivering it, which would be a bit of a departure from the current concepts floating around, which basically claim the so-called iSlate (worst name since 'MacBook Air' and 'MobileMe') would be a super-swank iPhone/eReader hybrid, which I know would sell insanely well but would also be rather underwhelming. At least it would be for me... then again, when the MacBook Air was being bandied about, was hoping for a super-light computer that also made waffles, so maybe my expectations from MacDaddy Steve Jobs are a tad high.
Anyway, as the event happens on my day off (again: score!), you can expect to see my reactions to the announcement here, as if you really give a crap, and then you can expect me to go through my usual Apple announcement cycle: 1. Shock and amazement, 2. Decrying the announcement as the most overhyped thing ever, 3. Seeing the thing in real life and deciding that it isn't so bad, 4. Becoming willing to sell a kidney to have one, 5. Buying one, even though there are much better ways for me to spend my cash.
Although I Shouldn’t Have To Say This…
...I'll be dead-blogging the Apple Event later tonight (assuming the video is live by the time I get home), and giving my incredibly insightful and witty observations about the announcements, which will include at least one fart joke, no matter how hard I have to work to get it in there.
WWDC '09: Rumor Roundup/Predictions
Phil 'Holy Crap I'm Boring' Schiller will be delivering the Apple Keynote at the World Wide Developer Conference today, which is my version of The Superbowl. There's been a lot of rumors swirling around about what will be shown today and, because I love you, I've compiled a handy list. No need to thank me, it's all part of the service.
ITEM: iPhone OS X 3.0!
We already know the new iPhone OS will have the long-promised push notifications for applications, cut, copy and paste (finally), MMS messaging ('bout time), landscape keyboard support in all applications (thank you), phone-wide Spotlight search, stereo Bluetooth support, and phone-to-phone connectivity for contact sharing and gaming.
I think the only thing we're really expecting to hear about the new firmware is an actual release date. Which will likely line up with...
ITEM: New iPhone!
Expected to range in sizes from 4GB to 32GB, the new iPhone is supposed to have video recording support, an auto-focus, higher-resolution camera, a magnetometer for compass apps and to tell the GPS chip what direction you're facing, and faster 3G connectivity. Rumors have claimed that Apple will abandon the shiny finish of the current 3G iPhone in favor of a matte finish, which would be awesome, since the current back shows smudges and fingerprints like crazy.
ITEM: Snow Leopard
The next release of OS X should also be talked about today, giving an overview of the changes between Leopard and Snow Leopard, a majority of which are performance improvements and the like. The Marble interface, which can be seen in current versions of iTunes, is not expected to be a part of Snow Leopard, which is disappointing, 'cause I'm really tired of the Aqua interface, with its annoying blue scroll bars.
Yes, the blue scroll bars annoy me. Don't judge me.
ITEM: Apple Notebook Updates
The rumor of Apple updating their notebook line and rebranding all aluminum unibody MacBooks as part of the MacBook Pro line have been floating about, but I think it's unlikely.
ITEM: Steve Jobs' Return
While I think Mac Daddy will be in the audience, I don't think he'll take the stage... he might be ready to come back after his 6 month leave of absence, but I think a big part of what Apple has been trying to prove in that time is that the company doesn't need El Jobso to survive anymore, and taking the stage would be counterproductive to that cause. That being said, I can also see Ol' Mock Turtleneck And Jeans not putting his ego aside and taking control of the new iPhone portion of the event, so it really could go either way.
That's about all I can think of off the top of my head... I'll be liveblogging based on the streams of Engadget, TUAW, MacRumors and Ars Technica, as well as following updates on Twitter and tweeting about it myself so people like Scott don't miss out on anything.
The keynote kicks off at 10AM Pacific, 1PM Eastern, in case you weren't aware. I'll talk to you all then.