Now, I know what you're thinking... What was all of that "Apple zealot" stuff about, if Macworld was so awesome? Well, I'll tell you. Last time, I was pointing out the idiocy of claiming that any operating system is somehow immune to exploitive bugs that can cause serious security concerns. Apple made just such a claim in nationally-distributed ad campaigns, and now they are being proven wrong on a daily basis (until the end of January?), which is pretty funny. But I never said anything negative about the quality of Apple's products. I couldn't have any more respect for what Apple does for the home computer and consumer electronics markets. Since the launch of OSX, to say that Apple's approach to user interface design has been inspired would be insulting. And that's just their software. For the last 3 years, it's almost as if their hardware designers have been rummaging around in my wildest dreams for new ideas. They are constantly pushing the envelope for what people understand about the place of computers in our lives. And Macworld 2007 was possibly the best conference yet. You've just got to love Steve Jobs' showmanship. The iPhone is an incredibly promising portable computer that offers the functionality of both a media player and a mobile phone, as well as wireless Internet. Chat-like SMS messaging, email, voicemail that behaves like email, and a Safari-based web-browser that allows proper Internet browsing on a mobile device. And again, that's without even mentioning the physical device itself. The inclusion of a multi-touch LCD is a first, and something that I've only seen before in academic research or incredibly high-end professional systems. But equally cool, is the accelerometer that allows the iPhone to determine its orientation and alter its display from profile to landscape accordingly. And lastly, proximity and ambient light sensors on the face of the iPhone that help it conserve battery life and eliminate erroneous input on the touchscreen while being used as a phone. Check it out at CNet TV. Then there was Apple TV. Basically, a wireless entertainment hub that connects media from your computer to your "widescreen television." The device costs $299 and boasts a 40GB hard-drive, HDMI, and all the wireless flavors you could need. The interface is slick, taking advantage of Apple's fantastic Core Animation to deliver wonderfully fast, browsable thumbnails of all of your media. But the product as a whole starts to lose a little of its sheen, the closer you look at its purpose. The details are a little sketchy to me... The 40GB local disk allows for "up to 50 hours" of video at 640 x 480, with support for 720p. Now HD content would take up considerably more disk space and would no doubt trim down that 50 hour mark by quite a bit. And that's before you consider how you're going to get that HD content on the box. Apple doesn't offer HD video yet, and I'm not sure the broadband quality and penetration is there to even make it a realistic option. Maybe by 2010, but not today. And 640 x 480 just isn't going to look all that great to someone that's used to a high-definition image. How this product will compete against Microsoft's pending IPTV service over Xbox Live is questionable; though frankly, I think the answer is "not well." I could ramble on, because this is an area of computing that I'm pretty interested in and excited about... So I'll just leave it at this - Apple TV is definitely a nice first attempt (Apple is clearly thinking). Though I have to say that I think dropping another device between the computer and the television is not the right conceptual direction to move in. But that's a whole different post...