Five Predictions for the Apple Macworld Keynote 1/9/2007

After having a fantastic experience at last year’s Macworld Expo (MWE) in San Francisco (my full 2006 Macworld review can be found in this newsletter), I thought I’d make five predictions for the upcoming Apple Keynote. The Keynote will be presented by Apple Computer’s CEO Steve Jobs on Tuesday 1/9/2007. These are based on some of the patent filings and rumors circulating over the last 6-12 months, combined with my experience using Apple’s products over the last 23 years. If I get even one right, that would be great (if I get two right, that would be even better, and if all five are correct…yeah, right).

Photograph ©Andrew Darlow, All Rights Reserved

In between my predictions are some of my photographs from the 2006 Keynote and from the show floor at Macworld Expo. All the photos are available for editorial licensing (more information is at the bottom of this article).

PREDICTION 1: Steve Jobs will wear blue jeans at the Keynote.

PREDICTION 2: A 120GB iPod with Video will be released in the same form factor as the previous 80GB 5th Gen iPods.

PREDICTION 3: A MacBook will be released with a 10- to 12-inch wide screen that is a convertible tablet/notebook with a full keyboard and new handwriting recognition software. Battery life will be approx. 8 hours and it will weigh less than 4 pounds. It will have integrated memory card slots, and a retractable cord that will allow it to be quickly hooked up to a monitor, TV or another notebook computer for extra screen real estate.

PREDICTION 4: A New iPod with Video, using 32GB flash memory will be announced. It will be larger than an iPod Nano, but much smaller than the existing 5th Gen iPods. It will have integrated Bluetooth for data syncing, wireless headphones and cell phone integration. It will have a 2.5″ screen similar to the one used on the existing 5th Gen. iPods.

PREDICTION 5: OS10.4.9 Tiger and OS10.5 Leopard will be officially released (Leopard on-sale “that day”), along with Apple iLife ’07 and iWork ’07.

MWE 2006: Apple’s booth on the show floor.

Photograph ©Andrew Darlow, All Rights Reserved

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Any blogger or other media representative who would like to write about these predictions and this article may request to use any one of the photos above after receiving permission via e-mail from Andrew Darlow. Please send your request to imaging(at)andrewdarlow.com and you will be contacted promptly with an answer.

For image licensing info, contact Andrew Darlow at imaging(at)andrewdarlow.com or +1-732-742-0123. Thanks, and for those attending, enjoy the big show! The 2007 show looks to be an amazing event. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it this year, but I highly recommend visiting the show site. The Digital Lifestyle Experience looks like it will be be a great place for photographers of all levels to hang out.

At Macworld 2007 there will also be a special tribute to noted author Bruce Fraser. More information can be found here.

Tip: Great website for choosing web-safe colors

Have you ever had to choose a logo, background or type color for display on a web page? Often they are described in numbers or letters–something like this: #999966 (a brownish/green), or #00FFFF (an aqua blue).

I just came across a really great article, filled with information about web-safe colors and how to avoid dithering when choosing colors. In addition, the site just looks great (like a trip through Willy Wonka’s crayon factory–if he had one). What really makes it special is the fact that the site has not only 216 web-safe swatches for Windows and Mac users, but it also shows text in over 200 colors.

Screen shot of a web-safe color chart on yourhtmlsource.com

You can find the page at www.yourhtmlsource.com and I plan to be a frequent visitor to the site. While you’re there, check out the many other resources and tutorials. Here’s a quote from the site to leave you with: “We use (and teach) valid HTML and CSS, for your comfort and safety.”

Comfort, safety and nice colors to choose from. What could be better on a Monday morning? Enjoy!

Seminar/Workshop Announcements: Kevin Ames Workflow tour and PhotoPlus seminars

I’ve know Kevin Ames for many years and consider him both a friend, and a great instructor. His years of experience using Photoshop for his commercial and personal work, along with his straightforward teaching style combine to make his events worth attending. I attended one of his day-long Blue Pixel seminars last year in Washington, D.C. and thought that he offered a lot of good advice about Photoshop and overall workflow.

Kevin Ames

Blue Pixel Pro Digital Workflow Tour

Kevin is currently traveling across the USA on the Blue Pixel Pro Digital Workflow Tour. Seven cities have already been completed on this tour, and the following nine cities remain:

San Diego, CA 11/12/06
Seattle, WA 11/19/06
Phoenix, AZ 12/03/06
Miami, FL 12/10/06
Chicago, IL 01/07/07
Los Angeles, CA 01/14/07
Baltimore, MD 01/28/07
San Jose, CA 02/04/07
New York, NY 02/11/07
For more information or to register, visit www.bluepixel.net/proworkflow.

Kevin Ames at the PhotoPlus Expo 2006

Kevin Ames will also host three hands-on workshops for digital photographers of all levels at PhotoPlus Conference & Expo 2006, being held at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City November 2-4, 2006.

Each session is two-hours, and the seminar descriptions are listed below:

Lighting without Lights: This session reveals the secrets of Photoshop’s new Merge to HDR feature. Attendees will learn the photographic techniques that make lighting without lights possible, as well as the ins and outs of working in High Dynamic Range. Thursday, November 2, 1-3 p.m.

Understanding and Using Lighting for Digital Photographers: This dynamic session explains and demonstrates how to light a professional model. Attendees will discover how to recognize and understand the qualities of light and how to control contrast. Saturday, November 4, 1-3 p.m.

Using Apple’s Aperture with Photoshop CS2: This session will show attendees the latest in RAW pre-production image processing featuring Aperture, Apple’s new pro photographic software. Ames shows that prepping your RAW files on a Mac just got a whole lot easier! Saturday, November 4, 3:45-5:45 p.m.

“By hosting these workshops along with Blue Pixel’s Pro Digital Workflow seminar series around the country, I am giving digital photographers a chance to learn and enhance their own techniques,” said Ames….I hope to illustrate how to apply these techniques creatively to get the visualized images of the mind’s eye out into the world for others to see and enjoy.”

For more information or to register, visit www.photoplusexpo.com

Kevin is also the author of a number of outstanding books related to Photoshop and Digital Photography, which you can find here.