Following the Macworld 08 Keynote

It seems that Steve Jobs' keynotes are becoming increasingly popular. I wouldn't be surprised if next year we will see a live broadcast of the event. I followed the keynote in several live blogs. Most of them couldn't accommodate the load and broke down at some point.

It was a mixed feeling. People were expecting more. Most of the people I interact with are very technologically oriented. For them, the introduction of a wireless router with integrated NAS (Time Capsule) or rental of movies from an online store (iTunes) using a digital media receiver (Apple TV) seem like yesterday's news. They're correct, nothing new from the technological point of view.

But there is something new here. This time, Apple is doing it. This means it will be simpler and work smoother. This makes the technology accessible by the majority of the population. When I'm training developers writing web applications, I have a motto: "when you're doing the UI, think about your old aunt sitting at home and trying to use it". It's hard for us techies to see that. Great technology is worthless without the correct packaging.

The new MacBook Air seems like Apple's attempt at entering the corporate world. It was missing. I'm thinking about executives who roam around the office all day, from one meeting to another. It is exactly what they need: it's light, it's ideal for e-mail and web surfing, it has a very long battery life. Just perfect. And the icing: it will make the correct impression on your customers, competitors, employees, colleagues. Again, the correct packaging.

The one thing missing is a VGA connector for presentations. This is essential in the corporate world. Even if you arrive at the meeting and you were not planning to do a presentation, you may still want to connect your laptop to a projector and bring up a document. I haven't seen a non-Apple laptop without a VGA connector, but you won't find it in any of the Apple laptops. They moved on to a digital connector and you need to use an adapter (included). It's a real annoyance for those who like to travel very light. Just pick up your laptop and go to the next meeting. Don't think about other things you need to take.

I'm glad that my beloved MacBook Pro did not become obsolete 6 months after I bought it. It's still one of the best laptops out there. I'm just wondering:

• The current MacBook Pro touch-pad already supports multi-touch. For example, scrolling is done with two fingers. Will it support the new "gestures" interface by a software upgrade?
• Will Time Machine be able to work over the air even without the new Time Capsule?  I would really prefer having a router and hard disk combination.

Many people are asking these questions. I'm guessing I'll have my answers soon enough.