MWSF Reactions

Everyone and her sister seems to think the iPod mini is overpriced at $250 for its target market of “high-end flash MP3 players.” I’m inclined to agree, but then I remember my initial reaction to the first iPod: absurdly high for something so base as an MP3 player. Well, the iPod turned out not only to sell in droves despite its price but evolve into more than an MP3 player, both practically and aesthetically. Apple will probably dominate the iPod mini’s target market with the same gusto and innate cool factor that has kept their brand afloat for years despite seemingly shaky business decisions.

The rest of the announcements were nifty, but not earth-shattering. Clearly, I want a new G5 Xserve and I think you all should start robbing the poor, sick, weak, and aged to help me pay for it.

Then, I’ll write a song to reward you with GarageBand, which in all seriousness I see as being the fucking joint. I worry that it’s family-targeted image will prevent “serious” musicians from adopting it. GarageBand has a feature set that handily outstrips pretty much everything short of the big-money professional DAW packages like Logic and Pro Tools. Its loop-stretching, as I mention in my keynote minutes below, matches Acid without breaking a sweat, its virtual instruments look better than 90% of the sampled or synthesized solutions out there in the pro audio world, and its amp simulations sound robust and warm (I can’t wait to try running my vocals through them!). All that for the $45-or-free cost of the iLife suite makes it attractive enough that I’ll likely use it for a couple songs that’ve been floating around my head, and I’ll bet I’m not alone amongst semi-pro “audio enthusiasts.” Cakewalk and everything else in the sub-$500 home studio price range can take a hike; I see only more specialized apps like Ableton Live surviving GarageBand’s awesome awesomeness if it performs half as well as it demos.

The Office 2004 and iLife updates are pleasant, but the sort of they-should-have-done-all-that-last-version updates that it’s hard to get excited about. And lastly, tiny announcement though it may be, I’m interested in hearing a pair of Apple’s new in-ear headphones, which hopefully sound as good as they look. All told, a good, hopefully un-detrimental, but not earth-shattering round of announcements from Steve and the gang.