Apple expert John C. Welch is eyeing new iPhones

Macworld Expo Forecast: What's Up Steve Jobs' Sleeve?
Our Apple expert John C. Welch is eyeing new iPhones, upgraded laptops, and possible announcements regarding the Mac Mini and Apple TV.

An iPhone software update that talks better to Mac OS X 10.5 Server. Okay, I cheated. I honestly think that even if we don't see Steve talk about it on stage, we're going to get an iPhone update that lets at least Mac OS X 10.5 Server directly talk to an iPhone. It's too obvious not to do, and it's just silly that an iPhone can't talk to Apple's own server other than e-mail and iTunes. Chances: 90%.

More details on the iPhone SDK and a choice early adopter demo that will include Exchange connectivity, with a possible early release. Again, this is a gimme. The iPhone SDK will be less than a month away by the time Steve walks on stage for the Macworld Conference & Expo keynote. It is silly to think he won't show off what you can do with the SDK.
The most obvious choice is an Exchange connector application. For one, it's the big thing that every IT pundit wants for the iPhone. For another, considering the tweak that the iPhone smacking Windows Mobile around must have given Ballmer (particularly in light of his claim in April 2007 that, "There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance."), showing how an iPhone can be the best Exchange phone client is just a chance to twist the knife a little. While Jobs may consider Gates a friend, I have my doubts if he feels the same way about Ballmer. Chances for a specific SDK release date: 100%. Chances for SDK application demos: 100%. Chances that an Exchange client will be one of them: 90%.

Now that I've written about what I'd like to see from Apple in 2008 (see related story), I'd like to delve into what I think we're going to see at Macworld Conference & Expo 2008, which begins in San Francisco on Jan. 14. I'll also provide what I think are the odds for my predictions.

A new iPhone 3G model. This one seems obvious, but it depends on one thing: how good are the new 3G chips with regard to battery life. If they're good enough, sure. By the keynote, it will have been almost six months since the iPhone release. That's plenty of time for Apple to come out with a new model. Without 3G, it will be hard to get excited about it. With 3G, it's easy. Chances: 50%.

A new ultralight laptop. The call is there, the ability to make one that doesn't suck is there. The question is, does Apple see the marketshare? I think so, but it's not a lock. Ultralights have some hardcore fans, but most of them have already bought MacBooks. So the question becomes, can Apple make an ultralight interesting enough to switch? Chances: 75%.

Upgrades for the laptop line, possible touchscreens. For the first part, almost a given. Intel (NSDQ: INTC) announced the Penryn 45-nm chips. They're faster, stronger, better, yadda. Apple likes to announce fasterstrongerbetter at Macworld.
The only real question is will the overall laptop design change, and the big question there is, will the MacBook (Pro) line(s) get an iPhone-derived touchscreen. Honestly, I don't know. Yes, there are people who swear tablets are the future. But look at the sales on the PC side. All WinTel tablet sales combined can't outsell Apple's portable line. While there's a great use for them in various vertical markets, by and large, tablet sales have sucked.

If Apple can create something that's more than "look, a touchscreen" and integrate it into the MacBook line, then sure, I can see it. If nothing else, designers and artists will lose their minds about it. But otherwise, no. Chances for laptop upgrades: 100%. Chances for a touchscreen as part of that: 40%. Chances for a "pure" tablet, i.e., no physical keyboard: they introduced that June 29th, 2007. It's called "iPhone."

Some kind of announcement regarding the Mac Mini and Apple TV. Steve's got to say something about these. Yes, they both have a great little form factor, but they're not really getting a lot of attention. They've been rather ignored, at least publicly, for some time now, which is a great sign that they're going to get some kind of slot at the Macworld Conference & Expo keynote. (Steve calling the Apple TV a "hobby" is a possible sign that there are changes coming.) Whether that's a redesign, a replacement like the Mini replacing the eMac, or a combining of the two into a "Mac Home Media Center," noteworthy upgrades for both, I'm not going to guess at, but something's got to give there. Chances: 100%.

Just one more thing... Duh, it's a keynote, and there's no iPhone to dominate it. Chances: 100%.

Stealth upgrades for things not announced at the keynote. This always happens. Random Xserve, Xserve RAID, other stuff that's necessary, but not cool enough for the stage. Again, duh. Chances: 100%.
So there it is, what I want to see from Apple in 2008, and what I think we'll see at the Macworld Conference & Expo keynote. After Expo, I'll have a write up on what really happened (if I'm not posting something during the show) for both Apple and third parties.

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Apple Fans Await Job's MacWorld Keynote

Boston (dbTechno) - Apple fans are already counting down the hours until the big Steve Jobs keynote address at this year's Macworld Conference & Expo, set for January 14 in San Francisco.

Many have been speculating about what is going to be unveiled at MacWorld this year, as many fans expect Apple to do something just as big as the iPhone announcement one year ago, which shocked the wireless industry.

The rumors have been speculating from top to bottom about what Apple is going to reveal this year at MacWorld. The leading guess would be an updated 3G iPhone, which would allow it to run on faster networks.

It is also expected that Steve Jobs will reveal Offfice 2008 for the Mac, which has been a long-delayed product at this point.

Apple is also expected to reveal details on their newly announced iTunes movie rental service which has not yet been officially announced. Apple is close to deals with many film studios to offer movie rentals. These include 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney, MGM, Sony, Lionsgate, and Warner Bros.

A MacBook with touch-screen technology is also highly-rumored, similar to the touch-screen that is now on the iPod Touch and the iPhone.

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OLPC America plans distributing low-cost laptops to needy students in USA

One Laptop Per Child Project Extends to American Students

OLPC America plans to combat digital divide by distributing low-cost laptops to needy students in the U.S.

The One Laptop Per Child Project (OLPC) plans to launch OLPC in 2008 to distribute the low-cost laptop computers originally aimed at developing nations to needy students in the United States.

The group, which was formed in the U.S. by teachers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), came under criticism shortly after forming because its original mission did not include the U.S.

Originally, the aim of OLPC was to develop a $100 laptop for kids in poor nations to ensure they don't miss out on the benefits of computing, and to make sure developing countries don't fall further and further behind modern nations due to their inability to buy computers, a conundrum commonly referred to as the digital divide.

OLPC America already has a director and a chairman, and will likely be based in Washington D.C., said Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of OLPC, in an interview.

"The whole thing is merging right now. It will be state-centric. We're trying to do it through the 50 state governments," he said.

The decision to launch OLPC America came about due to three considerations.

"For one thing, we are doing something patriotic, if you will, after all we are and there are poor children in America. The second thing we're doing is building a critical mass. The numbers are going to go up, people will make more software, it will steer a larger development community," Negroponte said.

The third reason is educational, so that children in the U.S. communicate with kids in developing nations and expand their horizons.

The reason OLPC had not included the U.S. in its low-cost laptop program was because of the huge difference in need, Negroponte said. In the U.S., people spend US$10,000 per year per child in primary education, but in Bangladesh, a developing country, they spend $20. It's a huge difference, and many people in the U.S. can afford more expensive laptop PCs for their kids anyway, he noted.

But although the U.S. was not the focus of OLPC in the beginning, it has always been in the plans.

"To have the United Sates be the only country that's not in the OLPC agenda would be kind of ridiculous," Negroponte said.

OLPC Considering 'Give One, Get One' Offer in Europe

Europeans interested in the One Laptop Per Child Project's XO laptop may soon have the chance through a similar to one offered in North America last year.
Europeans interested in the One Laptop Per Child Project's XO laptop may soon have the chance through a "give one, get one" offer similar to that offered in North America last year.

"At some point we might do it in Europe," said Walter Bender, OLPC's president, in an interview Friday.

Under the "give one, get one" program offered in Canada and the U.S., customers could buy an XO laptop for $400 and a second XO laptop would be donated to a developing country. Each XO laptop currently costs around $188.

OLPC hasn't yet made the offer available in Europe because the XO has not received the necessary certifications to be sold there. "We haven't finished all that stuff, so we couldn't do it in Europe yet," Bender said.

Whether or not OLPC does make the XO available in Europe remains to be determined, and such an offer remains under consideration. "We may or may not do it," Bender said

From OLPC's perspective, the "give one, get one" offer helped large numbers of people in North America get involved with the group's efforts to bring computing to children in developing countries, Bender said.

"A lot of people [are] jumping in to the software, to learning and to support. ...That's what I was hoping Intel would do, but they didn't. The public is doing it instead," he said, referring to Intel's acrimonious departure last week from OLPC's board of directors.

OLPC has so far shipped around 50,000 XO laptops to North American customers under the "give one, get one" program, and more remain to be shipped, Bender said. The number of customers who ordered laptops under the program was not immediately available, but as many as 150,000 units may have been donated through the program.


OLPC and Microsoft Working On New XO Laptop
According to reports, the One Laptop Per Child project is working with Microsoft to create a new version of the XO laptop that would be able to boot Linux, which is the current operating system, as well as Windows.

The two companies are working together to try to create an environment on the OLPC XO laptop that would allow users to have a choice and either boot Linux or Windows. They would be able to choose so that they could better run the applications which they need at any given time. Nick Negroponte of the OLPC project made the announcement on Wednesday that they are working with the software giant Microsoft.

The OLPC is hoping that this partnership with Microsoft will put them ahead of Intel’s rival budget laptop, the Classmate which runs both Linux or Windows. It does so though in a way that is not dual-boot.

Microsoft and the OLPC have been in talks for months but nothing concrete has come out of the talks for the XO laptop as of yet. This is not likely to replace the current XO laptop, but instead put two different models of the laptop out to the world.

This comes just one week after the OLPC and Intel split ways due to Intel’s commitment to the rival Classmate PC.