I ’ve been in the business long enough that I should n’t be surprise by others ’ reactions to a Steve Jobs keynote but I allow I was overhear unaware by the responses of a couple of common people in the hall and some who ’ve since written about Monday ’s Worldwide Developers Conference tonic .
One journalist I speak to , who I thought should know well , claimed it was “ the dullest tonic I ’ve ever see . ” Where was the iPhone ? The next iPod ? The “ One more thing ! ? ”
“ Where , ” I cogitate , “ is your sense ? ”
And it then occurred to me that in the creative thinker of many , each and every Steve Jobs keynote must contain The Big Wow element — something wholly nerveless that fall out of leftover field of operation . This without consideration of the venue or where Apple is in its development hertz .
In my judgment , Monday ’s offering was a perfectly acceptable keynote . But maybe that ’s because I was n’t expecting a novel iPod , an Apple - post speech sound , an Apple - denounce tab calculation equipment , an Apple - branded multimedia set - top box , and Apple - brandmark line of constitutional wintry foods . I was expecting passably much what I got — the completion of the Intel - establish Macintosh demarcation with the introduction of the Mac Pro and Xserve and a coup d’oeil at some of Leopard ’s new features .
And honestly , if you pay attention , that ’s pretty much how things are done these days . If the why s and wherefores of Apple ’s announcements and keynotes are a enigma to you , let me spell it out clearly by the seasonal year :
Winter: Macworld Expo
Expois the “ consumer ’s show , ” the expo where Apple shows off cool and lighter transportation . Here you could wait announcements of brand Modern Macs , iPods , iLife / iWork update , consumery coating pinch ( iChat , for exercise ) , and the consumer ’s look at an upcoming major rewrite of the Mac OS ( espouse the Developer ’s looking at WWDC the late summertime ) . If there ’s going to be a “ One More affair ” coast , this is the keynote in which it will most likely come along .
Winter: National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Show
At thistrade showtaking property a couple of weeks after Macworld Expo , Apple shows off its music - related applications — largely Logic Pro and Logic Express — and some of its hardware .
Early Spring: National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention
Look for announcements and releases associate to Apple ’s pro TV program program at thisevent .
Late Spring: School buying season
If Apple ’s got a novel Mac for schooltime in the line , this is when you ’ll find out about it .
Summer: WWDC
Now that there is no summertime Macworld Expo , Apple uses its annualWorldwide Developer Conferenceto update developers and the mainstream press on what it ’s up to . Because the focus of WWDC is developers , Jobs tends to stay away from purely consumer item like the iPod and iLife and , rather , spends time talking about the company ’s gamy - goal computer hardware and OS space , as illustrated by this week ’s unveilings .
Apple is now in a place to muster the aid of the mainstream press at any meter of its choosing by announce a particular issue . The daylight when Jobs needs to tack on a “ One more thing ” to the ending of a WWDC keynote are over .
Early Autumn: Apple Expo France
Apple generally usesits metre in Paristo speak up what it ’s doing in the European market — iTunes and Apple Store expansion in the EU , for model . You may also get a rehash of some of the textile offered during the WWDC tonic . Now that Apple can call well - attended extra events , Apple Expo France is n’t the place to look for Big Announcements .
Mid-Autumn: Special events for consumer products
Like any other company whose products are likely to be find under December ’s decapitate Douglas Fir , Apple understands the motivation to have hot new products out in time for the High Holidays . September and October are the months when Apple creates special effect to denote and release novel iPods and other consumer gewgaws .
Mid-Autumn: Audio Engineering Society (AES) convention
Apple is by and large well represented at October’sAES conventionwhere it shows off its professional audio applications ( Logic and Soundtrack ) , high - close telecasting applications , and more - powerful computers .
And then back to Macworld Expo where the cycle begin anew .
Just because Apple ’s innovational ( and highly tightlipped ) does n’t make its action unpredictable . We ’ve had plenty of evidence of how Apple ’s product and presentation cycle work to make reasonable guesses about the fundamental elements of upcoming presentations . Beyond that , the conjuring trick to avoiding disappointment is keeping undue expectations in check .
