Macworld — Blog — Ryan Spoon

CES 2009 is in full swing and as interesting as the technology on parade is the mood at the conference. And while I'm not in Las Vegas, I have been following the trends, mood and gadgets from the web (namely blogs, Twitter and Facebook). Day one of CES '09 ended much like yesterday's MacWorld keynote: nothing game-changing... but some of tantalizing moments. Thanks to Gizmodo, here are the three gadgets that I'm already craving (and when the price tags are announced, I'll be cringing):

1. Linksys Wireless Home Audio System Streams All Around Your House

why: there is no great wireless audio system. This looks like it could be it. If this was out a couple months ago, perhaps I'd have purchased instead of the Bose Companion. More on Gizmodo

#2. Modbook Pro: 1/2 iPod Tablet, 1/2 MacBook Pro

Why: Simply put, I want an iPod Tablet. This looks like an amazing product... with an amazing price tag: $4,999. Totally unreasonable price - but it looks amazing. More on Gizmodo

#3. Eee Keyboard: Gorgeous Touchscreen Keyboard

Why: A slim keyboard with tons of ports and the equivalent of an iPod Touch attached to it. Amazed we haven't seen similar concepts yet. More on Gizmodo

Macworld 2009 is around the corner and that means that the tech world and blogosphere are abuzz with rumors... 10 of which Fortune covers in the article "Top 10 Macworld rumors for 2009". It's a good, thorough list, but only two of the ten rumors get me excited; the other eight strike me as cool... but far from groundbreaking or - more bluntly - being very important. I assume Fortune agrees with me because these two Macworld rumors are listed as #1 and #2 (although I don't fully understand what their ranking system means):

2. New Apple TV/Time Capsule. This one also comes from an analyst. Shaw Wu, a veteran Apple watcher newly ensconsed at Kaufman Bros., wrote last week about the possibility that Apple will introduce a new consumer device — “an enhanced version of Apple TV and/or Time Capsule” — that would give users access to their media content, SlingBox style, from anywhere on the Internet.

I am neither an Apple TV nor a Time Capsule user; but a significant improvement in Apple TV in particular creates an avenue into a wider consumer market. Lots of companies and technologies are competing to win attention in your family room and on your TV. Apple is one of them and this could mark the entrance in a larger, more consumer-friendly manner.

1. Steve Jobs. Show or no-show, Apple’s CEO is both Macworld 2009’s No. 1 rumor and No. 1 source of rumors — whether it be that he’s stepping down, that his health is failing, that he doesn’t feel there’s enough news in Nos. 1-9 to justify a Steve Jobs keynote, or that he just doesn’t feel like playing in Macworld’s sandbox anymore. We favor the theory that he’s set the stage brilliantly for a surprise cameo appearance

Not exactly an announcement as sexy as the iPhone 3G - but every bit as important. Steve Jobs is synonymous with Apple and (right or wrong) his health has been the subject of many Apple rumors and stock swings. Getting truth to those rumors clearly changes the direction of Apple, its management and potentially its product roadmap.

It's also important to note that Fortune doesn't include either the iPhone Nano or iPod Tablet in their rumor list... If either were in the list, I would immediately add them to the my list.