The Early List Of Macworld 2006 Predictions.

Sound the horns. Let the hype and speculation begin. Macworld 2006 is barely a month away and the list of new Apple products is longer than Tera’s hair is short.

How about an Apple digital camera? Didn’t Steve Jobs kill that back in 1997? It’s on the early Crazy List.

Macworld is that time of year when many Mac users start speculating on CEO Steve Jobs’ famous, “One more thing…” line.

The past few keynote and media events from Apple have brought us more than one more thing. Remember just a few months ago? There was the expected ‘One More Thing…’ with the iTunes enabled ROKR phone from Motorola and Cingular.

Then, to everyone’s surprise, Steve pulled an iPod nano out of his hat. Uh, well, out of his jeans pocket.

The new trend in Apple Watching in the 21st Century is to expect and receive the expected, AND, to expect the unexpected, AND to expect more of each.

In otherwords, Apple does not disappoint. We get more of everything. So much more that we can’t keep track of what’s not here yet.

So, right or wrong, here’s my Early List Of Macworld 2006 Predictions.

This is a list of all the lists I’ve seen, read about, discussed, stolen, or dreamed about over the past few weeks. If there’s a glaring ommission, I blame it on Tera who only gives us 30-minutes to write an article.

Apple Digital Camera
Let me start off with plain old red-blooded American thievery. Macsimum News says we may see an Apple digital camera at Macworld.

Why? Because of a reissue of an Apple patent which says the device is “Apparatus and method for rotating the display orientation of a captured image” and goes on to refer to Apple’s QuickTake digital camera circa 1997.

Intel-based PowerBooks
Since Apple just recently updated the PowerPC PowerBooks I consider this one a long shot. However, Citigroup analyst Richard Gardner says he expects Apple to introduce a PowerBook with an Intel chip in January.

We all know how accurate those stock analysts can be. Apple’s stock is up again today.

iLife ‘06 Suite
I know what you’re thinking. “Barbara Marie, can you spell ‘duh’?”

Almost everyone is predicting updates to the iLife suite of applications; iTunes, iMove, iPhoto, iDVD, and GarageBand.

Everyone else is predicting some exciting new application to go along with it, but no one agrees what it will be. I think it will have something to do with, uh, um, ahh, video. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Video.

Front Row 2.0
The big money (as if you could actually bet on such things as what’ll Apple do next) seems to be on Apple bundling an updated version of Front Row into iLife.

For those of us living outside Steve Jobs’ famed Reality Distortion Field, the new iMac G5s come with Front Row, which is a front end to iTunes, DVD Player, Movies, and Photo slideshows and uses a nifty new Apple Remote.

That sounds good and all, but it’s missing something.

Apple’s Digital Video Recorder (DVR)
This is a no brainer. What that means is, 1) if it comes at Macworld, I knew it first, and, 2) if it doesn’t show up, then anyone with a brain could have figured that out.

Apple hired the CEO of Elgato to run Apple’s German operation in Europe. Elgato’s EyeTV and EyeHome are best of breed when it comes to video recording from cable on the Mac. Apple has lots and lots of cash.

Hmmmm. Can Apple pull a cross platform (Mac and Windows controls) DVR out of it’s ‘One More Thing Hat™”. I don’t think so.

Intel-Based Mac mini DVR Refrigerator
Hey, it could happen. There’s already a mini-refrigerator that runs off your USB 2.0 port.

What a cool combination. Too bad it won’t happen. But if they take away the refrigerator… $499 without the fridge.

Intel-Based iBook
Smaller, faster, lighter, cooler, and Intel Inside.

This one makes sense as it’s aimed at the consumer crowd and Apple could signal a shift toward greater market share goals with a $699 entry-level price tag. I’d buy one for my purse.

iPad
I stole this from Tera and love the idea.

Think of an iBook cut in half. Wireless. Mac OS X. USB. Firewire. Mostly screen. Touchscreen. It syncs to your regular Mac’s home directory and comes with a built in iSight camera. Dick Tracy, here we come. iChat, iTunes, movies, music videos, and streaming broadcast to other Macs, your stereo and TV. For $699, it would be the ultimate iPod.

Airport Express AV
We made this one up at Mac360, and readers seem to have picked up on it. Not surprisingly, no one else has. That happens to me a lot.

Airport Express AV would be a video version of Airport Express. It connects to your TV set for audio and video, and your wireless enabled Mac can broadcast movies to the TV set. Waaaaay cool. $129.

iWork Spreadsheet and/or Database
When does that pesky half-price Microsoft Office promotion end?

iWork for $99 would be a steal with a spreadsheet and a trimmed down version of FileMaker Pro.

The only problem with a sure-fire list like this is that whole ‘One More Thing…’ thing. They always seem to introduce something I didn’t think of yet.

What’s missing?

Alexis Kayhill
Where do you get a USB-powered refrigerator? You’re kidding, right?

Carol Mary Miller
An Apple ‘iPad with Airport Express AV?’ I’m there in a MO minute. I think we’ll see an Intel iBook introduction.

Jack D. Miller
Maybe the ‘surprise’ is that we don’t get surprised. These lists are starting to catch everything under the sun. My money is on the Intel-based iBook. All the rest is wishful thinking.

Tera Patricks
Bambi, you stole that idea from me! What gives? Just remember who told you about it when it gets here.

I don’t see a bunch of those things, though they’d be on a list of ‘I want these from Apple.’ The Mac mini DVR using an Intel chip makes some sense, though I think it will be an add-on product. Airport Express AV makes sense but is there enough horsepower in current Macs with 802.11g?

One other thing to consider is ‘what happens to Apple’s stock’ if there’s no Intel Macs at Macworld?