Wish List for 2009

Here is my modest, if a bit geeky, list of things I'm looking forward to in 2009.  This is not so much a "wish list" as a list of things that are more or less certain to happen that I happen to be excited about (now you see why "wish list" was a snappier title).

• Chrome for Mac (they're workin' on it)


• Journler 2.6 (While Phil Dow had originally hoped to have 2.6 ready by the end of December, he has confirmed this will not be the case. While he has considered selling the project, he has confirmed in a private message with a forum member that he intended to release 2.6 before deciding the future fate of the wonderful application.)


• Group specific syncing of contacts between Address Book and Google Contacts (Spanning Sync says they are aware of this feature request, but that it is low priority due to "minimal" demand. Soocial claims to do this but it doesn't work. I expect somebody will have this down in 2009.)


• iLife '09 (or '10 - iLife '08 was released in '07)


• New Mac mini (Rumored to be coming at MWSF next month, the current version is a bit of a dinosaur and not very powerful. We have one in our office, and it is a bit sluggish. We have been holding off, waiting for a Mac mini refresh for several months now, dying to replace our receptionist's aging Powerbook G4.)


• Things version 1.0 (Will be released at MWSF 2009)


• The Hit List (google it - or check back here tomorrow)


• Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6 - rumored to be released in Q1 '09)


• Picasa 3 for Mac (Google doing internal private beta testing of a build for the Mac. Rumors reported here and here)


• iPhone on any carrier other than AT&T [Warning: Rampant Unsupported Speculation Ahead] (As I recall, the initial reports were that AT&T had a 5 year exclusive with the iPhone. Then, at some point, reports came in that it was a 2 year exclusive. In my humble opinion, Apple would never tie itself to a carrier for 5 years [although, given my track record for making predictions, I am almost certainly wrong about this].  The iPhone launched June 29, 2007. There's been some speculation that Apple would announce a partnership with Verizon at the upcoming Macworld in January, 2009. Not likely. I would anticipate that Apple would wait until the end of its 2 year exclusive (say, right around WWDC '09) so as not to encourage folks to hold out on buying an iPhone until it was available on another carrier. Of course, it is possible that AT&T only has an 18 month exclusive, in which case an announcement at Macworld next months would be right on time. I'm sticking to my 2 year prediction, however, and, therefore, a June 2009 announcement for freedom from the bondage of AT&T.)


• Getting an iPhone (I have been greasing the boss-man to get us some iPhones for the firm. He's indicated significant interest. Last week, I called him after I got done with a criminal trial. He said, "How'd it go?" I told him, "Well, it was awesome, I took out my iPhone and did some emergency research online and we got a not-guilty. Oh, wait, we don't have iPhones... we plead guilty." Seriously, though, I'm pretty sure I'll end up with an iPhone one way or another in 2009. My Sprint contract is up, so I'm a free agent. I love my iPod Touch, but (1) I carry around too many gadgets that could be consolidated into one: camera, cell phone, ipod, gps; (2) I kinda want the internet wherever the crap I am - is that so wrong?)

Comments

[hmurchison]

Nice list. Here's my list.

1. Apple apps- iLife 09 with big improvements to iMovie and iWeb. iWork 09 with big improvements to Numbers and Pages. Bento 2.5 for database needs.

2. Snow Leopard- the main feature is speed and stability.

3. iPhone Rev 4- faster faster faster 3D speed, Wifi speed, 32MB option

4. Apple Netbook- Touch interface with removable qwerty keyboard. Runs full Mac Snow Leopard. Can function as a tablet

5. MobileMe updates- FAST iDisk, backend improvements

6. Apple TV- $149-200 new guts make it generate less heat.

7. Apple Storage device- like Drobo. 4 bays. Pooled storage, remote access with Airport Extreme or Time Capsule sitting on top.

8. Larger iPod Nano

9. iTunes 8.5 with shared library support (meaning your iTunes, iLife library could sit on the Apple storage device and be shared with all the other networked clients..macs, pcs, iphones, Apple TV

10. Apple PDF Professional app- Apple's business grade PDF app with every feature a biz needs to establish a PDF workflow, Bates Stamping, OCR, Dig Sig, Spotlight searching, Tagging, annotation, encryption, watched folders with Automator Actions. $199

That would make it quite the bang up year for me.

[the wife]

in answer to your very last question... yes. yes it is so wrong. I am loathe to see your social skills when the iPhone enters our life. it was great knowing you... I'll keep up with you via twitter ;~)

[the wife]

just kidding! love you! goodnight!