Space fireball just misses jetliner

That's the actual headline.

Apple

I believe 2007 is a pivotal year for Apple. For us Apple "fans", I think a lot of what we've been hoping for from this company will come to light, in one form or another, more or less, this year.

Last year, I wrote about how Apple needed to release the "next big thing" to evolve beyond the iPod and maintain their level of excitement in the industry. I can't find that post right now, but I will erase this sentence and link to it if and when I do.

In January, Steve Jobs annoucned the iPhone, which immediately received a lot of stratospheric PR, then fizzled out somewhat as people digested its details and limitations, and is now on the upward trend again as its (by June- earlier?) release is approaching.

I think the iPhone itself will probably be the single most obvious "thing" to point to in reference to "Apple 2.0", which is the big idea here in relation to the 2007 theme. I also think that Steve Jobs has a personal attachment to the iPhone- for whatever reason- that insures it will get the full "Steve Jobs treatment", which has proven successful before.

Regardless, I believe 2007 is the year of "Apple 2.0", which is really just another way of saying "Apple's next generation".

Which itself is really just another way of saying that I believe 2007 will be the year in which Apple does something profound in tying together its computer (the Mac along with the Leopard version of Mac OS X and, yes, a level of compatibility with the Windows world), portable digital media (iPod), commerce (iTunes), living room (Apple TV), and everything else (iPhone plus God-knows-what) into something that makes most people stand back and take a breath.

Consider these facts:

1. Apple has not released a new Mac in quite some time (again, hopefully I can dig up details and replace this placeholder statement with a reference to publiished fact). It almost seems as if there's a whole new generation of "something" that will be part of every new Mac sold Apple is not quite yet ready to announce, since there have been no new Macs announced in so long.
2. Macworld was in January and there was essentially NO Mac news. It was all about the iPhone. All Mac stuff was still TBD. No iLife announcements, at least? Something must (or should be, at least) up.
3. Mac OS X Leopard- as currently announced- is boring as hell. Really, it's true. I've played with beta releases, and everything Apple has talked about (more or less) works as advertised, but are these "advertised" features really worthy of a major upgrade? A new backup system? Spaces? Under the hood improvements? So far, Leopard consists of some nice new touches and some good developer technologies, but nothing ground-breaking for the average user.
4. This leads me to believe that Apple has something "big" up its sleeve for Leopard. I don't know how practical it would be to hide major features from testers prior to release (if release is in fact imminent), and I know for a fact that there are as of now no other major new end-user features that are exposed in the current (buggy) test releases that would fit the category of "major" new release... But...
5. Resolution independence is coming architecturally in Mac OS X. It's part of the iPhone interface. It's (been) part of OS X (since 10.4, in many respects). So maybe there's some level of OS-level interface magic up Apple's sleeve for Leopard. Who knows? But it would kinda make sense...
6. Maybe there's a hardware component to this (aka all new Macs ship with some level of support for direct multi-finger touching interfaces, similar to the iPhone), that is part of all of the new Macs that are yet to be released?
7. So, okay, if not in 2007, at least we can all admit that iPhone-like interfaces will be coming to "computers" sometime over the next 5 years or so (or sooner?)?
8. Apple has known that Windows Vista was going to drop in 2007 for quite some time. Do you really think they'd be content to sit back and let Vista gnaw at Mac OS X as it's (arguably) doing, or do you think Apple would rather take a breath, give Microsoft it's chance to "shine", and then come out swinging with something game-changing? I vote for scenario B.
9. The Mac is now Intel. This was not the case with the last previous major release of Mac OS X. This point alone may not be a big deal this time around, but think about it- it COULD be. I have a single computer- a Mac with Parallels- on my desktop right now, and I would NOT have had that sans the Intel transition- it would have been a Mac and a Dell. Think about the significance of that and the possibilities it unleashes.
10. Wrap all of these facts- plus a few wildcards- up, and Apple can make some big gains this year.

Will 2007 be the year in which Apple takes over for Microosft and Sony in one fell swoop? I doubt it. Will 2007 be the year in which Microsoft and Sony suffer serious damage at the hands of Apple? Yes, I believe so.

Airplanes

2007 is an exciting year for airplane enthusiasts (of which I am one).

On Monday (3/19), Airbus sent two A380s to the US for the first time ever (one to NY, one to LA) as part of its snowballing flight testing and PR program for that plane. The A380 is due to enter service late this year, and time will tell if it ends up being a successful airplane. But there's no doubt the A380 is cool, and 2007 is really it's "big year".

Also on Monday (3/19), Boeing held a press conference to discuss progress on its 787 program. Bottom line: the 787 is on schedule and looking good. Contrast that to the A380- which is at least a year and a half behind schedule and is by no means yet a "success" as far as profitability is concerned- and you've got an interesting day in the Boeing vs. Airbus war.

As an airplane enthusiast, I'm "into" both the A380 and the 787. But I also have to admit that I'm a Boeing "fan" and love to see Airbus struggle. Perhaps this is the one product category where I'm actually jingoistic. While I'd never recommend an American car over a foreign car (although, to be fair, I know jack-shit about cars), I do line up to salute the flag behind Boeing.

The A380 is a cool plane because it's really big. It's (much?) bigger than the 747. The 787 is a cool plane because it's really technologically advanced in regard to efficiency, and will hopefully bring the industry forward in terms of profitability, safety, passenger comfort, and environmental friendliness. The argument in favor of the 787 as a more exciting airplane is more subtle, but I think it's more meaningful.

The first 787 will be "unveiled" in July, and it will fly for the first time in August. After that, it's test flights all the way through to delivery to the airlines in 2008. But, again, for the Boeing 787 program- as with the Airbus A380 program- 2007 is the "big" year, and DAMN am I excited.

I turned 30

March 14 was my 30th birthday, and as one might expect, I experienced it with a measure of solemn significance. I'd been aware of this looming milestone for a while, and the last few months or so of my personal twentiesdom- months in which I'd always promised myself I'd write my first novel, direct my first movie, and oversee the first release of the open source software project that brings operating system and data management bliss to the masses- crept up on me really quickly and were suddenly gone without much to show for them in the way of those particular accomplishments.

Anyway, I made it to 30, and while the dreamer in me has not yet accomplished those dreamer's milestones, I've come to terms with his role in my life.

He's always been there, and (hopefully) always will be, but that guy tends to overlook the forest for the trees. While I may not be on the verbatim career path laid down by Steven Spielberg, Steve Jobs, or Stephen King, I've actually got more than any mass-market dreamer could ever hope for.

Frankly, I have to get down on my knees and thank God- or whomever- for the fact that I've got a wonderful family, a wonderful wife, the best friends anyone could dream of, and a pretty darn good job.

If that's not a foundation for meaningful happiness for someone who's just turned 30, then it's time to re-evaluate the criteria.

To simplify: I am truly blessed with everything I could possibly hope for in this world.

I view my thirties as an opportunity to leverage that fact to feed the dreamer.

A bunch of stuff

I've been thinking that 2007 seems like one of those "big" years- the kind of year where when you look back from a vantage point of several years down the road, a lot of really important things seem to have happened.

1985 has that feeling for me, along with 1991, 1995, 1999, 2001, and 2003.

Funny- those are all odd years. Hm.

I won't go into detail about the "why" behind each of those right now, but suffice it to say, to me, those years share a combination of personal and historical significance such that they bubble up to the top when I think back to the "big" years.

It's been a little while since I've written anything here, but that's not for lack of interesting things happening in my world. Following is a rapid-fire recap of some of the "big stuff" that's been going on.

Bill Gates Coke Commercial (from '95)

The infamous "Wilhelm Scream"

A great montage: