Who is this?

Technology Editor of Times of London until July 2010. Now swimming in the freelance shark pool, with abiding interest in games, gadgets and what it all means. If you're looking for product reviews, head elsewhere. Unless it's a really nice product. This is more of an attempt to sift out what matters from what doesn't. With a bit of gossip thrown in for good measure. I'm also learning to use Blogger as I go along, so please bear with me.

Thursday 14 October 2010

Apple rediscovers the Mac - at last


Apple's characteristically oblique invitation to its next event promises that the company will go "Back to the Mac".

And not before time, you might say.

Despite the company's raft of attention-grabbing devices, such as the iPhone and iPad, long-time Mac watchers and users such as myself are starting to feel like the Mac is being left behind in terms of features when compared with similarly specced Windows machines.

So, what features would I like to see on the new Macs - if indeed any are announced next week?

Well, for a start, HDMI on all laptops. It's become the standard for plug-and-go digital connection to screens and projectors. The Mac Mini now has it; most Windows laptops now have it. Apple really should have included it last year, and its absence is one of the things that has so far stopped me replacing my old, dead Powerbook.

If we're being really radical, why not a new laptop based on the iPad, a machine that folds over like a laptop for ease of typing but whose screen can disconnect to function on its own as a tablet when needed?

Another hint on the invitation is a sneak preview of the next version of OS X, 10.7. Will it be codenamed Lion? Who knows? Who cares?

Though I'm quite happy with OS 10.6, I think there's still room to speed it up a bit. I can think of very little that drives me insane on a regular basis, though.

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