Even compatibility with Windows is an issue that’s as hot as ever, especially as the Mac can now run Windows natively in Boot Camp, or under virtualization (along with a host of other operating systems) using Parallels or VMWare. The rumours that Mac OS X 10.5 will do what Parallels does today won’t go away either.

Can Steve Jobs pulls not just one rabbit out of the hat, but more than half a dozen? If anyone can, it’s easy to believe that Steve Jobs can. But of course, no-one but Steve, his inner circle and the Chinese manufacturers who are manufacturing (or is it assembling) the products that were ‘Designed in California’ can really know.

Of course we’ll ALL know next week, but the pressure is intense. Throughout the entire Jobs Macworld keynote, the assembled masses will be hanging upon his every word. If no iPod phone appears, and the event seems nearly over, everyone will be waiting for a ‘One More Thing’.

If that ‘one more thing’ proves to be something other than an iPod phone, everyone will be expecting that Steve is really just teasing us all, and that he has ‘yet another thing’ to surprise us at the very, very end. Or might there be a surprise announcement on day 2, just to keep us all on our toes? The speculation wouldn’t stop, it would probably only get worse!

Of course, if the iPod phone is first up, we’ll all be waiting for the Mac Tablet, or the 8-core Mac Pro, or one of the other things mentioned in the introduction to this story. Right after the keynote (and even during it) the whispers will be around what was – and what wasn’t – launched.

Unless Steve Jobs and Apple really have something in every category, Apple may have found itself painted into a corner – by the public! We’re all so used to Apple coming up with the goods that if they don’t, people will be disappointed. Heck, we can guarantee that no matter what Apple launches – even if they launch EVERYTHING, there’ll still be someone disappointed at something.

We really hope that Apple do launch some amazing new technologies surprise and delight us all, and also in part to neutralize the disappointment from whatever it is that won’t launch - maybe with products so good that we temporarily forget that we're still waiting for an iPod phone, or a wireless iPod or whatever it will be. After all, only part of the Apple wishlist will likely be fulfilled this time around. With 2007 promised to be Apple’s most amazing year yet, they’ve set the bar higher than ever for themselves, so Macworld is the chance to really shine.

So, as we count down the days, hours and minutes until Steve Jobs walks out in stage in his trademark black turtleneck sweater, we wait with baited breath to see just how tasty Macworld’s Apple pie will be. Bon Appetit!
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Alex Zaharov-Reutt  Apple  Cellphones  Gadgets  Hardware  IPTV  Macintosh  Mobility  Music  Telecommunications  Television  Video  Vista  Windows  iPod  iTunes