Apple press conference scheduled for Oct. 19th

Hi, Jay, Thanks for the clarification. I hadn't realized the invitations were so limited, in which case your interpretation seems more likely. Still, I sure wish Apple would update the PowerBooks already! --Tom

HD quailty video ipod with fm radio and cassette. Or just new powerbooks.

Tom, That's an interesting point, but I'm not sure that this is going to big a "big" launch. The invitation seems to have been sent only to people registered for PhotoPlus press passes, not to the general cadre of Apple and tech reporters who get invitations to "One More Thing," etc. At least that's what it looks like so far, which leads me to believe that this will be fairly focused, especially since the invitation emphsizes "professional solutions". That doesn't sound like new blazingly fast hardware to me. You're right about the momentum, though, so it should be interesting to see what actually happens, although i think that a pro-grade imaging suite to be a companion to Pro-Tolls and a possible Photoshop competitor would be huge news however you look at it.

SR: who suggested it wasn't? Sorry if the stock art created confusion for anyone--it's tough to find images of events that haven't happened yet--although those paying attention might have noticed we used it to illustrate the story about the Staten Island store, as well.

I don't think Apple would blow their credibility with the media by calling a special event for a minor launch as Savage suggests. The reason why these events go so much press is because everyone knows something good will be unveiled. Different engineers work on the Macs than on the iPods, so there's no reason to think that the recent iPod announcements would delay Mac announcements. In fact, I think there are PR advantages if Apple looks like it's on an unstoppable innovation spree. Plus they gotta update the PowerBooks and PowerMacs before the holiday shopping season--they're getting long in the tooth.

sorry mate, the photoplus expo is in NYC...

I believe that's the Michigan Ave. Apple Store in Chicago in the picture. Score.

What I would really like is update support for the newer NEF and DNG image formats! I would love to be able to look at these in the Finder. I'm easy to please.

Also hopefully the integrated iSight into PowerBooks and iBooks. Remember that patent from a few weeks ago?

Like System 7, iTunes 7 will be delayed for years, so scratch that. Hey, PCI Express on a PowerBook would be interesting... Where you'd put those cards is anyone's guess, although if it's a G5 PowerBook the room needed to ventilate would be ample for a PCI chassis... My vote is for quad G5 PowerMacs, DDR2 for PowerBooks, and a photo application, like iPhoto for Pros. ProPho?