Ora, i cambiamenti sono talmente marginali (e pure con connotazione negativa volendo, visto che spariscono le agevolazioni per il traffico dati fuori soglia) che non vale neppure la pena parlarne.

Però.

A naso, il calo non è che sia dovuto al fatto che poi dopo il 2 giugno esce un nuovo iPhone?

Si, ricordate bene: il WWDC inizia la settimana dopo.

Snow Leopard esiste, si è visto, e la versione server supporta anche il nuovo file system.

Dei MacBook nessuna traccia. Ma c’è una spiegazione…

E Mac OS X 10.6, con un nuovo file system.

Se ci piglio, accetto prenotazioni per toccare la gobba. 

The three-ring-circus by Mr. Jobs

by Luca Annunziata – How changes and how has already changed the IT world thanks to Apple’s iCEO. A matter of communication: that changes habits and tradition of ICT (and business of course)

Roma – Few days left before the next Apple Worldwide Developers Conference: every year in spring the Moscone Center in San Francisco is transformed into a stage for a preview on Apple’s news and innovations. And Steve Jobs has accustomed public to keynote that becomes pure entertainment: special effects, musical guests, unexpected coupe de theatre.

Going to WWDC costs as much as a subscription to an expensive chair in a prestigious theater. Apple has negotiated interesting agreement for accommodation with some hotels near the conference: it starts from 200$ per night (including breakfast), obviously plus taxes. For a five days convention you need about 1.000$ per person.

Ticket is quite more expensive: starting from 1.595$ (but groups of five will pay only four tickets!), it reaches 1.995$ for the formula “ticket + ADC annual subscription” (ADC is the Apple Developer Connection, the way Apple guarantees previews and limited support to developers).

In both cases you will receive also the indispensable the interesting Leopard Early Start Kit: a DVD with the incomplete beta version of the next Mac OS, which was originally intended to be released in spring but it was postponed in autumn to give full attention to the iPhone

Naturally you should consider the flight expense, which is quite not inexpensive from Italy. Also there are local commuting, lunches and dinners: but you now, if you ask “how much?” that’s because you can’t afford it…

At the end, you need about 5.000$ for the WWDC. It costs as much as a travel to the Caribbeans, and you will not have beautiful beach and drinks with a little umbrella: instead of the dancers and the parties, you will be received by a white-haired billionaire gentleman.

WWDC has changed: from a meeting for developers and workers on the Apple planet, every year becomes more and more a media event. Something like a Las Vegas show: so why you shouldn’t pay as much as for Elton John at Ceasar’s Palace?

All the ITC fairs have changed with WWDC: at the CeBIT, one of the biggest event in this field, you will find an amount of fanboys looking for gadgets than journalists. The enthusiasm of the memorabilia hunters is fully justified by the almost naked girls and the crazy ideas proposed by every single company in its discotheque booth.

Business plan has been replaced by brand. Technology has been replaced by the hype about sensational announcements: and who cares if that phone or that VGA wouldn’t be on the market for at least nine more months? In the meantime you’ll have spread some noise, you can say to investors you have produced something before your competitors: your stock option will be pleased.

Nevertheless Apple and its iCEO have something different from the wild heap out there. Jobs invented the keynote-show creating a three-ring-circus for the audience, but the company never forgets the good old Yankee philosophy: show me the money.

Let’s say it loud and clear: Jobs is the only one capable of that “one more thing” mojo, and usually he has a marketing and engineering masterpiece to reveal. With him as CEO the Apple has become an incredible machine: they have been having success also in retail selling, where others if not failed are on their way to.

How many errors has done Jobs since 1997? The worse is probably the Mac Cube, but anyway you will find thousand of them on the desktop around the world (and it was an incredible technical result, years before HTPC, miniITX etc).

Today Apple Inc. (the name looses “computer” sometime ago, because they create much more than PC nowadays) enters the S&P 100, one of the most prestigious acknowledgment for the stronger and richer companies within the US market.

What can we say Mr. Jobs? Chapeau. At your age you’re still leading the technology dance, making money and having fun!