Place Your Bets.. The House Always Wins

It's almost showtime but for now take a look at this gem from Bookmaker.com.

Apparently the folks over at Bookmaker.com have you covered for a Vegas-style keynote. So if you're a betting (wo)man you can find out what your odds are and where to place your bets. You know if you're into that sort of thing. Or you could just play keynote Bingo.

via TUAW

Happy iPad 2 Day!

In just a few hours our lives will change forever, until the next refresh. So grab some popcorn, get your bingo cards out, and let's get ready for Apple buzzword shots!

Or if you're like me you'll just be trying to keep up with the news as it happens from your desk.

What to Expect:

1. New iPads. It's on their invite (which we didn't get) so why not announce it.
2. MobileMe announcement; it's everywhere and it seems imminent just don't be too disappointed if some of the best features aren't free.
3. FaceTime for iPad. If you're on a Mac that isn't the latest MBP series, download the app. It's worth the $.99 (US App Store).

What NOT to Expect:

1. iTunes Streaming service (aka Apple using Lala's acquisition efficiently). It's not gonna happen because iTunes makes enough money with its purchase only model, there really isn't any viable competition... yet.
2. iPhone 5 announcement. We go through this every time Apple holds an event. IPhones have their own event, that's when we'll hear about them.

Maybes:

1. Although this isn't an announcement for Lion , Apple's latest version of OS X, don't be surprised if we hear a few more morsels of info as how Apple plans on blurring the line between desktop and mobile.
2. iPad 2 will be on sale immediately after the announcement. It's not too likely but it would be a great way to reaffirm Apple's dominance in the mobile space. It ain't easy to project selling 6.5 million iPads in one quarter without having a lot of sway in the manufacturing world; this will just show how much clout Apple really has.

If there's anything you think we missed, drop a line in the comments.

Back to Mac Apple Event

In about an hour we here at The Poor Mac will be meta-liveblogging the event.

If speculation and rumors are correct today we'll see the new Mac OS X release, dubbed "Lion" by the bloggosphere, a much needed update to the MacBook Air, and almost definitely the official announcement of the latest iLife software bundle. Beyond that it's a matter of specifics.

What not to expect today?

Well I'm not expecting any news of iPhone on Verizon or any iPad hardware updates. Neither should you.

As the name suggests this will be all about the Mac platform and a major update to the OSX line.

What I'd like to see?

The only obvious choice is to make "Lion" more iOS friendly and blur the line between the operating systems. This means a touch friendly OS that offers the convenience of the iOS platform with the power and stability to run full applications that we enjoy in OSX.

Well in either case we'll see soon enough. What would you like to see in the next iteration of OSX? Drop us a line in the comments.

Sermon on the Loop: Apple Special Event Semi-Live Blog

Can't catch the stream at work 'cause you're on a filthy, filthy Windows machine and have a crappy internet connection? Gizmodo/Engadget not providing enough fanboyism? Need a fellow Poor Mac's perspective? Check this space for the important updates*

*As long as your author's eyes do not glaze over or get distracted by all mighty Steve.

Live stream. Ready? Go!

Update 12:55 EDT: Woz is there. And they're playing Alanis Morisette. Wait. Now Eric Clapton

Update 1:01 EDT: Steve!! It's Starting. Shouted out Woz and told him to stand up!!! Fanboy-gasm

Update 1:05 EDT: Apple has over 300 retail stores in 10 countries. Spain will be the 11th. Lots of good architecture and restoring historic buildings where their stores are located.

1:10 EDT: 230,000 Apps in the App Store. 200 Apps per second. iOS 4.1 fixes proximity, bluetooth and iPhone 3G bugs. HDR Photos. More

Update 1:10 EDT: HDR photos being explained. Don't look like the over saturated HDR photos you see on Deviantart, thankfully.

Update 1:13 EDT: Game Center - means of finding your friends to play iOS games. If you don't have friends it'll find you some at a similar skill level. Nice. Also Project Sword demo.

Update 1:15 EDT: I'm not much of a gamer but Project Sword looks GOOD

Update 1:20 EDT: iOS 4.2 coming to iPad in November. Adds printing and the typical iOS4 features you've been missing.

Now. iPods

Update 1:22 EDT: 275 Million iPods sold so far. All new line up. First off: Shuffle.

1:24 EDT: Combination of previous two generations of Shuffles. Nice. 2GB for $49

1:26 EDT: Nano - smaller and better. Has multi-touch, ditches clickwheel. Has a clip.

1:30 - Nano prices: 8Gb = $149 16GB = $179

1:32 - iPod Touch has 1.5 Billion entertainment app downloads to its name.

1:35 - iPod Touch has a Retina Display! A4 Chip. Gyroscope. iOS 4.1. Front facing camera. Face Time!!! Rear camera with HD video recording. (Told you guys not to buy your Touch in the summer!) Frickin' beautiful. And runs iMovie for iOS

1:38 - iPod Touch prices: 8GB for $229, 32GB for $299, 64GB for $399

1:40 - iTunes 10. New iTunes icon. New iTunes layout. Less space taken up by "Album" section, replaced with album art.

1:41 - Ping. Social networking for iTunes. All about music. Nice.

1:43 - Livestream is stuttering. Damn you Gaga!!!

1:47 - Ping demo. Hipster music galore.... oh Katie Cotton!

1:48 - Gaga killing the live stream again.

1:50 - Ping on your computer and on your iOS device.

1:51 - One more thing... AppleTV

1:52 - AppleTV is tiny! 1/4 the size. Fits in your hand!

1:57 - $4.99 HD first-run movie rentals. 99¢ HD TV show rentals.

1:58 - Netflix streaming!!!! Youtube. Flickr. MobileMe.

2:00 - Rotten Tomatoes tomato meter and reviews

2:03 - Sorry, got distracted by Iron Man.

2:05 - Sigh, wanted to see "Summer in Korea" Photo slideshow.

2:08 - AirPlay is awesome. Play content from iOS devices.

Price is $99!!!!

2:11 - Steve reviews all of today's news. It was all pretty exciting. Good job Apple.

2:12 - Steve introduces musical guest... Coldplay.

2:13 - Correction: Chris Martin of Coldplay.

2:14 - Sounds good. Awesome.

2:19 - Viva La Vida. Is this an infinte loop?

2:24. - Chris Martin is a funny dude. Song in chord i-minor. Designed by Jon Ive.

2:30 - The Event is over but the Live Stream seems to be a few minutes behind. Lots of loops that last several seconds. Maybe the servers aren't 100% ready.

2:33 - Well with that said. Thanks a lot Steve, Apple and anyone who took the time to read this. Look forward to some post-keynote Poor Mac thoughts.

Rumor Time: iPod Nano - Touch?

We're two days away from Apple's "Music" event (scheduled for Wednesday September 1st) and that can only mean: more rumors!

We've already glossed over an iPod Touch sporting a Retina Display and dual cameras (for Facetime without an iPhone), 99-cent movie/tv show rentals on iTunes, a more cloud-centric iTunes, and now all but confirmed, a new touchscreen iPod Nano.

Last week Engadget had reported the emergence of a new iPod Nano or iPod Shuffle that was only a 1.7-inch touchscreen. The case above from Alibaba.com suggests that this mysterious micro version of the Touch may be real.

PMB feels it could be a new touchscreen Shuffle as it's about due for a refresh and the tiny, no button interface of the current Shuffle was less than a hit. Also, trading the Nano's video camera (which at the $150 price range) that allows Apple to compete with the Flip camcorder for a 1.7-inch touchscreen would be a step backwards in our opinion.

Alibaba via Engadget

The Night Before the Keynote

Twas the night before the keynote
and all through the land;
The bloggers were a frenzy
For what was at hand.
They boarded their planes
handling laptops with care.
In hopes that his Steveness
and Tablet would soon be there.

So for the next 24

we'll sacrifice our beds,

As images of iPad OS dance in our heads.

So with @MrHaroHaro prepping coffee

and me with MacBook in lap.

We eagerly await the REAL news,

and hope it ain't a trap.
What with today's McGraw-Hill leak
that sparked quite the chatter.

We all know by tomorrow
it just wouldn't matter...

This is my obligatory pre-Tablet/Unicorn Tears/Mythical unannounced "game changing," "print industry saving," "god-tablet" post. Tomorrow once there is real news to report we'll bring you the condensed version of tomorrow's Apple Keynote.

Thank you to all the men and women that have brought us all kinds of Tablet/Slate/whatever news and rumors. In specific thanks to Gizmodo.com, TUAW.com, and AppleInsider.com for all the great stories - check those out and see how they panned out after tomorrow's event.