Synthesis Studios

As time goes by, Synthesis becomes more and more of a Mac (and Linux)- based office, so it’s always fun to speculate what coming up from Apple.  In that spirit, here are a few of my predictions for what’s coming in the Steve Jobs keynote Monday at WWDC.

1. The second generation iPhone is an obvious call, but there have been many different rumors about the details.  My guess is that it will be available in both unlocked and carrier-subsidized versions, with the latter probably as low as the $200 figure that’s been bandied about.  It won’t have the massive rounded white back that appeared in some “leaked” photos.  It will, of course, be 3G and have GPS.  And I might even buy one.
2. Those of you (like Justin) waiting for a Mac tablet/Newton revival will have to keep waiting.  Apple has the technology to make this, but I don’t think there’s enough of a market to make it worthwhile.  I’d love to see an iPhone Nano or clamshell version, but I don’t think it’ll happen either.
3. I also believe the rumors of a rebranding of .Mac as Mobile Me/me.com, along with upgraded capabilities (e.g. over-the-air iPhone syncing).  Apple is becoming more and more of a services company, and there’s no reason they shouldn’t upgrade .Mac to match the strength of their other offerings.  A big boost to the online storage would be nice.  I could see some minor collaboration with Google on this, but nothing fundamental (e.g. GMail won’t be the Mobile Me webmail client, and Google won’t store your data).
4. I’m also betting the iPhone application store will open on Monday, along with the iPhone 2.0 firmware.  (And, looking beyond WWDC, I think the iPhone is going to take a massive share of the consumer market for mobile applications.  You’d be silly to develop one for another platform.)
5. An announcement of the next version of Mac OS X also seems plausible, although I doubt the suggestions that there will be no major new features.  My guesses are better Windows integration (e.g. the ability to launch individual applications) and better Exchange support.  Both of these could help convert large numbers of current Windows users.
6. Finally, I think the MacBook will be redone in metal, with an announcement either at WWDC or next year’s Macworld.  This will eliminate the last plastic holdout in the product line, and probably lose the amazing WiFi range of the current models.  The MacBook Pro will keep the same classic design, though it may be upgraded or otherwise modified (look for solid state drives, for example).

Well, those are my predictions — what do you think?

Because I needed some extra room in my clothes this holiday season, I decided to pull everything out of my pockets to see what I carry around day-to-day:

• Swiss Army MiniChamp II Pocket Knife — a portable blade is incredibly useful, and it prevents me from having to try to cut things with my car keys.
• Utili-Key XT — one may consider this to be redundant, given the Swiss Army knife, as it does have a screwdriver, a small saw, a file (a bit too slippery to be useful), and a sharp blade. The one incredibly useful aspect of it, however, is while I take my pocket knife off my keychain when I get on a plane, I’ve never taken the Utili-Key off my chain.
• Micro-Light II LED Keychain — seeing in the dark is not one of my strengths — and this helps me.
• Credit card survival tool — this may be getting redundant, but yes, I do have a lot of tools on me.
• 4GB Walletex USB drive — I hate all the form factors of “standard” USB keychains, and I would have a feeling that I would leave them wherever. I love my Walletex because it fits in my wallet perfectly (its the size of a credit card, and maybe only twice and three times the thickness). And, on its 4GB, I keep a whole suite of PocketApps on it so that I can appropriate any computer that I happen to be stuck at.
• Business card holder — I’m tired of getting all my cards wrinkled.
• iPhone — I’m still in a complete love/hate relationship with this device. All I want is really good e-mail support.

(if you want a trip through time — check out this sister post from 6 years ago…). So - what’s in your wallet?

With a few iPhones floating around the office, and no iTunes enabled Starbucks in sight–we were feeling a bit disenfranchised up here in lovely Cambridge. Given that, and our love of “just in time” information, we felt we had to take matters into our own hands. And so we did.

Want to check it out for yourself? It’s easy: stand outside our office, and fire up the WiFi iTunes store. Now check out that Starbucks button!

Want to check it out for yourself? It’s easy: hop on the T to Porter Square in Cambridge, stand outside our office, tune to the “tmobile” WiFi network (you should be able to pick it up from the street), and fire up the WiFi iTunes store on your phone. Now check out that Starbucks button! (you’ll notice that we’re hiring too)

Any student who took “Every Bit You Make” should be able to pull it off as its pretty straight forward. All it took was an Acela ticket, and a morning in New York in the Times Square Starbucks with my laptop, my iPhone, and a bunch of network snooping. Granted, I probably got some funny looks while being overly caffeinated and staring intently at my laptop…