Two Slashes

Thousands of people are going to be making a pilgrimage to the western United States over the next few days to fulfill their rites as geeks, nerds, and fanboys by visiting Macworld and CES. Normally, I wouldn’t be too giddy about either of these events in their own right. Call it ignorance, call it a lack of interest – honestly, there’s not much difference between the two in this respect – but this year is different. This year has pulled me in quite more than I would like.

Perhaps it’s the fact that this year marks the last Macworld at which Apple will be giving a presentation, and that such a landmark event will be without the personality of yesteryear. I’m not an Apple fanatic by any means, but to see what’s become just as important as Christmas or Thanksgiving for some vanish into thin air is quite a stir, especially when compounded with the fact that Steve Jobs will not be making an appearance. (As I’ve mentioned other places, I’m not entirely convinced that Steve’s health is what it’s cracked up to be.)

All that said, if I have an interest, I must be expecting some announcement or other to come out of earthquake country. (Making predictions is part of the fun of these events, right?) While my predictions aren’t as humorous (or outrageous) as the MacBook Wheel, based on some of the things I’ve heard (and found off the beaten path) today, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the Mac Mini is making a comeback tour. (Perhaps it will join up with the Apple TV to make a superband?) Apple will probably make some other low-key announcements like upgrades to their product lines, an update on Snow Leopard (OS X v10.6 for those of you not in the know), and probably something moderately important to deal with the “revolutionary” iPhone.

Companies named after fruits aside, the Consumer Electronics Show has also been one of those events I tend to write off without much thought or care as to what comes out of them. I’m not a big gamer, so typically hearing that the Xbox 1080, PlayStation 5, or Nintendo Yuu and a million associated games are coming out isn’t something I typically care too much about. New stereo systems? Whatever. Is Blu-Ray still not dead? *shrug*

CES isn’t without its allures this time around, either. As a long-time Palm fanatic (okay, you got me), it pains me to see them struggling, and as a consequence I’m most curious about what’s going to come out of this Nova project. I’ve been following it fairly closely, and though I hope it doesn’t completely render my Treo Pro (more on that hopefully to come) obsolete, I hope the predictions of it being launched on a device similar to the one pictured here (from Gizmodo) are inaccurate.

I’m also intrigued by Creative’s Zii project, whatever it may be. Creative, who’s also been having some trouble as of late with the revenue, is another company I’ve always had a soft spot for. As with Palm, though, my interest is hopefully not wasted, though these images aren’t doing anything to improve my hopes.

To recap, I’m waiting on the “next big thing” to come out of Cupertino (perhaps so I can buy someone else’s product and then mock them later about it when my purchase does more, but that’s another story) and a pair of companies I’ve long supported to either make one last attempt to break free of their problems or die along the way. If that’s any indication, I’ll probably be spending every spare moment at work keeping up with the coverage to make sure things are as good as they can be. Any other interesting news will just happen to be icing on what very well could happen to be a very sour cake (and that’s a waste of icing if the cake is bad).

Is there anything you’re waiting for at CES or Macworld? Do you think my predictions are terrible, or have any of your own? Leave a comment!

(And good luck to Keri, who’s making her way over to Macworld in hopes of getting at least a single Macworld under her belt. Have a safe and enjoyable trip!)