Keynote: Updates

Updates on Apple Retail (101 stores), iMac (5 out of 5 by PC Magazine), and OSX Tiger (shipping 1H 2005).

No time for a full Tiger demo (good sign), but he showed slides for Spotlight, comparing it to Google Desktop search and MSN search. Because Spotlight is built into the core, it's obviously more effective.

Spotlight search for Soccer returns Excel docs, images, PDF docs, and direct access to contacts and their data elements (phone, email, etc.)

Spotlighting 'Love' brought him to a bug, and he flips a switch saying, "We've got a little bug here. That's why we have backup systems."

Spotlight tech is used to generate Smart Folders, similar to Smart Playlists or Albums.

Spotlight is also built into System Preferences, which finds the elements that match within various prefs.

Next app is Mail, which is also powered by Spotlight. He searched for 'soccer' in his email, and created a Smart Mailbox based on his search. In the header of an email containing photos, he punched a new Slideshow button, which launches a fullscreen slideshow, with controls like seeing all photos (Expose style) or adding a photo to iPhoto automatically.

Next app is QuickTime 7, which offers 24 channel surround sound, full HD playback, and H.264. This codec has been adopted by both the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray groups. Next he demoed QuickTime by playing the House of Flying Daggers trailer, resizing and showing the on-screen controls (like iPhoto slideshow controls).

Next app is Dashboard, which finds small utilities fast, like Expose for finding windows. New Widgets include a conversion utility, a dictionary and thesarus, a flight tracker, translator, Yellowpages, and weather.

Demoing Dashboard, Widgets appear on top of the screen, and the Widget library appears as a tray below the Dock, then launched Dictionary, flight tracker, stock tracker, and translator. Unit converter shows speed, currency, and after looking at the dollar->euro exchange, closes it saying, "Maybe we don't want to look at that." Weather widget has illustrations for every weather type, including an animated wind graphic!

Final app is iChat, which extends audio and video conferencing using H.264 (duh). Next he demoed iChat, vidconning with the ever-hot Danneka, Phil, and Scott. Fullscreen mode really gives you a sense of place, plus the virtual reflections on the 'tabletop.'