Just over a month and a half ago, there were rumors of some kind of “Ultra-thin, Ultra-light” Apple notebook. They concerned an ultraportable Mac with a 12″ widescreen display (something the 12″ iBooks and PowerBooks didn’t have), that weighed around three pounds, and was around 3/4″ thick (very doable with today’s LED-backlit displays). That did not come to pass at the time.
Low and behold, tomorrow, September 5th, there is going to be a major announcement from Apple, with a definite iPod flavor and potentially a Beatles theme. You can view the invitation at AppleInsider.com – it features a yellowish motif and the words “The beat goes on”. Depending on what era you first started listening to music, that either invokes memories of Sonny and Cher, or thoughts of the Beatles’ final press release from April 10, 1970:
Spring is here and Leeds play Chelsea tomorrow and Ringo and John and George and Paul are alive and well and full of hope.
The world is still spinning and so are we and so are you.
When the spinning stops — that’ll be the time to worry, not before.
Until then, the Beatles are alive and well and the beat goes on, the beat goes on.
It’s no secret that Apple (Steve Jobs) has been wanting to add the Beatles to iTunes, and so far three out of the four Beatles’ solo libraries have been added, or are in the process of being added. I think it’s pretty safe to say that they are adding the Beatles (especially now that the lawsuit between Apple, Inc., and Apple Records is over). I wouldn’t be surprised to see new iPods as well.
However, I’m not here to discuss iPods and the Beatles (although I like both), I was asked by a couple of people what I thought, and here goes: