Ok, so I got a bit obsessed today.  At around 12noon EST, I started hunting around the net for bloggers writing on the Macworld 2008 keynote by Jobs.  Live feeds?  Nah, obviously all those sites sputtered.  So I found a blog, refreshed about once every four minutes, and enjoyed my lunch reading the successive posts as it snowed outside.

Why waste an hour like that?  Because my last two years have been spent depending on two things: an Intel-based Macbook Pro I purchased in early 2006 and an iPhone I purchased last year.  Each was the leading Macworld announcement of the year, each had a profound effect on my time, productivity, and satisfaction, particularly given my career.

This years result?  Gotta admit I’m a bit forlorn, even let down.  As thin as the Air is, I’m not into it, for I’m a screen-real estate, maximize the pixels junkie who’s already got a laptop.  13″ for $1799+ ain’t gonna cut it for my budget.

All the movie rental stuff?  I still don’t think they hit the mark.  It’s basically an on-demand competitor, with the bonus of portability, if only for a day.  What I love about Netflix is that I create a budget for myself per month, and get a decent number of videos during that time span.  For what amounts to $2 or $3, not the $3 to $5 that this store charges.  And I can’t imagine losing the Netflix account to make up for iTunes Movie Rentals, for what’s my wife (the queue queen) gonna do then?

And iPhone enhancements?  Well, after playing with them for ~5 minutes, I’ve realized none will dramatically alter my productivity, usage, or satisfaction.

Sigh.

Maybe next year (which, indeed, I’ll probably be in the market for a new, souped up laptop and iPhone replacement!).