Did Apple pull the major announcement (the “one more thing”) from this year’s Macworld Expo keynote in anticipation of Steve Jobs’ health announcement? My reasoning goes like this: First, Apple had something really cool to announce at Macworld Expo 2009. Something that would have taken up the big empty space at their booth. We heard rumors that after the Expo, Apple was going to announce a new Mac mini as well as something so big that the rest of the news would pale beside it. A Mac netbook? Opening the iPhone to other carriers? We couldn’t find out.

Shortly after the update of the 17″ MacBook Pro at this year’s Macworld and news that it will contain a longer life, non user replaceable battery, Apple has published a support article that can help users when the time to replace their battery comes. According to details from this article, the replacement price will be $179 if the battery is out of its one year warranty period. When it comes time to actually replace the battery, it can surprisingly be done in one day at an Apple store if you schedule an appointment. If you choose to send it in, it will take 3-4 business days after your shipment.

The last Macworld Expo I attended was in 2004. It was my first in San Francisco, as New York had previously been my beat. But even on the other side of the continent, it still felt familiar to me. It still felt like a Macworld Expo. The iPod was still fairly new, there was no iPhone, and people were there to hear about the Macintosh. Macworld Conference and Expo is now a different beast, and by beast, I mean that little duck from Wonder Pets with the annoying voice.

Most people are aware that the 2MP camera on the iPhone isn’t the best at taking photos, especially if there is a lot of movement or the area is dark. However, if you hold it still enough in the right light, the photos can actually be quite clear for a camera on a phone. One of the bad things about the camera, however, is the extremely limited functionality it has. For example, Apple doesn’t allow you to zoom, take video, or do almost anything. That’s where USB Fever steps in with their iPhone lenses. These products may not be the greatest around, but they do offer some pretty interesting functionality.

I use Garageband 08′ quite a bit, as a casual guitarist. Garageband is not professional recording software but is excellent for people like me who don’t necessarily need to record more than 24 tracks simultaneously or need to adjust the audio on each of those tracks. Garageband is perfect for people who record on the weekends with their buddies in, well, the garage. But let’s get to Garageband ’09…

So it’s no secret that Phil Schiller was going to be under the magnifying glass during this, Apple’s last Keynote for Macworld. Everyone was watching, and for the most part, he did a great “job.” Of course, Phil is not Steve Jobs, so there wasn’t that pesky reality distortion field, and there was quite a more »

Let me start off by saying that the “Creative Safari” has absolutely nothing to do with the Safari browser. I think someone somewhere could have come up with a better name that would not be so confusing to some people. What it does have to do with is digital photography and videography.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog has revived an old rumor for this year’s Macworld as, according to them, a trusted source has informed them that an AT&T tethering plan may be announced this year. Although they point out that this announcement may not make the actual keynote (by Phil, of course), it may be announced via a simple press release.

Asian sources for the 9to5Mac site have informed the company that Apple may announce a 17 inch screen Macbook Pro this year at Macworld that would be manufactured using the new unibody design. Although this in and of itself isn’t all that interesting, the sources are also stating that the battery in these devices may not be removable. It’s almost as if Apple hasn’t learned anything from the iPhone battery outcries. Although 9to5Mac states Apple may be using some new silver zinc battery technology to make up for this, I still think people will be mad unless these batteries are extremely powerful and long lasting.

Those attending Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco next will have the option to participate in the Power Tools Conference Program. These are in-depth sessions that focus on a specific application or tool, such as Photoshop, ActionScript and FileMaker. Each Power Tool class involves two days of instruction and are split into two series.