The beat goes on...

Today Apple announced Intel Mac mini's, an iPod boombox (yawn), and a really expensive leather case that is a glorified version of their free plastic one (included with all the new iPods). TUAW has tons of coverage.

So friggin' what? Well, the WSJ mentions these are evolutionary, not revolutionary. Well duh! Apple is going to keep a steady drumroll of new product announcements and wingdings going throughout this year. I would dare say 2006-2007 will be a banner year for Apple in at least one regard: new product announcements. I am still haunted by Leander Kahney's mention of something "really cool" sometime in this time frame... The Intel Mac mini isn't that thing.

Think about this: each year we'll see revs of almost all software made by Apple-- iApps and certain Pro apps. The OS will see a rev within 18 months I'm sure. And now we've got the whole Universal deal. The transition to Intel will mean "new" products, which aren't really new.

But the big thing is that Vista will be dropping out of the sky any day now, and Apple wants to keep the focus on Cupertino, and how this crazy little company keeps coming out with cool doodads AND easy software. Makes sense right? Give 'em the old razzle dazzle...

All the while Microsoft will be confusing customers with a half dozen versions of Vista. However, their developers will have some kick-ass tools. AND many of these tools will enable apps that merely need IE7 to run, hardly a problem, right? Right?

Oh, one last prediction: Vista Starter will be $49 retail, probably damn next to nothing OEM.