QuickTime
Today we visited the Apple Campus in Cupertino. All of the new ADEs had our picture taken in the courtyard at 1 Infinite Loop. After our picture we had a meeting in Town Square--a theater for information dissemination.
Our first speaker is in charge of QuickTime product development. He was not just a witty and engaging speaker. He was very informative as well. The new capacity in QuickTime for HD (high definition) is completely impressive--visually astounding, and we were just viewing the demonstration on a standard definition projection device. Several things were highlighted:
- Version 7 is the most significant product enhancement in many years.
- New improvements include 1 button recording of DV and audio
- The new H.264 video codec is fast and gorgeous, incorporated in iChat AV, and is about to show up in video streaming technology!
- Creating a Podcast in Quicktime Pro
- The scalability of QT movies from cell phones to full screen. Scalability is even live. The codec is so efficient as to allow the user to alter the size of the movie window on the fly--while the movie is playing, with no disruption in playback. Astounding!
- Sound now includes 5.1 Surround Sound! The sound in the demo blew me away!
And all of this is available today, now. Well, we don't have High Definition streaming yet, but it's on it's way. If you, like me, can connect the dots, you see what is about to happen here. Maybe they will call it iFlix! I am just offering personal speculation here.
Product Design and Engineering
We also had the amazing privileged to hear from Jonathan, head of the Apple Design Team. He rarely makes public appearances. In fact, his last speaking engagement was to this group last year. The guy is just out-there brilliant.
He spoke of Apple's commitment to providing a product that is of the highest quality and functionality. He just entertained our questions for nearly an hour. He spoke of the care that is taken in every aspect of product design. He stated that if the user/customer is aware of problem they had to solve, let alone its complexity, he feels he has failed.
He gave this example: the complexity that is the opening of the laptop. Few people realize that to open any non-Apple laptop requires the use of two hands. "What if the user doesn't have two hands?" he asked. One hand has to hold down the bottom of the machine while the other lifts the top because all of the competitor's products are solely friction based.
When you press the latch on an Apple laptop, it pops up just a bit to make opening it easier for the user. Then, the lid (or display) is counterbalanced so that with one hand you can easily lift it open. Once the user has the momentum of the opening lid, then the friction kicks in that will keep the lid open when you let go of it. The engineering of this process is intense, but this attention to detail is what makes for the legendary user experience that the Apple user knows and cherishes.
The Apple Store
This is the only store at which one can purchase official Apple logo products such as shirts, etc.
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