Category: Software

With 2010 around the corner, Apple is poised to begin a new year that should yield lots of great advancements in its consumer software arena. Here’s our predictions for what could be in store for the latest versions of iLife, iWork and iTunes. (These predictions are not substantiated by rumors or other “inside evidence” and are purely speculation based lots of experience with these applications and their histories.)

iLife X

Probability: Guaranteed
When the last version of iLife launched, it adopted the moniker “iLife ’09.” Recently however, Apple has modified most of its website to drop the date from the title. Now simply called “iLife,” I wonder if Apple will be quick to release a new “yearly” iteration at the outset of 2010.

Based on previous versions, the next iteration of iLife will require Mac OS X 10.6. By requiring Snow Leopard, this does make iLife an Intel-only release. Though some users will be left behind, significant performance gains should be recognized by taking advantage of 64-bit technology included in Snow Leopard.

Within the apps themselves, I believe we’ll continue to see significant updates. Here’s the roundup.

iPhoto

Probability: Possible
The addition of Faces and Places to iPhoto ’09 was just the beginning. The next version of iPhoto will support more accurate facial recognition and integration with Twitter. Those who enjoy the photo slideshow themes that were added to the last version will enjoy a larger selection of new themes that will be added in the new version. I also predict that the next version will bring support for bulk renaming of files (similar to how Aperture can do this upon import) and better performance when dealing with larger libraries. I also predict revised or better photo editing controls with additional effects.

iMovie

Probability: Possible
I believe the next version of iMovie will boast support for posting videos directly to more Internet services, such as Facebook and Flickr. An expanded set of new themes as well as more advanced title options will be present as well. The user experience of the application will be refined, for those who are still frustrated by the intense switch from iMovie HD to the last two versions.

iDVD

Probability: Guaranteed
iDVD will likely see one of the most significant updates that it has ever seen in quite a while. 2010 will mark the beginning of new ways of enjoying media. From the possibility of the first out-of-the-box Blu-ray drives on the Mac to iTunes Extras & LPs to the elusive Apple Tablet, the presentation of digital content remains a key focus for Apple.

The next version of iDVD will help push this agenda forward, allowing users to create Blu-ray discs or optimize their video content into formats like iTunes Extras. Such a dramatic update would likely warrant changing the name of the application, but that’s also within the realm of possibility. iDVD has definitely been late to the party for the past two years, seeing only small maintenance updates. While many speculate that Apple plans to axe DVD creation altogether (foreseeing the death of the digital disc in favor of digital distribution), I believe Apple has been working on a successor application to take advantage of new forms of distribution (a la Blu-ray or iTunes Extras-styled media).

iWeb

Probability: Possible
iWeb is one of those apps that is difficult to pack full of compelling new features every year. I predict the next version of iWeb will support more themes and a few more widgets, including a widget that provides a live feed of your Twitter stream on your website.

GarageBand

Probability: Possible
GarageBand will likely see an expanded music lesson store with more artist lessons and lessons for drums and bass. I also predict Apple will make it easier to share GarageBand creations beyond iTunes and iWeb. Similar to the other apps, I believe we will see support for exporting to other web services such as Facebook or YouTube.

iWork X

Probability: Possible
I predict the biggest improvement to the iWork suite will be a tighter integration with the iPhone and iPod touch. On the short side, I see iWork.com coming to the iPhone as an app to allow quick browsing of documents. In an ideal world, Apple will eventually build lightweight mobile versions of its iWork apps to allow users to create and edit Pages, Keynote and Numbers files on the go.

I believe we’ll see an update to the “beta” of iWork.com, including a paid plan if Apple deems the project a huge success, or inclusion with MobileMe if Apple feels the product isn’t strong enough to stand on its own footing.

All three applications will see new templates and a refined Inspector palette. It seems very un-Apple like to mandate users bring up a palette for colors, a separate one for fonts, another for media and yet another master Inspector to control everything else. Additionally, I predict the Media Browser will be updated across all apps to support Faces and Places from iPhoto.

I also predict Pages will provide support for (or perhaps work directly with) third-party applications like bibliographic software such as Endnote or Refworks for academic publications.

iTunes

Probability: Guaranteed
iTunes is an interesting application as every version seems to bring about a large number of extra features that many people don’t expect, or at first glance, really need.

I predict the next major version of iTunes, iTunes 10, will bring support for syncing with the mythical iTablet, as well as better syncing support (including over the air syncing of content if on a Wi-Fi network). Furthermore, iTunes 10 should feature better support for managing larger libraries of content and the need to split those libraries across multiple hard drives in a simple but effective manner.

Conclusion

Finally, I’d like to see iWork and iLife dropping in price back to the familiar $49 from years past. In light of economic conditions and Apple’s vocal attempts of providing quality products to more and more users, a price drop seems wise as it would also help generate better market penetration.

Again, many of these predictions are pure speculation and hopes and dreams on my part. What do you think we’ll see in these areas over the coming year?

Going into 2010, the landscape of computing continues to be dominated by the slow, but inevitable, move towards the cloud. For a computing platform company like Apple, this move presents a particular challenge. Apple’s expertise is producing the best computing experience by controlling both the software and the hardware. This is antithetical to the whole concept of cloud computing, which is generally agnostic towards both the software and the hardware.

Not surprisingly, then, Apple’s moves towards cloud computing have been cautious. MobileMe, iWork.com and in some ways iTunes, can all be seen as cloud-based services, but none of them have offered ground-breaking solutions. It’s obvious that Apple’s cloud strategy is based mostly around complementing its computer based-solutions. It continues to feel strongly that the best place to create and/or edit files is on your computer, where you can take full advantage of today’s hardware and the power of OS X. Looking forward to 2010 I don’t expect this general philosophy to change, but I do expect Apple to move more aggressively towards tying its services even more closely to the cloud.

So, without further ado, here are my 2010 predictions for Apple and the Cloud.

iTunes will begin streaming music

Probability: Guaranteed
Not much of a risk here, Apple has thankfully tipped its hand with its acquisition of Lala.com, a music streaming service. This is the direction the industry is going, with services like Spotify, Pandora and Last.fm all growing rapidly. Adding a subscription streaming model to iTunes and/or allowing you to stream your iTunes library is a no-brainer for Apple. What will be interesting is seeing how such a potential service integrates with the iPhone and iPod lineup.

iTunes will offer streaming movies and/or television

Probability: Possible
This prediction follows logically from the one before. If Apple is going to offer streaming music, why not also offer to stream video content as well? Unfortunately, the likelihood of such a service is as constrained by the veracities of the rights-holders of Apple’s interest, as such I only deem this prediction a possibility.

MobileMe will see a significant price drop

Probability: Possible
MobileMe has always been dogged by sticker shock. Although the $8 or so a month the service costs isn’t that high, paying $100 all at once is a bit more difficult to swallow. What’s more, MobileMe offers very little that can’t be had for free in other places. I’m allowing my Mobile Me subscription to lapse this year as I’ve replaced all the services with free alternatives. Although I don’t expect Apple to make the service free, I do expect it to try and expand the universe of subscribers by offering a drop in price, and perhaps moving to a monthly subscription model instead of paying for an entire year up front.

MobileMe will add photo, music and file synchronization

Probability: Possible
MobileMe is still the best way to keep your PIM data synchronized across your Macs and your iPhone, but one glaring weakness is multimedia and file synchronization. Sure you can keep everything on your iDisk, but this lacks the elegance that is typical of Apple as it requires you to move everything that should be in your home folder to another place. It’s also extremely limited in terms of storage. It would be much more convenient if I could just tell Mobile Me to automatically synchronize my home folder across computers, just as I do with my calendars and contacts. With the speed of Internet connections only increasing, this is not only possible today, but it’s inevitable. Whether it happens next year is less certain, but it will happen eventually.

iWork.com will add document editing

Probability: Possible
As I mentioned above, Apple seems strongly opposed to moving document creation and editing to the cloud, but if it decides to start experimenting with some could-based document editing, this is likely the place where it will happen. Its competitors in this space, Google, Microsoft and Zoho, all are offering document editing to some extent. I wouldn’t expect the entire iWork suite to be ported to the cloud, but I do think the addition of basic editing is a possibility.

OS X is ported to the cloud

Probability: Absurd
It may seem like an absurdity, and I certainly don’t expect it to happen next year, but the idea of porting OS X to the cloud is one that Apple will certainly want to consider at some point in the future. The strength of Apple’s computing platform has always been the operating system and development tools that underly it. If you truly believe that in the long run computing will be a server-client model, than in order to retain its competitive advantage Apple will have to move these strengths to the cloud. Adapting OS X and Xcode to become the foundation of a cloud-based operating system and development environment is the obvious long-term strategy for Apple.

Steve Job’s consciousness will be uploaded to the cloud to ensure he rules Apple forever

Probability: Absurd
Steve Jobs’ health problems last year and his temporary absence from Apple proved once again that the tenure of Apple’s messiah is not assured to run forever. I think Apple needs to turn all of its prodigious talent towards ensuring that Jobs’ genius remains with us forever, and what better way than to upload his consciousness to the cloud? There he can ensure that we continue to pour the contents of our wallets into Apple’s coffers in perpetuity. You can bet Apple’s share-holders will be in support of this, despite that small probability that Jobs-in-the-cloud may someday turn into Skynet.