In front of the usual capacity crowd at Macworld Expo in the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, Steve Jobs? semi-annual keynote had 2 main focuses from Apple: the ability to take your life everywhere with you with your contacts and calendar, and the ability to listen to music whenever you want, wherever you want, how you want.

Apple slashed the price on their 5 GB model from $399 to $299 USD, or $599 to $479 CDN. As well, they brought down the price of their 10 GB model from $499 to $399 USD, or $799 to $629 CDN. The price on the 10 GB model wasn?t the only part of it slashed. An extra 0.06 of an inch was shaved off this thickness of this machine, so it fits just that little bit better in your pocket, or hand, or wherever you keep it. Not to be outdone, for the seriously hardcore music lovers out there, or those that like the fact it makes a great external hard drive, for $499 USD or $799 CDN, you can now get a 20 GB model, advertised as 4000 songs in your pocket.

Other changes include a cover for the firewire port to keep out dust and for other protection. As well, the jog wheel has been removed. It is now a solid glass piece you slide your finger over. This is a great enhancement because now the volume can?t change while it?s taking a pounding while you jog. It also reduces problems with dust and other dirt with the lack of the moving part. The 10 GB and 20 GB models also come with a stylish carrying case with built-in belt clip. And there is now a remote control you plug in through the audio port, and that has a port for the headphones, that allows you to play, pause, fast-forward, rewind or adjust volume all in the palm of your hand. The earbuds are now smaller, with a new kind of magnet for enhanced sound.

Software-wise, the iPod now features a calendar to go with Apple?s new calendar theme. It?s right there with their Contacts. Also an extra feature is the Clock. Basically, you choose it, and you get the date and time on the screen. They also made it easier to find the secret Break Out game that Jobs and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak helped create at Atari. New playing features include a composer menu for classical music, and listening to music in a certain genre.

With a new version of iTunes also released, there are now more possibilities with Apple and music. iTunes 3 was introduced with new features such as Smart Playlist, playcount and a 5-star rating system. The rating system lets you rate your own songs on a scale of 1 to 5. The playcount tells you how many times you?ve listened to each song on your iPod or iTunes. The Smart Playlists are playlists that you customize by changing settings, not actual songs. You can set them by artist, album, rating, playcount (top 25 listened to songs, or songs you?ve never listened to), and other variables.

Apple also showed off technology called Rendezvous that allows a computer to search for other Rendezvous computers and peripherals wirelessly. If someone with Rendezvous has their computer nearby, you can actually listen to the music on their playlist. If they leave or shutdown, you?re not copying it, so it?s gone. It works well and serves it?s purpose it looks like.

Finally, the moment many of you have been waiting for. Since the release of the iPod, the Windows community has taken notice. They have been desperately trying to hack it, and find ways to get it to run on their computers. And now they have. Shortly after Apple releases their new iPods, Apple will release the exact same 3 models of iPod, but for Windows. Same price tags, and same everything in fact, except that the PC models also come with a 6-pin to 4-pin firewire cable. For some of you PC users, Firewire might be known as 1394 or i.Link. Those terms are either out-of-date, or Sony. iPod for PC is supposed to run seamlessly with MusicMatch Jukebox Plus, considered one of the #1 MP3 software apps on the market for Windows. Apple won?t release iTunes for Windows though. It?s probably the best MP3 playing software out there, and they don?t want people to enjoy their Windows experience. They?re trying to convert those people after all.

As always, Steve Jobs has done it again with his new products and their introductions. Stay tuned to Andpop.com and our new technology section for all the latest and greatest news on iPod, iTunes, and many more computer music products.






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