Macbook Air and Other Products, Services at Macworld Expo 2008

Several new products and updates were unveiled at the Macworld Expo, the January trade show for Apple products. Most of these were evolutionary, not revolutionary. Still, there was much to impress hardcore Apple fans (as well as everyone else). Products and updates announced include the Macbook Air, a combination hard drive and wireless base station, movie rentals through iTunes, and various updates for the iPhone and the Apple TV (which is now a full-fledged standalone device and doesn't require a computer to fully use it). Steve Jobs' keynote address for the expo can be watched online at Apple's web site.

One of the biggest announcements concerns movie offerings on iTunes. iTunes has long offered movies for purchase, but users can now rent movies as well, thus ending the era of the iTunes store being a "purchase-only" service. New releases are $3.99 while older "library" movies are $2.99. How long is the rental for? 24 hours from the time you start watching it. More specifically once you rent a movie you have 30 days in which to start watching it. Once you actually do so you then have a 24-hour window to finish it. It can be watched as many times as you wish during this period. After the 24 hours is up the movie is automatically expired. Apple's web site explains that it can be viewed on a computer, iPod, or iPhone.

This isn't the only development involving Apple and the movie industry. Certain ordinary DVDs will now contain, in addition to the normal DVD movie, an iTunes version of the movie that can be easily loaded from the disk into iTunes when used with a computer. Not many details were given yet, but according to Apple's web site movies with this feature will have "iTunes Digital Copy" displayed on the DVD. This will likely ensure the future of "iMovies" that can easily be played on iTunes, Ipods, and Apple TVs, since consumers who like actual DVDs will no longer be forced to pay twice for the ability to easily watch their movie collection on Apple products.