the day before WWDC

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The day before WWDC. It doesn't feel like it, if only because it doesn't feel like it should be mid-June just now. Where did the rest of the year go, exactly? the hours, well, I don't mind how they creep on by like an old love of mine / it's the years that simply disappear that are doin' me in [1]

I promised you my WWDC wishlist, so here it is:

  1. Ultra-portable laptop -- I love my MacBook (well, mostly), but I want an ultra-portable. It must weigh two pounds or less. I don't care how you accomplish it. (I say that now, but you know that if Steve announces just this tomorrow, I'll find a way to complain about it.)
  2. Software Update for non-Apple apps -- Wouldn't it be nice if you could easily find out about software updates? I only know that Twitterific recently released 2.1 because it was on a blog. I shouldn't have to find out about software updates through word-of-mouth.
  3. HIG update -- Apple, I love you guys, but you haven't updated the HIG in quite awhile. Yes, I know that documentation is really hard work. When some people go out and try to make their own indie HIG, you know it's gotten out of hand. (This isn't to complain about the idea behind the IndieHIG, only to say that it wouldn't be necessary if Apple's HIG had been updated sometime since Carter was president.)
  4. Mac Mini -- Don't kill my Mini! I love my Mini! MacBU loves its Minis! We've got eleventy billion of them in our Mac labs, and they're immensely useful. I'm currently listening to podcasts on my home Mini, which is my media server, file server, and web server. My heart froze when I read AppleInsider's analysis that the Mini would die.
  5. Mac Pro Mini -- The other name for this is just a Mac. I want a headless Mac between a Mac Mini and a Mac Pro. I love the iMacs, but there's something in me that can't bear getting rid of a perfectly good monitor (especially a 24-inch flat-panel). Monitors don't advance as fast as computers do. So I want a mid-size form factor. I don't need space for four hard drives and two optical drives, nor 16 GB of RAM. I want something a little bit bigger than the Mini, something using desktop components instead of laptop components. Oh, and make sure that it can drive the 30-inch cinema display. This would be a pretty compelling development machine for those of us who don't need the power of a full Mac Pro.
  6. FtFF -- I'll join the chorus here: Apple needs to Fix the Freakin' Finder. It feels like a relic these days.
  7. dot-Mac update -- .Mac needs some lovin'. Is now the time? I'd pay for only a mac.com email address. The hundred bucks a year for .Mac is too steep when, of all of the features that you currently offer, that's the only thing I want. But maybe your hundred bucks will be more attractive when it's updated, or maybe you'll both increase the functionality and decrease the price. Start off with better blogging support.
  8. Mac RAID -- We've already got Xserve RAID, but that's not ready for the consumer. I want something for the consumer. With Time Machine in Leopard, not to mention movies and everything else in the iTunes Store, people are starting to have a lot of storage hooked up to their computers.
  9. Dashboard be gone -- For those of us who don't find Dashboard very useful, please make it easy to get rid of it. There are hacks to do so, but I'd prefer an Apple-approved way. I find it annoying when I mis-mouse and click on Dashboard.
  10. free iPhone for every WWDC attendee -- Right under my seat during the keynote, and extras available for pick-up at registration if I'm not able to attend the keynote. This would make an absolutely awesome 'One more thing ...', Steve. Trust me. Yes, yes, some of them will turn up on eBay, but it will just help build the hype.

[1]In today's installment of Welcome to Nadyne's music collection, we'll introduce you to 'A Horse in the Country' by Cowboy Junkies.