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Mac World Expo/San Francisco 2001 Top Ten
Insanely Great Mac has compiled its top ten products from Mac World Expo. The
list looks at the ten biggest announcements at Mac World Expo. These products are
either first announced, first shown or first shipped during the show. While we couldn't
review every product at the show, this list makes up the best Mac products that caught
our attention.
10. Alias|Wavefront
Maya
Introducing the coolest application for OS X that most of us will never learn to
use. With its $7500 price tag and very steep learning curve, Maya is not for your
average Mac user. Maya fills the need for big-time 3D horse power and also validates
the power of Mac OS X.
9. Iomega Peerless
Drive
The next big thing from Iomega is its Peerless drive system. The modular removable
storage system will offer up to 20 GB removable storage upon its launch. Iomega
hopes to move the drive beyond the PC to other uses in cars and home entertainment
centres.
8. LaCie CD-RW
Pocket Drive
Building on its popular Pocket Drive line, LaCie brings the slim form design to CD-RW
drives. The drive sports both USB and FireWire interfaces for best compatibility.
The drive is an ideal solution for new PowerBook G4 users, who are short a media
bay.
7. nVidia GeForce2
MX
The jury is  still out on how the GeForce2 MX stacks up against ATI's Radeon, but the
biggest news may not be the MX board. At MWSF, nVidia announced its support for the
Mac OS, not only giving Mac users another choice of upgrades, but promises of more,
powerful upgrades down the road.
6. Connectix DoubleTalk
This new utility from Connectix helps link Mac users to Windows networks. DoubleTalk
allows Mac users to share files like a PC pro without needing to learn Windows or
a new interface. Using the Chose, Mac users can share files and print to PC network
devices.
5. 733 MHz G4
Chip
We'll hold our breath until Apple starts shipping them, but Apple needed faster PowerMacs
and Apple delivered. A few of these speedy Macs were sprinkled around Moscone, as
if to tease us all. Our question is, when can we get a dual 733 G4 Mac?
4. Griffen FailSafe
FailSafe is a hardware and software product to help keep PowerMac G4 tower systems
running. The device installs into the G4's modem serial port and receives signals
from an installed piece of software. If the device stops receiving the signals, implying
that the Mac OS has crashed, the device reboots your computer.  The device can also be linked to
software applications, which will help keep those essential programs running.
3. Sonnet Encore/ST
G4 Duet
Faster G4 processors bring new G4 upgrades. Sonnet announced an upgrade for Apple's
most recent PowerMacs G4, dubbed "Sawtooth." The upgrade features two 500
MHz G4 processors to upgrade current machines. Expect faster versions of the upgrades
from Sonnet down the road.
2. DVD-R, iDVD
The next LaserWriter? Desktop movies coming of age? Whatever the plot, we think bringing
DVD authoring technology to  consumers to a big deal. Shoot, edit, burn, and watch your
movie in a single afternoon. While not quite a cheap as CD-Rs, it wasn't all that
long ago when CD-R drives were selling for $1000 with $10 media...
1. Apple PowerBook
G4
Oh, yeah. By the way, here's the new PowerBook G4. While Steve Jobs was a little
deceptive in his comparison to Sony's Vaio laptop, the new PowerBook G4 gives what
Mac users have been asking for. The new laptop gives style and speed with size and
weight in mind.
Notable Five
Sorenson Video 3 & MPEG4 Codec Technology
UniBrain FireNet
MYOB AccountEdge
Dazzle Hollywood DV-Bridge
MacSpeech iListen
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