Expo news offered a second-day perspective on Steve Jobs’s keynote yesterday: there were several high points in Apple’s strategy, although some analysts remain skeptical about the company’s future. Mac users weren’t so skeptical; the streaming Webcast of the keynote brought in record traffic numbers. Mac users also starred in a movie capturing pre-keynote excitement.
Microsoft gave its own keynote on Wednesday morning. Beginning with a parody of the steamy HBO show “Taxicab Confessions” titled “Microsoft Confessions,” the keynote segued from self-referential humor to announcements about the public beta of Outlook 2001 and the timetable for a Carbonized version of Microsoft Office. The e-mail program Outlook 2001 will sport a more streamlined installation process and redesigned user interfaces. Microsoft’s suite of Office products will be primed for OS X by the fall; the company is promising a special price for users who will be upgrading their systems.
A few companies announced support for OS X and the Carbon API. Among them: Corel announced plans for OS X versions of graphics programs Bryce and Knockout; owing to Bryce’s application architecture, porting the application to OS X is straightforward and the product will be shipping in late spring; Knockout will be shipping in the fall.
MindVision announced an update to a software installer for OS X applications; the latest version of their product, VISE 7.1 lets developers craft software installers for either Classic or Carbon packages.