Even with Apple’s Leopard and its more then 300(!) new features, Blu-ray playback isn’t one of them. Yet. Macworld is this week and rumors are starting about Apple launching into the high-definition disc fray. Will it be Blu-ray only? Apple is firmly in the blue camp. Will the combo drive now be a Blu-ray reader and the super drive be a Blu-ray reader/writer? Will HD-DVD be added for compatibility or will Apple ignore it in light of the beating the reds are taking recently? Am I going to answer any of these questions?

Well, I’m at the point of being totally unimpressed by speculation or even actual product announcements, whether it’s at Macworld or CES. Tell me when products are shipping first of all. As I mentioned previously, it was announced at least year’s CES that HD-DVD burners would be available in early 2007. So how many can I buy now at the beginning of 2008? Still ZERO!

P.T. Barnum, I mean Steve Jobs, will take the stage on January 15th and whoop the Apple fanboys faithful into a frenzy with something that is over-hyped and over-priced. I think it borders on criminal that a DVD burner is not standard equipment on all Macs at all price points. Now will we just have the Blu-ray version of this scenario? I’m trying to remember the last magic gizmo that Apple announced that was reasonably priced.

UPDATE: And the answer is . . . nope! Though Apple did update the Apple TV, and in doing so lowered the price ($299 to $239) and offered to current owners a free upgrade to the new features. Who says they’re not about value 😉 It looks to me as though Apple feels the future is in HD downloads and not Hi-Def on physical media. Though it appears that there are more restrictions than discount airfare tickets.

Photo by ::stromberg