I'm not going to get too much into yesterday's WWDC keynote - obviously, Tim Cook did an incredible job and the biggest unveiled product - the new Retina Macbook Pro - is, essentially, the perfect notebook computer.
But this website isn't about new notebooks. Or even, really, about Mountain Lion or iOS 6. It's about seamlessly incorporating everything that Apple does into my home. And some of the things that were discussed yesterday do affect our projects.
1. The new Airport Express. IMPACT: Minimal.
It's about the size of an AppleTV - the new Airport Express adds dual-band, and an extra ethernet port. But I'm not using my Expresses as the primary router - they're wi-fi extenders, and more importantly, music streaming devices.
I'm hoping that the A1264 Expresses I've been buying get a little cheaper on the secondary market - but that's unlikely.
2. Siri 1.0. IMPACT: Potentially, major.
I still have an iPhone 4, which I'll be ditching for the next iPhone the day it comes out, even if that means paying AT&T to drop my contract - I simply cannot stay with them any longer, as AT&T's Chicago cell service has gone from "consistently annoying" to "unavailable".
No hyperbole - I simply cannot make a cell call anywhere in Bucktown. On the off chance I get even 1 bar and a call goes through, the person on the other end can't hear me and hangs up.
That said, if Siri is getting a 1.0 release, and will now be able to interface with and start apps - there's a solid chance it will be able to control our insteon system. There's even the possibility that it could be harnessed to control our home theater, either, say, through the DirecTV and SiriusXM apps directly, or through a new yet-to-be developed universal remote application.
3. Siri "Eyes Free", In-Car. IMPACT: Who am I kidding... I'm doing this.
It may be years before I'm able to use Eyes Free Siri - first, I need a new phone. Then, I guess I'll need a new car. But honestly.... our next car will have this feature. It just will. And hopefully, by that point, it will integrate with our garage door opener and automated lighting system.
So ultimately, while Apple announced a ton of great stuff, including overhauls to both OSX and iOS, it's not going to massively affect my home theater project, my insteon project, or my AirPlay project.
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