Picture Credit: Apple.Com

Well, folks, another year, another World Wide Developer Conference in the very near horizon. But, as much I love these Apple get – togethers, I am beyond “bummed” that the anticipated redo of the Apple TV unit is quite possibly cancelled. Yes, cancelled. Again. 

Why? 

Because television content providers aka the TV Networks are making life a living hell for Apple and its consumers.  Boy, is this story ever getting old and annoying. When will the networks release themselves from the dinosaur age and embrace all that technology can offer its consumer? 

One answer: Money. It makes the world go round. Just not ours. 

I have been visualizing this proposed Apple TV Unit for the last couple of years. Finally – an interactive touch pad that would interact with the very familiar Apple TV Box. When and if it is released in the future, it will be a thing of absolute beauty.  Imagine controlling your TV searches via Siri Voice Technology – no more fumbling with the channels or spelling out the names of shows via your keyboard.  Or picture having all of your home information centralized in the Apple TV hub or being able to download Apps to your TV, similar to the Mac App or iOS App Store.

It will happen – the question is, will it happen on Monday, June 8th?  Will Apple preview the proposed new Apple TV minus the contract negotiations or will they sit on it until all the “t”s are crossed and the “I”s are dotted?

Hard to say. 

However, they will be pumping their new HomeKit Apps and an update to the iOS Platform and the Mac Platform.  Also, their new music steaming service will be a major focus and not a minute too soon. Spotify has proven to be a huge success and Apple wants to put a stop to this.  Downloading is so passé, right?  We need to stream! 

I will be providing live updates so make sure you come back and refresh this page at 10:00 AM Pacific (1:00 PM Eastern).  Additionally, you can watch the video live on Apple.Com or Apple TV. Live streaming video requires Safari 6.0.5 or later on OS X v10.8.5 or later; Safari on iOS 6.0 or later. Streaming via Apple TV requires second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 6.2 or later.

Live Update To Come:

1:00 PM Eastern:  We are live!

1:02 PM Eastern: David LeGary, Director is featured in an introductory video. Not sure what is happening but it is very entertaining.  Now someone is singing to an Apple Laptop.  Rappers galore. Wait, that David LeGary guy is Bill Hader from Saturday Night Live. Just a fun video and I still don’t get it.  But, that’s just me. I am half asleep today. 

1:07 PM Eastern: Tim Cook hits the stage. Okay, finally. Back to reality!  I wonder how many times he practices his openIng speech. I bet it is programmed right down to the millisecond.

1:11 PM Eastern:  OS X, iOS and watchOS will be addressed.  No TV. Ugh. 

1:12 PM Eastern: Craig Federighi takes the stage to discuss the evolution of OS X. And it shall be called OS X El Capitan.  With El Capitan, you can refine some gestures in Mail, can Pin Sites on Safari and instantly mute or find audio on loaded on a Safari Page.  You can access personal searches in Safari – that is huge. The possibilities are endless. Yo can even search for mail you have ignored from a particular person or documents you worked on last June. For example. 

Mission Control is smoother and faster. You can work in Full Screen in Mail with additional tabs. You can resize the window and can drag links from Safari into Mail. Nice. Some great ways to work with Split a screen which are, quite frankly, mind-blowing. 

I love the Split View. This is going to be very handy and more efficient. 

Overall, everything will work quicker and more efficiently. Metal to the Mac: it will make everything you do more expedient.  And Adobe has come on board to utilize Metal.  A demo via Epic Games is shown. It is very impressive but, truthfully, I am not a game person so I don’t really care. Ha!  It is realistic though. Not sure if this is good or bad but there you have it. 

El Capitan is available to developers today and will roll out to everyone in the Fall. There will be a Public Beta in July, however. 

1:30 PM Eastern:  iOS 8 is discussed in preparation for the news about iOS 9. 

In iOS 9, Siri will be enhanced. It will have a new interface and it will be able to show you photos from, say, last July. The reminders will be more succinct and accurate. Proactive Assistant can, say, program personal music for you on your daily run. Or your audio book. Invitations will  added automatically to your calendar.  It can look up the identity – in your Contacts – of an incoming caller .  

You can search for specific videos with a new API.  Tap on the search results and the information is revealed. 

Craig gives us a demo displaying the personal aspects of iOS 9 via Siri. It is pretty amazing. Between Search and Siri, you will never have to fumble through your phone data again. Everything automatically pops up with a tap or a swipe and knows exactly who you are, your likes and dislikes etc.  As Craig said, this was a demo of intelligence that values your privacy.  You are in control, not Apple. 

1:43 PM Eastern: Jennifer Bailey  hits the stage to discuss Apple Pay.  They are working with many innovative small businesses in an effort of incorporating Apple Pay into its payment plan. Boy, I will be happy when this takes off in Canada. 

Next month, Apple Pay wil be incorporated into Pintertest. And lucky UK – Apple Pay will be live next month. 

In iOS 9, you will be able to add loyalty and reward  cards, debit cards, credit cards etc.  Passbook will be renamed to Wallet. 

1:43 PM Eastern: Craig  is back to discuss enhancements into the Notes App.  Yay, you can add photos, draw diagrams or pictures. I use this App all the time so I am all over this new upgrade.  

Maps App: Public Transit will be accessible.  Thank heavens! There is even time for walking directions. Apple carefully surveyed all the entrances and exits to transits so that your walking time could be more precise. They will be rolling Maps out to specific major cities, including Toronto Canada. 

News App:  This is a beautiful new personalized App.  Susan Prescott takes the stage to demo this wonderful new App. News creates a personalized feed just for you. Perfect!  It is “fast and fluid” and you “just swipe to get to the next article”. You can bookmark articles to read later. (Aside:This young lady is very personable – quite funny, actually).  You can be more specific about your likes and interests. 

2:00 PM Eastern: Craig is back on stage to summarize. They will be rolling out News starting in the USA, Australia and the UK. Okay, it’s official. I am moving! 

2:02 PM Eastern:  The iPad is discussed. They have made some refinements to the keyboard capabilities. Thank you!  

Multitasking: For iOS 9, the task switcher is much better. With a single finger swipe, you can slide in your messages to the side while on Safari. It’s called SlideOver.  You can bring in the Notes App and access multi App and multi Touch. Nice!   You can do the same with, say, the Photos App, which will be very handy. No more 4-finger swiping.  QuickType is a great addition as well.  You can even add picture in picture while watching a video and, perhaps, working on a document.  That is pretty impressive. 

Battery Life has been optimized.  There is a single switch called Low Power Mode that can extend life for an additional 3 hours.  

IOS 9 has been optimized for your device to occupy only 1.9 G of space. Downloads  are also personally optimized. 

HealthKit: Hydration, UV exposure, motion and carbon monoxide sensors, access your home via iCloud. 

CarPlay:  In future cars, you will be able to experience everything effortlessly.  Does that mean wirelessly?  

Swift 2: Optimized for developers. Swift will be open source and this announcement receives a huge accolade from the audience. 

Public Beta in July for iOS 9 and it will be supported by all devices.  

2:17 PM Eastern:  Tim Cook is back on stage to summarize. The App Store has passed 100 Billion Apps download. A milestone. And it is only 7 years old. Hard to believe that it is still so young. I would be lost without it.   

Video Presentation is launched exploring the power of the App Store. Something tells me this is filler from what was supposed to the announcement of Apple TV

2:27 PM Eastern: watchOS is discussed.  This new version will bring native apps right to your wrist.  Kevin Lench  takes the stage. There will be new Photo Face capabilities.  Complications allows you to display personal information on your watch face. You can choose from a variety of templates. Time Travel will allow you to grow backward and forward in time to see the past and, more important, in the future. So much fun!  There is a new way to charge your watch called Nightstand.  Friends allows you to have different sets of friends and to easily select them. Digital Touch allows you to draw on your watch. Siri will start your  workout based on your specifications which you will be able to share via Messages or Social Media. Wallet and Transit will be available. Siri will set your home requirements. – like specific lighting – and or pull  individual Apps. 

watchOS 2 has been optimized to address consumer requests.  The list is endless and this guy speaks extremely fast so visit Apple.Com for a summary. I love Time Travel on the Watch.  You can control your car temperature from your watch. Very handy especially in extreme climates. 

watchOS 2 will be available in the Fall

2:46 PM Eastern: One More Thing time with Tim Cook – MUSIC.  Apple Music is addressed and Jimmy Iovine is introduced to the stage. I guess there is life after American Idol. Ha!  He appears different somehow – but I digress. He is one awkward dude. Public speaking isn’t his forte. It takes him forever to introduce the Apple Music demo.  Well, this will is revolutionary. “All the ways you love music, all in one place “.  Revolutionary music service  giving you the right song at the right moment on demand.  24/7 Global Radio. 

Aside: Jimmy Iovine reminds me of Steve Jobs. Crazy. 

Eddie Cue, thankfully, hits the stage and explains the capabilities of Apple Music. Once again, you will be able to personalize your music selections based on genre or activity. 24/7 Global Radio called Beats One is introduced. Zane somebody is introduced to discuss the implementation of Beats One.  Connect will be a single place to connect fans with artists. This is pretty huge I must say.  

Now artist, Drake, hits the stage. Boy, this WWDC  is a marathon. Ha!  Drake is from Toronto Canada?  Yay Canada!  Basically he high – fives Apple. 

Eddi Cue gives a demo of the inner workings of Apple Music. You can reorganize your playlist by moving a song up or down. You provide information and recommendations are selected based on this information. Eddie Cue starts to Dad dance. Haha. 

3:12 PM Eastern: Apple Radio is demoed. Artist connections are demoed. Very nice. Apple Music will be $9.99 a month and the first 3 months will be free. For $14.99, up to 6 family members with individual accounts will be served by Apple Music.  Available in 100 countries on June 30th. 

A world wide premiere by The Weekend closes out this Apple Event. 

And that’s a wrap everyone. No Apple TV. I am bummed by this but excited with the announcements made today.