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The Motley Fool’s Bylund: Apple’s final Macworld Expo keynote the most exciting I’ve ever seen

Wednesday, January 07, 2009 - 03:46 PM EST

"Some might say that the 2009 Macworld Expo keynote was boring. Apple didn't present any groundbreaking new products, didn't redesign the old ones a whole lot, and Steve Jobs wasn't even on stage. 'No surprises at Apple's final Macworld,' sighs the Guardian. The event 'won't be missed' according to InfoWorld. 'Macworld fizzles,' screams Reuters. Last year's underwhelming event looked positively awesome by comparison," Anders Bylund writes for The Motley Fool.

Bylund writes, "Of course, they're all wrong. This was the most exciting keynote I've ever seen."

"The iTunes music store is finally breaking free of its old DRM shackles. From now on, every new song in the world's best-selling music store comes in the unprotected iTunes Plus format," Bylund writes. "If you don't have an iPod or iPhone, every song can be converted to the industry-standard MP3 format or burned to as many CDs as you like."

MacDailyNews Note: Yeesh. What year is this, again? Anders, MP3 is a dinosaur format. AAC is its successor. You do not need to convert to MP3 before you burn a spinning plastic disc if you're unable to comprehend that you're simply supposed to take your iPod / iPhone with you into the car and everywhere else instead of lugging stacks of CDs around in search of old-time CD players. MP3 is inefficient and outdated vs. AAC. Use the AAC format for your music, not MP3.

Bylund continues, "I predict that the unrestricted file formats won't hurt iTunes sales in the slightest, and I actually expect growth rates to pick up steam... With the market leader going to a completely open place, and inviting all comers to join it, there's no reason to hold off any longer. Apple just expanded its addressable market. And the company is leading the way into a new era of open, cheap, and convenient media consumption."

Bylund writes, "Boring? Disappointing? Fizzled? Open your eyes, guys and gals. It doesn't get any better than this."

Full article here.