When working with system fonts, you need to stop and ask yourself, is this something I can even work with? I have selected the top three system fonts based on accessibility, history and functional properties. Don’t get me wrong, I am not head over heels for any of these fonts. But based on my limited selection I have chosen Helvetica, Georgia, and Verdana.

I have not included any of the new Windows Vista fonts because they have not been made accessible to me. In the words of Adam Gedde, the Great, “Don’t rely on anything from Microsoft to be free, available or to work”. I see some of the new Windows Vista fonts have a contemporary look and functional properties. However, I am not willing to pay $299.00 for system fonts when I would rather be spending my cash money on fonts from Emigre, Hoefler & Frere-Jones, 2Rebels, or Under Ware, just to name a few.

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At MacWorld this morning Steve Jobs announced the fabled “MacBook Air”. We picked up early tidbits from the MacWorld blog. Here are some of the specs:

- Crazy thin - ranging from 0.8-1.2″
- Crazy light - less than 3 pounds
- All wireless - Apple stuffed 802.11n inside this beauty
- No optical drive - install Apps via CD through an application called “Remote Disk”
- 80GB HD standard, 64GB solid state drive optional (should be great for battery life!!)
- Full size, backlit keyboard, multi-touch mouse pad, and iSight camera

The new MacBook Air ad is up on Apple.com: http://www.apple.com/macbookair/#ad

One day before the highly touted Macworld 2008, Apple unveiled its newest promotional grabbing headline on it’s website apple.com. From an article on Wired’s Gadget blog late Monday:

“An Apple insider told Wired today that the company’s new ultraportable, expected to be seen in public for the first time tomorrow, has an extremely thin profile and is shaped like a teardrop when closed — thicker at the top behind the screen, tapering at the bottom behind the keyboard.

“It’s unbelievably thin,” said the source.”

“There’s Something in the Air” is a reference to the expected MacBook ultraportable laptop that’s been rumored for months all over the Internet. The Wired article speculates that the “MacBook Air” will do away with wired technology altogether, opting instead for wireless connectivity via WiFi, 3G (through AT&T), bluetooth, or a combination of all three.

We won’t be at Macworld but will be watching online. to see what kind of goodies Steve and Co. bestow on the rest of us.

Check out the original Wired.com blog entry.

Amidst all the iPhone launch hoopla, we overlooked a compelling article from GigaOm contributing writer Raghav Gupta. Gupta, VP of Consumer Services & Partnerships at Brightcove, contends that iPhone represents a “Sea of Change” for the music industry.

Why iPhone Will Change the Mobile Music Industry via [GigaOm]

The past few weeks have reminded us once again of the massive hype that develops when a revolutionary new product hits the mainstream marketplace. Apple’s iPhone is no exception. The so-called “Jesus Phone” has dominated online and offline news in the past weeks, with one person even attempting to steal a device during a live interview on FOX.

Beyond the hype of the launch itself, there have been an equal number of industry pundits and experts predicting that iPhone will “change the way we think about phones and wireless“. So, in the spirit of bold soothsaying (such as predicting a single product will turn a multi-billion dollar industry on its head), here is one more:

iPhone will change…

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Upsetting those who were may have been looking for something more uncivilized, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs made nice during their much touted dual interview at the Wall Street Journal’s “All Things D” Conference.  Watch the video after the jump.

Apple’s Jobs, Microsoft’s Gates Make Peace at “D” Conference via [Appleinsider.com]

Apple isn’t messing around with this product launch. Expected sometime mid-June, the Cupertino technology company reported on Wednesday that iPhone will be available at approximately 2,000 stores (160 U.S. based Apple stores and 1,840 ATT boutiques).

No word yet on how many units will ship on launch date, however. Reports for 2007 annual shipments have been as high as 7 million unitsh which averages out to just over a million shipped per month ( or 500 phones per store). Chances are some of the higher-traffic Apple stores will have more inventory available, as the dinky, mall-type Cingular/ATT kiosks may not even have space available for that many units.

iPhone to be Available at 2,000 Store Fronts at Launch via [AppleInsider.com]

With today’s approval of the iPhone by the FCC the final specs for the long awaited device have become public record. There’s been speculation for some time that the iPhone wouldn’t ship with more than EDGE wireless network connectivity, and though most of us wireless broadband junkies were holding out hope today’s announcement was the final nail in the coffin. No UMTS or HSDPA in the works - just plain old EDGE.

EDGE works well for retrieving email synchronized through Exchange or other POP3/IMAP services, but even with text-only web pages, it can be a bit slow. And large media files - you can forget about it.

If Apple’s play is to truly make the iPhone a mobile/wireless music and entertainment device (mobile iTunes, anyone?), why would they skimp on the slow data rates of EDGE?

One potential reason could be that they are waiting for Cingular to upgrade all their networks to UMTS/HSPDA. Though current Cingular/ATT 3G coverage is growing, there are still major population areas throughout the country that don’t have the higher bandwidth 3G provides.

There’s no doubt that future versions of iPhone will have the faster wireless options, and in the near term EDGE connectivity will be sufficient for the majority of iPhone users. But with the current adoption of wireless devices, the massive public interest in the iPhone, and push in the marketplace for mobile-enabled services, Apple better have plans on the drawing board already to make their high speed phone truly high speed.

In the high stakes poker game of online music, Apple appears to be ready to lay down it’s winning hand.  The jackpot?  DRM free music EVERYWHERE.

Their recent landmark deal with EMI has not only proven that it’s possible to strike a win-win deal with a major label, but has successfully put the other big boys (Sony-BMG, Universal, and Warner) on the defensive.

Apple, Amazon set to squeeze music labels over DRM via AppleInsider.