[ElDiabloConCaca]

I was hoping for an updated Mac mini, or perhaps the melding of the mini and the AppleTV into one unit. I was ready to spend $500 or $600 (possibly more, depending) on one.

But...

I cannot say that the lack of an update to the mini caused me to feel "pissed" or "frustrated" in any way, though. I was hoping, and it didn't happen, and life goes on. It's a computer, and while I feel passionate about them and technological advances and Apple as a whole, the minute they start affecting my emotions in a negative way is the minute I decide I spend too much time around them and that I'm placing disproportionate importance on an inanimate object. My dog chewed my shoes? "Pissed." Can't find which line of code is causing my program to crash? "Frustrated." Investment banker just drove my nest egg into the ground? "Pissed AND frustrated." Hoping for the release of a new computer but it didn't happen? Ambivalent with a smidge of "don't care because it doesn't affect my life."

Apple apparently knows what the hell they're doing. They've got tons of cash, have increased their market share and user base tremendously (in an almost unheard of way), and they've got some of the coolest gear on the planet. I find it funny when people start in with the "Apple should do this..." and "Apple should do that..." spiels. Apple should do exactly what they're doing, and life, career, livelihood and well-being do not hang on an update to one of their computers.

Constructive criticism is always a good thing, but to suggest that Apple should adjust their pricing structure based upon customers' personal opinions is madness. It's a damn good thing that Apple doesn't base their operational and pricing structure off of their customer's opinions, otherwise I think we'd be back in the Gil Amelio age -- where there are a ton of decently-priced clones, a model lineup that would confuse a rocket scientist, and Apple on the brink of utter destruction and bankruptcy. I, personally, prefer the Apple of today -- premium prices, excellent equipment, and a steady flow of innovation.

While I feel that the last Apple keynote at MacWorld could have been more of a "go out with a bang," big freaking deal that it didn't. Big freaking deal that Steve didn't descend from the heavens to say goodbye. Big freaking deal that an hour was spent on a single program with less than a handful of new features: a clear time-waster because of the lack of new hardware to showcase.

That's how I "feel."