It's been a week since Apple unveiled the ultra-portable MacBook Air, time enough for the reviews to start coming in (many of them positive, but with major reservations -- see Baig, Levy, Mossberg, and Pogue).
In that time, you may also have spotted, once or twice during "Project Runway" or "American Idol," Apple's ad for the device, which is as clever as any Apple commercial I've seen and certainly sells the product -- though, to my mind, it actually makes you want to buy something else even more. Take a look and you'll see what I mean:
Right, it's that song! Apple's ads often feature memorable music -- well, except for the Black Eyed Peas era, about which the less said the better -- but this song's more enchanting than most. I wanted to know what it was the first time I saw the ad, at Macworld, and the few times I've spotted the commercial on TV, the music has lodged into my back-brain, and I've found myself thinking more about it than the MacBook Air.
The song is "New Soul," by the young French-Israeli singer Yael Naim. You can find it on the eponymous album she released last October (here's an iTunes Store link, and here's more on her from Wikipedia.)
And here's the music video. Forget the MacBook Air, just play Yael Naim.
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Steve Jobs accepts the inevitable -- and embraces the CEO title.
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Now the Apple CEO says he would gladly sell songs without digital restrictions, if the record companies let him. That's hardly a brave defiance, and besides, I don't believe him.
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Apple's iTunes sells 5 billion songs, but you don't own them
Why DRM means your music isn't really yours.
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Steve Jobs’ 2009 letter to the community about his health.
Terse and obfuscatory, this thing is Jobs all over.
Apple's obsession with secrecy grows stronger
Apple’s decision to limit communication with the media, shareholders and the public is at odds with the approach of other companies, which are embracing online outlets like blogs and Twitter.
By Brad Stone and Ashlee Vance, The New York Times
The Untold Story: How the iPhone blew Up the wireless industry
This 4.8-ounce sliver of glass and aluminum is an explosive device that has forever changed the mobile-phone business.
By Fred Vogelstein, Wired
A list of Steve Jobs' best quotes
An example: "The cure for Apple is not cost-cutting. The cure for Apple is to innovate its way out of its current predicament."
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The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs
Fake Steve Jobs tells all in this hilarious and often informative act of fraudulent auto-blography.
Apple Announces New iPhone OS 3.1 at Keynote
Good Vibrations Sold Everywhere
