Can Apple Surprise Us Next Week?

Apple will host its next World Wide Deveoper Conference next week in San Francisco.  And much of topics of what Apple wants us to focus on is out in the public.  OS X Lion, iOS 5, and, of course, iCloud.  But is that all there is?  

I had been waiting all week long with glee, expecting to the blogs to run wild with rumors and speculations knowing well that most of it just stuff people are going to make up to get hits.  Imagine my shock when that has not happen at all.  It has been a relatively quiet week.  Maybe it has something to do with the long weekend we just had and folks are still exhausted.  I know I am.  

Still, it is possible for Apple to pull a fast one on us and unleash something spectacular?  Yes, but I'm not hopeful.

What?  No Crazy Rumors This Year? At this time the last few years, we were getting a lot of crazy rumors about this and that.  And of course, there was the Gizmodo theft of the iPhone 4 prototype and the Web was crazy with what we know.  So why no Apple rumor craziness this year?

I attribute this to Apple announcing ahead of time what they want to talk about.  It isn't OS X Lion.  We know that much and expected it.  But it was that in a press release, Apple said we'll be hearing about iOS 5 and iCloud as well with Steve Jobs as the keynote speaker.  In all my time watching Apple, never have they done such a thing.  

iOS 5 was kinda expected to be a topic at WWDC but "iCloud"?  Before that confirmation, everyone had put the "iCloud" in the rumors category

It was as if Apple made an preemptive move to shut down rumor wild fire that they would have a difficulty putting out.  Sure, Apple has never responded to rumors in the past but that doesn't mean that Apple is not in any way influenced by them.  Stock prices go up and down because of them because Wall Street analysts and CNBC would include them in their reports  Expectations go up.  

By mention a head of time what to expect, Apple effectively shut down anything that would distract from what they want us to focus on.  At the same time, it is also a perfect opportunity for Apple to let loose something, a major and pleasant surprise while we least expect it.  

What can this surprise be?  I know what I want.  And I won't say because you could want something totally different from Apple next week.  

I leave this in closing.  Regardless of what we see next week, I fully expect to be wowed because it'll be Steve Jobs on stage and that reality distortion field will be on full.