This is the longest I've had a Mac in probably a decade. My current Mac--an early 2009 17-inch MacBook Pro--has been a workhorse for over three years; I bought it when it debuted. I originally bought a 17-inch model, not because I needed the size but because it because it was the only model I could get with a matte screen, and I really disliked the mirror-like glossy screens Apple had moved to.

For years, I've been on a twoish year cycle with Mac laptops, but Apple hadn't really released anything that felt significantly better than my current one until recently. Sure, they've been faster, but also hotter and my MBP has been "fast enough" and stable.

I've had that two-year itch for awhile now, and I've had my eye on a MacBook Air. And now, with the intro of the MacBook Pro with Retina Display, my urge to have a powerhouse is tugging at me. But, uncharacteristically, I've decided to wait it out. I'm feeling a small amount of pain now that Mountain Lion is out and my Mac is too old to do Airplay streaming to the Apple TV and can't do PowerNap; I don't think I've ever held on to a Mac long enough to not be able to use new OS features. But I'm waiting, and here's what I'm waiting for:

First, now that I've had a taste of an iPad with a persistent LTE connection, I want that in my laptop too. Particularly if I went the MBA route, I just want it to always be connected as soon as I open the lid. Yes, I can share the connection from my iPad to my laptop, but I'm spoiled now, and if I had an MBA, I'd probably take either it or the iPad to a meeting or wherever I might think I needed a device. Either way, it has to be connected.

Second, I want SSDs to continue to get bigger and cheaper. One thing I've done to expand the life of my 17-incher is replace the DVD drive with an 128 GBSSD that I use as my boot drive; the OS and most home directory-based files that are accessed frequently are there. I also have a 500 GB, 7200 RPM spinning drive for big things like media files and stuff I want to have on me, but access less frequently. I'm hoping that 750 GB isn't out of reach next year. The SSD is fast, but the system does slow down when the spinning drive has to wake up for an access.

Lastly, I just want the new MacBook Pros to get Retina-ized across the line. The current Retina is beautiful, and is normally the kind of early-adopter bandwagon I'd jump on, but this time I think there might be quite a bit of benefit to waiting out the first revision and push throughout the lineup. Perhaps there'll even be a Retina Display on the higher-end MBA, making my choice harder again.

It makes me a bit sad to be practical this time around, but I'm hoping it'll be worth it.

It's official, and it looks like the rumors were pretty much spot-on.

As described, a compact which is essentially a "repackaged Rebel T4i", it's a pretty compelling camera. Sounds fast (although most specs don't make it sound like it's quite as fast-handling as the Nikon 1, but that remains to be seen) and I'm sure the quality will be great. The price is right, at $800 with the 22mm f/2 lens we saw in the rumors. Now that we know the sensor is APS-C, that's going to be a 35mm equivalent field-of-view, which is perfect in my book.

There are some new accessories too, and leading the charge is the Mount Adapter EF-EOS M, which will allow Canon's EF and EF-S mount lenses to attach to the M. That's pretty great, especially since the article says Canon have promised "no functionality or quality will be lost". That's a big plus over Nikon's offering, which doesn't do AF-C. They also introduced a small speedlite, the 90 EX. It doesn't look quite as cool as the little pivoting, battery-less Nikon 1 unit, but it's still a nice addition. More importantly, the camera has a hotshoe that is compatible with other Canon speedlites, which is pretty awesome.

More awesome is the ST-E3-RT Transmitter to attach to that hotshoe. It's a PocketWizard-like radio transmitter for Canon's wireless flash system. The idea of that on a small camera is pretty damn sweet. There's also a GPS receiver, which I still don't understand why they can't fit inside. Like the Nikon, I love the functionality, but hate the extra accessory.

Somewhat strangely, Canon is positioning this as a video camera first and foremost, which instantly leaves me cold, although it does explain the lack of a viewfinder and the touchscreen-centric controls. It also explains the Stepless Motor lenses (STM). Canon is calling this a companion for videographers the way their G1 X is for photographers. Ugh. They still don't quite get it, in my opinion. They, like Nikon, appear to be too afraid of cannibalizing their low-end DSLRs to really go after this market. I have a feeling that both might just lose out to Olympus, Sony, and others if they don't wake up soon.

At this point, were I in the market for a small camera, I think I'd probably head toward the Olympus OM-D. Hell, I've considered getting one just to have a nice new camera to hang the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 from. I'll let the market mature a bit, though and I am curious what the next move Nikon makes is. I'm still very happy with the handling of the Nikon 1 V1, but there's no doubt there are big gaps to fill in that line, and if they don't hurry, they'll be in trouble.