Apple had a media briefing on Monday, and as usual, everybody’s talking about what happened. Plus, the annual TED Conference starts next week. Were you invited?

Edit: Thanks to the Drex Live listener who set me straight tonight. Apple’s new MacBook does indeed have a headphone jack, so you don’t need to run out and buy new earphones just yet. Thanks, listener!

What’s that on your wrist?

Now we know. The Apple Watch will be available to preorder in Canada on April 10 for release on April 24.

Clearly, Apple does not intend for regular people to get an Apple Watch. It is a premium, lifestyle product intended for select consumers. To try it on at an Apple retail store you’ll need to make an appointment.

Then there’s the cost of getting one. First, you have to have a iPhone, series 5 or later, which is required for the watch to work.

The cheapest you can get an Apple Watch is $449 for the Apple Watch Sport. A metal band moves you into the Apple Watch range, where you’ll pay at least $699. I don’t personally know anyone who is getting an Apple Watch Edition, which is made of gold and starts at $13,000.

I’ve used the Samsung Galaxy Gear and Gear 2 smart watches, but neither of them worked very well. I expect a better experience from Apple, but I haven’t had a chance to see or try the Apple Watch, so I can’t speak to how it looks, or fits, or wears, or works.

It’s probably really cool. Apple stuff usually is.

But I can get an iPad mini 3 for $399. Or an iPad Air 2 for $499, the premium tablet. Only $50 more than the base model Apple Watch Sport.

Hmmm.

Other announcements from Apple

Apple’s got a new trackpad that is pressure sensitive. It’s called Force Touch and it enables a whole range of interactivity with your fingertips. You can click anywhere, for one thing. But you can also set up your Apple laptop to respond to deeper clicks, like opening a browser link in a new tab, for example.

The new Force Touch trackpad is also standard on the new MacBook, which was also announced on Monday. And just like the MacBook Air shocked people when Steve Jobs revealed it in January 2008 (no disc drive? no replaceable battery? no ethernet port? horrors!), the newest Apple laptop has raised eyebrows.

It has only one port: a single USB-C that handles charging, data transfers, and video ouput. Even more than the Air, this machine is designed to be used wirelessly. It’s also thinner and lighter than the Air, which is astounding.

It also has a redesigned (and full-sized) keyboard and a Retina display, but is expected to have a similar battery life to the small-size Air, which I can get a full day out of.

I think many people are going to discover, as they did after the Air was around for a few years, that there is little need for all the ports on their laptops. I think people will miss the headphone jack, though. MacBook requires that you’ve got wireless headphones and that may be the biggest stumble for people.

Here’s where you can watch TED2015 talks live

As of 2014, the TED conference now calls Vancouver home, but that doesn’t make it any easier for those of us who live here to attend. If you want to attend you have to apply, and if you’re invited to be there it’ll cost you US$8,500.

TED2015, which runs from March 16 through March 20, is already sold out, but if you want to watch any of the presentations that will take place over the five-day affair, you can. For $500 you can stream it live to your boardroom or living room.

Or you can visit one of these locations in Vancouver where the conference will be streamed free:

• Vancouver Public Library
• Science World
• University of British Columbia, Faculty of Education and main library branch
• Vancouver International Film Centre
• Potluck Café Society
• Langara College
• Emily Carr University of Art + Design
• YWCA Metro Vancouver
• The AMP
• Vancouver Community Network
• Wolrige Foundation
• Stratford Hall Secondary School
• David Suzuki Foundation

Other municipalities in B.C. will also be making live streams available, including:

• Burnaby
• Coquitlam
• Delta
• Langley
• New Westminster
• North Vancouver
• Richmond
• Squamish
• Surrey
• Victoria
• West Vancouver
• Whistler

The theme of TED2015 is “Truth & Dare” and includes such speakers as:

• Daniel Kish, who teaches humans how to echolocate
• Sara Seager, who is hunting for a twin Earth
• Theaster Gates, who helped create artist-run spaces in Chicago
• Roman Mars, creator and host of the podcast, 99% Invisible
• Monica Lewinsky (!)

The full list of speakers is here.