 Cult of MacRead Leander Kahney's latest commentary about Apple and Mac News in Wired.com's Cult of Mac Blog, including Mac, Mac Pro, MacBook, iMac, iBook, Mac mini, iPod video, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, iTunes, iPhoto, iPhone, Apple TV, OSX, Steve Jobs, and Macworld. http://blog.wired.com/cultofmac/ другие подписчики этой ленты также читают >> |
- Great 2001 iPod Image From TUAW
Great visual joke from TUAW. Link....
Great visual joke from TUAW. Link.
lkahney - Cult of Mac Invades BusinessWeek Innovation Blog
Apple owns the discourse around design and innovation these days. Everyone wants to be like Steve Jobs, and everyone wants to invent the new iPod. People also want to be Google, but being Google seems to be a lot harder,...
Apple owns the discourse around design and innovation these days. Everyone wants to be like Steve Jobs, and everyone wants to invent the new iPod. People also want to be Google, but being Google seems to be a lot harder, and the founders aren't terribly charismatic, so Apple gets a lot more attention regardless. As a result, and because of the world I live in at my day job, I get into a lot of discussions about the role of design strategy and the value of innovation. Specifically, that understanding what people really need is the best way to create new products, services and businesses that will really connect with people. All of which is a preface to encourage you to check out a comment of mine that BusinessWeek Innovation honcho Bruce Nussbaum highlighted into a blog post over there. It was at the end of a business day, so I think I might sound a little more snarky than I meant to:YouTube's actual future is far from certain, and Second Life will surely be passed by another player, as it superceded The Sims, which superceded a lot of MUDDs and the like. Bill Moggridge even asked, "What is the YouTube of design?" And I have to say, I don't particularly care. YouTube, Second Life, Flickr, Vlogs, blogs, they're all different solutions trying to meet some very core needs of people, whether they know it or not. And needs outlast solutions. I won't perform a straight-up needs analysis on these sites, but they definitely come from wanting to express oneself creatively, connect with other people, feel famous or even lead a different life, as in the case of Lonely Girl 15 and some others. By the time we start analyzing a solution, the next way to meet the needs it addresses is already underway. We're going to miss the most important opportunities unless we see beyond the fun and exciting solution we hold in our hands.Check it out.
Pete Mortensen - Speaking about Nike + iPod at Stanford This Afternoon
I know this is late notice, but I wanted everyone to know that I'll be speaking about the Nike + iPod at the Second International Conference on Persuasive Technology this afternoon with my colleague Conrad Wai. Persuasive tech, if you're...
I know this is late notice, but I wanted everyone to know that I'll be speaking about the Nike + iPod at the Second International Conference on Persuasive Technology this afternoon with my colleague Conrad Wai. Persuasive tech, if you're scratching your head right now, is any technology that attempts to persuade its user to do something differently. This includes smoking cessation aids, political attitude adjusters, fitness motivators, with the Nike + iPod Sport Kit obviously being the latter. Conrad and I are putting a stake in the ground: Persuasive Technologies Should Be Boring. Anyway, I thought you might want to know. We'll be posting our paper on the subject to the Web in the next few days, so I'll hook you up when the time comes. If you are hanging around Stanford's Tressider Hall around 3 p.m. this afternoon, duck into our little enclave, and we'll be happy to share our thoughts around why the Nike+ has been adopted so quickly when other fitness devices tend to take longer to break through. Say hi if you see me.
Pete Mortensen - Jobs: People STILL Don't Want to Rent Music
Just in case you're wondering if Steve Jobs has changed his mind about offering music on the iTunes Store in any form other than purchased downloads, here's a reality check, courtesy of Reuters: Not gonna happen.Never say never, but customers...
Just in case you're wondering if Steve Jobs has changed his mind about offering music on the iTunes Store in any form other than purchased downloads, here's a reality check, courtesy of Reuters:Not gonna happen.
"Never say never, but customers don't seem to be interested in it," Jobs told Reuters in an interview after Apple reported blow-out quarterly results. "The subscription model has failed so far."
Are you sure Steve? I mean, mayb...
"People want to own their music," he said.
Cool. We hear you. I do think Steve is basically right, of course, as I'll explain after the jump.
People do have an interest in sampling a wide variety of music, but mostly they can tell what they like from 30-second samples. If anything, renting music is a rip-off unless you're a high-volume user. It's much like Netflix. If you're receiving, viewing and returning your DVDs the day they come in the mail, it's one of the best deals in all of entertainment.
If, on the other hand (and on my hand, unfortunately), you take weeks to watch the DVDs currently on hand, it's a dramatic waste of money. There might be a place for subscription models of music downloading, but I think unless you can keep a certain number of sampled songs once you kill your subscription, it's largely empty. Maybe it's just time for companies to create a music subscription service that costs $15 a month for unlimited access. The only way I'm interested in this service is if I get to keep my favorite 10 songs from all the ones I downloaded at the end of the month -- otherwise, it's not really my music.
Thanks, Evan!
Image via Yahoo.
Pete Mortensen - In Statement About Steve Jobs, Questions of Anderson' Motive: NYT
In the Times, reporters John Markoff and Matt Richtel cast about for the motives behind Fred Andeson's statement on Tuesday that he warned Steve Jobs about the legal and accounting ramifications of the controversial 2001 "executive team" options grants. Markoff...
In the Times, reporters John Markoff and Matt Richtel cast about for the motives behind Fred Andeson's statement on Tuesday that he warned Steve Jobs about the legal and accounting ramifications of the controversial 2001 "executive team" options grants. Markoff and Richtel say the statement against Jobs was "an extraordinarily sharp elbow" and a "shot heard round Silicon Valley." Speaking to various analysts and observers, they speculate that Anderson may be contributing to the "legal cloud remaining over Jobs." There's a couple of interesting tidbits. It reveals that Anderson, when serving on Apple's board, volunteered to conduct an internal investigation into how the company handled options when the SEC first started investigating widespread backdating practices. He "did so at the time not because Apple was suspected of having a problem but because many major companies were trying to understand their practices in case they did face scrutiny or accusations," the Times says. Irish rock star Bono, a co-founder with Anderson of Elevation Partners, a venture capital firm, said: ???He is a man to whom you would give the keys to your life and know it would be calmer, tidier and better organized every day he was in it.??? Another Elevation colleague, said Anderson had been" deeply hurt by insinuations from Apple that he was responsible for the option accounting problems." He said the comments by Mr. Anderson???s lawyer were an attempt to clear Mr. Anderson???s name and ???set the record straight in a way that has not been possible because of the pending legal action.???
lkahney - New For Summer: iPod-Compatible George Foreman Grill
I'm somewhat speechless. They call it the GIPod200. I think we're running out of product categories that aren't directly compatible with the iPod. GEORGE FOREMAN Via Sensory Metrics. Technorati Tags: foreman, grill, ipod...
I'm somewhat speechless. They call it the GIPod200. I think we're running out of product categories that aren't directly compatible with the iPod. GEORGE FOREMAN Via Sensory Metrics. Technorati Tags: foreman, grill, ipod
Pete Mortensen - Please Support Alan Johnston, Missing BBC Journalist
The BBC is asking bloggers and website publishers to post a button in support of Alan Johnston, a BBC journalist missing in Gaza, presumed kidnapped. Johnston was the last international journalist reporting from Gaza, and was highly respected, even by...
The BBC is asking bloggers and website publishers to post a button in support of Alan Johnston, a BBC journalist missing in Gaza, presumed kidnapped. Johnston was the last international journalist reporting from Gaza, and was highly respected, even by many Palestinians. Remember Jill Carroll, the Christian Science Monitor journalist kidnapped in Iraq who was released safely? International pressure does work. Link: BBC correspondent Alan Johnston disappeared on his way home from his Gaza City office on 12 March. He is feared kidnapped in the lawless territory, where he is thought to have been the only international correspondent still working. Intensive efforts have been made to secure his release.
Here's instructions how to add the link to your blog.
lkahney - On Flickr: Steve Jobs Dancing!
From Jack000's photostream: My submission to the 7th ipod give-away at mike inudstries: movie poster with Steve Jobs in it. More here....
From Jack000's photostream: My submission to the 7th ipod give-away at mike inudstries: movie poster with Steve Jobs in it. More here.
lkahney - Apple Q2 Results: Profit Up 88%, Revenue $5.26 Billion, 10.5 Million iPods Sold, Mac Sales up 24%
Lots of good news for Apple in its latest quarterly report. The company's on a roll. Not only are iPod sales up (10.5 million sold), so are Macs, especially Mac Books. Apple sold 1.52 million Macintosh computers, up 24 percent...
Lots of good news for Apple in its latest quarterly report. The company's on a roll. Not only are iPod sales up (10.5 million sold), so are Macs, especially Mac Books. Apple sold 1.52 million Macintosh computers, up 24 percent from a year ago. Reuters reports: The results blew away Apple's own forecast, which tends to be cautious, of 54 cents to 56 cents. Analysts had expected Apple to earn 63 cents per share, on average, on revenue of $5.17 billion, according to Reuters Estimates... Shares of Apple have climbed about 12 percent this year, after advancing 18 percent in 2006 and more than doubling in 2005, fueled by robust sales of iPods and redesigned Macintosh computers. UPDATE: NYT: In an interview, Steven P. Jobs, Apple???s chief executive, called the quarter a ???blowout,??? and noted that the strong sales and market share gains came even though the company had not made any major upgrades to its lines of portable and desktop computers. ???The Mac is clearly gaining market share, with sales growing 36 percent ??? more than three times the industry growth rate,??? Mr. Jobs said. Overall personal computer sales increased only about 11 percent during the quarter, according to the market researcher IDC. Apple???s strength was particularly notable in that it came during the quarter in which Microsoft finally released the long-awaited Vista version of its Windows operating system, an event that the PC industry was counting on to spur a wave of computer upgrades. Mr. Jobs noted that Dell had recently returned an earlier version of Windows to its product line, which he said was an indication that demand for Vista had not been overwhelming.
lkahney - Apple's Board: "We Have Complete Confidence in Steve"
Apple's board issued a statement of total support of Steve Jobs this afternoon. It follows ex-CFO Fred Anderson's ass-covering letter yesterday claiming he was a patsy in the options backdating scandal. Apple's board said: We are not going to enter...
Apple's board issued a statement of total support of Steve Jobs this afternoon. It follows ex-CFO Fred Anderson's ass-covering letter yesterday claiming he was a patsy in the options backdating scandal. Apple's board said: We are not going to enter into a public debate with Fred Anderson or his lawyer. Steve Jobs cooperated fully with Apple???s independent investigation and with the government???s investigation of stock option grants at Apple. The SEC investigated the matter thoroughly and its complaint speaks for itself, in terms of what it says, what it does not say, who it charges, and who it does not charge. We have complete confidence in the conclusions of Apple???s independent investigation, and in Steve???s integrity and his ability to lead Apple.
lkahney - Building the Two Tone MacBook
What should you do if your white MacBook takes a tumble in the road, destroying its display? If you're Cooper vanRossum, you buy a black screen on eBay for 300 bucks and trick out your MacBook in two-tone splendor. We...
What should you do if your white MacBook takes a tumble in the road, destroying its display? If you're Cooper vanRossum, you buy a black screen on eBay for 300 bucks and trick out your MacBook in two-tone splendor. We caught up with vanRossum online, and got the deets on his mod.
It wasn't too difficult, just time consuming. The only problems were in reconstruction and stuff not fitting back but I chalk that up to the fact that the thing was ran over by at least one car. Everything slipped out relatively easily (esp. the hard drive, that thing just slides right out) but I bypassed some steps I felt were unecessary, like keeping track of screws and such. Proper screw drivers are a must as well, I stripped approx. 4 screws throughout the ordeal.Here's the website.
Well, I might, actually. Isn't that what the motion sensor is for?
In hindsight I probably shoulda sprang for the applecare insurance (although they woulda given me a white top, and I kinda like being the only two-toned owner I know of) but no one expects to leave their laptop on their car like a 1200 dollar coffee mug, right?
Mat Honan - Etch-A-Sketched Mac vs. PC
We don't know much about The Etchasketchist, but his (or her?) drawing (rendering?) of John Hodgman and Justin Long in PC vs. Mac pose is spot on. And speaking of Hodgman, if you missed his story about finding fame at...
We don't know much about The Etchasketchist, but his (or her?) drawing (rendering?) of John Hodgman and Justin Long in PC vs. Mac pose is spot on. And speaking of Hodgman, if you missed his story about finding fame at forty on This American Life a few weeks ago stop what you're doing and listen now. His description of walking into an Apple Store alone is worth the download. Photo by The Etch-A-Sketchist.
Mat Honan - ???Steve Jobs Dodged a Bullet" -- NYT
No Charges for Apple Over Options - New York Times Federal securities regulators said yesterday that they would bring no civil charges against Apple over the backdating of executive stock options. But they stopped short of removing the cloud that...
No Charges for Apple Over Options - New York Times
Federal securities regulators said yesterday that they would bring no civil charges against Apple over the backdating of executive stock options. But they stopped short of removing the cloud that for nearly a year has hung over the company???s chief executive, Steven P. Jobs.
... ???Steve Jobs dodged a bullet,??? said Mark C. Zauderer, a trial lawyer in New York specializing in white-collar cases. ???This is another circumstance where the government is going after an easier target. It will generally shy away from situations where the evidence is ambiguous or subject to different interpretations.???
lkahney - Ousted Apple Execs Blame Jobs and Board For Back-Dating Scandal
Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when we do but first allegedly manipulate stock option grant dates to make more money for ourselves. Or something. Former Apple CFO Fred Anderson and general counsel Nancy Heinen had civil charges brought...
Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when we do but first allegedly manipulate stock option grant dates to make more money for ourselves. Or something. Former Apple CFO Fred Anderson and general counsel Nancy Heinen had civil charges brought against them by securities regulators relating to the back-dating of stock options to Apple leaders, including Steve Jobs, almost six years ago. As you might expect, the cone of silence has officially been broken. Anderson, who settled with the Securities Exchange Commission today, went straight after his former boss Steve Jobs, as well as Heinen, the board of directors, and probably everyone reading this post, according to the San Jose Mercury News: As for the responsibility for the backdating of an earlier grant in 2001 that was made to Anderson, Heinen and other members of Apple's executive team, Roth pointed fingers at Jobs, Heinen and Apple's board. Jobs and Heinen picked the date for that grant - and the board verified it - after Anderson warned Jobs that moving the grant date might result in an accounting change, Roth said. Roth's statement marks the first time that anyone has suggested that Jobs had reason to know the accounting implications related to backdating. Although Apple has acknowledged that Jobs knew that backdating was going on at Apple and that he picked some favorable dates, the company said he didn't commit fraud, because he didn't know that there were any legal or accounting implications with the practice. Anderson "was told by Mr. Jobs that the board had given its prior approval (for the grant) and the Board would verify it. Fred relied on these statements by Mr. Jobs and from them concluded the grant was being properly handled," Roth said in a statement. Heinen, of course, blames the Board. This is so sordid. If only Fake Steve Jobs could tell us what's really going on... Oh, here he is! He didn't settle. He flipped. They played him and Nancy Heinen off each other. Made them both an offer. Nancy, being a lawyer, figured she'd be cute and reject the first offer and bump them to something better. Instead, Fred rolled. And now Nancy is going to trial. I just mailed her a pamphlet that shows you how to make a shiv out of a bar of soap. All this stuff about how the Jobsmeister is off the hook? Fuggedaboutit. Fred is the Big Pussy Bonpensiero of the Apple crime family. He's betrayed us. Note to Fred: I'd stay away from boats if I were you. Zing! Technorati Tags: back-dating, fake steve, fred anderson, steve jobs
Pete Mortensen - Apple Seeks iPhone Tech Support Representatives
Hey there, college seniors! Looking for a great first job in beautiful Austin, Texas? Know a lot about phones and iPods? Apple is looking for you! Yes, the signs are out that the iPhone is really almost here: Apple is...
Hey there, college seniors! Looking for a great first job in beautiful Austin, Texas? Know a lot about phones and iPods? Apple is looking for you! Yes, the signs are out that the iPhone is really almost here: Apple is hiring iPhone tech support representatives, and you could get in on the ground floor. It looks like a typical tech support job for Apple, but I found this quite funny: Preferred Qualifications: ??? Experience with Microsoft applications such as Office or Outlook ??? Ability to navigate in the Windows environment ??? such as getting basic system information, explorer navigation ??? Basic understanding of hardware configurations ??? such as USB vs. Firewire ??? Knowledge of Device manager ???( Knowing when something is connected/mounted) ??? Knowledge of program files and system files in Windows ??? Experience with troubleshooting external devices in Windows ??? Understanding specific media file types used by iTunes/iPod/iPhone ??? AAC, Mp3, Wav, mpeg4 ??? Basic installation and removal of application in Windows. ??? Experience with iTunes in Windows ??? Must act independently and be self-motivated ??? Excellent interpersonal skills ??? Must act independently and be self-motivated ??? Ability to work in dynamic situations Now, one interpretation of the bolded line items is that Apple recognizes that many, if not most of its iPhone customers will be Windows users, not Mac people. I prefer to believe that Apple understands that Windows users won't be able to figure out how to troubleshoot their own problems. The Mac folks will be fine. Please note, by the way: It's doubly important to act independently and be self-motivated for this job! AfterCollege - Entry Level Jobs & Internships Via Digg. Technorati Tags: apple, Jobs, Steve Jobs
Pete Mortensen - New UK Get A Mac Ad Splits Off From American Campaign
The international spin-offs of Apple's Get a Mac ad campaign are quite wonderful. The newest UK spot, "Posse," is an all-new spot created specifically for the UK market -- the others have copied U.S. ads. I'm really quite partial to...
The international spin-offs of Apple's Get a Mac ad campaign are quite wonderful. The newest UK spot, "Posse," is an all-new spot created specifically for the UK market -- the others have copied U.S. ads. I'm really quite partial to it, if only because I adore Mitchell and Webb. I love the real shame on the faces of the MS Office folks as they refuse to come home. It's awkward, just like "Peep Show" was. Click through the jump to watch the YouTube version. Technorati Tags: get a mac, mitchell, posse, webb Via Digg.
Pete Mortensen - Rocker Chases Off Paparazzi With iSight
Pete Doherty, the shambolic baby of a lead singer for the Babyshambles, is a Mac user. According to GeekSugar, Doherty, boy-toy of Kate Moss, chased paparazzi away by focusing the iSight on his MacBook on them and recording their activity...
Pete Doherty, the shambolic baby of a lead singer for the Babyshambles, is a Mac user. According to GeekSugar, Doherty, boy-toy of Kate Moss, chased paparazzi away by focusing the iSight on his MacBook on them and recording their activity on video. Kind of takes those fun surveillance-cam videos and photos from MacBooks to the next level, doesn't it? Now they're active security systems, not stealth ones. Wherever shall we go next? Thanks, Angelica! Technorati Tags: apple, iSight, macbook, pete doherty
Pete Mortensen - Apple Sued For Ripping Off Xerox Alto GUI
No, it's not April Fool's Day. A company calling itself IP Innovation, LLC, is suing Apple for allegedly infringing mid-1970s user interface technology that was patented filed on behalf of Xerox PARC in, ahem...1991. Ars Technica has a pretty comprehensive...
No, it's not April Fool's Day. A company calling itself IP Innovation, LLC, is suing Apple for allegedly infringing mid-1970s user interface technology that was patented filed on behalf of Xerox PARC in, ahem...1991. Ars Technica has a pretty comprehensive run-down of the situation. This is the best bit: Xerox did get around to suing Apple eventually in 1989, prompting Steve Jobs to dismiss the company as an organization so dysfunctional that they "couldn't even sue anyone on time." IP Innovation has filed at least 32 patent-related lawsuits over the last few years. I love the guts behind the name, don't you? "We let others innovate, then we buy the patents so we can sue even more successful companies!" I understand that they're soon going to go after GE for infringing on Prometheus's patent on light. In all seriousness, I'm a tremendous admirer of the innovators at Xerox PARC. Unfortunately, I really doubt any of them wills ee a dime if this frivolous lawsuit strikes gold. Apple sued over vague user interface patent [Ars Technica] Alto Image via Ed Thelen. Technorati Tags: apple, gui, parc
Pete Mortensen - Rave Review: Coda Web Development App
The new Coda website development app from the well-regarded software publisher Panic gets a rave review from John Gruber at Daring Fireball. Coda is an all-in-one site creation tool, combining a text editor, CSS editor, FTP, terminal and live preview...
The new Coda website development app from the well-regarded software publisher Panic gets a rave review from John Gruber at Daring Fireball. Coda is an all-in-one site creation tool, combining a text editor, CSS editor, FTP, terminal and live preview in one app. Gruber writes: It???s about reducing clutter and emphasizing the relationships between the different aspects of web development, making it easier to switch from source code to preview to files. Coda???s advantages are most obvious when you consider working with two or three projects at once. In Coda, each site gets its own window, grouping source code, browser previews, terminals, and file listings together.6 The idea is that all your stuff ??? file listing, source code, browser previews, terminals ??? for site A is here, all your stuff for site B is there. Coda groups and visually organizes these disparate elements by project, rather than by app. There's another thorough review here at MacApper.
lkahney - Steve Jobs Fast Heading Toward Time Reader's Most influential Person of 2006
Time is allowing readers to vote on the year's list of the top 100 most influential people -- and Steve Jobs is rising fast. I confidently predict that Jobs will shortly be #1. (At 6.54am pacific time, Jobs is #5...
Time is allowing readers to vote on the year's list of the top 100 most influential people -- and Steve Jobs is rising fast. I confidently predict that Jobs will shortly be #1. (At 6.54am pacific time, Jobs is #5 and comedian Stephen Colbert is #1).
lkahney - Mockup: iPod PowerBox G7
What do you get if you cross an iPod, a boombox and a Mac Pro? A: the iPod PowerBox G7 Unfortunately, this is just a mockup by someone called "Greg" but I like its styling. It's got one too many...
What do you get if you cross an iPod, a boombox and a Mac Pro?A: the iPod PowerBox G7
Unfortunately, this is just a mockup by someone called "Greg" but I like its styling. It's got one too many handles though.
Link.
lkahney - Wall Street Journal: Fred Anderson Settles With SEC
Apple's ex-CFO has cut a deal with the SEC in Apple's backdated options scandal, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing anonymous sources. Anderson will pay a fine of $150,000 and repay about $3.5 million worth of options. The deal does...
Apple's ex-CFO has cut a deal with the SEC in Apple's backdated options scandal, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing anonymous sources. Anderson will pay a fine of $150,000 and repay about $3.5 million worth of options. The deal does not include an admission of wrongdoing, the WSJ says. The SEC reportedly intends to pursue civil charges against Nancy Heinen, Apple's ex-general counsel, who will contest the case, according to the WSJ. The AP reports: Cris Arguedas, a lawyer for former Apple counsel Nancy Heinen, said Monday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has informed attorneys in the case that it plans to file a lawsuit against Heinen alleging fraud in connection with two options grants. One involved a grant to Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs on Oct. 19, 2001, for 7.5 million shares and another involved a grant made to top executives, including Heinen herself, on Jan. 17, 2001. "We do expect them to file against our client and we will be defending those charges because they are a misunderstanding of the activities of Apple," Arguedas said.
lkahney - Merc News: Former Apple Lawyer has SEC Troubles
The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that former Apple General Counsel Nancy Heinen will be the first target of an SEC probe into Apple backdating scandal. The news comes just a day after reports from the same paper claiming...
The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that former Apple General Counsel Nancy Heinen will be the first target of an SEC probe into Apple backdating scandal. The news comes just a day after reports from the same paper claiming CEO Steve Jobs will not be charged.
The gist of the charges? Heinen played a key role in two backdating episodes that shifted options to Jobs:
Heinen's main problems stem from her involvement in a December 2001 grant of 7.5 million stock options to Jobs that were backdated to October through falsified minutes of a board meeting that did not occur.
Lawyers familiar with the grant say the board believed it could use the October date because the stock price was higher than when it first approved the grant to Jobs in August, although lower than in December, when it was finalized after months of negotiations. Heinen advised the board on Jobs' grant, and believed rules governing stock options - which have since changed - allowed the October date.
A securities fraud charge from the SEC would depend on proving Heinen's actions deceived investors because the true cost of the options was hidden by shifting the grant date from Dec. 18, when the stock was $21.01 a share, to Oct. 19, when it stood at $18.30.
Heinen also faces SEC action because of allegations she approved the falsification of documents to backdate Jobs' grant. When the board finalized the Jobs grant shortly before Christmas 2001, board member Arthur Levinson, Genentech's CEO, sent an e-mail saying the deal with Jobs was done and instructed Heinen to document the Oct. 19 date, according to three people familiar with the grant.
Heinen, these sources say, then e-mailed Wendy Howell, an in-house Apple lawyer who ordinarily documented stock options, instructing her to handle the Jobs documents. From there, the accounts of Heinen and Howell differ, according to sources familiar with their versions.
What is not disputed is that Howell wrote phony meeting minutes to show the board approved the Jobs grant on Oct. 19, 2001. Howell maintains she was instructed by her superiors to create the meeting minutes, but Heinen denies knowledge of the false minutes, although she signed them in her role as the board's corporate secretary, according to sources familiar with both accounts. Two people familiar with Heinen's account say she regularly had stacks of minutes to sign, and didn't scrutinize the Howell minutes.
Heinen is an O.G. Jobs crony: prior to serving as Apple's General Counsel, she was General Counsel of NeXT. Heinen resigned from Apple last May, but her fingerprints are still so fresh at Apple that she remains listed on some of the company's corporate bios pages (though her actual bio appears to have been taken down).
The company's woes may not end with Heinen. The Merc also reports that the SEC is considering a case against former Apple CFO Fred Anderson.
Mat Honan - One House, Two People, and Five Macs
Anthony Sigalas, a Mac nut par excellence from Athens, Greece, has filled his home with Macs. The pictures below, lifted from his Flickr set "My Mac Home," shows that every corner of every room has a Mac. Here's the workspace...
Anthony Sigalas, a Mac nut par excellence from Athens, Greece, has filled his home with Macs. The pictures below, lifted from his Flickr set "My Mac Home," shows that every corner of every room has a Mac. Here's the workspace with His and Hers MacBooks, plus a Mac Mini under the telly. Here's the view from the bed: a 20'' iMac. Anthony writes: "It's the mac that wakes us (via Aurora and iTunes) and put us to sleep (via Sofa Control, VLC and our favorite TV Shows and old Greek Movies). Furthermore its huge internal hard drive houses our music library (iTunes), our photo library (iPhoto) and a large collection of movie files. All in all a worthy media extender for the bedroom." Check out the cool Greek interface: And then there's a 12'' iBook G4 in the "office room" that acts as a backup server, a wireless print server and a fax.
lkahney - The Latest in Mac Knitwear From Europe
More from our Greek friend Anthony (see below). Not only is Anthony's house in Athens filled with Macs, his wife Christine made him some Mac knitwear to wow Athens with. Above is his handmade waistcoat featuring the famous Apple logo....
More from our Greek friend Anthony (see below). Not only is Anthony's house in Athens filled with Macs, his wife Christine made him some Mac knitwear to wow Athens with. Above is his handmade waistcoat featuring the famous Apple logo. Below is Anthony's Mac sweater with the Happy Mac on the front and Sad Mac at back. Link to Anthony's cult of mac Flickr set documenting more of his Apple obsession.
lkahney - London's "King of the Ring" Launches Gold-Plated iPods
Alexander Amosu, a London entrepreneur known as "King of the Ring" for making a bundle on urban ringtones, has introduced a line of gold-plated iPods. The 24 carat iPods cost $600 for a 30-Gbyte version and $800 for the 80-Gbyte...
Alexander Amosu, a London entrepreneur known as "King of the Ring" for making a bundle on urban ringtones, has introduced a line of gold-plated iPods. The 24 carat iPods cost $600 for a 30-Gbyte version and $800 for the 80-Gbyte model. According to Amosu's site, the ringtone millionaire is branching into gold- and diamond-encrusted phones and iPods for "the rich, famous and sophisticated." He wanted to be the first person to have a dedicated website for high end customised mobiles phones with gold, white gold and various colours of diamonds. His words are ???to have an exclusive phone that cost more than anyone else is like having a Bentley rather than Ford, the type of phone you have speaks allot (sic) about your lifestyle and ambition. That???s why celebrities, footballers, actors and millionaires get their phone from me???
lkahney - Beautiful Alternative Browser Shiira 2.0 Ships
If you're not too busy detailing ways to make Firefox better, you might want to contemplate a more radical shift. Shiira, the Webkit-based alt-browser put together by a team in Japan, has just made it to version 2.0, and it's...
If you're not too busy detailing ways to make Firefox better, you might want to contemplate a more radical shift. Shiira, the Webkit-based alt-browser put together by a team in Japan, has just made it to version 2.0, and it's beautiful. I haven't gotten to use it yet, so I can't report on its performance, but the interface might just be the best on OS X. Yes, even nicer than OmniWeb. It's free and open-source. Remember: Together, Everyone Achieves More. Go Joe! Shiira Project Technorati Tags: webkit, shiira
Pete Mortensen - Site Breaks Street Date With Review of New Panic Application
I've got good news and bad. The good news is that Panic software, the makers of such venerated Mac-only shareware apps as Transmit, Unison and the much-mourned Audion, will soon release a new, extremely powerful web-development program, Coda. The bad...
I've got good news and bad. The good news is that Panic software, the makers of such venerated Mac-only shareware apps as Transmit, Unison and the much-mourned Audion, will soon release a new, extremely powerful web-development program, Coda. The bad news is that I shouldn't already know this: MacApper ran a review a day before the official announcement and even posted screenshots. The cat's out of the bag now, so the review stays, but Panic had the screenshots taken down shortly after the offending blurb popped up. It'll all be public in a few hours anyway. The app sounds sweet, by the way: Which brings me to the built in editor. For me this is really the deal maker. One of the problems I have had switching to a Mac is the editors on OS X. They aren???t bad, but they aren???t great either. Having said that, I think the guys at Panic are off to a really great start with their own editor. All of the usual languages are supported and styled appropriately including: CSS, HTML, Javascript, Java, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, SQL, XML, and straight text. Dig it. Via digg. Technorati Tags: macapper, panic, coda
Pete Mortensen - Baby Trapped in MacBook Pro
Oh, Apple. You and your unannounced Leopard features have gone too far this time! Baby Trapped in Apple Mac: Optical Illusions Via Digg. Technorati Tags: ad, apple, baby...
Oh, Apple. You and your unannounced Leopard features have gone too far this time! Baby Trapped in Apple Mac: Optical Illusions Via Digg. Technorati Tags: ad, apple, baby
Pete Mortensen - High-Res Shots of Apple Gear at NAB
I'm sorry, Dave. I can't let you do that. AppleInsider has reams of photos taken at the National Association of Broadcasters conference last week in Las Vegas. Apple was out in full force: 3/4 Petabytes of storage space, 3 miles...
I'm sorry, Dave. I can't let you do that. AppleInsider has reams of photos taken at the National Association of Broadcasters conference last week in Las Vegas. Apple was out in full force: 3/4 Petabytes of storage space, 3 miles of fiber optic cable, 4 M2 Gb networks, 90 Xserves and 40 Xserve RAIDs. Sadly, that config is not available for purchase from the Apple Store at this time. Check it out. Technorati Tags: apple, geekhead, nab, xserve
Pete Mortensen - Apple Engineer's Bittersweet Departure Sums Up What Makes Us Great
Apple's insistence on secrecy has many unintended consequences: Mac fans are hard to please, rumor sites do their best to steal information about unannounced products, and, most interestingly, it gets easy to forget that Apple is a company made up...
Apple's insistence on secrecy has many unintended consequences: Mac fans are hard to please, rumor sites do their best to steal information about unannounced products, and, most interestingly, it gets easy to forget that Apple is a company made up of real people with feelings and lives. That's why this spectacular farewell to Cupertino written by Buzz Andersen, formerly the author of shareware app Podworks and for four years an Apple software engineer, hits me square in the left ventricle. There is love and life in Cupertino, folks: Like the Macintosh team of old, I started out at Apple as a young engineer willing to subordinate my life (for a time) to something I was passionate about. When I left my first position at Apple (in OS X Integration) for a real engineering job in Pro Apps, I was eager to make the features I was assigned the best they could be, even if it meant putting in difficult hours to get them done on schedule. So I put in the hours. I worked evenings and weekends. I worked while I was ill. Even when I ended up laid up at home in the throes of what turned out to be mononucleosis (a condition, for those who haven't had the pleasure, that lends itself more to constant unconsciousness than constant concentration), I sat in bed fixing bugs. And little by little, I burnt myself out.No, no, go on, Buzz. I'm not crying. It's just something in my eye, that's all. That just killed me. Maybe I'll see you on the other side, man. When the fighting's through. Apple: A Romance - Buzz Andersen Via Digg. Technorati Tags: apple, buzz andersen
Pete Mortensen - What Do You Think Sucks About Firefox on Mac?
Firefox makes me crazy. So much about it is great: Cross-platform functionality, a dedicated community of developers, a massively extensible plug-in system, it's nice. But it's also slow, buggy and burdened with a non-standard Mac OS X interface. Friday, Developer...
Firefox makes me crazy. So much about it is great: Cross-platform functionality, a dedicated community of developers, a massively extensible plug-in system, it's nice. But it's also slow, buggy and burdened with a non-standard Mac OS X interface. Friday, Developer Colin Barrett put out a call to know what Mac users would fix on Firefox if they had the chance. The conversation's been good, but make sure to make your voice heard! I'll add my own pet peeve: Drop the XUL garbage and build a real Mac interface. Oh, and learn how to constrain functionality so that you don't get memory leaks every few hours. Oops, hang on. Am I just describing Camino? Firefox on the Mac Image via Kstruct Via Digg. Technorati Tags: firefox
Pete Mortensen - Watch Jobs/Gates Film For Free Online
For my money, there are few Mac geek rites of passage more fun or worthwhile than watching "Pirates of Silicon Valley," the ever-so campy made-for-TNT in 1999 movie about the beginnings of the long-standing rivalry between Apple founder Steve Jobs...
For my money, there are few Mac geek rites of passage more fun or worthwhile than watching "Pirates of Silicon Valley," the ever-so campy made-for-TNT in 1999 movie about the beginnings of the long-standing rivalry between Apple founder Steve Jobs and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. And lucky for you, it is now available to watch for free on Google Video. Noah Wylie is barely believable but well-cast as a wide-eyed Steve with a series of hilarious moustaches, and Anthony Michael Hall is oddly brilliant as mulleted Gates. The entire thing manages to be both so over-the-top and so nerdy that you can scarcely believe anyone thought it would be a good idea to greenlight it. Also, the opening scene on the set of the 1984 ad? Genius. Pirates Of Silicon Valley [Vodpod] Technorati Tags: apple, pirates
Pete Mortensen - Disguise Your iPod As A Pack of Smokes!
Ladies and gentleman, I think we've reached a new peak for an iPod case that hides your digital media device as something much less desirable. Meet the Gama-Go Pack-O-Smokes Mp3 case, perfect for use in rough neighborhoods where it's more...
Ladies and gentleman, I think we've reached a new peak for an iPod case that hides your digital media device as something much less desirable. Meet the Gama-Go Pack-O-Smokes Mp3 case, perfect for use in rough neighborhoods where it's more important to look like a crazy person listening to your cigarettes than like a rich kid with an iPod. Gama-Go iPod case [BoingBoing] Technorati Tags: game-go, ipod
Pete Mortensen - Why Some Want Apple to Stay Away From Their Favorite Software
Sometimes, users of high-end, professional software despair when Apple buys the company that makes it. Stu Maschwitz, one of the founders of a href="http://www.theorphanage.com/"The Orphanage/a, a San Francisco FX studio responsible for Sin City, The Host, and a bunch of...
Sometimes, users of high-end, professional software despair when Apple buys the company that makes it. Stu Maschwitz, one of the founders of The Orphanage, a San Francisco FX studio responsible for Sin City, The Host, and a bunch of others, explains: When you buy expensive software from small companies, you effectively become best friends with the development team. You know them by first names and you send them holiday cards. You have a folder full of emails from and to them. Apple, however, mistakenly applies the same strategy of black-box secrecy that works so well for iPods and iPhones to its Pro Apps division as well, cutting off developers from users and vise versa. I have struggled with this enough that my company, The Orphanage, no longer has any special relationship with Apple. It's just too much of a one-way street. I can't buy my bread-and-butter tools from someone who can't conduct an open conversation with me (under NDA of course) about the future of the product. Maschwitz's post is about the new Color tool in Final Cut Pro, and though he has misgivings about what used to be a separate app from a small, friendly company going behind the Apple firewall, all in all he's delighted with the outcome.
lkahney - My Kids Hate Macs
I hate to admit this, but my kids hate Macs. Despite forcing them to dress as iPods at Macworld* the little chickens aren't in love with beautiful Apple hardware. Even though the house is filled with wonderful Macs, the kids...
I hate to admit this, but my kids hate Macs. Despite forcing them to dress as iPods at Macworld* the little chickens aren't in love with beautiful Apple hardware. Even though the house is filled with wonderful Macs, the kids prefer an old ThinkPad we have kicking around for playing Club Penguin and other online games . Why, I hear you ask? "It is much faster," says son number one, Milo, seen here giving his Mac user salute. They couldn't give a hoot about the elegant interface or the better quality of QuickTime video. All they care about is the responsiveness of the Flash games they're addicted to. Worse thing is they have a point. As my esteemed colleague Paul Boutin pointed out many years ago, Windows machines are much faster on the Web than Macs. *Actually my wife's idea. I was mortified.
lkahney - Mursi Tribeswoman with iPod and AK-47
I found this striking picture of a Mursi tribeswoman at iLounge's "iPods Around the World" gallery, but there's very little information about it. The caption simply says: Female member of Mursi tribe in Southern Ethiopia. Unfortunately, there's no other information,...
I found this striking picture of a Mursi tribeswoman at iLounge's "iPods Around the World" gallery, but there's very little information about it. The caption simply says: Female member of Mursi tribe in Southern Ethiopia. Unfortunately, there's no other information, but a quick Google search reveals: We'd been hearing for days about the Mursi tribe--the one where women split their lower lip and insert a round metal plate. As we were repeatedly told, the Mursi are neither fun nor friendly. And while they've kept their distance from the outside world--largely in part because their territory is a vast expanse of remote national park--they nevertheless have turned their small contact with foreigners into an art form of extortion. Pictures equal money. No exceptions. (from Gabriel Openshaw).
lkahney - Safari Zero-Day Exploit -- Links Worth Checking
Hacking stories bore me to tears, but the cleverly named "pwn-2-own" hacking competition (Hack a honeypot MacBook, get it as the prize) is getting such attention, it's worth pointing to some of the better reporting on the subject: Dan Goodin...
Hacking stories bore me to tears, but the cleverly named "pwn-2-own" hacking competition (Hack a honeypot MacBook, get it as the prize) is getting such attention, it's worth pointing to some of the better reporting on the subject: Dan Goodin at The Register: A New York-based security researcher spent less than 12 hours to identify and exploit a zero-day vulnerability in Apple's Safari browser that allowed him to remotely gain full user rights to the hacked machine. The feat came during the second and final day of the CanSecWest "pwn-2-own" contest in which participants are able to walk away with a fully-patched MacBook Pro if they are first able to hack it. ... Dai Zovi, who is not attending the conference, was recruited on Thursday night by Shane Macaulay, a friend and conference attendee. The ease Dai Zovi found in pwning the machine was all the more remarkable, given an update Apple pushed out yesterday patching 25 Mac security holes. Macaulay described Dai Zovi's vulnerability as a client-side javascript error that executed arbitrary code when Safari visited a booby-trapped website. Thomas Ptacek at Matasano: Turn off Java; to be safe, until Dino lets us say more, turn off everything else too. Or live dangerously like me. Charles Jade at Ars Technica: ... huge numbers of pundits and anonymous nerds on the Internet will decry Apple's lack of security and how unfair it is that Microsoft, which expands so much effort on security, is perceived as having a less secure OS. Meanwhile, Mac users will rationalize the situation, including me.
lkahney - Steve Jobs To Skate in Options Probe, Says SJ Merc
Silicon Valley's hometown paper, the San Jose Mercury News, says Steve Jobs is unlikely to face criminal or civil charges in Apple's options backdating scandal. A close review of the events that led to the controversial grant reveals that the...
Silicon Valley's hometown paper, the San Jose Mercury News, says Steve Jobs is unlikely to face criminal or civil charges in Apple's options backdating scandal. A close review of the events that led to the controversial grant reveals that the backdating emerged from a good-faith, although clumsy, attempt by Apple's board of directors to reward its star chief executive for resurrecting a moribund company. The Merc's story details a series of stock grants given to Jobs by Apple's board between 1999 and 2003. The grants were often generous (and one was a record breaker) but because of fluctuations in Apple's stock price, Jobs' grants were often underwater. Several times, Jobs gave the underwater grants back, and the board gave him new ones. However, according to the Merc, Jobs sometimes spent weeks negotiating the price of these new options, which affected their value. Jobs held out for the lowest price, and sometimes the board backdated the options to keep their price low. The upshot is that neither Jobs nor the board were very good at picking the right number of options at the right price. If Jobs had simply kept all his grants, instead of constantly swapping them for new ones, they would be worth considerably more: ... Last year, Jobs handed back to Apple 4.6 million of his restricted shares - worth $295 million - to pay the taxes on them. His remaining restricted shares are now worth about $494 million. But given the rise in Apple's stock over the past four years, even that turned out to be a bad deal for the iconic CEO. Had he held on to all of his options, they would be worth about $4 billion right now, even if the 2001 grant had been given the December date.
lkahney - An iBone! on Flickr
An iBone from Flickr user laughtonb....
An iBone from Flickr user laughtonb.
lkahney - Up (iSight) Periscope
Instructables: Build a periscope for your MacBook's built-in iSight camera for filming lectures or talks....
Instructables: Build a periscope for your MacBook's built-in iSight camera for filming lectures or talks.
lkahney - MacBook Babushka
Check out this bizarre video of a elderly woman in Moscow surfing the net on a brand new MacBook. It appears that the guys who shot the video were so surprised to see her, they tried to sneak a peek...
Check out this bizarre video of a elderly woman in Moscow surfing the net on a brand new MacBook. It appears that the guys who shot the video were so surprised to see her, they tried to sneak a peek at her screen -- but she shooed them off. Anyone speak Russian? UPDATE: Olegs Straume writes:Realy nice videoThe guy wasn???t so nice to her - at first The guy in a black jacket says her ???don???t worry i???ll just take a picture??? than the man who is filming this scene says to his friend - ???I think shee is watching some Porno??? - ???i???ll go and check??? - when he got closer to her she answered ???What? - Is it Interesting??? ( Russians say that - when they are not so happy) - so the guy anwsered laughing ???Sorry??? on the way back he says ???She was surfing??? (some kind of) ???WISE SURFACE??? (or something like that i didn???t hear well - thats itSorry about my bad English literacy
lkahney - News Burrito
Reuters | Apple seen having upper hand in music negotiations: NEW YORK, April 20 (Reuters) - When Apple sits for contract negotiations with the major record companies over the next month, it will probably seek further concessions from them on...
Reuters | Apple seen having upper hand in music negotiations: NEW YORK, April 20 (Reuters) - When Apple sits for contract negotiations with the major record companies over the next month, it will probably seek further concessions from them on selling music without copy-protection software. AppleInsider | Target stores to pick up Apple TV: Big-box retailer Target is poised to become just the second third-party retailer to market Apple Inc.'s new Apple TV device at its brick-and-mortar retail stores, AppleInsider has learned. Fortune | Inside China's PC frenzy: While MP3 players are everywhere, and imitations of an Apple iPod Nano go for about $50 (a two gigabyte model with a larger screen than Apple (Charts, Fortune 500) offers), if you want the genuine article you'll get fleeced. For an 80 gigabyte black iPod like one Amazon sells for $330, one salesman quotes me a price of about $700. As for PCs, Apple's presence here is minimal.
lkahney - McDonald's Will Include American Idol iPods in Happy Meals
Signs you've ready made it, No. 2,789,879 of a 3 million-part series: McDonald's teams up with American Idol and makes a toy based on you. Yes, iPod, you're on top. Starting tomorrow, little kids across the land (and probably a...
Signs you've ready made it, No. 2,789,879 of a 3 million-part series: McDonald's teams up with "American Idol" and makes a toy based on you. Yes, iPod, you're on top. Starting tomorrow, little kids across the land (and probably a few Mac geeks) will dig into Happy Meals filled with "American Idol" toys, including a fake mp3 player that looks, shockingly, exactly like an iPod with the Idol logo on it. It can't be loaded with music, but it seems to have at least contain a tiny amount of music. Anyway, it beats a Dell Digital Jukebox. Via BuzzSugar. Technorati Tags: American Idol, apple, ipod
Pete Mortensen - Apple Fastest Growing PC Company
MacNN: Gartner pegs Apple's current U.S. market share at 5 percent -- a whopping 30 percent increase of the 4 percent figure estimated for the first quarter of 2006. According to the research firm, this makes Apple's market share the...
MacNN: Gartner pegs Apple's current U.S. market share at 5 percent -- a whopping 30 percent increase of the 4 percent figure estimated for the first quarter of 2006. According to the research firm, this makes Apple's market share the fastest growing among PC vendors in the U.S, with Toshiba following closely at 26.8 percent growth. Dell, meanwhile, saw a 15.5 percent decrease in market share, though it retained its spot as top PC vendor in the U.S.
lkahney - BBC Announces Mac Compatibility for Digital Archive
You might recall that we raised something of a ruckus in these parts about the BBC's plans to open up its full archive online -- and not let Macs in on the game. There was a petition and hand-wringing, and,...
You might recall that we raised something of a ruckus in these parts about the BBC's plans to open up its full archive online -- and not let Macs in on the game. There was a petition and hand-wringing, and, yes, even overt weeping. But it paid off. Yesterday, the BBC announced its iPlayer will be re-engineered to work with Macs. This was all reported by...the BBC. The BBC's plans for the iPlayer were put on hold earlier this year after its regulators, the BBC Trust, asked the corporation to look at whether the iPlayer should be platform agnostic. Mr Highfield said Apple's "proprietary and closed framework for digital rights management gives us headaches," but, "it is one of our top priorities to re-engineer our proposed BBC iPlayer service to work on Macs". Unfortunately, you still need to live in the UK to use the service. And the Windows version will still be first. But you win some, you lose some. (Image comes from the BBC's glorious "Look Around You" series. This was from the Your Vision of 2000 segment. This gem is the iTrak: "I believe that in the year 2000 people will want to carry their music collection everywhere they go, and the i-Trak is the answer. An 8 Track cassette player that runs off a large square blue 9V torch battery (enough for 30 minutes of continuous playback) with leather carry strap, making this unit truly portable." Bless.) BBC NEWS | Technology | BBC to open up archive for trial Via TUAW Technorati Tags: bbc, iplayer
Pete Mortensen - Interview With Will Friedland, Owner of Largest iTunes Library
I have a pretty big music collection -- I can't come close to fitting even all of my favorite tracks onto my creaky 15GB iPod -- but I have nothing on New York Sun staffer Will Friedland, who allegedly has...
I have a pretty big music collection -- I can't come close to fitting even all of my favorite tracks onto my creaky 15GB iPod -- but I have nothing on New York Sun staffer Will Friedland, who allegedly has the largest iTunes library in the world: 172,150 tracks, taking up 849 gigs and 809.2 days of music. Glenn Wolsey has a fun interview with Will. Obsession is a beautiful thing, sometimes. Glenn Wolsey : Blog Archive : Interview: Will Friedwald, Owner Of The Worlds Largest iTunes Collection: Technorati Tags: itunes, world record
Pete Mortensen - What The? DLO Creates iPod Case That's Different!
It takes a lot to surprise me in the iPod accessory market these days. The new DLO Jam Jacket managed it. Amid a sea of seriously generic cases, the company came up with a good way to manage the headphone...
It takes a lot to surprise me in the iPod accessory market these days. The new DLO Jam Jacket managed it. Amid a sea of seriously generic cases, the company came up with a good way to manage the headphone cord of standard iPod headsets. And it's not ugly! That alone puts it ahead of 70 percent of iPod cases.
On the downside it, appears to only work with 30GB models, not the full 80. But it's only $20, so it would be hard to go wrong at the price, anyway.
DLO | Jam Jacket with Cord Management
Via iLoungeTechnorati Tags: ipod, accessories
Pete Mortensen - Blogger Hysteria: Virginia Tech Killer a Mac User?
Yep, you knew it was going to happen. News about Monday's Virginia Tech shooting has officially leaked into every other domain. How do I know? Well, the blogger at Habla Mierda has begun speculation that killer Cho Seung-Hui... might be...
Yep, you knew it was going to happen. News about Monday's Virginia Tech shooting has officially leaked into every other domain. How do I know? Well, the blogger at Habla Mierda has begun speculation that killer Cho Seung-Hui... might be a Mac user: I was reading the article and found this line pretty interesting. Among the materials are 23 QuickTime video files showing Cho talking directly to the camera, Capus said. He does not name anyone specifically, but he talks at length about religion and his hatred of the wealthy. Quicktime Video? Talking directly to camera? Let???s check Apple???s site real quick.I don't even know what to make of this. The guy over at Mierda is pretty juvenile about all this -- he wouldn't throw ethnic terms around casually otherwise -- but I don't think he's suggesting Mac use as playing a role in Cho's attack. Give it a rest, everyone. Sometimes, people just do horrible things, and we can't blame an external forces. A few dozen people are dead right now not because of gun control (or lack of it), video games, terrorism, video games, illegal immigration, conservatism or liberalism. They lost their lives because one very mentally ill individual chose to do something incredibly destructive. Habla Mierda. VT Killer probably a Mac User Via Digg. Technorati Tags: cho
Pete Mortensen - Apple Loses Final Cut Banner at NAB
Apple is better at presenting their product launches than anyone else. Which is why it's so funny when things go slightly wrong. Eastern Illinois University student Laura K Fennema uploaded this quick snapshot from the National Association of Broadcasters conference,...
Apple is better at presenting their product launches than anyone else. Which is why it's so funny when things go slightly wrong. Eastern Illinois University student Laura K Fennema uploaded this quick snapshot from the National Association of Broadcasters conference, where Apple's Final Cut Studio 2 banner began to melt and come off in strips.Hilarious. And, wouldn't you know it, Apple's vvideo rivals Avid are the ones who helped get the clip posted. I doubt it will do anything about the charge of Final Cut Server, though...
Via Digg.
Pete Mortensen - Apple Fined $43,200 For Air Quality Violation
Activists have been working for a few years now to try to convince Mac fans that we should be extremely upset about Apple's environmental record. Most people, however, haven't been that bothered. The cause actually has real proof now, however,...
Activists have been working for a few years now to try to convince Mac fans that we should be extremely upset about Apple's environmental record. Most people, however, haven't been that bothered. The cause actually has real proof now, however, as Apple has been ordered to pay a $43,200 fine to the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District for a violation a year ago, reported the Sacramento Business Journal. The fine is a pittance, obviously, and I don't think this is the kind of issue Greenpeace had in mind when they set up Green My Apple... (the source of our lovely image above) The violation occurred over several days as Apple operated its emergency standby generator for a purpose other than maintenance or emergency power. Apple was notified that it violated its permit requirements April 21, 2006. I imagine they want Apple to stop using toxic metals in its products or something, right? Yeah, this doesn't even make a dent. Technorati Tags: apple, environment
Pete Mortensen - Mac OS X Skin For Google Reader
The worst thing about using a PC at work is that I don't get to enjoy Vienna, my favorite RSS reader, to keep up with all of my feeds. I miss the interface and I miss the note-perfect feel of...
The worst thing about using a PC at work is that I don't get to enjoy Vienna, my favorite RSS reader, to keep up with all of my feeds. I miss the interface and I miss the note-perfect feel of a great Mac application. Well, Hicks Design has an answer: gReader, a beautiful skin for Google Reader, the search giant's RSS tool. It takes Google's highly adequate, inoffensive cross-platform interface and swaps it out for the latest version of Aqua, right down to the transparent overlays. And, hell, I'm actually looking forward to going to work tomorrow! Via Digg. Technorati Tags: google, rss, software
Pete Mortensen - Google Releases Data APIs for Cocoa
You know what's great about Google? When they do something for Mac, they do it right. Their support comes in late, but it comes in right. This is why I was delighted to see that when Google finally made its...
You know what's great about Google? When they do something for Mac, they do it right. Their support comes in late, but it comes in right. This is why I was delighted to see that when Google finally made its data APIs available to Mac developers today, they did it the right way: An Objective-C Cocoa framework allowing direct access to Google Base, GCal, Blogger and others for any Cocoa-developed apps. Engineer Greg Robbins explains: The native language for Mac OS X applications is Objective-C, and it's our preferred language for Mac application development. To make it simpler for us to write Mac software that interacts with Google services, I created a framework to use Google data APIs directly in Objective-C programs. We are using the framework for our application development, and today we are making the framework available to all developers. The Google Data APIs Objective-C Library joins MacFUSE and Breakpad as open-source development efforts of Google's Mac software team, hosted at code.google.com. The APIs have been available via Javascript and Java since last year, but it's reassuring to see Google go the extra mile for Mac developers. It all brings the dream of truly pervasive information that much closer. Google is winning, and we're all playing along. But they're just so darned nice about it, you know? Official Google Mac Blog: Google data APIs connect Cocoa developers to Google Via Digg. Technorati Tags: google, developers
Pete Mortensen - New Intel Chip Will Rock the Mac Pro Line
As ever, Ars Technica has the best technical coverage of Intel's Developer Forum. For those of us who care less about the details of things like systems-on-a-chip and pinball grid arrays, they always manage to cut to what really matters....
As ever, Ars Technica has the best technical coverage of Intel's Developer Forum. For those of us who care less about the details of things like systems-on-a-chip and pinball grid arrays, they always manage to cut to what really matters. Here's what you need to know: The upcoming Penryn chip, the mooted successor to the Intel Core2 Extreme line, is going to absolutely scream at video encoding. The developmental iron came through with a 221 percent speed improvement on DiVX encoding. That's unheard of in this era. Most of the performance improvements are more linear, but this chip is coming to rock. I'll take four quads, please. Intel details Penryn performance, new SSE4 extensions: Technorati Tags: intel, Penryn
Pete Mortensen - Icelandic iPod Found in Snow: Returned to Owner
Sara Blask, staff writer at the Iceland Review, lost her iPod in the parking lot of Iceland's maximum security prison in a town called Litla Hraun. It was found and returned her. The story's a little convoluted, and it doesn't...
Sara Blask, staff writer at the Iceland Review, lost her iPod in the parking lot of Iceland's maximum security prison in a town called Litla Hraun. It was found and returned her. The story's a little convoluted, and it doesn't explain how a white iPod was found in the snow, but basically: "Turns out his mom works at Litla Hraun and found the iPod amidst snow and garbage in the prison???s parking lot. After a couple weeks no one claimed it, so she gave it to her son (the one who emailed me), who charged it up and saw that it was called ???Sara Blask.??? He plugged my name into Google, found my website, and emailed me." Actually, more interesting is the Iceland Review site, which is nicely designed and full of great photography. I love how the site is so white. Very Icelandic. (Via TUAW)
lkahney - Adobe's Scary New Mascot
Adobe's scary new mascot for CS3....
Adobe's scary new mascot for CS3.
lkahney - No iPhone Yet, But Protective Cases Are Rolling Out
Accessory makers must be predicting a bonanza of iPod proportions for the iPhone -- Japanese case makers are already rolling out protective cases for the iPhone, due in late June. On show at a Japanese electronics and components fair; a...
Accessory makers must be predicting a bonanza of iPod proportions for the iPhone -- Japanese case makers are already rolling out protective cases for the iPhone, due in late June. On show at a Japanese electronics and components fair; a rubbery prophylactic, a see-through hard case and a faux-sneaker design. There are 4,000 accessories for the iPod, a market worth at least $1 billion a year. Link. (Via MacFeber)
lkahney - The Real Reason Leopard is Late
Ah, the Joy of Tech. The venerable geek cartoonists nail the Leopard delay with their strip today. Click through to see the full strip. Technorati Tags: joyoftech, leopard, software...
Ah, the Joy of Tech. The venerable geek cartoonists nail the Leopard delay with their strip today. Click through to see the full strip. Technorati Tags: joyoftech, leopard, software
Pete Mortensen - Convert BitTorrent Video for AppleTV
Owners of a shiny new AppleTV who are also fans of obscure foreign TV shows like Life on Mars or Doctor Who Series 3 might be interested in VisualHub. VisualHub is a $23 video converter that transforms popular BitTorrent formats...
Owners of a shiny new AppleTV who are also fans of obscure foreign TV shows like Life on Mars or Doctor Who Series 3 might be interested in VisualHub. VisualHub is a $23 video converter that transforms popular BitTorrent formats (DivX, XviD, AVI, all forms of MPEG) to MP4 format -- which play nice on the AppleTV or video iPods. VisualHub can batch process files and automatically add them to iTunes. It offers encoding up to 720p and claims to be much faster than QuickTime Pro. For Windows users, there's Videora AppleTV Converter, a free video converter designed especially for the AppleTV. When combined with Videora, a file search and download program, video can be automatically found, downloaded and converted for the AppleTV using BitTorrent and RSS, according to the site. This must be the killer app for AppleTV -- if it works. I'm downloading it right now to find out. Anyone tried it?
lkahney - Steve Jobs Makes $1 Salary; CFO Makes $71 Million
Apple's executives raked it in last year, and Steve Jobs took his customary $1 in salary. According to an SEC filing reported by Marketwatch: ??? Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer realized $56 million in value from the exercise of options...
Apple's executives raked it in last year, and Steve Jobs took his customary $1 in salary. According to an SEC filing reported by Marketwatch: ??? Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer realized $56 million in value from the exercise of options during 2006. Oppenheimer also received a $615,000 salary, a $450,000 bonus and restricted stock valued at $14 million. ??? Chief Operating Officer Timothy D. Cook received restricted stock valued at $22 million, a salary of $697,000 and a $525,000 bonus for 2006. ??? Jobs has received the majority of his compensation through an equity grant and isn't eligible for a bonus, according to Monday's filing. He doesn't receive any other compensation, the company said.
lkahney - AppleTV: A Comprehensive User Review
Thomas Fitzgerald spent some quality time with his AppleTV and wrote up this thorough and interesting review. His conclusion? It's a great product, well thought out and executed. It is the Apple TV???s integration with iTunes that makes it a...
Thomas Fitzgerald spent some quality time with his AppleTV and wrote up this thorough and interesting review. His conclusion? It's a great product, well thought out and executed. It is the Apple TV???s integration with iTunes that makes it a truly fantastic product. Again it???s the little things. When you watch something on your iPod, and then sync it, it knows your playback position. When you watch a podcast, (if you set it to sync only recent episodes) it removes it and sends the next episode (but cleverly it waits till you have watched it to the end before it does so) Synching seems to happen often and as soon as you change something it will sync. It???s pretty impressive and seamless. Another cool thing is that if you have slideshows set up in iPhoto when you sync your photos it remembers the music you had set with that slide show. I know it???s simple little thing, but it just struck me as being indicative of the seamless integration across all Apple???s products, that competitors just can???t or don???t want to achieve. ...Even if you live outside the US and don???t have access to movies and TV shows on iTunes there are plenty of ways to get content onto the Apple TV. Two must have pieces of software are mediafork (aka handbrake) and visual hub. Visual hub does an excellent job of transcoding all those divx movies you may have acquired through whatever method you may have acquired them (and I???ll make no comment or suggestions on that topic) with no significant loss in quality, which is a pretty impressive feat. Media fork does a similar job with DVDs.
lkahney - Whither Digital Album Art?
The record companies are selling more and more music online, but they're paying scant attention to digital packaging: there's no good album covers for online music. That's the conclusion of Adrian Shaughnessy at Design Observer, who's spent the last few...
The record companies are selling more and more music online, but they're paying scant attention to digital packaging: there's no good album covers for online music. That's the conclusion of Adrian Shaughnessy at Design Observer, who's spent the last few months researching online alternatives to album art. And unfortunately, there aren't any. As downloading threatens to become the main distribution method for recorded music, it is widely believed that the album cover will be replaced by some new online format ??? perhaps animated ??? that will make CD packaging redundant. Well, I might be missing something, but I???ve found nothing in the digital arena that offers a viable alternative to a well-designed CD or vinyl album cover. Instead, I???ve discovered a grim-faced resistance movement amongst dozens of tiny record labels determined to hang onto physical packaging and expressive cover art, no matter what. CoverFlow in iTunes -- which displays a JPEG of the album when a song is playing -- is a start. The artwork is static and there's no lyrics or band bios, but the artwork certainly helps navigate the music collection. It also makes the music feel like a collection, rather than just a bunch of files. There are signs that the record companies are looking at iTunes and the iPod as a platform for designers to play with. George White, Warner Music Group's senior VP of strategy and product development, put together a digital packaging demo for Apple to re-imagine album artwork as more than a JPEG on an iPod. "We've been looking at a few technologies (for digital album art), and have been trying to bring these to Apple, to encourage them to bring that level of experience to the iPod," says White. "A very simple demonstration that we've done takes the Gnarls Barkley liner notes and does a fly-through (using Adobe Flash Lite). You're actually moving through the lyrics and artwork. It's sort of like a theme park ride through the album. It's really, really cool-looking on an iPod." (Apple did not respond to questions about whether it's considering any of Warner Music Group's suggestions.) White also pointed to Warner's Wamo pack, which gave Japanese cell phone users digital albums with ringtones, video, full tracks and artist interviews. Wamo packs aren't new -- they launched overseas a year ago. But White says Warner plans to produce more of these bundles. He also mentioned that while Wamo packs use Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language, or SMIL, for their interactive menus, Adobe's Flash Lite would be a better candidate for "the level of sophistication people expect from Warner Music Group's artists." (Adobe confirmed that Warner's iPod/Flash Lite demonstrations had taken place, but said that the company "has not announced any joint plans for Flash or Flash Lite to be used in next-generation digital albums.")
lkahney - Next Mighty Mouse May Implement Multi-Touch
The most obvious way for Apple to bring their amazing research on multi-touch from the iPhone to the Mac platform would be a touchscreen iMac or tablet laptop, but a recent patent shows Apple might have something more simple --...
The most obvious way for Apple to bring their amazing research on multi-touch from the iPhone to the Mac platform would be a touchscreen iMac or tablet laptop, but a recent patent shows Apple might have something more simple -- and powerful in mind. As it turns out, the Apple interface designer behind the iPhone, Brian Huppi, has a mouse that can sense your gestures in minds. Based on how you splay your fingers out, you could indicate, for example, that you want a contextual click. Or a spread-finger grab-and-scroll. I have been off mice for years now -- a touchpad does me fine, but this could bring me back. Next-gen Apple mouse may dump scroll ball for touch housing: AppleInsider | Technorati Tags: apple, mouse, rumor
Pete Mortensen - Miranda July Pushes Final Cut Studio, Too
On the off chance that the Coen Bros. talking up the virtues of Final Cut Studio 2 doesn't have you reaching for your charge card yet, you could try out this testimonial from director Miranda July, who made the truly...
On the off chance that the Coen Bros. talking up the virtues of Final Cut Studio 2 doesn't have you reaching for your charge card yet, you could try out this testimonial from director Miranda July, who made the truly wonderful "Me and You and Everyone We Know" last year. If nothing else, this NAB keynote is bringing us plenty of insight into the creative process for a wide range of directors. Technorati Tags: apple, director, final cut studio, testimonial
Pete Mortensen - Bevy of New Get a Mac Commercials Posted
Despite rumors of its demise, Apple's Get a Mac ad campaign rolls on. Introduced this week are Stuffed (above) Computer Cart and Flashback, both after the jump. Of the three, the journey back to the childhood of Mac and PC...
Despite rumors of its demise, Apple's Get a Mac ad campaign rolls on. Introduced this week are Stuffed (above) Computer Cart and Flashback, both after the jump. Of the three, the journey back to the childhood of Mac and PC is my favorite, but this series is really starting to feel tired. There's only so much more that Apple can do here, and I'm ready to see them, you know, actually show the goods with OS X instead of just going abstract. Just my 2 cents. Click through to see the others. Technorati Tags: apple, get a mac
Pete Mortensen - OS X and iPhone Development Aren't Unrelated
I've been thinking a lot about Apple's much-analyzed decision to delay the release of Leopard, Mac OS X 10.5, until October. Ultimately, it's not that big a deal. If you read between the lines, the diversion of software development resources...
I've been thinking a lot about Apple's much-analyzed decision to delay the release of Leopard, Mac OS X 10.5, until October. Ultimately, it's not that big a deal. If you read between the lines, the diversion of software development resources to finish the iPhone could have long-term benefits for the platform. As a refresher, here's what Apple had to say for themselves: iPhone has already passed several of its required certification tests and is on schedule to ship in late June as planned. We can???t wait until customers get their hands (and fingers) on it and experience what a revolutionary and magical product it is. However, iPhone contains the most sophisticated software ever shipped on a mobile device, and finishing it on time has not come without a price ??? we had to borrow some key software engineering and QA resources from our Mac OS X team, and as a result we will not be able to release Leopard at our Worldwide Developers Conference in early June as planned. While Leopard's features will be complete by then, we cannot deliver the quality release that we and our customers expect from us. We now plan to show our developers a near final version of Leopard at the conference, give them a beta copy to take home so they can do their final testing, and ship Leopard in October. We think it will be well worth the wait. Life often presents tradeoffs, and in this case we're sure we've made the right ones. I have to agree. After all, many of the best innovations -- or at least great new products, are created by mixing the DNA of one successful platform with another. OS X and the iPhone OS share a hell of a lot of code. Apple should have no trouble at all adding multi-touch support to Macs. I'm hoping to see the world's greatest tablet laptop -- and the first one worth owning -- emerge from this delay in the first place. John Gruber of Daring Fireball has an interesting view of just why Apple fell behind in the first place, too. Check it out. Technorati Tags: apple, iphone, mac os x
Pete Mortensen - CNN: Excellence in Technology Reporting
Don't you just love when mainstream business media try to use technology code names? For the future record, guys, Apple is working on Leopard. Jaguar came out almost five years, under the unsexy name "Mac OS X v10.2." But hey,...
Don't you just love when mainstream business media try to use technology code names? For the future record, guys, Apple is working on Leopard. Jaguar came out almost five years, under the unsexy name "Mac OS X v10.2." But hey, it's all big cats, right? (Thanks for submitting, Brandon!) Technorati Tags: apple, jaguar, mac os x
Pete Mortensen - Meet the Airpod (Yet Another Industry Copies the iPod)
I had thought, by now, that Apple would have sued everyone using the word pod in the name of their products. Not so. Shopping at Whole Foods this afternoon, I spotted the Airpod, a high-tech air filter system that goes...
I had thought, by now, that Apple would have sued everyone using the word pod in the name of their products. Not so. Shopping at Whole Foods this afternoon, I spotted the Airpod, a high-tech air filter system that goes out of its way to look like an iPod, right down to placing the circular wheel filter at the bottom of the rectangular form. It's shameless appropriation of the form. Maybe it's just bombastic enough for Apple to leave them alone? Click through for a picture of the packaging. It's like a nano gone wrong. Technorati Tags: ipod, airpod
Pete Mortensen - Coen Brothers Flog Final Cut
There's a new version of Final Cut Studio in town. Apple persuaded the Coen Brothers -- creators of some of my favorite flicks -- to talk it up. The shilling is a bit tiresome though. The Final Cut show reel...
There's a new version of Final Cut Studio in town. Apple persuaded the Coen Brothers -- creators of some of my favorite flicks -- to talk it up. The shilling is a bit tiresome though. The Final Cut show reel is better fun.
lkahney - Homemade Hi-Fi With Tube Amp
Details of a homemade iPod Hi-Fi system: After pricing everything out, I decided to build a single mono channel to see how it sounded. $100 for the amp, $100 for the speaker parts, $100 for wood (real oak, just couldn't...
Details of a homemade iPod Hi-Fi system: After pricing everything out, I decided to build a single mono channel to see how it sounded. $100 for the amp, $100 for the speaker parts, $100 for wood (real oak, just couldn't use that compressed saw dust stuff). I ordered the parts and went to work. After about two weeks of working in the evenings this is what I came up with. ... Even though it is monaural, the sound is unbelievable. I thought about building the second channel, but so far I'm happy with this. The speaker is a Dayton III design: The Dayton III is a 2-way, dual woofer loudspeaker using the Dayton 6-1/2" paper cone woofer and 1-1/8" silk dome tweeter. These drivers have been the subject of a lot of discussion on the Parts Express Tech Talk board because they are among the "best bang for the buck" in low price loudspeaker drivers. This woofer is able to produce exceptionally low bass for a given box size and the tweeter produces clean, clear highs. When you hear these speakers you won't believe that the total cost for drivers and crossover components is under $150/PAIR!
lkahney - Tube Amps for iPod
The New York Times has a roundup of vacuum tube amplifiers for the iPod: BOTH the Cocoon and the Fatman come with a pair of white cotton gloves, to be worn to protect the high-gloss metal surfaces from fingerprints during...
The New York Times has a roundup of vacuum tube amplifiers for the iPod: BOTH the Cocoon and the Fatman come with a pair of white cotton gloves, to be worn to protect the high-gloss metal surfaces from fingerprints during handling. To assemble and try out both machines, I donned a set of the gloves, as did a friend who helped me.
lkahney - Fake Steve: Faithful Must Re-Hypnotize Themselves
Apple faithful, I sense a disturbance in the force. I feel ... fear. Worry. Anger. Faithful, put aside these negative feelings. The OS is fine. The iPhone is fine. Everything is fine. We are taking a little extra time, that's...
Apple faithful, I sense a disturbance in the force. I feel ... fear. Worry. Anger. Faithful, put aside these negative feelings. The OS is fine. The iPhone is fine. Everything is fine. We are taking a little extra time, that's all. I'm sure you're receiving taunts from your Windows-loving friends talking about "OS X Leper." I've been taunted too. Bill Gates just called and offered to send over a team to help us port Vista features into Leopard. Faithful, do not lose heart. I've chosen the photo above to help you re-hypnotize yourselves. Look directly into my eyes, not around the eyes, but into the eyes. Now think of products. Glossy white products that cost too much money and make you feel superior to other people. Feel better? Good. Me too. Link.
lkahney - Leopard Screenshots: Possibly Fake
There's several new screenshots lighting up the internet that are purportedly taken from a new Leopard build (9A410). Posted to Hackintosh, MacRumors, Flickr and elsewhere, the screenshots show a new, simple UI that's darker and sharper than the current --...
There's several new screenshots lighting up the internet that are purportedly taken from a new Leopard build (9A410). Posted to Hackintosh, MacRumors, Flickr and elsewhere, the screenshots show a new, simple UI that's darker and sharper than the current -- note the corners of windows are no longer rounded. There's less brushed metal, more soothing grey. The screenshots on Flickr look much more like the current UI (Tiger) ,except Mail now has a metallic look. But there's something fishy about them. The interface is too plain and stripped back. Many on the MacRumors' forums think the screens are fake, and one poster on Flickr is sure about it.: "Fake! Fake! Fake! I write themes for OSX. And, I can tell you how this was most probably done: The file Extras.rsrc still kinda works in the betas for 10.5 although, I hope that it will be removed before release. Anyway, Installer based themes (though out of favor in 10.4) still work by replacing Extras.rsrc among other files. Someone swapped out the normal Extras.rsrc and took some screen shots. Since most of the guts of 10.5 do not depend upon Extras.rsrc anymore, I am confident that 10.5 would run with a 10.4 Extras file for now. Note that you do not see any signs of resolution independence! That is what would break this fake theme (since res independence calls to images not stored in Extras.rsrc)." More screens after the jump Spotlight: Control Panel: Finder: Photo Booth:
lkahney - Wilkes University: Explaining the Switch to Mac
Wilkes University Wilkes-Barre, PA, is about to become one of the first colleges to make a complete switch from Windows PCs to new Intel Macs. Over the next three years, Wilkes will become an all-Mac campus -- a $1.4 million...
Wilkes University Wilkes-Barre, PA, is about to become one of the first colleges to make a complete switch from Windows PCs to new Intel Macs. Over the next three years, Wilkes will become an all-Mac campus -- a $1.4 million switch involving 1,700 computers. The reason? To save money. The college will buy fewer machines and expects to spend less on support. Scott Byers, vice president for finance and general counsel at Wilkes, answered a few questions by email, explaining the reason for the switch and the reaction from students and staff. "Students seem to like the change and recognize Apple as an innovator in technology," he said. "This generation of students has a great affinity for the Apple brand." Whose idea was it to switch to Macs????The idea was generated as we solicited bids for our annual technology refresh program. Every three years we replenish all 1,700 computers on campus. Apple introduced us to their Intel-based Macs and we saw it as an opportunity to provide Apple and Windows operating systems in one machine for the campus community. The benefits to the end user were obvious. Students and faculty could choose the platform they needed and wanted based on their individual computing needs. We also saw an opportunity to reduce the number of machines on campus and therefore create more efficient use of computer labs. We soon realized the question wasn???t ???why make the switch,??? but ???why not??????? ???Was there any resistance????We are an institution whose mission is to establish personal relationships so we worked closely with our faculty and staff to make sure we had a general consensus in moving forward with Apple.??? Your stated reason was to save money. Were there any other advantages or disadvantages????Being more efficient was a desire but we felt it had many other advantages; 1) Allowed the user to choose the desired operating system 2) offered the potential to enhance teaching and learning using Apple???s iLife software 3) created a standard base that our IT department could work with consistently rather than Dells, Gateways, HP and Apples 4) reduced the number of units necessary for campus and the number of units requiring potential service and replacement.??? ???What was the reaction to the news like from staff and students? Students seem to like the change and recognize Apple as an innovator in technology. This generation of students has a great affinity for the Apple brand. Staff have embraced the change as well. We anticipate additional support from the campus community by providing training on the educational benefits of Apple software. ???A couple of years ago, universities and schools were switching away from Macs. Do you think we'll see more switch back????I think so. Apple has made inroads in the personal computer market with an operating system that one could argue is superior to Windows. The switcher approach allows campuses to access both platforms from one unit. Again, I would pose the question why wouldn???t a campus make the switch? The visual, user-friendly nature of Apple-based programs, along with iTunes and other lifestyle programs, has aligned well with the current and incoming generation of college students. Any additional comments? I???d like to add that Wilkes has long been a leading provider of graduate education for teachers. We offer master???s degree and certificate programs in classroom technology and instructional technology. At the core of those programs is an emphasis on computer skills and also leadership skills so teachers can implement crucial technology upgrades in their respective schools. Our partnership with Apple will be a vital part of providing cutting-edge, quality education in the way of instructional technology for today???s teachers.
lkahney - Download TV Shows Automatically Via BitTorrent
TVShows is a free, open source application that triggers automatic downloading of TV shows via BitTorrent. Working in conjunction with a BitTorrent client, the application manages show subscriptions. Favorite shows are automatically downloaded in the background whenever they become available...
TVShows is a free, open source application that triggers automatic downloading of TV shows via BitTorrent. Working in conjunction with a BitTorrent client, the application manages show subscriptions. Favorite shows are automatically downloaded in the background whenever they become available online. Most BitTorrent video is encoded in DivX or .AVI formats, and will play fine in a media player like VLC, but if you want to stream it to an AppleTV, you will need to convert the shows -- or hack the AppleTV to support DivX and other formats. Another way to get TV shows automatically is to set up Azureus with the RSS Feed Scanner plugin. Full instructions here. Via TorrentFreak
lkahney - Apple Corps. Gave Apple Inc. the Entire Apple Cart
AppleInsider: Filings discovered today by AppleInsider and noted on April 5th at the US Patent and Trademark Office show that Apple Corps has given up more of the trademarks associated with The Beatles' own company than was expected as part...
AppleInsider: Filings discovered today by AppleInsider and noted on April 5th at the US Patent and Trademark Office show that Apple Corps has given up more of the trademarks associated with The Beatles' own company than was expected as part of the landmark settlement in February... (Steve Jobs' Apple Inc.) received the rights to use imagery virtually inseparable from Apple Corps' music business, including the centerpiece green apple and two variants with the fruit cut in half.
lkahney - News Burrito
FT.com -- Music labels ask Apple to adopt subscription: The world???s biggest music companies are expected to ask Apple to introduce a music subscription service to its iTunes digital media store as part of negotiations to renew their agreements with...
FT.com -- Music labels ask Apple to adopt subscription: The world???s biggest music companies are expected to ask Apple to introduce a music subscription service to its iTunes digital media store as part of negotiations to renew their agreements with the computer company. Ars Technica -- Why Apple can't sell movies: There are at least five problems the Apple TV alone cannot solve for the iTunes Store: 3. Access: At present, there is no option to rent movies on the iTunes Store, and, unlike music purchases versus subscription services, renting movies is a preferred method of consuming content. Further, purchasing movies through the iTunes Store still requires a computer, rather than direct shopping using the touted Apple TV. Webomatica -- Apple iTunes: Music Subscription No, Movie Subscription Yes: If Apple is even remotely thinking about offering iTunes Store subscriptions for its music, I really hope they don???t - and instead apply the subscription model to iTunes Movies instead.
lkahney - Perfect Pocket Camera: Lumix FX07
Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing thinks the Lumix FX07 is the perfect pocket camera: I love these cameras (I've bought three more since January as gifts, with great results). They shoot stunning pictures (here's Flickr's collection of FX07 shots) and have...
Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing thinks the Lumix FX07 is the perfect pocket camera: I love these cameras (I've bought three more since January as gifts, with great results). They shoot stunning pictures (here's Flickr's collection of FX07 shots) and have totally kick-ass image stabilization that works great in low-light, getting me incredible shots without using a tripod or leaning the camera against a table. They also shoot wicked-fast, making it easy to shoot a continuous stream of photos of something exciting as it's happening. The presets are also really smart -- the aerial photography setting got great shots when I was in a helicopter last month over the Grand Canyon. The camera also shoots crisp, 640x480 Quicktime video. Amazon Link
lkahney - New VMware Beta Supports Boot Camp
VMware Fusion Beta 3 now supports Apple's Boot Camp. VMware Fusion is virtualization software that allows Windows XP to be run at the same time as OS X (It doesn't yet support Vista). VMware Fusion automatically detects your Boot Camp...
VMware Fusion Beta 3 now supports Apple's Boot Camp. VMware Fusion is virtualization software that allows Windows XP to be run at the same time as OS X (It doesn't yet support Vista). VMware Fusion automatically detects your Boot Camp partition, so you can now run a Windows XP virtual machine from your existing Boot Camp partition. You no longer have to choose Windows or Mac: you can now run Windows side-by-side with your favorite Mac applications. Note: For this Beta 3 release, Windows Vista is not supported; only Windows XP is supported.
lkahney - Beatles Inch Closer to Online
Two news nuggets suggest the Beatles catalog is getting close to release online: Yesterday Reuters reported that Neil Aspinall, the long-time head of Apple Corps., had stepped aside: A combative, media-shy executive fiercely protective of the Beatles' legacy and Apple...
Two news nuggets suggest the Beatles catalog is getting close to release online: Yesterday Reuters reported that Neil Aspinall, the long-time head of Apple Corps., had stepped aside: A combative, media-shy executive fiercely protective of the Beatles' legacy and Apple Corps Ltd., Aspinall kept busy in recent years waging a legal battle against computer company Apple Inc. over their similar logos. A bigger issue was the Beatles' noted refusal to license tunes to online retailers, such as the technology firm's iTunes store.... His slow-and-sensible approach to the band's affairs paid off in the 1980s when compact discs were introduced. He refused to join the rush, and held out for a higher royalty rate. The band's crowning moment, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band," finally came out on CD in 1987, amid a worldwide publicity blitz marking the album's 20th anniversary. Aspinall was also the main reason why Beatles tracks are not heard on multi-artist compilation CDs, because he said they cheapened the band's image. On Thursday Reuters reported Apple Corps. settled a long-running royalty dispute with EMI: The company representing The Beatles has settled a 30 million-pound ($59 million) royalty dispute with EMI Group, in a deal that could finally pave the way for the Liverpool band's music to go online... "It seems like it is heading in that direction," Jupiter analyst Mark Mulligan told Reuters of the Beatles catalogue. "The conversation has changed from an 'if' to a 'when'.
lkahney - AppleTV Upgrade: 160 Gbyte Drive for $200
Michael Adberg of WeaKnees, a company known for its TiVo upgrades, wrote in to say his company just started shipping a self-install upgrade kit for the AppleTV. For $200, you get a 160 Gbyte hard drive pre-formatted for the AppleTV....
Michael Adberg of WeaKnees, a company known for its TiVo upgrades, wrote in to say his company just started shipping a self-install upgrade kit for the AppleTV. For $200, you get a 160 Gbyte hard drive pre-formatted for the AppleTV. "The installation process only takes a few minutes and then the AppleTV will re-synchronize with your iTunes to download all of your music, videos, and photos," WeaKnees promises. Link.
lkahney - Analyst: Apple To Beat Sony's Walkman Record, Will Sell At Least 350 Million iPods
Ingrid Ebeling, an analyst at JMP Securities, believes 500 million MP3 players will be sold before the market becomes saturated. Apple will easily sell 350 million of those, besting Sony's record for Walkman sales. Reports AppleInsider: "During Sony???s 15-year reign...
Ingrid Ebeling, an analyst at JMP Securities, believes 500 million MP3 players will be sold before the market becomes saturated. Apple will easily sell 350 million of those, besting Sony's record for Walkman sales. Reports AppleInsider: "During Sony???s 15-year reign with the Walkman, the company sold over 350 million units, and we believe that Apple???s addressable market over time will exceed this number given the upgrade and replaceable nature of iPods as well as the overriding trend of consumers??? increasing use of digital media," she wrote. "The net takeaway is that this is a product category that is far from saturated, and we believe well over 500 million units will be sold before the product category hits maturation." Apple has long had Sony's benchmark in sight. Last year, Jon Rubenstein, the now-retired head of Apple hardware who oversaw development of the iPod, told me that he was pretty confident Apple would beat Sony's 350 million record.
lkahney - Homemade Album Tops UK iTunes
This is London: Acoustic guitarist Kate Walsh has knocked Take That off the top of the iTunes download album chart - but does not even own an iPod. The 23-year-old guitarist recorded her album in a friend's bedroom and named...
Acoustic guitarist Kate Walsh has knocked Take That off the top of the iTunes download album chart - but does not even own an iPod.
The 23-year-old guitarist recorded her album in a friend's bedroom and named it Tim's House in his honour.
The homemade album has proved a unexpected hit with iPod fans who had downloaded it from the iTunes website in their thousands - knocking Take That and Kaiser Chiefs from the top spots.
Miss Walsh said: "You end up looking at it every day to see if you're still number one. I think I'm ahead of Elton.
"I don't actually have an iPod yet. I hear they are quite good for ten hour flights.
"I set up my own record label called Blueberry Pie and just got the music out there. It's pretty easy. Anyone can do it."
The classically trained pianist from Brighton said she built up a fan base by putting her music onto her MySpace page and eventually persuaded iTunes to sell it.
Kate Walsh's MySpace Page.
lkahney - News Burrito
AppleInsider | MGM flicks arrive on Apple's iTunes Store: MGM flicks arrive on Apple's iTunes Store By AppleInsider Staff Published: 09:00 AM EST Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) and Apple announced Wednesday that MGM is now offering titles from its catalog...
AppleInsider | MGM flicks arrive on Apple's iTunes Store: MGM flicks arrive on Apple's iTunes Store By AppleInsider Staff Published: 09:00 AM EST Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) and Apple announced Wednesday that MGM is now offering titles from its catalog of feature films for purchase and download on the iTunes Store. TUAW : AppleTV Commercial Follow-up: Apple TV Commercial Follow-Up by Erica Sadun, The Unofficial Apple Weblog Eagle-eyed TUAW reader Klemens noticed that the Apple TV in the commercial had only a power-cord and no connections to a TV. Here are a few other things you may (or may not) have noticed.
lkahney - 10 Questions Apple Must Answer in 2007 -- Revisited
So Apple's had one HELL of a first quarter, haven't they? With tax day nearly upon us, I thought it might be a good idea to look back at how well Apple is answering the issues that I thought were...
So Apple's had one HELL of a first quarter, haven't they? With tax day nearly upon us, I thought it might be a good idea to look back at how well Apple is answering the issues that I thought were important late in December of last year, especially now that the AppleTV is out in the market and the iPhone has set the world on fire with its hype flames. Or something. So click through -- we'll laugh, we'll cry, and we'll learn something about forecasting. Here, again, are the 10 Questions Apple Must Answer in 2007 -- and how well they're responding.Technorati Tags: apple, speculation, Steve Jobs
10. Is Apple ready to compete in two new fields (Home Theatre and Mobile Telephony)?
What I said then: For each of these new markets, the question remains: Will Apple come off the way they did in the PC market in the 1990s or the way they have in the digital media player market for the last five years? If Apple succeeds in both these spaces, they're well on their way to being established as the premier consumer electronics company. If they blow it, expect to see Apple called "beleaguered" by the media so fast your head will spin.
What I say now: I'd say yes. AppleTV has only been out for a few weeks, and people are going nuts customizing and hacking it, which is always a really good sign of reception. It would appear that they're ready for the market. The iPhone's feature set and design (which were unknown when I wrote the original post) show that Apple is ready to compete in the phone market, but it will be a long time before we know how well this gamble paid off. Either way, it's clear that Apple's got game in both these fields, and they aren't (yet) bursting under the pressure.
9. Will .Mac survive into 2008?
What I said then: Worst of all, Apple has inextricably linked the latest version of iLife to .Mac, meaning that iWeb is severely hampered without a .Mac subscription, firmly taking iLife from the best bundled suite of free apps around to deceptive loss leader for expensive services. iLife's a perfect comparison, actually. It went from zero to $79, and people kept buying it. That hasn't happened here. I think it's time for Apple to gracefully step away from .Mac and rewrite its iLife applications to work with other hosting solutions. Native Flickr support in iPhoto would be a great way to start.What I say now: Apple has barely acknowledged that they make computers or software this year, let alone the service side of the equation. I think .Mac might carry on into next year just out of indifference, if nothing else.
8. Has the switch to Intel been successful from a third party software perspective?
What I said then: Given the recent release of a beta Universal Binary version of Adobe Photoshop, this one's actually on its way to being answered in the affirmative. Microsoft still hasn't announced a release schedule for a Universal version of Office, but that's actually less critical. Running Microsoft Word through Rosetta is typically plenty fast for most people. It will be a tremendous vote of confidence and continued success for Apple when Office for Mac Intel ships, but encouraging graphic design firms to upgrade is critical for Apple's workstation market. With Adobe Creative Suite 3 coming in 2007, Apple should continue to own professional creativity hardware for the future.
What I say now: Adobe announced that CS3 will ship this month, and Microsoft has been showing Office 2008 for Intel since January with a second quarter release date. I would say this is a definite affirmative.
7. What should Apple credit for soaring Mac sales?
What I said then: I have a sneaking suspicion that a major contributor to Apple's huge success this year was an artificial dip in demand in late 2005, after the time Apple said they would move all their computers to Intel in 2006. I know lots of Mac users who held out for the MacBook, even though they wanted a new computer much sooner. If Apple's growth in Mac sales doesn't keep up the pace next year, that might be the reason why.
What I say now: I'm an idiot. Apple's growth is sustaining itself. Switching has been its own virtue -- we're now far beyond the window where it's just existing users upgrading to Intel platforms.
6. What's Apple going to do with its new campus in Cupertino?
What I said then: Steve Jobs caused a stir in the Bay Area this spring when he just popped up at a Cupertino City Council meeting to announce that Apple would be building a new local, massive campus in addition to its world headquarters at One Infinite Loop. Little has been announced about the project since then, but it clearly points toward Apple's vision for itself going forward. It's a virtual certainty that they aren't just opening a bunch of new buildings so they have more people to work in their existing businesses. Apple has lots of roads open ahead of it, including phones, broader content management and even business consulting services. As Apple's next businesses go, so go the fortunes of their traditional strengths. For Mac users, the company's overall health is critical to our contentedness with our computers. Let's hope Steve has a great new plan.What I say now: No new information here. I imagine it will partly depend on what happens next with the AppleTV and iPhone, of course...
5. Is Apple comfortable with Mac OS X as the "Big Tent" operating system?
What I said then: The company could choose to be the Big Tent party of operating systems, providing a safe, crash-proof shell for everyone else's work, but that more than anything else would slow development of native software. This could be disastrous. Apple needs to put a stake in the ground and play up its standards, or embrace all of refugees and truly be the computer for the rest of us. It can't try to be both and neither.
What I say now: Apple hasn't done a thing to stop people from multi-booting or even hacking the AppleTV like crazy. They'll take all comers these days.
4. Is Apple getting complacent with its industrial design?
What I said then: The only significant changes of form or design features of the 2006 macs was the addition of built-in iSights and, in the case of the MacBook, a new keyboard. Other than that, Apple was treading water. I've said for awhile that Apple was deliberately maintaining continuity to older models with the first Intel macs so they could go bolder with the next generation. One transitional generation and one radical reinvention. If they don't do that, they run the risk of falling behind.What I say now: No matter what else, the iPhone looks really different from existing iPods and other Apple products. It's a thing of astounding beauty, and I'm just hoping to see its elegant good looks start to show up elsewhere in their product line.
3. What more can Apple do with the iPod?
What I said then: For all the talk of the true video iPod, I'm beginning to wonder if the product will be disappointing. If Apple brings out something that is like a normal iPod but with a bigger screen, will you be satisfied? I don't think I will. The iPod's biggest innovations have been in the form of its physical and software interface. I'm not sure that the touchpanes or touchwheels mooted for the device will be enough. To defend its lead, Apple has to go back to its strengths. For instance, I think the iPod has plenty of room to get lighter and thinner, as the MacBook Pro has done for laptops. It also needs to get friendlier to hold and become central to all home entertainment. Work with TV companies to integrate iPod docks to watch shows easily. Do whatever it takes to build on what people know and need and innovate from that perspective. It's easy to fall from the top -- just ask Sony.What I say now: I think Apple has shown their concern in abundance here, and this is their conclusion: The iPod is already starting to end of life and have created the iPhone to create a platform protected for the future. An iPod with the iPhone interface won't be long in coming. Expect it by the end of the year. I was talking nonsense about that integration of iPod docks into TVs, though, wasn't I?
2. What's Apple up to do with Google?
What I said then: One of the juicier rumors of 2006 was all about what Apple and Google would do together. Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO is on Apple's board, and Mountain View and Cupertino are ridiculously close together. The two companies own customer opinion like no one ever has. What could they do together? I hate to cut this one short, but the answer is everything. Or nothing. Having lived through Taligent, AIM (I like to call it MIA), Pink, Blue and other strategic alliances under Apple, I don't have a lot of faith in their success. Let's keep wishing, though.What I say now: Looks like mostly cozying up to get cool software on the iPhone. I'll continue to fantasize about something much bigger down the road, of course, but I think we'll continue to see Google produce, wait for it, search-based, ad-supported Web software. Shocking, I know.
1. Can Apple stay successful if Jobs steps down?What I said then: Apple needs to start demonstrating that they aren't just the wild success of one of the most charismatic gurus in American business history. That can come from Steve, but he needs to do it soon. Apple is clearly capable of succeeding without him, but few in the cognoscenti believe it. While Apple is strong, Steve can start to work towards a more hands-off approach and cultivate a culture of hundreds of gurus instead of the one most believe in at this point. If they do that, Apple will be around until 2184.
What I say now: Nothing's changed. Steve is the brand even more than he was pre-iPhone. Let's just hope he's figuring it out in the background. And for those who have been wondering, I clearly meant 2084 in my original post, which is when Robotron will become an issue.
Pete Mortensen - Stolen MacBook Snaps Many Hilarious Photos of Thieves
Everyone who ever said built-in iSights were a security risk? They've been proven right again, but this time in reverse. A MacBook used in London Fashion Week and set to upload Photo Booth pictures to the Topshop site was snatched...
Everyone who ever said built-in iSights were a security risk? They've been proven right again, but this time in reverse. A MacBook used in London Fashion Week and set to upload Photo Booth pictures to the Topshop site was snatched about a week ago. In the mean time, the crooks have used Photo Booth A LOT, sending their ridiculous mugs right to the top of the queue. The victim of the theft has confirmed it's true to Gizmodo today: This is not a hoax. Two computers were stolen from the Covent Garden venue during London Fashion Week, London, UK. These computers were set up to automatically upload photos to the Topshop London Fashion Week Website via the Topshop Flickr Account. About a month after the theft new photos appeared on our Flickr account and London Fashion Week website. Whether the people in the photos are the thieves, or have just bought a dodgy computer is still in question. As of Thursday 5th April 2007, these computers had still not been recovered. Anyone recognize their sketchy friends here? Stolen Laptop Pics Not a Hoax After All - Gizmodo Technorati Tags: macbook, iSight
Pete Mortensen - Fake Steve: iPhone's Adaptiv Typeing Worksss Greeeat.
The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs: We're havng a diner 2 celebrate at John Bentley's in Wooodside tonght. and Ill be honorst, were getting a little buzzed om super expnsive wine. But itsgood blow ff steam once on a while....
The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs: We're havng a diner 2 celebrate at John Bentley's in Wooodside tonght. and Ill be honorst, were getting a little buzzed om super expnsive wine. But itsgood blow ff steam once on a while. ths is relly a special time 4 a[ple. Jon Ive just told us that if you put 100 million iPoods end 2 end, they wd encricle the globebe 13 xtimes. Amazing. Speaking of amazing, i type ths whlala whow whole massage on my iphone usissins using its touchchcscreen keypayd and adaptiona adaptiv typeing and it worksss greeeat.
lkahney - Jim from "The Office" Narrates New AppleTV Ad
Anyone check out the new AppleTV ad yet? It's narrated by none other than John Krasinski, better known as Jim Fat Halpert on NBC's The Office. Interestingly enough, HP has a huge promotional concern on the series, and its displays...
Anyone check out the new AppleTV ad yet? It's narrated by none other than John Krasinski, better known as Jim "Fat" Halpert on NBC's "The Office." Interestingly enough, HP has a huge promotional concern on the series, and its displays are everywhere on the show. Apple always wins, don't they? Via TVAddict.Thanks, Kimra!
Pete Mortensen - Have Your Rush iPod Etched With Pills
Phillip Torrone of Make magazine and Adafruit Laser Services, a laser-etching etching service for iPods and MacBooks, has kindly offered to etch OxyContin pills for free onto any Rush Limbaugh iPod. If you recall, Limbaugh is offering eight free iPods...
Phillip Torrone of Make magazine and Adafruit Laser Services, a laser-etching etching service for iPods and MacBooks, has kindly offered to etch OxyContin pills for free onto any Rush Limbaugh iPod. If you recall, Limbaugh is offering eight free iPods engraved with his signature as an incentive for his email newsletter (see here). Phil writes: "If any of your readers wins one, I'll etch pills all over it for free with my laser. We can then auction it off and give the $ to a group Rush hates." Send mail to Pete or I at the email addresses listed at right. Also include suggestions for a suitable charitable organization. Pic by Sudden Curve
lkahney - 100 Million iPods and the Explosive Growth of iTunes
Apple on Monday triumphantly announced it has sold 100 million iPods in five years with a big splashy ad in the New York Times and across the front page of its website. Apple claims the iPod is the "fastest selling...
Apple on Monday triumphantly announced it has sold 100 million iPods in five years with a big splashy ad in the New York Times and across the front page of its website. Apple claims the iPod is the "fastest selling music player in history." That may be so, but it's not yet the biggest seller: Sony sold 340 million Walkmans (and others sold countless millions of knockoffs). But Apple watchers are actually more interested in the growth of iTunes. Carl Howe at Blackfriars Marketing notes that iTunes has now sold 2.5 billion songs -- 1 billion more songs than 6 months ago. These numbers are only semi-official (Jobs mentioned them casually in an interview), but if Apple is now selling 1 billion songs every six months, that's a very sharp growth curve. Also, Howe points out that Apple is also beginning to dominate online sales of movies and TV shows. Wal-Mart revealed on Monday that its online movie store sold just 3,000 movies in the first month. By contrast, Apple sold 125,000 movies in the first week. "Once you've bested the largest American retailer, the sky is the limit," Howe writes.
lkahney - Video of Super Mario Bros. Running on AppleTV
Dig it. Within six months, the Wii and the AppleTV will be one device. Via Gizmodo. Technorati Tags: apple, appleTV, software...
Dig it. Within six months, the Wii and the AppleTV will be one device. Via Gizmodo. Technorati Tags: apple, appleTV, software
Pete Mortensen - RSS Reader for AppleTV in Beta -- Video Support Coming
AppleTV just got one step closer to being a full-fledged replacement for a stand-alone Web-browsing device thanks to AppleTV RSS Plugin from twenty08 software. The fun little app adds a new channel to Apple's hackable box, and then you can...
AppleTV just got one step closer to being a full-fledged replacement for a stand-alone Web-browsing device thanks to AppleTV RSS Plugin from twenty08 software. The fun little app adds a new channel to Apple's hackable box, and then you can make it display your favorite RSS feed.US, for example. The little application will soon support ATOM feeds and video RSS. Can't wait. This is all nice, but it still can't compete with what's officially supported on the Nintendo Wii, which has a headline news reader, weather and even a complete browser. Isn't that crazy? Via Digg. Technorati Tags: appleTV, software
Pete Mortensen - Michigan Democrats Look to iPods As Learning Tools. It's Not What You Think (Edited)
Lawmakers are out of touch and corrupt. Democrats in my home state, Michigan, appear to have reinforced this image by proposing $38 million be spent on iPods for every student in the public schools to use as learning tools. As...
Lawmakers are out of touch and corrupt. Democrats in my home state, Michigan, appear to have reinforced this image by proposing $38 million be spent on iPods for every student in the public schools to use as learning tools. As you might expect, this proposal has drawn guffaws and outrage from armchair analysts across the land. Newspapers and bloggers alike have gone out of their way to highlight the spending bill as reflecting a worldview that can't fix things. Don't believe it. This story has a lot more to it than iPods. At the heart of the matter is a state that seems dead set on dying. Read on to learn what you aren't hearing. Technorati Tags: back-dating, ipod The coverage of this story generally leaves out this simple fact: The Republicans control Michigan's legislature Senate, so the Democrats' plan is far from assured of success. And also that the only reason the Michigan government is facing an astounding budget crisis is that the formerly ruling Republican legislators have repealed the state's single-business tax last session -- or as they called it, the "Small Business Tax." As of the end of the year, the state loses $1.9 billion with the end of the tax. All of which seems to have been a deliberate move to force the Democrats into aggressive spending cuts. This "irresponsible" bill by the Democrats is just a sad response to the plan for more cuts that the Republicans will bring out in the next few days. Do they really expect to give iPods to kids across the state? Of course not. They're just trying to articulate a vision where Michigan invests in capital infrastructure instead of ending tax after tax while the unemployment rate goes higher. And this particular bill doesn't succeed in that regard -- it makes Democrats look more like the party of no ideas than ever. But there was no way it would have succeeded in the first place. That was never the point. Ironically, the only reason the state would be making a proposal for technology in the schools in the first place is that Gov. John Engler Debbie Stabenow, before she was a U.S. Senator pushed through a proposal to revamped the state school system to remove local control in the early 1990s. It's a matter of scale. One school that wants to buy a set of 30 iPods to use as a classroom set looks visionary. A state looking to buy a few million makes it look like the inmates are running the asylum. Via CNET.
Pete Mortensen - iPhone Might Eat Into iPod Sales? You're Kidding Me!
We're entering a new phase of iPhone speculation. Last fall was Phase I: Ludicrous predictions from people who have never seen one. January until now has been Phase II: Potshots and Idol Worship. And now on to Phase III: Summaries...
We're entering a new phase of iPhone speculation. Last fall was Phase I: Ludicrous predictions from people who have never seen one. January until now has been Phase II: Potshots and Idol Worship. And now on to Phase III: Summaries of the obvious. I submit as the beachhead indicator of Phase III these comments from UBS Specialist Tony Andersson, who concludes that, brace yourself, iPhone sales could have a negative impact on iPod sales. Phew! Are you breathing again yet? Technorati Tags: apple, iphone, speculation I mean, who could envision a device that Apple CEO Steve Jobs described as a combination of a widescreen iPod, a breakthrough cell-phone and a revolutionary Internet browser would sell where before an iPod would have sufficed? Certainly not anyone paying attention. But then, that's why they pay bank analysts the big bucks. Remember this one thing: Apple places big bets to win (and sometimes loses), but they also had to bring out the iPhone as the multimedia phone market grows more sophisticated. Those things threaten the iPod, and Apple took a pre-emptive step to stem the tide. Period. AppleInsider | Report: iPhone could make or break Apple's bank:
Pete Mortensen - IPod Didn't Save Soldier's Life -- And It Was An HP Model
Everyone is loving the story of the iPod that allegedly saved the life of U.S. Infantryman Kevin Garrad in Tikrit (read more at Gadget Lab). Though it seems like the perfect story, there is actually more to this tale than...
Everyone is loving the story of the iPod that allegedly saved the life of U.S. Infantryman Kevin Garrad in Tikrit (read more at Gadget Lab). Though it seems like the perfect story, there is actually more to this tale than you might assume. First of all, the iPod didn't save his life. His body armor did. And it isn't even an Apple model. Click through for the rest of the story. Technorati Tags: ipod, iRaq From Havana Lion: The armor stopped the bullet. The iPod was how Kevin Garrad found out he was shot. This is the real story. Kevin said he got into the fight with the insurgent and afterwards he did not know he was even shot. He said he returned to his bunk after the patrol, put on his earbuds and began to clean his weapon. He said: ???you get into a ritual out there.??? No music came on. He dug around in the pockets where he kept the iPod and pulled out the twisted hunk of metal that is in the pictures. He said that was how he found out that he had been shot during the fight. He was happy that his armor worked. I've been surprised that Apple has gotten all of the press on this, as well, because this model came out during the very brief era when HP was selling iPods themselves, logo and all. I'm not surprised that Apple is taking advantage of this opportunity, including shipping Kevin a new iPod, but I am surprised HP hasn't gotten in on the press push. After all -- they sold the amazing machine, not Apple.
Pete Mortensen - iScroll2 Brings Two-Finger Scrolling to Older PowerBooks -- But Not Mine.
One of Apple's greatest feature introductions of the last few years is the use of two fingers to turn a PowerBook or MacBook trackpad into a two-button wonder. It's an incredibly elegant solution that feels significantly better than awkward multi-button...
One of Apple's greatest feature introductions of the last few years is the use of two fingers to turn a PowerBook or MacBook trackpad into a two-button wonder. It's an incredibly elegant solution that feels significantly better than awkward multi-button Windows trackpad laptops. But it also only works on 2005 or later PowerBooks, which left, well, almost everyone out of the party. Until now. iScroll2 is an open-source project that promises to bring the two-finger scroll dance to older PowerBooks. It's very early in development, so try it at your own risk. My 2003 12" PowerBook is not supported, so I'm still out in the cold. Anyone got it working? Is it worth our time? Via Digg. Technorati Tags: Software
Pete Mortensen - Make Your Own iPhone
If you can't wait until June for the real iPhone, buy this $3 paper iPhone cutout on eBay instead. The seller, who has has 96.9 % positive feedback, claims it's the "most accurate" paper model on the market today. It...
If you can't wait until June for the real iPhone, buy this $3 paper iPhone cutout on eBay instead. The seller, who has has 96.9 % positive feedback, claims it's the "most accurate" paper model on the market today. It boasts advanced features like: 1. Real Rounded Corners 2. Images of the top and bottom of the iPhone 3. Cingular icon has been replaced with AT&T The seller has even made a high-quaility, pre-assembled paper iPhone for an extra $3. It even includes a thich cardboard insert for extra rigidity. Link to the assembled Paper iPhone auction.
lkahney - Special Edition Rush Limbaugh Vandalized iPod
Drug-addled nutjob Rush Limbaugh is giving away eight, 80-gig video iPods, one a week for eight weeks. The bad news: you have to sign up for his email newsletter "Rush in a Hurry." Even worse, he's vandalized the iPod with...
Drug-addled nutjob Rush Limbaugh is giving away eight, 80-gig video iPods, one a week for eight weeks. The bad news: you have to sign up for his email newsletter "Rush in a Hurry." Even worse, he's vandalized the iPod with an engraving of his signature. How about a handful of painkillers instead?
lkahney - London iPod Flash Mob Attracts 4,000 Silent Dancers
Pix by Chris John Beckett About 4,000 dancers reveled to the sounds of their own iPods at an impromptu flash mob at London's Victoria train station on Friday, according to the Evening Standard. A deafening 10-second countdown startled station staff...
Pix by Chris John Beckett About 4,000 dancers reveled to the sounds of their own iPods at an impromptu flash mob at London's Victoria train station on Friday, according to the Evening Standard. A deafening 10-second countdown startled station staff and commuters before the concourse erupted in whoops and cheers. MP3 players and iPods emerged and the crowd danced wildly to their soundtracks in silence - for two hours. University of London student Lucy Dent, 20, was among the flash mobbers. She said: "It was my first flash mob and I'm hooked. I've been dancing non-stop since we began. "I didn't even notice the commuters. When you get into the dancing you're oblivious to them and forget you're at a railway station." Says Flickr user vandanger: "It lasted almost two hours before the police intervened. It was great."
lkahney - UPDATE: Cult of Mac Blog Has NOT Moved
UPDATE: Whoops. We jumped the gun. The Cult of Mac blog was supposed to become part of a new Wired affiliate blog network, which will bring together blogs run by Wired's editors, contributors and friends, like Chris Anderson's Long Tail...
UPDATE: Whoops. We jumped the gun. The Cult of Mac blog was supposed to become part of a new Wired affiliate blog network, which will bring together blogs run by Wired's editors, contributors and friends, like Chris Anderson's Long Tail blog. It'll be Wired's version of John Battelle's Federated Media network. Trouble is, our network isn't quite in place. So for the time being, the Cult of Mac blog will continue to be updated at this address. Apologies for the confusion. The Cult of Mac blog is moving to a new address. The blog can now be found at www.cultofmac.com. Here is the new RSS feed.
lkahney
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