Google looking into MP3 store

Posted on Jan. 31, ’06, 7:29 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Music

What does Internet search giant, Google, do shortly after it realizes it screwed up with its video service? The obvious course of action is to go into the music selling business. Maybe that’s why I’m not a multi-millionaire; I don’t view that as a good course of action.

“Bear Stearns maintained an ‘outperform’ rating on Google and said the Internet search giant may be looking to expand into the MP3 downloading business,” Peter Kang reports for Forbes. “‘We believe that Google is in the midst of creating its own iTunes competitor, which we’ve dubbed ‘Google Tunes’,’ the analyst wrote in a client note issued today. ‘We think this is a logical step, now that the nascent Google Video product has been introduced.’ Analyst Robert Peck speculated that it makes sense for Google to create a rival for the popular iTunes service by Apple Computer, given the explosive growth of unique visitors to the iTunes’ Web site.”

Google Tunes, catchy name, yeah.

Tip us off

Posted on Jan. 31, ’06, 7:01 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Internet

In the entry about Cocoalicious, I casually mentioned using the “for” feature of del.icio.us to tip me off to interesting stories. To that end, we’ve set ourselves up an account, named oddly enough, macuserblog. Cyrus and I will both be checking bookmarks targeted at us using the aforementioned “for” feature. All you need do is tag a bookmark “for:macuserblog” (without quotes naturally). I’ll also be regularly saving links of interest on that username for your perusal and enjoyment.

New Apple mouse

Posted on Jan. 31, ’06, 6:45 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

Before you get your undies in a bunch, it’s a mouse in the shape of an apple, the piece of fruit. Still, how cool is that? It may not have the beauty of an Apple designed mouse, but I want one. I can hear my Power Mac crying out for a new buddy.

[via Engadget]

Blizzard Is Not GLBT-Friendly?

Posted on Jan. 31, ’06, 12:00 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Games

Apparently there’s something of a flap going on over at Blizzard with the creation of guilds and what affiliations they can have. They don’t seem to like GLBT guilds. More after the jump — In Newsweekly has the story. [Hat tip: Peter Cohen]

Apple Soliciting Comments About Aperture

Posted on Jan. 31, ’06, 11:28 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Software

Apple is asking Photo District News readers to submit suggestions to Apple about Aperture. That’s pretty rad. Aperture is a bit over my head, but hopefully some of you have suggestions. [Hat tip: Peter Cohen !]

A self important letter to Apple

Posted on Jan. 30, ’06, 6:57 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Huh?

Dear Apple,

If you’re going to publish iCal calendars for your users and publicize them, then keep them up. A movie release calendar that ends October of last year is useless. Even worse is a DVD release calendar that ends September of last year. Some follow through would be nice.

Your pal,
Derik

Turn away from the light, Firewire

Posted on Jan. 30, ’06, 6:20 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

As I drove away from my townhouse the other evening, I saw a burst of lightning, followed by all the lights in my condo association going out. The lights flickered on a few seconds later and I thought nothing of it. I should have thought more, and gotten a better UPS.

Enhance Camino

Posted on Jan. 29, ’06, 10:06 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

One of the good and bad things about Camino is its lack of configuration options and features. Despite feature creep and bloat in other browsers, Camino has stayed quick and light.

Sometimes though, you want access to preferences it doesn’t present. Sure, you could access about:config (no, that link won’t work in Safari), but that’s not the most user-friendly option. Enter CamiTools 4. The number of options it adds are almost overwhelming. Some of my favorites include ad-blocking and forcing the ability to save passwords for any web page. And you can’t beat the price (free).

Finding obsession

Posted on Jan. 28, ’06, 6:52 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

When I moved Mac OS X, I discovered something. Apparently, I don’t use the Finder much. Perhaps the biggest complain for users moving from OS 9 to OS X was that they didn’t like the Finder. I’ll admit, the disappearance of spring loaded folders was frustrating for me, but beyond that, I didn’t have any real complaints. In fact, I liked it better. Column view is the best thing since sliced bread. I’m not representative though, and the recent Finder team position listing has proven that.

My metric is better than your metric

Posted on Jan. 27, ’06, 8:22 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

MacSpeedZone isn’t happy with Macworld’s Intel iMac speed testing. You won’t like MacSpeedZone when he’s angry.

Basically, the author of the article points out the importance of the metrics being utilized and how accurately they reflect the performance that the user will experience. Just because a new processor can pound out integer operations twice as fast as the old version doesn’t mean everything will be twice as fast.

While an automated performance test may be better than the clock speed for quantifying performance, it’s not perfect and each user should analyze each different metric to see which computer is better for them. Apple’s marketing hype, I mean performance figures, are good for drawing attention, not for actual evaluation.

It rhymes with Mac OS X, so it must be good

Posted on Jan. 27, ’06, 6:41 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | iPod

I loved Ken Ray’s daily news breakdown on Inside Mac Radio’s podcast. I began to wonder why I didn’t hear his voice on my iPod anymore. There seems to have been some big meltdown. I didn’t read anything about it, so it caught me by surprise when I found out that he was back as Mac OS Ken. My daily news is back and all is right again.

[via Starinfosec]

Google: We screwed up

Posted on Jan. 27, ’06, 6:25 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Rivals

People may slam Apple for being far too commercial with the iTunes Music Store, podcast directory and video store, but the truth is that they’ve keyed in on something important. In order to get the attention of the masses, you have to start by giving them what they want (or what they think they want). Google didn’t pick up on that.

“We made a big mistake,” Mayer, who oversees all of Google’s search products, said Tuesday. “You can’t come out and launch a product like Google Video and say ‘CSI’ and ‘Survivor’ are there if they’re not on the home page.”

The sad thing is, these observations could have been made by consumer within five minutes. Alex Albrecht of Diggnation fame basically said exactly what Mayer said. While talking about the new Google Video, he mentioned that he was really interested in getting a copy of CSI. Not only was he frustrated that it wasn’t on the front page, but Google’s normally terrific searching utterly failed, bringing up results that didn’t even include the hit series in the first couple results.

[via Digg]

Oh, please. You think calling yourself an Apple Exec gets you some tail?

Posted on Jan. 27, ’06, 12:31 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » Huh?

This “Apple executive” is willing to dole out free iBooks or iPods for sexual favors?

Good looking and generous Apple executive would love to give an asian hottie with sexy feet the ipod or ibook of her choice.

Can’t wait to her from you!!

This is almost certainly a hoax. I mean c’mon, do you think any of these folks would be giving away iBooks?

Powerbooks for Everyone!

Posted on Jan. 27, ’06, 12:22 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Hardware

Or so says Business 2.0’s Om Malik:

[Yahoo CPO Ash Patel] said that he just wanted a laptop, that would simply wake-up when he flipped it open. So he went and got himself a nice little Powerbook. A few days later, he took off for vacation. Instead of his Thinkpad, he took his PowerBook. VPN and Entourage, ensured that he was picking up his Exchange email. A week later, he had seen the light. I hope this new convert ensures more attention to the Mac platform.

I think this is actually a big step forward: as more and more Silicon Valley big-guns start to use Mac, there will be a new impetus to do apps for Mac platform. I have not always been a Mac user, but yes, once you pay the Steve-Tax, you know you can focus on the work, and not the computer. I think folks at Apple should simply send Powerbooks to the top 50 CEOs and CTOs in the Valley, and see what happens. One hour of Pixar DVD sales should cover that cost!

iLife is a dependent personality

Posted on Jan. 26, ’06, 7:27 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Glenn Wolsey of Macsimum News asks is iLife becoming too .Mac attached? He has a rather interesting point, which has been examined elsewhere as the .Mac tax.

To be honest, I think about it in the opposite direction. Is .Mac becoming too iLife dependent is my question. You can’t publish pages to “web.mac.com” without iLife ‘06. Nor can you add content to “photocast.mac.com”. Too much of .Mac’s functionality is inaccessible without separate software purchases. That I take issue with.

Your favorite wireless router

Posted on Jan. 26, ’06, 6:55 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

Engadget asks what’s the best wireless router? I know this is a Mac blog and the overwhelming response is likely to be Airport Extreme and Airport Express Base Stations, but let’s try be a little more objective.

Disclaimer: My original, graphite Airport Base Station suffered from design deficiencies and I had to fix it myself. I didn’t fit within Apple’s let’s-play-the-odds replacement serial number range. I’ve been down on Apple’s wireless offerings since.

Does the customizability of the WRT54G (Linux based versions) float your boat? Do D-Link’s prices make your checkbook sigh in relief? Do Belkin’s MIMO offerings actually excite you? Do you really love your Airport Express to death? Or are you simply waiting to see what is coming soon with the finalization of the 802.11n specification in place?

Is there an echo in here? No, that’s your Powerbook.

Posted on Jan. 26, ’06, 6:14 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

Recent Powerbook buyers may regret their purchase, particularly if they do a lot of sound manipulation. The new Powerbooks can randomly start looping the audio they’re playing. I’ve gotten a chance to hear the problem first hand. Luckily, my 1.33 GHz 12” Powerbook doesn’t have that issue. Rather, I’ve heard it on Adam Curry’s Daily Source Code. That’s widescale exposure and rules out the possibility of simply denying the problem. In fact, it was enough to provoke him into moving to Windows to record his show. That’s bad PR.

Apple has recognized the problem. However, their solution, no matter how interim, sucks.

To avoid this, run only one audio application at a time. If it looks like you only have one audio application running but the sound is still skipping or stuttering, check for hidden login items or startup items.

Apple needs to get on this, before Powerbookdefect.info becomes an essential site for any Powerbook user. This is a major issue for even casual users.

Comedy Central comes to iTunes Music Store!

Posted on Jan. 26, ’06, 10:56 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Video

Ok, while Osama bin Laden might not actually be on iTunes, Comedy Central is! So far, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart hasn’t made it yet, but I’m sure it’s coming soon. Man oh man, they’d make so much dough from that — it truly is the best show on television. Not that I own one, but I download it daily. [Hat tip: Curt Poff]

“And God help the broadcast flag-makers if someone buys Senator Stevens a video iPod.”

Posted on Jan. 26, ’06, 9:50 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Legal

The guv’ment wants to keep you (read: your audio/video content) down (read: caving to the interests of RIAA/MPAA). Fortunately for us, the EFF is here to take care of big bad bullies like that, or at least alert us to the haps in Washington. A lengthy excerpt from the EFF’s blog Deep Links, follows after the jump. One of the revelations? Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) has an iPod. (For those of you keeping score at home, MacUser’s running tally of government officials in the Bush Administration, the House and Senate is up to four: Pres. Bush, VP Cheney, Laura Bush, and now Sen. Stevens.)

Fireant bites iTunes, iTunes says “ouch”

Posted on Jan. 25, ’06, 5:51 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Listeners of TWIT might have gotten an extra condensed version of the latest show (stops after a couple minutes) due to CDN issues. Leo Laporte stepped right up to help get things resolved and to suggest the use of Bittorrent.

It’s too bad iTunes doesn’t support the protocol as there’s a multitude of content available only in this way. Perhaps the next version. In the meantime, Leo pointed out Fireant. It’s a slick little podcast client (for both audio and video) that integrates with a directory and features built in Bittorrent. It even lets you put content on iPods, PSPs, and other portable players. Have any of you been using this in lieu of iTunes?

About that whole fiddling with EFI thing… don’t

Posted on Jan. 25, ’06, 5:25 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

According to Slashdot, some EFI modifications can leave the iMac unbootable. I previously mentioned a website describing how to do this. Unless you’re particularly adept, steer clear.

The article in question seems to have a procedure to restore booting after nearly killing an iMac, but I can’t verify and the site seems to be slashdotted for the moment.

Being on the short end of a 90/10 split

Posted on Jan. 25, ’06, 5:02 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

Computerworld has yet another hands on review of the MacBook Pro. The author, Yuval Kossovsky, has a lot of praise for the MacBook Pro.

In summary, except for the wonky name, I can say the MacBook Pro looks like a real winner.

I can safely say I’ve never seen the name for an Apple product panned so widely, especially for a product earning a lot of praise. The article also brings an interesting statistic to light. Apple told him that 90% of Powerbook owners used anything but the modem to get network activity. There’s part of its motivation to drop the modem. That may do little to ease those really upset by the move though.

Steve Jobs as a Photo Mosaic

Posted on Jan. 25, ’06, 9:53 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » People

Steve Jobs as a mosaic on Flickr. [Thanks, Peter Cohen!]

Osama bin Laden on iTunes

Posted on Jan. 25, ’06, 7:02 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Music

Osama bin Laden’s new album “More Attacks Forthcoming” on the iTunes Music Store!

[Courtesy The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; January 19, 2006]

Another pair of Universal updates

Posted on Jan. 25, ’06, 5:30 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

I can’t possibly track the Universal Binary releases like Versiontracker does, but I can point out a couple really important releases. Important to me anyway. One I believe required the update to run at all.

They are USB Overdrive and Adium. USB Overdrive is simply the best mouse driver around, beating any third-party software I’ve seen (though some are fans of Kensington’s chording features). It uses a kernel extension, which I suspect can’t be run under Rosetta (correct me if I’m wrong). Adium is the venerable IM client that works on most IM networks. It also includes Growl 0.7.4 (the notification framework).

It’s looking like everything I use will be ready by the time I buy an Intel Mac.

No more Classic, well, maybe

Posted on Jan. 25, ’06, 5:00 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Remember how the Intel transition signaled the end of Classic? Well, it looks like you might still be able to run some Classic apps despite Rosetta limitations.

Sheepskin is a project that allows one to run a full classic OS installation in Mac OS X on an Intel. The bad news is that it’s not as seamless as the real Classic as it runs in its own window, self-contained. It should work in a pinch though.

[via Xlr8yourmac]

Being 79.1 percent sure

Posted on Jan. 24, ’06, 6:21 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Business

Disney has initiated a stock acquisition deal with Pixar. Jobs is a 50.6% stock holder in the company as well as being the CEO. However, the whacky thing is, he voted yes with only 40% of Pixar’s stock.

Does Steve have multiple personalities? Is he only 75% happy about moving to Intel? As part of the deal, Jobs will be on Disney’s board of directors. Do I smell an exclusive deal to distribute Disney’s movies over iTunes in the works? Update: And seconds later, I find out they’re already distributing short films.

[via B2Day]

Make mine with a side of content

Posted on Jan. 24, ’06, 6:01 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | iPod

A new way to unload your old iPod, at a profit, has started popping up all over the net reports USA Today. Sellers are loading up their iPods with music and movies, filling it to the brim, and advertising this fact.

A “brand new” 60-gigabyte video iPod loaded with 10,000 songs plus more than 50 movies and TV shows, including the three Matrix movies and the first four seasons of 24. In the listing, the seller says the buyer “must already own all of the music and DVDs. … If not, they must delete them as soon as they receive it in the mail.” The item sold for $551 on Monday.

Delete all the content you don’t already own in another format, riiiiight.

Stop throwing away my stuff

Posted on Jan. 24, ’06, 4:14 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Overshadowed by the recent iTunes Mini Store debacle, iTunes 6.0.2 slipped in another feature (which I’m sure will require much less debate). iTunes now allows you to turn off the auto delete setting for select feeds. While I would prefer per feed auto delete preferences, this is an improvement.

This is great for situations when you’re subscribed to a podiobook, like the latest from Scott Sigler. I personally like to archive these so I can burn them to an MP3 CD once their completed. I’d really like more customizable preferences, so I can keep just the latest episode for things like NPR’s shows. Then for most of my podcasts, keep all the episodes, even if new episodes come in. Maybe the next major version of iTunes will have this.

Apple’s iTunes U puts school lectures and more online

Posted on Jan. 24, ’06, 12:28 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | iPod

Apple’s been updating iPod U. Man, I wish that I got an iPod as part of my university education, or at least had downloadable lectures available whenever I wanted. I had some classes webcast, which was sweet, but nothing this fancy. These kids are lucky.

Contest: XP on a Mac

Posted on Jan. 24, ’06, 7:00 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Software

Colin Nederkoorn of Houston, Texas is starting a reward pool for the first person who can get XP to boot on a Mac Intel machine. The pool currently stands at $3000+.

My MacBook is shipping on the 15th of February. I told my boss that this would replace my IBM desktop and I could boot Windows XP on it. I am still confident it can be done. I am pledging $100 of my own money and offering anyone else who would like the instructions on how to Dual boot these two operating systems the ability to donate some of their money into the pot as a reward for the person / group that can make dual-booting Mac OS X and Windows XP happen on an Intel Mac. Good Luck, Colin.

Yo, jimbo

Posted on Jan. 23, ’06, 6:28 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

BBEdit maker, Bare Bones, has released a brand new application, Yojimbo ($39 for a single user license). This new application helps you organize and manage all those little bits of information that are scattering themselves across your hard drive. Bookmarks, web pages, bookmarks, serial numbers, passwords, and notes are all fair game.

Initial hands-on inspection by yours truly has yielded a couple very slick ways to enter data, including a little drawer that stuff can be dropped into. Data can also be encrypted. The most shocking part of this new app is the sheer beauty of it. Nothing against BBEdit and Mailsmith, but they’re not winning any beauty pageants. Yojimbo is a real joy in this regard. Oh, how I wish I worked for them.

[via MacMinute]

One plus one equals 2.000012

Posted on Jan. 23, ’06, 6:13 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

Say it ain’t so Steve! The Core Duo, the Intel chip being used in the first round of Intel Macs, has 34 flaws according to Geek.com. Even worse, only one is planned for fix. We’ve just started the switch and may immediately have reason to regret it.

Is it time we pulled out the old chestnut, pentiuMath, and think of a fonder time when it wasn’t our problem? Does this dissuade any of you with plans to buy an Intel Mac?

[via Mac Observer]

iTighty whiteys

Posted on Jan. 23, ’06, 5:48 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | iPod

Sure, the iPod is referred to as the ultra hip, stylish MP3 player, but now you know the truth. It wears the infamously uncool underwear, tighty whiteys. I just hope the Zen doesn’t try to give the poor kid a wedgie.

iAttire is selling revealing clothing for the iPod, including such selections as briefs, boxers, undershirts, and the ever sexy negligee. I might not be able to keep my hands off. Prices start at $24.

[via Gizmodo]

An Inexpensive Video Panorama System

Posted on Jan. 23, ’06, 10:36 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Software

Boing Boing links to this site, which shows you how to make a QTVR movie on the cheap. Awesome!

The Effects of Disney’s Pixar Buyout on Apple

Posted on Jan. 23, ’06, 9:37 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » People

So there’s been lots of talk about Disney’s purchase of Pixar, which would make Steve Jobs the largest shareholder of Disney stock. What does that mean for Apple? Not that much, says BusinessWeek’s blog, Byte of the Apple:

But here we are all these years later talking openly and seriously about the possibility that Steve Jobs could, through the sale of Pixar, becomes Disney’s biggest shareholder. Could it be that there was a kernel of truth to this long-dismissed combination? Disney plus Pixar I get. Even the idea of Jobs stepping in for George Mitchell as Disney Chairman, I get. Disney seems like it could use a little bit of a shake-up that a Jobs Chairmanship might include.

Thankfully, Apple seems well above the fray in all this talk of potential mergers. Clearly Disney’s substantial video and music library would fit very nicely into Apple’s longer-term digital media strategy. Disney movies and ABC TV shows, will sell by the millions on the iTunes store. Indeed Disney and Apple are and should remain great partners. But that’s as close as I would ever want them to be.

Thanks buddy

Posted on Jan. 22, ’06, 7:15 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » People

In case there was any doubt about Apple fans loving Steve Jobs and Wozniak, ThankyouSteve.com has laid all doubt to rest. While checking out the site, don’t forget to pick up a t-shirt and to read the daily Stevequote.

Today’s quote from Woz is:

“The Mac’s a symbol of a whole revolution, and most of us that participated in it from the beginning and believed in it bought into these new ideals of computers to really help people, and not something that you had to fight, memorize and learn, … That whole revolution just continues in our hearts to this day.”

[via del.icio.us]

Cocoalicious, now with software update

Posted on Jan. 21, ’06, 5:41 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

My favorite utility for managing my del.icio.us bookmarks (feel free to use the “for” feature to point stories out for me), Cocoalicious, has reached a new beta version. This version adds automatic software update. Thank you Buzz! I normally track version updates for my software with Version Tracker, but Cocoalicious updates don’t appear there. Now I don’t need to worry that I’m missing the updates as they pass through my RSS reader.

I still wish Apple’s own Software Update allowed third-party applications to utilize the existing infrastructure. A man can only dream.

More Intel benchmarking, laptop style

Posted on Jan. 21, ’06, 4:52 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

Craig Wood has an interesting comparison of the MacBook Pro. The most promising results are those of video playback. The MacBook Pro requires far less CPU utilization than the dual 2.0 GHz G5. With all these benchmarks coming back with wildly differing results, it emphasizes that there is no single indicator for speed. It all comes down to what kind of performance matters to you.

Thanks Craig for emailing this in.

Naked firmware

Posted on Jan. 20, ’06, 5:32 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Nakfull Propaganda has documented how to get direct access to the new EFI firmware in the Intel Macs. Fun! Be sure to mind the warnings and be careful (or outright avoid this) if you don’t know what you’re doing. Share in the comments if this lets you do anything interesting.

Rosetta doesn’t smell so sweet

Posted on Jan. 20, ’06, 4:29 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

The results are in from Macworld labs. They’ve put the new Intel iMac through its paces and I’m not impressed. With native software, the most improved test criteria was startup at 1.84x as fast. I don’t spend my days starting up my computer again and again and gaining 21 seconds on a task that takes 46 seconds that I do once a day isn’t going to get me to reach for my wallet, nevermind pull out a credit card. The Intel version has the edge in most of the tests, but there isn’t a huge margin, especially considering the new chip is dual core.

Even more disappointing is Rosetta. Remember when we were being given estimates of 80%? The real results have yielded half the performance or worse. These performance issues also preclude the use of apps that have strict timing requirements.

Before everyone starts piling on to call me a hater, I think ultimately this move will bode well for Apple and Macs. I don’t think it’s going to kill the Mac platform. However, I don’t think it’s going to be quite as smooth as most analysts have said. It’s going to be rocky at first, making me glad PowerPC Macs are still being offered.

TVMyPod

Posted on Jan. 20, ’06, 3:53 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Video

A new company, TVMyPod, is selling iPods pre-loaded with TV shows and movies. But, it’s not clear that it’s entirely legal.

Reuters:

DVDs have copy protection on them, however, and under the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act it is illegal to bypass that technology. Raghavan said his company’s process does not involve decryption.

“It’s kind of an obsolete law since Congress was not taking into consideration portability,” Raghavan said. “These players are exploding on the market, but the legality of it can sometimes be in a gray area.”

Laura Bush’s iPod

Posted on Jan. 20, ’06, 1:43 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | iPod

In MacUser’s continuing series of playing “What’s on your iPod?” with members of the Bush Administration (Previously: Cheney, Bush), we now have Laura Bush, our beloved first lady.

Washington Times:

Mrs. Bush also revealed that her IPod listening includes songs by Tina Turner and Dolly Parton. She said her musical tastes are somewhat different from those of her husband.
“He likes country music a little bit more than I do, although I actually really am very fond of country music, as well,” she said. “One of the songs on my IPod that I love is Dolly Parton singing ‘Stairway to Heaven.’ So that’s sort of a combination, country and pop.”

Every Mac Lovers Dream Setup

Posted on Jan. 20, ’06, 10:13 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Hardware

This guy has it. A 12” PB, a 17” PB, a Dual G5, a Mac Mini, 3 30” screens and one 23”. And loads of cameras and a 4G iPod “to cut corners.” [via Digg.com]

Google opens up

Posted on Jan. 19, ’06, 3:33 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Internet

Back when Google introduced Google Talk, it entered a market rife with competition, making one wonder why they bothered to compete with major players like Skype, Gizmo, AOL, Microsoft, and Yahoo. However, when Google bought interest in AOL and then announced plans to connect its instant message network to AOL’s, it’s plans became a little more clear. I have to ask the question, when is it going to be iChat’s turn? More after the jump.

Apple’s Other “Halo” Effect

Posted on Jan. 19, ’06, 2:50 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Money

There’s always been a lot of talk about the iPod’s “halo” effect, and Apple’s — and how they influence/affect products around them. Apparently this can be seen in Apple’s stock price, according to Business 2.0’s Om Malik, who says that Apple stock tends to take about a 10 percent upswing around Expo time, and he has the numbers to prove it.

From third week of December, and ride it right to the eve of Macworld, there is a good chance there will be a 10% (or higher) appreciation in the stock. Call it the Macworld madness. Its traded down after that, typically, especially after the earnings get announced. Take 2005 as an example. Stock gained 10.41% right up to Macworld, when Steve Jobs introduced Mac Mini. Then, slip sliding away once the earnings were released. (2003-2004 performance was actually better!)

iPod Beats XBox

Posted on Jan. 19, ’06, 10:35 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | iPod

Macsimum News is reporting that the iPod blew the XBox out of the water in terms of units sold in during the holiday season.

According to a CNN report, “Microsoft Corp. has only sold 600,000 of its new Xbox 360 video game consoles in the United States since its November launch” (per market researcher NPD Group on Friday). Analysts, video game publishers and retailers have said shipments during the key holiday season fell short of expectations.

In stark contrast, Apple has likely sold more than 15 times that amount in the US alone during the holiday season. Steve Jobs reported during last week’s MacWorld, that Apple had sold more than 14 million iPods around the world. Apple doesn’t break out their iPod numbers geographically, but it wouldn’t be out of the question to “guestimate” that nine million or so were sold in the US alone. Better yet, according to Steve Jobs, “We couldn’t get enough flash memory, we couldn’t get enough of everything [to meet all the demand].”

Update: Apple Intel Ad

Posted on Jan. 17, ’06, 7:59 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » Huh?

Cult of Mac found out that the reason why the videos are the same is because they have the same director. Hmm, well, ok. But still, why didn’t they make a different video instead of recycling the old?

iTunes boosts ratings

Posted on Jan. 17, ’06, 7:55 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Video

According to TVWeek, NBC’s “The Office” is riding high on its best ratings yet. Appearing on Apple’s iTunes Music (and more?) Store is what is giving the series the edge, according to NBC itself.

Despite how positive this is for Apple, I’m a little troubled by the timing. Record settings ratings for the show came the week it moved to Thursday night, making me wonder if being a download or being in a different time slot was the catalyst for the spike in interest.

What say you? Was it the iTunes factor or the time change? Or was it a little from column A and a little from column B?

[via Digg]

Powerbook funeral

Posted on Jan. 17, ’06, 7:44 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

With the MacBook Pro sporting 4 times the performance of the last generation of Powerbooks, it’s time we all came to grips with the end of the laptop line we all know and love. Supr.c.ilio.us will be holding a funeral so we can all pay our respects.

PowerBook October 1991- January 10, 2006, Born in Cupertino, CA, she was the thirty-first daughter of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. A graduate of the Motorolla 68000 series processors, active matix screens and dark plastic, she spent the latter years of her life in Titanium and Aluminum, working with PowerPC processors. A lover of mobility, she was carried many places, by many people, where she composed emails, created websites and surfed the Web. She is survived by her younger siblings iBook, PowerMac and iMac and will be dearly missed by all. Services will be at House of Shields, Wednesday January 18th. In lieu of a gift we suggest buying the Supr.c.ilio.us team a beer.

[via Laughing Squid]

Google and Apple mortal enemies?

Posted on Jan. 17, ’06, 7:19 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Rivals

Despite Google being nestled prominently in Safari’s toolbar, the Motley Fool says that it’s only a matter of time before Google and Apple come to blows (hat tip, Philip Michaels). It’s not a rivalry one would expect given Google and Apple’s seemingly similar corporate philosophies and the mutual overt competition with heavyweight Microsoft, but Rick Aristotle Munarriz has me convinced.

The article itself is much more compelling than I could possibly be in a short summary of it, so I recommend reading it for yourself. One nugget worth considering is that both Apple and Google have started selling DRM controlled videos, with NBC and ABC siding with Apple and CBS siding with Google. Apple has always struggled with Microsoft (with recent extra tensions in Safari and Windows Media Player getting dropped), but is it going to start fighting a war on two fronts?

Apple Copies Others? Oh Yes.

Posted on Jan. 17, ’06, 10:37 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » Huh?

When I first spotted Cult of Mac’s post about Apple copying others (this time, the new Intel ad is a blatant rip-off of The Postal Service’s music video Such Great Heights), I thought, surely this must be just a coincidence. I mean, it’s not a unique idea to make a clean room of a silicon chip factory. Then I saw this frame-by-frame comparison and was convinced. Also linked on Spunker is that Apple totally ripped off the Eminem ad that they debuted three months ago. There was an almost identical ad done first for Lugz. And even the New York Times wrote a piece about it.

In the NYT piece, TBIW/Chiat/Day (the ad company that made the Eminem ad for Apple) denies any copycating.

But in its statement, TBWA/Chiat/Day said, ”We can assure you that the ‘Detroit’ spot was created without any reference by TBWA/Chiat/Day to the ‘Arrow’ spot.”

Sorry, dude, that’s just B.S. Apple is known for innovation, so why copy others? C’mon guys.

Early Xbench Intel iMac scores

Posted on Jan. 16, ’06, 5:56 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

Early hands on reports talk about how fast and responsive the new Intel Macs feel. The scientist in my wanted to see this quantified. Xbench already has at least three different Intel iMac configurations: one, two, and three.

What’s interesting is that by Xbench standards, the Intel iMacs aren’t faster than the existing Power Mac G5s and are neck and neck or slower than the iMac G5s. However, the various individual tests do have wildly differing results, underlining different strengths in the architectures.

[via xlr8yourmac]

Update: Reader Dreyfus asked in the comments whether Xbench is universal. It is, so this can’t be chalked up to Rosetta.

Yet another Mac OS X browser roundup

Posted on Jan. 16, ’06, 5:36 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

I know you’re all dying for another comparative review of the web browsers for Mac OS X. Never fear, Free Software Magazine won’t let you down. Issue 10 of their magazine has one from a free open source software (FOSS) point of view. It probably won’t tell you much you don’t already know, but it’s worth a peek and the rest of the magazine might be worth browsing.

[via Digg]

Steve Jobs: CEO. Visionary. Blogger?

Posted on Jan. 16, ’06, 5:23 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » People

Newsweek has quite a scoop. Keynote was spawned to satisfy Steve’s keynote needs. Was iWeb spawned to satisfy his blogging needs?

Your new iLife software has a blogging application. When will you start your own blog?
(Laughs.) After I get a few days of rest.

Ok, maybe not. I am still waiting for his secrets podcast though. Check out the full article for more goodness including confirmation that switching to the Intel chip hasn’t yet gained more battery life in the Powerbook… I mean MacBook Pro.

[via Digg]

Steve Jobs on Michael Dell, 2006

Posted on Jan. 16, ’06, 9:46 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » Rivals

As an update to our previous post, Steve Jobs has returned fire:

On Friday, apparently savoring the moment, Mr. Jobs sent a brief e-mail message to Apple employees, which read: “Team, it turned out that Michael Dell wasn’t perfect at predicting the future. Based on today’s stock market close, Apple is worth more than Dell. Stocks go up and down, and things may be different tomorrow, but I thought it was worth a moment of reflection today. Steve.”

- The New York Times; January 16, 2006

Bonjour says hello

Posted on Jan. 15, ’06, 7:54 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Ever wonder what Rendezvous… I mean Bonjour services are available on your network? Browsejour will tell you quick. It’ll tell you the services available, which machines over it, and a quick explanation of the service itself. I used to use Bonjour Browser, but it doesn’t offer service descriptions and the interface wasn’t quite as pretty.

Michael Dell on Apple, 1997

Posted on Jan. 15, ’06, 12:39 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » Rivals

“What would I do? I’d shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.”

- Michael Dell
October 6, 1997
On what he would do to save Apple Computer.

On Friday, Apple’s market value was higher than that of Dell’s. ($72.13 bil vs. $71.97 bil)

[via MacDailyNews]

Even more 802.11 goodness

Posted on Jan. 14, ’06, 9:15 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

A rather under-publicized feature of the new Intel Macs is that their wireless cards will be 802.11a capable. 802.11a never really became a common standard for consumer netwo