Sticker Sighting: iTrash
Posted on Sep. 28, ’07, 3:01 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi
Category | Geekery
Yes, this is the obligatory “omg I saw an Apple sticker!” post. Yes, I know some of you probably don’t care. And yes, it has been a great day, thanks for asking!
Ready for the most shockingest revelation you’ll ever read on any blog ever? Here it goes: Apple is getting more and more popular. I know. Unbelievable, right? That’s ok, sit down if you need to.
And with popularity comes more and more branded-adhesives smacked onto cars, mopeds, moogs, luggage, um…Dells, and, yes, janitorial trash cans. (Flickr’s got a great selection of stickered tangibles.)
This lovely image was taken with my iPhone underneath a stairwell on campus.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: Holy crap, Dan! You took a spy shot of a secret new Apple product!
No-ho-ho buddy. I thought so too at first, until I asked some pretty smart Apple-oriented people and they assured me it probably wasn’t. At least I think that’s what they said. It was hard to tell over all the laughter and lousy mean-spirited jokes.
Stay up late, make a movie
Posted on Sep. 28, ’07, 12:37 PM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Apple » Events
In one of my previous attempts at finding my life’s calling (which, clearly, is blogging), I dabbled with becoming a filmmaker. I made a couple of shorts and wrote a few screenplays, which will likely never see the light of day. Sometimes, I feel like I just missed the curve on the accessibility of technology though. You kids today!
So for those aspiring moviemakers who are still striving away, you may be interested in checking out the Insomnia Film Festival that Apple’s running on October 13th. The rules are simple: a team of five has twenty-four hours to create a film no longer than three minutes. At 9AM Eastern on the 13th, Apple will also post a list elements; choose any three to include in your money.
Once your film is uploaded, visitors to Apple’s website will be able to rate all the films; the top 25 will then get watched by industry professionals like Barry Sonnenfeld and Nora Ephron. The most popular movie with the judges and most popular with the plebes will both net their team a full set of MacBook Pros, Final Cut Studio 2, Logic Studio, and Shake.
I’d totally be there, but the contest is only open to college and high school students. Blast! Is it too late to go back to school?
SRS iWOW 2.0 released, unlikely to wow you
Posted on Sep. 28, ’07, 11:30 AM PT by Thomas Gagnon-van Leeuwen
Category | Software » Updates
If I am any indication, the recent MacUpdate bundle helped publicize SRS iWOW quite a bit inside the Mac shareware community. I’ve now been using the fancy sound enhancement iTunes plug-in for a while, and I’ve been pretty happy with the results. I don’t know how iWOW does it, but the music really does sound much richer, more detailed, and just plain better (in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not one of those Dan Frakes-style audio experts versed in the art of sound quality description).
So I was pleasantly surprised to see iWOW 2.0 be released. The new version brings welcome improvements, including the much-needed ability to save your custom presets. Also cool is that iWOW can now automatically change the active preset based on the playing song — I assume it looks at the Genre field. Speaking of presets, we’ve now got a few more, including podcast and techno. Finally, there’s some kind of virtual 360-degree surround sound experience thingy which sounds interesting. See for yourself at the website.
That’s all very fine, but frankly, many of these changes are (a) fairly minor or (b) should’ve been there in the first place. And this leads us to the bad news: the upgrade cost for registered 1.x users is $11.99 (the full version is $19.99). I don’t want to complain too much as I got iWOW as part of a bundle, but still, $12 is a little steep for 2.0’s new features. What do you think?
Refurb Store keeps you posted on Apple Store deals
Posted on Sep. 28, ’07, 9:44 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Software
Just because we’re Mac users doesn’t mean we don’t like to save a penny here and there. That’s why we keep an eye out on deals for you, our lovely readers. But we understand that you can’t just depend on us to let you know when prices have dropped, or there’s a sale going on. You need that information delivered to your desktop in a timely fashion, so you take advantage of those special deals at a moment’s notice.
That’s where the Refurb Store widget from Widgetinfo comes in. It delivers the latest deals from Apple’s Refurbished store direct to your Dashboard. You can choose between Mac, iPod, and iPhone price breaks, and the widget will tell you what model’s going for how much. Clicking on any of them will take you to the Apple Store, where you can shop ‘til you drop (or run out of cash). And it’s not just the US, either: you can also monitor deals from Canada and France.
If you’re in the market for a new iPod, Mac, or iPhone at cheap—and, well, you’re reading a Mac news site, so you probably don’t need too much of a shove—Refurb Store is probably the best way to stay up-to-the-minute on the latest deals.
AOL Desktop can stay the heck off my desktop
Posted on Sep. 28, ’07, 8:58 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Software
You might excuse me for thinking, upon seeing the headline that AOL had decided to release a new version of its Desktop software for the Mac, that I had been sucked into some sort of temporal vortex, and spat out into the year 1999. Like that show Journeyman, only, you know, less crappy and with more Macs.
Okay, so what’s in this fancy shmancy public beta? IM integration. Tabbed browser and IM windows. The ability to send email from multiple accounts, including .Mac, Gmail, Verizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz—What? What? I’m awake. Totally awake.
Are there people out there who still use AOL? I guess. On their Mac, though? You can do all of this pretty much out of the box, as long as you’ve got an ISP. AOL says that this is all part of “reaffirming its commitment to Mac users,” which kind of sounds like a threat to me. I mean, I might reaffirm my commitment to family, but that doesn’t mean I want creepy Uncle Algernon moving in with me. And to drill the point home, they’ve also launched a Mac Blog (everybody’s doing it! It must be—what are the kids saying now, is “hip” still in?). Unfortunately, it kind of reads like your average student being forced to write an essay for English class.
Let me ask you this: How much do you think we’d have to pay AOL just to leave our platform the hell alone?
[via Macworld]
Apple to hang with Mr. Cooperman
Posted on Sep. 28, ’07, 8:19 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Apple » People
If it seems like just last year that Apple brought on IBM’s former counsel, Donald J. Rosenberg, to act as their lawyer-in-chief, just six months after the departure of options-embroiled Nancy Heinen, that’s because it was just last year. November to be precise. And now, after a hard ten months on the job, Rosenberg is bidding adieu to Cupertino. Given the amount of work that Apple Legal sees on a daily basis, we can’t say we blame him.
But when one ornately scrollworked door closes, another must open. To replace Mr. Rosenberg, we give you Mr. Daniel Cooperman, formerly general counsel at Oracle. Apple CEO Steve “Lawyer Up” Jobs had this to say:
“Dan will be an excellent addition to our team and will fit right into Apple’s fast paced culture,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Dan is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in securities compliance, intellectual property, litigation and corporate governance.”You know, if I close my eyes and think really hard, I can pretend he’s talking about me. I am a seasoned professional with extensive experience in securities compli—gah, never mind. The moment’s gone.
At last, though, a member of the Secret League of Dans in a useful position! It’s only a matter of time before the intelligence begins flowing straight from Apple Legal into my coffers (wait, do I have coffers? Note to self: pick up some coffers on the way home).
Hungry, hungry Mac Pros
Posted on Sep. 28, ’07, 7:40 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Software » Updates
Dan (number 2) brought word of several EFI Firmware updates yesterday. I took the plunge and applied the Mac Pro variant to my own lovely machine. The good news is that although I’m typing this on my Powerbook, my desktop is just fine. This update acted like the rest of them. Am I the only noticing that the Intel Macs get far more firmware updates than the PowerPC machines ever did? I’m not complaining, but it’s interesting.
First, the update gives you the set of instructions. It shuts down the Mac. You press and hold the power button until the light flashes or you hear a long beep. Release. Then wait as the progress bar slides across the screen. This is where things got interesting. My Mac Pro suddenly kicked both optical trays open. Once the update was finished, the trays closed on their own. Like the title says, all I could think of was the game Hungry, Hungry Hippos.
At this point, I had another little mishap (completely benign). My Mac Pro started into Windows for some inexplicable reason. Choosing my Mac OS X boot drive in the Boot Camp panel and restarting set things right. Hopefully it was just a one time thing.
The new online Apple Store is pretty inside and out
Posted on Sep. 28, ’07, 6:28 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Apple » Stores
Apple’s online store got a very nice redesign recently. We’re a fan of its clean looks and the use of blue (color my eyes, so it must be good). While it’s beautiful to look at, the code behind it is also gorgeous.
But while its beauty and usability have always run ahead of the pack, its underlying source code has not always kept pace. Now the online Apple Store’s inside is as beautiful as its exterior—and as far ahead of the mainstream in web development as a company like Apple needs to be.
One day, all sites will be built like this. View Source for an inspiring glimpse of how semantic and accessible even a grid-based, image-intensive, pixel-perfect site can be.
What Zeldman says is very true. You may wonder though, why we should care as users of the site? The answer, my friend, is accessibility. Think about people that don’t use traditional web browsers. Screen readers can handle clean sites far easier than complicated ones. So, in that regard, this update gets double cool points.
Macworld’s review of VMware’s Fusion is in… and it’s good
Posted on Sep. 28, ’07, 5:23 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Windows
Since its release (and perhaps even for part of its beta phase), I’ve been talking up VMware Fusion, the virtualization software that allows you to run alternative operating systems within OS X. It’s most often used to run Windows (yes, yes, I know, boo hiss), but it can be, and in some environments frequently is, used to run operating systems like Linux, Solaris, and other Unix variants. Parallels was the first to deliver the dream of running Windows at nearly full speed without leaving the comfort of Mac OS X and as such, became the early favorite. I tried Fusion and was pleasantly surprised by its functionality and reliability (Parallels and I were on the outs because it was misbehaving).
I don’t use Windows often, but I do use it to get the most out of Netflix and its streaming movie feature. I’ve read a lot of positive feedback about the product that seemed to corroborate my own feelings, but I was never quite sure if the fanboi in me forced me to look for validation. Rob Griffiths (that’s Mr. Mac OS X Hints to you) examined Fusion for Macworld’s review.
Rob likes Fusion’s multiple CPU and USB 2.0 support, strong memory management, and library of pre-built VMs. I personally would add 64 bit OS support, Cocoa interface, and excellent Linux support to the list. He dings it for single snapshots, Unity’s lack of multiple monitor support, less 3D supported uses, and costly tech support. Those are all fair points, but despite Parallel’s very accessible support, I felt as if I never got any (hence my multiple posts about its incompatibility with Cisco’s VPN client).
I can’t put my finger on it, but Fusion just feels like the more mature product despite Parallels early arrival on the scene.
Are iPods a cause of violent crime?
Posted on Sep. 27, ’07, 5:29 PM PT by Aaron Freedman
Category | iPod
It’s common knowledge here in New York City that when riding the subway and walking around in certain neighborhoods, it’s best not to flash your fancy new iPod. But could these little media playing devices actually be causing a rise in crime? Well, that’s what a report by The Urban Institute suggests.
The report gives three main reasons for why the rise in iPods and robbery are related, not coincidental. This basically comes down to robbery growing more than theft and burglary, the fact that most of the new robbery crimes are committed by minors, who covet iPods more than their adult counterparts, and that the large increase in robberies, from 2004 to 2006, occurred during the exact same time the iPod gained huge mass-market appeal. The report also states a variety or reasons for iPods being more susceptible to crime than other similarly-valued objects, including its lack of accessible anti-theft protection and the distinct look of the device.
So, while I think that the rise in crime and iPods are no coincidence, I also don’t think that Steve Jobs is the cause of mass lawlessness across the country. The truth of the matter is that with immense market saturation and appeal, any small, portable device can become susceptible to mass theft. But this doesn’t mean that you should toss out your ‘pod in favor of something less valuable (read: Zune); just that you should be more careful with your media player outside instead of zoning out with those little white ‘buds in your ears.
[via City Room]
Oh, and don’t forget iWeb
Posted on Sep. 27, ’07, 4:49 PM PT by Thomas Gagnon-van Leeuwen
Category | Software » Updates
You thought we were done with updates, eh? Not quite. iWeb, the only part of iLife that wasn’t updated yesterday, now joins the fun: iWeb 2.0.2 was just made available. If you think there have been a zillion updates recently, you’d be right: this is the seventeenth one in seven days. New record?
As for this particular one, this is what Apple’s got to say about it:
This update to iWeb addresses issues with upgrading iWeb 1.x websites, and fixes some common publishing problems, and supports general compatibility issues.In short, the usual deal. Oh, and be sure to have yesterday’s iLife Support 8.1 update — it’s required for iWeb 2.0.2, which you’ll find here or in Software Update.
Classic iPods get software bump
Posted on Sep. 27, ’07, 4:30 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar
Category | iPod
Astute readers will note that our friends over at Playlist will recall that the classic iPod — you remember, the ones frontin’ the 80GB and 160GB hard drives — “could be sluggish when drawing artwork.” They surmised that perhaps the spinning drives (instead of the flash drives the rest of of us) slowed down the process.
However, about 10 days ago, Apple released another cryptic iPod software update that purported to fix this problem. Did it?
The brainiac Mr. Breen took it for a spin and found some interesting results:
The slow screen redraws disappeared and the click wheel no longer paused. The interfaces of the iPod classic and 3G nano remain slower than the interfaces of their most recent predecessors—the fifth-generation iPod and second-generation iPod nano. But while slower than these earlier models, the current iPods respond consistently rather than slowing down intermittently as they once did.
So there you have it, folks. Your iPod classic now transitions as nicely as everyone else’s.
Apple to up the e-card ante?
Posted on Sep. 27, ’07, 3:17 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar
Category | Internet
A new entry on the USPTO site seems to indicate that Apple may be getting further involved in online e-cards, reports ZDNet.
Techniques described herein allow multiple users to sign the same ecard. For example, a first user signs onto an ecard website, and selects an ecard template. After personalizing the ecard, the first user selects an option to invite other users to sign the card. Invitation messages are sent to the invited users.If an invited user accepts the invitation to sign the ecard, the invited user is prompted to login to the ecard website and sign the ecard. Once all the invited users have responded to the invitation, the first user is notified that the ecard is ready to be sent. Before sending the ecard, the first user may preview and modify the ecard. Once the first user is content with the ecard, the first user submits the ecard to the ecard web server to be sent to the intended recipient.
Now I’ll be the first to admit, that doesn’t seem like Apple’s style, to make an entire site that focuses on something as mundane as e-cards. Or… would they?
Update: Ok, don’t I feel dumb — but I suppose that it happens to us all. I completely forgot that the iCards even existed. I’ve never sent one, nor have I ever received one (until now — see below). Still, I guess I’m just wondering what the big deal is about an e-card signed by multiple people. This is probably just an update to the iCard setup. We cool now? Kthxbye. — CF
Keep ‘em comin’: iWork, EFI firmware updates; iPod Touch 1.1.1, iTunes 7.4.3 (Windows)
Posted on Sep. 27, ’07, 2:22 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi
Category | Software » Updates
Apple, you’re wearing me out. I know you loved that stupid software-gets-promoted analogy I used yesterday, but there’s no way I’m keeping it going. I killed the joke last time. It’s dead, alright? Dead. And seriously, you can’t spread these releases out a little? It’s like you’ve got Irritable Update Syndrome.
Anyway, aside from the incredibly-hyped iPhone 1.1.1 update (whatever happened to iPhone 1.1?), Apple released a bunch of other updates more in-line with the focus of this blog. Giving me more work. Thanks. Here’s the Update Rundown™:
iWork ‘08: Keynote 4.0.1 (32.4 MB) focuses on build issues, Pages 3.0.1 (29.1 MB) on change tracking, and Numbers 1.0.1 (27.3 MB) on tables. And, of course, they all claim to improve performance (wouldn’t be an Apple update otherwise).
Apple also released iPod Touch 1.1.1 (I still can’t get over that version number), which is only said to include “bug fixes.” But, according to MacRumors, it may actually be fixing the “Negative Blacks” screen problem for some users. It also brings the version numbers of Apple’s two OS X-based mobiles into sync.
Then there’s EFI firmware updates for the iMac (3.9MB), Mac Pro (2.8MB), MacBook (1.7MB), MacBook Pro (2.8MB), and Xserve (1.5MB). Brief summary by MR:
- Improves performance and reliability of Intel Core 2 Duo Processors (iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro)
- Improves performance and reliability of Dual-Core Intel Xeon Procesors (Xserve)
- Fixes issues with Boot Camp (iMac, Mac Pro, MacBook, MacBook Pro)
- Fixes fan behavior (Mac Pro)
And not really MacUser material, but might be of interest to some of you: iTunes 7.4.3 is now available for Windows, which “addresses issues with the initial setup of the iPod touch on some international versions of Windows.” iTunes for the Mac, however, remains at the 7.4.2 mark.
Is that all? Yes? OK, I’m goin’ on break.
Target makes Shuffle all girly (but for a good cause)
Posted on Sep. 27, ’07, 10:49 AM PT by Dan Pourhadi
Category | iPod
Someone inform Jacques Clouseau: the pink Shuffle has been found! It’s not exactly a diamond with a panther-shaped flaw, but it did go missing a few weeks ago and it is quite shiny.
AppleInsider reports that Target brick-and-mortor stores are now selling special-edition pink — very, very pink — iPod Shuffles.
For the same $79 that Apple charges for the diminutive clip-on digital players, Target is also throwing in a $15 iTunes gift card. In addition, the retailer is donating a portion of the proceeds of each sale to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation — up to $25,000 in total.
AI is uncertain as to whether Apple is involved in this, or if it’s simply an attempt by Target to clear out old iPod Shuffle inventory. Apple did away with the pink models at the “Beat Goes On” media event earlier this month and replaced them with a less-glitzy smooth purple. There were no changes to the hardware, so the pink Shuffle is still technologically on-par with current models.
Check out the article for some pics of the package as well as more details on the offer. If you liked the pink Shuffle — or are looking for a good gift for your honey-bunny sweetheart (yuck) — this may be perfect for you. Not only do you get a modern iPod, you get $15 iTunes credit for no extra charge. And with a chunk of the proceeds going to breast cancer research, it’s definitely a meaningful and worthwhile purchase.
Meet the Gateway iMa…er, Gateway One
Posted on Sep. 27, ’07, 9:34 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Apple » Rivals
You know what I like the most about Gateway’s new all-in-one computer, the Gateway One (aside, of course, from the simple naming style)? It’s that little fake glass sheen that they put in this product photo. Man, that’s slick. I’ve never seen anything like it before. Crazy!
Seriously, G-dub, are you feeling a little bit insecure about your spot in the PC market? I know this isn’t the first time you’ve tried introducing an all-in-one computer design, but the design here is pretty darn shameless, if I may say so. Glossy monolithic exterior? Flat keyboard? Wireless mouse? Included remote? It’s almost enough to make me want to go out and buy, well, an iMac.
The One is priced between $1,300 and $1,800—pretty close to a certain other all-in-one computer—but it comes with just a 19” display. While it has some other amenities that the iMac lacks, like a 5-in-1 flash card reader and USB TV tuner (on the high-end model), the specs seem pretty close: 1.5GHz-2.0GHz Core Duo, 320GB HD, 2GB of RAM. Will this be enough to push Gateway out of its sales slump? You know if copying Apple was all it took, then all of those geniuses who thought that the secret to making a computer was to make it blue ought to be rolling in the dough by now. Right, eMachines?
[via Engadget]
Iris keeps an eye on things using your iSight
Posted on Sep. 27, ’07, 8:59 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Software
Look, it’s not paranoia if there really are people out to get you, okay? It’s just…best practices. Maybe you don’t get worried that people (or cats…or dust mites) are using your computer when you’re not around—lucky you. But for the rest of us, we like to make sure.
MildMannered Industries’s newly released $30 Iris is perfect for this kind of thing. Using your computer’s iSight (internal or external), Iris can act as a motion detector, alerting you when some nefarious element has tried to use your computer. You can set it up to email you, play a sound, capture a snapshot, a movie, and more.
That’s not all Iris can do, either. It lets you take snapshots, à la Photo Booth, capture movies, à la iMovie, and even record timelapse movies. You can even set Iris up as a webcam, letting you check in on your computer from anywhere on the web (password protection optional). Iris’s Gallery window features a thumbnails of all the movies and pictures you’ve taken, along with options to email them, post to Flickr, or convert them for your iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV.
All in all, a pretty nifty application, especially for the rightfully paranoid among us.
[via Macworld]
Use CardBus cards in that fancy MacBook Pro
Posted on Sep. 27, ’07, 7:22 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Hardware
Technology is always progressing. Sometimes, to usher in the new, we break with the old. Some of us still miss you, ADB and SCSI (yes, I know modern versions are used extensively, but it’s no longer used standard in Macs). When MacBook Pros burst onto the scene, gone were the CardBus cards that we’d all gotten used to. Ironically enough, the one CardBus card I owned was a SCSI card. Many Powerbook owners got those compact flash readers.
Rejoice recyclers! Addonics (which Greek god was he?) has released a CardBus to ExpressCard adapter. It’ll set you back a cool $69.95, dangles the card way off the side of your laptop, and the drivers for your existing card may not be available as a Universal Binary, but it’ll work for some stuff.
Apple stock reaches 52 week high
Posted on Sep. 27, ’07, 6:02 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Business
Apple’s stock reached a 52 week high yesterday, reaching an astounding $155 per share. For some perspective, Apple’s stock price was about half of what it reached today. Talk about a return on investment. Honestly, I wish I’d had the money and foresight to buy a year ago.
At this point though, one has to wonder how much higher it can go. If the last year graphed is any indicator, it will grow for some time. Logically, that is. We all know that Wall Street is a fickle beast. One moment they love you, the next they hate you. Sometimes, they even hate you after showing real fiscal health. It’s madness.
Anyway, congratulations to you smart Apple shareholders that bought in a while ago. I envy you.
[via Digg]
Your iLife just got better
Posted on Sep. 26, ’07, 3:06 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi
Category | Software » Updates
Apple just released a slew of point-updates for iLife ‘08, promoting hard-workers iMovie, GarageBand, and iPhoto to version .1. Now they each get their own cubicles and a full supply of ball-point pens. iDVD, which didn’t do so well on its last review, only made it to .0.1 — pens, but no cubicle. iWeb must’ve pissed off the boss or something because it gets nothing at all. Not even a stapler.
Here’s the full list of updates and links to their Apple support pages*:
- iDVD 7.0.1 (20.2MB)
- iMovie 7.1 (46.1MB) — not only an update, but also has a bunch of new features, including Multiple Clip Selection, Fine Tuning, Still Frame Creation, and several more (check the site for full details)
- GarageBand 4.1 (47.0MB)
- iPhoto 7.1 (61.8MB)
- iLife Support 8.1 (10.3MB) — which also seems to be available for iLife versions prior to ‘08
Using my ninja math skillz, I calculated that to 185.4MB total in iLife updates, which is a hefty chunk of fixes and improvements. You know what they say: “You can always tell the importance of an update by how large the download is.” I’m not certain that’s entirely accurate and I don’t know who “they” is, but I am certain it has been said by someone at some point or another — and that’s good enough for me.
Check Software Update for the pointy downloads and their stereotypically-vague descriptions. Oh, and be sure to congratulate the fellas on their spiffy new titles, mkay?
(*The standalone installers on Apple’s site seem to be smaller in size than the updates via Software Update. I don’t why, or if this is normal. Anyone know?)
Finally: image editors for the graphically-impaired
Posted on Sep. 26, ’07, 1:30 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi
Category | Software
I run into too many situations where I need to mock up an image or draw a little picture — or draw a little picture in a mocked-up image — for a school project, or a website, or to help illustrate information (and thus distract from the poor writing in a post such as this). But I have a helluva time finding a good enough app for those tasks that won’t force me to sell my computer to buy it (obviously negating its benefits).
I’ve turned to simple solutions like Skitch, which is an awesome little screen shot app that lets me doodle on or annotate the images I capture (unfortunately, though, as reader nicholasser notes, it’s still an invite-only beta). I also frequently use ImageWell, which is one of the most basic crop-resize-copy-paste-draw apps I’ve found — but also one of the most efficient and easiest to use. I’ve tried ChocoFlop, which is fine but slightly convoluted, and the GIMP, which is great if you’re a pro image editor, an open-source fiend, or a masochist (or all three). Still I am unsatisfied. You either get a too expensive, too powerful, or too complicated app, or you get one that’s too simple and too basic. I’ve found no in-between.
Which is why I thank James Dempsy for penning a new series looking at “Image editors for the rest of us.” The first post examines two: Acorn, a simple one-palette program that we’ve discussed before. It’ll set you back $40 — worth it, says Dempsy, if you’re looking for a complement to iPhoto but would like to keep both kidneys.
The other app is Pixel, which isn’t as clean (“the Microsoft-Windows-like approach, with a window-inside-a-window, looks foreign on the Mac, as does the rest of Pixel’s interface”) and simple (“Pixel has obviously been developed with the advanced user in mind”) as Acorn, is apparently dog-slow, difficult to use, and will soon cost more than Dempsy thinks it’s worth.
…OK, so we’re one-for-two here, but that’s OK. Pixel is relatively powerful, and still cheaper than Photoshop, so it may be worth a look. Check out the entire post over at Macworld for more info and keep an eye on the series. There are tons of editor apps out there — one of them is bound to be right for you (and hopefully me). And yes, I will make the call: If you’ve found a cheap/free/simple image editor you’ve fell in love with, do share it in the comments. Thank you.
(Update: Dan Moren wrote earlier today about Pixelmator. I didn’t include it here because I wrote this post last night — but if Pixel isn’t your cup of tea, maybe adding “mator” will do the trick. Check out his post for more details.)
Online Apple Store gets facelift
Posted on Sep. 26, ’07, 10:45 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Apple » Stores
Reader Shawn tipped us to the fact that the online Apple Store was down last night. As we all know, that doesn’t necessarily herald major product changes, but in this case, there were a couple of alterations made. For one thing, the 4GB iPhone is no longer available (rest in peace, li’l buddy). But, for another, the store itself has undergone some cosmetic changes.
The flat gray color scheme has been largely replaced with blue gradient headers; the top now features a header that’s reminiscent of the iTunes Store and the rest of Apple’s site. The sidebars for the store have been reorganized and cleaned up a bit, making it (hopefully) easier to find what you’re looking for. A couple of other sections have been added as well, including a “Staff Picks” section.
Overall, it might not be much more than a prettying-up, but as the old design was getting a bit long in the tooth, it’s nice to see it meshing more with the rest of Apple’s site design. Plus, who doesn’t like blue?
[via MacNN]
Pixelmator 1.0 released into the wild
Posted on Sep. 26, ’07, 9:19 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Software
An image editor here, an image editor there, everywhere an image editor. The latest addition to the arsenal of low-cost image manipulation programs is the long-awaited Pixelmator, which has finally been released this morning.
Not unlike Flying Meat’s Acorn, Pixelmator is aimed at the user who doesn’t need the full power of Photoshop, but wants something like 75% of the functionality, with a much smaller footprint. It leverages the power of Apple’s Core Image technology, and offloads the processing to the graphics card where possible. You’ll find layer-based editing, the usual assortment of painting tools, the ability to layer in iSight pictures directly from the application, iLife integration, and the full complement of filters and effects.
The interface is super shiny, with black palettes floating hither and thither, tool icons that pop out at you, and wacky filter interfaces (you’ve got to check out the panel for Kaleidoscope—triptastic). It stands very much in contrast to Acorn’s approach, with its single palette, which just goes to show you there’re always multiple ways of solving the same problem.
Pixelmator will run you $59, and it requires 10.4. Future 1.x updates will be free to users.
Shareholder getting access to Apple board minutes
Posted on Sep. 26, ’07, 8:38 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Legal
Because we know that when we put together the words “back” and “dating,” you get chills. That’s why we keep covering the Apple options backdating rigmarole. It’s for the children.
The latest development? The Boston Retirement Board, an Apple shareholder, has gone to court to get permission to see the minutes from board and committee meetings for the last ten years as well as other records related to the backdating (gooooo Boston?). California Superior Court Judge Jack Komar (that charming fellow at right) is presiding over the case, and is expected to officially make the order on Friday. Once so ordered, Apple will have a week to hand over any documents, except for any that it can prove are covered by attorney-client privilege. The judge also denied the handover of documents related to Apple’s internal investigation of the backdating.
Don’t expect this to be the smoking gun, though: any documents that are handed over are subject to a protective order that forbids them from being disclosed to a third-party, which also includes other shareholders. Bummer.
The notMac Challenge may finally be won
Posted on Sep. 26, ’07, 7:33 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Internet
Like a man unable to say no, I keep returning to Apple’s .Mac service. Year after year, I pay a largish sum of money (discounted by buying it through Amazon) to keep an email account, an online data store, syncing, and services integrated into Apple’s applications. By and large though, the service hasn’t gotten a lot of lovin’ from Apple. It’s frustrating to watch as free services pass Apple’s paid solution by (at a really fast clip I might add).
The notMac Challenge had the goal of completely replacing Apple’s service with a bit of software that eliminates the yearly .Mac tax as it’s frequently called. Ben Spink, the developer of CrushFTP, has submitted what seems to be a complete solution.
It includes a “lite” version of his FTP server software and it currently available for download and evaluation. I personally have not tried it as I get warm fuzzies knowing that I’m using the Apple supported solution. The thread is full of people that confirm it mostly works, but it still requires some knowhow. I’m also unwilling to surrender one of my Macs as a constantly running server. If you’re desperate to avoid the tax, it’s a worth a try.
[via Ars Technica]
Sling Media gets bought up by EchoStar
Posted on Sep. 26, ’07, 6:27 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Video
One of the coolest video products on the market right now is Sling Media’s Slingbox. There are several variations of the product, but the overall concept is a small, self-contained box that one attaches to your TV source, box, or even DVR and your internet connection/network. You can then watch that video from your Mac, your PC, or even your smartphone (Treo, Pocket PC, or Windows Smartphone).
If you can’t already tell, I think the product is near perfection. I’m not the only one though, as EchoStar, the satellite dish TV operator, acquired Sling Media. The deal is worth $380 million. Now, it’s pretty easy to see what EchoStar gets out of the deal. They can include the technology in their boxes, or, as the more helpful suggest, they could do it in reverse, beaming TV over the net instead of using the increasingly bandwidth constrained satellite connection.
Now, this is a win for them, but it leaves many of us in the lurch. It’s not in EchoStar’s best interest to continue offering, and further developing a product that can be used with TV service offered by its competitors. This may sound like a paranoid delusion, but I’m terrified they’ll kill the product for use as anything but an optional add-on for their service. Fingers crossed people (because you know the next thing to go after supporting other services is the Mac client).
(And just to throw another log on the iPhone SDK bonfire, this is an application that can’t be done with web 2.0. We need that SDK before the iPhone will ever be a way to watch your Slingbox.)
All aboard the crazy train: OJ Simpson is a “hitman” for Steve Jobs
Posted on Sep. 26, ’07, 5:31 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Apple » Humor
I don’t normally like to use AppleInsider as a source, but this story must be read to be believed, or more accurately, the complaint must be read to be believed. I literally fell off my chair I was laughing so hard.
South Carolina inmate Jonathan Lee Riches has filed a lawsuit against Steve Jobs for hiring OJ Simpson as a hitman. And plotting to release OJ so he can radio wave warp Riches because he owns OJ Simpson football trading cards. And pointing nuclear missiles at his brain. And betraying Riches at his trial by using water to cause XLp8-52gig software to misbehave, causing the jury to all vote guilty.
Don’t think the OJ, Jobs relationship is one way though. OJ paid Jobs to clone Dolly the sheep. And has been providing Jobs with blenders since the midwest flood of 1993. And used Riches’ credit to fund Apple.
If you think that I’d picked out all the good bits, you’d be sadly, sadly mistaken. Like I said, you have to read the original complaint. The complaint is so entertaining, I don’t even care if it’s real. For double fun look at Riches’ Wikipedia entry.
VMWare fuses 1.1 with Beta 1
Posted on Sep. 25, ’07, 11:29 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi
Category | Windows
It’s getting harder and harder to come up with decent puns lately, especially with these guys hording most of them. I don’t even know what my titles mean anymore. Let’s run it through the Pourhadi Cryptic-Title Decoder™: “VMWare releases Fusion 1.1 Beta 1.”
Ah, cool. As you undoubtedly know, VMWare Fusion, just like Parallels, enables you to run Windows (and Linux, etc.) through virtualization on your Intel Mac. The new beta release includes a barrage of new/updated features and bug fixes, most notable of which include:
- New experimental support for DirectX 9.0 3D graphics (without shaders) to enable more Windows 3D applications and games.
- iPhone now syncs with Outlook in Windows virtual machines
- Eject key now automatically ejects the optical drive, even if the optical drive is attached to a virtual machine.
- Fixed issue where sometimes the Airport process would take up to 100% CPU utilization when VMware Fusion is installed
- Slow mouse scroll wheel scrolling performance in Unity has been fixed
…and plenty of others. Check out the Fusion beta site for full details. Remember: this isn’t an official update to the software. It’s a beta release of an upcoming official update to the software. Viz: for testing purposes.
I’m a Parallels guy myself, but Fusion is starting to pique my interest. And thankfully if I or any of you decide to make the virtual (haha pun!) shift, Macworld’s got our backs with a migration tutorial.
Peacock-a-thon: “Chuck” is in the house
Posted on Sep. 25, ’07, 4:08 PM PT by Jason Snell
Category | iTunes » iTunes Store
Remember when NBC pulled out of iTunes effective December? And then Apple said that it was going to dump NBC from the store in September? To which NBC said, “oh no you don’t”?
Cynics among us have suggested that the whole thing is just posturing, and after more negotiation over pricing, and flirting with other download options, NBC and Apple would end up finding a way to make it work.
Well, nothing’s been announced. But the last time we checked, all of NBC’s shows were still up on iTunes. What’s more, one new NBC series — the (quite good, if you ask me) comedy-action-drama series Chuck — is available on iTunes. And not just available, but available with a Season Pass option.
Is this an odd quirk? A secret indication that NBC and Apple are still talking? I’m not sure. And what are we to make of the fact that Chuck appears in the Comedy listings, but not on NBC’s own iTunes page?
UPDATE: Less than 30 minutes after this post went live, NBC’s page was updated to include links to not just Chuck, but new drama series Journeyman (with no Season Pass option), both of which premiered last night. My super-secret Macworld sources also inform me that these leaks have something to do with the studios who produce these series. (Chuck is produced by Warner Bros., and Journeyman by Fox.) However (as I’ve explained in the comments), all previous series not owned by the network that aired them have only come on air as a result of agreements between the networks and the studios. Scrubs being the trailblazer, since it went on iTunes only after NBC (its network) and Disney (its owner) agreed on how to split the profits. (Side question: will Scrubs remain on iTunes if NBC does truly pull out of the store?)
What does this mean? Probably that Warner Bros. and Fox didn’t want NBC’s spat with Apple to harm the shows they’re producing for the network. But I’m pretty certain that the studios couldn’t do this on their own: they needed NBC to agree to this approach.
So, a new question: Is this a thaw in the NBC-Apple relationship, or just a rebellion by the makers of some of NBC’s new series against Apple’s spat with the peacock? As they say in the biz, stay tuned.
Microsoft apologizes to .Mac users, asks for hug
Posted on Sep. 25, ’07, 1:00 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi
Category | Apple » Rivals
We didn’t report on it, probably because no one seemed to care: but last week, users of Microsoft’s Windows Live Messenger thingy (or The IM Service Formerly Known as MSN) who registered for accounts using .Mac addresses were told via a very rude pop-up to “Buzz off” or “get a sweet Hotmail address instead, which doesn’t make you look like sucha fanboy loser.” (It didn’t actually say that, specifically. Had something to do with a system patch or whatever. But I’m paraphrasing what I’m sure Microsoft really meant.)
Well, anyways, as the blokes at Macworld UK report, Microsoft has addressed the issue and apologized to .Mac users for the screw-up, blaming it on an “internal error” (as opposed to an “external correction”).
“Access to Live IDs has been restored to our customers who use .Mac domains. We regret any inconvenience this caused for our customers,” the company told MacNN.
According to MWUK, only .Mac users were affected, while Gmailers and other @-non-Microsoft-addresses seemed to have no trouble at all. Now I’m not one to propagate conspiracy theories or accuse others of being malicious, but Microsoft clearly hates all .Mac users and will not be satisfied until each and every one of them is rounded up, packed into a boat, and left to rot on a lifeless island somewhere where they’ll be instructed to fight to the death in a frenzied battle royal. (I also think they had something to do with this whole “moon landing” charade, not to mention getting all their software from advanced — yet apparently detail-deficient — alien technology hidden at Area 51. I mean, c’mon, if their technology is so great how could they possibly have crashed here on Earth? And this may seem like a lame pun, but do you really believe Windows’ constant “crashing” problems are mere coincidence? Yeah, right.)
Back on track: If you used .Mac addresses with the MSN/Windows Live IM service (shame on you), you are now good to go. Microsoft is sorry, and they got it all fixed up just for the two of you. But take this warning from a fellow .Mac user: watch your back.
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard to Exclude Chips worse than an 867MHz G4?
Posted on Sep. 25, ’07, 12:00 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar
Category | Hardware
Apparently the latest rumor on the Internet about the soon-to-be and ever-so-anticipated OS update, Leopard, is that it will not run on anything worse than an 867MHz G4 chip, says the good peoples over at AppleInsider. We remind you that as of yet, this is an unconfirmed rumor, so don’t panic just yet.
Previously, it had been rumored that Apple had set the cutoff for 800MHz, but with this new bump (if true), it’ll exclude a handful of Macs, including the 800MHz PowerBook G4 (Titanium), 800MHz PowerMac G4 (Quicksilver), 800MHz iMac G4, 800MHz iBook G4, and 800MHz eMac.
Apple’s site doesn’t yet list system requirements, so we don’t have any official information yet, but we’ll update you as news comes in.
I guess my media server (a 400MHz G4, thankyouverymuch) will live out the rest of its days as a Tiger machine. *sighs*
Finally, some worthy competition comes down the river
Posted on Sep. 25, ’07, 11:05 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Music
We’ve seen as many online music ventures come and go in the last few years as we’ve seen wannabe popstars crooning on American Idol. While some, like Real’s Rhapsody, have managed to carve out a niche for themselves by offering services that iTunes does not, such as subscription music, there’s never been one that could take the fight to Apple.
Until today. Amazon has launched its much-anticipated online music store, and it looks to be the first major iTunes rival worth sweating over. That’s mainly because of two factors: 1) support from the major record labels and 2) DRM-free downloads. The former means that we’ll be seeing much of the same music that iTunes features—at launch, Amazon has 2 million tracks from 180,000 artists—the latter is the holy grail for online music stores, because it means full compatibility with the iPod. With Amazon selling its entire catalog as 256kbps DRM-free MP3s, most for between $0.89 to $0.99 a track, it all adds up to one healthy throwdown.
They’ve got a little something up their sleevies, too, in the form of the Amazon Downloader. You see, Amazon’s smart enough to realize that they don’t want the task of handling device syncing; there’s already a perfectly serviceable framework for that, and it’s called iTunes. All the downloader (available for Mac and Windows) does is automatically import any music you buy from Amazon into iTunes (or Windows Media Player on the PC). Simple but effective, and brilliant. It also means it’s one of the only other services that’s compatible with the Mac. I’ve already tried it out this morning, and the experience was smooth as butter. And because it’s Amazon, you can just use your existing Amazon ID; no need to give them any more information.
At the moment, iTunes still has a better selection, and—from what I’ve seen—a more easily navigable interface. But those are both things that Amazon will likely improve in time; that’s one reason they’ve branded it as a beta. Amazon’s ability to deal with the major players and offer more or less what Apple wanted, i.e. DRM-free downloads with little variation in price, means that this is the first serious competitor to iTunes. And, for once, consumers stand to gain big time. Let the battle begin.
Microsoft Office 2008 details unveiled
Posted on Sep. 25, ’07, 10:01 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar
Category | Software
About a week ago, Derik told us about the preview site for Microsoft Office 2008. Sadly though, it was big on the style, and lesser on the substance. Fortunately our friends at Macworld have the story.
The full version will cost you four Benjamins, and the upgrade will set you back two Benjamins and four Hamiltons. Meanwhile, the “Home and Student Edition” is only a Benjamin and a Grant. (That’s $400, $240, and $150, respectively.)
Sadly, Macworld skipped over the best part, but ZDNet got it: “For the first time, Office 2008 for Mac will be offered in Nordic languages (Danish, Finnish, Norwegian) in addition to English, Japanese, French, German, Swedish, Italian, Dutch and Spanish.”
Man, I’ve been dying for a Norwegian version of Office. After, how else was I going to type “Skål!” ?
Oh, and there is one more thing: “Microsoft’s Technology Guarantee Program that allows customers in select regions who purchase qualifying Office 2004 for Mac product(s) after today the ability to upgrade to a version of Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac for US$10 plus applicable taxes.”
Update: The release date for Microsoft Office is January 15th, 2008, which of course is the first day of Macworld Expo. Global release is expected later in first quarter 2008 -DM.
Mozilla looking to plug memory leaks in Firefox
Posted on Sep. 25, ’07, 7:41 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Internet
Plentiful memory in modern computers hides a lot of flaws in software. Web browsers of late have gained incredible featuresets and handle terribly complex pages (who seriously thought we’d see word processors and speadsheets on the web in the Netscape 1.0 days?). However, they all seem to suffer from memory leaks. Some are worse than others. Personally, I’ve noticed Firefox does it pretty badly.
I don’t like the way it looks on my Mac, nor do I particularly like the way it performs, so I don’t notice leaks during my limited usage. However, I am forced to use Windows with some regularity and while Firefox beats the pants off Internet Explorer for a host of reasons, it does leak memory steadily over time until it negatively impacts performance and I restart the browser.
This problem (which seems much more apparent in Firefox 2.0) hasn’t gone unnoticed by the fine folks of the Mozilla community. In fact, they’ve been going memory leak crazy. That’s good news, especially for users of older Macs with older versions of the OS as Firefox does a much better job of supporting elder platforms. Those systems have far more limited RAM. Firefox 3.0 might actually run faster with fewer resources. I’m looking forward to it.
Your backups are belong to us, EMC
Posted on Sep. 25, ’07, 6:32 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Software
Mozy, the data backup service, has been bought up by EMC (based here in beautiful Massachusetts, ding) for $76 million. EMC is a storage hardware seller. Their whole business is based around making hardware that companies can rely upon to keep their data and keep it safe. Mozy has been offering a Mac client to their service for some time now, and still offer 2 GB of backup storage for free.
I expect this acquisition will not only enhance the survivability of the service, but double ensure your data integrity. As long as the service continues it’s current pricing, I see this as a good thing. There’s one more Mac tie-in you need before I can end this entry though. EMC also owns VMware, which, among other things, offers Fusion, the virtualization software for Mac. It seems, almost unintentionally, EMC is steadily growing its Mac software offerings. We’re almost a virus.
Mark/Space announces Missing Sync for iPhone
Posted on Sep. 25, ’07, 5:24 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | iPhone
I can’t seem to stop talking about Mark/Space. Clearly their marketing department was working overtime when they made the decision to announce Missing Sync for Symbian and Missing Sync for iPhone on separate days. That’s right, they’re developing a version of their syncing software for use with the iPhone that’ll be released Q4 of this year.
I’ll admit that when I first read the headline, I scratched my head. One of the iPhone’s most compelling features for a Mac user is rock solid data synchronization that has generally escaped us with other phones and devices. While Missing Sync has been doing a good job for me, there’s something to be said for Apple supported sync. I have no experience, but I trust address book and calendar data are handled.
What then, could the Missing Sync offer? Well, they’re bringing three things to the table: SMS, call log, and notes syncing. Until I was able to sync the former two with Missing Sync for Palm 6, I didn’t realize how handy it would be to have this information in my computer and searchable. I couldn’t live without. Finally, I think notes syncing is fairly obvious. Nearly every Mac pundit noted (pun unintended) the fact that notes never made it into the computer you synced with. You can even sync with Yojimbo, which should get Gruber all riled up.
Apple spits out MacBook/MacBook Pro updates
Posted on Sep. 24, ’07, 9:28 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi
Category | Software » Updates
Can you tell I’m running out of clever titles? What does that even mean, Apple “spits out” updates? Does the company spit? I mean, I know some companies squirt, but…
Uh, anyway: Via Software Update, Apple just released (“spit out”) the 660KB “MacBook, MacBook Pro Software Update 1.0.” According to the loogey-launching company:
This update enables file system journaling on MacBook and MacBook Pro notebook computers. Some MacBook and MacBook Pro systems were shipped with file system journaling turned off. Journaling is recommended on all Mac computers as a preventative measure against file corruption.
Always good to see Apple fixing problems I’ve never heard about. Especially particularly large ones like this. My MacBook Pro’s was disabled; but after running the update, Disk Utility now informs me that my disk is journaling, not only acting as a “preventative measure against file corruption,” but documenting its life, hoping to one day publish its writings as an emotional memoir detailing its traumatic and inspiring struggle under the harsh and demanding conditions of Pourhadi enslavement.
Oh, and something to keep in mind: Apple does note that installing the update will enable journaling on your Mac. So if you intentionally disabled it for whatever reason, I’d pay close attention to if this update actually changes that. (And let us know if it does.) For the full skinny on the update and how Apple recommends you go about ensuring a safe installation (which includes booting off your OS X install disk and running “Repair Disk” in Disk Utility), check out the download’s about page on Apple’s support site.
Legal Mumbo-Jumbo: Ringtones, copyrights, and long articles you probably won’t read
Posted on Sep. 24, ’07, 3:25 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi
Category | iTunes » iTunes Store
The iTunes ringtone broohaha has been hotly debated…er, would be hotly debated, assuming anyone disagreed: Most seem to have reached the consensus that the record labels Suck and Apple has adopted a policy of acquiescence (love that word) when it comes to the whole ringtones spiel. After all, you paid for that music once already — why in the fiery pits of Redmond would you have to pay again just to use the same music in a way different way? It’s like buying the track to use it on your iPod for jogging, but having to pay again to play it on your home stereo for a party. (I’m sure someone used an analogy like that before — if so, cheers to you, whoever you are.)
Well, the so-far-peaceful pond of concurrence has been disturbed by the wake of the USS Argument, in the form of contradictory opinions on ringtone pricing, thought once to only be shared by evil corporate RIAA types and lawyer-y people. Our Supreme Beloved Overlords at The Glorious Macworld* have posted an editorial piece by MacJournals on utilizing iTunes Store tracks as ringtones — writing billions of words essentially arguing that Apple’s method of ringtone pricing is actually fair. (At least I think that’s what it says. It’s long; I skimmed.)
The iTunes Store terms of service do not and did not allow you to make free copies of purchased music. In the best case scenario, making a copy of a purchased track to use as a ringtone would be an additional use of one of your five “Apple-authorized devices” under the iTunes Store terms of service. Since the current iPhone design requires you to own the original song and a separate ringtone file in each of two places (in your iTunes library and on the iPhone), that would be four of your five allowed uses right there. You could then use the song on one more computer, but maybe not on another iPhone or iPod, without purchasing it again anyway.
Viz: You’d wind up paying more for ringtones according to the service agreement anyway. There are obviously kinks in the argument: Apple could (should) change their terms of service to be more…you know, fair. Another is The Grube’s point about having to use multiple files:
That’s just a matter of implementation, though — Apple could easily allow the iPhone’s phone app to play the same song files in your regular music library.
Similar, I’m assuming, to setting the “Start” and “End” points in a track’s Get Info settings (which you don’t have to pay to do). Just add checkboxes for ringtone start and end times, then you have no need for multiple copies of the same song.
But that’s only one of MacJournals’ arguments. They dive deeply into copyright law, who deserves to be paid for what, “fair use,” and the simple reality that sometimes things just work this way and that’s that. The article is definitely worth reading, despite its length — I did actually read…most of it — and I suggest giving it a glance if you’re interested in seeing both sides of this murky issue. There is one sentence, though, that pretty much sums up the whole ordeal:
Yes, this sucks, but it’s the law.
Gee, thanks.
(*When I first signed on to MacUser, Dan Moren told me, “Even though we’re technically owned by Macworld, the blog is not intended to be a shill for the mothership.” Despite this, I figure it never hurts to suck up a little.)
Rogue Amoeba Radioshift kicks radio into high gear
Posted on Sep. 24, ’07, 1:54 PM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Software
When new mediums vault into popularity, old ones often end up relegated to niche status. Radio’s a great example: in a world dominated by television and the Internet, over-the-air audio-only broadcasts can seem antiquated and quaint. But add a dash of modern technology and the rejuvenated result might rip free from its bonds and terrorize innocent village people.
Rogue Amoeba’s new Radioshift aims to do just that with radio, bringing the ease and simplicity of TiVo to radio. Taking advantage of the vast number of radio streams on the net, both for Internet-only stations as well as terrestrial broadcasts, Radioshift is a DVR for your radio-listening habit. Search for a station or program, and Radioshift lets you subscribe to it with a single click, automatically scheduling and recording in the background. There’s integration with iTunes if you want to transfer your recordings to your iPod, and a nifty map feature that lets you find results geographically. There’s built-in support for QuickTime and MP3, and Radioshift can also work with Real Player and Windows Media (via Flip4Mac), provided you install those components. Rogue Amoeba’s also working with Griffin Technology by integrating with that company’s RadioShark device.
Rogue Amoeba CEO/Lackey (and Friend of the Blog) Paul Kafasis gave Derik and I a demo of Radioshift a couple of weeks ago and we were quite enamored with it. While I’m by no means some sort of dedicated radio junky looking for my next hit, there are a handful of shows that I like to listen to, only, well, I forget when they’re on. I’ve been using a final candidate version of Radioshift for a few days now and radio best watch its back; that’s all I’m sayin’. Radioshift will run you $32, but there’s a free (somewhat limited) trial available.
Vivendi slams iTunes contract as “indecent”
Posted on Sep. 24, ’07, 11:45 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Music
And the bicker-a-thon between Universal and Apple continues apace. Jean-Bernard Levy, the CEO of Universal’s parent company, Vivendi, talked to reporters today about Universal’s future, the direction of the music industry, and their relationship with Apple.
“The split between Apple and (music) producers is indecent … Our contracts give too good a share to Apple.”And how much, exactly, is that split?
At present, UMG, the world’s largest record company, gets 0.70 euro ($0.99) out of the 0.99 euro retail price charged by iTunes, Vivendi said.Seriously? You’re telling me that a 70-30 split in your favor is too rich for Apple? Current estimations say that Apple makes profit on the iTunes Store, but not very much after the costs of bandwidth, promotion, and infrastructure. Certainly, they make much more direct money from iPods than the iTunes Store.
As far as I’m concerned, the labels are digging their own graves. Not immediately, perhaps, but this money-grubbing attitude isn’t doing them any favors. Nor is the lack of focus on the music. Levy went on to say that revenues from “traditional” music products like CDs would soon account for less than half of music industries, and that Universal would be focusing on “monetizing” (that’s always a watchword) the image of the artist, leveraging it into clothing and TV shows.
Universal’s contracts are now being negotiated on a monthly basis, with the company having the option to terminate the deal with 30 days notice (if Apple doesn’t continue their playbook with NBC by deciding to yank them first). Levy is also pushing for variable pricing, arguing that they should make more on a new release than on 30 year old track. If you think that means lowering the prices of the 30 year old song, I wouldn’t hold your breath.
Yes, if Universal pulled out of Apple, people might go where the music is—but at the rate that the labels are going, I wonder if they’ll be where the music is much longer. Independent artists have shown themselves able to subsist without the help of record labels, and while it may not enable them to rake in the dough with the huge advances that record companies often give, you can bet that the percentage of sales on the music is higher on iTunes than the royalties paid out by the labels.
So, good luck Universal/Vivendi. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Dan’s dream girl comes to iTunes
Posted on Sep. 24, ’07, 8:55 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | iTunes » iTunes Store
Dedicated readers of this blog know that I’ll take advantage of pretty much any excuse to write a post that lets me use the “Natalie Portman” tag. Look: we’re bound to fall madly in love at some point, so deal with it. Just as soon as she knows my name.
But today the stars have aligned and I don’t even need to stretch. The Wall Street Journal reports that director Wes Anderson will be debuting his new short film, Hotel Chevalier, tomorrow night at Apple Stores in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Santa Monica. Wednesday morning, the 13-minute film will be distributed free on iTunes.
Hotel Chevalier is effectively a prequel to Anderson’s forthcoming feature, The Darjeeling Limited (here’s the trailer for that on Apple’s site). While you’ll be able to watch Darjeeling without seeing Chevalier, the short does flesh out the backstory of one of the main characters from the longer film.
And as much as I hate to fuel the prurient interests in my beloved dream girl, the fact that Hotel Chevalier features Portman, in the words of the esteemed Journal, “in an extended nude scene,” will probably guarantee a fair amount of the downloading.
That’s all to the good, of course, but what’s really of interest here is the shift this marks in terms of film distribution. Anderson financed the short himself, which means there’s no studio involvement in Chevalier at all. Could iTunes become an alternative distribution market? Might the traditional studio system be under attack from online media? Could this change eve—you totally didn’t hear a thing I said after “nude scene,” did you?
[via Daring Fireball]
Starbucks and iTunes make so-so music together
Posted on Sep. 24, ’07, 8:19 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Music
Like free music? Half-caf no foam vente soy lattés? Man, does Starbucks have your number. Starting on October 2nd, you’ll be able to pick up a card good for one free song at iTunes during your morning trip to any of 10,000 participating Starbucks. Coinciding with the debut of the Starbucks-related features of the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, the coffee company plans to distribute 50 million free songs between next Tuesday and November 7th.
But free music is perhaps just as suspect as the mythical free lunch. For there is a catch: you don’t get to choose what song you get free. The tracks will be selected by Starbucks from their Hear Music label, with a different track available every day as a “Song of the Day.” The first track is “Joker Man” by Bob Dylan, with subsequent music coming from the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, the Blackberry-lovin’ John Mayer, and Dakota, the barista who just made your double espresso.
I’m not sure that a free track of Starbucks’s choice is enough to lure me into departing from my favorite indie cafe, but I will at least be making a trip at some point to check out the Starbucks-related features of the iTunes Wi-Fi Store once it launches. And I can see why they wouldn’t let you just download the song of your choosing: how fair would it be if you downloaded a song, then just went to the Starbucks across the street for another card?
Waste time figuring out how the new 43 Folders can save you more time
Posted on Sep. 24, ’07, 7:43 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Tips
Friend ‘o the blog, Mr. Merlin Mann, has revamped his productivity website 43 Folders. It’s now running the powerful, yet painful to configure, Drupal CMS (content management system). This means among other things, that a single logon for the site is used for all areas of the site.
If you’re not familiar with the Mann and his website, he helps people get things done using a system called, surprisingly enough, Getting Things Done. While many of his tricks and tips will work for anybody (like the Hipster PDA), Merlin is a huge Mac advocate and if there’s any platform specific content to his postings, it’s generally Mac specific. In fact, if you’re a Quicksilver fan, 43 Folders should be a daily haunt for you to find new tips and news.
Anyway, the redesign of his site is, quite simply put, brilliant and worth checking out.