A USB shawl for those “Little House on the iPrairie” moments

Posted on Aug. 20, ’08, 9:14 AM PT by Kate Marshall

Category | Geekery

Remember that that snazzy USB snap bracelet? Man, have I got something ten times better, several times larger, and possibly, a few times pricier: the USB heated shawl! This blue blanket of unknown material (please be the same kind of material that Batman’s suit is made out of) attaches to a computer’s USB port to provide warmth to the wearer. For whatever reason.

Ironically, as I’m typing this, I am cold because the humidity broke last night but my air conditioning didn’t get the memo. For $28.95 (gift wrap is $3.75 extra), do I want to clog Darth Vader’s USB port* with something that looks like it was rejected by the Lord of the Rings costume department? Even if the shawl/lap blanket has a button for securing it around my shoulders, all preppy-style? No, probably not.

(yes, I named my laptop “Darth Vader.” Commence with the mockery now)

[Via dvice]

Etch A Sketch laptop bag may inspire shaking

Posted on Aug. 20, ’08, 8:15 AM PT by Kate Marshall

Category | Geekery

So for the past several months, I’ve been using a Levenger tote bag to, well, tote my laptop around (30-percent-off-sale, whoo!) But now I see this handmade case and suddenly, I want a laptop bag that looks like an Etch A Sketch too!

Designer Betz White recently made this iBook cozy for her brother’s birthday, dubbing it the “Rog-A-Sketch.” The bag is 100 percent wool felt and features Velcro closures, button knobs that turn (but sadly don’t etch any sketches) and black thread stitched onto silver felt to simulate the original Etch A Sketch’s famous screen. White designed the Rog-A-Sketch’s dimensions around her brother’s iBook:

The back is about 1/4” bigger in length and width than his laptop. (I used an 1/8” seam allowance) The bottom flap is the same with about 1” added to accommodate the thickness of the laptop. The top flap is the same as the back with 2” extra top to bottom since it has the extra overlap in the front. The side flaps are long enough to overlap an inch in the middle when it’s all folded up.

No word on whether this might ever show up on Etsy but in the meantime, I’m going to bug some of my more creative relatives for a while. You know, the ones who can actually sew and such.

[Via technabob]

GrabFS source code now available for the uber geeks among us

Posted on Aug. 20, ’08, 5:56 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Geekery

There are many interesting things that developers can do with MacFUSE. SSH accounts can be represented as disks. VMware Fusion uses it for its Unity integration features. NTFS disks can be used on Macs thanks to it. While those uses are very functional and useful, there are fun things that can be done with it too.

I immediately liked GrabFS when it came out. As you browse through a filesystem representation of your applications, you can open them and get an up to the moment screenshot of that application. While one can clearly use that for functional reasons (as I thought about doing), it’s more fun than anything.

MacFUSE advocate and Mac guru Amit Singh has released the source for the file system. If you’re into getting to know the nitty gritty, now’s your chance.

Wanna boost your ambition? Get a bigger display

Posted on Aug. 19, ’08, 5:09 PM PT by David Dahlquist

Category | Apple » Huh?

Stephen Malinowski at kk.org made the astute observation that as the per-pixel price of flat screen computer displays continues to drop, the price discrepancies between different sized models of large displays are becoming smaller as well. So he took the plunge and bought a 30” Apple display for his home office on eBay for $1,500.

Since then, he’s realized that there’s more to gain from having a massive display than pure geek cred. After using his 30” display for a few weeks he begin to notice that he was using considerably less paper while working; whereas he used to print out diagrams and other reference material he would need on hand, he now has enough screen space to keep such references on screen while working on other things.

His ambition also grew along with his screen size, oddly enough:

“I began to “think big” about a lot of things: my spreadsheets got bigger, my diagrams got bigger - and more unexpectedly: the size of the kind of thing I thought I could handle got bigger; and because I was much less often having to chop things into smaller pieces so that they could fit, things got simpler.

Who would have guessed that a larger display could increase productivity, lower paper use, and increase ambition? While a $1,500 monitor is out of many people’s price range, if you spend a lot of time working in front of a computer at home, you now have more incentive than ever to make the plunge for a ginormous display; it could end up paying for itself in saved time and effort.

Intel does laptop drives a solid

Posted on Aug. 19, ’08, 4:27 PM PT by Scott McNulty

Category | Hardware

Solid-state drives made a splash in the Mac scene when the MacBook Air was introduced. The promise of SSDs is that they are faster, use less energy, and last longer since they have no moving parts (they are made of the same stuff that you find in USB flash drives and the like). Anyone who has configured a MacBook Air knows two things about SSDs:

1. They are pricey (adding the 64GB SSD to your MacBook Air tacks on $599 to the price) but the price has been dropping.
2. They are limited in capacity (Apple only offers one, the aforementioned 64GB version).

These limitations have left SSDs in the realm of bleeding edge computer users, but Intel is hoping that their larger capacity SSDs will lure consumers. The X-18M and X-25M drives are designed for use in laptops and will be available next month in two sizes: 80GB and 160GB. Intel will also be offering a more ‘enterprisey’ version of the drives with lower capacity but a longer estimated life.

Intel is reportedly aiming for an $8/GB price point meaning that 160GB SSD will set you back many pretty pennies ($1280). Keep in mind that Intel says these drives will last five years with a daily workload of reading and writing 100GB of data. That’s pretty impressive, and it darn well better be given the price.

I wouldn’t be too shocked that within a month’s time Apple will announce capacity bumps in the SSD that ships with the MacBook Air, but only time will tell for sure.

You can find out more information than you probably want about SSDs at Intel’s Solid-State Drive Info Center.

Apple TV doctor (of magic!) is in

Posted on Aug. 19, ’08, 3:45 PM PT by Scott McNulty

Category | Apple TV

Last night I was streaming some tunes to my sweet sound system via my Apple TV when the music started to sputter. When I tried stopping the music, the Apple TV wouldn’t respond; I tried retreating to the Apple TV’s main menu, but, like a technological nightmare, all I got was more stuttering music. I figured there must be a way to restart the darned thing without actually getting out of my chair (that’s why Thor invented remote controls, after all) and the procedure turns out to be quite simple.

This Apple Knowledge Base article spells it out for you: hold the Menu and scroll down buttons on your Apple remote for 3 or 5 seconds. That’ll cause the Apple TV to reboot into a recovery screen. From that screen you can either:

1. Restart your Apple TV
2. Run diagnostics
3. Reset to factory defaults

Given the conniptions the Apple TV was having, I figured running the diagnostics wouldn’t hurt. The spinning cursor of perpetual waiting was displayed for a few minutes while the diagnostics were run—it would have been nice for the Apple TV to display a little information about what, exactly, it was doing during this time—and after a few minutes the screen displayed a message letting me know that my Apple TV was working correctly (I took a picture of the message, and have included it in this post). Sure enough, my smooth jazz was no longer sputtering.

What it did, who knows. But it would seem Clarke’s Third Law is in effect.

Apple Store to SoHo: “I can’t hear you over how awesome I am.”

Posted on Aug. 19, ’08, 2:00 PM PT by Scott McNulty

Category | Apple » Stores

No doubt readers of MacUser would welcome an Apple Store to their neck of the woods—I know I’m hoping for an Apple Store in Center City Philadelphia, myself. However, it looks like residents of Manhattan’s SoHo aren’t too thrilled with their friendly neighborhood Apple Store.

Sean Sweeney, the SoHo Alliance Director, sent a strongly-worded letter to Manhattan’s borough president, which Curbed has reprinted for our enjoyment.

Sweeney lists a number of grievances with the Apple Store that could annoy even the most tolerant of individuals:

• Apple employees taking breaks on various stoops around the area
• The entire neighborhood being overrun with teenage girls clamoring to see the Jonas Brothers (one area resident was injured in the crush—no pun intended)
• Nighttime construction without a permit (shame on you, Apple Store)

After reading the letter, in full, I am siding with the addled residents of SoHo on this one. Come on, Apple, you can be a better neighbor than that! Perhaps you should think about giving everyone in the neighborhood a cup of sugar…or an iTunes card valid for a free download of the Jonas Brothers’ newest release. That oughta soothe some nerves.

via Gizmodo.

In face of exorbitant fees, Pandora may have to pull the plug

Posted on Aug. 19, ’08, 1:02 PM PT by David Dahlquist

Category | Music

Coming on the heels of Muxtape’s unceremonious shutdown, it appears that Pandora, one of the web’s most popular radio services, may be nearing its untimely end as well. Despite the fact that it serves nearly 1 million listeners daily, is one of the 10 most popular applications for the iPhone, and is rapidly growing its customer base, the site is struggling to make ends meet due to—you guessed it—the wrath of the lumbering, suicidal music industry.

Ever quick to shoot themselves in the foot, the industry giants have used their power of influence to set a new, government-mandated, per-song performance royalty rate that will double the current fees that Web radio stations must pay to performers and record companies. This exorbitant fee is necessary, of course, because when an internet service freely promotes and introduces new music to potential buyers of said music, it harms the industry in catastrophic ways. Compensation must be made to the poor labels whose artists are being exposed to the masses for free! Never mind that traditional radio stations are exempt from such fees. But I digress.

According to the Washington Post, Pandora’s fees to the record labels this year will amount to a crippling 70% of their projected revenue of $25 million. This, of course, isn’t sustainable, and if things don’t change quickly, they’re going to call it quits.

“We’re losing money as it is,” said Pandora founder Westergren. “The moment we think this problem in Washington is not going to get solved, we have to pull the plug because all we’re doing is wasting money.”

If Pandora closes its doors, it will not only signify a major loss for online radio (and iPhone) users, but also the loss of a primary means of discovering new artists for thousands of music enthusiasts. This will translate to loss of revenue for the record labels both from any Pandora per-play fees, and from the substantial album sales made by people who routinely discover new music through the service. Way to go, RIAA.

If you’re interested in joining the effort to save net radio, check out SaveNetRadio.org. In the mean time, enjoy the wonders of Pandora while you still can.

Two iPod nanos in Japan scorch straw mats, govt investigates

Posted on Aug. 19, ’08, 11:50 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | iPod

Apparently that problem that Japan had earlier this year with iPods sparking never quite got resolved.

Hiroyuki Yoshitsune, an official from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said today that while there were no injuries in the two latest incidents of iPod nano-related fires, the government is investigating claims that there may be defects in the lithium-ion battery that powers these iPods.

Reports The Associated Press:

Yoshitsune said the two latest cases involved an iPod Nano, model number MA099, which singed nearby paper in August, and model MA005, which burned a Japanese traditional “tatami” mat, in January. Both players were twisted out of shape from the heat and became unusable, he said.

Apparently these ones heated up pretty bad while being recharged. But remember kids, only you can prevent tatami mat iPod fires.

Update:Apple has released a statement saying that the fires are being caused by faulty batteries from a particular supplier, though the problem is extremely rare.

Psystar will see Apple in court (in like another month, though)

Posted on Aug. 19, ’08, 11:00 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Legal

In what is either a routine scheduling conflict, a stall tactic, or just a jerk move, Psystar has gotten a second extension to its filing date, according to InformationWeek.

The infamous rabble-rouser from Florida was supposed to have filed its legal response to Apple’s charges yesterday in U.S. District Court for Northern California, a deadline which itself was extended from July 28. Through their legal finagling, they’ve managed to pick up another month: the new filing date will be August 28.

Given Psystar’s previous behavior of continuing to sell grey market Macs, we’re guessing this is part of the continued kid-tested, mother-approved “Give Apple the finger” strategy that it seems to be employing. No doubt Mr. Cooperman is preparing something equally devious.

So, kiddies, tune in later this month for another gut-wrenching, plot-twisting, gasp-inducing episode of everybody’s favorite daytime soap, Apple v. Psystar, Docket # 3:08−cv−03251−JL.

1-in-3 business PCs have been downgraded from Vista to XP

Posted on Aug. 19, ’08, 10:10 AM PT by Aayush Arya

Category | Business

Remember Microsoft’s “downgrade” license option for Windows Vista that forces customers who want Windows XP to buy a Vista copy along with it? As expected, a lot of users are taking “advantage” of that option to stick with Windows XP even as Microsoft gloats at their Vista sales numbers and tells their customers that they’re stupid to not like it.

According to an InfoWorld story, 35% of Vista users have gone back to Windows XP after having paid for its seven-year younger sibling. That’s one in every three business PCs. Oh, how much they must loathe Vista to even consider such a thing, let alone do it without so much as blinking an eye. Of course, Microsoft still keeps lumbering on unabated, putting on a cheerful face and singing praises of Windows Vista, even as they frantically work on Windows 7, trying to get it out the door at some time before 2015 [I bet you a fresh chocolate chip cookie that we get hoverboards before we get Windows 7 -DM].

It’s a lot like Apple’s MobileMe fiasco, the only difference being to whom the companies in question assign blame: while Apple’s going around apologizing for the problems and handing out free service extensions, Microsoft’s busy trying to convince customers that it’s their fault that Vista sucks and forcing them to pony up the cash for it, even if they have no intent to use it. Don’t you just want to give them a Nobel Prize already?

Apple may replace MagSafes with frayed nerves

Posted on Aug. 19, ’08, 9:09 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Troubleshooting

Look, I understand where you’re coming from: the rubber coating on those MagSafe power cables is delicious. But that doesn’t mean you should be chewing on them—buy yourself a box of crackers or something, ‘kay?

Fortunately, if you have been getting a bit nippish and your MagSafe cord has suffered the consequences, there may be help available. According to this Knowledge Base article, you may be able to get your MagSafe adapter replaced, even if it’s out of warranty. You’ll have to make an appointment at the Genius Bar or an Apple-Authorized Service Provider to get the cable evaluated, and if they see those telltale toothmarks, well, you may be out of luck.

However, if there’s no evidence of untoward abuse, it’s quite possible you’ll walk out with a new adapter. This article seems to particularly relate to damage on the magnetic connector end which means it probably wouldn’t cover the problem I had earlier this year, which was the cable fraying near the power brick end. But it might be worth a try anyway.

Also, if you’re looking for ways to reduce the strain on your cord that causes fraying, don’t forget to check out this Knowledge Base article. Here’s a bonus tip for you: keep the power cord away from cats. Especially young, playful psychotic ones.

[via APC]

Apple: (I Can Get Some) Satisfaction

Posted on Aug. 19, ’08, 8:22 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Business

Turn off the Olympics, folks, because this is the real deal: the latest rankings from the American Consumer Satisfaction Index (PDF link) are out and its good news for our favorite Cupertino-based company. Despite a slew of rocky product launches, Apple is still getting the job done where it counts.

The ACSI—not to be confused with the All Catfish Species Inventory—routinely assesses customer satisfaction in various industries, such as appliances, automobiles, and, of course, computers. Overall, the personal computing industry has been profoundly unsatisfying—the latest rankings show a 1% drop, the second consecutive decline for the market, negating all gains made since 2005.

But one company stands alone among the sliding corporations, netting an 8% rise in customer satisfaction. The company’s jump to an ACSI ranking of 85 out of 100 marks the highest score ever for a computer company, and puts it 10 points above its nearest rival—an unusually enormous gap between first and second place. Most of Apple’s major PC competitors, meanwhile,—HP, Compaq, and Gateway—dropped around 4% each, with Dell gaining a meager 1% bump.

Elsewhere in the rankings, Apple ally Google took a 10% gain in the e-business category (man, I thought the “e” prefix died out in the late ’90s) to hit a score of 86, a nine point margin over its closest competitor, on-again off-again Microsoft crush Yahoo.

Goodbye David G, we hardly knew you

Posted on Aug. 19, ’08, 7:29 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Internet

Apple surprised long time followers by starting the MobileMe status blog amidst a rocky introduction. Starting with the second entry, we even got a name attached to the problems: the mysterious David G. We got to know him more as the third entry came and he promised an update soon thereafter.

Next post later this week.

Turns out David is the guy that promises blog updates and never follows through. No one likes that guy. He finally updated yesterday to say that after such an illustrious run, the MobileMe status blog was shutting down. With that, another chapter in Apple’s history ends.

In its place, we now get MobileMe News, of which David says “we expect to update it frequently.” Uh huh. As our president once so ably put it: “Fool me once, shame on…shame on you. You fool me, you can’t get fooled again.”

I really hoped that the blog would actually be a regular feature. It was one of the few times outside a keynote where Apple interfaced directly with its customer base. It was almost like our existence was actually…acknowledged. Swoon.

David G, wherever you are and whatever you do, we salute you, despite lying in your third entry. We’ll miss you and anticipate your return when the next MobileMe disaster occurs.

Apple makes its way into hospitality industry

Posted on Aug. 19, ’08, 6:41 AM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Business

Lately it seems that the words “Apple” and “business” are appearing more and more together. With a variety of reports by the Yankee Group and the creation of the Enterprise Desktop Alliance, the buzz has been that Macs and slowly but surely being integrated into the Enterprise world. Now it seems that yet another story of business adopting the Mac has come up, this time involving the hospitality industry.

According to AppleInsider, Apple’s Enterprise Sales Group has been installing thousands of Macs and Xserves in hotels and cruise ships, places where the appealing, unique experience that the Mac offers is very valuable. Two major corporations in this category that are going Mac include Fontainebleau Resorts and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Fontainebleau Resorts is continuing a plan announced in June to install 24” Macs in every room of its Miami Beach property as well as its upcoming 63-story Las Vegas resort. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines is expanding the prevalence of Macs on its fleet by building an Apple-based IT structure on its Solstice Class ships for Celebrity Cruises in addition for two of its new, $1.24 billion Oasis Class ships.

The hospitality industry is an interesting and different corporate market for Apple to enter. Unlike big business, the hotel and cruise line markets rely and having a conformable, personal experience for its customers in order to continue turning a profit, something that Apple can provide. With this, and a host of other factors including the advantages of Xserve and iPhone integration, the next time you check into a hotel or go on a cruise, you may just find an iMac in your room.

FruitMenu, APE are ready for Leopard

Posted on Aug. 19, ’08, 5:20 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

I miss the old Apple menu. There was something distinctly individual about maintaining it. As you sat down at a Mac, a quick peek at their Apple menu could tell you volumes about how they used their Mac. I loved it even more when System 7.5 arrived for our Quadra 660av. Hierarchal Apple menus were built-in. It was exciting.

Sadly, Apple took a step back when OS X was released (they actually dumped the menu shortly prior to release) and left a single top level System Preferences item. I like accessing System Preference panes (aka Control Panels) directly. I immediately embraced FruitMenu when I found it.

FruitMenu not only restores the in menu System Preference pane access, but it also allows you to restore the original customization and then some. I always quickly follow an installation with putting in Restart and Shutdown options without the confirmation dialog. I can’t explain it, but those dialogs infuriate me.

When I upgraded to Leopard, I had to go without one of my favorite “haxies”. After a long beta cycle, Unsanity has released FruitMenu 3.7 and APE 2.5 (as well as the infamous Smart Crash Reports 1.5, but we won’t mention that lest we raise someone’s ire). FruitMenu now costs a tad more at $12, but it’s a free upgrade to existing users and the money is worth it to recapture a part of Mac history.

Three new reasons to Get a Mac

Posted on Aug. 18, ’08, 7:47 PM PT by Scott McNulty

Category | Apple » Advertising

Apple has just posted three new commercials in its long-lived Get a Mac campaign. The three ads are titled Pizza Box, Throne, and Calming Teas.

Pizza Box finds PC trying to lure college students into purchasing a PC by posing as free pizza. His thinking goes that even though Apple laptops are the most popular laptops amongst college students he can “trap” them with free pizza. Who doesn’t like free pizza?

Throne starts off with PC sitting on a throne (shocking), decked out complete with *regal bling*. He points out that while Mac might have a better operating system, it’s a pain to migrate to a new computer, so PC’s subjects will remain loyal. Mac deflates PC by pointing out that all folks have to do is take their PC to an Apple Store and a friendly Genius will migrate all their files onto their new Mac. Strike two, PC.

Calming Teas showcases PC’s new scheme for making Vista more palatable. No, they haven’t fixed the problems, as Mac suggests—rather PC now has a line of calming teas and Vista-stress-relieving bath salts. Raspberry Restart sounds delicious. Raspberry Restart sounds delici—whoa.

Apple has also made it easy to find older Get a Mac ads by categorizing them by year, and highlighting the newest ads. That’s right: it’s time for an ad-watching spree.

MobileMe: another day, another free service extension

Posted on Aug. 18, ’08, 7:01 PM PT by Scott McNulty

Category | Apple » News

It’s no secret that the MobileMe launch didn’t happen as smoothly as Apple, or subscribers, would have liked. The service has been plagued by downtime, lost emails, and under-delivering on promised features.

When you’re faced with such a mess, what do you do? Free iPods for everyone? Rides for all on Uncle Steve’s corporate jet? Sadly, no. But still, a free 60-day extension to most MobileMe users is nothing to sneeze at. According to an email MobileMe subscribers just received, Apple will be giving out activation keys good for 60 days of service to eligible customers.

To find out if you’re among the lucky ones to snag those sweet 60 free days, check out this Apple knowledge base article. If you’re the type that likes executive summaries, here are the salient points (though I question why you’re using MobileMe if you’re a high-powered executive):

• All active MobileMe members as of August 19th, 2008 at midnight Pacific Daylight time are eligible.
• If you are in a free trial period on that date, your free trial will be extended by 60 days (sweet!).
• If your account is set to expire soon, worry not, because you’re getting the 60 days too (I feel like Oprah! “You’re getting 60 days free! And you’re getting 60 days free!”).
• The 60 days also applies to any upgrades you might have on your MobileMe account (like extra storage).
• This 60 days stacks with any other extension you might have on your MobileMe account (such as the thirty day bump you might have already gotten).
• Apple will be giving out activation keys for this extension, so make sure to check the above article for more details in a few days (I imagine Apple will also email you, though if you use MobileMe that email might never be delivered. Zing!).

It looks like Apple hopes they can smooth over any hard feelings by giving people free stuff. Luckily, that’s a strategy that usually works.

What say you? Is this extension enough to keep you on MobileMe? Do you think Apple should give MobileMe users something else to make them happy? I hear people really like ponies.

iTunes Store pays tribute to the great Isaac Hayes

Posted on Aug. 18, ’08, 4:20 PM PT by David Dahlquist

Category | iTunes » iTunes Store

To many younger folk, Isaac Hayes will be remembered primarily as the voice of Chef from South Park, but to those who grew up in the 70’s, Hayes is a legend. One of the most prolific artists of the era, he composed the iconic theme music for Shaft, and helped launch soul music into the mainstream with his record label, Stax Records.

Not just a singer-songwriter, Hayes was also an actor, film composer, record producer, and arranger. His album Shaft made him the first African American composer to win an Academy Award for Best score. So it’s no wonder iTunes is paying tribute to Hayes’ expansive accomplishments with a special page devoted to him. You can pick and choose songs from 20 albums of funky soul goodness (but you can’t rent Shaft), and read a biography on his greatness.

So go and pay tribute to a timeless, bad mother *shut-your-mouth!*

A victory for open source software

Posted on Aug. 18, ’08, 1:59 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Legal

We’re all familiar with software licenses—those reams of legal gobbledygook that we have to read (or click through) before launching a program for the first time. You’ve also probably heard of open source software—though you might not know is that it too is governed by a license.

Instead of requiring payment, however, the open source license is governed by terms: for example, the GNU Public License (GPL) mandates that anybody can change the code of GPL software, as long as they make freely available the changes that they have made. Open source licenses have had very little legal precedent behind them, but they got a significant bolstering late last week when the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a decision (PDF link) by the U.S. District Court for Northern California that would have undermined the footing of open source licenses.

I won’t go into too much depth about the case (I kid you not, it involves model trains), but the upshot is that the Circuit court decision means that open source licenses are licenses: thus anyone who doesn’t abide by the terms of the license is infringing on copyright. This is Good News for anybody who relies on open source software (and, well, if you’re using a Mac, you do). Creative Commons creator and free software advocate Lawrence Lessig has more to say about the decision on his blog.

At least OS X errors look pretty

Posted on Aug. 18, ’08, 1:44 PM PT by Scott McNulty

Category | Apple » Humor

Lest you think we here at MacUser only focus on Windows errors displayed in public spaces, I give you this OS X error spotted by Rob Sandie in Philadelphia’s airport—which just so happens to be my hometown airport. That’s just a coincidence though—or is it?

That’s right, Philly uses Macs to power all the flight information displays, but it looks like someone forgot to set a time server on one of those Macs. As you can see the Mac’s time was set to something before March 24th, 2001—that’s pre-Mac OS X’s release. Talk about delays (zing!).

You can read all about the Philadelphia Airport’s use of Macs by check out this PDF from Apple.

One Infinite Loop spotted on Google Street View

Posted on Aug. 18, ’08, 11:44 AM PT by Aayush Arya

Category | Apple » Humor

It’s no secret that Apple is a crazily secretive company. If Steve Jobs had it his way, they’d have their headquarters in some underground bunker on the border of China and India and Jobs would emerge from it once every four months, fly to San Francisco to deliver his keynote speeches, and then promptly return back to base (after wiping all traces of his having been there, of course).

However, as much as Steve may dream about such a setup, the restrictions of the real world spoil his ultimate goal of leaving no sign of Apple on Earth while dishing up new products and raking in the money all the same. One such spoilsport is Google Street View, which recently sent one of its camera equipped cars on a photographing mission down Infinite Loop.

There’s no word on where that car is now or what happened to the Google employees in it* but the photographs somehow made it back to Google HQ and you can now view Apple’s Cupertino campus in all its low definition glory on Google Maps. Have fun wandering down the streets of Infinite Loop and paying Apple HQ a virtual visit.

*That’s not true, of course, but wouldn’t it be just plain cool (and creepy) if it was!

Hundreds of MobileMe customers fall for phishing scam—hook, line, and sinker

Posted on Aug. 18, ’08, 11:29 AM PT by Aayush Arya

Category | Security

If you’re even just a little more computer savvy than your average user, a phishing scam is one of the easiest ones for you to see through. However, given that Apple’s products are generally geared towards the mom and pop users, people who want the easiest-to-use computers out there, it’s probably not much of a surprise that a lot of MobileMe customers fell for the phishing email that we reported on recently.

According to a story by Gregg Keizer of Computerworld, identity protection group CardCops has investigated the issue and revealed that about 100-200 people have fallen prey to the fraudulent email masquerading as official communication from Apple.

I have to say, given how precisely they replicated both Apple’s email format and its website and taking into consideration Apple’s continuing spate of problems with MobileMe, I’m not terribly shocked that a lot of people failed to realize that they were being scammed. For all they knew, MobileMe had gotten screwed up yet again and was asking for the credit card information that they knew they could entrust Apple with.

I do feel a pang of pity for these guys. Imagine paying $99/yr for a service, not having access to your email for a week and then getting swindled out of God knows how much money! Man, even though it’s not their fault this time, Apple just got handed a couple hundred more angry MobileMe subscribers.

Call me superstitious (or a loon, even) but maybe if they just renamed it back to .Mac, all of their problems would magically disappear—email would be restored, “push” would start working on everything and customers would subscribe for the next twenty years in advance. I tell you, it’s all in the name.

[Via Ars Technica]

Mail vs. Eudora: Two will enter, one will be installed.

Posted on Aug. 18, ’08, 10:32 AM PT by Kate Marshall

Category | Internet

Email! Man, I love email—writing it, sending it, receiving it, archiving messages from 1999 about that killer French project due the week before winter break…and switching email programs! That’s where the fun really begins! Having switched back and forth between various email programs over the years, I can sympathize with Jeff Carlson switching from Qualcomm’s Eudora to Apple Mail.

After using Eudora for a number of years, Jeff decided to switch to that program with the postage stamp icon partly because Qualcomm plans to roll Eudora into open-source venues. Data-detection in the Leopard version of Mail, along with a new way of looking at email altogether helped Jeff tame his inbox dramatically and the combination of the MsgFiler plug-in and C-Command’s SpamSieve can even further enhance Mail’s productivity.

Too bad Mail isn’t named after a famous author.

This thing reads from a card!

Posted on Aug. 18, ’08, 9:23 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware » Accessories

Integrated memory card readers are a common sight on many PCs, but they’ve never been built into Macs. I think I kind of know why—with so many formats, you have to have all kind of crazy slots—it’s just plain inelegant. Besides, an add-on card reader isn’t too expensive.

But if you’re the kind of Mac user who’s concerned with aesthetics—and let’s be honest, we’re Mac users, here—then perhaps you might consider Nervian’s CardReader Pro. It’s specially designed to fit in with your Mac Pro or PowerMac G5, nestling right under the front handle and providing you quick and easy access to reading any memory card you might want—from up to 52 different formats (Fire and brimstone! Who knew that you could use a different memory card format every week of the year with no repeats?).

Naturally, the CardReader Pro plugs into a USB2 port; it also allows you to access all four of its slots simultaneously, which is handy if you want to copy data from one card to another. It doesn’t go on sale until October, unfortunately, but if you register your interest before September 12th, you’ll get a 15% rebate (off what, we’re not quite sure, since they haven’t announced the price).

[via Engadget]

Who ordered the Nano melt on rye?

Posted on Aug. 18, ’08, 8:14 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iPod

Heavens to Murgatroyd! As if this world, with all of its pitfalls and constant color-coded threats were not dangerous enough, it turns out that there are the dangers even in the simple act of charging your iPod. Consumerist reader Dale was doing just that with his first-generation iPod nano when it spontaneously combusted, as though struck by some sort of alien death ray.

While unfortunate for Dale, this is not the first time we’ve heard of this problem. Last October we heard of an Atlanta airport worker whose iPod magically caught fire, then there was a recall issued in Japan for first-gen 2GB iPod nanos for similar reasons.

The smart money might be to blame this on batteries—which, as we all know, are walking death traps—but my secret, unnamed sources have pointed me in a different direction: the first-generation iPod nano was reputedly the first equipped with a prototype version of the infamous iPhone kill switch—that’s right, the life and livelihood of your first-generation iPod nano is at the capricious hands of Steve Jobs himself. That’s why I keep my first-generation nano tucked away in a fireproof safe. Plus, the acoustics in there are awesome.

Login with a thumb drive

Posted on Aug. 18, ’08, 7:05 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

One of the many problems with keeping secure is that when you use a strong password, it can be hard to remember and annoying to input. This commonly leads to people either using a weak password (easily guessed or brute force attacked) or circumventing the security (by never locking their Mac).

Rohos offers an interesting alternative. You can take any old USB thumb drive you have and it will act as your authentication for unlocking your Mac. As an added bonus, it encourages locking by doing so automatically when you remove the device from your computer.

In essence, the software allows you to create a physical key that you need to plug into your Mac in order to unlock it. You could even attach it to a keychain. Very clever. Rohos Logon Key for Mac costs $29.

[via Gizmodo]

Fire at Apple racked up $2 million in damages

Posted on Aug. 18, ’08, 5:22 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple

You may be tired of hearing about the fire at Apple’s campus, but like the adolescents we are, we can’t enough fire. Fire, fire. We have just a little new information.

The fire, caused by construction on the roof, is costing Apple $2 million dollars. That’d be enough to cause any homeowner to choke in surprise and insurance companies to find some way to keep from paying out.

Now, we have inside word that Steve himself showed up. He was in his pajamas (only person I know with a turtle neck pajama top). We also hear, unconfirmed, that he strolled up to a random, and later rather confused, firefighter, slipped a wad of two million dollars into his hand and told him to “take care of it.” Maybe I’ve been watching too many mafia movies lately.

Ten commercials for ten years of the iMac

Posted on Aug. 16, ’08, 11:59 AM PT by Scott McNulty

Category | Apple » Advertising

As Dan pointed out yesterday the most lovable of all Apple computers, the iMac, turns ten years old today. I can remember getting my first blueberry iMac: I loved the computer, I loved the operating system (OS 8.6), but I hated that silly hockey puck mouse (who’s with me?).

I thought it would be a fitting tribute to share my ten favorite iMac commercials with you, in honor of the computer that started Apple’s rebound. Without the iMac there would be no iPhone, iPod, or Apple TV.

Read on to see the ten commercials I like best, and leave a comment telling me I am way off base.

A little Balrog will turn that iPod into one feisty MP3 player

Posted on Aug. 15, ’08, 6:24 PM PT by Kate Marshall

Category | Hardware » Accessories

Dazzled beyond confusion by all the options available for engraving one’s iPod with a snazzy laser etching? Can’t decide between a Ferengi, Homer, or Stewie on the back of your iPod, MacBook, or dog tag?

The choice is simple: go the Street Fighter route instead! The laser-customization folks at Etchstar.com now offer officially-licensed designs from Capcom’s Street Fighter games. From “Ken” to “Chunli” and back to …. “Blanka,” (okay, I’m not gonna lie: I was a Mortal Kombat fan back in the day) you could even have your iPhone square off against your iPod without having to remember those insane game controller combinations.

Man, were those crazy. I know I blame my carpal tunnel on my senior year of college but let’s face it—all those years trying to beat my brother at Mario GoKart, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Duck Hunt are what really messed up my fragile carpals. Darn games with their lousy entertainment factor.

[Via Gizmodo]

Michael Phelps’ iPod packed with urban pump up tunes

Posted on Aug. 15, ’08, 5:45 PM PT by David Dahlquist

Category | iPod

Many a photo has been taken of Olympic legend Michael Phelps with the distinct iPod earbuds planted firmly in both ears. But what exactly does a world record breaking Olympian listen to? What does it take to pump up the human dolphin?

Hip hop, it seems. And lots of it. According to interview with the Today Show, he told the reporter:

“What did I have on today? I think I had Lil Wayne, ‘I’m Me.’ I think I had that on there”

Back in the ‘04 Summer Olympics, he was listening to Eminem’s “Till I Collapse” to help him focus, and in the World Championships in Melbourne, he said he had been listening to Young Jeezy.

His hit list on Rhapsody includes hits by a number of big hip hop names like Twista, Outkast, G Unit, and, Usher. Now before you pass judgement, remember this is the music he brings with him to get pumped and stay pumped. For all we know he could chill out to Miles Davis and Chopin while back home on his off days. I wonder what he listens to while eating his 12,000 calorie-a-day meals?

[Via ZDNet]

Amazon thinks Apple makes lean, green machines

Posted on Aug. 15, ’08, 3:57 PM PT by Scott McNulty

Category | Hardware

Being green is all the rage these days (we all know it isn’t easy, even for an iMac). A host of companies are getting in on the act and marketing wares to eco-concious consumers out there, though our favorite computer company has gotten a bad rap from some quarters on this front. While Greenpeace isn’t exactly Apple’s biggest fan (despite the fact that every computer in the world is full of toxic material), Amazon seems to think that Apple’s offerings are just peachy green.

Check out Amazon Green, the online retailer’s portal for all products green-friendly, and you’ll notice something immediately (if you’re an Apple geek): the MacBook Air is featured prominently. In fact, all of Apple’s laptops and desktops get high billing in their relevant sections on Amazon Green.

At least someone thinks Cupertino makes eco-friendly machines.

Crouching Camino, hidden commands

Posted on Aug. 15, ’08, 3:06 PM PT by Scott McNulty

Category | Software

Camino is my browser of choice (I am well aware of the delights and features of both Safari and Firefox) so I always keep an eye out for neat Camino tips and tricks. One of the best Camino-related sites on the web is PimpMyCamino, which offers up a host of downloads, tricks, and other things Camino-related.

Recently this list of useful hidden commands caught my eye, and made my browsing much easier. It highlights a few of the more arcane key combos that let you page up, find-as-you-type (which I didn’t even know existed before I read this list), and cycle through display settings. A number of these features aren’t specific to Camino, so give them a whirl in your browser of choice and see what happens (note: I am not responsible for any lost browser sessions, proceed at your own risk!).

TapeDeck channels my ’80s childhood

Posted on Aug. 15, ’08, 10:37 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software

Back in the ’80s we were all podcasters—all you needed was a tape deck, some blank cassettes, and the willingness to sound like a complete idiot. Nowadays it’s too complicated: you need microphones, editing software, and you have to wrestle with the hassles of DRM.

Fortunately, two of the best-named Mac development houses out there—SuperMegaUltraGroovy and toastycode—have combined forces to recreate that experience, all without leaving the comfort of your Mac. The $25 TapeDeck makes recording your own mix tape not only easy but fun too. It perfectly duplicates that old plastic tape recorder you probably had—and, if you’re anywhere near as much of a pack rat as I am, still have—in look, feel, and even in sound effects (the ka-chunk from hitting the play button takes me back).

Recording is straight forward, just click the big tape deck buttons, choose your recording quality, and when you’re done, file your tape away in the tape box. You can even export your recordings to iTunes or, as of the new 1.1 version, upload them to YouTube to show the world just how retro awesome you are—yes, as we already know, you’re very retro-awesome.

The iMac celebrates 10 years (is there a “blue plastic” anniversary?)

Posted on Aug. 15, ’08, 9:35 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

Happy birthday to blue, happy birthday to blue, happy birthday dear iMaaaaaaaaaac, happy birthday to blue. Hard as it may be to believe, ten years ago today, the first iMac began shipping into customers’ hands everywhere.

A lot’s happened in the past ten years: we’ve been through a software transition, a hardware transition, the birth of the iPod, the iPhone, and the iMac itself has gone through two more design evolutions. But let us cast ourselves back, adrift in time, to that more innocent day.

For a kick, sit back and enjoy this seven minute video of Steve Jobs introducing the original iMac. Marvel at all the hair he has! The slick suit! The bragging about 32MB of memory and a 4Mbp IrDA port! Not to mention touting a “great, great keyboard and mouse” (*wince*).

There’s no question to me that the iMac was the beginning of Apple’s—and Steve Jobs’s—second wind. The vibe in that video is clearly reminiscent of the original Macintosh’s introduction in 1984, and with the iMac even proclaiming “Hello (again)” at the end, that’s a feeling that Jobs obviously engineered with care. The iMac ushered in the death of the floppy, the rise of the Internet, the birth of USB, and an entirely new era of industrial design, courtesy our boy Jonathan Ive.

Me, I remember reading the issue of Macworld—in those days, the Internet was called “magazines”—that first showed the new iMac while sitting in my high school library, just a few short weeks before graduation. I don’t think I can claim the prescience of knowing that this was the beginning of something huge for Apple, but I definitely remember a feeling that the company was not nearly as dead as the critics would have had us believe. And, from a personal standpoint, it felt right: even as I was about to make a major life transition, from high school to college, Apple was in the process of changing as well.

How about you, dear readers: where were you when the iMac burst onto the scene in all its Bondi blueness?

Dell’s new plan is music to your fears

Posted on Aug. 15, ’08, 8:39 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Rivals

Remember Dell’s new music initiative? The one that Rob Enderle works for and then failed to disclose? Turns out they’ve got a secret weapon: the person heading it up is an ex-Apple executive, Tim Bucher, who was briefly Senior VP of Macintosh Hardware Engineering in 2005 and oversaw the development of Mac mini.

Bucher went on to found Zing, which was later bought up by Dell and became the main thrust of their attempt to unseat iTunes and Apple from the top spot in digital music. Zing’s premise is to create an open-standard of music and media that will allow Apple’s rivals to take it on as one force, rather than a bunch of smaller companies. Dell will build the software, then work with hardware manufacturers to establish the standard.

Which sounds well and good, but we already have an open standard, don’t we? I mean, more and more download services have moved to DRM-free MP3s—why do we need some sort of special system for handling them? The example used in the BusinessWeek story is “Imagine if you could download a song from Amazon.com and send it to the mobile phone of a friend or the car stereo of someone who has satellite radio.” That would be cool, no doubt, but why can’t we do that with MP3 now—that’s right, it’s because the music industry has never been big into sharing. I don’t think this is going to go the way Dell thinks it is.

Just in case you’re not with me, let me leave you with this insightful (+1) quote from Mr. Enderle:

“Apple wants to lock you in,” says Robert Enderle, a consultant who has been briefed by Dell. “Dell wants to lock you in to choice.”

That’s right, Dell—you gave that guy money.

Smashing Magazine publishes top 10 usability highs of Mac OS

Posted on Aug. 14, ’08, 4:07 PM PT by David Dahlquist

Category | Apple » News

If you’re a regular at this site, you probably already know that the usability of Mac’s OS is second to none, but it’s always nice to get verification from outside sources, is it not? It’s especially nice to hear about the greatness of Mac OS from a former Windows power user, as is the case in Smashing Magazine’s recent article that lists the “Top 10 Usability Highs of Mac OS”.

Number one on the list is “Consistency”, which is credited to Apple’s stringent Human Interface guidelines. Indeed, most Mac programs have the same intuitive, easy-to-use feel that we come to expect, and this has always been one of my favorite elements of the Mac OS. Even programs that you’ve never used before feel familiar.

The intuitive reliance on drag-and-drop is also praised, as is the effective use of unambiguous metaphors like Exposé and Cover Flow. These handy tools add a welcome touch of eye candy while also lending to the overall intuitiveness and ease of use at which OS X is just so damn good.

Praise also goes out to the OS X’s informative error reporting, superior user input feedback (no need to constantly click “Apply” or “OK” buttons every time you change a preference), and its adherence to Fitts’s Law (like how all app menu bars are at the top of the screen instead of at the top of their respective windows).

The final usability high for Mac OS? Even the kernal panic looks nice! A kernal panic is never fun, but while Windows users are greeted with the fugly and intimidating blue screen of death, at least we get a semi-elegant, Mac-like response.

Apple spent $450K lobbying government in Q2

Posted on Aug. 14, ’08, 2:31 PM PT by David Dahlquist

Category | Legal

Apple wants things their way, and they have the money to help make it happen. Fortunately, they want many of the same things we do. Word is out that they dropped $450K in the second quarter alone to lobby Congress, the Commerce Department, the FCC, and the Education Department on issues like energy efficiency, funding for education technology and the No Child Left Behind Act.

In the April-June period, Apple also lobbied on something I think we can all support; government crack downs on spyware. They’ve also lobbied on proposed net neutrality rules that would protect us from the evils of traffic discrimination by our broadband providers (because I’ll be damned if Comcast is going to block my BitTorrent transfers!).

Of course Apple is mostly looking out for #1 when they lobby, but from what it seems, many of their political causes are rather progressive and beneficial to others as well as themselves. This ain’t big oil we’re talking about. Net neutrality? Spyware crackdowns? Count me in!

Psystar still shipping machines, making Leopard restore discs

Posted on Aug. 14, ’08, 12:14 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Legal

I guess given that Psystar is getting to throw down in the courtroom means that they have the cojones to just keep on keepin’ on.

Reports InfoWeek:

In the latest sign that it has no intention of backing down in its copyright dispute with computing giant Apple, Psystar said Wednesday that is “definitely still shipping” its Mac clones. In further defiance of Apple, Psystar also this week said it is making Leopard OS restore disks available to its customers.

“Recently, our sales team has received several inquiries as to whether or not our systems are still available,” the clone maker said in a note on its Web site Wednesday. “Psystar is definitely still shipping Open Computing products and we’ve introduced our restore utilities to enhance the computing experience for our customers at no extra cost.”

So, you know, if you still want to get your clone on, you might only have a few weeks left before Apple’s big gun Cooperman and Psystar’s hired gun Yorio go esquire to esquire. And when they do, the universe will never be the same again.

Heinen settles with SEC; options backdating is so 2007

Posted on Aug. 14, ’08, 11:22 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Legal

Put this in your backdating case and smoke it: Nancy Heinen, Apple’s former General Counsel and one of the executives who the SEC was pursuing in regards to the options backdating scandal, has settled the case out of court. She joins former Apple CFO Fred Anderson, who also cut a deal with the SEC last year.

As a result of the settlement, Heinen is not found innocent or guilty of the allegations. She has agreed to pay $2.2 million in fines. Unfortunately, paying it back may require Heinen picking up a part-time job: the settlement also says that she isn’t allowed to be an officer or director of a public company for the next five years, and she can’t practice law before the SEC for three years.

With Heinen’s settlement, we have hope that the options backdating case might finally be over, at least as far as the government is concerned (the DOJ finished their own investigation earlier this year). With any luck, this dark page of Apple’s history is behind us once and for all, and we can move onto something far more concrete. Say, did you hear that Steve Jobs keeps kittens in cages?

Update on yesterday’s fire at the Apple campus

Posted on Aug. 14, ’08, 10:37 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » News

So fear not, good citizens, there won’t be a run on iPhones and iPods because of yesterday’s Apple fire. Now that the dust has settled, here’s what we know about yesterday’s blaze:

- It began late Tuesday night around 10 pm local time at 20705 Valley Green Drive, a building that mainly contains IT workers, servers, and possibly parts of finance and HR.

- The fire, which caused no injuries, was limited to the roof and the attic.

- The fire was caused by construction work on a “rooftop air conditioning unit.” (How exactly an air conditioning unit, used to cool air, causes a fire, I have no idea.)

According to the SJ Mercurcy News:

It took about 50 firefighters more than 3 1/2 hours to get the blaze under control. [Santa Clara County Fire Battalion Chief Kendall Pearson] said finding the fire in the attic spaces was difficult, even with the help of a thermal imaging camera.

“Our ability to get to the fire under the roof was problematic and it took some time,” Pearson said. “There was not a lot of active, visible fire. There was quite a bit of smoke for quite some time.”

- Daron Pisciotta, a fire captain with the Santa Clara County Fire Department, told Macworld yesterday that the cause of the fire is “looking accidental.”

So there you have it, folks. Run along now.

Apple’s worth $152 billion of filthy lucre

Posted on Aug. 14, ’08, 9:06 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Money

Financial information is, for me, what I’m sure obscure details about cancelled television shows are for most other people: information that goes in one ear and out the other. The truth of the matter is that for the last twenty-five years, I’ve been pretty sure that a “market cap” is something you wear when grocery shopping (to keep vegetables out of your hair, naturally).

Turns out it’s actually a way to measure the economic size and value of a company, a clever figure that’s calculated by multiplying the number of outstanding—outstanding!—shares by the share price. Ad so when the news appeared that Apple had topped Google in market cap for the first time. Of course, what’s really impressive here, to my mind, is that their market cap has grown by about 50% in just over a year. Can anybody say “iPhone”?

As of this writing, Apple’s market cap stands at $159.2 billion which, for those keeping score at home, is roughly $159,199,999,999.00 more money than is in my pocket right now—unrelated: I need to go to the bank.

But what to do with such a big market cap? Our friends over at Infinite Loop think Apple needs to gobble itself up another big company, like Adobe. That seems unlikely to me: Apple’s not one to make such big purchases—their history is one of small, targeted acquisitions. While Adobe’s software library might be attractive to them, I don’t think Apple wants the headaches of managing them.

No, I think Apple will continue to do what it does with most of its money: invest it. Not just in financial sense, but also in the company itself. Apple pours a lot of money into R&D, and—slave wage lawsuits aside—its people. After all, they’ve been building market cap for a while now—at the end of the day, don’t expect it to change the way they’ve been doing business.

iTunes movies journey to the far side of the world

Posted on Aug. 14, ’08, 8:15 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iTunes » iTunes Store

Our friends in the land Down Under (where, reputedly, women glow and men plunder) recently joined the small but growing list of countries where you can watch TV courtesy of the iTunes Store. Now they and neighboring New Zealand have teamed up to become only the third and fourth countries to offer iTunes movie downloads and rentals.

At launch, Aussies and Kiwis have access to over 700 films for rent or purchase with 100 in HD and, as in the US, they’ll be able to snag new releases on the same day as they hit DVD. And in a continuing discrepancy with the U.S. store, antipodean users have a 48 hour window in which they can watch their rentals as much as is humanly possible (the U.K. and Canadian movie store offer the same time-limit, but the U.S. store still stands at 24 hours).

Let’s talk prices: purchases will go for $9.99 (in local currency) for catalog titles in both Australia and New Zealand, $17.99 for recent releases, and $24.99 for new releases. Rentals are $3.99 for catalog titles and $5.99 for new releases in Australia; they for $4.99 and $6.99 in New Zealand. In all cases, HD rentals cost a dollar more. So congrats, you can go out and buy that Apple TV you’ve been waiting for all these longs months.

Time to start up the pool on which country is next to get iTunes movies: my vote? San Marino. Everybody overlooks the little guys.

iTunes Download coming to a radio near you

Posted on Aug. 14, ’08, 5:16 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | iTunes » iTunes Store

If it weren’t already clear, iTunes has become a fixture in mainstream music, for better or worse. iTunes Download is the new Premiere Radio Networks show centered around the idea of reviewing iTunes top 30 downloads.

The host is actually Alex Luke, iTunes’ director of music programming. He’ll be running the show out of Los Angeles, where he will be interviewing artists and featuring both celebrity playlists and customer iMixes.

Traditional music vendors must really be feeling the heat with the way that iTunes is getting embraced. Who’s going to need them anymore? At any rate, I’m hoping he’s got the full soundboard of wacky sound effects.

Steve Jobs listed as top ten “Tech Tyrant”

Posted on Aug. 13, ’08, 4:16 PM PT by David Dahlquist

Category | Apple » Huh?

We’ve heard the stories—more like legends— of Steve Jobs’ much-feared temperament and icy cold demeanor, but now it’s official: Steve Jobs is one of the top ten most tyrannous figures in the tech industry, according to Valleywag.

Ranked alongside the likes of “I’m going to kill Google” Steve Ballmer, and “I’m gunna put a bullet in your head” Jason Goldberg, Steve Jobs claims a spot on the list for being a hot-headed, handicapped-parking, quick-to-fire-your-ass-because-he-feels-like-it slave driver whose respect at Apple is only matched by his fear.

“No one greets him or says hi to him. Low ranking employees are afraid of him. I remember him walking around the campus one time and groups of people in his way would just split and let him walk through.”

There’s also a story of an Apple exec who gave Steve a presentation detailing why she needed money to start up a team. After showing up a half hour late with no shoes (???) and sitting through the hour-long presentation, he simply said “no” and walked out. Cold, man. Cold. But in all realness, Steve’s fearsome reputation, insanely high standards, and unwillingness to compromise have done wonders for the company. Tyrant or not, Apple is in good hands.

Vudu offers new $0.99 menu for rentals

Posted on Aug. 13, ’08, 2:44 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iTunes » iTunes Store

Just because Apple offers a $0.99 movie every week doesn’t mean that other video-on-demand folks are taking things lying down. Vudu, for example, has decided to retaliate by launching an offensive that offers not just one, but 99 movie rentals, each priced at $0.99.

My first thought was: okay, yeah, but what kind of movies are we talking about here? Is this like Netflix’s “Watch Now” feature, with its scads of films people have never even heard of? I’m not sure how much I want to watch Return to the Sullen Moss, Part XIV.

But, if they’re telling the truth on their site, then the selection’s actually not that bad. It ranges from classics like Chinatown and Vertigo to recent favorites like Serenity as well as favorites culled from my own personal collection, like Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. And, according to Vudu, the catalog will change over time, perpetually rotating in new titles among the ninety-nine.

Of course, in order to take advantage of the deal, you need one of ‘em fancypants $299 Vudu boxes hooked up to your TV. Maybe that’s a dealbreaker, or maybe it’s a reason for you to run out and snag one right this very moment. The choice, as always, is yours.

X never ever marks the spot

Posted on Aug. 13, ’08, 1:09 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iPod

Friends, to me, nothing says “wait, what year is it?” like an X-Files engraved iPod. Yes, I know they had a new movie come out this summer, but come on: the show ended six years ago. Some things are better just left alone.

But, if you are a fan of all things Mulder and Scully, then I’m sure my criticisms will do little to discourage you from finding the truth. Out there. Somewhere. So if you surf over to Fox’s online store, you can snag the 80GB iPod classic emblazoned with the monochrome good looks of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. You can even get your own name engraved as well (up to 30 characters—you might want to leave out your lengthy nickname).

The iPod will cost you $329, an $80 premium over the stock 80GB iPod classic—look, I tell you what: I’ll draw a picture of Mulder and Scully on the back of your pristine new iPod classic for just $50, deal?

Someone change the password on my luggage

Posted on Aug. 13, ’08, 12:14 PM PT by Scott McNulty

Category | Security

Passwords are funny things: the better they are, the harder they are to remember. This leads many people to create one password and use it across several, or all, of their accounts (computers, banking, what have you) and chances are good that that one password isn’t a very good password to begin with (as you know, the best passwords from a security stand point are lengthy and complex). What is a password-addled netizen to do?

Randall Stross, writing for the New York Times, makes a compelling case that passwords have never been a good way to secure things and I have to agree with him. He suggests it is high time that we, as a community of computer users, demand something that is both more secure and easier to use (everybody wins).

He goes on to detail something called ‘information cards.’ The idea is a familiar one for anyone who has used an ATM card. You have a ‘card’ (in this case it’s digital, but physical SmartCard technology is also available