The Mac Observer

Particle Debris

Particle Debris (week ending 6/26) Metamorphosis, Transformers, and Stealth Health

TMO Talk (1)

On Monday, Dan Frommer published his Chart of The Day. It shows the phenomenal growth of Apple's revenues derived from the iPhone. What's interesting is that the Macintosh revenue is fairly stable, but the iPhone seems poised to make some dramatic gains as a percentage of revenue.

Also on Monday, the New York Times dragged out and dusted off an old subject: the secrecy at Apple. It must have been a slow news day. However, the article does provide some additional insights into life at Apple and the thinking behind the secrecy of Mr. Jobs' health. Even small insights are worthwhile in this case.

Finally, on Monday our Stephen Swift pointed me to a recent article at AnandTech that compares the internal architecture of the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 3GS. These specs, in addition to twice the working RAM (256 MB), explain why the iPhone 3GS seems so much snappier.

Speaking of iPhone speed, the improvements were documented by Bare Feats on Tuesday with some great bar graphs. The SunSpider Java test for the 3GS is particularly impressive and compounds the gains made by moving from iPhone OS 2.2.x to 3.0.

We all have affection for John Hodgman from the "Get A Mac" ads, but we forget his origins on the Daily Show and his gifts as a writer and actor. Recently, Mr. Hodgman was invited to keynote the Radio & Correspondents Dinner -- which President Obama attended. Mr. Hodgman roasted the President in a charming way, and the video provides added depth to the fellow we sometimes see as a one-dimensional "PC."

On Tuesday, GearLog explained how AT&T is planning to improve its iPhone coverage. It better do something fast because now a million new iPhone 3GS owners have video cameras. The article has some technical details on the re-purposing of old frequencies AT&T had previously used for its TDMA service. Good stuff for iPhone owners to know.

On Wednesday, Don Reisinger suggested that the middle ground isn't working anymore for netbooks. The problem is that the distinction between netbooks and notebooks is blurring, and that's backfiring on netbooks. It could be that customers are inching towards just a little more power and the manufacturer's (my own opinion) are adding just a little more oomph to accommodate Windows 7. Also, according to NPD, customers aren't as mobile with netbooks as previously thought. Something like an iPhone is considered more handy now for the mobile customer. Gee, what a thought.

It's hard for me to say whether the iPhone has changed potential netbook customer perceptions of what they can do when they're mobile with such a device. In any case, Mr. Reisinger explores the factors that are making netbooks less and less viable.

Here is a video you just have to see. It takes a few seconds to get started, but stay with it. You'll be in for a nice surprise.

If you thought the Web was rife with too many bloggers and too many twitpics, now the real fun has started. The video camera on the iPhone is causing an explosion of videos uploaded to YouTube. Some will be terrific and some will be inane. More than ever, it's essential to pick your way through the Internet to get to the good stuff. After all, Sturgeon's Law applies more than ever.

On Thursday, there was a report from the mobile as network, AdMob, that provided some insight into the spectrum of apps in the Apple App Store. For example, more than half of those 50,000 apps have less than 1,000 customers. There's more in the Online Media Daily article.

The Internet is a fast changing place, and it's no place for large, stodgy corporations that take a long time to make decisions. On Friday, I found an article by Peter Burrows at BusinessWeek who explained how Microsoft is being affected by the pace of the Internet in "Microsoft Defends its Empire." Basically, Microsoft has lost its ability to impose its will on corporate America and will be changing the way it markets software and deals with customer needs. Mr. Burrows is a careful, intelligent writer, and his well researched story about Microsoft is essential reading for every Apple enthusiast.

Technical Word of the Week (TWoW)

Adorkable. (adj.) An adorable dork. Credit: David Pogue.

Post A Comment or Log-in. Need an account? Register here.

1 Observer Comment

   Actions Lance Drake said on July 2nd, 2009 at 1:27 PM:

If you haven’t already noticed, the navigation commands from the Apple Remote to Apple TV have been modified to provide much better response - not sure where all of that is documented - but the ‘DOWN’ button now provides a visible indexed bar where you can jump to ‘sections’ - the SLOW-MOTION playback is much easier to access - just PAUSE than a quick single click RIGHT or LEFT will put the playback into SLO-MO AND… the blue bar now vanishes in SLO-MO after a few seconds - which it did not use to do (and was MOST annoying) Mebbe soimebody can chase down the complete details of this modification - there could be more cool stuff stuff, as yet undiscovered.

 

Recent Headlines - Updated May 27th

Sat, 10:00 AM
MacOS KenDensed - MacOS KenDensed: Apple’s Patent Lawsuit & Antitrust Shuffle
Fri, 5:58 PM
News - Sotheby’s to Auction Steve Jobs Atari Memo (Photo Gallery)
5:42 PM
Free on iTunes - 3 Free iOS Apps for News Hounds
3:00 PM
Rumor - Nest Thermostat Reportedly Coming to Apple Retail Stores
2:40 PM
Particle Debris - The TV Industry’s Dreadful Little Secret
2:33 PM
News - Mobile Devices Account for 20% of Web Traffic in US, Canada
12:49 PM
News - Apple Now Offering “Free App of the Week” for iOS
12:21 PM
News - Tim Cook Declines $75 Million Dividend Payout
11:25 AM
News - Absinthe 2.0 Provides Untethered Jailbreak for iOS 5.1.1
11:09 AM
Quick Look Review - F18 Carrier Landing (iOS) is a Boatload of Fun
10:51 AM
TMO Appearances - Jeff Gamet talks Cool Apps & Accessories on Not Another Mac Podcast
10:12 AM
Hot Forum Topic - Forum Poll: Which is Your Favorite Photo Sharing Service?
 

The Mac Observer Reader Specials

  • Macsales Add 2nd Hard Drive or SSD to Mac mini, MacBook or MacBook Pro. 1TB of Hard Drive or SSD Capacity from $64.99! Video Guides Make it easy - OWC DataDoubler - Macsales.com
  • Mac RAM Upgrades: MacBook Pro 16GB kits $475, 8GB Kits for $119.99! iMac 16GB RAM Kits (4x 4GB) for $229.99! Mac Pro Memory 32GB Kit for $399.99, 64GB Kit for $889.99! Mac Hard Drives 2TB Seagate SATA II for $249.99! Click Here!
  • Macpokeronline.com If you're using a Mac, then you've gotta check out PokerOnAMac.com. Online casinos and poker rooms are literally giving away cash and the casino sites at Poker on a Mac do the unthinkable, they actually reward! Join today, the download is free!
  •  Looking to find online casinos for mac? We can help you find the best real money casino sites where you can play your favorite casino games including blackjack and slots.

Apple Stock Quote (AAPL)

Loading...

Hot Topics

TMO Express

Join the TMO Express Daily Newsletter to get the latest Mac headlines in your e-mail every weekday. Find out more!

Top Deals From DealBrothers.com

Recent Features

Support The Mac Observer

We noticed you may be running AdBlock on your computer. It takes real money to run this site and to deliver the news, tips, and opinions you love to read.

If you wish to block the ads that pay for the creation of our content, we ask that you instead support TMO Directly, either with a $5 monthly recurring contribution, or a one-time donation of any amount of your choice. Thanks!

Subscribe with Paypal Donate with Paypal