Market research firm In-Stat has released its latest report, “Portable Digital Audio Players: Moving to the Beat of a Booming Market,” which shows that the worldwide MP3 player market — including both hard drive-based and flash-based devices — reached US$4.5 billion in sales in 2004. Analyst Stephanie Guza said the situation is “exploding,” with an…
Just a Thought - Ch-Ch-Changes
"Change is the one true constant of the universe." My version of a quote from the Greek philosopher, Heraclitus. "Change is inevitable – except from a vending machine." Robert C. Gallagher What fun times we live, eh? Ten-twenty years ago, who would have thought that Apple and IBM would be buddies, that Microsoft would make…
Targus Announces iPod Accessory Line
Targus has released the Slide Case for iPod and iPod mini in three sizes that conveniently clip onto a belt or bag. The case has two pieces — the iPod slides into the top piece, which slips into the piece that contains a belt clip. The case allows the iPod to face in or face…
TMO To Go Podcast - Mac Geek Gab: All About Podcatching
Show notes for TMO To Go: Mac Geek Gab, week of June 20th, 2005 Podcast Link: TMO To Go: Mac Geek Gab, June 20th, 2005 – RSS Feed This week, John F. Braun and Dave Hamilton chat about their favorite ways to get and listen to podcasts, plus they talk about their favorite podcasts and…
TMO Reports - Intel Develops Chip That Integrates Existing, Future 802.11 Wireless Standards
Intel on Friday presented a paper detailing its latest chip breakthrough at the Symposium on VLSI Technology in Kyoto, Japan. The company has developed a prototype of a dual-band radio transceiver that supports the current 802.11a, b and g Wi-Fi standards as well as the requirements expected from the upcoming 802.11n protocol. Apple’s AirPort and…
Henrico County Selling iBooks to H.S. Seniors for $50 Each
Henrico County, which recently decided to switch its high school students and teachers to Dell laptops rather than renew its contract with Apple, has said that departing seniors will get first dibs on the iBooks that were in use for the past four years. As reported by Olympia Meola of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the county…
Michael Dell: 'We Would Be Happy to Offer the Mac OS'
Mr. Kirkpatrick points out that Dell, though, “has for several years fearlessly — and lucratively — sold servers loaded with Linux, the operating system Microsoft reviles and dreads. And as the industryis top dog, it wields more bargaining power with Microsoft than other PC-makers.” So he decided to e-mail Michael Dell, who responded: “If Apple…
Opera Releases Opera 8 for Mac
O pera Software released Thursday Opera 8 for Macintosh, playing up its improved speed and security. Opera touts its latest Mac release as “the most Macintosh-like version ever.” The browser has improved its support for Appleis Human Interface Guidelines and added full keyboard access functionality. Opera 8 for Macintosh includes the same functionality as Opera…
DEVONtechnologies Debuts DEVONthink Professional Beta
DEVONthink provides a way to group a projectis documents, from text documents to e-mails and Web browser bookmarks, in one database. The Professional version runs in Mac OS X v10.3.9, with some features only available to v10.4 users, and is available for download now. The Beta expires on July 31 and the final version will…
TMO Reports - In-Stat Sees Tempered Growth of Media Adapters; AirPort Express Leads Audio Category
Market research firm In-Stat has issued a new report stating that stand-alone media adapters, which bridge computers with such analog consumer electronics as TVs and stereos, could grow at an annual rate as high as 76% through 2009. However, those sales will be tempered by the eventual inclusion of adapter technology into traditional consumer electronics.…
Apple Store Updates Refurb Offerings (Many iPods)
Apple Computer has updated the Hot Deals pages for J&R, Publishing Perfection, CompUSA, MacGameStore, and the Apple Store itself at the Macintosh Product Guide. The Mac Product Guide is a list of Mac compatible hardware and software products on the market. The Hot Deals section of the Product Guide features several Mac retailers and special…
Full Text of Jobs Stanford Speech: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish"
Here are some other interesting comments by the Apple co-founder: Jobs on a college education "…I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parentsi savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldnit see the value in it. I had no idea…
TMO Reports - Computer Take Back Campaign Continues Pressure on Apple CEO Steve Jobs
As Apple CEO Steve Jobs delivered the commencement address to Stanford graduates on Sunday, telling them not to “let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice,” the Computer Take Back Campaign (CTBC) stepped up delivery of its opinions of Apple’s e-waste policies, flying a plane over the stadium that trailed a…
Apple, Nokia Partner on Mobile Web Browser
“The Series 60 browser will use the same open source components, WebCore and JavaScriptCore, that Apple uses in its popular Safari Internet browser,” the statement read. “Nokia intends to continue its collaboration with Apple and actively participate in the open source community to further develop and enhance these components, contributing Nokiais expertise in mobility.” Safari…
John Carmack: Mac/PPC Peformance Gap for Gaming "Not a Myth"
The performance gap between PowerPC and x86 is "not a myth," according to Mac and Windows gaming developer John Carmack, cofounder of id Software. Mr. Carmack made the comment at Slashdot in response to a discussion there about Friday’s Devil’s Advocate column by John Kheit at The Mac Observer. According to Mr. Carmack, the compilers…
The Devil's Advocate: Mac Punditry: Deranged and Dumb on any Processor
I wonder if the Atlantic ocean has as vast a collection of spineless jellyfish as seemingly comprises significant portions of the Macintosh user base and its ass-kissing punditry. With far too few exceptions, this is a group that just days ago was smugly debunking, dismantling, and railing against the notion of Intel processors in their Macs, only…
Apple/Intel Partnership "Worth the Risk," Says BusinessWeek
Apple’s partnership with Intel Is “worth the risk” and could help Apple control more of the growing laptop market, according to a technology analysis by Business Week columnist Peter Burrows. “Hooking up with Intel is worth the risk,” Mr. Burrows wrote. “So long as Apple is growing, software developers are likely to adapt their programs…
Spotlight Could Kill the Finder, Wired News Says
Spotlight relies on filesi metadata, as well as their actual content, to quickly find whatis relevant to a search query. And Smart Folders enable users to create a persistent query that constantly updates, finding, for example, all files and folders pertaining to a particular project and grouping them together without the user needing to run…
NPR Drops Audible.com; Talks With Apple & Others (UPDATE)
The programs were removed at the end of last week. Programs such as “All Things Considered,” “Morning Edition” and “Wait Wait…Donit Tell Me,” are no longer available. When a program linked is selected, subscribers are met with the message, “That product was not found in our database.” Subscribers of the programs who have paid in…
Cool Waste Of Time - It's Just An Illusion
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a persistent one. -Albert Einstein Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so. -Douglas Adams Optical illusions are cool; just ask any Escher fan. What would be even cooler is if there was a Web site chock full of optical illusions. Well, feast your peepers on this installment of A…
iPod 'Silhouettes' Ads Win U.S. Ad Agency Accolades
The ad agency also won a Gold Effie in the Consumer Electronics category and a Gold Global Effie, which “recognises campaigns that have proven effective in six or more countries across two or more regions”. “Our Grand Effie winner honors a product at the forefront of popular culture complemented by a creative, breakthrough marketing campaign…
Just a Thought - Decisions, Decisions...
"This sucks!" Steve paces an oblong path in his sizable office that takes him a full 30 seconds to complete. He looks as if he could take a bite out of the hull of a battleship, chew the steel, then spit perfectly formed nails. Anyone else would have cringed at the heat emanating from Steve…
Mac Developers Mixed on Intel Switch
Macintosh developers at this weeks Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco have mixed feelings on whether the switch to Intel processors by Apple Computer will ultimately be a win for the company and software companies, two published reports said Tuesday. “It’s certainly the right decision in the long run. In the short term, there’s the…
TMO Reports - Merrill Lynch Cites 'Short-Term Risk, But Long-Term Benefits' From Intel Switch
Merrill Lynch analyst Steve Milunovich on Tuesday issued a research report in response to Apple’s announced move to Intel-based Macs within two years. He writes in it that he expects the switch to result in “a better value proposition for the end user” and notes that it involves “short-term risk, but long-term benefits.” Mr. Milunovich…
