A h, Spring: It comes a bit earlier in Florida; warm sunshine with Winteris echo still in the breeze, naked trees slowly dressing themselves in their Summer gowns of green, birds and bees busy living up to the stories we tell of them. Ah, Spring: When the pollen count is so high that breathing becomes…
News
Mercury News: Napster Losing Money & Top Executives
If you’re looking to download music, legally at least, your choices have never been better; the number of such services seemed to expand almost daily. It could be, however, that the salad days of iTunes Music Store wannabes, or at least one fairly prominent wannabe, are numbered. The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that…
Columnist Attacks iTunes As "Bad," Extols WMA As "Good"
Jason Cross is cross, if you’ll pardon the rather obvious joke, at Apple’s iTunes/iPod business model. Mr. Cross is a writer for ExtremeTech, a technology magazine, and he has penned a condemnation of iTunes/iPod based on Apple’s business model for the platform. Mr. Cross’s basic premise is that though iTunes is very good software, and…
iTMS/Pepsi Giveaway Hacked. Well, Not Really
The secret is the angle. Iive found it to be 25 degrees, but thatis really no use when youire out in the field. Just tilt it until it seems about that, and look up towards it (hold it above your head). With luck, you should be able to see under the cap. […] Itis easiest…
Apple Ships iPod Mini, Claims 100,000 Pre-Orders
Apple announced this morning that the iPod mini has shipped. Apple first announced the iPod mini at January’s Macworld San Francisco, and since that time the company says that it has received more than 100,000 pre-orders for the unit. The iPod mini has been somewhat controversial, with some criticizing it’s US$249 price tag for a…
Are All Microsoft Networks Bad For Your Computing Health?
Remember Dan Geer? He was part of a group of security experts who published a paper that warned that Microsoft’s overwhelming software dominance is bad for our country, and the computer industry as whole. Mr. Geer, who had been working for @stake Inc., was fired for his efforts, but his push to promote a more…
Mireth Tech Updates ShredIt X With NSA Compliance
Mireth Technology has released version 5.2 of ShredIt X. A privacy utility, ShredIt X is the electronic document shredder for Macintosh OS X computers that securely deletes files, folders and disk free space. Throwing a file in the trash does not remove the file contents from the hard disk – it just removes the file…
Microsoft Finds Time In Its Hectic Schedule To Fix A Six Month Old Vulnerability
It’s been quite a while since we’ve heard our friends in Redmond warn us of a critical flaw in any of its software (over a week, in fact!), so it’s about time. According to an article at ZDNet, Microsoft has issued a patch for Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 that…
February 1-7: The Woz Leaves, Jobs Buys Pixar, Apple Gets A Grammy
Steve Wozniak had a plane crash this week in 1981. The injuries from that accident lead to Mr. Wozniak taking a leave of absence from Apple. Four years later, Mr. Wozniak leaves Apple altogether because he felt the Apple II was getting short shrift because of the new Macintosh. Jump ahead to 1986, and Steve…
TMO Reports - Apple's UK Market Share Surges In Q4 With A Little iPod Help
Apple Computer shipped 25 percent more Macs in the UK in the last quarter of 2003 than the previous year, according to marketing intelligence firm IDC. An analyst for the company believes consumer interest in Apple’s iPod portable music player helped to spotlight its Macintosh PC and benefited sales. For the full year, Apple had…
Could Apple Fend Off Viruses If It Were In Microsoft's Place?
As the MyDoom virus continues making the rounds, surely many Mac users are gloating about the fact that other than a clogged mailbox, the virus is doing them no harm. Many like to point out that virus and worm writers ignore the Mac platform due to the small amount of potential victims, and that if…
Morse Code Transmitter Updated From Black Cat
Version 1.0.1 of Black Cat CW Keyer has been released. Black Cat CW Keyer lets you send morse code from your computer. You can type out the text to be sent(immediately or buffered) as well as create and send from one key macros. You can also send fromtext files. You can control the speed (wpm)…
DEVONtech Updates DEVONthink And DEVONagent
DEVONtechnologies extends the freeform database and information manager DEVONthink and updates DEVONagent, its intelligent search agent and alternative browser. DEVONthink 1.8 allows the creation of Wiki-style links to build cross-references from RTF texts to other documents, images, bookmarks or links. Going just one step further, DEVONthink also allows to make every piece of text a…
Just A Thought - Is Microsoft Losing Its Grip?
If you own a small business then you know personally how tight your profits margins can get, and it never helps when the infrastructure you depend on to do business keeps costing you more and more each year. It’s a classic cycle where you must stay competitive and keep your prices low, which leaves you…
Mandolux Posts New Desktops
Mandolux has issued four Vector-based (Abstract/Techno), one Bonzai/Taran (Nature), and one Asiana (Art) There is a new killer Vector-based dual giant desktop titled Poddies. A techno-induced mix of abstract and surreal vector-based objects and patterns combined with snippets of an iPod. The inspiration of this desktop came from the wonderful short article in the UK…
I Won! I Won A Free Song! [Updated With Getting The Song]
I say to myself, “Iim not a big Pepsi drinker, but what the heck! Letis give it a go.” So I select the bottle that I am sure has the 1 chance in 3 of having an iTunes code in the cap, and pay the nice lady behind the counter. Iim walking back to my…
Good Knight, Bill Gates?
OK kiddies, file this away in your, ‘Now don’t that beat all!’ department: William H. Gates III, of Microsoft fame and fortune, will be knighted by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, for, “outstanding contribution to enterprise.” No kidding! Here’s the Reuters News report, titled Bill Gates to be knighted by Queen Elizabeth: Microsoft co-founder and chairman…
Tiny Mo Kim Is Cute And Smart To Boot!
S oooo, you think you have or know of a smart and talented tot, eh? The tike you know corners the market on cute and defines precociousness. To be sure, your Junior or Princess is as cute as a button and smart as a whip, but youill have to admit that your kid has stiff…
Microsoft Goes After Mike Rowe For Copyright Infringement
I f we ran something like the excellent “News of the Weird” feature, this would surely qualify: Microsoft is demanding that a young man named Mike Rowe give up his domain of MikeRoweSoft.com (say it out loud). The reason? Why Mr. Mike Rowe is guilty of copyright infringement, according to Big Redmond. From an article…
TMO Reports - Apple's US Market Share Declines Slightly In 2003 & Fourth Quarter
Apple’s market share continued to deteriorated in the US last quarter and for the year 2003 overall, according to data released by technology market intelligence firm IDC. Apple’s domestic market share fell fractionally to 3.2 percent from 3.5 percent in 2002 and its calendar fourth-quarter numbers fell 0.2 percent from the previous year to 2.8…
CBS News: Oh Boy! More iPods! And GarageBand Too!
“…And I shall call him, Mini Me.” Dr. Evil People absolutely love their iPods. Well, most people, anyways. The little white and silver player was a hit this past Holiday buying season, and downloading music from the iTunes Music Store seems to be as addictive as eating those potato chip that claim you can’t eat…
TMO Reports - Merrill Lynch: Apple "Has Its Groove Back"; Must Update iMac Form Soon
A new analyst report from brokerage firm Merrill Lynch has recommended buying Apple Computer stock saying the company “has its groove back for now,” but expects competition in the portable music player market to get fierce and test Apple’s 31 percent market share. In a new analysis report for clients obtained by The Mac Observer,…
Apple Shares Fall 5.58% Despite New, Positive Advice
D espite two new glowing recommendations from stock analysts, Apple Computeris stock price fell more than five-and-a-half percent Thursday on investor concerns that Power Mac sales fell 15,000 units and Appleis overall profit margins slipped almost a full percentage point in the calendar fourth quarter of last year. Appleis share price closed down US$1.35, to…
Northern Softworks Updates Panther Cache Cleaner With LCD Testing
Northern Softworks today announced the release of version 2.1 of Panther Cache Cleaner, its popular OS X maintenance and utility application. What is Panther Cache Cleaner? Panther Cache Cleaner is a utility designed to provide easy access to numerous OS X maintenance and utility options. When used in combination with OS Xis disk repair tools,…
