Titanium G4 back in business

I have to pass along the good news that I have finally got my Ti G4 laptop repaired. You see, a couple of years ago I foolishly left my laptop out while it performing a system update. Well lets just say small children and laptops don't mix. My hinges on my laptop cracked. So the screen could not stay up on its own anymore. So my laptop became a desktop with a box behind it for support. But over time the screen was still moved up and down and eventually smoke came out of the hinge and the backlight was toast. I had been eyeing getting it fixed but the cost was still high. Over time the price did come down so I finally fixed it. MacResQ is the company. They did a fabulous job and even cut me a break on the inverter board which got fried. It is so nice to be back on the Mac again. Even though it is almost 4 years old, it still does most of what I need it to do. And the screen quality you just can't beat. No shiny surfaces to reflect glare just crisp, bright and clear images. It is a joy to use.

If you can't beat them, then buy your way in.

It looks like Microsoft is going full guns against Apple and the iPod. They plan to pump literally billions of dollars into convincing that Zune is the way to go for a music player. They don't even plan to make a profit until maybe 2008. It is a similar strategy as the Xbox which has lost about 1.2 billion dollars to date. One interesting feature they are adding is software which will search your iPod for songs you bought on iTunes and give you the same songs in their format for free. That's one way to buy a customer. This eliminates the hinderance to switch because most of your music is in Apple's DRM format. Looks like there could be some serious competition since MS has huge sums of cash to work with.
Apple is going to have to introduce innovations at an even quicker pace to keep up with the cash barage. Hopefully MS will just be dumping money down the drain but you can never count them out. With that much money it could become interesting.
On another interesting note, have you seen the Apple patent which seems to describe a touchless screen which actually senses your finger hovering above the device. So no more fingerprints on the screen, and then the clickwheel can go away and make way for a bigger screen. This is the coolness factor which can give Apple the leg up on MS.

MacMinni Banded No More!

I don't know what to say. I was temporarily booted from MacNight. It's lonely on the sidelines. Nothing but geeked out PC users on the outside. I had to protect my true identity. Even Might Mouse couldn't help me. But I'm back inside the safe domain again. I really missed you guys... I'm celebrating by watching the Jetsons and Flintstones on my laptop. They don't make 'em like they used to. Hey Stitch, did we chat enough Mac for you to be able to write off you trip to the Twin Cities? Later.

Check out this iPod accessory!

Now this is what I call a fabulous iPod accessory. It is an electric car which has a 0-60mph time of 4 seconds. Costs only about a penny a mile of electricity and was developed not by Detroit but by Silicon Valley.

But the big question is: "can I hook up my iPod to it". And the answer from their web site is: "The Tesla Roadster allows you to connect your iPod to the stereo using Apple's dock connector which not only charges your iPod but also gives you basic control of your iPod using the controls on the stereo. " I think they have thought of everything. Of course the catch is it will cost about $80K but it is faster than a Porche Carrera. But the idea is this is their flagship car and that they already have plans for a 4 door sedan in the works. Who cares if GM goes down, Silicon Valley is taken your place.

I read an article about this car in Wired which said the guy who started this company is an electrical engineer who made a fortune in Silicon Valley and is backed by a lot of top SV billionaires. He said his expertise is to get as much power as he can out of a battery. He had an early model iBook which he tweeked to get 20 hrs out of the Li ion battery. This car is based on a whole bunch of Li ion batteries as the energy source, as is a huge leap forward from the EV1 and EV2. There philosophy is to use existing technology such as Li ion batteries and let the computer industry innovations in battery technology trickle down to them.

Tesla Motors web site link.

Multiple Dimensions

This might be an off the wall post but here it goes anyways. In astronomy and quantum physics they try to explain how the world works with multiple dimensions. This is the basis for string theory which tries to combine gravity with the other forces of nature into a unified theory. While trying to explain another dimension they typically use the following analogy. Imagine that you only live in a 2D world such as a planar surface. You would be able to move forward and backward, left and right, but not up and down. If something from the 3D world were to pass through your 2D world such as a sphere it would appear as a circle which gets larger and larger and then smaller and smaller until it disappears as a point. It just dawned on me this is what it is like trying to explain the Mac world to a Windows user. They live in a 2D world and cannot even phathom what it is like in the 3D Apple world.

Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs

I know this is a little old (1999) but I thought it was too funny not to post. Noah Wyle is immitating Steve Jobs at MacWorld. Noah played Steve Jobs in a movie about the rise of both Apple and Microsoft. He also plays a doctor on the TV show ER. He has a lot of his manerisms down. Check it out!

Minneapolis Macnight meeting

I just got back from a trip to Minn. to visit Macmini and it sure was grand. It was nice to be in a place that lives and breaths hockey. I was able to go to the Schwan Super Rink which is a 4 rink hockey complex with deluxe accomodations. This is a place where hockey is played non stop. Games are played all through the summer even, and they plan to add 4 more rinks to the facility. This is a rink for junior hockey. Both boys and girls. They even have a TV monitor which displays the upcoming games on a scrolling screen similar to an airport. Yet this site is not unique, there are many more all around the city. I believe some of the hockey fever has drifted in with the airflow from Canada.

Minneapolis is also a Mac town. They have FOUR Apple stores in the city, which is a little smaller than Phoenix. You see Apple laptops everywhere you go.

It was a fun trip.

Apple 3rd Quarter!!

I can't imagine that my Mac buddies did not hear the awesome news regarding Apple's earnings for the third quarter. Defying naysayers, the Mother Ship beat analysts doom and gloom predictions of lower iPod sales, and also sold quite a few Macbooks in the process! 8.11 MILLION iPods sold in the quarter, and His Steveness is very excited about the iPod products in the pipeline! And 12% laptop market share is at a high not seen in years. Let us rejoice for a healthy Apple Computer!

Windows Vista re-introduced

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2Cf3zTvswI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFMwelwkHVA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UekU1gPZyA

WWDC - New iPod stuff?

Gentlemen, it has recently been rumored that Apple will introduce a "Movie Rental Model" for the iTunes music store at the WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference). Does this make sense? It seems to me that it has always been new Mac stuff introduced at the conference, not iPod stuff.

Anyone expect new iPod stuff this August at WWDC?

iPod Killer for real?

Gentlemen, the internet has been buzzing lately with rumors of Microsoft's iPod killer, the Zune. Supposedly one can download music directly to the player wirelessly. Additionally, the new player is supposed to have the same model of success as the iPod - it will have a dedicated online music store that caters to the new device, much as the iTunes music store caters to the iPod.

Is this enough to dethrone the iPod as the number one digital player on the market? Will consumers flock to the new device for the new features? What does Apple have to do to counter this competition?

Carefull, you may be under the influence.

Serious Video iPod competition

The Dish Network has recently slashed the prices on their Pocket Dish systems. The lowest priced one is shown here for $149! It has a 20GB hard drive and can store up to 20hrs of movies. It is made by Archos, which is has gotten very favorable reviews. You can plug it into your computer with a USB2 connection or into your sattelite dish DVR and download movie or TV show to your Pocket Dish. It can also record live without a DVR. No per show fees apply. I have noticed they put the issue of potential copywrite protection as the responsibility of the user. They have that in my DVR manual too, with a three sentence warning. If this takes off, would the movie and television industry be able to sue Dish Network like Napster? Anyway, it is quite a package for $149. They also have two other more enhanced models. And these will also play WMA songs, and play some games.

ny thanks you

I didn't use gman, hope that doesn't thought anyone off.

It's just a matter of time.....

I was just listening to a news story on the radio talking about Microsoft entering the MP3 / Video player market to compete with Apple. They plan to create a hardware device of their own. The story talked about how Apple makes virtually no money on their songs on iTunes and makes most of it with the hardware (iPods). The comment was that MS intent is the opposite. They don't care about how much they make on their hardware but want their DRM to become the standard. I suppose to charge for licensing. The final comment was that Apple has about 70% of the music download market and that it was just a matter of time before they would have to give some of that up. Why is it that the same logic is not used on MS for computer operating systems. You never hear that it is just a matter of time before MS loses some of its 90% share of the OS market.

Although it will be interesting to see if MS biz model will work. Since profits on their players are not critical, they could sell their player for less than Apple. Of course this does not account for economies of scale, which allows Apple to get parts for less cost. MS used a similar model with the Xbox market. Where they practically gave away the hardware, to make it up with fees from the software developers. And it worked there. Would the songs be the equavalent of the software for the Xbox. Where they have cheaper players but the real money is made for fees on songs. Would the more expensive songs scare too many people away from this. True a lot of speculation, but this is what this blog is for.

New York state of mind

Gentlemen, I'd like to nominate a candidate for our Mactastic blog. The Gman resides in NYC, has visited both Soho and Fifth Ave Apple Stores, owns 3 macs (iMac, a dying iBook and a dying G3) has an iPod and is well acquainted with all relevant OSX and Adobe software. If the Gman receives the adequate number of votes, agrees to the blog fees and agrees to share the love, Stitch, could you contact him add to the moderator list? "gordon@_________.com

Jobs' hand in Cookie Jar?

Did Jobs get caught with his hand in the options cookie jar? It looks as if Apple has been back dating stock options for it's top executives. But for some reason, this practice is not considered illegal as long as shareholders are notified of it. Even if this practice is fround upon as being unethical. So I am confused as to what the current issue is with Apple. The SEC is not investigating them at this time but Apple has contracted out an investigation of their own. Sound's like it is an internal power struggle and someone who didn't get these options may not be happy. Any thoughts?

Back on

Shucks, I don't know what to say. This is quite an honor, seeing your name all lit up in orange. (sniff, sniff) It's the same feeling I get when I visit my financial planner and I see my name on the welcome board. I feel like a "somebody". (sniff, sniff) Did I ever tell you, you're the best bunch of Mac addicts I know. I gotta go, I'm choking up...