iTunes Movie Rental Model

What do you guys think of renting movies on iTunes?

iTunes Movie Rentals

I think it's a great idea. Supposedly Apple will team with Disney and Fox to rent movies on iTunes. It has been said before: people rent movies a lot more than they buy them. I almost feel that's how Apple should have approached movies right at the beginning. Do you guys think this move will spur additional sales of the Apple TV? I would hope so, but I'm a little concerned the average consumer won't feel that compelled to have to buy the Apple TV just because they can rent movies on iTunes. I put myself in that category, but then again I'm not the biggest consumer of movies rentals.

RIAA Reaches New Lows!

Gentlemen, check out the following Washington Post article:

Ripping CD's Illegal

According to the article, in a brief filed by the RIAA in an Arizona case, the RIAA has said it is illegal to simply rip your own personal CD onto your computer. Yeah, you may have bought the CD and have absolutely no intention to distribute the file, but as soon as you rip it so you can put it on your iPod, you've broken the copyright law. I think this is outrageous! What do you guys think? It seems to me the recording industry is digging their own grave.

Apple's heavy hand shuts down ThinkSecret

What do you think about the latest news that Apple has negotiated with the Apple rumor web site ThinkSecret to shut down for good. This is because of repeated leaking of Apple plans for future products and releases. The details of the agreement were not disclosed. But it seems to me that they bought them off. This seems to me that instead of silencing the free press, Apple should police their own employees for leaking the information to begin with. In my opinion, this latest tactic from Apple is not keeping with the good image Apple has built up over the past. A bit disappointing.

Apple's next Generation iPod HiFi?

Gentlemen, check out the link:

Boom Box

It appears that Apple may give the Boom Box concept another shot. Hopefully they'll be a little more realistic about how they describe it. I don't think any audiophile honestly believes one can get audiophile like sound out of any boom box. There is apparently a remote that allows "Front Row" like interaction with the device.

Great Apple ad on NyTimes.com!

Check out the new ad on NYTimes.com that has Mac guy and PC guy. I didn't even know the New York Times would allow this!

nytimes

Apple occupies 9 of 10 top spots on Amazon

As Christmas approaches and folks rush to buy the coolest stuff, the iPod is making a magnificent showing on Amazon. The cool thing is that Amazon reflects a small slice of the outlets where Apple is selling its products. Not only does Apple have the online and retail stores, there are also the big name retail stores that have begun selling Apple products. Thank goodness Apple found a way to work with these guys like Best Buy. No longer is Apple on the sideline in terms of outlets. Let the consumer choose!

Universal's Deal with Imeem

Gentlemen, what do you think of Universals' new attempt to kick Apple out of the music loop?

Imeem

Users of the social networking site Imeem can listen to any song streamed to their PC for free as long as they see paid advertisements as well. Apparently the paid advertisements help Imeem make some cash for themselves as well as Universal. If a user wants to listen to the song on an MP3 player, they need to pay the 99 cents for the track. The article says this could be the perfect compromise for a company like Universal to get the revenue stream they feel they're entitled to. Comments?

Warner Brothers leaning toward Blue Ray?

The following article:

Warner Bros

seems to suggest that Warner may be leaning toward Blue Ray. What amazes me is the last line of the article:

" But Toshiba’s main attraction to Paramount and Dreamworks was its offer of $150 million in incentives."

It is very Microsoftian to pay one's way into a market. I wish it weren't that way. I wish the merits of each format were the sole determiner of who wins. It would be cool if free markets were actually free and based on quality of services and technologies. Gentlemen, am I too idealistic? If someone even has an argument that a payoff of that magnitude could be justified, I would certainly listen.

Mossberg Review of the Kindle

Here is the Wall Street Journal's review of the Kindle:

Kindle Review

Mossberg thinks the Kindle is poorly designed, although it does have some nice features. And to think that Amazon invested 3 years of design for the thing! Let's face it - Apple is just better at designing the software, and the hardware to go with it, for cool and useful electronic devices.

The Kindle

Gentlemen, what do you think of the new Kindle book reader from Amazon? Still kind of expensive at $400, but that's where the iPod got its start, right? There were rumors about a year ago that Apple was developing an easy way to read books with an electronic device. I wonder is that was true?

Apple Shares through the roof!

Apparently Apple shares have gone up big time in anticipation of the iPhone going on sale in China. Boy, you talk about a huge and emerging market. If Apple gets going in China, and if the Chinese realize how good Macs are, then Apple would be poised for even MORE growth!

Memory Lane

I still remember when we got our first online email address with Yahoo - beginning storage: 32 Mb. Then along comes Google with their 1 Gb memory, then 2 Gb and counting! Yahoo just abolished its memory storage limit - that's right, unlimited memory! Our Google address has 4.5 Gb and counting.

I know I complain about the state of the World sometimes, but memory storage these days is pretty darned good!

Turd at the Top!

The Brown 1st generation Zune is at the top of the Amazon Bestseller List at $130 for the 30 Gb player. It is outselling the black 1st generation Zune ($140) and the 2nd generation black Zune (by far more attractive than 1st gen). Are we as Americans so cheap as to buy a turd for an MP3 player just because it is inexpensive?

Leopards Spotted

Apple made a statement with the release of OS X Leopard, already having sold 2 million copies since its release. As a matter of perspective, when Tiger was released, it took 5 weeks to sell that many copies.

The "Nano-Touch"

Gentlemen, Apple is in great standing on the Amazon bestseller list, and I think we all know that is just a small snapshot of all the distribution avenues available to MP3 players. It is a little disturbing to find the Zune break the top 10. The brown Zune is selling for $130 and, for that price, appears to be selling.

I believe Apple can make a huge leap if they introduced a "Nano-Touch" iPod for $200. When it is introduced, they could reduce the price of the current 8Gb nano to $150. The new nano-Touch would have the touch screen that everyone is so enamored with, just without as many other features like WiFi. Any takers?

Fourth Arizona Apple Store

Gentelemen, are you all aware that a 4th Apple Store is having its grand opening tonight? It is the Apple Store at San Tan Village, the new shopping center opening in Gilbert. 4 is my lucky number! Anyone going to get those free Leopard shirts?

Apple does make computers too!

The numbers are in and it has been reported that Apple's market share of the United States personal computer market is now at 8%. For years it was hovering around 2-3% even after waves and waves of marketing blitzes from Apple to grow that market. Remember the "Think Different" campaign, and the "I'm a PC" campaign. It seems the halo effect is truly starting to kick in. Of course they don't sell nearly as many computers as iPods but maybe someday. Then again, isn't the iPhone really just a small computer?

Old Computer Blues

Gents,

As Lo knows, I pulled the trigger on an iPod touch. I was very excited to get it going last night, only to find out that, while USB is backwards compatible, the iPod touch is not! I do not have USB 2.0 on my PC - only 1.1 and Firewire. So, I was unable to link the touch to my PC, and it does not let you do anything without first synching! So, I have a beautiful iPod paperweight at home until I employ a solution! Ugh!!!! It is at this moment that I am very upset with Apple for no longer supporting Firewire. I am looking into a card slot USB 2.0 adaptor now to see if that's a solution I can use. I had not planned on getting a new PC at the moment.

-Le

Newton Again?

Once again it is being speculated that Apple will be bringing back the Newton from the dead. Of course it is more like a new form factor for the iPhone which has more PDA type functions. I don't think they will be going back to trying to recognize people's handwriting perfectly like the original. Not being accurate enough made a laughing stock in the electronics world. But using the touch screen technology would seem like it might be something plausable. But isn't the iPhone itself the new PDA for Apple? With all the new applications, albiet Web2.0, it can have all the functions developers can dream up. Of course this limitation with keeping the phone secure might be the reason for releasing a separate PDA version where developers can create full blown applications. Do you believe this is real?

Link

Leopard ready to Roar!

The word on the web is that Leopard has gone "Gold Master":

Gold Master

How many of you enterprising young men are looking to make the jump? I know I'm jumping in head first!

HD on iTunes rumor

I read an article that says Apple is ready to put HD content on iTunes:

HD on iTunes

In my opinion, that was the single biggest drawback to a device like the Apple TV. Why would I want to spend money for content I know will have to look dated fairly soon? Apple TV makes a heck of a lot more sense when you can send HD content to an HD TV. And if Apple allows customers to rent movies instead of buying them forever, that would take them much higher. It would be like Blockbuster without ever leaving the house. As it is, you pay around $3.00 to rent a regular DVD. It makes sense! What's your take?

Is Radiohead starting a new trend?

Have you heard the latest that the rock group Radiohead is allowing its fans to download their entire new album from their website for whatever price you feel is fair? NPR ran a segment about this and said that since most bands get little or nothing from the labels from the royalties on their songs, they have little to lose. If the fans pay anything it is a win for the band. Plus it helps promote new fans who may actually pay money for concerts. This seems like a perfect nitch for Apple to promote the bands on iTunes for minimal fees. Will this trend continue?

Will the Amazon music store gain traction?

Have you heard about the latest version of selling online music at Amazon. They have over 2 million songs for only 89 cents. Plus they do not have any DRM locks on them. Seems that Universal is the big provider of the music and appears to be an attempt to have their variable pricing they wanted from Apple. There are other labels providing music too. Amazon does not give up the right to raise the prices of songs down the road. Probably after this loss leader marketing campaign. Prices may rise to $2-$3 a song for some exclusive songs.

Sounds like they are trying an end run around Apple to get the variable pricing. Even at the price of leaving their songs unprotected with DRM. The songs will be in plain vanilla MP3 which would seem to allow you to give the song to others. Of course their may be some fine print to say you can't but it would be hard to enforce. This also would allow any music player to play the songs. Which in the end does not seem like it would hurt Apple. It may even increase demand for iPods, and they sell iPods on Amazon. It seems like Apple can't lose.

Mac is back on college campuses

Check out this article:

Mac is back

I see it all over ASU - there are Macbooks galore! When the young people start getting Macs, it bodes well for the future, don't you think?

Was it something I said?

Wow. Did our blog really get that many hits in one day? Maybe there system had a glitch. Any ideas?

Sanity Restored at Amazon

Well, Stitch, for now at least order has been restored to the Universe. The Zune is at number 8 for MP3 players on Amazon, and there is only one SanDisk above it. The rest are iPods. For a while there, the Zune was a shocking number 2!! For whatever reason, prices tend to slip on Amazon, and the Zune was down to about $149, which is pretty good for a 30 Gb player. But now the iPods are kicking butt. I think your anaysis was right - Apple has a lot of outlets to sell iPods, not the lease of which is its own Apple online store, which is every bit as easy to use as Amazon. You know, it's even as easy to buy an iPod at the Apple retail stores. It's so freaking easy! Power to the iPod!!!

p.s. Macbooks are selling like hotcakes. It's an Apple Universe, man!

The Zune has been competetive!

Gentlemen, it is time for me to get a bothersome issue off my chest. As you know I have an Amazon bestseller list fetish, and the results of late bother me. There is no question that the iPod is definitely number 1 - the new silver 4 Gb iPod nano is number 1 for MP3 players. The new 16 Gb ipod Touch is number 2. The 8Gb Sandisk is number 3, however, then come two versions of the iPod classic. Disappointingly, the white Zune comes in at number 6, and it has been around that spot for a while. I simply don't understand how people could opt for a player that is so darn large compared to the iPod. Now it is true that the Zune sells for $160 for 30 Gb, which is less than the iPods ahead of it. It almost seems that other companies are flooding the market with players, hoping to dupe the customer.

Tell me - is my thinking warped? Am I too much of an Apple fanatic? I could use your input.

iPod Hi Fi R.I.P.

Well, gentlemen, was it inevitable? Apple is no longer selling or manufacturing the much balleyhooed iPod Hi Fi. Are any of you sorry? Do you need a kleenex?

Time for variable pricing?

Is it time for Apple to be more flexible with pricing? iTunes is a household name, so it is obvious they are established. I believe that they should switch their business model the way Amazon has which allows for the market to decide a fair price. Amazon used to ship everything from their warehouses themselves. Now they are just the front end with some controls over how their storefronts act. Market pricing might actually give a boost to smaller labels on iTunes because it would show value relative to the big labels. There is enough competition to let the prices go to where they would be naturally. They may even drop if enough smaller labels gain ground. Apple make the plunge.

Apple delivers, Baby!

Well, about the only disappointment for Apple's announcement was that the Shuffle remains unchanged.

IPod nanos do video and cover flow, the Classic iPod is thinner and carries more music than ever, and...

The iPod Touch is the iPhone without the phone! And you can buy over the internet, baby! It just seemed like this time Apple was working on everyone's dream features for the iPod. I am a little surprised that the product line is getting so big. I would have guessed they would do away with what is now the "Classic iPod". Gentlemen, what do you think of today's announcements?

The iCar?

Have you heard the news that Apple and Volkwagen may be developing an iCar. It would have many Apple created features which Volkwagen hopes will appeal to the younger generation. I think this is so cool. It would give Apple opportunity to make the driving experience even more enjoyable and intuitive just like it has done in so many other areas. These joint ventures are a great idea. Apple knows integration, electronics and software, while Volkwagen know cars. By the way I don't think the car will look like this picture.

Link

NBC universal not renewing with iTunes

Well, a major defection has occurred. NBC will not have programming on iTunes for the coming season. Ouch! Apparently NBC wanted to double prices - shows would have gone up to $4.99 from their current $1.99. However, I understand they can still hammer out a deal - but right now Apple and iTunes arew at an impasse. Will they work it out? It sure seems like a tough situation. What do you think?

Apple winning PC wars?

This article lends support to Steve Job's idea that market share is not the only indication of success. Furthermore, Apple has valued profits over growth. (Which is hard for me to necessarily agree with because Apple has grown tremendously!) I don't think Apple is "winning the PC wars", but I do think Apple is as fierce a competitor as there ever was in the PC industry.

PC Wars

Anti Consumer "Paylola" by HD-DVD

According to a recent article, HD-DVD supporters are paying Paramont 150 million to immediately drop support for Blue Ray DVD standard. Paramount was originally going to support both standards. Sound anti-competitive? Not good! What do you think?

Payola

Gphone?

The latest rumor is that Google will be releasing the Google cell phone in the next couple of weeks. I think Google may be venturing a bit too far from what they know. They do not have experience making hardware products. And really so far there only big success has been the Google search engine. The other products don't really seem to make them any money. Google Earth is cool, but how does that make them money? And there online office suite is basically second rate at best. Gmail is good but still, is it a money maker. There desktop assistant really seems unfinished and hodgepodged together. It will be interesting to see if they can make a good cell phone. My guess is that it will have loads of features but only some of them useful, and yet unpolished compared to the iPhone. What is your take?

Flavor Flav roast

I was flipping through the channels and I came across the Comedy Central TV roast show of Flavor Flav. He is a rapper who is known for wearing a big clock around his neck. Anyway one of the comedians told a joke saying "Flavor you disgust me, you sold out quicker than the iPhone" Yes now the iPhone is working its way into the culture of TV.

Two Studios opt for HD-DVD - Ouch!!

Two studios opted to drop support for Blue Ray and go exclusively with Hd-DVD. Things just got a lot messier! Check it out:

HD

Appleworks R.I.P.

Stitch, it was announced that Apple would no longer sell the venerable Appleworks suite!

R.I.P.

But Apple hasn't updated the suite in forever, so I guess it was just a matter of time. And naturally the iWork suite is quite capable. The only thing it doesn't have is a database application, and I wonder how many people actually made use of it. Are you mourning the loss, Stitch?

Numbers completes the package

I believe the biggest announcement by Apple is not the updates to the iMacs. Although they were pretty cool. The big one in my mind is the completion of an Office package which is suppposably compatible with MS Office. Numbers completes the package. It looks very much like Appleworks where you can have sections of spreadsheets intermixed with graphics instead of having one massive grid locking you in. You can have that if you want but being able to peal off a grid and use it somewhere else on the page adds versatility. I always liked that feature of Appleworks. Except Appleworks was never updated much from its original design. Now who needs any MS product running on your Mac?

Apple Store San Luis Obispo

I must say I was impressed with the new Apple Store in San Luis Obispo! It was very long and it had a modest but very classy front. It seemed like a new design. It made me want to buy something, anything!

New iMac

Gentlemen, I'm back! Just in time to see Apple release the latest incarnation of a very important product line, the iMac. What do you think? The darn thing just keeps getting slimmer, doesn't it?

Record Profits

Apple blew by expectations yet again:

Record Profits

But what caught my attention was the quote that " the new product pipeline is very strong"

This is what's so great about Apple today - constant innovation, new products always under development. They show no sign of slowing down! I get the feeling that Jobs received his second chance to run Apple and change the world, and he intends to make the absolute most of it. He knows that second chances like this in business occur very rarely!

Macnight in the Arctic?

Yes it appears that we have been viewed from a ISP close to the Arctic. I believe this is the farthest north yet. Still waiting for the view from Antarctica though.

iPhone is WOW

Check out the video. Funny.

Video

Sony chief calls Jobs "greedy"!!!

Supposedly a Sony bigwig in North American operations called Jobs "greedy" and only interested in Apple's wealth. I think we should be careful about quotes attributed to a public figure. Things can definitely be stretched, exaggerated and so on by the public when information is obtained second hand. There is no video or anything to corroborate the quotes. BUT, it wouldn't surprise me if he did - Apple is beating the pants off Sony in some key electronic gadget markets! Check it out::

Greedy Jobs

iPhone nano for the holidays?

This article suggests there is evidence Apple will indeed release another version of the iPhone that is smaller and less expensive. The rumor says it will have to have a different input technique because it would be much smaller. I even saw on yet another site that Apple was planning to hit the holiday shopping season with a blitz of new products. It's getting exciting!

iPhone nano 2

Universal wants a piece of the iPod!

There has been a lot of talk on the internet about Universal's move not to renew a multi year deal with iTunes. This article discusses the idea that it could be related to Universal wanting a cut of the iPod and iPhone hardware sales. I know it's speculation, but I mentioned earlier that Universal has such a deal with the Zune. The article notes that Universal would make some big bucks given the volume of iPhone and iPod sales. I know we don't know it for sure, but if Universal expected and got this deal from Microsoft, I don't know why they wouldn't want the same deal from Apple. I think that would be outrageous, and this article lays it out very well:

Universally Greedy!

2nd Gen lower cost iPhone?

The rumors are swirling about another generation of iPhone that is cheaper than the current! It's hard to assess the reliability of a lot of these reports, but it sure would make sense for Apple to appeal to a broader price range of consumer on the iPhone. What do you think?

Low Cost iPhone

Apple to become its own label?

Rumors suggest Apple may become a part of its own label in association with rapper Jay-Z and Beyonce. Word is that they would run the record label and bring some big names with them. It's so far out there it seems pretty hard to believe, doesn't it? I just think this kind of a thing carries so much risk, and it's outside of Apple's expertise. What do you think?

Apple Records?

Why Apple chose Edge over 3G

In a word - battery life! The 3G network, while being much faster, runs down the battery much quicker. Here is an article with hard numbers in a comparison with the Blackjack:

3G vs. Edge

The article suggests the 3G network impact talking time dramatically, so Apple made the right tradeoff. Comments?

Have you touched an Phone yet?

This weekend I was passing an Apple store and decided to check out the iPhone in person. The store was all iPhone. All of the large murals had iPhone related pictures and the front of the store had two 4 foot high iPhone replicas with moving video simulating the features of the iPhone. My first impressions were, Wow. It is not much bigger than an iPod. The keyboard was surprising easy to use as long as you are typing regular words. I could not find the Tab key to switch between fields on a web page. The touch screen is super cool. The best feature of all in my opinion. Surfing the web was really cool with the zooming in and out. Not having Flash support is a major oops. It is too prevalent to ignore. Using it as an iPod was the best iPod ever. But for me. The cost is the main hinderance. Both on the phone itself and the plan. Why don't cell phone plans ever get cheaper. The carriers keep just adding minutes but never lower there prices. The phone towers should be payed off by now. Innovation should yield lower costs. The iPhone plans just add to the cost inflation. One last flaw I see is not allowing outside developers to have apps outside of Safari. Over all, quite a product, and looking forward to cheaper and better versions down the road. Then I might buy.

Yellow Submarine iPod?

The rumors are swirling of the next generation of iPod coming out for the Fall/Christmas season! Naturally they will be touch screen kick-butt! A stranger rumor is that Apple will release a "Yellow Submarine iPod" to coincide with Beatles music coming available on iTunes. I've become a bit wary of these wild rumors! What do you think?

Yellow Submarine

iPhone Hack attack

Have you heard how the computer hacks are having a field day trying to crack the iPhone operating system? They are trying to find flaws in the OS so a hack can take control of the phone. And trying to hack the phone to work on any network. I read that a bug in Safari was found but it was actually on the new Windows beta version.
My work has issued a statement saying that the security of the iPhone is questionable and they forbid using it for company business. One complaint was that you could not install a firewall on the iPhone. And that the browser could be hacked and allow calls to be make by the hacker. Yet we use the ever stable Windows operating system. Sounds like an over reaction from the reports I have heard about security. How secure is a Blackberry, or is it just not in the spotlight. Any thoughts?

Universal plays hard ball with Apple

Check out the article:

Universal

In effect, Universal did not renew a multi year agreement. They instead are opting to renew Apple's license for month to month, and the article says they could do exclusive deals with other online music vendors. They are also the music company that demands a cut of the hardware revenue. That is, they would want a cut of each iPod sold, regardless of whether the iPod will have music by Universal or not. They do that with the Zune.

I think this is totally outrageous! But business is business, and I think this puts Apple in a very difficult position to stay competetive. It will be interesting to see what Jobs can do to get out of this one. The article claims Universal publishes one in three albums these days. What do you guys think?

Are you waiting in line?

McFan, I know you can't read this right now because you are obviously waiting in line for the new iPhone. Maybe you could check MacNight out on your new iPhone with the advanced browser capabilities. It would be a great test for the iPhone. No Apple has not paid me for every time I use iPhone in this post. But the iPhone is a revolutionary new device. The iPhone is one of the coolest gadget's to come along in a long time. The iPhone is..... so frickin awesome!

Check out Henry Winkler talking iPhone!

Funny YouTube of Henry Winkler on the Late Late Night Show talking about the iPhone:

Fonz

iPhone lines already beginning?

I heard that there could be lines already forming for the new iPhone! This is certainly a far cry from the debut of the iPod, isn't it? The iPod took 3 years to really get momentum, and the iPhone will hit the ground with incredible momentum! The new 20 minute video is very impressive. Will I be able to hold back on June 29?

Can't live up to the hype

This weekend I read an article about the iPhone quoting some analysts saying that Apple is betting the company on the iPhone. And that there is no way that Apple could meet all of the hype around the new gadget. One quote said that Apple would be in trouble if it turns out to be another Newton. I am hoping that articles like this tone down some of the hype. But is hard not to get too excited about the iPhone when it has so many super cool features! Is it true that Apple cannot live up to the hype? I think not. If anything, the iPhone will probably be even more than people imagine it to be.

YouTube Streaming to iPhone

Did you hear that the latest added feature to iPhone is YouTube streaming to the device. I don't know - I guess I'm just not the type that wants to spend hours looking at other people's videos. Now SNL skits - that's a different story! Do you think this is a significant feature addition?

The Blockbuster Decision!

Gentlemen, Did you hear that Blockbuster has said they would carry Blue Ray DVD titles exclusively in most of its stores? The reasoning was that in the 200 or so stores they were using as an experiment, customers chose the Blue Ray over HD-DVD discs 70% of the time! I tend to think that this could indicate Blue Ray's eventual victory in the High Def DVD wars. What do you think?

WWDC Note

I've had some time to digest the WWDC announcements. I now feel that Jobs shouldn't have said there were "secret" features of Leopard before. I mean, it would have been better to just reveal the stuff he did at the previous conference, and he didn't have to mention that there were "secret" features of Leopard that he didn't want MS to copy! I think that I agree with the commentary that the Finder isn't "new" - he shouldn't have presented it like that! Only if it's new "under the hood" can it be truly considered a new Finder. I also don't think the "stacks" are a big enough deal to label as a "secret feature". Even "cover flow" is just eye candy, although I think I'll enjoy using it. Cover Flow certainly isn't indispensible. Now Cover Flow on the iPhone will be nice! What do you think?

Safari for Windows

I'm sure you guys have heard that Apple released a beta of Safari for Windows. Now why would Apple release a piece of free software for use on Windows? Now you have two browsers you need to maintain and make sure is secure. I heard that Apple gets good revenue from the Google search bar - is that enough to release a previously Mac only browser for Windows? What's your take?

No New iLife!

I guess the developers conference is not the place to introduce the new software applications, but it sure would have been nice to see or hear some news about the next versions of iLife and iWork, which I make use of frequently! I'm wondering how much different they'll be! Will Leopard make things totally different in these applications?

iPhone open to developers!

On the plus side, Jobs used the WWDC to announce that iPhone will be open to developers! That's pretty big, and takes away the criticism that the apps would be limited. To me, that's the big announcement.

WWDC Disappointment?

I wasn't as blown away by the "secret" features of Leopard as I thought I'd be. I wasn't surprised that the rumored ZFS file system didn't debut, but the new finder features were definitely not revolutionary in my opinion. The new Finder window is simply an extension of the iTunes way of doing things. I do like the idea of "stacks", but again I don't think it's revollutionary. What's your take?

Spilled Beans - ZFS File System in Leopard

Hey everyone! Something as obscure as a file system may be one of the new secret features of Leopard! The ZFS file system from SUN is supposedly a wiz bang new file system that happens to be open source. Anyone know how this affects the price of tea in China? Actually, I want to know why this would make my Mac Life better? (In plain English)

iPhone commercial are airing

Have you seen some of the iPhone commercials yet. I saw a couple of different ones. They don't try to be stylized like the iPod commercials where you barely see the product. The iPhone is shown up close in someone's hand, showing off the many great features of the iPhone. One time the narrator says "an iPod has never done this before", while showing off the coverplay system in the horizontal orientation. The cool features for the iPhone are visual while the iPod is all about the whole integration of large storage, iTunes, and ease of use. The ads ran during "Two and a half Men".

What's Official Release Date?

So, what's the official release date for the iPhone?? Anyone hear?

-Le

3rd party apps for iPhone?

Here is a quote from MacNN:

The Times reports that Apple intends to announce at WWDC next week that it will make it possible for developers of small programs written for the Macs to easily convert them to run on the iPhone.

Wouldn't that be great? Access to 3rd party apps would really open up new uses for the iPhone! Is it possible to do that, yet maintain the reliability of the iPhone?

Apple TV with 160 Gb - Yeah!!

Well, it was bound to happen - Apple will have a build to order option for a 160 Gb hard drive on the Apple TV by June. It will also get the ability to stream videos from You Tube. Sounds like much asked for options are starting to trickle in!

Jobs on new iPods

When asked my Walt Mossberg at the D5 conference about the fact that the current iPod has been around for a while, Jobs responds: "We're working on the best iPods that we've ever done, and they're awesome." I can't wait to see what the new iPods will be like!

Undisclosed iPhone features?

Do you think the iPhone will have higher memory when it ships? Thats the rumor - more flash memory, and maybe a replaceable battery! Does that make sense from Apple's perspective? I would have thought it was a nice bonus to generate even more excitement! I still think the 8 Gb is small for a device that's supposed to play videos!

iTunes Plus!

Gentlemen, iTunes Plus is now available through the software update. There are some awesome albums available DRM free and at twice the bit rate (256 kbps). You can update your entire library at one time, and any new tracks are now at $1.30 instead of $.99. I'd pay for a higher bit rate, especially for genres like jazz and folk stuff. Would you?

iPod Amnesty Bin

Have you heard of the iPod amnesty bin at Microsoft's Zune headquarters? They want their employees to throw their iPods into the bin and get a Zune. Is that appropriate, given that the employees are working for the competitor of the iPod?

Dell to sell pc's in Walmart

Dell is set to sell one model in Walmart. I guess that can help, especially for targeting bargain hunting consumers. I just shudder at the thought of buying a computer at a place like Walmart. They even sell musical instruments! Now that is an afront to all that is decent in this world!

The iGasm

Have you seen the ad for the iGasm? The ad is so similar to Apple's ads that Apple legal is demanding the company remove these steamy ads! Do these ads help or hurt Apple's credibility? You be the judge!

EMI bought by Terra Firma

As you've probably heard, EMI was bought by an investment company called Terra Firma. It's already May 22, and we haven't heard about the DRM free tracks on iTunes. Will it still happen?

Apple stock price rockets forward

In anticipation of the successful release of the iPhone and other Apple devices, Apple's stock price continues to climb. Over the past month, the stock has now increased in value 22%. Not bad for a single month.

Halo 3 Zune coming in June

Here comes a broadside from Microsoft. They are releasing a Halo 3 themed Zune for June. It will have a black case with Halo style graphics. It will also include artwork, music, and videos from the upcoming release of Halo 3 in September, preloaded on the hard drive. So I guess Zune will now offer video too. It will still be a 30GB drive and cost $249. This must be MS answer to the June release of the iPhone.

Amazon to sell DRM free music

Amazon announced today it will see DRM free music in MP3 format, from EMI of course. Would you guys buy in MP3 format when you could buy music in AAC format? Consider this quote from MacDailyNews:

"Apple's iTunes store uses the AAC format which provides audio encoding that compresses much more efficiently than older formats like MP3. AAC offers many advantages over MP3 including improved compression provides higher-quality results with smaller file sizes, support for multichannel audio, providing up to 48 full frequency channels, higher resolution audio, yielding sampling rates up to 96 kHz, and improved decoding efficiency, requiring less processing power for decoding."

McCartney Music to debut online!

I know it may not mean as much to you guys, but this is a moment I've been waiting for! Some of the old Wings and Paul McCartney catalog are going to become available from EMI on iTunes. We should have the option to purchase the higher bit rate music as well. I would have to say I would be just fine with a 256 bit rate for this music! Very cool. Here's the link:

WIngs

Zune out of Amazon top 100

For a while now, the Zune has been missing in action on the Amazon electronics best seller list. Here's the cool thing : the multicolored shuffles are all over the place. Even a blue iPod shuffle is outselling the Zune on Amazon! Very cool. I know Microsoft will be debuting another Zune to compete with the shuffle, but it's so nice right now that the iPod is kicking the pants off the Zune!

iPhone launch June 15?

The word on the net is that the new Apple iPhone will launch on June 15! The Apple stores and the AT & T stores are getting their respective sales associates ready for the big launch. I also heard that Cingular people are visiting the Apple stores to make sure the wireless reception was good. Needless to say, I am starting to get that feeling of sweet anticipation! Perhaps the iPhone should augment my iPod nano? Wouldn't they look good together?

Creative copies iPod shuffle

Gentlemen, does Creative have no shame? The Zen "Stone" is due to be released in May, and it is a shameful knockoff of the iPod shuffle. Is there no innovation left in the world? Tell me!! I want to know!

Tips from Steve Jobs

There's a great article that puts together some quotes from Steve Jobs, and put a little more detail into them. It's a pretty good synopsis! I notice that one or two sentences came from Jobs graduation speech. Check it out:

Jobs Tips

NAB envy

After seeing photos from the NAB conference, I have become envious. With all of the cutting edge software, and slick large screen presentations, and hands on tutoring. If only Apple made engineering software. The dream of such a conference for engineers. Any conference that I have gone to for engineering has been bland and boring. Does it have to be. Apple HELP!!!

It was bound to happen....

Gentlemen, the iGrill is here!! A new addition to the George Forman grill line now includes an electric grill with the ability to play songs from you iPod. It has 10W speakers built in. Now you can get your groove on while grilling up them burgers. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

Jobs dodges a bullet

It seems Jobs is a lucky man given that the SEC has decided not to charge him with any wrongdoing in the backdated options issue. If you don't know, Apple's (former?) CFO has publicly stated that Jobs was aware of the backdating after he himself was being charged. This whole mess seems to really stink. I find it hard to believe that Jobs could be so nieve to not understand the implication of backdating options. But he did end up getting a bye. This whole deal seems like something Apple would never do. Maybe this practice has become so rampant in corporations that it didn't seem like a crime anymore. Hats off to the SEC for doing a cleanup job of this type of shady dealings. I hope Apple stays clean here on out.

3/4 Pentabytes

Yes Apple has setup a data storage bank at NAB of 3/4 Pentabytes. I'm not sure if this is what comes after Terabyte but the array looks impressive!


Link

Adobe Creative Suite

The just released Adobe Creative Suite 3, the Universal version for intel based Macs, took the number 3 spot on Apple online store from the iPod nano. Man, they must be selling tons of them! It all goes back to the mac's roots as a device that helps people be creative! It isn't cheap at $1800 for a brand new version, $600 to upgrade. Power to the creative people!

Order Restored to the Universe

I just checked the Amazon top sellers for Electronics. The 30 Gb iPod is number 1 where it belongs, with the 80 Gb a few spots down, and the shuffle a little further down. The Gigabeat is nowhere to be found, and the Zune is at number 78 behind almost all the iPods and several Sansas. Do they even sell the brown Zune anymore?

New iPod killer

Link

Stitch the Rapper

I noticed that there were no comments on my attempt to make a rap song about the "MacNight in the UAE" post. I thought it wasn't bad for a first pass. But yet no comments. Maybe I am loosing my edge. Oh well.

3 Hour Keynote!

Jobs is scheduled to give a 3 hour keynote at the WWDC on June 11! I don't think I've ever seen him give a keynote that long. I speculate 1 hour for Mac Leopard programming stuff, and 2 hours for the launch of the incredible iPhone! Hey, he might even give the attendees free iPhones! (Yeah, right!)

Joost beta

I signed up for the Joost beta test. It took a couple of weeks before they added more people for testing and then I got an email which gave me the link for the Joost download. Joost is that program which is being developed which by the makers of Napster and Skype. The main advantage is that they distribute the server demands over all computers using Joost. That way one central server doesn't get overloaded. This allows for streaming of video in full screen at up to near DVD quality.

The interface is very slick and modern and runs in full screen or window mode, and only appears when the mouse is moved. There are a series of channels with individual shows you can view. Some are full length shows of about 1/2 hour. Or snippet shows of maybe 5 min. They have some mainstream content like National Geographic, and some internet only programs. The quality of the video depends on the provider. Some are high res and is probably close to DVD quality. But the quality can vary even in the same show. If there is movement in the program the quality drops compared to more still shots. They allow people to rate content, and even chat with others watching the same show.

My review would say: The quality and interface is impressive. Most of the time there is clear streaming content. Not of the quality of some Quicktime content but there is much less lag. With a quicktime video like high def movie trailers. The stream can just stop abruptly and then wait for data. I see less of that for the most part with Joost. But even though there are less drops of content with Joost, they end abruptly with a "sorry come back later" error message. Not a pause but just stops. Many programs will stream for 10min with no delays and then the "sorry" message. Not ready for prime time yet. But this is beta so I guess that is what is being fixed. I have read that these types of networks get more reliable with more users because the content has more places it can come from.

As for a challenger to Apple TV? I think it is a different market. Joost is for viewing on a computer monitor only, as far as I know. The interface requires a mouse. The content is focused on internet style programming. But each show typically has a splash ad (about 20 sec) with big name advertisers. But typically only one ad per episode. Apple TV will probably win for reliable playback but I don't know since I don't have one. Apple TV typically has already downloaded the content and is only streaming it locally from your home computer to the Apple TV box. So delay is much less likely for streaming content.

If you would like to try Joost beta. Let me know, I can invite others to try in the beta test. I guess they want to limit the numbers of people testing. They have a Mac version right from the start.

Is Jobs reading MacNight?

I just noticed that we have a hit from up near Cupertino on Geovisitors. I am just going to assume it is Steve Jobs checking out our humorous blog. The wit is so cutting edge and the humor just hovers over each and every post. It must be Steve. Of course there a few million other possible people it could be but lets just believe it is Jobs so that we have a story. Now McFan he may be worried about your overzealous enthusism for all things Steve. I won't say anything about that shrine or anything. Ooops.

Leopard Delayed!

Well, our beloved new OS Leopard has been delayed until October. I guess resources aimed at finishing iPhone took some resources away from the OS release and caused the delay. You know what I say - get it right!!! I'll wait for an outstanding release rather than buy a buggy release earlier. Tiger works fine for me! What's your take?

Toshiba Gigabeat Number 1 on Amazon

Right now, the Gigabeat is number 1 on Amazon. I was initially confused, until I saw that it is a 40 Gb player discounted from $300 to $100!! I don't know how they do that! I guess they just want to move out inventory.

Ello governor

I have noticed that we have been having more visitors from Europe than the US for the blog. You might call them Macnight voyers. Just peaking in but no comments as far as I can see. Maybe then ended up here by accident. Anyway you got here, welcome and feel free to comment. If you would like to be able to post too, just email us or say so in a comment. The more the merrier. Cheers. As they say.

Apple TV subculture

I have noticed that iTunes now has a link for content for the Apple TV. Currently the quality of the content is early podcasting but there is some actually good material. This could become something like a youTube.com on your TV. The young internet generation that is leaving regular TV may be pulled back to this. Some of the programs have a quick ad in the video. You can watch it on iTunes if you don't have Apple TV. Maybe Apple will add a search mode directly from you Apple TV for this type of content. Similar to the movie previews they have now. This is sort of like "snippet" TV which fits into the short attention spans of the Y generation. If it includes ads I could see Apple TV driving a new snippet TV economy for programming and ad revenue. This could be the first adopters of Apple TV in my mind.

Positive Sansa connect review

Here is a rather positive review of the new SanDisk player. Maybe it will be very successful after all!

SanDisk

Zune nano-killer

Making the rounds in cyber space is the rumor that MS is ready to release a "nano killer", as bloggers are calling it. Supposedly very small and with a rather large screen on the surface, it is set to knock out the iPod nano. Can MS do it?

MGM Films on iTunes!

Apple just added MGM films to iTunes! I admit, the lower resolution is a bummer. But I also think DVD resolution is a little beyond the reach of most household wireless networks. It's be cool when that actually happens! It's amazing how many movies have been downloaded even at the lower resolutions!

What do you think of Sansa - WiFi

What do you think of Sandisk's latest MP3 player the Sansa? It will go for about $250 with a 4GB flash storage but will be the first player to offer WiFi downloads of music. They have teamed up with Yahoo's online music store.

In my opinion, adding WiFi sounds like a good thing but the news reports I read act as if it so revolutionary that it will change the MP3 market. Just think, you will not need a computer to download songs, just an open WiFi connection. Except that if you have a home WiFi network then you probably have a computer. So maybe the market is for people who hang out at airports where they have open WiFi networks. Now all you need to do is drive to your nearest airport with your Sansa, pay $2/hr for parking and download your music without a computer to your Sansa. Of course the other option would be to use a WiFi sniffer program, drive aroung town until you find an open WiFi network and then download direct. But wait, most sniffer programs require a computer. Ok, so maybe it isn't all that revolutionary. Maybe they just wanted to beat Apple to the punch with the WiFi before the iPhone comes out.

Macnight now has an RSS feed

I have setup our blog to be an RSS feed. Now you might say, what the heck is an RSS feed. Well it took me a bit of researching to figure this out too. RSS and its brother Atom is a way for the blog to push info to subscribers whenever new content is added. For now all I got working is new postings but I will see if I can get new comments added too. Some web browsers handle RSS feeds as something called "Live links". This adds a dynamic bookmark which will have a long list of the current postings on Macnight. Safari does this and so does version 2.0 of Firefox. The other option is to use something called a news reader. This is a separate program that allows you to add feeds to it and then all the headlines, blogs update automatically. This is for the hard core user. Google had one of these online. Thunderbird email also performs this function but has limited features. I find the "dynamic bookmarks" to work the best for what I need. A simple quick check without loging in to blogger.com.

Macnight in the UAE?

I was doing a blogger search for Macnight to see if our site shows up on blogger search engines. And I was surprised to come across this web site advertising the upcoming Macnight in the UAE (United Arab Emmerites). Thats one of those countries in the middle east with loads of oil. It is nice to see that Macs are accepted around the world and a MacNight is probably happening somewhere in the world right now.

Link

Geovisitors

I don't know if you noticed that I have added a link to the bottom of the blog. This is something called geovisitors. It keeps track of the location of the servers which were used to link to the Macnight blog. If you click the link at the bottom of the blog it takes you to a map of the recent activity for the blog and a Google map of server locations. It even shows by color which connections were more recent. I thought it was pretty cool. Of course with our small group it is not likely to have many markers. Check it out.

Grab the pitchfork

I have noticed that some of our MacNight members have stopped posting all together. This is quite sad. Obviously there is plenty to say, and many Apple topics to comments on. Or even make one more of an issue than it really is. It's actually quite fun to do. We don't want an angry mob forming soon. We know you are out there. We have that GPS tracking device we planted on you, so we know.
OK, maybe you don't even check back to MacNight anymore. Try posting just one post. And before long you will be a regular poster. It can be addictive. You know you want to.

Mac Pro with 8 Cores

Dual 4-core processors at a speed of 3 GHz now in the top of the line Mac Pro. 8 Cores of blistering speed for the software sophisticated enough to take advantage. $4000 for the maxed out (all the trimmings) Mac Pro. Anyone need to design the next Space Shuttle?

Apple distinguishes itself once again

I believe that takes a very honest businessman to stand up and do the right thing, over what will make your company the most money. Jobs has stepped up and shown that with the push to make downloads DRM free, Apple is above the norm in business. Apple could have easily pulled a Microsoft and do whatever it takes to maximize profits, even at the expense of their users. Apple has the potential to lose a lot of money down the road now that you can move music to any player, free of DRM. Yet they did it anyway. I applaud the move. And in the end, I believe it will only improve Apple's image and business.

A trillion dollars of market capitalization

Yes a financial analyst predicts that Apple could be the first company in history to have a trillion dollars of market capitalization. He basis this on the current growth trends for Apple. And assuming that Apple duplicates this growth with the new iPhone and Apple TV. I don't know if he is smoking something funny, but if all the ducks end up in a row, I guess it is possible.
He also predicts that Apple could double in value by the end of the year. And that all of the US national debt will disappear and world hunger will end by year end. OK so I made up the last two.

Link

Myth TV - Linux's Apple TV

I found that Linux has something like Apple TV. But it also will act as a DVR, play DVDs and games. This shot is one of many possible "skins". It looks impressive. I'm sure setup requires computer speak.


More shots

DRM free music on iTunes

Have you heard that latest about EMI allowing DRM free music to be sold on iTunes? Both DRM-free and DRM versions will continue to be sold with the DRM-free being of higher quality bit rate. This comes at an extra cost. The DRM-free music will sell for $1.29/song while the DRM version is still 99 cents. Is it worth it to pay a little extra for Dfree music? I think so. I always felt a little funny buying music which is locked to a particular companies DRM system. Even if it is Apple. Who knows if this system will be supported in the future, and then you would be out of luck.

This may have the side benefit of squelching all of the lawsuits which are brewing in Europe. Or may be due to them. At any rate, I think Jobs made it clear that Apple is not the one pushing for DRM it is the record companies. And now they are starting to budge. There are still other record companies which think that EMI is making a mistake. We will have to wait and see.

Hackintosh.org

Apple TV has already been hacked to run on an Intel based Mac. There is actually a web site called AppleTVhacks.com. Basically they say AppleTV uses a shrunk version of OSX and a new version of FrontRow. They hacked the Finder file so it doesn't check for the AppleTV hardware and were up and running.
I don't know the immediate benefit for doing this but I guess it is to further figure out how AppleTV works internally so that it can be modified to do additional things like DVR.
I just thought it was amazing that someone has already done this. The site is afraid of Apple legal coming down hard on them, so they do not post the hacked Finder file but it seems others have been able to access it.
Personally I don't see the point. You could have easily created a Linux based TV server if you are really into complete control of the system. I know many have done this already so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. I think AppleTV is for the majority of people who don't want to hack or don't know how to hack.

Analyst suggests Apple get out of cell phone business

I read a recent news blurb on Schwab.com where a prominent financial analyst suggested that Apple was foolish to enter the cell phone market at this time. He said that the current cell phone market is consolidating and that the cell phone will become a commodity real soon with small profit margins. He commented that unless Apple has three or four models in the works the hype around the new iPhone would end up fading away in about 6 months, just like it has done with other cell phones. When asked what Apple brings to the table, he said that the success with the iPod is based on popular advertising primarily and that will not be enough in the cell phone market. His suggestion was that Apple sell the rights of the iPhone to Samsung. Coincidentally, the day these comments were released, Apple's stock dropped almost 2.5%.

Complete my Album

Gentlemen, what do you think of the new iTunes feature "Complete my Album"? For individual songs purchased in the last 180 days on the iTunes music store, people can opt to buy the complete album at a reduced price which gives credit for the songs already purchased. I think it's a great idea! I'm sure it won't revive album sales, but it will allow people to buy the rest of an album without having to pay for songs twice. Good idea, or ho hum?

Apple TV to have DVR capability?

Gentlemen, I saw an article that suggests there is anectodal evidence of a DVR capability in the future for the Apple TV. Specifically, there are some Automator Actions which suggest the Apple TV will have that ability. Would that be cool or what? Check it out:

Future DVR ability?

(BTW, Apple TV is back on the Apple Store's best seller list at number 10 after an absence)

What Happened to Special K's post?

Stitch, what happened to Special K's post?

Pink Zune?

Gentlemen, I heard that Microsoft, in a bid to accelerate sales of its much hyped Zune, will release a pink version. Will this have the desired effect? What's your take?

Apple ranked 7th most admired company by Forbes survey

For the first time, Apple has made it in the top ten of all companies on the Forbes list. One reason given was that Apple reached $1 billion in sales faster than any retailer in history in 2004. Then they topped that in 2005 by $1 billion in sales in one quarter. Soon the average Apple store will be selling as much as an average Best Buy. Then comes two new products, the iPhone and Apple TV.

"Our stores were conceived and built for this moment in time - to roll out iPhone," CEO Steve Jobs told Fortune. Will they be selling as much as a Walmart Superstore soon. Walmart's margins are small while Apples are quite high. I will have to check the numbers. But anyway, WOW!

Mossberg's Apple TV Review

With all we've been discussing on Macnight, it seems only appropriate to put the link to Walt Mossberg's glowing review of Apple TV here:

Mossberg

Photos from the Motherland

Stitch, take a look at a few photos from the Motherland. I cannot overstate the innovative energy I absorbed while on our pilgrimage. Indeed, upon my return several people have commented on my "Apple glow"...

The Mothership

Apple TV is shipping

They are here! Apple TV, the oddball iTunes add on is shipping. I am hopeful for the success of Apple TV but am still puzzled by some of its features.

Apple TV plusses:
1) Stream video to a high definition TV.
2) With new Quicktime, can convert DVD's and other content to Apple TV format for streaming to TV.
3) Music and Photos too.
4) Watch downloaded TV shows in iTunes on your TV.

Problems with these features:
1) Requires high definition TV yet the content does not utilize this to its fullest. No 1080i support or even 720i support. Just an almost 720i quality but currently iTunes only downloads shows at 640x480 quality which is even lower resolution than 720i. Apple could change this soon, and will probably do that.
2) New Quicktime Pro conversion is all good, but will have to see how quickly the conversion takes place. I saw a post where someone said that people will be getting movies from Netflix, ripping them into iTunes with the new Quicktime, and then returning them immediately. The movie industry must be nervous.
3) Yes, yes music and photos. I would call these bonus features. The music could be good since you could hook Apple TV to your stereo system. But then you need your TV on to control it. Awkward. It reminds me of how cable TV has music stations. Like 30+ stations. But using your TV to control your music is not right.
4) TV shows. Once again, I think the pay per show model is destined to fail. I think that is a nitch market. I will put up with a few commercials so I don't have to pay. I would hate to pay $1.99 for 1/2hr show which ends up being a dud. If it turns out to be a bad show, you can't channel surf.

In the end, I am sure Apple will fix many of these problems. I just think for now the market for what they currently have is limited. One upbeat assesement by an analyst said that iTunes is already in about 50-60 million homes, while Window media center is in about 4 million. And many of those were just because it was bundled. As with any bundled software, a lot of it is never used. So this does give Apple a Trojan horse for pushing Apple TV.

The Apple Company Store!

Stitch, the Apple Company Store is so incredibly cool! I bought a ton of stuff, including two shirts that said:

1. Cupertino, 839 miles and 180 degrees from Redmond

2. I visited the Mothership

Naturally I had to buy the coffee mug with the simple, elegant Apple logo! It was fantastic. We had lunch at BJs, which is right there in Apple's parking lot. Stitch, you can actually feel the innovation taking place!

Palm may be up for sale

I just read that it is speculated that Palm may be up for sale. And Nokia and Motorola are the two potential buyers. The article pointed out what Le said that Palm is a small market company with its line of Treos. And that they don't offer push email directly. Although they do offer it through outside vendors such as Microsoft. The funny thing was that at the end of the article the analyst commented that the Apple iPhone may have forced this sale. Based on the fact that the cell phone market is getting more and more crowded and a weak player like Palm would profit more now from a sale than to wait for more competitors such as Apple. It is also rumored that Google is working on a phone of their own. But they are denying it now. It is getting interesting. It will come down to, what do you really want your phone to do. How much are you willing to pay. And how good the user experience is. At least Apple leads the way on that last front. The others will depend on the customer response.

I've got to start using that crystal ball for more productive things!

How will Nokia and Blackberry compete with the iPhone?

I was thinking how the other phone makers will be able to compete with the iPhone. It took Apple over 3 years to develop the iPhone so the competition is already 3 years behind. Plus Apple already had OSX to start with. Of course the competition could use a Linux based phone. But if you have ever used Linux you will know that this is an OS for the brave. Sure it is free and can do a whole bunch. There are many developers who donate their free time to add to the code of Linux and Linux based software. While most of the software tends to have many features it always seems like a work in progress. While Linux lovers tolerate this because it is free and can be changed by anyone, it is also what holds it back. So if phone manuf. use Linux they have to finish it, or pay someone to finish it. So it as flashy and seemless as OSX and the iPhone. This I don't believe is an easy task. So in the end I think this huge advantage will blast the iPhone far ahead of the competition that they will have to invest heavily in R&D to keep up. It may even force a merger down the road to do this. Hmmm Nokia buys Blackberry or vice versa. And then there is Samsung and LG. A collaboration. ..... end of speculative post.

Macs and iPods better than some hifi CD players

There are some audiophiles who feel that Macs and iPods can compete with some high end brands of CD players. Interesting...

Better than CD player!

Apple CFO optimistic!

Gentlemen, it is no surprise that the Apple CFO would be very optimistic. He reiterated that Apple TV and iPhone will change the landscape yet again, and he did not mention anything about Leopard slipping its ship date. There really isn't a ship date - they said Spring, which could mean a lot of things! He said Apple would not be licensing OSX (no surprise) and they have no intention yet of changing the large cash reserves they maintain (I'm all for that!). I think we're in for a banner year!

Apple CFO

San Francisco (and Cupertino, the Motherland)

Just a heads up Stitch. Le and myself will be on vacation for a week beginning this Saturday in San Francisco. Yes, I am returning to visit the Mother Ship! So for one week, Le and Lo will be absent from Macnight, but fear not, for we will return with new vigor and sweet Apple in our hearts! Yes, we will trek to the Motherland of Cupertino, and we will take in the radiance and beauty! Make no mistake, we shall prosper as a result of our journey.

Move to Iceland

This is it. Check it out.

Link to It.

Morgan Stanley estimates 8 million iPhones will be sold in one year.

An article on MacNN.com said that Morgan Stanley estimates over 8 million iPhones will be sold based on current trends and a survey which shows that about 19% of the market wants to buy a converged device and about 23% are at least somewhat interested in buying an iPhone. Here is my post on MacNN.com going through the numbers.

These are investment analysts that are trying to predict the market for the iPhone. It is not going to be an exact science. Let's look at the numbers and try to make some reasonable conclusions.

Article numbers:
140 mil - Number of "converged" devices sold in past 2 years.
7 mil - Number of "converged" devices sold by Blackberry
19% - Percent of people who own/want conv device.
23% - Percent of people who are extremely/somewhat interested in buying an iPhone

Conclusions:
The percentage of people who currently own a conv device has to be less than 19% since this includes "want" to buy also. Lets say it is 15% now. Since the current market for converged phones is 140 mil over 2 years lets say it is half that in one year. So the current market of converged phones is 70 million in one year. So the total market per year for cell phones is (70/.15) = 467 million. If only about 10% of the people who say they are interested in the iPhone actually buy one then that would be (23%*0.10) = 2.3%. That is 2.3% of the total market not just the converged market. This would mean that Apple could sell about (0.023*467) = 10.7 million iPhones in one year. This is 2.3 times more than the goal Apple is shooting for. So Morgan Stanley is being more conservative than my estimates. Then there is the potential ace in the hole. Apple already has about 23% of the market at least somewhat interested in buying an iPhone. This can only grow more when the iPhone is heavily advertised and all of your friends have one to show off. In reality, no one can know how big the market is going to be for the iPhone but it is potentially very very big.

Rumor - Touch sensitive Apple displays!

With the recent hooplah surrounding the Beatles deal, I'm more careful about getting too excited about rumors. This rumor suggests there may be new touch sensitive displays coming out from Apple to compliment the touch sensitive iPhone. It could happen to be a new killer feature of Leopard! Unfortunaltey, I heard the latest Leopard build released to developers was still a "work in progress", so they suggest not to expect Leopard until June. I hope they're wrong!

Rumored Displays

Vista has Speech Recognition going for it

David Pogue, a Mac guy who write for the New York Times, posted an interesting and complimentary article about Vista's speech and dictation abilities. It sounds like Microsoft got this aspect right and is well ahead of the Mac. I haven't heard if Leopard will have this!

Vista Speech Recogition

Wished for Blogger feature

I was hoping that with this new update to Blogger that they would have added the feature to know that new postings or comments have been added since the last time you viewed the blog. I don't think this would be too technical to do. They could store the date and time you last viewed and then flag new comments.

It seems as postings are added, and the older postings drop down the list. People stop the discussions on them. So we end up only being good for about 2-3 comments per posting. Unless McFan and Le go at each other. Then we have banter. Oh well, maybe in the next update.

Flash RAM prices dropping fast

I read that Flash RAM prices are dropping fast. And the article said that stock analysts are predicting this will help Apple get even better profit margins. Normally I would hope that when companies get their raw materials or parts for less money they would pass the savings onto the customer. I am sure Apple will do some of this to stay competitive. But I am actually happy Apple will keep some of the profits. I feel that when Apple has more money for R&D they will continue to make great new products.

iPod to use OSX?

Do you think that Apple plans to change the OS of the iPod to OSX just like the iPhone will? It would seem like a natural progression. Plus it would allow Apple to support just one OS. I know that the full OSX is not in the iPhone, just the core libraries for graphics etc. I suppose it will depend on if the iPod has enough RAM to even run OSX.

iTV already taken?

Looks like iTV was already taken. There is a web site called www.itv.com. It is a site that broadcasts over the internet British television programs. I believe this may be the reason Apple chose to change the name from iTV to Apple TV.

Zune nowhere to be found!

Gentlemen, at last check, the much hyped Zune is nowhere to be found the the Amazon top 100 electronics best sellers. iPods are on top with various flavors, followed by the SanDisk players. I didn't think this would happen - Zune appears to be getting a butt kicking from one of Microsoft's original collaborators!

Cover Flow hoax?

Gentlemen, there is a YouTube video purporting to be the much balleyhooed "CoverFlow" option on iTunes on the iPod with video. Is it real, or is it an imposter?

Cover Flow iPod

"iPhone" a Go...

Cisco and Apple have reached an agreement on Apple's use of the name "iPhone." Good news, since that's the best name for the new device.

-Le

Can Macnight be Revived !!!

We are in a crisis. We are losing our audience. It looks like we are going to have to put on a much better show if we want to survive. Are you with me?

Stitch, here's a link to the Beatles story

Stitch, check out the link below about the Beatles not being on iTunes in an exclusive deal:

Beatles

And this information comes from the Beatles record company spokesperson. It could have been so great!

Did we lose Le and Macminni?

I hope the switch to the new blogger didn't cause such a headache that we lost Le and Macminni. If your out there, please give us a sign!

Apple to be trounced by the Kazaa creators

I was reading an article in Wired magazine about this new file sharing program called Joost. It is from the creators of Kazaa and Skype. Joost claims to be the new replacement for television via the internet. I know, everyone makes this claim, but Joost will be using the same file sharing peer to peer system that Kazaa and Skype have used to take the distribution load off of large centralized servers. And the developers have learned their lesson from Kazaa that they need to play legally. So it has high level encryption.

The basic idea is that content is originally stored on a central server along with the advertising to support the system. As people load Joost onto their computer, then they become a mirror site for content. Therefore the central server does not get all of the load of supplying content. This is the key breakthrough. For such a large system to work it needs to be distributed, otherwise the cost of these large central servers would kill you.

Advertisers are very excited about Joost because it allows them to target very specific markets with direct advertising. Not everyone who watches the same show will have the same advertising. The developers of Joost claim that because of this very targeted advertising, there will only need to be one small commercial for a 1/2 hr show.

I personally believe that this is a much more logical system than the central server, no commercial, pay $3 per show model that Apple is using.

At this time content providers are few and far between right now for Joost but there does seem to be an interest. The encryption of content goes a long way. The interesting thing is that Joost is built from a collection of free open source software combined into a fully integrated system. I hope Apple takes notice. This is the TV of the future.

Joost

No Beatles exclusive for Apple

I think it would have been a magnificent follow up to the iPhone announcement - an Apple-Beatles spectacular with a special iPod, etc., but it didn't happen! I can't help but think that Apple and the Beatles would be able to make so much money if they put their heads together for something special. Maybe there's still too much bad blood for them to work together like that. Is anyone else as disappointed as I am?

Market Capitalization Update

Back in Nov 2005 I showed the market capitalization of Apple and a few other companies. Here is the latest update.

Company Nov 2005 Feb 2007
Dell $70 Billion $54 B
Apple $51 B $74 B
Ford $15 B $16 B
Microsoft $278 B $287 B
Google $101 B $111 B
HP ? $115 B

As you can see, Dell is fading from popularity on the PC side of the biz but HP is taking off like gangbusters (sorry missing data for 2005). Apple has grown significantly. And the big MS snowball keeps getting bigger and bigger. Probably due to momentem no doubt. Apple is still playing in the big leagues!

Will Apple Corp be the DRM free record label?

Did you hear the rumor that Apple is going to release Beatles songs which have yet to be released. Big news in and of itself, but the real kicker is that they plan to do this without DRM attached. The article that I read, which was actually on Schwab.com, said that Jobs is planning to start a new revolution without DRM.

You have to wonder why Apple Corp made such grand statements after the Apple/AppleCorp deal. From the article on Schwab.com they said:

This week, Apple Inc. and the Apple Corps Ltd. announce an agreement bringing this statement from the Beatles music company manager, "The years ahead are going to be very exciting times for us." (This is also the guy who would have the new tracks from the vault.)

I am going to do some wild speculation here and say: It sounds like Apple Corp may become the record company which supplies Apple with DRM free music. You know that Apple must have offered something really big for Apple Corps to make such a bold statement about the future. I don't think just providing Beetles music on iTunes would have prompted this type of response. If Apple Corp does go this route maybe this will prompt some musicians to sign with Apple Corp which will free Apple from the DRM stranglehold. You can tell that Jobs is very unhappy about how the labels are forcing the DRM on them. Plus with all of the latest lawsuits, the writing is on the wall. Apple's agreement with the record companies says that if there is a breach in the DRM system Apple has only a few weeks to fix the problem or the record companies can pull out all of their music libraries. Am I nuts? Apple has always said that they don't make the money with iTunes, its the iPod that brings in the cash.

Apple TV dropped out, but...

Stitch, Apple TV officially dropped out of the top sellers list on the Apple store, but guess who's back on top - the iPod shuffle!! I'm assuming the shuffle's new colors is causing the stir! So cool - release exactly the same iPod, but add color, and get an instant surge of sales (it was number 3 just a day or 2 ago)! Awesome!

Steve Job's letter on DRM

Gentlemen, what did you think of Job's letter about the state of the DRM? A norwegian official already criticized Job's letter, saying Apple was distributing the music, so they were responsible for providing the music free of DRM to ensure customer choice. I just don't understand that - if Apple gets rid of the DRM, in the current climate the record companies will rescind their ability to distribute the music. I don't get why the Norwegian official still suggests that. Any ideas?

Gates tirade

Bill Gates is pissed about Apple stealing all of their ideas. This Newsweek article of an interview with Bill quotes him saying that "Apple steals our ideas". It is pretty amazing if he really believes this. I think the only ideas Apple has ever gotten from MS is the ability to tab between applications quickly and the three button mouse. He also comments about Steve Jobs in a not so friendly way. Oh he also says MS invented the idea of "File Edit ..." menu layout. Enjoy the article.

Gates tirade

Apple TV dropping in popularity rankings

I noticed that the Apple TV has dropped considerably in the most popular rankings at the Apple online store rankings. It was the last item that they ranked. I guess it is better than not making the list. I think it would be premature to buy something like that at this time. It only works on a high definition TV but iTunes max format size is only 640x480. While HDTV goes up to 1080i. Will you be able to upgrade to the higher definition later if you buy content now? It still is almost twice the resolution of regular TV at least but still not as good as DVD. I suppose its all due to bandwith limitations and download speeds.

Wow - all the changes at Blogger caught me!

Gentlemen, the chances caught me off guard! Good thing I already had a Gmail account!

And now there is color!

McFan, I believe that now that the Shuffles are available in colors. You may need to upgrade to a more colorful world. This is a strange upgrade for Apple. Just color the packaging without any technical upgrade. This I believe is stalling for the release of the next generation iPods which will have no click wheel and the multi-touch screen of the iPhone. Any guesses for the release dates for the touch screen iPods anyone?

Another proud new iPod owner

I have failed to mention that I bought Christina a green anodized aluminum iPod nano for Christmas. She takes it everywhere, playing songs in the car and using it during her workouts. My son likes to use it so much that the other day he asked "How old do you have to be to get an iPod?". When I heard this, I got a bit choked up. "That's my boy".

Big iceburgs melt very slowly

I saw this article about how Microsoft Vista is not the rage of other MS OS releases. Windows 95 had people lined up at the stores dieing to get the new release. It is predicted that for most people, they will not pay to upgrade to Vista but will wait until they need a new computer and then getting it for free. The focus of the article was to say that MS is becoming less and less relavent. It's focus was on "Internet based software" and "Open standards" for software and the interchange of information. Saying that people don't upgrade like they used to. But my favorite quote was in reference to Microsoft slowly fading from importance since the majority of their income and profits comes from MS Office and their operating system. The quote was that "even big iceburgs melt, but very slowly".

Apple products yet to be released.

Check out this online Photoshop contest for people to come up with wild and crazy products which Apple might create. Many of them incorporate very simple interfaces, and have sleek designs. But most of them are completely bizarre. Check out the link below. One of my personal favorites is the iCalc. Which is a calculator with only one arrow key button. The simpliciy of it all. Enjoy the others.

Contest Link