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...

Blue Ray comment

I have educated myself about Blue Ray vs HD DVD and here are my findings. HD DVD also uses a blue laser like blue ray. So the difference is in the technology. The Blue Ray can hold more than HD DVD ( 26GB vs 15GB per layer compared to 4.7GB for DVD ). Of course it would seem that the higher capacity would always win out but this is not always the case. If the current content available is not enough to fill the new blue ray disks then 15GB may be good enough and given they are cheaper, people may adopt this just out of confusion.

So I would say that it depends on the marketing and content. If the Blue Ray group ( not to be confused with Blue Man group) is able to convince people that you will have a richer experience and they have content to back it up, then this may become the standard. One problem that I see is how many people now currently have a TV which will play such a high definition quality. I would guess only about 25% if that. So the market may not be as big as regular DVD's.

I remember thinking that when SVHS came out that it would eliminate regular VHS but it never really caught on. I think there has to be a big enough leap in quality to make it justifiable for the extra expense. I am sure you can fit a full length HD movie on a HD DVD so the incentive to go Blue Ray not be too strong.

Net Neutrality Doomed?

I don't know if you have heard much about this Net Neutrality issue but it looks like the Congress is getting ready to sell the internet to the highest bidder. A Senete subcommited has basically done that. Even Apple and Microsoft are on the same side of Net Neutrality.

Net Neutrality is the push to keep the internet open. Currently the carriers such as Cox or Quest do not monitor what goes through the pipe to your house they only charge you for having the pipe. What carriers want to do now is to monitor what is going through the pipe and charge an extra charge for "premium" content. Such as high speed video. In this way they can make deals with big content providers to to charge a premium for a certain type of content and then pass some of this charge to the content providers.

The big concern is that with this new potential stream of big dollars, the basic internet will be stuck at the current speeds or lower. In effect marginalizing other sites and making them seem of poorer quality. Eventually, all you will have is the premium content. The internet will turn into something like television networks.

It isn't a done deal yet. The full Senate has to vote on it and then of course the House. Personally, I wouldn't have any problem with this if you had many choices for service providers. But most people only have Cable or DSL, with one provider each. For me it is cable only since DSL requires being close to a substation to work.

Stanley Cup comes to the Apple Store in NY

My name is on the second ring from the bottom!

The Story

Sony boss: Microsoft copies everything we do

There was an interview with the CEO of Sony who made the following statement about MS.

"We seem to. Every time we go down a path, we look behind and they're right there - we just can't shake these guys. I wish that they would come up with some strategies of their own, but they seem to be going down the path of everything we do. If you look at their strategy in other business areas as well, they tend to do that."

How would MS survive without other companies to copy and innovate for them?

Link

Welcome Back, MacMinni!

I never forgot your comment on the widgets and how much memory they take up. Well, I downloaded a cool Automator action called "Widget Killer" which you can run to enable or disable the dashboard with one click! Don't get me wrong, I still love the dashboard, but I also like having tons of Ram available when I'm doing work.

Jobs goes to the Dark Side

Go to the Dark Side Now!

iTalk?

Check out this video of someone's concept of the potential new Apple cell phone with touchscreen. It looks pretty cool.

iTalk phone

Apple iMovieTunes

Have you heard the latest rumor about Apple offering full length movies for download by the end of the year. The rumored price would be $9.99 per movie. Of course since this is still a vague rumor, there are few details about the service. The prices could change and what DRM and rights as a consumer do you have. Does Apple require that you have some iPod equivalent for the TV? But this story does seem to have some traction and is being followed by many news services.

Apple and India Revisited

I recently read an article about Apple's pullout of India for it's call center. {Article Link} In it they give an explanation as to why Apple did pull out. The main points were that India is becoming more expensive everyday. Entry level pay has been increasing by 13% year after year, and manager pay has been increasing by 30% year after year. There is also more and more competition for employees so turnover has been high.

So it looks like the world is getting flatter. India's economy has grown so quickly that the very large cost incentive which drove corporations to flock to India has dried up. Now India will have to compete on merits alone in a more fair competitive environment. Of course there are many other countrys where pay is still very inexpensive so the cycle will continue. And Apple has stated they are looking at other countries as alternatives. But the pace at how pay equalizes I think is very surprising.

The Ultimate iPod Accessory

It's so Cool.