< A href="http://www.stone.com/">Stone Design has announced Imaginator, a new image processing application that is built on technologies found only in Mac OS X 10.4, Tiger. Imaginator offers real-time processing for image effects and other image processing, and achieves this by leveraging native Cocoa development and several core technologies in Tiger. The company will release the…
Bryan Chaffin
Bryan Chaffin is the cofounder of The Mac Observer and currently serves as Afternoon Editor. He has contributed to MacAddict and MacFormat magazines, and co-authored the last two updates of iPad and iPad Pro for Dummies with Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus and Ed Baig. You can find out more about Bryan at his personal site, GeekTells, or find his Twitter link below.
Articles by Bryan Chaffin
Walt Mossberg: Fed Up with Windows Security Problems? Go Mac
W indows users who are tired of the endless hassles of security problems should dump Windows, and move to the Mac platform. These words of wisdom were brought to us by Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal in an article titled "Digital Crime Wave" that rounds up all of his most-recommended guards against Windows…
Apple Announces Shake 4 with 3D Features, Distributed Rendering, More [UPDATE]
< A href="http://www.apple.com">Apple Computer announced Sunday Shake 4, an upgrade to the companyis compositing solution for film editing. The new version features 3D multi-plane compositing, cutting-edge optical flow image processing, and what Apple called “unprecedented integration with Final Cut Pro 5.” The announcement was made in advance of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) trade…
Apple Announces Soundtrack Pro [UPDATE]
< A href="http://www.apple.com">Apple Computer announced Sunday a new version of Soundtrack, the companyis editing software solution for film soundtracks. Soundtrack Pro brings new editing options and features, new features for fixing problems in a soundtrack, plugins from Logic Pro 7, and tighter integration with Final Cut Pro HD. The announcement was made in advance of…
Apple Hot Deals Update For MacMall & O'Reilly
< A href="http://www.apple.com">Apple has updated the Hot Deals pages for MacMall and OiReilly at the Macintosh Product Guide. The Mac Product Guide is a list of Mac compatible hardware and software products on the market. The Hot Deals section of the Product Guide features several Mac retailers and special offers that one can only get,…
TMO Reports - ATR Analyst Downgrades AAPL to Hold
American Technology Research (ATR) analyst Shaw Wu downgraded Apple Computer to a ‘Hold’ Thursday morning. While acknowledging Apple Computer’s fundamental strength, Mr. Wu told his clients that Apple’s slowing top-line growth, or revenue growth, and the high expectations that investors have had for the company give him concern going forward. Mr. Wu’s comment emphasized investor…
HP Adds iPod photo to Lineup (UPDATED)
< A href="http://www.hp.com">HP has announced the addition of two new iPods to its Apple iPod from HP product line. The company is bringing the 30 gigabyte and 60GB iPod photo models Apple announced last fall to the HP brand. As with other Apple iPod from HP, the new iPods match Appleis specs, with HP packaging…
TMO Reports - First Albany Raises Revenue & Earnings Estimates for Apple
Wall Street securities firm First Albany Capital has raised its revenue and earnings estimates for Apple Computer for the just completed March quarter. In a research note to clients obtained by The Mac Observer, analyst Joel Wagonfeld raised his revenue estimates by US$200 million to $3.5 billion for the quarter, with earnings per share of…
iPod Leaves Sony Struggling to Rebuild Brand in Japan
< A href="http://www.sony.com">Sonyis biggest priority in Japan is rebuilding its brand, thanks to the smash success of iPod in that country, according to an article published by Marketwatch. The company has begun a marketing campaign to achieve this, and company executives see 2005 as the turning point around which the market will continue to evolve.…
It's a Blogger/RSS Reader/Browser/Editor/Archive System
< A href="http://www.near-time.com/">Near-Time announced Wednesday the commercial availability of Current, an all-in-one tool for creating text documents, browsing Web sites, managing and reading RSS feeds, archiving content, and publishing information back out to blog or other Web server. Included in Current is a WYSIWG editor, an RSS feed reader and manager, an organizer, a Web…
InfoWorld CTO Under Mac Attack for Lackadaisical Support
T he Mac community has lashed out at one of its own for what was perceived as a lackadaisical approach to supporting Macs at his own company. In a follow-up to another column at InfoWorld, an IT-oriented print and online magazine, CTO Chad Dickerson said he came under a Mac attack for telling a sales…
Newsday: Buy Lots of Music? Buy CDs, Not Downloads
I f you spend a lot of money on music, you should spend that money on CDs, and not downloads from Appleis iTunes Music Store or other competing services, according to a Newsday editorial published Monday in the Los Angeles Times. In a very fair and balanced look at the issues facing consumers wanting to…
Time Rounds Up iPod Competitors
T hough Apple is leading the digital media device market with the iPod, there are a host of companies offering iPod alternatives, and Time magazine has published a roundup featuring Sonyis NW-HD3 Network Walkman, Toshibais Gigabeat MEG F20, the iRiver H10, and the Zen Micro. Time positions all four units as a different way to…
Analyst: Apple Product Availability Improving; Tiger Outselling TurboTax
< A href="http://www.apple.com/powermac/">Apple Computeris product availability has improved across the board, with the exception of the iPod U2 Special Edition, according to a Wall Street analyst. In a research note obtained by The Mac Observer, Piper Jaffrayis Gene Munster told clients Thursday that Apple had reduced lead times, particularly for the Mac mini and iPod…
CNN: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Profits?
The next major upgrade to Mac OS X, Tiger, could be a big source of profits to Apple for the rest of fiscal 2005, according to a CNN editorial. Quoting several analysts, Paul R. La Monica wrote that the profits from Apple’s software sales could receive a big boost from Tiger, and that this was…
Apple Hot Deals Update For MacMall, Ramjet, Clearance
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for MacMall, Ramjet, and the Clearance page at the Macintosh Product Guide. The Mac Product Guide is a list of Mac compatible hardware and software products on the market. The Hot Deals section of the Product Guide features several Mac retailers and special offers that one can…
Seattle Times Asks "Who's Your Mac Daddy?"
T he question of who earned the name "father of the Macintosh" was recently energized by the death of one of its original creators, Jef Raskins. Mr. Raskins died February 26th, 2005, and that sparked a raft of news articles, including one at The Mac Observer, erroneously calling him the father of the Macintosh. Paul…
Apple Buys File Translation Firm
< A href="http://www.apple.com">Apple Computer has acquired file translation firm SchemaSoft, a 40-person developer of software that allows applications to read and write file formats from other applications. Think Secret broke the story early on Tuesday, and CNet News confirmed it with Apple Tuesday afternoon. "Apple has acquired assets from SchemaSoft, a developer of software components…
NY Times Offers Historical Context for Apple's Rumor Lawsuits
< A href="http://www.apple.com">Apple CEO Steve Jobsi obsession with secrecy and controlling Appleis product announcements has roots that are decades old, according to New York Times reporter John Markoff. The veteran reporter has penned an article that offers in-depth historical context for Appleis current efforts to sue Mac rumor site Think Secret, and subpoena information from…
Using Your PowerBook as an Input Device
I t is possible to use your PowerBook as an input device, according to author Amit Singh, who is working on a book about Mac hardware. In the more recent revision to the PowerBook line, Apple Computer added something called the Apple Motion Sensor (AMS), a technology makes it possible for your PowerBook to lock…
Bruce Springsteen on U2 iPod & "The Boss" iPod
B ruce Springsteen would like to see a red, white and blue iPod The Boss Special Edition, modeled after the black and red iPod U2 Special Edition. Apple may want to take note of that, because in edition to the millions of fans Mr. Springsteen commands around the world that might want to buy such…
The Back Page - Dvorak: Apple Lawsuits are Threat to Free Press
Apple’s lawsuit against Think Secret, and its attempts to subpoena information from AppleInsider and PowerPage, are threats to a free press, according to curmudgeonly pundit John C. Dvorak. Long noted for his criticisms of, and occasional praise for, Apple, Mr. Dvorak sees a ruling from a California judge declaring the Web sites as not being…
Apple Hot Deals Update for MacMall, Sweetwater, Clearance Page
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for MacMall and Sweetwater Sound, as well as the “Clearance” page at the Macintosh Product Guide. The Mac Product Guide is a list of Mac compatible hardware and software products on the market. The Hot Deals section of the Product Guide features several Mac retailers and special…
Napster CEO Calls Steve Jobs "Frightened"
< A href="http://www.napster.com">Napster CEO Chris Gorog wasnit pulling punches in an interview with Engadget published Monday, saying that Apple CEO Steve Jobs must have been frightened to send out an e-mail to record execs pointing out holes in Napster security. In the interview, Mr. Gorog was asked about the iPod, which he called your grandfatheris…