Jason Cross is cross, if you’ll pardon the rather obvious joke, at Apple’s iTunes/iPod business model. Mr. Cross is a writer for ExtremeTech, a technology magazine, and he has penned a condemnation of iTunes/iPod based on Apple’s business model for the platform. Mr. Cross’s basic premise is that though iTunes is very good software, and…
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
Apple Ships iPod Mini, Claims 100,000 Pre-Orders
Apple announced this morning that the iPod mini has shipped. Apple first announced the iPod mini at January’s Macworld San Francisco, and since that time the company says that it has received more than 100,000 pre-orders for the unit. The iPod mini has been somewhat controversial, with some criticizing it’s US$249 price tag for a…
Apple Store For Business Offers Projector Deal
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for Sweetwater, J&R, and the Apple Store for Business 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…
Apple Hot Deals Update: Bass Tutorial, Software, Cameras, More
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for ClubMac and J&R 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, at…
MacMall To Sell Off G5s From Virginia Tech's G5 Supercomputer
Ever since Virginia Tech announced that it would be replacing all of the dual processor 2.0GHz G5 computers in its cluster with new G5 Xserves, some have been wondering what would become of the chunks of the famous cluster. Well, wonder no more. The folks at MacMall will be selling off the refurbished machines for…
BusinessWeek: Free The iMac, And The Sales Will Follow
Alex Salkever of BusinessWeek says it’s time for the iMac to become the Cube. Actually, he never mentions the word "Cube," but Mr. Salkever says that Apple needs to separate the iMac and its monitor — making it into a small, headless Mac — in order to rejuvenate lagging iMac sales. This is, of course,…
Microsoft Finds Time In Its Hectic Schedule To Fix A Six Month Old Vulnerability
It’s been quite a while since we’ve heard our friends in Redmond warn us of a critical flaw in any of its software (over a week, in fact!), so it’s about time. According to an article at ZDNet, Microsoft has issued a patch for Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 that…
Could Apple Fend Off Viruses If It Were In Microsoft's Place?
As the MyDoom virus continues making the rounds, surely many Mac users are gloating about the fact that other than a clogged mailbox, the virus is doing them no harm. Many like to point out that virus and worm writers ignore the Mac platform due to the small amount of potential victims, and that if…
Apple Hot Deals Updates For MacZone & IMG
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for MacZone and Inside Mac Games (IMG) 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…
Aussie Newspaper Offers 20 Year Look At Mac
We have just about had our fill of 20 year historical looks at the Mac, but we found yet another one we felt we should pass on to you. The Sydney Morning Herald has published its own retrospective of the Mac, and with its Aussie-attitude, we found it interesting and insightful. The article stems from…
Apple Hot Deals Updates For Publishing Perfection, MacMall
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for Publishing Perfection and MacMall 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,…
Apple Hot Deals Update For ClubMac
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for ClubMac 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, at least in…
Apple Hot Deals Updates For CompUSA, IMG
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for CompUSA and Inside Mac Games (IMG) 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…
Apple Hot Deals Update Includes MIDI Music Gear, Software, Storage, Games
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for AudioMIDI.com and Outpost.com 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, at…
Apple Sees Increased Usage In The Field Of Genetics
A couple of years ago, we heard of an Australian geneticist using his iPod to carry around the entire human genome. According to an article at Forbes, Apple’s presence in the realm of genetic research is by no means limited to genetic information being carted around on MP3 players. For example, Princeton’s Lewis-Sigler Institute for…
Apple Hot Deals Update: MIDI Interfaces, Music Keyboards, DV Stuff, More
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for MacConnection 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, at least in…
Chinese Company Copies Power Mac G4 Design
W hen the iMac was introduced, Apple found that a few companies from Japan and the US thought they could copy Appleis industrial design. One company, Future Power, went so far as to claim that people had a right to industrial design. Future Poweris General Manager, Bill Voecks, said in response to an Apple lawsuit…
39 More Pics From The Show Floor
O ne of our most popular features during a Macworld show is the picture galleries. People who canit make the show like to see what they are missing, and we appreciate the clamor for more pics. Accordingly, we are offering up the first picture gallery taken from the floor. Todayis pics come from Wednesdayis show…
Lawsuit Campaigns Get Ink From Reuters Article
A pple is getting some bad publicity in the form of consumer complaints about the iPod and the dual-USB iBooks. Reuters has published a story that has been picked up by many news outlets about campaigns to start class-action lawsuits against Apple for problems that some are saying is widespread. Neither campaign is new, but…
Apple Hot Deals Updates For ClubMac, B&H, MacMall, IMG, & OWC
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for ClubMac, B&H Photo-Video, MacMall, Inside Mac Games (IMG), and Other World Computing (OWC) 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…
BusinessWeek Examines PowerBook G5 Challenges
With the addition of the Power Mac G5 to Apple’s product line in June, many Mac users immediately began lusting after and speculating on a G5 Power Book. The reality, however, is that the G5 is too hot for a portable computer, and it draws too much power. Our take on the idea of a…
QuickTime 6.5 Released: Adds Support For 3GPP, 3GPP2, Enhanced DV Playback
Q uickTime 6.5 is here, and available as a free download. QuickTime 6.5 adds support for mobile phone technologies like 3GPP and 3GPP2, as well as enhanced DV playback for use in Apple products such as iMovie, iDVD, and Final Cut Pro. Apple also notes in its press release that QuickTime 6.x has been downloaded…
Despite Opposition, Stillwater Apple Laptop Program Will Proceed
W eive been following the Stillwater school board and a program begun earlier this year to put laptops in two, and then one, of the districtis junior high schools for many months now. It began in September of this year with the announcement that the Minnesota school district would be purchasing some 2,309 iBooks for…
Canadian Consumers Could Pay Dearly For Their Next iPod
The next time you buy a pack of blank CDs or scroll through the playlist on our iPod you’ll think of our northern neighbors after reading this: Canada currently collects a tariff on media that can be used for recording music; cassette tapes, blank CDs, and similar items. The purpose of the tariff is to…