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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.

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Apple Offers QuarkXPress 6 For US$150 Below Retail

I n our article about the release of QuarkXPress 6 for Mac OS X, we noted that Apple is offering the new software for US$899.95. Thatis US$150 below the retail price of US$1045, and judging by the e-mail we received concerning that note, it obviously warranted a standalone mention (see our full coverage on the…

Apple To Work With MP3.com Europe To Promote iPod

Internet Magazine, a UK general interest Web site we are not familiar with, is reporting that Apple and MP3.com Europe are working together to promote the iPod. According to the site, MP3.com Europe will send out e-mails to its members touting the iPod, and free music that will be available to them. The site also…

Guardian (UK) Profile Apple's Jonathan Ive

Yesterday we reported that Jonathan Ive had been named Designer of the Year by the UK’s Design Museum. Relating to that development, and the £25,000 prize that went with it, The Guardian, a prominent UK newspaper, has published a story about him that is part news article, part profile, and part interview. Mr. Ive is…

QuickTime 6.3 Released With Several Improvements

A pple has released QuickTime 6.3 today. The new version includes several improvements, including… The release notes are so brief, weill just let Apple say it directly: QuickTime 6.3 delivers a number of important updates, including: Automatic detection of streaming transport Improvements to DV audio and video synchronization Enhanced support for Keynote, iMovie, and iDVD…

Apple Drops PowerBook Prices As Much As US$300

A pple has dropped the price on the 12″ and 15″ PowerBooks by as much as US$300.Price drops are for all four 12″ and 15″ models, making the 12″ product line start at just US$1,599, a US$200 drop. The 15″ line now starts at US$1,999, some US$300 less than yesterdayis price. The 15″ SuperDrive model…

Apple Updates Hot Deals For Inside Mac Games

A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for our friends at Inside Mac Games 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 feature several Mac retailers and special offers that one can…

iTunes Updated: Internet Sharing Access Disabled [Updated]

[ Update: We received e-mail from some astute Observers who questioned the wording of the release notes for iTunes 4.0.1. Our original report said that the update included better AAC report, but that appears to not be the case. While the notes (see below) list better sound as a feature of version 4, the only…

Microsoft Pursues Business-As-Usual Competition To iTunes Music Store

Microsoft is quietly preparing a music service of it’s own that will compete with the iTunes Music Store (iMS), according to a C|Net report from Evan Hansen. The service, originally supposed to be revealed back in January of this year, will most likely be a subscription-based model, similar to other label-sponsored services like PressPlay and…

Pixar-Apple Connection: Apple Promotes Finding Nemo Game

M any people have wondered when Apple and Pixar would begin working together a bit closer. When Pixar chose an Intel-powered Linux rendering solution to replace its Sun render farm, some of those wondering thought never. Then again, Mac OS X is being used in the work flow at Pixar, so perhaps not all is…

Apple Updates Hot Deals For J&R

A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for J&R Computing 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 feature several Mac retailers and special offers that one can only get, at least…

2 Million Songs Bought From iMS, 4,300 New Songs Added

I t took a couple of more days than the first million tunes, but Apple has announced that some 2 million songs have been downloaded and paid for at Appleis iTunes Music Store. The 2nd million milestone took just 16 days, with the company having sold one million songs during the first seven of those…

Apple Updates Hot Deals: Photo, DV Cameras, More

A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for B&H Photo-Video 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 feature several Mac retailers and special offers that one can only get, at least…

Forbes (Sort Of) Throws Fuel On PowerPC 970 Speculation

An interesting blurb hit Forbes early Friday evening concerning Apple. The mainstream financial and business magazine mentioned Apple and IBM’s upcoming PowerPC 970 in its "People To Watch" piece for this week. Forbes says that "rumors are starting to build that Apple Computer is closer than previously thought to releasing a computer with a new…

Apple Updates Hot Deals: Pro DV Equipment, New Specialists Offers

A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for ProMAX and Appleis networks of Apple Specialists retailers 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 feature several Mac retailers and special offers that…

Microsoft's MSN's Business In The Toilet

M icrosoftis business, at least in the UK division of MSN, is apparently in the toilet. Literally. Keep in mind that there are roughly 1,726 other jokes we could have made, but that one seemed the safest. In any event, WebUser UK is reporting that MSN is preparing to release the iLoo. Now, a "loo"…

Apple Shareholders Vote Against Management On Expensing Options

A quiet revolution took place at yesterday’s Apple shareholder meeting. AAPL shareholders voted for a shareholder initiative that would have Apple counting employee stock options as an expense. Currently, companies are legally allowed to not expense options, something that helped contribute to the boom of the 1990s. Corporations large and small offered their employees compensation…