A pple was granted three new patents yesterday by the US Patent and Trademark Office. These patents were all applied between 1999 and 2001, and all are programming patents. The first was for a "System, apparatus and method for spatially sorting image data in a three-dimensional graphics pipeline." Filed: August 20, 1999 Granted: April 22,…
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 Very Quietly Revs iBooks To 900 MHz
A pple has ever so quietly revved the iBook line to 900 MHz, without so much as a press release making the announcement. Eagle-eyed Observer Stephen Joiner was on the ball, however, and let TMO know about the revision. The new iBooks sport 800 MHz and 900 MHz G3 processors, 32 MB ATI Mobility Radeon…
Apple Updates Hot Deals For Business, Sound, & O'Reilly Books
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for the Apple Store for Business, AudioMIDI, and OiReillyis 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…
Sony To Rev PlayStation 2 Consoles In Japan With DVD+-R/RW
I n the outside-Apple department, we noted that Sony has decided to rev the PlayStation 2, at least in Japan. The consumer electronics giant is adding support for DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, and DVD+RW discs. Apple currently offers DVD-R support in its SuperDrive equipped Macs. The new support for these formats in the PlayStation 2 is…
Apple Adds Mac OS X 10.2.5 To Apple Store, Not Downloadable Yet
O ur friends at MacNN noted today that Apple has added Mac OS X 10.2.5 to the online Apple Store as an orderable CD. Though the Apple Store says the update is downloadable through Software Update Control Panel, it does not actually show up yet. Also, the Apple KBase document linked to by Apple is…
QuickTime Updated With MPEG-4 Streaming Fix
A pple has updated QuickTime to version 6.1.1. The new version delivers what Apple calls important bug fixes to MPEG-4 streaming. We know this because of the one-line note that comes with the download in Software Update: QuickTime 6.1.1 delivers important bug fixes to MPEG-4 streaming. As of this writing, QuickTime 6.1.1 is available only…
Apple Updates Hot Deals For MacConnection & ProMAX
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for MacConnection and ProMAX 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…
Apple Updates Hot Deals For Inside Mac Games, B&H Photo-Video, & MacMall
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for Inside Mac Games, B&H Photo-Video, & 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 feature several Mac retailers and special offers that one…
Apple Moves WWDC Back One Month To Show Developers "Panther" Version Of Mac OS X
Apple is full of surprises this week. While many casual observers may have been surprised by the appointment of former vice president Al Gore to Apple’s board of directors, long time Apple watchers will be surprised to learn that the World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) has been moved not only by time, back a month…
Apple Links To Crazy Apple Rumor Spoof Of Al Gore Appointment
A pple has shown that it has a sense of humor, at least some of the time. In wake of the companyis announcement to appoint Al Gore to its board of directors, a fire storm of debate, though we use the term loosely, has erupted from all corners of the Mac community. Most of the…
Apple Overhauls Corporate Governance, Adds Two Independent Director Positions
O n the heals of announcing the appointment of Al Gore to its board of directors, Apple announced today an overhaul of its corporate governance rules. The company also officially announced that two new director positions had been added to the board, including the one already occupied by former vice president Al Gore. The press…
Gateway To Close 80 Retail Stores With 1/3 The Revenues Of Apple's Retail Store Locations
TheStreet.com has published a report looking at Gateway’s current, or latest, plans for restructuring. Gateway has been struggling for the last couple of years, and has taken on the role of "beleaguered" that the press used to assign Apple. Gateway’s two biggest problems have been being crushed by Dell in a price war that Dell…
Apple Appoints Al Gore To Board Of Directors
I n a surprising, as well as fascinating move, Apple has named former vice president Al Gore to its Board of Directors. The press release for the company specifically cites the record economic expansion during Mr. Goreis second term, his track record with supporting technology — specifically the Internet, and the fact that Mr. Gore…
Mainstream Tech Columnist Questions Analysts' Negative Views On Apple
Most Wall Street analysts have been negative on Apple for the last several months, with some issuing negative comments and downgrades on Apple’s stock. Some have even gone so far as to specifically state that the Mac is heading towards obsolescence. This is, of course, why we have put together the Apple Death Knell Counter,…
EU May Force restrictions On Microsoft, Including Uncoupling Windows Media Player For QuickTime/Real
The European Union’s antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business may yield more results than the US’s suit. Reuters is reporting that the EU has concluded that Microsoft did indeed violate the EU’s antitrust regulations, but that remedies are still being debated. One of the remedies being shopped around internally is to force Microsoft to uncouple Windows…
Apple Updates Hot Deals For Outpost
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for 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 feature several Mac retailers and special offers that one can only get, at least in…
Apple Updates Hot Deals For CDW, DVDirect, & Inside Mac Games
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for CDW, DVDirect, and 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…
IBM Introduces PowerPC 970 Servers, Touts 970 As "Fastest PowerPC So Far"
Today, IBM announced the first products to use the 970 — the PowerPC Blade — at Europeis CeBit conference. The PowerPC Blade will be added to IBMis BladeCenter product line, a line of servers powered by Intel processors. The company is touting the PowerPC Blade as "superior to Intel Blades for certain applications in the…
Apple CFO Fred Anderson Says Apple Is Going For Market Share, Intermediate Goal Of 5%
Apple Computer, Inc. Chief Financial Officer Fred Anderson said the companyis aim is to expand its share of the computer market. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology Symposium, Anderson said a "good intermediate" goal would be to reach 5% market share from 3% today. He also said the computer makeris target is to get to…
The Back Page - Conversations With A "Mac OS X For Intel" Fan
One of the great debates in the tech world that rears its ugly head every few weeks is whether or not Apple should port Mac OS X to Intel. The rants and raves echo throughout the halls of the Mac world, and sometimes in the PC world, too. I am of the opinion that this…
BusinessWeek : Proposed Levy Could Increase iPod Price By US$100
The RIAA’s assault on Fair Use rights has been unprecedented in its scope, and much of the recording industry trade group’s arguments has centered around the notion that piracy is killing sales. TMO strongly denounces piracy, but has taken issue with the RIAA’s efforts to reduce and eliminate the Fair Use rights of people who…
Apple Updates Hot Deals For Musician's Friend
A pple has updated the Hot Deals page for Musicianis Friend 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…
Bill Gates Envisions A Future Where Microsoft Is Innovative In The Digital Decade
D uring the three-day Most Valued Professionals Summit at Microsoft headquarters, Bill Gates expressed his opinion that Microsoft is the "most optimistic company" about innovating new technologies. The summit is a closed to the public event where Microsoft invites 1,300 Microsoft resellers, consultants, and other business partners to participate. Within the Windows world, the event…
Apple Updates Hot Deals For J&R Computing
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…