News

Recently, I wrote about how the iPod has become a smaller and smaller percentage of Apple’s total revenues. That’s because hardware always gets cheaper as volume goes up. That’s why it was wise for Apple to plan a move from the iPod to the iPhone and iPod touch — which is really just an iPhone…

What I’ve noticed in 2009, however, is that a lot of the writers I follow have started to use Twitter as a platform for grumbling. One may be complaining about feeling ill, another may be bitching about health care debates. And all those negative vibes descend on me each and every day, each and every…

Mr. Schmidt resigned from his position on Apple’s Board of Directors at the beginning of August over concerns that there was too much cross over in products between the two companies. Both Apple and Google could be seen as competitors in the operating system and smartphone markets.Apple CEO Steve Jobs commented at the time “Unfortunately, as Google…

“Now given that there is a significant interest in this litigation aside from the business interest of Psystar, in particularly those of the OSX86 community and others; we want all your input. On that note we’re taking the top ten most highly moderated questions for each person to be asked at their depositions,” the company…

Apple filed a lawsuit against Psystar in U.S. District Court northern California claiming the company was violating the Mac OS X end user licensing agreement, and that it was violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act with the steps it used to install the Mac operating system on PCs. Psystar countered that it is within its…

The Judge’s order blocks Microsoft from selling or importing into the United States any version of Word that can open documents containing custom XML which includes .XML, .DOCX and .DOCM files. While the injunction blocks the sale of Word in its current state, it doesn’t prevent Microsoft from selling versions of the application that open…

For battery nerds, the batteries as announced boast a power density of 1800W/kg (20A continuous discharge). Sony is using olivine-type lithium iron phosphate as the cathode material, which Sony characterized as being “extremely suited for use as a cathode material due to its robust crystal structure and stable performance, even at high temperatures.” The company…

Long-time Apple observers will remember Mr. Gassée as the flamboyant and charismatic former Apple executive who was involved in the turf warfare that resulted in the ouster of Steve Jobs from the company he cofounded in the late 1980s. Mr. Gassée then became a prominent force within Apple until he left to form Be, Inc…

 The Verbatim Store ‘n’ Go 8 GB Flash drive looks like all the rest, but it stands out in two ways. It has a retractable USB connector that avoids losing a cap, and it has a password protected private zone for personal data and a public zone to use in the normal fashion, even on…

According to the court order, Psystar has also been blocked from filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for six months, and Judge Mark, the Judge overseeing the company’s bankruptcy case, is maintaining jurisdiction over the case so he can enforce the terms of his order.An attorney familiar with this type of case told The Mac…

The motion to postpone the meeting was jointly filed by Apple and Psystar so that it would fall after the August 21st fact discovery deadline, and because Psystar’s new legal team was still familiarizing itself with the case.Apple filed a lawsuit against Psystar in northern California claiming the company was violating the Mac OS X…

Here are the Mac applications that have been reviewed to date: StoryMill Takes a Novel Approach 03 April 2009 Scrivener Brings Out the Scribbler 07 April 2009 Ulysses is a Heroic Writer’s Application 15 April 2009 Jer’s Novel Writer is a Memorable App 21 April 2009. CopyWrite for Writers has the Write Stuff 07 May…

Ulysses 2 is the next generation of the well-known writing tool developed by Blue Technologies in Leipzig, Germany. Now, Ulysses 2 has been revamped, simplified slightly, made more robust, and gained added features. The developer has also re-imagined itself and has been reborn as The Soulmen. Ulysses 2 is now a worthy competitor to the…

Nature had decided to put on a show of her own.  She was constantly threatening to pass a storm our way which would delay the process as we scurried to shutdown the electrical equipment, tarp over the lumber, and sandbag items to keep them from blowing away.  However, we had come prepared with iPhones.  With…

“Consider the iPod, she wrote, “small, elegant and curvy, it’s everything that stereo equipment never was. Traditional stereo shops seem as out of date as vinyl, and stand in contrast to Apple stores, which are light, bright and bursting with women. Though pink is offered as one of many color choices, women buy iPods because…

Apple acquired Shake in February of 2002 when it bought its maker, Nothing Real. At that time, Apple was in the process of building it’s Mac-based video editing portfolio, having already purchased Final Cut from Macromedia. Since then, however, Shake hasn’t gotten much public attention from Apple, and the 4.1 release referenced above included a…

“Microsoft should abandon Zune and follow Apple’s strategy to try to make its presence felt in the high-growth smartphone sector,” commented Tradition Capital Management vice president George Kurian, according to MarketWatch.Overall interest in the device doesn’t seem to be very high, either. “The market reception for Zune is so disappointing that many retailers have even…

Storyist is the sixth novel (and screenplay) writing application covered in this series of reviews. Storyist, for many writers, may be just the kind of application they were expecting. A major focus is on the creation and linking of the a novel’s elements, plot outline, characters and settings. Storyist requires mastery to exploit fully, but…

While the deal isn’t as far reaching as it could have been, it still signals a big win for Microsoft. The company now has control over a much more credible search engine, and it can potentially become a bigger threat to Google — the reigning king of Internet search dollars.In exchange, Yahoo! gets to partner…

In the press release he sent out to commemorate the event, he noted that in 1999, 70 percent of users played games over dial-up modems connected to computers equipped with 128MB of RAM and 8GB of hard drive space. Age of Empires II was, and continues to be, the most consistently-played game. In addition, he…

In the research note obtained by The Mac Observer, Mr. Reitzes wrote, “We believe the 3Q09 report was very strong with solid demand for AAPL products combined with solid execution.” “Most importantly,” he added, “Apple continues to demonstrate how its unique business model can deliver industry-high margins over the short & long-term. We look forward…

If there was ever any doubt that Apple is on the right course with its notebook philosophy, which is most of its Mac sales, this Earnings Report removed that doubt. Apple sold 2.6 million Macs, just shy of its record of 2.611 million sold just before the economic collapse in the fall of 2008. Today,…

The Q3 also features a 2.4-inch LCD display that includes audio level meters, battery indicator, time elapsed and video display. It accepts up to a 32 GB SDHC card allowing up to 16 hours of movie making. Users can upload videos to their computer with the USB cable for immediate editing and sharing.  Powered by…

Judge Alsup, the Judge overseeing Apple’s case against Psystar in northern California, granted Psystar’s request to replace Carr & Farrell with Camara & Sibley on July 16. Camara & Sibley, along with their local representative, David V Welker, agreed to take on the case even though it has already progressed well into the discovery stage.An…