“The $5,000.00 penalty means that judge Alsup has found that Psystar has violated the rules of discovery,” an attorney familiar with this type of case told The Mac Observer. “That indicates that Psystar is in trouble with the court. However, it is impossible to determine, because the proceedings are under seal, exactly on what Judge…
News
Analyst: Snow Leopard's Marketing Value to Exceed Its $66 Million in Profit
Mr. Munster did the back-of-napkin math on the revenue Apple will see from Snow Leopard, which ships Friday, August 28th, in a research note to clients. He believes Apple will sell approximately 5 million copies in the current quarter (ends in September) at an average price of $22 per copy. With gross margins on software…
When it comes to Apple and the FCC, the status quo is king
On the one side, some welcome the FCC investigation and hope that the result is a more open approval process (or even the elimination of required approval altogether): “So long as Apple does this approval process, it deserves every ounce of grief it gets from every corner it comes from.” “I really think Apple should…
Apple Takes 10% PC Market Share in Canada for June Quarter
Overall, the Canadian PC market shrank by some 14.6% during the quarter, with desktop sales plummeting 36.8% across the board, while PC laptop sales grew by 9.9%. Apple’s laptop sales growth of 24% allowed the company to jump to its first-ever double digit market share figure in Canada. As with other markets, the sole bright…
TMO's Fall Gear Guide
If you ready to pack up and head away for school, be sure to check out our guide for traveling with your laptop and protecting your personal data, too. MacBook Pro Apple’s MacBook Pro mixes the power of a desktop computer with the portability of a laptop in a sleek aluminum case. It’s powerful, durable,…
Apple Beats Windows Competitors by 12% in American Customers Satisfaction Index
The ACSI is a project of the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business in partnership with the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and CFI Group, and its quarterly reports are based on lengthy surveys of customers in different industries throughout the year. Apple’s score of 84 represents a decline of 1 point, but, according…
Apple Accuses Psystar of Destroying Evidence
According to Apple’s brief, it has documented specific instances where Psystar intentionally deleted the code it uses to install Mac OS X on PCs, and that company Principals and employees were made aware of their requirement to preserve evidence. “Yet, as admitted by [Psystar CEO] Mr. Pedraza, Psystar has not complied with its obligations and…
Windows/Enterprise Columnist Builds Marvelous Apple Straw Man
The first title was provided by Mr. Don Reisinger, and was surprisingly published by eWeek, a magazine I normally respect. The second title, of course, comes from the part of my imagination dedicated to making mock of others. It being an otherwise slow Friday when it comes to news, I figured it was time I…
Particle Debris (week ending 8/14) Corporate Struggles, Slides and Snafus
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…
Particle Debris: The Emotional Toll of Twitter
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…
Apple Preps for Board Member Selection
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…
Psystar Looks to Public for Apple Deposition Questions
“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, Psystar Locked in Discovery Dispute
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…
Court Blocks Microsoft Word Sales in U.S.
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…
Sony Next-Gen Rechargeable Battery to Offer 99% Charge in 30 Minutes
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…
Jean-Louis Gassée: Tomorrow's Silicon Valley Rivalry is Apple vs. Google
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…
Verbatim Store 'n' Go Flash Has a Secure Zone
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…
Judge Dismisses Psystar Bankruptcy, Blocks Stays Against Apple
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…
Apple, Psystar Settlement Conference Pushed to October
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…
Update on Software for Writers, Part III
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 Lives Up to its Name
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…
Putting on Shakespeare in the Park? There's an App for That.
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…
Columnist Makes Case for Apple Being the Most Discreetly Feminine Brand
“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 Pulls Shake from Apple Store, Redirects Product Page
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…