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M organ Stanley became the fourth analyst this week to raise its estimates for Apple this quarter, upgrading Apple to “overweight” Friday. The firm said it believes the iPod halo effect — PC iPod owners switching to Macs — is roughly double what the market expects. Analyst Rebecca Runkle set a $60 price target for…

In its annual proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple said Jonathan Rubinstein, senior vice president of its iPod division, collected $26.3 million in value from exercising 3 million stock options last year. For 2004, Rubinsteinis compensation included a restricted stock grant valued at about $6.3 million and a salary totaling $485,216,…

< A href="http://www.napster.com">Napster CEO Chris Gorog wasnit pulling punches in an interview with Engadget published Monday, saying that Apple CEO Steve Jobs must have been frightened to send out an e-mail to record execs pointing out holes in Napster security. In the interview, Mr. Gorog was asked about the iPod, which he called your grandfatheris…

A fter May 31, 2005, MSN customers will no longer be able to access Microsoftis Internet service using its Mac OS X software, the company announced Friday. Mac customers who want to continue using the service will be able to tap into MSN and read their e-mail through any Web browser. “MSN for Mac OS…

Motorola spokeswoman Monica Rohleder told the Chicago Tribune that the company decided not to unveil the phone Thursday at the CeBIT electronics convention in Hannover, Germany after discussions late Wednesday night with “our operators”, meaning carriers such as Cingular, Vodafone, Verizon and T-Mobile. “Motorola discussed the logistics of this product with our carriers across the…

Despite a 12% drop in its share price over the last week, Mr. Munster said he believes Appleis competitive position “is strong and in some segments may become even stronger.” Speaking of Sonyis Monday announcement of nine new flash-based portable audio devices, Mr. Munster said, “Sony will only be successful at chipping away at iPod…

T he effect of subscription music services being a threat to Appleis iTunes dominance in the music download business is the subject of an article by Reuters. The article postulates that iTunes is facing pressure from subscription services, which it says "may be on the verge of explosive growth." The article comes on the heels…

P ortalPlayer, the company behind the processing brains in Appleis iPod and iPod mini, announced its next-generation solution Thursday, the PP5022 System-on-Chip. Building off of the PP5020 featured in current iPods, the PP5022 has dramatically lower power requirements, which the company says could extend battery life by up to three times in devices that use…

D uke University will deliver the final decision on its iPod initiative in two weeks time, The Chronicle reports. The university, which outfitted 1,650 freshmen with 20GB iPods six months ago, has had mixed experiences incorporating the music players into the curriculum. While the number of teachers using the iPod has increased this semester from…

Synaptics filed a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission saying that while it believes itis inappropriate “to comment on unconfirmed rumors and speculation” about its business dealings, “we are confirming that our interface solutions are being used (by Apple Computer)” in the new 6 gigabyte (GB) iPod mini as well as the 30GB…

C hris Breen has posted a First Look at Appleis new iPod mini for Playlist magazine. Apple introduced new 6 gigabyte iPod minis on Wednesday, and lowered the price of the original 4GB units. The Playlist First Look examines the new features Apple added to the product line. "Seriously, there are some important differences between…

Seagateis new 6GB ST1 Series hard drive range can hold up to 150 hours of high-quality music files, equating to some 3,000 tracks, encoded at a bit rate of 128 kilobits per second, the company said Wednesday. The drive incorporates RunOn technology to ensure consistent music playback while in a high-motion environment, such as jogging,…

W intel computer giant Dell has been slapped with a class-action law suit accusing the company of bait-and-switch tactics, false advertising, and fraud. The lawsuit was filed in Francisco County Superior Court on February 14th, though Dell itself is based in Round Rock, TX. CNet News reported Wednesday that the suit accuses the company of…

D avid Pogue takes the new Olympus m:robe digital device to task in this weeks Circuits section of The New York Times. On the surface, the m:robe 500i seems like a formidable iPod competitor. Sleek design, large color touch-screen, 20GB capacity, and a built-in digital camera. Olympus believes the device is so hot the company…

W alter Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal, who has consistently praised Appleis products and frequently recommends to readers that they at least consider a Mac, outlines the reasons a Windows user would not want to switch to the Mac in his latest column. Cost and compatibility are Mossbergis most significant warnings. Accordingly, Mossberg suggests…

O tter Products today extended its Otter Box for iPod case to the iPod mini, brining waterproof, dustproof, dirtproof, sandproof, and drop-proof protection to the music player. The Otter Box for iPod mini features a waterproof membrane that protects the click wheel, and a hard plastic window for the screen that keeps it fully legible.…

Ms. Johnson leaves HP less than one week after Chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina was fired. HP said Ms. Johnsonis departure wasnit related to Fiorinais departure and was made prior to the HP executive shakeup. Ms. Johnson was not available for comment. Ms. Johnson will assume the role of vice president of worldwide marketing communications…