Direct Link: MP3 Version This week turned up a decision in Apple v. Apple, and change in the French political wind. Jeff Gamet and Ricky Spero power up the Context Machine to sort out the news. The Weekly Roundup will be included in TMO’s main RSS feed, and also in its own feed if you’d…
News
French Amendment Drops Open DRM Requirement
The controversial copyright bill that would force companies like Apple, Sony, and Microsoft to open their proprietary Digital Rights Management (DRM) copy protection technologies to competitors has been approved by the French Senate with an amendment that offers an avenue to keep the copy protection schemes private. According to Macworld UK, the bill maintained the…
Unauthorized Mac Clones Hit the Streets
Mac clones may be cheap, but they arenit legal.
Web Community Shares News and Blog Feeds
Taking the concept a step further, you can glean additional information from the people that subscribe to specific RSS feeds. Share Your OPML attempts to do just that by giving you an easy way to add your list watched RSS feeds to a growing online database. For the uninitiated, RSS is a data format used…
Podcast - Mac Geek Gab #52: Security Solutions and Tech Support Tactics
Show notes for TMO To Go: Mac Geek Gab For May 8th, 2006 Direct Links: MP3 Version or AAC Enhanced Version (courtesy of Michael, aka Computernap!). John and Dave talk through security recommendations and tech support tactics which leads Dave into a great rant about how folks have been dealing with Apple’s MacBook Pro issues.…
Hidden Dimensions -- Checking the Consumer Boxes
"Customers set up a hierarchy of values, wants, and needs based on empirical data, opinions, word-of-mouth references, and previous experiences with products and services. They use that information to make purchasing decisions." — Regis McKenna When I was selling Apple products to the Federal Government, I reaffirmed that it’s often difficult to get beyond the…
Apple Computer Wins Logo Battle Against Beatles
At the center of the legal battle was a 1991 agreement between the two companies where Apple Computer paid Apple Corps US$26.5 million in exchange for expanded use of the apple-shaped logo. The Beatles holding company claimed that using the logo to sell music was a violation of that agreement. Apple Computer contended that it…
Samsung Caught Plagiarizing Apple Icons
Samsungis Skin interface (left) and TextEdit (right).
Apple Legal Issues Cease & Desist Over Service Manual Posting
Apple’s legal department has issued a cease and desist notice to the webmaster of the Web site Something Awful, insisting that he remove a link to a MacBook Pro service manual posted by a forum member. Many owners of the new computer have complained that it runs unbearably hot, as The Mac Observer detailed on…
Analyst Addresses '22 Unanswered Questions on Apple'
Looking first at Appleis best-selling iPod, he said he doesnit think Apple will integrate an FM tuner in the iPod, “at least in the near term.” He doesnit expect Apple to drop the iPod shuffle, nor add new features to the low-end MP3 player, as the former would give up the low end of the…
Columnist: 'Apple lifestyle campaign misses the point'
He acknowledges that “the Mac is easier to use, more reliable, much better for music and movies and, despite recent controversy, much less of a security risk.” He asks “Hasnit the general public known about most of these things since 1986?” and then provides his own answer: “Most people use a Windows PC at work…
Dvorak Details Eight Reasons Microsoft is 'Dead in the Water'
While he doesnit think Microsoft “is about to stop making gobs of money,” he thinks “there is virtually nothing interesting or exciting happening (with the lone exception of the Xbox 360) with anything the company is doing.” On top of that, planned Windows and Microsoft Office upgrades lack the “imust-havei qualities needed to boost sales…
ProjectForum, CourseForum 5.0 Receive Universal Binary Update, More
While both applications are similar, ProjectForum is geared toward project teams in the business space while CourseForum has an educational focus. Both are available as a hosted service, with pricing starting at US$20 a month for ProjectForum and $15 a month for CourseForum, or as downloadable software, with pricing starting at $249 and $119, respectively.
Analyst Maintains 'Buy' Rating, $101 Price Target on Apple
Mr. Wu expects to see an Intel-based iBook replacement in June or July, which will be important for the back-to-school selling season. In addition, the analyst said that the iBook “is the second most important volume product in the Mac business (the most important being the iMac).” Mr. Wu also sees Apple doubling the iPod…
Podcast - Weekly Roundup: A Way to Spend $12M
Direct Link: MP3 Version Looking for a way to spend $12 million? Maybe you should consider computer games. Destineer Studios, a publisher that makes games for many platforms, including the Mac, just got some big bucks. Join TMO’s Brad Cook in the Context Machine for a look at Mac gaming, and the possibility of iPod-ready…
Freehand/Illustrator Switcher Guide from Adobe
Adobe recently added a Freehand to Illustrator Migration Guide to its Web site, adding to speculation that there is no future for Freehand. The guide is comprehensive, and includes a lot of useful information for Freehand users planning to switch to Illustrator CS2, and Illustrator users that are looking for a nice overview of the…
Apple May Be Courting Blu-ray for iPod Content
Apple Computer may be looking to get full length movies and other content in iPod format added to upcoming Blu-ray disc movie releases. According to iPod Hub, unnamed sources in the film industry have said that Apple is asking studios to include iPod content ahead of the release of a new version of the video…
Apple Starts Free Computer Take-back Service
Phil Schiller, Appleis senior vice president of WorldWide Product Marketing, said “Apple is committed to supporting our customers and protecting the environment throughout the entire product life cycle, from purchase through to retirement. Now we are making it even easier for Appleis customers to safely and affordably recycle their used computers and iPods.” Apple is…
Set Your Widgets Free!
. If you have a favorite widget that you want available even when Dashboard isnit taking over your whole Desktop, all you have to do is liberate it. Hereis how: Press the F12 key to display the Dashboard layer. Click the plus symbol in the lower left corner of your display to open the widget…
Apple Drops PortalPlayer for Some iPods
iPod chip supplier PortalPlayer announced on Thursday that Apple will not be using its chips in some upcoming iPod models. The announcement came as a surprise to analysts and investors, especially since estimates peg about 70 percent of the company’s revenue comes from supplying iPod chips. PortalPlayer’s system-on-a-chip processors have been the heart of the…
Apple Avoids Intel Hit for Now
Mac sales for the quarter were essentially on target with Needham estimates at 1.11 million units, compared to the projected 1.15 million units. Mr. Wolf estimated conservatively on iPod sales, and Apple exceeded his expectations. He predicted 8 million units, and Apple actually shipped 8.5 million. Although iPod sales are slowing, Mr. Wolf expects to…
DiscBlaze 6.1.5 Adds Growl Notifications
A pair of bug fixes are also included. DiscBlaze sells for US$29.95 and requires Mac OS X v10.4, a CD or DVD burner compatible with iTunes and/or the Finder, and 700MB of free hard drive space per 80 minutes of CD audio.
iPod Performance Concerns Prudential
iPod sales were generally expected to be around 9 to 10 million units, but they came in at 8.5 million, below Prudentialis estimate of 8.8 million. Part of Mr. Fortunais concern is based on Apple deriving about half of its revenue and about 88 percent of the companyis growth from iPod and music sales. Mac…
Investors Watching for Intel Impact
Although Appleis switch to Intel processors is viewed as a good move in the long term, investors fear that the short term impact wonit be as positive. Limited availability of the MacBook Pro, the lack of an Intel-based iBook, and soft Mac mini sales are likely to have a negative impact on quarterly sales. In…