O n Thursday the market moved higher on a better than expected earnings reports from IBM. Big Blue helped propel the blue chip index almost 3 percent higher on the day. The grand daddy of tech companies had seen its shares plummet more than 50 percent this year and the companyis positive earnings report and…
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International Injustice, Mindless Action, & Nearly Naked Models
< I>Every week, Vern Seward takes a look at Appleis latest offerings at the QuickTime Trailer site, letting your know whatis new. Lotis of stuff to cover this week so letis get to it… First up is an Apple Exclusive QuickTime Trailer of Rabbit Proof Fence. The movie is based on true events: in turn-of-the-century…
Apple Meets The Street On Earnings, Drop In Value Of Holdings Push Company To Loss
During the quarter Apple shipped 734,000 Macintosh computers, down fourteen percent from last yearis shipment levels. Gross margins (the difference between Appleis selling price and the cost of manufacture) fell to 26.4 percent from 30.1 percent. Fred Anderson, Appleis CFO, has chosen to be conservative in the companyis estimates for the December quarter (Appleis first…
Apple Posts Loss Of US$45 Million, US$7 Million Profit Before Non-Recurring Costs
A pple posted its Q4 earnings results today (see our live coverage from the press conference for more information). The company posted a US$45 million loss (13 cents per share), far below the break even results it had projected, but those losses stemmed from non-recurring charges. Before those non-recurring charges, Apple posted a profit of…
Apple Thinks Differently, Salutes Jimmy Carter's Nobel Prize On Home Page (Screen Shot Included)
A pple has revived the Think Different campaign to salute former US President Jimmy Carter. President Carter was recently named the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, which is why Apple is featuring him on its home page. Underneath an image of President Carter is a link to the Nobel Web site concerning his…
Microsoft Offers, Then Pulls, Its Own Mac-To-Windows Switcher Story
[ Update: Within a few minutes of having posted this story, Microsoft pulled its Switcher story.] Microsoft, in its tried and true tradition of copying everything it can from its competitors, has posted its own Mac-to-Windows Switcher story. No, seriously. The company has posted a Switcher story from a freelance writer touting the wonders of…
MACWORLD Will Return To Boston In 2004
T he Boston Herald is reporting that MACWORLD will, in fact, be returning to Boston in 2004. Discussion on this has been raging for months as competition between New York and Boston for what Steve Jobs said is the largest technology show on the East Coast heated up. MACWORLD was hosted in Boston for many…
Io: A Pen That Could Cause PC Envy
There is nothing on the PC platform that would make most Mac users envious, that is until they see Logitech’s Io Pen in action. Io is a pen, but not just any pen. Imagine you’re out and about, during your day you jot down on paper a friend’s address and phone number, schedule a visit…
Misplaced Decimal Offers 125 GHz PowerMacs At Apple's Home Page
A n errant decimal place is offering 125 GHz PowerMacs to some visitors at Appleis home page. The announcement/link for Appleis top of the line dual-processor PowerMac line includes alt-text that says: Power Mac G4. All dual processors starting at just US$1,699. Dual 125 GHz now shipping. That text shows up automatically on most Windows…
Stylesheet Generator For FileMakerPro And Microsoft Word Now Shipping
Chaparral Software & Consulting Services, Inc. today began shipping EZxslt(tm) 1.0, a new application that simplifies the generation of Microsoft Word documents using data stored in FileMaker Pro 6 databases. EZxslt is the first automatic XSLT stylesheet generator for FileMaker Pro 6 and Microsoft Word users. EZxslt is designed for FileMaker Pro 6 users who…
Steve Jobs Resigns From Gap's Board Of Directors
T he San Francisco Chronicle broke the news that Steve Jobs has resigned from the Board of Directors at Gap, Inc. Mr. Jobs began serving on the board in 1999. At the same time, Mickey Drexler, the Chairman of Gapis board of directors, began serving on Appleis board. That arrangement recently drew criticism from Business…
iPod Back On French Shelves, Apple Claims 20% Of European Digital Music Market, & More Dutch Awa
< B>iPod back in French shops Apple has fixed the sound issues that prevent the iPod from being sold in France. As reported earlier this week, the iPodis maximum sound level (104dB) exceeded French health limits, which limit portable music players to an output of 100dB. Apparently, Apple designed the iPod to conform to EU…
iPod Pulled From French Shelves Due To Sound Output
T he iPod, although it has been on the French market for over a year now, can no longer be sold to French customers. French public health laws, which are stricter than the E.U. guidelines to which Apple has apparently adhered in this regard, stipulate that portable music players can only have a maximum sound…
Apple Europe News Briefs - Five Years Of Steve Jobs, Unix Gurus On OS X, More
Back from holiday? Back to school? Shake off that creeping autumn depression with a dose of Mac goodness from Europe! Looking back at five years of Steve Jobs SVM Mac has published an analysis of the first five years of Steve Jobs’ reign at Apple. The article gives a good overview of the "Steve Years,"…
Apple Extends iTools-To-.Mac Conversion Registration Until October 14th
Apple has announced an extension for iTools members wanting to convert their existing accounts to .Mac accounts. The company had set September 30th, today, as that deadline, after which iTools accounts would be cleared out, and closed down. The company has extended the deadline to October 14th, instead. Earlier this month, Apple announced that 100,000…
The Back Page - File Swapping Services Find New Ways To Leech Off Others
In the course of covering the RIAA’s and MPAA’s assault of our Fair Use rights, and of the rise and fall of Napster before that, I inevitably get accused of being a stooge for the pirates and the thieves, or of not recognizing that information (and therefore the creative works of artists, movie makers, and…
Mainstream Paper Offers Analysis Of .Mac
A mainstream Maryland newspaper called the Sun Spot has published a fairly comprehensive review of Apple’s .Mac service. The piece includes the history of Apple’s conversion of iTools to .Mac, a breakdown of the services offered, a balanced look at Apple’s conversion rate for .Mac accounts, and a very reasoned analysis of what those services…
The Back Page - Apple's Switch Ad Frightens It Networking Guru
David Kearns is a networking consultant who provides advice to clients, and helps other people write books on networking. For instance, he has co-writing status on Peter Norton’s Complete Guide to Networking. If you are wondering what scares a person who provides consultation services in Silicon Valley, take a look at an editorial he penned…
Larry Ellison Resigns From Apple's Board, Cites Time Commitment
[Update: The story below has been updated with information concerning Larry Ellison’s yacht racing.] In a surprise announcement, Apple said today that Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has resigned from Apple’s Board of Directors. Mr. Ellison is a close friend of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, and was one of the first people that Mr. Jobs personally…
New Gateway Ad Leaves the Realm Of The iMac, Takes Aim At Dell
T he Mac community has reacted with a great gnashing of teeth, pulling of hair, and terrible, angst-ridden wailing as Gateway launched an ad campaign aimed specifically at Apple and the iMac. That campaign used a study, which has been widely criticized in the Mac community as being inaccurate and misleading, to suggest that the…
Microsoft Not Complying With Antitrust Deal, Says Watchdog
An analysis by ProComp, an industry group formed to keep an eye on anti-competitive behavior, alleges that Microsoft has not kept up its end of the bargain when it comes to the deal it struck with the federal government. The analysis, sent in the form of a letter to the Justice Department and the Attorney-General,…
Apple Rises Amidst Market Losses, A Brief Look At Education Market
< B>Tuesday Recap The markets moved lower on Tuesday due in part to disappointing economic numbers. This time it was the governmentis gauge of industrial production that came in below expectations. On Tuesday, fast food giant MacDonaldis issued an earnings warning and announced that it is cutting the number of new store openings, reducing the…
New Logo Announced For Copy Protected CDs
I nternational recording industry body IFPI has released a logo to be placed on copy-protected CDs. The logo, which is an optional mark, has been released in order to distinguish them from regular CDs. According to the IFPIis press release, the logo has been supplied in accordance with their recommendations that copy-protected CDs should be…
Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Internet Access
Youid be pretty angry because, without your permission, itis stealing. So you go back inside and fire up your Airport equipped laptop and switch over to that new wireless network that popped up the other day. You donit know where itis coming from but man, can you download files from the internet fast and you…