Yesterdayis keynote speech included the pleasant surprise of brand new 733MHz G4 processors from Motorola. Rather than these chips simply being overclocked versions of the old chip (MPC7410), the new chip, the MPC7450, includes a host of new features and performance enhancements. Not only do the new chips run at a higher clock speed, but…
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Import Old Movies, Create New Ones with Dazzle's Hollywood DV-Bridge
Ever since the introduction of FireWire-enabled Macs and iMovie, folks have had the ability to generate their own digital movies with relative ease. But this digital solution still leaves folks, especially those that donit have a computer, out of the action. There are many more people that have the ability to view good oli VCR…
Steve Jobs Makes It On "Win Ben Stein's Money"
Mr. Steinis game show on Comedy Central pits him against three players who win money for beating Ben to the buzzer with the correct answer to a variety of questions. That money comes from a pool of US$5000 that ostensibly belongs to Mr. Stein, hence the name of the show. The final round is comprised…
Make Your Windows Look Cool With Power Windows
Power Windows is a small control panel that taps into your Macis unusedprocessor power to perform amazingly cool effects with windows and menus.Power Windows was originally conceived to let you drag the entire contentsof windows instead of just a dotted outline. It offers both solid andtranslucent window dragging, and you can even enable multitasking with…
Who's Who Of The Mac Universe On Tonight's Mac Show
The first Mac Show of the new millennium is certainly going to set astandard difficult for following shows to achieve!Not only is it the show before next weekis Macworld Expo in San Francisco,but itis also the traditional “Macluminaries Show”.5 of the most recognizable names in the Mac industry will join Shawn andHilary on Wednesdayis show.…
The New Economy's Promise Fades in 2000
The Nasdaq owes todayis continued downtrend to investors dumping beaten down stocks in order to shave some taxes off their big capital gains made last spring. By the end of 2001 tech stocks should be partly recovered from the current bear market. However, there is at least another quarter of pain left for technology businesses…
The Dow Chugs Ahead while the Nasdaq Whimpers and AAPL Stagnates
Not much can be drawn from this weekis market performance. Institutional and private investors alike are rushing to square their portfolios for the year, emphasizing trends that may not hold in the new year. Appleis stock traded flat at 14 13/16 on volume of 5.4 million shares. With no sign of a pre-MacWorld bounce and…
Tech Stocks Compress Further On Tax Loss Selling
On the bright side, in years of strong tax loss selling —such as 1994 — a true "January effect" often kicks in, powered by institutions plowing recently withdrawn capital back into beaten down stocks. Williams Co. (WMB), an energy trading company involved in the emerging bandwidth market, announced earnings well above Wall Streetis expectations. In…
Apple's Proprietary ADC Connector Bug You? Company Contemplating Offering Fix
When Apple announce their new ADC display connector technology at this past summer’s MACWORLD Expo, the crowd gave a collective, “Huh?” Apple had gone away from proprietary video connectors with the adoption of SVGA ports in their Blue & White G3 machines. The new ADC connectors are neat, to be sure. They allow for video,…
Blame Microsoft: Stocks Fall Across the Board
Triple witching option expirations and index changes in the Nasdaq 100 added volume and volatility noise to the market signal on Friday, but the message came through loud and clear: The stock markets are bracing for slower growth across the board in 2001 and tax loss selling as this year comes to an end. Next…
Business Week Author Plays Revisionist, Alters Anti-Apple Editorial
And itis not only the Cube thatis priced wrong. I visited Appleis online store and compared its top-of-the-line G4 to a similar model offered by Gateway on its Web site. The 500-megahertz dual-processor G4 with 256 megabytes of memory costs $7,598 from Apple. A 700-MHz Gateway with a single processor boasting the same memory goes…
The Mac Observer: On The Flip Side - Microsoft & Bloatware Revisited
Microsoft & Bloatware Revisited December 12th, 2000 One of people’s chief complaints about Microsoft software is usually about how big, gigantic and swelled up they think it is. Mac users in particular like to say how Microsoft delivers "bloatware," a commonly used expression to describe Microsoft products as too big – thus using too much…
Apple Leads Charge For Internet Streaming Standards
Apple has joined forces with a cast of high profile computer related companies to form the Internet Streaming Media Alliance. The new non-profit organization aims to establish a set of standards for developing and delivering streaming content over the Internet. Also joining Apple are Cisco Systems, Kasenna, Royal Phillips Electronics, and Sun Microsystems; the usual…
QuickTime 5 Public Preview 2 Available
The eagerly-anticipated Public Preview version of QuickTime 5 took the multimedia industry by storm. Now hereis QuickTime 5 Preview 2, incorporating a number of enhancements suggested by thousands of users and a version for Windows. Preview 2 also includes support for media skins (as announced at QuickTime Live!), plus extensive AppleScript support for Mac users.…
Oingo Makes Ads Smarter
Oingo Inc., the leader in meaning-based technology, has launched AdSense, a new application that delivers highly targeted advertisements online by analyzing the meanings of a useris search terms. AdSense accurately matches banner ads against the meanings of search words, effectively quadrupling current market click-through rates. “The effectiveness of online advertising has been a point of…
Make Web Pages Dance With Updated Animation Tool
Recosoft Corporation announces that is has started shipping WebShocker v2.2; a major upgrade to the most popular integrated Web Animation Production Tool for the Macintosh WebShocker v2.2 contains the following new features and enhancements: Fully Compatible with Mac OS X Public Beta (when run under Classic mode) Fully Mac OS 9 Multiple Users compatible Incorporation…
Queasy Markets Brace for an Economic Slowdown, AAPL Bounces
Every day more tech firms warn that theyill miss earnings due to unexpected slow downs in demand. The latest is Micron Electronics, (MUEI) which complained lousy holiday sales will push its forecast of $0.11 per share down to between $0.01 and $0.04 per share. How many ways are there to say new 52-week low? Micron…
A Hard Landing For Earnings Growth? AAPL Hits New Low
Gatewayis stock price was slashed by 10.50 or -35% to 19 dollars in a scene eerily reminiscent of the "speed bump" warning delivered September 28 by Appleis Steve Jobs and Fred Anderson, which precipitated AAPLis fall from grace on Wall Street. Gateway warned it expects 4th quarter operating income of $0.37 per share, way below…
The Mac Observer: On The Flip Side - The Computer, Perfect Hiding Place?
The Computer, Perfect Hiding Place? November 28th, 2000 Ah, technology! What a wonderful world filled with silicon, plastics, semiconductors, chips, circuits and metal. It makes communications easy with e-mail traveling across the world faster than you can drop a letter at the post office. The same applies for information that you can find in less…
Tech Stocks Continue Free Fall and Gateway Goes Splat!
The GNP grew at a modest 2.4% annual rate in the third quarter, slightly lower than the 2.7% rate forecast by economists and much slower than the 5.6% annual rate reported for the second quarter. The Commerce Departmentis price index for personal consumption rose only slightly indicating that inflation remains in check. PC stocks continued…
MP3 Streaming Application Updated
A new version of iStream has just been released. Our new release fixes some major bugs and should get rid of some nasty problems we have been having with different MacOS Localizations. Version 1.4.2 fixes the registration bug and enhances the playlist function. A Brief Description of iStream Finally, you can stream your MP3s to…
The Mac Observer: The Apple Trader - Demand A Recount Of Those PC Crashes, Apple Is The People's Choice!
Demand A Recount Of Those PC Crashes, Apple Is The People’s Choice! November 22nd, 2000 Last week news broke that Apple is going to open a 6,500 sq. ft. retail outlet in Palo Alto California, probably as a prototype for a chain of Apple Stores across the country. Everyone views this as a good thing,…
In The Pre-Holiday Drift on Wall Street Apple's Stock Can't Find Traction
Nevertheless, it was a busy day for the tech stocks. Lucent (LU) said it will subtract $125 million off its previously reported earnings due to an accounting error. The bad news sent the network equipment makeris stock to levels not seen since January of 1998. Meanwhile, Nortel (NT), Lucentis Canadian competitor, promised it will —unlike…
Our corporate masters are here
Do you read science fiction? Good for you. Do you read William Gibson? If you donit youire missing out. William Gibson is one of the most influental writers of the past couple of decades, and for good reason. At least a couple of Gibsonis books (notably Count Zero) feature the phenomenon of corporate piracy. Competion…