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Wed, Apr. 26th, 2006 11:49 am
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A debate has arisen in the Forums at MacOSKen.com about the future of the iPod, centered around two stories featured in the April 26, 2006 newscast. One had Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer saying that standalone media players (a thinly veiled reference to the iPod if veiled at all) would eventually give way to convergent devices. The second featured statistics from research firm Strategy Analytics that indicate a sharp increase in the adoption of media playing cell phones in the next five years, thanks in large part to an increase in production and reduction in price of removable media cards. In other words, phones that play music and video will eventually beat out the iPod.
The Apple faithful – God love them – immediately denounced such claims, singing the praises of the Mac maker and the revolution the iPod hath wrought.
Actually... I think Ballmer and Strategy Analytics are right. Kind of.
The iPod as we know it will go away... but that has happened before. I mean, much of the form factor and functionality remain, but the device is wildly different today (video, colors besides white, controls, etc.) than the first gen, not to mention the shuffle and the nano.
There will always be room for standalone players... but their market size will shrink with a couple of factors that leap to mind:
1 - Eventually, the public will wake up to the fact that they have a choice. Right now they think -- for the most part -- that if they want an MP3 player, they have to have an iPod. For many, the cost of an iPod is prohibitive. With the lower cost options and the knock-offs coming out of the far-east, iPod could lose some traction.
2 - Phones will begin to include media playing capability by default. Think what a novelty it was to have a camera phone 2 or 3 years ago. You paid a premium for them if you were so inclined. Today, most of the "free" phone offers from providers include camera phones with a premium paid for higher resolution.
I would look for the same thing to happen with "media device" phones. Carriers will demand lower cost phones with such capabilities from manufacturers. Carriers will then make those phones either cost competitive or free so that they can sell music and video subscription services as “add-ons” to the phone service. This is probably a few years down the road, but look for it.
So do these replace the iPod? Yes and no. The elusive iPod phone would be a serious category killer. Apple is sexy in music and video right now and by most accounts will continue to be for quite some time.
Picture this:
A phone that lets you watch the video you've already collected in iTunes... lets you listen to the music you've already collected in iTunes... lets you take pictures which either sync with iPhoto or that upload automatically to your .mac or carrier provided website... lets you shoot your own vodcast on the fly, add simple titles and post it directly from the phone. And -- of course -- the video would already be ready for the iPod, no matter which video enabled version people happen to use.
Oh... and it lets you make phone calls too.
Now, put all of that in a form factor similar to the one we already know. A click-wheel (touch-screen and stylus perhaps that can flip to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard), iTunes software, rounded edges, basic colors.
The standalone iPod will not die technically. There will be a place for the standalone device for years to come. But... really... wasn't Sony's WalkMan dead in a sense long before Sony stopped cranking them out?
Eventually, the iPod will be killed... and I hope that it's Apple that kills it. Tags: apple, ballmer, convergence, ipod, microsoft, strategy analytics   
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Fri, Mar. 3rd, 2006 01:01 am
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Credit Suisse where Credit Suisse is due… The MacBook Rollout Gathers Some Mossberg… And Laura Burstein Joins Us for the Mac Haughty Moment... It's Friday, March 3rd 2006, I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Credit Suisse is still high on Apple… Mac-N-N says the firm has maintained an "outperform" rating on the Mac maker’s stock… and a price target of 90 bucks. Credit Suisse analyst Robert Semple says with about half of its lineup now MacIntel, the real upside has yet to come: Semple says Credit Suisse thinks the most important transition to Intel will in occur in iBook… and the mass appeal of the sub 1000-dollar price point. As to this week’s few fun products, Semple thinks the 350-dollar iPod Hi-Fi is a bit pricey… especially next to similar products by Bose, JBL and Altec Lansing… Semple expects Hi-Fi to be successful… but not a blockbuster. Credit Suisse also expects Apple to maintain its dominant presence in music and to keep gaining ground in PCs throughout 2006. http://www.macnn.com/articles/06/03/02/analyst.on.tuesday.event/ --- Uncle Walt’s got a new toy… Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Walt Mossberg has reviewed the MacBook Pro… Mossberg says the MacBook Pro is better than the PowerBook and other computers… though it does have some drawbacks. First… while it is faster than the PowerBook it replaces, it doesn’t seem as fast as Apple's claims suggest. And while the starting price of 19-hundred-99 dollars is more than – theoretically comparable models from the likes of H-P – Mossberg says the premium is more than justified by the MacBook’s superior design and features. According to Mossberg… The MacBook Pro isn't revolutionary, but it's a promising start to the era of Intel-powered Apple laptops. http://online.wsj.com/article_email/article_print/SB114125851666086976-lMyQjAxMDE2NDAxMjIwNTI4Wj.html--- More updates from Apple yesterday… The company released iPhoto 6-dot-0-dot-2, Front Row 1-dot-2-dot-1… and a PowerMac G5 firmware update. iPhoto 6-dot-0-dot-2 corrects “several minor issues” associated with playing shared slideshows in Front Row, according to Apple… while Front Row 1-dot-2-dot-1 improves compatibility with iTunes and iPhoto sharing. The Power Mac G5 firmware update is only for the 1-point-8GigaHurtz, single-processor Power Mac G5… Apple says the update supports installation on Mac OS Ten 10-dot-4-dot-3 or later… and improves the reliability of the Power Mac G5, especially after it has been inactive for two hours. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/apple_posts_iphoto_602_front_row_121_power_mac_g5_firmware_update/--- More speculation yesterday on Microsoft’s answer to the iPod… the PSP… and apparently every other gadget ever invented… A Reuters report says hints on the promotional website OrigamiProject.com imply an unveiling of Origami next Thursday, March 9. Perhaps coincidentally – perhaps not – that’s also the first day of CeBit… the world's biggest annual trade show for the IT and telecoms industry. While Microsoft isn’t saying much about it… Ruters says Origami is expected to be the size of a paperback book… expected abilities include playing music, games, connecting to the net and running software. http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2006-03-02T132458Z_01_N27504760_RTRIDST_0_OUKIN-UK-MICROSOFT-ORIGAMI.XML--- Pimp your mini… Mobile Tech Review says Other World Computing has jumped ahead of the pack… the company is offering top tier Memory Upgrades for the newly announced Intel-based Apple Mac mini… you know… the ones announced Tuesday. The new mini is designed with two memory slots, factory-installed with 256 megabyte memory modules… but you can crank those puppies with a 1 Gig memory kit for 109-dollars U-S… or a 2Gig for 2-29. Kits include the Apple recommended matched pairs of memory for maximum performance… though 512 Meg and 1Gig individual modules are also available. Mobile Tech Review says the memory upgrades are in-stock and ready to ship from www.macsales.com. http://www.mobiletechreview.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Board=news&Number=22873--- Avis tries harder… and now they’re doing it to music… The Rental Car company announced a new program yesterday… that gives customers free iTunes downloads with every rental booked through its website. The company says customers can receive at least five free songs from iTunes every time they rent… Rentals of at least five days will qualify for ten song downloads. People wanting to take advantage of the offer do have to enroll in the Avis Music Giveaway program… they do that at avis.com. http://finanzen.net/news/news_detail.asp?NewsNr=377457--- Many have called the iTunes Music Store the future of music… but The Register out of the UK says… it aint all that… Sighting stats out of this week's Digital Music Forum, The register makes the case against… First… while Apple has sold one billion songs in under three years, The Register says one billion songs are downloaded illegally over Peer 2 Peer networks every month. Meanwhile, David Pakman – a former Apple insider – says the average iPod only carries 21 songs purchased from the iTMS… Though it should be pointed out that Packman – whom The Register says formed the Music Group at Apple – now heads rival service eMusic. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/03/02/dmf_2006_itms_numbers/--- Coming up… points for products… points off for style… Laura Burstein brings us her Haughty… haughty moment… you’re listening to news from Mac OS Ken… --- Reaction to this week’s introduction of a few fun products from Apple has been… well… mixed would be a fair term… here with her take on the event is Laura Burstein… --- Oh yeah… I’m gettin’ a featured spot on iTunes… oh well… Thus ends another week of Macintastic goodness… By the way… the “Where are you?” link on the links page of Mac OS Ken-dot-com really does work now… pins in the map from Scotland, England, South Africa, Australia, Japan, and the good ol’ US of A. If you haven’t stuck yours in… your pin I mean… in the map… click the “Where are you” button on the links page and let the Mac OS Ken world know. I’m going to play in the snow this weekend… boarding, skiing, angel making? I’m just not sure… But before I do that I want to let you know that Mac OS Ken is brought to you by… me… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... The Famous… is not your father’s Oldsmobile… it’s a band… it provides the music for this show… and you’d be doing me a solid if you checked them out online at the famous dot net. Assuming I don’t die on the slopes… we’ll talk again Monday. Until then… that’s news from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray.
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Thu, Mar. 2nd, 2006 01:04 am
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A Security Fix Comes Through for the Mac… Gervais makes the case for paid podcasts… And the World Police Nab Four High Tech Ne’er Do Wells... It's Thurssday, March 2nd, 2006, I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... A couple of updates from the Mac maker today… one of which could solve some security woes… Apple has posted iTunes 6-dot-0-dot-4 and Security Update 2006-001. MacWorld says the Security Update addresses a recently reported exploit that left Safari users vulnerable to malicious shell scripts… it also corrects a vulnerability to Apple’s Mail software… and it changes the way iChat handles file transfers to help prevent the “Leap-A” malware. The iTunes update “addresses stability and performance issues related to Front Row,” according to Apple. It requires QuickTime 7-dot-0-dot-3 or later and Mac OS Ten 10-dot-3-dot-9 or higher. Both updates are available through the Software Update Component of the System Utilities. http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/03/01/security/index.php http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/sony_to_release_blu_ray_dvd_products_may_23/--- Who is to balme for Napster’s failure to gain much ground on iTunes? Napster's CEO syas… it’s Micorosft. PC Pro out of the UK has Napster CEO Chris Gorog telling a Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit in New York that Microsoft's 'execution has been less than brilliant' over the past year. Gorog says Napster’s business relies on Microsoft's digital rights management software and that their business model relies on Microsoft's ecosystem of device manufacturers. He does acknowledge – however – that Microsoft has an uphill climb… since it has to work with a host of manufacturers… rather than simply building one device as Apple has done. Despite a less than impressive market share and a troubling outlook going forward, Gorog implies that Napster is in the game of rthe long-haul… Acccording to the CEO… only five per cent of sales have migrated digitally… We players are in the very, very early days of digital music. http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/84321/napster-blames-microsoft-for-itunes-dominance.html--- The Gervais gamble seems to be paying off in the UK… 24 hours after relaunching, the website Shiny-Shiny-dot-tv says The Ricky Gervais Show is Number one on the UK’s iTunes music Store. You may remember last month, Gervais moved his show to a paid model for its second and third seansons… the first season had been free. There had been debate about whether people would pay for podcasts when there were so many free ones out there… Siny-Shiny says with the apparent success of the Grebais move, the possibility of more paid podcasts increases. http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2006/03/ricky_gervais_s.html--- Intel and Skype generated some ill-will when they took some features Intel exclusive… and now they’ve generated some legal work too… Silicon-dot-com says AMD has served Skype with a subpoena demanding documents related to its deal to make one feature in Skype 2-dot-0 available exclusively to Intel users. The move is part of AMD’s ongoing antitrust case against the number one chipmaker. This particular action focuses on a feature in Skype 2-dot-0 that lets people make 10-person conference calls… as long as they’re using machines with Intel dual-core processors. Users with AMD dual-core or single-core chips are restricted five-person calls… Skype says that’s because of Intel’s architecture… AMD says Intel offered Skype incentives to make the feature exclusive. It may eventually be for the courts to decide. http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,39156862,00.htm--- Blu-ray is on it’s way… Sony plans to deliver its new Blu-ray DVD format to U-S stores at the end of May… the release will coincide with the entry of compatible disc players according to reports. Sony Pictures and MGM Home will release eight Blu-ray titles, on May 23rd… followed by another eight in mid-June. Blu-ray (BD) is a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association… a group of consumer electronics and PC companies including Dell, Hitachi, H-P… and Apple Computer. --- Registration is live for MacLive. MacLive is billed at the “learning conference for creative professionals…” May 11th through the 13th in New York City. MacLive will feature 50 sessions focusing on design, digital photography and video editing… with tracks on Adobe Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Mac OS Ten, Adobe InDesign, Acrobat, Flash, Dreamweaver, iLife, the iPod and podcasting… instructors will include Scott Kelby, Deke McClelland, Bert Monroy, Terry White, Dave Cross, David Pogue, and Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus among others. Registration before April 7th gets you in for just under 600 bucks U-S… with disounts for students and National Association of Photoshop Professsionals members. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/registration_underway_for_maclive_conference/--- The Price fixing jig is up… MacWorld says four South Korean executives from Hynix Semiconductor are pleading guilty for their roles in fixing prices of dynamic RAM… The settlement is the result a long investigation of a global conspiracy, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. MacWorld says the four Hynix employees conspired with unnamed employees from other memory makers to fix the prices of DRAM sold to certain U-S companies from April of 1999 to June of 2002. The scam directly affected U-S computer makers Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, IBM, Apple, and Gateway… in many cases affecting the consumer as well… some manufacturers raised their prices as a result… while others reduced the amount of DRAM they installed. The four gentlemen from Hynix will each serve about half a year in U-S prison… each will also pay a fine of a quarter of a million dollars. Hynix is the fourth company charged by the Department of Justice… along with Korea’s Samsung, Japan’s Elpida… and Infineon of Germany. So let’s check the tote board… that brings the U-S D-O-J’s total amount collected in fines from the globe spanning conspiracy to… 731 million dollars! http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/03/01/hynix/index.php --- I can’t tell you how happy that makes me… really… thanks Dodge… Coming up… we’ll go bargain hunting for a new Macintosh… and Ed will have another look at the tote board… you’re listening to news from Mac OS Ken… --- Looking for a cheap 20” iMac G5? The Unofficial Apple Weblog says… you might try Costco. The purveyor of giant jars of mayonnaise and DVD party packs is apparently selling the 20" iMac G5 with iSight for just under 15-hundred dollars… that price reportedly includes 3 years of AppleCare as well. But if you want to take advantage, there’d better be a Costco near you… while Costco’s website will let users check local availability… the units can only be picked up at the store…. http://www.tuaw.com/2006/03/01/costco-selling-the-20-imac-g5-at-discount/--- If – on the other had – you’re ok paying full price for an item not on the endangered species list, you might want to head to the Lone Star State… The Mac Observer says Apple is opening an new store at the NorthPark Center in Dallas, Texas, this Saturday at 10 a-m texas time. Of course the store will have a Genius Bar… it’ll also feature The Studio… a place where customers can get one-on-one training from creative experts. Apple will make a week of it… with a series of events to celebrate the Grand Opening, free training events and free prizes for visitors… with a "Digital Lifestyle Collection" grand prize including a 17-inch Intel Core Duo iMac, an iPod nano, a Canon PowerShot S-D-4-50, a Sony Handycam, and an HP printer… total package valued at 2-thousand 2-hundred dollars. http://www.macobserver.com/article/2006/03/01.10.shtml--- Time now to let you know about another addition to Mac OS Ken… On the links page is the question… Where are you? Linux Punk 81 was kind enough to start a Frappr map for Mac OS Ken… Yes… you have to sign up to use it… no… they haven’t sent me any junk mail yet… it’s fun to see where everyone is… and it helps me gel my plan to couch surf around the world… On the front page of Mac OS Ken… a button to vote for this show at podcast alley… do it… don’t… I don’t care… except of course… I do. I wanna let you know that Mac OS Ken is brought to you by… me… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Music for Mac OS Ken compliments of The Famous… check them out online at The Famous dot net… Laura Burstein joins us to talk Macinstuff tomorrow… until then that’s news from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray…
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Wed, Mar. 1st, 2006 12:01 am
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New Apple products and reactions to said… New shows for the iTMS… And actors, writers, and directors gear up for a fight over the download service… It's Wednesday, March 1st, 2006, I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Steve Jobs took the stage at Apple’s Town Hall on the Mac maker’s Cupertino campus yesterday, to announce what Apple had called a few fun products… The company announced iPod Hi-Fi… a high-fidelity speaker system made to work seamlessly with any iPod with a dock connector. The all-in-one design can be powered from a wall socket or by six D-cell batteries and it works with the Apple Remote. Jobs told the gathered that the company is reinventing the home stereo with the new iPod Hi-Fi, the first iPod accessory that adds true high-fidelity sound quality to the iPod. The unit – which went on sale yesterday – will run buyers 349 dollars U-S. Apple also took a stab at the case business yesterday… releasing leather cases designed specifically for the fifth generation iPod and iPod nano. The Leather Case for iPod is available for 30Gig and 60Gig Fifth-Gens as well as the nano… each will run buyers 99 bucks. Closer perhaps to some of the rumors was the announcement of the new Intel based Mac minis… The computer maker unveiled two new minis… one with an Intel Core solo processor… and one with the Intel Core Duo processor, boasting performance up to four times faster than its predecessor… The newly announced units feature the Apple Remote and Front Row – Apple’s media management software. Phil Schiller – Apple’s senior VP of worldwide marketing – says with the new mini announcements, Apple has moved 50 percent of its entire product line to Intel within 60 days. The new 1.5 GHz Mac mini includes -- a 1.5 GHz Intel Core Solo processor; -- a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive; -- built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking & Bluetooth -- four USB 2-dot-0 ports; -- and the infrared Apple Remote. It ships today with a starting price of 599 dollars… The new 1.66 GHz Mac mini features -- a 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo processor; -- a slot-load 8x SuperDrive -- built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking & Bluetooth -- four USB 2.0 ports; -- and the infrared Apple Remote. It goes for a suggested retail price of 799… Both by the way include audio and video out options… brining it closer to the much talked about media center many had expected. --- And that is likely the real announcement… the digital living room push. The Courier Mail out of Australia says – with the iPod Hi-Fi – Apple is looking to make the iPod the centrepiece of the living room…. Hence Jobs calling the unit “home stereo reinvented for the iPod age." Though the Hi-Fi will compete with Apple’s accessory partners, Phil Schiller says Apple will continue to support members of the 'iPod economy.' According to Schiller… there's enough room in the market for a range of products. http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,18311232%255E401,00.html--- The Associated Press also took the living room approach… emphasizing Apple's inclusion of Front Row into the new minis… and the fact that users can connect the computer to their televisions and control their music, videos, or photos with the Apple remote. The AP says an added feature of the Front Row software will let users locate and share media content from other computers within a local wireless network... letting users play songs or stored TV shows that are pulled off a computer in another room in the house. But AP doesn’t see the digital home as belonging to Apple just yet… pointing to news expected soon on Microsoft’s "ultra-mobile PC device," Origami. http://money.canoe.ca/News/Other/2006/02/28/1466679-ap.html--- Still… the digital home push isn’t enough for some… as nice as iPod Hi-Fi is, ZDNet’s Russell Shaw wants to know when we’ll see iPod Wi-Fi. According to Russell… Tuesday’s event was a showcase for what Intel can do to the inside of a mini…But not a huge generator for additional iPod sales… and that an iPod Wi-Fi would have pushed the ball forward. http://blogs.zdnet.com/ip-telephony/?p=936--- And one Qualcomm exec is calling for a wireless iPod as well… Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said Monday that launching a wireless version of the iPod would be a good business decision. The website Teleclick has Jacobs saying a wireless version of the device would be a good way to maintain an edge over the competition… which now includes music-enabled mobile handsets, smartphones, and other handheld devices. Of course, such a move could make good business sense for Qualcomm… A place in the iPod could give mobile chipmaker Qualcomm a whole new market and increase its overall exposure. http://www.teleclick.ca/2006/02/qualcomm-executive-encourages-apple-to-create-wireless-ipod/--- Even before the campus show, there were other announcements out of Apple yesterday… Playlistmag.com says the Mac maker spent the early morning adding Academy Award-nominated short films and three television shows from Bravo to the iTunes Music Store. Playlist says the five new films added are each nominated for Best Live Action short film at this Sunday’s Academy Awards. The shows added were the Bravo network’s previously announced, Inside the Actor’s Studio and Project Runway… as well as the show Top Chef. http://playlistmag.com/news/2006/02/28/itunesadds/index.php--- ABC has a plan for paying performers for its shows on the iTunes Music Store… and the unions don’t seem to like it. Backstage-dot-com says the Disney owned network decided Monday to use the discounted, home video rate to pay residuals for iPod digital downloads… But the Screen Actors’ Guild says they’ll fight ABC for introducing digital downloads without working with the union on a payment plan first… and for adopting a residual formula crafted more than 20 years ago to address the then new VCR set. That formula allows studios to retain 80 percent of revenue to cover manufacturing, marketing and other costs while paying residuals out of the remaining 20 percent according to Backstage... The Writers’ Guilds of America – East and West –and the Directors’ Guild of America say they’ll also dispute ABC’s plan. http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/unions/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002075845--- Look for numbers from Steve’s other company next week. Pixar will announce its financial results for the fourth quarter and for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005 next Tuesday. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/pixar_to_announce_latest_financial_results_on_march_7/--- Coming up... making a mess in Europe... will look at Apple heading overseas... you're listening to news from Mac OS Ken --- Finally today Apple is headed East from here… at least if they take the short way around… MacWorld UK says the Mac maker is planning a "major presence" at European music event, Musikmesse 2006. Musikmesse is Europe's biggest annual trade fair for instruments, software, computers, sheet music and accessories. Apple will showcase GarageBand, Logic Pro, Final Cut Studio's production, finishing, and delivery capabilities, as well as networking technologies and distributed audio processing. Musikmesse 2006 takes place in Frankfurt, Germany, from March 29 to April 1. http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=13964&Page=1&pagePos=10--- And so begins the month of March… and with a new month… a new chance to vote at podcast alley… cool thing though… it’s easier now… there’s a link to vote for the show on the redesigned front page of Mac OS Ken-dot-com. I want to let you know that Mac OS Ken is brought to you by – me… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Music for Mac OS Ken provided by The Famous… check them out online at http://thefamous.net. Until tomorrow… that’s news from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray.
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Tue, Feb. 28th, 2006 01:43 am
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Is a plan to steal Apple’s Thunder Unfolding? Can lightning strike twice for the iPod’s Internist? And the former future leader of the free world takes a beating… It's Tuesday, February 28th, 2006, I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Has Microsoft stepped up its iPod Hunt? The Seattle-Post-Intelligenser reports on a video of a mystery device from Microsoft – called Origami – discovered online over the weekend. The device appears to be part media player, part gaming device and part tablet PC among other things… Microsoft says it is working on such a concept with partners… but that the video is a year old and reflects only its initial explorations. The PI says if it were released as seen on the video… it would appear to take a different approach and not compete directly with the iPod… or maybe surpass it. According to the paper… the video shows people using the device not only as a music player, but also as a miniature PC for web surfing, sending e-mail, editing photos and playing video games. In a statement, Mr. Softie said it would be able to share more details "in the coming weeks." But signs point to some sort of announcement this week… maybe even later today… A Microsoft marketing site – origamiproject-dot-com – says interested parties can find out more on March Second… that’s this Thursday… While the Website Ars Technica says the Redmond Based Software maker has announced a surprise media presentation to be held tonight… at which an "innovative concept in development" will be unveiled. Exactly how much will be shown by Microsoft and when is anybody’s guess at this point… as Ars Technica points out… hints on origamiproject.com indicate a tease lasting three weeks… not three days…. The site also points out… there’s no guarantee that Microsoft’s event has anything to do with Origami… or portable media at all. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/printer2/index.asp?ploc=t&refer=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/260983_msftdevice27.htmlhttp://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060226-6268.html --- Yet another iPod killer that could carry some weight… this one thanks to a designer. South Korea based Chosun-dot-com reports on Samsung Electronics’ new MP3 player the Z-5. Chosun says the Z-5 promises to provide a seamless connection between player and download service… with support for Microsoft’s PlaysForSure… which means it should work with services from the likes of Yahoo, Real, Virgin, and Napster among others. But the bigger story is probably the guy inside the unit… Paul Mercer… the same man who designed the software for the iPod. Chosun sites a New York Times report that says Mercer’s old company – Pixo – designed the workings of the original iPod… after the Mac maker had trouble designing a friendly user interface on its own. Now industry watchers are waiting to see if Mercer will be able to challenge his own creation with the new product. Designed to compete with the nano… the Z-5 has a 1-point-8-inch color screen and a 35-hour battery life… Hitting store shelves as early as next week… buyers will greeted with a nano-riffic price range of 199 to 249 dollars U-S. http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200602/200602270019.html--- Sophos has gone MacIntel friendly… Mac-N-N says the latest version of Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac OS Ten includes support for the new Intel Duo processor powered iMac, as well as the MacBook Pro. Sophos Anti-Virus 4-dot-7 lets users do on-demand scanning of files and folders, as well as enabling automatic updates for all desktops. Sophos says the update provides complete protection against all known threats… it’s available in English, Japanese, French, German and Spanish. http://www.macnn.com/articles/06/02/27/sophos.anti.virus.updated/--- Apple has picked up a new bit of real estate… the website for Commercial Property News says the Cupertino-based computer maker has purchased a 107-thousand-square-foot building in Newark, California. The facility was originally built as a data center for MCI WorldCom but never used. The site went for a reported 45 to 50 million dollars U-S. http://www.cpnonline.com/cpn/property_type/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002075621--- Apple related announcements coming out of Orlando this week. The Florida city os the site of this year’s Photo Marleting Association International… First Apple itself has unveiled a Universal Binary version of Aperture… the Mac maker’s pro photo editing software. Aperture Version 1-dot-1 will ship in March… and will be free to Aperture 1-dot-0 users. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/pma_aperture_goes_universal_binary/--- And graphics powerhouse Adobe is expanding its Photoshop Services… Adobe used the Orlando convention to announce new partnerships with Iron Mountain – which makes data backup/recovery and archiving software – and MorePhotos.com – an e-commerce company for professional photographers. The new services will let users protect their digital images and increase profits through an online photo backup service and online sales solutions… Adobe’s new services are expected to be available in the second quarter of the year… http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/pma_adobe_expands_photoshop_services/--- What can Lynda teach your mom? The Unofficial Apple Weblog says… maybe a thing or two about the iPod and iTunes. TUAW says the software training library has just published 8 and a half hours of online instructional movies about iTunes 5 & 6 and the iPod. Subjects cover everything from importing and playing music, to tips on using the fifth-gen iPod, to recommendations for accessories. Free samples are available… subscriptions – which give access to all of the site’s training resources – including training on Tiger, Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Soundtrack, Motion, and other Apple software – is 25 dollars a month US. http://www.tuaw.com/2006/02/27/lynda-com-offers-itunes-ipod-training/--- Coming up… Board room in the balance… we’ll look at Al Gore and the quest for Green Apples… you’re listening to news from Mac OS Ken. --- Finally today… If its not one thing with this guy its another… he lost – in quotes – the 2000 election… he’s wooden… and now… Al Gore is in trouble again… for not greening the Mac maker. MacWorld UK says Environmental activists pounced on Apple board member and former US vice president Al Gore's offices on Friday… According to the site, activists from the Computer Take Back Campaign left a prepaid calling card at Gore's offices and asked him to contact them. They want the environmentally minded Gore to use his position on Apple's board to promote recycling… what… inventing the internet wasn’t enough? Computer Take Back is calling for Apple to start a program to take back and dispose of discarded Apple products containing toxins, such as lead and mercury. Apple does offering free recycling of iPods through its US retail stores, but Computer Take Back says that’s not enough… The campaign says they want Apple CEO Steve Jobs to be the hero he can be – and offer free and convenient recycling for all of Apple's obsolete products. http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=13957&Page=1&pagePos=1--- A quick note… Mac OS Ken saw a redesign last night… no… the site is not 100% done… but it’s getting there… if MacOSKen.com looks the same to you as it did before… hit your reset Bubba… If you haven’t joined the forums at Mac OS Ken yet… you’ve missed some lively discussion on the show… coming changes from Apple… and where in the world you are… Join up… and share the forum love… Mac OS Ken is brought to you by… me… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Music for Mac OS Ken compliments of The Famous… check them out online at http://thefamous.net… The Tracks by the way are “Son of the Snake,” and “True Believer…” Both are available through the iTMS… as is the whole album, Light Sweet Crude. Later today I will do a short podcast updating what Steve brought down from the mountain… until then… that’s news from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray.
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Mon, Feb. 27th, 2006 03:10 am
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One billion songs and reactions to each… Inqtana’s not as wild as once thought… And I’m going out on a limb… It's Manday, February 27th 2006, I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Sometimes kids… I just don’t think. I received a press release Thursday about the fact that Apple had cleared the one billion song mark… and like a dope… I forgot all about it until well after Friday’s newscast… so… let’s pretend I didn’t. Guess what! Apple has sold one billion songs through the iTunes Music Store… an amazing feat for a service that has been active less than three years. The billionth song – Speed of Sound – was purchased as part of Coldplay's X&Y album by Alex Ostrovsky from West Bloomfield, Michigan… the sixteen year old walks away with a 20-inch iMac, 10 fifth generation iPods and a $10,000 gift card good for any item on the iTunes Music Store. In addition to all of that… Apple will establish a scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music in Ostrovsky’s name to commemorate the one billion mark. Of the download, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said he hopes that every customer, artist and music company executive takes a moment to reflect on what we've achieved together during the past three years… According to Jobs, the one billion songs represent a major force against music piracy and the future of music distribution as we move from CDs to the Internet. http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/nation/13965921.htm--- So what’s everyone else’s take on the media giant’s super sales numbers? Playfuls-dot-com takes a look at that… Zippy Aima – an analyst with Frost and Sullivan – says iTunes making the one billion mark is an indicator that the buying behavior of consumers is changing and they are ready to pay for good quality music. The Associated Press looked at business lost as a result… According to the AP the growing popularity of purchasing songs by the track shows in declining CD sales. But not everyone is convinced that Apple’s reign in online music will last… The Yankee Group’s Nitin Gupta – for example – thinks Microsoft’s URGE will be a formidable foe for the iTMS… While Thomas Hawk – publisher of Thomas Hawk's Digital Connection and FlickrNation – says the eventual arrival of the killer phone could be the undoing of iTunes… if – of course – its not made by Apple. http://www.playfuls.com/news_01333_Media_Reactions_To_iTunes_Bilionth_Download_.html--- Stand down the alert… Inqtana B is not in the wild… Last week I told you that UK-based security firm Sophos had said that the file was out… turns out… it was not… The Register out of the UK says it was a faulty signature update that flagged legitimate Mac OS X system files as infected with the low-risk worm… the files it identified as infectious included a number of Microsoft Office application files… possibly creating a bit of a headache for anyone who had set their software to auto-detect infected files. For its part, Sophos says its anti-virus software would not delete files by default and would normally ask for permission… though the company acknowledges that a "relatively low" number of clients had been affected. Sophos has apologized for the faulty signature update. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/02/23/sophos_false_positive/print.html--- It could be the biggest Trojan Horse ever… and it has nothing to do with security… A Barron's piece this past weekend lays out the possibility of Apple Computer buying the Walt Disney Company. According to Saturday’s article, it's possible that Apple could make a bid to buyout Disney after Apple CEO Steve Jobs becomes the studio's largest shareholder… Jobs – you may remember – is set to become Disney’s biggest shareholder once the Magic Company’s acquisition of computer animation studio – and Jobs helmed – Pixar is complete. Christopher Whalen – a New York-based managing director of Institutional Risk Analytics – was quoted as saying Disney is badly undervalued right now… and that Jobs might get an opportunity to take it out… According to Whalen, Jobs' unique familiarity with both the content and technology sides of Hollywood make the case for a takeover plausible at least... and further, he thinks the markets and Disney shareholders would welcome a merger led by Jobs. http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B1886F15A-756B-4644-8474-F534305073AD%7D&source=blq%2Fyhoo&dist=yhoo&siteid=yhoo--- The munificent Mr. Munster has upped Apple’s ante… The Mac Observer says Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has issued a new research report revising his own numbers. According to Munster, Apple could sell as many as 9-point-3 million iPods this quarter… that’s up from the 9 million he had projected. Munster has maintained his "Outperform" rating on Apple's stock… and his price target of 103 dollars U-S. http://www.macobserver.com/stockwatch/2006/02/24.1.shtml--- What Steve said may not be what Steve said… at least that’s what Steve’s saying. P-2-P-News says Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is denying that he said Apple should spin-off its iPod unit. You may remember last week Woz was quoted by Canada’s Globe and Mail as saying the iPod was distracting Apple from its focus as a computer maker… and that the unit should be sold as its own business. You may also remember that I called him carzy… we’ll get to that in a moment… Wozniak has responded to last week’s attributions in a statement posted to the blog of TheMacintoshGuy.com. According to that post, Woz did NOT say that the iPod division should be spun off and he feels used in that regard… Wozniak’s response to the suggestion that he viewed Intel as the enemy was similar to his response on the iPod issue… as he points out… he’s not known for taking the enemy approach to anything. Woz says he has consistently backed the decision to switch to Intel inside… though he did acknowledge making one "slightly negative" comment on the transition. And now… my rap on the knuckles… I’m sorry I called Woz crazy… I’m glad I said I love him… and I’m really… really curious what the deal was with the story… the world may never know. http://www.p2pnet.net/story/8041--- Coming up… Creative gets Creative with its iPod slaying strategy… and as promised… I’ll make a prediction for Tuesday… you’re listening to news from Mac OS Ken. --- Creative Technology may be getting serious about its iPod killing… a Red Herring report says the company plans to de-emphasize its workstation graphics business in favor of the portable handheld device market. Singapore-based Creative will hone its 3DLabs subsidiary on producing handheld devices that require intensive processing for video, audio, and 3D graphics according to Red Herring… That will lead to about 100 people at 3DLabs getting the axe according to the same report. Creative was one of the first companies to make a digital music player… but so far… they’ve not been able to parlay that first on the scene status into success against Apple’s iPod. http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=15861&hed=Creative+May+Be+iPod+Threat# --- Finally today, let me start by saying I have absolutely no reason to believe what I am about to say… no logical reason anyway. But let me give some back story on why I am – most likely – wasting your time. In the middle of October, 2005… Laura Burstein… some other guy… and I made our way to the California Theater in San Jose for Steve Jobs’ “One more thing.” We did – of course – guess at what we thought the thing would be. I said it would be a video iPod… it was – of course – not… instead it was an iPod that plays video… a subtle distinction to be sure. In short – barring the wording – I was right. And the only people who knew that were the three of us in the car… and one Mac Geek at a bar where I hang out. I’m looking for a phone tomorrow. Don’t ask me why… ok… I’ll tell you. It just feels right to me. It feels like the only area where they are seriously lacking. I love the backdoor move into the living room with the iMac and front row… I don’t think they need to make a media center… I think they can keep growing the one they have… there may be a media center. A true video iPod would be neat… but people seem pretty happy with the pretend video iPod introduced last October. There may be a true video iPod. I’ve heard a lot of chatter about the Movie store… that would be neat. Think they’ll start with Disney films? And stuff Disney owns like anything made by Touchstone – such as Proof, The English Patient, or Good morning Vietnam? Or Miramax films like The Aviator, Sin City, and Cold Mountain? We could easily see a movie store… and don’t think Netflix and Blockbuster aren’t sweating tonight. Sure there could be new MacIntel announcements and maybe even some apps. But how fun do those sound really? These are a few fun products Steve’s talking about… and what would be more fun than a smart phone that does all of the hoopy stuff we’ve been hearing that phones will do? Play your video… play your music… buy songs over the air? I am probably wrong. I have been before. I am probably wrong. But I want one… and that is what I’m looking for tomorrow… Interesting thing about this podcast by the way… it’s done the night before you get it… which means Tuesday’s podcast will be produced long before Steve takes the stage on the Apple campus. But I will do my dead level best to do a quick update podcast mid-day Tuesday… with the skinny… the low-down… the… whos-its. I could be wrong about the phone. Let me let you know now that Mac OS Ken is brought to you by – me – and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Seriously… if I’m wrong about the phone… don’t give me too much grief… but if I’m right… name me your king. Music for Mac OS Ken compliments of The Famous… check them out online at http://thefamous.net. Until tomorrow – when I could easily be wrong about the phone – that’s news
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Fri, Feb. 24th, 2006 02:13 am
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As of 2:00 AM PST, February 24, 2006, LIBSYN is down for maintenance. As soon as it is up, the show will go on... in the meantime... enjoy the script. Maxxus Crack-es the Macs-es Again… Banc of America says, Apple… Eh… And an Old Friend Weighs in on Rumors and Speculation... It's Friday, February 24th, 2006, I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... It’s hard not to romance the exploits of some… whether they’re legal or not…. BetaNews says Maxxus… is at it again. The hacker or cracker… has released a patch to run Mac OS Ten Ten-dot-four-dot-five… yes… dot-five… on a standard WinTel box. Apple just released 10-dot-4-dot-5 last week… that update fixed some Intel related bugs… and also added code to stop people from trying to install Tiger on non Apple hardware. Ooops. Maxxus says he plans to create a full 10-dot-4-dot-5 installation routine. Of course… people who install Mac OS Ten on non-Apple hardware are unable to download updates directly from the company, so patches are the only way to take advantage of the fixes made in each release… and they’re also sinners. For his part… Maxxuss says some issues still remain with the patch, such as problems with DVD playback and iTunes on systems with AMD CPUs. Like I say… legal or not… it’s hard not to romanticize… http://www.betanews.com/article/Mac_OS_X_1045_for_Intel_Cracked/1140729145--- Who doesn’t love Apple? Banc of America Securities for one… but they don’t hate it either. B of A analyst Keith Bachman has maintained a “neutral” rating on the Mac maker’s stock… and a target price of 82 dollars US. The neutral rating follwed the release of poor January sales results, according to a Forbes report. But one more thing… or words like it could bolster the stock… Bachman says his firm believes Apple will trade well into product announcements next week… Bachman says B of A is expecting a low-end notebook to be part of those announcements. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/banc_of_america_maintains_neutral_rating_on_apple_stock/--- If the rumors that Apple will introduce a “true video iPod” next Tuesday are true… they may have been beaten to the punch… sort of… MobileMag.com says Acer has announced a Personal Media Player – the Acer MP-500. The device features a 3-and-half -inch touchscreen display and a stylus… as well as jacks for TV-out. While it’s not known what video formats it will support, MobileMag says it covers the audio bases… playing MP3, WMA, and AAC files. It also supports J-Peg, GIF and BitMap stills. MobileMag says it’ll probably do voice recording as well, since it comes with a microphone. Battery life for the Acer MP-500 runs 4 hours for video use or 8 hours for audio. Launch dates and prices for the device – which comes in 20Gig and 40Gig models – have not been announced… and I’m going to say the name one more time… Acer MP 500… because if Apple does announce a true video iPod next week… you’ll likely never hear about Acer’s product again. Speaking of next week and rumors… your old friend and mine Laura Burstein will join us in a bit… to weigh in on the rumors circulating around next Tuesday. http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/337/C6634/--- Are Mac security threats good for Mac users? Mac-N-N says One pundit thinks so… Big Thinker John C. Dvorak says threats like the recent Mac OS Ten-specific worms are good news for Mac users. According to Dvorak… any vulnerability will mean that the Mac operating system, and its users, can grow more hardened to the reality of these threats. Great… so we all get to hear “Nobody said life was fair.” Mac-N-N says Dvorak thinks Mac OS Ten is better off being hardened early in its life, rather than later… Hm. http://www.macnn.com/articles/06/02/23/dvorak.on.mac.os.x.virus/--- As you may know, or could easily guess, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Apple’s other Steve… I am of course referring to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. And so it is with great sadness that I tell you… that the man’s a little crazy. I know… I’m going to hell right? Believe me… that won’t be the reason… Woz… and remember… I love him… tells the Globe and Mail that the success of the iPod is distracting Apple from its focus of computing. Wozniak thinks the Mac – and iPod – maker might be better served by spinning off the business… especially since iPods have their own operating systems, software and processor, and a whole different group working on the ubiquitous music player. According to Woz – who I love – Apple is a computer company… They really think computers… and spinning off a separate division makes a whole lot of sense… to Woz… who I love. Second Steve had some thoughts on Apple’s other biggest move as well… transitioning the Mac to Intel processors… He said “It's like consorting with the enemy…” though he does see the switch as necessary from an engineering standpoint, since Apple needed a way to improve performance per watt. Finally… Woz had a cautionary words and a couple of jabs for arch enemy Microsoft… of Mr. Softy’s plans to battle the iPod… Wozniak says “If they (introduce an iPod competitor), they better do it excellent, excellent, excellent because the iPod sure is. Doing something weaker and somehow trying to use (their) size and market power . . . that's just not good [enough] if (they) don't turn out something superior.” Then came the pot-shots… According to Woz… “Microsoft wants to get out of the whole image of the big, black Darth Vader evil guy.” And he mockingly concedes… “Innovation is probably going on within the company, because any time you put smart engineers in places eventually they wind up talking and innovating… no matter how much you try to hold them back.” See… that’s why you love the guy. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060223.wxapple0223/BNStory/Front/home--- If you can’t sell it… give it away… That’s apparently the Defaultware way… The company is giving away Proteus… its multi-protocol IM client for Mac OS Ten Ten-dot-three or above. The program used to cost 15 dollars US… kind of… see it was shareware… so… you didn’t have to pay… you just had to click the Free Trial button… heh heh… ewwww. Defaultware plans to release an update soon that removes the registration process and makes Proteus a Universal Binary app. I’ve gotta say… while I never paid for it… it is a cool app for keeping in touch with your friends who refuse to ride the iChat train… It supports AIM (including .Mac accounts), MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Jabber, iChat Rendezvous, Gadu Gadu and Sametime. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/proteus_im_client_to_go_from_shareware_to_freeware/--- MacProVideo.com is having a birthday… and you’re getting the presents… The site – which offers video-based software tutorials – is one year old… to celebrate… it’s offering 25 percent off of all of its tutorials… which include courses in Logic, Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, and Motion. By the way… Mac OS Ken is one month old… and to celebrate… I’ve decided… it’s free. You’re welcome. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/macprovideocom_holds_first_anniversary_sale/--- Apple does IPEX… the Mac maker has confirmed it will exhibit at IPEX 2006… one of the biggest printing and graphics exhibitions in the world. The company will host a large stand at the show, where attendees will be able to test-drive the latest Mac-based offerings for print, publishing and digital imaging… IPEX 2006 takes place at Birmingham's NEC Centre… which is somewhere in the UK. The show runs from April 4th to the 11th. http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=13927&Page=1&pagePos=3Boy… all this print and video talk… I’m havin’ flashbacks. --- What goes well with a Pink Commuter Shirt? How about a tie? PC-Pro out of the UK says tailoring company Thomas Pink has created a tie for the nano set… The Commuter tie has a pocket on the its backside to hold the tiniest of iPods… as well as an extra fabric loop to keep headphone wires out of sight and close to the body. The red(dish) silk tie costs 49 Pounds… roughly 86 dollars US. The Pink Commuter Tie comes one month after the announcement of the Pink Commuter shirt… which has a hidden breast pocket for a full-sized iPod and a cuff pocket to hide a credit card. The shirt – which will be available next month – goes for 69 pounds... roughly 121 bucks. http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/84098/thomas-pink-tailors-an-ipod-nano-tie.html--- Coming up… a much anticipated and ballyhooed contributor joins the ranks… Laura Burstein’s take on what next week may bring… you’re listening to news from Mac Os Ken. --- As you may have figured out… I don’t usually do rumor on this show… thank goodness we have someone who’s willing to… Laura Burstein takes a look at the wealth of guesses surrounding… a few fun products… (Laura Piece) I don’t know whether what I think will be announced on Tuesday is actually what I think will be announced… or what I hope will be… I have nothing to back it up… I’ll tell you what I am thinking on Monday. And so we draw to a close another week of Mac OS Kenliness… Before I go… Firebird… How cool are you? What you did the Forums at Mac OS Ken was above and beyond… I thank you… and I may just run with it. For those not in the forums… wanna know what I’m talking about? There’s one way to find out… join your fellow Mac Loving so and so’s in the Forums at Mac OS Ken dot com… and make like a high tech sewing circle… This is the part of the show where I tell you that Mac OS Ken is brought to you by… me… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... The Famoous makes music… they let me use it… and all I have to do is say check them out online at the famous-dot-net… the barter system is alive and well… We’ll talk just before Steve pulls the lever that changes the world… again… until then… that’s news from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray.
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Thu, Feb. 23rd, 2006 02:04 am
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Sophos says, “Don’t freak out… but…” The Medium PowerBook takes the long walk… And more TV for your PC… It's Thursday, February 23rd, 2006, I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... The buggers apparently have a plan “B” Experts at Sophos say there is a new version of the Inqtana worm according to I-T-Vibe.com. The Inqtana-B worm attempts to spread between Macs through a Bluetooth vulnerability… similar to Inqtana A. Just like Inqtana A, Sophos says Inqtana B is unlikely to spread due to security patches and limitations built into the worm's code. Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, says, viruses emerging for the Mac are headline grabbers, but do not pose nearly the threat to Mac users that Windows users face every day. Cluely says no-one should panic… though he does acknowledge that this is an indication that hackers are showing an increased interest in targeting the platform. http://itvibe.com/news/3946/--- No time to say good-bye to the 15” PowerBook… MacWorld says… it’s already gone. According to MacWorld… As with the 17-inch iMac G5 before it, Apple’s 15-inch PowerBook G4 has quietly disappeared from the company’s online store. The 15-inch PowerBook has been replaced with Apple’s Intel-based 15-inch MacBook Pro, which is shipping now. The site is still taking orders for the 12-inch and 17-inch PowerBook G4… Apple has yet to announce MacIntels to replace those. I’m sorry… did somebody say February 28th? http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/02/22/powerbook/index.php--- They’re the hottest company on the planet right now… and they may be after one man… Information Week says Apple Computer may have intensified its legal efforts against a hacker working to enable Mac OS Ten for Intel to run on a standard WinTel box. Tuesday, the site of a hacker known as Maxxuss was offline… This sparked speculation that its ISP had pulled the plug on the site at the Mac maker’s request. It was Maxxuss that made the patch for running Mac OS Ten, 10-dot-4-dot-4 on the OSx86 Porject website last week… which led to that site’s forums being shut down for a few days. Information Week says it was members of the OSx86 site that posted links to the patch, though it does not say that it was Maxxus that made the actual posts. Now OSx86 project says, - quote – It appears that Apple may have gotten to Maxxuss, the hacker made famous for his flagrant cracks and patches of Mac OS Ten for Intel – end quote. Information Week is careful to point out… the host Maxxus’ site took it down Tuesday, but it’s not known whether Apple is responsible. http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=180206217--- NBC has made yet another move in the iTunes Music Store… TV-dot-com says the peacock owned cable channel Bravo is trotting out two of its biggest properties for the iTMS… Project Runway and Inside the Actor's Studio. Not unlike the Conviction deal earlier this week… Project Runway fans could actually download last night’s episode prior to its scheduled airing. Every previously aired episode of the show will be available beginning February 28th… so you can relive the time that guy who makes dresses that look like stuff that washed up on the beach made that other guy who helps him cry over and over… and over. As for Inside the Actor's Studio… selected episodes of that show will be made available… such as the interview of comedian Dave Chappelle, as well as fan favorites Michael J. Fox and Angelina Jolie… so you can relive the time James Lipton made Michael J. Fox cry for making Teen Wolf… over and over… and over. http://www.tv.com/story/story.html&story_id=3385--- Coming up… Making babies something to sing about and Apple makes Fortune’s list… You’re listening to news from Mac OS Ken… --- Turn those unwanted kids into one of the most sought after gadgets of our age… MacWorld UK has a write up of the latest in togs for tots in the iLifestyle. The UK iPod retail chain popXpress has launched a range of baby clothes… with an iPod click wheel depicted on the front. The range is called iPopmybaby… which just sounds strange to me… but the onesies are as cute as a bug’s earbud. They sell for 14-pounds-99… roughly 26 dollars US. http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=13918&Page=1&pagePos=2--- Who’s the most admired company on Fortune’s “Most Admired Companies of 2006” list? Who cares? Apple finds itself at number two in the computer/technology division of the list… Fortune’s list rates companies on innovation, employee talent, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment and quality of products and services. Get this… Out of a possible 10 points overall, Apple has 7-point-14… and that’s good enough for second. Former bedfellow IBM took number one in the computer/technology division… think it was for the innovative way they lost Apple’s business? Moving down the line… Xerox takes third… followed by HP, Pitney Bowese, Canon, Dell, Sun, NCR, and Gateway rounding out the top ten. Let’s see… Microsoft… Microsoft… Microsoft… nope… not there. By the by… Apple did rank number one in the “Most Admired for Innovation” sub-category. And the Mac maker was ranked 11th overall… ahead of IBM – which it lost to in the tech category… though beaten by Dell – which it beat in tech… honestly… you’d need a slide rule to figure it out. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/apple_ranks_high_in_most_admired_companies_list/--- And there’s what I came up with today… what’ve you got? I want to let you know about an addition to the resources section of the forums at Mac OS Ken… someone there asked recently how a podcast becomes a featured podcast on iTunes… the answer seems – largely – to be… you kind of get lucky. But the article was interesting… it is there for your perusal. A featured podcast on iTunes… imagine my sepia-toned face next to the likes of La-La… and They Might Be Giants. A boy can dream… Speaking of the forums at Mac OS Ken.com… go there… join… submit. The top ten on Podcast Alley is a pipe dream for February… but guess what… I’m still smokin’… so if you have a minute… head to http://podcastalley.com, search for this show… and cast your vote for Mac OS Ken… by the way… somebody there asked what happened to Laura Burstein and her promised contributions… I hear she will weigh in on the Fun products coming from Apple on tomorrow’s show. In the meantime and between time I will remind you that Mac OS Ken is brought to you by… me… and by media podner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... Did I say Podner? Oops! And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... The music… the famous… online at the famous dot net… until tomorrow… that is news from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray.
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Wed, Feb. 22nd, 2006 02:11 am
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Another day another vulnerability… Mr. Munster says calm the heck down… And Apple’s Legal Team Earns Its Pay… It's Wednesday, February 22th, 2006, I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... It’s a type of story that is getting all too familiar… a new vulnerability has been found in Mac OS Ten… that could be a conduit for attackers to install malicious code. It’s the third security problem to come to light for the Mac in the past week. ZDNet says the new threat is a bit like a threat common to Windows users: Visiting a malicious Web site using Apple's Safari Web browser could result in a rootkit, a backdoor or other malicious software being installed on the computer without the user even knowing. Apple is said to be developing a patch for the flaw, though no delivery date for the update was given. The new vulnerability is being taken more seriously than last week’s issues… This one is rated "extremely critical" by security monitoring company Secunia… with Symantec rating it a "fairly high risk." Until the patch is in place, Mac OS Ten users can protect themselves by disabling the "Open safe files after downloading" option in Safari. Experts say users of alternative browsers such as Firefox and Camino are not subject to the vulnerability… according to ZDNet. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6041685.html --- Here’s a surprise… Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster… still likes Apple. A Forbes piece has the research analyst calling concerns about the impact of Apple’s transition to Intel processors on Mac sales “blown out of proportion.” It appears to be a cross between “Slow and Steady wins the race,” and, “on your mark… get set…” According to Munster, “There may not be significant upside to Apple estimates over the next two quarters based on the Intel transition, but (his firm) believe(s) numbers are achievable… Munster says is the time to get positioned for the next peak. Running the numbers Munster says only 20 percent of the Apple specialist resellers in his recent checks indicated that they have seen a measurable slowdown in Mac sales due to people holding out for the full MacIntel transition… the other 80 percent feel that their Mac business hasn’t been impacted by the chip switch. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/analyst_concerns_over_apple_intel_transitions_overblown/--- Let’s try this one again… if you have preordered a MacBook Pro you can – apparently – start bugging the mailman… really this time. InfoWorld says Apple's MacBook Pro is shipping "for real." InfoWorld says it got that word from Apple. According to the article, people who pre-ordered are getting their deliveries now. The 3-4 week wait on Apple's on-line store is simply indicative of high demand. By the way… don’t tell your mailman that it was me who said to bug him. http://weblog.infoworld.com/enterprisemac/archives/2006/02/macbook_pro_pre.html --- Apple’s legal team was busy yesterday… First… Wouldn’t it be neat to go back and hear all of the old Apple Keynotes? Well, you apparently can’t. The Unofficial Apple Weblog says Apple’s attorneys have forced the website AppleKeynotes.com to shut down. The site had collected various Apple Keynote addresses into one place. But yesterday, people wanting to here the announcement of the Newton or watch the video of the first Mac introduction were greeted with a post that said “We’ve Been Served!” The site says AppleKeynotes.com received a notice from Apple Legal, which basically forced them to close. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/apple_lawyers_shut_down_applekeynotescom_site/--- Next it’s time to say “So Long Ponder…” The Podner product from Splasm Software can’t be called that anymore. Apple has asked the company to change the name to something without the word “pod” in it. For its part Podner seems to understand… a notice on the company’s site says “When companies like Apple Corps can sue Apple Computer over a trademark dispute… it might be time to saddle up and move along to a new name. The company is asking its users and other interested parties to help come up with a new moniker for the software… It’s not a terribly unfamiliar story… the likes of iPod Lounge – now iLounge – and iPodderX – soon to be launched as “Transistr” – have had similar issues in the past. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/goodbye_podner_software_needs_a_new_name/--- Remember all of that stuff about a special event at the Moscone Center today? Well hang it… and instead, get ready for a party on the Apple Campus. Apple is holding an invitation-only, special event next Tuesday, February 28th at the Apple Town Hall on the company’s Cupertino, California campus. The invitation simply says: “Come see some fun new products from Apple.” Gentlemen… start your speculation, educated guessing, and wild guessing. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/apple_to_hold_special_event_on_feb_28/--- Somebody at Apple is moonlighting… Steve Riddell – Risk Operations Manager at at the Mac and all things iMaker – has been elected as secretary of the 2006 board of directors of the Merchant Risk Council. MRC is the retail industry’s largest association helping organizations fight online fraud. The MRC is a membership association of 75-hundred online retailers, financial institutions, vendors, and law enforcement agencies… it promotes secure e-commerce by setting practice standards and pursuing new technologies… so good for him. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/apple_manager_elected_to_merchant_risk_councils_board/--- Yesterday, I told you that Apple and NBC were making the pilot of the new NBC drama “Conviction” available on the iTunes Music Store… presumable the day after it aired… but you know what happens when you presume… you make an… wait… that doesn’t work. Anyway… Anthony in San Francisco e-mailed me yesterday to let me know that while the broadcast premier isn’t until March 3rd, the pilot and the extras were made available for free after yesterday’s newscast. Anthony… if I ever get promotional pens or stickers or something… I’ll send one out to you. Thanks again… you do – of course – rock. --- Doom has come to the MacIntel… not a vulnerability or supply shortage… rather the age-old first person shooter. Aspyr has released a Universal Binary of Doom 3… The 1-dot-3 Rev A update is free for registered users… so… go pretend to shoot things. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/mactel_systems_are_doom_ed/--- Another freebie goes paid… the world’s first “podcast only” novel… is now for sale through iTunes. EarthCore by Scott Sigler was published in March 2005 as a free weekly serialized audio book podcast. The serial garnered 10-thousand subscribers and was published as a print novel as well. Now… it’s for sale through iTunes… the 20-episode audio book is available 9-dollars-99-cents US. News of the pay to play what used to be free comes one day after the Ricky Gervais show went the money route… the second season of Gervais’ show is being sold by Audible for a dollar 95 per episode or 6-95 for the season. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/apple_releases_first_podcast_only_novel_at_itms/--- Coming up… What’s better than a monster truck rally but not by much? We’ll look at a new iTunes offering… you’re listening to news from Mac OS Ken. --- The following is not a paid advertisement… If you like the thrill of the chase but don’t want to sit through three plus hours of people driving round and round and round… Then Sports Business has news for you. Highlights and exclusive behind-the-scenes coverage from NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races will be available for purchase and download from the iTunes Music Store… Coverage starts with the Daytona 500, which was this past weekend so I guess coverage started with the Daytona 500… SportsBusiness says NASCAR will produce the iTunes previews and reviews with unique content designed to drive fans to the race telecasts and complement those telecasts… And yes… I mostly did this story so I could talk… like… this… http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/index?region=global&news_item_id=159415--- And now… some words in Latin… Post hoc, ergo propter hoc… Annuit coeptus, novus ordo seclorum… Gort, Klaatu barada nikto… And that’s all the Latin I know… except for things… kids really shouldn’t hear… One of those – believe it or not – was a tip of the hat to someone who did something I asked them to do… I said, ‘please vote for this show at podcast alley,’ and they did… and so I send a secret wave. Want one for yourself? The rules are very simple… head to podcastalley.com, search for this show… cast your vote for Mac OS Ken… and catch my attention… shiny objects often do that too. By the way… one of those wasn’t Latin… but it is good for stopping killer robots… Time now to remind you that Mac OS Ken is brought to you by… me and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Music for Mac OS Ken compliments of the famous… check them out online at http://thefamous.net. Until tomorrow… that is news from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray.
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Tue, Feb. 21st, 2006 02:36 am
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Your Tiger’s got Worms – plural… OSx86 and Apple bury the hatchet… And a bunch of other news so light and fluffy… you could throw some ham in it and call it an omlette… It's Tuesday, February 21th, 2006, I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Just days after the discovery of the Oompa-Loompa, Experts at Sophos-Labs have issued protection against a second worm for Mac OS Ten. Net-Security says the second worm – called Inqtana-A – spreads between Macs through a Bluetooth vulnerability… The threat from Inqtana-A is seen as even lower than the threat from the Oompa-Loompa, since the vulnerability it exploits was already known… in fact Apple released a patch against the vulnerability in the middle of last year. CBR online calls Inqtana a proof-of-concept worm… since it is not known to be in the wild… has no overtly malicious payload, and simply spreads itself. Meanwhile Graham Cluley – senior technology consultant for Sophos – says "It's disturbing to see a second worm for Mac OS Ten so soon after the first, but it should be remembered that this is only two compared to well over 100-thousand viruses for Microsoft operating systems." Still, Cluley says "… Mac users need to be just as careful about protecting their computers with anti-virus software, firewalls and security patches as their friends and colleagues using Windows." http://www.net-security.org/press.php?id=3871http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=6108DFC3-2F57-4829-8752-C6EB2754B9DA--- The OSx86 Project has re-opened its forums… following last week’s legal problems… which were with Apple Computer. Reports say the Mac maker’s attorneys moved in when someone posted a working guide for installing Mac OS Ten 10-dot-4-dot-4 from the System restore DVD. Site administrators have removed the offending links and the site is fully operational… and there seem to be no hard feelings between OSx86 Project and Apple… A note at the OSx86 Project site says: “Apple is certainly well within its rights to protect their OS and we have always supported it in this effort.” According to the post… Apple doesn’t “have it in” for the site; they were simply concerned with a few links posted by site members. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/osx86_project_forums_reopened/--- What’s fair to do with your CD’s? Don’t ask the RIAA… The website for the Electronic Frontier Foundation says – as part of the on-going Digital Millennium Copyright Act rules making process – the Recording Industry Association of America and other copyright industry associations have submitted a filing that would make ripping your own CD’s into your own iPod illegal. According to the filing… space-shifting and format-shifting do not count as noninfringing uses, even when you are talking about making copies of your own music. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004409.php--- Wake up Lou Dobbs… Apple may be planning a move overseas… The Hindustan Times says Apple is planning to set up a technical support centre in Karnataka in Southern India… similar to one operated by Dell. But taking a page from Apple’s book… Karnataka officials aren’t saying a word… BV Naidu Director of Software Technology Parks of India, Bangalore, gave no details on investment and hiring plans noting that it's for the company to make an announcement in this regard. http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1628419,00020020.htm--- Say sionara to yet another would be iPod killer… Sony is doing away with its Bean MP3 player. DLMag.com says the company will drop the unit this April. Touted as a triumph in design and functionality… The player features an interesting – if not appealing – shape, ease of use, and a mind and ear-drum blowing 50 hour battery life on a single charge. What it doesn’t have – of course – is an Apple logo… nor interoperability with iTunes… though in fairness… it didn’t support PlaysForSure music services either… Sony is not conceding defeat though… according to the company… the reason for the cancellation was that they replace models all the time… which could mean there’s another bean growing somewhere. http://www.dlmag.com/news/51/02-17-2006/659-the-bean-has-just-been-digested.html--- Sinbad is once again sailing the seas of tech… the actor/comedian is slated to deliver the keynote address at this year’s MacGathering, the “Macintosh Computer Expo for Southern California.” MacGathering will take place May 19-20 at the Beverly Garland Hotel in North Hollywood… More info is available at http://MacGathering.com. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/sinbad_to_deliver_macgathering_keynote/--- The tie apparently goes to the traveler… The first International Segway Polo Tournament is history… and has ended in a draw. The Silicon Valley Aftershocks – led by Apple co founder Steve Wozniack – and the New Zealand Pole Blacks ended the tourney in a 2-2 tie over the weekend in Auckland, New Zealand… One of the spoils of victory was supposed to be the right to host next year’s Segway Polo Tournament… as well as custody of the Woz Challenge Cup for one year… Well next year’s competition will be here in the US… no word on who holds the cup for now. http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=5920--- Meanwhile there’s this… other sports thing going on you might have heard about. We’re well over a week into the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. So who’s the big winner at the Olympics so far? MacWorld UK says – it might be Apple. While the Mac maker doesn't sponsor the games, MacWorld says athletes all over the event are sporting iPods… US snowboarder and gold medal winner Hannah Teter listened to her iPod as she won her medal… While male Snowboarder Shaun White – sporting an iPod-equipped helmet – listened to AC/DC on his iPod while going for his gold. MacWorld UK says the US snowboarding team is sponsored by Burton Snowboard… and that the official uniform of that team for this year's games includes a Burton iPod jacket in team colours. http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=13894&Page=1&pagePos=1--- We’ll segway from the Olympics to a whole host of iTunes news and notes straight ahead… You’re listening to news from Mac OS Ken. --- If you’re watching the Olympics in the US, you’ve likely seen a million adds for the new NBC drama Conviction… a legal program from the creators of Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, Law and Order Criminal Intent, Law and Order Miami, Law and Order New… wait… I’m thinking of something else. Anyway… the ads on the networks of NBC implore people to tune into the show’s premier… I don’t remember when that is… and I don’t care. Because – according to the iTunes music store – the pilot episode will be made available on the iTMS… for free… presumably the day after the broadcast premier. Other freebies will include a look behind the scenes of the show… a music video… and a digital booklet about the show’s characters…. And so the landscape shifts… --- Meanwhile in another case of the first taste is free… The Ricky Gervais Show… is heading to a paid model. One of the most popular podcasts on the iTMS – ZDNet says the formerly free entertainment will go to a paid-only format to be sold by audio book specialist Audible. Gervais is the creative force behind the original series “The Office” from the BBC and HBO’s “Extras.” Audible will begin offering a "season two" collection of episodes next week… charging a-dollar-95 per episode or 6-95 for the season… and so the landscape shifts again… ZDNet says Audible's exclusive deal also runs for a "season three," which will start in the fall. Audible expects to be able to sell the show through iTunes in addition to its own Web site. The two already partner on the audiobook section of iTunes… I didn’t know there was one. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6041352.html--- Finally today… Perusing iTunes yesterday I noticed a new contest… if you buy a new double single – which is an oxymoron of sorts – by the artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince – which is just confusing – you could win a private-ish concert, by the Purple Rainmaker in his home. Meanwhile… many are saying that this week will be the week that Apple hits one billion downloads worldwide… with the person who buys the one-billionth song winning scads of stuff that I’m tired of mentioning… except to say this… How freakin’ cool would it be to buy the Prince song… win the 1-billion song prize pack… then get to go to Casa de Prince and chill with his majesty? Sure the odds of that happening are like… one in a Google… but still neat huh? I would like to know what the odds are on that happening… and… for the record… I would probably hate anyone who was that freakin’ lucky. Still… good luck to ya… --- There you have it the day after president’s day – which, to answer a question posed by an Aussie in the Mac OS Ken forums – is a day set aside to honor George Washington and Abe Lincoln – is in the books and off around the world… With one week left in the month Mac OS Ken is so far out of the top ten at podcastalley… it almost seems silly to mention it… and yet… silly… is my middle name. Or is it snide? Wait… it’s Edward. Anyway… if you get a chance and have not yet this month… please do me a solid… head to Podcast Alley dot com… search for this show… and cast your vote… for Mac OS Ken. My middle name is NOT Edward by the way. Mac OS Ken is Brought to you by… Me… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Music for Mac OS Ken compliments of The Famous… check ‘em out online at http://thefamous.net. Until tomorrow… That’s news from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray.
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Fri, Feb. 17th, 2006 12:50 am
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Oompa Loompas… But These Ones Aint Cute A Potentially Worthy Challenger to iTunes… And a Poetry Reading for the New Millennium… It's Friday, February 17th, 2006, I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Our time in Eden may be over… ruined by an Oompa Loompa… That’s a piece of malware in the wild… aimed at Mac OS Ten. Oompa Loompa – Also called OSTen/Oomp-A or Leap-dot-A – and referred to as a Trojan horse by some… a worm by others… and a virus by one security site – affects Macs running Mac OS X on PowerPC processors. Macafee says Leap is an instant messaging worm, which propagates through iChat. The security site says the malware sends itself to people on the user's buddy list in the form of a .t-g-z archive. Most security sites rate the danger from the worm as low… While it’s not a virus… and it’s not the first bit of malware for OS Ten… The site Security Focus says its appearance is receiving major attention from the Apple community… Security Focus also says the Oomp Loompa should be an eye-opener to Apple users that no modern computer system is safe from the potential for viruses, worms and malicious code. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/intego_we_protect_against_new_mac_os_x_trojan_horse/http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/142 --- We’ve heard rumors about AMAZON challenging iTunes before… and yesterday we heard more of them… The Times Online out of the UK says the book and everything else seller is preparing to launch its own digital music download service. The Times says plans under discussion include Amazon-branded portable music players, that would be specially designed for the site… the service offered would be a subscription… for which Amazon is said to already be in talks with major record labels. Who is likely to make the players? Sources tell the Times it could be South Korean based Samsung. Meanwhile the article says record companies would love to see Amazon bring its 55 million strong customer base into the music fray… to give Apple a run for their money. But as the Times points out… Amazon doesn’t just have to worry about competing with Apple… they also have to worry about losing them. If Amazon ties up with a different MP3 player maker… Apple could yank the iPod – one of Amazon’s top selleing gadgets – from the super seller’s virtual shelves. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13129-2043806,00.html--- I told you earlier this week that if you’d already ordered a MacBook Pro from the Apple website you might want to give the mailman grief about where it is… well you may want to apologize to him now… DailyTech-dot-com says Apple has changed the shipping date for the new notebooks to anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks out. That’s contrary to reports earlier this week that said the machines would ship this week. A check of the Apple website shows a 3 to 4 week wait for machines ordered today… So maybe the old orders ship now… and new ones ship later… I don’t know… have you received one? If so… send an e-mail to info@macosken.com. http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=835&ref=y--- The BBC is really getting into this podcasting thing… iPod-N-N says the B-B-C is set to offer many more programs – such as “Broadcasting House,” “Front Row,” and, “Start the Week,” as podcasts. In all Twenty-six new shows will join the BBC's current offerings on iTunes later this month… but they won’t be iTunes exclusives… iPod-N-N says the progams will also be available as podcasts at the BBC's website. http://www.ipodnn.com/articles/06/02/16/bbc.on.itunes/--- While the contests rage on to run Windows XP on a new MacIntel, there’s a new OS in town… Engadget says the team at the MacTel-Linux project have claimed a partial victory… According to the site, they were able to get Gentoo – or Gen-Too – Linux to boot on an Intel iMac. http://cellphones.engadget.com/2006/02/16/linux-boots-on-intel-imacs/--- It was titillating for a moment… and may be again at some point… The Unofficial Apple Weblog had the story of a possible removal of the 100 song cap on iTunes enabled phones. A TUAW reader sent the site a link to a URL that – when clicked – took the clicker to a page on the iTMS that offered a chance to get more songs onto the ROKR. But the excitement was short lived… Engadget later confirmed that the upgrade was for phones with a 50 song limit… paying for the upgrade would double that phone’s capacity to the 100 song limit about which people have complained since the ROKR was launched. http://32584.com/2006/02/15/upgrade-your-rokr/--- Coming up… there once was some trouble on a website… we’ll look at a high-tech poetry reading… you’re listening to news from Mac OS Ken. --- Ever heard of the OS x86 project? Somebody has… and they’re apparently not happy. The group bills itself as a community for those interested in the very latest news about Apple's OS X on all x86 hardware… and they do go deep. In fact, it was OS x86 that brought the hidden poem to the attention of the media at large… A friend of the site sent word that a bit of verse was hidden deep in the OS X code for the MacIntel… about the evils of stealing software. The poem reads: Your karma check for today: There once was a user that whined his existing OS was so blind, he'd do better to pirate an OS that ran great but found his hardware declined. Please don't steal Mac OS! Really, that's way uncool…. With a copyright from Apple Computer. The press picked up the story, and Apple did confirm the code’s inclusion in the OS. On a… separate note? I got an e-mail from Xspoon yesterday… directing me to the forums of OSx86project.org… where I was greeted with this message… Welcome!
We're sorry to report that despite our best efforts, the OSx86 Project has been served with a DMCA violation notice. According to Wikipedia, "The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a controversial United States copyright law. The act criminalizes production and dissemination of technology that can circumvent measures taken to protect copyright, not merely infringement of copyright itself, and heightens the penalties for copyright infringement on the Internet." The forum post continued… The forum will be unavailable while we evaluate its contents to remove any violations present. We thank you for your patience in this matter. For its part, OSx86project.org says its site is fully compliant with the D-M-C-A… and that it intends only to provide a forum for those interested in running OS X on Intel hardware. As of this recording, the forums at the site are still closed. http://www.osx86project.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=31--- And woops there goes another week… so glad I got to spend part of it with you. This show is Monday through Friday… but the forums are 24/7. If you haven’t joined yet… you’ll find friendly typists and wide-ranging dialogue in the Forums at http://MacOSKen.com. Mac OS Ken is brought to you by… me… and and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Music for Mac OS Ken provided by The Famous… check them out in the iTMS… or at their own site… http://thefamous.net. Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise… we’ll talk again on President’s Day… until then… that’s news from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray.
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Thu, Feb. 16th, 2006 01:15 am
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Wu says WooHoo for Apple…. A high mark set for the Mac maker… And more music stories than you can shake your groove thing at... It's Thursday, February 16th, 2006, I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Wave a red cape… American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu is still bullish on Apple. A Forbes piece has the ATR Analyst maintaining a "buy" rating on the company. Wu Wu says his firm believes that Apple's fundamentals remain sound and arguably among the strongest in technology… But it’s not all sunshine and lollipops… Wu says negative investor sentiment and weak technicals may indicate further share price downside. So the price may go down a bit, but Wu says… longer term fundamental investors should advantage of the pull-back to build and/or add to Apple positions. By the way… Something I kind of glossed over a bit yesterday… the Update to Tiger… which was released for both PowerPC and the new MacIntels… According to Forbes, this update fixes the video glitch that Apple had been investigating with its FrontRow software on the Intel-based iMac Core Duo. The End. http://www.forbes.com/2006/02/15/apple-computer-0215markets12.html?partner=yahootix--- Expect big numbers from Apple this year… DigiTimes says the Mac Maker is expected to ship a total of 10 million desktop PCs and notebooks in 2006… based on numbers from its partners across the sea. MacWorld UK says the company already shipped one and a quarter million Macs in Q1 of Fiscal 0-6. The UK site says such numbers could be driven by the continuation of the iPod halo effect and the move to the Macs new faster Intel architecture. http://www.digitimes.com/print/a20060215PB206.htmlhttp://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?home&NewsID=13865 --- As iTunes approaches its One Billionth song sold Sprint Nextel… really has something to crow about. The wireless carrier said yesterday that customers of its Sprint Music Store have downloaded 1 million songs since it opened Oct. 24… according to the Associated Press. Impressive for a couple of reasons… the short amount of time it took to hit one million… and the fact that the service charges 2-dollars-50-cents a song... A hefty step above iTunes 99 cents. And – of course – one important distinction… Sprint sells its songs wirelessly… over its mobile network. While it’s taken Sprint Nextel four months to sell what Apple sells a day through the iTMS… a spokesman for the carrier says such comparisons are "inaccurate." According to the spokesman, "The Sprint Music Store was a completely new category in the U.S.," he said. "This is a completely new device and new service." The Sprint Music Store was the first to begin selling songs wirelessly in the states. http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?feed=AP&Date=20060215&ID=5511034--- It may not be close to beating iTunes, but the subscription music model does seem to be gaining traction… at least with one company… A Forbes piece says Seattle-based RealNetworks has doubled the number of paying customers in the past year. Earlier this week, the company said it had 1-point-4 million subscribers for its music services at the end of 2005… that’s up from 700-thousand in 2004. Real execs say people are warming to the idea of subscription services… But there is a fly in the ointment… and it’s name starts with i… Dan Sheerhan – Real’s senior VP of consumer services – says the main hurdle facing subscription services is that they don’t work with the iPod… and that competitors haven’t come up with a device that works as well with Real as the iPod does with iTunes. But – says Sheerhan – that should change in 2006… as his company is working with manufacturers including Samsung, Toshiba and SanDisk to offer a competitive product… you see… he had me right up to the end there… http://www.forbes.com/markets/currencies/2006/02/14/realnetworks-apple-0214markets16.html--- It’s a Christmas miracle for Warner Music Group… The Times Online out of the UK says a Christmas Day surge of music downloads on to new iPods helped the music company nearly double its first-quarter profits. Warner said underlying profits for the three months to December 31 hit 69 million dollars US… up from 36 million a year earlier. The Times says the sales were boosted by iTunes and Napster. Michael Fleischer – Warner Music’s CFO – said the company’s digital revenue was up dramatically year-on-year, especially after MP3 players went live on December 25th. 70 per cent of digital music sales were from the US… Fleischer says those were split evenly between whole songs… and ringtones. Warner has another digital music play on tap as well… the company will launch an e-label called Cordless… tracks from Cordless will be released in bundles smaller than a standard album and available for electronic download only. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9071-2040242,00.html--- Sound Pros and Geeks rejoice again… ProSoundNews says Digidesign is getting on board the MacIntel… the company is going Universal Binary with Pro Tools LE 7 and Pro Tools M-Powered 7 this coming May. The company says they’ll also release MacIntel compatible versions of all Digidesign and Digidesign-distributed RTAS and AudioSuite plug-ins and a bunch of other stuff… If you don’t know what ProTools is… you’re not an audio pro… but that’s ok… somebody has to put out fires, flip burgers, perform brain surgery… and other important stuff. http://prosoundnews.com/articles/article_3240.shtml--- Another day… another few updates… Apple has updated components iLife ’06… Among the changes… iTunes 6-dot-0-dot-3 which includes stability and performance improvements. iDVD 6-dot-0-dot-1 resolves issues with integration with the other iLife applications, importing of legacy projects and some theme related issues…. iPhoto 6-dot-0-dot-1 deals with problems regarding photocasting, viewing thumbnails in large libraries, and ordering cards, calendars and books. iWeb 6-dot-0-dot-1 resolves issues related to publishing and blogs… Updates are available through the Software Update Utility… http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/ilife_06_components_get_updated/--- Who’s the top selling computer author? If you said William Gibson, step out of the 80’s… and we’re not talking fiction here. For the second year in a row, Peachpit and the Pearson Technology Group say Scott Kelby is the number one, top-selling computer book author in the US… that’s according to research based on Nielsen BookScan data for last year. Kelby’s titles include: The iPod Book: Doing Cool Stuff with the iPod and the iTunes Music Store… The Photoshop CS2 Book for Digital Photographers; and The Photoshop Elements 3 Book for Digital Photographers… I’m sure the books are good, I wish the titles were catchier… you know… something like War and Peace and The Photoshop Elements 3 Book for Digital Photographers… I’ll try to come up with something better… http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/scott_kelby_top_selling_computer_book_author_in_us_for_2005/--- And now… a personal note… to a very special friend… CycoMacHead… ques que C’est? You – My 13 year old friend – are the 100th member of the forums at Mac OS Ken… and you’re young… so… let me tell you about the world I grew up in. It was flat and smaller. When you were born… I hadn’t been on the Internet yet. A few people had… but we hated and feared those people… Steve Jobs was soooooooo not the Golden Boy he is today… and Macs… Macs were pretty much a thing of the past… or a future of which none dared to dream… And so CycoMacHead… it is a far better world in which you grow… when you’re uploaded to the mainframe – which I’m sure will be possible in your incredibly extended lifespan – speak well of your time in meat-space… or whatever the equivalent of speaking is in that far, future age. All kidding aside now… thanks for joining us my good sir… you rock. --- 100 + people… we’ll make a billion in no time… wanna be a part… sign up for the forums at Mac OS Ken… dot-com. --- One quick correction… I said yesterday “That wraps up a Tuesday,” it was Wednesday… thanks for not jumping down my throat. And so that’s another Monday in the bag kids… or… whatever day it is… Remember… a day without voting at podcast alley is like a day that you’ve already voted this month… unless you haven’t, in which case a day without voting at podcast alley is a bit like a sin in my opinion… and not a fun one either… please… don’t be a sinner… head to http://podcastalley.com, search for this show, cast your vote for Mac OS Ken… and go to heaven. Mac OS Ken is brought to you by the hippest who in whoville – that would be me – and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... CycoMacHead… ques que C’est? Until tomorrow… that’s news from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray.
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Wed, Feb. 15th, 2006 12:01 am
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New MacIntels… and boy are they fast... It’s time to resave the Tiger… Plus Mac news from around the world and a super secret surprise from Woz… eventually… It's Wednesday, February 15th, 2006, I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by our media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... The next of the promised MacIntels ships this week… The new 15-inch MacBook Pro will hit the streets… with faster processors than expected. The 19-hunderd 99-dolla US model now includes a 1-point-8-3GHz Intel Core Duo processor… that’s up from the previously announced 1-point-67Gig… The US 24-99 model will include a 2 GigaHurtz processor, up from the previously announced 1-point-83. A build-to-order option is also available from the online store with a 2-point-16 GigaHurtz Intel Core Duo processor. The new MacBook Pro is the first Mac notebook based on an Intel processor… It’s one inch thick, weighs in at just over 5-and-a-half pounds… and is packed with stuff… including a built-in iSight video camera, the Front Row Media Management software, the Apple Remote, the Tiger OS, and iLife ’06. The notebook will be available through Apple’s Online Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers… and if you’ve already ordered one online… start pestering the mailman now. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/macbook_pro_shipping_with_faster_processors_than_anticipated/--- Apple has released Mac OS Ten 10-dot-4-dot-5 Update. Apple says the update: “includes general operating system fixes, as well as specific fixes for: iChat video conferencing; Safari rendering of Web pages; stability of Dashboard and widgets; viewing of QuickTime streaming media behind a firewall; And a bunch of other stuff too… Mac OS Ten 10-dot-4-dot-5 is recommended for all users… http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/apple_releases_mac_os_x_1045_update/--- Sound geeks and pros rejoice… Apple has released Logic Pro 7-dot-2, a Universal Binary version of its pro audio software… so yes… it now runs natively on the MacIntels. For those not in the know… Apple Logic Pro is an advanced music creation and audio production tool. Logic Pro runs users 9-hundred-99—dollars US… the paired down Logic Express 7 runs users 2-99. The 7-dot-2 update is free for registered version 7 users. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/universal_binary_of_apples_logic_pro_available/--- Adobe has launched it’s first Universal Binary app… well… a beta of it anyway. The design giant has released a beta version of Lightroom to run natively on PowerPC as well as Intel Macs. Lightroom is a digital imaging app for professional photographers. A Windows version will be available soon… but who cares? http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/lightroom_public_beta_now_universal_binary/--- It’s the brainchild of Jason O’Grady… a regular old fashioned fix… The proprietor of O’Grady’s PowerPage.org writes on his ZD Net blog the Apple Core on the best way for Apple to handle the iPod volume issues. One approach… cap the volume from iPods out of the factory at 90db… want louder? O’Grady suggests users could download a firmware update from the iPod maker’s website that would raise that cap… but only after signing a release saying Apple is not responsible for any damage listeners do to themselves. O’Grady also suggests a firmware update to force the volume if users listen full blast for more than X number of minutes… http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=95--- The Apple Specialist Marketing Co-op has a new group of leaders… The ASMC elected its 2006 board of directors this week. The elected include: Kevin Langdon of CryWolf Computers in San Diego as Executive Director… Richard Haddock, of Haddock Computer Centers, in the Midwest as President… and Arnold Zuckman of FirstTech in Minneapolis as Vice President… The part of bumbling switcher will be played by – you guessed it – Frank Stallone. The A-S-M-C represents 150 Apple specialist dealers and service providers with more than 300 locations throughout the U-S… and the Frank Stallone joke was stolen. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/apple_specialist_dealers_elect_board_members/--- The Skype 2.0 beta I told you about last week will be Mac compatible… but grocking the fullness will require a MacIntel. A MacObserver report confirms… Skype 2-dot-0 for Mac will support ten-way conference calling… but will be reliant on the Intel processors Apple now employs. Skype 2-dot-0 for the Mac is scheduled to ship in the second quarter of this year… While it will not support the PowerPC for all of the whiz-bang… other features of the software, such as calls, will work fine… Interestingly… it won’t support many of the added features for other Dual Core chips like the ones produced by AMD… opinion pieces are popping up all over tech sites about the fact that there seems to be no technical reason for the Intel-only superiority… only marketing reasons… To my way of thinking… it’s hard to fault Skype and Intel for creating the kind of closed system most Mac fans praise Apple for creating with the iPod and iTunes… but… that’s just me… and it’s just opinion… do I like it? No. Do I get it? Kinda. http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=13852&Page=1&pagePos=1--- Coming up… we’ll globe-trot with Mac faithful abroad and what’s would Woz do with a whole bunch of money? You’re listening to news from Mac OS Ken. --- Steve Jobs may soon give Jerry Lewis a run for his francs… Numbers out yesterday show sales of the Mac up over 37 percent in 2005 in the land of Crepes and capitulation… I kid the French because… well… they’re French. The website MacGeneration says Apple’s market share for 2005 was 2-point-6 percent… that’s up from 2-point-2 percent a year earlier. While that number sounds small, it’s big enough to move Apple into number eight in the top ten list of largest p-c makers in France. The Mac maker held the 10th spot in 2004. Breaking down builds… Mac desktop sales were up over 54 percent in 2005, while notebook sales rose 20 percent. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/apple_sees_big_gains_in_france/--- Happy Birthday to the The Beijing Macintosh User Group… The organization is turning four this year… and is having a party to celebrate… BeiMac – as the group is called – is organizing “MacMeet 2006,” a party for Mac users in Beijing… The party will run 6pm to 10pm (Beijing time) on Saturday, March 4th… Everyone’s invited – not just BeiMac members… so if you happen to be in China… or have enough money to hop a plane for the party… tell them Mac OS Ken said, “Happy Birthday…” and tell them I said it in Chinese… they’ll be impressed. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/beijing_mug_turns_four_throw_a_party/--- Finally today, if three former Apple Execs asked you for a blank check… would yyou give it to them? They sure hope so… Fortune reports on the new… venture I guess from Former Apple CEO Gil Amelio… Amelio Lieutenant Ellen Hancock… and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniack. The three are offering shares in the next few weeks of their company Acquicor Technology… Fortune says, if you haven’t heard of Acquicor, you are far from being in the minority... Acquicor is a SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company… often referred to as blank check companies, SPACs basically raise money to… well… make more money in theory… Fortune says Amelio and crew have been asking institutional investors to give them 100 million dollars so they can make an acquisition… that they can't identify yet… not that they don’t know… but wthe rules under which SPACs are created don’t allow them to say what they want to buy until the cash is raised. I dare not say whether Acquicor will fail or succeed… I will say… I’m looking forward to seeing what they buy… and I want a job that lets me raise a bajillion dollars without saying what I plan to do with it when I grow up. That would be fun. http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/13/technology/pluggedin_fortune/--- And so we close another Tuesday… that is what is in the world of one of the world’s biggest produce companies… If you like what I do… I’m going to ask you to do two things… one… vote for this show on poadcast alley. But Ken, you say, How do I do that? It’s easy! Just go to http://podcastalley.com, search for this show, and cast your vote for Mac OS Ken. The second thing? Tell a friend. No wait… tell eight… if they like the Mac, or you think they would if they gave it half a chance… have them subscribe to the show through iTunes, Transistr, or at the show’s website… http://macosken.com. Independently owned and operated for a full 20 days now, Mac OS Ken is brought to you by me… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Music for Mac OS Ken provided by the Famous… seriously… listen to the samples and buy the tracks of your choice on the iTMS huh? Until tomorrow… that is news from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray.
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Tue, Feb. 14th, 2006 12:10 am
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More Support for a Wireless iPod… Motorola is Sleeping with the Enemy… And Mac Users… You’re Annoying the Government… It's Tuesday, February 14th, 2006 – love is in the air – I’m Ken Ray – your cruise director – and this is news from Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... More support for a wireless enabled iPod in the works… or the possibility of one anyway… Yesterday, Broadcom announced the world’s first single-chip Bluetooth and FM radio device for use in mobile phones and media players. While Broadcom seems to be marketing the chip to makers of devices that already have Bluetooth as a way to add FM, adding both to an existing device would not be such a stretch. The iPod uses already uses certain Broadcom chips… as well as audio logic decoders from PortalPlayer, which last week announced a tie-up with Cambridge Silicon Radio to add wireless to its offerings as well. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/broadcoms_new_rds_and_fm_bluetooth_chip_looks_right_for_apples_ipod/--- So where will you be able to use the wireless enabled devices? More and more places everyday. Numbers out yesterday indicate that so called “hot spots” are getting hotter… both in the number of people using them and how often. High-tech market research firm Research and Market surveyed 579 business professionals online… according to the results, nearly half of the respondents are current hotspot users… with the other half saying thye may start using them in the future. Of the ones already there, 25 percent consider themselves heavy users, hitting the hotspots up once a week or more. But respondents overall still have a few concerns… including lack of availability, fears of poor network security, and high costs. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/market_for_wi_fi_hotspot_access_services_will_continue_to_grow/--- Motorola is in bed with Apple’s enemy… a Reuters report says the phone maker has signed a deal with Microsoft to use Windows Media technology in a new range of music phones… The world’s second largest cell-phone maker will launch up to three Windows Media phones in the second half of this year… though that does not mean they’re abandoning Apple… Chris White – Motorola's senior director of global product marketing for music handsets – says the company’s iTunes and Windows Media phones will be separate product lines. Is it a sign of things to come? According to Motorola the new Windows-based phones have been requested by many carriers that want to open their own music stores… As Reuters points out… Microsoft is willing to sell technology that lets carriers do that, while Apple has the iTunes music store to think about. The Windows Media phones will reportedly be able to download music over the air – sold by operators – as well as directly from a computer. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=1612087--- The U-S government is giving away billions of dollars… and if you’re listening to this podcast… you’re probably not invited. Grants-dot-gov is the system being developed by the government to replace reams of paper applications with electronic forms. But there’s at least one problem… the software chosen by Uncle Sam is not Mac compatible. It appears that that will be the case for at least a year… Grants-dot-gov calls for all 26 grant-giving agencies to have done away with paper applications by 2007… though whether that deadline will be pushed back now is uncertain… in fact one agency has already pushed back its launch date… The National Institute of Health had planned to move it’s grant apps online by October of this year… but once the agency found that the system would not be Mac compatible as promised… it decided not to move the process online by that date. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/us_governments_grantsgov_system_not_mac_compatible/--- Look for Beach Blanket fun on iTunes today… The New York Times says Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue is crossing the new-media line. Not only will the bikini-clad ladies appear on newsstands Tuesday, According to the Times – starting today – buyers can download eight specially produced SI Swimsuit videos for a-dollar-99 each… Jeff Price – president of Sports Illustrated digital – says people who buy the magazine will also get a unique printed number to use at iTunes-dot-com to download one free video. Besides the newsstands and the iTMS… the Times says SI – or swimsuit fans – can also download content to a cellphone or to a hand-held device through a deal between the magazine and American Greetings Interactive. http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/13/news/funny/swimsuit/--- Coming up… playing around and around with the iPod… you’re listening to news from Mac OS Ken… --- If you can’t beat ‘em… join ‘em… that seems to be the new strategy of the toy maker when it comes to the iPod… The Associated Press reports from this year’s American International Toy Fair trade expo in New York City… According to the AP… toys being shown this week range from electronic drumsticks and other musical instruments to chairs and electronic playmates that act as speakers. According to the article, the toy industry is looking to the iPod to help reverse a decline in sales that dates back to 2003… though analysts say just tying a toy to an iPod doesn't guarantee success. http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?feed=AP&Date=20060213&ID=5501778--- Speaking of toys… I don’t usually do iPod accessory stories… mostly because there are just so many of them… but this one is… kinda cool… Corgi International is a company that makes die-cast scale models… and now they’ve made a car… for the iPod. The iCar – as it’s called – rocks right to left, front to back, and up and down to the music emmenating from its passenger player… while a built in speaker pumps out the sound. Current models include the Cadillac Escalade and Nissan 2-40-S-X… Suggested retail price is 34-dollars-99-cents US. Come on… it’d be fun for… at least five minutes. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/icar_drives_into_view_for_the_ipod/--- You know… it seems silly to me sometimes to talk to you guys daily… and only speak of happenings in and around the Macintosh world… I mean are there not other things going on? Of course there are… and let me hit two really quickly… First of all the vice-president of the United States shot somebody this weekend… you think your world leaders are tough? I am not saying anything about my political affiliation… what I will say is… the vice president of the United States has always looked like “The Penguin” from Batman to me… and all I wonder is, did he shot the man with a shotgun… or with a shotgun cleverly disguised as an umbrella. Just kidding President Cheney… please don’t accidentally almost kill me. But the big story today… is the date on the calendar… it is Valentine’s Day… and so… I bring you what I could find about the holiday online, inside of five minutes… Did you know – according to the Catholic Encyclopedia – there are three St. Valentines? Two seem to have lived in Rome… the third dies in Africa… according to the website New Advent.org… not much is known about any of them. According to the same site… the popular customs associated with Valentine's Day – coupling… snuggling… what have you… probably had their origin in a conventional old European belief… that half way through the second month of the year – February 14th – the birds of the world began to pair… which yes… you guessed it… means Valentine’s Day… is for the birds… unless of course you have someone to cuddle of snuggle or… what have you. So there’s your news and other stuff too… Mac OS Ken is brought to you by me… by cupid… by Eros… and media partner macsimum news… your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Happy Valentine’s Day Gals… and Guys… Until tomorrow… That is News from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray.
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Mon, Feb. 13th, 2006 12:10 am
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Rusty the bailiff gets ready to greet the Mac maker… again… Even your grandma may know about iTunes… And Bill Gates promises more little engine that could… It's Monday, February 13th, 2006, I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by our media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Sometimes it seems Apple sees as much traffic in the world’s courts as it does in the Apple stores… and yes… you can add another lawsuit to the docket. The San Jose Mercury News says a consumer group has brought news charges against the Mac maker… for the way it is replacing supposedly defective iPod nanos. The lawsuit – filed by the Los Angeles-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights – says the nano can’t endure normal use without getting scratched to the point where it becomes unusable… and that since the company charges 25 dollars to replace the device, it’s breaking the product warranty. The suit – filed late last week in San Mateo County Superior Court – demands that Apple recall or repair the defective products for free… or give refunds to dissatisfied customers. The website for the San Francisco Chronicle says this is the 13th suit filed against Apple over the nano since the device was introduced in September of last year. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/13847638.htmhttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/02/11/BUGSMH6KG71.DTL--- iTunes has ruled the roost with the digital music savvy for quite a while… now a report from Axcess news says John and Jane public are starting to pick up on it too. According to numbers from Nielsen/Net Ratings, the iTunes music service has picked up some serious traffic… reaching 14 percent of active Internet users in the U-S. According to Nielsen, traffic to Apple's iTunes Web site and use of the iTunes application shot up 241 percent over the past year… from 6-point0-1 million unique visitors in December of 0-4 to 20-point-7 million in December of 0-5. The head counters say the majority of users who visit the iTunes Web site are between 12 and 17 years old… Males dominat the traffic, but not by much… the service welcomes 54 percent men compared to 46 percent women. "The rapid growth of iTunes is an important phenomenon in the online media marketplace," said Jon Gibs – director of media analytics for Nielsen/NetRatings – says the rapid growth is important to note… Gibs says, "Consumers have clearly indicated that they are eager to control their own music libraries, one song at a time." http://www.axcessnews.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=8079--- If you had all of the money in the world, you might keep funding a seemingly impossible task… like flying around the world in a hang-glider… or trying to kill the iPod… Microsoft’s chairman and founder indicated last week… he’ll keep running at the latter. Mr. Softy’s own Bill Gates told a group of students late last week that Microsoft and its hardware partners would continue developing new digital media devices to challenge the iPod. Gates says he doesn’t think what’s out on the market today is the final answer, and that between his company and its partners, people can expect some pretty hot products coming out over the next few years… gee… I wonder is Apple has anything else planned? In fairness Gates was… well… fair… praising the iTunes Music Store… and acknowledging that his company was talking with hardware partners about creating media devices that were less expensive, easier to connect, and able to handle pictures and video better. They might also want to concentrate on naming it something devoid of letters and numbers like the Samsung Y-P-Z-5… the SanDisk e130, or the Oregon Scientific MP-1-20. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/gates_well_continue_to_challenge_itunes_ipod/--- Look for two more jewels in Apple’s retail crown… Information Week says Apple is planning two retail stores in high-rent districts in New York City and Boston. Word id the store in New York will be 25-thousand square feet… one rumor even has it open 24 hours a day. I love that city. While the Manhattan store is expected to open this spring, it may take a little longer for the next Beantown outlet… reports have the company building a four-story futuristic structure… which may not be completed for two years. http://www.informationweek.com/industries/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=179103447--- Get ready for another carnival in a few years… Henrico County Virginia is sticking with Apple laptops for the next four years. The Richmond Times-Dispatch says the county’s school board voted Thursday to approve a four-year contract worth nearly $16 million that’ll keep its kids a part of the iLifestyle. The new contract is for 12,675 iBook laptops at a cost of just over 12-hundred dollars each. Henrico – you may remember – was the site of the laptop sale last year that saw people hitting each other with chairs and cars and – literally – wetting themselves for the chance to buy a four year old computer for 50 dollars. Well… it was an Apple… http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/henrico_schools_stay_with_apple/--- If you live outside of the U-S you might get tired of listening to all of the new content on iTunes stories since they often don’t apply to you. Well… if you live next door to the U-S… this one’s for you. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is reportedly negotiating with Google and Apple… on a deal that could lead to those companies distributing downloadable television content in Canada. An official with the C-B-C says talks are underway, though no word on that from Google or Apple. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/canadian_broadcasting_corp_negotiating_with_apple_on_tv_content/--- Looking for a job? You might want to head to Cupertino… and decide the future of personal computing… the site Mac Rumors points to something that’s not a rumor… Apple is advertising for its OS Ten User Interface Group. According to the post, the Mac maker is seeking a senior visual interface designer to conceive, design and develop future enhancements to Aqua, the dynamic user interface for Mac OS Ten. How cool would that be? The ideal candidate will have some experience with dynamic interfaces or animation, possess a passion for great design and show an exceptional eye for detail… and will wind up with one of the coolest jobs on the planet. http://jobsearch.monster.com/getjob.asp?JobID=32776469&AVSDM=2006%2D02%2D10+17%3A15%3A25&Logo=1&q=Mac&cy=us--- Your favorite music player… starring at a cineplex near you… we’ll check out Indiana Jones and a haul that beats the billionth song prize… you’re listening to news from Mac OS Ken. --- Finally today, Hollywood has glommed onto what IT experts have been warning us about for the past year or so… iPods can be used for corporate naughtiness… The Culture section of Bloomberg looks at the role the ubiquitous music player plays in the new Harrison Ford flick “Firewall.'' In the movie, Ford uses his daughter's iPod to steal 100 million dollars. Think you’d need a 60 gig to hold that much cash? While IT managers have warned against the possibility of the iPod and – tee hee – other MP3 players’ use in corporate espionage… the Bloomberg piece says the way Ford pulls it off seems implausible at best… or maybe that’s what they WANT you to think… http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000088&sid=a4uL2l7YM5G8&refer=culture--- And that just about does it for the first of the week… Don’t forget… a vote for Mac OS Ken is a vote for mom… apple pie… and sarcasm… everything good in the world really… so please… if you get a moment… head to http://www.podcastalley.com, search for this show and cast your vote… for Mac OS Ken. Loving the conversation in the forums by the way… and we are fast approaching the century mark… yep… one hundred years of talk about the Mac… actually… close to a hundred of your brothers… and sisters in Mac love are waiting to talk with you at http://macosken.com. Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by our media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Music for Mac OS Ken provided by the famous… hit ‘em up online at http://thefamous.net… or check out their album light, sweet crude on the iTMS. Until tomorrow… that’s news from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray.
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Fri, Feb. 10th, 2006 12:16 am
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Anti-Trust over songs and such… AT&T says ‘That’s our video compression technology…’ And the future looks rosy for chip-makers… It's Friday, February 10th, 2006, I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by our media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... and yes… I will explain more about all of that… in a bit… right now though… If it weren’t for the 11 year olds, 13 year olds, and prudes listening… this first story might make me curse… PC-Pro out of the UK says a US court has given the go-ahead for Apple to be sued over… over media management… The suit alleges that the iPod-iTunes combination breaches federal antitrust laws. Apple had argued that the iPod and iTunes weren’t tied together… since you can – for example – play tracks in iTunes without owning an iPod… yeah… I know… but it’s technically true. But Judge James Ware of the District Court of Northern California rejected that argument… and found that the plaintiff in the case had 'met all the requirements for asserting the tying claim'. According to the UK site, tying two products together is – potentially – illegal under the 1890 Sherman Anti-Trust Act… described as 'the practice of making the sale of one good, or the tying good, to the customer conditional on the purchase of a second distinctive good – the tied good. In other words… if you want to take your iTunes on the go… you’d better have an iPod. With numbers like 80 per cent of the legal music download market and 90 per cent of the market for hard-drive-based portable music players… one can see where the case might be made... The suit says… 'Apple has unlawfully bundled, tied, and/or leveraged its monopoly in the market for the sale of legal online digital music recordings to thwart competition in the separate market for portable hard drive digital music players, and vice-versa.' You know I… may go ahead and curse anyway. http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/83398/apple-antitrust-suit-gets-green-light.html--- AT-and-T may have Apple’s number… or at least a bit of its cash… According to Ma Bell, it owns several patents related to video compression… which it says are an essential component of MPEG-4 video technology. And so – in a bid to drive its global licensing program – AT-and-T is targeting companies which it says are using MPEG-4 without a license… including CyberLink, DivX, InterVideo, Sonic Solutions… and Apple. AT-and-T says the companies are providing patent infringing products… and they say they can prove it too… plus they say they’ve warned the companies… Though representatives from the companies named – including Apple – say they weren’t aware of any notification from AT&T about possible infringement of its patents. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/att_says_apple_other_infringing_on_mpeg_4_rights/--- If you’re having problems with video on your Intel based iMac… you’re apparently not alone… and Apple knows about it… A MacWorld UK report says Apple has confirmed it’s aware of, and investigating, reports of video problems in the new MacIntels. Some users have reportedly experienced random horizontal lines and other video playback problems when playing video in Front Row. The company says it’s aware of the issue and is looking into it… in the meantime customers experiencing such issues are encouraged to contact AppleCare. MacWorld UK says the problem is believed to be a software-based issue. http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=13814&Page=1&pagePos=3--- So apparently there is value in doing more than one thing… I told you earlier this week that analysts and MP3 player makers that don’t make iPods are concerned about Apple’s lower priced NAND based iPods… and what they could do to the Flash memory sector. But that’s not memory chips overall… in fact a report from Bloomberg says memory chip makers as a whole… are sitting pretty. According to Bloomberg, the growth in demand for memory in consumer electronics is so great… it’s turning chip-making companies into growth stocks. While falling NAND prices may be a concern for some… the article says prices for the chips used in PCs have surged 38 percent in recent months… causing the stock of chip makers such as Samsung and Hynix to go up. In fact, the industry’s recent ramp-up in production of NAND has likely led to the shortage of computer chips… thus causing the rise in price. Chu Woo Sik – head of investor relations at Samsung – says that shortfall will continue until at least the end of March… http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=a4suvMEbL7To&refer=asia--- Everyone knows the iPod is number one, but who is the second largest maker of MP3 players? Probably not who you think… The San Jose Mercury News says flash-memory card maker SanDisk has stealthed its way into the number two spot. Despite grabbing that enviable position The Merc says don’t expect SanDisk to start making noise now… Eric Bone – SanDisk's director of consumer product marketing – says the company simply wants to be a strong number 2 in the MP3 space. SanDisk sold a million MP3 players in the 2005 holiday quarter… not many compared to Apple’s estimated 14-million… but an impressive showing for a company that only got into the game a year and three months ago. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/13830206.htm--- Dot-Mac users get ready to back that thang up better… Apple has updated Backup, the backup component of the subscription-based .Mac Internet suite. Apple says version 3-dot-1 gives added support for some backup destinations… as well as addressing file restoration and other issues. Backup 3-dot-1 is recommended for all users of Backup 3-dot-0. It’s available through the Software Update bit of the System Utilities software and is for dot-Mac users only. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/apple_releases_backup_31/--- Coming up… Who the heck is who again? And I get my comeuppance… We’ll make this Friday Forum Friday… you’re listening to News from Mac OS Ken… --- Finally today the forums are hopping with questions… comments… and corrections… let’s start with those… they’re easy. Yes… I know… I said Intel-based iMac G5… call it a brain… thing. The billionth song contest… is for an Intel based iMac and a bunch of other stuff… and I hope you win! As most of you know, Laura Burstein will be joining us from time to time on Mac OS Ken… someone asked when… all I can say is… she’s a busy lady… but she will be contributing… and I look forward to it. But the funniest question in the forums – to me anyway – was “Who the heck is Macsimum News?” It was only funny to me because I could just imagine all of Macsimum’s regular readers saying, “Who the heck is Ken Ray?” So let me run then down for you quickly… Macsimum News is spear-headed by Dennis Sellers… “Chief Macsimizer” is his title… Dennis was with MacCentral/Macworld, as well as MacMinute… and was even a real live, honest to goodness newspaper reporter and editor for quite a while too. Dennis has over 3,000 magazine and newspaper articles to his credit... His upstart venture, Macsimum News, has been a going concern for 15 months now... and has contributors from New York and New Jersey, Canada and China, New Zealand and Nova Scotia, and of course there’s a T for Texas… and a T for Tennessee. News, reviews, opinion… and reader interaction… their numbers are impressive and they are growing… and I am pleased to be associated with them. Oh… somebody mentioned in the forums that I had sponsors now… I don’t. I’m not complaining… I think that will happen at some point… but the tie in with Macsimum and TagTeam is not a sponsor / sponsor-ee relationship… rather it’s the alliance of three groups… each doing their own thing just fine… that thought there might be a good thing or two to come out of working together. I’ll tell you more about TAGTeam’s part in the deal next week… In the meantime, there you go gals and… let’s face it… I only care about the Gals… yes… I know you’re out there… and let me just say… growl… except better… Mac OS Ken... is brought to you by me… and by our media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at http://Macsimumnews.com… And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit http://applegroups.org... Music for Mac OS Ken provided by The Famous… Check them out online at http://thefamous.net. Thank you all for another great week… we will talk again on Monday… until then… that’s news from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray…
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Thu, Feb. 9th, 2006 12:13 am
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I have a special message for all of the new people listening today… hello new people… Apple gets praise… chipmakers get lashes… The iPod un-tethered… And challengers to iTunes and iChat... It's Thursday, February 9th, 2006, I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken... brought to you by yours truly… and by our media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at Macsimumnews.com... And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit applegroups.org... Apple says it’s cutting the price of some iPods and Wall Street cheers… for Apple… but for the companies that make the stuff inside the iPod… not so much. A Reuters report says shares in Samsung and other Asian memory chip makers dipped Wednesday… the drop in NAND based iPods apparently fanning fears of a drop in price for the chips used in the products. Apple – you’ll remember dropped the price of its iPod Shuffle Tuesday… and introduced a smaller capacity, lower priced Nano. But worry isn’t only over Apple’s lower cost… but what Apple’s competitors will have to do as a result. Industry watchers say the Mac maker’s smaller rivals – like Creative Technology and Reigncom – will have to drop their prices as well if they want to stay competitive… and at least one part of the industry agrees… Donald Kim – a Spokesman at Reigncom – says, "Apple's price cut will deepen competition in the U.S. market and other makers will have to lower prices to survive." http://news.com.com/Apple+price+cut+touches+Asia+chipmakers/2100-1041_3-6036530.html--- Add another analyst to the stand by your Mac crowd by the way… A Forbes-dot-com piece has UBS Investment Research analyst Benjamin Reitzes maintaining his "buy" rating on Apple stock… as well as his 100-dollar price target. According to Reitzes, Apple’s got a lot going for it in the long run, though he does acknowledge near-term risks from the Mac maker's transition to Intel. Forbes says Reitzes remains confident in Apple’s upcoming products… including new iBooks, a 'media hub,' new iPods… and even a new cell phone… says Reitzes. http://www.forbes.com/markets/currencies/2006/02/08/apple-intel-0208markets16.html --- The wireless iPod may have gotten one step closer yesterday… the site Reg Hardware out of the UK says PortalPlayer plans to add wi-fi and Bluetooth support to its products. PortalPlayer is the chip maker behind the Apple music player's audio logic. The move is part of a tie-in with UK-based Bluetooth chip designer Cambridge Silicon Radio. Integration of products from the two companies will let PortalPlayer-based gadgets to use Bluetooth stereo headsets, as well as letting said gadgets grab music from computers wirelessly… and letting them connect directly to music download services through Wi-Fi hotspots. Reg Hardware says Apple is also believed to be hosting a music-related event later this month… The image on the invitation suggests that the announcement will center on wireless music distribution. That might be a little early for a wireless iPod though… PortalPlayer and CSR say their combined product won’t be available until the second half of this year. http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/02/08/portalplayer_wireless_ipod_chip/--- A couple of iTunes alternatives to tell you about… First Boing-Boing says the long-awaited Songbird project has released their ‘user test.’ According to Boing-Boing, the open-source program is built on the same framework as Firefox and Thunderbird… and was developed by some of the same people behind Winamp, Muse, Yahoo's "Y! Music Engine" media player, and developers from Mozilla Foundation. Sadly for Mac users, the program is Windows only right now, but as SlashDot points out, since the project is open source… that may not be the case for long. Yes, by the way, Songbird was SlashDotted… in fact last night a note on the player’s website – songbirdnest.com – said, “Sometimes too much love hurts… Thanks for the amazing response, but all this slashdotting has brought the server to its knees…” There was also a link to their new server… which as of this recording… didn’t seem to be working either… too much of a good thing I suppose… http://www.songbirdnest.com/ http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/portable-media/songbird-free-itunes-killer-available-for-download-153498.phphttp://slashdot.org/articles/06/02/08/1649242.shtml --- Not to be outdone… though they have been so far… Yahoo released a new version of its new music jukebox yesterday… A ZDNet article says the edition nouveau has added a handful of features meant to make the software easier to use with MP3 players as well as on networks. ZDNet says this new version makes it easier to swap playlists and browse the tunes of other users of Yahoo's instant messenger software. It also adds support for devices that stream music around a home network, and is said to make CD burning easier. Yahoo!’s Music Engine is meant to be a rival to Apple's iTunes… According to ZDNet… the search giant won’t say how many subscribers it’s added since its launch in May of 2005. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6036414.html--- Everyone’s always challenging the iPod and iTunes… but who’s out there challenging iChat? Say hello to Skype and Intel… PC Mag-dot-com says the two companies announced plans yesterday for Internet-based voice and video communications… Engineers from the two companies will work to optimize the Skype 2-dot-0 (beta) for use with Intel's dual-core processor systems… PC Mag says they also hope to tighten integration with Intel's new Viiv technology. According to the article, the first tangible result of the collaboration is availability of free, ten – count ‘em – ten-way voice conference calling for up to ten people in Skype 2-dot-0… twice as many as before. PC Mag says further optimization for video-conferencing is on the map for later this year… as well as bringing Skype onto Intel-based handhelds… no word yet though on when that might happen… http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1922570,00.asp--- This one’s for the ladies… or the guys who like to watch what the ladies are watching… I-T-V-T-dot-com says women’s cable and satellite channel Oxygen… has started making video podcasts based on a couple of its offerings available through iTunes… free of charge… and free of commercials. They’re based on Oxygen’s original series, "Campus Ladies" – a comedy about middle aged women who go back to college to party – and "Snapped" – a true-crime series focused on women accused of murder. There are 10 ten minute Campus Ladies features available… three 8 minute vodcasts for snapped… The Oxygen offerings have been available through iTunes since the first of February. http://blog.itvt.com/my_weblog/2006/02/mtv_networks_ox.html--- If you do a lot of video through iChat, there’s an app you may want to look into… iTwist is a new Mac OS X utility for Apple’s external iSight webcam and iChat AV… With iTwist… you… twist… the iris on the external webcam to answer and hang up video and audio calls without using your keyboard or mouse… of course… it won’t work with the built in iSights on the new iMacs and MacBook Pros… since they’re built in. iTwist also stops screensavers automatically during incoming iChat AV calls… and lets users view video calls in full screen mode. The app will run buyers 19-dollars-99-cents US. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/itwist_a_new_isight_ichat_av_utility/--- Sometime in the distant past, computers were meant to make our lives easier and our tasks faster. If you still hold to such old fashioned notions, there’s a website you might want to check out… Chuck Joiner of MacVoices and MacNotables has launched the site Mac Productivity… Described as a site that will help users get more out of the Mac… and teach them how to do what they do on the Mac better and faster… early entries include a list of “Effective Backup Strategies,” as well as, “Productivity for the Mobile Mac User…” You can check out the tips for yourself at http://macproductivity.com. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/macproductivity_site_launches/--- If you’re like me, you have no flippin’ idea what Apple Script does… but… if you get it a bit and want to get it more – AppleScript that is – you might want to head to NYC. Shane Stanley and Ray Robertson are taking AppleScript Pro Sessions to the Big Apple May 8th through the 12th… Courses offered will cover an intro to AppleScript, AppleScript and Applications, Scripting with Adobe’s InDesign and a bunch of other stuff too… Significant discounts are available to those who register before March 31st… more info available at http://scriptingmatters.com. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/applescript_pro_sessions_coming_to_the_big_apple/ --- TAGteam’s news letter is up… the January/February 2006 edition of AUGmentations: The Apple Groups Team Newsletter is now available as a free download for its members… Membership’s free too so… it’s basically free all around… This issue features an interview with Amanda Congdon – actress, comedian and host of the online vodcast, Rocketboom… there’s also a wrap-up of Macworld Expo 2006… and some announcement about some Mac news podcast thing… find out more at http://applegroups.org. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/new_augmentations_edition_available/--- Coming up… getting a bunch of stuff for a song… and help picking the right one… we’ll look at an app to help you win the lottery… you’re listening to news from Mac OS Ken. --- Finally today, so you wanna buy one of the prize winning songs? MacWorld UK says… there may be an app for you. I told you yesterday that Apple had announced the one billionth song contest… with each fan who buys one of the 100-thousandth songs leading up from the iTunes Music Store winning a black 4GB nano and a 100 bucks in iTunes downloads... The billionth song buyer gets a 20-inch iMac, a $10,000 iTunes Music Card, and ten 60GB iPods… wanna try to tip the odds? MacWorld reports on iTunes Estimator… a small application that shows Apple's current estimates of song sales so far on iTunes… well iTunes does that… but Estimator doesn’t stop there… It also analyses the data to offer an estimated time when the next 100,000th song will sell. iTunes Estimator updates every 5 minutes, and beeps out a countdown every second for the ten seconds before that estimated sale takes place… the down side? It may not work… According to the app’s developer, If Apple changes the source data format or location, this application may break… The developer also says, "Some people have noted that there are discrepancies between the counter on Apple's page and the application… That’s because Apple has adjusted its estimate rate to 80 per cent of the raw data calculation… so now… I don’t know which one to trust. Add to that the fact that everyone who uses the app will – in theory – all be listening to the beeps at the same time – likely causing a sort of spike in sales – which would screw up the data on which the app is averaging… In the end… isn’t it more fun to guess? The app is free if you want it though… and is available at version-tracker.com. http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=13803&Page=1&pagePos=4--- I’m looking for the one billionth member for the forums at Mac OS Ken – dot com by the way… we’re up to… 72… right now… I’ll let you know what the prizes will be as we approach… one billion. I can’t even think that high… And that does it for Thursday dudes and… let’s face it… its mostly dudes… if you haven’t found this podcast yet… you’re not listening to me right now… and if you haven’t voted for Mac OS Ken at podcast alley… you’re making me very… very sad… Mac OS Ken... is brought to you by me… and by our media partner MacsimumNews - your leading alternative Apple news site... online at M-A-C-S-I-M-U-M… http://Macsimumnews.com… And The Apple Groups Team - a free support network for Macintosh User Groups, vendors and resellers... for more information, visit http://applegroups.org... Music for Mac OS Ken provided by The Famous… Check them out online at http://thefamous.net. Hotel accommodations for guests of Mac OS Ken provided by… nobody… and nobody gets Turtle Wax or Rice-a-Roni either. Until tomorrow… that’s news from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray…
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Wed, Feb. 8th, 2006 01:45 am
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The nano gets nano… er… And yes, I stole that line… Is it time to buy Apple stock? And a shift in iTunes content… It's Wednesday, February 8th, 2006, I'm Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken... If you bought an iPod shuffle last week… um… sorry… The Motley fool breaks down some new prices and offerings from Apple… and why they might be a good sign… First, the Mac maker has introduced a 149 dollar 1Gig nano… It’s also dropped the price of the shuffle to 69 dollars from 99 for the half gig model… a full Gig shuffle is now 99 dollars… dropped down from 129… a surprise to many who had thought the shuffle would be dropped entirely, instead of just seeing a drop in price. Apple’s shares rose on Wall Street as a result of the news… which the Fool says is a sign of changing times… Back in the day, lower prices would have sent analysts scrambling, out of fear of tighter margins and price wars… but the iPod is a different animal… and selling an iPod isn’t just selling one device, it’s also the potential to grow sales of digital downloads at the iTunes stores and to spread the ‘Halo effect.’ Add to that the harm cheaper iPods do to iPod wanna-be makers like Creative and Sony… and you apparently have the makings of a success story on Wall Street. The Motley Fool says at a 69-dollar starting point, the iPod is likely to penetrate even further into the mainstream. http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2006/mft06020707.htm--- And what of Apple’s roughly 20 percent stock drop since the second week of the year? Analysts are saying… it could be time to buy. Mac-N-N takes a look at what the numbers crunchers are looking at… First there’s analyst firm Piper Jaffray, which reiterated its 'outperform' rating on the stock yesterday… saying investor concerns over the Intel transition are short-sighted… Then American Technology Research’s Shaw Wu piped up… Reiterating his 'buy' rating on the stock… looking into his crystal ball Wu sees a potential upside with a strong Intel transition outlook, as well as an extension of both the Mac and iPod / iTunes franchises into new areas including digital living room devices, cell phones, and other consumer electronics. Piper Jaffray’s price target on the stock is 103 dollars… ATR has set it’s price at 101… Apple closed Tuesday at 67-60. http://www.macnn.com/articles/06/02/07/analysts.upbeat.on.aapl/--- New numbers from IDC today about notebook sales… they were up across the board for 2005 and – no surprise – Apple’s notebook sales were up too. According to DigiTimes, IDC’s numbers show 65-point-3 million units moved last year… that’s a 33-and-half percent rise in laptop sales overall. Apple held the number nine spot worldwide with 20 percent growth year over year in laptop sales… beating out Asustek Computer which was 10th for the year… Working backwards to number one the list goes Asustek, Apple, N-E-C, Sony, Siemens, Fujitsu, Lenova/IBM, Acer, Toshiba, Hewlett Packard, and Dell at the top spot. IDC says notebooks accounted for about 31 percent of the 207 million PC’s shipped worldwide last year… up from 27 percent in 2004. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/apple_notebooks_sales_up_20_percent_globally_for_2005/--- New content from another TV outlet for iTunes yesterday… Apple and Showtime Networks said Tuesday that Showtime is making some of its programming available through the iTMS. Shows such as "Sleeper Cell" – a drama about the hunt for deep-cover terrorists – and “Weeds,” a look at the marijuana trade in the suburbs are available for download now for the standard dollar-99 an episode. While it looks like a fairly common story at first flush, Forbes-dot-com says… the offering actually represents a shift in iTunes, and the type of content provided. While most of the programming offered on iTunes is either free – being broadcast through the air on ABC or NBC – or almost free – living on most standard cable packages like content from Comedy Central, USA, or Nickelodeon – Showtime is a premium channel… and its offerings mark the first time premium content has been made available for such a use. By the way… Showtime – it turns out – is a division of CBS… and so… I’m sorry I called CBS ‘stupid,’ let’s never speak of it again. http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8FKASBO0.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down&chan=db--- ABC has also added more content to the iTMS… content you won’t find anyplace else. According to a press release from the company, unaired episodes of its show “Night Stalker” are being made available Exclusively through the online store… You’ll never guess how much they cost… Give up? The three previously unaired episodes go for a whopping dollar-99 per episode. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/pr.cgi?id=20060207abc02--- Online Athens has something we haven’t heard quite as much about lately… exclusive MUSIC content for the music store… R.E.M. front man Michael Stipe has released "In the Sun." The charity recording will raise money for survivors of Hurricane Katrina. The six songs on the EP are actually all different versions of one song… with guest artists such as Coldplay front man Chris Martin, Justin Timberlake, and will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas. A short documentary of the project will air on the Sundance Channel this spring. http://www.onlineathens.com/cgi-bin/printme2005.pl--- It seems like only last year Apple was counting up to its half-a-billionth song sold through iTunes… mostly because it was… But oh boy… what a difference a couple of seasons and few million iPods can make… Apple is counting up now… to One Billion songs worldwide… The company has launched the iTunes Music Store Billion Songs Countdown… The contest spans all 21 countries served by the iTMS… Fans who download every 100-thousandth song will receive prizes including a black 4GB iPod nano and a 100 dollar iTunes Music Card. The lucky whose-its that downloads the billionth song will get a 20-inch Intel iMac G5, ten 60Gig iPods – five black, five white – and a 10-thousand dollar iTunes Music Card… good for video too. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/apple_launches_itunes_music_store_billion_songs_countdown/--- If you want to save a few bucks on Photoshop World, your time to register is drawing nigh… it’s fun to talk like that… Early registration for the Photoshop World Conference & Expo in Miami, Florida ends on Friday, February 17th… Early registrants get 100 bucks off of the regular price of 499 dollars for National Association of Photoshop Professionals members… Non N-A-P-P members at full price will pay 599. Photoshop World runs March 22nd through the 24th… don’t say you weren’t warned… http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/advance_registration_for_photoshop_world_ends_in_10_days/--- Wanna sell an iPod? There’s a new service out there for you… iLounge says NextWorth has launched “The Great iPod Exchange.” The service lets users sell their used iPods for cash… according to the company, customers get a better cash return selling through them than through other services like PodSwap, and SmallDog Electronics, trading them at the Apple Store or selling them on their own… You can check out the service for yourself at ipod-dot-nextworth-dot-com. http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/6941/--- If you’re like one friend of mine, you wouldn’t even think of switching to an Intel based Mac until you knew your favorite pastime was on board… Bill… get out your wallet… Blizzard Entertainment is releasing version 1-dot-9-dot-3 of its World of Warcraft online role-playing game. The new version is a Universal Binary, which means it will run natively on PowerPC or Intel Macs… World of Warcraft has been the top selling Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game in North America since it launched in November 2004. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/world_of_warcraft_ready_for_mactel_systems/--- Coming up… part of the mystery is revealed… You’re listening to news from Mac OS Ken… --- Finally today… I cannot name names… but I would feel bad if I left you hanging… I told you on Monday that this week would end very differently than it began… and it will… Here’s what I can tell you… I’ve been approached by a couple of top-notch like-minded groups to be their official podcast… it is an honor and a privilege… but I can’t say who. Sorry. Come tomorrow… all will be revealed… What does it mean to you? Not a whole lot… except you’ll have a lot more friends in the forums… and I’ll be able to grow the show into what I want it to be. Every description of the show out there says news… interviews… and commentary… news we got… interviews… they should be coming soon. This show is about to have more exposure than I dared hope for in the first six months… let alone the first three weeks. It turns out you guys were right about one thing… I didn’t even know until yesterday… but yes… an old friend will be joining me throughout the week… with any luck, we’ll tear it up the same way we always have… But the best news – to me anyway – aside from the addition of audience and new voices… this show is not changing. They – like you guys who have voted and commented at various places online – like the show… and want what I deliver. I’m touched… and I guess I’m stuck with it now. I couldn’t be happier with the way things are going. And so… I thank you… and now… let’s blow the lid off… until tmorrow… that’s news from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray.
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Tue, Feb. 7th, 2006 01:53 am
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Apple illustrates gravity on Wall Street… Fox’s top dog says: iTunes… so what? But ABC, MTV, and NBC all beg to differ… It’s Tuesday, February 7th, 2006… I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken… Apple did what Apples of lore do on The Street yesterday… the Mac Maker’s stock fell… losing 4-dollars-15-cents… close to six percent of its value. That’s a continuation of a slide that has seen the company lose 22 percent since reaching a year-to-date high of 86-dollars-40 on January 12th. MarketWatch says Apple’s overall business remains solid, though Robert Bacarella – manager of the Monetta Select Technology Fund – says there are genuine concerns about whether the company can match is year-over-year profit and revenue figures. Bacarella says he sees the recent drop as a round of profit taking, and does not see reson to call Apple a sell. But Shaw Wu of American Technology Research seems to see it as a bit more than that… News.com.au out of Australia has Wu saying some investors could be concerned about Apple's transition to Intel… though Wu still maintains his buy rating on the Mac maker. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/apple_stocks_tumble/http://finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,18067152-462,00.html --- Speaking of words from down under, media mogul Rupert Murdoch has a few for Apple… and none of them too complimentary. In an interview with Newsweek – cited by CNet – News Corp’s chief disparaged the video iPod… and the video offerings from the iTunes Music Store… Rupert says, "how many people really want to get video on a tiny screen when they already have TiVo or a similar service from their cable company or DirecTV?" While Murdoch’s Fox will eventually distribute television programming online, the top Fox says he’s not impressed with the iTunes Video Store… According to Murdoch, "What's been announced so far with iPod and Disney and NBC is very small-time at the moment." Hey… Smile when you say that, huh Rupert? Meanwhile, Murdoch has plans of his own for Internet dominance… News Corp is set to announce a 1 billion dollar plan later this month for adding broadband satellite Internet access to his DirecTV service. That service, along with the company’s recent acquisition of MySpace, and other Net sites, should generate 1 billion dollars in Internet revenues by 2010 according to Murdoch. http://news.com.com/2061-10802_3-6035848.html --- While Murdoch may not be impressed with iTunes video, the rest of the networks seem to be warming up to it… A C-N-N report touts the triumphs of the video offerings… which have grown to over 40 shows available for download from the likes of ABC, NBC, and MTV Networks since Mid-October of last year… that’s roughly 10 shows a month by the way… nothing impressive about that. In fact iTunes has made a believer out of one of its content partners… Ben Silverman – an executive producer of "The Office" – says visibility of the show was boosted by people who discovered it when they were browsing to find something to put on the iPods they received for Christmas. Silverman thinks his show’s audience was broadened by its inclusion on iTunes… rather than losing broadcast viewers. While he does acknowledge that DVD sales of “The Office” could be hurt by the digital downloads, he points out… studios actually make a higher profit margin off of them… since it costs less to sell the computer files that it does the packaging-laden DVD’s. Meanwhile, Jason Hirschhorn, chief digital officer at MTV Networks, says while final sales numbers aren’t in for his company’s iTunes sales… the early numbers look good. According to Hirschhorn, "The nets are doing as well as they've ever done, and the Web sites are upping traffic." He Does not think the downloads will replace regular viewing… though he does see them as a good additon. Finally ABC weighs in… Albert Cheng, executive vp of digital media at Disney-ABC Television Group says ABC’s "Lost" is doing "extraordinarily well" on iTunes… According to Cheng… "Video has surpassed everyone's expectations.” http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/ptech/02/06/tv.ipods.reut/index.html--- Up the chain it goes… Congress is now looking into the hearing issues with the iPod… I wonder if they’ll hold hearings… hah hah… hah… The website for the Courier Press out of Evansville, Indiana says representative Ed Markey – a Democrat out of Massachusetts – has asked the National Institutes of Health to look into Apple’s music player… That of course follows reports that the iPod might damage users' hearing. Among questions Markey mark wants answered… Since Apple refuses to disclose information about the iPod’s maximum sound output, what information on the devices' volume is available? By the way… representative Markey’s Web site offers free podcasts of his floor speeches… try and play them low, ok? http://www.courierpress.com/ecp/computers_and_tech/article/0,1626,ECP_755_4443612,00.html--- People thinking about switching to a MacIntel themselves have a couple of good compatibility resources out there… Macsimum News sites a list from the website Macintouch… which highlights and low-lights Rosetta-compatible and incompatible software. Rosetta – you’ll remember – is the technology that runs existing PowerPC applications on the Intel platform Macintouch breaks the software down into works, kinda works, and doesn’t work at all… check the list out for yourself at Macintouch.com. http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/macintouch_lists_rosetta_compatible_products/--- If you’re more concerned about peripheral hardware than software though, you might want to check Apple’s Knowledgebase… The Mac Observor says the Mac maker has an extensive list of printers that are out-of-the-box compatible with the new Intel-based Macs. Included are printers from Brother, Cannon, Epson, HP, and… ooooo… surprisingly Apple is Apple compatible too. TMO says people who find their favorite printer not listed can still check with the manufacturer to see if they have a compatible driver available. http://www.macobserver.com/article/2006/02/06.9.shtml--- Picture it… something terrible has happened… and that 40 Gig iPod with 38 Gigs of your favorite music… suddenly becomes inoperable. Is all hope lost? Probably not… thanks to the good people from Addonics. Geek-dot-com says the company has announced a new conversion kit to connect Toshiba eighth inch hard drives to PC and laptop computers… and the hard-drive in Apple’s iPod. Geek says Addonics created the conversion kit to address the need for forensic investigators to search the drives and to recover data from failed drives… The kit goes for 14-99 U-S. http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2006Jan/bma20060206034588.htm --- Apple’s out in Boulder… and some parents, teachers, and students want to know why. Macsimum news says the Boulder Valley Scholl District has decided to replace most of the Macs in the district with machines from Hewlett Packard… Currently Macs make-up 75 percent of the district’s machines… that number would drop to 10 percent over the next four years if the plan goes through. BVSDWatch.org is an organization created by Boulder Valley teachers, parents, volunteers, and taxpayers to watch dog the School Board and their activities… they say “No input was solicited from teachers, students, parents, or volunteers… the people who this effects the most. According to the organization, “Only HP was approached for a bid, the other approved vendors – Apple & Dell – were excluded from the bidding process. BVSDWatch will meet on the issue tomorrow… http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/boulder_group_concerned_over_plans_to_replace_macs_with_hp_systems/--- Coming up… put your tiny hand in mine… we’ll look at repetitive stress injury and that thing in your ears… You’re listening to News from Mac OS Ken… --- Finally today… iPod Finger… SideKick thumb… call it what you will… repetitive motions with our gadgets and gizmos can lead to actual injuries. An article from the website of The Wichita Eagle looks at those, and what the American Society of Hand Therapists says we can do about them. The Chicago-based group says repetitive stress injuries and carpal tunnel syndrome aren’t just for the typewriter set anymore… and it’s issued an alert to users of iPods, Blackberries and the like to be aware of overuse injuries. Tips to avoid such bo-bo’s include using a neutral grip when holding the thing -- meaning the wrist is straight, not bent… not doing it – whatever it is – for too long, and switching hands every now and then… is it just me or is this starting to sound dirty? The group also recommends several hand and wrist exercises to reduce the risk of injuries when using handheld electronics… I’ll post a link to those in the Forums at Mac OS Ken. http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/living/13800156.htm--- And there it goes… another Tuesday… out of the Mic… and in your face. Interesting guesses by the way at the Mac OS Ken forums on what the deal is with the deal I mentioned… and let me address a few… No… no sponsor yet… but when I get one or two… be nice to them… please… ok? Sailor J had an interesting idea… an enhanced podcast with pictures of the girls of Mac OS Ken… I wanna make jokes here… but I won’t… It’s not guests or co-hosts either… though I do plan to add guests sooner rather than later… and yes… there is a rumor that an old friend may be joining me on the show from time to time… but that ain’t the news. I should be able to tell you tomorrow… and yes G4 Lady… I am a big tease… According to my reckoning there are hundreds of you listening each and every day… and yet there are but 58 votes for the show on podcast alley… I am NOT begging… just saying… you know… I’ll buy you a pony if you go to podcastally.com, search for the show… and cast a vote for Mac OS Ken… and that’s not begging by the way… that’s bribing… and I won’t buy you a pony… so beside lying… I really did nothing wrong. Music for Mac OS Ken compliments of The Famous… check them out online at http://thefamous.net. Until tomorrow… when I’ll either have BIG news or… not… that’s news
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Mon, Feb. 6th, 2006 01:13 am
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Is Amazon eying iTunes success… The ‘Big Eye’ may yet tie with iTunes… And business model… or just bad business… It’s Monday, February 6th, 2006, I’m Ken Ray and this is news from Mac OS Ken… Will the 800 pound gorilla have another 800 pound gorilla with which to contend? The February 13th issue of Newsweek looks at the possibility of Amazon moving into the digital download market. First there are the rumors… Last month Variety reported that Amazon is launching an online movie service this spring… According to Variety, Amazon will do one thing differently than the rest of the download services… the company will actually sell DVD’s, then giving people the ability to watch the movies online… Meanwhile one Hollywood insider says the company is working on a similar service for music. Newsweek says if Amazon does get into the music fray – along with Apple, Yahoo!, MSN, Sony, Virgin, and Napster just to name a few – they will have a couple of advantages over many players… For one, the company already has a user base of 55 million, many of whom use the site to buy music. Additionally, giving customers both a physical product and a digital copy could ease the transition to digital music for people who aren’t yet on board. For his part, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos told Newsweek in 2004 that he didn’t want to take his company into the digital music game with a "me-too offering.” Bezos said he thought that there would be a second, third, and fourth generation of digital media services, which he seems now to be looking into… Newsweek says Bezos spent 132 million dollars on Research and Development in the last three months alone… much of that directed toward digital media. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11179702/site/newsweek/--- Maybe CBS wasn’t being stupid… just dipping a toe in the water on their own… I told you Friday that the network planned to sell limited time viewings of its hit series survivor for a dollar 99 per episode through its own website, rather than partnering with… say… a more established download provider. In case it doesn’t work though… they may have a back-up plan… The site Beta News says the Great Big Eye has confirmed that it’s in talks with Apple to bring its programming to the iTunes Music Store. Larry Kramer – Digital Media President at CBS – told financial site MarketWatch that the network plans to offer shows on iTunes. Kramer says the offering is part of a larger initiative to get new viewers by providing access to the network's programming in a variety of formats. No word though on when CBS shows might turn up on the iTMS. http://us.f362.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?Search=&Idx=0&YY=99905&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b--- Apple is headed to court this week… over a patent infringement claim… David Contois – owner of Contois Music & Technology out of Vermont – filed suit against the Mac maker last year, over issues related to iTunes… Contois accuses Apple of stealing his design for digital jukebox software. He says he developed software to play music on a computer and exhibited his invention at industry trade shows in 1995 and 1996 in Nevada and California. According to the suit, it was at these shows that Apple's "current or future employees" saw the software and later duplicated it, violating his patent. Contois is seeking a court order to stop Apple from distributing iTunes, as well as unspecified monetary damages and payment of his legal fees. For its part, Apple says the lawsuit should be thrown out, because Contois should have brought his claim forward sooner… and his patent, according to the Mac maker, is invalid anyway. Apple is countersuing for reimbursement of its own legal fees. The two will go to U-S District Court in Burlington, Vermont on Wednesday to discuss the progress of the case and when it could be ready for trial. http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060205/NEWS02/602050307/1007/NEWS02&theme=--- You’re allowed to sell your iPod… and you’re allowed to seel old movies and CD’s… but are you allowed to sell an iPod loaded with movies and CD’s? It’s an issue looked at by Sunday’s Indianapolis Star… According to the paper, people have sold their used iPods and other music players filled with music on eBay and other auction sites for the past couple of years… but the record industry is starting to take notice… especially of a new breed of sellers… one that advertises “like new” iPods filled with music… and sold for far more than a new, empty iPod would cost. While it sounds like a clear case of piracy, the Star says, it’s really not… Andrew Bridges – a digital music lawyer at Winston & Strawn – says "Some of those sales may be legal, and some not." Sometimes, copyright law lets people sell copies they made legally under the "fair use" concept… though Bridges says courts have quite a bit of leeway when it comes to interpreting fair use… According to Bridges, selling copies of content on iPods as a business venture could be deemed illegal. And it’s not just individuals that could face trouble… new companies – like TV My Pod, which sells iPods preloaded, could also face court action. TV-My-Pod seems to circumvent any trouble by selling users the iPod, as well as new CD’s and DVD’s… they load the content onto the iPod for users… then send all of the purchase – the player, as well as the physical copies of the music and movies – to the buyer. But even that gets a bit sticky when one remembers that most DVD’s are encrypted to keep them from being copied… TVMyPod co-founder David Onigman says the question is, if you buy a DVD, are you allowed to put it on your iPod… though the courts may eventually have to decide if that IS the question… and if TV-My-Pod’s business model is legal. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060205/BUSINESS/602050362/1003/BUSINESS - Indianapolis Star --- Say goodbye to a few more iPod killers… The L.A. Times says Dell stopped selling its high-end digital music players last month… kind of sad that they had to tell people that they’d stopped really… The Times says the computer maker stopped offering three Digital Jukebox players between 200 and 300 dollars U-S, after they failed to be competitive with Apple’s iPod. The company will keep selling – or trying to sell – the 99 dollar DJ Ditty. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-briefs4.6feb04,1,7111247.story?coll=la-headlines-technology--- If you’re waiting for the price of the 17” iMac G5 with the Power PC to come down… don’t… Mac-N-N says Apple has removed the Computer from its website. The 20”, which saw a price reduction of 200 dollars last week, is still available. http://www.macnn.com/articles/06/02/03/17.inch.imac.g5.gone/--- Fashion and technology held hands on the runway last week… The Unofficial Apple Weblog has words and pictures of offerings from Boston’s Seamless V2 – the second annual technology fashion event… Taking geek-chic to a whole new level was a wedding dress concept called iDo… that’s lowercase “i”, capital Do – all one word. TUAW says the iPod enabled dress gave the model bride full control over the music she was bee-bopping down the aisle to with touch-sensitive fabric... with the full sized iPod cleverly concealed in the tiara. Perhaps a bit more practical… David Lu's iPod Status… which featured a scrolling display for a messenger bag strap… the display showing passers-by the "Now Playing" status of the wearer’s tunes. http://www.tuaw.com/2006/02/05/seamless-fashion-show-2006-features-ipod-ready-couture/--- Coming up… the prize for gumming up the works has grown… We’ll check the pot on the Dual Boot contest in a moment… You’re listening to news from Mac OS Ken… --- Finally today, the kitty is growing on the dual boot contest… I told you a couple of weeks ago about self-proclaimed Mac lover Colin Nederkoorn’s contest… the challenge… for any individual or group to figure out a way to install Windows XP on the new Intel based Macs. It does – according to Nederkoorn – need to be a true dual boot… with users deciding at start-up which OS to run and no virtualization… Nederkoorn started the prize at 100 dollars US… which has now – according to Daily Tech-dot-com – grown to over 10-thousand dollars… the extra money coming from interested parties around the web. So far no one has even tried to claim the prize… http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=631--- And that just about does it for a Monday kids… kicking off a week that promises to end in a very different fashion… I cannot say what… but there’s a change coming to Mac OS Ken… a new day’s a dawning… a new breeze is blowing… Don’t worry… it’ll be fun… I promise. If you haven’t joined the forums at Mac OS Ken you’ve missed out on a special designation and some really great discussions… but there’s room for everybody, so pile on in… If you’ve got a question or comment for me, send it on to info@macosken.com… As always I encourage you to exercise your right to vote… head to http://www.podcastalley.com, search for the show and cast your vote for Mac OS Ken… Music for Mac OS Ken provided by The Famous… search for them on iTunes or check out their website… http://thefamous.net. Did I mention big changes by mid-week? Yeah… ok. Until tomorrow… that’s News from Mac OS Ken… I’m Ken Ray.
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kraydiowaves's journal
