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news of 2004-12-31
Depending on where you live, ...
the new year has either started already some hours ago or you'll still live in 2004 for a while. For me, 2004 has a bit less than five hours left. Whatever: I wish you a happy new year! And may MWSF start soon and Steve Jobs present us some stuff we really, really want. ;)
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-31 at 19:15 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-30
Making sense of that headless Mac rumour
Ever since Apple killed the clones (1997) and restructured their product matrix, many people asked themselves why Apple left out a really basic desktop Mac, like the PowerMacintosh 4400 once was (which was based on a cheaper motherboard design Apple licensed to clone makers). The iMac came but didn't leave people entering the Mac market with a choice without screen. We've discussed a 'headless Mac' a few times here on macnews.net.tc (cMac as in consumer Mac or 'cheap' Mac) ourselves, but Apple obviously was afraid it would eat into iMac and eMac as well as lower-level PowerMac sales, where Apple can get bigger margins.
The past few days now have shown a renewal of this "rumour that just doesn't want to die". So for a moment, let's assume that rumour is right and we'll see it at MWSF in January 2005. (And let's not think much about MOSR's claim of it being a "compact design reminiscent of Xserve meets iPod, with a hint of G4 Cube", since that would be what, a slim design in white colour with, erh, no success? I don't quite get that Cube part...) ;)
ThinkSecret first broke this story in this article, shortly after sources of our own indicated it "could be". We didn't at the time post the rumour, because as we've said at the beginning of this article, people often mused about such a Mac, and it just didn't seem as if Apple was "in" to such an idea. Now, assuming that those sources are right we could see what we've discussed here in March 2004 and here in November 2003. (Given the age of these articles, the specs are of course out of date by now...)
There's one thought that we think is important here: Apple probably always has wanted to do this. Ever since killing the clones. But the time just wasn't right. (Bear with me...) Back then, the image Apple and the Mac had in the press around the world was that it was going to die sooner or later. And if a doomed company releases a very cheap product, its image is basically doomed. But the iPod changed all that. Because when you're successful and you bring out a cheaper product, it's going to attract the 'second round' of adopters. And while Apple's try to sell the new iMac with a bit of iPod-halo effect seemed more like an afterthought without much success potential, this machine could simply make it. Just think about it... The iPod was probably the success story this holiday season. Apple was ready to sell a lot of them, and reports are in that they did sell a lot of them. And now Apple brings you the real thing in form of this 'cMac' (although it probably wouldn't call it that, would they? ;)) - and it's affordable, too! And it can re-use a PC-owner's TFT or CRT display and probably the USB printer as well! Yes, let's conquer the world. Virus-free and in Aqua style, baby.
Then again, this all is assuming that those sources are right. It's assuming that Apple feels ready for such a move. Let's just say: It would make sense and I'd finally buy another desktop computer again.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-30 at 21:16 CET ]
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Review: Nokia Communicator 9500
It's not usually a very bright idea to get a new smartphone from Nokia before there's at least one firmware upgrade and before Apple gets its act together to support the phone in iSync. That's a little bit different with the new Communicator, although I still want iSync capability as soon as possible - and a firmware upgrade will eventually fix some bugs and speed things up. But don't misunderstand me here: The bugs are rare and the communicator feels finished, so if you want one: Get one.
The reasons why I intended to buy this communicator (and now bought it) actually make iSync somewhat useless. Because once you've started organising your life on the 9500, you're stopping to use iCal or any other PIM-device you might have. The reason why mobile phones need synching to your Mac is that they themselves are very restricted, usually. Sure, you can enter information on a (reasonably) smart phone like a SonyEricsson T610, S700 or the likes. You can enter them even better with a palmOne Tréo or some variant of those PocketPCs with GSM features. But you'll still want the same info on your computer, because the device just isn't enough PDA (personal digital assistant) and just isn't enough on its own. At least if you're like me.
I'll need iSync probably once every three months, as soon as it connects to the Nokia Communicator 9500, because I'll do everything on the device itself - and with an MMC of 512 MB (sold separately and they're quite cheap nowadays, a smaller or bigger one will do, too), I can back up the communicator's 80 MB easily, so I don't have to fear to lose all my information, should the device ever crash so hard that it can't read its data and needs a total reset.
The Nokia Communicator 9500 doesn't come cheap, but it's complete and will serve you well for more time than 'just' another smart phone. It has an integrated keyboard that easily lets you handle your office and PIM needs. Yes, you can get your E-Mail (through GPRS, HSCSD and WiFi!) with attachments, and if the attachment is, say, a Word file, you can even edit it and send it back without damaging it too badly. So for short weekend trips away from home, the weight of the 9500 (222g) actually lightenes my package, since I don't have to lug my PowerBook around, unless I need to do some serious graphical work.
Now to the middle part of this review: The desillusional part (the really bad stuff comes last, after this paragraph). The Nokia Communicator 9500 is a business tool. It won't surprise you with many bells and whistles. It will not become your gameboy and although it does feature an MP3 player, it probably won't replace your iPod, either. You can install some games, too, but basically: This tool's reduced to its primary focus, and that's an office away from the office. You can SMS, MMS, fax and E-Mail - whether you're at a WiFi hotspot or out in the field on a GPRS (or EDGE, but we don't have that here yet) network or a good old GSM data connection. You can browse the web using the integrated Opera browser, but the screen's small and the browser a bit slow with complex sites, so you'll probably use that for googling information and download a new eBook or two to use with the free MobiPocket Reader or Adobe Reader. MemoWare has the free books for it. Reading eBooks, btw., is very good in the two column mode! But if it's serious gaming you want for leisure, I suggest to either stick with a gameboy, an N-Gage or simply stay at home instead of going out. ;)
Now for the bad stuff.
Yes, I still miss iSync. I have many contacts and had to enter them by hand. Sure, this process allows me to clean things up (i.e. get rid of all the contacts I've assembled over the years that don't serve any purpose any longer, like for example the hotline for Sony Clié problemsolving), but the initial setup of the device this way takes much longer than needed. PC people can use the dreaded PC-Suite from Nokia, which I hear is better now than a few years ago, but we want iSync, don't we.
Then there's a certain slowness for application starting. Once the apps are open, switching between them is okay, but if for example Opera (or Adobe Reader, or MobiPocket Reader) isn't started yet, it takes a few seconds to get it running. I can adapt to that by keeping the important apps open, but the fact that I have to adapt tells me something's wrong with Nokia here. ;) But as usually with their phones, the second or third firmware version will be a lot better in this aspect. So we'll have to wait for those.
And the third bad point is nit-picking on my part. There'll soon be the smaller sister of the 9500, the 9300. It's smaller and lighter. Almost like a normal mobile phone in closed state. Does the WiFi part really take up so much space? Or is it the camera that I don't need? I wish the 9500 were as small as the 9300 (but still with WiFi) and that Apple would get its act together for synching this wonderful PDA to my Mac.
But to sum things up: The Nokia Communicator is still (ever since the original Nokia Communicator 9000, actually) the best connected PDA around. This newest version builds on the older ones and brings important changes (Bluetooth, WiFi, GPRS, finally enough memory) that make it a "must-have" upgrade for users of older versions.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-30 at 14:46 CET ]
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Will Apple support my new smartphone?
A while ago, I talked about how Apple needs to be faster in supporting new phones through iSync. (Here and here...) Well... I have a Nokia Communicator 9500 now. While I intend to keep it as my only device for calendar information, it would still be nice to synch contact information. Sadly, Apple still doesn't support new phones
very fast... Why? Is it really that difficult? The last time I talked about this, someone informed me that actually, Apple does not use SyncML as transport language. But after digging a little bit, I guess it just depends on which mobile phones we're talking and actually, iSync acts as a SyncML server - yet it doesn't automatically understand any SyncML client. Hopefully, newer versions of iSync will come out soon with support for quite a few newer smartphones that are currently not supported. And not just that 9500 I just bought. Also some Series 60 devices (which should be the same to support like the already supported Nokia 6600, 7650 etc.). If you want to help me out here: Go to www.apple.com/feedback/isync.html and suggest support for Series 80 (Nokia 9500, 9300) and newer Series 60 phones (Nokia 7610, 6630, 6260), too.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-30 at 11:07 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-29
ThinkSecret says iLife '05, Keynote 2, too
Read our early MWSF report here. ThinkSecret now confirms most of our report come end of year. However, ThinkSecret also posted about a sub-500 dollar Mac today. If ThinkSecret's right, I'll buy one of those for my home cinema. Give it a bigger drive, VLC and it's ready to go. ;)
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-29 at 10:34 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-28
MacRumors falls for Innocent Saints' Day
If you've read this article on MacRumors' front page and believed any of it, you're the victim of a victim. Spanish people celebrate December 28th like many other people do April 1st. So: No, Apple's not probably going to be a mobile carrier anytime soon. ;)
The article linked at MacRumors.com, among other things, says: "On the other hand", says Slope, "the sucess achieved by the iTunes Music Store has shown us the way to go: by selling songs to consumers at $0.99 apiece, we have accumulated a valuable expertise that will be most useful for billing them talking minutes".
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-28 at 22:17 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-24
NeoOffice/J much better now...
Right before Christmas, neooffice.org has released a beta version of its OpenOffice.org port. It now uses native Aqua menus and has scrollwheel support for mice that sport those. Give it a download...
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-24 at 11:16 CET ]
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Challenge for Apple?
MacRumors posts these patent applications. One is shock protection for the iPod, the other, they say, is about a mouse with a scroll wheel. Can Apple do it? Will they do it? A mouse with ONE button and a scroll wheel? ;) Merry X-Mas, folks!
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-24 at 10:33 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-23
Now: Sunbird
After Firefox and Thunderbird, the Mozilla project now releases their first usable Sunbird downloads. This latest effort is a calendar/scheduling application, and it's currently in the version 0.2 area. You can get the latest Mac OS X build here and look at it yourself (actually, the build available now, for me, crashes on first startup...). What's next: Mozilla Desktop Search named Moonbird? Or an office application called Rainbird? Who knows, but they sure try to opensource the desktop apps, be it on Mac OS X, Linux or Windows. Maybe someday all of those applications will have a button called 'upgrade your system to the newest version' which automagically installs the right version of linux for your hardware? ;) (That'd sure give MS the creeps, eh?)
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-23 at 14:26 CET ]
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Seed Night
Apple seeds Tiger Server 8A325 as well as a new .Mac SDK (v1.0.3), a Kernel Debug Kit for Tiger 8A323 and others.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-23 at 12:11 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-21
Tiger 64bit? Okay.
Just to clear things up a bit: Tiger never was advertised to be 64bit 'clean' throughout the system. Developer documentation always said the same thing. The problem I see - and that's why I brought it up at all - is that consumers out there usually think quite 'simply', naturally. They buy G5 computers because they're '64bit'. And they'll upgrade to Tiger, because - as is simplified for them - it 'brings 64bit support'. If you look at www.apple.com/macosx/tiger/64bit.html, it certainly doesn't look like Apple tells consumers quite directly, that Tiger is not in fact 'a 64bit operating system'. However: For the consumer it won't make a difference either way. If you're interested in the details, look at the linked pages in this and the last article.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-21 at 23:26 CET ]
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64bit in Tiger only for server processes
At least, so it seems on this article at ADC. This sounds quite different from what Apple promised at WWDC, when they boldly claimed Tiger to be a 64bit operating system. The article now says that "the use of a 64-bit address space is limited to non-GUI application". The kernel, we read, is compiled in 32bit mode for all machines, whether they're using a G5 or an older processor.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-21 at 16:32 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-17
That iPhone rumour
Sadly, it's not gonna be the long-rumoured iPhone from Apple. It's gonna be a 'good old' (debatable) Motorola phone with some iTunes like software add-on and probably iSync support. Sure, the phone's gonna make synching some 'tunes to the phone simple enough, but it won't be the smartphone from Apple that once was rumoured to surprise the heck out of Nokia, Motorola, SonyEricsson and the likes. So: Take it as it is. It's sure going to be a nice phone and all. But not 'the iPhone'.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-17 at 22:43 CET ]
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The Days of Panther
While we don't know for now, whether there'll still be a 10.3.8 update in the coming months until Tiger's released, it's about time we take a look at Panther's history. Sure, the big cats only live for 1 year (or 1.5 now), but they all have their ups and downs. And we, sadly, must admit, that the Panther era (so far) wasn't all good. In fact: It started with probably the biggest hickup in OS X history.
That hickup, of course, was the original FireWire bug that killed thousands (we don't have exact numbers, of course - could be millions, but we doubt that...) of external harddrives. This happened just by installing Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther, released 2003-10-10) and rebooting without taking off the FW drives. Okay, only some FW drives were affected (one particular chipset, IIRC) and mostly FW800 drives. Although those of course are used mostly in professional environments, so this was really bad, bad, bad for a start. Strangely, it seems that no developer from ADC with access to Panther seeds had tried Panther with such a drive. Or at least the makers of the FW chipset (or external harddrive makers) had not tested Panther. At all. Or the bug simply only turned up in the very last stage of Final Candidating. Either way: Apple said that the cause for the bug was in the chipset, which was using stuff which was not intended to be used in FireWire devices in the first place. However, the public of course pointed the finger at Apple (probably the middle finger quite often, too), and Apple soon released 10.3.1 (2003-11-10), which solved the problem, but the user still had to install new firmware onto their drives. From within Jaguar, of course.
On 2003-12-17, Apple already issued 10.3.2, which again fixed FW 800 drives. *Cough* --- On 2004-03-15, Apple released 10.3.3. And Apple did not take that much time because of 10.3.2's stability, but rather to release a really, really good build this time. On 2004-05-25, 10.3.4 came along, and with this release, Apple 'did' it. This was the first Panther build that most people could simply live with. It also was the last version that did not have sound troubles on Apple's MDD G4s. So sound pros today are either updating their Macs to G5s or they're living with 10.3.4. Come 2004-08-09, Apple brought us 10.3.5 and made things worse. Not only did that update bring the mentioned sound bug, but it also brought video glitches to some people's machines, some CDs suddenly didn't show up on the desktop anymore and others reported deep problems with disk images (they simply didn't work any more). Basically, it was 'back to 10.3.4' for many people. The same happend, when Apple released 10.3.6 on 2004-11-05. Many troubled people went back to 10.3.4 immediately.
And then, Apple released Mac OS X 10.3.7 7S215 (the build number alone means there went a lot of work into this) on 2004-12-15, just two days ago. So 2004 wasn't all bad. And Panther wasn't (and isn't) all bad. Sure, we're all looking forward to Tiger for one or the other reason (or many reasons), but with 10.3.7, Apple has released a Panther build that works. (Unless you're using an MDD tower and want to work with audio, that is. That problem still isn't solved, so it's back to 10.3.4 for those poor guys.) So let's just say that Panther had a lot of trouble right from the beginning. Sure: There are many people (like myself), who were quite lucky. Never had any problems, every update went without a hitch. But compared to Jaguar's update history, Panther was bad. I guess the initial FW800 bug just wasn't a good omen for Panther's era. But on the bright side, there's 10.3.7 now, which fixes many, many of the bugs earlier versions had - and Tiger is only a few months away now. We'll make sure to update this story, should problems arise with 10.3.7 or should there be 10.3.8 before Tiger. And when Tiger's here, we'll take another look at the days of Panther. Yep, that was a bit long, but it's that time of the year, isn't it. Looking back and everything... ;) Btw.: If we forgot something BIG or you have a correction to make, please use the contact link below...
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-17 at 13:36 CET ]
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Samba: Again a vulnerability...
We've covered Samba (and Apple's inability to update to later versions...) quite a few times lately (here, here and here). Now, there's another vulnerability - and only a patched 3.0.9 version or the fixed 3.0.10 are safe. Apple, as of now, uses 3.0.5 in Mac OS X, so it seems they did in fact update to later versions over the past few months. But unbelievably, almost, not to a 'safe' version, but to one which in October still was affected (and of course is affected by this new vulnerability).
This leads us to believe that, basically, keeping Windows FileSharing (which is Samba) accessible on Mac OS X just isn't very safe. Both because of Samba's vulnerabilities, but even more because Mac OS X' Samba isn't kept up to date by Apple.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-17 at 01:12 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-16
iTMS tops 200 million downloads
According to this MacCentral article, Apple has sold the 200 millionth track on iTMS now.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-16 at 15:22 CET ]
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What we so far know about MWSF
We're pulling our strings, of course, and hope to get as much information before MWSF '05 actually happens, but so far, the following is all we can safely say...
MWSF will - for the coming years - be the greatest Mac show for the public, and as such a place for new product releases. As Apple certainly doesn't want to spend the whole rest of the year waiting for next January, other products appear "when they're ready". If they're ready near WWDC or AppleExpo Paris, those spots will be chosen for an introduction, but usually, Apple either creates a special press event or just releases the news to the press 'the usual way'.
MWSF '05 has quite some stuff in it, however. Apple will definitely announce a release date for Tiger. Whether that will be March, April, May or June, we can't yet say, sadly. Apple will introduce at least one updated Macintosh product: PowerBook G5 or PowerMac G5 or both. If only one is ready to be announced, the other will be brought upon us about a month later, we're told. But it sure seems that Steve Jobs would like to introduce both products directly at MWSF. Details about the products will emerge in the coming weeks. Also, we'll see the iPod mini updated to 5 GB, and the flash-based iPod (the "mini" mini, same form but even smaller than the mini) with 1 GB of space will be released, probably for 199 USD.
iLife '05 will be released. That is set in stone. However: The feature set has not yet seen the light of our day. About this time last year, Garage Band rumours were out, but this year our sources have stayed mum about any new application. (Though there still are people at Apple developing the successor to AppleWorks.) Keynote, however, will be released in version 2, but will stay a separate package, although it'll get better iLife integration.
The eMac G5 will appear, according to the same sources that brought us the original eMac G5 info, sometime early next year, but probably not at MWSF.
For now, that's it. We'll cover the rumours about MWSF '05 in the coming weeks, of course.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-16 at 15:13 CET ]
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Mac OS X 10.3.7 Combined Updater available
You can get the 97 MB file here for future reference, if you've already installed it. My suggestion: Always keep your Combined Updater up to date, so in a case of reinstallation (or if you're installing a new machine), you have it readily available. (If your machine, like mine, came with a Panther installer earlier than 10.3.6, you'd have to download the full 97 MB everytime you reinstall, so the whole process is much faster, if you already have the Combined Updater for the latest OS version somehwere on an external drive or CD.)
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-16 at 14:12 CET ]
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Mac OS X 10.3.7 7S215 released
As predicted by our site, Mac OS X 10.3.7 made it to Software Update sooner than initially expected (end of year, then Christmas...). Thanks for reading our site regularly. ;)
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-16 at 00:53 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-14
ADC down, back up
Apparently, ADC Connect is down at the moment. The last time we've seen that happen, it didn't mean any big news, the site just came back normally afterwards. But we're watching this, of course.
And it's back up again. As expected without any visible big changes.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-14 at 23:45 CET ]
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Apple kills Harmony
As c|net reports, one of the latest iPod updates has killed support for Real's Harmony based AAC files. It's clear that Apple hasn't informed its users of the move. However, while some voices say this could affect quite a few users and many, many song-files, I just don't think so. It was a November update, and the fact that we haven't heard any of it so far tells me what I thought before, anyway: iPod people do _not_ want Real's music. And they sure didn't want to use a service that Apple said themselves could one day be affected by a firmware upgrade. Apple back then said Real was using 'hacker tactics'. Guess the 'security issue' is now solved. ;)
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-14 at 21:58 CET ]
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80 GB iPod drive
Toshiba releases, according to this TheRegister article, an iPod-sized (1.8") 80 GB drive later in 2005 that could lead the next iPod revision.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-14 at 11:58 CET ]
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Mac OS X 10.3.7 7S215
Another new build of 10.3.7 - so fast after the last one - suggests that the release is imminent. So the question "before or after christmas?" will probably be answered soon. The update weighs in at 25 MB and will focus on Graphics and OpenGL, Audio, Printing and FireWire devices, as we've mentioned before.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-14 at 10:06 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-13
iCal 1.5.5 released
Through Software Update, Apple today has released iCal 1.5.5, which primarily brings the changes from 1.5.4 plus better synching to iSync devices if using Mac OS X 10.2.x. So: Panther users don't really need the update, but are still prompted to download and install it.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-13 at 20:43 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-12
Swiss paper 'SonntagsZeitung': iTMS Switzerland coming
According to an article in today's SonntagsZeitung, Apple will tell us at MWSF '05, when to expect the opening of iTMS Switzerland. There had been much speculation in the past month about the Swiss iTMS. First someone said it would come together with the 'rest of Europe', then the music industry said they were ready (after Apple had said otherwise before) but Swiss copyright laws were lacking and now Apple is reportedly saying they're in definite communication with the music industry, although they wouldn't go into any detail. Here's to the hope that Switzerland won't have to wait another year...
SonntagsZeitung also mentioned that harddrive-based digital music players' market share would go down to 50% this year in Switzerland, and that thereof, Apple would take 'only' 80% this time, not 90% as in 2003. And they linked that - partially - to the fact that iPod users in Switzerland cannot buy tracks online. (There are three big online music stores, but they sell WMA.)
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-12 at 15:08 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-11
Tiger 8A323A seeded
... through Software Update. The 680K update "... delivers enhanced functionality and improved reliability for Mac OS X v10.4 'Tiger' 8A323 and is recommended for all users. For the changes to take effect, a restart is required."
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-11 at 01:09 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-10
BBEdit doesn't like Unsanity?
After a kernel panic in Tiger (maybe shouldn't have tried to bluetooth-synch my Sony Clie through Mark Space's Missing Link software just yet?) and starting BBEdit 8.0.3 again, BBEdit said that it sadly had crashed, and then goes on to say: "You appear to be using one or more system additions or preference panels which employ Application Enhancer. APE works by running its own code inside of BBEdit and other applications. This can lead to crashes, unpredictable application behaviour and other symptoms of incompatibility. If you continue to experience problems after removing all third-party system additions and preference panels, please contact barebones.com support for assistance."
I must say, I like Barebones' attitude here. ;)
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-10 at 03:44 CET ]
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Tiger Mail.app: The good things
You're going to love Mail.app in Tiger. Or at least I will. Sure, some will say they don't like the new look (then again some always do...), but I like even that. I actually like it a lot! But more importantly: Spotlight is going to rock your world of E-Mailing, if you use E-Mail professionally (but probably also if only privately).
Never has searching a lot of messages been so easy and fast. And while I'm a BIG fan of automatically archiving new messages through an extensive rules-system, I still love that new automatic mailbox in Mail.app that shows me the unread messages, whether they're in my private box, my first or second most important customer's mailbox etc. Handling mail just gets easier and better with Tiger's Mail.app (version 2.0).
I hope Apple puts Spotlight to good use in many other applications, and I'm sure they will. I don't need it so much in Address Book where they have, but I'm sure Apple will find other places where this groundbreaking technology will fit perfectly.
Mail, which can become a BIG issue quite fast if you keep three or four (or more) years of E-Mail, and intend to search for something specific you remember you've once written or read, is a perfect candidate. And Apple is doing well there.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-10 at 01:54 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-09
New seeds: Dashboard Widgets (QT) and Mac OS X 10.3.7 7S214
Tonight, Apple has seeded a 55 MB Quicktime movie about developing dashboard widgets. Apple also seeded a 25.4 MB sized new build of 10.3.7, build number 7S214. Mac OS X 10.3.7 is still expected to be released before the end of this year.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-09 at 23:59 CET ]
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Apple's new startpage now live
A while ago, we reported about Apple's new startpage on apple.com/startpage (which you can already take a look at...). livepage.apple.com (Mac OS X' default start page) now links to apple.com/startpage as expected back then.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-09 at 14:01 CET ]
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New eMac: Flat screen
While the iMac has gotten its G5 processor and a great, clean new look, the eMac has gotten less attention lately. Sources now claim that the next eMac will finally get rid of the last CRT display in Apple's line-up. TFTs are now cheap enough for this entry-level Mac.
Both in order not to compete with the iMac G5 and to keep pricing down, the eMac will sport a 15" TFT, though. The 1024*768 resolution is 'good enough' for its use (and schools who want bigger displays can still get reduced pricing on iMacs) and certainly makes the new eMac an attractive buy for home-users, too.
Overall, the new eMac will be a 'small iMac' in some sense. According to our sources, the new eMac will indeed have a G5 processor (1.6 GHz PowerPC 970), but will only appear when (or after) the PowerBook G5 is introduced.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-09 at 13:22 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-07
iPod mini to go 5 GB in January
Although the maker of the 5 GB 1 inch harddisk of Apple's next revision of the iPod mini is yet unknown, Apple is expected to up the mini from 4 to 5 GB in January, in order to better compete with the competition. This would also make 'more room' for the rumoured flash-based iPod.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-07 at 12:32 CET ]
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Thunderbird 1.0
Only shortly after Firefox 1.0, mozilla-based E-Mail client Thunderbird reaches version 1.0. And the project certainly intends to replace IE and Outlook Express on the PC. How does it look on the Mac?
While Firefox still doesn't feel like an application that's 'home' on the Mac, Thunderbird - albeit with some graphical glitches in some dialogue boxes - does feel like it belongs on Mac OS X. And it will certainly lure some people away from their usual E-Mail clients - mostly those who already use Firefox as their main browser, probably, but maybe also some old Eudora Light (or ad-based) and Netscape users who think it's time to try something new.
After initial big problems, the mozilla open source project has managed to create rather small-footprint applications out of the codebase. And with every year of development, the projects (change their names, yes, but also) become more viable solutions that can take from Microsoft what once was stolen. ;)
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-07 at 10:38 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-06
Speculation on IBM, Apple
TheRegister publishes this article which reads a bit like a conspiracy theory. Read it to create your own opinion. However, I think Apple's stock price has gone up because of expectations on iPod sales this quarter and not because IBM would buy Apple or create a joint venture. (The speculation article bases on IBM's sale of its PC division.)
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-06 at 13:24 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-02
Mac OS X 10.3.7 7S210 seeded
Again a new seed of 10.3.7. As we've mentioned in our first report on 10.3.7 (7S202), the update is expected to be released to consumers still in this year.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-02 at 10:36 CET ]
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MacRumors now delaying rumours on a daily basis...
While until yesterday, MacRumors.com said that iTMS Canada would obviously be live on Nov. 30th, the site suggests today as the day. If, however, iTMS Canada doesn't go live today, they'll probably 'update' the rumour accordingly. Let's hope (for Canadians) that 'inside sources' doesn't mean the users in Canada who frantically click on iTunes' built-in store functionality, noticing that it still isn't live and regard any message iTunes gives as a sign that it's coming now really, really very soon. ;)
(Of course, it's now online...) ;)
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-02 at 10:32 CET ]
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news of 2004-12-01
Those 'entertainment server' rumours
Now even Merrill Lynch sees such a device in Apple's future. Maybe our concern about Steve not liking TV was published a few weeks too early - and Apple will surprise us with such a device as early as January?
The concept certainly makes sense to me. Right now I have to connect my PowerBook to the video beamer and the home stereo in order to watch movies I have on the Mac. With a central media server, I could not only have all my video and music files 'over there', I could also free up some space on my external FW drives (or connect them to the media server?). If a company can get an entertainment system for the home right, it's Apple - as apparently both Sony (which we'd have put in number one spot before the arrival of the iPod and AirPort Express) and Microsoft (their Media Centers aren't exactly as simple to use and crash-proof as such a device should be) don't manage.
[ written by fryke™ on 2004-12-01 at 14:51 CET ]
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