Archived Links for May 2007

05.22	Low End Mac	The Truth About CRTs and Shock Danger, Tom Lee: Let’s face it: High voltages are scary. When someone says "kilovolts", you usually hear "killovolts", right? And if you fire off a quick search on the Web, you find dire warnings everywhere that reinforce your natural fears. The warnings are so numerous and frightening, in fact, that it’s easy to believe that a CRT can vaporize humans and entire herds of cattle with a single discharge.
05.22	TUAW	Woz at Maker Faire, Dave Caolo: Steve Wozniak showed up at Maker Faire this week - there he is zipping around on his Segway at right - and was classically "Woz."
05.22	TUAW	Found Footage: Steve introduces the "1984" ad, Dave Caolo: Here’s a great video of Steve introducing the famous "1984" ad to a boisterous crowd (we’re guessing the Macintosh team) a week before it aired during the 1984 Super Bowl. I’d say they liked it.
05.22	Macworld	State of the Mac, Dan Miller: Fred Morris likes Macs. He liked them enough to buy an original Mac Plus back in the day and a Special Edition iMac later on. Neither machine ever gave him a problem. So when it came time to buy a new computer in 2006, he didn’t hesitate to pick up a brand-new 20-inch iMac Core Duo. But this time, Morris ran into trouble.
05.22	Athens Exchange	What Transition? Moving From PowerPC Mac To Intel Core 2 Duo Mac, Ash White: In September of 2005, I made a very stupid decision: I bought a Mac.
05.22	AppleInsider	AT&T to serve up iPhone with pre-paid service?, Katie Marsal: Apple’s much heralded iPhone device may be made available as a prepaid handset, according to data recently culled from wireless carrier AT&T’s internal account database.
05.22	MacUser	PC World: Apple has six of the best products of 2007, Dan Moren: Our relatives over at PC World looove the list. Who can blame them? Think of all the great lists we’ve had throughout history: the ten commandments, Luther’s ninety-five theses, the entire opus of Casey Kasem.
05.21	Low End Mac	Apple Sued: Can 262,144 Colors Be Considered ’Millions’?, Dan Knight: Has Apple been shortchanging MacBook and MacBook Pro buyers ever since the first Intel MacBooks shipped? That’s what Fred Greaves and Dave Gatley think.
05.21	Low End Mac	Why I Won’t Be Getting an iPhone This Year, Ed Eubanks Jr: Apple’s forthcoming iPhone is an exciting product - it has been called the biggest product release in consumer electronics history. Clearly, Apple and AT&T (formerly Cingular) are investing huge amounts of resources into its development and release.
05.21	Mac Night Owl	Is Google the Next Microsoft?, Gene Steinberg: Consider today’s conventional wisdom. Microsoft is the bad guy, a huge, lumbering beast that has trampled on lesser companies in order to attain and enforce its PC monopoly. More to the point, lots of people agree. They tolerate Microsoft and regard it as an 800-pound gorilla they must deal with whether they like it or not.
05.21	Wired	Million-Color Myth; Apple’s Not Alone Making 6-Bit Displays, Rob Beschizza: The chances are, you think your laptop’s LCD panel displays millions of colors. If so, the chances are that you’re very much mistaken.
05.21	Computerworld	An iMac phones home, Robert L. Mitchell: I lost a good friend today. After an extended loan period, Apple finally asked for its iMac evaluation machine back. Now everyone in this household is going through withdrawl.
05.21	Times Rcord News	A knack for Macs, Richard Carter: Terry McAdams gets to play with Macs while providing tech solutions.
05.21	MacUser	Watch YouTube videos on your Apple TV, Scott Silverman: Sometimes it’s just too easy to contradict myself. Just about an hour ago I posted how I thought most TV content is be watching online, which would include not only TV shows but other content such as YouTube and Google Videos.
05.20	Jon Holato	Why I Really Prefer Mac Over PC, Jon Holato: I’ve been using a PC for around 15 years, with my first experiences dating all the way back to the time of Windows 3.1. I’ve gone through all the stages of being a PC user, from beginner to power user, and have used a PC in many capacities - educational, home, and professional. Thus, in all my experiences, I have learned the PC inside and out.
05.18	Apple Matters	iPhone a Success Story or Flop?, Aaron Wright: Depending on which stories you’ve read, there’s little over a month now until the iPhone is released in the U.S., and from what I’ve read there’s a series of mixed reactions.
05.18	Apple Matters	The Coming Mac Renaissance, Hadley Stern: Tiger truly is a very stable, fast, and useful operating system. The Beach Ball is thankfully a rare sight. And the Finder is polished, not only meeting the usability of OS 9 but far exceeding it. Where does that leave us now?
05.18	AppleInsider	Apple hit with class-action suit over MacBook, MacBook Pro displays, Prince McLean: Apple Inc. has been hit with another class-action lawsuit. This time the formal complaint comes courtesy of a pair of MacBook and MacBook Pro owners who charge the company with falsely advertising the quality and capabilities of the displays used in the Intel notebooks.
05.18	AppleInsider	Apple offers green take-backs for old school computers, Aidan Malley: Apple Inc. is polishing its green image with a new program that gives whole schools, not just individuals, a chance to recycle their old computers rather than send them to landfills -- even if they aren’t Macs.
05.15	Mac Night Owl	Apple’s 2007 Lineup: The Excitement Underwhelms, Gene Steinberg: In keeping with predictions from the Mac rumor sites, Apple finally delivered its first Mac upgrade for 2007, a minor speed bump and feature enhancement for the best-selling MacBook line.
05.11	MacNN	Apple seizes 9.9% of U.S. retail laptop sales, Staff: Apple notebook retail sales in the month of March reached 9.9 percent in the U.S. even as the company’s desktop Mac retail sales ranked fifth overall with 7.7 percent of sales, according to Bloomberg.
05.11	AppleInsider	Next ’MacBook’ update a yawner; Ultra-portable to get 13-inch display, Kasper Jade: A forthcoming update to Apple Inc.’s 13-inch line of consumer MacBooks won’t deliver much in terms of new features, AppleInsider has learned. Meanwhile, the dimensions of the company’s ultra portable sub-notebook initiative are taking shape.
05.11	Computerworld	Apple’s Mac makes monster gains at university, Robert L. Mitchell: While Mac sales have been growing at twice the rate of PC sales of late (36 percent versus 11 percent for PCs for the latest quarter), the conventional wisdom is that the Mac is still a niche player, with about 5% of the overall market.
05.10	Low End Mac	The MacBook Is Much More than Just an iBook with ’Intel Inside’, Trevor Wale: he MacBook retains most of the features from the Pro model, with the only significant omissions being screen size (which was to be expected) and a graphics card (less forgivable).
05.10	Mac Night Owl	Are You Sick of the iPhone Yet?, Gene Steinberg: You know, there is hardly a day passes where I don’t see a story about the iPhone. One day there’s a reminder of the intense anticipation for the product, the next what "secret" features might be included, and, of course, a tech writer can always ring up Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer for some negative spin. If Ballmer ever decides to give up his Microsoft gig, I suppose he could find employment another ill-informed industry analyst.
05.09	Yahoo!	Motorola CEO is ready to take on iPhone, Robert Mullins: Motorola Chairman and CEO Ed Zander says his company is ready for competition from Apple’s iPhone, due out next month.
05.09	LinuxWorld	The Japanese government looks to go open source, Phil Hochmuth: The Japanese government wants to go open source, as a way to rely less on a single vendor IT software infrastructure. And plenty of vendors are lining up to help make this happen.
05.08	Low End Mac	Why Apple Must Continue G3 Support in Mac OS X 10.5 ’Leopard’, Dan Knight: We’ve been having quite a discussion about G3 support in Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5) in the Low End Mac Mailbag, but I think this exchange merits a bit more attention. Kris Finkenbinder has some important things to say about the need for Apple to continue support of G3 Macs in the next version of the Mac OS.
05.08	Macworld	Mac share of surfers doubles in 8 months, Gregg Keizer, Computerworld: Since August, the percentage of online Macs running Apple’s operating system has climbed from the long-flat 3 percent to 5.6 percent. Net Applications data, which splits the Mac’s share between computers running the PowerPC version of Mac OS and those with an Intel edition of the operating system, pegged the total share at 6.2 percent for April.
05.08	TUAW	What Apple CSRs see, Erica Sadun: Over at UneasySilence, Dan has discovered something interesting. Someone has apparently leaked a screenshot that shows a moment in an Apple customer rep’s day.
05.08	TUAW	Apple 6th most desirable employer for new MBAs, Mat Lu: According to Fortune magazine, Apple is the 6th most desirable employer for new MBAs.
05.08	MacDailyNews	Apple shares hit new all-time closing high - again, Staff: Shares of Apple Inc. [AAPL] gained $1.14, or 1.10%, to close at a new all-time closing high of $105.06 per share on volume of 27,803,443.
05.08	Macinstruct	Indispensable Tips for New Mac Users, Staff: You’ve just made the leap from Windows to the Macintosh. Great, but now what?
05.08	MIT’s Technology Review	The "New" Apple, Simson Garfinkel: In the past five months, Apple has dropped the word "Computer" from its name; settled its long-standing dispute with Beatles music publisher Apple Corps; introduced the Apple TV, a set-top box based on its iTunes technology; and announced that it is getting into the cell- phone business. Apple wants us to believe that it is no longer a computer company but, rather, a digital "lifestyle" company.
05.08	MacNN	Apple excited about Macs, iPhone, Apple TV, Staff: Research firm UBS met with Apple today to discuss the component cost environment and margin implications, prospects for Mac momentum, status of the iPhone, and the sustainability of Apple’s iTunes franchise.
05.07	Mac Night Owl	Memo to Apple: Please Keep the Honor System, Gene Steinberg: One thing that’s been part and parcel of the Mac OS ever since it was a free download is the lack of an activation code. That means you can freely install it on multiple computers and not face nasty messages from the "mother ship" or finding that your system no longer functions.
05.07	TUAW	Business Week: Apple "Most innovative", Dave Caolo: For the third consecutive year, Business Week has named Apple the "Most Innovative Company" (they beat 2nd place Google with double the votes).
05.07	AppleInsider	New iPhone tidbits surface as launch nears, Aidan Malley: With just a matter of weeks to go before Apple’s iPhone hits the open market, widespread preparations for the launch have given way to an assortment of new tidbits related to the handset’s interface, launch date, and in-store displays.
05.07	PC World	10 Things We Hate About Apple, Narasu Rebbapragada and Alan Stafford: The company formerly known as Apple Computer and now called simply Apple, Inc. is unique in many ways--including in its ability to drive even folks who admire it positively batty. It makes great products (usually), yet its secretiveness about them borders on paranoia, and its adoring fans can be incredibly irritating.
05.04	Apple Matters	Mighty Mouse Must Die!, Aaron Wright : Brace yourselves, folks, as this is one writer who is in no mood to praise Apple today. The Mighty Mouse I proudly purchased back in September 2005 is giving me more grief than an ingrown toenail (never had one but I assume it’s unpleasant), and even after having it replaced by Apple it still gives me grief.
05.04	Mac Night Owl	Is Apple Lying to You?, Gene Steinberg: If you put your faith into a company and its products, surely you have good reason to expect them to tell you the truth about the things they do. This is particularly true with a public corporation, where there are rules and regulations that need to be followed.
05.03	MacMegasite	Greenpeace Wackos Responds To "A Greener Apple", Mike: Apple Computers, Inc. has publicly declared its new environmental commitment, "A Greener Apple," on its website, at http://www.apple.com/hotnews/agreenerapple/. The announcement would elevate Apple’s score on Greenpeace’s Wacko ’Guide to Greener Electronics and Bongs,’ which will be updated in June, to approximately 5 hits (from a previous 2.7 hits) out of 10 hits, although it is rumored that Steve Jobs never inhaled.
05.03	Mac Night Owl	Apple Says They’re Green and Getting Greener, Gene Steinberg: Not so long ago, Greenpeace, a lobbying organization that claims to be promoting a safer environment, gave Apple a 2.7 rating out of ten for failing to follow the proper methods to make the company clean and green. However, a public statement from CEO Steve Jobs has reportedly improved that ranking to a five. Now understand that Apple isn’t pulling the same stunt as one of its board members, former Vice President Al Gore, which is to buy worthless carbon credits.
05.02	Mac Night Owl	What Apple Can Learn From The Tonight Show, Gene Steinberg: As a practical matter, maybe Jay Leno isn’t the greatest host ever for NBC’s Tonight Show. Some prefer Johnny Carson or Jack Paar, or even Steve Allen, all of whom are no longer with us. But Leno surely gets decent ratings, usually better than rival David Letterman. But this isn’t a TV column. Instead, I’m going to explore a significant issue about succession.
05.02	CoolTechZone	Why Apple Should Acquire AMD, Gundeep Hora: Let’s face it. AMD is having quite a bit of financial problems in its race against Intel to grab more market share. Although AMD has done well, and I respect them for what they have accomplished considering the sheer difference in size between the top two chip makers, they need to be put out of their misery by a company that can either take AMD out of the Intel vs. AMD race or have enough capital to give it a significant boost.
05.01	MacNN	Mac OS X, Mac OS 9 file sharing crippled?, Staff: Apple may have crippled Mac OS X’s ability to share files to Mac OS 9 clients with its latest security patch, according to one MacNN reader.
05.01	MacNN	Zune Marketplace catching up with iTunes?, Staff: Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace is quickly catching up to its rival at Apple, a new report says.
05.01	MacNN	Apple granted five design patents, Staff: Apple has won five design patents for its iMac, black as well as white video iPods, iPod nano, and iPod armband.
05.01	USA Today	CEO Forum: Microsoft’s Ballmer having a ’great time’, David Lieberman: "There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It’s a $500 subsidized item." --Steve Ballmer (comment on iPhone after smoking something that resembled crack)
05.01	Low End Mac	Why Apple Should Support G3 Macs in OS X 10.5, Dan Knight: I think Apple will miss out on a whole lot of switchers when they drop support for G3s.
05.01	Low End Mac	30 Top Mac User Mistakes: How Many Are Apple’s Fault?, Dan Knight: "The Unofficial Apple Weblog has posted a short story on the top five mistakes made by new Mac users." That’s a matter of definition. Is something necessarily a problem because people make mistakes? More precisely, is something on the Mac a problem because it doesn’t work the same way it would be expected to on a Windows computer?
05.01	Mac Night Owl	Another Night Owl Rant: Why Do They Always Get it All Wrong?, Gene Steinberg: The other day, I read an article in which the author demanded that Apple build a new Finder. Before I read the article, I already felt sympathetic, because the Mac OS X Finder is badly broken when it comes to such matters as multithreading, the inability to remember position and view settings, and other annoyances.
05.01	Apple.com	Introducing Final Cut Server. Your Assets’ Greatest Asset., Staff: Apple introduces Final Cut Server.
05.01	TUAW	iPhone: it isn’t the price I’m worried about, Scott McNulty: John Gruber has penned a rebuttal to Steve Ballmer’s recent statement that the iPhone, a product that isn’t even shipping yet, is priced too high to gain significant market share.
05.01	big mango	Why I Made the Switch, Cocoy: When I made the switch to Intel Macs, I had already moved away from Windows, though not entirely. But I was already predominantly a Linux user. The only reason why I kept my Laptop dual-booting to windows was for the off chance a projector wouldn’t work for some presentation or some insane thing like that and at the time, to play Civ3.