MacUnderground

PC World Calls Panther "Essential"

2004-06-03T09:20:00.000-05:00

Yes, the magazine PC World has named Panther as one of its "essential" pieces of software for computing, trumping any and all versions of Windows. There's oh, so much more at MacMinute here.

Independent artists trouble with iTMS

2004-05-23T04:24:00.000-05:00

A fairly well known and respected flamenco guitarist, Ottmar Liebert, has recently updated his blog with a story of his troubles with Apple and the iTunes Music Store.

"I have been trying to get my new music onto iTunes for about a year. Sadly iTunes does not respond well to artists - either that or I have a bounty on my head and don't know it. My split with Epic Records/Sony Music was completely positive and I doubt that anything was "requested" by them. I believe this is more likely due to Apple's incredible arrogance."

From my own experiences with the iTMS I have noticed some missing artists in the catalog, but if you listen to Apple you would think only the rarest of rare tracks are missing. Although, I think Apple has done a pretty good job of building their selection, most things are covered, that's for sure.

WWDC Hype!

2004-05-20T23:06:00.000-05:00

If you head over to this post in the Mac Forums, you can feast on some of the latest and greatest unreliable rumor circulating about the upcoming WWDC keynote in June.

The poster cites Croquer dans la Pomme as the source for a report that claims Apple will announce new G5s with the PPC975 and clock speeds of up to 3 GHz (dual 3 GHz). Specs are provided for three different G5 configurations, but they're prefaced with the words "likey to change."

I've never heard of this (somewhat obviously) foreign site, but the user posting the rumor claims they have some credibility after the latest portable updates. That can't be confirmed or denied, but especially considering the "likely to change" caveat, I'd take this with an extra grain of salt for now.

The trouble with iPob-ibbles...

2004-05-20T22:47:00.000-05:00

Think Secret is reporting on a new memo circulating at Apple which apparently mentions that as the company rushes to fill iPod mini backorders, customers might be receiving a slightly different shade of blue. Or pink, or gold, or silver, or green.

The document also offers the acceptable compensations for a customer that complains about the color change, including a free case (so go ahead and complain!). The reason for the shade shift isn't explained in the memo, either.

June tunes?

2004-05-13T13:35:00.000-05:00

According to this MacPlus report (mind you, it's in French), Apple is planning on a June launch of the iTMS in Europe. It goes on to say that our friends across the pond would have to pay a bit more than we do, claiming that songs will cost 1.29 Euros each.

Meanwhile, AppleInsider is reporting that the next update to the iTMS, which would (in theory) come at the same time as the European launch, will include cell phone ringtones for download. Few other details were provided, but Insider claims that their info is coming from both MacPlus and other sources. So they at least think that they've got reliable info.

I bet they came for the iPod mini...

2004-05-12T13:25:00.000-05:00

File this post in "Incredibly Off-Topic," but according to this CNN.com article, Mexican Air Force pilots may have had a close encounter with some very unusual flying objects.

The pilots were running anti-drug smuggling patrols when 11 unidentified flying lights appeared on their infared equipment. Here's the weird part: only three of them registered on the pilot's intruments.

Off-topic, but interesting...

FireAir?

2004-05-12T13:18:00.000-05:00

The 1394 Trade Association has approved a new wireless protocol that sites are already dubbing as "Wireless Firewire."

It's a whole lot of technical gibberish, so why don't you just read it straight from the source.

The new Protocol Adaptation Layer (PAL) for IEEE 1394 over IEEE 802.15.3 was approved Monday. In a statement, the trade association said: “The PAL is designed as a standard convergence layer between the 802.15.3 MAC and applications developed for wired 1394. It builds upon the 1394 infrastructure--for example, data formats, connection-management schemes, and time synchronization procedures--and takes advantage of the excellent quality of service available in 802.15.3.”

Uses for this new technology include home media devices - i.e. set top boxes and DVD players - and other such gadgets. Apple is expected to jump on this, since the company is known for being one of the earliest adopters of Firewire.

When Intel says something's dead...

2004-05-11T22:46:00.000-05:00

Remember, a few months back, Intel announced that Bluetooth was problematic and disasterous and buggy and slow and would probably somehow contribute to the destruction of Earth at the hands of a Vogon Constructor Fleet? In other words (paraphasing, if you will), Intel proclaimed Bluetooth dead (dead as a doornail, not that I've ever seen anything particularly dead about a doornail).

Well folks, it looks like they were right. But by "they got it right," I mean "they got it wrong."

Today, gaming giant Nintendo unveiled its much-anticipated new handheld system, the two-screened Nintendo DS. This USAToday article, which features one of the first pictures of the system, mentions that the DS features a nifty wireless doohicky called Bluetooth.

I must say, it's hard for a technology to get more dead than being adopted by the company dominating the handheld gaming market. Of course, by dead, I mean not dead. (and yes, I realize the NGage had Bluetooth, but I've yet to meet anyone who even knows a real living person who bought an NGage)

Of course, Intel really doesn't care that much about Bluetooth and such, they're too busy figuring out how to make processors fast enough to meet the only-slightly-very-outlandish estimated minimum requirements for Longhorn.

And, just to draw Apple into all of this, I think my Apple Bluetooth Mouse is pretty cool. And my Sony Ericsson Bluetooth phone. Yep, you can't go wrong with a wireless protocol named after a blueberry-eating pirate.

Correction: Apparently the USAToday article didn't have the correct specs. According to Nintendo, the DS will use Wi-Fi, not Bluetooth.

MacUnderground: Now with 80% more snazzy!

2004-05-10T13:40:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm getting back into the swing of posting and figured some spiffy new changes might give things a nice kick. So, it's quite a nice coincidence that Blogger has just done a major overhaul of their system.

The three biggest new features right now are:
- Comments!
- RSS Syndication! (at "http://macunderground.blogspot.com/atom.xml")
- Cool new look (it's from a template, so I'll definitely be messing with it on and off for the next couple of weeks)

I'll also take this opportunity to mention that I've set up the URL macunderground.net to redirect here (actually, it's been that way for a couple months, I just haven't really mentioned it).

While I'm busy with this self-serving site news post, I might as well mention that I'm working on some new webstore stuff that should be pretty nice. That said, I'm not going to say anything else about the new webstore until I've finished some products (oooohh... the anticipation!).

Explore the new look and enjoy!

iMac to the max?

2004-05-10T13:23:00.000-05:00

According to this blurb at Mac Rumors, Apple's busy preparing a G5 iMac for an upcoming release.

Upcoming is an obviously vague term, but MR says that reports have the G5 iMac slated as the next iMac revision. The last iMac revision was in November.

iPod, anyone?

2004-05-04T19:06:00.000-05:00

Recent rumors about a new iPod ad have turned out to be right. Sorta.

The new ad, which had been speculated to feature a brand new 4th generation iPod, is now posted on Apple's website. It's cool, but it's the same ol' iPod.

But where is the 4G iPod? Well, Apple might be holding it back while it catches up on the heavily delayed iPod mini preorders. They might also be trying to drain excess stock of 3G iPods, but recent reports claim that supplies of those are already dwindling, and Apple doesn't seem to mind selling older iPods after newer ones are released (2G iPods are still available here).

A somewhat more likely possibility is that Apple simply didn't feel like it needed to release the new iPods yet. The Apple homepage is still packed with all sorts of recent announcements and releases (like iTunes 4.5, the new Powerbooks and iBooks, and Motion), so why bother adding anything else right now? It's not like iPod sales are dragging behind.

4G iPods are on the way, but Apple's not in any rush to get them out. Yet.

Grrrr...

2004-05-04T19:01:00.000-05:00

Apple has officially announced the centerpiece of this year's World Wide Developers Conference in June: Mac OS X 10.4, "Tiger."

On top of that, it's now confirmed that Steve Jobs himself will be giving the keynote speech (although that's no surprise).

There's been little speculation about new features for Tiger, but we're still waiting on the "Home on iPod" feature that never made it into Panther.

Of course, the most important question is will Apple return to faux fur?

Eh... close counts...

2004-04-30T13:41:00.000-05:00

Well, the results are in from the Pepsi-iTunes promo, and they're not much to get particularly excited about. According to this CNET article, Pepsi's yellow bottle caps only brought in five million songs ("Pepsi's iTunes Promotion Goes Flat" Get it? Flat? Soda? Get it? Ha.).

Meanwhile, Think Secret is reporting that Apple's internal goal for the promo was 25 million songs, further adding to the "bust" factor in the redemtion rate.

But why the lackluster success, especially when the iTMS is the most successful online music store out there? Well, part of it could be the fact that the promo bottles took a while arriving in some places across the country. Also, it could be because it's Pepsi. Sure, there's the wonderful irony (I'll explain in a second), but Coke is still number one. (I won most of my free songs from 7-11 cups because I don't drink Pepsi.)

So, the irony (for those who don't know some of the more bizarre details in Apple's history): Back in early '80s, Steve Jobs courted the then-CEO of Pepsi, John Sculley, to come to Apple. Reportedly, Steve used this since-famous line to convince John: "Do you want to sell sugar water to kids all your life, or do you want to have a chance to make a difference?" Eventually Sculley agreed and became Apple's CEO. After a few years Jobs became dissatisfied with him and attempted to stage a boardroom coup, but Sculley found out and stripped him of most of his power. Not wanting to settle for a ceremonial position in the company, Jobs left and founded "NeXT." Years later, Apple bought NeXT and Steve moved back up to the top (NeXT's programming language, NeXT Step, is a relative of OS X's Cocoa).

Anyway, I guess you really can't change the world by selling sugar water.

Yeah... um... "Features"

2004-04-30T13:31:00.000-05:00

Apple's finally - though silently - declared war tools used to strip iTunes Music Store songs of their DRM protection. How? Well, just download anything from the iTMS using iTunes 4.5 and try to strip the DRM using a piece of software like "PlayFair" (cutting to the chase: it won't work).

What Apple's done exactly obviously isn't obvious (got that?), but they seem to have altered the FairPlay DRM to resist existing tools for stripping it. That's why iPods need a software update to play new iTMS songs (in a related story, some people are reporting problems installing the new update, and Apple is looking into it).

As a trade-off-of-sorts, iTMS songs can now be played on up to five computers (nifty!). Apple added that feature with extremely little fan fare, and remains silent about the DRM-upgrade.

Hmmm... looks like a warning shot to developers looking to get around FairPlay. Well, take note (you know who you are).

Groovy 4.5!

2004-04-28T09:32:00.000-05:00

The iTunes Music Store is celebrating its one-year anniversary and Apple has rolled out iTunes 4.5, full of spiffy new iTMS features.

- Party Shuffe: It looks like smart playlists meet dumb playlists with random shuffle added for "DJ" fun ("DJ" seems to be the new buzz word with iTunes 4.5).
- iMix: Publish your playlists on the iTMS so other people can see just how bad your taste is (or, as Apple puts it, become an "iTunes Celebrity").
- You can now save iTMS previews (you know, those 30-second clips).
- Finally, iTunes has a use for a song's cover art! You can actually print jewel case inserts for CDs using all sorts of different options, and you can now print song lists if you want a hard copy of your favorite playlist.
- Goodbye WMA, iTunes will convert unprotected WMA files into AAC (on Windows only).
- Apple Lossless: Yet another new audio codec, Apple Lossless promises all the quality of CD audio at half the file size (still, that's a pretty huge file).

iTunes 4.5 has a whole lot of new features packed into it, and is available on Mac and PC today. Also available today is a free iTMS track from the Foo Fighters (who cares what it is? it's free!).

Other notes about the iTMS milestone:
- 70 million songs sold
- 700,000 tracks available for download

Groovy conference calls...

2004-04-27T13:35:00.000-05:00

AppleInsider is pointing to "at least one source" and claiming that updates to both iTunes and the iPod are coming soon.

By the way, howdy! How was your April? Mine was kinda busy.

Well, speculation has been abound about updates to the iPods, and rumor has it (well, we do deal in rumors here) that these 4th-Generation models might have some pretty spiff new features. Everything from mini-style clickwheels to color screens have been mentioned, but nothing particularly reliable has surfaced yet. With the mini doing so well, Apple may be feeling comfortable enough to experiment with the iPod a bit (but that doesn't seem particularly likely right now).

Meanwhile, iTunes could be ready for the leap forward to "iTunes 5," although there really hasn't been that much talk about iTunes right now. Mac Rumors mentions that more than a couple ways to sneak around the "Fairplay" DRM has surfaced, but doesn't say much else. There have also been several reports of record companies lobbying to increase the price of digital music, but I doubt Apple will give into demands like that without putting up one hell of a fight.

A lot of the speculation right now is surrounding an "iTunes Music Store Anniversary Conference Call" planned for 8:30 a.m. PDT tomorrow. Of course, any new announcements would pile on top of the new Powerbooks, iBooks, and Motion (Apple's newest pro-app for video), but the timing sure seems right (the current iPods will celebrate their first birthday this sunday).

Apple logo found on Mars!

2004-04-01T13:11:00.000-06:00

Macworld UK has the story and a picture taken by the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. This is some breaking news. Has Apple had the technology to get to Mars for decades? Or... better yet, is Steve Jobs a martian? We will be updating with any further details that may arise.

Happy April 1st!

Happy Birthday OS X!

2004-03-24T18:14:00.000-06:00

As you can see here at Wikipedia, Mac OS X turned 3 today. On this fine day in 2001, Mac OS X 10.0 was released. My, hasn't she grown into such a beautiful OS. Let's toast to the future of OS X. cheers.

Update: Ars Technica has an interesting little article detailing the three years of OS X.

It's all in the dates...

2004-03-23T13:52:00.000-06:00

As Mac pointed out (see "Mucho Updates..." below), fairly reliable rumors are circulating about upcoming Powermac G5 and long-awaited Display updates. While many details are available (such as in this Mac Rumors post), a release date had yet to be pinned down.

Obviously, today was a possibility, but next Tuesday is far more likely. Why? (besides the fact that nothing was released today) Because, as many people are noticing, Apple has a whole swack of promotions and discounts ending on March 27. So, my money would be on a release next Tuesday.

Of course, once we're into April we're staring down a ton of iPod rumors, too. It looks like the post-Macworld sedation in the rumormills is finally coming to close (good news all around). So, are color iPods a real possibility? Well, we'll have to wait and see, but I wouldn't rule out newer versions of the iPod evolving to be more competitive in other areas of the market (that said, Apple isn't going to just abandon the old-fashioned music-only iPod).

Apple mice might finally get some lovin'?

2004-03-22T13:38:00.000-06:00

Over at Macworld UK they have an article about Apple's patent for new mouse tech. They might just be able to keep their "aesthetically pleasing" design while still incorporating some key features like a touch sensitive scroll "wheel". With Apple finding new uses for touch sensitivity in their iPod mini, I could imagine an Apple mouse that's wireless, with some sort of charge dock, the same slick, buttonless surface, and 2 buttons with a scroll wheel all using touch sensitivity. Although, that is just hopeful thinking.

Mucho Updates This Week!

2004-03-22T11:20:00.000-06:00

There are many whispers and rumblings about product updates this week. Hopefully at this time tomorrow we'll be looking at speed bumped Power Mac's and brand new, shiny displays. Nothing to get overly excited about, unless you plan to be an owner of said new products.

There is also talk about 4th gen iPods circulating, supposedly they will have color screens and 50 gigs, but only time will tell, and hopefully it's no later than April 18th at the NAB conference Apple plans to attend.

Also, just wanted to add that I will hopefully be posting regularly from now on, I was just away this past week so I couldn't update.

Live from the house of Mac

2004-03-12T14:08:00.000-06:00

Hail to my fellow Mac heads. Allow me to introduce myself, the other newbie writer here at MacUnderground. My name is Mac, I live in NYC, and I was introduced to Apple when my parents bought a Macintosh SE in 1988. Thankfully, I've upgraded to a dual G5 since then. My salary here is nearly that of Steve Jobs', so I'm happy to be here to say the least. I hope to keep you all updated on only the best in Apple related news and discussion. peace

That's 300% more writers!

2004-03-10T21:43:00.000-06:00

Say hello to the new MacUnderground Staff!

The addition of writers Mac C. and Chris G. (not to be mistaken with myself, Chris B.) is good news all around. More people means more updates. Pretty simple when you think about it.

So sit back, relax, and keep reading! Because (in theory, at least) there are more and more updates on their way.

By the way, Grubi introduces himself in the post just below this one. I'm sure Mac will say "Hey" soon, too.

Introducing Myself

2004-03-10T21:42:00.000-06:00

Hello, all. My name's Chris, too. But you can refer to me as Grubi (adapted from my last name of Gruber). I hope I can offer quite a bit of insight to the coolness that is the Mac universe here at MacUnderground.

Rock.

Big Blue Boogie...

2004-03-05T22:18:00.000-06:00

According to this Inquirer article, an IBM internal memo has announced IBM's deals with Apple and Microsoft are major victories against Intel.

As you know, IBM produces the PowerPC 970-family processors Apple uses as the G5. IBM also landed a deal with Microsoft to produce the processor for the XBox 2.

The memo's tone suggests that Apple was seriously considering using Intel processors. While it wouldn't be the first time Apple contemplated moving to Intel, it's unlikely that the Mac would see such a radical processor move right now.

Anyway, congratulations to the folks at IBM. Just remember, you couldn't have done it without us.

Bye bye Best Buy?

2004-03-03T21:24:00.000-06:00

According to this Mac Rumors blurb, Apple and Best Buy may be parting ways.

Hmmm... That's strange. Feels like deja vu...

Oh well. I'm sure that has nothing to do with Apple and Best Buy's dramatic history together. Yes, it's not like the two companies have had a bitter break up before, fueled by Apple's demand that Best Buy purchase fruit-color iMacs in five packs and Best Buy's total sub-standard treatment of the Apple sections of their retail stores.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see whether or not this report is true. It was kinda nice to see stacks of iTunes for Windows CDs sitting out in Best Buy stores.

Whoa! An update!

2004-03-01T15:17:00.000-06:00

Yes, I've been a bad webmaster as of late. But my life has simply gotten more hectic, and there's not much I can do about that (short of taking out a huge life insurance policy, faking my own death, cashing in on the insurance, changing my name and moving to Europe. But that's um... just silly. Right.)

I am considering expanding MacUnderground from being just me, myself, and I. I'm not really sure what direction I'm going to take the site, but if anyone's vaguely interested in joining a MacUnderground "team" and posting in their spare time, drop me a line (be sure to include "MacUnderground" in the subject line). I'm not promising anything, I'm just weighing my options.

Anyway, it wouldn't be an update if I didn't have something to talk about or link you to, so have a look at this. If you haven't already heard about this today, it's an actual piece of software for the PocketPC designed to play mp3s while looking (just a little) like an iPod. And yes, you actually use the "scroll wheel" to navigate the songs (you know, fingers and thumbs are bad for those touch screens).

Money, money, money!

2004-02-20T10:28:00.000-06:00

According to this BusinessWeek article, Apple saw the biggest surge in sales in all of the tech industry last year, with profits jumping an astonishing 552 percent.

Can you say iPod?

One music player, hold the WMA!

2004-02-20T09:52:00.000-06:00

According to this DanceFrontDoor.co.uk article, the chip used in the iPod is natively designed by its manufacturer to play WMA files as well as AAC and mp3.

This simply confirms what we already assumed, that Apple could make the iPod WMA-capable, but chooses not to for (obvious) strategic reasons.

What's also interesting about this article is how several people in its comments have noted that the chip supports AAC. This suggests that other companies might intentionally disable AAC support similarly to Apple's disabling WMA support.

There are a lot of PeeCee people out there who keep insisting that Apple's going to add WMA support to the iPod and iTunes, but it just isn't the cards. Both Apple and HP have said there's no plans to support Windows Media on either company's 'pods.

Huzzah!

2004-02-18T13:16:00.000-06:00

99mac.se has published a newly released memo from Mr. Jobs himself today, revealing some exciting news.

Team,

Today is a historic day of sorts for our company. When I arrived back at Apple in mid-1997, the company was burdened with $1 billion of debt. Through everyone's hard work we turned Apple around, paid off the majority of our debt and began to amass a war chest of cash in the bank which has grown to about $4.8 billion! But there was still $300 million of remaining debt, which we decided to hold to maturity.

Today we used $300 million of our cash to pay off this remaining debt.

Apple is now a debt-free company – for the first time in over a decade!

It sure feels good.

Steve

Yes, Apple is now debt-free! Whoo! And the company's war chest of "rainy day" cash is nearing five billion dollars!

Congratulations, Steve.

Mini nation...

2004-02-17T13:54:00.000-06:00

Apple's homepage has been updated to feature the iPod mini. The official launch is set for Friday at 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, Phil Schiller says that the response to the mini has been off the charts, with over 100,000 preorders. See what pretty colors do to people?

Dell gets dirty...

2004-02-16T17:57:00.000-06:00

So, you're innocently watching an episode of Seinfeld when, all of a sudden, a Dell ad comes on and claims: "Nearly double the battery life of iPod."

Yes, there's a new ad for the Dell DJ out that makes such a claim in the hopes of selling more of the not-really-that-popular mp3 paper.

But, um, what's the number one mp3 player in the country?
Nice try, Mike Dell (not really!).

2004-02-16T14:21:00.000-06:00

AppleInsider has a new article up. Of note:
- No new eMacs until April
- AppleCare video? (and other mysterious happenings between Quicktime and iChat)

I'll have a full update on these later today (Happy President's Day!).

One rumor sandwich, hold the G5!

2004-02-16T09:23:00.000-06:00

According to a new series of blurbs at Think Secret, even though Apple has been receiving new G5s for a few weeks now, we won't see any new Powermacs this month.

The new Powermacs, which are expected to be speedbumps to hold us over until the magical 3 GHz G5 is released this summer, will be powered by the 90-nanometer PowerPC 970FX. The chip is designed to allow more speed while consuming less power, and IBM only officially announced it last week.

Think Secret doesn't answer any questions regarding why the Powermacs have been delayed, but they claim to be dealing with a very reliable source here. It looks like, for now at least, we're going to have to settle for a pathetic Dual-2 GHz machine on the top end (and nnnnooooooo, I'm not being sarcastic!).

Cheat the legal way!

2004-02-15T23:59:00.000-06:00

Sure, you can download free music legally if you drink Pepsi, but why deal with one-in-three odds?! Folks are noticing that there's a pretty easy way to substantially push the odds in your favor by just paying attention to those special yellow caps.

Now a loser (or, to be politically correct, non-winner) caps have three lines of text. BUT winner caps have four lines of text. See where I'm going with this? Just take a good long look at the top of the cap and you'll probably be able to see the difference.

So, it might be legal, but it sure ain't fair! And that's fine by us!

Ain't the mini great?

2004-02-15T23:48:00.000-06:00

Well, this Washington Post article says someone's actually outdone the iPod. Or, to be specific, Apple has outdone Apple. The Post's Rob Pegoraro claims that the iPod Mini actually outdoes the current iPod, despite the price.

In other mini-related news, apparently new recorded messages at Apple Stores confirm a February 20 release date for the cell-phone/business-card/phaser-sized gadget. The messages also mention that there could be supply-issues with the high-demand mini (supply and demand, no?).

And, if you're totally mini-crazed, you can head over to the new CDW-owned Mac Warehouse and download a do-it-yourself mini. And if you can actually get a piece of folded paper stuffed with business cards to play music, CDW will buy the idea from you and use it to produce a new line of hard drives powered by corporate networking and synergy.

And damn, that thing's small.

Chip chip cheerio!

2004-02-15T12:36:00.000-06:00

Disclaimer: Most real British people don't talk like that, but they all have bad teeth (just kidding!).

According to new reports, Apple's preparing its second international flagship store to open in London later this year (in time for Christmas).

While this sounds like great news for Brits craving some ?ber-Mac shopping, not everyone's thrilled with the idea. This MacMinute blurb notes that Darren King, the CEO of a London-based Apple reseller, is just a little upset by the news. He mentions that he's "disappointed" and that he wasn't consulted first (and why would he be?).

Bottom line is that this is good for Londoners, and bad for Darren King (I vaguely remember someone famous saying "The needs of the many outweight the names of the few" just before saving the U.S.S. Enterprise).

The mini's are coming...

2004-02-15T12:13:00.000-06:00

The latest reports have limited quantities of iPod mini's arriving for display purposes at Apple Stores tomorrow, with the first real shipments arriving around 6:00 p.m. on February 20 (possibly suggesting an "event" of some sort).

2004-02-13T22:16:00.000-06:00

New posts return Sunday. (Really!)

Palm panicked?

2004-02-11T13:16:00.000-06:00

According to this Brighthand.com preview of PalmSource's new-and-currently-being-developed PalmOS, codenamed Cobalt, the folks at Palm have decided to leave Mac users out in the cold.

Yes, "Apple Macintosh Synchronization," is one of the items on the article's list of features missing from the OS (and I won't go into the whole "Apple Macintosh" naming thing).

Worried? Don't be. Software company Mark/Space (the guys who make the app that lets you sync a PocketPC with your Mac, though why you'd want to do that is beyond me) has already announced that they'll develop a Palm-syncing conduit for Cobalt and Macs. The company even says they'll offer licensing to Palm OS licensees who want to include OS X synchronization on their handhelds.

Cobalt itself looks pretty interesting. Well, it sounds pretty interesting. It still looks like Palm's current-and-very-outdated OS, but features like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi syncing make it sound interesting.

All sorts of news...

2004-02-06T06:59:00.000-06:00

A quick look at some Apple news this morning:

- Chief Financial Officer Fred Anderson will be retiring in June. Apple says he will join the company's board of directors.
- iChat AV 2.1 has been released. The new version has videoconferencing capability with a new version of AIM for Windows.
- Bluetooth Software 1.5 has been released.
- Reports claim that the 10.3.3 developer seed was pulled because of a compatibility issue with the 20 inch iMac.
- Mac Rumors is reporting that Apple will have one of the largest presences at the Siggraph International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques this August.

How about an iToaster? Or an Xblender?

2004-02-03T13:59:00.000-06:00

According to a new AppleInsider report there are rumors circulating of a Apple home-appliance being developed to be ready for the market sometime later this year.

While no specific details are provided, the rumor claims that Apple will try to recreate the iPod's success in the digital music market with the new device which would enter an already existing segment of the home-appliance market (like if it was an iTiVo, though that's just an example). If the rumor is accurate, we'll definitely see more rumblings about this later in the year.

...Or maybe they'll make the FridgeMini!

iTunes everywhere!

2004-02-03T13:43:00.000-06:00

While Apple and Pepsi might be all excited about their new partnership, nobody mentioned winning free songs on your Big Gulp. Don't know what I'm talking about? Well, reports are surfacing of Pepsi/iTunes song-winning cups at 7-11 and some gas stations.

And that's not all, according to the same Mac Rumors blurb, a McDonald's/iTunes deal is rumored to be a "go", with free songs available on certain fries and drinks.

Personally, I'm hoping the McDonald's thing is true. Finally, hope to us Coke drinkers!

The slow posts continue...

2004-02-02T22:24:00.000-06:00

Apple released a Java update and Safari 1.2 today, suggesting that Mac OS X 10.3.3 (which was seeded with Safari 1.2 last week) should be on its way in the near future.

Meanwhile, as MacMinute reports, the Pepsi/iTunes ad met a lukewarm response with USA Today's annual viewer rating of the Superbowl ads (in my opinion, this year's ads were disappointing, just sex drugs, beer, Pepsi, and cars).

Rumors are also circulating (Mac Rumors) about a possible digital music alliance between Apple and Microsoft, which could suggest possible AAC/WMA support in the future.

And, speaking of music, Apple had a somewhat sudden 10 percent off iPod sale over the weekend. The deal didn't apply to the iPod mini.

The lamp hops away...

2004-01-29T22:18:00.000-06:00

In Jobsian news today, Pixar has broken off talks with Disney to renew its contract with the company. This should provide interesting developments with Steve's "other company" in the coming months.

It's no 1984, but it's pretty good...

2004-01-28T22:20:00.000-06:00

The Pepsi/iTunes giveaway is revving up for super-hype mode (don't believe me, then just go to Apple.com) and the upcoming Superbowl ad has hit the web.

You can check out the ad in many places (link). Looks pretty good.

It's not like there's anything wrong with your iBook, BUT...

2004-01-28T22:13:00.000-06:00

Apple has posted an FAQ regarding the company's new iBook Logic Board Extension Program for iBooks with logic board problems. The possibly problemed 'Books were manufactured between May 2002 and April 2003.

A big little migration...

2004-01-27T06:40:00.000-06:00

Virginia Tech has officially announced that they will move their Powermac G5 supercomputer to Xserve G5s. The migration will lower power consumption and heat, as well as lower the overall size of the cluster.

The cost of the move and the fate of the Powermacs are both still generally unknown. According to the folks at Virginia Tech, the "old" machines will go to good homes.

Cryptic? No way!

2004-01-26T19:42:00.000-06:00

Well here's a vague rumor straight from RAILhead Design!

News From Apple Tomorrow
Tomorrow promises to be a “big” day for Apple, so get your credit card balances down and your paychecks deposited…

Well, something specific might be nice, but whatever.

Hoo boy...

2004-01-26T16:22:00.000-06:00

Ready to just be blown away?
Well, you won't be.

Because today's big news is the überexciting release of a new (really unenthusiastic drumroll, please) Security Update.

In slightly interesting news, AppleInsider has posted a report on two new applications being developed by Panic Software. Stattoo sounds pretty cool.

Happy Birthday!

2004-01-24T22:17:00.000-06:00

Yes, the Macintosh computer is 20 years old today. Happy Birthday.

By the way, I hear the Mac's heading to Vegas for his 21st next year ;-)

Whoo! An update!

2004-01-23T09:10:00.000-06:00

Well, my finals are over and I'm ready to get on board with all sorts of Mac rumors and speculation. Of course, we're still stuck in a post-MacWorld rut, so there's not much to report on.

So, thanks for reading. See ya' tomorrow!

Ha ha ha. Very funny, no? Well, there's still a few things to talk about.
First, having kinda lost track of the date, I was surprised to realize that Jan. 20 has already past with no new Powermacs. Of course, those rumors weren't very specific, either. "Maybe sometime around Jan. 20" isn't the most detailed information. New Powermacs are still expected, with this speedbump holding on until this summer's promised 3 GHz model is revealed.

Meanwhile, more details are coming out about Pepsi's iTunes Superbowl ad. From the looks of things, it's definitely not "Apple-Subtle" or "Apple-Amazing", but also not "Apple-(Like the Lemmings ad)-Bad" (so I'd say it'll be fine). It features 20 young folks actually sued by that fantastic organization known as the RIAA for their illegal music downloading. The info can be found in this USA Today article.

Finally, in a mini-installment of MacUnderground's ever-popular "Inaccuracies Abound" feature, Mac OS Rumors is reporting that a 20-inch G5 iMac will be released by Apple as a 20th Anniversary Mac with 1.8 or 2 GHz processors. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but Apple can't even get the G5 into Powerbooks yet, due to cooling problems. Have you seen one of these iMacs? How on earth is Apple going to cool a machine like that? MOSR does go on to claim that the enclosure will also be updated, but then what exactly makes it an iMac?

Will we really see a 20th Anniversary Mac? Probably. But will it be in the form of a 20-inch G5 iMac? I suppose it is technically possible, but it's definitely not likely.

That's what's going on right now. Have a good day everyone, and good luck to the folks at NASA with the two Mars rovers.

2004-01-19T19:32:00.000-06:00

According to a Mac Rumors Page 2 blurb, some reports are suggesting that Apple may be releasing new displays tomorrow. No other details are available, but a 30" display has been rumored for some time.

Updates after MacWorld aren't uncommon these days. Last year Apple updated Powermacs and Displays just a few weeks after the expo ended (in fact, Powermac G5 updates are rumored to arrive around Jan. 20).

You try studying for finals!

2004-01-17T22:57:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the lack of posting in the past couple of days, but I've been - as the title suggets - studying for finals.

Here's what I've got to say right now:
Performance issues aside, GarageBand is GREAT!
The new iDVD themes are really good and provide more complete menu options.
While iMovie 4 may not offer many new features, it feels like a great improvement over iMovie 3.
I'd have something to say about iPhoto 4, but it took over 20 minutes to upgrade my library, so I haven't had time to look at it.
And, by the way, did we all miss iPhoto 3 or something?

Other things I have to say:
Download the new Adium alpha. The old Adium was fine, but the new one is great.
If you're shopping for a new cell phone, look at Sony Ericsson's T616 (which is basically the same as the T610). I just got one and it's my favorite new gadget.
If you haven't already, read the Da Vinci Code. Yes, it's really that good.
This whole Mars rover stuff is really cool.

Rumors to keep an eye on:
- Apple to drop iPod Mini to $199 this year.
- Powermac update on or around Jan. 20?

MONEY! LOTS OF MONEY! (whoo.)

2004-01-14T20:30:00.000-06:00

I mean:
Apple rakes in the big bucks...

But how big, you ask? How's a $63 million profit for ya'?

Not that I'm shocked, but the conversation really didn't reveal anything shocking. Among the most notable comments would be the rather unsurprising mention that the iPod Mini and HP iPod have lower margins than the original iPod. Possibly the most interesting thing said would be a comment stating Apple has no plans to port any other iLife apps to the PC world (definitely not surprising).

On the statistical side of things, Apple shipped 829,000 Macs during the first quarter (up 12 percent from the previous year), along with 733,000 iPods (up a staggering 235 percent from the previous year).

It's in the mail...

2004-01-14T20:17:00.000-06:00

Sites including Mac Rumors are reporting that people who preorder iLife '04 from Apple have received emails telling them the new application suite is shipping. The official release date is this Friday.

Hurrah!

2004-01-12T18:29:00.000-06:00

According to what Mac Rumors cites as a "very reliable source," Apple will not introduce Windows Media Support on the iPod or the HP-branded iPod.

It looks like Apple's sticking to it's "AAC totally obliterates WMA" guns. It's good to see sorta-open-source triumphing over totally Microsofty proprietary.

The business deal heard 'round the world...

2004-01-12T10:29:00.000-06:00

Well, the PC community is still is shock from Apple and HP's new unholy alliance to sell weird bluish iPods with the HP logo on the back (in exchange for HP grabbing everyone who buys one of their PCs at the shoulders and shaking them while screaming "iTUNES! iTUNES! iTUNES!").

As the Apple Turns seems to have the best analysis of Microsoft's reaction (they claim that this new deal is bad for consumers. Ha!). Meanwhile, Mr. Dell himself is quoted as having nothing to say about the deal that really screws over his fantastic little HP-mutant-iPod-knock-off-gizmo.

And more speculation is still spinning around, with some Slashdotters claiming that Apple and HP are working on Windows Media support for the iPod. (To be clear: There're no reliable reports pointing to this)

Actually, it's kinda fun to watch the PC reactions.
Kinda really fun.

Unholy alliance...

2004-01-09T10:14:00.000-06:00

Reports are pouring in from all across the net of a new - and intriguing - business deal between two very unlikely partners: HP and Apple.

The two tech giants have forged an unusual alliance. Apple is going to develop an HP-branded iPod while HP is going to bundle iTunes on all new HP and Compaq computers (HP owns Compaq).

According to Phil Schiller, the HP device won't carry the iPod name, but will have the same form factor and features as third generation iPods and come in a color titled "HP Blue." The iPod's start-up screen will still feature the Apple logo, though.

Obviously, Apple feels secure with the current iPod's power in order to start branding it out to other companies. Of course, having iTunes bundled on new computers is also a great achievement for Apple, exposing even more people to the iTunes Music Store and the overall Mac interface.

Remember, Apple's long term isn't to make its money selling music or even selling iPods. The iTunes/iPod for Windows strategy is designed to eventually get people to consider buying a Mac (which is where Apple's big profits come from).

It's kind of like a deal with the Devil (of course, we're not sure which one will wind up being the devil).

Is video the next audio?

2004-01-08T19:37:00.000-06:00

Maybe not (and never mind that the title really didn't make much sense to beging with).

In an interview with David Pouge (link to Mac Rumors article), Steve Jobs was asked about portable video players (video iPods have been speculated by some for a while now, though no rumors have ever backed such speculation up). Jobs said that he doesn't think video players will catch on any time soon, citing the fact that "there's no equivalent of headphones." He also pointed out that people watch movies differently than they listen to music, and that Hollywood already does a good job distributing content.

Steve brings up some good points about the cons of portable video players, specifically the tiny screen. One point not considered is the lack of available content for such a device. With music, you can rip a CD or download some songs (legally or otherwise) and toss them on your iPod (because you wouldn't have another mp3 player, would you?). Video doesn't work that way. There's no easy or practical way to get video off of a DVD, and there's no real movie equivilant of the iTunes Music Store. Sure, there's file sharing, but have you ever actually tried to get a TV show or movie through file sharing? It's very unreliable, downloads can take forever, and you've got no idea what kind of quality you're going to get until you actually open the file.

Steve ended up finishing his comment with a teaser: "Now, I'm not saying we're not working on something like that, Who knows what we've got in our labs?" But he does make a very well-reasoned case for Apple - and other companies - to not make personal video players (right now, at least). The first iPod wasn't introduced when mp3 players were really new, it was introduced when mp3 players were becoming big (and eventually, really big). Don't be surprised if Apple follows similar logic with any kind of video gadget.

Keynote highlights.

2004-01-06T14:33:00.000-06:00

(You can check out my posts from the live coverage here)

iPod Mini
4 GB capacity
Half an inch thick
Aluminum body
Comes in silver, gold, green, pink, and blue
Available in Feb (in April outside the US)
$249

iLife 04'
Five applications
Available Friday, January 16
$49

iTunes
New Billboard charts
More Classical music added
Pepsi 100,000,000 song giveaway starts Feb 1
Part of iLife '04

iPhoto
Faster with more pictures
Enhanced slideshows
Ratings and smart albums
Quick controls
Rendezvous sharing
Enhanced and faster effects (including sepia)
Endorsed by Mr. Frodo
Part of iLife '04

iMovie
Supports video from iSight
Audio scrubbing in the timeline
Edit and trim in the timeline
Easier sharing options
New, improved titles
Part of iLife '04

iDVD
20 new themes
Transitions between menus
Enhanced slideshows
"Map" of DVD
Pro-quality encoding (from Final Cut Pro)
Now burns movies up to two hours long
Part of iLife '04

GarageBand
Make, mix, and record music
USB or MIDI keyboard (as in piano) input
Mix up to 64 tracks
Over 50 software instruments
Professional loops
Guitar amps
Audio effects
Export completed music directly to iTunes
Very cool
Even Sheryl Crow can do it!
Part of iLife '04

GarageBand Jam Pack
Add-on for GarageBand
Over 2000 loops
Over 100 software instruments
Over 100 audio effects
15 more guitar amps
Available Jan 16
$99

iPod
10 GB model updated to 15 GB
Prices and other models unchanged

Final Cut Express 2
Real-time effects
Optimized for Panther and the G5
Based on Final Cut Pro 4
$299 or $99 upgrade

Xserve G5 and
Xserve RAID
Both updated
G5 model available with single and dual 2 GHz procs
All sorts of new server-y features
Single 2 GHz Model: $2999
Dual 2 GHz Model: $3999
A compute node model is also available

Also announced:

Microsoft Office 2004
Available in the Spring

Apple In-Ear Headphones
$39

Apple to sell audio keyboards
$99 and $199 models by M-Audio and Edirol featured

iPhoto hardcover albums
Coming to Japan this month
Europe in March

"We're going to make something of this year."
- Steve Jobs

MacUnderground's Live MWSF04 Keynote Coverage (CLICK HERE!)

2004-01-06T10:04:00.000-06:00

Apple New Year's Resolution #1: More Applications with Great Names

2004-01-05T15:47:00.000-06:00

Mac Rumors is confirming that Apple will be releasing an application called "GarageBand" (no space between garage and band) in tomorrow's keynote. This could be a rumored consumer music application (though there's no confirmation on what this new app is).

And let's face it, "GarageBand" is a cool name.

In other last minute news, Mac Rumors is also confirming rumors that the Xserve line will be updated tomorrow (previously and currently predicted in the Rumor Watch).

Also, as reported last night, Apple has finally announced a Quicktime stream of the keynote, as well as Apple Store broadcasts.
I'll be providing live MacUnderground coverage of the keynote starting at 9 a.m. PST (that's 11 CST for me) from the Apple Store North Michigan Ave. Be sure to remember that coverage is at http://macunderground1.blogspot.com, not at the main page. I'm keeping it off the main site in order to keep the many, many short posts involved in keynote coverage out of the main archives (which are messy enough as is), and for a minimum of images (particularly these animated GIFs I've become somewhat addicted to).

Keynote a go-go...

2004-01-04T22:32:00.000-06:00

Just FYI: Apple's official keynote stream is finally ready to go at this page.

The Best and Worst of 2003

2004-01-04T17:45:00.000-06:00

Well, 2004 is officially upon us, but there's still some time to look back at 2003. So, I've taken the entire year and packaged it into a short awards ceremony that's bound to leave many people out. But, that's what these "Look Back" and "Year in Review" things are all about.

Now, I'm not saying that Konfabulator is a bad application. I personally like and use it (though I can't say I've registered it). That said, it definitely didn't meet the expectations created by its own hype. Rather than being a revolution in development and the user interface, many just saw the app as a glorified way of doing things you can already do, and many others just couldn't see why it was worth $25.
Konfabulator is definitely improving, and may some day trigger that revolution that we're still waiting for. But until then, it can be known as the Most Overly-Hyped Application of the Year.

The explanation for this is short and simple. You don't have to like the brushed metal Finder, and you don't have to have a brushed metal Finder. Go download an application like cliché software's ThemeChanger or Unsanity's ShapeShifter and stop whining.

Sure, iTunes 4 for the Mac was revolutionary. Still, it lacks the simple genius that wins this honor for its PC counterpart: Let's take our best, easiest to use iApp and give Windows users a taste of what they're missing out on. When you look at it like that, the amazing iTunes Music Store seems secondary (and considering how little profit it generates even as the number one digital music store, it is kinda secondary).
On the PC, iTunes helps bridge the gap for potential switchers. If they've got their iPod and their iTunes, they just might look at an iMac or a Powerbook next time they're computer shopping. Simple, but genius.

Back when we were just speculating about Panther's features, now neglected rumor site LoopRumors reported that the new OS would feature a "System-wide metal interface." Within days, the site was claiming that people had misunderstood and that the Finder would stay aqua.
Guess what? They were right the first time around!
As we all know now, Panther features a fully brushed metal Finder. If LoopRumors hadn't recanted under pressure, they would've been the first major site to predict the big move. Kinda funny when you think about it...

Ambrosia Software's WireTap isn't a fancy application, but it's free and it's useful (what more can we ask for?). WireTap let's you record audio being played by your Mac into a .aiff file. It might be a bit light on features, but it does what it's supposed to do (and it does it pretty well). It's great for recording audio from a DVD, amongst other things.

It might have been rumored for months before Panther's WWDC unveiling, but "Piles" still can't be found in any copies of OS X. This fancy new feature was supposed to allow users to pile up their documents, but all we wound up with was Exposé and a new Finder (shucks).

Sure, there are plenty of things with worse names than AirPort Extreme, but we expect a bit more from Apple. It's better than AirPort 2 or iAirPort, but you'd think they could've come up with something - anything - better than "Extreme" to tack on the end. Hell, it sounds like a skateboarding move on the half pipe ("Dude, that was an awesome AirPort Xtreme!").

Another honor for another Apple application. "Safari" is definitely not the name we expected for an Apple web browser, but it's a good name. In fact, I'd say most people were so relieved it wasn't named "iBrowse" that they didn't care what the actual name was. Here's a resolution for Apple in 2004: Let's see more of these creative names (and please, nothing else with "Extreme" in it).

Sure, the first iTunes Music Store campaign (you know, the ones with the people singing along to their favorite songs on their iPods) was good, but this one was even better. It had funky colors, cool visuals, and better singing. These eye-catching ads helped sell iPods over the holidays and push the iTMS to number one on the online music store charts. Rumor has it that it took quite a bit of convincing to get Jobs to agree to the colored backgrounds (instead of that ol' "Switcher White" look), but it was a good move. Another great campaign by Chait Day.

and finally...

The latest, greatest Powermacs with the super-powered, 64-bit G5s is the winner of dual honors (along with dual processors) this year. The new machines were highly anticipated and even highlier rumored as the World Wide Developers Conference keynote approached (so highly rumored that it can only be described with made up words). Even with all these rumors, nobody knew the specs for the next generation of Powermacs. But then, days before the keynote, the most unlikely source let us in on a big secret. Yes, the Apple online store actually posted the specs on the Powermac page, accidentally (or so we think) revealing the top-end dual-2 GHz model.
Still, even though it was the year's biggest leak, the new Powermacs still made a huge splash at the WWDC keynote. To put it simply (and in terms of an overused cliché), we were shocked and awed (most likely due to a powerful reality distortion field around Mr. Jobs).

Brought to you by the letter "i" and the word "box"...

2004-01-02T21:37:00.000-06:00

Mac Rumors is reporting on a sudden wave of Apple "Set Top Box" rumors describing a TV-top device known as the iBox. Of course, Mac Rumors is also quick to point out that these rumors are fairly unreliable and that the "Set Top Box" made the site's 2003 Rumor Reject List.

Some of the latest rumblings are coming from this MacOSX.com report claiming that the "iBox" is already in production and on its way to release. They claim that the box plugs into one's TV and provides digital hub-ish features, kinda like iLife-in-a-box meets TiVo. Features are said to include TV recording, 802.11b/g wireless, special versions of iTunes, iPhoto, and iDVD, as well as a SuperDrive. All of this - as well as a decent sized hard drive for holding all this stuff - is said to be powered by a G3, and Mac Rumors points out that Apple has never produced a G3 computer capable of DVD burning.

One thing going for this rumor however, is the fact that it's something Apple tried once before. In 1995 (pre-Jobsian era) Apple actually produced and test-marketed a set top box. And guess what? It, like many other Apple products of that time (from the MacTV to the Quicktake cameras to the Pippin gaming system), failed with flying colors! So maybe that's not really helping the iBox's case.

And of course, "MacOSX.com isn't in the business of spreading rumors." In fact, they said that themselves (hence the quotes)! Also, Steve Jobs has been noted as saying that he doesn't believe the TV and the PC are destined to join together in some crazy hybrid device, though one could easily argue that this "iBox" wouldn't be a TV/PC hybrid (because, as the describe it, it isn't). Still, Steve Jobs is one stubborn man.

So, will Tuesday's Stevenote bring a box full of surprises, an iBox full of surprises? I personally don't think so, but who knows what that "One more thing" will be...

Coming Soon: A Year in Review

2004-01-01T23:41:00.000-06:00

Just a teaser here. I'm working on a "Best and Worst of 2003" article for this weekend. To keep you interested for the next few days, here are some of the categories for the year's "honors"...

- Best Application
- Most Overly-Hyped Application
- Most Annoying Complaint
- Best No Show
- Best "Wrong" Rumor that was Actually Right

Bet you can't wait! (or you really don't care, but at least give me credit for doing something site-related with my Winter Break)

Round up the roundups!

2004-01-01T23:29:00.000-06:00

With the Stevenote just days away, Mac Rumors has put together a MWSF Rumor Roundup, recapping the latest rumors.

Of note, is the fact that Apple has still not made any broadcasting plans public. A Quicktime webcast and Apple Store theater broadcasts are expected, but still not confirmed (MacUnderground's live coverage is relying on Apple Store theater broadcasts).

The biggest rumor right now is that of the mini iPods, which have confirmed almost completely, with only the expected prices still up in the air. Also circulating are iApp rumors, ranging from an update of the iLife suite to the addition of a new iApp (perhaps audio-related, or perhaps a word processor). Xserve updates are also rumored, though some sites a speculating that the announcement may be held until after the expo in order to keep the keynote's focus on consumer products. And, speaking of consumer products, Final Cut Express 2.0 is also expected, with some CompUSAs apparently receiving early shipments of the major update (my own sidetrack: if FCE 2.0 is ready-to-go, it could be the special freebie for keynote-goers at the Moscone Center that Steve will probably reveal during his speech).

But with only one hardware announcement and a handful of software updates confirmed, you can't help but wonder what we're missing, what Apple's keeping under wraps. Some speculation suggests that it might be something to celebrate the Macintosh's 20th anniversary, but there's no evidence to support that (yet).

Obviously, there's still more to come.

Rumors rolling in...

2004-01-01T15:08:00.000-06:00

Mac Rumors Page 2 is reporting on several new MWSF rumors that have surfaced in the past couple of days.

First up is continuing rumors of a new iApp. The latest claims received by MR predict an audio iApp with a large library of audio clips (around 3 GB). These latest details aren't as reliable as older information, though.

The other new claim is that Apple's teamed up with MPEG Encoding company, Optibase. This comes from an anonymous report to Mac Rumors, so it's reliability is also questionable.

While both of these rumors lack a reliable backing, they're still worth mentioning with the MWSF keynote less than five days away.

Rumors and rumors...

2004-01-01T01:14:00.000-06:00

I'm still sorting through MWSF rumors, but here's the latest.

Mac Rumors is providing more confirmation on Final Cut Express's update to 2.0 (as already predicted in the Rumor Watch). The latest report from Mac Rumors also claims that some CompUSA stores are receiving new shipments from Apple carrying a "Do Not Open Before Jan. 6" tag (suggesting that this could be FCE 2).

With Xserve rumors conflicting, I've (for now) pulled the Xserve prediction from the Rumor Watch. AppleInsider is claiming that the servers will see an update in January or February, but not at the Stevenote, and Think Secret claims that a keynote update is in the works. I've decided to hold my final decision on the Xserve rumors until Friday, but right now I'm thinking that TS's report is looking more reliable (espcially with MR's latest FCE confirmation).

There's definitely more to come with the keynote less than five and a half days away and rumor sites readying their final predictions (myself included, of course).

And, by the way, Happy New Year.

Drive at one-point-five?

2003-12-29T17:55:00.000-06:00

Mac Rumors has uncovered a possible source of cheap, small hard drives for rumored mini-iPods. The company produces 1-inch 1.5 GB hard drives for $65 (when purchased in lots of 10,000). While no rumors connect the company to Apple or the new iPods, this information helps support mini-iPod rumors.

Like a rainbow... of drive possibilities?

2003-12-29T12:07:00.000-06:00

This Mac Rumors forum thread regarding the latest mini-iPod confirmation (see "It's like a rainbow...", below) has brought up many interesting possibilities for low-cost storage options Apple can use in new iPods.

One example is a $65 1.5 GB hard drive. If Apple could cut a deal for buying a whole bunch of them, they could sell the iPods for $129 and make a profit of about $30 (after the cost of the rest of the device). Obviously it's just a general example, but it's a good one.

Flash storage still seems very, very unlikely. Hard drives are much cheaper per-MB (or GB) than flash technology.

It's like a rainbow...

2003-12-29T10:26:00.000-06:00

Mac Rumors is providing even more confirmation on the latest mini-iPod MWSF rumors.

According to this latest report, the new iPods will actually be physically smaller than the current models, making them "mini" in size, storage capacity, and price. Current pricing information is still vague, but Mac Rumors describes it as "significantly less than current models." Storage sizes are still rumored to be 2 and 4 GB.

But that's where things get a bit confusing. The hard drives in the current iPods are some of the smallest (in physical size) on the market, with smaller ones costing more money. Of course, there's flash storage technology, but 2 GB flash drives cost upwards of $300 (the price of a new 10 GB iPod).

Simply put, either Apple's revolutionized solid-state storage with a cheap flash solution, or they've found new, smaller, and cheaper hard drives. While both seem rather amazing, the second is a bit more likely (though the first would be truly amazing). Hard drives as small (in storage capacity) as 2 GB and 4 GB would almost definitely have to be specially produced for Apple. There aren't really any 2 GB external hard drives on the market these days, so for all we know the low storage capacity might allow for these drives to be very small in physical size.

And Apple could always free up some space by cutting down on other parts of the iPod. The current models are so small because they have a slightly smaller battery (eight hours instead of ten) than the older ones. Maybe the trade off for a super-cheap, super-small iPod is a six-hour battery... (that's speculation more than anything else, though).

What we know for sure is that January 6's Stevenote is going to bring mini-iPods, with 2 and 4 GB capacities, colors, and smaller physical size than the current models.

Yes, it's a return to funky-colors for Apple...

It's that time again...

2003-12-27T23:00:00.000-06:00

Yes, Mac OS Rumors is back with yet another installment of questionable "reporting" and that means it's time for...

(Now with animated title!)

Tonight's Episode: Those fake images look just like that Alpha we were using! (Really!)

Well, things started innocently enough. MOSR was predicting the upcoming release of iTunes 5 (which, quite frankly, is possible - though not necessarily likely). The source: this supposed iTunes 5 screenshot over at Apple-X.net. Take a good look at it (see if you can spot five things that don't make sense in the picture).

Found (at least) five things?
How about these five:
1. The graphite "red-yellow-green" controls in the upper-left-corner of the window don't match the aqua checkboxes and list-view heads.
2. The "record" button doesn't match the other lower-right-corner buttons.
3. The text in the beats text box is cut off.
4. The equalizer and scroll-thingy are graphite (which does match the other graphite, but then doesn't match the list's aqua...).
5. (Here's the tricky one): The beats seem to be set at 141 bps. That's "Beats Per Second" (even the Macarena wasn't that fast).

How'd you do?
The point is, that screen shot's fake. Really fake (in all fairness, it looks good at first glance). MOSR is even now admitting that it's fake. The problem: MOSR claimed (initially) that the screenshot looked a heck of a lot like an Alpha of iTunes 5 they claimed to have played with a couple of months ago (yep, Apple just hands out Alphas of unreleased iLife applications after the tour of the "Room O iPhones" down in Cupertino).

So wait a sec. That screenshot is obviously real because you say you used an Alpha that looked just like it, except the screenshot is fake, but you did use that Alpha, but you don't have any screenshots of that, except for that screenshot that's real, well it's actually fake, but you said it was real, but apparently it isn't, but then it sure must've looked a heck of a lot like that Alpha you used a couple months back (that you don't have any screenshots of).

R-rriiiiiight....

Of course, MOSR has since edited their original report from today. It still claims that they played with an Alpha of iTunes 5, but it's missing the part that says the Apple-X screenshot looks like that Alpha (that's not the first time they've changed something they wrote after it's been proven completely fake).

Then again, what did I expect from MOSR? Accuracy?!

That's right, I mentioned the Macarena in an article. How's that for something I should never ever, ever do again?

iPods in a flash?

2003-12-26T20:39:00.000-06:00

According to this AudioRevolution article, they have confirmation of Apple's plans for new budget-iPods and that the new devices will use flash storage.

Sounds good, right?
Maybe not.

The problem is that current rumors have the new iPods at 2 and 4 GB, but flash storage at those sizes is very expensive (hardly "budget"). I also doubt that Apple would bother introducing any iPod that didn't have a large storage capacity (at least 1 GB).

And why even bother switching from the hard drive technology? It's already proven itself reliable and prices are continuing drop. I don't see any real incentive for Apple to use flash storage.

For now, I'm still sticking with my iPod prediction in the Rumor Watch (you know, the one that changes colors constantly).

'Twas the night before Christmas...

2003-12-24T23:33:00.000-06:00

From all of us (all one of us) here at MacUnderground...
Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays!
And a Rumor-filled New Year.

Regular posting continues on Christmas Day.

Trade in. Trade up.

2003-12-24T23:30:00.000-06:00

According to Think Secret Apple is testing a "pilot" trade-in program with old Titanium Powerbooks.

Owners of the "Gigabit Ethernet" Powerbook models will be able to trade in their machines for a $700 credit towards a new 15" or 17" Powerbook.

If successful, this program could possibly lead to more like it, offering easy upgrading for owners of older machines.

Rumors everywhere!

2003-12-24T10:49:00.000-06:00

The latest mini-iPod rumor just showed up on the CNN Headline News Ticker.

Boy, there's just everything in that ticker these days...

Up and watching...

2003-12-23T23:32:00.000-06:00

As promised, Rumor Watch has finally been updated with the latest MWSF04 rumors. Details are currently following what I think are the most reliable reports out now. I'll be sure to keep updating if new rumors pop up in the upcoming weeks.

It's like a rainbow...

2003-12-23T11:02:00.000-06:00

I'm back from a great weekend in Las Vegas, and it's time to catch up with the latest rumors.

The big news today is Think Secret's new report, predicting mini-iPods, iLife and Final Cut Express updates, and long-overdue updated Xserves. Also, Apple's Emagic products should see updates, too.

What's missing? Think Secret claims that there will be no CPU upgrades in desktop or laptop machines.

But the big news is further confirmation, and more details on, these new iPods. The latest rumors have these at 2 GB and 4 GB, with a base price of (brace yourself) about $100 (holy mother of Jobs!). And yes, there's more confirmation on the "color" rumors. Think Secret even claims that the entire iPod line will see case colors.

We knew the day would come. It's the return of rainbow color Apple products.

More rumors are still flooding in. Mac Rumors still claims that a new iLife app might be in the works (which would fit with the iLife upgrade), and AppleInsider still claims that the Powermac line will see speed bumps (it looks like AI and TS are in a bit of a rumor showdown here).

I'll have more posts later today, along with a long, long overdue Rumor Watch update (with all the latest MWSF rumors). And regular posting will continue right though the holidays.

Catching up...

2003-12-18T23:09:00.000-06:00

So here's a funny little story. I was sitting by a computer trying to put together a post covering three software updates in two days from Apple, but I couldn't really think of anything worthwhile.

Then Apple released about a half dozen more updates.

Yes, it's the...
Holiday Software Update Bonus Extravaganza!
It's still not that interesting, so can you blame me for trying to make it entertaining?

Anyway, updates are now out for Final Cut Pro, Live Type, DVD Studio Pro, XCode (though apparently that one's been pulled), iTunes, Quicktime, Java, Panther, and a nifty "Battery Update" for us Powerbook and iBook owners. And that's just in the past few days, before that Apple also released Remote Desktop, Powermac G5, and Pro Runtime updates.

In fact, I was bombarded with seven updates in my own software update this evening (and I don't use FPC, XCode, DVD Studio Pro, or Panther). Of course, I still had to install some old Bluetooth update thingy (not that I own any Bluetooth devices) along with two old Security Updates, so I'm not the best example there.

But, speaking of iTunes (I mentioned it up there somewhere), version 4.2 (both Mac and PC) makes another leap forward for the iTMS with new AOL integration. I don't like AOL, but that doesn't change the fact that a whole lot of people use it and that means a whole lot more people exposed to iTunes (can I be blamed for wanting eWorld X?). And now the Music Store can be opened in its own window (that's actually finally full-sized!). I guess that's a less impressive leap.

And, speaking of the latest MacWorld news (alright, I didn't mention that anywhere, but that doesn't matter), we've got official confirmation: Steve Jobs will be delivering the MWSF Keynote on Tuesday Jan. 6 at 9:00 PST. Sure, we just assumed he would, but confirmation is good, too. No news on any broadcasts, but I'm guessing we'll at least see satellite broadcasts to various Apple Stores (like at the WWDC). A webcast seems less likely, though still possible.

Finishing with some site news, I'm off on MacUnderground's Christmas Vegas Vacation tomorrow. I don't expect to be posting again until Tuesday (possibly late on Monday, depending on whether or not my flight makes it back on time). Hopefully nothing particularly interesting will happen while I'm gone ("This just in: Apple releases iNewton along with a suite of Office Applications, and a G5 Cube. In other news: Hell frozen over, Satan blames flying pigs").

Happy Holidays! I'll be back next week.

We write, you write, iWrite?

2003-12-16T22:01:00.000-06:00

According to part of this Think Secret article, Apple has trademarked a new name: "iWrite"

Speculation suggests that this could be the name for the rumored "Document" word processor app, though Mac Rumors thinks the name could have other uses, too.

In other news, Mac Rumors is also reporting that new Apple PDA and/or Phone rumors are making the rounds and that Pepsi may be taking their iTunes giveaway a step further with an iPod giveaway. Also, AppleInsider is reporting that Apple has sold over 500,000 Powermac G5s.

Just more and more rumors leading up to MWSF...

Colors everywhere?

2003-12-15T17:09:00.000-06:00

According to a Mac Rumors Page 2 post, rumors are circulating about a 2 GB Mini-iPod to be announced in January (MWSF). And it would come in colors (a return to funky colors has been quietly speculated since Apple launched the current colorful iPod/iTunes campaign).

While it may not be a particularly reliable rumor, it does fall in line with Steve Jobs's own comments about wanting to produce cheaper iPods (specifically a $99 model). And let's face it, even a $149 or $199 iPod would be a huge thing for Apple, let alone a $99 one.

I've got to admit, I'm perfectly happy with my 5 GB iPod. But a budget-model funky-colored iPod would get me to part with another hundred-or-two bucks.

That's a quarter of a tenth of a billion!

2003-12-15T16:56:00.000-06:00

While there's all sorts of Apple-related news flying about today, it looks like the biggest news comes from the iTMS. On Friday the online store sold its 25 millionth song ("Let it Snow!" by Mr. Sinatra).

Think that's impressive? Well, Apple's also announced that they've sold over $1 million in gift certificates and allowances since those features were added back in October.

And think that's impressive? Well, AdAge has also named Apple "Marketer of the Year", not for great advertising (though they do admit Apple had some of the best ads of the year), but because "incredible levels of brand loyalty and... an army of evangelist users" fueled by the company's focus on the consumer.

And if you weren't impressed by the marketing stuff (which is actually really impressive) but really liked all that music-related awe, then read on with (sing along kiddies!) "Think that's impressive?!" Well, TechNewsWorld is reporting that iTunes is still the number one music download service. Not impressive enough? Well, consider the fact that BuyMusic.com boasted that they would overtake Apple by selling one million songs a day when they launched in July. Now BuyMusic's CEO is quoted as saying "We're not achieving that at all. I've spoken with my competitors, and we're nowhere near [Apple's] numbers."

Now admit it. You're pretty impressed.
Let's just say it's a good day to be a Mac user.

All they want for Christmas...

2003-12-13T11:54:00.000-06:00

Well good luck finding that iPod on little Timmy's wish list because according to this Financial Times article, the 'Pods are selling so well many stores are actually running out of them. It seems cheaper knock-offs can't get people to resist the "coolness" of the iPod (and can you blame them?).

So it looks like Apple's holiday "BUY AN iPOD NOW AND DOWNLOAD iTUNES BEFORE WE GET ANGRY" campaign is working very, very well. Now if they could only get the same results from a "BUY A MAC NOW AND NEVER USE WINDOWS AGAIN (please?)" campaign...

MacWorld rumors!

2003-12-12T16:37:00.000-06:00

AppleInsider is already making its MWSF04 predictions with a new report today.

The site claims that a generally anticipated Powermac update will be announced at MWSF (that'd make three G5 updates in six months), featuring dual 2.0, 2.2, and 2.4 GHz machines (even though AI also claims that IBM is delivering PowerPC 970's at upto 2.6 GHz to Apple along with the other clock speeds). Other upgrades to the G5 should include options for up to a Terabyte of storage (with AI speculating that it will be via four 250 GB hard drives), even faster DDR RAM, and support for a possible 1.5 GHz front side bus (that's fast).

Along with the new Powermacs, AI also claims that Apple will finally update the Xserve (it's about time! How does a G4 Xserver possibly compete with a Powermac G5?). Current rumors suggest that the new machines should see long-awaited G5s as well a 700 MHz-per-processor speed jump.

Really, this report offers more information on what we're already expecting. New Powermacs and new Xserves have been rumored for a MacWorld announcement for a while now (for a couple weeks with the Powermacs and a couple months with the Xserves). What's really interesting is the added details on each machine.

But the big unanswered question still remains. What will be Steve's "One more thing"? Last year it was the 12" Powerbook, and Mac Rumors only didn't confirm that (along with the 17") until a few hours before the keynote began.

I was posting! You just weren't looking close enough!

2003-12-12T16:32:00.000-06:00

Ah! I'm back from MacUnderground's Spontaneous Holiday-Stuff-Related Week-Long Hiatus of Fun! (you try putting a postive spin on it).

Anyway, regular posting is back (I swear). Well, at least until next Friday. Posting will be on hiatus again (but I'm warning you this time) from Dec. 19 to Dec. 22 (that's Friday through Monday) in what I'm calling MacUnderground's Christmas Vegas Vacation! (it's all in the name...).

There's new MWSF rumors today, so stay tuned (or start tuning back in). Another post is on its way.

Powermac Power!

2003-12-05T13:31:00.000-06:00

According to AppleInsider, IBM 90 nm "G5s" in full force at 2.0, 2.2, 2.4, and 2.6 GHz. Translation: More power for the Powermac.

Rumors point to a major Powermac update at MWSF04 (just a month away!), even though Apple recently bumped up the line with the Dual 1.8 GHz model. The new revision would make the slowest Powermac a 2 GHz machine.

And, speaking of Macworld, Mac Rumors has already put together a rumor roundup for the upcoming keynote (the first of many, I assume). Currently, info points to new Xserves, LCDs, Powermacs (as mentioned above), and a something else of sorts (A 20th Anniversary Mac? A 25th Anniversary Mac? A Tablet? A Cube?)...

Great gifts. Really!

2003-12-04T22:11:00.000-06:00

Just a reminder, there's a whole slew of great holiday gifts available at the MacUnderground Webstore. Super Saver shipping is available through December 7, too!

Internet Everywhere?

2003-12-04T14:00:00.000-06:00

According to this PowerPage report, Apple is working on a wireless internet "card/solution" to be released soon.

The card would use AT&T's EDGE network. The use of the wording "card/solution" makes me wonder if this might actually wind up being a kind of super AirPort card, but that's getting pretty speculative.

For the time being, this is just a rumor. There's been nothing else really hinting at a move like this from Apple, though it is possible.

Pod power!

2003-12-02T22:58:00.000-06:00

AppleInsider has released two iPod-related reports over the last two days, and they're both pretty interesting.

Yesterday, they updated with new information on Panther's rumored "Home on iPod" feature that would allow a user to sync their home folder directly onto an iPod or other external FireWire hard drive and log into it on another Mac. FileSync technology would update the contents of the computer's home folder when the drive is reconnected.

Current information suggests that Apple simply hadn't worked the bugs out of "Home on iPod" for the first release of Panther. AppleInsider suggests that Apple may include the new feature in the 10.3.5 update to Panther, which should show up in the new year.

Today, AppleInsider went on to do some general speculation about the iPod's future. The question posed is one becoming more and more important. How far is Apple willing to expand the iPod? The question is asked amid rumors and speculation of many different hand-held devices, from a tablet to a video player to a video-conferencing device.

If Apple really does have more iPod-like devices up its sleeve, we may see a change in the marketing angle. Rather than just the "iPod", we could see the "iPod Music Player" and the "iPod Video Player". The current design of the iPod wouldn't necessarily make a great video player, so (if Apple is working on a digital video player, that is) a new product would be necessary.

The main thing for Apple to keep in mind is that people generally want seperate gizmos to do specifics things (and do them well). Sure, a PDA can play mp3s, but most people don't use their PDA as an mp3 player (they have an iPod, instead!). It's the same problem Nokia has with its "N-Gage" game system. People want a cell phone and a gaming system, but they don't want a cell phone in their gaming system. So far the iPod is just a music player, with some great other features, too. But will it stay that way? (And that brings us back to the question at hand)

Before we can tell where Apple's taking the current iPod, we'll have to figure out more about what Apple's gadget plans are (video player? tablet? etc?).

And, by the way, that "Home on iPod" feature sounds really cool. It's actually a good reason to buy the 40 GB iPod.

Holiday Upgrade!

2003-11-30T17:43:00.000-06:00

I've decked the halls and converted the jpegs, and the MacUnderground Holiday Upgrade is up and running.

But it's more than some new graphics! The MacUnderground webstore is back up and running, too. The new link is in the right bar, so feel free to check out the new stocking stuffers.

Comments are always welcome (of course).

Site news...

2003-11-30T09:58:00.000-06:00

I realize that posting has been a little sluggish lately, but you'll have to bear with it for another week or so (I'm entering tech week for a play I'm in, so I doubt I'll have much time for anything). I'll try to manage at least one post a day (thankfully, there isn't much to write about right now).

Meanwhile, I've spent the weekend working on some new images for the site. I'm not going to say anything about them, except that they've definitely got some "Holiday Cheer" to them (I do realize that that wasn't a particularly subtle clue). Expect the new images to be up later today (I'll be changing that turkey reference up in the welcome message, too).

Of course, if you've got any comments, questions, or a new rumor feel free to email me at c3net@earthlink.net.

We're number one!

2003-11-29T11:15:00.000-06:00

According to MacMinute, NetRatings has tallied the latest numbers and revealed that Apple.com was the most visited computer-related website for the November 16 week.

And guess who Apple beat by over 50 percent? Dell! Now that's entertainment!

Return of the tablet rumors!

2003-11-27T21:43:00.000-06:00

If you haven't already heard about it, this PBS editorial suggests that it might be time for Apple to finally release a Mac tablet.

The reason for this speculation (there's no rumor here, just speculation) is the upcoming release of a new wireless standard, 802.15.3, which is short-range and high-speed.

But is an Apple tablet really possible? Sure. It's a market that's not proving itself viable ("oooohhh... that PC notebook's screen turns around... that's so useful..."), and that puts Apple in a perfect place to innovate (to "Think Different", if you will).

But will Apple actually make a tablet? Well, that's a different question all together.

Happy Thanksgiving

2003-11-27T06:57:00.000-06:00

Regular posting will continue later today.

Return of the 5 Gig 'Pod?!

2003-11-25T18:43:00.000-06:00

According to an unverified Mac Rumors Page 2 report, Apple has plans to release (or rather, rerelease) a 5 GB iPod as a low-cost model. The release could come as soon as Friday's music event.

You might remember that the 5 GB iPod wasn't officially discontinued until Apple introduced third generation iPods in the spring, but they were out of stock after the last holiday season. Apparently, Apple was somewhat forced to drop the 5 gig model because Toshiba stopped making the 5 GB drive the iPod used.

Adding to the speculation is the fact that Steve Jobs recently mentioned he'd love to make a super-cheap iPod available. Not to mention the fact that Apple's holiday campaign this year seems to basically be "BUY AND iPOD! BUY AN iPOD! BUY AN iPO-O-ODDD!!!"

Hmmm... could a $199 5 GB iPod be in the cards? Sounds possible.

Griffin takes on Belkin?

2003-11-22T18:54:00.000-06:00

According to this Spymac forums post (credit to Mac Rumors for the link), Griffin Tech (you know, the company that makes the Powermate) is planning on taking on Belkin (you know, the company that makes all those 3rd Gen iPod gizmos) in the iPod peripheral market by introducing their own iPod voice recorder-thingy.

Yeah, so it's not that interesting, but is it my fault that only mildly interesting rumors come up when I actually have time to post?

Oooohh... Ads...

2003-11-22T16:58:00.000-06:00

Sure, the weekends tend to be a quiet time for the rumor community, but that hasn't stopped AppleInsider from posting this new "rumor" (actually, it's not a rumor at all, but that's not important).

You can head on over and check out four never-before-seen unreleased Jaguar (OS 10.2) TV ads. In a couple (particularly the "Touching" and "Junk Mail" ones), you can see why they didn't air. Still, they're pretty creative (particularly the "Find Yourself" one), and fun to check out.

A jingle bell rock...

2003-11-20T21:22:00.000-06:00

Apple is now officially announcing next Friday's Apple Store event. It's music related and looks like it'll be much more casual than previous store events (like the Panther shindig, etc.).

The holiday event (that's the third time I've said "event" - make that four times) will run all day at all Apple Retail Stores. According to Apple, "A few special surprises" are in store for us, but so far only 10 percent discounts have been speculated. Last year, Apple's day-after-Thanksgiving event (five times) featured surprise Apple-branded stuff for sale (clocks, pens, and the like). Something like that might be on its way this year, though that's mostly speculative right now.

This just seems to follow Apple's "BUY AN iPOD FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT RIGHT NOW!" mantra this holiday season. With iPod/iTunes commercials running during some of the highest-rated shows on TV, and iPodrocks.com popping up, it looks like Apple's really trying to hook people in with the iPod this year.