ipods

Apple announces MacBook Air

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:59:53 -0500

Well folks, it looks like the rumors were true, though we certainly didn't expect it to be quite this thin. Say hello to the MacBook Air: what Steve Jobs is calling "the world's thinnest notebook." In many ways, this thing is a fanboy dream: a mere .16 inches thick at the bottom and .76 inches thick at the top, the laptop can easily fit into a manila folder. It sports an LED-backlit 13.3 display with ambient light sensor, full-size keyboard, a multitouch trackpad, 2GB of RAM, an optional 64GB SSD and 5 hours of battery life.

So, how did they make this thing so darn thin? First off, they removed the optical drive, though there are two options for folks who still need the old CD/DVD drive: a $100 external drive or "Remote Disk," which allows you to "borrow" another Mac or PC's optical drive wirelessly. Speaking of wireless, the MacBook Air is almost totally wireless (hence the name) save for a few ports: a headphone jack, a micro-DVI, 1 USB and a MagSafe power connector. Of course, it's got 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 on board--sorry rumormongers, no WWAN or WiMAX. Apparently, that didn't get the thing thin enough though, so they used a 1.8" hard drive for the standard model (the same hard drive found in iPods) and had Intel custom make two Core 2 Duos (1.6Ghz and 1.8Ghz) that were 60 percent thinner than existing Core 2 Duos. Apparently the MacBook Air's CPU is the width of a dime, the thickness of a nickel and so thin that Intel CEO Paul Ottellini was heard to remark ""When we started this project, we didn't think it was possible."

So there you have it folks, the latest drool-worthy notebook from Apple. The standard config with 1.6Ghz Core 2 Duo and 80GB hard drive goes for $1800, while the 1.8Ghz, 64GB SSD-sporting model will run you a massive $3100. Pre-orders are available now, shipping in two weeks.

For more on the MacBook Air:
- see Apple's website
- and this Ars Technica liveblog

ALSO NOTED: Google saving $4.6 billion for 700Mhz auction; More than half of computer users admit to stealing WiFi;

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 06:59:51 -0500

> LG/Philips develops "smudge-free" LCD display. Article
> WSJ: Google saving $4.6 billion for 700Mhz auction. Article
> iPods get unlocked for RealPlayer videos. Article
> Surprise: more than half of computer users admit to stealing WiFi. Article
> Nokia N82 gets unboxed. Video

And Finally... The Zune Original, Steve Ballmer edition. Article

Zunes hit retail, get all artsy on us

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 06:59:54 -0500

Welcome back to the social, kiddos. Today marks the official launch of Microsoft's second-generation Zunes, those colorful media players that are poised to take on Apple's iPods this holiday season (not to mention SanDisk's Sansas). As we've mentioned before, they're available in 4GB and 8GB flash-based flavors, in addition to an 80GB hard drive model. And as we've previously mentioned, these little guys match up with Apple's new iPod line up ounce-for-ounce in terms of storage and pricing but include a few cool features that the iPods don't have (namely WiFi--which is only available with Apple's more expensive iPod Touch--and the wireless syncing and sharing that comes with it).

Additionally, Microsoft has unveiled a cool program called "Zune Originals" that allows you to fully customize your Zune. Anyone who orders a Zune direct from the Zune Originals website will be allowed to customize their Zune with their choice of color, up to 4 lines of text, and one of 27 original illustrations from 18 international artists, which can be etched on the back of the unit. Best of all it's free, at least for the time being. A quick gander reveals that most, if not all, of the illustrations are pretty cool, so this could prove to be a successful promotion if Microsoft is able to get the word out.

Finally, today also marks the day that all of the first generation Zunes get the second-generation firmware upgrade, so if you've got a brown Zune that's in need of some lovin', hit up Zune.net for the upgrade.

For more on the new Zunes:
- see Gizmodo's first impressions
- check out this Cool Hunting article on Zune Originals
- and see this article on the firmware upgrade

Leopard security flaws emerge

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 07:59:58 -0400

Apple may have just sold a record 2 million copies of its latest OS over the weekend but that doesn't mean that all is well in the land of iPods and magical elves. Just about the same time that you started digging into the latest from Cupertino, so did the security analysts and what they've turned up is a tad disconcerting.

According to Jürgen Schmidt, editor in chief at Heise Security, Leopard's firewall is a little less than totally secure. If the firewall is enabled (it's turned off by default) and set to "block all incoming connections," certain system services are still allowed access to the Internet. That's a bit misleading, though its hard to say whether or not it's really a security "flaw" per se.

Meanwhile, Thomas Ptacek of Matasano Security found that two of Leopard's security features--sandboxing and library randomization--were not quite as robust as he was led to believe. While sandboxing--placing specific applications in individual, secure environments to avoid a contaminated application from infecting the entire operating system--can be effective in certain scenarios, Ptacek found that the most commonly targeted applications like Safari, iChat and Mail, were not run in a sandbox. Furthermore, he felt that the sandboxes were not quite as walled off as they should be. With regards to library randomization--which was designed to protect the user from system library exploits like buffer overflows--Apple again failed to implement the feature in all of the places where it's needed, like in the Dynamic Link Library.

While worthy of concern, all of these security flaws are somewhat minor points and won't be seen as critical vulnerabilities until they are exploited. The real test for Apple, however, is in how they deal with these flaws. If they're really intent on proving that they're different from Microsoft, now is their chance.

For more on the security concerns:
- see this MacWorld article
- and this article from CNET

250,000 unlocked iPhones in the wild

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 06:59:54 -0400

Apple had their quarterly earnings call last month and in a lot of ways, it was business as usual for the Cupertino company. Yet again, Jobs and Co. posted record profits (for the month of September) and record Mac sales (for the quarter), raking in a net quarterly profit of $904 million with $6.22 billion in revenue. The company sold 10.2 million iPods and 2,164,000 Macs in Q4 2007--all up from last year, of course. More good news for Mac fans: 62 percent of the company's total revenue came from computers this year, with 62 percent of all Macs sold being notebooks. Though the iPod and iTunes did well, they only made up 36 percent of the company's net revenue.

What was interesting about Apple's earnings call was the iPhone. While the company is keeping mum on how much money they drew out of iPhone sales, they did own up to selling 1,119,000 phones in Q4 2007, bringing the total number of iPhones up to 1,389,000. By comparing the number of iPhones sold to the number of iPhones activated on AT&T's network, Apple was able to figure out how many unlocked devices exist in the wild: somewhere in the neighborhood of 250,000. That's a huge number--representing almost 17 percent of all iPhones sold--and demonstrates that there's a very real demand for an unlocked iPhone.

For more on Apple's Q4:
- see this press release
- and this 9 to 5 Mac article on the unlocked iPhones

How to: Extend the lifespan of your gadgets

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 06:59:53 -0400

We know, we know: you absolutely love your iPod/Palm Treo/HTC handset/Plasma HDTV. But how do you go about extending the lifespan of your beloved gizmo? Check out this guide from Real Simple that's full of tips (some of them common sense, some of them quite novel) for extending the lifespan of your favorite piece of consumer electronics. Included in the guide are life-extending tips for iPods, cell phones, TVs, DVD players and printers, as well as a list of common issues and possible solutions. For example, "High humidity can cause paper jams and ink clogs, so if you're having [ink jet printer] problems, you may need to run an air conditioner or a dehumidifier while using the printer."

For more tips:
- check out the Real Simple article

How to: Make the most of Cover Flow on your iPod

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:59:52 -0400

So, you just ran out and bought one of those brand-spanking-new iPods and you can't wait to check out the flashy new Cover Flow interface. There's only one problem: you don't have album art for any of your music in iTunes. If you've never added artwork in iTunes before, check out this handy guide, which will have you flipping through the covers of your favorite Steely Dan albums in no time.

OS X Leopard to ship on the 26th?

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

When it comes to Apple rumors, you've got your totally-outlandish-barely-within-the-realm-of-possibility-rumors (Newton successor coming in January?), you've got your totally-reasonable-and-probably-true rumors (new iPods in time for the holidays?) and then you've got everything in between. This rumor, unfortunately, is about as close to the reasonable end of the spectrum as you're likely to get. As you'll recall, Apple pledged to release OS 10.5 aka "Leopard" by the end of October. Traditionally, Apple has always released updates to its operating system on the last Friday of the calendar month. Thus, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that October 26th is the likely date. AppleInsider's sources seem to confirm this time frame, stating that "announcements are likely to arrive any time between the 22nd and 27th of the month." Mark your calendars, Mac fans.

For more on Leopard's impending release:
- see this AppleInsider article

iPod Nano and Classic get reviewed

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:59:53 -0400

If you or someone you know is in the market for a new iPod this year, you've probably found yourself wondering how the new iPod Nano and Classic stack up against the older generation of iPods. Ars Technica gave both devices the full review treatment and as it tuns out, the new iPods are something of a mixed bag. Though the folks at Ars dug the new iPods' full-metal design, the flashy new UI and the Nano's hi-rez LCD, they ultimately found that the latest generation leaves a few things to be desired. While the reviewers took issue with the Nano's form factor (apparently it's less comfortable to hold than the previous Nanos), it was the slowness of the UI that really bugged them. As far as Cover Flow is concerned, Ars reports that "the iPod's hardware is simply not up to par to support something this graphically intensive". What's more, the sluggishness experienced during the use of Cover Flow apparently carried over to the rest of the UI as well. "Within the first minute of using the new iPod classic and iPod nano, the sluggishness was perceptible and somewhat annoying."

For more on the new iPods:
- read the full review at Ars Technica

An open letter to Steve Jobs

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 07:00:00 -0400

Dear Steve Jobs,

I've been hearing a lot of talk about you in the media lately and not being the sort to gossip, I thought I should bring my concerns directly to you. You see, I've noticed that you're a fan of the open letter, so I figured that this would probably be the best way to reach you. Call me old fashioned but it just seems like the honest thing to do.

It seems to me that you've had a pretty eventful week, Steve. Can I call you Steve? Cool. Anyway, you launched those new iPods on Wednesday, which was pretty huge. I was expecting some of those new models but I definitely didn't expect all of them to be unveiled at once like that. And speaking of surprises, how can I forget the $200 iPhone price drop? You certainly pulled that one out of a hat, that's for sure.

So with all the new gear and the price drop, you'd think that everyone would be happy, right? If only life were so easy. It seems that you were bombarded with angry emails from loyal Apple fanatics who demanded to know why they paid $600 when a price drop was waiting in the wings all along. If it was me, I would've just said "hey, prices change, that's life" or something to that effect. But you had something different in mind, didn't you? In the interest of "taking care of our early iPhone customers," you decided to offer $100 in store credit to all of the folks who paid full price for the iPhone as a sort of goodwill gesture.

Talk about surprises. A move like that is pretty much unprecedented in the consumer electronics industry. My friend Brian even went so far as to call you the "Willy Wonka of tech" (don't worry, I'm pretty sure he meant that as a compliment). Still, even Willy Wonka had his detractors and so do you, Steve. Enter Apple shareholders, the Veruca Salts of this story. Those guys were apparently less than impressed with the iPhone pricecut--my guess is that they took it to be indicative of weak sales. The day of the pricecut, Wall Street took a cool $5.5 billion off of your market cap and following the refund announcement, we saw them take another $1.5 billion off the top. And from the looks of it, they're still feeling pretty pessimistic.

Now I'm no investment expert and I don't own any Apple stock (or any stock, for that matter) but I'm not too worried. I know that you've got a few tricks up your sleeve: you were making 50 percent margins on that phone at $600 and as anyone who has ever been in an Apple store can tell you, you can't buy much for $100. So I know that this isn't going to make a dent on the bottom line. Worst case scenario, you'll have to give out a few free boxes of iPod Socks. No sweat.

So here's what I'm concerned about: why did you do it? The easy answer is that you simply wanted to repay existing customers for their loyalty while attracting new customers to the phone. Fair enough. But I know well enough that a great deal of strategy goes into every public move that you make. Robert X. Cringely (Remember him? He was that joker who turned down shares in Apple for a few hundred bucks) called the rebate "a calculated and tightly scripted exercise in marketing and ego gratification". I won't comment on your ego, Steve but I do agree with Bob when it comes to marketing.

I'll tell you why: because somebody has got to set the stage for the next iteration of the iPhone. When the iPhone launched at $599, it was a high-end piece of technology. The price was ridiculous but so was the product; thus, people were willing to pony up the dough. And what now of the iPhone? It's priced at $399--not that much more than the iPod--and there's a cheaper iPod that boasts all of the same features sans calling. You have to make us want the iPhone again Steve and the only way to accomplish that is by once again repositioning it as a high-end device.

That's why I think that the dudes at Engadget might be right: you might just pull a 3G iPhone out of your pocket in Paris on the 25th. You promised an iPhone for Europe by the end of the quarter, the agreements are signed, all that's left is to launch the thing. And while you may have been able to convince consumers in the technologically lagging U.S. market that we don't need 3G, I'm pretty sure that you know you won't be able to pull off the same trick in Europe--especially not with a $600 phone. That's why the European iPhone will sport a 3G radio and, quite possibly, 16GB of flash like the high-end iPod Touch. And after the uproar about the price drop, you know that you won't be able to get away with not releasing the same phone in the U.S. so you'll have no choice but to introduce it over here as the new high-end iPhone.

So there you have it: Europe gets the iPhone, the U.S. gets 3G and the low-end crowd gets iPods and EDGE iPhones for half the price--everyone's happy, right? Well, maybe not. As you surely know, there's likely to be a few malcontents out there somewhere who'll complain. But really, no one will have a valid reason to gripe--either you bought your iPhone for $399 or you got a $100 refund. And if you really want the 3G, you'll go out and pay $600 for the new iPhone as quickly as you bought the old one.

Sure, Steve, it would be totally unprecedented if you released a new version of the iPhone just a few short months after introducing the device. But remember: both the price drop and the refund were equally unprecedented. Come to think of it, most everything you've done during your career has been without precedent--both the good and the bad. I guess that's why so many folks love your company so much.

Take it easy,

- Mehan