Thursday, October 16, 2003
Top Stories
Apple Unveils iTunes, Music Store For Windows
iTunes for Windows is identical to its Macintosh counterpart. And like its Mac counterpart, iTunes for Windows is available for free download from Apple's Web site.
Apple Updates iPod Software, Unveils New Accessories
Now dockable iPod users can use their devices to store hundreds of hours of voice recordings and thousands of digital photos.
Apple UK Confirms iPod Add-Ons Launch
The story is confirmed by Apple's UK online store which has a graphic on its front page advertising "Hot iPod Accessories". The player "now records your voice and stores more than tunes," it burbles.
News
DragThing 5.0 Adds Panther-Only Features
Instant iTMS Registration For AOL Members
America Online will integrate links to iTunes artists, albums and songs throughout its leading music site, AOL Music, which will give members the option to link directly to the specific iTunes Music Store page to preview and buy music as they browse and read music news and reviews.
Apple, Pepsi To Give Away 100 Million Free Songs
Beginning February 1, 2004, 100 million winning codes will be randomly seeded in 20 ounce and 1 liter bottles of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Sierra Mist, and the winning codes will be redeemable for a free song from the iTunes Music Store.
'Second Generation' iTunes Music Store Debuts
Audio book support is a new feature of this updated iTunes Music Store.
Apple Offers Up QuickTime 6.4
The new version of QuickTime "integrates extensive support for 3GPP," according to Apple, including video, audio, text and native .3GP file format support.
Apple Posts New 'Rock' iPod Ad
The new spot features different music, but the same basic theme — black silhouettes of people listening to white iPods, set against brightly colored backgrounds.
Margin Concerns Hit Apple Shares
Apple Computer shares fell as much as 8 percent Thursday amid concerns over fourth-quarter education and consumer sales and hints of less-than-inspiring gross margins ahead.
Apple Is Expected To Unveil Pact With Pepsi
Consumers would get free iTunes downloads with soda purchases, sources say.
Apple School Plan 'Sound' Despite Sales Drop
Apple/s education sales declined 15 per cent in its fourth quarter — but Apple chief financial officer Fred Anderson believes the company has a formula for success in the market.
Tangles In The Mac Web
After the dot-com collapse, most Mac sites are struggling to pay their bills.
Lansing Students Get Computers
Fifty-two seventh-graders at Lansing's Magnet Center for Language, Culture, and Communication Arts received free laptop computers Tuesday.
Apple Stores Are In The Black
Apple's US retail stores are finally in the black: the 63 stores open (on average) in the period added $193 million of revenue.
With Update, Mozilla Introduces Fees
In an attempt to pick up where Netscape left off with consumer marketing, and perhaps to raise some cash, Mozilla is offering customer support at $39.95 per incident.
Profiles In Success: Lincoln Public Schools — Making Inquiry Possible
The total number of computer users in the Lincoln Public Schools system is huge: Approximately 50 elementary, middle, and high schools serve some 32,000 students. Another 2500 teachers need computer access each day. Yet, the schools' IT team constantly strives to deliver the best-possible computing services to each and every user. That's why they've chosen the school's technology infrastructure carefully: It's powered by Xserves, and is managed with such tools as Network Install, NetBoot, NetRestore, and Apple Remote Desktop.
Apple Updates Bluetooth Firmware
According to Apple, the update delivers improved connectivity between a Mac and the new Apple Wireless Keyboard and Mouse, enhancements to the update installation process, better performance when waking a Mac from sleep, and support for additional key commands during startup.
Review
Mailsmith 2, A Light, Fast E-Mail Client
Mailsmith is a strong contender and is well worth the price of admission.
Eye TV — TV For Your Mac
There is no doubt about it, the EyeTV is the ultimate solution for Mac users looking for a TV solution.
Finishing Touches For The 'Pod
Apple Computer's technical support for the makers of accessories for its popular iPod music player has led to the creation of dozens of compatible products.
Cracking The Low End
By not having low end machines, Apple keeps shooting themselves in the foot.
PowerBook G4 15" (FireWire 800): White Spots On Screen
The screens on some new PowerBook G4 15" (FireWire 800) models had developed strange "white" spots.
Contribute 2.0: Web-Page Editor Balances Simplicity And Sophisticated Controls
Contribute couldn't be easier to use. If you already have a Web site and are intimidated or overwhelmed by the process of updating it, this program just might be the answer.
Grade-Book Software: Five OS X-Ready Programs For Teachers Get Assorted Marks
Easy Grade Pro is a pleasure to use and offers numerous time-saving features that will help you get excited about school. MicroGrade stands out because of its Web export and e-mail features. However, it costs nearly twice as much and is saddled with a confusing interface that supports only one class per file.
Mailsmith 2.0: Confusing Interface Is A Flaw In An Improved E-Mail Manager
For some users, Mailsmith 2.0 is unquestionably a necessary upgrade. Its lack of support for IMAP mail servers and certain non-English languages will put off some people, and the program won't benefit those whose e-mail needs begin and end at reading, writing, and simple filtering.
Safari 1.0: Faster, Sleeker Web Browser Best For The Mac
Safari entered a fairly crowded field of OS X Web browsers, but it has sprinted past the others in terms of performance and popularity. Although we can't dismiss the possibility that its competitors may catch up in the future, Safari is currently the best browser for the Mac.
Visual Thesaurus 2.0: Reference Program No Match For Paper Counterpart
Visual Thesaurus is an appealing novelty item, and it may be useful in some educational environments. It also gives you a few things a paper thesaurus doesn't — such as the ability to search for unconventional word relationships. But the needs of most thesaurus users will be better met by a comprehensive reference book, which will probably cost (in paperback) around half as much as this program.
MasterWriter: Songwriting Utility Makes It Easy To Create Perfect Lyrics
Although MasterWriter won't write a song for you, it can generate ideas that may rouse your inner muse. If you write lyrics or poetry, MasterWriter is a comprehensive and worthwhile aid.
The Game Room: Reality Is For Losers
Get out the caffeine and say good-bye to the realworld — assuming, of course, that you've ever been well acquainted with it.
Mac GEMS: Helping Hands
I'm a big fan of Mac OS X, but I admit that there are a few things I miss about OS 9.
Pixels 3D 5.0: 3D-Modeling And Rendering App Blends Function And Low Price
Pixels 3D 5.0 doesn't provide the ultimate tool set for creating 3-D animations and still images. But at $399, it's certainly an excellent choice for beginners. And it may be a reasonable option for professional artists who don't need the elaborate features of high-end, and more expensive, 3-D tools.
Sidetrack
I AM EXCITED that, by this time tomorrow morning after I wake up, I'll have iTunes for Windows.
How free (as in beer) and how usable (I'm not a U.S. user, and cannot buy from iTunes Music Store — meaning, I don't generate recurrent incomes for Apple*) remains to be seen.
* Okay, I just bought a wireless mouse from Apple recently. And I'll be buying Panther soon. But these were after a long dry spell where Apple didn't see any money from me.
RUMOR DU JOUR : iTunes 4.1 allows users to share music between Mac and Windows, while iPod Software 2.1 allows users to record voice memos and view digital photos on the iPods. (Update: Rumor confirmed?) Microphone and card readers sold, I presume, separately.
5 YEARS AGO, Apple reports the 1st profitable year since 1995.
Wintel
Bill Gates: 'Longhorn Is Going To Be Late'
Bill Gates yesterday confirmed that there is no official release date yet for the next version of Windows, named Longhorn.
Windows: More Flawed Than Ever
Microsoft warned consumers Wednesday about four critical new flaws in its popular Windows software as the company shifted to monthly alerts for serious problems that could let hackers break into computers.
Microsoft Mum On Third-Party IM Licenses
On the day it set as a cutoff for unauthorized third parties to stop connecting into its instant messaging network, Microsoft Corp. is offering few details about its progress in creating licensing agreements to continue access.
Microsoft Readies Web Services Apps Framework
Microsoft at its Professional Developers Conference 2003 event in Los Angeles in two weeks will shed light on "Indigo," which is the company's upcoming Web services applications framework. The company also will discuss the planned "Yukon" release of SQL Server and the upcoming "Whidbey" releases of ASP.Net and Visual Studio.
Patent Fight Shadows Microsoft Lawsuit
A fight over an obscure content-protection patent could wind up alleviating one of Microsoft's biggest legal headaches, according to digital rights management company Macrovision, a newcomer to the tussle.
Microsoft Patches Hotmail After Security Warning
Responding to a warning from a maker of antivirus software, Microsoft has fixed a security flaw in Hotmail that would have left the widely used Web-based e-mail service vulnerable to collapse at the hands of online vandals.
Microsoft Releases Monthly Security Fixes
Microsoft released its first monthly security update on Wednesday, following a new schedule that attempts to ease the load on overburdened system administrators.
Microsoft Begins Option Trade-In Program
Microsoft has begun signing up employees for a program that lets workers trade in their "underwater" stock options for cash.
Microsoft Adds New Flavors Of Server OS
Microsoft said Wednesday that it has made available a test version of its Windows Server 2003 operating system that runs on 64-bit chips from Advanced Micro Devices.