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Mac Pro Set For Refresh This Week
Apple overtakes Wal-Mart - Briefly
So is the Mac at Death's Door?
Apple Computers vs. PC Computers
Jef Raskin: Unofficial Father Of The iPad?
Mozilla births first Thunderbird 3.1 beta
Apple MacBook Pro 13-Inch Review Revisited
Former P.A. Semi Chief Leaves Apple For Chip Startup - Report
Steve Jobs Flash Rant Put To The Test; Found Wanting
What Would Happen If Apple Decided To Buy A Controlling Stake In General Motors?
Google Is Working On Letting Users Link Their Gmail And Google Apps Accounts
Mozilla Gives Passive-aggressive Missive To Pre-Firefox 3.6 Holdouts
Quickly Create Alpha Images From Icons In Preview
Apple's Claim to the Letter "i" – Rejected
Mac Pro Set For Refresh This Week
T3 Online reports that the Mac Pro is line for an overhaul this week according to gossip amongst serial Apple watchers.
The top of the range machine is rumored due to get an all-new interior, running the so-called 'Hexacore' Intel Core i7 processor, which zips along at an eye-watering 3.33 Ghz. As such, it'd be the first Apple machine to run this architecture, with today's version rocking a quad-core Intel Nehalem.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.t3.com/news/mac-pro-set-for-refresh-next-week?=44133
Apple overtakes Wal-Mart - Briefly
Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports:
Ninety minutes after Apple opened its online store for iPad pre-orders Friday morning, a burst of trading — roughly 2 million shares in 30 minutes — pushed its stock price to $227.73 and its market cap to $206.5 billion.
That, and a dip in Wal-Mart's share price, made Apple — if only briefly — America's third largest company by market capitalization, after Exxon and Microsoft and ahead of Wal-Mart and Berkshire Hathaway.
For the full report visit here:
http://bit.ly/bSsD8W
Is The iPad The Beginning Of The End For The Mac? No
Macsimum News's Dennis Sellers says:
In a report for PC Mag, Sascha Segan says that the rise of the iPhone OS-based iPad could be the beginning of the end for the Mac platform. I understand his reasoning, but that's just not going to happen.....
The iPad is a device for media consumption with some limited productivity features (such as the iWork apps customized for it). The iPad might make a great companion to a laptop or (especially) as a desktop Mac (I'll let you know as soon as I have mine in hand).
However, none of the iPhone OS powered devices have the oomph to do major productivity work. Can you imagine trying to do video editing or working with FileMaker on the iPhone OS? At least as it is in its present form......
However, Sellers thinks the iPad will kill many netbooks and probably the MacBook Air.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://bit.ly/9pvcNG
So is the Mac at Death's Door?
The Tech Nightowl's Gene Steinberg says:
When I suggested recently that we had returned to the silly season, perhaps a little earlier than I might have expected, I didn't know how right I was. A recent article, from a site that I won't name, is now suggesting that the iPad is the first nail in the Mac's coffin, that it won't be long before only the Mac Pro remains in the lineup. We'll all be using iPads real soon now, at least according to what's being implied in that article....
In the next few years, there may even come a time where the home PC is largely supplanted by the iPad and its competitors. But those who require a computer at work - and that's most of you I'm sure - aren't going to suddenly find an iPad on your desk replacing whatever you used before......
Now if you ask me in 2015 about the iPad versus a regular Mac, I will probably have different answers. But that's then and this is now.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://www.technightowl.com/2010/03/so-is-the-mac-at-deaths-door/
Apple Computers vs. PC Computers
Blogger hkdezigner says:
I'm 100% Team Apple.... My very first computer was the [I think] 1990 Macintosh Classic..... down the road we got new PC computer... Then I got one of my own in high school that hooked up to the INTERNET. Wowza!....
Off to college! I got a brand new PC [Compaq Presario] with Windows ME! I really loved my computer but gosh golly did it break down a lot!....
Now to Design College.... Naturally, the school was all Mac based running OS 9 at the time.... This was about the time where my fellow classmates were updating to MacBooks and PowerBooks running OS 10.
As a college graduation gift I received a brand new PowerBook [2004]. I've been running the same computer with ZERO problems up to this date - That's 6 YEARS. I've NEVER had a virus, I've never had crazy screens of death, basically up and running fast since 2004! The hard drive did go out, but it was covered by Applecare and the keys are wearing out but that is it - All wear and tear! No annoying slow stupid virus stuff. No late night calls to IT friends. ...
....It hasn't been the "newest computer" for several years but it still ran like a champion, better than any PC! At my previous employer they had the "state of the art" PC computers with chips and RAMs filled to the top. Might as well of been chips and DIPS.... these computers were SLOW and almost always broken.....
MEANWHILE, I would come home and use my 6 year old Mac and I would zoom all over the place with ease. I could have all of the programs open... no worries. A folder of photos open in photoshop, YOU GOT IT! I'm sorry... but I don't think I would ever like to own another SLOW virus prone PC ever again. I mean it's as clear as night and day in performance....
PC Lovers, try to argue yourself out of performance! What? You enjoy viruses and drama? Be my guest! I know Macs are more money, but it is well worth it! No headaches!
For the full commentary visit here:
http://hkdezigner.blogspot.com/2010/03/apple-vs-mac-computers.html
Jef Raskin: Unofficial Father Of The iPad?
The ipadtest blog says:
Jef Raskin was the father of the Macintosh.
Those of you who don't know the history, go catch up on that by reading his Wikipedia entry, then come back here for the rest.
Raskin, now unfortunately deceased, did a lot of thinking about what makes a good user interface.....
I'm going to excerpt a variety of sentences from him because he seems to make part of the case for the iPad. In fact, some of these excerpts make me wonder if he should be acknowledged as the unofficial father of the iPad.
To read more, click here.
http://ipadtest.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/jef-raskin-unofficial-father-of-the-ipad/
Mozilla births first Thunderbird 3.1 beta
The Register's Cade Metz reports:
Mozilla has released the first Thunderbird 3.1 beta for Windows, Mac and Linux.
Codenamed Lanikai, version 3.1 of Mozilla's open source email and news client is built atop Gecko 1.9.2, the same rendering engine at the heart of the new Firefox 3.6.
According to a Mozilla blog post, the first "stable" Lanikai release includes several fixes to improve upgrades from Thunderbird 2; several for auto complete, tabs and activity manager, several design improvements and corrections to the user interface, and various stability and memory improvements.....
[Editor's note: I downloaded Lanikai on Friday, and have found it fast and stable. The new application icon is an interesting change as well, although I liked the old T-Bird icon.]
For the full report visit here:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/12/mozilla_thunderbird_lanikai_beta/
Apple MacBook Pro 13-Inch Review Revisited
T3's review of the 13" MacBook Pro by Ian Osborne isn't new, but worth a look if you're considering one of these machines, which your editor considers to be most all-round desirable Apple laptop currently offered and arguably one of the beat ever. Osborne reports that when users spoke. Apple listened, at least this time. Back in October 2008, the Apple released a delectible 13-inch MacBook featuring a unibody enclosure carved from a single piece of aluminium for lightness and strength. But the proverbial fly-in-the-ointment was that they also dropped the previous MacBook's FireWire port, FW being an Apple-developed data interface protocol that had graces almost every Mac for over a decade. Vast numbers of Mac users had at least one FireWire peripheral, and were dismayed to find it missing on the new MacBook.
Less than a year later, in June 2009, Apple upgraded its unibody models range, promoting the aluminium 13-inch MacBook to MacBook Pro status, and restoring a FireWire port alongside a brand-new built-in SD card reader, a built-in (non-swappable) battery, a new LED-backlit display boasting a 60% wider colour gamut, Core 2 Dup processor speed bumps to 2.26GHz and 2.53GHz, a RAM upgrade ceiling increased to 8 GB, a standard illuminated keyboard, and a significant price drop.
However, Osborne says the 13-inch MacBook Pro's main shortcoming is that it's the only MacBook Pro not to have an available discrete graphics processor (it's not included on the entry-level 15" MacBook Pro either), relying on its Nvidia GeForce 9400M integrated graphics chipset to get the job done, which happily it does very well.
For the full review visit here:
http://www.t3.com/reviews/computers/laptops/apple-macbook-pro-13-inch-review
Former P.A. Semi Chief Leaves Apple For Chip Startup - Report
Applwinsider's Katie Marsal reports:
P.A. Semi founder and chief executive Dan Dobberpuhl, who joined Apple as part of the acquisition of his company two years ago, has since left the iPhone maker for a startup venture, according to a published report.
To read more, click here.
http://bit.ly/cinHOb
Steve Jobs Flash Rant Put To The Test; Found Wanting
The Register's Cade Metz says:
When Steve Jobs badmouthed Adobe Flash to The Wall Street Journal, he said it was buggy, littered with security holes, and a "CPU hog". It's hard to argue with the first two, but a new study claims the Apple cult leader was wrong about the hog bit.
According to tests from the Streaming Learning Center - an online media consultancy that conducts public seminars on the delivery of net video - Flash is no more of a CPU drain than the HTML5 setup favored by Steve Jobs. The issue is not whether you use Flash or HTML5, says Jan Ozer, who conducted the tests, but whether you back them with hardware acceleration.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2010/03/12/flash_v_html5/
What Would Happen If Apple Decided To Buy A Controlling Stake In General Motors?
autospies.com's Agent009 says:
General Motors is shaking up their whole organization from top to bottom.
New leadership and innovative thinking are high on the agenda. The Wall Street Journal quotes that GM is worth around 50 Billion dollars give or take a few. So we have a 50 billion dollar company that needs strong focused leadership, aggressive innovation, and the determination to be the best. A Phoenix that needs to rise from the ashes.
....In a time where PC makers are pushing low profit netbooks to Walmart, CEO Steve Jobs has convinced countless consumers that moving upscale is key to quality and success. In the face of the worst economic market in recent times, Apple has maintained momentum, innovation, and moved customer service to the forefront of the computer industry..... The reward for this effort is an unheard of stockpile of 40 billion dollars cash, double digit increases in sales, and an determination to do "something big".
So what would happen if Apple to decided to strike a deal with Washington, and bring "Government Motors" under their wing? If Steve Jobs wants to do something "BIG", here is it baby!.....
To read more, click here.
http://bit.ly/9OVaRC
Google Is Working On Letting Users Link Their Gmail And Google Apps Accounts
TechCrunch 's Jason Kincaid says:
Many people (including myself) have come to the conclusion that Gmail, with its threaded messages, spam filtering, and vast storage space, is one of the web’s best webmail providers. In fact, we like it so much that we use it for both our personal accounts and work accounts using Google Apps. But that also poses a problem: many of us wind up having to maintain two separate Google accounts, which means we have to swap logins whenever our Gmail, Reader, or other data is stored under the other account. Fortunately, there may be an end in sight for this juggling act.....
To read more, click here.
http://tcrn.ch/dbYWzY
Mozilla Gives Passive-aggressive Missive To Pre-Firefox 3.6 Holdouts
The Register's Kelly Fiveash reports:
Mozilla has begun shepherding Firefox fans through the browser door marked 3.6, in a move to encourage users to upgrade to the open source outfit's latest surfing tool.
....Mozilla claimed that Firefox 3.6 had been downloaded by over 100 million people since it landed in January this year.
That milestone was enough for the organisation to start haranguing stick-in-the-mud types on earlier versions of Firefox to get with the programme and upgrade.....
For more information, visit:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/12/mozilla_upgrade_to_firefox_3_6_nowwwwwww/
Quickly Create Alpha Images From Icons In Preview
MacFixIt's Joe Aimonetti says:
Have you ever wondered how MacFixIt gets all those cool icons to start each of our articles? Even if you haven't, this is how you can do it, quick and easy. This tip is great for bloggers who write about applications and don't want to go searching online for an image of the icon from the app they are writing about.
Follow these simple steps and change an icon into an image....
You can check it out at:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10468009-263.html?tag=mncol;title
Apple's Claim to the Letter "i" – Rejected
tipb.com's Jeremy Sikora reports:
Apple's claim to the letter "i" has come to a screeching halt as a trademarks tribunal has rejected the company's bid to stop a small company from using their favorite letter of the alphabet.
This particular company wanted to name it's cases for Apple products DOPi, which is iPod spelled backwards. Apple's argument was that the DOPi name resembled their own products too closely and that it had potential to confuse consumers that they were purchasing a Apple product.
To read more, click here.
http://www.tipb.com/2010/03/12/apples-claim-letter-rejected/
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