Applelinks Tech Web Reader - Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Steve Wozniak Says Apple Stock Downgrade Justified, Predicts Decline Of iPod, And Prefers Google G1 Openness To iPhone Locked-Downness
And The 'Brick' is...
Apple Cures The Common Cold And Other Stuff
Rumour: NVIDIA driven MacBooks out October 14th?
Mac Brick? Apple's Fancy New Manufacturing Process That Could Revolutionize The Industry
The Top 10 List Of Word Processors For Mac Users
Apple Not Immune To Economic Woes - Plans For New Mac Purchases Slip, Says Consumer Pollster
Apple Doesn't Need Jobs, Analyst Says
Apple's Big Mo: "Losses" Are Only Real When They Are Realized
AAPL Drops 8.4% Amidst Broader Tech Selloff
The Cost of Moving to Small Business Server vs. Moving to Leopard Server
PC Mag: 10 Laptop Security Products
PC Mag: eBay Buys Bill Me Later, Cuts 10 Percent of Workforce
Steve Wozniak Says Apple Stock Downgrade Justified, Predicts Decline Of iPod, And Prefers Google G1 Openness To iPhone Locked-Downness
The Telegraph's Rupert Neate reports on a wide-ranging itnerview with Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak:
Steve Wozniak was such a chronically shy teenager he could barely summon the courage to speak to other kids, instead he would spend his evenings tinkering with calculators and dreaming of super computers.
He's a different man today. Mr Wozniak, or Woz to use one of his many nicknames, has just had a roomful of high-powered businessmen in stitches as he recounted the rocky beginnings of one of the world's most loved companies....
Last week Apple's shares tumbled nearly 20pc after two analysts downgraded the stock on fears that the consumer spending slowdown could seriously hit future profits.
While many company founders would steer well clear of commenting on valuations, Mr Wozniak says the downgrade was "correct": an admission which could wipe further millions of the shares which have fallen by from a high of $179 in August to just over $100 on the close last week.
In fact he believes: "It is time for the whole computer industry to maybe have a bit of a slowdown. For twenty years we have been in this replacement and upgrade market," he says. "It is very easy to postpone that when there are financial irregularities.".....
.....he predicts the imminent death of the company's most popular product, the iPod.
"The iPod has sort of lived a long life at number one," he says. "Things like, that if you look back to transistor radios and Walkmans, they kind of die out after a while."
Mr Wozniak even speaks out against the iPhone 3G, Apple's latest cult product.....
"Consumers aren't getting all they want when companies are very proprietary and lock their products down," he says when comparing the iPhone's closed operating system to the new Google phone's open source system which allows anyone to modify and adapt the way the phone works. "I would like to write some more powerful apps than what you're allowed," he laments......
Hmmmm. I wonder if the Woz has been crossed off the other Steve's Christmas Card list.
For the full report visit here:
http://tinyurl.com/4ufjab
And The 'Brick' is...
9To5 Mac's Seth Weintraub reports:
The MacBook Brick is a block of high-quality, aircraft grade aluminum. It is the beginning.
The beginning of what?
It is the beginning of the new Apple manufacturing process to make MacBooks. It is totally revolutionary, a game changer. One of the biggest Apple innovations in a decade.
The MacBook manufacturing process up to this point has been outsourced to Chinese or Taiwanese manufacturers like Foxconn. Now Apple is in charge. The company has spent the last few years building an entirely new manufacturing process that uses lasers and jets of water to carve the MacBooks out of a brick of aluminum......
For the full report visit here:
http://9to5mac.com/macbook-brick
Apple Cures The Common Cold And Other Stuff
CNET reports:
Seth Weintraub of 9to5Mac, a blogger with good sources within the Macintosh community, is reporting that Apple has invented a new manufacturing process for MacBooks.....
"(Yes, this sounded a bit crazy to us as well. But our source is adamant so bear with us. He says Apple has built a manufacturing process that would make Henry Ford proud.)"....
Henry Ford? Yowza.
At the same time, Mike Schramm from TUAW.com writes that Nvidia is offering sneak peaks of the product to employees. He speculates that the units may include "some extra Nvidia power," presumably to turn the MacBook into a more serious game machine....
To read more, click here.
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/cnet/20081005/tc_cnet/83011078731005848960_1
Rumour: NVIDIA driven MacBooks out October 14th?
ITWire's Davey Winder says:
The Apple world has been going crazy over news of the new MacBooks. You know, the aluminium bodied, glass-trackpad festooned objects of desire that everyone thought would already be on sale. Now we are told that they will have added NVIDIA power and be unveiled next week...
According to a posting on that bastion of all things Apple shaped and rumour flavoured, The Unofficial Apple Weblog, we do not have long to wait for the new MacBook.
What's more, those same sources are insisting that the MacBook will come complete with some NVIDIA power under the hood. "A source tells us that NVIDIA is showing off new MacBooks to their employees" TUAW says.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/21015/53/
Mac Brick? Apple's Fancy New Manufacturing Process That Could Revolutionize The Industry
Crunchgear's Nicholas Deleon says:
Apple is looking to construct, or already has, its own ultra modern manufacturing facility. A fancy factory, in English. Names being thrown around include Brick, MacBrick, or variations thereof. The facility would make use of, among other high-tech innovations, laser and water cutting of materials like aluminum....
Such a facility would be owned and operated by Apple, and not its traditional manufacturing partners in Asia. (Computerworld even speculates that it would be located somewhere in the United States, powered by all sorts of renewable energies.)....
For the full report visit here:
http://tinyurl.com/4ooabg
The Top 10 List Of Word Processors For Mac Users
Mac360's Alexis Kayhill reports:
I saw an ad on the web for yet another Mac word processor. How many ways do you need to write something on your Mac?
A few dozen, apparently. I made a list of all the Mac word processors I knew, then did a search online and came up with a dozen more.
Word processing is alive and well on the Mac. Here's a list of 10 of the best, some free. Is your favorite on the list?.....
#10 - Bean
#9 - Schreiben
#8 - Scrivener
#7 - CopyWrite
#6 - Jer's Novel Writer
#5 - Story Mill
#4 - AbiWord
#3 - MarinerWrite
#2 - NisusWriter
#1 - Mellel
For the full commentary including brief profiles of all ten, visit here:
http://tinyurl.com/4bosou
Apple Not Immune To Economic Woes - Plans For New Mac Purchases Slip, Says Consumer Pollster
Computerworld's Gregg Keizer reports:
Apple Inc. faces a tough quarter, according to ChangeWave Research, which today projected a drop in consumer plans to buy a Macintosh computer in the next 90 days.
Of the more then 4,200 U.S. consumers polled last month by ChangeWave who said they expect to buy a personal computer in the next three months, 29% plan to purchase a Mac laptop, down five percentage points from August's survey. The percentage of people who said they would buy a Mac desktop in the next 90 days is also down - to 26%, off four points - from the month before.
For the full report visit here:
http://tinyurl.com/3saad5
Apple Doesn't Need Jobs, Analyst Says
Computerworld's Gregg Keizer reports:
Apple Inc. doesn't need Steve Jobs, an analyst argued today.
Early on Friday, Apple shares slid below $100 for the first time since May 2007 after a false report circulated that Apple's 53-year-old CEO had suffered a major heart attack. The report, posted on iReport.com, a "citizen journalist" Web site operated by CNN, was quickly denied by Apple, but not before the share price had slid nearly 11%.
The panic was unwarranted, said Ezra Gottheil, an analyst at Technology Business Research Inc.
"Apple doesn't need Jobs anymore," Gottheil said......
To read more, click here.
http://tinyurl.com/538nf3
Apple's Big Mo: "Losses" Are Only Real When They Are Realized
CNBC'a Jim Goldman says:
What else do investors need to hear when it comes to solid data showing just how well Apple's iPhone is selling?
When you get a market like this one, down over 700 points at one point today, it's tough to talk about a company doing well, and a stock with opportunity, but hey folks, that's when you're supposed to be looking for deals. Blood in the streets, the old saying goes, is the best time to find the opportunities.....
For the full commentary visit here:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/27053979?__source=RSS*blog*&par=RSS
AAPL Drops 8.4% Amidst Broader Tech Selloff
MacObserver's Bryan Chaffin reports:
AAPL shareholders hoping for a bailout-inspired rally of the stock were in for disappointment Monday, and the stock shed another 8.9% amidst a broader tech selloff sparked by a warning from auction giant Ebay. Apple's stock was trading at US$88.29 per share, down 8.16 (-8.41%), in the early afternoon trading sector.....
Apple's stock price of $88.91 per share is a new 52 week low.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.macobserver.com/stockwatch/2008/10/06.2.shtml
The Cost of Moving to Small Business Server vs. Moving to Leopard Server
Low End Mac's Andrew Fishkin says:
In my previous article, I looked at the option of replacing my Windows Small Business Server 2003 with Mac OS X 10.5 Server, comparing features, ease of use, and security.
In features Windows, with its full Exchange server, wins easily, but the other two more than make up for any lost capabilities.
The one factor that I did not look at is price, which as I already own SBS 2003 is not the same equation as for someone buying new. I paid for my Dell server three years ago, and it has fully depreciated, meaning that every day that it sits in my office, it costs nothing.
Mac OS X Server (10-user-edition) costs $500 for the software, and anywhere between $600 (Mac mini) to over $4,000 (decked-out Mac Pro) for the hardware. I'm leaning toward a $3,000 configuration (plus server OS) of the Mac Pro as my server, meaning the price difference is $3,500 more to go Mac than stay with Windows....
For the full report visit here:
http://lowendmac.com/fishkin/08af/leopard-server-vs-sbs.html
PC Mag: 10 Laptop Security Products
Safeguard your laptop from theft with these tools, including a notebook lock, privacy screen, or security alarm.
To read more, go to:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2331776,00.asp
PC Mag: eBay Buys Bill Me Later, Cuts 10 Percent of Workforce
Internet auction site eBay will cut 10 percent of its workforce, or about 1,000 jobs, the company said Monday.
On a more positive note, eBay also announced Monday that it will acquire online billing company Bill Me Later for $820 million in cash and about $125 million in outstanding options. The company will also purchase Danish classifieds Web site dba.dk and vehicle site bilbasen.dk for $390 million, eBay said.
eBay's layoffs will also affect several hundred temporary jobs, contractors, and open positions that have not yet been filled.
To read more, go to:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2331858,00.asp
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