Applelinks Tech Web Reader - Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Do Second-Hand Apples Taste as Sweet?
Is Apple Really "Flailing Badly At The Edges?"
Michael Arrington Has Some Bad Luck With His Macs, Thinks It Means That Everybody Else Does, Too
OS X:Why It "Looks" So Different.
Spice up your Apple applications - Splash of Aqua
PC vs. Mac
Apple Blames Scorching iPods On Battery Problem
iPod Nano Trouser Fireballs Sweep Japan
A Third Of Vista PCs Downgraded To XP
MobileMe so bad that Apple is giving it away
Apple Announces Magsafe Out Of Warranty Replacement Program
Is the Nvidia fault affecting Macs?
Tired Teens Risking Their Hearts
CS Odessa develops partnership with Academic Institutions
Do Second-Hand Apples Taste as Sweet?
MacNewsWorld's Jim Offner says:
The release of the iPhone 3G has turned into a big payday for the likes of Rapid Repair, one of several firms that buys, refurbishes and resells first-generation iPhones. Reselling Apple items like iPods and iPhones can be brisk business for some. However, reselling hardware like computers, which people tend to want to keep longer, isn't always as easy.
Just because the iPhone 3G is storming the marketplace, don't expect the first-generation iPhone to disappear.
Quite the contrary. Used iPhones, and iPods as well, are finding a ready market for refurbished Apple products.
But it really is an Apple marketplace.
"I don't see any other brand being able to build that kind of market in refurbished products," In-Stat analyst Stephanie Ethier told MacNewsWorld. "Apple is the only brand I see being able to pull off something like that. I don't see any other brand being able to have that kind of following for refurbished products."
Apple, she said, has generated a kind of cult cool status that other brands just can't duplicate.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.macnewsworld.com/rsstory/64198.html
Is Apple Really "Flailing Badly At The Edges?"
TechCrunch's Michael Arrington says:
My first computer, purchased by my parents after nearly a year of begging, was an Apple II+. That was 1982. I was a Windows user for the next 20 years, but went back to Mac when they switched to Intel chips a couple of years ago. Since then I've bought seven Macs for myself, as well as at least one of every iPod and both iPhones. A lot of these were test devices that I've passed on to friends and family.....
My obvious enthusiasm for Apple products is fairly evident to readers of this blog. But recently I've had a string of bad apples come my way, so to speak. It's time for Apple to stop screwing around and start paying attention to product quality.....
Mac Mini, Macbook Air, Macbook Pro and Macbook, All Failed....
For the full commentary visit here:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/19/apple-is-flailing-badly-at-the-edges/
[Editor's note: OK; I've bought at least seven Macs over the past 16 years, and the only serious hardware failure I've experienced was a CPU in a 3 1/2 year old (at the time) WallStreet PowerBook. I repaired that with a scrounged (for free) processor daughtercard, and that 'Book, which will be ten years old come January, is still going strong, currently in use by my daughter as a provisional stand-in for her failed IBM ThinkPad.
I'm sure Michael Arrington's bad luck is immensely frustrating, even infuriating, but anecdotal experience is insufficient grounds to make sweeping generalizations about a product. It is possible to find user-end horror stories about virtually any mass-produced product, especially ones as complex as personal computers.
I would be ticked off too, but to hang a blanket condemnation of Apple products on them or to question Apple's well and objectively established record as constitently occupying the top or near-top of user-satisfaction and after-sales service surveys (including those conducted by PC-oriented journals) for more than two decades just isn't credible, as underscored by The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) second quarter report, released yesterday from the University of Michigan’s National Quality Research Center which found that while the personal computer industry suffered a second consecutive drop in satisfaction, falling 1% to 74 and losing all gains made since 2005, Apple is bucking industry trend curve by posting its largest gain ever to 85, a new all-time high for the industry. The 8% leap puts 10 points between Apple and its nearest rival, one of the largest gaps between first and second in any industry measured by ACSI. As Apple’s satisfaction improves, so too have its sales, market share, net income, and stock price.
“It’s hard not to be impressed with Apple,” said Professor Claes Fornell, head of the ACSI at the University of Michigan, “This is product extension at its best where the new products, iPod and iPhone, are helping bring new customers to existing computer products.
For a complete list of measured companies and scores, visit: http://www.theacsi.org ]
Michael Arrington Has Some Bad Luck With His Macs, Thinks It Means That Everybody Else Does, Too
MacDailyNews reports:
"My first computer, purchased by my parents after nearly a year of begging, was an Apple II+. That was 1982. I was a Windows user for the next 20 years, but went back to Mac when they switched to Intel chips a couple of years ago. Since then I've bought seven Macs for myself, as well as at least one of every iPod and both iPhones. A lot of these were test devices that I've passed on to friends and family," Michael Arrington writes for TechCrunch.
"My obvious enthusiasm for Apple products is fairly evident to readers of this blog. But recently I've had a string of bad apples come my way, so to speak. It's time for Apple to stop screwing around and start paying attention to product quality," Arrington pontificates.....
MacDailyNews Take: First of all, Michael, stay away from Vegas, highways, and anything else involving luck and/or risk because if what you write is actually true, your luck sucks worse than Windows Vista and the Zune combined.
Second of all, Arrington seems to think, like a four-year-old, that his anecdotal evidence scales right on up to the population as a whole.....
For the full commentary visit here:
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/18208/
OS X:Why It "Looks" So Different.
etherealmind.com's Greg Ferro
When you first eyeball OS X, I mean, really, actually look at it and use it for a bit, you realise that it looks different. During some reading, I found out why.
Of course, Mac OS X is going to look different, the menus and screen movement is different from Windows. But there is something about the look that really made it "stand out" different to my eyes.
I was working with monitor calibration the other day, and had a Windows machine to check the difference. Thats when I realised that the displays are actually coloured differently....
I think we all know about Cleartype font smoothing on Windows and how it dramatically improves font readability and that Apple would have something similar....
Where they differ is in philosophy.......
For the full commentary visit here:
http://etherealmind.com/2008/08/18/os-x-why-it-looks-so-different/
Spice up your Apple applications - Splash of Aqua
The Register's Dave Jewell reports:
Apple's "Professional" range of applications such as Final Cut Studio, Aperture or Logic Express have a completely different look to the standard Aqua color scheme. This comes courtesy of a private framework called ProKit.framework, intended to make Apple's professional software stand out from the crowd.
And stand out it does. Personally, I'm not a huge fan. The relentlessly grey color scheme is drab and I find the default font small and fiddly. From a visual perspective, I hate the cramped little dialogs that appear in Aperture, such as at the Preferences dialog.
With that in mind, I'm going to show you how to use the ProKit library to customize your applications....
You can check it out at:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/19/poking_the_prokit/
PC vs. Mac
The O.U. Daily says:
....PC actually stands for personal computer, but it tends to be a slang term to refer to any computer system that isn't a Macintosh. Most PCs run under the Microsoft Windows platform.....
some believe a PC is easier to use and understand. A PC also tends to be less expensive than a Mac, which could be especially appealing to college students.....
Mac refers to the Macintosh hardware and operating systems designed by Apple Computers, Inc. Macs are generally stable and more resistant to viruses.....
...Apple prides itself on making the experience easy and flawless for the common and business user alike. Macs also tend to retain their value better than others.....
For the full commentary visit here:
http://www.oudaily.com/news/2008/aug/19/pc-vs-mac/
Apple Blames Scorching iPods On Battery Problem
IDG News Service's Elizabeth Montalbano reports:
Apple is blaming a problem with overheating iPods in Japan on faulty batteries, the company
said in a statement Tuesday.
In response to reports that Japan is investigating incidents of iPod nanos getting hot enough to scorch paper placed nearby, Apple acknowledged that "in very rare cases" first-generation iPod nanos sold between September 2005 and December 2006 can overheat.
This problem, which Apple said is extremely rare, causes "failure and deformation of the iPod nano."
The company said it has received reports about less than 0.001 percent of first-generation iPod nano units acting in this way, and has traced the problem to a single battery supplier......
For the full report visit here:
http://www.macworld.com/article/135096/2008/08/ipodbattery.html
iPod Nano Trouser Fireballs Sweep Japan
The Register's Lewis Page says:
The long dry summer wears on, rendering habitats parched and flammable as tinder. Pockets containing iPods are one such habitat and the annual outbreak of gadgetry-related conflagrations is under way.
A particularly severe pocket wildfire epidemic is raging at this moment in Japan, where Reuters reports that roaring infernos have erupted following terrifying iPod-centred meltdowns on at least three recent occasions.
Nobody was injured during the three fires, leading to speculation that these occasions may have seen the partly-nibbled-fruit branded musical gizmos docked, lying artfully strewn on coffee tables or perhaps pocketed in robust, flame-resistant Nipponese garments of some sort. However, it appeared that on at least two other occasions iPod users had suffered "minor burns", presumably to the trouser region - though this was not confirmed.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/19/ipod_nano_wildfire_season_starts/
A Third Of Vista PCs Downgraded To XP
The Register's Kelly Fiveash reports:
Vista's death march picked up some pace yesterday, after a metrics researcher revealed that nearly 35 per cent of PCs built to run the Windows operating system have been downgraded to XP.
In a survey of more than 3,000 computers, performance testing software developer Devil Mountain Software estimated that more than one in three new machines had either been downgraded by vendors such as Dell, or by customers once they bought the PC.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/19/windows_xp_vista_7/
Intel adds 22nm Octo-core 'Haswell' to CPU Design Roadmap
The Register's Tony Smith reports:
IDF Intel's 'Tick, Tock' model of chip development is now well established and mapped out through the transition from 45nm to 32nm. Now we know what's happening at the 22nm.
The 22nm era, for Intel, runs through 2011 and 2012. The first of those years will see the arrival of 'Ivy Bridge', the 22nm die-shrink of the brand new, 32nm microarchitecture the chip giant will introduce in 2010, 'Sandy Bridge', the chip formerly codenamed 'Gesher' - the codename changed when the chip company discovered that Gesher is an Israeli political organisation. Whoops.
At some point in 2012 - probably late in the year, if we follow the example of Intel's upcoming tock, the 45nm 'Nehalem' architecture - the chip giant will release 'Haswell', its first native 22nm microarchitecture.....
For the full report visit here:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/08/19/idf_intel_architecture_roadmap/
MobileMe so bad that Apple is giving it away
The Inquirer's Nick Farrell says:
MobileMe has had its free subscription extended yet again because the service quality is as spotted as a leopard with terminal acne.
Apple has announced that it will extend user accounts another 60 days for free that's on top of the 30-day free extension Apple gave users in July. So that is three months bad service, terrible PR for nothing.
In an unusual turnaround, Apple actually admitted that it had done something wrong. The email to customers said that its "Web services suite needs more work. " This is something unheard of in Apple's marketing history, we rarely see the fruit-themed toymaker ever admit anything negative.
For the full report visit here:
http://tinyurl.com/5t2wjv
Apple Announces Magsafe Out Of Warranty Replacement Program
APC Mag's Danny Gorog reports:
As if iPhone 3G woes weren't enough for Apple to deal with right now, another storm is brewing on the horizon.
This one concerns faulty Magsafe power adaptors that shipped with MacBook (13-inch Late 2006), MacBook (13-inch), MacBook Pro (15-inch Glossy) and MacBook Pro (17-inch).
In a rare turnaround, Apple has acknowledged in a tech support article that some Magsafe adaptors may be faulty, and users may 'may notice a separation of the white insulation on the magnetic end of the MagSafe adapter. Under continued use, the cable may discolor and the rubber molding may become deformed.'
The good news, if you are one of the affected users, Apple will replace your Magsafe adaptor free-of-charge, whether you are in your initial warranty period or not.
For the full report visit here:
http://apcmag.com/apple_announces_magsafe_recall.htm
Is the Nvidia fault affecting Macs?
Pocket-Lint's Katie Scott reports:
There are suggestions on the web that the problem with the faulty Nvidia chipsets, which are affecting HP and Dell laptops, may be an issue for other manufacturers as well.
As we reported just last week, the team over at The Inquirer believe that laptops with G84, G86, G92s and G94 chips, which include Asus, Lenovo and Apple machines, could also suffer from the overheating issue.....
But now a Pocket-lint reader has got in touch and claims that his brand new MacBook Pro is indeed faulty, and it seems to be the Nvidia chip....
For the full report visit here:
http://tinyurl.com/6fqp77
Tired Teens Risking Their Hearts
The Age reports:
Sleep-deprived teenagers are at greater risk of high blood pressure and heart attacks - and their mobile phones, computer games and iPods could be to blame, research suggests.
A study of teens aged 13 to 16 found those who slept less than 612 hours a night were up to three times more likely to have elevated blood pressure.
Researchers said the "technological invasion of the bedroom" was responsible for creating a generation of sleep-starved youngsters.....
For the full report visit here:
http://tinyurl.com/5kddnc
CS Odessa develops partnership with Academic Institutions
[Press Release]
CS Odessa announces the newly formed academic relationship between BBS Landau Vocational School in Landau, Germany and CS Odessa. BBS Landau has selected ConceptDraw Office Suite to incorporate their Project Management course track into their syllabus for upper full-time classes.
ConceptDraw Office Suite is designed with the accumulation of over 15-years experience in developing business productivity applications, data visualization technologies and breakthrough project management solutions. ConceptDraw Office will be used to teach modern project management concepts and best practices to the students of BBS Landau.
The Project Management courses offered at the school are an integral part of the strategic Project Management Program developed to encourage the wide adoption of modern productivity and business management techniques to young professionals. To support this program, the BBS Landau and CS Odessa have established an academic relationship with each other to implement ConceptDraw Office as the core facility and resource to educate project management data.
"I am excited at the prospect of using ConceptDraw Office not only in our lessons but also to teach our students a tool that enables them to work in a creative and productive way! I'm sure many other high school institutions and Information Technology classes will follow the increasing trend to use ConceptDraw Office for academic purposes," states Thomas Christ, a full-time teacher at BBS Landau.
ConceptDraw Office is a business productivity software suite aimed at helping project managers and knowledge workers in businesses of any size to successfully complete their work in an efficient and productive manner. ConceptDraw Office addresses the needs of the modern manager with a single solution that covers all aspects of managing a task or project, including creative work, team management, project planning, information management, and the tracking and reporting of results to stakeholders and executives.
The core feature of ConceptDraw Office is the revolutionary InGyre technology. InGyre Technology tightly integrates the three applications found within ConceptDraw Office into one seamless solution: * ConceptDraw MINDMAP: A business productivity tool. * ConceptDraw PROJECT: A project management software application. * ConceptDraw PRO: A professional business graphics package.
BBS Landau story:
http://www.conceptdraw.com/pg?id=cdo_1.0_press-school-success
More about ConceptDraw Office: http://www.conceptdraw.com/pg?id=cdo_1.0_press-school-about
Trial download:
http://www.conceptdraw.com/pg?id=cdo_1.0_press-school-try
Academic Pricing:
http://www.conceptdraw.com/pg?id=cdo_1.0_press-school-buy
The Mac Night Owl: Is Steve Jobs Really Milking the Macintosh?
When I read a commentary from John Martellaro of The Mac Observer this week, suggesting that Apple might want to use some of its huge cash reserves to construct a highly-automated manufacturing facility as a hedge against poor working conditions and uncertainties in Asia, I was struck by a single paragraph that contained a quote from Steve Jobs dating back to February of 1996.
Here's the URL for today's commentary:
http://www.macnightowl.com/2008/08/is-steve-jobs-really-milking-the-macintosh/
Notes: You can also access our new RSS feed, available at:
http://www.macnightowl.com/rss
Or our new Atom feed at:
http://www.macnightowl.com/atom
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