Moore’s News Roundup Digest - Friday, December 26, 2003
eWeek: Macworld Expo Primed for Enterprise
Apple And The Limits Of Innovation
Your Mac Doesn't Do Windows?
The Observer Profiles Jonathan Ive
Mac Night Owl: A Paragraph Worth of Holiday Cheer
PC Mag: Best Products of 2003
Mac Night Owl: Spam, Spam and More Spam: Will New Laws Work?
Gene Steinberg Interviews Macworld's Christopher Breen and Unsanity on the Best of The Mac Night Owl LIVE
Digital Gear: It's Multimedia Madness[/url]
eWeek: Macworld Expo Primed for Enterprise
"After a dispute between the producer of Macworld Expo and star attraction Apple Computer Inc. rattled visitors and exhibitors at the summer edition of the big Mac show, the companies have joined forces for the San Francisco gathering in early January, officials said this week.
Apple and IDG World Expo last week announced that Apple CEO Steve Jobs will return to the Macworld Expo keynote stage after skipping July's event in New York. Jobs instead appeared at Apple's own Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco in June, where he unveiled the "Panther" 10.3 version of Mac OS X. Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple said the Macworld snub was in response to IDG World Expo's decision to move the East Coast show to Boston starting in 2004."
Read more at:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1421385,00.asp
Apple And The Limits Of Innovation
Fast Company's Carleen Hawn writes:
"...You could say that the personal-computer industry itself began as an Apple wingding when the Cupertino, California-based company introduced the Apple II in 1977. Ever since, Apple has played the role of generous host, spicing up the festivities with one tasty offering after another. Following the PC, Apple served up many of the features that computer users have since come to take for granted, including the graphical user interface, the mouse, the laser printer, and the color monitor. Yet Apple has been forced to watch the celebrations from out in the alley, its nose pressed longingly to the window as others feast: Today, more than a quarter-century after its founding, it commands just 2% of the $180 billion worldwide market for PCs. Almost everyone agrees that Apple's products are not only trailblazers but also easier to use, often more powerful, and always more elegant than those of its rivals. Yet those rivals have followed its creative leads and snatched for themselves the profits and scale that continually elude Apple's grasp.
All of which raises some interesting questions. If Apple is really the brains of the industry--if its products are so much better than Microsoft's or Dell's or IBM's or Hewlett-Packard's--then why is the company so damned small?..."
Long, interesting, and thought-provoking article, although I don't agree with some of the philosophical conclusions.
You can check it out at:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/78/jobs.html
Your Mac Doesn't Do Windows?
Business - SmartMoney.com's Walter S. Mossberg says:
"I WROTE THESE words using WordPerfect 11 for Windows and e-mailed this file using Microsoft Outlook 2003, the latest version of the major e-mail program for Windows. All the while I was listening to music using Musicmatch Jukebox 8.1, the popular MP3 player for Windows.
"None of that was unusual except for one added factor: The computer I used to do all this was an Apple Macintosh, a machine that not only isn't supposed to run Windows, but is in fact regarded as the anti-Windows. Instead of using Windows, the Mac comes with its own excellent operating system, called OS X. It runs programs made for the Mac, but it doesn't run programs made to operate in Windows, like the three I was using.
"So how did I pull off this neat trick? I used a clever program called Virtual PC for Mac, which allows Windows to run on a Mac and tricks Windows software programs into thinking the Mac is a standard Windows PC."
For more visit here.
The Observer Profiles Jonathan Ive
The Observer's John Arlidge writes:
"It's unlikely you've heard of him, this quiet man from Essex, but you probably own one of the gadgets that he's designed. He transformed the image of the computer and, if you're really lucky, you might get one of his latest must-haves this Christmas
"If you are reading this article on a train or on an aeroplane, you might be carrying a little piece of him in your pocket. In your car you might be listening to him on a mini-disk player. If you are at home, you might be using one of his machines to convert your favourite vinyl records into electronic files you can take on holiday. If you are abroad, you might be reading this article on one of his products. And if you are under 30, you are probably hoping that this Thursday morning you will unwrap one of his curvy, white packages.
"Few people recognise Jonathan Ive. Few could tell you what he does. But most of us know, admire and use his work. Ive, who has just been awarded the highest British design honour with his appointment to the RSA's Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry, is 'Mr Mac'. He is the British designer who has reinvented the computer, the personal stereo and much else besides. By banishing beige boxes and replacing them with sculptural, easy-to-get-to-grips-with products, such as Apple's iMac and iPod, Ive has transformed the way we look at the electronic stuff that surrounds us."
For the full report visit here:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1111276,00.html
Mac Night Owl: A Paragraph Worth of Holiday Cheer
Let us be thankful for something
Here's the URL for today's commentary:
http://www.macnightowl.com/index.htm#cheer
PC Mag: Best Products of 2003
PC Mag takes a look back and passes judgment on what were the best (and maybe the worst) products of 2003.
Read more at:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,,1418395,00.asp
Mac Night Owl: Spam, Spam and More Spam: Will New Laws Work?
Can CAN-Sam get the job done? Nah!
Here's the URL for today's commentary:
http://www.macnightowl.com/index.htm#work
Gene Steinberg Interviews Macworld's Christopher Breen and Unsanity on the Best of The Mac Night Owl LIVE
Happy Holidays! Meet The Mac Night Owl, the incomparable Gene Steinberg, Mac author and columnist extraodinaire. Get to know Gene, and discover his unique, thought-provoking viewpoints about the technology universe, with the emphasis on Macs.
This week, Gene and Grayson are taking the night off for holiday fun and frolic. Instead, we'll be replaying one of our most popular shows in recent weeks, first broadcast on November 7th. Featured guests include Brian Wilson, Manager of Unsanity [www.unsanity.com] and our favorite Macworld [ http://www.macworld.com ] Contributing Editor, Christopher Breen.
As usual, Gene will be ably assisted by his irreverent son and co-host, Grayson Steinberg. When it comes to The Mac Night Owl, expect the unexpected.
Special Announcement: Next week, The Mac Night Owl LIVE returns with a new show, featuring Christopher Breen's Macworld Expo preview and the inimitable "Mr. Gadget, also known as Steve Kruschen [www.mrgadget.com], who will tell us why he loves his Macs and about the best gadgets on the market. We'll also hear about the rapidly growing Internet phone service market from Vonage [www.vonage.com], a market leader in delivering the service to regular home phones.
You can tune into the broadcast from 6:00 to 8:00 PM Pacific, 9:00 to 11:00 PM Eastern, at:
http://www.macradio.com/friday/
Digital Gear: It's Multimedia Madness
IDG News Service's Agam Shah reports:
"Multimedia is the watchword for the new year, as tech leaders and newcomers alike explore new offerings in music services and products, ranging from players to videoconferencing to tools for musicians.
"Microsoft is launching a digital music service in the U.S. next year, perhaps inspired by the success of Apple Computer's ITunes. As recently as July, Microsoft chief executive officer Bill Gates said he didn't see an online music service as a money-maker. "
For the full report visit here.
Charles W. Moore
