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Apple Zooms Past Rivals, With 88% Profit Growth
Apple Shares Soar Above $100 Mark
Apple F2Q07 (Qtr End 3/31/07) Earnings Call Transcript Posted
Dot Mac Dead?
The 12" MacBook Pro: I Don't Think So
Analysis: Flash Laptops Promise Speedy, Quiet Future
How did we all end up with Windows? - The Microsoft 'default' phenomenon
MacBooks drive Apple's Q2 Mac sales
Hi, I'm a Mac, and I'm Your Enterprise Computer
QuickTime Exploit Details Disputed
WebKit Nightly Builds Now Offer Gmail Rich Text
PC Buyers Aim To Cut The 'Crapware'
eWEEK: Jobs Says Apple Customers Not into Renting Music
PC Mag: Inside Apple: Apple Courts Effects Houses
The Mac Night Owl: Despite Record Earnings, Microsoft is Shooting Itself in the Foot!
PC Mag: QuickTime Exploit Details Disputed
PC Mag: 10 Useless Firefox Extensions
Publish: Adobe to Release Flex as Open Source
Apple Zooms Past Rivals, With 88% Profit Growth
The International Herald Tribune's Laurie J. Flynn reports:
Apple Inc. surpassed even the most optimistic forecasts for its usually tepid second quarter, delivering an 88 percent increase in profit on strong sales of Macintosh computers and iPod music players.
The company said on Wednesday that its profit rose to $770 million from $410 million in the comparable quarter last year. Apple sold 1.5 million Macs in the quarter, a record for the company.
In an interview, Steven Jobs, Apple's chief executive, called the quarter a "blowout," and noted that the strong sales and market share gains came even though the company had not made any major upgrades to its lines of portable and desktop computers.....
For the full report visit here:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/26/business/26apple.php
Apple Shares Soar Above $100 Mark
AP Technology Writer May Wong reports:
Shares of Apple Inc. soared above $100 for the first time after the company walloped Wall Street expectations with quarterly profits that jumped 88 percent on strong sales of its iPod players and Macintosh computers.
The shares gained more than 7 percent on the news in after-hours trading Wednesday.
For the full report visit here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070426/ap_on_hi_te/earns_apple_14
Apple F2Q07 (Qtr End 3/31/07) Earnings Call Transcript Posted
Seeking Alpha has posted a transcript of Apple Inc.'s F2Q07 Earnings Call with the following cast:
Executives
Nancy Paxton - Senior Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Finance
Peter Oppenheimer - Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President
Tim Cook - Chief Operating Officer
Analysts
Andrew Neff - Bear Stearns
Shannon Cross - Cross Research
Rob Semple - Credit Suisse
Gene Munster - Piper Jaffray
Harry Blount - Lehman Brothers
David Bailey - Goldman Sachs
Ben Reitzes - UBS
Tony Sakanagi - Sanford Bernstein
Richard Gardner - Citigroup
Richard Farmer - Merrill Lynch
Bill Shope - JP Morgan
Bill Fearnley - FTN Midwest
Kevin Hunt - Thomas Weisel
Ingrid Ebeling - JMP Securities
Ben Boland - Cleveland Research
Shaw Wu - American Technology Research
Chris Whitmore - Deutsche Bank
You can check it out at:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/33539
Dot Mac Dead?
ZNet blogger Alan Graham says:
I'm actually thinking about it.
After 7 years as a faithful user, I'm thinking about taking the plunge and severing my bank account from Apple's .Mac service. I'm seriously getting fed up with the delays and obvious omissions from Apple's online strategy, and I tend to believe that if the iPhone has been responsible for delays in OS X Leopard…where are Apple's .Mac/iLife priorities? Much further down. In the past seven years I have paid them about $1,000 for these services, and I'm starting to think I'm getting the raw end of the deal.
I think that Apple's .Mac service is dead, it just doesn't know it. And while my hopes are high that we'll see some amazing .Mac offerings when Leopard comes, I'm not holding my breath. So I'm starting my own .Mac death clock.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explor
The 12" MacBook Pro: I Don't Think So
Low End Mac's Trevor Wale says:
There have been a number of rumours and columns on various Mac websites suggesting that Apple could be preparing to release a "true" replacement for the 12" PowerBook.
The general consensus is that it would constitute a 12" widescreen MacBook Pro. It would sit between the high-end 13" black MacBook and the lower end 15" MacBook Pro. To make it stand apart from the consumer MacBook line, the 12" model would sport an anodized aluminum shell and include a graphics chipset with dedicated video memory like its larger siblings.
Additionally, you would get all of the new Macintel bells and whistles such as a Core2 Duo CPU, built in iSight, Front Row and the remote, a super fast front side bus, and all of the other benefits the Intel transition has brought to Apple notebooks.
You would have all of this for a couple of hundred pounds more then the high-end black MacBook.
This is how I would see Apple positioning such a product - and to be honest I would welcome a 12" MacBook Pro. Having been an owner of 12" PowerBook G4 that was a joy to own, I was one of the many Mac fans who mourned its death and subsequent replacement.
Apple stated that the 13" MacBook is its spiritual successor, but I'm not satisfied. As far as I'm concerned, the MacBook has nothing to do with the 12" PowerBook. It's larger, uses "vampire video", has a polycarbonate case, and . . . well . . . just has none of the "cool factor" or obvious superiority that the 12" PowerBook had over the iBook (the PowerPC equivalent of the MacBook).
There was something about the 12" PowerBook that was just so damn cool. It was absolutely tiny - what would practically be considered a subnotebook in the Windows world - but with none of the shortcomings. Every time I removed it from my bag and opened it up, you could almost hear the gasps of awe that would emanate from onlookers. The same thing would happen with most Apple laptops, but with the 12" PowerBook it was just little more prevalent. All of these factors make me crave a 12" MacBook Pro.
Unfortunately, I just don't think it's going to happen. The bottom line is Apple feel that they have already provided us with a replacement, the 13" MacBook.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://lowendmac.com/wale/07/0426.html
[Editor's note: Trevor may be right, but I hope not, and still am of a mind that we will see a MacBook Pro mini or whatever, although perhaps more likely a really small NAND flash memory based unit (see next item) than a MacIntel version of the late, lamented 12" PowerBook. I think the biggest reason for the delay is that while the 12" PowerBook was based heavily on iBook engineering (and indeed built by Apple's Asustek iBook supplier) a MacBook Pro based on the MacBook (also Asustek) would suffer from the same objection (too big and heavy), so a MacBook Pro mini will have to be from scratch, unlike the 15" and 17" MacBook Pros which are developments of the former 15" AND 17" PowerBooks. CM]
Analysis: Flash Laptops Promise Speedy, Quiet Future
Reuters reports:
A faster, quieter laptop has arrived, with cool, lightweight flash chips where the hot-and-heavy hard drive once sat, but limited capacity and high prices mean the technology is not yet ready for the mass market.
It won't take too long. Prices of flash memory, used currently in cameras, phones and iPods, are falling by half each year and analysts expect around 20 percent of new laptops to be running on flash drives by 2010.
Fujitsu has begun selling a 32 GB flash-drive laptop to corporate users willing to pay $1,399 extra, and there is speculation that Apple and Sony will be next to launch machines with solid-state drives (SSDs), as they are known in the sector.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.crn.com/hardware/199201715;jsessionid=C05NZ231V504OQSNDLPSKH0CJUNN2JVN
How did we all end up with Windows? - The Microsoft 'default' phenomenon
Business Intelligence Workshop's Dale Vile of FreeForm Dynamics says:
It's amazing how many people who have Microsoft Windows everywhere look flummoxed when asked whether Windows is their "standard" for desktop computing.
The reason they are thrown by this question is typically because they haven't thought about it that way before. In all likelihood, they never actually made a proactive decision to select Windows, in the sense of looking at alternatives and making a conscious objective choice. So how did they end up with it?
It's an example of a phenomenon that we come across time and time again when looking at how people have arrived at the IT landscapes they have today, and if you explore it a little further, it becomes clear the key to a lot of Microsoft's success is establishing as many of its products as possible as the "default" when it comes to decision making.
Just like the default value for a field on a form or a column in a database is the value used when you don't specify anything else, so Microsoft Windows, Office, SharePoint and so on are the defaults used in the absence of any alternative being explicitly selected in their respective domains....
Standing back a little, there are basically two schools of thought on the Microsoft default phenomenon. One says that it is outrageous that unthinking people let Microsoft get away with it by simply "going with the flow" and not bothering to even look at alternatives. Others take the more pragmatic view that you might as well accept the Microsoft default in many areas as it will probably do or is already doing the job, and this frees you up to focus your time and resources on more pressing and challenging areas where selecting the right solution really does matter.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/26/microsoft_default_phenomenon/
MacBooks drive Apple's Q2 Mac sales
Macworld UK's Jonny Evans reports:
Laptops drove Apple's Mac sales in its March quarter, the company confirmed last night.
MacBook and MacBook Pro sales grew 79 per cent year-on-year – 59 per cent of all Macs sold were portable systems.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&newsID=17868
Hi, I'm a Mac, and I'm Your Enterprise Computer
CIO.com's Lisa Nadile reports:
The reasons for companies to switch from Windows to Mac OS X are as personal, or unique, as is any shift in religion. For some companies, the motivation is to move away from Windows. Others are influenced by their end users' desire for the style and functionality of the Macintosh environment. But whatever the reason for the migration, the attraction must be backed by serious number-crunching and by common sense.
This isn't an article about the reasons to adopt Macintoshes in an enterprise setting. We assume that you've already decided to do so, whether because of company IT policy or user pressure. The issue, instead, is to make the transition as seamless as possible: to bring the new systems into sync with your existing IT infrastructure, to choose appropriate applications and to cope with always-finite budgets. If you are about to make a jump to Mac OS X, either partially or in toto, people who have been there have some advice.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.cio.com/article/106350
QuickTime Exploit Details Disputed
PCMag's Larry Seltzer reports:
A highly critical bug in Apple's QuickTime was the vector used to exploit a MacBook Pro last week at the CanSecWest security conference. But researchers are disputing what platforms are affected.
Even the researchers who wrote the exploit aren't entirely clear on what they have. The one who wrote it at first thought it a flaw in the Safari Web browser, but later on others showed it was actually a flaw in the interaction between QuickTime and Java.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2122474,00.asp
WebKit Nightly Builds Now Offer Gmail Rich Text
.hawkwings.netreports:
Anthony Baker emails to tell me that the new nightly builds of WebKit (which will be used for Safari 3.0) have fixed the WYSIWYG form editing problem that bedevils users of current Safari versions.
This means, he says, that "you can now hit Gmail and get the same kinds of rich-text editing capability provided to IE, FF and other browsers. You can also access Google Docs."
For the full report visit here:
http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/04/27/webkit-nightly-builds-now-offer-gmail-rich-text/
PC Buyers Aim To Cut The 'Crapware'
CNET News.com's Ina Fried reports:
When large businesses buy new PCs, they often wipe the hard drives clean and install a fresh copy of Windows, along with the other software they want workers to have.
Some consumers, frustrated with all of the trial software, desktop icons and other stuff that comes loaded on their machines, are doing the same thing.
However, what works for businesses isn't always so easy for individuals. Many computers don't actually come with a clean copy of the operating system. Instead, many ship with a "recovery partition" or a recovery disc that restores the system back to the way it shipped - with all that extra software.
For the full report click here.
eWEEK: Jobs Says Apple Customers Not into Renting Music
"Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs indicated on Wednesday he is unlikely to give in to calls from the music industry to add a subscription-based model to Apple's wildly popular iTunes online music store.
"Never say never, but customers don't seem to be interested in it," Jobs told Reuters in an interview after Apple reported blow-out quarterly results. "The subscription model has failed so far.""
To read more, go to:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2122565,00.asp
PC Mag: Inside Apple: Apple Courts Effects Houses
"Apple debuted the new Final Cut Studio 2 editing suite at the National Association of Broadcaster's conference last week in Los Vegas, as long anticipated by Think Secret.
Final Cut Studio 2 includes Final Cut Pro 6, a significant improvement to Apple's flagship video editing software. Towards the top of the list of new features is Apple's revolutionary ProRes 422 post-production format that serves up uncompressed high-definition footage at standard-definition file sizes. As reported in this column previously, Apple has received support from major high-end camera makers for the new format: Panasonic, Sony, and RED have all embraced ProRes 422."
To read more, go to:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2122111,00.asp
The Mac Night Owl: Despite Record Earnings, Microsoft is Shooting Itself in the Foot!
All right, ladies and gentlemen, here's the good stuff, at least if you're a Microsoft employee or stockholder: For its fiscal third quarter, ending March 31st, earnings rose to $4.93 billion, or 50 cents a share, compared to $2.98 billion, or 29 cents per share last year. Total sales increased by 32 percent to $14.4 billion.
Here's the link to the story:
http://www.macnightowl.com/2007/04/27/despite-record-earnings-microsoft-is-shooting-itself-in-the-foot/
Notes: You can also access our RSS feed, available at:
http://www.macnightowl.com/rss
Or our Atom feed at:
http://www.macnightowl.com/atom
PC Mag: QuickTime Exploit Details Disputed
"A highly critical bug in Apple's QuickTime was the vector used to exploit a MacBook Pro last week at the CanSecWest security conference. But researchers are disputing what platforms are affected."
To read more, go to:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2122474,00.asp
PC Mag: 10 Useless Firefox Extensions
They might be good for a laugh, but these Firefox add-ons aren't good for much else.
To read more, go to:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2122102,00.asp
Publish: Adobe to Release Flex as Open Source
" Adobe Systems announced today that it plans to move the development of Adobe Flex to an open-source model.
The transition to open source will begin in June with the beta version of the next Flex release, known as "Moxie." The full release of open-source Flex will occur in conjunction with the final release of Moxie, scheduled to be available at the end of 2007. The Flex source code will be released under the MPL (Mozilla Public License)."
To read more, go to:
http://www.publish.com/article2/0,1759,2122635,00.asp
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