The latest Apple patent filing to excite the Mac masses shows the manufacturer's iMac recast as a docking station for a MacBook laptop.

Apple's been here before, of course, with its Duo range of PowerBooks, launched in 1992. Unlike standard PowerBooks, the Duos were designed to dock into a Mac-like desktop unit that improved the unit's monitor support and audio output, and added a floppy drive.

I have been talking to several of my friends about low-end Macs and how easy it is get a decent Mac for not a whole lot of money. I have noticed that there are several arguments that most folks use against going to Mac. Number one is cost, and the other ones included lack of gaming and lack of software to run on Macs (that last one is more of a myth, in my opinion).

Since I own three low-end Macs, I though I would share my upgrade experience, which (against my initial expectations) turned out to be just about at a level of a PC upgrade.

When I received my Mirror Drive Door Power Mac G4, it was a dual 867 MDD with 1.25 GB of RAM, stock GeForce4 32 MB Video card, a PCI wireless G card (Buffalo) which shows up as an AirPort Extreme, and a stock Combo Drive, stock 60 GB hard drive.

I have a miniDV camcorder and burn video files for my folks in Europe with their first grandson starring in most, so I needed a SuperDrive. Most drives I have seen advertised on the Web were going for just a tad under $100. I did some research and ended up buying a Pioneer dual-layer burner that I installed in the bottom tray for $40. After the install, I found latest version of PatchBurn, and my new SuperDrive is available in iTunes and iDVD. I also use Toast with it; never seen an issue yet.

Sony BMG is planning to sell songs without digital rights management, according to a report Friday on BusinessWeek.com. That would mean it is joining a parade of other major labels heading to the Internet - not just to Apple's iTunes shop - to sell its songs....

It's the latest move in what is shaping up to be a challenge by Amazon.com and the major music labels to Apple's grip on the digital music distribution market....

Sony BMG, the last major record label that won't sell you music without DRM kneecapping will reverse its stance in February, according to a report today.

Corporate froth mag BusinessWeek cites a source familiar with the matter as saying it'll get involved in a major DRM free music tie-in with Amazon and the Super Bowl, which is scheduled for February 3.

You want to know why we're not drowning in cheap, usable, full-featured digital entertainment yet? The studios are afraid to try it. It's much easier for the entertainment moguls to sleep at night knowing that every digital copy of Alvin and the Chipmunks you can buy comes wrapped in layer upon layer of copy-protection software.

But all Sony or Warner Music Group accomplishes with these ostensibly anti-piracy measures is to drive away honest, paying customers. The pirates always find a way around any obstacle in their way, and you'll never convince some people to pay for entertainment. Meanwhile, the rest of us are suffering under draconian restrictions, and the stuff we already thought we owned is at the mercy of the seller, long after the transaction.

In his "Thoughts on Music" memo last Spring, Steve Jobs said the only reason Apple used its Fairplay anti-piracy software was because the record labels demanded some protections to ensure songs purchased via iTunes couldn't be endlessly copied and shared. If he had it his way, he suggested, there would be no DRM, and consumers would be able to use any device (iPod or otherwise) with any music service (iTunes or otherwise). "This is clearly the best alternative for consumers, and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat," he wrote. "If the big four music companies would license Apple their music without the requirement that it be protected with a DRM, we would switch to selling only DRM-free music on our iTunes store."

Well, he might be able to do just that, soon enough....

In a move that would mark the end of a digital music era, Sony BMG Music Entertainment is finalizing plans to sell songs without the copyright protection software that has long restricted the use of music downloaded from the Internet, BusinessWeek.com has learned. Sony BMG, a joint venture of Sony (SNE) and Bertelsmann, will make at least part of its collection available without so-called digital rights management, or DRM, software some time in the first quarter, according to people familiar with the matter.

Now that the furor has died down over the Washington Post's questionable piece about the RIAA supposedly suing Jeffrey Howell for ripping CDs, it's time to hear what the RIAA actually has to say - and it's surprisingly sensible. Speaking to NPR, RIAA president Cary Sherman flatly said "the story is just wrong." Sherman went on to say that the RIAA hasn't ever prosecuted anyone for ripping or copying for personal use, and that the only issue in the Jeffrey Howell case was - as always - sharing files on Kazaa. Perhaps most interestingly, Sherman directly addressed the "ripping is just a nice way of saying 'steals one copy'" comment made by Sony BMG's anti-piracy counsel in the Jammie Thomas case, saying that the attorney "misspoke," and that neither Sony BMG or the RIAA agreed with that position.

Warner Bros., the only major movie studio to release titles on both of the rival high-definition video disc formats, has decided to drop HD DVD and exclusively back Blu-ray Disc, it said Friday.

The move could prove decisive in determining which of the two formats becomes the de facto DVD replacement for high-definition content.....

Art Lebedev's Optimus keyboard (now the Optimus Maximus) has been around in various incarnations for a few years now, with the full-size version having been released on March 15 of last year (2007, in case you're still getting used to the 2008 thing). But just two days before its official (re-) release, Apple filed a patent application for a dynamically controlled keyboard, the contents of which were published yesterday.

We all know that Canadians have to pay more for books, but why do they have to pay more for AppleCare?...

Since we're not Canadian, we don't actually know why Apple charges more. Perhaps it's because Canada is an entirely different country with completely different laws than the United States and that subtle distinction affects the price of goods and services.

Bill Gates marked the beginning of an end Sunday night in his first farewells at the Olympics of his industry, offering a bold prognosis for its future.

For more than a decade, Mr. Gates has delivered his annual state of the industry address at the International Consumer Electronics Show, the world's largest technology event held every year in Las Vegas.

But Sunday night was the last CES keynote address he will make as chairman of Microsoft Corp., the company he built into an international powerhouse and helped change the way humans interact with technology.

For the 10th time, Bill Gates will inaugurate the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas by touting new Microsoft Corp. products and describing his view of the future of computing.

Before you rush to the edge of your seat Sunday, consider this: Gates is a mediocre prognosticator.

In fairness, as the old joke goes, predictions are very hard, especially ones about the future....

Gadget lovers take note: Consumer electronics (CE) companies are cutting back their product lines. Gone are the days when manufacturers created a dozen in-line products to cover every price point. Rather than spreading chips across the table, CE brands like Sony and Samsung are following Apple's lead by stacking more chips on a few well-placed bets. Sony, for example, now offers just three models of ultra-slim point-and-shoot cameras in its CyberShot line. But will such paring enable Sony and others to succeed the way Apple has? Will this mean more products we love or more dross on the shelves?

Maybe you're thinking, "Not more Apple hype." But it's hard not to think of Apple as the innovator in the CE space. Apple is driving digital lifestyle on a global scale, and it's doing so in the face of economic adversity.....

NetFlix is going toe-to-toe with Apple TV. And then some. This morning, the get-your-movie-rentals-through-the-mail pioneer announced it will soon team with LG Electronics to offer a brand new set-top box in the US that streams movies straight to your television.

But that's just a start. In a conversation with website Hacking Netflix, CEO Reed Hasting said the company plans to launch a entire army of NetFlix-happy hardware devices.

I've spent the better part of the past 2 weeks banging away on 2 LTSP servers for our school district. I find myself lamenting to those around me, and being an otherwise cranky guy as well. This morning it dawned on me that people probably think I'm having such a hard time because I'm using Linux instead of the "norm" - but that's just not the case.

Over the past year, I’ve written a fair amount of copy about some of the erroneous stories published about Apple. It wasn’t from the standpoint of being a fan of Apple’s products, which I undoubtedly am, but simply because I believe in trying to be as accurate as possible in my own writings. Besides, there’s an awful lot of misinformation to correct.

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