For a product that many claim to not like because it "falls short" or "is lacking in feature" (e.g., no DVD drive), there are tons of article to read about everyone's opinion. It's like by broadcasting their opinion, they can they say to the world how right they were if the product doesn't sell.

What fools to have the hubris to think that their opinion is that important.

The truth is that the product will succeed or fail based on timing. Did the features meet needs of users today in enough numbers? Apple and all the PC suppliers out there have plenty of laptop models with DVD drives built in. Will they all someday lose the drive in favor of lower weight? Apple is betting that they will - and that the time to start selling this way is now. Apple is the (only) company with both the thinking and capability of delivering this future....

Entourage 2008 may be the best software ever published for Mac users. Getting things done has never been easier or better.

It's alright to argue with me. I'm used to it. I'm married. My husband is a Windows user. After using Entourage 2008 I'm ready to say it's the best thing Microsoft has ever done on a Mac.

In fact, Office 2008, despite a few glitches here and there with the installer, is a polished and pleasant experience. The Home and Student version makes Office a value, even when compared to Apple's iWork '08.

My focus today is on the one Mac application that I live, eat, breathe, and would sleep with if it were a guy. Microsoft's Entourage. I've let Microsoft take over my daily tasks, email, projects, to-do's, notes and I'm happier for it.

Yesterday I got my MacBook Pro back from having a new hard drive installed and last night I spent my time getting the system back up to speed. Of course the hard drive had none of my stuff on it but Apple went ahead and installed Leopard on it since my old drive was running Leopard. The first time I booted it and ran through the setup process it gave me an option to restore my system from a Time Machine backup so that is what I did......

Once I was comfortable that the system was stable and working just like it should I decided to install the Office 2008 upgrade that I have been sitting on for a week. I have been anxious to get my hands on the new version and see how it works so it was now time to give it a whirl. The upgrade process took 10 minutes after which it offered to blow away the old version so I said OK to that and let it do it....

I saved my most used program of the suite for last, Entourage....

The main thing I was hoping Microsoft had fixed in the new version of Entourage is the ability to sync Tasks and Notes with Exchange Server. No, no, no, no! The new version doesn't either. What is up with this? Both Entourage and Exchange Server are both Microsoft products. Why won't Entourage reflect my tasks and notes that are on the server? How useless is a PIM that won't track tasks? Very useless, once again. You blew it, Microsoft.

The MacBook Air's special processor is not the only example of the ultraportable veering away from Intel's reference designs, Electronista has discovered. People familiar with the internal design of the system have explained that the external Superdrive DVD burner available for the notebook should only be recognized by the Air rather than any computer due to custom requirements from both the subnotebook and its peripheral.

One side effect of Linux marketing by Red Hat and others has been the widespread belief that people transitioning from expensive old Unix servers running on proprietary chipsets to Linux on x86 do so mainly to get Linux. I don't believe that; on the contrary I think that most people assume x86 based hardware and then choose among available operating systems capable of running their applications mainly on cash cost, old antagonisms, recent disappointments, and their beliefs about how others will view each choice....

With that in mind I want to venture a total speculation: that the same forces have created a situation in which MacOS really has started to eat the Linux desktop lunch....

Experience · Around our house, we have screens connected to Windows XP, OS X, and Ubuntu GNU/Linux. Ubuntu and OS X are easier to install, less trouble to maintain, and more pleasant to use. If we were tracking the time we spend maintaining these things, I'm willing to bet that Windows takes more care & feeding than the other two put together. Down the road we'll have Windows only for games, I think....

We also provide tech support for our mothers, a local Pilates studio, and various random friends, local and remote. Wherever we can, we're steering them to OS X just because they'll experience less pain and be more productive...

These days, when you live mostly on OS X & Ubuntu, XP is just incredibly irritating....

If we like to proclaim the bargains from the Refurb shop, we must also point out when something isn't as cheap as it may seem.

The Apple MacBook Pro have two very strong things going for it. First, it is the smallest and lightest 17-inch notebook available on the market making it great for people who want a large screen but not have the bulk associated with a desktop replacement. Second, the Mac OS X Leopard operating system let's it also use the Windows operatings system via the official Boot Camp release. This is great for designers needed to work or test in both environments. The downside is that it is a relatively expensive machine for the hardware.

Right off the top, I'll tell you that this is opinion column is related to Apple's presence in Asia, or specifically the lack thereof, and the attitude of Indian customers towards the company. If that sounds less than interesting to you, please feel free to skip ahead to the next entry, where you'll find no mention of Asia, India, or naked dancing tribes. However, if you want a little glimpse into the Indian perspective towards Apple Inc., grab a mug of coffee and make yourself at home - this might take a while....

Apple customers in Asia, apart from the Japanese, have always had to suffer second class treatment from the company. Whenever Apple launches new hardware, we have to wait for at least three months before the product reaches Indian shores. There are no Apple Retail Stores or even a functional Online Store in India; customer support is good but a far cry from the exceptional quality that Americans enjoy; Apple TV customers in India cannot rent movies; we've been waiting for the iPhone since forever; and, to add insult to injury, Apple products, which are already notorious for being on the expensive side, are sold at a huge premium in our country.

Now, now, this is just plain pathetic. Everyone is aware that Apple is flying high these days - their competitors painfully so. It seems that Sony is just a tad envious of Apple's remarkable successes in recent years and their firmly established image as the most hip and happening cool brand in the industry. In an attempt to get a piece of the same sort of attention, they have published an entry on the Sony Electronics Blog comparing the two companies and trying to draw parallels between themselves and Apple.

I think it is fairly clear from that essay that Sony is forlorn and desperate at having lost the title of being one of the coolest and most innovative companies in the world. The unprecedented dominance of the iPod music players and the minority market share of the once-iconic Walkman brand is starting to hurt and they seem to be running out of ideas

Whatever be the case, this just isn't the proper way to get back that reputation again....

Apple said its revenue rose by 35 percent to $9.6 billion in its year-ending business quarter, driven by record Macintosh, iPod and iPhone sales as well as strong demand for the company's latest software release. Net profit rose to $1.58 billion, or $1.76 per share, versus $1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006.

During the seasonally strong quarter, Apple saw its Macintosh computer shipments rise by 44 percent to 2.3 million units. The company also said it sold 22.1 million iPods and 2.3 million iPhones during the period.....

Apple has enjoyed more than 30 percent growth over the last five quarters, even as the entire market grew by a single digit

Apple Inc. plunged the most in more than five years in Nasdaq trading after its forecast missed analysts' estimates, stoking concern that consumers will cut back purchases of Macintosh computers and iPod media players.

Apple fell 11 percent, the biggest drop since July 2002. The stock, which more than doubled last year, lost $16.64 to $139 at 4:02 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.

Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs spooked investors by failing to meet the most optimistic projections for first-quarter profit and forecasting sales growth that would slow to 29 percent this quarter from 35 percent in the previous three months. IPod sales were little changed in the U.S., signaling that demand for consumer electronics may be waning.....

Apple reported its best quarter ever, as sales of iPods, Macs and iPhones lifted profit by a staggering 57 per cent. But unexpectedly low guidance for the current quarter, combined with flattening iPod sales in the US, sparked analyst concerns that a flagging US economy might dampen Apple's future.

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