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Thursday, October 20, 2005

Quick Bytes

-Trojan masquerades as Skype update
Cybercriminals are trying to lure e-mail users into installing a Trojan horse by making the malicious code look like a Skype update.

-Firefox sees 100 millionth download
With 100 million downloads under its belt, Mozilla Foundation looks to upcoming release of the next version of its browser.

-Apple: Aperture not a Photoshop competitor
Apple said that despite obvious comparisons, its new Aperture software wasn't created to compete with Adobe's Photoshop.

-Apple adds dual core, PCI Express to Power Mac G5
Apple on Wednesday updated its Power Mac G5 line with systems that use dual-core PowerPC microprocessors and PCI Express expansion interfaces.

-Apple boosts PowerBooks with new displays, more
Apple has unveiled new PowerBooks, including 15- and 17-inch models with higher-resolution screens.

-Apple Introduces Power Mac G5 Quad & Power Mac G5 Dual
Apple today unveiled its new Power Mac G5 desktop line featuring the Power Mac G5 Quad, providing quad-core processing with two 2.5 GHz dual-core PowerPC G5 processors.

Monday, October 17, 2005

Disney, ABC And Apple To Sell TV Shows Online

Shows such as “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost” will be available for download on Apple’s iTunes Music Store, as part of the launch of iTunes 6.

Apple Special Event on October 19th

Macworld announces that Apple will hold a Special event on October 19th during the PhotoPlus Expo.
Cupertino does not provide additional information beside that they will unveil Apple’s latest pro innovations.
It will be the third "Apple Special Event" in a couple of week, after the iPod nano and the ROKR in September, then the iPod video and the new iMacG5 this week; next week could be the time for the new Powermacs, PowerBooks and even iBooks!?

Apple videos create a compensation dustup

When Apple Computer unveiled its video iPods last week to much fanfare, it also announced a deal with Disney to offer up broadcasts of popular television shows through its iTunes store. And as with any new media technology, complaints about digital rights management were quick to follow.

Several Hollywood unions quickly complained about the residual deals associated wit those sales. The Writers Guild of America West was the latest to issue a complaint, saying that the compensation methods were unfairly taking money off the table for writers.

Most bloggers thought that the deals would be worked out, but there were grumblings about yet another possibility of added fees for digital content.

Quick Bytes

-Adobe has release an Acrobat 7.0.5 update.

-Norton AntiVirus 10.0.1 for Macintosh includes full compatibility with Tiger, a new Quarantine feature that prevents infected files from affecting your computer and a dashboard widget.

-Seasonality 1.1 takes weather monitoring to a whole new level with weather forecasts, radar images, sunrise/sunset times, and much more.

-Apple shows rapid growth, holds 4.3% U.S. market share on 48% growth
Worldwide PC shipments increased by more than 17% in the third quarter despite rising interest rates and oil prices.

-Apple opens Pandora's box for the media business, could have profound long-term consequences If downloading episodes over the Internet proves popular, analysts believe Apple will get permission to offer shows with better-fidelity pictures.

Mac Fix

The Best "Mac" Reading

Unix For Mac OSX Tiger

This is the only book worth your time and money if you want to cut to the chase; -what is left is the cream of the crop UNIX info you have been craving. Warning: Highly addictive, can also be used as a reference / Unix Bible.

Unix for Mac OSX 10.4 Tiger
Matisse Enzer
Peachpit Press
ISBN 0-321-24668-3

Freeverse announces 'ToySight Gold'

Freeverse and Strange Flavour today announced the release of the ToySight Gold retail box, the camera-controlled entertainment software for the Mac that adds new games at a new value price

Samsung/Apple deal 'dropped'

A US$3.8 billion investment deal between Apple and Samsung is no longer on the table, Reuters reports

Adobe to offer InDesign Server CS2

Adobe will release InDesign Server CS2, a version of their page layout software optimized for servers and capable of running on multiple server operating systems including Mac OS X Server.

Analysis: Apple and the video iPod

New video services now available through iTunes for Apple's latest iPod will be an important early test of the mass market's willingness to download video content, analysts say.

Shure offers E series earphones in black

Shure has announced versions of its E series earphones in black to match the iPod nano and new video iPod.

'Take Control of Permissions in Mac OS X' released

TidBITS Electronic Publishing today announced the release of "Take Control of Permissions in Mac OS X," by Brian Tanaka

Apple Announces iTunes 6

Apple Announces iTunes 6 With 2,000 Music Videos, Pixar Short Films & Hit TV Shows.

Apple Unveils the New iPod

Fifth Generation iPod Now Plays Music, Photos & Video

Apple has introduced the new iPod®, featuring a gorgeous 2.5-inch color screen which can display album artwork and photos, and play stunning video including music videos, video Podcasts, home movies and television shows. The new iPod holds up to 15,000 songs, 25,000 photos or over 150 hours of video and is available in a 30GB model for $299 and a 60GB model for $399, with both models available in stunning white or black designs.

“The new iPod is the best music player ever—it's 30 percent thinner and has 50 percent more storage than its predecessor—yet it sells for the same price and plays stunning video on its 2.5-inch color screen,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Because millions of people around the world will buy this new iPod to play music, it will quickly become the most popular portable video player in history.”

The new iPod plays music, audiobooks, audio Podcasts, video Podcasts, home movies, music videos and popular television shows like “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives.” The unrivaled combination of iPod and iTunes® 6 now provides customers with a seamless experience for buying, managing and playing video as well as audio content, including over 2,000 music videos, six short films from the Academy-Award winning Pixar Animation Studios, and five television shows from ABC and Disney Channel, including the immensely popular “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives.”

The new iPod combines all of the ground breaking features that have made the iPod the best music player in the world with revolutionary new features such as the ability to view video content on a larger stunning color display. The new iPod features Apple’s innovative Click Wheel for precise, one-handed navigation and the portable design is ideal for putting music, Podcasts, photos, audiobooks, home movies, music videos and popular television shows in a pocket for on-the-go viewing. iPod users can also watch their video content and slideshows of their photos on a television via optional Apple accessories.

Featuring seamless integration with the iTunes Music Store and the iTunes digital music jukebox, iPod features Apple’s patent pending Auto-Sync technology that automatically downloads digital music, Podcasts, photos, audiobooks, home movies, music videos and popular television shows onto the iPod and keeps them up-to-date whenever the iPod is plugged into a Mac® or Windows computer using USB 2.0. The 30GB model features up to 14 hours of battery life for music playback and the 60GB model features up to 20 hours of battery life for music playback.

Apple Introduces the New iMac G5

Features Built-in iSight Video Camera & Breakthrough “Front Row” Media Experience

Apple has unveiled the new iMac® G5 which features a built-in iSight™ video camera for out-of-the-box video conferencing and the debut of Apple’s breakthrough Front Row media experience. Front Row gives users a simple, intuitive and powerful way to play their music, enjoy their photo slideshows, and watch their DVDs and iMovies, as well as popular movie trailers from apple.com and music videos and television shows purchased from the iTunes® Music Store, on their iMac from up to 30 feet away using the new bundled Apple Remote. The new iMac G5 comes in a sleek, new design that is even thinner than its predecessor, and starts at just $1,299.

“The new iMac G5 debuts our amazing Front Row media experience, and we think users are going to love it,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Plus, the built-in iSight video camera delivers out-of-the-box video conferencing with friends and family, as well as hours of fun with our new Photo Booth application.”

Apple’s breakthrough Front Row media experience uses the bundled Apple Remote to let users enjoy the content they have on their iMac—including songs from their iTunes music library, slideshows of their photo albums in iPhoto®, videos including Podcasts, iMovies and DVDs, and popular movie trailers streamed from apple.com—all from up to 30 feet away. And with iTunes 6, users can now purchase and download music videos, Pixar short films and hit TV shows such as “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost” from the iTunes Music Store and watch them on their iMac using Front Row. Front Row is easily controlled using the Apple Remote, which has only six buttons, compared to remote controls for Microsoft’s Media Center which typically have over 40 buttons.

With its built-in iSight video camera, the new iMac G5 provides video conferencing right out of the box using Apple’s award-winning iChat AV software. The new iMac G5 also includes Photo Booth, Apple’s fun-to-use new application that lets users take quick snapshots with the built-in iSight video camera, add entertaining visual effects with the touch of a button, and share them via Mail, save them in iPhoto®, or use them as icons in iChat or Address Book.

The refined design of the new iMac G5 is now up to 1/2-inch thinner and 15 percent lighter than the previous generation. Delivering even greater value, the new iMac G5 line includes a 17-inch model with a 1.9GHz PowerPC G5 processor for just $1,299 and a 20-inch model with a 2.1 GHz PowerPC G5 processor for just $1,699. Both models now come standard with a SuperDrive™ with double-layer support for burning professional-quality DVDs, 533 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory expandable to 2.5GB, hard drive storage capacity up to 500GB, and ATI Radeon X600 PCI Express-based graphics with 128MB of dedicated video memory for outstanding graphics performance and realistic game play. System memory is easily upgraded via a convenient access door along the bottom edge.

Offering the latest high-performance I/O, the new iMac G5s include built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet for high-speed networking, built-in AirPort® Extreme for fast 54 Mbps wireless networking*, built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, a total of five USB ports (three USB 2.0) and two FireWire® 400 ports. The new iMac G5 includes Apple’s Mighty Mouse, featuring up to four programmable buttons and an ingenious Scroll Ball that lets users scroll in any direction—vertically, horizontally and even diagonally.

Every new iMac G5 also includes iLife® ‘05, Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications; Mac OS X version 10.4 “Tiger,” the world’s most advanced operating system; and a collection of productivity and entertainment titles including AppleWorks, Quicken 2006 for Mac, 2006 World Book, Photo Booth, Nanosaur 2 and Marble Blast Gold.