MacOrama für den 15. April 2004

Steve Jobs freut sich in der NYT über die Quartalszahlen:
"We feel great," Steven P. Jobs, Apple's chief executive, said in an interview. "We sold a lot of Macs, but we've sold more iPods in the quarter than all the Macs put together."
Die Details zum Conference Call ebenfalls im fscklog.
Apple Deutschland Chef Frank Steinhoff wird bei heise zitiert:
"Der Computer-Konzern Apple ist in Deutschland vor allem wegen des Erfolgs des Musikplayers iPod euphorisch gestimmt. "Ich bin durchweg optimistisch", sagte Deutschland-Chef Frank Steinhoff am heutigen Donnerstag der dpa. Im abgelaufenen Quartal sei das Geschäft hierzulande ähnlich erfolgreich gelaufen wie im Rest Europas."
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Apple hat die Händler laut Think Secret angewiesen, die Promo Materialien zur iPod Silhouetten Kampagne zu entfernen (und vernichten):
"One dealer reported being told that the commercials had to be removed due to expiring music rights. Apple's directive has prompted speculation that the company is planning changes or a revamp to its iPod advertising efforts, but sources had no specifics or hard information on future marketing plans."
Und das so kurz vor NAB Special Event und einjährigem iTMS Jubiläum...
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Egbert hat iPeep -'das Portal für den erwachsenen Schreibtisch'- an den Start gebracht:
"When blogging, many people show much more of themselves than a picture can describe. But reading something can't substitute viewing peoples environment. Since I'm a quite curious person, I'd like to SEE where people work to be able to get a better impression of them and their work.
Partly I was inspired for this site when the Meme-pics came up in the blogging-scene. I also found a few sites which already are showing desks/computers of other people. But one isn't online anymore, the other one is in connection to a board with too many text and the last one is the opposite of what I'd like to provide here, a clean picturing of working space."
Reichliche Zusendungen an 'submissions at ipeep.vactory.de' werden sicher gerne entgegengenommen und einen RSS Feed gibts natürlich auch.
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Nachdem Apple aufgrund der 'G5 fastest PC'-Bezeichnung mehrmals ins Feuer der Kritik geraten war, schnappte man sich bei Popular Mechanics einen Dual 2GHz G5 und einen Dual 3.06GHz Xeon von HP, um Apples Benchmarks nachzuvollziehen, vorhersehbares Ergebnis:
"But in a way, the controversy over Apple's use of SPEC benchmarks, the discarding of the "fastest computer" claim and the adoption of new tests may call into question the idea of benchmarks themselves rather than Apple. A computer is a system of components that work together. The CPU, RAM, data bus, hard drive, operating system and video card must work together to produce today's blazing speeds. Any one of those components can drag down the overall speed of a system. Simply measuring a single component tells very little about the system's total performance.
Maybe instead of asking which computer is the fastest, people should ask which is the most useful for what they want it to do."
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Laut den Government Computer News scheint Apple weiterhin stark zu versuchen, in Regierungsbüros vorzustoßen:
"Apple Computer Inc. is seeking Common Criteria evaluation of Mac OS X, which could open government doors wider to open-source software.
Apple wants a Common Criteria Evaluated Assurance Level 3, which “costs big bucks,” said John Hurley, Apple’s security policy architect. “It’s a pain in the neck to spend that money.”
But, Hurley told an audience at the recent Secure Trusted Operating System symposium in Washington, the entire open-source community could benefit from the effort. The OS X kernel is based on the Darwin open-source operating system.
“OS X wouldn’t be here without open-source,” Hurley said. “Everything that isn’t graphical is open-source.”
That means other open-source developers could incorporate the evaluated elements in their software."
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Alex Salkever schlägt in der Business Week vor, .mac und Googles Gmail zu verbinden:
"So a good strategy might be to revamp the .Mac service, with Gmail as the e-mail underpinning. Let Google do the heavy lifting, and Apple can share the revenues from ads served to the e-mail messages. (For those concerned about privacy from Gmail's controversial content scan, Apple could offer an opt-out and charge slightly more for the privilege.) Then, Jobs & Co. should evaluate whether the various remaining pieces of .Mac offer real value or need a refresh."
Stephen Withers bezweifelt es:
"Yes, Gmail might draw users from Yahoo and Hotmail, but is does it really constitute a threat to .Mac? I don't think so."
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Apple Software Gerüchte zur NAB bei AppleInsider:
"According to the usual suspects, Apple's announcements at the NAB 2004 conference will focus on advancements in professional video and sound software, rather than new hardware. Along with an already confirmed introduction of Shake 3.5, sources said to expect multiple "Pro" software updates, including a revised Final Cut Pro.
One of the most interesting rumors is that Apple plans to unfold a new technology into a new "Pro" application or extension of Final Cut Pro. Details are very vague, but over the last several months sources have described a software-based asset management system for video (and possibly sound) clips — a souped-up iPhoto of sorts, designed for Final Cut professionals working with video."
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MacNN:
"Aspyr today announced that its Mac version of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell has hit beta. The strategy and spy game is now available for pre-order at $50. Aspyr also released an update to Command & Conquer Generals Mac Demo that fixes stability issues with some ATI Radeon video cards (in particular 9000 models), addresses multiple monitor cursor controls, and increases performance of in-game movies." DL-Link (2,4 MB) für C&C Demo Fix.
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Symantec Interview bei MacFixIt zur Einstellung der Norton Utilities für den Mac:
"A personal note: Norton Utilities for the Macintosh (which was originally called Symantec Utilities for the Macintosh or SUM) is one of the oldest Mac utilities still on the market. Over the years, Symantec maintained its dominance in the repair utilities field partly because Norton Utilities was simply a very good product and partly because Symantec acquired (and thus eliminated) competing products (such as MacTools and Public Utilities). However, with the release of Mac OS X, Norton Utilities began to decline. There were frequent compatibility problems as well as a very un-OS X-like installation procedure (that placed Norton files in numerous obscure locations around the drive, making it difficult to uninstall the software). Postings on Web forums often complained that running Norton was more likely to harm a drive than fix it."
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Wer es gestern in der Quartalszahlen-Hektik verpasst haben sollte:
Apple schließt 'iMac factory' in Elk Grove,
Australische Verkehrsbehörde switcht zu 1200 iMacs und
Apple zahlt bereits an Apple Corps.
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Außerdem Wissenswertes aus dem Terminal - heute:
04/14 Titanic hits iceberg and sinks, 1912
(Nachvollziehen).