fscklog

MittwochsMacOrama

AppleInsider mit einigen Notes, u.a. zu neuen PowerMacs, die angeblich schon komplett fertig sind und am 20. Januar (oder später) der Öffentlichkeit präsentiert werden sollen, zu Preisreduktionen beim iPod mini im Sommer (fast so grandios wie die gestrige 'ich könnte mir in den nächsten 12 Monaten unter Umständen eine Preissenkung vorstellen'-Aussage), sowie der Spekulation, dass Apple seinen iPod nicht nur für HP sondern zusätzlich für weitere Hersteller fertigt...
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Die letztwöchige Consumer Electronics Show (CES) hatte unter anderem eine Solar-Jacke zu bieten, mit der sich auch ein iPod wieder aufladen lässt:

"Fashionista outdoorsy types are assured of cloaking their geek status as they lug Palms, iPods and cell phones into the wilderness without losing power."
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Frédéric Latour hat einen schönen Tip, wie sich Textzitate unter 10.3 mit den Bordmitteln PDF und Preview besser hervorheben lassen:

"Sometimes, when doing a report on a given subject, you need to quote an official text. This has to be done textually in many cases, but if you plan to make a nice graphical presentation for your paper or else if you decided to make a short documentary using iMovie, you'll probably want to quote the source more visually, highlighting the sentence your reader should read. It helps focusing on a part of the text, while preserving the exact look of the original document, thus allowing to put the quotation in perspective from the rest of the document."

Einen ähnlichen Tipp gab es letzten November bei macosxhints: 'Use Preview to create highlighted text images'.
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Ted Landau in seiner Kolumne über einen Besuch bei Microsofts Macintosh Business Unit:

"Many of our questions revolved around a single theme: The strange-bedfellows relationship between Apple and Microsoft: "Do the MacBU staff ever feel as if they are General Motors employees working to make better products for Volkswagon?" "Was there any reason to worry that Microsoft might shut down the MacBU if Apple started becoming 'too successful' as a competitor?" Within the limits of realizing we were asking Microsoft employees to offer potentially critical or confidential information about their employer, our questions were answered reasonably directly. The crux of the answers was this: "The MacBU, although only representing a small part of Microsoft's overall revenue, is still very profitable. In fact, if it were an independent company, it would be one of the biggest software companies in the country. Microsoft has no plans to abandon the MacBU. Period."
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Gene Steinberg schreibt bei Mac Night Owl über Apples neue Musik-Stossrichtung und die HP-Apple Allianz:

"In short, I think new computers will remain the major source of business for Apple, although music's share will grow tremendously. Actually, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have companies like HP resell rebranded Macs to corporate customers that might require multiple sources for its personal computers. For HP it wouldn't make a difference what a customer bought, so long as it makes its profit. For Apple, it would just spread the joy, and demonstrate the wisdom of a certain strategic alliance that dominated the news from the Consumer Electronics Show last week."
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Ein Mac Nutzer hat sich der CES angenommen und berichtet bei MacCentral unter anderem von der Tablet Ecke:

"Tucked away on one side of one expo hall lay the Bluetooth and the Tablet PC pavilions. Designed to congregate vendors showcasing their technological innovations, these pavilions offer companies a way to display products alongside the competition. Strangely though, the Bluetooth pavilion had a greater number of products and a larger crowd gathered around.
The Tablet PC pavilion meanwhile had just a few scant offerings, and seemed to generate little buzz. This is in sharp contrast to previous CES expos where the Tablet PC and related products were the belle of the ball, the centerpiece of keynotes from both hardware manufacturers and Microsoft alike.
Steve Jobs has long said that the Tablet is a technology without a driving need, and it looks like he might be right."
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Merril Lynch lobt Apple kurz vor Bekanntgabe der Quartalszahlen am heutigen Abend/Nacht:

"Merrill Lynch said, "We think Apple has gotten its act together in focusing on core markets, building a mature management team and, most important, innovating again. People will pay more for Porsches, but they have to perform."
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AppleMatters nimmt sich der Apple Store Pro Card an, die für ein verschenkte Chance gehalten wird:

"Apple is missing a huge opportunity here. They are trying to present exclusivity to professional users, thinking it will sway people to buy the G5. The G5 does not need any help swaying. Maybe they should offer the file transfer benefit to switchers. Transferring PC files to a Mac is a task fit for a Genius. Maybe they should offer the 10% discount to anyone who has bought a new computer. Maybe they should advertise the trial .Mac membership more prominently. All I know is that Apple is trying once again to give us stuff we should be getting for free anyways, regardless of computer purchase. Give me a true benefit or don't offer it to me at all. The G5 sells itself."
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MacNN wirft einen ersten Blick auf MS Office 2004:

"Microsoft Office 2004 also includes a new Scrapbook feature that allows users to centrally store and track images, text snippets, Web content, URLs, and other information. The new Scrapbook allows users to drag & drop items, such as logos, commonly-used text, URLs, and so on directly to and from the Scrapbook; offers integration with Project Center as well; it offers a thumbnail preview of the document, and important document info such as date, size, and document creator. The Scrapbook also provides an option to enter keywords for each item, allowing users to easy search for and retrieve items based on keywords."
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Mac Design Online über 20 Jahre Macintosh und die aktuellen zahlreichen Möglichkeiten:

"Imagine a world where every iPod, every iMac, every portable or desktop Apple machine in your home began to share not just files, but computing power—clustering taken from the realm of academic geeks and reduced to a checkbox in the “Sharing” System Preferences, perhaps labeled “Share This Computer’s Idle Power.” Even with slower networking and lower efficiency (due to error checking), you’d suddenly find rendering QuickTime movies and applying intense Photoshop filters a lot faster than they already were. Just imagine, a scalable solution that can increase in power even as you go from home, to school, to business—computing power that can be used securely and safely."
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Das könnte man sich dochmal genauer ansehen, zumal Freeware:

"TunesAtWork is a specialized web server that runs on your home Macintosh and serves web pages that present your music collection (including playlists) organized visually much the same as in iTunes itself. This makes it easy to find what you're looking for.
Clicking the various links in the web page will cause MP3 files to be streamed from your home Mac to the computer where your browser is running. As long as that computer (where the browser is running) has a helper application that can play streamed MP3 files (e.g., WinAmp on Windows, MacAmp or iTunes itself on Macintosh), you will hear your music on that computer."
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Adobe Photoshop und der Geldscheinfälschungsschutz, die Geschichte nimmt kein Ende:

"The news has generated mass response, with Adobe's creative customers complaining about censorship, voicing their concerns that the move opens the doors to future restrictions on the use of other sorts of images, such as copyrighted or adult material.
"If Andy Warhol had used Photoshop in the future, would he have been able to create the famous Campbell's soup images?" asked Macworld reader, Nick Spence. "What restrictions on use will come next?" he asked.
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Fast täglich gibt es momentan entweder einen Xserve G5 (bzw. Xserve Raid) oder Xgrid Bericht, für heute deshalb die Information Week:

"We're getting a lot of interest in using our systems in computationally intense environments," says Tom Goguen, a marketing director for server software at Apple. "We wanted to make it really easy for scientists to use a rack of Macs" as a cluster."
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Sowie Anke Gröner zum niemals endenden Geschlechterkonflikt:

"Jemandem dabei zuzusehen, wie er mit seinem Handy per Bluetooth die Maus vom Powerbook bewegt, das ungefähr 60 Zentimeter von ihm wegsteht, lässt mich wieder an der Theorie zweifeln, dass Männer und Frauen sich jemals verstehen werden."
(via vowe dot net)
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Außerdem (Halb-)Wissenswertes aus dem Terminal - heute:
01/14 Albert Schweitzer born, 1875
(Anleitung).

HP dementiert WMA-Pläne für den iPod

Gestern noch wilde Wellen schlagend, mischt sich nun auch HP in die 'WMAaufiPod'-Diskussion ein und gibt dabei für den Augenblick bei Wired unmissverständlich zu Protokoll:

"We're not going to be supporting WMA for now," said Muffi Ghadiali, product marketing manager for HP's digital entertainment products group.
"We picked the service that was the most popular (Apple's iTunes Music Store)," said Ghadiali. "We could have chosen another format, but that would have created more confusion for our customers."
He added, "Most customers don't care about the format they're downloading."

Interessantes Detail in selbigem Artikel: Ein Analyst spekuliert über eine 'WMA to AAC' Konvertierungsmöglichkeit, die HP zur Verfügung stellen könnte.

DienstagsMacOrama

Wichtiges von gestern: Spekulationen über WMA auf dem iPod, sowie RealNetworks Reaktion auf die HP-Apple Allianz.
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NYdailynews.com hat in einem Artikel folgende Aussage des Analysten Michael Gartenberg zitiert:
"I think $249 is smart. You can always drop the price. It's much harder to raise it," said Michael Gartenberg, a personal technology analyst with Jupiter Research. "I think we could see a $199 iPod in the next 12 months."
Man muss Herrn Gartenberg zugute halten, dass er sich mehrfach durch sehr positive Apple-Berichterstattung/Einschätzung hervorgetan hat, aber diese Vorhersage ist sowas von dermassen überflüssig...
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Vergangenen Oktober kursierten bereits erste Gerüchte über iPod Spots, die in einer Friends-Episode auftauchen sollten (bis zu Folge 9, Season 10 ist zumindest noch nichts passiert) nun legt MacRumors allgemeiner gehalten nach:
"Apple does appear to be committed in promoting the new Mini which will be appearing in several television shows in the next 6 to 8 weeks, according to sources."
Im selben Artikel wird ein Vergleich mit der Reaktion auf die Vorstellung des ersten iPod vor über 2 Jahren gezogen, der ungefähr genauso negativ ausfiel, wie die jetzige Kritik am iPod mini.
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Die Janus Capital Group, zweitgrößter Apple-Aktieninhaber, hat seine Anteile von 6,5 auf 2,8% verringert und das einen Tag vor den Quartalszahlen...
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Bruce "Tog" Tognazzini, 14 Jahre bei Apple, Gründer der Apple Human Interface Group gibt seine Einschätzung zu OS X und dem von ihm verhassten Dock ab:

"Panther, OS X version 10.3 is here and it is dynamite! Macintosh has finally released a high-speed version of its OS X, with some seriously cool innovations.
In this special issue, I cover where Panther stands, why the Dock (still) sucks, and how you can trick out your personal Macintosh today to turn it into a high-productivity machine."
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Computerworld.com wirft einen ersten Blick auf Xgrid:

"However, the most underplayed news, and yet the most interesting thing to emerge from the show in my view, was Apple's new Xgrid application. This software is aimed at scientific applications like gene sequencing, missile trajectory calculations, cryptography and other incredibly compute-intensive applications that previously could be crunched only by supercomputers.[...]
I can't stress enough how easy it was to set up this software and get Xgrid up and running. Total time invested was under an hour, including downloading the software and uninstalling it after my tests. For any scientific computing environment wishing to take advantage of unused computing cycles or wanting to achieve some form of supercomputing on a budget that doesn't allow for InfiniBand cards and multiple racks of Xserves, this is a great application."

Ebenso bei Computerworld.com: ein Blick auf Apples neue Kunden im Unternehmensmarkt.

"But one CIO in the financial industry, Jon Moog at St. Cloud, Minn.-based RiskWise LLC, which runs credit checks for large financial institutions, uses more than 250 Xserve systems in his data center and is more than pleased. "We get tremendous performance from them," he says. Tom Goguen, Apple's director of product management for server software, claims that Moog and others in markets outside his company's bailiwicks of publishing and education buy the Xserve systems because of Apple's slavish support of industry standards. Moog agrees. But he's also enamored with the Xserve's pricing. "Dollar for dollar, the systems are cheaper than Windows machines," Moog points out. Will he upgrade to the new G5 Xserve? "Without a doubt."
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Im Bundesstaat Maine, mit 34.000 iBooks in Schülerhänden, formen sich iTeams:

"Schools are forming "iTeams," groups of students who have the technological ability to help other students - and sometimes even teachers - quickly resolve computer glitches, such as not being able to print a document, and get on with learning."
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Adam Engst bei TidBITS über Apples musikalisches Trojanisches Pferd:

"Apple's desire to focus on this musical Trojan Horse also explains why we haven't seen an Apple-designed cell phone or PDA or tablet computer or television. As Phil Schiller, Apple's VP of Marketing, said in our press briefing, Apple realized they had a chance to rethink the entire way music was sold, and at the same time invent the next Walkman. That's changing the world, which remains at the heart of everything Steve Jobs does. Apple could create any given product, but without a clear vision of how the product would both be enough more compelling than the competition and would help the fortunes of Apple's core products - in short, how it would change the world - it won't happen."
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MacMerc vergleicht Apples neue In-Ear Headphones mit der Konkurrenz von Sony und Bose.
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Außerdem (Halb-)Wissenswertes aus dem Terminal - heute:
01/13 Eric Clapton plays the "Rainbow Concert" in London, 1973
(Anleitung).

macosxhints: Twenty steps to help diagnose and fix system issues

Die Liste ist endlich fertig geworden und dürfte vorerst die Referenz für jegliche Problembehandlung werden. Sicher auch bald irgendwo in deutscher Fassung zu finden...
Momentan noch im Original bei macosxhints, ein klares bookmark-Muss!
Kleiner Vorgeschmack:

FIRST AID
01 Restart
02 Check/fix the filesystem
03 Make sure you're not running out of free space on the System volume
04 Repair permissions
05 Create a new user account, and see if the problem persists there
06 Clear system & user caches
07 Disable Application Enhancer, if you're running it
08 Startup in SafeBoot mode, and see if the problem persists there
09 Reset system firmware
10 Unplug all USB, Firewire devices except Apple mouse

WMA auf dem iPod? Wohl kaum. (Update)

Ich wollte die Nachricht eigentlich ignorieren, aber es ist immer wieder erstaunlich, welch weite Kreise dumme Aussagen ziehen können. So schreibt Paul Thurrott bei connectedhomemag.com:

"HP's blockbuster deal with Apple will have one exciting side effect. The company will be working with Apple to add support for Microsoft's superior Windows Media Audio (WMA) format to the iPod by mid-year. You heard it here first."

Abgesehen davon, dass WMA darin vollkommen unbegründet als 'superior' bezeichnet wird, sollte man wissen, dass Herr Thurrott sich bereits mehrfach durch besonders unqualifizierte Aussagen hervorgetan hat, so kommentiert z.B. macrumors die Meldung: "Readers should note that Paul Thurrott has historically had an anti-Mac bias with the dubious distinction of being unable to correctly draw a graph."

Schon vor der Veröffentlichung der Windows Variante von iTunes gab es Gerüchte über die Unterstützung von WMA, die sich bislang allerdings als nach wie vor vollkommen substanzlos herausgestellt haben. Erst im November hatte Steve Jobs selbst wieder bekanntgegeben, dass er lieber iPod und iTMS verbessert, anstatt Geld in eine Unterstützung anderer Music Stores auf dem iPod (sprich WMA Lizenzierung) zu stecken.

Die Allianz mit HP ist für Apple schließlich auch im Hinblick auf die Schwächung von WMA besonders interessant und HP hat durchaus ebenso Interesse, aus der MS Bevormundung zumindest ein Stückchen weit zu entschwinden. Interessant dazu, was Todd Dominey bei whatdoiknow.org schreibt:

"And this brings us to what is probably the biggest point of all — the fight for standardization. Microsoft is pushing their own proprietary audio format, Windows Media, and have succeeded in inking deals with companies like BuyMusic.com and Napster to standardize their services on their codec. In doing so, the aforementioned third parties take a huge (and in my mind, shortsighted) risk by technologically wedding themselves to Microsoft, and by ignoring the most popular mp3 player on the market — the iPod. In return, Microsoft would work to further strengthen the Windows Media format in both software and hardware design, and eventually try to choke the life out of anyone who dared enter their backyard. If they succeeded, Microsoft’s proprietary audio format would become the de-facto technology behind a slew of products; forcing third party companies (like HP) to license it if they wanted to offer consumers anything that had to do with digital audio. And that alone probably scared the crap out of HP."

Update: MacRumors hat weitere Informationen gesammelt, die gegen einen WMA fähigen iPod sprechen: "Also, in November 2003, when Steve Jobs was asked about Apple supporting WMA, Steve Jobs said "We decided to support an open audio codec standard [AAC] rather than a proprietary one. [WMA]" .... "That's our plan and we're sticking to it. We're feeling real good about it too".

RealNetworks Reaktion auf die Apple-HP Allianz

Während Dell und Microsoft merkwürdige 'Un-Stellungnahmen' abgaben, schien man bei Real durchaus zufrieden mit dem Apple-HP Deal zu sein:

"IDGNS: HP last week announced it will release a digital music player later based on Apple's iPod and preinstall Apple's iTunes jukebox software on its consumer PCs and notebook systems. Does that hurt RealNetworks?

Glaser: "iTunes is only going to be used for playing songs you bought using the iTunes store or ripped using iTunes. What we have done with RealPlayer 10 by making it universal is create a solution that we think consumers will flock to. Imagine the situation that you buy a couple of tracks from the iTunes store, a couple of tracks from Napster and hopefully you'll buy tracks from the RealPlayer Music Store. You want it to just work.
What Apple is doing reinforces format diversity. Even though Apple is narrowly focused on their one format, their success reinforces the need for people to take a universal approach. We're the only major player that does that."

MontagsMacOrama Teil 2

Mit der Frage nach der Lebensdauer des iPod Akkus konfrontiert, antwortete Stan Ng, Apples Marketingchef für den iPod:
"iPod and iPod mini's are designed for several years of use, with high-capacity lithium ion batteries Many customers have been using first-generation iPods since 2001 with no problems. We also have a battery replacement program."
Für Europa ist das Akku-Austauschprogramm zwar angekündigt, bis jetzt ist allerdings nur der AppleCare Protection Plan verfügbar.
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Forbes.com über Apples Anteil an der Genomforschung:

"Apple's hardware isn't the only reason for the speed. A lot of genomics software has been optimized for Apple processors. Will Gilbert, a professor at the University of New Hampshire, is best known for using his iPod to carry a genome from one server to another. But his actual pitch for Apple hardware goes further. Using software optimized by Apple and Genentech (nyse: DNA - news - people ), he was able to cut the time for comparing big strands of chimpanzee and human DNA from 16 minutes to two by using an Apple computer."

Auch Xgrid scheint sich in diesem Zusammenhang mit Sicherheit einige Freunde zu schaffen:
"The XGrid BLAST application enables bioinformatics researchers to perform distributed BLAST searches on a cluster running the XGrid software," said Richard H. Scheller, Ph.D., senior vice president of Research at Genentech. "We tested XGrid BLAST by querying DNA sequence files for matches against multi-gigabyte genomic databases on a cluster of four dual-processor Xserves."
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Es gerüchtet auf der zweiten MacRumors Seite, dass Virginia Tech seinen Cluster aus 1100 PowerMac G5 in 1100 Xserve G5 verwandeln will:
"The migration plan was reportedly part of the original PowerMac deal. The big question, of course, is what happens to the original 1100 PowerMac G5s?"
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Auch der Guardian hat das Consumer-->Producer Mem (siehe auch heutiges MontagsMacOrama) aufgeschnappt:

"The key shift is that consumers are now in a position to generate or acquire lots of digital content, and they want to do things with it without having to acquire a PhD in computer science. Ripping CDs into MP3 files is now commonplace - as is file-sharing and CD-burning. Digital cameras (both standalone and integrated into mobile phones) are producing terabytes of digital imagery every day. Ditto digital camcorders.
These changes are transforming 'ordinary' people from being passive consumers of multi-media content (CDs, videos, DVDs) into active producers of content which they want to manipulate and share."

Ebenso Gene Steinberg, der bei USAToday.com schreibt:

"In addition to music downloads and players, it's also busy turning its consumer culture into a producer culture. What do I mean? Consider Apple's suite of digital lifestyle applications, iLife. The newest version, unleashed at the Expo, features GarageBand, the slickest music production application you've ever seen.[...]
Some day — some day soon — you will hear a number-one hit recording created and produced in GarageBand. This may seem unbelievable, considering that it's part of an application suite that costs a mere $49. But consider what The Beatles could do with four-track recording back in the 1960s. As I said, with talent, you can make miracles, and GarageBand may be just the ticket to make it happen for one of you.
Indeed, Apple is facing the music, and we will all reap the benefits."
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MacRumors listet schonmal Tipps&Tricks zu GarageBand auf, der Programmeigenen Hilfefunktion entnommen.
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Bei eleg.antville.org werden 'gute apple-shops/haendler/servicelaeden/etc' rund um den Globus gesammelt.
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Wem seine externe FireWire Festplatte schon immer etwas zu mickrig vorkam, der kann sich für die Zukunft mit dem 1 Terabyte Monster von LaCie eindecken, natürlich auch per FireWire 800 nutzbar...

Weitere iPhoto 4 Reviews

Ich hatte heute morgen schon auf einige Reviews/Screenshots von verschiedenen Programmen des iLife '04 Pakets verlinkt.
Nun folgen noch zwei iPhoto 4 Reviews. Das erste mit etlichen Screenshots findet sich bei Think Secret. Das zweite auf deutsch bei apfeltalk.de inklusive einem sehr anschaulichen Film (3,6MB .mov) über die neugewonnene Geschwindigkeit bei der Fotoverwaltung.

Mehr zum HP iPod, iTMS Europa Gerüchte, Geheimnisse des iPod mini

Leider sind zum grandiosen HP-Apple Deal nicht gerade viele weitere Details bekannt geworden. Anschauen kann man sich den HP iPod bzw. HP Digital Music Player (zumindest momentan) in gesammelten Screenshots bei IT&W oder im Video der Vorstellung durch Carly Fiorina auf der CES.
Interessanterweise scheint Apple ursprünglich an HP herangetreten zu sein:
"Apple approached HP late last year hoping to piggyback on HP's number one market position in retail PC sales. But it was iPod's stellar sales numbers in the December quarter that convinced HP to drop alternate plans."

Microsoft reagierte genauso erheiternd und anscheinend unvorbereitet wie schon bei der Vorstellung der Windowsvariante von iTunes im vergangenen Oktober:
"Thursday the company appeared unprepared for the Apple-Hewlett agreement, which clearly stung Microsoft executives. They said the agreement would limit choice and harm consumers.
"Windows is about choice, you can mix and match all of this stuff," said David Fester, general manager of Microsoft's Windows digital media division. "We believe you should have the same choice when it comes to music services."

Michael Dell entschloss sich, erst gar nicht Stellung zu nehmen:
"Asked about HP and Apple's iPod alliance on Thursday, Dell Chief Executive Michael Dell said he had nothing to say."

Eine gute Presseschau zum Thema gibt es in der Washington Post. Eine schöne Zitatensammlung bei codepoetry.

Bill Palmer freut sich berechtigterweise:
"But the deal between Apple and HP is not only multi-year, it's exclusive (at least on HP's end). In the fast-changing world of personal computing, this deal might as well be considered infinite. In some respects, it's remarkable that HP would even want to participate, considering the way that the whole thing seems to so heavily favor Apple. But I guess that's what happens when one company so heavily dominates a market. Just ask Microsoft."

Dass der iPod bei den inzwischen erreichten Verkaufszahlen (im letzten Quartal hat Apple wohl annähernd so viele iPods wie Macs verkauft, kommenden Mittwoch gibt es wie schon mehrfach erwähnt Quartalszahlen) eigene Märkte geschaffen hat, verwundert da nicht weiter:
"The momentum behind the iPod has spawned a new and already competitive market devoted to the iconic device."

In der Macworld gibt es die 'Secrets of the iPod mini':
"I decided to find out by visiting the Apple booth and, in the guise of an interested user, pressing every button combination I could. Here's what I discovered."

Die iTunes Music Store für Europa Gerüchte scheinen langsam wieder aufzuleben, so bei TechDigest:
"The gossip from the recent Apple Expo in San Francisco is that its iTunes music download service will launch in the spring, possibly coinciding with the arrival of the new iPod mini. While iTunes has been enormously successful in the US, the company has obviously found it significantly trickier to negotiate with the huge number of record companies based in the various countries across Europe." (mehr zur Verzögerung der weltweiten iPod Auslieferung)
Und ebenso bei MacRumors, dort wird allerdings mehr Richtung Mai spekuliert.

MontagsMacOrama

Doc Searls trägt das Keynote-Mem über Konsumenten die zu Produzenten werden in seinem MWSF Bericht fort:

"It's easy to say that what Apple's doing here is about marketing. But it's not, even though clever marketing is involved. See, marketing is about influencing markets. It's about spin. In the mass-market millieu where Apple lives, it's about maintaining the fully saturated Matrix-like habitat we call Consumer Culture. That culture was built by those who own and control the means of production. So, what we call "consumer electronics" is really producer electronics. It isn't about what you and I invent and contribute to the marketplace. It's about what Sony and Panasonic and Nikon and Canon produce and distribute through retailers for us, the mass market, to consume constantly. It's producerism, really. As a label, "consumerism" is a red herring. Talking about "consumerism" takes the conversation off into victimville, where the poor consumer needs to get better stuff and less abuse from the big bad producer.
Apple is giving consumers tools that make them producers. This practice radically transform both the marketplace and the economy that thrives on it."
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Während Napster auf Miller Bier baut, neigt Real für den eigenen Music Store offensichtlich eher zu Heineken:
"To promote the new player and download store, Real said today that it has signed a marketing deal with Heineken USA to give away millions of free songs between May and July this year."

Während ich persönlich meine iTMS-Free-Downloads lieber aus Miller und/oder Heineken Deckeln zusammensuchen würde, hat Apple mit Pepsi sicherlich einen erheblich massentauglicheren Promopartner gewonnen...
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Der Autor von 'What is Mac OS X?' im macnews-Interview:
"Nichts ist perfekt und es gibt immer Raum für Verbesserungen. Aber Apples OS liegt nah an dem, zumindest für "Real Life"-Anwendungen. Apple muss aber weiterhin auf seine Konkurrenz und die Entwicklungen in der Industrie achten. Man hatte aber wirklich viel Glück, dass die richtige Technologie zur richtigen Zeit verfügbar war. Wenn man ein Linux- oder Unix-Hacker ist und nach Mac OS X wechselt, sollte das insgesamt ein schönes Erlebnis werden. Ob man bereits "da" ist, kann ich nicht sagen, das "da" ist ein bewegliches Ziel. Man muss eben vorne bleiben."
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Die 20 wichtigsten Macs, zumindest aus Wired-Sicht.
Ebenso bei Wired:
"Apple's CEO Steve Jobs and the Macintosh are inextricably linked in the minds of most people. So it may come as a surprise to learn the Mac wasn't his idea at all.
In fact, he actually wanted to kill the project in its infancy. Luckily for Apple, he wasn't successful."
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Man war zufrieden mit der MWSF von Veranstalterseite:
"We're very happy with how well this shown has gone," Warwick Davies, Group Vice President of IDG World Expo, told The Mac Observer. "Traffic is good, the keynote was packed, attendees are packing in the conferences, and exhibitors overall seem to be very happy."
Die Besucher hatten offensichtlich ebenfalls ihren Spass:
"I was just happy to see Steve Jobs for the first time," he said. "He's such a friendly guy in his blue jeans and T-shirt. He was very funny."
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Apple hat einen Knowledge Base Artikel aktualisiert mit dessen Hilfe sich jeder bisherige iPod 'erkennen'/unterscheiden lässt. Besonders schön der Hinweis:
"iPod mini can be distinguished from other iPod models by the following:
Its smaller size."
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Es sind nur noch ein paar Tage bis iLife '04 erhältlich sein wird, bis dahin wird man sich mit dem Gedanken anfreunden müssen, dass es leider definitiv keine kostenlosen Updates für iPhoto und iMovie mehr geben wird. Dafür tauchen inzwischen erste Reviews und Screenshots auf, unter anderem iPhoto/iMovie Kurzbesprechung bei den macteens, sowie bei macshrine (iPhoto, iMovie). Screenshots von GarageBand 1.0 zeigt Chaosmint.
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Außerdem (Halb-)Wissenswertes aus dem Terminal - heute:
01/12 "Long" John Baldry is born in London, 1941
(Anleitung).