fscklog

Endlich: Apple Store London

"APPLE Computer is planning to open a giant flagship store on London’s Regent Street after striking a deal with the Crown Estate, the holding company for the Queen’s property assets, The Times has learnt.[...]
The outlet, which is expected to cost Apple about £1.5 million a year in rent, would be its first flagship store in Europe. So far it has just five other flagship stores based in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Tokyo and San Francisco. In total it has about 75 retail stores, mainly in the US.[...]
The store is expected to open in time for Christmas."
Ich bleibe natürlich nach wie vor bei meiner Forderung des Flagship Apple Store Berlin...

FreitagsMacOrama

Die E-Commerce Times widmet sich ausführlich den Wissenschaftlern und ihrem Drang zum Mac:

"Indeed, as senior software engineer at the MIT Whitehead Institute for Genome Research, William Van Etten once needed four computers to do his work: a Windows box for productivity , a Unix box for development, a Linux computer for Linux development and a notebook computer.
When Mac OS X became viable, Van Etten was able to slim down to a single computer: a Mac.[...]
Indeed, because PCs no longer carry the huge price advantage they once did, choosing a hardware and software configuration now also involves an element of personal preference, Gray said. He noted that with Macs, "you do not have the [same] sort of virus problem as with Windows."
And David J. Stevenson, George Van Osdol Professor of Planetary Science at Caltech, said that he, like Golombek, has used Macs for years because he does not want to be a rocket scientist of system administration."
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Sehr schöner iCal Tipp bei macosxhints:
"You can view two days at a time in iCal by typing command-option-2, three days by typing command-option-3, and so on, up to seven days."
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Die 36.000 iBooks in Maine scheinen sich unterrichtstechnisch auszuzahlen:
"Students who use laptops are more engaged in learning and produce better-quality work, according to a report released Wednesday that gives high grades to Maine's 2-year-old program".
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Apple hat eine eigene Seite für Free- und Shareware rund um iTunes und iPod online gestellt.
(via MacBidouille)
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In Target Stores soll es ab dem 15. Februar '15$ Gift Cards' für den iTunes Music Store geben, schreibt iPodlounge.com.
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Walt Mossberg erklärt Windows Usern den Target Disk Mode:

"All of this is much easier in the Apple world. If you are moving up from an old Macintosh to a new one, and both machines have FireWire ports — common on Macintoshes — you can just link the two computers with a standard FireWire cable. No special software is required.
After setting up the new Macintosh, you just reboot it while holding down the "T" key. That puts the computer in a special mode in which it acts like an extra hard disk on the old Mac, and it shows up on the old Mac's screen as a hard-drive icon. To move data files and settings, you simply drag the contents of the "Home" folder from the old Mac to the "Home" folder on the new one. Most programs can also be transferred in a similar way, by simply dragging the icons representing them from the Applications folder on the old machine to the Applications folder on the new one.
Someday, perhaps, Microsoft will come up with something just as simple and effective for long-suffering Windows users. At least, we can dare to dream."
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Der tausendste 'Virginia Tech Supercomputer könnte Apples Serververkäufe ankurbeln'-Artikel, immerhin bei Investors.com:

"Sure, the firm had long touted the newest G5 models as fast. But that referred to their speedy film editing and CD burning, not the massive number crunching needed to sequence genomes or model weather patterns.
"It shocked a lot of people," said Virginia Tech spokeswoman Lynn Nystrom.
Apple may have more surprises on the way. The company best known for the slick iPod and cutesy iMac is betting that Virginia Tech's coup opens doors to new, more button-down markets."
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Wer schonmal will reinschnuppern will:
NetNewsWire Atom Beta.
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GarageBand 1.0.1 Update (21 MB):
"This update clarifies specific alert dialogs regarding system performance."
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Xcode 1.1.1 steht laut Think Secret vor der Tür:
"Apple said that feedback from developers, as well as the company's own testing, produced a number of bug fixes which are included in the update. Changed areas include gcc, IDE, and other Xcode components, the company said in a seed note."
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Außerdem (Halb-)Wissenswertes aus dem Terminal - heute:
02/13* Be happy, It's Adar !
(Anleitung).

Windows Quelltext im Netz! (Update)

heise tickert:
"Die Windows-Informationssite Neowin berichtete, dass die Quelltexte von Windows NT 4 und Windows 2000 im Internet kursieren sollen. Die Nachricht verbreitete sich wie ein Lauffeuer -- kurz nach Veröffentlichung der Meldung war der Neowin-Server kaum noch zu erreichen. Inzwischen wird in diversen Web-Foren heiß darüber diskutiert, ob überhaupt sein kann, was nach Microsoft nicht sein darf."

Update:
" Microsoft reagierte mittlerweile höchstselbst auf die hochkochende Gerüchteküche: Nach anfänglichen heftigen Dementis bestätigte der Konzern laut eWeek, dass Original-Code ins Internet gelangte. Einige "unvollständige Teile des Source-Codes von Windows 2000 und NT 4" seien illegalerweise nach außen gedrungen, hieß es. Dies sei daher eher ein Problem des Umgangs mit dem geistigen Eigentum als ein Problem mit der Sicherheit, die durch Offenwerden des Source-Codes in Frage gestellt werden könnte."

Einschätzung:
"Microsoft is trying to downplay this leak, but this is a tough one to downplay," Joe Wilcox, a senior Microsoft analyst with Jupiter Research, told The Mac Observer. "Windows is Microsoft's crown jewel and source code is the blueprint.
"Microsoft has already been taking a beating of security issues, so people may look at this and wonder about Microsoft's security if it looses some of its source code," Wilcox commented. "Also, there may be concerns at some point in the future that hackers will find things in the leaked source code that will allow them to break into the source code of Windows 2000 or even later versions of the operating system."
Wilcox also believed Microsoft will take a "real black eye" in the media over the source code leak. "This is a credibility problem for Microsoft, if nothing else," he said."

Microsoft Monitor erklärt:
"Another possible means of theft: Portable music player or keychain USB drive. I've been warning people about these devices for years. Because of how Windows recognizes USB or Firewire devices, there are few security mechanisms to protect against misuse. That portable music player is a very large storage device. A disgruntled employee with code access could swipe quite a bit."

Helge - iMac - Kant

Zitat des Tages, bei fabu!ant:
"Helge Schneider sitzt am iMac und zitiert Kant. Sehr interessant."

Sollte davon jemand Screenshots, oder gar einen kompletten Mitschnitt haben bitte per mail an mich, oder direkt in die Kommentare, das hätte ich schon äußerst gerne gesehen...
Mehr Kantiges zum 200. Todestag übrigens bei Telepolis.

Apple widersetzt sich der Sony-BMG Fusion

Apple sträubt sich heftig gegen die Sony-BMG Fusion, wie die Financial Times berichtet:

"Apple, which has sold more than 30m songs through its US internet service, is understood to have expressed concerns about possible "vertical integration" between the merged entity and its respective media parents. The group declined to comment.
People familiar with the situation, however, said Apple had "forcefully" raised objections over the enlarged music group's selling power for music downloads and potential favourable terms with Sony Connect, the Japanese group's forthcoming rival to Apple's iTunes."

Der Verbleib der 1100 Virginia Tech PowerMacs

Vor kurzem hatte man bei Virginia Tech offiziell bekanntgegeben, die 1100 G5 PowerMacs gegen die entsprechende Xserve Variante einzutauschen und erstaunlicherweise stehen genau diese PowerMacs nun bereits refurbished bei MacMall zum Verkauf:
"Own a piece of history," announces an ad that appeared on MacMall's homepage recently, accompanied by Virginia Tech's stylized logo. "Buy a Power Mac G5 2GHz [Dual Processor] refurbished by Apple from Virginia Tech's Supercomputer!"
(via MacCentral)

DonnerstagsMacOrama

Unreal Tournament 2004 Demo:
"Destineer's Macintosh unit, MacSoft, today announced that the playable demo of Unreal Tournament 2004 for the Macintosh will be available for download today -- simultaneously with the PC and Linux versions of the demo."
205 MB, zu bekommen über MGF, jeuxmac.com, MacUpdate und games4mac.it.
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Palm beendet die direkte Mac-Unterstützung:
"Mr. Slotnick made it clear that PalmSource isn't developing a Mac version of the Palm Desktop. As the way the PIM apps work has changed significantly, this means Mac users won't be able to HotSync without third-party software."

Kommentar bei ~stevenf:
"I'm just totally depressed at this. The buzz was good about Palm OS 6, and now all the news coming out of this conference is just sucking the air out of the entire platform. A company split into two, selling a product line split into two, dropping a good chunk of their market for no good reason... This does not smell of good management.
There is one way I can envision this turning into positive news. With iCal and Address Book, Apple already has an "almost there" replacement for Palm Desktop. If Apple can also produce a Palm iSync plug-in that is not just a gateway to Palm Desktop like the current one is, then that would be a win on both sides. Palm would get Mac syncing out-of-the-box with no development effort, and Apple would not lose their only supported PDA."

Kommentar beim MacObserver:
"Also, we're delighted to see that Mark/Space is stepping up to the plate with Mac OS X support, but those users who will need to pay an additional US$40 to sync their Palms aren't going to be happy. Perhaps Apple can solve this by developing its own solution, but we don't see that happening, either."
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IBM scheint die 90nm (PowerPC 970FX, gerade mit Auszeichnung als bester Prozessor bedacht) Chips auszuliefern, berichtet MacRumors:
"Unclear is the significance of the "SOC" (System-on-Chip) -- whether this represents any new information, or somehow simply refers to the 970 chip."

MacBidouille dazu:
"It is thus legitimate to think that IBM will deliver Apple with Northbridge at 90Nm, heating less and therefore, faster. We can also easily deduct that the PPC 970 chip should consume 8 Watts at 1GHz. That's definitely better, especially if it must be integrated in a laptop., But we are speculating here."
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Jonathan Ive (Interview erst vor wenigen Tagen hier im fscklog verlinkt) ist die einflussreichste Person 'in British culture today':
"The man who designed the iPod and transformed the way people listen to music has topped a list of the most influential people in British culture today.[...]
He beat multi-millionaire author J K Rowling, who came in at second in the list of the 50 faces of British culture in 2004."

Im Independent:
"Now Jonathan Ive, the designer of the iPod, the iMac and the iBook, has been recognised by being voted top of a list of Britain's 50 most influential cultural figures. The list, compiled by leading figures in the worlds of fashion, the arts, media and design, has been compiled for the first birthday of BBC3, the youth-orientated digital channel. The programme, Top 50 Cultural Movers and Shakers, is to be broadcast this evening."
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iPod Spam gab es schon und iPod Scam verwundert auch nicht weiter, Wired notiert:

"Ebay is swamped with new "matrix" schemes, which appear to be legitimate buyers clubs but are in fact variations on classic pyramid scams, which are outlawed around the world.
In most cases, eBay shoppers are offered hot products like an iPod, a game console or a cell phone at an incredible discount, say for $40 or $25."
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Steve Jobs ist nominiert als 'Wired Renegade of the Year':
"The honor goes to "the person who had the most significant cultural impact in the wired world in 2003."
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Wer die Smiley Icons aus iChat entfernen will, wird bei The Lunatic Fringe fündig:

"If you have grown up with computers and computer networks in the early days, replacing smiley character combinations with graphical icons is evil at best."
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Interview mit Jeff Raskin bei MacMinute:

"As for the iPod, he foresees it as a success for a while, "but the race to the cheapest implementation has already started, and Apple will be hard-pressed to keep up (or down) with the competitor's prices." Finally, Raskin does have some advice for Apple, especially in its development of the Mac."
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The Post Standard schreit 'Hooray for iPhoto':
"I've had a love-hate relationship with iPhoto ever since the day I first tried it. But the latest iPhoto is so much better that all of my ambivalence is gone. iPhoto 4, the current version, is superb."
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Außerdem Wissenswertes aus dem Terminal - heute:
02/12 Charles Darwin born in Shrewsbury, England, 1809
(Anleitung).

Die Zahlenprobleme des SPIEGEL

"Es geht, es klappt, es läuft doch: Exakt vier Wochen nach seiner Eröffnung kann der Coca-Cola-eigene Musikshop MyCokeMusic in Großbritannien erste Superlative melden. Unglaubliche 150.000 Singleverkäufe wurden im ersten Monat über das hippe Angebot abgewickelt."
So liest man staunend bei SPIEGEL ONLINE, aber woher kommen diese merkwürdigen Angaben?

Vorneweg: mycokemusic besteht seit dem offiziellen Starttermin am 19.01.04, das sind gerade mal drei Wochen. Die ersten Tage war der Store zusätzlich praktisch nicht zu erreichen gewesen.

Nun kommt die Pressemeldung der BPI (British Phonographic Industry):
"New figures from the Official Charts’ Company reveal that over 150,000 downloads were sold in January 2004 – with 50,000 sold in the week of MyCokeMusic’s launch alone."

Und damit wird klar, 150.000 legale Downloads wurden im Januar im UKönigreich insgesamt an den Mann gebracht, davon 50.000 in der Woche, in der der mycokemusic Store gestartet ist. Zahlen über die Verkäufe des Stores selbst? Fehlanzeige.
Allzuviele können es nicht gewesen sein...

(Zu den Zahlen siehe auch heise und The Reg.)

Warten auf den iPod mini (Update)

Während sich die Knowledge Base langsam mit ersten Hinweisen und Tipps zum iPod mini zu füllen beginnt, können europäische Apple Kunden ihr Interesse an selbigem per email Abgabe bekanntgeben und werden dann entsprechend bei der voraussichtlich im April vorhandenen Produktverfügbarkeit informiert. Wer sich in den Staaten befindet, der könnte schon ab Anfang nächster Woche mit etwas Glück eines der Modelle in die Finger bekommen, der weltweite Rest wird sich vorerst mit den sicher zahlreich auftauchenden rituellen Entpackungsgalerien zufrieden geben müssen.
Bis dahin nochmal die schon zweimal hier im fscklog verlinkte sehr schöne iPod mini Galerie bei http://www.macitynet.it.

Walt Mossberg hat sich die mini iPods fürs Wall Street Journal vorgenommen:
"In fact, the latest version of iTunes even senses if you have a Mini, and if your song collection exceeds its capacity, the software can optionally auto-choose a selection of songs that will fit. It builds this selection, in part, based on which songs you've played most often or most recently, and which you've rated highest in iTunes.
Like the larger iPods, the Mini can also display your calendar and contact information and notes, and it comes with a few games. You can also use it to store and transfer data files."

Update:
David Pogue nimmt in der NYT die iPod Konkurrenz auseinander:
"Apple could have been some character from Greek mythology: blessed with ingenious, culture-changing innovation yet cursed with seeing its ideas co-opted by rivals who wind up making all the money. In the iPod's case, though, none of the companies who lust for some of Apple's pie can deliver the elegance and convenience of Apple's music trinity: iPod, the iTunes software and the iTunes music store."

Köpft den iMac

Das fordert zumindest einmal mehr (Gerüchte/Forderungen nach einem Shuttle Mac kursierten immer wieder) Alex Salkever aufgrund der mauen iMac-Verkaufszahlen in der Business Week:

"A competitive, freestanding, entry-level computer that's sleek and powerful has a role. The all-in-one eMac with a CRT monitor has done fine by targeting schools, but it's just too bulky for consumers, I think. The PowerMac G5 line is a big jump up in cost from the iMac when you add the requisite monitor. The PowerMac G4 is competitive price-wise with the iMac and offers better expansion options, but it has a clunky, massive footprint that barely fits under a normal desk.
So a headless iMac -- a pretty little machine that sits beneath your desk and provides enough power to do nice things but not enough to run a advertising agency -- might fit into the plans of people who, say, own an Apple laptop and want a second machine."