9to5 Staff

We are firin’ up the livepanel again this year with Engadget, Macrumors, Gizmodo and Computerworld sites all set to be included.  If any go south, we’ll hook up a few backups.  As a bonus, we are hoping to get some Qik live camera feeds but are wary of the bandwidth in the hall during the event.  The show starts at noon eastern time, 9am pacific but stop in early to see the pregame show.

Remember, this page refreshes automatically so your trigger finger won’t be bloodied refreshing pages.  It is also big and works best on a 24 inch screen or bigger.

Get there!

In case you needed a reason to be excited, Andy Ihnatko seems to be a fan of something…or preparing for a epic buzzkill.

Oh and the "Magic" we mentioned before is in the iWork templates…sorry to not have closed that loop..Oh, and Apple’s Downloads page lists iWork ’09 as the number 5 Top downloads.  We didn’t download iWork ’09, did you?

and the Apple store is down

While still decidedly in beta with a bunch of functionality that still requires some work, Google released the beta of Picassa Photo editing application one day ahead of the Macworld Keynote.  Google has a big presence at Macworld and will be on hand to demo its applications. and help users with their new and old Mac products.

iWork.com, a domain that Apple has owned for a long time is set to go live this week with a public beta of the new iWork collaboration package.  We went over this briefly before but need to clarify our previous statements a bit.

iWork.com will be a online site where you can share and view (but not yet edit) iWork documents online.  Workgroups will be alowed to share documents, comment on documents and view them to a certain extent in the browser window.  We haven’t recieved clarification of how well this will work and how many capabilities this will have. Somewhere between reading a Pages document and viewing a full multimedia Keynote presentation we’d guess.

We expect it to go live tomorrow.

iWork.com Whois:

   Domain Name: IWORK.COM
   Registrar: MARKMONITOR INC.
   Whois Server: whois.markmonitor.com
   Referral URL: http://www.markmonitor.com
   Name Server: NSERVER.APPLE.COM
   Name Server: NSERVER2.APPLE.COM
   Name Server: NSERVER3.APPLE.COM
   Name Server: NSERVER4.APPLE.COM
   Status: clientDeleteProhibited
   Status: clientTransferProhibited
   Status: clientUpdateProhibited
   Updated Date: 07-oct-2008
   Creation Date: 22-aug-1995
   Expiration Date: 21-aug-2010

http://www.theonion.com/content/themes/common/assets/videoplayer/flvplayer.swf
Onion Story, via Gizmodo

As we’ve been saying over and over (and over) again, Apple is set to end the era of DRM music.  We’ve been hearing it will be at Macworld but we’re now getting confirmation both from our sources and from CNet that it is going to happen.  This is turning out to be one heckuva Macworld keynote.  Even without Stevo, it looks like Apple wants to go out with a bang.

We’ve had two sources corroborate that Apple isn’t putting together a home server just yet but instead is going to update Time Capsule at some point in the very near future (Macworld?).  The update is relatively minor and the biggest feature is that it will allow the Time Capsule to cache software updates for all Macs on the network.  This functionality exists in Leopard Server and would be nice to have in a home device – especially as updates get bigger and bigger. 

Current users should be able to take advantage of this, you guessed it – with a software update.

We’d still like to see Apple move into the home server market soon and will be keeping our ears to the tracks to see if anything is materializing.

We’ve gotten a flurry of late reports that there is in fact a removable battery in the 17-inch laptop.     We don’t know what to make of it yet.  IT is probably noise/distraction but  maybe Apple has been pulling an Asteroid (seeding incorrect information to employees) or there are two batteries in the laptop.  One removable and one that stays inside.  More to follow as this develops….

Oh, also the Mac Pro is going to see some small form factor changes (possibly at Macworld).  We also expect Core i7 processors and NVIDIA 9800 chipsets.

Then there is iWork.com…more coming as we piece it all together..

Here’s the word directly from the horses mouth:

Dear Apple Community,

For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.

Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.

I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.

As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.

Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause—a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.

The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.

I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.

So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.

Steve

Yes, Apple stock is up.  And the Apple Board of Directors came out with an additional statement.

 By the way, this also means that Macworld might in fact, rock.

We’ve gotten a lifeline from a new source with some surprising information.  She says:

• The Mac Pro will see a small form factor makeover, NVIDIA kit and Core i7 Processors
• iWork.com will go live as a public beta document sharing site for small businesses and compliment the new real Applications.  Much like Google Docs…

more to follow shortly…

Apple has a history of royally screwing over its partners.   We mean this in the best possible way because we can’t wait for AT&T to get theirs.  Their latest shenanigans? AT&T is winding down their EDGE service to get people to move to 3G.  According to OpenForBusiness:

Cell phones, like other wireless communications devices, have certain radio bands they communicate on. While previously the company had been primarily relying on the 850 MHz band that offers a more robust signal, including superior indoor reception, company technicians confirmed to OFB that transmitters for the 2G signal used by the original iPhone and most other handsets, including most AT&T offered BlackBerry and RAZR models, have been shifted to the weaker 1900 MHz band in some areas.

This shift has resulted in customers past their 30-day return policy, but still with relatively new phones, finding themselves stuck with equipment no longer able to pick up signals properly in previously strong coverage areas, even though the equipment itself is without defect.

OFB was able to confirm this situation for itself using multiple devices in St. Louis, MO, and also obtained information on similar cases across the country. Reports suggested the problem started to appear as AT&T ramped up its 3G network in preparation for the iPhone 3G in early 2008. Each AT&T technician OFB talked to concerning this problem offered the same solution: that the customer should purchase new, 3G-enabled equipment at the customer’s own expense. This has created a troubling situation for many owners of the original iPhone, a device that was as recently as May of 2008 selling for $400. These users are being told their expensive phones should not only be replaced at the subscriber’s expense, sometimes less than a year after purchase, but also at an increase in the monthly service rate of $10 for data and $5 for text messaging.

Typical AT&T move…maybe it is best to take AT&T’s own advice:

As an alternative, OFB was also advised by one AT&T customer service representative to consider terminating AT&T service. The representative then suggested using unofficial information on the Internet to unlock the iPhone for use on another cellular network.

New York Times Tech columnist David Pogue gets behind the piano to do some self-hating Apple gadget geek bashing.  

No wonder the Times is floundering :(

CrunchGear Via Gizmodo

Our folks in Asia are at it again with some pretty startling news.  The 17-inch MacBook Pro is going Unibody, like the 13-inch and 15-inch models.  That, in itself isn’t really that big of a deal; it was widely expected.  The big news is that Apple is making a super slim battery pack for the 17-inch MacBook Pros that will last much longer than current models.  However, you won’t be able to remove the battery pack.  It will be inside the machine, just like iPods and iPhones.  How?  I’ve outlined a hypothesis on Apple pioneering Silver-Zinc battery usage here.

Those of us with three year old MacBook Pros can attest that these batteries lose a significant amount of performance over time and need to be replaced. It isn’t quite clear how Apple will deal with this issue.  They may have new technology that can take more charges, or they may offer a service replacement similar to the replacement of a motherboard or hard drive.  Maybe swapping out the battery will be as easy as swapping out RAM.

Obviously, these new 17-inch displays are expected to be revealed at Macworld 2009 and will also likely be outfitted with Apple’s high gloss screens. Apple has come under fire from graphics professionals for not offering a matte option to their glossy screen Pro models.  

Additionally, the 13-inch Plastic MacBook is widely expected to be phased out which might bring the cost of the Unibody MacBook down closer to the $1000 price point.  We can’t verify this, however.

digg_url = ‘http://9to5mac.com/17-inch-unibody-macbook’;

An interesting question has been floated over at Mac Soda.  Maybe Steve Jobs bailing on Macworld (and also on Apple) is somehow related to his appointment as Obama’s Chief Technology Officer.  Just for fun, let’s consider the connections. 

Obama is an Apple fan, we know he and his team use Macs.  And yes he does jog with an iPod (who doesn’t?).  Apple, as did most of Silicon valley, largely supported Obama’s presidency.  And there was the Obama iPhone App.  Obama has also been endorsed by Apple board member Al Gore, who also happens to be a good friend of Steve Jobs.  Fake Steve was even a huge Barry supporter.

Steve Jobs has done the Pixar thing, he’s brought Apple back to be one of the most, if not the most important technology companies.  How can he take it to the next level?  How can he spread his influence even further?  Would Obama be interested in Steve Jobs as a CTO type person?  We think so, he’s been a visionary on so many technology fronts.

Would Mr. Jobs be interested in the position?  Perhaps, but there would have to be lots of caveats.  Jobs hasn’t been a subordinate since he gave the Apple CEO position to John Scully.  We all know how that worked out.  Oh and Jobs’ health/weight issue?  We are still thinking he’s on a caloric restriction diet but that could be a non-starter.  The position would entail being a lot more public – something Steve Jobs has been acutely unwilling to do.  How about conflict of interest?  Jobs is vested in Apple, he could recommend legislation that is friendly to his holdings.  He would have to divest himself of Apple and Disney.  Not likely.

So yes, it is a very novel idea, but no it isn’t likely.

We’re putting this at the very bottom of our Macworld predictions, right after "Steve Jobs unveils Apple Jet Pack". 

Update: Ahhhh…So the Web page renderer for Safari and the one that Apple makes available to other apps registers differently.  Thanks for helping solving that mystery.

Uh, oh.  You remember that Google Easter Egg we mentioned earlier today?  The one that allows you to browse within the app.  Well, we got to, you know – thinking (for once) about this little browsing within the Google Mobile App thing (with some guidance from a commenter).  Guess what.  You aren’t using Mobile Safari – as far as we (an broswer detection pages we checked) can tell.  Does Google have their own WebKit based browser built into the Google Mobile App?

Or might Google be using Safari’s Webkit engine and throwing off the browser detection scripts.  We’re sure someone out there is smart enough to help out.

Mobile Safari on the left vs. Google’s iPhone browser on the right.  The browser detection plugin sees different versions of Safari for each browser.  Theoretically, they should be giving the same browser versions if Google’s Mobile App is using Mobile Safari to render pages.

Google’s Browser also has navigation buttons and the ability to open in new windows (see bottom).  So what does this mean?  It kinda breaks the ol’ rules of the App store as far as we can tell. 

Anyone else think Eric Schmidt should be slapping himself right about now?

Got to love those Googlers…

Everyone loves a good Easter Egg and it looks like Google decided to add a few little treats to one of its iPhone apps. The Google Mobile App has some hidden menus that allow you to access a few fairly useless but entertaining features. It takes some perseverance but if you continue to swipe upward on the “About” screen, a new menu item “Bells and Whistles” will appear. Click on the new “Bells and Whistles” menu and you will be able to change the color of the application, change the default sound to a monkey or a chicken, select a waveform to appear when you talk and set the option to open links within the application (the one useful feature). Enjoy!

From the Google Mobile blog via BGR.

Here’s another one for next week.  We know it seems a bit nuts but try to stay with us here, OK? 

Word on the street is that Garage Band users will be able to buy celebrity music lessons from Apple.  For instance, if you are a drummer, you might be able to purchase for $6.99, a drumming lesson from Neil Peart (we don’t know the specific artists/prices involved).  You then download the lessons and in a few (thousand) weeks you are hammering away YYZ like nobody’s business. 

That’s all the information we were given.  This could obviously go in a few directions.  Will the lessons be just videos or interactive media?  Will you buy them from iTunes or will Garage band incorporate its own storefront?  Will lessons from Green Day cost more than lessons from Yanni?  Can we get singing lessons from Brittney Spears? 

Update: Some have said it will be called Mentor

We aren’t head over heels for this one like Giz but it is still a great use of the iPhone’s "senses". iSteam.

1

The New Year was supposed to bring with it the new, easy to use, SIM unlocking tool for iPhone.   Dubbed YellowSn0w by its developers, it appears to have a few hiccups.  Hopefully by my next trip to Europe, they’ll have this sorted out.

Image courtesy

Frank Zappa, eat your heart out…

Yep, it isn’t just iWork.  iMovie is moving into the Cloud as well.   As Stevo said:

The MobileMe launch clearly demonstrates that we have more to learn about Internet services.  And learn we will.  The vision of MobileMe is both exciting and ambitious, and we will press on to make it a service we are all proud of by the end of this year.

Check the details at Computerworld…

We can already hear the naysayers…flame away!