Tech Industry

I had a long talk with Bob Morris, director of platform enablement for ARM’s mobile processor group.  While he wasn’t able to mention Apple specifically, he did go into many reasons why a company like Apple would choose the ARM architecture over Intel (performance/Watt – sound familiar?).

He also left me with some internal Powerpoint slides which seemed to tell more of the story.

Read the Computerworld article

We were in the neighborhood (sorta not by accident) so we thought we’d drop in on the Gizmodo Gallery for a look around.  Word on the street was that there was some pretty impressive Apple prototypes of old on display from Frog Design.

Brian, Matt & Co. didn’t fail to impress.  While all of this has been seen before, it hasn’t yet been captured in blurry iPhone with dying battery in bad lighting.  With that..

Apple’s first stab at a tablet..there were and will be more.

More, slightly clearer picts below…

This is one of many Apple phone prototypes…

And the 20th Anniversary Mac.  We’d still take one…if it wasn’t bolted down.

We sheet you not.  Adage says, with a straight face, that Microsoft is pushing out a clothing line as part of its new ad campaign.

Microsoft Turns to Crispin and the Rapper Common for New Clothing Line
New branded apparel is meant to suggest Microsoft’s 1980s salad days.

It’s no surprise that Crispin Porter & Bogusky—the agency Microsoft is relying on to make it cool—had a hand in the line of urban geek shirts expected to hit select stores on December 15. Crispin conceived of the collection, the branding and many of the designs, as well as all the marketing materials, an agency representative said…

The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant once again called upon a celebrity spokesperson to help it gain some street cred, this time, in the form of rapper Common. He contributed designs to the collection, reminiscent of the 80s, a time when he and Microsoft both came of age.

The line features retro MS-DOS fonts and a Bill Gates mugshot tee. It launched this week with a bash in New York.

Microsoft calls it "a clothing line that taps the nostalgia of when PCs were just starting to change our lives…" one that’s made to "showcase the DOS days of the software company that now connects over a billion people."

The clothes are the latest extension of Microsoft’s "I’m a PC"consumer marketing blitz from Crispin, a response to rival Apple’s long-running "Mac vs. PC campaign" from TBWA Media Arts Lab.

First thing we did?  Check the calendar.  Nope, not April 1st.

Second?  dibbs on Blue T-shirt of death.

Wow, Just Wow.  If you live in Argentina and were peeved you couldn’t get your hands on one of those sweet, sweet Psystars, it is your lucky day.  For the other (Earth’s population-3) of you, disregard.

Check out the comparison below.  One good thing?  Matte screen ;-)

Apple’s Argentinian lawyers? Vamanos!

via Engadget

Compare nuestra Open iMac PRO Compare our Open iMac PRO
Modelo Model	OpeniMac PRO + LG 20 pulgadas OpeniMac LG 20-inch PRO +	20 pulgadas 20 inches	24 pulgadas 24 inches
Precio Price	U$S 1.710 U $ S 1710	U$S 2.165 (precios de promoción) U S $ 2,165 (promotion price)	U$S 2.650 (precios de promoción) U S $ 2,650 (promotion price)
Procesador Processor	Core 2 Duo de Intel a 3,0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0 GHz 6 MB de caché de nivel 2 compartida 6 MB of shared L2 cache	Core 2 Duo de Intel a 2,66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.66 GHz 6 MB de caché de nivel 2 compartida 6 MB of shared L2 cache	Core 2 Duo de Intel a 2,8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz 6 MB de caché de nivel 2 compartida 6 MB of shared L2 cache
Pantalla Screen	Monitor LG con pantalla panorámica brillante de 20 pulgadas (visibles), 1.680 x 1.050 píxeles LG widescreen monitor with a brilliant 20-inch (viewable), 1680 x 1050 pixels	Pantalla panorámica brillante de 20 pulgadas (visibles), 1.680 x 1.050 píxeles Glossy widescreen 20-inch (viewable), 1680 x 1050 pixels	Pantalla panorámica brillante de 24 pulgadas (visibles), 1.920 x 1.200 píxeles Glossy widescreen 24-inch (viewable), 1920 x 1200 pixels
Memoria Memory	4 GB de memoria SDRAM DDR2 (PC2-5300) a 667 MHz (2 módulos de 2 GB) 4 GB of DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300) to 667 MHz (2 x 2 GB)	2 GB (dos módulos SO-DIMM de 1 GB) 2GB (two SO-DIMM modules for 1GB) Opcional: hasta 4 GB Optional: up to 4 GB
Disco	Serial ATA II de 500 GB a 7.200 rpm – 16 MB de buffer Serial ATA II 500GB 7200 rpm – 16 MB buffer Opcional: hasta 4 unidades Optional: up to 4 units	Serial ATA de 320 GB a 7.200 rpm 320 GB Serial ATA 7200 rpm Opcional: hasta 750 GB Optional: up to 750 GB	Serial ATA de 320 GB a 7.200 rpm 320 GB Serial ATA 7200 rpm Opcional: hasta 1 TB Optional: up to 1 TB
Unidad óptica Optical drive	Unidad SuperDrive de doble capa a 8x (DVD±R DL, DVD±RW y CD-RW) SuperDrive 8x double-layer support (DVD ± R DL, DVD ± RW / CD-RW) Opcional: unidad adicional Optional: additional unit	Unidad SuperDrive de doble capa a 8x (DVD±R DL, DVD±RW y CD-RW) SuperDrive 8x double-layer support (DVD ± R DL, DVD ± RW / CD-RW)
Gráficos Graphics	GeForce GS de NVIDIA con 1 GB de memoria de vídeo GDDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GS with 1 GB of GDDR3 video memory	Radeon HD 2600 PRO de ATI con 256 MB de memoria de vídeo GDDR3 Radeon HD 2600 PRO from ATI with 256 MB of video memory GDDR3	Radeon HD 2600 PRO de ATI con 256 MB de memoria de vídeo GDDR3 Radeon HD 2600 PRO from ATI with 256 MB of video memory GDDR3
Vídeo Video	2 salidas DVI, VGA, S-vídeo 2 DVI outputs, VGA, S-video Admite 2 monitores externos con resolución digital máxima de 2.560 x 1.600 píxeles y analógica de hasta 2.048 x 1.536 Supports 2 external monitors with digital resolutions of up to 2560 x 1600 pixels and analog up to 2048 x 1536 Opcional: Webcam con micrófono Optional: Webcam with microphone	Cámara iSight integrada Built-in iSight camera Salida de mini-DVI compatible con DVI, VGA, S-vídeo y vídeo compuesto (mediante un adaptador que se vende por separado) Mini-DVI output compatible with DVI, VGA, S-video and composite video (via an adapter that is sold separately) Admite un monitor externo con resolución digital máxima de 1.920 x 1.200 píxeles y analógica de hasta 2.048 x 1.536 Supports an external monitor with digital resolution up to 1920 x 1200 pixels and analog up to 2048 x 1536
Ampliación Enlargement	8 puertos USB 2.0 8 USB 2.0 ports 4 puertos FireWire 400 4-port FireWire 400	Tres puertos USB 2.0 en el iMac y dos USB 2.0 en el teclado Three USB 2.0 ports on the iMac and two USB 2.0 on the keyboard Un puerto FireWire 400 y otro FireWire 800 One FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800
Sonido Sound	Altavoces externos con un amplificador External speakers with an amplifier Salida de audio para altavoces y óptico digital Audio output for speakers and optical digital Entrada de línea y de audio óptico digital Line input and optical digital audio	Altavoces incorporados con un amplificador interno digital de 24 vatios. Built-in speakers with an internal digital amplifier of 24 watts. Micrófono incorporado Built-in microphone Salida de audio para altavoces y óptico digital Audio output for speakers and optical digital Entrada de línea y de audio óptico digital Line input and optical digital audio
Ethernet	10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) integrada 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Integrated	10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) integrada 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Integrated
Conexión inalámbrica Wireless Connection	Opcional Optional	Wi-Fi AirPort Extreme (802.11n) integrada Wi-Fi AirPort Extreme (802.11n) integrated Módulo Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) integrado Built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) integrated
Accesorios incluidos Included Accessories	Adaptador de DVI a VGA. DVI to VGA. Teclado Genius y mouse Genius láser Genius Genius keyboard and mouse laser Opcional: teclado Genius Wireless Keyboard y Mouse inalámbrico Genius Optional: Wireless keyboard Genius Genius Wireless Keyboard and Mouse	Mando Apple Remote, teclado Apple Keyboard y ratón Mighty Mouse Apple Remote, Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse Opcional: teclado Apple Wireless Keyboard y Mighty Mouse inalámbricos Optional: Apple Wireless Keyboard and Mighty Mouse wireless
Lector múltiple Multiple reader de tarjetas Card	6 a 1 6 to 1	NO
Otros sistemas operativos Other operating systems	Opcional: Dual boot con Windows XP o Windows Vista Optional: Dual boot with Windows XP or Windows Vista	NO
Pruebas realizadas con XBench Tests conducted with Xbench
Descargue XBench versión freeware Xbench download freeware version

http://services.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/1079049304

Built on the back of the XBMC/Plex.app’s GPL’d hard work, Boxee is now rattling Apple’s cage just a bit harder.  Today they announced support for Netflix download service on all platforms except AppleTV (still working on that one).  They also added some other content sources:

• a new Hulu – looks more like hulu.com, enables you to login (so you can get your Hulu Queue), works faster, and playback should be greatly improved on Apple TV
• a new YouTube – new look, as well as higher quality video playback. some of these YouTube clips look pretty good on your 46” LCD
• a new CNN, Flickr, Picasa and Apple Movie Trailers – we’ve re-written all of these plug-ins to work faster and look better
• Boston Globe’s The Big Picture – it’s a great photo-blog, which we really like, and thought could be pretty cool in a 10-foot experience. if you’ll like it we could bring much more of these type of services (let us know!)
• integration with MTV Music – when you click on an album you’ll see a new option to let you watch music videos of the artist. check it out. MTV said they can give us higher quality videos, and we have a few more ideas for providing a great music video experience on boxee
• theWB – on our quest to bring more TV content to boxee theWB is the latest addition. it means shows like Buffy, Babylon5, Firefly, One Tree Hill and The O.C. are now available on boxee

on the bug fixing/polish front:

• support for skip forward, rewind in Hulu, CBS, etc. – this is a big one.. should work now. the code behind it is sooo ugly that yuvalt had to chew on anti-nausea tablets while writing it
• improved streaming of podcast, trailers and youtube videos – we rewrote the buffering/caching mechanism. Skip and rewind within video streams is now much better
• more boxee less crashee – it’s still alpha, and it will crash from time to time (we promise), but this version is supposed to be more stable. we are trying to weed out those nasty bugs – help us out by submitting bugs to support@boxee.tv or post in our forum
• faster scanning of local/network media – your movies, tv shows and albums should be identified faster. if you have a huge music collection then you could still cook a 7-course dinner, wash the dishes and read a telephone book before it will be done, but it’s greatly improved..
• new on-screen keyboard – as dave described when he reported the bug “typing a URL with our on-screen keyboard is a once in a lifetime experience. you do it once, and never want to do it again”. so we made it a bit better
• faster loading of the movies/music screen in case you have hundreds or thousands of albums..
• fixes and new look for to the lyrics and subtitles features – the new auto-scroll of the lyrics is arbitrary… but sometimes it works pretty well. fooled me the first time I tried it

The iFund DB has been compromised.  Data which was entered in the online application here which includes contact information, founder bios, the business plan, demos, financial information, etc. is included.  Out there on the internets for all to see.

Woops!

For those less scrupulous folks out there, you now have access to a DB of developers who might have a share of $100,000,000 to spend on Viagra and Nigerian lottery scams.  Get spamming!

Not too much in the way of excitement here. But we thought it’d be interesting to see what the competition was up to in the ever-popular boot-up screen graphics category.  For those of you with a Playstation, you might see something familiar.  http://images.video.msn.com/flash/soapbox1_1.swf

Redmond appears to be pointing their copying machines toward Japan?

Adobe is hitting some rough waters lately with its latest sales figures in.  It seems that in a bad economy, companies take a pass on upgrading a $1000-2000/seat piece of software (CS4).  Most creative agencies aren’t really increasing headcounts either.  No surprise there.

• Adobe expects Q4 sales to come in between $912 million and $915 million, below its previous estimate of $925 million to $955 million, and below Wall Street’s consensus of $930 million. (Not terrible, actually.)
• The main reason: Weaker than expected demand for its Creative Suite 4 software, including Photoshop, etc.
• Adobe will lay off 600 workers worldwide. That will result in a pre-tax charge of $44 million to $50 million, about 60% of which will be written down in Q4.
• Adobe is aiming for $800 million to $850 million in Q1 revenue — below year-ago sales, and significantly below the Street’s $931 million consensus, but not far from the Street’s low estimate of $809 million.

Along with dropping those 600 workers, there has been some restructuring at the top, and apparently frivolous ventures like showing up at Macworld with a huge fancy booth have been cut out of the plan as well.  What better way to show the public you are on the ropes?

Never fear!  Adobe will be fine.  They’ve long ago bought up the competition.  Their big focus right now is on Air and Flash platforms running on everything.  Creative Suite on the Mac, for the most part, sells itself.  Or in the case of Macworld ’09, there will be Adobe training sessions which hope to sell some CS4.

Red’s new camera is out and for those out there willing to spend just shy of $3000.  Not a bad deal for such high end specs, but we’d probably still take a Canon 5D Mark II but what do we know?

Click to see world’s biggest jpeg (taken with Red Camera?)

We’ve been hard at work finding good Apple-related deals for you guys over the past few months but thought we could really step it up a notch by getting one of the experts involved.

So, we went to the best deals site out there, Dealnews, and we’ve pulled only their Apple related merchandise into our blog posts.  From time to time we’ll put a post onto our frontpage content (if it is that insane) but it will constantly be updated (about 20-30 posts/day) on our new Toys site: 

http://9to5mac.com/toys

You’ll be able to comment on the products just like any other blog post and give your fellow 9to5mac readers some direction with their purchasing.  Perhaps you know of better deals out there or you have some positive or negative opinions about the products being offered?  Let everyone know. 

We’ll feature the top 5 deals in a block on the right side of the page and also have a link to 9to5mac.com/toys at the top nav bar. If you are a feed type of person, grab the feed here.  Other than that, get shopping!

Just a little ‘for instance’: $120 for a 1.5TB hard drive with free shipping

9to5mac sometimes may recieve financial beneft from purchased items through our affiliate programs and partner, Dealnews.

Apple today debuted a new ad campaign touting the new MacBooks’ environmental friendliness.  Even though Apple has been making great strides in its eco-friendliness, Greenpeace is still complaining that Apple could be doing better and that other electronics companies have a better record on the environment than Apple. 

From Apple:

Click to see the full sized video

 The new MacBook family embodies Apple’s continuing environmental commitment. Each new MacBook is designed with the following features to reduce its environmental footprint:

• Arsenic-free glass
• Mercury-free LED-backlit display
• Brominated flame retardant-free internal components
• PVC-free internal cables
• Highly recyclable aluminum and glass enclosure
• Up to 41 percent smaller packaging
  

More below

We’re not sure exactly why this matters.  We guess in two-three years when your battery is pretty much dead, this could be a concern…but apparently, running your MacBook/Pro without the battery will cause it to run one third slower.   Who knew?  Who cares?  Why are you running your Macbook/Pro without the battery in it?  Is this a common occurrence out there that we don’t know about?

Possible reasons for this include:

• spikes in processor usage cause more power to be consumed than the AC adapter can provide causing power outages
• someone at Apple is messing with the .0001% of the population that pulls their battery out of their laptop before using

OK sorry to Woz bash…here’s his latest BBC interview that is pretty interesting.

Via the Dr.

Apple tonight posted the version 2.3 ?TV software update.  While the updates (below) are somewhat substantial, the million dollar question is: did it kill Boxee?  (Answer Yes it did!)  Don’t upgrade  if you want to keep your Boxee!

In addition we are hearing reports that:

• ?TV v2.3 fixes soft subtitles display. It no longer cuts them off and properly displays multiple lines.
• It has newly added rentals and newly added purchases under movies.  As well as Recently Played, Highest Rated, and video playlists.
  
• added proper hd logos to user encoded movies as well
• Volume works with music videos, not just audio files.

  With volume control, and improved streaming artwork with the last Remote App update, I will use Apple TV as my server, and not my iMac in my office. Now, when I have parties, I can use my iPhone and friends can use the little white remote. There won’t be any confusion/mess. And it can play in my bedroom with Airpot Express and my bookshelf speakers.

  Downside:

  I’ve lost a "zone", since my iMac can’t act as a client to Apple TV. Not a big deal, but I hope they add this in an iTunes update 

Google’s Grand Central has had a somewhat slow start, especially on the Mac platform.  Today, however, Google’s Mac Labs have unveiled Vocito…

Digitimes is this morning reporting that the early 2009 iMacs will have a little exxtra umph under the hood.  In the form of new Intel Quad core 65W chips.

Intel is planning to launch three 65W low-power desktop CPUs targeting small form factor (SFF) PCs and all-in-one PCs in the middle of January next year, according to sources at PC vendors.

Intel will launch the Core 2 Quad Q8200s (2.33GHz/4MB L2), Core 2 Quad Q9400s (2.66GHz/6MB L2) and Core 2 Quad Q9550s (2.83GHz/12MB L2) with prices at US$245, US$320 and US$369, respectively in thousand-unit tray quantities. These CPUs will have the same specifications as standard CPUs with the same model number, but will see their TDP drop from 95W to 65W.

PC vendors including Apple, Acer, Hewlett-Packard and Dell have already decided to launch products based on these CPUs, while Asustek Computer is still evaluating doing so.

Something else to consider: Apple could release a Psystar-killing everyman “Mac” based on these chips. Yeah, we know, unlikely.

Oh, and that black iMac..it is just something we found out there on the internets to get your brain going :D

OK, not very Apple focussed but still entertaining… http://www.comedycentral.com/sitewide/video_player/view/default/swf.jhtml

Yahoo’s stock today jumped on the news that Jerry Yang would be stepping down as CEO.  Not just a blip either…it jumped almost 20%…to the tune of $2 billion in market value.  Not a great sign of confidence in his abilities to run the company…or sell it off to Microsoft in pieces (as it were).

Contrast this with Steve Jobs.  A fake news report comes out that he’s had a heart attack and the stock drops by 20%.   Even losing a few pounds seems to hurt the stock. 

Is one person at a company enough to shift the value that much?  If so, a good CEO is actually worth the outrageous money they make.

Honestly, this is a sad moment for Yahoos even if the stock holders are happy.  Yahoo, as we know it, will likely cease to exist as we know it.  In the long term, we’ll probably be worse off than before as Web users for his departure…have your say?

I’ve been biting my tongue on the new Unibody MacBook’s trackpad’s inability to tell when I am clicking.  Sometimes, no matter how hard I push it doesn’t register a click.  Well, today may be my lucky day.  Apple released the trackpad firmware update.  Oh, and a Quicktime H.264 for iChat update as well.  Restarting…now… (Updated: Yummy results below)

 Yep, it worked as advertised.  Now I am waiting for the glarey screen update..

The stakes keep getting higher and higher in the Mark Papermaster case.  Last week, a New York Judge ordered that Mark Papermaster quit working at Apple until further order from the court.  This week, that same court has ordered IBM pay a $3 million dollar bond in the event that Papermaster was found to be damaged by the suit.

The $3 million bond is designed to pay for any costs or damages that Papermaster might suffer if it’s later determined that IBM wasn’t entitled to an injunction.

Karas noted that district courts are allowed "wide discretion" in setting the bond’s dollar figure, then added: "Based on a careful reading of the letters sent by the parties to the court, which are being filed under seal, the court finds that a bond in the amount of $3 million is appropriate to guarantee payment of the costs and damages that defendant may suffer, if the injunction should not have been issued."

Papermaster,  today, counter-sued IBM saying  that non-compete clause he signed with IBM is irrelevant because:

1. Apple and IBM aren’t direct competitors

2. The agreement only applies in New York, not in California or Texas who have much more lax laws and would be where Papermaster was hired and would now be working respectively.

3. The agreement’s interpretation is too broad, the time is too long.

How long will IBM pursue Mark Papermaster.  Prospective hires have to be worried about their eerily harsh tactics in punishing an exiting employee.