Oct 21, 2007 Oct 23, 2007 Monday October 22, 2007
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The Map is About to Change
Thanks to post-quarterly results after-hours trading, Apple is set to open tomorrow with a higher market cap than either IBM or Intel. ★
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I U+2764 Unicode T-Shirt
Today we add another shirt to the growing wardrobe of graphic geek tees. This one celebrates Unicode and allows you to boldly profess your love for it to others familiar with the character encoding... [read more at MacMerc.com]
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Microsoft's phone talk is all business
Rather than touting fancy new features that compete head-on with the iPhone, the software maker is courting the people who help businesses decide what phones to buy--the IT geeks.
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Apple reports Fourth Quarter Results
Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2007 fourth quarter ended September 29, 2007. The Company posted revenue of $6.22 billion and net quarterly profit of $904 million, or $1.01 per... [read more at MacMerc.com]
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FastIcon releases ''Cloth Dolls'' freeware icons
The Fast Icon Studio has released a new icon set: "Cloth Dolls", which contains 8 freeware icons inspired by some cool Dolls. This icon collection is available for download for Mac OS X, Windows... [read more at MacMerc.com]
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Hazel 2.1 adds Leopard compatibility
The things we love about our Macs don't always come out of Cupertino. Many of our favorite Mac things are shareware apps that make the Mac experience even better. It is often those software jewels... [read more at MacMerc.com]
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More to Mac sales than a halo
For years, it's been fashionable to link an increase Mac shipments with an increase in iPod shipments. That's because it's easier to draw one line than six lines.
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Pomoto 1.0.1 plays better with iPhoto
Filed under: iLife, Software, Cool tools, .Mac Pomoto is basically a replacement for iPhoto's .Mac web albums, designed to take your iPhoto collection and put it on the web with as little trouble as possible. Like FlickrExport (although this is a separate app, of course, not a plugin), it looks like a pretty smooth way to get all the cool stuff in iPhoto out where everyone else can see it.The latest version, 1.0.1, includes support for iPhoto 7 Smart Albums and Events, better "privatization" of private Albums, and "more robust photo loading," which I'll leave up to you to decide. Since Pomoto publishes your photos for you, it's really an app tagged into a subscription service, so it costs either $3 a month or $30 a year. If you really like the .Mac photo publishing features, but don't need all of .Mac, it's definitely worth checking out.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple's Earnings Shine - Clears Mac, iPhone Shipment Hurdles
Apple capped a strong fiscal fourth quarter and 2007 amid strong Mac shipments. The company reported Monday fourth quarter earnings of $904 million, or $1.01 a share, on revenue of $6.22 billion. That sum easily topped estimates.
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SanDisk Sansa TakeTV (and Fanfare) hands-on: TakeTWO
Filed under: Features, Home Entertainment, Peripherals, Portable Video, Storage Ok, our new TakeTV arrived, and this time it works perfectly. (The first one we got was a pre-production unit with a bum remote.) Here are a few more things we noticed about the TakeTV and its accompanying Fanfare video download service: The TakeTV interface still has a very unpolished, raw look and feel to it. It's also just the bare essentials, with only a few options for video settings (just aspect ratio, NTSC / PAL, and which video type you prefer: letterbox, pan and scan, fill, etc.). On the upshot, being flash-based and light weight, the system boots near instantly and videos take just a couple of seconds to load. It properly recognized our XviD and DivX files, but didn't like AVC1 encoded movies, and surprisingly enough, didn't like our standard encoded MPEG-4 Handbrake-ripped DVD. (It's supposed to play back MPEG-4 files, maybe we did something funny, who knows.) On the other hand Fanfare looks very slick, but the interface -- done in Flash -- is way too busy, making it sometimes difficult to tell what's going on. It's definitely in need of some simplification and polish. Downloaded DRMed videos are, surprisingly enough, in XviD. But they're wrapped SanDisk's proprietary TrustedFlash rights protection. Files are .smbt. Downloaded videos are about 350MB per 30 minutes. That's 1.6Mbps (200KBps); given that high a bitrate you'd think these videos would look friggin' great, but the sad fact is they look more like 600-800Kbps, tops, so don't be too disappointed when your Fanfare downloads don't look all that amazing. So our day one thoughts on TakeTV + Fanfare? Well, $99 or $150 for a device that plays all our favorite video formats is kind of a no brainer, especially considering the cost of entry for a lot of other devices in the same category is significantly higher (the $300 / $400 Apple TV comes to mind). We're not sure this whole system is ready for prime time just yet -- but neither is SanDisk, which is why Fanfare is launching in "beta". Maybe with the right hardware and software tweaks this could be a very compelling cheap-or-free download service paired with a very easy to use hardware solution, but for right now we think there are quite a few kinks to iron out.Gallery: SanDisk Sansa TakeTV (and Fanfare) hands-on, take two Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
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Editor 2.0
Connect these dots to create the job description of the 21st century editor: * The Guardian is hiring a tag editor — a keyword manager, they call it: Guardian Unlimited requires a keyword manager to look after the labelling of our content online to ensure that it is consistent with the needs of the reader and the editorial values of the Guardian and Observer. The role requires attention to the demands both of a considerable content archive and of a fast-moving news operation, and involves work across media; from text to cartoons, video to podcasts. It would suit either a journalist with a particular interest in archiving, or someone with a background in information science who possesses a keen editorial sense. And I hope the person understands the value of the metadata added by the audience. Sitting on his or her desk on the first day should be a copy of David Weinberger's Everything's Miscellaneous. * The Times of London has hired a search editor. The Times’ Search Editor is to explain to the editorial staff how the search structure of the Web functions, work on indexed pages and improve the rankings of their newspaper articles in Google, Yahoo! and other search engines. The Times of New York has had About.com SEO god Marshall Simmonds making it more searchable and it has been paying off. * See Jay Rosen's coordinates for a news site and note the new job qualifications therein: organizing community effort, presenting data, aggregation. I'd add others to that, including the idea of curating. * Listen to the talk at the Networked Journalism Summit at CUNY and you'll hear a lot about journalists as managers and from me you'll hear talk about journalists as entrepreneurs and innovators and I've been arguing that journalists must become curators and community organizers. * See Michael Rosenblum coming to teach our students at CUNY his method for making compelling video stories without the trucks. Everybody can make TV now. I say that's all exciting: new frontiers, new things to learn and create. Now try to connect these dots from the other side of the old/new divide: * Alan Mutter posted earlier this month on the brain drain afflicting journalism; it's a self-inflicted ailment: But the young net natives, for the most part, rank too low in the organizations that employ them to be invited to the pivotal discussions determining the stratgeic initiatives that could help their employers sustain their franchises. “In most organizations, the people with the most online experience have the least political capital,â€? said one mid-level online editor at a newspaper. “It seems like the pace of change inside media is slowing, tied up in politics and lack of expertise in managing technical projects – while the pace of change is continuing apace outside our windows.â€? Members of the wired generation say the process, bureaucracy and caution common to most media companies steals spontaneity and edginess away from ideas that could be appealing to their peers. . . . “I don't understand or like the media,â€? said the online newspaper editor who's planning his exit. “Blogging has shown me that I don't really need the guys that own the presses anymore. I'll probably stay in journalism, but I can't wait to get out of the media.â€? * I found this whiny, territorial, ass-covering, protecting-the-priesthood, preservation-instead-of-innovation faux report from the UK's National Union of Journalists to be particularly disturbing as they complained about things that are not done their way in various unnamed journalistic institutions trying to go online: - A chapel at a Newsquest title in north of England told the commission that “stories are going online unsubbedâ€? directly from a newsdesk. - In some publications, “there are no experienced journalists working on the websites and copy is handled by web technicians“. - The ease of copying and pasting leads to journalists under time pressure to “simply lump text across without proper consideration of its quality or reliabilityâ€?. . . . - Single-journalist video reporting has clear drawbacks, the report says. “To have to seek out information and people to interview, then interview and photograph or film them, then have to write and voice the script, is an inefficient way of working and can never produce such good results as a team.â€? The report stresses the need for proper video training. “Untrained or semi-trained writers or photographers have been turning in such poor video material and taking so long to do it that even the meanest employers appear to be taking notice,â€? the report says. Several publications reported having to ease up on enthusiasm for video as reality caught up with quality expectations. However the report also acknowledges that “in centres where video training has be thorough, and the journalists are given proper support, work of high quality is being done.â€? - Members from a regional daily told the commission: “There is real concern over lack of policy/guidelines and lines of responsibility between papers and web … things would be better if there was a dedicated video unit subject to the web team so decisions about what to cover and how could be integrated into the day’s news planâ€?. - “The practice of reporters taking photographs is becoming widespread, to the detriment of the quality of images.â€? Oh, ferchrissakes. Bring back wooden type. How many of those kvetchers are going to be qualified to act as search or tagging editor … or survive on their own when they're laid off? I was ready to pull my hair out when I saw Mindy McAdams pointing to this post by a just-out-of-school journalists in a newsroom who — unlike the old days when young people had to spend decades working their way up to being heard — is included in planning for the future. This gave me hope. I have to admit, I have sat in on more than one conversation where people discussed an idea that there is no way in hell would float with my peers. How do I know? Because like those peers, *I* am attached to my iPod, digital camera and cell phone on a 24/7 basis. (OK except in the shower or bed, but within reach of both should the need to text a friend or hear my favorite song strike me.) *I* am more comfortable going without food than the Internet, because I know skipping a meal won’t kill me, missing up-to-the-date information seems like it might. *I* barely remember a time before Google was a verb and IM was an acceptable form of conversation even with my parents. *I* have never subscribed to a print newspaper or paid for cable news, and yet *I* am never the last to know, because I have breaking news and Google alerts, RSS feeds, Twitter and Facebook newsfeed, among other things, keeping me in the loop both with what’s happening across the globe and also among my closest buds. But here’s the thing: *I* was invited to those conversations. . . . s the best use of my talents at this point as a reporter covering school assemblies and school board meetings with a few in-depth enterprise packages thrown in each week? Or am I squandering — or allowing to be squandered — the best years of my life, when I really should be able to experiment, take chances and occasionally even screw up, just because I have to pay my dues to get to the point where I can do those things? No. 1 qualification for journalist today: accepting change.
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Wakoopa for iPhone keeps tabs on web apps
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Cool tools, Odds and ends, iPhoneReader Robert sent me a note to tell us that his startup site, Wakoopa (which, I was sorry to note, has nothing to do with Mario's enemies) has created a section specifically for (and compatible with) the iPhone.Wakoopa is a social network of sorts that lets you discuss and recommend different software applications for various platforms. If you like using Firefox, for example, you can discuss that and track your use of it, and your software preferences get displayed for anyone to see. Just like Slife, I'm thrilled by the information available here, but not so sure I want to participate myself.But the iPhone site is pretty useful as a directory. From the browser, it's a little slow to navigate through, but the real genius of it appears on the iPhone itself at i.wakoopa.com. As Robert told me, it's basically like Apple's web app directory, but easy to browse where you actually need to find and access web apps for the iPhone.The implementation on the iPhone works well, and if nothing else, you can bookmark just one page and be able to access all the popular apps right from there. These web apps still aren't any substitute for a real SDK, but you need something to hold you over until February, right? I think the stuff at the top of Wakoopa's list is about as sweet as this solution is going to get.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Leopard to come packed with all new Macs on Friday?
Filed under: Retail, Tips and tricks, AppleIf you listened to the TUAW Talkcast last night (which should be available for download later this week, I'm told), not only did you hear that I have an atrocious backup plan, I burn a DVD every other year or so and write the date on it with a Sharpie, but you also heard about a very interesting strategy to get Leopard a little early. Mat told us that Apple plans not to sell computers with Leopard installed on them next Friday, but instead pull the computers out of the backstock, and just throw a Leopard box in the bag when you leave.Considering that I'm planning on buying a Mini with Leopard on it rather than Leopard itself, that's a very interesting plan. And now we've all but got corroboration-- reader Bren sent a tip that says he was hanging around the Apple Store this weekend, and was told by an employee that when the Apple Stores receive their shipments on Friday around 11am or noon, they'll start attaching copies of Leopard to the new computers right away.I find it hard to believe that they would do that and then still require people who were just buying Leopard itself to wait until 6pm, but you never know. Even if not, you can always do the up-to-date thing, or just wait until later in the evening to buy your new computer-- after the release at 6pm, it's almost guaranteed you'll get a new copy of Leopard with your purchase. But if you're planning to buy a new Mac this Friday anyway, you might try calling ahead (or showing up early) to see if you can get Leopard early with your machine.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple F4Q07 (Qtr End 9/29/07) Earnings Call Transcript
Complete Story »
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BONG! Welcome to Macintosh
Filed under: TUAW BusinessAm I the only person who still whispers, "Welcome to Macintosh" upon hearing the Mac start-up sound, even though that message stopped appearing on our screens years ago? It's Pavlovian, I swear. Hello, TUAW readers, I'm Christina Warren and I'm a new member of the TUAW (and also the Download Squad) team. My excitement over Leopard's impending release is only tempered by my genuine geek glee at the opportunity to blog about it, and other Apple products, here at TUAW.I'm a reformed hardcore PC/Windows/Linux advocate turned Mac fan girl and though my status as a full-time switcher is still pretty new, I have been using the Mac since 1995. I'll admit, I was tentative about the transition at first; I told myself I would never be one of those people who espouses about Apple and the Mac like it is a religion. Cut to 48-hours after I bought my MacBook: I'm on the phone with my mom, plaintively telling her that her next laptop will be a Mac, no ifs ands or buts. I've even had to start biting my tongue, lest the dreaded "well if you had a Mac, it would just work" roll out, when I get a frantic phone call from some friend or relative (ahem, DAD) who somehow broke their networking protocol - and cut off the rest of their house from Wi-Fi, leaving the other computers, printer, and TiVo in a state of confusion.And my specs, for people that are interested:Black MacBook 2.16 C2D, 2 GB RAM, 160 GB HD, two external drives, including one set as a Boot Camp/Fusion/Paralells partition that I look forward to reconfiguring on Friday, or as it is known in iCal - "Leopard Day!"Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Bumper PC sales push Apple to new record
Annual sales of Apple products have topped $20bn (£980m) for the first time in the pioneering company's 31-year history, and the resurgence of the Macintosh computer has pushed it into third place in the global PC market.
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Apple Q407 Conference Call: 1 out 6 iPhones bought to unlock
As usual, Apple executives "don't comment on future products." But they did let slip a few interesting tidbits into this quarter's conference call. Read More...
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Griffin's Evolve: Wireless iPod speakers that are... actually wireless
The Evolve Wireless Sound System by Griffin Technology is an iPod speaker system that aims to deliver a truly cable-free experience.
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Griffin's Evolve: Wireless iPod speakers that are... actually wireless
Could it be: wireless speakers that live up to the name?(Credit: Griffin Technology)There are a lot of dubious claims in the world of consumer electronics. Some of my favorites are "DVD-quality video" and "CD-quality sound" (for digital media that is often anything but) and the always classic "installs in just minutes." But one of the biggest truth-benders in recent years has been "wireless speakers." As resident blogger Steve "The Audiophiliac" Guttenberg recently pointed out, many so-called wireless speaker systems actually introduce more wires into the equation. That's exactly why Griffin Technology's new Evolve Wireless Sound System looks so promising: The $300 iPod speaker system includes two speakers that look to be completely and totally free of cables. How'd Griffin do it? ...
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Apple's quarterly profit jumps 67%, revenue 29%
Apple posted a 67% rise in quarterly net profit Monday, thanks to strong sales of its Macintosh computers and iPod music players ...
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Does new iPhone ad pass the sniff test?
The new iPhone ad depicting a pilot, Bryce is making some people cry foul.
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Does new iPhone ad pass the sniff test?
Life is good at Apple these days. Around 1.39 million iPhones sold. Soaring earnings. A new OS on the way. The Mac is gaining ground on the rest of the PC industry. The company can do no wrong. But that hasn't stopped a handful of critics from getting upset over one of the new iPhone ads currently running on a TV screen near you. The ad in question is "Delay," which depicts an alleged airline pilot, Bryce, talking about how he used his iPhone's weather.com app to help avoid a major delay. The ads have gotten some of the folks over at FlyerTalk's forums pretty riled up. Marathon Man, a poster from Massachusetts, started it all off by saying: "So I just saw for the first time this Apple iPhone commercial where a pilot (or some crew member that could be one) is standing there telling us that his iPhone was able to ...
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MDNS and caffeine: How I got Bonjour running on my iPhone
Filed under: Cool tools, Hacks, iPhone See this picture? It's a picture of my iPod touch. But here is the interesting thing. The picture you see is actually a screen shot from my iPod touch. As you can see from the iPod logo, it has no on-board camera. Instead, it's subscribed to a Bonjour service on my iPhone and using its camera instead to take a picture of itself.Continue reading MDNS and caffeine: How I got Bonjour running on my iPhoneRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Griffin's Evolve wireless iPod speakers start shipping
Filed under: Portable Audio We first saw Griffin's Evolve wireless iPod speakers way back in January at CES, and it looks like they're finally shipping. The detachable speakers each contain a battery with enough juice to last 10 hours, and the Evolve base can charge both the speaker cubes and a docked iPod. Apparently Best Buy is getting the exclusive here -- the system costs $299 at ol' Blue, but those of you morally opposed to bricks and mortar can cough up an extra $50 and buy direct from Griffin for $350.[Via Macworld] Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
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Apple: $100 Million Spent on Potential IBricks
An interesting tidbit from the Apple earnings call: Of the 1.4 million iPhones sold so far, perhaps 250,000 of them were sold to people who wanted to unlock them from the AT&T network.
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TUAW Liveblog Coverage of Apple’s Quarterly Analyst Call
Interesting nugget: Apple estimates 250,000 (out of 1.3M total) iPhones were sold to unlockers. My big question, which seems to have gone unasked (and unanswered during Apple’s prepared statement) is whether Apple is accounting for iPod Touch sales on a subscription basis, like they are with the iPhone. Apple has stated that they’re using subscription-based accounting for the iPhone so as to be able to provide new features to iPhone users in future software updates free of charge. If iPod Touches aren’t being accounted for similarly, I suspect they won’t be getting the same feature updates, or at least not for free. ★
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Apple blowout helped by iPod, iPhone 'halo effect'
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Apple Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter blowout was bolstered in large part by record sales of its Macintosh computers, further evidence that the company's strategy of getting customers into stores through the sales of lower-margin iPod media players is working.
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AT&T Changes Early Contract Termination Policy
Here in the United States, we know that AT&T still has a 4 year, 8 month monopoly on the iPhone, but just in case you want out of your 2-year AT&T contract, the hit to your wallet is a little less than a…
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Apple estimates 250,000 iPhones sold to SIM unlockers
Filed under: CellphonesInteresting. Were you at all curious to know how many of the 1.4m iPhones Apple's sold went to US T-Mobile customers and exporters "with the intention to unlock" the handsets? Well, there's no way anyone will ever know for sure, but on today's Apple Q4 earnings call Apple COO Tim Cook (or we think that was Tim Cook) stated that "Apple estimates 250,000 iPhones were sold with intention to unlock," and that "many of those sales happened after the price cut". Definitely not an insignificant number of iPhones not on Apple-authorized networks paying out serious coin for the privilege, so is it any wonder Cupertino's working so hard to lock this stuff down? Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
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Will Apple split its stock?
Apple keeps seeing strong growth of its iPod and Macintosh computer lines. And this week it will release Mac OS X Leopard, which unlike Microsoft's experience with Windows Vista early in the year, should be another winner for Apple. But will Cupertino do as it has done in the past and split its stock price?
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Apple profit surges on Mac sales; iPhone sales beat forecasts
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Apple Inc. on Monday said that sales of more than 2 million Macintosh PCs, along with strong performances from its iPod and iPhone products, helped the consumer electronics company report a 67% increase in fourth-quarter earnings.
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Podcast #29: Leopard on the Horizon and iPhone/iPod touch SDK.
Video tutorial of Leopard, SDK announcement and the best western ever.
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iPod growth slowing...unless you count the iPhone
iPod unit sales aren't growing as quickly as they used to be, but the iPhone is making up the difference.
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Hazel for OS X gets updated to version 2.1, now runs on Leopard
The Hazel file organizer utility for OS X has been updated to version 2.1, which includes Leopard support as well as some new features.Read More...
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Apple to Open 40 Stores in 2008; Sees Continued Low Memory Prices
Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said Monday the company plans to open 40 new stores over the coming year, including its first China outlet.
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Apple results off the charts -- and there's more to come
The earnings press release is up on the Apple site. I've just started looking though the stellar results, but two results jump out at me right away:$2 billion in deferred revenue. We knew that iPhone and AppleTV revenue was going to appear on Apple's balance sheet instead of on its income statement. And sure enough, Apple has nicely broken out its deferred revenue in a separate statement which you can see here. The interesting bit: Apple added $600 million in deferred revenue for iPhones and AppleTVs since last quarter. I don't yet understand the difference between current and non-current deferred revenue; perhaps someone can enlighten me or I'll read about it on the transcript from the earnings call. But no matter how its accounted for, the numbers are big.Upward guidance on revenue and earnings for the holiday quarter. Steve Jobs said in an interview with the New York Times today that he believed Apple has the strongest product lineup for the holidays ever. Today's projection says that Apple is putting its mouth behind that money: it's projecting it will earn $1.42 on $9.2 billion in revenue in the upcoming quarter, surpassing analyst estimates by far. And given the company's tendency to keep expectations in check, you can bet that there's upside to that forecast.Bottom line: You know a company is doing well when it exceeds even the most optimistic expectations. Apple is in that zone now; the stock is up 13 points in the aftermarket already. With this start and only four days to the Leopard release, it's going to be a very exciting week.Technorati Tags: Apple, Apple TV, Financial analysis, iPhone
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WOW! Apple posts record earnings
Back in the day, Apple would report poor earnings on a Friday after the market closed (so people might forget about it over the weekend) and good earnings on a Thursday. And when they announced today, a Monday, people expected big news. But not this big! Apple generated $24 Billion dollars in revenue in FY07 (their first fiscal qtr is the holiday qtr) and shipped more than 2 million Macs, 10 million iPods, and 1 million iPhones. Analysts expected profit of around $0.67 per diluted share: Apple reported more than $1 per share - above even the highest expectations. Apple's after hours stock price hit another all-time high of over $184 per share. This performance, coming off a great Back To School season, and reports of huge market share gains may be just the beginning. Now that the holiday season is here, can we expect even bigger things from Steve and Co?
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Apple Gazette Daily 142 - Apple 4th Quarter Financials plus FREE MUSIC
Apple 4th Quarter Financial, and some great Free Music! Check out the band mentioned in today's podcast here. You can subscribe via iTunes, or by RSS feed, or… you can directly download the episode right here. In addition to that, you should be able to play every episode of the podcast directly in your browser by using the widget which is now located in the side column of the site. Just click on the headphones to play the podcast inside the widget with full audio controls.
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Apple Q4 2007 results conference call liveblog
Filed under: Apple FinancialWelcome to TUAW's liveblog coverage of the Q4 2007 Apple earnings call. New updates will appear at the top of the post. You can listen in on the call via QuickTime streaming if you care to follow along...5:25: Gross margin forecast is trending down from 33% to 31% -- iLife sales go down with new machine sales.5:24: Back to school results at an all-time high. Sales accelerated dramatically after new iPod introductions. Market share in UK, Japan up for iPod in Q4.5:23: Why is Apple confident on guidance in the face of economic challenges? Best Mac quarter ever, best iPod sales... a lot of momentum.5:22: Ben from UBS -- "don't like to cheerlead, but nice quarter.: :-)5:21: Nik has the touch! Link here for call. (Sorry we missed the press release readoff)5:16 pm: Unfortunately, it seems like only a fortunate few are in on the call at this point, and neither Nik nor I are among them... we are going to have to wait for the recorded version. :-(5:11 pm: Just a few highlights while we wait: a 400,000 unit increase in Mac sales over the year-ago quarter is indicative of moving beyond "halo effect" to true momentum.5:09 pm: We're still not getting anything off the QuickTime stream, both in NYC and in the UK. If you are picking up a signal, post a comment.5:04 pm: How can you tell if a duck is an Apple customer? He goes "Mac, Mac, Mac." (Still no audio.)5pm: No audio yet! Argh.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple shipped 1,119,000 iPhones in Q4 2007
Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Portable Audio, Portable VideoSure, Apple's profitability and viability is based on any number of factors, but there's one figure that analysts have been training their calculators on for months that has finally seen the light of day: Apple sold 1,119,000 iPhones in Q4 2007, which ended on September 29th, bringing the grand total to 1,389,000 since launch. That might meet or miss your expectations, but other sales bringing a smile to Jobs' face and a cha-ching to his wallet include a 34% growth in Mac sales year to year and a 17% growth in iPods year to year -- with 10.2 million iPods sold last quarter. The earnings call hasn't started just yet, so hopefully we'll get a few more juicy details on how much AT&T is chipping in to the bottom line these days. Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
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Wacom adds a baby Cintiq, the 12WX tablet / display
Filed under: Peripherals Wacom's 21-inch Cintiq display tablet got a little sibling today, the 12.1-inch Cintiq 12WX. The unit is basically an Intuos3 tablet with an integrated display, so it features everything you'd expect -- 1,024-level pressure-sensitivity, input device rotation support, touch strips, ExpressKeys, Tool ID, and tilt sensitivity -- with the added bonus of being able to work directly on the 1280 x 800 image itself. Wacom says the Cintiq 12WX will be shipping November 1 in the UK for £829 ($1679) and will support XP, Vista, and OS X -- no word on when it'll be out in the States, but we can't imagine it'll be long.[Thanks, Mark] Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
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AAPL Q4 earnings announced, $1.01 per share
Filed under: Apple Financial1.12 million iPhones sold in Apple's fiscal Q4. After-hours trading has AAPL at $182+ per share.Analyst estimates were at about $0.82/share and anywhere over 1M iPhones sold, so this is beyond expectations in every respect. 2.164M Macs sold, which is over the Wall Street target of 2 million computers... this is the first 2M+ Mac quarter ever for Apple. 10.2 million iPods sold.Yee-ikes. Here's the press release. Join us at 5 pm ET for the conference call liveblog."Apple ended the fiscal year with $15.4 billion in cash and no debt," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Looking ahead to the first quarter of fiscal 2008, we expect revenue of about $9.2 billion and earnings per diluted share of about $1.42."Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Jobs: Mac has 'momentum,' nearly-annual OS updates will continue
Filed under: AppleAs of Friday, Apple will have released five major updates to Mac OS X since its introduction in 2001 (unless you want to count the public beta. Nit-pickers). In Monday's interview with The New York Times, Steve Jobs said this pace will continue:"'I'm quite pleased with the pace of new operating systems every 12 to 18 months for the foreseeable future,' he said. 'We've put out major releases on the average of one a year, and it's given us the ability to polish and polish and improve and improve.'"That's a lot of innovation in a short amount of time. Considering the changes between 10.0 and 10.5, can you even imagine what 10.9 will look like? Steve also says that the Mac platform appears to have gained momentum with buyers, which should come as no surprise to our readers. Is the Mac reaching a tipping point with switchers and new customers? Maybe the upcoming earnings report will offer some clues.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple Reports Record-Shattering Fourth Quarter Results
Apple: Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2007 fourth quarter ended September 29, 2007. The Company posted revenue of $6.22 billion and net quarterly profit of $904 million, or $1.01 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $4.84 billion and net quarterly profit of $542 million, or $.62 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. […] Apple shipped 2,164,000 Macintosh computers, representing 34 percent growth over the year-ago quarter and exceeding the previous quarterly record for Mac shipments by 400,000. The Company sold 10,200,000 iPods during the quarter, representing 17 percent growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhoneâ„¢ sales were 1,119,000, bringing cumulative fiscal 2007 sales to 1,389,000. It’s all amazingly good news, but the stat of the day has to be that Apple sold 400,000 more Macs in the quarter than in any previous quarter ever — in the quarter immediately preceding a major new Mac OS X release, the sort of thing many people wait for before buying a new machine. ★
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News: Apple estimates 250,000 iPhones sold 'with intention to unlock'
Speaking during the company's Q4 Financial Results Conference Call, Apple COO Tim Cook stated that the company “estimates 250,000 iPhones were sold with intention to unlock,” and that “many of those sales happened after the price cut.” The iPhone accounted for $118 million in revenue, which is derived from “handset sales, carrier agreements, and Apple-branded and third-party iPhone accessories.” Apple has…
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Apple Q4: $904 Million Profit
Apple announced this afternoon that the company posted revenue of $6.22 billion and net quarterly profit of $904 million.
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Apple Store Recreates June 29th, iPhone Release Date
For my birthday (today) I am going to have a surprise birthday party. My friends do not know I know, but I will act really surprised. If I didn’t know about my surprise birthday party, I might react a little like…
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Google Docs optimized for viewing on the iPhone
Filed under: Internet Tools, iPhoneOver at the official Google Docs blog they've announced a a revision of the Google Docs interface designed more mobile devices, in particular the iPhone. You can now get "mobile-optimized versions of your docs, spreadsheets, and even presentations (for iPhone only for now)" by pointing your mobile browser at http://docs.google.com/m .Unfortunately, the revision is still read-only, allowing you to view your documents, but not to edit them. Hopefully, Google will figure out a way to bring editing to the iPhone before February. In any case, this could still come in handy if you're a regular Google Docs user on the go.[via übergizmo]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple Q407 Financials: Triumph of the Steve
The end of Apple's fiscal sets a new record with the first two million Mac quarter.Read More...
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Apple earnings soar, 1.4 million iPhones sold to date
As expected, it was another great quarter for Apple, with Mac shipments leading the way as the company sold more than a million iPhones.
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Developers remain in dark about Leopard GM bug fixes
Apple says it's ready to release Mac OS X Leopard to customers on Friday. But developers complain that they won't see the Golden Master final candidate before the rest of us.
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Stacks On The iPhone, An Interesting And Useful Concept
Something that has plagued the iPhone and iPod Touch is the homescreen’s limited amount of Icon slots, 20 altogether including the Dock most of which are already populated leaving very little breathing room. Luckily for us, a hacked up version of Leopard’s stacks is making its way to the iPhone.…
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Behind the scenes at Apple Retail
Filed under: Retail, AppleAlex Frankel, a reporter for Fast Company magazine, recently undertook a two-year undercover project to investigate the ways companies train their retail staffs. Among his targets was Apple, and he has concluded that "Apple Stores, with their aura of cool, were in fact living up to their mission to 'reinvent retail' and setting a high bar for other companies in the retail world." Frankel notes how Apple does things differently, treating new employees as adults, but most importantly positioning them as "sharers of information, instead of sellers of products."I've long thought that Apple basically gets retail right (even if there is room for improvement -- e.g. sometimes it takes too long to get help). It's interesting to see just how how they do things differently and why that makes them so successful.[via Digg]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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News: Apple sells 10.2 million iPods, 1.1 million iPhones during Q4
Reporting its fourth quarter financial results today, Apple said it sold 10.2 million iPods during the quarter — a 17 percent increase compared to the same quarter last year. It also sold 1.119 million iPhones in the quarter, bringing the total number of units sold up to nearly 1.4 million. The company posted revenue of $6.22 billion and net quarterly profit of $904 million, or $1.01 per diluted share, compared with revenue of $4.84 billion…
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Brief John Markoff Interview With Steve Jobs
Jobs talks to John Markoff in an interview for The Times: The Apple development team worried constantly that the approach might fail during the years they were creating the iPhone, he said. “We all had that Garry Trudeau cartoon that poked fun at the Newton in the back of our minds,� he said, citing Doonesbury comic strips that mocked an Apple handwriting-recognition system in 1993. “This thing had to work.� Jobs also seems to suggest that 10.6 is going to be sooner than later: “I’m quite pleased with the pace of new operating systems every 12 to 18 months for the foreseeable future,� he said. “We’ve put out major releases on the average of one a year, and it’s given us the ability to polish and polish and improve and improve.� ★
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Indies Roll the Dice on Final Leopard
Steven Frank: I thought maybe it might receive more attention if you, the Mac OS X software-buying public, were aware of the situation. The third-party software that you’re paying for, depending on, and hoping to run on Leopard, we cannot test on the final release build until we can run down to the Apple Store and pick it up, hopefully at least a few minutes before you do. Another thing to keep in mind is that the GM version of 10.5.0 definitely contains at least some significant differences from the last version seeded via ADC to developers. Anyone taking screenshots of the Dock on the side of the screen, for example, is going to have to retake them after installing the public release. ★
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Apple Up 7% on FQ4 Earnings Beat
Share of Apple Inc. jumped 7% in extended trading Monday after the company posted FQ4 earnings per share and revenue that were ahead of analyst consensus estimates and the company's forecasts, boosted by unprecented demand for Macintosh computers, a new line of iPods, and strong iPhone sales.
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Apple Up 7% on Earnings Beat, Strong Guidance
Share of Apple Inc. jumped 7% in extended trading Monday after the company posted FQ4 earnings per share and revenue that were ahead of analyst consensus estimates and the company's forecasts, boosted by unprecented demand for Macintosh computers, a new line of iPods, and strong iPhone sales.
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Apple earnings report today, liveblog at 5pm ET
Filed under: Apple FinancialIf you're interested in the financial performance of the company formerly known as Apple Computer, Inc., today is a marked day on the calendar. Quarterly results will be announced after the close of the markets, and since this is the first full quarter of iPhone sales there should be lots of juicy tidbits to review. More coverage at Blogging Stocks and Apple 2.0; the consensus is that Apple's guidance on earnings is extremely conservative.We'll be liveblogging the conference call as it happens this afternoon, so check back then for more.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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The Firefox 3 Visual Refresh: System Integration
Firefox 3 is going to look more like a Windows app on Vista and a Mac app on Mac OS X; love the parenthetical about Linux: “… we still aren’t sure what the best way to visually integrate with Linux is, given the number of different distributions.” (Via Mat Lu.) ★
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6 eBay Tools for the Mac
There are generally 3 types of eBay users. Those who list and buy everything they can get their hands on who constantly have atleast a dozen auctions going, those who have never used eBay, and those who go in spurts of being the first type. I generally tend to be the latter. I'll go 6 months or a year and never touch eBay and then my wife and I will get an itch to clean out the closet and sell practically everything we can touch. Yes, listing things on eBay can be a bit of an addiction. While certain business niches seem to be moving to web-based applications, it would seem a lot people prefer to move away from eBay. The interface can be extremely overcrowded, clunky, and many times slow. So having a GUI to manage everything can be a pretty nice thing. Below are a few applications (some free, some not), that I've found that might help feed your eBay addiction a bit whether you're a seller or a buyer. (more…) applications, ebay, tools
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Firefox 3 to be more integrated with OS
Filed under: Software, Internet ToolsAlex Faaborg has an interesting post up on the visual design of the forthcoming version 3 of Firefox. Basically reversing their long-standing policy of trying to make Firefox look the same across all platforms, version 3.0 will feature OS specific design "to achieve an even closer level of visual integration than we have had in previous releases." What this means of OS X is something close to the new unified style that's coming in Leopard and has already been demonstrated in iTunes and iLife '08. I know that many Mac users prefer Camino to Firefox (both of which use the Mozilla gecko rendering engine) because Firefox just doesn't "look right" in OS X. It will be interesting to see how well Firefox 3 works with Leopard (and Tiger) and whether that will be enough to convert Camino users like myself. Of course, as we've mentioned before, the page widgets will also be an important aspect of getting the look right in OS X.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple, TI, Netflix, American Express step up to earnings deck
The second peak week of the third-quarter earnings season continues Monday evening, headlined by results from tech powerhouses Apple Inc., Texas Instruments Inc. and American Express Co.
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Learn how to make more visually interesting photos and images.
The golden rule, ground-thirds, the rule of thirds, etc.
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Review: Griffin Evolve Wireless Sound System for iPod
"Wireless.” In the world of iPod audio equipment, the word has two meanings: one is ideal, the other practical. The ideal wireless device doesn't use wires to connect to anything, except a power recharger. It can be taken and used anywhere, at any time, except perhaps in the cabin of a moving plane. Practically, however, most wireless iPod audio devices require one or two wires. They are tethered to something, such as a wall power outlet…
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Speedmark waits for Leopard, too
Friday's release of Leopard brings a new version of the Mac OS. And it also means that Macworld Lab needs to update its battery of tests to accommodate the changes in OS X 10.5.
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Speedmark waits for Leopard, too
Friday's release of Leopard brings a new version of the Mac OS. And it also means that Macworld Lab needs to update its battery of tests to accommodate the changes in OS X 10.5.
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Leopard Is Coming, and I Want It
As you may know, Apple has posted a guided tour of Leopard to the company's Web site, giving us the most in-depth preview so far of the latest operating system upgrade, which hits stores this Friday. After taking the 20+ minutes to watch the video in full, I can unequivocally say I am very impressed, and know I will be purchasing the upgrade as soon as possible. If you want to gain the fullest experience of the video, then do as I did: 1. Download the Large (379MB) video as a .zip archive. 2. Unzip the file, revealing a file “apple_leopard_tour_768×480.mov” 3. Drag the file on to your iTunes, and wait for it to copy. 4. Sync with your Apple TV (You have one, right?) Then sit back, relax and watch the video on your flat-screen TV, instead of a little window on your Mac. It's good stuff. Although I've come to expect big things from Apple, I kept watching the demonstration of new features like “Stacks”, “Spaces” and “Data Detectors” within Mail.app that I know I would be using immediately. And the demonstrations of CoverFlow within Finder, as well as screen sharing from within iChat, could have dramatic impacts on how I use my Mac today or share with colleagues. Other little items, like browsing Devices or “Shared” computers over a network from the Finder, just make sense, and will make things I do every day just a little more simple. I thought I would be blown away by Time Machine, as I first was when Steve Jobs demoed it. But the video showed you needed a 3rd party storage device for it to work, not just the primary Mac (somehow I missed that the first time around). I also sensed the video's careful editing made some time-consuming tasks look instantaneous. But all that aside, I went from somebody who was on the fence as to whether I'd be getting the upgrade before end of year, to one who knows what I'll be doing this weekend. It just had better not break my VMWare in the process. apple tv, leopard
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Apple to Announce Earnings, Leopard Talk, New AppTapp for iPhone
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How Can the PEG Ratio Be Used to Value Stocks?
Reader's Question: I have a started to pay attention to PEG ratios. Can you please explain how to calculate the PEG ratio for a stock? Can you show how Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) PEG is 1.6, as you indicated in an earlier post?
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Chemical group comments on Greenpeace iPhone report
The Bromine Science and Environmental Forum has taken issue with Greenpeace's report on the iPhone, noting that the chemicals in the device are not only allowed, but are there for safety reasons.Read More...
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Monday's Options Report: Apple, Rackable, Virgin Media, CTC Media, Valero, Schlumberger, XLF, VIX
Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) - Apple's much anticipated after-the-bell report has market players keen for a gander at the first full quarter of iPhone sales, and greater disclosure surrounding Apple's commission structure with iPhone servicer AT&T.
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Condensation problems arise with some aluminum iMacs
Some owners of the new iMacs are reporting that certain environmental conditions are causing condensation to appear inside the display glass. Water inside of your computer is never good.Read More...
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News: Griffin Evolve now available through Best Buy
Griffin Technology has announced that its Evolve Wireless Sound System is now available exclusively through its launch partner Best Buy, both online at bestbuy.com and at Best Buy retail locations. The Evolve Wireless Sound System features a base/charging station with integrated iPod Dock, wireless speakers with rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and a 150-foot range, line-in RCA jacks for alternate audio sources, and a RF remote control. “Evolve…
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AppTapp Updated To Version 3, New Interface
The popular Application distribution system for the iPhone, AppTapp (otherwise known as Installer.app) has recently been updated to version 3 Beta 3. AppTapp now sports an enhanced interface which finally brings the look of other iPhone Applications to the table and other notable fixes. The new features included…
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Digg Labs now in convenient screensaver form
Saving your screen just became slightly more informative. Digg Labs' visualization tools are now available as interactive screensavers for both Mac OS X and Windows.Read More...
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iPhone, iPods Expected to Lead Apple to Strong Q4
Apple reports earnings for its fourth fiscal quarter on Monday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period. During its fourth quarter, the Cupertino, Calif., company experienced the impact of the iPhone and introduced a bevy of new products. Near the end of the fourth quarter, Apple said it had sold its millionth iPhone. The product, which combines the functions of a touch-screen cell phone, multimedia player and wireless Internet device, went on sale a few days before the quarter began.
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Road to Mac OS X Leopard Server: Collaborative Info Sharing Services
Leopard sports a series of changes both under the hood and in its user interface that improve the performance and usability of the Mac desktop for individual users, and combine to deliver new collaborative server features for networked machines in office settings. Servers and shared services are also moving into the home; here's a look at what's new in Leopard and Leopard Server related to file sharing and collaborative information services, and where the plumbing inside Mac OS X comes from. AppleInsider | Road to Mac OS X Leopard Server: Collaborative Info Sharing Services Technorati Tags: Apple, Bloggers, Development, History, Mac, Microsoft, Software
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Video: What the iPhone SHOULD look like this time next year
This (presumably hacked) iPhone has multiple pages of icons, and features Leopard-like Stacks as well. This, to me, is exactly where we should be seeing the iPhone going after Apple releases the SDK for it early next year. Right now it's complete speculation on just how the SDK will work, and if everyone will be happy with it (I can already tell you they won't - “everyone” is never happy), but this video here is exactly what I would like my unhacked iPhone to look like next year.
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News: Mix: AAPL, Canada, Jacuzzi, EMI, Unlock
Apple will report its fourth quarter earnings later today, and will host a webcast discussing fourth quarter financial results at 2:00 p.m. PDT / 5:00 p.m. EDT. The Copyright Board of Canada has approved a new tax on music downloads from iTunes and other online retailers. Retroactive to 1996, the tax means Apple will have to pay 3.1 cents for each music file they sell, or 1.5 cents per track for complete albums, to SOCAN (the Society of Composers,…
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News: Mix: AAPL, Canada, Jacuzzi, Unlock
Apple will report its fourth quarter earnings later today, and will host a webcast discussing fourth quarter financial results at 2:00 p.m. PDT / 5:00 p.m. EDT. The Copyright Board of Canada has approved a new tax on music downloads from iTunes and other online retailers. Retroactive to 1996, the tax means Apple will have to pay 3.1 cents for each music file they sell, or 1.5 cents per track for complete albums, to SOCAN (the Society of Composers,…
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Apple earnings to get spotlight after the close
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - The tech sector doesn't take a break from earnings Monday, as Apple Inc. is scheduled to give what will be one of the season's most highly watched reports with its fiscal fourth-quarter results after the market closes.
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Quarterly numbers today
And as Tom Krazit reports, the number to keep an eye on is iPhone units. Will the silly pundits have egg on their faces? Stay tuned.
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Does Microsoft have an iPhone answer?
CEO Steve Ballmer is speaking at the big mobile phone trade show on Tuesday, and it will be interesting to see the tack he takes vis-a-vis Apple.
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Leopard: Is it worth the upgrade?
Don Reisinger tackles Mac OS X Leopard and helps you decide if an upgrade is in order. And while he can't stand "early and often" OS upgrades, his final recommendation may surprise you.
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Leopard: Is it worth the upgrade?
Leopard is right around the corner, should you update?(Credit: CNET) With all of this week's hype surrounding Mac OS X Leopard, some can't wait for the upgrade. In fact, some people are claiming that the follow-up to Tiger will become the most popular and user-friendly operating system ever created. And while I have a hard time accepting that notion before the operating system is even released, I believe Leopard will change the operating system landscape for quite some time. Unfortunately, it won't change things in the way I had hoped. In a New York Times article over the weekend, CEO Steve Jobs was quoted as saying that he was excited for the release of Leopard and is quite happy with the current timeline Apple operating systems are on. Most notably, Jobs mentioned that he likes releasing new operating systems "every 12 to 18 months" so Apple can "polish and polish and improve and improve." But it is here that I must disagree with Jobs. Why do we need a new operating system ever year or so? If my current operating system works quite well, do I really need another new operating system just to add some new features or capabilities? I