2004 July

Real replies to Apple’s statement:
Via MacMinute Real says that “consumers, and not Apple, should be the ones choosing what music goes on their iPod.” The company goes on to say: “Apple has suggested that new laws such as the DMCA are relevant to this dispute. In fact, the DMCA is not designed to prevent the […]

Via MacMinute, Apple issues an official statement on Real’s Harmony:
“We are stunned that RealNetworks has adopted the tactics and ethics of a hacker to break into the iPod, and we are investigating the implications of their actions under the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) and other laws. We strongly caution Real and their customers that […]

Macworld UK has an article in which they mention that Sony sold 50 million Walkmans by the 10-year anniversary date, and that the iPod’s 3 million in the first two years, while impressive, will never match that.
I would counter with this…
You cant generalize the “Walkman” as a single product line, its a brand name; […]

LaunchBar, the productivity utility that offers fast easy access to: documents, folders, bookmarks, email addys, applications and more; has been updated.
The latest beta version, “8″ includes the following:

Much improved Adaptive Abbreviation Search Algorithm (AASv4), delivers even more accurate search results, and adapts much faster and more precisely.
URLs can now be dragged onto the bar.
The “Show […]

Hitachi plans to reveal a 6GB version of its small hard drive that Apple uses in the iPod mini. the new 1-inch Microdrive will be released in the 4th quarter of this year.
Full Article: >> Interview with Hitachi GST Asia-Pacific president

Apple’s 4th Generation iPod made Time.com’s Gadget of the Week this week. Taking a look at the basics the article hints at things to come from the 4th Gen iPod:
“But you should know that internally the new iPod is a ground-up reconstruction, and its really compelling applications - the ones that very well might get […]

Think Secret continues it’s “Inside Tiger” series by taking a look at Safari 2.0. In their article they look at the built in RSS features of Safari 2.0, it’s Private Browsing capabilities, webpage saving and archiving, Mail integration, and much more…
Full Article w/ photos: >> Inside Tiger: A Look at Safari 2.0 (images)

Roxio has updated Toast to version 6.0.7. This update includes a few new features, mainly Double-Layer support, MIDI Karaoke (KAR) Support, and an update to Deja Vu.
For detailed list of updates: >> Version History
Download the latest update: >> Update Toast 6 Titanium to Version 6.0.7

According to Think Secret, Apple has seeded a new build of 10.3.5 to developers…
Excerpt:
“An Apple seed note provided several new details about 10.3.5; Apple suggested that developers concentrate their testing efforts on NFS, Core Graphics, Audio/Sound, Video drivers, and Bluetooth.”
“In past seeds — build 7M18 and build 7M20 — the company provided a different list […]

A number of sites are reporting of small blemishes on brand-new-out-of-the-box 4G iPods. Some are reporting small smears, scratches and blemishes on the case; with a wide range of descriptions.
Full Article: >> Customers report 4G iPod blemishes

Rogue Amoeba has done it again! They have officially released Audio Hijack Pro 2.0! The new version adds more than 35 new features: new UI, “the ability to record using Dolby Advanced Audio Codec (AAC) and Apple Lossless (ALAC) formats, a Recording Bin to organize and preview audio clips, integrated CD burning, the […]

MacDailyNews has information that Apple is working on another Pepsi iTunes promo at the upcoming Super Bowl.
“Five months after BBDO launched the Pepsi iTunes promotion on the Super Bowl, TBWA\Chiat\Day’s Southern California office is getting a crack at the assignment, landing the estimated $15-20 million business without a review, sources said last week,” Kathleen Sampey […]

The Wall Street Journal’s Walter Mossberg has tested Sony’s “Network Walkman NW-HD1″ and has reported his conclusions:
Excerpts:
“One major downside of the new Walkman is that it can’t play MP3 files, or any of the other standard formats. It can play back only a proprietary Sony format called ATRAC3, or a variation called ATRAC3plus. This means […]

Me wants!
Iomega has released a new version of it’s Micro Mini USB 2.0 flash drives… The 1.5 inch long drive now comes in a 512MB model. The drive, like the other Micro Mini’s feature read speeds up to 8MB per second and comes with “an illuminated USB 2.0 extension-cable, key chain, neck chain, and […]

MacMinute is quoting a CNN/Money article that says that RealNetworks plans to license their new Harmony technology; and that Apple better act fast if they plan to oppose it.
“We haven’t announced [Harmony licensing plans], but we’re in discussions and happy to be in discussions with people,” said Wolpert. “Let’s grow the industry.”
Via MacMinute
>> Apple’s real […]

Wired takes a look at the iSkin vs. Lajo saga… Me, I liked the first iSkin, infact got it from the co iSkin… and I got two iSkin eVo’s from iSkin… sorry Lajo I don’t care for your versions, plus your ordering system was hell.
The former friends and business partners now head separate companies making […]

WebieTech announced that it is not shipping its ComboGB pocket drive in a 100GB model. The Pocket drive includes three interfaces: Firewire 800, FireWire 400, and USB 2.0/1.1. The new 100GB model is available now for $499.95 US.
Via MacMinute.
>> ComboGB pocket drive

Other World Computing (OWC) has announced a full line of “CD-R/RW+DVD+/-R/RW SuperDrive upgrades for most Apple PowerMac G3s, G4s and G5s, the Apple G4 Cube and select Apple PowerBook computers.” This according to MacDailyNews.
“With our full line of internal SuperDrive upgrade kits, it’s easy to add high-speed DVD- and CD-burning capability to most any existing […]

Art Technica has a report on how LCD prices are on the slide… Maybe this will bring the Apple 30″ HD Cinema Display down to a reasonable (consumer) price level.
The LCD market is fighting to find the right supply and demand balance for both monitor and TV panels. Last year saw a rise in LCD […]

Ok, so the title is the basics of it. Apple posted a short (very short) KB article on the new iPod Click Wheel models:
iPod (Click Wheel) pauses playback when anything connected to the headphone jack (such as headphones or the remote) is removed.
Pressing the Play button will resume playback.
>> iPod (Click Wheel) pauses […]