Wednesday, May 30, 2007

YouTube - Macworld Boston 1997-The Microsoft Deal

Together at last / Tech titans Bill Gates and Steve Jobs appear on the same stage for the first time in 20 years at the All Things Digital conference



"For 30 years, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs have dominated the technology industry, often on opposite sides, each legitimately laying claim to many of the innovations that are now commonplace in today's computers.
After all the feuds, the rapprochements and the big business that continues to this day, the two tech titans, now elder statesmen, came together Wednesday night on a public stage for the first time in 20 years.
Gates, the co-founder and chairman of Microsoft Corp., and Jobs, the co-founder and chief executive of Apple Inc., appeared together at the D: All Things Digital conference at the posh Four Seasons resort in this coastal city.
The conversation had the feel of a front-porch reminiscence in a retirement home as each man reflected on the early days of computing. "

Steve Jobs Commencement

Zune Still Under 1 Million in Sales But Better Than First iPod - PMP Today



"So we got it wrong, along with the rest of the tech blogging world and a bunch of very respected print publication. Zune went over a million only through a mis-transcription by The San Francisco Chronicle. Robbie Bach didn’t say that Mcrosoft has sold over a million Zunes already since November. What he said was, “When we finish our fiscal year in June we’ll have sold a little over a million Zunes, so we feel very good about that.”"

Monday, May 28, 2007

Zune beating Ipod



"When Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) released the Zune digital music player last November, there were inklings that the company who could challenge Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iPod dominance had finally arrived. The splintered digital music universe of a zillion companies making MP3 music players was a dizzying array of incompatibilities and cheaply-made junk that gave Apple no challenge in creating an complete "music ecosystem" that has made it the undisputed champion in the digital music player arena.So, when Microsoft's Zune was launched, the company was attempting to compete with Apple head-on with nicely-designed products and a complete set of online music download tools that would attempt to re-create and complete Apple iPod experience -- but from Microsoft. Its Zune music and media player had a few features the iPod lacked -- like WiFi wireless networking -- but limited the usability of some of those advanced features as to make them useless to experienced digital music player fans."

Sunday, May 27, 2007

I'm Steve Jobs, and I'm Bill Gates - BizTech - Technology - theage.com.au



"No one expects sparks to fly when Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and Apple's CEO Steve Jobs appear on stage together later this week. But it's clear there's no love lost between the two camps.
Apple's clever series of 'I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC' ads have needled Microsoft, portraying the software giant's products as awkward and unhip."

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Tech Test: Sansa Connect is no iPod killer, but it combines solid mix of features, ease-of-use

"So far, nothing but a new iPod has been able to tear me away from my old iPod. But after spending some time cozying up to SanDisk Corp.'s new Sansa Connect WiFi MP3 player, I'm willing to admit there are other players I'd use in a pinch.
The $250 Sansa Connect is a flash-based music player that lets users access Internet radio, view Flickr photos, see what their Yahoo Instant Messenger buddies are listening to and download music, all via Wi-Fi -- something no iPod offers."

Friday, May 25, 2007

PiperJaffray analyst predicts Autumn 6G iPod - The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

"Gene Munster, a PiperJaffray analyst, is predicting the debut of a widescreen 6G iPod early this autumn, possibly at a $399 price point according to this article at the UK's PC Advisor. "

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

New Red iPod Unveiled

"Apple has launched a new special edition iPod nano, which comes in the colour red to support the Product Red campaign against HIV/AIDS.
Following the heels of companies like Motorola, which recently launched its own Product Red version of its popular Razr phone, Apple will give a portion of the purchase price of the red nano to the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Available in 4GB and 8GB models, the new iPod nano comes in a red aluminium enclosure and features the usual claimed 24 hours of battery life and Click Wheel
The special edition red iPod nano is only available at the Apple online store."

Saturday, May 19, 2007

iPod Lets You Download a Personal Trainer



"It seems iPods and other digital audio players have become as important as running shoes and sweatpants to gym-goers. Now, instead of just music, exercisers can listen to a variety of prearranged playlists that also include virtual personal trainers pumping out instructions to digitally coach the workout."

Friday, May 18, 2007

Study: Half of iPod owners open to iPhone as next mobile phone

" A survey conducted in Europe by market research firm Canalys shows that those who currently own iPods are pretty receptive to buying an Apple iPhone as their next mobile phone. The survey was conducted in April of this year as an online questionnaire of over 2,000 employed, adult mobile phone users. Survey takers were located in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK.
The respondents were asked to 'rate how likely they would be to choose different vendor brands for their next personal mobile phone.' While clear leaders such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson came out ahead, the iPhone didn't do too badly among iPod owners. Almost half of those who owned iPods said that they were likely to consider Apple's offerings for their next mobile phone—Apple even came out ahead of RIM, HP, and Palm in the ratings. "

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Many iPod users will switch network for iPhone - iPod/iTunes - Macworld UK

"The iPhone looks set to make a big impression when it launches in Europe.
A pair of Europe/UK surveys published today reveal that almost half of Europe's iPod users participating in its 2,000-person pan-European survey by Canalys said that they are likely to consider Apple for their next mobile phone.

“Apple’s rating improves dramatically when you talk to existing iPod owners,” said Pete Cunningham, senior analyst at Canalys. “Almost half the respondents who owned an iPod rated Apple as likely to be considered for their next phone, compared to just 20 per cent for those who didn’t have an iPod, and they were five times as likely to give Apple the highest rating. There is a lot of loyalty that Apple can tap into.” "

Monday, May 14, 2007

Rumor: Apple considering 3G for upcoming notebooks



"With some US cellular providers having at least some kind of 3G cellular broadband coverage in many areas, it's no surprise that people are looking for ways to get their computers hooked up to the speedy new wireless broadband network. If you need some high-speed wireless from your laptop, you can always grab a 3G PCMCIA card, or get an ExpressCard from your carrier. Some of the bigger manufacturers like HP and Dell have also started offering internal 3G adapters as an option. Unfortunately, this option is usually only available on business systems and comes with a pretty hefty price tag, usually around $200. "

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Friday, May 11, 2007

AppleInsider | Jobs: 'I make fifty cents just for showing up'

"Jobs quickly became the primary focus of the Q&A session at the end of the annual event, which created the first challenge for the Apple boss after otherwise rolling smoothly through the meeting agenda, in which his Board of Directors saw reelection and all shareholder resolutions were voted down.

Brandon Reese, a shareholder working on behalf of the AFL-CIO union federation was the most eager to grill Jobs on the matter, firing off a string of questions about the many elements surrounding the now-ended stock options scandal at Apple.

'What did you know and when did you know it?,' the union spokesman asked.

Rather than answer the question directly, however, Jobs instead pointed to the SEC exoneration issued late last month -- at one point deliberately re-reading the government body's statement to underscore his view that the firm's cooperation spoke for itself. The implication that there could be more to the story was rejected as irrelevant."

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

FIN24 : Apple wants music copying OK'd

" The last time Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs took on major recording companies, he refused to budge on his 99-cent price for a song on iTunes.
As a new round of talks ramp up this month, however, Jobs has opened the door to higher prices - as long as music companies let Apple Inc. sell their songs without technology designed to stop unauthorised copying.
Jobs contends that would 'tear down the walls' by allowing consumers to play music they buy at Apple's iTunes store on any digital music player, not just the company's iPods.
Although most of the major labels insist that safeguards are still needed to stave off online piracy and make other digital music business models work, one company has already struck a deal with Apple. "

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Apple unveils plans to go greener - Yahoo! News

"Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL - news), responding to criticism from environmental groups, unveiled plans on Wednesday that Chief Executive Steve Jobs claimed would make the company greener than most of its competitors. "

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

WebWire | Steve Jobs to Kick Off Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2007



"Apple® today announced that Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, will kick off its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 11, 2007 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. At WWDC, Apple plans to show developers a feature complete version of Mac OS® X Leopard and give them a beta copy to take home for final testing. Leopard is scheduled to ship in October.
The five-day event, scheduled to run from June 11 to June 15, will deliver more than 150 sessions and labs aimed at getting the most out of Leopard. The conference will also include new content to serve a wide range of developers, including Mac OS X Immersion Monday, designed to quickly get developers who are new to the Mac® up to speed; a content and media track that shows developers the best ways to integrate animation, motion graphics, video, rich-media and web-based content into their applications; and dozens of hands-on labs that offer a unique opportunity to work directly with Apple engineers. "