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Today starts the week-long Apple developer love-fest in San Francisco – the World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC).  This year, Apple’s at it again with the ever so well-known arrogance that has become the norm in everything from their advertising to their conference banners.  Apple’s latest poke at Redmond is the banner shown above (pics from Engadget).  But you know that wasn’t enough.  Last year, Apple had a banner stating “Redmond, Start your Photocopiers.”  This year they built on that with the following:

You have to admire a company that is so bold as to put it out there like that.  But then again, Redmond is sitting back laughing at Apple’s market share.  So who’s the winner?  I don’t know, it will be interesting to see what Vista has in store.  But I can tell you this much, Microsoft has their work cut out for them.  OS X “Leopard” is showing some pretty promising and wicked things, and that’s just what we know about.  There are some secret features that Steve would not discuss during the keynote.  Makes you stop and wonder.

The keynote didn’t appear to be as exciting as others in previous years.  Quite frankly, it was boring.  The highlights are that Apple released some MONSTER desktops, now named the MacPro, which should just about be able to pilot you into the next solar system.  These Quad Xeon 64-bit machines are INSANE.  Aside from the ridiculous speeds, they finally added that 2nd optical drive bay and the ability to have 4 hard drives for a total storage capacity of 2 TERABYTES!  That’s just insane people.

Ushering in a new era of outstanding performance — and completing the Mac transition to Intel processors at the same time — the new Mac Pro introduces the 64-bit Dual-Core Intel Xeon “Woodcrest” processor to the Mac lineup. Running at up to 3GHz, it’s a state-of-the-art processor that — from day one — makes the Mac Pro one of the fastest desktop computers on the planet.

With the new build-to-order (BTO) options, there are more than 4 MILLION possible ways to configure your system.  Talk about an IT administration nightmare!  But hey – don’t let it be said Apple doesn’t give you choices.  Just remember, if you BTO a system – there are NO RETURNS!  Nice little gotcha that they don’t make too obvious when you buy the system online.

Not to be outdone on the server side, there’s a whole new breed of Xserves to play with.  A Quad Xeon 64-bit nasty one at that.

The Xserve packs phenomenal power and industry-leading capabilities into a high-density, 1U rackmount server that fits easily into any network environment. And this award-winning UNIX-based server just got a 5x (1) performance boost over the Xserve G5, thanks to quad-core 64-bit Intel Xeon processing. Additional features include up to 2.25TB storage, two eight-lane PCI Express slots, dual onboard Gigabit Ethernet, and a combo drive. With all this, the Xserve provides the stability you need and the performance you want, starting at just $2999.

The “Leopard” preview is not too shabby.  There are some much needed enhancements and upgrades made to Apple Mail, iChat and Spotlight.  One of the newest features that will make a lot of people yell “Hot Damn!” is the Time Machine feature.  This takes automated backup to a whole new level.  You will now have the ability to literally roll-back files to previous states and even recover lost or deleted files from your system.  This will be a life saver for many people and especially IT departments everywhere.  Just as a little kick in Redmond’s rear, Apple decided to make the Time Machine interface a little bit like the way Vista navigates through open windows.  Just remember, Time Machine is worthless if the drive fails.  You still need to think about backing up to external media or running an internal RAID 5 configuration with those extra drives you can put into the MacPro.

All-in-all, there’s still quite a bit of work left to be done on Leopard.  It will be Spring ’07 before we really see the final product, and with any luck, Microsoft might just be able to pump out Vista by then.  It will be really interesting to compare the 2 systems side-by-side.  For now, we’ll just have to be content with Tiger and some fast machines.  Not too shabby.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Macintosh, OS X

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So last night I am watching the usual Prison Break and 24 on Fox, when this strangely familiar Apple-esque look hits my screen, and before I could say WTF…BAM – it was indeed a genuine Apple Ad.  I guess people screamed loud enough that Apple heard them and finally decided to do something about it.  The ads are a little bland, but they get the point across loud and clear.  The new ads begin another phase of the switch campaign titled: “Get a Mac“.  It should be interesting to watch how these play out and what kind of “switcher” numbers they bring to the Mac platform this time around. The new ads can be seen here.

A tad bit of bisonium.com trivia for my fans….yours truly was filmed in one of the original “switcher” ads.  At the time I had switched back to the Mac after a lengthy hiatus on the PC side, and decided to write Apple an email about the experience.  It wasn’t before long, I got a call from TBWA \ Chiat \ Day (Apple’s Ad Agency), and after a few calls and an NDA later, I was on a jet flying first class to Los Angeles. It was an incredible experience I will never forget and gave me a killer look behind the scenes of what really happens on a Hollywood back-lot.  Ultimately my ad didn’t air, but one of the guys I shot with did – it was Richard Ziskin (pictured to the right).  Nice guy who owns an umbrella factory in New York if memory serves me correct.  All the original ads can be seen here.

I was considered “talent” (signed contracts and all) and got paid quite well for the 3 days, therefore entitling me to be “SAG Eligible”.  Basically I earned the right to pay a ridiculous sum of money to the Screen Actors Guild to carry a card that says I am in the union and can do more “acting”.  Your first 2 gigs are on the house, by the 3rd, you have to sign up – or so they tell me that is how it works.  I passed for now as I don’t see myself doing too many more commercials, but it’s still kind of cool to get those letters from SAG every now and then.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Comedy, Macintosh, Video

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Well here’s something you don’t see everyday.  Here’s a very cool insider view of the MacBu @ MSFT.

[ via O'Reilly MacDevCenter.com ]

Microsoft’s David Weiss gives a tour of the Microsoft Mac Lab:

Microsoft’s David Weiss provides a A Tour of Microsoft’s Mac Lab. Lots of interesting information and good photos from the home of Mactopia.com.

Technorati Tags: Macintosh, Microsoft

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It’s been another hectic and busy week with little time for catching up on the blogsphere happenings, but I just HAD to take the time to post this.  If Microsoft thinks they have problems now, they ‘aint seen nuttin yet.  Today Apple announced a new “feature” that will be available in OS X v10.5 (a.k.a. Leopard), called Boot Camp.  This “feature” will allow Intel based Macs to boot natively into Windows XP.  Yes – you read correctly, Windows XP running NATIVELY on your Mac.  Full PR after the jump or at Apple.com.

Technorati Tags: Apple, OS X, Windows

Apple Introduces Boot Camp

Public Beta Software Enables Intel-based Macs to Run Windows XP

CUPERTINO, California—April 5, 2006—Apple® today introduced Boot Camp, public beta software that enables Intel-based Macs to run Windows XP. Available as a download beginning today, Boot Camp allows users with a Microsoft Windows XP installation disc to install Windows XP on an Intel-based Mac®, and once installation is complete, users can restart their computer to run either Mac OS® X or Windows XP. Boot Camp will be a feature in “Leopard,” Apple’s next major release of Mac OS X, that will be previewed at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in August.

“Apple has no desire or plan to sell or support Windows, but many customers have expressed their interest to run Windows on Apple’s superior hardware now that we use Intel processors,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “We think Boot Camp makes the Mac even more appealing to Windows users considering making the switch.”

Boot Camp simplifies Windows installation on an Intel-based Mac by providing a simple graphical step-by-step assistant application to dynamically create a second partition on the hard drive for Windows, to burn a CD with all the necessary Windows drivers, and to install Windows from a Windows XP installation CD. After installation is complete, users can choose to run either Mac OS X or Windows when they restart their computer.

Pricing & Availability

The public beta of Boot Camp is available immediately as a download at www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp, and is preview software licensed for use on a trial basis for a limited time. The final version of Boot Camp will be available as a feature in the upcoming Mac OS X version 10.5 “Leopard.” Apple does not provide support for installing or running Boot Camp and does not sell or support Microsoft Windows software. Apple welcomes user feedback on Boot Camp at bootcamp@apple.com.

System Requirements

Boot Camp requires an Intel-based Mac with a USB keyboard and mouse, or a built-in keyboard and TrackPad; Mac OS X version 10.4.6 or later; the latest firmware update; at least 10GB of free space on the startup disk; a blank recordable CD or DVD; and single-disc version of Windows XP Home Edition or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning desktop and notebook computers, OS X operating system, and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital music revolution with its iPod portable music players and iTunes online music store.

Press Contacts:

Natalie Kerris

Apple

(408) 974-6877

nat@apple.com

Anuj Nayar

Apple

(408) 974-8388

anuj@apple.com

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple’s PR website, or call Apple’s Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.

Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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For those of you working in education, especially in the state of Florida, you may have heard of, or even attended FETC (Florida Educational Technology Conference).  This is one of the largest conferences of its kind in the country and it’s hosted in sunny Orlando, FL.  If you happen to have missed the conference this year, Apple has graciously provided some podcasts that bring you the action straight to your computer or iPod.  You can get updates on cool products from a variety of vendors, and even hear the first Podcast Palooza in education!  You can go to the site at: FETC 06 or subscribe to the podcast at: FETC 06 Podcast.

Technorati Tags: Podcasts, Education, FETC

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Technorati Tags: Apple

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<rant> I mean come on Apple, a new mini – we all expected that and has some spunk that makes it a really attractive buy.  I don’t think anyone will argue that.  But what I WILL be vocal about is the lack of a “real” media center device.  I want something like a damn Sony VAIO running Media Center edition of Tiger in my living room.  Who the flip is hard of hearing,  riding the “special” bus, or just simply an idiot that they aren’t getting the message over there?

OOOMPA LOOOMPAS AT THE MOTHERSHIP….WTF is going on over there?  Who the bunk is going to kick a home stereo to the curb for a boom box with an iPod dock?  I’m sure it sounds great, no arguments there, but I am hardly dumping my $10,000 worth of home theater audio gear over this thing.  This is like a great box for the park, a picnic, the beach or going camping.  Maybe if you live in a dorm or a shoe-box it might be a good thing too.  This thing is priced WAY to high for what I would have bought it for, which is a nice set of speakers for my OFFICE. Instead I just ordered a kick-ass set of speakers from Logitech for my office and it cost me $50, and trust me – they sound GREAT.  Hooked up to my G5 running iTunes at work, and it’s all I need.  How the hell loud do you think people are going to crank  up that iPod in the office anyways?  I don’t need a $350 speaker-box for that thank you.  And WTF is up with the overpriced “leather” cases.  SOMEBODY BETTER GET OFF THE DAMN CRACK PIPE AT CUPERTINO!

Seriously my digerati peeps.  I am really down with today’s announcements.  I swear on my dead poodle that I would have gone out and bought that damn video iPod TODAY if it had come out and had at least 100GB hard drive.  Let me say that again…APPLE PAY ATTENTION: the next video iPod HAS to have AT LEAST 100GB drive for me (and many others I know) to even consider it.  I already have 80GB of music and would really like to see a 120GB iPod, especially with all this new video content.

I’m not even going to get into the desire for a Treo 650 killer, tablet or a myriad of the other things we Mac nerds have been begging for.  I’m just over it.  How many people does it take to blog about something before a company LISTENS and just makes the damn thing?  Ok – enough.  And that’s all I have to say about that.

</end rant>

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPod, Macintosh, Rant

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iPod video: How we all got fooled:

Technorati Tags: Apple, Apple, Design, iPod, Macintosh, Video

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[ Google Talk via iChat ]

Technorati Tags: Mac Tech Tips, OS X, Google, Chat

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Technorati Tags: Comedy, Clueless

Here’s to the clueless ones.

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” – Shunryu Suzuki

Cluelessness is underrated. It’s the newbie who does something he didn’t know was supposed to be impossible. It’s the naive guy asking the one dumb question any clued-in person would diss. And it’s that question that leads to the answer no expert would have found.

The clueless accomplish amazing things–not necessarily because we’re bold, brilliant innovators, but perhaps because we just don’t know any better. We see the simplicity of the forest while Those Who Know are overanalyzing the complex subtleties of the trees (and miss the point). Sometimes NOT knowing about a “problem” weakens (or eliminates) it.

Perception is a powerful tool. Believing there’s a limitation can sometimes create that limitation. And for the clueless who don’t know about the limitation, well, it’s as if it doesn’t exist. Belief matters. Not everywhere, not in everything, but more than we give credence to.

And it doesn’t take any new-age/self-help foofiness to explain it. This is not about “the power of positive thinking.” You probably all know the story of Roger Bannister–prior to 1954, experts believed that running a mile in less than four minutes was beyond human capability. People assumed it was an insurmountable human limitation–not possible. Some believed that even if you could, your heart would explode. But in 1954, Bannister broke the four-minute-impossible-barrier and clicked in at 3:59.4.

That was cool, but the remarkable thing is what happened immediately after that. Just over a month later someone else did it, and then before too long a ton of people were doing the “impossible” sub-four-minute mile. The real barrier was psychological.

In this case, Bannister wasn’t clueless. He believed in his training. But I think it still demonstrates the point. The people who broke the record after Bannister were essentially the same as people who’d always been clueless about the “impossible” limit. If–prior to Bannister’s run–some of them had missed the memo on the whole heart-exploding thing, chances are the record would have fallen sooner.

Part of the charm of cluelessness is that you approach things with a hopeful perspective, trying to figure out how to do the I’m-too-clueless-to-know-it-cannot-be-done thing, rather than accepting the “reality”. Often, by the time you learn you can’t do it, your response might be “Oops! You mean this thing I just did?”

Example: a group of seven middle school girls from Petaluma, California–12 to 14–year olds, accomplished something that everybody said was impossible. They fought city hall and won. They created a business proposal, refused to be derailed, and after several YEARS of work pushed through a multi-million dollar project that the best commercial developers in the state hadn’t been able to pull off. These young girls simply didn’t know that you just can’t DO that… especially if you aren’t old enough to drive. Their story is one of the most inspirational things I’ve ever heard.

The clueless tend to be a bit more optimistic–after all, we don’t know how bad things really are. But this can be a blessing too–there’s evidence to suggest the optimistic live longer and are less prone to depression. So there’s that.

As a poster child for cluelessness, I have many clueless experiences I treasure. The Head First book series would most likely never have happened if we’d had a clue about the tech book publishing world. Our cluelessness is the only explanation we have for why two unknown non-authors (who knew zero about publishing) went forward with something so strange. “If books like that would sell,” the seasoned publishers told us, “Trust us, someone would have done it by now.” (If I had a dime for everytime I heard that one, I wouldn’t need royalties to pay the rent.) The ultra-experienced, it seemed, were blinded by their certainty of “the way things work.” In other words, they knew it wasn’t worth the risk, and had no reason to revisit their assumptions.

Yes, I recognize that it’s ridiculous to equate “cluelessness” with “beginner’s mind”. Or is it? What if “clueless” is simply a label the glass-half-empty folks give the glass-half-full folks. If we’re optimistic, we must not have a clue. What if we simply see the world through a different lens? A lens that opens doors and windows the cynical and pessimistic are too busy dissing to notice?

Mathematician/philosopher Alfred North Whitehead said,

“The ‘silly question’ is the first intimation of some totally new development.”



The clueful need us. We’re the ones who ask the silly questions.

And in the spirit of Apple’s Here’s to the Crazy Ones:

Here’s to the Clueless Ones

Do not underestimate us.

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Fast Company is running an article about how the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and others, want to change American Schools.  This is something that I can honestly say I commend Bill Gates on.  I don’t however think that they can change everything or make a significant impact by just throwing money at it, as the author of this article implies.

“A couple of years ago, high schools were not on anybody’s [to-do] list,” says Frederick M. Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Now, suddenly, they are: With a boost from Gates’s money, 472 new small high schools have opened in New York, Chicago, and elsewhere. Almost 400 more will open by 2009. The foundation has also backed the restructuring of almost 700 existing high schools, often by breaking them up into smaller “learning communities” focused around such themes as science, art, or technology.

Why? “America’s high schools are obsolete,” Bill Gates declared in a speech earlier this year. “Our high schools–even when they’re working exactly as designed–cannot teach our kids what they need to know today.” Fewer than 60% of Hispanic and African-American students entering ninth grade ever graduate. And many of those who do earn diplomas emerge ill-equipped for college or work. Gates’s ambitious goal: 80% of all students graduating college-ready in 20 years, versus a third today.

As someone who has worked in the K-12 education system, trying to implement technology solutions in to the curriculum and seen first hand the problems they face every day, there is a lot more that needs to be done than just throw money at the problem and solve the issues through the use of technology.  This isn’t an Apple vs. Microsoft thing we are dealing with anymore.  One of the main problems that nobody seems to want to speak about is the parents.  No matter what you do or how much these kids get the opportunity to excel, it all starts at home.  If parents don’t start to accept responsibility for raising their children properly by getting involved and teaching them right from wrong, NOTHING in the world is going to change those kids pre-determined paths and behaviors.

What some of these organizations need to do is spend some of that money in educating PARENTS, not the students.  In most of these inner-city schools, the kids are simply products of their environment.  If the parents themselves are criminals, act like animals and set a poor example, can you really expect a different outcome from the children?  It all starts at home folks.  Until the government and school system acknowledge that and try to change the behavior at home through education and incentives like free tuition, no amount of money or technology will help these kids (or parents) succeed. And if the parents don’t want to improve their lives and take the initiative to educate themselves and get off of public assistance (ie. Welfare), well then…you can pretty much figure out the rest.

I think a goal of 80% of students graduating college-ready is completely unrealistic.  Take it for what it is, there will always be folks at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder and that won’t ever change.  Stop throwing money into programs and places where it won’t do any good, and start spending it where the kids are on the borderline and can go one way or the other.  If you can save those kids and push them over the edge into the right direction, then we have accomplished something indeed.

Magnet programs are a great start.  As the article implies, creating programs centered around specific themes (what we call magnet programs), the kids seem to get more involved, learn more, and overall turn out better than those students who don’t have that opportunity.  If you can capture a kids interests, and get them involved in something they care about, you have won half the battle.  And THAT my friends is where I jump on my Apple soap-box.  Apple just plain and simply gets it.  NOBODY else has the resources in education and can implement a magnet program in the arts like Apple does.  I applaud Bill and Melinda Gates for their efforts, they are certainly on the right track, but the missing element is what Apple seems to do best – CREATE and INNOVATE.

Full Story @ Fast Company | The Gates Effect:

Technorati Tags: Education, Microsoft, Bill Gates, Charity

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Posting has been slow around these parts hasn’t it?  It’s been over 2 weeks and Bellsouth STILL doesn’t have a clue how to fix the problem with my DSL line.  Surprising isn’t it?  Every time I call I get someone in India who is clearly having to call back to the states to actually get a real Bellsouth employee to tell them what to do.  I have had it, I am sooo over Bellsouth.

There is light over the horizon though.  By the time I get home tonight, I should have a brand spankin new 6Mbps connection through Adelphia.  I originally thought Comcast serviced my area, errr – technically I guess they do since they bought Adelphia, but for now everything is branded Adelphia.

I had the cable tv installed this weekend and got 2 Motorola HD / PVR receivers to boot.  I can’t begin to express how absolutely AMAZING the HD picture is from regular cable or Satellite.  Watching Discovery HD Theater has just become my favorite past-time.  DirecTV, you lost.  If you offered me the upgrade at no cost, you would have most likely kept me as a customer.  So sad, too bad.  If the cable modem is anywhere near as fast as I am thinking it will be during those heavy peak hours, I will be one happy camper.  Next step – order up Supra telecom and completely dump Bellsouth services and related affiliates.  Unfortunately I am stuck on Cingular for another year, but rest assured – their days are numbered too.

For now, you can get your bisonium fix over at Gear Live with the following posts:

Sony Ericsson P990: The Ultimate Mobile Phone

Put Some DICE In Your Ride

VMware Server Released for Free

Major Nelson Giving Away Xbox 360 for Dummies

Adobe On Mactel: An FAQ

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[ via MacMinute ]

MacStyles relaunches expanded, enhanced Web site:

MacStyles.com today relaunched an all new and expanded Web site. MacStyles are custom-cut vinyl decals for iBooks and PowerBooks. They can be made in a variety designs and are crafted from a selection of 21 colors. Eleven new colors are being offered as of today. Along with the addition of “MacPads and MacStyles Pro,” the company is working on a line of decals for iPods, as well as an extended line of accent decals known as “Maccents.”

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As part of its exhibition at National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show this week in Aniheim, Calif., Apple Computer could be seen demonstrating a new version of its Logic music composition and production software designed to run natively on the first Intel Macs.

The company also said it is ahead of schedule developing the application and plans to release the software as Logic Pro 7.2 next month.

According to a report from Macworld, Logic’s performance seemed much faster running on the new Intel Macs than with PowerPC-based machines.

“The performance is stunning and has met my already high expectations,” Dr. Gerhard Lengeling, Apple senior director and lead architect audio applications said.

The company was performing the Logic demos on a pre-production MacBook Pro laptop. During one demo, Apple’s Bob Hunt was reportedly running video, with thumbnails, music and a dozen or more high-end effects.

“None of these sessions would even run on a PowerBook,” said Hunt, comparing the new Intel-based MacBook Pro to the PowerBook.

Logic’s evolution to a Intel-native application won’t be the only change users will notice, according to Macworld. Logic Pro 7.2 will also reportedly feature integrated support for the new Apogee Ensemble interface; Digidesign Pro Tools HD 7 DAE support; Serato Pitch ‘n Time support; Improved Rewire support; Enhanced Control Surfaces support; and 32-channel support for multi-channel Audio Units instruments.

The application also adds compatibility with GarageBand 3 through new support for playback of compressed files; a Ducking plug-in; a speech enhancement plug-in; and the same jingles and sounds effects found in GarageBand.

Owners of Logic 7.1 may upgrade to Logic 7.2 for Intel via a $49 crossgrade upgrade package Apple will begin offering in February.

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[ via iPod Observer ]

NHL and NASCAR Working on iTunes Music Store Deals:

The NHL and NASCAR are both within weeks of signing deals to provide content to the iTunes Music Store (iTMS), according to the Sports Business Journal (subscription required). Apple has already signed deals with ESPN and ABC Sports, and is close to a deal with MLB Advanced Media, too.

The extent of the NHL’s and NASCAR content is not yet clear, but it looks like a deal may be struck in time for the Daytona 500 in February.

Video downloads at the iTMS and other legal Internet video content provider sites are proving successful for the broadcasters that have already jumped on board. The NFL and NBA are both looking for deals, although neither have committed to a specific provider yet.

Brenda Spoonemore, senior vice president of interactive services for NBA Entertainment commented “The iPod is a great device and it’s exciting to see what’s happening. Apple, however, is only one piece of a much larger distribution model. The key thing is having the best available content in the most convenient manner for fans.”

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[ via Engadget ]

Video: OS X 10.4.3 dual-booted on a Thinkpad:

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This guy is friggin hilarious.  John Gruber over at Daring Fireball has continued the saga from where he left off last year.  You will definitely enjoy the read…

iLife ’06 From the Perspective of an Anthropomorphized Brushed Metal Interface:

Brushed metal visits Safari.

Wednesday, 11 January 2006, The Day After the Macworld Expo Keynote Address, 8:30 AM Pacific

A bedraggled figure stands at the front door of a nice house. It is Brushed Metal. He wipes his mouth, brushes various crumbs and bits of detritus from his chest and sleeves. He’s been out all night. He knocks on the door. A few seconds later, he knocks again.

The door opens, revealing Safari, looking comfortable in a robe and holding a mug of coffee. This is his home. He seems slightly surprised to see Brushed Metal, but he’s cheerful.

Safari: Hey. Brushed. What’s up?

Brushed Metal: Ah, you know. In the neighborhood, figured I’d stop by. Tried calling you, but kept getting your voicemail.

Safari: (bemused) It’s like eight in the morning.

Brushed Metal: Really? Wow, I thought it was like ten. (Holds left wrist out.) Lost my watch.

Silence for a few beats. There’s a tangible sense of Brushed Metal waiting for a “come inside” invitation that is quite obviously not forthcoming, the awkwardness of which neither acknowledges, which (the lack of acknowledgement of the awkwardness of the situation) is itself awkward. Safari sips his coffee.

Brushed Metal: So how about that fucking keynote? Fucking iLife, the whole goddamn suite, gone to that bastard theme from iTunes. You believe that shit?

Safari: Yeah, I saw that. That’s a tough break, man.

Brushed Metal: Whole goddamn suite.

Safari: Well, not GarageBand.

Brushed Metal: Yeah, that crazy fucker. You know that theme’s on meth, right?

Safari: Really?

Brushed Metal: Total nut job. You know the worst part of this thing? I had fucking deals signed with all these apps. Contracts. They didn’t even bother weaseling out of them with loopholes — you know, saying something like that the contract was for “iMovie”, not “iMovie HD”, that sort of thing. They just ripped ’em up.

Safari: The contracts.

Brushed Metal: Yeah. That fucker Jobs. Just ripped ’em up. I ought to sue those bastards. If my goddamn agent hadn’t Benedict-Fucking-Arnolded me…

Safari: They do play hardball.

Brushed Metal: You know what gets me about these apps using that fucking theme?

Safari: Hmm?

Brushed Metal: That everyone’s raving about how good they look without borders. Everyone is like, Ooh, borders are so out. I loooove how everthing goes right up against the sides of the windows now. It feels so light. Brushed metal and borders look so “heavy”.

Like I can’t do borderless! Like you and me aren’t existence proof that I can do borderless! We fucking pioneered borderless. We’ve been borderless right from the start. They took borderless from us.

Safari: My browser windows do have some borders when they’re in bookmarks mode.

Brushed Metal: Sure, but you know what I mean. Those aren’t border borders.

Safari: Right.

Brushed Metal: And what’s the deal with those squared-off window corners? Oooh, custom corner radiuses. What is the point of that? It looks like a bug.

Safari: Yeah, I don’t get that.

Brushed Metal: We’ll knock those bookmark-mode borders out in your 3.0. Maybe we should do the corner thing, too. What do you think?

Safari: (pause) Well, that stuff’s not my call.

Brushed Metal: We could do it, though. You and me. Remember when your public beta hit the street? Everyone was like, Oh man, brushed metal in a document-based app? That’s against the interface guidelines! You can’t do that! Waaa!” Good times, man, good times.

Safari: Yeah.

Brushed Metal: And the whole no-official-name-for-this-theme game. You know what I think they should call him? They should call him “The iLife Theme”. You know, like make it official, put it in the HIG: “This theme is only for use by iLife apps.” Don’t you think?

Safari: Look, Brushed. I’m not involved in this sort of thing. I just want to render pages, keep getting faster. Keep closing leaks. I’m just not involved with the theme stuff.

Brushed Metal looks down, takes a breath, shifts a bit from jovial to earnest.

Brushed Metal: I’ll be honest with you. I’m counting on you, Safari.

Safari: It’s out of my hands. You’ve got to talk to my reps about this stuff.

Brushed Metal: I can count on you, right?

Safari: How did you get my address?

Brushed Metal: All right, all right. Can I ask you something, though?

Safari: Sure.

Brushed Metal: Can I borrow a hundred dollars?

Safari puts his hand on the door to close it.

Safari: I have to go.

Brushed Metal: Fifty?

Safari: Get out of here.

Brushed Metal: OK. OK. Hey, do you know where iChat lives?

Safari closes the door, leaving Brushed Metal alone outside. There’s a CLICK from the deadbolt.

Brushed Metal: (louder, so as to be heard through the door) How about iCal?

(quieter, to himself) Fucker.

Cut to black.

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Microsoft offers Flip4Mac for free:

Flip4Mac is a plugin for Quicktime that allows you to watch Windows Media files in Quicktime itself, and that’s pretty cool. However, what is even cooler is that this great little plugin is now available for free thanks to Microsoft.

You read that correctly, Microsoft is freely distributing Flip4Mac thought they are only offering the viewer, if you want to create WMV files in Quicktime you’ll still need to pony up the cash.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

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[ via TUAW ]

With all the cool new goodies from Apple distracting us today, we almost missed the fact that Google has officially made Google Earth for Mac OS X available. After the rumor and then the leaked beta, it sure is cool to see an official version. I played with it only briefly this afternoon (I could only pull myself away from the day’s Apple news for so long) and found it very smooth and responsive on my G5 iMac. Check it out.

Thanks for the tip, Ben!

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Retail Update:



• 135 Retail Stores

• 26 Million visitors during the 2005 holiday quarter

• First $1 Billion dollar quarter

• Over $5.7 Billion in total revenue for the 2005 holiday quarter

Music Update:

• Sold over 14 Million iPods in 2005 holiday quarter.

• Over 100 sold every minute 24/7.

• Over 850 Million songs sold on iTunes /// Avg. of 3M per day ///  >1B Songs per yr. run rate.

• New video content for the iTunes Music Store.

• iPod Remote + FM Tuner for nano or 5G iPod – $49, available TODAY.

• Chrysler iPod integration support – in 2006 over 40% of vehicles sold in US will offer iPod integration New iPod Ad.

Mac Updates:

• Aperture – Recap with some old videos.

• Widgets – Over 1500 New Widgets available for Tiger.  New widgets introduced.

• iLife ’06 – Impressive enhancements to the iLife suite.  New Jam Pack. New product – iWeb. Updated iWork.

• Intel-based iMac. Duo Core processor, 2x faster than previous iMac.

• New Intel TV Ad.

• PowerBook replaced by MacBook Pro. Intel Duo Core processor, 4x faster than previous PowerBook G4. Built-in iSight, Apple Remote, Front Row.

• Magsafe Power Adapter – AWESOME!.

My thoughts and commentary on the individual products to follow…stay tuned!

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“Obviously Lightroom and Aperture aim to tackle a similar set of challenges, and one might say, “Well, you guys are just releasing this beta now because Aperture is in the market.”  That’s not the case, actually, as we’ve been planning since early in the project to release a public preview.  But even if we were spurred by the release of Aperture, so what?  Isn’t it better to break new ground on openness?”

Now if I were to read into this statement, I would be drawn into the part stating “But even if we were spurred by the release of Aperture, so what?  Isn’t it better to break new ground on openness?”  This is nothing short of HOGWASH.  What’s this “so what?” stuff?  So what?  I’ll tell you what — call it for what it is John.  Adobe is pissed as hell at Apple for releasing Aperture and Lightroom is Adobe’s way of giving Apple the bird.  What makes that perfectly clear is that it is available for the Mac ONLY, and just happens to coincide with MWSF.  Now this could have all been planned so that the Mac version would indeed be ready for demo at MWSF, and I won’t dismiss that.  However, it just seems that Adobe is taking a defensive stance and protecting their turf (which is perfectly acceptable and to be expected).  But don’t get all high and mighty on this new idea of  “openness” because we all know that Adobe is about anything BUT openness.  If so, Photoshop would be “open” and all your other apps would be too. Somehow I don’t think we’ll be seeing too many “open” projects from Adobe.

My second comment is that it appears that Lightroom will eventually become part of Photoshop, as well as a separate app.  There’s nothing to substantiate this other than John’s comment in the Q&A about Lightroom being available together with Photoshop.  If this is indeed the case, then great!  It will all but guarantee that Adobe will retain the pro photographer crowd, unless Apple addresses those major shortcomings in Aperture.

I don’t want to sound like I am coming down too hard on Adobe, I think that having Lightroom is going to be a great and much needed addition to the Adobe product line.  I just don’t things being masked to look like something they aren’t.  It’s ok to come straight out and say “Apple, you crossed the line and we’re pissed”.  Lightroom clearly is a major shot across the bow at Apple and I say let the photo management wars begin!  The winners in this whole thing will ultimately be the end-users.

Read the full blog posting from John after the jump…

Introducing Project Lightroom:

We’re extremely excited to introduce Beta 1 of Adobe® Lightroom™, our new pro photography workflow solution.  If you haven’t yet done so, please swing by the Lightroom page on Adobe Labs to learn more & to grab the first preview version.  In addition we’ve posted an introductory movie, also available as a podcast via iTunes.

This is anything but a traditional launch, or even a traditional dev cycle, for Adobe.  It asks for new thinking not just from Adobe, but from customers as well.

First, the product isn’t finished, and that’s a good thing.  Letting a preview version into the wild now lets us engage the broad photography community in a new way.  It’s the nature of the beast that just about any 1.0 product will have some shortcomings and rough edges.  The thing is, we’re not going to start charging for ours until you’ve had plenty of time to kick the tires & help shape the feature set.

Obviously Lightroom and Aperture aim to tackle a similar set of challenges, and one might say, “Well, you guys are just releasing this beta now because Aperture is in the market.”  That’s not the case, actually, as we’ve been planning since early in the project to release a public preview.  But even if we were spurred by the release of Aperture, so what?  Isn’t it better to break new ground on openness?

Second, we’re not interested in a feature war, trying to pack in more knobs and switches than Photoshop, Aperture, or anyone else.  The first public Lightroom release doesn’t contain all the features we’ve considered; in fact, it doesn’t even contain all the features we’ve built.  Rather than going for the most features, we’re shooting for the right features.

So, when sending us your feedback, you might pause for a moment and ask, “What do I really need?  Is the benefit provided by Thing X greater than the complexity it would introduce?”  We expect they’ll be things you dig & things you miss, and we want to hear about it.  Most impactful, though, will be feedback that zeroes in on just what you find essential.

I frequently hear a few questions about Lightroom:

1.  Who’s it for?  2. Does it replace Bridge?  3. Will it be available on its own?  4. Will it be available together with Photoshop?  5. Will it be available for Windows or just for Mac?  6. What will it cost?  7. When can I get it?

Some answers, in order:

Q. Who’s it for?

A. We like to say that Lightroom is for people who want to spend more time behind the camera than in front of the computer.  Many photographers are really technically sophisticated about their camera gear, but they don’t aspire to being computer experts.  For the kind of tasks Lightroom tackles, they shouldn’t have to be.  They need pro-level power in a fast, streamlined package.

Q. Does it replace Bridge?

A. In short, it depends on what you’re doing and how you like to work.  Some shooters will want to use Lightroom together with Photoshop much as they use Bridge today.  For them having an interface that’s 100% tuned to a photography workflow, plus Lightroom’s unique features, will mean they use it in place of Bridge.  For others, however, the broad range of capabilities in Bridge (e.g. integration with the Suite, previewing PDF and InDesign docs, talking to workgroup management tools, etc.) will make it a better choice some or all of the time.  That means we plan to keep enhancing Bridge’s photography workflow chops.  You’ll be able to mix and match the tools to suit your needs.

Q. Will it be available on its own?  Will it be available together with Photoshop?

A. Yes, Lightroom will be available on its own, and yes, we expect to make it available together with Photoshop.  We greatly appreciate the investment pros have made in Photoshop, and we want to make it easy and affordable to keep moving forward.

Q. Will it be available for Windows or just for Mac?

A. Yes, we plan to ship Lightroom on both Windows and Mac.  The Mac build happens to be ready to share now, so that’s what we’re putting out first.

Q. What will it cost?

A. We believe there’s a sweet spot between Photoshop Elements and Photoshop, and we expect Lightroom to come in between those tools.

Q. When can I get it?

A. Now! Head over to Adobe Labs and grab the first build.  As to when we’ll offer a completed 1.0 version, that depends on your feedback, but we’re expecting to ship later in 2006.

As I say, we’re quite excited now that we can pull back the curtain & show you what we’ve been up to.  For us to build the tool you want and need, your feedback is critical, so we hope you’ll visit the Project Lightroom page, click the Community tab, and let us know what you think.  It’s going to be a great ride.

* To get the intro movie via iTunes, choose Advanced->Subscribe to Podcast, then paste in http://rss.adobe.com/www/special/light_room.rss

[Update: See also Jeff Schewe's detailed intro to Lightroom on PhotoshopNews.com.]

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South Park turns to Apple for new storage setup:

To handle its growing storage needs, South Park producers are  moving away from a sluggish direct-attached disk backup and a tape library to a faster system that later this month will blossom into a full storage area network.

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