Apple… picked up market share in the United States, growing to 5 percent, from 4 percent, as its shipments increased 30 percent, according to Gartner. Apple grew faster than any other PC maker in the United States, Gartner said.

Apple Pugs Security Holes

Apple Inc. on Thursday plugged over two dozen security exploits within the client and server versions of its Mac OS X 10.3 “Panther” and Mac OS X 10.4 “Tiger” operating systems that could potentially expose Mac users to a variety of malicious attacks.

Dell’s personal computer sales decline

Dell’s personal computer sales continued to decline in the first quarter in the United States and across the world, according to analyses of PC sales made public yesterday by IDC and Gartner, two major consulting and market analysis firms.

It was a particularly sharp decline given that the overall market grew 10.9 percent.

Dell is bringing XP back.

Amid significant customer demand, the computer maker said on Thursday that it has returned to offering the older Windows version as an option on some of its consumer PCs. …Dell switched nearly entirely to Vista-based systems following Microsoft’s mainstream launch of the operating system in January… “We heard you loud and clear on bringing the Windows XP option back to our Dell consumer PC offerings,”

Microsoft to pay out $180 million to Iowa individuals and businesses

Microsoft agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit in Iowa yesterday, which will involve a payout of up to $180 million. Individuals in Iowa who bought Microsoft software from as early as 1994 through 2006 will be able to make claims for cash, and companies with multiple copies of Microsoft software will be able to receive vouchers.

The suit was originally filed in 2000 and alleged that Microsoft’s anticompetitive and monopolistic practices cost Iowans money by forcing them to buy Microsoft products instead of those from the competition. “Microsoft used its illegal monopoly power to raise prices to supra-competitive levels,” reads the original complaint. “As indirect purchasers of the relevant Microsoft software, Plaintiffs and Class members are therefore entitled to recover damages for the difference between a competitive price for the relevant software and monopoly price that they paid for Microsoft’s products and for their injury from the lack of free choice and the denial of benefits of software innovation and for damages for breaches of security by reason of Microsoft’s illegal conduct.”

MAUS is a pretty mellow group, our membership drive consists of occasionally asking people to join. The meeting attendance varies from a few geeks to a full house depending on the surf conditions and the weather.

The first thing I realised is that nothing I own will plug into an iTV, I mean AppleTV. My stereo will, but that runs off a spare PowerBook or an Airport Express. My ten-year-old analog television on gets turned on by my wife, and only then for Oprah, the Travel Channel, House and the Daily Show. We get the rest of our news and entertainment from the web and these things called books - you’ve heard of them? 

I may write more detailed accounts of the AppleTV and there will be a Podcast about it as soon as I can get Carmen back into her chair. - i promise. Until then, I’ll just say that wile I personally can’t imagine buying one - I’m saving up for a $100 book called “Recording the Beatles” - it does everything it says better than you could imagine.

Because I couldn’t set it up at home, I had to go from ignorance to demo in a half-hour as the room filled. The TV in or borrowed our Lab at Maui Community College had all the right parts, and I had uncharacteristically  read a few pages in the teensy users manual.

The set-up is about as hard as configuring an iPod and the on-screen menus are brilliant, beautiful and practical.  We got three different Macs hooked up with no trouble and the performance was as good as the content.

In short the AppleTV is an iTunes server which makes whatever you can put into that program available on your big screen either over a wireless or an ethernet connection. If you’re into Final Cut Pro, iMovie or torturing your friends with slideshows you’ll be able to justify this as either a terrific way to demo, proof your work or make people leave the room.

If you regularly download iTunes videos and want to see who else may be living in your house and your content is  safe for family viewing - you could be a potential user.

If you’re into serious hi-fi and have a drive full of lossless files the optical output circuits Apple uses are said to make this one of the best sounding wireless systems on the market. The Airport express is a less expensive option, but it isn’t as much fun to play with.

Finally, if you loose the remote, you are screwed because that’s the only way to control the device - so but a spare on day one, “pair” it and hide it in a drawer against the inevitable day you lose one.
 
Bottom line - if you have one of those new wide-screen Tv thingies eating a hole in your brain, you can find some content worth watching and have lots of stuff in iTunes you’ll no doubt want a AppleTV - the $299 price is fair enough and it’s fun to play with.

You should have seen my bench - parts were strewn from one end to the other. Little “x” marks and discrete piles separated the trash from the treasures as I carefully laid the parts out in anatomical order. Keeping track of everything required a suprising amount of discipline, or at least compulsive attention. Thank you again for your assistance Mr. Ritalin.

Rule #1, never put in the last screw without testing. My first attempt resulted in complete and utter silence on boot and the beginnings of a dangerous frustration. I swapped more parts but after a few hours unplugged everything and went to sleep on it, waking at 5am the next day determined to either get the damn thing  working or turn the entire project into jewelry and wall sculpture.

The gods of old Macs smiled though, and after a few chasing a few screws across the room and digging the crud out of a few parts, I now have a 5+ year old mac with two batteries, a great screen and almost all of its pieces happily running OS X 10.4.9. And I never once had to resort to Super Glue or “make a part work.” The old antique may yet have more life in it. Try THAT with a 5-year old PC laptop!

What’s sad though is that the days of a geek user swapping out parts to keep a favorite laptop on the road are coming to an end. No one in their right mind would ever think of cracking a MacBook just for fun. Like shade-tree mechanics, kitchen-table hardware hackers are an endangered species because it’s just to damn hard to break the new devices down and get them back together without a NASA facility and support staff. The only special tool I needed was a teentsy Torx screwdriver  - which was easily found online, and more patience than I usually exhibit.

So here’s to Apple’s great design and the deviant Celtic determination to keep a good tool on your belt for no other reason than because you can.

Should you get a new Mac now or wait until the heat death of the universe?

Why are some many people waiting for Leopard? So what if you don’t have the newest Mac on the block. So what if your friends all think you’re a raw newbie? We attempt to peer past the noise of the rumor mill to see what’s in Apple’s near future so that the stress won’t overcome you.

Then, after a few dozen chocolate chip cookies, Pekelo plays the Hoki Poki Hula all around Hana town before we go out with a whimper.

We’ll be back at the board later today though and if the creek don’t rise
there will be a MacHelp from Maui podcast #91 up later today. If the metaphor does get higher, it’ll be up after I get all those damn animals out of my ark.

Scott

And the phone stuff appears to be in the category of “Radio.” Remember radio? Now the word for an entire industry has collapsed into an embedded feature in a thing you will keep in your pocket.

It’s also interesting that the device runs on an updated version of the Newton’s chip, making it even more realistic to call the iPhone Newton II.

Then there is this “Scribd” service where the leaked Apple document is displayed. I like the interface and the concept. Scribd deserves a closer look.
 

“Johnny C” - as he is known in the troll escort business - is an otherwise intelligent curmudgeon and tech-journalist who has most recently unfortunately declared that “Apple should pull the plug on the iPhone.”

Now there’s a really stupid idea, and it’s not the first one he’s secreted, but he’ll get all this attention Mac lovers will spray it all over him until something else such as a troop surge gets our attention. Just a few years ago he suggested that Apple drop OSX and switch to Windows!

I hate to quote him too much - you can go read the rest for yourself.

“The problem here is that while Apple can play the fashion game as well as any company, there is no evidence that it can play it fast enough. These phones go in and out of style so fast that unless Apple has half a dozen variants in the pipeline, its phone, even if immediately successful, will be passé within 3 months.

There is no likelihood that Apple can be successful in a business this competitive. Even in the business where it is a clear pioneer, the personal computer, it had to compete with Microsoft and can only sustain a 5% market share.

And its survival in the computer business relies on good margins. Those margins cannot exist in the mobile handset business for more than 15 minutes.”

In fact, Apple can move faster than any company in the world. They probably DO have a dozen variants in the pipeline.  In three months the price may drop and they will sell even more. Microsoft became the market leader through evil business practices and because Apple gave it to them in the 90s.

Ok, now get ready for this one:

Even Microsoft itself has troubles with its attempts to get into a small sub segment of the handset business with its operating system.

OOh Microsoft couldn’t do it so NO ONE CAN!
(I’m going to be sick)

Enough! Someone get this man a clue or better yet - ignore him.

But something very interesting has happened to this device in the few short weeks since it began shipping - geeks have hacked it. There are a pile of DIGG links to stories of folks who have been running LINUX on it, or have downloaded the “OSxLite” operating system.

Here’s an example:

“Far from being a hack, but useful nonetheless, is confirmation that Apple TV does indeed work with non-HDTVs. All you need is a TV with component inputs.”

This means there is a very real possibility of the AppleTV becoming a $300 computer, or at the very least a very powerful media center PC with greater capabilities than the the original product. Someone even replaced the paltry 40gig drive with a 120gig monster. And there is still a USB 2.0 socket where yet another drive can be hung.

My question is whether anyone has tried to plug in a keyboard and mouse. That would nail down the last plank.

LINKS:

• Boot Apple TV from an External USB Drive [Get USB Info]
• Get Apple TV to Run XviD Files [Gizmodo]
• Up Apple TV’s Hard Drive [Gizmodo]
• Make FrontRow Look Like Apple TV [Winnopeg]
• Get Apple TV to Work on Your Old Boob Tube [Apple TV Hacks]

Their latest, to be found here, exposes plans to upgrade the venerable FlatMac iMac design and bring laptops to a new low in size and weight. Both are good ideas. The one-piece iMac case that houses their new Intel-based computers is no more than a hack of the PowerMac container. It’s even less elegant - the power button is no longer right behind the power light and the easy to get at one-piece back was replaced by a tiny door on the bottom. So news of a more sveltish, more elegant design is welcome.

And look, just like I said, there may be a teeny flash-based laptop in our futures! Imagine the battery life of a laptop with  no moving parts. If it runs Second Life, I may even get one.

AppleInsider has learned that Apple’s popular line of iMac personal computers are about to undergo a substantial facelift that will showcase striking new industrial designs aimed at leaving both competitors and onlookers smitten.

People familiar with the matter say the Cupertino-based Mac maker has called upon its award-winning design chief Jonathan Ive and his team to cut the fat from the the current iMac line and outfit a pair of new Core 2 Duo-based models in a form factor that will be both slimmer and sleeker than today’s offerings…

…As part of an industry-wide shift away from desktops and towards high-powered portables, Apple’s industrial design prowess in 2006 was largely reserved for its notebook lines, which saw cutting-edge design revisions replace aging form factors at both the consumer and professional ends. In turn, those designs and compelling Intel-based underpinnings helped the firm sell nearly 3 million MacBook and MacBook Pros during the 2006 fiscal year, boosting its share of the U.S. notebook market to over 10 percent.

Apple has no plans to relent in its assault on the notebook sector in 2007 and has arranged to boost it 15-inch MacBook Pro models with more vivid L.E.D.-backlit display panels later this Spring and followup with a tiny flash-enabled ultra portable model sometime thereafter. But while 2006 was clearly the year of notebooks for the Mac maker, the electronics firm now has its sights set on high-definition digital media and plans to bring the iMac along for the ride.

Go see this! LINK

Here’s another way to Force Quit an application:

1. Click the Apple Menu
2. Hold Shift, and notice that the ‘Force Quit…’ menu item has changed to ‘Force Quit [frontmost app name].’
3. Select ‘Force Quit [frontmost app name]’ to force quit the Application.

This method allows you to Force Quit (Relaunch) the Finder without
opening the Force Quit application window or using the Finder’s Dock
menu.

The Great Apple Video Encoder Attack of 2007:
Cupertino plans to add H.264 hardware support to its entire line.

Now comes the rumor I have heard, that I believe to be a fact, that has simply yet to be confirmed. I have heard that Apple plans to add hardware video decoding to ALL of its new computers beginning fairly soon, certainly this year…

…This will change everything. Soon even the lowliest Mac will be able
to effortlessly record in background one or more video signals while
the user runs TurboTax on the screen. Macs will become superb DVR
machines with TiVo-like functionality yet smaller file sizes than any
TiVo box could ever produce. In a YouTube world, the new Macs will be a
boon to user-produced video, which will, in turn, promote the H.264
standard. By being able to encode in real time, the new Macs will have
that American Idol clip up and running faster than could be done on
almost any other machine. Add in Slingbox-like capability to throw your
home cable signal around the world and it gets even better. Add faster
video performance to the already best-of-league iChat audio/video chat
client, and every new Mac becomes a webcam or a video phone.

Much more at: THIS LINK

I am taking a Photoshop Elements class and bought the software
for Elements 4.0. Now when I open iphoto, and right click to open in
external editor, I want it to open in 4.0 but it still opens in 2.o.
Shouldn’t it have automatically transfered whatever was in 2.0 over to
4.o? What to do?

Automatically? hahaha! You kid me. Actually that WOULD happen if you deleted the old version, (which you should do anyway) then carefully put the new one in the same place with the same folder and application name. Then iPhoto wouldn’t even notice the difference

Instead, go into the iPhoto Preferences, and where it says: “Double Click Photo” set “Opens photo with” to the new external application. Best of both worlds.

Leaving it this way will actually be a hassle because you won’t be able to use iPhoto’s wonderful editing features.

So now close Preferences but then immediately reopen it and change it to “Edit View. Now you can select the new program by right-clicking or control-clicking on the picture and then selecting “Edit in external editor” but iPhoto’s editor will still come up when you simply double-click on a photo.

I know this seems arcane, but some of iPhoto’s effects and tools are better and easier to use then Photoshop, so you don’t want to miss out on them.