Cult of Mac

The BBC is asking bloggers and website publishers to post a button in support of Alan Johnston, a BBC journalist missing in Gaza, presumed kidnapped. Johnston was the last international journalist reporting from Gaza, and was highly respected, even by many Palestinians. Remember Jill Carroll, the Christian Science Monitor journalist kidnapped in Iraq who was released safely? International pressure does work.

Link:

BBC correspondent Alan Johnston disappeared on his way home from his Gaza City office on 12 March. He is feared kidnapped in the lawless territory, where he is thought to have been the only international correspondent still working. Intensive efforts have been made to secure his release.

Here’s instructions how to add the link to your blog.

From Jack000’s photostream: My submission to the 7th ipod give-away at mike inudstries: movie poster with Steve Jobs in it. More here.

Apple’s board issued a statement of total support of Steve Jobs this afternoon. It follows ex-CFO Fred Anderson’s ass-covering letter yesterday claiming he was a patsy in the options backdating scandal. Apple’s board said:

We are not going to enter into a public debate with Fred Anderson or his lawyer. Steve Jobs cooperated fully with Apple’s independent investigation and with the government’s investigation of stock option grants at Apple. The SEC investigated the matter thoroughly and its complaint speaks for itself, in terms of what it says, what it does not say, who it charges, and who it does not charge. We have complete confidence in the conclusions of Apple’s independent investigation, and in Steve’s integrity and his ability to lead Apple.

Lots of good news for Apple in its latest quarterly report. The company’s on a roll. Not only are iPod sales up (10.5 million sold), so are Macs, especially Mac Books. Apple sold 1.52 million Macintosh computers, up 24 percent from a year ago. Reuters reports:

The results blew away Apple’s own forecast, which tends to be cautious, of 54 cents to 56 cents. Analysts had expected Apple to earn 63 cents per share, on average, on revenue of $5.17 billion, according to Reuters Estimates… Shares of Apple have climbed about 12 percent this year, after advancing 18 percent in 2006 and more than doubling in 2005, fueled by robust sales of iPods and redesigned Macintosh computers.

UPDATE: NYT:

Mr. Jobs noted that Dell had recently returned an earlier version of Windows to its product line, which he said was an indication that demand for Vista had not been overwhelming.

No Charges for Apple Over Options – New York Times

Federal securities regulators said yesterday that they would bring no civil charges against Apple over the backdating of executive stock options. But they stopped short of removing the cloud that for nearly a year has hung over the company’s chief executive, Steven P. Jobs.

… “Steve Jobs dodged a bullet,” said Mark C. Zauderer, a trial lawyer in New York specializing in white-collar cases. “This is another circumstance where the government is going after an easier target. It will generally shy away from situations where the evidence is ambiguous or subject to different interpretations.”

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when we do but first allegedly manipulate stock option grant dates to make more money for ourselves. Or something. Former Apple CFO Fred Anderson and general counsel Nancy Heinen had civil charges brought against them by securities regulators relating to the back-dating of stock options to Apple leaders, including Steve Jobs, almost six years ago.

As you might expect, the cone of silence has officially been broken. Anderson, who settled with the Securities Exchange Commission today, went straight after his former boss Steve Jobs, as well as Heinen, the board of directors, and probably everyone reading this post, according to the San Jose Mercury News:

As for the responsibility for the backdating of an earlier grant in 2001 that was made to Anderson, Heinen and other members of Apple’s executive team, Roth pointed fingers at Jobs, Heinen and Apple’s board. Jobs and Heinen picked the date for that grant – and the board verified it – after Anderson warned Jobs that moving the grant date might result in an accounting change, Roth said.

Roth’s statement marks the first time that anyone has suggested that Jobs had reason to know the accounting implications related to backdating. Although Apple has acknowledged that Jobs knew that backdating was going on at Apple and that he picked some favorable dates, the company said he didn’t commit fraud, because he didn’t know that there were any legal or accounting implications with the practice.

Anderson “was told by Mr. Jobs that the board had given its prior approval (for the grant) and the Board would verify it. Fred relied on these statements by Mr. Jobs and from them concluded the grant was being properly handled,” Roth said in a statement.

Heinen, of course, blames the Board. This is so sordid. If only Fake Steve Jobs could tell us what’s really going on… Oh, here he is!

He didn’t settle. He flipped. They played him and Nancy Heinen off each other. Made them both an offer. Nancy, being a lawyer, figured she’d be cute and reject the first offer and bump them to something better. Instead, Fred rolled. And now Nancy is going to trial. I just mailed her a pamphlet that shows you how to make a shiv out of a bar of soap.

All this stuff about how the Jobsmeister is off the hook? Fuggedaboutit. Fred is the Big Pussy Bonpensiero of the Apple crime family. He’s betrayed us. Note to Fred: I’d stay away from boats if I were you.

Zing!

Technorati Tags: back-dating, fake steve, fred anderson, steve jobs, Steve Jobs

Hey there, college seniors! Looking for a great first job in beautiful Austin, Texas? Know a lot about phones and iPods? Apple is looking for you! Yes, the signs are out that the iPhone is really almost here: Apple is hiring iPhone tech support representatives, and you could get in on the ground floor. It looks like a typical tech support job for Apple, but I found this quite funny:

Preferred Qualifications:

“¢ Experience with Microsoft applications such as Office or Outlook
“¢ Ability to navigate in the Windows environment –œ such as getting basic system information, explorer navigation
“¢ Basic understanding of hardware configurations –œ such as USB vs. Firewire
“¢ Knowledge of Device manager –œ( Knowing when something is connected/mounted)
“¢ Knowledge of program files and system files in Windows
“¢ Experience with troubleshooting external devices in Windows
“¢ Understanding specific media file types used by iTunes/iPod/iPhone –œ AAC, Mp3, Wav, mpeg4
“¢ Basic installation and removal of application in Windows.
“¢ Experience with iTunes in Windows
“¢ Must act independently and be self-motivated
“¢ Excellent interpersonal skills
“¢ Must act independently and be self-motivated
“¢ Ability to work in dynamic situations

Now, one interpretation of the bolded line items is that Apple recognizes that many, if not most of its iPhone customers will be Windows users, not Mac people. I prefer to believe that Apple understands that Windows users won’t be able to figure out how to troubleshoot their own problems. The Mac folks will be fine. Please note, by the way: It’s doubly important to act independently and be self-motivated for this job!

AfterCollege – Entry Level Jobs & Internships
Via Digg.

Technorati Tags: apple, Jobs, Steve Jobs

The international spin-offs of Apple’s Get a Mac ad campaign are quite wonderful. The newest UK spot, “Posse,” is an all-new spot created specifically for the UK market — the others have copied U.S. ads. I’m really quite partial to it, if only because I adore Mitchell and Webb. I love the real shame on the faces of the MS Office folks as they refuse to come home. It’s awkward, just like “Peep Show” was. Click through the jump to watch the YouTube version.

Technorati Tags: get a mac, mitchell, posse, webb

Pete Doherty, the shambolic baby of a lead singer for the Babyshambles, is a Mac user. According to GeekSugar, Doherty, boy-toy of Kate Moss, chased paparazzi away by focusing the iSight on his MacBook on them and recording their activity on video. Kind of takes those fun surveillance-cam videos and photos from MacBooks to the next level, doesn’t it? Now they’re active security systems, not stealth ones. Wherever shall we go next?

Thanks, Angelica!

Technorati Tags: apple, isight, macbook, pete doherty

No, it’s not April Fool’s Day. A company calling itself IP Innovation, LLC, is suing Apple for allegedly infringing mid-1970s user interface technology that was patented filed on behalf of Xerox PARC in, ahem…1991. Ars Technica has a pretty comprehensive run-down of the situation. This is the best bit:

Xerox did get around to suing Apple eventually in 1989, prompting Steve Jobs to dismiss the company as an organization so dysfunctional that they “couldn’t even sue anyone on time.”

IP Innovation has filed at least 32 patent-related lawsuits over the last few years. I love the guts behind the name, don’t you? “We let others innovate, then we buy the patents so we can sue even more successful companies!” I understand that they’re soon going to go after GE for infringing on Prometheus’s patent on light. In all seriousness, I’m a tremendous admirer of the innovators at Xerox PARC. Unfortunately, I really doubt any of them wills ee a dime if this frivolous lawsuit strikes gold.

Apple sued over vague user interface patent [Ars Technica]

Technorati Tags: apple, parc, gui

The new Coda website development app from the well-regarded software publisher Panic gets a rave review from John Gruber at Daring Fireball. Coda is an all-in-one site creation tool, combining a text editor, CSS editor, FTP, terminal and live preview in one app.
Gruber writes:

It’s about reducing clutter and emphasizing the relationships between the different aspects of web development, making it easier to switch from source code to preview to files. Coda’s advantages are most obvious when you consider working with two or three projects at once. In Coda, each site gets its own window, grouping source code, browser previews, terminals, and file listings together.6 The idea is that all your stuff –œ file listing, source code, browser previews, terminals –œ for site A is here, all your stuff for site B is there. Coda groups and visually organizes these disparate elements by project, rather than by app.

There’s another thorough review here at MacApper.

What do you get if you cross an iPod, a boombox and a Mac Pro?

A: the iPod PowerBox G7

Unfortunately, this is just a mockup by someone called “Greg” but I like its styling. It’s got one too many handles though.

Link.

Time is allowing readers to vote on the year’s list of the top 100 most influential people — and Steve Jobs is rising fast. I confidently predict that Jobs will shortly be #1. (At 6.54am pacific time, Jobs is #5 and comedian Stephen Colbert is #1).

Apple’s ex-CFO has cut a deal with the SEC in Apple’s backdated options scandal, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing anonymous sources. Anderson will pay a fine of $150,000 and repay about $3.5 million worth of options. The deal does not include an admission of wrongdoing, the WSJ says.
The SEC reportedly intends to pursue civil charges against Nancy Heinen, Apple’s ex-general counsel, who will contest the case, according to the WSJ.

The AP reports:

Cris Arguedas, a lawyer for former Apple counsel Nancy Heinen, said Monday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has informed attorneys in the case that it plans to file a lawsuit against Heinen alleging fraud in connection with two options grants. One involved a grant to Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs on Oct. 19, 2001, for 7.5 million shares and another involved a grant made to top executives, including Heinen herself, on Jan. 17, 2001.

“We do expect them to file against our client and we will be defending those charges because they are a misunderstanding of the activities of Apple,” Arguedas said.

More from our Greek friend Anthony (see below). Not only is Anthony’s house in Athens filled with Macs, his wife Christine made him some Mac knitwear to wow Athens with.

Above is his handmade waistcoat featuring the famous Apple logo. Below is Anthony’s Mac sweater with the Happy Mac on the front and Sad Mac at back.

Link to Anthony’s cult of mac Flickr set documenting more of his Apple obsession.

Anthony Sigalas, a Mac nut par excellence from Athens, Greece, has filled his home with Macs. The pictures below, lifted from his Flickr set “My Mac Home,” shows that every corner of every room has a Mac.

Here’s the workspace with His and Hers MacBooks, plus a Mac Mini under the telly.

Here’s the view from the bed: a 20” iMac. Anthony writes: “It’s the mac that wakes us (via Aurora and iTunes) and put us to sleep (via Sofa Control, VLC and our favorite TV Shows and old Greek Movies). Furthermore its huge internal hard drive houses our music library (iTunes), our photo library (iPhoto) and a large collection of movie files. All in all a worthy media extender for the bedroom.”

Check out the cool Greek interface:

And then there’s a 12” iBook G4 in the “office room” that acts as a backup server, a wireless print server and a fax.

Alexander Amosu, a London entrepreneur known as “King of the Ring” for making a bundle on urban ringtones, has introduced a line of gold-plated iPods. The 24 carat iPods cost $600 for a 30-Gbyte version and $800 for the 80-Gbyte model.
According to Amosu’s site, the ringtone millionaire is branching into gold- and diamond-encrusted phones and iPods for “the rich, famous and sophisticated.”

He wanted to be the first person to have a dedicated website for high end customised mobiles phones with gold, white gold and various colours of diamonds.

His words are “to have an exclusive phone that cost more than anyone else is like having a Bentley rather than Ford, the type of phone you have speaks allot (sic) about your lifestyle and ambition. That’s why celebrities, footballers, actors and millionaires get their phone from me”

I’ve got good news and bad. The good news is that Panic software, the makers of such venerated Mac-only shareware apps as Transmit, Unison and the much-mourned Audion, will soon release a new, extremely powerful web-development program, Coda. The bad news is that I shouldn’t already know this: MacApper ran a review a day before the official announcement and even posted screenshots. The cat’s out of the bag now, so the review stays, but Panic had the screenshots taken down shortly after the offending blurb popped up. It’ll all be public in a few hours anyway. The app sounds sweet, by the way:

Which brings me to the built in editor. For me this is really the deal maker. One of the problems I have had switching to a Mac is the editors on OS X. They aren’t bad, but they aren’t great either. Having said that, I think the guys at Panic are off to a really great start with their own editor. All of the usual languages are supported and styled appropriately including: CSS, HTML, Javascript, Java, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, SQL, XML, and straight text.

Dig it.
Via digg.

Technorati Tags: coda, macapper, panic

If you’re not too busy detailing ways to make Firefox better, you might want to contemplate a more radical shift. Shiira, the Webkit-based alt-browser put together by a team in Japan, has just made it to version 2.0, and it’s beautiful. I haven’t gotten to use it yet, so I can’t report on its performance, but the interface might just be the best on OS X. Yes, even nicer than OmniWeb. It’s free and open-source. Remember: Together, Everyone Achieves More. Go Joe!
Shiira Project

Technorati Tags: shiira, webkit

Oh, Apple. You and your unannounced Leopard features have gone too far this time!
Baby Trapped in Apple Mac: Optical Illusions
Via Digg.

Technorati Tags: ad, apple, baby

I’m sorry, Dave. I can’t let you do that. AppleInsider has reams of photos taken at the National Association of Broadcasters conference last week in Las Vegas. Apple was out in full force: 3/4 Petabytes of storage space, 3 miles of fiber optic cable, 4 M2 Gb networks, 90 Xserves and 40 Xserve RAIDs.

Sadly, that config is not available for purchase from the Apple Store at this time. Check it out.

Technorati Tags: apple, nab, geekhead, xserve

Apple’s insistence on secrecy has many unintended consequences: Mac fans are hard to please, rumor sites do their best to steal information about unannounced products, and, most interestingly, it gets easy to forget that Apple is a company made up of real people with feelings and lives. That’s why this spectacular farewell to Cupertino written by Buzz Andersen, formerly the author of shareware app Podworks and for four years an Apple software engineer, hits me square in the left ventricle. There is love and life in Cupertino, folks:

Like the Macintosh team of old, I started out at Apple as a young engineer willing to subordinate my life (for a time) to something I was passionate about. When I left my first position at Apple (in OS X Integration) for a real engineering job in Pro Apps, I was eager to make the features I was assigned the best they could be, even if it meant putting in difficult hours to get them done on schedule. So I put in the hours. I worked evenings and weekends. I worked while I was ill. Even when I ended up laid up at home in the throes of what turned out to be mononucleosis (a condition, for those who haven’t had the pleasure, that lends itself more to constant unconsciousness than constant concentration), I sat in bed fixing bugs. And little by little, I burnt myself out.

<sniff>No, no, go on, Buzz. I’m not crying. It’s just something in my eye, that’s all.</sniff> That just killed me. Maybe I’ll see you on the other side, man. When the fighting’s through.
Apple: A Romance – Buzz Andersen
Via Digg.

Technorati Tags: apple, buzz andersen

Firefox makes me crazy. So much about it is great: Cross-platform functionality, a dedicated community of developers, a massively extensible plug-in system, it’s nice. But it’s also slow, buggy and burdened with a non-standard Mac OS X interface.

Friday, Developer Colin Barrett put out a call to know what Mac users would fix on Firefox if they had the chance. The conversation’s been good, but make sure to make your voice heard! I’ll add my own pet peeve: Drop the XUL garbage and build a real Mac interface. Oh, and learn how to constrain functionality so that you don’t get memory leaks every few hours. Oops, hang on. Am I just describing Camino?
Firefox on the Mac
Image via Kstruct
Via Digg.

Technorati Tags: firefox

Ladies and gentleman, I think we’ve reached a new peak for an iPod case that hides your digital media device as something much less desirable. Meet the Gama-Go Pack-O-Smokes Mp3 case, perfect for use in rough neighborhoods where it’s more important to look like a crazy person listening to your cigarettes than like a rich kid with an iPod.

Gama-Go iPod case [BoingBoing]

Technorati Tags: game-go, ipod

A giant, five-story Apple retailer just opened opposite the biggest, swankiest plaza in Milan and look what they have displayed in the window — my crummy books!

The Apple stores here in the states won’t carry the books because they only sell “how-to” titles. We were told the decision went “right to the top.” We suspect you-know-who doesn’t like the jokey “Cult of…” titles. Clearly not a problem across the pond.

Gary Allen at IFOAppleStore reports:

The grand opening of the five-story Mondadori Multicenter in central Milan (Italy) was important enough for Apple’s CEO of Italy operations to attend, perhaps because the store includes a large Apple sales area. Enzo Biagini viewed the 1,200 square-foot space on the second level that includes displays of laptops, iMacs, MacPros and Cinema displays, as detailed in a story and photos on the setteB.IT Web site. The interior design includes white-painted walls and wood display furniture similar to U.S. Apple stores.

Check out the Genius Bar — now serving coffee and fine food!

(Ignore the HP kit in the pic below. Apparently the store sells all kinds of junk.)

Pictures by SetteB.it.