Cult of Mac

Apple: Get Your Defective Laptop Replaced By Sending Well-Written Emails To Steve Jobs – Consumerist

Steve Jobs on Flickr – Photo Sharing!

We’re down to just a month until Apple takes the wraps off what few unannounced features remain for Mac OS X Leopard. So let’s all sit back and revel in rumors of what Apple might do next, courtesy of AppleInsider:

According to the filing, different Dashboards could contain one or more of the same widgets and “state” information for a widget could be maintained separately for each Dashboard in which the widget appears, or it can be commonly maintained across all Dashboards in which the widget appears.

“Different Dashboards can be available or ‘owned’ for different users of a computer or other electronic device, such that each user can only access their own Dashboard(s),” Apple said in the filing. “A user can specify a Dashboard as being available to other users, if desired. A user can also specify, for any or all of the Dashboards he or she creates, whether other users are permitted to make changes to the Dashboard(s).”

Uh…sounds good!
Apple filing depicts interactive Dashboard cube interface [AppleInsider]

Technorati Tags: dashboard, leopard, mac os x

Yep, we just jumped the shark. Time to move on, Apple.
YouTube – South Park Mac vs. PC
Via Digg.

Technorati Tags: get a mac, South Park

Sometimes, the alternate-universe humor mocking Apple is only 3 percent more insane than actual Apple news. The hilarious Crazy Apple Rumors Site just announced the launch of Mac OS 9.3:

According to sources at Apple, the company is entirely at a loss to explain where this seed came from.

“I didn’t do it,” said senior vice president of software engineering Bertrand Serlet. “I can’t even get Leopard done in time. I’m swamped. Stupid iPhone and Apple TV. Nobody asked me whether or not we should make those. I mean, I haven’t gone to the bathroom in three weeks. OS 9? Je pense que non.”

Sign me up!
Image via Answers.com
Via Digg.
Crazy Apple Rumors Site » Blog Archive » Apple Seeds OS 9.3

Technorati Tags: mac, OS 9

Though DVRs are still far from mainstream technology, some folks are already moving from the time-shifting of a DVR to the place-shifting offered by Sling Media, which uses a hardware/software combo to take incoming TV streams and make them available at any time at any place over the Internet. But until yesterday, the software didn’t run on Mac. No more. the new Sling Player for Mac OS X is compatible with a wide variety of sources and viewing hardware:

With this software release, Slingbox owners can now view their television directly on their Macintosh computer screen. With full remote control, they can watch content from their home entertainment system whether from cable, DVR, DVD and even a full range of Apple entertainment products including: Apple TV®, Front Row, iPod® in Apple’s Universal Dock® or iPod in an iPod Hi-Fi.

They did a great job meeting Apple’s own interface standards, judging from the screenshot. Anyone already got it up and running? How’s it going?
Sling Media – Sling Media’s Popular SlingPlayer Now Ready For A Mac Near You

Technorati Tags: slingbox, slingplayer

Wondering whether Apple’s public pledges of environmental responsibility would appease the company’s Green critics? Wonder no more. Greenpeace just publicly lauded the company’s suddenly forward-thinking stance on its own impact on the environment:

It’s not everything we asked for. Apple has declared a phase out of the worst chemicals in its product range, Brominated Fire Retardants (BFRs) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) by 2008. That beats Dell and other computer manufactures’ pledge to phase them out by 2009. Way to go Steve!

But there’s always more to be done, of course:

But while customers in the US will be able to return their Apple products for recycling knowing that their gear won’t end up in the e-waste mountains of Asia and India, Apple isn’t making that promise to anyone but customers in the USA. Elsewhere in the world, an Apple product today can still be tomorrow’s e-waste. Other manufacturers offer worldwide takeback and recycling. Apple should too!

Either way, a big change. One other note: In all the excitement yesterday, I somehow missed that Steve’s environment made a public commitment to start using LED displays this year, all but confirming a long-standing rumor that upcoming laptops would soon transition away from LCD technology. All of which makes me extra-happy that I have held off on buying a new computer, eh?
Eh? Enh.
Tasty news from Apple! | Greenpeace International

Technorati Tags: apple, green, Greenpeace

PC World Editor-in-Chief Harry McCracken quit suddenly on Wednesday. According to our colleagues at the magazine, the sudden departure resulted from pressure to kill a story called “10 Things We Hate About Apple” that allegedly displeased CEO Colin Crawford. It’s pretty sordid.

The piece, a whimsical article titled “Ten Things We Hate About Apple,” was still in draft form when Crawford killed it. McCracken said no way and walked after Crawford refused to compromise. Apparently Crawford also told editors that product reviews in the magazine were too critical of vendors, especially ones who advertise in the magazine, and that they had to start being nicer to advertisers.

Yikes. Good for you, Harry.
Epicenter – Wired Blogs

Technorati Tags: ethics, PC World

Weight Recycled as % of Past Sales. Credit: Apple

In a case of life imitating art, the Real Steve Jobs is following the Fake Steve Jobs’ green lead.

On Wed. April 11, Fake Steve wrote:

By the end of this year I want Apple to be known as the greenest company in the world — not just in tech but in everything. If we’ve got to make hydrogen-powered computers and iPods that run on solar energy, so be it. Let’s get this done.

On Tue. May 2, Real Steve wrote:

Apple has been criticized by some environmental organizations for not being a leader in removing toxic chemicals from its new products, and for not aggressively or properly recycling its old products. Upon investigating Apple’s current practices and progress towards these goals, I was surprised to learn that in many cases Apple is ahead of, or will soon be ahead of, most of its competitors in these areas.

The Virgin Mary has nothing on the patron saint of our cult! Photo by Luke Edgar Seeley, who notes:

I ordered a medium latte at a local cafe and was surprised to find that the barista had, with his mastery of steamed milk, poured a face and the words “I Love Steve Jobs” into my latte.

I don’t know if I believe it, but I want to believe. Who could ask for more?
A Steve Jobs Latte on Flickr – Photo Sharing

Via Digg.

Technorati Tags: espresso, steve jobs

Though DVRs are still far from mainstream technology, some folks are already moving from the time-shifting of a DVR to the place-shifting offered by Sling Media, which uses a hardware/software combo to take incoming TV streams and make them available at any time at any place over the Internet. But until yesterday, the software didn’t run on Mac. No more. the new Sling Player for Mac OS X is compatible with a wide variety of sources and viewing hardware:

With this software release, Slingbox owners can now view their television directly on their Macintosh computer screen. With full remote control, they can watch content from their home entertainment system whether from cable, DVR, DVD and even a full range of Apple entertainment products including: Apple TV®, Front Row, iPod® in Apple’s Universal Dock® or iPod in an iPod Hi-Fi.

They did a great job meeting Apple’s own interface standards, judging from the screenshot. Anyone already got it up and running? How’s it going?
Sling Media – Sling Media’s Popular SlingPlayer Now Ready For A Mac Near You

Technorati Tags: slingbox, slingplayer

As you might have heard, all hell broke loose today as the code to crack HD-DVD encryption spread all over the Intarwebs, to the chagrin of Digg Founder Kevin Rose. It’s a pretty big day, no matter how you feel about DRM. I’m not going to link directly to the code, because I’m not about that, but a playful OS X developer has created a screensaver that takes the 16 numbers in the code and randomly moves them around, so the actual order isn’t certain. To be clear, the configuration in the image above is not the correct order. Keep it clean, kids, but remember the events of the day in style.
Sixteen_Hexadecimal_Digits_Screensaver_for_Mac_OS_X
[Via Digg]

Technorati Tags: hd-dvd, screensaver, software

Some of the best Apple theorists just don’t write enough. That’s certainly true of Daring Fireball creator John Gruber, who makes an impact every time he posts a major essay, but doesn’t post all that many essays. In his newest missive, he deconstructs Steve Ballmer’s arguments against the iPhone. It’s a laudable effort. Check it.

Some of these pundits and analysts are morons. Ballmer, however, is a very smart man, but what he’s saying about the iPhone is going to make him look stupid if it’s successful. He clearly doesn’t get what makes the iPhone so appealing, and his dual obsession with the price and business users is baffling.

Daring Fireball: The iPhone’s Funny Price

Technorati Tags: iphone, ballmer

Apple loves to make big announcements on Tuesday mornings. Today, they reminded us that not all big announcements are created equal. Apple PR informed the world that — brace for it — none other than Apple CEO Steve Jobs will kick off the company’s Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday, June 11.

Don’t all of you wet your pants with excitement at once.

Apple did confirm that Jobs would show off a feature-complete version of Mac OS X Leopard, including whatever mystery functions got left out of the 2006 showcase, and the company will will distribute a beta to all in attendance. And that’s something to get worked up over.

Steve Jobs to Kick Off WWDC 2007

Technorati Tags: leopard, wwdc, Steve Jobs

I don’t know where we in the Mac game would be without Fake Steve Jobs, the anonymous blogger who pretends to be Apple’s CEO so we don’t have to. Today, he tackles the continued resistance to the iCEO’s attempts to demolish his historic mansion, the Jackling house. And if you think Fake Steve is cowed by the California Supreme Court’s rejection of his request, you don’t know Steve:

These nuts got a court to say that I can’t destroy my own house and instead have to find a way to move the house from the location. But they can’t come up with any money to move the house. Or a place to put it. Or something.

Gold.

Technorati Tags: fake steve

Apple owns the discourse around design and innovation these days. Everyone wants to be like Steve Jobs, and everyone wants to invent the new iPod. People also want to be Google, but being Google seems to be a lot harder, and the founders aren’t terribly charismatic, so Apple gets a lot more attention regardless.

As a result, and because of the world I live in at my day job, I get into a lot of discussions about the role of design strategy and the value of innovation. Specifically, that understanding what people really need is the best way to create new products, services and businesses that will really connect with people.

All of which is a preface to encourage you to check out a comment of mine that BusinessWeek Innovation honcho Bruce Nussbaum highlighted into a blog post over there. It was at the end of a business day, so I think I might sound a little more snarky than I meant to:

YouTube’s actual future is far from certain, and Second Life will surely be passed by another player, as it superceded The Sims, which superceded a lot of MUDDs and the like. Bill Moggridge even asked, “What is the YouTube of design?”

And I have to say, I don’t particularly care. YouTube, Second Life, Flickr, Vlogs, blogs, they’re all different solutions trying to meet some very core needs of people, whether they know it or not. And needs outlast solutions. I won’t perform a straight-up needs analysis on these sites, but they definitely come from wanting to express oneself creatively, connect with other people, feel famous or even lead a different life, as in the case of Lonely Girl 15 and some others.

By the time we start analyzing a solution, the next way to meet the needs it addresses is already underway. We’re going to miss the most important opportunities unless we see beyond the fun and exciting solution we hold in our hands.

Check it out.

Technorati Tags: nussbaum, design

I know this is late notice, but I wanted everyone to know that I would be speaking about the Nike + iPod at the Second International Conference on Persuasive Technology April 26 with my Jump colleague Conrad Wai.

Persuasive tech, if you’re scratching your head right now, is any technology that attempts to persuade its user to do something differently. This includes smoking cessation aids, political attitude adjusters, fitness motivators, with the Nike + iPod Sport Kit obviously being the latter.

Conrad and I are putting a stake in the ground: Persuasive Technologies Should Be Boring.

Anyway, I thought you might want to know. We’ll be posting our paper on the subject to the Web in the next few days, so I’ll hook you up when the time comes.

Technorati Tags: ipod, nikeplus

Just in case you’re wondering if Steve Jobs has changed his mind about offering music on the iTunes Store in any form other than purchased downloads, here’s a reality check, courtesy of Reuters:
Not gonna happen.

“Never say never, but customers don’t seem to be interested
in it,” Jobs told Reuters in an interview after Apple reported
blow-out quarterly results. “The subscription model has failed
so far.”

Are you sure Steve? I mean, mayb…

“People want to own their music,” he said.

Cool. We hear you. I do think Steve is basically right, of course, as I’ll explain after the jump. 

Technorati Tags: itunes, Steve Jobs, steve jobs

Yes, this image of an EDIT: unfortunately misidentified man in a hoodie eating a piece of toast might well be the first image ever uploaded to the Internet from an iPhone. Remember this moment — I’m sure your grandkids will ask you about where you were when you saw the first iPhone picture.

It came from a set of two that got posted to Flickr, got marked private and finally got deleted. The EXIF data is interesting, but could easily be fraudulent — this is editable stuff. Still, I like this story, because it involves toast. A second photo, along with the EXIF data, is posted after the jump.

Technorati Tags: iphone, camera, rumor

Most of you have probably never heard of iLoad, a $300 device designed to rip CDs to iPod without the use of a computer. Granted, it is a high price, but I can see the market need, as many people can’t afford to buy a computer, but at $300, there’s no reason they couldn’t get a computer instead. It’s been pretty niche, but the product’s manufacturer has promoted it fairly aggressively.

As they are wont to do with all things iPod, the venerable iLounge reviewed the little box in a not-so favorable light, and then the fun began. Wingspan, the maker of iLoad, allegedly declared war on iLounge. And that’s when the fun began. Check out this hilarious YouTube video, then head over to iLounge for the full sordid story. It’s well worth your time.

Getting Rid of iLoad and Wingspan: The Full Story | iLounge

Technorati Tags: humor, ipod, iload

The iPhone hype-tornado is blowing at full gale now. Best sign? The rumored problems with it change from day to day. You know how it is: Massively anticipated device is less than two months from shipping, but an anonymous tipster has uncovered a DISASTROUS design flaw! This time, MacScoop reports that it might be doomed by a slippery case! Look out! It might slip out of your hand, which would be a first for a phone!

Overall, our source found the iPhone awesome but he mentioned, as a sole negative point, that the material used on the device’s case makes it feel even more slippery than the iPod and will probably require the purchase of a protective skin or case so as to avoid unintentionally dropping it.

And we all know just how slippery the iPod is! Or something. This is too funny. Apple always ships its products without the rubberized handles or raised edges that Palm and some competitors do, but it seems to work out OK most of the time. My phone is covered in rubber to prevent slipping, but I’m STILL thrown it across the room. Sometimes, it’s about the person, not the product.

That said, MacScoop does report that the battery life of the iPhone is even better than anticipated. And that’s all I care about. If this thing can keep on ticking for hours and hours of talking and mobile web-browsing, it has a right to be the smuggest phone on the block. Sign me up.

iPhone’s true battery-life to surprise us – source | MacScoop
Via Business 2.0

Technorati Tags: iphone, slippery, speculation

Great visual joke from TUAW. Link.

In the Times, reporters John Markoff and Matt Richtel cast about for the motives behind Fred Andeson’s statement on Tuesday that he warned Steve Jobs about the legal and accounting ramifications of the controversial 2001 “executive team” options grants.

Markoff and Richtel say the statement against Jobs was “an extraordinarily sharp elbow” and a “shot heard round Silicon Valley.” Speaking to various analysts and observers, they speculate that Anderson may be contributing to the “legal cloud remaining over Jobs.”

There’s a couple of interesting tidbits. It reveals that Anderson, when serving on Apple’s board, volunteered to conduct an internal investigation into how the company handled options when the SEC first started investigating widespread backdating practices. He “did so at the time not because Apple was suspected of having a problem but because many major companies were trying to understand their practices in case they did face scrutiny or accusations,” the Times says.

Irish rock star Bono, a co-founder with Anderson of Elevation Partners, a venture capital firm, said: “He is a man to whom you would give the keys to your life and know it would be calmer, tidier and better organized every day he was in it.”

Another Elevation colleague, said Anderson had been” deeply hurt by insinuations from Apple that he was responsible for the option accounting problems.”

He said the comments by Mr. Anderson’s lawyer were an attempt to clear Mr. Anderson’s name and “set the record straight in a way that has not been possible because of the pending legal action.”

I’m somewhat speechless. They call it the GIPod200. I think we’re running out of product categories that aren’t directly compatible with the iPod. GEORGE FOREMAN

Via Sensory Metrics.

Technorati Tags: foreman, ipod, grill

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.