YourMacStore.com - By Apple Lovers, For Mac Lovers

9/9/08...X day?

2008-08-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

There're numerous rumors that Apple will announce new item on 9/9/08. These guys are guessing, but seems like somewhat confident....

Hummm. iPod nano is going to look like Zune?? Will iPod touch have new software?? Or iTunes 8.0 with recommendation engine will be available??

Lots of newly wed were born on 8/8/08. It might be Apple's turn to give birth some new items and functions of Apple products!!

Apple Wins No.1 Customer Satisfaction Five Years in Low!

2008-08-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

According to American Customer Satisfaction Index(ACSI), Apple still wins list as highest in customer satisfaction for personal computers.

Apple's score, 85, is much higher than other competitors such as Dell (their score is 75).

As you know, Apple is the only one who hasn't dwell on Window's Vista, which very poorly popular latest Window's OS. That might be part of the reasons why Apple's loved by consumers.

Come See Us at Our Showroom

2008-08-14T16:09:00.000-07:00

Come see us at our new and improved showroom!

We have lots of in store specials!

If you have questions, we have answers ;)

Our friendly staffs will help you to release any headaches you have with your Mac.

We are located in Torrance, California.

directions

Open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

I Took This Funky Pic with My iPhone!

2008-08-08T11:35:00.001-07:00

What do you think?

You can take this psychedelic pic with your iPhone :)

Nope, your regular digital camera would not allow you to do so...

It is just like "Reality Distortion Field" as Steve Jobs mentions at his keynote presentation!!

iPod nano 4G Might Look Like...

2008-07-31T16:19:00.000-07:00

No. I don't believe this.
No matter what people may say, I love the shape of iPod nano 3G. That little fatty is so cute and screen is wide enough to enjoy videos. I don't want nano to go back to original shape. Yup, it's just my preference, but cuteness always comes first for girls.
Apple has been released new iPods in Sepetember last a couple of years. Probably, this year, too.
There's a rumer that Apple warns resellers of Mac and iPod drought... Hey, it might not be right time to buy new Mac or iPod...

NEW! 2.5/3.5 inch USB 2.0/eSATA Hard Drive Dock w/Card Reader & Hub

2008-07-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

This is such a useful gear!

This 2.5-inch/3.5-inch USB 2.0/eSATA SATA hard drive dock not only can accommodate a 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch SATA hard drive, but also be used as a card reader and USB hub!

With this dock, you can utilize your HDD as removable media such as CD-R or DVD-R.
This multi-functions gear is now available at $69.95. Limited supply.

External Optical/Hard Drive Case is Back!!

2008-07-17T15:27:00.000-07:00

It's been out of stock for quite a long time, but it's finally here again!

Generic 3.5in/5.25in External Optical/Hard Drive case

This stylish case is so compact, yet has great feature such as USB 2.0 and Firewire port. It enables to boot from OS, so you can use this case for OS installation.

Limited supply only!!

iPhone 3G is here!!

2008-07-10T15:55:00.000-07:00

Nope. Not until tomorrow here in U.S. But in Japan, it is.
There were more than 800 people in line in front of Japan's iPhone's career, SoftBank Omote Sando shop in Tokyo this morning. After an hour and half, their supplies were gone. Phew, it sounds like so hard for Japanese folks to get iPhone..

As a Mac specialist, we were in line to get iPhone last year. Our staffs scattered to a couple of Apple store and AT& T shop to get just one iPhone since we had no idea how good iPhone's first supply was. Well, the supply wasn't bad at all. Our staff waited eight hours in line, but we were able to get it. And as you know, even though you go to Apple store late on the day, you were able to get iPhone without standing in line....

Some people have been waiting in front of Apple Store. I am not sure how good or bad the supply will be, but this year, we are kind of... chill to see what's up.

Happy 4th of July!!

2008-07-03T16:10:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July from whole Vintage Computer gang!!

We are closing on July 4th for observing independence day. The orders will be taken care of following Monday, July 7th. If you have any questions regarding our products and/or order you placed, feel free to contact us via email. We try to respond your questions within 24 hours even during holiday weekend :)

Y'all have a safe, and joyful holiday :)))))
Remember, don't drink and drive!!

Got MacBook Air?

2008-06-26T16:05:00.000-07:00

No, It is not me. But my boss did. Oh well, he has almost all kinds of Macs, so you know, I wasn't so suprised when he showed me his MacBook Air, but.... hummmm, what can I say? SHE looks so damn beautiful... so thin, stylish, and.... light as a feather...!!

My boss told me about some pros and cons about MBA. few weeks after he got it.
He said its functions are satisfactry, multi track pad is so useful but its wedge shape pokes his belly... yaada, yaada, yaada...

Okay, Mr. boss. I don't know how you use it, but don't you complain about poking your gut.
She is so pretty. Pretty enough to have thorns.... you gotta deal with it :)))

FSJ Got a New Job!!

2008-06-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

I love his B-log.
His entries are witty, yet entertaining. There's no doubt that his B-log is one of the sources of staires among computer technology industry.

As most of you know, FSJ(Fake Steve Jobs) revealed his identity. He's a Forbes editor, Dan Lyons. Silicon Alley Insider reported that he's leaving Forbes after ten years run for Newsweek. It looks like he's taking FSJ with him even though Forbes's hosting his B-log. However, FSJ announced that he's going take some time off.... not because his health concern(smile), but he's focusing on "his own change".

Yeah, I know, I know.... It's gonna take for a while to get to use to new job no matter who you are... even though for (Fake) Jobs!!! I can hardly wait his new enty at Newsweek :)

iPhone got cheaper,and Steve Jobs got....

2008-06-12T14:18:00.000-07:00

Yup. iPhone is no longer the gadget we have to think twice before buying it. It cost $599 a year ago, and now it's available at way cheaper price and faster 3G speed! I got myself a blackberry curve the other day....hummmm, I should have waited.... Maybe I am selling my blackberry on eBay or something and buy new iPhone... good idea, huh?
iPhone wasn't only one that suprised us at WWDC keynote presentation. Y'all noticed Apple C.E.O., Steve Jobs got slimmer...well, frankly, thinner. Jobs was recovered from pancreatic cancer 4-5 years ago. Back then, he lost lots of weight and made us so worry. So what happened to him this time???
According to TheWall Street Journal, Jobs has been sick with common infection. Looks like nothing serious.....
Well, when I got terrible liver infection a few years ago, I lost 12lbs in three weeks. If you don't eat or drink for three weeks, yup, it's possible. I know it's kind of silly to compare me with Jobs, but I do hope he's feeling better and getting quick rebound as I did...!!

OS X 10.5.3 is Now Available!

2008-06-06T13:57:00.000-07:00

This update is quite big.... It is 420MB.
Yeah, I've updated my MacBook Pro to 10.5.3, but... hummmm, I really don't feel any big change??? The contents are just as usual, like better compatibility, stablility, blur blur blur.
So what's up with this update?

As you know, WWDC is on the corner. And Apple will probably launch new iPhone with 3G compatible. So I am guessing there're lots of iPhone related modifications are included in this update.

WWDC is coming up next week! We gotta keep our eyes on the conference :))

WWDC Tickets are Sold Out!!

2008-05-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

Again, it’s almost time for WWDC!!
Job’s opening keynote presentation will be on 6/9.

As you know, WWDC is conference for developers. If the conference is as such, I think admission fee should be free for developers ….
The fact is, the fee is sky high... :( Its regular price is between $1595-1995!! We, as a Mac Specialist, get several sales calls that asks about if we are interested in purchasing tickets every year, but, oh well.... it’s way too pricy!!

BUT!!! Surprisingly, WWDC tickets have been sold out this year. This is the first time ever that WWDC ticket is completely sold out…

On WWDC website, it’s all about iPhone. Looks like Apple and iPhone get tons of attention than ever, huh :))

New Start!

2008-05-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Apple fun:

We are sorry that we haven't update so long time.

YourMacStore continue to inform latest APPLE information.

Please expect new post within a few days.

From YourMacStor Staff

[APPLE OS X] Updates Galore, and Panther Strikes Back!

2008-02-12T13:33:00.000-08:00

Hiya folks! Just like to remind all of you users that Apple has not only recently released an update for Leopard (10.5.2), but apparently also released two security updates for the rest of us folks still using Tiger (10.4.11).

We here at YourMacStore, have come across a treasure trove of PANTHER (10.3) Discs that can be used to upgrade your older Cubes and systems to that and then on to Tiger! Check out our website to pick some of these up when they become available later this week!

Sincerely,

Mike Leader
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Listening to: The Darkest Of The Hillside Thickets - The Math Song
via FoxyTunes

[Product News] IS A BIGGER IPHONE A BETTER IPHONE?

2008-02-05T15:58:00.000-08:00

Apple announced this week that has increased the size of the iPhone to a 16GB model. For all of those folks out there who have been dying for space, well there ya go, eh? Can't argue with just a bit more memory to cram some more music or applications into that tiny thing, right? I think I can.

It's not that they've added more memory, but it's that they waited 10+ days after Macworld to do so. So, no prior announcement, just 'BLAMMO' there it is. After spending years in the gaming industry that could never hit deadlines, and then coming to the computer industry which is just as famous (or infamous), I really dislike this kind of sales tactic. It thoroughly upsets your customers. A customer comes in on one day, buys an 8GB iPhone thinking it's top of the line...and then finds out the next day that his brand new phone was replaced with a better one for sale for just a little bit more money the next day. Granted, he can return it...but it's a little irritating to have to go through a return process, when to avoid things like that, all a company has to do is to properly announce release dates.

I was proud of the fact that when I announced a release date two months in advance for one of the games I worked on, they were hit 95% of the time. Those kinds of things give customers something to look forward to, to save for and plan around. Stealth releases like this iPhone upgrade really don't hit the mark, and always makes me wonder why companies don't think high enough of customers to do this to them now.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great thing to see this kind of upgrade, but a little thought into the marketing would have garnered more sales for this item...don't y'all think?

Just my 2 cents on marketing a product. Now remember folks, if you're in a primary state, get out and vote tonight! :)

[Op/Ed.] WHAT YOU TALKIN' 'BOUT WILLIS?

2008-01-25T15:39:00.000-08:00

The way that people act on the internet these days in regards to things they like and dislike is pretty shameful. I'd like to believe that this place was once a great place to get objectivity and thoughtful commentary on new products. However after reading many different newsbytes, blogs and 'columns', I've found it extremely difficult to find an unbiased opinion on any real product out there. From Computers to kitty litter. Just weird.

Me, I like Apple's products. Are they the best ever? No. Nobody is perfect. Is this year like 2007, with one of the neatest products to come out in the past 10 years? Not really. The iPhone is a very cool phone, but it's not for everyone. There's a lot of negative talk about Apple's financial future, but that's how it always goes for a company that's done really well and can't continually top itself...you know, like every other company out there? Apple can't keep topping itself, but it's going to try until it hits...that's how it works.

(Wow...look at that...did i say anything mean or hateful in there? No, that's the job for people like these guys, who do this to just get hits, attention, and vent at the universe because their moms kicked them out of their basement apartments. See, that was mean. ;) )

I'm one of MANY people who "walk the line" with Apple and other electronics manufacturers. I work with Macs at the office, I own an iPod, but I own a PC laptop and a PC desktop at home. I think that a lot of the pundits really need to understand that not everyone HATES or LOVES what companies do...they'll buy what they want to buy based on what works for them. So if you're going to review a product or comment on a new release, think about how you look to other people online before you post it to your blog/news column.

Lastly, come on...get that iPod nano for your girlfriend for Valentines Day! It's PINK! (Look, I bought the old pink nano for my girlfriend on her birthday last year, and she's been giddy about it ever since...what are you waiting for?? Go do it!)

-Mike Leader
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Listening to: The Doors - The Changeling
via FoxyTunes

MACWORLD2008 - STEVE'S KEYNOTE BREAKDOWN (Pt. 4)

2008-01-15T13:57:00.000-08:00

Wowsers...lots to write today...I'm really making up for the past 2 months, aren't I? ;)

Ok...the MacBook Air. Damn...just damn.

People have been chattering online for the past year about an ultra portable, tiny, thin, itty-bitty MacBook...and here it is. Weighing in at $1799, but only .76 inches tall, this little guy has everything you need to be on the go. A small 1.6GHz processor and an 80GB drive makes this little guy (that can fit in a large manila envelope!) make it a simple, on-the-go computer that will make sure you stay connected wherever you go.

What? The optical drive? Oh silly me...there isn't one. Yes, that's what I said, no optical drive. Woah...hold on with the questions...look, with the Air being so portable, and tiny, you have to leave out the optical drive. Those buggars take up a lot of space and it wouldn't be very thin if you had it in there, would it? Never fear, the folks at Apple have figured out a solution to no optical drive...and it surprised me, as I never would have thought of it. The Air comes with software that allows you to share another local computer's optical drive. If there's a Wi-Fi network available, you can ask that computer's permission to use it's optical drive and whammo...you're good to go. Pretty freakin' sweet. :)

A couple of other things (and you can see the full specs on the Apple website) to mention would be the 13.3" LED screen, and the built in iSight camera. Those are cool and all, but it's the optional 64GB Solid State Drive option that makes my head spin! Wow...we all knew they were coming, and they're here...just hideously expensive. Totally worth the outlay in cash, even if the prices will change by next year to make them more affordable.

Sorry about that, had to take a break to clean up my drool over the SSD. Ok...So as you can see there's so much to be seen right now. Run to the Apple website and check out all of the new goodies that they're offering...this year looks to be pretty good if you ask me. Like SJ said at the keynote...that's just 2 weeks of this year, we've got 50 more to go!

Forever WOOHOOing,

Mike Leader

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Listening to: Men at Work - Down Under
via FoxyTunes

MACWORLD2008 - STEVE'S KEYNOTE BREAKDOWN (Pt. 3)

2008-01-15T13:20:00.000-08:00

We've all talked about it...we've felt it coming...and now it's here...

**drumroll**

That's right kiddies...iTunes Movie Rentals! Doing something that many other companies simply couldn't do, Apple is striking forward with several movie companies (Fox, Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount, and Sony...I don't say the "U" word. ;) )

So, we're being promised over 1000 movies by the end of February, and we'll be seeing new releases about 30 days after DVD sales. (Gosh, aren't we all shocked that the movie companies weedled that in there?) Each file will exist either for 30 days, and once you start viewing it, you have 24 hours until it expires. I'm sure we'll all be waiting for that kind of protection to be cracked wide open...but I'm sure Apple's got their best minds working on that potential issue. Each new release will be $3.99 and every catalog (old movie) will be $2.99...I'm not too keen on older movies being more than $2, but I guess you have to roll with the times.

Following on the heels of the iTunes Movie Rentals announcemnt is the update to the Apple TV. Dubbed Apple TV 2, this new version actually doesn't need a computer to function properly. That's right, I smell a car mod coming up with this one, don't you? So apparently this will allow you to download movies from the iTunes Rental service right to your TV. Can't argue with that too much...but when they start adding HD content...woohoo this will be lots of fun.

Ok...one last entry coming up...the latest in MacBook technology...The MacBook Air!

-Mike Leader

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Listening to: Cream - White Room
via FoxyTunes

MACWORLD2008 - STEVE'S KEYNOTE BREAKDOWN (Pt. 2)

2008-01-15T11:20:00.000-08:00

Welcome back!

Ok quick writing break over. I'm trying to avoid reading other sites and their reviews of these things so to better give you my untainted thoughts. Now, on to some new information on the iPhone and what is being updated TODAY!

So, Steve Jobs provided some information on the sales of the iPhone last year. Since it's first date on sale, the iPhone has sold over 4 million units...which is about 20,000 or so a DAY. Market breakdowns for September showed that the iPhone had captured about 19% or so of the cellphone marketplace, which is nothing to sneeze at either. Now, that's just a percentage for September. I'm sure we'd all like to see what they are as of January. I'm not saying they'll be awful, but I think now that everything has mellowed out, that we'll see that number come down to a more realistic level.

On to new stuff! First up, a Software Development kit coming at the end of February. **Watches at people explode with anticipation** I can't wait to see all the goodness this can bring. Everyone's been asking about this since the iPhone's release, and now it'll finally be out there.

The first neat thing for iPhone applications is Maps with location. Now the iPhone doesn't have GPS, so in order to work this out, the folks at Google and Skyhook Wireless got together with Apple and created a network out of the 23 million Wi-Fi hotspots in the US & Canada. Maps will utilize that network of hotspots to triangulate your location with the iPhone. You don't have to be signed onto one of those hotspots either...the programming will detect them and you'll know where you are. Sweet and nice.

Now with updates coming today, you'll also be able to send SMS messages to multiple people at once. Not a high-selling point for me (I can do that on my little LG hunk-o-verizon-junk), but still I'm betting that it's useful for most folks. Webclips looks extremely useful to me (man I need an iPhone, who wants to buy me one?) as someone who reads particular things on webpages and the like. Webclips basically allows you to add a page as an icon to your desktop so you can quickly get to it. It even remembers where you zoom and pan to. That'll be great for people like me who have to check X, Y and Z each morning before doing most anything. This update also allows you to change and customize your iPhone desktop too. Move the icons around and off the screen to your heart's content...kinda like a real desktop. ("Get thee behind me stapler!")

All of the missing content from the iPod Touch (mmm...iPod Touch) that was on the iPhone when it released is now going to be standard on all iPod Touches that are sold as of today. For previous versions you can get the same software for a $20 price. Fair enough, probably should have been free, but I can understand the need for the additional $20. So that means that iPod Touch users will get Mail, Maps, Stocks, Notes and Weather. Very nice. They didn't say that the Touches would get the newer cooler version of maps that has the wi-fi GPS bit...but I'm going to assume that's added in. (Now, to convince Apple that I'd be a hella good product reviewer for them...)

Ok...next up will be some discussion about iTunes!

-Mike Leader

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Listening to: Fleetwood Mac - Miranda
via FoxyTunes

MACWORLD2008 - STEVE'S KEYNOTE BREAKDOWN (Pt. 1)

2008-01-15T09:14:00.000-08:00

Wow...what a great Keynote address from Steve Jobs, eh? (I'll add in the link to the video once it's available from Apple.) I just spent the morning bouncing between the folks at MacWorld and The Mac Observer to see their transcripts of the event. There's a lot to discuss, and rather than cherry pick stuff, I'm going to tell you all about it in parts. Here in part 1, we'll talk about some of the first things discussed in the Keynote address.

(For those of you tuning in from my website at Temple of Lore, thanks for joining us! See, I have hobbies that aren't revolved around work...umm much.)

First up would be arguably the best thing I've seen for an external backup drive...well, ever. We've all got a backup drive to make sure that our precious files, pictures, home movies and music aren't lost during a crash...and these all come in various sizes, shapes, and colors. Heck, we carry a lot of them here at YourMacStore, and they're wonderful devices. However, how many come with built in wi-fi? There are a couple, yes, but looking at this one, it's only 200GB. Yup, the Time Capsule, built to help OS X Leopard users better utilize their Time Machine program to back up their computer, actually utilizes an Airport Extreme base built into the external drive case that you can wirelessly link to and backup your files. Very nice! :)

Next up is the iPhone...and see the next blogpost for more information! :)

-Mike Leader

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Listening to: Johnny Cash - Delia's Gone
via FoxyTunes

MACWORLD 2008 - GETTING READY!

2008-01-11T13:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome back true believers! We here at YourMacStore have survived the fall months and Christmas sale season to be back here in January with lots of great information for you!

This next week, our owner and CFO will be traveling to Macworld 2008 to stay on top of all that's new and cool in the coming months for Mac users like you and I. According to some of the news bits I've been able to find online, it seems that this year will be about the desktop and laptop mostly. Even with all of the iPhone hype of 2007 and the cool new iPods that came out at the end of 2007, the focus SHOULD be on the Mac desktops and laptops, don't you think?

Ok so some things we KNOW are going to show up there. Microsoft will unveil Office 2008. Wooo, another Microsoft product...I can't...be...more...exci...zzzzzzz. Seriously, there are better products out there for the Mac than MS's Office program. It's a never-have, never-will-be exciting thing for me. Kinda sad when FREE products are better than a $100+ product, eh? Also, with a convention (oooh gamer term) that has over 50,000 attendees this year, they're planning on doing training there for at least 1/10th of those folks...that's a lot of notepads. ;)

Alright...rumors...good lord, y'all love rumors. Ok let's go over some of the common ones:

"Mini-Macbook" - It's known that Apple acquired a bunch of Toshiba 13.5" screens...but what they plan on doing with them is anyone's guess. Most folks tend to think that they'll be producing

"Penryn updates" - This I feel is likely...the Macbooks could use this post haste. :)

"Movie Rentals on iTunes" - I'm still sure that this won't happen til later in the year, but they might just announce it here. Who knows? It'll be interesting for sure if it does happen. Damn...I'm gonna have to give them more $$! ;)

So the plan is for our trusty folks going to Macworld 2008 to give us updates as they get them throughout the day. We'll be posting as much as possible during that time. I'll even post some more thoughts on possibilities on Monday too.

Who else wants to see Apple go all Blu-Ray, just to really upset Microsoft? :D

[OSX News] INSTALLING LEOPARD IN YOUR TREE..ERR MAC

2007-10-31T14:16:00.000-07:00

I’ll start off by saying that while we’re still in the process of testing odd configurations, none of this is really set in stone…

We know many folks out there have already installed the newest OS, but for those of you who are still waiting, and unsure if you can, we’ve got some information for you. After checking out many of our different systems, we did find something that was a bit odd. For those folks who’ve got their systems set up a specific way, yet meet the system requirements, Leopard will refuse to install.

So, we’ve found two of these configurations…at two processor speeds that are common out there. If you’re running 1.8 GHz with a bus speed of 100MHz or 1.4 GHz with a bus speed of 133MHz…your Apple profiler can show you what the problem is. If you haven’t, open it up. You’ll see that these two configurations cause an issue with the profiler, because it will list your clock speed at ZERO. Leopard will see this and think to itself, “Wow…not only is this computer not new, it’s apparently missing a pulse!” and then refuse to install on it.

Now this issue has only appeared on the Giga Designs CPUs that we have here, but can easily be corrected by manipulating the dipswitches on the card to change your bus speed. We’re not going to list instructions on how to do that here, but will ask you to reference your owner’s manual for the CPU upgrade and see how the configurations can be inputted. Once Leopard is installed, you can easily change the setup back to what it was prior to the install with no visible effect on Leopard (that we’ve seen).

Also, for those of you using the Giga Meter application that helps to fix this issue for you on your system…there’s an issue you need to be aware of as well. Giga Meter is an extension…so when you boot up the Leopard disc, it’s not going to be active on your system…and therefore won’t be correcting the issue that causes the Apple profiler to misread what your clock speed is.

So, based on this, it seems that Leopard is reading the clock speed as it’s judge of if it can install on a system, not the hardware specifically…and it only checks during the installation. After installing it on these systems we were able to pull the processors from them, and reinstall their older ones (a 450MHz and a 533MHz machine). Yes, Leopard is VERY slow on them, but it can be installed on them with a bit of work.

Lastly, we heard from a Japanese customer of ours the other day who told us that he managed to install Leopard on a machine under 867MHz by utilizing Target Disc Mode. To do this, you’d need a machine that meets the requirements and can then recognize the under 876MHz machine as an optical HD. I also found this note over on Cubeowner.com about it.

And I’ll say again…while we’re still in the process of testing odd configurations, none of this is really set in stone…but it is interesting, yes?

-Mike Leader
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Listening to: Alan Parsons Project - Eye In The Sky
via FoxyTunes

[OSX news] LEOPARD'S SUCCESSFUL LEAP

2007-10-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

A lot of folks don't understand that I live in two worlds. At work I use Macs exclusively...and have at different jobs for years. At home I have my gaming PC...even my old laptop is a Thinkpad (looking to be replaced as soon as I can save the money). I however am a big fan of the Apple OS. I know that in my work environment, I can count on it to get done everything I need to get done...and make life a bit easier while doing so. (That and using a windows PC at a place called "YourMacStore" would be silly. ;) ) In my opinion, Leopard helps to further ensure that Apple's desktops can be used in an office environment and do what jobs need to get done, with it's creative ways of doing them. From all of the news items I've seen, and general consensus from the sites I visit, Leopard seems to be a success just after it's release. I do know there are some minor tweaks that are needed, but I'm sure the folks at Apple will be on top of those posthaste.

When we got our copy of Leopard in on Friday morning (at 9am in fact!), we were very excited to test it out, and so began our testing. The first round of testing was to ensure to our many Cube-using customers could install it without worry...and what upgrades would do best for them. We can thoroughly recommend that our beloved Cube-fanatics (Cube-heads, Cube-lovers...what ARE they calling themselves?) upgrade their Cubes with the GigaDesigns G4 1.4GHz with the 256KB L2 Cache and 2MB L3 cache. This is normally a hard to find item...but we've got quite a bit of them at $289.95 each!

Just remember that as long as you're meeting the basic requirements of Leopard that Apple has set down, you should be fine. However, if you've been modifying your Mac, you may want to take a close look at what the other fansites out there are saying before diving it. (Some of us like to dive headfirst, and others feet-first...)

If we come across any wacky setups that we have here that may affect some of you out there, we'll make sure to let everyone know through this blog. If YOU have an issue with Leopard and your configuration, you're welcome to post information here in replies, and we'll take a look at it when we're able to. :)

Hasta La Vista!

-Mike Leader

[OSX news] LEOPARD POUNCES ON OCT 26! (for some folks...)

2007-10-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

Greetings True Apple Believers!

As I am sure nearly all of you have heard, Apple announced yesterday (October 16) that the newest version of OS X, Leopard, will ship on October 26. I know that many of us are happy about this (we're all ecstatic here at the YMS offices), but some harsh reality will be coming down on some Mac users with the advent of Leopard.

"What do you mean, uncle Mike?" (I'm a real uncle now so I can call myself that!) I mean that there are quite a few Mac users out there who'd probably like to upgrade to Leopard, but they don't meet the requirements for the new system. The new requirements are as follows:

An Intel Mac, Power PC G5 or a Power PC G4 with an 867MHz processor or higher, 512MB RAM and a DVD drive for installation

Now I'm sure that there are plenty of Intel Macs and G5s out there to fully utilize the new OS...but what about those folks who are running G4s? They're going to need to upgrade their processors to get on board with Leopard...and we here at YourMacStore are going to do our best to help y'all who need to upgrade. As soon as our software arrives here at the offices, we're going to be testing configurations on different Mac setups to let you all know exactly what you'll need to best perform with Leopard on your G4. So, stick around and check back with us next week when we'll have more answers for Leopard!

Hasta la Vista!

-Mike Leader

[iPhone] iPhone Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the iPhone Hackers

2007-10-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, so you'd think that we'd all be able to get along, right? I mean, all of the bickering, whining, posturing, and fit-throwing aside, the iPhone is a great little device. It's definitely a gateway product, not only into Apple's fold of products, but a gateway leading into the future of handheld computers.

Granted, consumers should feel entitled to be able to use the items and devices they buy...but when you go out of your way to use them in a way that they weren't intended to, or to violate any use agreement you agreed to when purchasing the product...you the consumer are the only one to blame. Is it fair that Apple had to go with what some would consider a second-rate provider? Is Apple illegally forcing those who purchase the iPhones from them (or AT&T) to only use their programs? I'd say No on both counts.

Apple should have known that out the gate this item would be a hit. However, I think they played very cautious with the iPhone, and shopped it around to get the best deal they could find. In the end you always get what you pay for...they wanted a cheaper contract that made them more money in the long run...so they got that...at the expense of their customers. Apple IS a business however, and it's point is to make money...and they looked at their bottom line and likely said, "Well in 5 years we'll have enough people hooked that when we open it up to other networks, we'll do even better." (Wait...forward planning? Say it ain't so, superman!)

As for the legality of the anti-trust lawsuit currently being issued against them...I can't roll my eyes enough. It's bad enough that our over-litigious society will sue over every little thing...but honestly (and I'm no law expert) this doesn't come across as them forcing anyone to use their software...yet. The item was just released, and when it was released they were telling everyone that they had no plans at the moment for third-party applications on the iPhone because of security issues. They were more concerned about the device being secured than multi-functional to start. Now with talk about them opening things up to their software developers, we'll see how far these lawsuits go. I don't think it'll be further than the distance of the whines of those instigated it could be heard.

Honestly, I'd like to wait until after the release of Leopard at the end of this month to see how things progress. Maybe if people learned to be patient than reactive, this would would be a better place. Hrmph...world is full of flamers, Apple's & Microsoft's fans all need to take a chill pill, don't you think? (I recommend that you take a read of the Macalope's blog. Almost always funny, always informative.)

[YMS News] YOURMACSTORE.COM LOWERS SHIPPING COSTS!

2007-10-11T09:19:00.001-07:00

Greetings!

We're happy to say that starting on Wednesday October 17, we here at YourMacStore will be removing the flat handling fee we've been charging for some time now. Due to some great pricing we have been offered on our shipping materials, we are happy to remove that $1.99 fee starting on that date.

If there are any questions, please feel free to contact us via our Contact Page over on our website. :)

[Product Information] TRAFFIC JAM??

2007-09-26T14:55:00.000-07:00

We’ve had a couple of customers have some issues with the NewerTechnology Trafficjamz FM transmitter/car charger lately, and it dawned on me that I should post a notice here on our blog about it.

Apparently the plug-end for the card adapter has a screw-on cap that holds the replaceable fuse inside. This screw is made of plastic, and plastic screws can never hold something tight for very long. So, the ends of this item eventually will unscrew themselves off. If this happens, and you’re not paying attention to it, the top will come right off, and the fuse will fall out. Without these items, the product ceases to work, and all of a sudden, you’re out $30!

So, please take my advice if you own one of these Trafficjamz transmitters…check the screwcap on the end after each use. If it’s loose, just tighten it manually a little bit. Save yourself money by not having to replace something that could have been prevented.

-Mike Leader

SUMMER LOVIN'

2007-09-21T16:18:00.000-07:00

I guess it can be said that it’s been an interesting year for Apple so far…but really, they completely owned the media this whole summer. My hat is off to their marketing team who really has had a sense of who they’re marketing to, and how to get the message out about their products to those who aren’t already buying them. Now, they’re not perfect (am I the only one who finds the new iMac commercial annoying?) in a lot of ways…nobody can reasonably expect them to be that way. However, I don't think a night of television goes by without seeing an iPhone or an iPod ad pop up in a random slot…and that’s always great to see.

So, the Summer of Apple it was. The iPhone announcement gripped not only the Apple fanatics, but managed to reach out into the average joe’s consciousness and bring more people on board. Is it a perfect piece of technology? No. Is it going to be amazingly better in the next 2-3 years? You betcha. The technology that spawned the iPhone has already crossed over into the iPod Touch, and will likely be driving things forward over the course of the next year.

I say that we all can’t wait for October and the launch of Leopard! I can also say that Apple can’t wait for the Holiday sales to roll in…and roll they shall.

[Apple News] "...AND THE BEAT GOES ON, THE BEAT GOES ON."

2007-08-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

Spring is here and Leeds play Chelsea tomorrow and Ringo and John
and George and Paul are alive and well and full of hope.
The world is still spinning and so are we and so are you.
When the spinning stops — that'll be the time to worry, not before.
Until then, the Beatles are alive and well and the beat goes on, the beat goes on.
— Final Beatles press release, April 10, 1970

I know that growing up, my life was filled with the Beatles. They were long gone before I could appreciate their music, but because of my father's love of them, I grew to love them too. Their music inspired a generation to dream and succeed...and in turn helped inspire me through all of my life. Their music has been with me through my ups ("When I'm sixty-four") and my downs ("For No One"), but most of all helped to teach me to get over a speech impediment when I was young. Their music was easy to learn the words to, and sing along with...and through them, I conquered that issue. When I'm frustrated even now, I still turn to their music to calm me down.

Why all of the reminiscing about a band that's come and gone? Why, because for people like me, what looks like will be announced next week on September 5th by Apple is related. Related? Oh yes, my friends, yes it is related. When Apple sent out their invitations to the press for this event on September 5th, it was a really nice piece of art showing the coverflow look that we all know from iTunes. But the statement on the form "The Beat Goes On"...it stuck in my craw...I couldn't get my head around it...where had I heard it before? Then, at 4am on Tuesday morning this week, I woke up and said to myself, "That was the last thing the Beatles said before they broke up!"

What does that mean? Well, true believers, to me that says that while we may be getting some cool new iPods next week...and those are all well and good...I believe that the Beatles are finally coming to iTunes. It was nice to know that others made the same jump that I did, and I wish I had the time to post it when I thought of it...but alas it had to wait til today. With Apple's recently settled issues with Apple Corps, I honestly feel as this will be part of the announcements on the 5th. With John, Paul, George and Ringo's solo careers all over iTunes now, it only could have been a short time until this happened. While many of you know that I'm still a CD kind of guy...I guarantee I'll be buying the whole catalog from Apple this go around. Heck, I hope it's even DRM-free...I think John could have appreciated that.

So while now people speculate about what cool new things on the iPod we'll see...whether it be OS X, coverflow, touch screens, hi-def movies and movie rentals...I think what the coolest new thing for me will be...to bounce along on my way to and fro, everyday, listening to the band that made music what it truly is. It's a great gift...one that I hope even newer generations can appreciate.

-Mike Leader

[Tech/Mod] IF NEW PROCESSOR, THEN UPDATE FIRMWARE?

2007-08-27T10:13:00.001-07:00

As many of you can understand, one of the more popular items we sell here at YourMacStore is are many different processor upgrades. Of the people that purchase them, there are rare problems here and there...but nearly anything can be fixed. However, in many of the reported that come in to us, the error is something that the average user who wants to upgrade doesn’t know about…updating their firmware. Now not everyone needs to update their firmware with a processor upgrade, but for those of you who are looking to purchase a 7447 or 7448 CPU upgrade, then that is something you will need to do. (Those of you interested in a 7455 CPU upgrade, you won’t need to upgrade your firmware.)

While updating your processor isn’t for your newbie computer user, anyone can do it, they just need proper direction. It isn’t simply a matter of pulling out the old one and jamming the new one in there, there is actually a dance that has to go on to prepare your computer to have the part of it that works so hard yanked out and replaced. What you do to install the firmware depends on what company produced that processor, and I’ll try to detail that for you here as best as possible.

For Powerlogix and Newer Tech processors:

1) Make sure your computer is powered on, the OS X desktop is up and no other programs are running.
2) Insert the firmware disc into the dvd/cd-rom drive.
3) Shutdown your computer.
4) Hold down the programmer button, and press the power button. Hold the programmer button in until after the special long tone sounds.
5) Hold down “C” and boot from the CD.
6) This opens a special Firmware area. Just select from the list presented “Apply All Patches” and let that run.
7) Exit the special Firmware area. Once you see the “Completed Successfully” message, you can shutdown your computer and physically install the new processor.

For GigaDesigns processors:

1) Make sure your computer is powered on, the OS X desktop is up and no other programs are running.
2) Insert the firmware disc into the dvd/cd-rom drive.
3) Open the installer file on the disc and run the installer file.
4) Shutdown the computer
5) Hold down the programmer button, and press the power button. Hold the programmer button in until after the special long tone sounds.
6) Make sure all patches are applied.
7) Reboot the computer.
8) Shutdown the computer and physically install the new processor.

For Sonnet processors:

1) Make sure your computer is powered on, the OS X desktop is up and no other programs are running.
2) Insert the firmware disc into the dvd/cd-rom drive.
3) Open the installer file on the disc and run the installer file.
4) Shutdown the computer
5) Hold down the programmer button, and press the power button. Hold the programmer button in until after the special long tone sounds.
6) Make sure all patches are applied.
7) Reboot the computer.
8) Shutdown the computer and physically install the new processor.

It is our hope that these reminders will help all of you who are upgrading their processors for the first time. While not always the easiest upgrade, it can be worthwhile and allow you to keep your older computer around a bit longer than it was designed to.

-Mike Leader

[Apple Harware] The NEW Keyboard

2007-08-21T16:49:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, I had an expressed interest in going down to the local Apple store and trying out the new Apple keyboard that premiered with the brand new iMacs. However, real life intruded (as it always does), and by Monday of this week, I hadn’t made it down to the local store. Monday started and I was going through my standard routine here at the offices, when our owner, Hideki, came in and handed me one of the new keyboards! While it wasn’t mine to have, I was allowed to use it for a day to see what I thought about it.

The new Apple keyboard that was first shown with the brand new iMacs is, in all honesty, a thing of beauty. Thin and light, it felt like no other keyboard I had used. Excited to try it out, I flung my standard keyboard off to the side, and quickly set it up.

The Pros:

Quiet: Talk about quiet! It made the office a very creepy environment (my coworker I share my office with uses a laptop, so it’s quiet) without any typing sounds. I can see the benefit of this in an office environment…but other than that, it was just interesting.

Ease of Typing: I found that typing was not as difficult as I thought it might be. In fact, using my pinky to type became dramatically easier! Stretching it and reaching a key usually requires a bit of effort…not with this keyboard!

Construction: Very lightweight and seemingly durable, the keyboard did hold up to my “meathooks” and the banging on the keyboard I normally do throughout the day.

Feel: I was worried that the keyboard would feel like rubber keys. Nice to know I was wrong, and that it felt solid and supportive of my fingers, without being too stiff or too rubbery.

The Cons:

Pain: My wrists and forearms ached after using it for several hours of work. The angle did not feel right while typing, and I was reminded of my former bouts with carpal tunnel.

Feel: The overall feel of the keyboard seemed a bit off. It was like typing on a laptop, and that confused my poor brain, which knew I didn’t use a laptop when at the office. It made it hard to get used to…but that could be overlooked.

Typing errors: I’m a good typist, and my error count is usually pretty low. However, I was on a bad roll when I started to use this new keyboard. Because the keys were easy to press, my meathook fingers kept slamming into multiple keys. I felt like fat Homer Simpson trying to dial the phone…I needed a dialing wand.

Overall, it’s a great keyboard, and I’m sure that if I continued to use it, I could get used to the minor issues I was having with it.

-Mike Leader

[Apple News] APPLE'S NEWEST REVEAL: part 2

2007-08-08T16:45:00.001-07:00

Back again, true believers! :)

Ok, on with this. The second rumor that was answered true, was an update to the .Mac site. Many people have been saying for ages that the $99 a year was a waste for the space (or lack of) that was provided. Well, our friends at Apple took the available space per account from 1GB to 10GB, and have now integrated .Mac and iPhoto to where putting your photos online is a breeze. Not only can you share them at .Mac, but even your friends on their PCs can link to them without a real issue. So it's still up to you, Apple users, if you're willing to shell out that kind of money for .Mac. Some claim it's worth it, others claim it's not. I'd say that for the features they're now offering (and the 60 day trial being offered at Apple.com), it is something to be considered.

Next up were iLife & iWork updates, and while they were minor updates to iLife in general, the coolest thing there was the new spreadsheet program for iWork, Numbers. I have one word so far...NICE. I've long been a user of Excel, and I think that while this will not break Excel's Cobra Clutch on the spreadsheet market, it does offer a nice breath of fresh air as an alternative. Besides, now it's a spreadsheet program that looks like it is made by Apple for Macs...and not by Microsoft for people they don't really care too much about. I would expect plenty of support and goodness for Numbers in the months to come. (Did I not mention it can save as and read Excel files? :D)

All in all, once again this was a great update from the folks at Apple. The new iMacs are something to write home about... .Mac is looking much better...and I can't wait to get my hands on the new iLife! Woo! What a good week this is shaping up to be!!!

Alrighty folks, have a great rest of your week, and I'll be posting to y'all soon. :)

-Mike Leader

[Apple News] APPLE'S NEWEST REVEAL

2007-08-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

(AKA how keyboards have come to scare me)

On Tuesday morning, August 7, all of the apple-ites' eyes were on Cupertino, CA as Apple was going to make some new product announcements...Well? Did you watch it? I know I did!

There were many rumors flying about, the most predominant ones being new iMacs, a new video iPhone-like iPod, to new Mac minis...etc etc. Well rumors are rumors but it looked that that in many cases a lot of them were true (sorry iPod users, no go for y'all)

Well brand new iMacs, and wow are they cool...and decently priced! The 20" iMac for $1199 is a bargain for what you're purchasing, and should be very easy to upgrade if you're that kind of person. In fact, from what I've heard, you just need to remove one screw to add memory in...how cool is that? :) Personally, I am not terribly keen on the aluminum & black look, but it seems to be something that one could get used to. However, what I am not happy with (and quite a few others I've spoken with) are the new keyboards. The whole new layout gets the hackles up on the "grumpy old man" inside me who doesn't like change. The lack of a number pad on the little bluetooth one likely strikes that one out for me, and changing the keys we've known for years doesn't make me too happy with the larger, wired keyboard. However, that is just the look of the keyboard...I plan on making a trip down to the local Apple store this weekend to see what they feel like to type on. That is the most important thing. If they feel right to type on, then I could let go of the changes in style.

I'll post this for now...look for part 2 this afternoon. :)

-M. Leader

[News] YOURMACSTORE & APPLE UPDATE!

2007-08-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

Hi there folks!

Well it's been awhile, and with all that's been going on, time to blog has been a little lacking, but I wanted to make sure that I had time today to discuss a couple of things with you all. The first thing I have to ask is, what do you think of the new website? Is this meeting all of your purchasing needs? Are the colors good? Do your eyes hurt while looking at it? We would like to hear your feedback on it...and while we know sometimes it has issues (what new software doesn't?), we know it is a vast improvement over our previous website and system. Post a comment or email us with your thoughts!

Next up, something we know every mac-lover out there is talking about...the possible new hardware announcement coming next week. While nothing has been said about what it will be about the "Mac Focused Presentation" (besides Macs), there of course is a ton of speculation. Apple has become one of the best companies that I know of when it comes to creating anticipation for new products with events like these. No information going in...but the entire world is watching...ok not the whole world, but you get the idea. ;) Some believe it is new touch screen iPods (ooooh fun)...or the new iMac desktops (ooooh shiny)...and there are a myriad of other ideas. Personally, I'd like to see new iPods, even though mine is not ready to be shelved (2.2 yrs and counting).

Lastly in further Mac-related news, Microsoft announced a delay for the release of Office 2008 for Mac. It was originally scheduled to release in the middle of 2007, but citing quality evaluations and that they want to ship it in December so it will be ready to go in January during Macworld. So, all of you Office-heads are going to have to wait another 5 months to get your fix...sorry!

Well that's all for this week...yes, it's Thursday for all of you, but Friday for me! Well, I'm off to a wedding for the weekend, and I'll catch y'all next week! :)

-Mike Leader

[YourMacStore News] We're Back!

2007-07-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

Greetings everyone! I am sorry it has been so long since our last entry. Things have been very hectic here during the month of July for us, and with new things going on all the time, my time to write has diminished greatly. However, I wanted to make sure that our great customers and friends do get the attention that they deserve, because you all rule! :)

Ok, just a couple of things...

* YourMacStore has a new eBay store located here. We're going to be using it for special promotions and other cool items on sale, so check it out...you never know what you can find there!

* We have seen a HUGE interest in the iPhone from customers in Japan, so I think that they (along with all of the US customers) are going to be hoping that someone finds a way to crack open that system soon.

* We have posted a poll on the right side of the page, because we want to know what y'all want to see on this blog. Go ahead and select one of the answers...they should cover most everything. If not, just drop us an email and let us know!

That's all for now, have a great day!

[iPhone] YourMacStore's FIRST IPHONE VIDEO

2007-07-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

Hi there folks! I'm back from a long weekend of no computers...just card games. I'd have posted this to you over the weekend had I been home or near my laptop. The owner of our company, Hideki Muto, sent me a video he made of opening and turning on his new iPhone, and I thought I'd share it with y'all.

YourMacStore's First iPhone

I'm sure everyone here has likely seen many videos of the same thing, but we're proud of it...and looking forward to getting some of these to needy customers overseas, who HAVE to have them. (There are more than you think, Apple!)

I'll have some more commentary today before I leave the office...Talk to y'all then!

-Mike Leader

[iPhone] IPHONE FREAKY FRIDAY!

2007-06-29T13:48:00.000-07:00

Hello true believers! Today is the day that the iPhone is released from AT&T stores and Apple stores...how exciting, eh? I've purposely been avoiding posting news bits about it all week, just because the whole net is FLOODED with stuff about the iPhone. Instead, like many of you, I've been keeping abreast of what is going on without trying to read the same junk over and over again.

With lines forming all across the country for this cool new device, there are plenty of questions about what it can and can't do. One of the prevalent discussions is about the iPhone using the EDGE network over the 3G one. This morning, I read an interview that Steve Jobs and AT&T Inc. CEO Randall Stephenson gave to the Wall Street Journal, that addressed a couple of key questions, including the one about the 3G/EDGE networks. The primary concern of a lot of folks is that the EDGE network is way too slow to handle full internet applications, even if it is great at handling maps and email. According to Jobs, they knew that going into this whole iPhone deal...and that is why they integrated Wi-Fi into the device. Now it can piggyback nearly everywhere there is an open Wi-Fi source...granting it great speeds for internet easily. The best part about that, the device is configured to just find the Wi-Fi automatically...no having to find it yourself.

Of course this could lead to more people actually turning on security for their wireless networks...I had this discussion with my girlfriend's parents...as they never turned any kind of security on for their network...and I'm willing to bet half their neighborhood is piggybacking their Wi-Fi. Anyway, I digress. According to the article, T-Mobile just launched a service that allows cellphone calls to roam onto wi-fi networks...supposedly to help users get better coverage and save a little on their cell bills each month. We could likely see more use of Wi-Fi in years to come, and less of the 3G, especially with things like the import ban on items with 3G chips.

We'll have a lot to see about in the coming weeks and months after the release.

What say all of you, dear readers?

-Mike Leader

[Tech] A NEW APPLE UPDATE, AND UPDATE TROUBLES...

2007-06-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

Hi folks. Sorry, I wasn't feeling up to a creative title today. Lack of sleep this week is stripping away my creativity, so I apologize in advance for anything I post today that might be considered boring. ;)

So with the release of OS X 10.4.10 ("Tiger Ten" sounds like a cooler nickname than "Delta", doesn't it?) there are a whole host of folks updating...and as of late I've noticed quite a bit of concern about updating the Mac OS, due to unrecoverable crashes after the install. This happened back during the past couple of updates, and thanks to one of the best posters over at cubeowner.com (good post Fangy!), this article was pointed out to me from back in March of this year.

Basically it is written by someone who feels there is a huge bug in the Apple Software Update system. This "bug" occurs during the "Optimizing System Performance" stage...in which he recommends that you do NOTHING while your computer does this. Because it is running update_prebinding, if you launch an application that accesses the libraries not yet "prebound", it can cause a whole host of errors in the system.

Recovering from something like this can be extremely difficult, if not impossible if you do not have a backup. (BACK UP YOUR COMPUTER! That can never be said enough.) If it is really bad, you'll have to boot into FireWire Target Disk Mode and hope that you can run the combo updater from another machine.

One should always be careful when doing the Apple Software Update. Not because the OS is buggy or bad...but the nature of the update program can cause problems with your system if you're working while it's working. Do it at night when you're about to go to bed, so it can handle it all while you count sheep.

Great...now I've got an odd craving for a lamb curry. :P

-Mike Leader

[YMS News] A PACKAGE TO CALL YOUR OWN...

2007-06-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love opening a package that is meant for them? Christmas, Hanukkah, birthdays, anniversaries, etcetera...they all have packages for us to open. While we can't send everyone a special thank you package for being such great customers, we did think of something. Now, in honor of the YourMacStore.com 8th Anniversary, we are debuting "packages" for you to purchase!

Now these aren't going to be covered in wrapping paper and a bright red bow (or any other color bow for that matter), but they will help you get the upgrades you want for your computer easily, and with a bit of a discount on them as well. We have some great Macbook pro packages, and some really cool ones for the Cube. If we get some feedback on them, we're likely to create more...so let us know via email or by commenting here on this site!

-Mike Leader

[iPhone] A QUICK JEST FROM THOSE AT THE ONION...

2007-06-21T13:59:00.001-07:00

Because it's funny...and I'm a bit busy at the moment for a full post...

Apple's untold iPhone functions!

For example:

* When moved from hand to ear, makes Lightsaber sound effects

heheh

-Mike Leader

[YourMacStore News] HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MEANS WE LOVE OUR CUSTOMERS!

2007-06-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

Greetings everyone and happy Friday! While I know that many of our readers do enjoy the commentary and news we provide, we also appreciate that many of you would like to see price updates and new item updates from our store as well. So to really kick off that aspect of the blog, we have this entry.

So without further ado...

YOURMACSTORE.COM ANNOUNCES ITS 8TH ANNIVERSARY!

That's right everyone, our company is 8 years old today, hooray! In honor of this day, from June 15 - July 15, we're going to be offering a flat 10% discount on all orders of $200 or more. This discount will be automatic, so there's no coupon to enter. This is our thank you to all of you for your patronage over the years. If you have any questions, just email yms@vintagecomp.com and we'll be happy to answer them for you.

Thank you very much!

-Mike Leader

[update] SAFARI ON MY PC...

2007-06-12T13:21:00.001-07:00

Well, I promised everyone yesterday a little update on this. I didn't get much of a chance to use it last night after work and before work this morning...but it did seem to not give me much trouble at all for a beta. The interface really doesn't match how my XP looks at home though...unless I have iTunes running. But hey, eventually I'll have an iPhone and I'll need them all to synch up on that computer too. :)

Since I use Firefox extensively on the home computer and it's what I need there...I do plan on putting Safari 3 onto my older PC laptop to see how that goes. Since I use it mostly for just web browsing, it might not be bad for that. Firefox seems to give it trouble sometimes, and I don't need all of what it has while I'm on the go.

Well that IS until I get my new Macbook Pro. :)

-ML

[Product Review] APIOTEK AND THE READER...

2007-06-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time...in the land of Aisatsea, the pretty cool APIOTEK 18-in-1 Card Reader was born. The folks across the seas in Eporue and Acirema had not seen this amazing little gadget yet and were sure to be happy with it...

Apparently my children will fall asleep after the first 2 sentences of that fairy tale...I'll have to write more for future use. Anyway, one of the fun things that we do here at YourMacStore.com is to import new and interesting accessories and hardware from manufacturers that we trust in Asia. APIOTEK is one of our newer partners, and when we happened across their 18-in-1 card reader, we were quite excited. Not only is it just a card reader, but it's designed for your Macbook! You can see by the picture in the previous link that it's designed to slide right into the port designed for it on your Macbook, and be flush with the computer. The only part that would stick out away from the unit itself would be the card that is inserted into the card reader.

Now, the 18-in-1 lives up to it's name (you can see from the links provided), but what it does above and beyond that is pretty cool. Right now, it handles pretty much all of the flash memory cards available on the market, but it is already ready to handle 16GB and 32GB cards when they become more available. Nothing like being ready for future items, so you don't have to update to handle the newest product!

As show in prior links, YourMacStore.com is currently carrying this product at $28.95

-Mike Leader

WWDC Wrap-Up & Evaluation

2007-06-11T15:53:00.001-07:00

Well, pundits can go on and on and on about this and that over what Steve Jobs presented at the WWDC Keynote today...Oh wait, that's my job. ;)

Now for those of you who want to see the full Keynote, you'll be able to download it from the Apple website later...but please be aware...it could take a long time to download. Just be advised. :) (For those of you who can't wait, you can peep a clip over at C/net News - Thanks MHC!)

I think out of everything that really excited me as an end user (not a developer), was the design additions and changes to the Desktop. Now for those of you who really know me, you know that my home computer's desktop is always a mess...it never looks organized. But with Stacks enabling me to keep things organized into groups in the dock, it'll be great for home use. However, the work application is great too! No more "where did I put that sales file from 2003 at?" You move from Stacks over to the new Finder (thank you!) and the Coverflow feature...it's a great way to look at any file, BUT combine that with the QuickView function, and you can quickly view any file's contents in the finder window, or even expand them to full screen size.

The explanation of the folks at EA getting on board with Mac really is lost to me, unfortunately. I don't feel the need to play Madden on my Mac, or Need For Speed either. Now if they'd just get those folks over at Cryptic to get City of Heroes on the Mac, I'd be happy. ;) But this isn't about me. So that news from EA is good to hear...but I don't really think that it'll bring in a lot of new people. Also changes to iChat...oh good...maybe I'll actually use it now! ;) Cool background features and things to play with aren't too bad. They'll make making home movies more fun...who wouldn't want to be the Star Wars hologram? I can think of tons of uses for that!

Now, as I'm about ready to head home for the day, I'll be downloading Safari for my PC to see how that goes. (YES, I have a PC...I can go both ways if I want to...wait that came out wrong. :P) I've heard good things so far from friends...but will my stupid PC be able to manage it? Stay tuned for a report tomorrow on that.

Well, have a good night and a better tomorrow folks...Keep on talking about this...it's all we're getting until the next Macworld. Excelsior!

-Mike Leader

oooh oooh! Widgettttttttttttttsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss....

WWDC UPDATE #7

2007-06-11T11:17:00.001-07:00

- iPhone -

June 29th, 6pm. All hell breaks loose! (ok I said that.)

They've been trying to come up with a solution for developers...and they have a sweet one. Since the iPhone has the Safari software, it gives them the capability with web 2.0 and AJAX apps. You can write apps for web 2.0 that will work on the iPhone and integrate with iPhone services. Instant distribution, easy to update, very secure (just like transactions with a bank or Amazon). NO SDK NEEDED.

He's now going through different apps...email, maps, yada yada. There you have it! That's it for the Keynote Address!

I'll keep my ears to the internet for further updates today...right now, I'm going to take a break and have some lunch! :P (Thanks to the folks at applegazette.com, Gizmodo and macrumors.com!)

-Mike Leader

WWDC UPDATE #6

2007-06-11T11:03:00.001-07:00

Feature #10...

TIME MACHINE!

Jobs points out that almost NO ONE backs up automatically, and that we're all "walking time bombs". Time Machine makes it easy to use with a 1 click setup, automatically backs up everything on your computer...to a serve or external drive as well...even wirelessly! With Time Machine, you can look back at files individually, with Quick Look, and restore specific files, or an entire computer. Looks quite nice. "Our goal was to make it so simple that people would use it." Looks like old excuses aren't going to work...we might all have to go back to "umm the dog ate it!" ;)

that's just 10 of 300 features. I hope he's not going to go on...I may die of exhaustion if it's taken an hour to document 10 of them! Basic version is going to be $129...and that Premium version? It's $129. :) To quote...

"Leopard shipping in October. Basic version, $129. Premium version, $129. Business version, $129, Enterprise version $129. Ultimate version, $129"

Ohh...one last thing...

Safari...

18 million users. Marketshare has climbed up to 4.9%. IE has 78%, Firefox 15%, others 2% Dreaming big means...SAFARI ON WINDOWS! Safari 3 on Leopard, now runs on XP/Vista. Will contain all of the Safari innovations. Jobs has called Safari the fastest browser on Windows...with Google/Yahoo search built in. Apparently public beta tests are available today!

New features include removable tabs. Allows a user to drag a tab around in the window structure, or pull it out and make it it's own window. Oooh...Jobs is demoing iBench with Safari vs. IE. At 6.64 seconds vs. 13.56 seconds. iBench shows Safari to be twice as fast as IE. 500,000 downloads of Firefox a day. Over 1,000,000 downloads of iTunes a day. Over 500M downloads of iTunes to Windows machines.

What there's more! next up...

IPHONE!

WWDC UPDATE #5

2007-06-11T10:50:00.001-07:00

DASHBOARD! (we all love widgets!)

Jobs is very happy with the over 3000 widgets designed for the OS. Since developers and fans write their own so often, Apple is going to be doing their best to keep up. (He demos a Movie Times one that helps select a movie and order the tickets through Fandango. - Woot! Steve likes Pirates 3! I knew he was a pirate!) Apparently you'll be able to use Safari to create a widget from a webpage. Oh wow...he saw something on Yahoo he liked, clipped it out with "scissors" and now it's a widget. Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn! (someone just mentioned that he previewed this last year...but NOW it works! cool!!!) All widgets are live and will update automatically. This "Dash Code" is available NOW, but it ships with Leopard automatically.

Feature #9 - iChat

Looks like parts of Photo Booth are coming to iChat, and Jobs goes on to tell some heartwarming stories about families keeping in touch with it. So we're looking at better Audio for it (AAC-Low Delay), Tabbed Chats, and Photo Booth effects. It will also apparently allow you to create Backdrops and there is an iChat Theater to share chats. Oh wow...anything that works with Quick Look will work with iChat Theater! He's sharing an Excel file with Phil Schiller. They're now making jokes using the Backdrop features...Phil's mouth is now on Steve Ballmer's (CEO of Microsoft) face...too funny.

more to come...

WWDC UPDATE #4

2007-06-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

CORE ANIMATION! WOOO! (shush, I think it's cool!)

Designed for designers, but is easy to use. Utilizing flashy animation inside an application that is handled by the OS, not the application. Automatic Animation, Text, images, video, open GL. Offering higher production values to developers for their applications. This is going to be fun.

Next up, Boot Camp!

Boot Camp is going to be built in to Leopard, allowing you to run XP & Vista at native speed. Should be used as a compliment to Parallels and VMWare. Jobs explains how happy they are to have Parallels and VMWare to help with giving their users more options.

Next up, Spaces!

Group applications in Spaces, and you can easily transition from one to the other. His example shows a game in one, and Safari & Mail in another. This helps to work with multiple desktops running on the same computer. Audio only comes through on a space if it is active...so you can quickly shut off that music when taking a call! ;)

WWDC Update #3

2007-06-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

Ok. For .Mac users, it's now also going to be used as a HUB between your computers...no matter where they are. That's the quick way to say it...

Next, Quick Look. Let's you instantly preview files without opening applications for them. Works with all popular file types and plug-in modules will be available for developers. The demo looks like the movie/album viewer in iTunes. To demo how it works, Jobs found a pdf, selected it, hit the space bar, and a preview window opened without launching the application. Cool! It expands out from all finder views, windows, lists or Cover Flow.

(Crud, my audio from the conference just died! Well back to text updates...)

Feature # 4 - Leopard is 64-bit from top to bottom. This makes it the first OS to go 64-bit. One version of Leopard runs 32-bit and 64-bit applications side by side! Demo shows that a 32-bit system is having issues uploading a 4GB photo. The 64-bit version took 28 seconds, 32-bit version took 81 seconds to run filters on the 4GB photo.

next, feature #5 - CORE ANIMATION!

WWDC Update #2

2007-06-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

Ok now we're on to the OS! Some stats quoted by Jobs:

*Tiger - most successful Apple release
* 22 million active OSX users, 67% use Tiger, 23% use Panther, and 10% use older versions

More items:
300 features in Leopard and we'll see 10 today.
New Desktop (Dock is narrower, new menu bar, consistent window look, prominent active window)
Utilizing "Stacks" to keep desktop clean - downloads have stack in the Dock, and all stacks either stay in dock, or on a grid. Stacks are using Core Animation!) First note of Jobs saying "BOOM!" :)

Woo! New finder! Sidebar has search function built in that has "smart searches" that are customized. Finder now works like iTunes...view it in ANY way, and has Cover Flow. The sidebar is also the place where you will see the shared items from the local network. Cover Flow will allow to browse a computer like browsing a PDF. Over a network too. You can play video with it as well.

Looks like .Mac subscribers will have new goodies as well...more on that next.

WWDC Update #1

2007-06-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

Ok folks here we go...

First thing is a new Mac/PC video. PC impersonating Jobs, talking about shutting down Apple, now that Vista has sold "tens of dozens of copies" and that the ipod killer Zune is out. He's admonished by Mac. Hooray!

Steve then presents an award to the Intel team for all their hard work last year. Yada Yada.

Bing Gordon, Chief Creative officer for EA Games, comes out on stage for an announcement. (EA? weird.) Well it looks like Command & Conquer 3, Battlefield 2142, NFS Carbon, Madden 08 & Tiger Woods 08, and Harry Potter & the order of the phoenix will be on OSX this year and next.

"The only thing better than living on a mac, is living at Hogwarts" - Bing Gordon

[WWDC] UPDATES FOR TODAY...

2007-06-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

Ok folks, I'm going to keep this simple. While I'm not at the conference, I will be blogging throughout the day as I get updates. Keep checking back. :D

-Mike L.

[Op./Ed.] APPLE PULLS A SEAGULL ON THE SUMMER...

2007-06-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

Now let me first explain myself. This is one of those expressions that you and your friends come up with after seeing something in a movie that you liked. Who didn't love the seagulls from Finding Nemo? "Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine." This is what pulling a seagull means...and I honestly think Apple is doing this over the summer.

Let's take a look at the BLITZ that has hit the media and internet over the past couple months. Here it is...stream of consciousness...

First was the announcement of the delay of Leopard...people were upset...but yay, the iPhone is on target for June...Next thing we know...whammo!..The macbook pros are gone from retailers, and a whole new setup has been released...Woo, another way to spend money on Apple!..The speculation about the iPhone is at an an all time high (some even claim it's going to be pay as you go)...the WWDC is just about to it, everything is at a fever pitch...Sun leaks info on the new file system...there's something about Core Animation...

And we're still waiting...oh brother, Monday is going to be hectic. I'll do my best to cover the WWDC on Monday morning and provide input and thought for all of our great readers...but it's likely going to be a lot of information.

Now back to my Seagull point. All of the tech talk lately has been about Apple...they've done a successful job of keeping their name in the spotlight without taking any huge hits. Oh there have been hits, but nothing that they can't weather. Now that attention is going to start paying off...with their name in constant speak (hey it's funny), and the good hype built around the forthcoming release of the iPhone, Leopard, and now the current release of the Santa Rosa chips in the Macbook Pros. (miiiiine...my precious!)

All in all, it looks to be like a great summer, and rest of the year for Apple. I think we'll all know this for certain come June 29 when lines form for the new iPhone. While they won't be around the block, they'll be there!

[Tech Post] REMEMBER WHEN YOUR G4 WAS COOL...

2007-06-08T12:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, no remembering here really...'Twas a ruse...a diversion. I bring this up because copies of ATI Radeon product for the G4 have disappeared off of retailer shelves, and the folks at ATI do not look like they're planning on making any more of that design. Sad I know. It's always tough when your computer feels like it's being left behind and can't compete...but hey, that's what we're for here at YourMacStore...to help you modify and upgrade your Mac so it can compete!

What's that? Yes, we have a solution, and it doesn't involve some kind of inferior card. It involves the ATI Radeon 9600 Pro 64MB ADC/DVI for Power Mac G5, and a bit of tinkering on our part. Our awesome techs here have taken that card for the Power Mac G5, and modified it so it can work on a G4...in two instances. We have one model that will handle Quicksilver/Digital Audio and another that will handle MDD.

While these items are not the ideal solution (the only ideal one would come from the folks at ATI), they work and work well. We've tried to keep the price low on them, and we've given them our own Warranty, so you can purchase without a real worry. See! Here's the YourMacStore.com Team working to help customers like you stay on top of things with their G4s! :D

[YMS News] PRICE UPDATES

2007-06-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

Hi folks! I had planned today to do some good blogging, but I've decided to take the time, starting today, to go through the YMS catalog and update our prices. I really want to see if we can continue to bring you good prices and good service on all of the Mac products we offer, and to do that, I have to wade into the catalog like Rambo into a squad of communist soldiers. So while I may not be posting much today, at least know I'm thinking of all of you! :)

If any big news breaks, y'all know how to get in touch with me. (especially you Mac-Forums.com folks who know how to instant message me!)

-Mike Leader

[Tech] ANYONE FOR SOME CORE IMAGE?

2007-06-06T13:47:00.000-07:00

One of the cooler items we have in stock here at YourMacStore is the ATI Radeon 9600 family of video cards. However, the primary one that's available on the market right now is the ATI Radeon 9600 Pro 64MB ADC/DVI for Power Mac G5...not much right now for the G4. The card I just linked to is ONLY for the Power Mac G5, because it uses an AGP 8X slot. If you tried to insert this into a G4 slot, you'd get nothing, not even power. They're just made that way.

Now with the unavailability as of late of the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro and ATI Radeon 9600 Pro cards, we've been trying to come up with a solution on our end for our valued customers. There's plenty of demand for the 9800 and the 9600 for G4s, but nothing from the manufacturer if the line is discontinued...just no product available. (Even the Radeon 9000 Pro has disappeared from the market...maybe ATI will get around to making an announcement about this in the near future.) To remedy this, we here at YourMacStore decided to take the ATI Radeon 9600 Pro 64MB ADC/DVI for Power Mac G5 card and modify it so it could be used with a G4. With this in mind, we went to work on the card for the G5s, and we now offer two of these modified cards for G4 users. One is for MDD/FW800, and the other one is for QuickSilver/Digital Audio. While they no longer carry a manufacturer's warranty, we do warranty them as used parts from our company. This modified Radeon 9600 Pro supports Dual monitor, Quartz Extreme, and Core Image...

and it's much cheaper than Retail upgrades!

-Mike Leader

[Apple News] MACBOOK PRO'S ROAD TRIP...TO SANTA ROSA!

2007-06-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

The web is a flurry of Apple Activity (or should I say iActivity - I swear I'm TMing that, Apple! In the immortal words of the seagulls from Finding Nemo, "mine mine mine mine!") because of the announcement early this morning of the update to the Macbook Pro line of Apple laptops. Reports of oceans rising (from fanboys like myself all drooling) soon followed Apple fans finding out that the new Santa Rosa line of processors from Intel are now included in the newest Macbook Pro update.

The new "Santa Rosa" (the newest Core 2 Duo chip) processors are going to really push the Macbook Pro laptop to the forefront of that product type globally. With processor speeds of 2.2GHz or 2.4GHz, the new Macbook Pros will also have a 4MB L2 Cache. This
"Smart Cache" that will be shared between the two core as each needs it. They will also see the addition of the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics controller, for some really good 2d & 3d graphics work. But one of the two true kickers for this update...is that the new Macbook Pros will be able to utilize 4GB of RAM (667MHz DDR2)! Now the extra 2GB of RAM is a tad expensive to add on...but I am sure you can find it elsewhere quite soon! (We at YMS are working out a new deal with a GOOD memory manufacturer to bring you lower prices and better quality memory...stay tuned!)

Oh yes, I mentioned a second kicker didn't I? Say goodbye to the old fluorescent (CCFL) displays of the past...and say hello to LED displays! That's right, in keeping with Apple's greener policies, they have switched their laptops to mercury-free, LED displays. Now while I haven't seen one of these up close and personal yet, there is talk that these new displays are better for the eyes, AND can add 30% more life to a battery, because they use even less power. Apple, my eyes thank you already. :)

Now, who wants to give me $3,000 so I can get one right now?* :)

-Mike Leader

*TOTALLY WORTH THE PRICE

Edit: Just because y'all asked...the stats posted on the Apple site -

The 2.2 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:

* 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440-by-900 LCD display;
* 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
* 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
* 120GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
* a slot-load 8x SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 128MB GDDR3 memory;
* DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately);
* built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display;
* built-in iSight video camera;
* Gigabit Ethernet port;
* built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
* ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
* two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, and one FireWire 400 port;
* one audio line in and one headphone out port, each supporting optical digital audio;
* Scrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboard;
* the infrared Apple Remote; and
* 85 Watt Apple MagSafe Power Adapter.

The 2.4 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), includes:

* 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440-by-900 LCD display;
* 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
* 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
* 160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
* a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
* DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately);
* built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display;
* built-in iSight video camera;
* Gigabit Ethernet port;
* built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
* ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
* two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, and one FireWire 400 port;
* one audio line in and one headphone out port, each supporting optical digital audio;
* Scrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboard;
* the infrared Apple Remote; and
* 85 Watt Apple MagSafe Power Adapter.

The 2.4 GHz, 17-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,799 (US), includes:

* 17-inch widescreen 1680-by-1050 LCD display;
* 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
* 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
* 160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
* a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
* DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately);
* built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display;
* built-in iSight video camera;
* Gigabit Ethernet port;
* built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
* ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
* three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, and one FireWire 400 port;
* one audio line in and one headphone out port, each supporting optical digital audio;
* Scrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboard;
* the infrared Apple Remote; and
* 85 Watt Apple MagSafe Power Adapter.

[Apple News] iPHONE'S RELEASE DATE ANNOUNCED! (and other iPhone stuff)

2007-06-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

Wooohoo! June 29th is the release date! Well, Steve Jobs did promise that it would be out before the end of June...and well the 29th is cutting it close, but it works. The announcement came on Sunday (I was sleeping in that day...come on, who makes important announcements on Sundays outside of some religions?), and was heralded in by three different TV spots about the iPhone. The spots are available over at the Apple website.

On the cool side of this announcement we've got solid news on the product's release, and that's always good for consumer confidence. On the bad side of this announcement, there's always some "insider" knowledge that is going to be said just to get a website some attention. (Note my post from awhile back about the death of the Mac mini.) Over at Gizmodo, there's an unfounded rumor (since the author there didn't backtrack his information and make it available for others to read, I had to dig up his resource's article, and then verify that HIS source was a completely unverifiable rumor) that there Apple will unveil plans for 3rd party iPhone applications at the WWDC. Anyone remember playing "telephone" as kids? When someone says that he heard someone else mention that something is going to happen...it doesn't mean it's true. Put the rumors to rest and learn to live a factual world, PLEASE. (You know I've also heard from someone who knows someone who lives with a guy who's ex-girlfriend's uncle's brother-in-law who was in a car accident with a guy who used to clean the bathrooms at Apple's head office and he heard that the iPhone can predict the New Zealand lottery numbers...I can't roll my eyes enough, can you?)

Anyway, we're all happy that the iPhone releases in a couple weeks...aren't you?

---

In other Apple News, over at the iTunes store in the podcasts section, Apple has made available an audio file and a video file of the D5 conference from last week. So you've heard about the Gates/Jobs co-interview, now you can see it and hear it. Totally worth the free download...heck, I'm listening to it now. :)

[Apple News/Op-Ed] D5: All Things Digital - REPORT!

2007-05-30T16:12:00.001-07:00

Apple, Inc. CEO Steve Jobs holds up an iPhone at the D: All Things Digital Conference in Carlsbad today.

Apple TV is a "DVD Player for the Internet" proclaimed Steve Jobs today at the D: All Things Digital conference. All in all, he gave a great interview (when doesn't he really?) and there was a lot said about Apple, it's products and the future. I'll try to break down a lot of what was said, and we can discuss together.

First, he spoke about the growth of the company and it's products since they got on board with Intel...5 times the typical amount of market growth here in the United States. Very very nice for Apple...I wish I made enough extra money to own stock in them! When asked if he felt that by changing the company's name to Apple, Inc. from Apple Computers, they may have given the impression that they were dropping out of the personal computers market. Steve told them no, and went on to talk briefly about the upcoming release of the Leopard OS.

So Apple is doing well...that's always good news, and hey it means they'll be around for awhile. While the world trends to more and more laptop and portable computers and less and less desktop computers, as long as Apple tries to stay at the forefront, they'll be alive and kicking long after Jobs has gone to the great orchard in the sky. :)

Walt Mossberg then jokes about the iPhone shipping in late June "Like the last day in June?" Steve followed through with the quip, "Yeah probably." Smartass CEO...great...let's not hurt the confidence in the iPhone before it releases by making jokes about the release date. Just make it happen when it's supposed to happen. That's all anyone can ask of a big company like Apple.

In one of my favorite bites here about the iPhone, Walt asks Jobs why there isn't one on the iPhone, when the folks at Palm have shown there is a desire for one. To which Jobs fired back, "No. … Once you learn to trust the keyboard, it’s a better keyboard. I’ll bet you dinner that you’ll love it." I'm really hoping he bets me dinner, because I am really sure my fat fingers won't like the keyboard on the iPhone. :P

Steve goes on to say that iPhone runs “real OS X, real Safari, real desktop email.”
Woohoo! Now this is cool...and likely stems from the fact that Apple owns their own browser and can modify it as they need to for the iPhone...and this goes for other similar programs. However Jobs did state further that not all OSX programs can run on the iPhone.

Now you remember earlier when I mentioned the part about the Apple TV? Well here's the kicker...Apple now has a done deal with the folks at YouTube to provide streaming content for the Apple TV! Come next month (June for y'all not on the Gregorian Calendar), a special download update will be available for the Apple TV owners to allow them to stream content from the folks at YouTube. Pretty cool stuff there! Walt Mossberg then noted that iTunes is one of the more ubiquitous pieces of software out right now, with it being used on quite a lot of Windows machines. Jobs, who always seems to be able to give out great quotable responses fielded that with, "That’s right. It’s like offering a glass of ice water to people in hell."

Lastly, during the Q&A session, Jobs was asked about why the iPhone is a closed platform currently. In reality, his answer makes complete sense in the way Apple has always done things...Apple wants a closed system to protect the security of the phone itself. Jobs even stated that he doesn't want the iPhone to be "one of those phones that crashes a few times a day." He asked for our patience with this, and he's likely to get it.

All in all, it was a lot of information, and a good interview...I wish I could have been there to see it live. ;)

Input from y'all? Discussion? Questions?

-Mike Leader

[Apple News] ITUNES PLUS ARRIVES!

2007-05-30T13:39:00.000-07:00

Well, today Apple launched iTunes Plus, their newest addition to the iTunes catalog. This update heralds the arrival of DRM-Free files from the EMI music catalog. These special files are high quality 256 kbps AAC files, that Apple claims are almost identical to the original recordings...and only $1.29 per song. The iTunes Plus catalog launches with EMI's digital catalog made up of both new and classic artsts, running the gamut of The Rolling Stones to Pink Floyd to Coldplay.

If you have already downloaded any of the songs on the updated catalog, all you have to do is pay an additional $.30 per song (about $3.00 per album), and iTunes will automatically update your songs with the DRM-Free ones. So, with these new songs from EMI being DRM-Free, you'll be able to listen to them for as many times as you want on any computer or type of music player. According to

iTunes today also debuts iTunesU, a free content area of the iTunes store that contains lectures and educational content from top US colleges. You can now take school on the go with you as you need to. Now, if I could only earn that degree for free while listening to lectures on my iPod! ;)

[Apple News] AT&T Chats about the iPhone

2007-05-29T16:23:00.000-07:00

Over at the Seattle Times today (I'm starting to read a lot of different newspapers from around the US and Globally lately, even if I live in a tiny surf-town in Southern California), Brier Dudley posted in his blog today about a discussion he had with Glenn Lurie. Lurie is the AT&T's president of national distribution for the iPhone, and he offered some interesting insights into the marketing of the device.

A couple of points made:

1) The iPhone will not have a subscription service for music. You'll have to synch it from your computer.

2) The price for the iPhone isn't unreasonable. He pointed out that an iPod Nano is $200, and that blackberry you're carrying is another $200...and then there's your cellphone which is another $50 or so, plus its subscription rate. That's close to $500 right there. :)

3) He really gets into how happy they are to work with Apple because of their outlooks on the customer experience.

Now, let's be honest, I've never found AT&T to be the best with customer service (15 days to get my phone line up, and I had to fight to get those 15 days prorated)...so his statement about being on the level with Apple was interesting...I'm personally not confident in AT&T's customer service and customer experience. He avoided any discussion about subsidizing the cost of the iPhone, which was also interesting.

What I can agree with is their outlook about being the first to change the phone industry. Motorola did it 11 years ago with tiny flip phones, and now Apple and AT&T are about to give it a swift kick in the creativity sacs with the iPhone.

[Apple News/RUMOR] Apple Insider calls the Death of the Mac mini...

2007-05-24T15:29:00.001-07:00

Over at Apple Insider, one of their writers today decided to call the Mac mini a dead product line. In an industry that is always full of wild predictions, they decided to call it now, so that in whatever time allotted by Apple for the product's lifespan, they can say that they said it first. Honestly that's all it feels like. But then I'm the kind of guy who REALLY dislikes folks like this...what I like to call "Chicken Littlers"...who find ways to call the demise of a product or person just to see if they can make an impact. (Like that faulty iPhone "insider" post I mentioned last week.)

While they like to point out that the Apple TV is taking over the Mac mini slot in Apple's retinue, there's no general proof of that. They also assert that the Mac mini hasn't seen regular upgrades, because Apple doesn't really care about the sub$800 computer market. That Apple ONLY made the Mac mini to appease shareholders who cried out for a that could compete in that "tiny" market. I'm with the majority of folks I've spoken to about this in believing that thttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifhe Apple TV and the Mac mini will likely merge into something together. Heck, pull the DVD drive out of it...more HDD space! It's all possible.

I honestly beg to differ...as do many others I speak with daily. The Mac mini is a great computer (lord knows our office runs on them...I'm on a 2.33GHz intel core 2 duo with 2Gigs of memory) that doesn't need a ton of support and revisions. I honestly believe that it was conceived as a computer that they wouldn't need to continually update. Ever since I first encountered the Mac mini in 2005, I was impressed...brings back memories...

"THAT is your computer?" I exclaimed at my friend/co-worker Kevin. "Yeah," he said. "Everything I could ever need in something smaller than my toaster." He proceeded to turn it off in seconds, unhook everything attached, and then show me how it fit into his shoulder bag. "All I need is a monitor/keyboard setup both here at the office and at home...and I'm cool."

I was amazed that day...and to this day appreciate everything the Mac mini has to offer. Simplicity, frugality, small-in-stature-but-strong-on-delivery...and hey, who doesn't almost always have an extra monitor around to plug it into? Honestly, I'm in agreement with the folks over at Ars Technica, when I think it's not the death of the sub$800 market...it's a declination in desktops. People are purchasing laptops at a frightening rate, and they may be considered the wave of the future. (Great, just what I need, some jerk on the bus next to me playing WoW.)

Anything is possible...however let's all not spend our times telling each other "I told you so!" We're better than that. :)

[Op/Ed.] MAC EVOLUTION/REVOLUTION: Part 2 - A Well-Made Mistake...

2007-05-22T15:07:00.000-07:00

Well, in the end, we all can make mistakes. Like we're always told, if we learn from those mistakes, we can grow and not repeat them...or in the case of really good people, get into the same situation and conquer that problem without making that same mistake again. Apple isn't a perfect company...who is? Even they have made some stinkers, but they've gone on and learned from their mistakes and improved their products because of that. This shows the true growth of the company as a whole...but let's show some of their failures and how they were learned from...

The Newton - Now some of you are going to start shouting at me "The Newton was cool! It changed everything!" Right. I understand that, however financially it really was a big failure. Big blocky thing, bad handwriting recognition program, etc etc...but where has the Newton got Apple to today? Why the iPhone of course! Now what they wanted originally can be set up in the iPhone with smaller and more efficient technologies.

The Macintosh TV - Wow...Looking at that picture brings back memories. The world just wasn't ready for TV on a computer back in 1993...but also it had a pretty shoddy graphical performance, and the computer couldn't playback TV on the computer's desktop. However, Apple is back now with Apple TV, bringing iTunes content to TV screens across the nation.

The Macintosh Portable - Holy smokes this thing is heavy! Bulky, 16 pounds, and practically useless by today's standards, the Mac Portable definately led the way with innovative design. The nice slim laptops/notebooks we have today from Apple and other manufacturers were born out of finding out that people couldn't carry a 15 pound portable computer!

You see, we all can make mistakes...and it's ok for companies to do that (Anime fans, ask me about the Initial D ccg sometime)...as long as they learn from it and grow a better products from that lesson.

[Op/Ed.] MAC EVOLUTION/REVOLUTION: Part 1 - It's Getting Better All The Time...

2007-05-18T16:14:00.000-07:00

It is interesting to look back and see the evolution of Apple and Mac over the years. Far too many people come into the offices here at YourMacStore and marvel at the history of Apple products we have in our display area. Some have never even heard of the Apple II, or the Lisa 2, or even have seen the first Macintosh portable (it’s 15.8 pounds!). It goes to show that for those of us who have been a part of the computer revolution since it’s early days in the late ‘70s that we have seen so many changes in how computers act, what they do, how they are used, and how they look…and in reality, Apple’s products really have shown the most dramatic (and possibly with the most showmanship) changes.

Look back at those early cases…the Lisa…the first computer with a graphical user interface built in. The Apple IIc with the tiny body (and built in handle) that was maybe 1/3 of the weight of the Apple II. Younger people today who weren’t very old or even around when these things came into being really can’t appreciate the revolution behind them. I remember helping my mother bring home her PC from work so she could do work on the weekends back in the mid 1980s…it was a 50 pound beastie, and that was just the computer, the monitor was a whole other deal! Apple pushed and pushed to make computers more accessible to the average person, and really did a good job of making items smaller, simpler, and more useful to the average person. Computers came out of the workplace and into classrooms and homes because of their ability to think and produce what anyone could use.

Macworld listed it’s top 30 innovative Mac products, and at the top of the list was the Macintosh 128K…blocky mouse and all. I remember when these and the later models began to hit the schools I was going to, and how educators were singing the praise of Apple for making these computers available for practically a song and a dance. Not only was it good PR, but darn good marketing…those kids who used them in junior high and high school…they used them in college…and beyond. While they weren’t the first to try and tackle “cradle to grave” marketing…they have done a good job of it over the years.

-Mike Leader

[Apple News] FACT CHECKING 101: Don't Always Trust Your Source 100%

2007-05-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

While every journalist, pseudo-journalist, blogger and ambulance chaser out there always dreams of having the perfect inside source, it's not always true. The folks over at Engadget yesterday managed to not completely fact check something that a "trustworthy" source from Apple gave them...and managed to commit a major reporting faux pas: posting unsubstantiated "news".

They claimed to have received information from a trustworthy person inside Apple, who shared with them an internal memo email that stated that Apple was going to delay the iPhone until October, and Leopard until January 2008. Then what was thought to be the unthinkable happened...Apple's stock dropped 5 points. Some of you may say..."uhh what's 5 points to Apple?" Try about 4 billion dollars, bucko. So it makes me wonder how seriously people take the information they get from sites like Engadget and the like that supposedly have insider information and leak said information all of the time. It's an unhealthy obsession that Americans have in general with "having to know first" and even if it's a wild rumor, most folks want to know first so they can look smart and say "I told ya so" before anyone else did.

So, the questions I think a lot of us have now are: "Did Apple do this on purpose to ferret out people breaking NDA and supplying insider info to websites?" and "Will Apple seek out a judgement against Engadget for reporting false news that damaged their company's profits?" While I'm not a legal expert, there seems to be some merit to that kind of case, with slander laws being how they are. Now if you check the link in this paragraph, you'll see that Apple's gone down this route before...and since they have already gone that route, it is not likely that they'll pursue it. However, that leads me to believe that they may have just done it to suss out the leaks. It's like putting dye into your water to see exactly where in the pipes the water is dripping from...or a tiny radioactive isotope into the body to see where it goes when it's digested. When I used to handle people with NDAs at a previous employer, I would do this kind of thing at least 1-2 times a year to check the security of people who were considered "trusted" just to be absolutely sure. After the first one of these gets through, there's rarely a second one for quite awhile.

What do all of you readers think? Post some comments and let us know!

[Apple News] AT&T IPHONE SALES BRIEF LEAKED...

2007-05-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

Well, the actual sales brief sheet to AT&T Employees was leaked over at The Boy Genius Report, and it puts some interesting things out there.

The document pretty much tells AT&T employees that they aren't allowed to speculate on pricing or the release date (other than sometime in June), or talk about anything outside of what is being mentioned on both AT&T's iPhone website or over at Apple's iPhone website. They are, however, reminded sternly that the iPhone is going to be available on a first-come-first-served basis. They aren't going to be allowed to take pre-orders, or call lists for customers who are interested in purchasing one.

I know there are two camps in retail management about the idea of pre-orders, with it pretty much even up as to whom is on what side. There are those who feel that pre-orders and call lists are unfair, and there are those (like me) who feel that they are a necessity. I used to manage a video store for a major chain (not that ugly blue & gold one), and upper management never seemed to like that I would take names and phone numbers, and call customers when certain rentals came in. It's not like they would have a permanent hold on the item, but because they had the foresight to ask if we could let them know when it came in, I gave them the courtesy of doing so. They had 30 minutes if I spoke with them or got an answering machine, to come pick it up. If they didn't, back into population it went. I honestly don't see why some kind of similar system couldn't be worked out by AT&T for their iPhone sales.

However, if one thinks about the point that is made in the document that there is to be no speculation over the price points ($499 & $599), there might be something interesting there. By encouraging their employees to do that, there's a high chance that it means they'll be lowering the cost of the phone based on the service contract for X amount of time. Because when they announce that on the iPhone's release date, it'll help reduce the sticker shock that some people are going through right now when they hear about it. Cell service providers do this all the time with other cellphones, why not with the iPhone? Think about it, would they want a single sale of $500...or a single sale of $395 + a 2 yr service contract? They could possibly pull down another $1900 from someone for the service contract. So yea...expect the price to go down on the phone...also expect the service contract to make your wallet cry "UNCLE!".

[Apple News] ITUNES HAS A BAND ON THE RUN...

2007-05-14T12:38:00.001-07:00

Hiya folks!

Today's UK MacWorld has a confirmation from EMI that Paul McCartney will have his entire solo catalog released on iTunes later this year. This will likely include all of his albums after he left the Beatles, solo projects and releases with Wings.

Check the original article here: Click Me

I'm a big Beatles fan and a Paul McCartney fan. It'll be good to see his music get more exposure to younger people, and with some luck they'll be able to see his genius like I was when I was 12 years old.

-Mike Leader

[Product Review] I THINK WE NEED A BIGGER BOAT...

2007-05-11T12:43:00.000-07:00

When it was first explained to me that we were going to be carrying a brand new accessory item, I was surprised, as we normally don’t carry a wide variety of accessories here at YourMacStore. However, I was more surprised when shown the Radio Shark 2 package. We all listened to radio at one time or another…heck, growing up in the 1980s and before, everyone listened to radio. Nowadays, the airwaves in major cities are filled with talk shows, sports shows, shock jocks , and every type of music from A-Z….and radio is unfortunately being left behind a little bit with the advancing computer age. With all the internet radio stations out there, it’s got to be hard to keep up…but the Radio Shark 2 helps to bring broadcast radio right into the digital age, cheaply and efficiently. This item is a great piece of work from top to bottom, so let me go over what it can do for you.

First, for Mac OS X 10.4.9 users (like me) you’ll need to download the software update from the Griffin website, as there are some compatibility issues with Tiger….but it takes seconds and is necessary for the software to fully function. (Otherwise you’ll have to change stations by closing the program and reopening it.) The unit itself is small and the weight is negligible…and since it’s designed to look like a shark fin, it looks pretty cool sitting on top of your computer/monitor/desk/windowsill/catbox/whatever. It plugs into any USB port and is powered by that connection. The package comes with a USB extender cord as well, and a radio antenna extender too. After the software is installed, the interface is easily used. You can type in station numbers (1-0-0-.-3 for example), use your scroll wheel to scan up and down the stations, or even set & select favorites. After playing with just listening to the radio broadcasts from my favorite local stations here in Los Angeles (95.5, 93.1, 98.7, and 106.7 to name a few), I then discovered the “Time-Shift” feature. For you TIVO fans out there, you’ll like this. It allows you to pause a live radio transmission for up to 10 minutes, and it will record the broadcast while you step away. Alternatively, you can just drag the slider back and listen to that same song again! That 10 minute auto-record is always on for your convenience of use…no more will you say “what was that word in that song?” You can just “Time-Shift” back and hear it again…and again…and again til you get it right!

Now the “Time-Shift” recordings can be saved right to your hard drive for later listening, or you can actually schedule the Radio Shark 2 to record radio shows during a specific time slot and for a set time…for months in advance! Missing a talk show because of a meeting or special event? Not a problem for the Radio Shark 2…it’ll record it for you later. Now these recordings are automatically saved to your Mac as an AAC or AIFF file, which leads into one of the other cool things about this device, its interaction with iTunes. The setup can be placed to where it automatically creates a playlist in your iTunes with everything that it saves, and those playlists can…you guessed it…be exported right to your iPod. So, are you missing Jim Ladd’s show on KLOS every night because you have to be up early? No problem. Schedule it to be recorded, and then downloaded to your iPod and you can listen while on your way to work in the morning. It’s as simple as that. Lastly, the software update from Griffin comes with a widget for you to use with the OS X dashboard…just in case you wanted to listen to the radio without having the Radio Shark software open.

All in all, I'm personally jazzed with this product, and look forward to taking it home this weekend and seeing what I can do with it. Oh yes, and stay tuned for our next review…the iKareoke. ;)

-Mike Leader

[Tech] C-VRM TECHNICAL FOUL...

2007-05-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I’m not the tech person here at YourMacStore. However, I do have a real concern for technical issues that may come up from time to time, and I want to make sure that we bring this information to you as we find it. One of the larger concerns that has come to our attention (4 times in the past month) relates to GigaDesigns’ C-VRM for the Cube. Now, the C-VRM is a wonderful piece of hardware, but like any piece of hardware, put into certain situations it can cause some severe problems. Now let me explain something first: This does not happen in all instances relating to the C-VRM. Please check with tech support either here at YMS or at the manufacturer before trying any fixes like this. Now that is out of the way, let me try and break this down…

Several of our customers have brought to our attention in the past month that their Cubes have had issues with not being able to boot up after installing the C-VRM. They would turn on their computer, it would start to boot, and then immediately shut down. Not cool. Usually if this would happen in 1 circumstance, it’s got to be a faulty C-VRM…we know, it does happen if rarely. But in 4 separate occasions in one month? At that point, we made a decision to try and help these folks fix the problem on their end if possible.

Now we know that in the past when there have been problems with the C-VRM it has related to a faulty or incompatible logic board…but after checking that against these folks’ situations, it didn’t match. When one of the customers sent their C-VRM back to us, it was tested and found to work just fine. Much head-scratching ensues at this point. Finally, after a couple of calls to the folks at Giga, we’re able to figure out what is going on. You see, the C-VRM has a safety circuit. This circuit detects power usage at startup that, if outside it’s parameters, causes it to shut down the computer to protect it. AHAH! Now after fully quizzing our customers…wow, all of them have the same processor! All the pieces are now quickly falling into place. The GigaDesigns 1.4GHz processor, the logic board, and the C-VRM are spiking their power requirements at the same time, and causing the safety circuit to kick in…there’s our problem. Now to fix it…

To fix the problem, it comes down to 1 of 3 things…either stop using the C-VRM, get a new logic board, or to change the timing on the processor. Since option 1 & 2 do not really help the situation, let’s look at option 3. You can easily overclock the Gigadesigns 1.4GHz processor to 1.5GHz…heck, it’s in their instruction book on how to do it! All you’d have to do is to alter the dipswitches from 1.4GHz to 1.5GHz. You may also need to alter other dipswitches. As it says in the manual, please contact Giga or YMS tech support before doing this. (Improper settings can result in fatal damage to your computer. Do not try to change it without tech support advice.) This will change the timing of the power spike from the processor, and keep the C-VRM’s safety circuit from kicking in and ruining your fun.

-Mike Leader

[Tip] "ONE-ARMED BANDIT COMPUTER BUYING"...

2007-05-10T10:25:00.000-07:00

Everyone is looking to get the best deal possible, right? From grocery shopping, to tech shopping, retailers are always trying to bring in sales with cool specials, ads, and even some base tricks that even the most basically educated person shouldn’t fall for. One of those tricks, what I like to call "One-Armed Bandit Buying" (because you'd be luckier on a slot machine than with this trick) is “DISPLAY MODEL ON SALE!” You see, this post comes out of a discussion that cropped up over at Mac-Forums.com a couple days back, and being of some interest to me, I thought I’d discuss it with a few people I know who work in retail, and some new friends as well.

The question originally revolved around a Big-Box Store listing MacBook Pros as being out of their system (not being reordered), and how that could signal that there’s a new model coming. What was of interest to me was the musing about that location’s display models of the MacBook Pros going up for sale. Now display models are deeply discounted, and always look to be a good deal…but not so. Think of the abuse those poor MacBook Pros went through there: People slamming their covers shut, over and over again. Lord knows how many people touching them and getting whatever germs and skin and hair (ok I may worry about these kinds of things) all over them. But the most important thing, that they’re on for 8-12 hours a day STRAIGHT. That can’t be healthy for those poor screens, and will degrade the length of their lives.

In the case of one location I frequent, I asked an employee if they had any display laptops that were going up for sale. He showed me two…one of which he warned me away from because (and he WHISPERED to me) that he knew the keyboard wasn’t working right, as he’d seen it being replaced in the back office by a manager. Yea, I’m going to buy a laptop that may have been monkeyed with by a store’s management. I cannot roll my eyes here enough, people! One of my friends, David, mentioned that one of the bigger problems with display models is the software that gets installed on them in the stores to run ads, in-store demonstrations and the like on them. The majority of the computers he knew about at his store had to be rebooted several times a day because of the programs clashing with the operating system. (Now while this happens with those Vista computers –blech!- it likely doesn’t happen with the Macs.)

The only upside (thank you again David) that can be found is using a display model purchase as a “test drive” for a laptop you want to purchase. I say this because most Big Box stores will not charge a restocking fee for a returned display model. So you’ll be able to take that Macbook Pro through it’s tasks and your daily use of it rather easily, without losing any real money on them. (DO remember to check with the store to see if they charge a restocking fee on display item purchases.) Also, in the past I have purchased display models, from stereos to DVD players. In fact, I had a DVD player for 6 years that was a display model, and it worked very well for that entire 6 years. Sometimes you CAN luck out, but I’ve always found that it’s best not to test your luck against some of the larger electronics stores…sometimes it’s better to go to your favorite casino and play blackjack…you’ll have better odds.

-Mike Leader

(ps: I've got 1-2 more posts coming today to make up for the past couple of days)

[Apple News] MULTIPLE DASHBOARDS ON LEOPARD!?

2007-05-04T14:10:00.000-07:00

Hi folks. I should have posted this yesterday, but a busy day at the office always takes a bit of precedence over Apple News. I read about this over on the MacNN Forums and in their blog...wow. Check out the article here.

Very interesting if you ask me.

So, it looks like we will be getting some information on unannounced additions to Leopard, like this, at the WWDC after all. See...I think that things like this help make the additional wait worth it. :)

[Tech] SUPERDRIVE III: RISE OF THE CUBE

2007-05-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

Ok so we've talked about internal SuperDrives and external SuperDrives...but what about the Cube? Is the Cube left hanging in the wind on this one? No Way! Here's the solution:

Internal 8x SuperDrive (DVD+-R) for Cube UJ-85J+BKT

As many of y'all know, the Cube's optical drive is the slot-loading type, which was incredibly new when the Cube was launched. However, many years later, it's out of style...it is bigger than the latest slim drive, and its spec is poor. Tsk tsk...poor Cube, destined to slave away with a slow optical drive...Not so! All you would need would be an adapter and you would be able to work it out.

Enter Spirica. Spirica is a Japanese manufacturer (with which we at YourMacStore are deeply cooperating) who created a special adapter (bracket) for the Cube. This adapter makes it incredibly easy to add the latest type of slim drive to your Cube...theoretically. (Hey, nothing is ever really universal, is it?) We do recommend that if you do go the route with the Spirica bracket, that you need to set your HDD to Slave.

---

Well there you have it, our first Trilogy of Tech posts. We're always looking for new topics, so if YOU have an idea for a Tech post that we at YourMacStore can use, drop me a line at yms@vintagecomp.com to let us know! Feedback rules!! :)

-Mike Leader

[Apple News] A GREEN APPLE A DAY...

2007-05-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

keeps the planet's doctor away?

Apple just made an awesome announcement on their website today regarding their Green policy, recycling, and the future of their products. While it does give me a great feeling to see their policies laid out before us, it's also done in a very personal way...something Steve Jobs is still very good at. So it's filled with technical information about CRTs, mercury, lead and even that evil hexavalent chromium...and how Apple is going to do their best to increase the recycling of E-Waste.

Based on an idea from Dell, Apple assumes a 7 year lifespan for products, and compares the weight of products recycled in the current year, with the weight of products sold 7 years ago. Based upon that measurement, Apple recycled 9.5% of the weight of its sales from 7 years ago in 2006. They breakdown the growth of this project in that article from Jobs, so I won't bore you with it here.

However, as many folks would agree, this was by far and large the most interesting statement in the document from Steve Jobs...

"To eliminate mercury in our displays, we need to transition from fluorescent lamps to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to illuminate the displays. Fortunately, all iPod displays already use LEDs for illumination, and therefore contain no mercury. We plan to introduce our first Macs with LED backlight technology in 2007. Our ability to completely eliminate fluorescent lamps in all of our displays depends on how fast the LCD industry can transition to LED backlighting for larger displays."

So...along with the iPhone and the release of Leopard this year, we also seem to have some new Macs with to look forward to. We're curious to see what the consumer cost on these products is going to be, as they're currently pricey technology...maybe with some luck, Apple or it's ilk can find a way to bring that cost down...

Greener computers...who'd have thought Apple was ahead in this...

We do! :)

[Tech] SUPERDRIVE II: THE SEQUEL

2007-05-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

(Come on, I know some of you Boot Camp users are running City of Heroes...and like superhero references too... ;) )

For those of you with Powerbooks/iBooks, an internal SuperDrive would be pretty awesome to have. Thing is, not everyone is up to disassembling their notebook/laptop, because it does require some skill to do that. You could have it installed for you, usually at the cost of a pretty penny, on top of the cost of the item. Not all of us have this kind of money to spend (have you seen the gas prices in CA these days…$3.40 a gallon…it’s worse in Europe, but sheesh), but there is an alternative…

External Firewire/USB 2.0 Superdrive to the rescue!

Now we all know that there are many and varied external drives on the market, but we feel that this one is just a bit different. You see it works just like a genuine internal SuperDrive, only it gets to sit out on your desk or countertop and look pretty. Who needs to spend a fortune upgrading, when you get an external, plug it in and go? Since this works as a normal SuperDrive, it supports booting, works perfectly with iApps and Finder…and even works with the OS 9 Finder. Being bus powered, there’s also no worry about a power cord that will take up more space…so tell those additional AC Adapters to shove off!

In the end, there’s nothing wrong with “going external” if you don’t want to spend the cash to upgrade your computer and have new stuff installed.

[YMS Sale] MAY IS THE MONTH OF MEMORY...

2007-05-01T16:03:00.000-07:00

Say that 10 times fast!

Yes, May...the worker's month. Time to celebrate May Day, Memorial Day, and Memory Month! That's right, this month at YourMacStore, you can get yourself 10% off your memory order...

What's that? How do you do it? Oh it's easy...easy peasy...all you have to do is purchase $90.00 or more of memory, and enter in the special coupon code "memory10" and your order will receive 10% off! Hey, that's practically free shipping for those of you here in the United States...who can say no to that? (Just for reference, new memory modules are warranted by YourMacStore for three years from the invoice date.)

There you have it! See you on the front lines, fellow workers! :)

[Tech] SUPERDRIVE TO THE RESCUE!

2007-04-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

(I tell ya, I'm a sucker for superhero stuff!)

Well, after the great response we’ve received from all of our readers about some of our tech pieces, I’ve gone in and kicked over the anthill in the back office to see what would happen. BIG mistake. After nursing the many tech-ant bites I got, they finally settled down and told me their tale of the Internal 8x DL SuperDrive (DVD-R + CD-RW) UJ-85J drive.

This drive (we’ll call it the UJ-85J for short) is one of the most common internal superdrives for many laptops, Mac minis and the iMac G5/intel models. The 8x DVD-R writing speed, and the 4x DVD+R Dual Layer are the same specs as the Macbook Pro 17 inch models. So for laptops you know that this drive is at the top of the game because it’s in the best models Apple has to offer currently. This drive also supports 5x DVD-Ram burning, which Apple drives do not support. With the ease of use of DVD-Ram, it adds into a great bonus for those who purchase it.

Now if you feel that the burning speed on your Powerbook/iBook is slow, it’s a great upgrade to get for it. I take that back, it’s not a great upgrade. Just because the Powerbook/iBooks have a Combo Drive only…it is a SUPER upgrade! (See, yet another superhero reference!) So, once you install it and install the patch software, it’ll work as a genuine drive for you. It works perfectly with iApps or Finder, and it can boot from CD/DVD boot discs.

Another benefit is the drive’s ability to work with OS9. Since there is no burning software currently available for OS9 (you’d have to find a REALLY old version of Toast…and you can’t purchase it normally), you’d need a drive like this if you’re still in “vintage times” and using OS9.

Since the Macbook/Macbook Pro 15inch models are smaller, they do not use the UJ-85J. They use a smaller, ultra slim drive instead. With some luck, we’ll hopefully see a SuperDrive like the UJ-85J for these models in the near future. Keep your fingers crossed, eh? :)

[Apple News] NOTES FOR APRIL 25, 2007

2007-04-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

APPLE IN TALKS TO BRING LYRICS TO ITUNES

From AppleInsider.com

Apparently, Apple and Gracenote are in talks to hopefully bring lyrics to the users of iTunes. It looks as if their point in all of this is to be a part of a large music industry push to get rid of the independent music lyrics websites that are nothing but gigantic popup ads and inaccurate song lyrics. Likely it’ll go the same way that Gracenote and Yahoo set themselves up with yesterday in their announcement.

Last year, Gracenote set up a deal with several different music publishers to give them the digital rights to lyrics. The Chief Executive of Gracenote, Craig Palmer, said,

“…licensing lyrics should boost worldwide music publishing revenues, estimated at about $4 billion annually, with the words to songs ultimately providing as much as $100 million in annual revenues in about 10 years as the market expands with new opportunities like online subscriptions, downloads and automotive distribution deals.”

That’s a heck of a lot of revenue they’ll think that they will create just by publishing song lyrics online in a cohesive manner. But I guess it’s a fair trade to make certain that Billy can sing along to REM’s “End Of The World As We Know It” and not sound like a complete fool…and think of it, bar bets everywhere settled by the internet. Ahhh life is grand. :D

APPLE REPORTS SECOND QUARTER RESULTS

From apple.com

Today Apple posted their 2nd quarter financial results, which added up to a net quarterly profit of $770 million. Also is mentioned that 10,549,000 iPods and 1,517,000 Macs were shipped during the quarter. Not to shabby folks. :)

[Product Review] CHARGE!

2007-04-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

One of the great things we’re doing here at YourMacStore is importing very cool and new items from Japan. These are things that you can’t get anywhere else, and those clever Japanese manufacturers are putting together some very interesting stuff these days. We all know that they’re about space saving and about versatility, so let me show you a couple of the things that we’ve got from them recently.

First up, the AKIBA Front Attack DDT drive case…ah yes, everyone loves the cool drive cases. Well, not only is it a sleek looking drive case that holds TWO external drives…notice the Firewire port on the front of it? How about the Firewire port on the back right next to the 2 USB 2.0 ports? Pretty nifty indeed! But, who are we at YourMacStore to try and sell you on this double external drive case…without throwing some cases into it? That’s right…how about a 600GB External Drive? How about a 1 Terabyte External Drive? Oooooh…bootable external drives rule! Especially ones that can store up to 1000GB of information!

What’s that? How does it stack up against the competition? Ok fair question, and rather than let y’all do your own research, Uncle Mike here has done some of it for you. Let’s compare the AKIBA Front Attack 1TB against…hmmm…how about one of the big boys on the block…G-Tech’s G-SATA 1000GB external drive. Over on their website is similar to the AKIBA Front Attack model…with two gigantic differences. The first difference is no firewire ports at all on the device (it’s got an eSATA PCIe adapter though – read: more work). The second, and by far the most important difference to price conscious users…it’s over $200 more than the AKIBA. Now who is giving you the best bang for your buck? Why YourMacStore of course! :D

Speaking of external drives, here’s another beauty from AKIBA. The . Similar in nature to the Front Attack dual external drive above (except no USB ports), if you want to have a 500GB external drive, this little guy delivers. It’s small, space-saving, and easy to set up. What? You’d like a smaller external drive? Why…err…sure! How about the 120GB Century SuperCombo 2.5, FireWire/USB 2.0 External Drive? Compact and portable, this external drive is even bus powered, so you wouldn’t even need a power cable in most circumstances.

Lastly I should mention our first AKIBA product to sell here in the US, the AKIBA ATA/133 PCI Host Adapter Card w/Cable. This little beauty is comparable with other PCI host adapter cards out there…only it’s far cheaper, and of the same quality!

Ok I’ve gone on a bit here about what cool items that AKIBA puts out…but all of you need to check them out yourselves. They’re worth your precious money and time. We wouldn’t bring them to your attention if we didn’t believe in how good they really are.

-Mike Leader

[Product Review] SILICON DISK BUILDER

2007-04-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

I know that many of us who have digital cameras, digital photo frames, camcorders, GPS devices and even cell phones have SD cards just lying around. There’s two 2GB ones lying right over there on the other desk in my office…just sitting there unused because I’ve got an 8GB one now. Should I throw them out? Give one to a less fortunate buddy? Build a cool sculpture out of them? Nope…I can now put them to good use inside my PC. (Yes, I said PC…says the guy who deals in Mac hardware all day long.)

Well, we here at YourMacStore came across an awesome little piece of PC hardware that’s currently only made in Japan, and is pretty popular there with those folks who have 3-4 leftover SD cards that can be put to better use. Without further ado, let me present to all of you…the AKIBA Silicon Disk Builder!

Now, I know that you’re saying to yourself…I already have a 200 GB hard disk, why would I want something that’s going to give me an additional 8GB of memory? Well, let me tell you…no spinning drive on this thing for one. It is Ultra Quiet because of no moving parts, and it also produces a very low amount of heat. To top that all off, it’s “Super Anti-Shock” so static electricity isn’t its bane. But because of that Anti-Shock, it makes it quite capable as an exterior/portable “hard drive”. With a little bit of modification, you too can make this work for your PC as a simple, little portable “hard disk” that is so quiet, it makes mice seem like they’re moshing at a Pennywise concert.

The only real restrictions you’re looking at here are minor, but good to know about. You cannot combine different types of SD cards because it uses RAID-0. They also need to be installed in a group of 4 cards or in a pair of 2 cards. That’s relatively minor for those of you who have a couple of these cards lying around.

So PC users…what do you think?

[Apple News] AppleTV to land in Target stores...

2007-04-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

As reported over on Apple Insider today, it looks like Target will join the other major electronics stores in carrying the Apple TV product. While they already carry it in their online store for sale, this is an interesting move for them. Target isn't known for it's big and flashy looking floor displays and I can tell you from personal experience (after working as a logistics team member for them many years ago) their staff usually doesn't have the technical knowledge to explain how an answering machine works, let alone a 40GB video streamer. However, with some luck and some possible employee training, this could work out for Target. Not every family shops regularly at Best Buy, and a move into a larger semi-big-box store that caters to the average family, might actually perk some sales up.

It really all depends on if Target is able to step up to that kind of retail move.

BUILDING A BETTER BARGAIN...

2007-04-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

We all have looked at, scanned, or even scoured eBay at one time or another. It’s become a part of our global culture these days, putting an international marketplace up where anyone can sell anything (well not anything, but you get the idea). However, as many people have found, those good deals you’re looking at aren’t always good deals. Sure, you can get yourself a new ATI Radeon 7500 video card for your Cube, but how many of the folks glancing at that auction actually know that while it’ll work for the Cube, it could actually cause a serious meltdown? That card, for example, isn’t designed to fit inside the Cube’s tight frame, and you’d have to actually grind the case to fit it into the slots already there…as well as expose your Logic Board to extreme heat created by it. To quote Captain Jack Harkness, you’d need to tell your computer to “set your alarm clock for Volcano Day,” and nobody wants that.

This is why we here at YourMacStore strive to provide our Cube owners with not only that awesome card, but the special bracket that goes with it to help it fit in your Cube right. Not only that, but also a special extended heatsink on it to help keep your Logic Board safer from heat damage. So while you’ll be paying a bit more than that online auction, you’ll be ready to go with all the items you need, instead of finding out after the fact that you need more than just the card. Not to forget to mention that if you didn’t know you could get those items from YourMacStore (and not some random eBay person), you could be facing a complete loss of your Cube, and that would be awful.

Now, many of you reading this are pretty knowledgeable about situations like this, and while we wouldn't expect you to make an error like this, it can happen to a not-so-knowledgeable user. So if you can, make sure to let your fellow Cube-Owners know where they can go to get the items to keep their Cubes intact.

Building a better bargain isn’t always about selling to make money, but in the end it’s about selling the correct items to a customer, so they are protected. You don’t want to lose a valuable customer to something like I mentioned above…they could walk away from Macs entirely after a meltdown…and we all don’t want that. We here at YourMacStore really want to give the best bargain possible…but sometimes the better bargain involves paying a little bit more than just bottom of the bucket pricing.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORY...

2007-04-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

Our crack team of Mac Investigators here at YourMacStore decided to check out the limits of the memory capacity in both a Core Duo and a Core 2 Duo machine. Their preliminary findings (a nice way of saying what was shouted to me as there was a flash and some smoke in the warehouse) was that when inserting 3GB of memory (1GB+2GB) into a Core Duo MacBook Pro (in it’s cool black SeeThru case) was that there was no boot at all. No, not the Italian leather kind of boot…literally the computer wouldn’t start at all. However, if you use the 2GB module only, all is fine and it works. A good thing to know if one of your memory slots happens to go bad on you. Just drop in a 2GB memory chip and you’re still good to go.

Now how about a Mac mini with a Core 2 Duo upgrade? The crack team of Mac Investigators tested that as well, and while there was no smoke and flashes when they gave me the rundown, I could still smell sulfur in the air. Seriously though, we found that it’s the same exact thing as the Core Duo MacBook Pro. The 3GB support isn’t likely for this kind of setup, but for a newer generation of bridge chip that’s coming in the near future.

[Product Review] DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK...

2007-04-17T16:35:00.000-07:00

Hey there folks! We just got some great new stuff in from FastMac…their release of the G4 7455 1.4GHz/2MB Dual CPU upgrade. Now, just so you know, you can’t even get this at the FastMac online store…but you can get it from YourMacStore!

In many situations, thanks to the 2MB L3 Cache, the 7455 1.4GHz actually can beat the 1.8 GHz Dual. Roughly speaking, the performance is about the same between the two processors because of the L3 Cache on the 7455 1.4GHz model. (Want to know the difference between an L2 and L3 Cache? Check this link out…) While the 7455 is older and of a lower clock speed than the 7447, it seems to have been given another chance as of late. I say this because Sonnet pretty much discontinued the majority of the 7455 line of products, except for the 1GHz models. They have faith in their abilities to stack up against other processors and at a decent price too. Now if you look at the Giga 1.4GHz for Cube, FastMac 1.5GHz, and FastMac 1.4GHz Dual, they are all from the 7455 line as well. I’d say with how it’s going now for the 7455 model, you could call it a comeback…but, “Don’t call it a comeback, I been here for years.”

(ok lame reference to an LL Cool J song, I apologize…Just FYI so you know, things like this get stuck in my head all day and they have to pop out eventually. )

The primary reason that the 7455 is sticking around is that the chip itself has become quite a bit less expensive in the past year. Recent improvements on the 7455 have given it the ability to work with a lower voltage, so power consumption is quite a bit lower than previous 7455 models…which was the prior model’s weak-point in comparison to the 7447.

Well in the end, we feel that you can’t argue with a low price and great performance…right?

(Yes, thanks for your patience...I had to take a sick day on Friday the 13th and couldn't post...but I'm back in action...and we've got more posts for the rest of this week coming up daily!)

[Apple News] Delay of Leopard

2007-04-12T15:53:00.000-07:00

Hiya Folks!

Just posted over at Apple.com:

iPhone has already passed several of its required certification tests and is on schedule to ship in late June as planned. We can’t wait until customers get their hands (and fingers) on it and experience what a revolutionary and magical product it is. However, iPhone contains the most sophisticated software ever shipped on a mobile device, and finishing it on time has not come without a price — we had to borrow some key software engineering and QA resources from our Mac OS X team, and as a result we will not be able to release Leopard at our Worldwide Developers Conference in early June as planned. While Leopard's features will be complete by then, we cannot deliver the quality release that we and our customers expect from us. We now plan to show our developers a near final version of Leopard at the conference, give them a beta copy to take home so they can do their final testing, and ship Leopard in October. We think it will be well worth the wait. Life often presents tradeoffs, and in this case we're sure we've made the right ones. [Apr 12, 2007; 15:48pm]

Well it seems we're going to have to wait til October...

While it's great that the developers will get one at the WWDC in June, is having to wait longer for Leopard because of the iPhone fair? Tell us what you think!

-ML

Macbooks with Core 2 Duo processors, meet Memory!

2007-04-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

For those of you lucky folks out there who have a Macbook Pro with a Core 2 Duo processor, I’m sure you’re saying to yourselves, “I sure do wish I could add 2 more Gigs more memory to this awesome notebook…but it’s so expensive!” Well, not anymore. If you’re willing to do it yourself, you can save a little over $500 on that memory addition.

“What’s that Uncle Mike? Did you just say that I can get 2 additional Gigs of memory for my Macbook Pro? “

What? Why do you keep making me repeat myself? Sheesh, I’m not that old. Yes, you see the Apple online store quotes $575 to add 2GB of memory to a MacBook Pro, and that cost is WAY too high. If you were so inclined to do it yourself, you could just go and see this lovely entry, order it, and when you get it, just put it into your MacBook Pro yourself! That’s an INSANE amount of savings, at the cost of a little bit of your time to put it in.

Don’t forget that Apple officially announced maximum memory for the MacBook is 2GB, not 3GB. So some folks would think that you can’t use a 2GB module for it. But actually it just works fine.

Now all that goodness aside, there is a tricky part to this. Those models have 2 memory slots, but the maximum they can utilize is 3GB of memory (1GB + 2GB). Even if you use 2 pieces of 2GB memory, you can only use 3GB worth of that. As my WoW buddies would say “Teh suxxors.” But that’s not totally true. If you run those same modules as a pair, it’ll work as dual channel, and that’ll work faster by 2-5% in a MacBook Pro and iMac. MacBook is another case as Video memory is shared with main memory there. This makes Dual Channel highly recommended. Granted if you don’t focus on graphic performance, 2GB+1GB is just fine, but if you need graphic performance, a pair configuration is highly recommended.

Hey, you in the back there…you look a little confused. What? You’ve never put memory into your own computer? Well…that’s something you should learn how to do! I’ll talk to one of our nice techs and see if they can write something up for a new post later next week. While they’re doing that, and while I’m writing up the next post here, I’d like to pose a question to all of our readers out there, and I’ll post the answers in a later blog…

What kinds of things would you like to see covered here in the YourMacStore Blog? While we do know a lot about Macs and such…we don’t know everything that YOU want to know. So start by asking us some questions…any Mac-Related questions, and we’ll do our best to answer them. That’s all for now!

-Mike Leader

100 Million iPods served...and counting!

2007-04-09T14:55:00.000-07:00

Apple announced today in a press release on their website that they have officially sold their 100 millionth iPod. Just over 5 years ago, Apple sold the first iPod and that has now turned into five different generations of players, from the amazing 80G iPod Video, to the tiny & cool iPod Shuffle.

“At this historic milestone, we want to thank music lovers everywhere for making iPod such an incredible success,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPod has helped millions of people around the world rekindle their passion for music, and we’re thrilled to be a part of that.”

The iPod's popularity has spawned a gigantic market for accessories over the years. From hard plastic cases, to leather-bound sleeves, to even some desktop stereos, over 4000 seperate items center around the amazing iPod. Now even 70% of US made automobiles have some connectivity for the iPod...

We all LOVE our music!

BUILDING A SUPER MAC MINI...

2007-04-06T14:45:00.001-07:00

Building a Super Mac Mini

Who’s faster than a speeding bullet? More powerful than a locomotive? Able to change the course of mighty rivers? Can leap tall buildings in a single bound? Why Super Mac mini that is! What’s a Super Mac mini? Well read on true believer…

As we all know, the Mac mini is already a powerful tool out-of-the-box. However, with a little bit of modification, your Mac mini can be almost as powerful as a Macbook Pro. I know right now you’re saying, “Mike, will you please stop saying things you can’t back up?” Ahah! I can back this up!

You see, there are three great processor Intel Core 2 Duo upgrades for the Mac mini: the 2.0GHz, the 2.16GHz, and the mighty 2.33GHz. Right now the 2.0 and 2.16 are reasonably priced (for example: the 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and the 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) and would give your Mac mini quite a bit more power, if you were willing to install the new processor yourself. However, the 2.33GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo processor would practically be a “super upgrade” from the basic Mac mini “solo” processor. Granted the 2.33GHz processor is a bit pricey, but that is a lot cheaper than buying yourself a Macbook Pro (without the portability and such).

For those of you out there who are nervous about updating your processor, you really don’t have to worry. Most dealers will be happy to install the processor for you for a fee. Please remember that installing this kind of modification may void your warranty, so please check that before doing so.

All in all, the upgrades are worth it in speed and efficiency. While the cost may be daunting to some, it’s really a lot more affordable than most folks think. For example, the Mac mini I’m using right now is set up with the 2.33GHz processor, and wow it’s fast!

-Mike Leader

OCTA-CORE STRIKES!

2007-04-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Apple released the 8-core Mac Pro workstation. Currently, the Quad G5 is already quite fast, but with the power of TWO Quad Core Intel Xeon processors running at 3.0GHz in the new 8-Core, that’ll make it run up to 2x faster than the Power Mac G5 Quad!

Looking at Apple’s website, building that 3.0 GHz 8-Core will add on an additional $1498 to the cost. The standard model alone is $2499…so the base price of the “Octa-Core” hits with a bullet at just below $4000. I bet some of you are cringing and saying “OW Mike! Why did you shoot me right below my $4000?” It’s easy, because that’s a cheap price.

“Cheap price? What’s in the water there at YourMacStore.com?” (Trust me, you if you haven’t had beach water, you don’t want it.) What we’re talking about here is that it’s a cheaper prices than say the 2 PC Quad Core 2.66GHz Xeons…that’ll run about $2500 for a dealer…so you can imagine the retail price. (The prices for a 3GHz model aren’t available yet, but they should be a heck of a lot higher when they do come available.)

What we think here is that if you have an original Mac Pro, and then replace the 2 CPUs to Quad Core, it’ll work as an 8-Core processor. That’s a pretty big upgrade, and whilew we’re considering how to make it happen on our store, you start getting your wallets ready…you know that you want one.

-Mike Leader

SEETHRU THE LOOKING GLASS...

2007-04-04T13:36:00.000-07:00

Speck Products Presents:

The SeeThru case for MacBook Pro

13” varieties

15” varieties:

Everyone loves to keep his or her gadgets protected, because naturally we’re all a little clumsy. Who hasn’t dropped their iPod or notebook at least once? Heck, the first thing my girlfriend got when she got her iPod for her birthday was a clear plastic case to keep it from getting scratched…and to look at the inscription on the back too. I know you’re saying, “Mike, what about notebooks and laptops?” Especially with the great look that Macbooks have, we don’t want them to get scratched, and that would mean either not taking them out of the box they came in, or finding the right kind of case.

The SeeThru case from SpeckProducts is pretty darn cool, provides a lot of “oomph” for it’s cost, and is available either for the 13” or the 15” MacBook Pro. The case itself is 1.5mm thick, and snaps right on with a minimal amount of work. However, we found that attaching the bottom part is a little bit tricky, just because you have to make sure that the little hooks are in the right place. However, once in place, the SeeThru really…well…shines through. It not only has openings in the case for you to get at all of your ports and indicators without any issue. This coupled with the 74 vents on it to make sure that the heat from your MacBook is properly vented, helps to keep the case light, but durable. It also has some nice little rubber feet on the bottom to keep it from sliding around on slick surfaces.

One of the best things about the Speck SeeThru cases is not just the scratch protection, but the esthetic value of the color change. You can see at the links posted above what a MacBook Pro would look like in each of the colored cases. The 15” ones, for example, have a wonderful red case, that when placed on a black MacBook Pro creates a wonderful dark cherry color, and while on a white MacBook Pro it is a bright red color that practically leaps off of the case at you.

These items will go a long way for users who want to stand out from other Mac users AND protect their notebooks from scratches. I might even dare say that someone creative enough could do all kinds of things with the clear case, even getting out their paintbrushes and painting it! (Please note that Speck Products doesn’t advocate this, and neither do I, but it sounded creative at the time.)

In the end, this is a great little worthwhile product, and if you’re looking for a way to keep the scratches off of your MacBook Pro, then it’s the item for you!

-Mike Leader

GigaDesigns 1.4GHz Processor Update

2007-03-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

Here ya go folks! This one is only available on YourMacStore.com...heck, it's not even on the manufacturer's website! Check it out...

GigaDesigns G4/1.4GHz/2MB 5B-1400C

Upgrade w/256KB L2 Cache and 2MB L3 cache. Quiet cooling fan kit is Included. Compatible with PowerMac G4 Cube. The 7455B G4 Processors were tested & guaranteed by GigaDesigns for 1.4GHz Operation. This item is new, with a GigaDesigns 3 Year Warranty. It also supports Mac OS 9.2.2 and Mac OS X 10.1.5 or later. No Firmware patch is required.

This CPU upgrade can work with Apple standard VRM. But if it is too old to have original capacity, it results in trouble. We recommend to use this upgrade with C-VRM or VRM heatsink.

This item is only $299.95 on our online store!

---

Now the meat of the subject...the 7455 vs the 7447

The 7455B CPU works a heck of a lot faster than it's predecessor (the 7447) thanks to the L3 cache, if their clock speed is the same. Also, while the Cube supports the 7455, it doesn't natively support the 7447, and would require a patch to even use it. To add to that, the 7447 isn't natively supported by OS 9 either, and would need yet another patch to get it to work. However, on the flip side, the 7455 consumes a LOT of power when running at 1.4 GHz. (At 1.2, it's not as high as 1.4) The power consumption at that point surpasses the Cube's safe levels and would cause fatal damage...nothing any computer owner really wants to have happen. Gigadesigns did fix this issue with a lower voltage and lower power consumption, making it useable.

So...

7447 = Higher Clock & Lower Cache
7455 = Lower Clock & Higher Cache

Would seem to be a tie, right? Actually they're both surpassed by the 7448. I'm sure you're holding your head and saying, "The 7448? Another one?" Yup. In the 7448, it's the best of both the 7447 & the 7455! Higher Clock Speed, and a Higher Cache (L2 cache), make for a better processor overall. You see, the rumor is that back in October 2005, Apple was going to put the then brand new 7448 into the Powerbook G4, but decided against it at the last minute...placing the reliable 7447 into the model. Sadly, because the 7448 wasn't put into the Powerbook G4, it wasn't natively supported by OS X...but then like many things, that's been fixed by a patch. ;)

Who says I'm not full of information? :D

Welcome to the YourMacStore.com blog!

2007-03-30T10:20:00.000-07:00

Greetings everyone! Welcome to the first blog entry for YourMacStore.com's new blogging site. Here you're going to get a lot of information about the Mac hardware and accessories we offer, as well as chat about upcoming items from Apple too!

Let me talk a little bit about myself, so you can get to know me a little better. My name is Mike Leader, and I handle the sales and customer support for YourMacStore. I've been using Macs for many years, whether it was in college, or at several other companies I've been with over the years. Heck, when I was in elementary school, I was the first student at our school to get to use the brand new Apple IIe. I was very proud of that, and it helped give me an interest in all computer related things as I grew up. In college, Macs were used extensively on campus, and they were a part of our everyday lives. Several years after college, I began working at a game manufacturer company, and they used Macs exclusively, and I ended up relearning a lot about them. For the 5 years I was there, I used Macs every day and became quite familiar with them and their innate usefulness. Whether it be for graphics, layout and design, or just ease of use and cost for a company...they innundated almost every aspect of my life. (Granted, like many others I also use PCs, because I believe in a balance in all things.)

Now I find myself here at Vintage Computer, a place run by Mac Lovers for Mac Lovers. Everyone here is wonderful, and really supports the dream of bringing better Mac hardware and accessories to Mac users around the world. If you have a question about Mac hardware, software or accessories, you're welcome to discuss them on the YourMacStore Forums.

Look for the first entry about our items to follow right after this post!

Sincerely,

Mike Leader
Sales & Customer Support
mike@vintagecomp.com
www.yourmacstore.com
310-320-4907