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

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!

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

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. :)

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

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...

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

[Apple News] MULTIPLE DASHBOARDS ON LEOPARD!?

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. :)

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

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! :)

[Apple News] NOTES FOR APRIL 25, 2007

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. :)

[Apple News] Delay of Leopard

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