6G iPod Video: Hoax or Not?

Here we go again! After last week's disappointment over at Apple's mini-announcement over at the Town Square Auditorium over at Cupertino. It brought us the new Intel Core Duo Mac Mini (good product, but no surprise), the iPod Hi-fi (overpriced speakers), and of course, leather cases for our iPods, yippeee! I meant that sarcastically, of course. I personally would've liked Apple to release new iPods. This is, of course, because I haven't gone out and bought the 5G iPod yet. Have we come to expect too much from Apple? Everytime they have an announcement, Apple denizens like you and me start to salivate over the possibility of new Apple products. Thousands of Photoshop wizards come up with designs of supposedly "new" hardware and software.

This time is no different. With Apple's 3oth Anniversary coming up on April 1st, rumor sites are once again amuck with news of new Apple gizmos, once again. However, I just came across this video of the"new" iPod. Looks real, but I'm not a video expert. But worth a look.



All of us will just have to wait and see.

New MacBook Pro..

I WANT ONE!!!

Is My iPod Telling Me Something?

Yesterday, my iPod died on me, again. This is the third time my beloved iPod crashed. The hard disk inside the much-loved player started giving out this horrifying clicking sound, which signified its demise, much like the flat-line beep for us carbon-based beings. So I brought my iPod to the nearest Service Centre, where the guy officially pronounced the death of my iPod, like a surgeon after the expiration of a patient.

"But don't worry," he said, " since your warranty is still valid, we'll replace your unit as soon as possible." This would be my 4th iPod, and my 3rd replacement iPod, thanks to the extended warranty I bought last October.

Maybe my iPod is, in weird subliminal way, telling me to buy the new 5G iPod. To be honest, I'm pretty tempted. However, my warranty would be wasted if I did. This is the excuse i give myself, but really, I'm holding out for new iPods, which have been in the rumor mills lately, an iPod with a 3.5 wide screen spanning the full length of the iPod, with, of course, higher capacity.

While I was at the Service Centre, I helped myself to test out the new Intel-based iMacs that were on display. I tried opening some heavy applications, and the thing just opened and as Steve Jobs put it, scrolled like buttah. Needless to say, I once again suffered from gear lust as I think of the iMac G5 which I bought a mere 4 months ago, which is now, 2 generations behind.

The MacBook Pro is finally shipping. As some who have seen the packaging, the machine is a thing of beauty. A geek's porn paradise. The packaging, like it's contents, sleek and slim, packaging porn, as some called it.

Can't wait to test it out.

A Post-Vacation Update

After 10 days of vacation back in the P.I., I realized that so many things happened while I was away. Red iPods, 1GB nanos, ShowTime content on iTunes, possible CBS shows on iTunes, etc.

Once again rumors are flying about again, this time talking about iBooks , an Intel-based Mac Mini, an
Apple-branded mobile phone, and a new iPod (again!?).

The rumors on new iPods resurfaced after analysts from Needham and Co. predicted a special event to be held in April (most probably April 1, Apple's 30th anniversary) to introduced its Intel Yonah single core iBook and maybe a new iPod with a screen that will occupy the whole iPod surface. A more recent article in appleinsider.com also reported news that Portal Player, one of Apple's key iPod suppliers/partners, is prepared to ship chips capable of WiFi access and Bluetooth connectivity. interesting.

Definitely, I'm holding out for these babies.

A Very Good Article

I really enjoy reading David Pogue's tech articles in the New York Times (www.nytimes.com). They are witty, concise and provide a much needed reality check in this world of increasingly more complicated marketing jargon.

The article follows:

Intel Inside. Huh?!
By David Pogue

Published: January 25, 2006

THE buzzwords for the 2006 technology outlook fly thick and fast in nerd circles: high-definition DVD. À la carte TV shows from the Internet. Windows Vista.

Most of these goodies will take time to reach the masses. One, however, has already arrived, six months ahead of schedule: Apple's switch to Intel chips for its Macintosh computers.

The first such retrofitted model, the iMac, went on sale last week. Like the existing iMac model, which remains available, the new one is a sleek, thin, snow-white flat-panel screen with no actual computer box; the guts of the computer are hidden inside. The new iMac, like the old, is virus-free, spyware-free and gorgeous to behold. It still has a built-in camera for live Internet videoconferences, still can record DVD's, still comes with a remote for controlling music, photo slideshows and DVD playback from across the room, and still has built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless networking. Even the price is the same: $1,300 for the 17-inch model, $1,700 for the 20-incher.

But now there's Intel inside.

Why on earth would Apple abandon the I.B.M.-Freescale processors that have served Mac fans so well for so many years? The official reasons are speed and heat; Intel's newest chip, the Core Duo, offers more of the first with less of the second. That's a big deal, especially in laptops; Apple's existing PowerBook laptops already get so hot, the smell of barbecued meat practically wafts from your thighs.

The switch is also good for Apple because it puts to death the Megahertz Myth. For years, Apple was at a public-perception disadvantage because consumers mistakenly believed you could rate a computer's speed by its chip. "That 3-gigahertz PC must be faster than a 2-gigahertz Mac," they would say. But megahertz comparisons are valid only between two chips of the same family - say, two Pentium 4's.

Now, though, many Macs and PC's will indeed contain the same processor, Intel's new Core Duo chip. As a computer-speed measurement, the chip-speed rating is still bogus - memory, operating system, circuitry, hard drive and other factors also determine a computer's speed - but less bogus than before.

Now, you can't just drop a new chip into a computer and expect it to work. Tens of thousands of software programs run on the Mac - and every one of them expects to find, at the other end, a PowerPC chip (the old Mac kind). Each one, not to mention the operating system itself, must be rewritten in the Intel language.

That's a nightmarish mountain of work, but Apple has pulled it off almost flawlessly. The operating system, Mac OS X 10.4.4, has indeed been rejiggered to speak Intellese, while otherwise remaining 100 percent identical in look, feel and features. The armada of Mac OS X ancillary programs has also been rewritten: Safari (Web browser), Mail (e-mail), Address Book, iCal (calendar), iTunes (music playback), Calculator, Chess, Dictionary, DVD Player and on and on. Even Apple's new iLife '06 suite has also been converted, and is included on all new Macs: iPhoto (for photos), iMovie (for editing your home videos), GarageBand (for podcasting and music composition) and iWeb (a new supersimple Web site-creation program).

For some real fun some Saturday afternoon, set up an Intel iMac and its identical-looking predecessor side by side. Sit there with a stopwatch, perform the same software timing tests on each one, and keep score in a notebook. Invite some friends over to share in the excitement.

What you'll discover is that the new iMac is deliciously fast when it's running Intel-ready software. Just turning the machine on is a joy, because starting up now takes 20 seconds instead of 60, like the previous model; you'll want to do it again and again. Programs open up a lot faster, too: GarageBand, for example, is ready for your musical inspiration in only 9 seconds, rather than 20. Web pages appear startlingly quickly: nytimes.com pops open in about 1 second (versus 2), Amazon is ready in 2 seconds (versus 4) and MSN appears in 6 seconds (versus 8).

In other words, if your computer world is complete with programs for e-mail, the Web, word processing, graphics viewing, music playing and editing of photos, movies, basic Web sites and music tracks, then choosing the IntelliMac over the regular iMac is a no-brainer. The computer comes preloaded with all the software you need, all Intel-ready. You get a heck of a lot more speed for the same price.

But not everyone lives on Apple software alone, and here's where things get more interesting. Software companies are hard at work converting their programs into IntelliMac-compatible versions; you'll know them when you see them, because they'll bear a new, yin-yang logo labeled "Universal." (In other words, these programs run on both old and new Macs.)

To tide its fans over until those programs are ready, Apple has embedded a seamless, completely invisible translation program (code-named Rosetta - get it?) in the operating system. It allows the existing versions of these programs to run just as they are.

Some existing programs, including Microsoft Word, Excel, Entourage and PowerPoint, open, work and scroll "like butter," as the Apple chief Steve Jobs puts it. America Online, Quicken, Firefox, FileMaker Pro and other programs also work perfectly in this mode. There is no visible indication that your software is being translated into a different language in real time. (The only way to tell an old program from a Universal one is to highlight its icon and choose the Get Info command. There you will see either "Kind: PowerPC" or "Kind: Universal.")

Other programs, including current versions of Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator and After Effects, run, but slowly. In the Dreamweaver Web-design program, for example, palettes and windows pop onto the screen with a slight delay.

Alas, there's a third category of professional, intensive programs that don't run at all on the new Macs, even with Rosetta translation. They include Microsoft's VirtualPC, Digidesign's Pro Tools, and even some sold-separately Apple programs like Final Cut Pro, Aperture and DVD Studio Pro. (Apple says that its software conversion will be finished by March.)

No, wait - actually, there's a fourth software category: really, really old software, pre-2001 programs that require Mac OS 9. They don't run on Intel-based Macs, either, and never will. (These Macs no longer include the translation program called Classic that allows such software to run.)

If your work depends on these professional or very old programs, you don't want an Intel Mac. Wait until everything you need has been Universalized.

Apple has real chutzpah asking its faithful followers to drag themselves through this major architectural changeover; it is, after all, the third such switch in 12 years. First there was the switch to so-called PowerPC processors in 1994, which also required all new software versions; then the switch to Mac OS X in 2001, which again required new software versions. These can be expensive switches; for example, you'll have to pay Apple $50 for each Universalized professional program (Final Cut and so on) even though you don't get any new features for the money except speed.

From a technical standpoint, though, Apple has brought a staggeringly complex ship down for a surprisingly soft landing. It has made an excellent computer even snappier without increasing the price, and done an amazing job of concealing the technical plumbing.

The next Mac to receive the Intel conversion will be the PowerBook laptop. The new MacBook Pro, as it has been renamed (to widespread befuddlement), makes its debut next month with the promise of even greater speed gains. The Power Mac, iBook laptop and Mac Mini will presumably follow.

The best news, though, is yet to come. It comes in two parts: first, the increasing speed as more and more programs are Universalized.

Second, in principle, with the assistance of a driver kit that someone will surely write, Intel-based Macs can be restarted in Microsoft Windows. Everybody wins: Microsoft can sell more copies of Windows, Apple makes the only computers on earth that can run both consumer operating systems at full speed, and the masses don't have to sacrifice the huge library of Windows-only software.

How's that for an outlook?


David Pogue is an accomplished tech journalist and has written several books and articles. Visit his website at www.davidpogue.com

Disney buys Pixar for US$7.4B

It's official, folks. Disney, the House of Mouse, has bought its long-time partner, Pixar Animation for US$7.4 Billion. That's one huge chunk of change. I am quite happy about it, coz it means that we will continue to experience the magic of Disney-Pixar movies like Toy Story 1&2, Monsters Inc, A Bug's Life and most recently, The Incredibles. The original partnership would've ended with the release of Cars.

I also looove the shirt, quirky animation featurettes Pixar makes, which are usually shown just before the main feature. Featurettes like For the Birds , Luxor, Geri's game and Boundin' have raised the bar in digital animation and in storytelling in animation.

I believe this new acquisition is a boost in Disney's animation armor. Since the release of Toy Story, box-office receipts of traditionally animated features have dipped. Disney heaved a huge sigh of relief when their first digital animation project made without the help of Pixar, Chicken Little, was a success at the box office. But anyone who has seen Chicken Little will notice the dip in quality in the animation as compared to Disney-Pixar productions.

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and CEO of Pixar Animation is laughing all the way to the bank and to the boardroom. This purchase will make Jobs as the biggest individual shareholder in Disney and a seat in the Board. It will also give animation genius John Lasseter huge influence as the head of the animation division at Disney. This is a far cry from the troubles Jobs had with Disney when it was still headed by Michael Eisner. Apple Computers, Pixar and Disney's partnership is a godsend for consumers who want creative content.

I foresee iTunes-exclusive features from Disney-Pixar. With this new partnership, the rest of the big networks (Fox and CBS) should rethink their current online distribution strategy to join in with Disney-ABC-ESPN and NBC Universal.

Just sit tight, relax, and watch the magic.

New iPod offerings coming?

Speculation has once again begun with the pulling out of iPod offerings in the recent Macworld Expo 2005 held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. I don't think 5G iPod owners out there should worry. Rumored offerings include a home-stereo type device with internet radio capabilities. Based on my observation of Apple's hardware-release, the only portable hardware they may introduce could be a higher capacity iPod.

News of a possible release began when Apple reportedly registered the names "iPod Boombox" and "iPod Hi-Fi".

Has anyone seen the new Apple remote with FM radio capabilities? Looking at initial reports, it looks to be quite a nice accessory. What I think Apple should introduce black earbuds and improve sound quality of their stock Apple earphones. Third-party companies are making a killing on higher-end in-ear headphones. The current stock Apple earbuds are nice, but after a while, the wire-casing tears and that is extremely irritating. I bought an Apple remote just over a year ago, and I've stopped using it as the wire casing tore and I can see the small, colored wires inside.

So I'm back with the earbuds. The original one that came with my 4G iPod was decommisioned when...yes, the wire-casing tore. Hopefully, the second one holds out much longer.

Pix from Macworld Expo 2006

This is why I hate being in Singapore. Apple enthusiasts have to bear with small crowded displays during 3 annual IT shows. These displays are just so impersonal with ignorant salespeople giving you more information. They try to sell you things you don't need. What I wouldn't give to be in MacWorld Expo where you see displays like these.

Why I'm not sold with iLife '06

Don't get me wrong. I think iLife'06 is a great offering offering great updates to its predecessor, iLife'05. Updates to iPhoto, Garageband and iMovie are most welcome and appreciated, but the introduction with a new weblayout software, iWeb has some people salivating and some foaming at the mouth. Yes, it is extremely easy to use and it does have great-looking templates, but what I think is missing is the customization aspect. You're stuck to the standard menu bar on the top page. You're stuck to using one of the templates that accompanies the software. But what I think sucks the most is, in order to use this tool, you HAVE to buy a .Mac account, priced at US$99.95 a year. No other alternative. I don't think it supports CSS or javascripts.

It's not only iWeb that's reliant to the .Mac service. Basically iLife'06 requires you to buy a .Mac account. iPhoto has Photocasting, Garageband has the podcast publishing through RSS.

When you do the math, you have to a: Buy iLife '06 costing US$79 and then a .Mac account for US$99.95 A YEAR.

It's a good thing to have if you have an extra US$180 bucks lying around. Unfortunately, I don't.