tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34083342012-01-31T09:15:51.825-08:00Our World. Our Minutae.Metronoreply@blogger.comBlogger471100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-82896598933561844852007-04-24T22:52:00.000-07:002007-04-24T22:53:48.119-07:00

We're over at Wordpress now at TWO A DAY - come on by! http://2aday.wordpress.com/

Metronoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-75194491181567340012007-03-19T10:47:00.000-07:002007-03-19T11:05:36.132-07:00

Roughlydrafted.com has looked at the NPD numbers for January 2007 and extrapolated Zune sales to be about 29,000 units ... From Microsoft's Press Release just prior to the Zune going on sale: "On the Shelves Retailing for $249.99, the Zune device will be available at nearly 30,000 U.S. retailers tomorrow" (bold emphasis by me) So, in essence, Microsoft managed to sell ONE Zune for each store.

Metronoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1171067677497950602007-02-09T16:31:00.000-08:002007-02-09T16:40:54.136-08:00

By now, you have read Steve Job's note on DRM and the music industry's response. And of course, the RIAA bureaucrats being bureaucrats focused on one area and smugly responded they would love for Apple to license Fairplay and everything will be resolved - ignoring the rest of the letter and of course, their presumption that we're morons - nothing new for them. But let's take them on their word

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1169061025468677252007-01-17T11:09:00.000-08:002007-01-17T11:10:25.480-08:00

In all the cries of what's in - what's not in and who's going to be suing whom, people have sort of skirted over the fact that you no longer need to rip apart a MacBook and add a touchscreen to create an in-car jukebox. Attach a Mac Mini somewhere in your vehicle. Create a mount for your iPhone. Plug in the iPhone USB connector to your Mac Mini. You have iTunes for music, photos, audiobooks,

Metronoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1168883517851746672007-01-15T09:44:00.000-08:002007-01-15T09:51:57.866-08:00

No surprise, there's a lot of FUD and the backlash has begun already ... consider these numbers: 6,500,000,000 people on Earth (approximately). 45,000 people on Earth who have actually been in the same room as iPhone (MacWorld South Hall). 100 people who we have seen or read comments from that have actually touched the phone. So before you go

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1168638718793637322007-01-12T13:50:00.000-08:002007-01-12T13:52:59.040-08:00

And yea, if you're not interested, this poll is not for you ...

Metronoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1163620571810997702006-11-15T11:49:00.000-08:002006-11-15T11:56:11.833-08:00

Microsoft is the guy who peaked in high school as the big man in the little pond but now in the real world, ill-equipped to function and compete when people are not impressed by the things they were in high school. It was all so simple then for Microsoft. Like DOS, all they had to re-package what was out there and call it Microsoft - and everybody would bow before them. After all, they

Metronoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1163011408454984882006-11-08T10:42:00.000-08:002006-11-08T10:43:28.473-08:00

The Mac is most powerful, while it seems to technically and physically repel viruses, malware, trojans, rootkits, etc … ironically it does seem to affect those of the flesh & bone variety who are furthest away from a Mac … especially those carrying a 10-foot pole and who have never actually touched a Mac in 10 years – they seem to be incapacitated the most with a variety of virus-like ailments.

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1161972138980881812006-10-27T10:44:00.000-07:002006-10-27T11:02:19.020-07:00

Handbrake, one of the great Mac apps of all time - clean, clutter-free and delivers exactly what it says it will do - it allows you to backup your personal DVD collection or any files from your DVD camcorder that you wish to convert to MPEG-4 or H.264 MPEG-4 - both formats then allow you to drag (or import) into iMovie, Final Cut Express (FCE) or Final Cut Pro (FCP). Another reason to convert and

Metronoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1158949705318381172006-09-22T10:41:00.000-07:002006-09-22T11:31:43.026-07:00

One of the new appreciated but not heavily discussed feature is the ability of the iPod now to let you buy a track from iTunes at work and when you go home, it'll sync it with your home machine - nice. Once again, a small but thoughtful gesture on making the iPod-iTunes experience seamless ... but if you really think about, this really opens the door for the dawning of the age of the iPod docking

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1157928808048520172006-09-11T10:15:00.000-07:002006-09-11T10:32:43.310-07:00

Yes, Apple has a lot of competition - in today's worldwide global economy, who has zero competition? But for some reason, analysts seem surprised when a competitor pops up and announces something immediately it's the iTunes or iPod killer ... and someday it may be but a mere announcement means nothing - even a product launch means nothing without actually analyzing the details. For some reason,

Metronoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1155235134608194872006-08-10T11:17:00.000-07:002006-08-10T11:39:39.526-07:00

Briefly, here is why I think Leopard (10.5) is not coming out until Spring 2007 ... note I did not say 'delayed,' every release date has been based on rumor sites ... and if you believed everything they said, we'd all be working on a tablet Mac ... A) Vista will barely poke its head out by Spring 2007 IF THEN so there's no real reason to get to market earlier than that ... B) While the January

Metronoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1155143156890425422006-08-09T10:04:00.000-07:002006-08-09T10:05:56.946-07:00

While everything about Apple & Macs engender a lot of opinions, .Mac seems to generate a calvalcade of mis-informed and un-educated opinions about what it is and what it isn’t. The short version of this review is that yes, you can go to 10 websites that offer you a reasonable facsimilie of .Mac and while you can seemingly get 90% of the features, you only get 50% of the ease of use not to

Metronoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1152552933060339362006-07-10T10:34:00.000-07:002006-07-10T10:41:13.390-07:00

10) First the rumored features of WiFi, Community & Trading your AAC tracks for WMA tracks. WiFi. The MusicGremlin that is out now is proving that it sounds like a feature you want but the reality is that, it’s not all much of anything. First, WiFi is not broadband. That’s why Apple can build it into your iPod right now but why – when a direct connection is hundreds times faster? Also WiFi

Metronoreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1148500226097349592006-05-24T12:40:00.000-07:002006-05-24T12:58:16.563-07:00

Apparently after all this time, many people are under the impression that the iPod is "locked" and that the only place to legally load music onto the iPod is through the iTunes Music Store. Well, here's 25 places to buy or legally load music onto your ipod. And no, I'm not counting that Russia site as "legal," unless you happen to live in Russia. First - Yes, the iTunes Music store is hard to

Metronoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1147110465070146262006-05-08T10:47:00.000-07:002006-05-08T10:53:34.450-07:00

When it comes to viruses, Macs are the equivilient of a First Lieutenant, US Army Rangers. If you picking someone to rob, picking on a Mac is like trying to rob a First Lieutenant, US Army Rangers. You will wind up lying on the street bleeding and wondering what the hell hit you - in one case literally and in one case figuratively. That's why hackers - like pickpockets and robbers take one

Metronoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1144776243574242172006-04-11T10:24:00.000-07:002006-04-11T10:24:03.643-07:00

Running Windows on a Mac is really like the cousin who gets out of jail every 5 years - whoop, there he is! It's ALWAYS been there and keeps coming back. Every since Macs got an expansion card with the Mac II's - we have had many choices to run DOS/Windows. There were 3rd party NuBus cards with an Intel chip on it, we've had Virtual PC software emulation (or some other choices) software since

Metronoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1144440884733400212006-04-07T13:14:00.000-07:002006-04-07T13:14:44.800-07:00

Yes, no one really knows what's going to happen in regards to developers and Mac apps going forward but here are some things to consider: "AVERAGE" CONSUMERS - For most consumers, they are pretty much covered with iLife, Safari, Mail & Front Row. You have Dashboard to add nearly any little add-on feature & functionality you want. Most are free or cost no more than $20. They will probably buy a

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1144341904206557212006-04-06T09:45:00.000-07:002006-04-06T09:45:04.276-07:00

It’s hardly ever boring in the new Mac-age we all live now. WINNERS – Through 2006 Apple OSX Marketing – of course, there’s only so much convincing you can do in getting switchers. The Mac Mini was a nice start. Buy a Mac Mini, plug in the mouse, keyboard & monitor you’re already using – you have a Mac. That was nice but people are set in their ways. Okay then, how about this new feature? How

Metronoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1142972612608855052006-03-21T12:23:00.000-08:002006-03-21T13:00:46.780-08:00

Some people have noted that the law seems bizarre, arbitrary and strange - of course, that's what happens everywhere where lawmakers gather ...Some have noted that it makes business more difficult and cumbersome.Bwahahaha. Welcome to France - as a business person.98% of the world use two TV video display formats, NTSC or PAL ... France?SECAM.That's right. Why a third format that offers no real

Metronoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1141242868025293342006-03-01T11:54:00.000-08:002006-03-02T11:14:31.733-08:00

The "leaked" MS portable Origami player-mini PC has all the hallmarks of the new easy-to-panic Microsoft. They spent weeks trying to penetrate Apple's veil and wasn't sure if Apple was going to release a portable touchscreen video ipod - so how do you trump that? How about a touchscreen EVERYTHING. As it's in MS' DNA, if you release a product, we'll talk about releasing one with DOZENS more

Metronoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1140284212207387932006-02-18T09:36:00.000-08:002006-02-19T20:29:05.450-08:00

Verizon and SBC/Southwest Bell/Pac Bell/Pacific Telesis/AT&T or whatever they’re called this year has called for an end to “free lunches” on the internet – running out of revenue options (guess that customer service and adding new features, that wasn’t on the table?) and that companies like Google are taking advantage of a “free lunch” on their bandwidth. So, I guess it’s a two-way street

Metronoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1140283173239344582006-02-18T09:19:00.000-08:002006-02-18T22:06:12.393-08:00

Blockbuster Movie Rentals will clearly have to re-invent themselves soon before they become the typewriter repair shops of today – quaint reminders of a different time. But why would Apple spend BILLIONS to buy Blockbuster, its THOUSANDS of employees and its BILLIONS in debt? There are ZERO reasons. Yes, Robert Cringley us right about one thing. The future evolution of the iPod will

Metronoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1137072368078423732006-01-12T05:26:00.000-08:002006-01-12T05:26:08.133-08:00

PRE-SHOW RUMORS The Mac DTV/PVR   On the surface, who wouldn’t want one? But the reality is that as a large corporate-America company, there is NO WAY Apple could release a Mac DVR feature without DRM. Smaller companies can fly under the radar and release a DVR without any DRM or even strip out Macrovision but Apple CANNOT do it – especially since they are building up a video store. Right now,

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1137046669418089362006-01-11T22:17:00.000-08:002006-01-11T22:17:49.466-08:00

PRE-SHOW RUMORS The Mac DTV/PVR   On the surface, who wouldn’t want one? But the reality is that as a large corporate-America company, there is NO WAY Apple could release a Mac DVR feature without DRM. Smaller companies can fly under the radar and release a DVR without any DRM or even strip out Macrovision but Apple CANNOT do it – especially since they are building up a video store. Right now,

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1136665749684451612006-01-07T12:29:00.000-08:002006-01-08T23:06:17.603-08:00

The iPod is already amazing on so many levels – not just the device and its impact on consumer electronics but how its effect is not only felt in pop & societal culture but also how it managed and manages to confound so many people.   The problem is that one really needs to understand pop culture, marketing, the financial markets; technology, computers, personal electronics and importantly, MUSIC

Metronoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1136493377303498402006-01-05T12:36:00.000-08:002006-01-05T16:12:03.366-08:00

Apple About to Pass Dell: Market Cap Measurement   At @$75 a share with about 843 million shares outstanding, Apple Computer is worth about $63.2 BILLION.   At @$31 a share with about 2,34 billion shares oustanding, Dell is worth about $72.5 BILLION.   Since Dell has traded in the $29 to $33 range in the last 2-3 months and with most analysts listing Dell as DOWNGRADE , it’s pretty safe to

Metronoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1135894945680846942005-12-29T14:22:00.000-08:002005-12-30T02:42:24.700-08:00

For those wondering if Apple will feature the Intel chime and the INTEL INSIDE logo? If you look closely at the end of the new Centrino ads ... Does that blue bar look vaguely familiar? http://geocities.com/metroxing/Intel2005.mov.zip It appears that Apple is beginning the Intel takeover from within ...

Metronoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134192064321434212005-12-09T21:21:00.000-08:002005-12-09T21:21:04.326-08:00

Creative, Inc. seems to be confused how to get out of the conundrum they are in - mainly as the leading Mp3 player for the WMA market ... which means their market share stands at about 5% of the overall portable mp3 marketplace.They are considering suing Apple for royalties on 'navigation of music on a portable mp3 players.' That sentence is enough to cause a roar of laughter, slaps to the

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134192195833720772005-12-04T21:23:00.000-08:002006-03-06T16:16:04.596-08:00

EDITED FROM ORIGINAL POST 9/9/2004As the MS music store launches, people love to drag out the MS versus Apple fight of yore and even cite the Netscape-Internet Explorer scenario as evidence that Apple is doomed.But this is why when you are in court, you have to tell the whole truth and nothing but the whole truth because while some of the clichés are partially true, the whole truth is much more

Metronoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134192317170350422005-12-02T21:25:00.000-08:002005-12-09T21:27:42.036-08:00

Like the FREE IPOD deals, they sound good on the surface but ultimately, you'll pay more than you would with your time and money.Cable ala carte may have worked 20 years but not now. If you look at the Top 50 cable networks ratings, about 48 of them are owned wholly or partially by Viacom, NBCU, Disney, Fox, Warner, Comcast or Hearst.What does that mean? ESPN ala carte? $24.99 a month. Why not?

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134192375584405242005-11-29T21:26:00.000-08:002005-12-09T21:27:15.876-08:00

The media often miscategorizes the Beta vs. VHS debate between Apple & MS but finally in the case of the "non-ipod" dock connector, we have a winner! And the winner is, of course the iPod.Apparently having run out of things to blame and or pass off as the reason WMA players are selling poorly (never mind the poor interfaces, bad design and not that really PLAYS4SURE thing), it's really been that

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134192684413480442005-11-24T21:31:00.000-08:002005-12-09T21:32:26.443-08:00

TiVo is announcing an update to Series2 subscribers that their TiVo ToGo service will now allow conversion to "ipod video" and Sony's PSP.Some are quick to call this another Fairplay "reverse engineering - Real Networks-like shenanigan."Here's why Apple has not responded and it's all good news for Apple.a) iPod video is NOT an actual format. It's MPEG-4, it's HHC.264 - whatever you want to call

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134192775859256292005-11-18T21:32:00.000-08:002005-12-09T21:34:13.146-08:00

Business 2.0 is reporting that a new startup working with all the major record labels will soon be going after the itunes market by selling you a track you can "keep" forever and you can decide on the format you choose (ipod, cell phone, PC, etc ...) ... they reverse-engineered the ipod to get the ipod to accept this format.Nevermind that Sony is involved in this venture and how poisonous the

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134192876883065822005-11-12T21:34:00.000-08:002005-12-09T21:35:27.030-08:00

While we have no privilieged info, it's puzzling why people would not believe the rumors - it seems very logical.First, Steve Jobs admited they'd been building a x86 version of EVERYTHING Apple has been working on in the past 4-5 years so they were virtually ready to go.They simply had to come out and explain everything publically so all the other developers could start working on tweaking or

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134190062555312502005-11-03T20:47:00.000-08:002005-12-09T20:47:42.556-08:00

Microsoft’s current feelings about Apple bring to mind the line the Joker utters in the first BATMAN movie, “Where does he get such wonderful toys?!” As others have asked - is MS scared of Apple? In a financial sense - no. MS still throws off cash like water on a wet dog and in that aspect; MS can go on wasting cash on whatever strikes their fancy. But Apple (and Google) has grabbed the buzz

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134190014899713362005-08-15T20:46:00.000-07:002005-12-09T20:46:54.903-08:00

While the record industry is astonishing in its greed and complete misunderstanding of supply and demand - what's more puzzling is why no one questions the record industry tactics, rumor-mongering and policies? First, as with everything else they do, it's behind the scenes and off-the-record so you have to piece together what they are really saying. We have two major thrusts a) Digital music is

Metronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134191695900973352005-07-30T21:13:00.000-07:002005-12-09T21:14:55.906-08:00

Real Networks is trying to convince you "Harmony" is about giving you/us 'consumer's choice' when the reality is we already have ALL the choices we need and they are only offering 'dis-harmony.' On the surface, Real is saying - hey, buy from us - it will work on your ipod. But why? I have not actually used their service but as I understand it, you can buy tracks that you can then burn to a CD

Metronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134190841093702962004-12-23T20:58:00.000-08:002005-12-09T21:00:41.096-08:00

The Success of the iPod is NOT because of Apple Marketing Anyone who thinks the success of the ipod is all marketing basis is clearly wrong - even if you count PR but PR is like good service at a resturant, it's nice but not the core reason you go back. When anything from Apple is a success, it's marketing - when it's not - what is it then? You're like the marketing department at a movie

Metronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134190989976672172004-12-18T21:02:00.000-08:002005-12-09T21:03:09.983-08:00

First of all, everyone presumes a monopoly is illegal. It is not. There are different kinds of monopolies that are legal and encouraged - such as most utilities (how many water companies does a city really need?). Another kind of monopoly is defined in economic term as a "natural monopoly." The easiest example is Morton Salt. There is absolutely nothing preventing you from starting up a salt

Metronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134191067368108182004-12-06T21:03:00.000-08:002005-12-09T21:04:27.370-08:00

Forbes Story: First of all, of course, BEFORE the product comes out - the product manager/VP is going to rave about how it'll become the next iPod - you have plenty of time to blame others later. Nokia predicted they would sell 6 MILLION N-Gage's. I'm not saying the ipod is invincible forever but clearly these guys are not going to supply the missing pieces. While Sony’s PSP will undoubtedly be

Metronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134189954572782252004-04-21T20:45:00.000-07:002005-12-09T20:45:54.576-08:00

There are still a lot of issues that remain to be resolved with Microsoft's legal manuevers with some states and with many countries. Their past behaviors and actions and how they affected consumers, competitors and others are still be discussed and decided in courts but I think one reason Microsoft is unwilling to settle because most of the remedies involve a broad stroke attempt at prohibiting

Metronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134189894640846912004-02-25T20:44:00.000-08:002005-12-09T20:44:54.640-08:00

Title: Apple Should Just Buy Apple Body: Instead of this messy Apple Computer suit with the Beatles Apple Corp Records, Apple should just spend some of that $4 billion dollar cash pile and buy Apple Corp. In a few/dozen years, the remaining Beatles will all be passing on - wouldn't they rather know that Apple Computer is the caretaker of their legacy - an corporation that is certainly not

Metronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134189782186553932004-02-06T20:41:00.000-08:002005-12-09T20:43:49.233-08:00

A couple days ago, I wrote a long review about the Canopus ADVC-100 in bringing in and converting video files from analog to digital files on the Mac This covers the DVD Recorder and Open Shiiva portion on the Mac. The Panasonic DMR-E80H has an 80 GB Hard Drive (HDD) - Progressive Scan. It has (1) Component & Digital Audio Out; (2) Composite (RCA) inputs; (2) Composite (RCA) outputs; and (2)

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134189368427420602004-02-03T20:32:00.000-08:002005-12-09T20:37:59.560-08:00

BACKGROUND: I have hundreds of videotapes and DVD's that I wanted to port into my Mac and convert to digital files - to Quicktime as a start and then later with the option of converting to MPEG-1 (VCD), MPEG-2 (DVD) or DIVX. While the ability to time-shift was a consideration, I was more concerned with having enough inputs, what kind of inputs it accepted (RCA/S-Video, etc ...) and some sort of

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-1134189540870323722004-01-28T20:38:00.000-08:002005-12-09T20:39:38.533-08:00

Robert Scoble of Microsoft tells us why we shouldn't buy an iPod. As with many others, he confused by the changes in the computer-consumer entertainment industry ... First, the media and the unknowing seems to think we purchased the ipod as a decision choice in the AAC vs WMA debate. Based on the storage capability of the ipod versus the numbers of itunes music stores purchases, it’s pretty

Metronoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3408334.post-804861682002-08-20T11:52:00.000-07:002002-08-20T11:52:10.083-07:00

$6 Billion in Revenue That's Why They Call it Copyright, Our Right to Copy ... First, I am a red-blooded capitalist. I believe that everybody should have a right to make as much money as humanly possibly within ethical and legal guidelines - and if you "create" something we want - you should be able to make money from that creation but things are getting a little

Metronoreply@blogger.com0