The Associated Press has some further details on Microsoft’s anticipated Thursday launch of an iTunes Music Store competitor. “Microsoft has a formidable foe in market leader Apple, which boasts both the popular iTunes music store and the iPod music player. The landscape also is dotted with plenty of smaller services, including RealNetworks’ Rhapsody, Roxio Inc.’s Napster and offerings from companies like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Sony Corp. But none of those has managed to capture hearts and minds like Apple.” more…
Technology
Altoids Speakers
Congratulations to Ken Kirkpatrick, winner of ReadyMade’s MacGyver Challenge with these mini-speakers he made out of a couple of tins of Altoids, some headphones, & some playing cards.
How to make Altoid speakers:
- Dismantle the headphones and remove the speakers.
- Use a pin to poke a small hole in each of two playing cards, then glue the speakers to the cards, lining up each speaker with the hole.
- Use an awl to poke a hole in the back of each tin, then thread the speaker wire through the holes.
- Reconnect the wires by twisting them together and burning the plastic coating off with a lighter. Then tape them off.
- Place the foam padding from the headphones inside the tins, open side up, to cushion the speakers.
- Trim the cards to fit inside the tins, place them inside (use glue if necessary), and crank it, dog. The sound’s a little tinny, but loud enough for making out.
iPod Remixed
Cutting prices, incorporating an iPod mini-style click wheel, and extending battery life, Apple has introduced its fourth generation iPod. Among the highlights:
Touch-sensitive wheel with five push buttons
Up to 12 hours battery life
Shuffle Songs, a new command in the main menu which provides mixed track playing
The new iPod is available immediately in two configurations: a 20GB model for $299 and a 40GB model for $399. The 40GB model includes an iPod dock.
engadget
I came across this cool site, it’s all about gadgets.
From the site…
“Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics. Engadget was launched in March of 2004 in partnership with The Weblogs, Inc. Network (WIN).”
[ www.engadget.com ]
Apple WWDC Keynote
So I only live about a block from the Moscone Center, the home of this years Apple World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC). Unfortunately I didn’t have the $1,600 it takes to get in. It sucks to be so close… yet so far. I actually though about trying to forge a badge and sneak in (geek).
Apple has really done up the Moscone Center nicely, cool banners and such. I’ll probably walk down there later today and take a few pics.
Anyway, if you’re like me (an Apple freak) and couldn’t go either, Apple has made this years keynote, by Steve Jobs, available online.
[ watch keynote ]
Liquid cooled Macs
A Boston Globe article looks at the current state of liquid cooling options for personal computers, including some notes about Apple’s new liquid-cooled PowerMac G5. “Liquid cooling isn’t a feature you’ll find on many computers, but Apple likes to stay out in front. Indeed, the company is touting its new liquid-cooled machine as an engineering triumph. Perhaps it is, but it is one born of necessity. The dual microprocessors that drive the new G5 run hot — so hot that the old cooling system was no longer adequate.”
[ more ]
Mac OS X ‘Tiger’
Tiger keeps up Apple’s blazing pace of innovation with more than 150 breakthrough new features, including Spotlight, a revolutionary new way to find files and information on your personal computer; Safari RSS, a new version of Apple’s innovative web browser that provides instant access to the most current RSS information on the web; Dashboard, a dazzling new way to get in and out of a collection of new all-purpose “widgets” quickly; and iChat AV multi-way video and audio conferencing, the industry’s first consumer solution with a stunning 3D interface.
[ Apple.com ]
New Apple Displays
Announced today (and I want one!):
Feast your eyes on more than four million pixels in the first high-resolution 30-inch flat panel display designed for the personal computer. The Apple Cinema Display line features a gorgeous new anodized aluminum enclosure to complement the Power Mac G5 or PowerBook G4 and includes PC-compatible 20-inch and 23-inch models. The state of the art starts at $1299.
[ Apple.com ]