Blog R.I.P., Mac Support Site Lives On

I have decided, after much deliberation and thought, to discontinue this Mac Support Site Blog, and only continue my actual Mac Support Website. This is due to time constraints, etc.

I will leave all the information that's currently on this blog on the Internet for some amount of time, and I will update my Mac Support Website from time to time, but I will no longer be maintaining this blog. It was good while it lasted, but nothing lasts forever! Farewell!

P.S. You can also check out some other cool sites I will continue to maintain at LifeisaPrayer.com.

Pixar's 'Incredibles' DVD a Smash-Hit Success

Today, I noticed on MacMinute that The Incredibles DVD has already sold 5 million copies—In its first day on the market. I am happy to say that I am one of those 5 million purchasers - at Wal-Mart, you could pick a copy of the 2-disc Collector's Edition DVD for $11.99!

I personally attest that not only was the movie incredible, but Pixar also did an incredible job on the DVD. 'Jack-Jack Attack' was very entertaining, and so was another short made to look like an old 'Incredibles' cartoon. You'll have to see them for yourself - I can't adequately describe them in words. The other bonus footage is pretty fun, as well, and the menu structure, design and transitions are simply icing on the cake.

Google Labs: "OS X Rocks" - New 'Google X theme' [UPDATED]

Today Google Labs has released 'Google X' - an alternative home page for the Google Search engine that features a dock-like interface for clicking on different sections to search - News, Pictures, Video, Froogle, Local, etc. It even includes Magnification

I played around with it, and it's pretty cool. The icons will magnify as you move your mouse over them, while other icons move to make room for the bigger icon. It's not 100% as fluid as Dock magnification, but that's acceptable; not even Google can match Apple's Quartz engine ;-)

UPDATE: It seems Google has pulled Google X from its site. No reason has been given. I will post again if I can find more information.

Linux Creator Linus Trovalds Switches to Mac (...Hardware, that is)

It would seem that the creator of Linux is using a dual-processor G5 as his main Linux-running computer now. From CNET News.com:

Torvalds, who initially created Linux for the Intel x86 platform, revealed to the Linux Kernel Mailing List in February during a discussion on kernel size reduction that his main desktop machine no longer featured an x86 processor.

"My main machine these days is a dual 2GHz G5 (aka PowerPC 970)--it's physically a regular Apple Mac, although it obviously only runs Linux, so I don't think you can call it a Mac any more ;)"

It doesn't surprise me when I see many people using Mac laptops and G5s who don't even run OS X -- don't get me wrong; I still think OS X (especially Tiger, when it comes out) is the de-facto standard OS for the masses, but the hardware is also much more stable and better than any X86 on the market. This means that people running Linux or UNIX workstations may find it advantageous to purchase a high-end Mac G4 or G5; Mac software works great, and Mac hardware runs like a dream.

Microsoft Employees - Favor Apple iPod Over Dozens of MS-Compatibles

From Wired News:

"Microsoft's leafy corporate campus in Redmond, Washington, is beginning to look like the streets of New York, London and just about everywhere else: Wherever you go, white headphones dangle from peoples' ears.

To the growing frustration and annoyance of Microsoft's management, Apple Computer's iPod is wildly popular among Microsoft's workers.

"About 80 percent of Microsoft employees who have a portable music player have an iPod," said one source, a high-level manager who asked to remain anonymous. "It's pretty staggering."

I think it's a good sign that the iPod is better than any Windows-Media-Compatible devices when the employees of the competing company use it! I personally attest to this fact. I would not trade my iPod for any other player, for the simple fact that it is so easy to use, and it stores a complete backup of every document I have on my system (besides the video stuff, which takes up nearly 150 GB of space right now...).

Apple: New Powerbooks (still G4), iTunes Pepsi Promotion v2

The New 'Books in Town

Today, Apple has announced yet another revision of the PowerBook G4 - this time clocking in at a maximum of 1.67 Ghz. New features include an 8x SuperDrive (for burning DVDs and CDs), up to 128 MB VRAM on an ATI Radeon 9700 GPU, 5400 rpm ATA/100 hard drives (60, 80 or 100 GB), built-in scrolling functionality on the trackpad, a technology to save data in the event of dropping the laptop (called Apple Sudden Motion Sensor), Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and AirPort Extreme built-in across the line, and new lower prices (starts at $1499).

It looks like this would be the PowerBook of my dreams... if only it had a G5. But, as it is, it did not even make the main picture frame on Apple's home page! Obviously, Apple is waiting for a more opportune event/time to dramatically introduce the G5 PowerBook (prepare for Steve Jobs' RDF!). I especially like the new scrolling trackpad functionality, as it allows you to scroll in a circular motion, thus working like the iPod and allowing for quick and accurate scrolling. It would seem this could easily be implemented in the iBook, as well; it's just a matter of time.

In Other News... Free Songs!

In addition, Apple has posted a link to the iTunes+Pepsi promotion, signifying the start of this promotion for the second time (1 in 3 Pepsi bottles wins a free iTunes song). And, judging by the rules page, places such as 7-Eleven (here in the Midwest) will be receiving iTunes promo cups again!

"Look for game piece printed... under the rim of specially-marked 32 oz. and 44 oz. fountain cups available at participating locations [i.e. convenience stores such as 7-Eleven] through 4/11/05 or until supplies of specially-marked packages exhaust.

Looks like I'll be drinking some more Gatorade and Slurpees than usual...

Mac mini - The Mac Media Center Project (Was I right?)

It looks like my earlier predictions of the Mac mini being used as a 'Media Center PC' type computer could bear fruit. I recently discovered a group producing an application for use as a Tivo-like package:

The Mac Media Center Project

"This projects plans to develop a free Media Center application for the Apple Macintosh, bringing togther the power and intuitiveness of the Macs' built in applications under a simple interface, for use as part of a Home Theatre system.

We also have information on 5.1 audio, remote control and video output solutions for the Mac.

The Project aim is to turn the Mac mini into a Mac Media Center."

Apple Most Recognized Brand - Ousting Google

From Reuters:

"Apple, whose iPod has replaced Sony's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) Walkman as the personal media player to be seen with, topped both the global and North American rankings in the poll, displacing Google despite the splash caused by the search engine's $1.7 billion auction-style initial public offering last year.

Apple, which launched the iPod three years ago, has sold 10 million of them, but the fact that almost half of these were moved in the final quarter of 2004 suggests an avalanche in demand.

"Apple's just done an extraordinary job with innovation, technology and design. The iPod is what has put Apple in the lead this year," Rusch said.

"Sony has had less luck tying together its products as a lifestyle. From a branding perspective, they haven't caught up with Apple's design and ability to capture the imagination."

Read the full article here.

What does this mean? This means Apple is doing a great job at bringing their products out into the world; through not only TV ads, magazine ads, movie placements and conventional advertising, but also by making solidly-built, functional, and user-friendly products that friends will recommend to their friends. And now people don't have to complain about high prices, either (with the iPod shuffle and Mac mini appealing to cost-conscious PC people).

Let us see what 2005 has in store for Apple...

More Windows Woes: New Worm Attacks Vulnerable Windows PCs

"Malicious hackers have launched a zero-day bot attack against default Windows installations of the MySQL database engine, infecting vulnerable systems at the rate of 100 per minute, security experts warned on Thursday. ADVERTISEMENT The bot takes advantage of the publicly released "MySQL UDF Dynamic Library Exploit" to break into the open-source MySQL package. Once a database is hijacked, infected systems will connect to an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) server and retrieve propagation instructions."

Of course, you might say, more people use Windows, so, once more people start using Macs (if that ever happens), more Mac worms and viruses will come out (there are currently 0, nada, none, zilch Mac OS X viruses). Right?

Wrong. Macs are built more secure from the ground up. True, no computer system is perfect, but the Mac is leaps and bounds ahead of the Windows PC. So, what are you waiting for?

For more info on why I like Macs more than PCs, be sure to check out this page.

iPod shuffle - Review (Yes, I used one!)

Yesterday a friend received his iPod shuffle from Apple (he ordered on the first day they were available, from the Apple Online Store). I must say, I am truly impressed!

Jeff's Deck-O-Players

My first foray into the MP3 player market was the Rio PMP300 32MB MP3 player, with a 2-line display (no text, though) and a flash expansion slot. It only worked with serial-port equipped PCs, and was a fiesty little gadget to get running and not break (I had to open it up and rewire the hair-thin power wires to the main board in it -- twice). I am glad to announce things are much nicer today.

I've now owned a 20GB Click-Wheel iPod for over four months, including a rechargable 12-hour battery, a spacious LCD display, 20 GB of storage, a simple design with only 5 buttons, and Apple's intuitive software. (I bought it for only $80 using the 'Cram and Jam' deal Apple had last year!). Things are much better!

Shuffle the Cards!

The iPod shuffle incorporates a gumstick-size case, USB 2.0, 512 MB or 1 GB of memory, and Apple's 'cool' design into a slick MP3 player package. Oh, I forgot to mention: I'll probably never buy one. That's right: I won't buy one. BUT, I still love the thing and think it is awesome -- for people looking only for an MP3 player.

For my purposes (music isn't the main attraction for me), I need a lot of storage, the ability to view contact and calendar info, and, therefore, a spacious display. But, for people who want to listen to music (and have a fairly large amount of USB 2.0 flash storage to boot!), the shuffle is quite a deal.

How do the Characteristics Stack Up?

I picked up the shuffle, held it in my hand, and was amazed at how good it felt in my hand. Instead of feeling 'cheap' and lightweight like many USB flash drives, it was *just* heavy enough to provide tactile feedback when pressing it's wonderfully gelatin-like buttons. It wasn't too heavy-either; I'd feel comfortable sticking the thing on my keychain and tossing it in my pocket--without protection! It is all-around a solidly-built device.

The status indicator lights are pretty neat, as well. They provide visual feedback that is adequate for operation. I especially like the itty-bitty light on the back that indicates the battery status.

I could not tell a difference in audio quality between the same files on it and on my iPod - the quality (through the same white iPod headphones, of course) is top-notch -- even surprising -- coming out of such a small device.

So far, my friend has not had to charge it's battery since the initial 4-hour charge; he's been using it for near 10 hours, and the battery is still 'green'. In fact, it seems that others are receiving a hearty amount of battery life as well! No problems in this department.

The Conclusion

This is by no means a definitive review (especially compared to this), but I would venture to say that this is a great music player for anyone who doesn't need the more advanced features of the iPod. Since I always leave my iPod in 'shuffle' mode and 'let 'er rip', I assume that many, if not most people, are of the same mindset, or will be, once they purchase one of these little gadgets (or ten, or twenty).

Myst IV: Revelation - Final Review

Well, I have finished my game of Myst IV: Revelation. It was quite an experience. Luckily, I was able to save the game almost every 10-20 minutes, after dragging the game folder to my desktop (suggested by Ubisoft support), but the game continued to crash almost every time I saved it, after the save file was written. Ubisoft's support representative told me there would be a patch released soon to deal with this issue, and it only occurs on Macs running OS 10.3.7 (earlier OS version run Myst fine).

The music for this game was top-notch, enjoyable, and relaxing. There were a few songs that, in unison with the vivid and flowing onscreen imagery, really made my spine 'tingly'. This Myst game's puzzles were not as impossible as many in Riven were, but they are very challenging. After solving all of Tomahna's puzzles on my own, exploring most of Spire, Serenia, and Haven, and solving a puzzle here, and a puzzle there, I resorted to online walkthroughs to help me finish the game.

Luckily, this version of Myst is not like the original, in which you could finish the game in a few minutes without exploring all the environments! To solve the final puzzles, you must explore various worlds, and find pretty much all of the clues left behind by Atrus' unruly sons. The plot is intriguing, with few bothersome inconsistencies, and I found the game to be very well-paced and enjoyable (except for the occasional crash when accessing the main screen).

I played the original Myst on my sister's iMac for a few minutes, for old times' sake, and it is amazing how far advanced this new Myst is. The old myst displayed a small image that was 100% static, and movies could only be played in a static location - they were grainy at best.

In the new Myst IV, environments are lifelike, you can look around, birds are flying in the air, wind rustles the trees, animals run about you, the clouds move, water shimmers and creates fog, and everything is mind-bogglingly detailed. The folks who designed this game spent plenty of time getting the details right!

My recommendation: if you liked the other Myst games, this game is an absolute must-play; if you are ABSOLUTELY stuck, the game's built-in help might carry you through, but searching Google for "Myst IV Walkthrough" (I found this gem of a Walkthrough for Myst 4 when I searched) might help a little more. Five stars out of five!

iMac mini - Media Center? Microsoft 'Digital Living Room' Killer?

I read a recent eWeek online article about the new Mac mini, and thought about it. Could the Mac mini be the media center computer that all those wacky Windows Media Center people have been envisioning?

Think about it: In two to four years, many people will be getting HDTVs with high resolution displays, and probably 26" or larger. Plug it in to your Mac mini, and what do you have? A media center.

I could imagine some company coming out with a 'media center hookup' for the Mac, including:

• Infrared USB adaptor, for remote control.
• DVI-to-whatever input your TV uses adaptor.
• Audio cable to go from your Mac mini to your stereo (or a 5.1 FireWire device for surround sound).
• Some really nice software for PVR functionality (to record/playback cable, TV, etc.).

The product wouldn't need to include anything else, because Apple has already included a music management and playback program (iTunes), a movie editing and DVD burning program (iMovie and iDVD), a photo organization and playback program (iPhoto), and a host of other creative apps. Could you imagine having this little Mac be on your home network and simply playing back shared photos, tunes, video, etc. from any other computer to your home TV and surround sound system? This computer can replace your DVD player, CD player, radio, tuner, cassette player, record player, etc. very easily. And it takes up less space, too!

If something like this comes out for a reasonable price (I'd say less than $300), I'm sure I could convince my parents to buy one (if they are purcasing a new HDTV, which they will be doing in a year or two). Here's to the media-center Mac mini! (And Apple doesn't even have to design new software/hardware for it!).

iTunes Bug - Recommended Update to 4.7.1

I was notified by a friend of a news story today on TechWeb.com:

iTunes Bug Leaves Users Vulnerable to Hack

"Just a day after Steve Jobs touted a new $99 iPod, a Danish security firm revealed that the iTunes software, which lets Mac and Windows users download purchased tracks to their computers, and thus to their iPods, has a "highly critical" vulnerability.

Security vendor Secunia on Tuesday warned that iTunes 4.x suffers from a vulnerability "caused due to a boundary error within the handling of .m3u and .pls playlists." The bug, said Secunia, can be exploited by a maliciously-crafted playlist to cause a buffer overflow on the target computer, which could then let the hacker gain complete control of the machine."

Apple now recommends you should upgrade to iTunes 4.7.1 to alleviate this problem; I found this page on Apple's site:

"iTunes 4.7.1

Available for: Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000
CVE ID: CAN-2005-0043
Impact: Malicious playlists can cause iTunes to crash and could execute arbitrary code Description: iTunes supports several common playlist formats. iTunes 4.7.1 fixes a buffer overflow in the parsing of m3u and pls playlist files that could allow earlier versions of iTunes to crash and execute arbitrary code. Credit to Sean de Regge (seanderegge[at]hotmail.com) for discovering this issue, and to iDEFENSE Labs for reporting it to us."

iDVD 5 and iDVD Easter Egg Support...

So far, I have been unable to find out whether or not the iDVD Easter Egg will work with iDVD 5, but I have found on Apple's iDVD website an interesting tidbit about iDVD. It looks like iDVD will finally feature built-in disc image burning support! I think this is a credit to all the feedback everyone has given to Apple - I am very happy about this :-)

"iDVD even has a new option for those occasions when you’re between media (i.e., you haven’t made it to the store) or you’re authoring a DVD on a system without a SuperDrive. The solution? Save your project as a fully-encoded Disk Image. Not only can you burn finished projects to disc more quickly once you’re back at your SuperDrive-equipped system (after all, they’ve already been encoded, so you just have to drag the Image to a blank DVD), but Disk Images make great read-only archives."

As soon as I receieve any new information concerning the iDVD Easter Egg, I will post it.

Apple's New Products - Macworld Expo 2005 Keynote!

Well, folks, it was a great one (even if we couldn't view it live...). Here's a wrap-up of what happened (pretty close, actually, to the original predictions!):

1. 
   
   iLife '05: Many, many new features in all the apps. Price:$79
   I have looked through all the new features now, and it seems that iLife is finally coming into its own, with many amazing new features that will definitely increase the value of the suite tenfold! I especially like iPhoto's RAW file compatibility, iMovie's HD video support, iDVD's new themes, and ALL of GarageBand's new features (iTunes didn't get updated... pity).
   
   I am not sure what is happening with iDVD and external drives... I wonder if the easter egg will still be operational - if anyone can test this, please let me know ;-).
   
   
2. 
   
   Mac mini: Awesome itty bitty inexpensive Mac! Price: $499 or $599
   It looks like this is a definite winner for PC switchers who are only looking for a Mac for light gaming, email, Internet, perhaps a little iMovie editing and iPhoto sharing. Perhaps a dorm student, family, or someone else. I sure would like one for home! Specs: 6.5"x6.5"x2" case, 1.2/1.4 GHz G4 processor, Combo (CD-R/DVD-ROM) slot-load drive, 40/80 GB hard drive, 256 MB DDR RAM (upgradeable to 1 GB!), ATI Radeon 9200 32MB Video, 10/100 Ethernet, 56k Modem, FireWire, USB 2.0, DVI/VGA ports.
   
   
3. 
   
   iPod shuffle: Small as pack of gum, really inexpensive! Price: $99 or $149
   An awesome foray into the flash MP3-player market for Apple - it has either 512 MB or 1 GB of flash memory, and is so simple that it requires no LCD display. Instead, you click play, and it will randomly select tunes for you to listen to (you can also pick your playlist, if you so choose). It has 12 hours of battery life, so it will last quite a while. The price is right - Apple will takeover the market (no doubt in my mind). It even looks pretty interesting. You could stick it almost anywhere, even in your jeans! Dock and belt clips are available, along with some other carrying straps, but I imagine many more products will follow. And, as with some other MP3 player/flash drives, you can use it as a mobile storage 'stick'.
   
   
4. 
   
   iWork: Create, present and publish your work with style. Price $79
   This office productivity suite is not meant, I would say, to compete head-to-head with MS Office (yet...). Rather, it seems like it's aimed more towards home/small business users who would like to do InDesign page-layout type work for creative brochures, flyers, letters, newsletters, etc. but can't fork over the cash - plus, with Keynote 2.0, you can easily present your stuff (the apps are integrated). Keynote and Pages are included in iWork, and Keynote includes some jazzy new features such as cinema-quality slide transitions and flash export. Pages looks to be a very elegant page-layout app, and might turn out to be adequate to replace the old PageMaker-type programs some people still use.
   
   
5. 
   
   Final Cut Express HD: More value in an already stunning video editing app. Price: $299 new, $99 upgrade
   Final Cut Express HD is now set to be my favorite Mac app ever (so far), as it incorporates HD editing and rendering, the awesome audio-editing app Soundtrack, and a cool titling program called Livetype (both formerly found exclusively in the Final Cut Pro bundle). Other than some little tweaks, HD support, and the integrated apps, there's not many new features, but it sure is a lot better!

More updates may come if I find the time...

Microsoft Software "Plagued by 'Extremely Critical' Flaws"

Is it any surprise, really?

IE Plagued by 'Extremely Critical' Flaws (Tech News World)

"Secunia recommends users drop IE and use an alternative browser. "Although hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on securing SP2, perfection is impossible," the security firm said in a statement."

Millions of Internet Explorer 6 users are at risk from thre "extremely critical" security holes that give hackers open access to PCs running the browser -- even if Windows XP Service Pack Two has been installed.

The first issue centers on the browser's drag-and-drop capability, which does not validate new files correctly. This means that, potentially, a document downloaded from a Web page using drag and drop may contain malicious code.

The other problems affect all Windows systems, including those protected by Local Computer zone lockdown, which comes with SP2.

The first allows specially designed (.hhk) files to be used to include malicious code on systems, and the second stems from a zone restriction error that could allow code to be downloaded from Web sites involuntarily.

At least one of the flaws was reported to Microsoft last year, but no patches have so far been made available.

...And PC users ask "Why are Macs better?" Hmm... I can think of a few reasons!

Meanwhile, us Mac users have no worries about viruses or any of the other 'plagues' of pestilence found on Windows PCs; we have, instead, "High Hopes for Macworld".

iPod flash - and Think Secret

Think Secret reports that a "Flash-based iPod" is "days away", noting that they have confirmed the validity of this rumor.

This puts my rumor-truth percentage for the iPod flash up to 95%. But, considering Apple is now filing a lawsuit against Think Secret and other companies, perhaps there may be some negative consequences (thus the 5% margin of error).

Blog Reading Explodes in America (and a bonus!)

After reading an article on ZDNet News, I felt obligated to post part of it here and comment on it.

From the article:

"The number of blogs and the use of blog readers rose rapidly last year--but a majority of Americans still do not know what a blog is.

A report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, called the "State of Blogging," discovered that readership of Web blogs--essentially, Web-based diaries--spiked 58 percent last year, with 27 percent of Internet users, or 32 million people, saying that they read blogs. Twelve percent of people who read blogs also chose to post comments on them.

Blog creation is also growing. By the end of 2004, seven percent of U.S. adults, or more than 8 million people, had written a blog, according to the study.

...Blog creators tend to be young men who have broadband and are Internet veterans. Fifty-seven percent of bloggers are male.

Hmm... who does that sound like?

Interestingly, I had never heard of a 'blog' until early this year! I set up a preliminary blog at the beginning of my school year with a free service called 'Xanga', but have since set up my own blog on my own webspace (I like having the control) using an open-source blogging app called 'Thingamablog'.

The most amazing aspect of this 'blog revolution' is the fact that almost every Google search I now perform brings up as many blog entries in the results as 'old-fashined websites'; and a lot of times that's a good thing. Blogs are 'new' and 'current', while many older pages are 'static' and 'outdated'. There is still a place for the traditional, static website (check out all of mine in the links column here) — but the blog is here to stay. For some, it's their livelihood, for others, it's a fun diversion. But for all, it can help to disseminate important information at a more rapid rate than traditional media (as was evidenced by 'Rathergate' and many other 'blogosphere exposés').

This entry includes a bonus! To those of you who hope to set up a well-read and awesome blog, here are some tips:

1. Keep entries somewhat short (i.e. no books on pages!).
2. Use proper grammar (this is NOT a chat room!).
3. Find a service (or set up your own blog, like me) that is indexed by Google and other web search sites, and try to get people to link to your blog - this way people will find you blog when doing web searches. Xanga did not do this.
4. Link to sources of information, and try to include other's information, pictures or links from time to time (it adds some variety).
5. Try to use a service (or set up your own blog) with RSS or Atom news feeds.
6. Read other's blogs to find out what looks nice, and what doesn't. The design of a blog is very important!
7. Keep a sense of humor. Blogs aren't news sites—they ought to be somewhat personal.

Pre-Expo Rumor Wrap Up

Since there seem to be more than a few rumors floating around surrounding Apple's ever-present 'Pre-Expo' rumorfest, I decided to post a summary here, along with my take on them.

1. iWork

My Take: I would say the 'iWork' rumor (concerning Apple's release of a completely new office suite, with programs like Microsoft's Word, Excel and PowerPoint) has a 40% chance of being true - I can't count the number of times I've heard this one since the release of AppleWorks 6. I don't see any reason for Apple to do this, especially with one of the main reasons many users are able to 'switch' is Microsoft's Office - made by Microsoft. I would think it more likely that Keynote 2.0 will be released, with some nice new whiz-bang features - a 70% chance.

2. iLife '05

My Take: iLife '05, along with Jam Pack 4, is very likely to be released at this Expo - I'll give it a 90% chance. I think it's essential for Apple to continue to impress people with a modern, well-rounded suite of 'lifestyle' apps if the company wants to continue to impress PC users (essential for increasing 'mind-share' and 'market share').

3. (the BIG one) sub-$600 iMac

My Take: Very rarely do all the major media outlets release rumor stories concerning Apple's Expo releases, and, when they do, they are usually right. It is time for Apple to shuffle their hardware lineup, and the eMac is growing stale for most purposes. A new headless, cheaper Mac -- an eMac without a display -- would do well for Apple. A typical consumer would much rather purchase as low-cost a product as they can, and not care whether or not they have an all-in-one or LCD instead of CRT. If Apple gets this thing right, it could be big. I'd say there's a 60% chance (I'm a skeptic...).

4. iPod flash

My Take: I always told myself, "I will not buy an iPod unless I can get it for under $100." Luckily for me, I was able to get one for $79 when I purchased my iBook due to the 'Cram and Jam' deal Apple had for Education customers last year. I think a lot of people will not buy unless the price point is either $99 or $149. Apple could dominate the market (both flash AND hard-drive based players) with a sub-$150 iPod. Keep the scroll wheel, nice display (maybe a little smaller), and iPod OS, and give it 256 or 512 (heck, maybe even a gig!) MB of flash memory, and 'they will come' and buy it in droves. Likelihood? I'd say 50% (I like to remain safe here... I'm not too sure).

5. PowerBook G5

My Take: I'm not sure what happened to all the discussion about Apple introducing the PowerBook G5, but I'd say it's about time for Apple to give us an update. There are so many people who are waiting for the 'Pro' line of Macs (Power Mac, PowerBook, Xserve) to be aligned with all-G5 processors before they'll upgrade. A PowerBook G5 would be thick, sweet icing on the cake if many of these other rumors pan out to be true. Since it's been so long since the last PowerBook update (also, the Xserve and eMac), I expect something to happen in early 2005. Chances for new PowerBook G5? 30%

Well, there you have it.

Items likely to be introduced (according to me): Keynote 2.0, Jam Pack 4, iLife '05.
Items I'm not too sure of: sub-$600 iMac, iWork, iPod flash, PowerBook G5

What Do "Syndicate this Site" and "RSS" Mean?

I'm not sure if many blog readers have noticed, but there is a link on the sidebar of this blog, and many other blogs throughout the blogosphere, that says 'Feed (RSS)', 'Syndicate this site (XML)' or something similar. What exactly does this mean?

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" - for allowing people to view, via a 'newsreader' updates of information (usually news or updated blog information, for our purposes). For more history and information concerning RSS, read XML.com's article, "What is RSS?"

So, what does this mean for you and I? This means you don't have to visit a blog or news website to find out if it has updated news or a new blog entry; you can simply open up your newsreader program (list of a few at end of this entry), and it will tell you if there are new blog entries! Some websites even give you some or all of the blog entry or news article, so you can see if you're interested in reading the whole entry by going to the site.

NewsFire Logo

Here are some RSS newsreaders:

For Windows PCs:
Feedreader - Free
RssReader - Free

For Macintosh:
NewsFire - Free (What I use)
NetNewsWire Lite - Free