UGN Info Manager UGN Info Manager
According to this Business Week article, Steve Jobs will make a bigger impression on Disney than Pixar will.
Some quotes:
"If he can bring to Disney the same kind of industry-shaking, boundary-busting energy that has lifted Apple and Pixar sky-high, he could help the staid company become the leading laboratory for media convergence.
It's not hard to imagine a day when you could fire up your Apple CEO and watch Net-only spin-offs of popular TV shows from Disney's ABC network....
Jobs seems to know it: Iger says the first call that he got in March when he was named to the top job came from the Apple CEO....
Two weeks after Iger took office, the Disney CEO was on stage at a San Jose movie theater with Jobs as the two men introduced Apple's new video iPod and the availability of such ABC shows as Lost and Desperate Housewives....
Microsoft is even considering making its own digital music player, since providing its software to Dell and other hardware developers has failed to slow Apple (see BW Online, 1/26/06, "The Bug in Microsoft's Ear")....
Catmull and Lasseter believed they could use computer animation to create full-length movies, even though many in Hollywood and at Disney thought computers could never deliver the nuance and emotion of hand-drawn animation....
While analysts have often urged the company to crank up its movie machine and pump out more releases, it's only now reaching the point that it can make one a year.... The most likely scenario is that Apple would build a version of its Mac mini that could be attached to a TV and entertainment center so the mini could store family photographs and home videos along with music and videos downloaded from iTunes.... " Post your comments here...
Tesco, which is a supermaket in the United Kingdom is going to dedicate 120 square feet to Apple products. Macs and iPods. This is the first time that the chain has dedicated space to a single, non- food brand. If successful, it will roll out to other stores in the chain. Read more...
There has been a lot of discussion this week on a report that at RETAIL, iWorks out sells the Word Perfect suite. And is thus the #2 office suite. Of course, most office suites are sold installed on the computers or purchased by corporate IT departments. But in my mind, there is some question as to whether they are comparing apples to oranges. How can iWorks be called an office suite without a spreadsheet?
Also of course, WordPerfect isn't even available for the Mac and I don't think the suite was ever offered for very long. The old standby AppleWorks would make a better comparison.
Read one person's perspective ... see the full story...
If you are the least bit interested in hi-tech news, you are aware of the patent law suit against Research In Motion concerning its Blackberry e-mail service. Unless they figure out a way to settle the law suit, it is likely that the court will shut them down with-in the next 30 days. What I found interesting is that NTP has amended its lawsuit to exempt government employees from the shut down. That doesn't make sense. But then, the feds have kept the satellite phones operating for their purposes for years too. Read more...
A prize at more than $7,500 last Friday has been offered to the first person that can get Windows XP to boot on an Intel-based Mac.
Rules are spelled out on the web site listed below, but at minimum, the user must be able to boot into either OS X or Wndows XP at startup and the only version of Windows acceptable is XP. See : winxponmac.com
Computer World has a review at the new professional level Mac notebook. Since this appears to not be a Mac "fanatic" his view point should be considered. ... see the full story...
On the blog MacintoshAppleTree, the blogger has posted a story about how he has written an Applescript that uses NetNewsWire to send the headlines on "The Unoffical Apple Weblog" to his cell phone. Read more...
According to a Fortune magazine article, the battle for the digital media center in our living rooms is over and Apple has won. Personally, I think that statement is extremely premature, but Fred Vogelstein does make some interesting points, but basis his statement on Apple domination of our digital audio activities, possible activities in the video realm and his new ties with Disney. ... see the full story...
Nisus has long been the inexpensive alternative to Microsoft Word on the Mac. The latest version (2.6) is now available at their web site. If you are a registered users of any previous version the upgrade is free. Otherwise there is a free trial version that will cost $69 to register. Home page at: www.nisus.com
C.K. Sample, posted this story: "Norway Ombudsman looks at iTunes TOS and cries foul" saying:
"It looks like someone in Norway has noticed and found it (TOS) to be supremely problematic: "The Consumer Council of Norway find the terms to be unbalanced and highly in favour of iTunes as one party in the entered agreement. . . . The consumer is granted few or no rights while iTunes provides itself with several unfair rights according to Waterhouse." See: http://tinyurl.com/7abvw
Tidbits:
* iTunes can change the your rights to the music after you downloaded it.
* Consumers are cut off from claiming damages if iTunes should create a breach of security that could be exploited by hacker or malware.
* Consumers who wants to play they're music on a non-iPod player ... see the full story...
This is the first Information Organizer for Mac OS X for information storage across multiple computers ... from Bare Bones Read more...
Imagine driving a car with the dashboard displaying information that doesn't help you gauge speed, fuel level, or whether the engine is overheating. Is your computer interface like that? Read more...
Asking for directions has never been this much fun. Google Maps is changing the landscape of online mapping applications. With HACKS it is even that much more fun Read more...
OGT's Winning Concepts Contest 2005-2006 Edition is open to full-time college and university students of age 18 or older, registered in a graphic or web design program ... see the full story...
Here's a plan for creative artists and designers to build a pixel into a world-wide mosiac and enhance their Google rankings at the same time... Read more...
This update to last week's "Pump and Dump" article provides reader feedback and updated industry warnings Read more...
Surf the Web on virtually any mobile phone: Opera Software announces worldwide release of Opera Mini ... ... see the full story...
Audiocorder is a program which allows your Mac to act as a sophisticated audio recorder Read more...
"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.
- Peter Drucker
"Yes, we have to divide up our time like that, between our politics and our equations. But to me our equations are far more important, for politics are only a matter of present concern. A mathematical equation stands forever.
- Albert Einstein
"It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action."
- Al Batt
Have a great week... (See last week)
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