Apple Archive

I was desperately looking for something to write about when I happened to chance upon Apple’s new shipping system – a dual 1.42GHz Power Mac G4. A new system, a faster system, but does it mean a brighter future for Apple?

OSNews' sister web site NewMobileComputing posted the experiences of a reader with Apple's service department over the support of an iBook.

A few weeks ago Apple said that they will unveil their "multimedia strategy" in the NAB conference. Indeed, new press releases describe Shake 3, DVD Studio Pro 2, Final Cut Pro 4 and there is also the recent Logic 6. This strong line up seems to aim on bringing Mac OS X closer to the same position SGI with IRIX were a few years ago: the high-end creative/media market. Additionally, Alias|Wavefront today announced Maya 5, the latest version of its Oscar award-winning 3D software. Update: New, 900 Mhz G3 iBooks soon!

A significant number of Apple Authorized Resellers were deauthorized this week, objecting to the company's new contracts for dealers. One reseller estimated that about 50 resellers haven't signed the contract, representing over $300 Million in revenue for Apple.

Apple today announced that it has rescheduled its 2003 Worldwide Developers Conference in order to provide developers with a more complete preview release of the next version of Mac OS X, code named "Panther." Originally scheduled for May 19-23 in San Jose, the conference will now be held June 23-27 at San Francisco's Moscone Center. "Moving to June ensures that every developer will leave the event with a copy of Panther in their hands" said Ron Okamoto, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. As for the July Macworld Expo in New York City it is rumored to be no Jobs keynote, expo name change and fewer exhibitors.

"I have read many articles and debates on USB vs. Firewire. Recently, some writers have covered Apple's stance on USB 2.0. I won't bother to go into a technical debate as to which technology is better, or holds a better edge in future generations of the spec -- let's put that aside. I want to focus on whether Apple is following the best long-term strategy. In my opinion, it is not." Read the editorial at MacSlash. On another editorial, on PCMag this time, Dvorak predicts: "Apple will switch to Intel processors within the next 12 to 18 months". Dvorak advocates the Itanium as the main candidate.

The Mac Observer has posted a reader poll and commentary on the topic of whether Apple should embrace USB 2. Commentary at AppleLinks. In other Apple news, Apple is preparing on launching an online music service. Also, longtime hardware developer Steve Sakoman, a former Palm and Be executive, has rejoined Apple Computer as a vice president. Mr Sakoman was involved in the Mac II development and was the main guy behind the creation of the Newton. At Be, he designed the first generation H0bbit-based BeBox, the one that had 5 AT&T CPUs, back in the early days of Be. He later left and when he came back became Be's CTO.

"Apple has been busy patenting everything under the sun it seems, and some of those patents may promise interesting things to come. Others might make you stop, scratch your head and ask "huh, you can do that?" If you want to see the full list of Apple's published patents and pending patent applications, just visit the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). For those that don't crave reading through hundreds of patents, here's a quick patent round-up of user interface, program, hardware, and otherwise interesting developments from Apple." Read the article at MacObserver.

"Going by the numbers, Apple Computer Inc. appears headed for trouble again. While CEO Steven P. Jobs engineered a remarkable comeback after retaking the helm in 1997, one-time expenses, such as plant closures, have pushed the company into the red for two quarters running." Read more at BusinessWeek.

Despite publicly saying that the top-line 17" PowerBook would be available in February, Apple executives privately told dealers in a meeting at Macworld Expo on January 8 not to expect the product until mid-March, if not later into April -- Apple's fiscal third-quarter. Customers only in the last 10 days are now being told the same information. In an official press release dated January 7, Apple clearly states, "The new 17-inch PowerBook G4 is expected to be available in February..." This is a blow to many customers who have ordered the 17" model 1,5 moths ago already, because the 17" is intended mostly as a desktop replacement, so it is kind of urgent for most customers to have it on time.

Apple's Chief Financial Officer Fred Anderson said the company's aim is to expand its share of the computer market. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology Symposium, Anderson said a "good intermediate" goal would be to reach 5% marketshare from 3% today (some statistic companies actually put Apple between 2,2% and 2,6%).

Apple's Safari web browser will soon be equipped with a tabbed browsing feature, the notoriously precise Think Secret has confirmed. New pre-release betas that are being tested include this capability (after activating it from a debug menu), which is one of the most anticipated additions to the upstart browser.

We've had quite the Powerbook-fest here on OS News over the past few days. I also ordered a 12" Powerbook, and I would have received it several days before Eugenia if Airborne hadn't sent it to the wrong state and then lost it somewhere between Ohio and my house. But it finally arrived, and mine is the hot commodity, a 12" Powerbook with Superdrive (DVD Burner), 640 MB RAM, Airport Extreme (802.11g), and a 60 gig HD. My impression is a little different than Eugenia's and I'm approaching from a different angle.

Apple today released version 0.2-beta of its X11 for MacOSX, which allows X11-based apps to run side-by-side with native OSX applications while it makes it easier to port X11 apps to the Mac. The new beta adds several enhancements and bug fixes (fixes the Fink library problem among other things). On other Mac-related news, MSN for OSX is nearing release while Internet Explorer 6 is on hold by Microsoft, ThinkSecret reports. Additionally, Apple seeded a new Java 1.4.1 preview to devs.