From Endgadget:
An HP version of the iPod saved soldier Kevin Garrad of the 3rd Infantry Division today. When a bullet was fired at him from close range it slowed it enough to prevent it from piercing his government issued body armor.
Read more about the odd hPods here.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
Apple started a test program in recent months that made their systems available at Best Buy brick and mortar stores. It worked so well in the handful of Best Buys that carried their products that they have reached an agreement to expand. Now you can get your daily recommended dose of fruit at 200 more Best Buy stores.
The program has been tried a few other times with limited success, notably in 1998 and in 2004. Recent successes have been credited to an increase in store employees trained in Apple product usage and sales (it isn’t just their operating system and look that is different than the Microsoft world). The first stores to add Apple to their product lineup are the stores that have experienced a slow down in sales of Windows products.
In addition to adding Apple computers to the line up at hundreds of select Best Buy stores, other products will make an appearance as well. iPods and Apple TVs will be sold in every Best Buy store when the program starts. The iPhone is rumored to be making an appearance as well, if Best Buy offers Cingular/AT&T sign up along with it, as it is still under contract as a Cingular exclusive.
I think apple making their products more available to more consumers is a smart move. They have been in limited Circuit City stores and nearly all CompUSA stores for some time now, and show significant improvement in sales from it.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
I have to admit the lawsuit broiling over Bluetooth technology was flying completely under my radar until Apple got added to the mix this week. I was as surprised as the next person – Bluetooth is everywhere now, even in cars. So who is suing who over this now-standard technology, and why?
It seems the Washington Research Foundation has their tail feathers up over the use of the technology. They started the lawsuit in December of 2006 against Matsuhita Electric Industrial Co. They then added Samsung and Nokia to the defendant list in the Seattle-based lawsuit. Now, months later, they have also added Apple, Sony, Dell, Logitech, Toshiba and Plantronics to the defendant list.
the lawsuit is a complex patent lawsuit in which WRF is trying to bar the manufacturers of products using Bluetooth Technologies from using a certain kind of Bluetooth chip in their products. This would affect many millions of products already on the market, and more in development. It is important to note that WRF did not invent Bluetooth technology – Eriksson did, along with a team from Intel and others.
The chips in question are made a company called CSR, who filed a counter suit against WRF. this case is one of many seemingly frivolous lawsuits being brought by technology makers against each other. With all of these legal issues being drug about, it’s a wonder technology advances as quickly as it does. Regardless, you can read the full article here. We’ll be following the lawsuit on Apple Reporter, so check back here for an update.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
Senator Barack Obama, Democratic sleeper candidate for President in 2008, is trying to tap the power of Apple’s marketing machine. He’s created a “mashup” ad using a montage of images and themes from Apple’s popular and famous “1984″ ad campaign and posted it on YouTube, where it has taken off as a viral video success, exceeding 600,000 page views so far.
Representatives from his political camp have denied that they have anything officially to do with the ad. In spite of repeated denials by the Obama camp, viewers remain unconvinced that the “Hillary 1984″ video mashup was not released by his political aides and campaign headquarters. I don’t have a problem with Obama and his camp being creative. My main problem comes from the fact that he is attacking Hillary Clinton in the ad. I get steamed when members of the same party (either party) mud sling against each other when they’d do better to address the issues and put their best face forward during a campaign. I can understand Obama’s frustration and why he feels a need to start the heavy hitting early (after all, for example, half of America thinks he is a Muslim solely because of his name, when he is in fact a staunch Christian), but still – someone needs to act like a grown up this election cycle. Preferably all of the someone’s from all of the parties.
Regardless of how you feel about Obama, Hillary or the use of Apple products in political ads or spoof clips (see our report earlier this week on the iRack parody), you can view the YouTube video here, and read more about the whole thing here and here.
You can also read me at HubPages today. I wrote an article there on Freeware for your Mac. Enjoy!
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
Get a free Mac OS X Hints – Tiger video from MacWorld! Download found here.
And don’t forget to read this morning’s post about Daylight Savings Time updates for your Mac here.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
That’s right, Daylight Savings Time starts tomorrow this year (March 11, 2007). In a bid to conserve energy and possibly get people used to year round DST and longer, lighter days all the time, US officials have moved DST ahead three weeks in the Spring of 2007, and pushed the end date back to extend the time change. Computers, software, machines and gadgets that have automatic DST selected will need to be prepared for the change, as they can’t take it into account on their own.
As usual, Apple has thought of this possibility If you are running Tiger, the latest updates to 10.4.5 and up will automatically fix the issue for your computer. If you live in a zone that was too late to adopt the changes to be included, Apple has even created a special software fix for you, the 10.4.8 DST Update. Are you a Panther user? NEver fear, Apple has your back with this update specifically for Panther. If you are running 10.0 – 10.3 you can go to an outside source for your update here.
If you use Office for Mac, you need this patch (for Office 2004) or this one (for older Office for Mac versions) in addition to your operating system update. Don’t forget to check the home pages of your other software! They also could need an update, and their web site support sections are the best place to check.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
Everyone in the states is familiar with the funny ad campaign Apple calls ‘Get A Mac’. These are the ads featuring a young, hip, guy (played by Justin Long) as the Mac, and a drab, overweight, dorky guy (played by John Hodgeman) as the PC. You’ve seen them. They all open with “I’m a Mac” “And I’m a PC” and feature amusing vignettes highlighting the differences between Macs and PCs. My personal favorite is the new “Security” video about the clunky security features found in Windows Vista (key tag line in the blogosphere: “You are coming to a sad realization. Cancel or Allow?”). Don’t worry, if you’ve been under a rock for the last few months you can see the entire series on their web site here.
What has been a phenomenal success in America has not translated well in the market across the pond, however. People in other countries just aren’t responding as well to the ad campaign as a whole. The ads are geared toward American cultural mores and just don’t translate well in some cases. For example, in Japan humility is key. You don’t see ads in Japan comparing two products directly the way we do here – it is considered rude and arrogant. So in Japan the commercials are adversely affecting sales. In the United Kingdom the ads are having a negative effect on sales for a somewhat different reason. People are beginng to perceive the PC as lovable junk and the Mac as a smug twit – not good!
Another thing hurting the ads is wardrobe and actual translation. The language issue is minor compared to the wardrobe one, though. Americans are one of the few countries to have the movement toward casual wear in the office environment. In other countries what translates as hip and urban chic here comes across as sloppy and cheap. This isn’t helping Apple’s image overseas at all. So what should Apple do? The easy solution would be to start a new ad campaign overseas geared toward repairing the damage to its reputation. Apple has not commented yet on how it plans to address the issue.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
In a bold move, Wilkes University in Pennsylvania has decided to use Macs exclusively on its campus. Apple has long been the computer of choice for education because of its comprehensive software bundle and easy to use interface, not to mention it’s virtually virus and hacker free interface. This only serves to cement its place in the scholarly market.
The university is phasing out its Windows based PCs over a three year period. It will have Macs only on its campus of 5,000 students and has announced that any student who wants to use a PC running Windows will have to bring it on campus themselves and maintain it themselves. This is a huge leap forward in the concept of Macs as mainstream.
Just how large will the impact of this switch be for such a small campus? They currently have a computer lab with 1,700 computers, all currently PCs. To switch them all over to Macs during the next three years is a monumental project expected to cost at least $1.4 million USD. The university is also bringing education techniques into the future by integrating Apple’s iPod into several of its class formats, allowing students more freedom in mobile learning.
There are other universities out there integrating Macs more fully into their curriculums, but Wilkes is so far the only one who has announced a complete switch from PC to Mac technology. iPods are also growing in educational use, although some of the more old-school teachers find using them less intuitive than their students do. Apple plans to offer some training programs to get educators up to speed on the benefits ofd the new technology.
With the iPhone’s mobile computing technology slated to be marketed this summer, that too could end up helping educators and students get more out of their classes in this modern age. From audio books to visual lesson plans on the go, the new technology is making learning accessible to everyone. By using Macs, it is also painless and nearly virus free. Do you use your iPod for learning or teaching? Let us know in the comments!
Tags: Wilkes University, Apple
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
One airplane manufacturer is hustling in the new electronics age by making iPods into the Black Box for their light aircraft. LoPresti Speed Merchants is planning to integrate the wildly popular, multi-functional mp3 player into its design for the new Fury Piston improved model. Having the iPod on board means 500 hours of recording time is possible. There is some debate about the logistics of the iPod’s use as the Black Box device. The current Black Boxes are built to survive a fiery crash and being crushed, pulverized, wet, burnt and other crash-related damage. The iPod is known more for its pocket mp3 and educational capabilities than for its crash-readiness.
Regardless, LoPresti is definitely moving forward on a fury design that incorporates and integrates the iPod as the Black Box, and plans to expand the idea to the rest of its aircraft designs once the Fury trial is successful. LoPresti’s innovation is not the only way iPods are getting to fly. Volaris, a Mexican airline, has begun renting iPods to its passengers for in-flight entertainment, a novel idea that is ahead of its time. Airline companies in the United States had planned a similar launch, but weren’t fast enough in implementing it. This gives Volaris a jump in the highly competitive Mexican travel market.
Once the American airline market has their ducks in a row, their iPod offering will be somewhat different than that of Volaris. It is an integrated plug and charge seat side system that will let passengers plug their iP{ods in and charge them, listen to the in-flight music selections on their iPods and more. Renting someone else’s 30GB iPod like you can on the Mexican airline is nice, but having your own with you is great.
Tags: iPod, Apple, Lopresi, iPod Airplane
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
The D: All Things Digital conference is showing us just how progressive it can be. Long time geek rivals Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have agreed to be co-presenters at this prestigious event, scheduled for the end of May 2007. The aspect of this conference that makes it unique is the unscripted, unfettered, spontaneous hosting format the two heavy hitters are expected to use. They will sit down with the conference hosts and have a completely unplanned conversation during their joint appearance – huge news in the computing world.
Apple‘s Steve Jobs also has an individual presentation at the D5 conference. He is expected to talk about Apple’s cutting edge developments this year, including the iPhone and Apple TV. Steve Ballmer, Bill Gate’s successor at Microsoft, is slated to give a presentation on their new products, such as the yawner Zune and the more popular Xbox series.
The D conferences are famous for their breaking news, such as last year’s introduction of low-cost laptops for children in developing countries, introduced by Nicholas Negroponte. They are also famous for their format: all interviews, no speeches. This format makes the giants of the computer industry seem more candid and accessible than they do at other conferences and events.
The conference, which is sold out, will take place May 29-31 near San Diego, California. Are you going? Let us know.
Tags: WWDC, Jobs, Gates, speakers, D5, All Things D
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
Breaking news: Apple has signed an exclusive deal with EA Games to develop a series of platform-specific games for the iPhone and Apple TV. This is a huge added feature that will only add to the sales of these Apple products, already in high demand.
EA already makes a series of games for the iPod family that has been quite successful. This success is expected to bridge over into the new platform ready games as well.
The new games will be available through iTunes for a low price (around $4.99 for iPods) that should appeal to customers from all financial levels. Having the games downloadable through iTunes will make them doubly appealing for Apple TV users who want to play them as a multiple player game on any TV.
Stay tuned to Apple Reporter for more once an official deal between Apple, EA Games and Namco is signed.
Read more about the deal here, here, and here.
Tags: Apple, EA Games
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
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