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Apple Inc

• Thirsty for Apple juice - Apple shares have been in a free fall as markets have swooned in 2008. Here's what analysts will be looking for from Tuesday's earnings report. CNN Money
• Jobs' Keynote: The Reviews Are In - Brickbats and a few bouquets. Insanely Great Mac
• Macworld blooms again - Many more visitors, many more exhibitors, relatively good buzz Insanely Great Mac
• What Bugs Us - Vox pops at MWSF. Insanely Great Mac
• Analysts Peg Apple to Beat Expectations in Tuesday's Q1 Report - Apple reports earnings for its first fiscal quarter on Tuesday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period. In October, Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple released the Mac OS X Leopard operating system. The company said it sold more than 2 million copies of the system during the first weekend it was available. MacNewsWorld
• Macworld Expo: Past, Present, and Future - Macworld Expo 2008 marked the return to the glory days and may well go down as one of the best to date. What made this year so great, and what's in store for next year? Ted Landau shares his perspective. Mac Observer
• Donovan’s views: Taking care of corporate business, part I - The first quarter results of Apple for fiscal year 2008 will confirm results of an outstanding quarter (despite what whispers analysts and others talk of). Congratulations to Apple, Inc the entity and all of its contributing employees. Though executing at the high levels of growth and achievements it has lately, management still needs to take the same approach as the Apple TV version 2 development outlined recently in the keynote speech and ask questions of itself; that is, what are the areas to be improved upon, what are what are they overlooking and what are they missing in their corporate development.MacimumNews
• MUG News: Macworld Expo follow-up on user group agendas - The 2008 Macworld Conference & Expo may be a memory for attendees, but all the announcements from Apple and others take center stage starting this week at Mac User Group meetings, per “The MUG Event Calendar.” MacimumNews
• Off the beaten path at Expo - It’s time to take a look at some of the other products being showcased at this year’s Macworld Expo. Join Dan Moren on a tour of the show floor as he looks for products that are flying under the radar. Hear John Moltz’s analysis of the show’s more bizarre announcements, as well as his many so-called celebrity sightings. Macworld
• Apple Q1 to show positive growth - Apple expected to achieve another strong quarter, kicking trends as interest in its products remains high Macworld UK
• NAMM: Herbie Hancock demos Apple's MainStage - 'I always wished there was something like this to zone my keyboard,' said Hancock. 'MainStage must have a brain because it figures things out for you.' Macworld UK
• Apple: See Ya In the Funny Pages - Sometimes you have to turn to the comics for real perspective on the day's events, and that turns out to be exactly the case with last week's Macworld: Bad Reporter [SF Gate] Bliss [ComicsPage.com] Wired

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Mac Hardware

• Next-gen Apple MacBook Pros to gain multi-touch trackpad - The exclusivity of Apple's new multi-touch trackpad to the company's MacBook Air family of notebooks won't last long, AppleInsider has learned. AppleInsider
• Improving the MacBook Air - I previously railed against the newly announced MacBook Air, and with good reason: too high of a price point and lack of anything that sets it as a pro machine. (read more) Applematters
• THIS DAY IN APPLE HISTORY January 21, 2002: Lampshade iMac Released - The original iMac was a monster hit, but so was the Model T. After the iMac’s initial popularity began to ebb, Apple saw the need to completely revise the machine. (read more) Applematters
• 8800 GT coming for Mac Pro v1 - nVidia claims a kit will be available in a couple weeks Insanely Great Mac
• The MacBook Air Is a Sign of Things to Come - The MacBook Air has, unfairly in my opinion, had quite a bit of criticism heaped on it. I think a good deal of this was bitterness from those suckers* who (read more) Applematters
• Yes, Veronica, You Can Install Tiger on a Mac Pro Rev. 2.0 - Going back to 10.4. Insanely Great Mac
• Trans International: New Mac Pro RAM - 800MHz DDR2, 72-bit ECC fully-buffered DIMMs Insanely Great Mac
• Once again, thin is in: MacBook Air - The trend for technology to go thin has been with us for some time – I still have an old Sony portable CD player somewhere that’s barely bigger than a CD inside its plastic jewel case – and everybody’s seen the Motorola RAZR. The 30GB 5G iPod, the Nano and then the iPod Touch also propelled thin tech further, and now it culminates in the MacBook Air. itwire
• Why is Apple’s Mac surging? - Something is going on with the Macintosh... MacDailyNews
• How the MacBook Air's wireless boot feature works - The MacBook Air's form factor may be what's drawing oohs and aahs, but software and firmware innovations that Apple developed for the machine are the real attention grabbers. MacFixIt
• ChangeWave Research: Explosive Mac Sales Over Holidays - ChangeWave Research surveyed 4,604 CWR members in January and found that that 17 percent of respondents bought a Mac notebook in the last 90 days, a 3 percent jump from the previous survey in November 2007. Apple desktops were purchased by 16 percent, up six points from previously. Mac Observer
• OPINION MacBook Air: The New Cube - Well, I hate to say it, but this time I believe Apple missed the mark with the MacBook Air. Sure, it's thin -- the thinnest computer I've ever seen. Yes, ignoring optical drives and relying on wireless is bleeding-edge technology reminiscent of the first iMacs that shunned diskette drives and proprietary cables for USB. Of course, it's the prettiest little thang on the market, and Apple will likely sell a zillion of them. It's Apple pushing the envelope and that's what they do best. Yet I keep thinking that, in this case, Apple is pushing the wrong envelope. MacNewsWorld
  
• Mindset Media Finds Mac Users More "Open Minded" - Mindset Media surveyed 7,500 people and found that people who are highly open minded are 60 percent more likely than people in the general population to have purchased a Mac. Mac Observer
• Reader Poll: Are You Buying a MacBook Air? - Hot Forum Topic - Today TMO readers are talking about whether or not they are ready to buy Apple's new MacBook Air. Take the reader poll and let us know what your plans are. Mac Observer
• MacBook Air Unboxing Photos and Wireless Booting - The first unboxing photos for the MacBook Air come from what appears to be a remote Macworld Expo presentation in Japan. The pictures show that they received their demonstration MacBook Air in the retail packaging. MacRumors.com
• MacBook Air one of Apple’s most controversial products ever - The MacBook Air, introduced during last week’s Macworld Conference & Expo, has turned out to be one of the most controversial products released by Apple in some time. It seems to be a love-it-or-hae-it device (although only a handful of folks have actually gotten their hands on one). MacimumNews
• QNAP Systems unveils TS-409 Pro Turbo NAS - Storage solution provider QNAP Systems has unveiled the generation four-bay, hot-swappable network-attached storage TS-409 Pro Turbo NAS, which including hot-swappable HDD design, RAID 0/ 1/ 5/ 6/ 5+spare disk redundancy, Online RAID Capacity Expansion, Online RAID Level Migration, and backup and security functions. The HDD S.M.A.R.T. and complete log systems are supported to minimize the deployment cost and maintenance effort, according to company reps. MacimumNews
• The MacBook Air: FAQ - Steve Jobs ended his Macworld Expo keynote by unveiling the MacBook Air, the thinnest laptop Apple's ever made. What features are included in this slim portable, and which ones did Apple drop? What's the battery life like? And is it the right machine for you? We have the answers to these and other questions in our MacBook Air introductory guide. Macworld
  
• MacBook Air battery replacement takes 'minutes' - While a moot point as all existing MacBook Air's are presently covered by their Apple warranty, it appears battery replacement in the new thin notebooks takes just a few minutes. Macworld UK
  
• MWSF: Accessibility products updated - KeyStrokes 4, SwitchXS 2.5 and LayoutKitchen 2 all make their debut as accessibility products updated for the Mac. Macworld UK
• MacBook Air's Battery is Actually Easy to Replace - pizzach noted that the MacBook Air battery is actually fairly easy to replace. "All it requires is a philips screwdriver. Unlike some of Apple's other products, the battery is not so soldered in which should make a lot of people at least a little bit happier." I think I'll have to wait for something with a bigger screen and a faster clock speed. Slashdot
• MACWORLD 2008 - Macworld Confirms Growing Trend of ’Hardware as a Service’ Wired
• Geekipedia - Disruptive Technology: Bottling the Difference Between Successful Products and Ambitious Duds Wired
  

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OS X & Software

• Microsoft Office 2008: first look - It's been a long time coming, but an Intel-native version of Microsoft's Office suite for Mac OS X is finally with us. itwire
• PC World blogger thinks MacBook Air shows it’s time for Apple to license Mac OS X - Who else but Apple could launch a product like the MacBook Air? With its focus on form over function... MacDailyNews
• Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.2 update to bring nearly endless list of enhancements - During the MacWorld SF, Apple has quietly seeded to developers a new build of the Mac OS X Leopard... MacDailyNews
• Office 2008 crashes and fixes; Spaces incompatibility - Normal template, fonts causing Word crashes Word is crashing repeatedly for a number of Office 2008 upgraders, and there appear to be three causes: MacFixIt
• QuickTime 7.4 breaks movie playback, how to fix - Movies still not playing The QuickTime 7.4 update is proving disastrous for a growing number of users who cannot properly playback videos that previously played normally. As noted yesterday, some movies play without video, others play without sound, and still others don't play at all. A typical report from MacFixIt reader Steve Bunnell: MacFixIt
• ToDo X 2.2 Improves Leopard Compatibility - Omicron Software Systems announced the immediate availability of ToDo X 2.2 on Monday. The updated version of the to-do list management application improved support for Mac OS X 10.5 and added several minor interface enhancements. Mac Observer
  
• PhotoAcute Studio 2.7 Extends Field of Depth Support - Photo Acute announced the immediate availability of PhotoAcute Studio 2.7 on Monday. The updated version of the digital image enhancement application added focus stacking functionality for extended field of depth in pictures. Mac Observer
  
• Fluidmac Introduces FluidNoise 1.0 - Fluidmac announced the immediate availability of FluidNoise 1.0 on Monday. FluidNoise is an application that creates images and movies from random noise patterns. Mac Observer
  
• Apple Quietly Intros 64-Bit Windows Support in Boot Camp - Apple has started quietly shipping 64-bit Windows Vista drivers (for Boot Camp) with the install disks of the latest Mac Pros which were just released earlier this month. The installation instructions that come with the new Mac Pros specify this new feature: MacRumors.com
• CommuniGate adds CalDAV support to iUnified Communications platform - CommuniGate Systems, which makes carrier-class Internet communications solutions, has added CalDAV support to its iUnified Communications platform. The CalDAV standard lets users share scheduling resources and calendar events to boost collaboration and productivity throughout the enterprise. MacimumNews
• Fluidmac releases first product for Mac OS X - Fluidmac has released FluidNoise 1.0, their debut application for Mac OS X – FluidNoise. FluidNoise costs US$20 and uses natural looking random noise to create images and movies from scratch. It can generate anything from clouds, fire or water to marble, wood grain or rusty metal, according to the folks at Fluidmac.MacimumNews
• QuizMaker Pro goes Universal Binary - Class One Software has released QuizMaker Pro 6.2, an update of the Mac OS X compatible app that generates, administers, archives and scores multiple choice, matching, and short answer tests. MacimumNews
• PhotoAcute Studio 2.7 extends depth of field beyond lens capabilities - PhotoAcute Studio, Mac OS X compatible software for enhancing digital photos quality, has been updated to version 2.7. It now provides focus stacking functionality, allowing users to take high-quality images with extended depth of field, with all the scene details in focus. MacimumNews
• VectorDesigner added to MacHeist II bundle - VectorDesigner has been added to the MacHeist II bundle if the company can raise US$300,000 (25 percent of the funds raised will go to 10 participating charities). MacimumNews
• Report: As Macs grow in popularity, so does security threats - Mac OS X is safer today—but not necessarily more secure for the long term—than Windows, according to an Infoworld report. MacimumNews
• Logo Design Studio Pro adds padding, hyphenation text fill options, more - Macware has updated Logo Design Studio Proa vector based logo design application for Mac OS X. The upgrade includes padding and hyphenation text fill options, optimized PDF export, aspect ratio lock, and a new dial control for easier rotation.MacimumNews
• Review: PowerPoint 2008 - Whether you’re using PowerPoint by necessity or choice, the latest version’s new additions are useful, and produce attractive results. Unfortunately, Mac users still miss out on capabilities available to Windows users and the intuitive interface of Keynote. Macworld
• 'Huge' Leopard update on its way? - Report claims extensive improvements in Mac OS X 10.5.2, covering many applications and squishing its widely reported bugs. Macworld UK
• MacJournal 5.0 available now - Mariner Software has introduced the latest iteration of its powerful journaling software for Mac OS X. Macworld UK
  
• Singaporean agency offers $100K prize for multimedia search - Singapore's ASTAR is offering a $100,000 prize to the winner of a competition to develop multimedia search technologies. Macworld UK
• Bling! It ships for Macs - Optimised image-editing tool - designed for the creation of product images for use on sites including eBay and Amazon - comes to the Mac. Macworld UK

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iPods, iTunes & Apple TV

• Reports: Apple and NBC mending fences - Apple Inc. and video content provider NBC Universal are working to bury the hatchet, according to reports, which suggest that it's only a matter of time before the network's catalog of television programming returns to the digital shelves of the iTunes Store. AppleInsider
• NBC' Zucker wants to make up? - Perhaps his willy-nilly online content licensing hasn't paid off... Insanely Great Mac
• Consumers prefer iTunes movies to Blu-ray and HD DVD? - Apple have sold 7 million movies since their introduction on iTunes back in September 2006, outselling high-def movie sales on Blu-ray or HD DVD – with more competition still from the Xbox 360’s movie download service, Amazon’s Unbox and others – but downloading hasn’t won the race just yet. itwire
• Does Microsoft’s new Zune commercial falsely advertise nonexistent touchscreen capability? - Microsoft's new commercial for the company's Zune 4GB/8GB product seems to attempt to imply touchscreen capability... MacDailyNews
•  NBC’s Zucker: ‘We want to be in business with Apple’ - Jeff Zucker, chief executive of NBC Universal, is planning to seize on the writers' strike... MacDailyNews
• HBO to Launch Movie Download Service - iPodObserver - Home Box Office (HBO) is ready to jump into the movie and TV show download game with the launch of its HBO on Broadband service. The cable pay TV channel plans to roll out the new service to Time Warner Cable broadband customers in limited markets on Tuesday. Mac Observer
  
• Apple, NBC May Be On the Mend - iPodObserver - NBC's anti-Apple sentiment may be fading, which in turn could mean the network's programming might make a comeback at the iTunes Store. Apple and NBC parted ways last year when the broadcaster pulled its shows from the media download store over pricing issues. Mac Observer
• Apple, NBC Universal Repairing Relations? - The Financial Times and Businessweek are independently reporting on an apparent soothing of relations between the heads of NBC and Apple. MacRumors.com
• MWSF: Jobs slams Microsoft's Zune - Jobs slams Microsoft's Zune, and stresses that the Blu-ray versus HD DVD format war is irrelevant, as the future for film distribution is online. Macworld UK
• NAMM: iPod products for musical creatives - Numark and Alesis are climbing aboard the iPod train, introducing a range of new products for music-making iPod users. Macworld UK
• Universal's Zucker now admires Apple - Comments from NBC Universal chief and Apple's boss Steve Jobs suggest two companies may be near resolving some of their differences. Macworld UK
• Apple iPhone talks begin in Thailand - Apple engages in talks across the Far East with a view to launch iPhone in the mobile-savvy markets there. Macworld UK
• UK iPhone sales 'disappoint'? - iPhone sales may not have hit early expectation but O2 still claims the handset to be the fastest-selling device it has - is it high price or recession's bite that's impacting UK iPhone sales? Macworld UK
• HTC sold 2 million of its iPhone-rival handset last year - Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC sold 2 million of its Touch Microsoft-based mobile phones it developed to compete with the iPhone last year. Macworld UK
• NBC's Zucker Hints At Return to iTunes - Bad corporate blood led to the collapse of the NBC/Apple business relationship in the fall of last year. Now, via the Engadget news feed, comes word that things may be thawing out between the two. A for-pay article in the Financial Times had words from NBC Universal's COE Jeff Zucker, saying: "'We've said all along that we admire Apple, that we want to be in business with Apple.' He then unexpectedly adds, 'We're great fans of Steve Jobs.' No telling what has caused the turnabout. Perhaps the writers strike gave both parties time to reflect on their mounting lost revenue." The site also notes that NBC signed a deal as part of the recent movie rental announcement, possibly contributing to the thaw. They link to a BusinessWeek article pointing out positive statements from Jobs reciprocating these 'feelings'. Slashdot
• PlayTomato shows iPod touch look-alike - PlayTomato, a South Korean company, has released an audio and video player that looks very similar to Apple's iPod touch Macworld UK
• Tiscali hits 'undo' after bandwidth throttling chokes iTunes - And cripples other traffic The Register
• Korea's PlayTomato Takes a Cue from iPod Touch - PC World - The new audio and video player has a smaller screen, function list, and price tag than Apple's entry. Yahoo! NEWS
  

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iPhone

• AT&T rolls out iPhone plans for business customers - As rumored, AT&T on Monday quietly rolled out iPhone plans for business customers, marking the first time it has authorized use of the Apple handset with discounted corporate wireless accounts. AppleInsider
• iPhone spurs Web traffic, if not music sales - It's unclear whether the device's slick design and simple user interface have proved useful for functions other than accessing the Internet. C|Net News
• Apple in Thai iPhone talks - Carrier has ties with Singapore wireless company... Insanely Great Mac
• iPhone for enterprise announced - A $25 discount per month until the end of the year... Insanely Great Mac
• Apple iPhone triggers three-fold increase in O2 store visitors - Apple's iPhone has lived up to expectations as the most-talked about handset ever released... MacDailyNews
• AT&T launches Apple iPhone plans for business users - AT&T has debuted Apple iPhone rate plans for business customers... MacDailyNews
• Report: O2 sells 190,000 Apple iPhones in UK in first 8 weeks - The Financial TImes is reporting that "people familiar with the situation" told them that O2's total Apple iPhone sales... MacDailyNews
• OPINION HP's Secret iPhone Killer, Apple Air = HP Sojourn III, the Birth of Flash Drives - I kind of felt sorry for Steve Jobs last week because he got a raw deal. Folks seemed to be expecting an iPhone-like announcement and instead got nice improvements on existing products and a wonderful new laptop. I personally think the impact of the improvements to Apple TV and seemingly Apple-led move to ultra-thin laptops to be, in combination, potentially just as big as the iPhone in terms of impact, if not revenue. MacNewsWorld
• Apple, Ais Working on Thailand iPhone Deal - Apple and Thailand's cell carrier Ais (Advanced Info Service) are apparently working on a deal to bring the iPhone to Thai customers. The negotiations also involve Ais's parent company Singtel. Mac Observer
  
• AT&T Adds iPhone Business Contracts - iPodObserver - AT&T is working to make the iPhone more accessible to business customers with its new business-focused service contracts. Mac Observer
• Makayama rolls out Voice Dial for iPhone - Makayama has released Voice Dial for iPhone 1.0, a speech recognition for the Apple communications device. The folks say that it lets you dial numbers without looking at the screen. It’s faster than the touchscreen and safer in your car. Get voice activated calls now, they add. MacimumNews
• UK iPhone sales fall ‘just short’ of expectations - Sales of the iPhone in the U.K. have fallen just short of the expectations of O2, the exclusive network for the handset, the Financial Times reports. O2 said shortly before the iPhone’s U.K. launch that it expected handset sales of 200,000 in the first two months.MacimumNews
• Negotiations underway to bring iPhone to Thailand - Advanced Info Service has joined with strategic partner Singapore Telecom to bring the iPhone to the region, including Thailand, according to Reuters. MacimumNews
• IBM bringing Lotus notes to iPhone, iPod touch - IBM will offer a version of Lotus Notes for the iPhone and iPod touch, ratcheting up its office battle with the software maker, reports eWeek. Company officials will unveil an e-mail package for Lotus Notes that runs on the iPhone and iPod touch this week. MacimumNews
• New Firmware Fixes Previously Bricked iPhones - drcagn writes "Ars Technica reports that Apple's new 1.1.3 firmware update unbricks iPhones damaged from unlocking and updating the firmware months ago. In September, users who hacked their iPhone's firmware to unlock it found their iPhone bricked when they updated to new firmware, creating a massive upset and internet furor. Although Apple claimed this was not an intended effect of the update, it held the stance that it is not their responsibility to ensure that updates work with users' warranty-voiding hacks, and many cried foul. This update, which provides new features Jobs showed off at Macworld, while not officially unbricking the iPhone, has restored iPhones from Gizmodo and a reader of the Unofficial Apple Weblog." Slashdot
• O2 misses iPhone targets - Only just... The Register
• Add 6x Zoom to iPhone Camera - If you go to sleep every night begging, "Please, God, make sure everyone in the world knows I have an iPhone," accessories specialist Conice has the answer to your prayers. The company's new 6x18 zoom attachment adds 6x optical zoom... Wired
• Thai AIS in talks with Apple on iPhone launch - BANGKOK (Reuters) - Apple Inc and Thailand's Advanced Info Service (AIS) are in talks about selling the U.S. firm's popular iPhone in Thailand, a senior official of the Thai firm said on Monday. Yahoo! NEWS
  
• iPhone Rival Touch Sold Half as Many Handsets - PC World - Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC sold 2 million of the Microsoft-based mobile phones it developed to compete with the iPhone last year, the 'Touch' family of handsets. Yahoo! NEWS

GOT SOMETHING TO SAY? - Post your comments in the iPhone Forum