Can a product's value be measured by how much its developers improve it over time? If so, that metric would not have positive implications for the Apple TV.
Apple quietly updated its Time Capsule storage device Thursday. The high-end model will now retail for $499 and allow up to 2TB of storage. The low-end model with 1TB of storage will now retail for $299.
The Apple TV is in desperate need of an update.
(Credit: CNET Networks)It's a nice upgrade. And it follows a list of several updates Apple has made in recent months to many of its products, including the iPhone, MacBook, and MacBook Pro. Apple is even preparing for its new operating system, Snow Leopard, which is slated for release in September.
But the company has yet to release a major upgrade to its Apple TV. Granted, Apple has updated the device's software on multiple occasions, but where's the new, major hardware update?
For almost a year now, we've been hearing about impending refreshes to the Apple TV.
In September, reports suggested that an Apple TV update featuring anything from a "Mac Mini/Apple TV" hybrid to something related to HDTVs was imminent. Nothing of the sort was ever announced.
In February, reporters found a survey that Apple conducted asking Apple TV owners how they were watching video on the device. It also asked them what they would change about the set-top box. That survey vanished from Apple's Web site. And once again, no major updates were released.
... Read moreThis story has been corrected. See below for details.
AppleInsider is reporting that Apple is engaging in an aggressive sale in many of its brick-and-mortar stores to eliminate its leftover inventory of last-generation Macs.
The updated MacBook Pro.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)According to the report, last-gen MacBook pricing has been reduced by $100 to $300; MacBook Air prices were reduced by $400 to $800; and MacBook Pros are being offered at $400 to $500 off original retail prices.
"Our MacBook family has been updated, and all current stock of MacBook and MacBook Pros need to be sold," Apple wrote in an e-mail to stores and other partners cited by AppleInsider. "All current in-store computers are on a first-come, first-served basis."
I called a few local Apple stores to confirm the report. According to store employees, Apple is, in fact, selling last-gen Macs at those discounted rates.
When Apple announced the release of its new family of MacBooks on Monday, the decision might have been simple for some of us: buy the new stuff. But with steeply discounted pricing, that decision might not be so easy. It's always nice to have new products, but at what cost? If you could get a Mac--one that was just fine for your needs last week--for less than what's currently being offered, would you?
It's a tough decision to make. So let's take a quick look at the product updates to help you make your decision.
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The $50 Windows 7 Upgrade?
(Credit: Microsoft)I need a new computer. Badly. My old iMac, which I'm using to write this now, has seen better days. My Windows machines, strewn across the house, are old and tired. But I'm unwilling to buy a new computer today. It's not that I haven't seen machines that I really would like to have, or that I don't have a desire to build my own. But there's a single factor that's forcing me to wait: Windows 7.
I'm done with buying Macs for a while. I really do love my iMac and my MacBook is my trusty companion when I travel, but after using Windows 7, I now know that I'm ready to jump back into the world of Windows. In my testing, Windows 7 isn't just an outstanding operating system that provides an ideal experience, but it's also a great alternative to Mac OS X. I find it superior to Apple's software on almost every level. It's that good.
But there's more to this story than Windows 7's superiority. I want to wait for Windows 7 for a number of reasons.
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Microsoft launched a new ad this past weekend showing a delightful four-year-old girl using Windows Live Photo Gallery to upload, edit, and share pictures. At the end of the ad, she shows how "easy" it is to perform those basic functions and says, "I'm a PC and I am four and a half."
Once again, Microsoft is trying to show that there's a lighter side to its operation, which has taken a beating from Apple over the past few years. During Apple's "I'm a PC and I'm a Mac" ad campaign, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company continually suggested the software giant is dull and that Vista can't compete on any level with Mac OS X.
Microsoft's public image declined as Apple gained control of the topic. The average consumer only heard one side of the story.
Microsoft was forced to fight back against Apple and it started its $300 million campaign by enlisting the help of Jerry Seinfeld. The Gates-Seinfeld spots didn't discuss the value of owning a Vista machine and said little about Microsoft itself. Instead, they used Seinfeld's image and humor to convey a message: "Bill Gates is synonymous with Microsoft and just like him, we're able to loosen up, poke fun at ourselves, and we want you to realize that although Apple has painted us in a certain light, we're nothing like that."
Those who follow the tech world, readers of this column, and others [like your editor, Don] believed those ads failed to capture, well, anything positive. They believed that Gates looked awkward on camera. The humor was lost on them, and because they didn't discuss Microsoft products, they saw them as a waste of money.
I couldn't disagree more.
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I prefer XP to Vista. Am I alone?
(Credit: Microsoft)In an interview with Computerworld UK, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had some interesting things to say about the enterprise and its desire to keep Windows XP instead of switching to Vista.
"If you deploy a 4- or 5-year-old operating system today, most people will ask their boss why the heck they don't have the stuff they have at home," Ballmer told the publication.
Ballmer went on to say that it's incumbent upon the business world to make employees happy and comfortable and the best way to do that is to deploy Vista as soon as possible.
According to market research firm Forrester, Windows Vista can be found on less than 10 percent of all the computers companies in North America and Europe are running. Windows XP can be found on over 71 percent of enterprise computers. Ballmer wants that to change.
But his premise that an increasing number of people will be asking for Vista doesn't really make sense. According to research firm Net Applications, Windows XP still controls almost 64 percent of the worldwide consumer market. It's trailed by Vista and Mac OS X 10.5 with 27 percent market share and 5 percent market share, respectively.
Based on those figures, I'm not convinced that there are that many people walking into their supervisor's office wondering when Vista will be deployed at the office. In fact, it's far more likely that they would rather use something they know--XP.
But Ballmer's desire to get enterprises to switch to Vista has me wondering what's so bad about Windows XP. Is it really such an awful operating system that every company should switch?
No way.
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The annoying, more secure Windows 7?
(Credit: Microsoft)Last Friday, Ina Fried detailed an interesting report from blogger Long Zheng, who "is drawing attention to an apparent shortcoming" in Microsoft's desire to make Windows 7 less annoying.
According to the report, Zheng believes that because Windows 7's User Account Control isn't as annoying as it was in Windows Vista, Microsoft is leaving its users open to more threats by third parties trying to exploit vulnerabilities. Zheng contends that due to changes in UAC, "malicious code could turn off alerts entirely with the user getting little notice that such a change had been made."
Zheng said in a blog post that he and a fellow blogger, Rafael Rivera, have designed a proof-of-concept code to prove his theory. He believes, "at a minimum, that Microsoft's default setting (should) also warn users if a change is being made to UAC itself."
In Windows Vista, a UAC prompt popped up each time any major change was made to the system. Some users found that annoying. Realizing that, Microsoft decided that in Windows 7, users would be able to decide how often they want to be notified. The default setting in the beta release of the OS only notifies users when a third-party application is making a change.
It should be noted that Zheng's contention is based on the Windows 7 beta, which means practically nothing until the final build hits store shelves. Microsoft can change that setting at any time and make this issue go away. More importantly, it can be changed by the administrator, so the issue, while present, shouldn't be blown out of proportion.
But it's because of that setting that Windows 7 is less annoying. But should we accept annoyance anyway, if it means more security? I think we should.
... Read moreIs Apple recession-proof? It's possible. Oh, and sorry about the date -- I taped this the other day and forgot to post.
Even better news: you can now subscribe to this show. Just add it up right here!
And as always, drop me a line or follow me on Twitter!
Anyone who reads The Digital Home knows that I have issues with Windows Vista. I think it's a sub-par operating system with too many quirks and far too many flaws to make it worth using. I only use Vista when I have to.
So I entered into the world of Windows 7 with some trepidation. Would it be the bloated mess that Vista is? Or would it bring me back to the golden days of Windows and whisk me away from the clutches of Apple? I didn't know.
But after using the beta (a term I use lightly, since this so-called beta is better than anything Microsoft ever shipped as Vista "Gold"), I can say with the utmost certainty that Windows 7 isn't only the best operating system I've used in the past decade, it might be my favorite of all time. And as a person with four Macs staring me in the face as I write this, that's something I never thought I'd say.
But I should note that so far, all we've seen from Microsoft is this beta. The company has a proven track record of promising, and even offering, features in betas that never seem to make their way to the finished product. Yes, I'm looking at you, Vista.
Regardless, the Windows 7 beta provided me with an unparalleled experience. From install to surfing the Web, it's fantastic.
... Read moreSteve Jobs is taking a leave of absence from Apple. And although some shareholders may not be happy, we should applaud his courage.
Even better news: you can now subscribe to this show. Just add it up right here!
And as always, drop me a line or follow me on Twitter!
License if you want to kill Psystar
(Credit: Psystar)Psystar, the homegrown computer vendor selling its brand of Open Computers with Mac OS X installed, is back in the news this week, thanks to another court filing claiming that it can do whatever it wants, courtesy of the first-sale doctrine.
Psystar contends that because it bought copies of Mac OS X from Apple and its partners, it has every right to install that software into its own brand of computers and sell the hardware to its customers.
Does it make sense? Not really. Much like Psystar's contention that Apple was operating a monopoly and abusing its copyright, the small firm's pleas to courts have been suspect, at best.
And yet Apple continues to play the legal game with Psystar and pay its lawyers to engage this annoyance in court when Steve Jobs has more pressing issues (like running a public company) to address.
Say what you will about the Psystar's court battle with Apple, but there's really an easy solution to all this, if you're Apple: license Mac OS X.
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