Apple

It appears an iTunes Music Store promotion for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' new album has gone awry--at least in part--triggering a long and heated discussion thread Apple has since locked up.

Those who pre-ordered the band's double album, "Stadium Arcadium," were promised, among other things, the opportunity to buy tickets for the band's North American tour four days before they go on sale this Saturday.

Many customers, however, have yet to receive the Ticketmaster code that allows them to purchases the advance tickets, according to the Apple discussion board and blogs that led us there.… Read more

Rumor has it that Apple could introduce its first consumer MacBooks as early as Tuesday, according to several Apple sites. That prediction is in line with earlier rumors that the long-awaited portable--the Intel-based replacement to the iBooks--would finally arrive sometime this month.

Both Apple Insider and ThinkSecret are reporting about a possible press conference Tuesday to unveil the new line. And the Unofficial Apple Weblog notes a screen up on the Apple site temporarily Friday that features the MacBook name, without the "Pro."

Apple introduced the 15-inch MacBook Pro in January and started shipping a 17-inch version last month. … Read more

Apple Computer may have broken bread with the Wintel camp, but that doesn't mean it's finding the closer association easy to swallow.

The new Get a Mac ad campaign continues the company's long tradition of putdowns aimed at PCs that run the Windows operating system, featuring an easy-going, T-shirt-and-sneakers-clad techno-hipster ("I'm a Mac") and a not-so-with-it gent ("I'm a PC") in an ill-fitting business suit.

A series of video clips on the Apple site drives home the point. The "Viruses" clip, for instance, has the sneezy PC stand-in lamenting … Read more

Rescuers are making sure two trapped gold miners in Tasmania, Australia are well equipped with the basic necessities--food, water, and iPods.

The men have been trapped in a tiny cage more than half a mile underground since April 25, when a small earthquake triggered a cave-in that killed another miner, according to the Associated Press.

Rescuers had been using explosives to blast a tunnel toward the miners, but stopped fearing another cave-in, the story said. Instead, they will bore towards the men, but only after concrete poured to anchor a huge drill has dried.

The iPods, which were passed along … Read more

Sony has a new MP3 player in the works that will also arrive with a new download service, according to a report released Friday by IDG News Service.

It isn't the first time Sony has tried to catch up with Apple's prodigious market share in the portable music player market. However, while many have tried to develop a so-called iPod killer, no one has managed to create a combination of player and download service that rivals Apple's iPod and iTunes one-two punch.

Few details were available about Sony's new products, but they will appear before the … Read more

California-based Bella Corp. recently announced a new device in the works called the "Catapult," which allows you to capture footage from digital-video or high-definition video cameras directly on to an iPod and start editing right away.

It "eliminates the time consuming and tedious task of digitizing video footage," the company said.

The battery-powered device is expected to come out during the second half the year and will cost under $300. It will work with almost any USB drive, and also offers time-lapse and remote trigger-based recording, and pre- and post-record functionality, the company said.

Six lawsuits filed against Apple Computer alleging defects in the iPod Nano have been consolidated and transferred to the Northern District of California. The case was assigned to Judge Ronald Whyte in San Jose, whose caseload has included Microsoft and Sun Microsystems' multiyear Java battle, a high profile criminal copyright case that pitted Adobe against a Russian company and the tussle between Microsoft and Google over Google hiring a top Microsoft exec from China.

Meanwhile, a judge on the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, which consolidated the cases, disclosed that she owns an iPod Nano and renounced any claim she … Read more

Apple Computer is planning on hitting the airwaves with ads geared around the Mac next week, CEO Steve Jobs said Thursday at the company's annual meeting.

Jobs revealed the plan in response to a shareholder's question as to why Apple hasn't taken more market share over the past few years. Apple's market share declined just a little during the first quarter, in part because some potential customers are waiting until the transition to Intel chips is completed, he said. Once that finishes up later this year, Jobs expects Mac sales to grow.

Jobs didn't offer … Read more

Last week, the small chip company PortalPlayer got some disturbing news. Apple had decided to stop getting microprocessors for its midrange and high-end flash players from the company. PortalPlayer has a processor coming out in the second half and was angling to get it inside new versions of the nano.

It turns out that Apple is going to get chips for future music players from Samsung, according to a report from Mark LaPedus at EE Times.

"I knew PortalPlayer would take a dive," said Jon Kang, senior vice president for the technical marketing group at Samsung Semiconductor, the … Read more