Crave

Psystar's recent legal woes keep proving the company's insanity. New documents show that these guys planned to sell at least 1.45 million Mac clones by 2011. How many did they actually sell in the past year? 768.

The best part is those are conservative estimates. According to Psystar's aggressive predictions (divulged in legal documents as part of Apple's ongoing litigation), the company planned to move 12 million computers by 2011. 12 million! That's a far cry from the triple digit numbers they managed to sell.

The other best part is that Psystar pitched their inevitable legal battle with Apple as a competitive advantage, claiming other companies would want to stay away from that mess. Imagine asking the bank for a loan on a truck, saying you'll use it to haul stolen TVs, and arguing that fear of getting arrested will make yours the only TV truck in town. No wonder these guys are going under.

The documents were provided as part of the upcoming injunction proceedings, where Apple is trying to halt sales of Psystar's products. Hey Apple, I know this is all about protecting your IP and all, but going by those dismal figures, you really don't have to worry about Psystar's sales.

This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.

Update 2: Apple's U.S. Black Friday sale is up, and while not spectacular, there are some rare discounts to be found. To go back to the same examples we used for the U.K. and Australian Apple stores, the base model 13-inch MacBook Pro is $1,098, down from $1,199.

In fact, it looks like all MacBook Pro models are exactly $101 off, while the $999 white MacBook is not discounted at all. The 32GB iPod Touch is $268, down from $299.

This sale is good online and in Apple's retail stores and runs until 3 a.m. EST on November 28.

Update: Even though it's not quite Black Friday in the U.S. yet, it's past midnight in some other parts of the globe. Notably, Australia and the U.K. have both seen their respective Apple Web sites updated to reveal Apple's one-day sale. While we can't say yet that the deals in the U.S. will be exactly the same, there's no reason think they won't be.

On apple.com/uk, we saw a 13-inch MacBook Pro, originally £1,149, marked down to £1,078. On apple.com/au, the same unit was A$1,868, marked down from A$1,999.

Similarly, a 32GB iPod Touch is £208, marked down from £229 on the U.K. site, while while in Australia, it's A$358, down from A$399.

We've also examined some Black Friday deals from other retailers.

Our original post continues below:

According to purportedly leaked documents on the tech rumor site Boy Genius Report, Apple is gearing up to offer a series of post-Thanksgiving bargains on products from iPods to MacBooks.

The deal, allegedly good only on November 27, lists "up to" discounts of 30 percent on iPods (excluding the Shuffle and iPhone), 25 percent on Mac laptops and desktops, and 15 percent on accessories, software, and other hardware.

The Boy Genius Report Web site says: "One of our connects just hit us up with some intriguing Apple information. According to them, what you see detailed above is a shot of Apple's yearly Black Friday deals. It's reported to be something Apple will email out shortly."

Of course, with the vague use of "up to" and no specific products listed, we can't be sure if these will be good deals or not. But if you're interested in being the first in line to check them out, the leaked doc also says that select Apple stores will be opening at 6 a.m. on November 27.

(Credit: Boy Genius Report)

I have nothing against smoking, save for the difficult odor that emanates from every part, breath, and piece of clothing belonging to a smoker. I could no more live with a smoker than I could live with a third ear perched off the end of my nose.

However, I am embalmed in a curious sympathy after reading a report from The Consumerist concerning two Mac users whose AppleCare warranties appear to have been voided due to the presence of cigarette smoke in their homes.

One, named Derek, recounts the tale of his overheating black MacBook. He took it into the Apple store in Jordan Creek, West Des Moines.

He told The Consumerist: "Today, April, 28, 2008, the Apple store called and informed me that due to the computer having been used in a house where there was smoking, that has voided the warranty and they refuse to work on the machine, due to 'health risks of secondhand smoke.'"

He continued: "Nowhere in your AppleCare terms of service can I find anything mentioning being used in a smoking environment as voiding the warranty."

Will a Marlboro Lights habit makes this cute thing inoperable?

(Credit: CC Galaygobi/Flickr)

Derek's resulting appeal to the office of Steve Jobs bore him no joy, so he resorted to blowing some compressed air at the machine, leading it to restart its wondrous functions.

Then along came Ruth, who took her son's iMac to an authorized repair center. After five days, they apparently told her they couldn't work on it because it was contaminated with cigarette smoke and was therefore a bio-hazard.

Dell Zino HD: Mac Mini killer?

(Credit: Dell)

No, The 404 Podcast isn't getting a TV deal with CBS, but it doesn't seem that far out of reach. The network has its giant eye on the witty musings of a cynical old man, posted on a Twitter account created by his son, Justin Halpern. Will & Grace creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick are signed as Exeuctive Producers and Justin himself will super the writing along with Patrick Shumacker. Uhh, HELLO CBS, is anyone from our parent company out there? You already got a strategically developed television show just waiting to delight the eyes and ears of America: it's called THE 404.

Next, we take a moment to spotlight the Dell Zino HD, a full-on entertainment PC that looks remarkably like Wilson's firstborn son, the Mac Mini, but can actually do a lot more with up to a terabyte of storage space, 8GB of RAM, and the option to throw in a Blu-ray or DVD drive. Wilson wishes his Mac Mini gave him direct HDMI access and a bigger hard drive, but still defends Apple and its OS to the death--it's interesting to hear him try to wiggle his way out of this one.

Another story from today's episode comes from our own Caroline McCarthy, who tells us that the New Oxford American Dictionary has picked the verb "unfriend" as its 2009 Word of the Year. If you're unfamiliar with the term, it refers to the process of removing someone formerly deemed as a friend on a social networking site such as Facebook or Twitter. You might recall the Burger King ad campaign that encouraged users to "sacrifice" friends to get a free burger. Systems like these encourage the use of the term "unfriend," and give it value in the everyday lexicon, but when will this stop? I'm scared to think that the 2018 Word of the Year will something awful, like "tweet" or "pwn."

If you haven't had a chance to listen to yesterday's show with Tony Hawk, definitely go back and check it out and keep listening for your chance to win tons of video game prizes, including a free giveaway of Tony Hawk: RIDE. Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

(Credit: CNET)

Last month we blogged about a bug marring Flash playback on the latest 27-inch Apple iMacs. Users on several Web sites, including the Apple Discussion Threads, noticed a problem with the Flash player that caused choppy audio and video playback, but it appears that the newest Mac OS X v10.6.2 update fixes the issue that was apparently caused by a conflict with the Airport driver.

According to Apple, the update "addresses video playback and performance issues for iMac (21.5-inch, late 2009) and iMac (27-inch, late 2009) computers that may occur in some situations while AirPort is turned on." Since our own 27-inch iMac also experienced slow Flash streaming and intermittent sound hiccups with the AirPort turned on, we downloaded the 10.6.2 update and left it to sleep overnight.

Prior to the update, the Flash Player consumed 114.4 percent of system resources, but 24 hours after the update we're happy to report 26.8 percent usage in the activity monitor and smooth performance across all popular streaming video Web sites like YouTube, Hulu, etc.

Much thanks to the Apple Forums and Apple itself for quickly addressing the needs of its community. If you haven't updated yet, simply choose Software Update from the Apple menu to install OS X v10.6.2.

Tom and Rafe discuss the apps they put on first thing when they get a new computer.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

(Credit: CNET)

After reading Engadget's report citing recent complaints about Flash video playback mucking up system resources on the latest 27-inch Apple iMacs, we decided to test out the claims using our own system. Users on the Apple Discussion threads noticed a bug in the Flash Player that bogs down CPU processes, resulting in choppy audio and video playback.

We visited several sites with heavy streaming video content like Hulu, YouTube, and the Break Media Network, and experienced similar issues: popping sounds and jerky video rendering the content unwatchable on several accounts. Like many of the users in the Apple thread, we called up the Activity Monitor and saw that the Flash Player demanded a surprising 114.4 percent of the iMac's CPU processes.

We were able to temporarily fix the problem by putting the computer to sleep and waking it up, but some people are speculating that a hardware malfunction could be to blame. We've also tried to contact Apple for official word, but our messages have been as yet unreturned.

If you're experiencing similar problems, we'd like to hear about it--leave a comment and let us know the issue and what you did to fix it.

This week on the Digital City, we consider the PlayStation 3's awkward Netflix implementation; marvel over the super-thin Sony Vaio X laptop; debate the fate of FireWire in new MacBooks; and review some gamer-friendly Halloween costume ideas.

We also plug the first round of Windows 7 laptop and desktop reviews; mourn the death of Geocities; and find out why Julie and Dan have swapped seats for a week.

Plus -- take an early sneak peek at Dan's Halloween costume -- but it only makes sense if you're over, say, 30 and kind of a geek.

Related links:
>>Netflix streaming coming to PS3
>>Does anyone miss FireWire?
>>Windows 7: the first wave
>>Make your own Bayonetta Halloween costume

>>Watch the Digital City live every Monday at 3pm EST on CNET Live!
>>Subscribe to Digital City on iTunes
>>Join the Digital City Facebook fan page
>>Need more? Follow Dan on Twitter!

In one of Apple's latest TV ads featuring the omnipresent Mac (Justin Long) and PC (John Hodgman), we see PC going retro. It's actually a cute ad as PC regresses back in time with various incarnations of himself through the years, each time promising that a particular version of Windows won't suck. "Trust me," he says. Sure thing, PC. And nice wig.

But since we're going retro, maybe we should look at a few of Apple's ads from around the time PC and Mac apparently met (according to the ad): the '90s.

For those who don't remember Apple's advertisements from then, I offer a collection of some of the most sucktastic ads Apple has ever had (remember Think Different? Yeah, me too). Enjoy them. You can thank me later.