Safe and Secure

Just before Palm started shipping its new Pre smartphone, it surprised us all by announcing that customers would be able to sync their phones to a PC or Mac using Apple's iTunes software.

I wondered at the time how long it would take Apple's lawyers or engineers to put an end to that practice. Turns out the engineers won. The latest upgrade to Apple's iTunes software no longer recognizes the Pre as if it were an iPod.

Pre users can still synchronize their device to a computer, but not with the newest version of iTunes.

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The day before the release of the iPhone 3G S, Greg Joswiak, Apple Vice President of iPod and iPhone Worldwide Marketing, spoke with CBS News technology analyst and CNET blogger Larry Magid about the new phone and the new OS 3 operating system that is also available free to existing iPhone users.

Joswiak talked about the new features of the phone, the new parental controls (Joswiak said they do not allow parents to block specific websites) and why Apple thinks that a lot of existing iPhone users will want to upgrade.

The interview runs 8 minutes, 11 seconds

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Apple's new iPod Shuffle that has some of its controls on the earbuds instead of the iPod itself has received mixed early reviews. Some love it, some think it's too small and some hate the idea of using non-standard earbuds.

To explore these issues, Larry spoke with Greg Joswiak, Apple's VP of product marketing for iPods and iPhones. Listen now: Download today's podcast

Larry takes a listen to the sounds of the new iPod Shuffle with its VoiceOver feature that announces songs and artists and lets you select songs and playlists by listening and clicking. For some reason, people who sync from a Mac hear a male voice while Windows users get a female announcer.

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Sound from iPod recorded from Apple.com

Like millions of other people, I watched Katie Couric's interview with President Barack Obama from the comfort of my living room couch. But instead of watching it on TV. I was tuned into CBSNews.com. I watched Katie and the president on my 52-inch high-definition TV connected to a Windows PC.

It's long been possible to connect a PC to a TV, but doing it in 2009 is bucking the trend. Unlike previous years, we heard almost nothing about plugging PCs into TVs at last month's Consumer Electronics Show. Instead, companies were talking about a variety of devices that would stream Internet video directly to TVs. There were even sets from Samsung and Toshiba with built-in Internet connectors that won't require a set-top box. And even before CES, we saw a number of Internet-to-TV products like Apple TV and the Roku digital video player, which streams Netflix programming to TVs.

There was a time when the PC industry lobbied hard to get consumers to put PCs in their living rooms. Microsoft, Intel, and a variety of companies have showed off Windows XP Media Center Edition and various other schemes designed to integrate the PC into a home entertainment center.

There are plenty of reasons why none of these schemes took off. For one thing, until the last couple of years, very few people had high-definition flat-screen TVs. Though you can hook a PC up to a tube TV, the experience isn't nearly as good as what you get from a flat-screen set, which is basically a computer monitor with speakers and a tuner.

Another reason the technology never took off is because of a dearth of content. For most people, surfing the Web and sending e-mail isn't reason enough to hook up a PC to a TV. But now there's tons of content, including thousands of online movies, TV shows, news clips, and YouTube videos.

Also, PCs never made it into the living room because they are too complicated to set up and use. That's still largely true but recent developments are beginning to solve these issues.

The big advantage to a PC over dedicated boxes, or even the built-in Internet connected TVs, is there are no limits to what you can watch. Every dedicated system that I'm aware of has some limitation.

The Roku box--for now at least--only works with Netflix. Xbox Live, which lets you stream video from any PC in the house to a connected TV, only works with programs supported by Windows Media Center. Apple TV only works with programs that are compatible with iTunes. Yes, it includes YouTube, and you can purchase TV shows from NBC Universal and other content providers, but you can't use it to watch shows from Hulu.com or live streams from CNN.

Even as these vendors rush to sign up more content providers, they'll never have as many as are available on the Internet as a whole. With a device like a PC that has a full Web browser, there are no limits to what site you can visit and what media you can view.

In addition to streaming live video, I used the PC and TV to watch downloaded videos on Apple TV and movies that were copied from a DVD.

Of course, there are other advantages of having a PC connected to a TV, including being able to visit Web sites like Internet Movie Database to find out what other movie that actor on the screen played in. And, just to prove I could do it, I wrote part of this column in Word from my living room couch looking at text that is easy to read, even though the TV is several feet away.

There are PCs you can buy that are equipped to hook up to a TV, but I opted to have a custom-PC built around an Intel DG45ID motherboard . The board has all the usual PC-centric features plus a built-in HDMI port that allows me to plug the PC directly into my TV with a single cable that carries both high-definition video and high-quality audio.

It works well with both Windows Vista Premium Home Edition and a beta copy of the upcoming Windows 7, which actually recognized the model number of my TV as the monitor.

In addition to the motherboard, which costs approximately $120, you'll need a CPU, memory, DVD/CD drive, a hard drive, a case and necessary cables. That puts the total cost of a system like mine at about $450, plus the cost of Windows ($109 for Vista Home Premium) and any labor involved, along with an additional $50 or so for a wireless mouse and keyboard. But if you think building your own PC saves money, consider that you can buy an equivalent PC from Dell for $509.

Building and configuring the PC was easy compared to the task ahead. The hard part will be convincing my wife, Patti, to let me keep the PC in the living room. She already vetoed the laptop in the bedroom.

As my way of celebrating the Mac's 25th birthday last week, I posted my review from 1984 where I referred to Steve Jobs as "Apple's young chairman." Jobs, who personally supervised much of the Mac's development effort, isn't quite so young anymore, but he's just as creative and even more influential.

Jobs' genius is not that he creates cutting-edge technology. Instead, he and others at Apple take advantage of the innovative technology around them by creating products that delight people by their elegance and, in some cases, seeming simplicity.

Apple didn't invent the mouse or the graphical user interface. But it was the first company to put them into an affordable, elegant and easy-to-use computer. Apple's pioneering efforts helped create the demand that Bill Gates took full advantage of by morphing his own operating system from its MS-DOS command-line roots to various versions of Microsoft Windows.

Even though Windows always outsells the Mac, its mass market appeal never translated into the type of user enthusiasm that Apple enjoys. The Mac always seemed to be just a bit more reliable, a little easier to use and a tad sexier. Those "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" commercials get it kind of right. The PC is functional--the Mac is cool. For what it's worth, when I go to industry events, I notice that a pretty high percentage of the tech industry's movers and shakers carry Macs. Based on what I see at conferences and the product placement I see in TV shows and movies, one would think Apple had closer to 90 percent market share instead of the other way around. And by the way, I'm writing this post on a PC running Vista.

Fast-forward to October 23, 2001, when Jobs introduced the iPod. Again, Apple didn't invent the storage, battery, and compression technology that made the device possible nor was it even the first company to market a digital music player. But once again, it did it in such an elegant way that it defined the genre. The same can be said of the iPhone that revolutionized the smart-phone industry and remains the gold standard by which other smart-phones are judged.

But what about Jobs?
It is sadly ironic that Jobs is on medical leave as we look back on Macs first 25 years. And it's not the first time he stepped away. In 1985, the Apple board of directors forced him to leave the company. After his first departure the company started to lose its luster with a decline in creativity and a dearth of interesting products that lasted until Jobs returned in 1997. If he does leave the company again, he'll be an extremely hard act to follow.

While I hope for his speedy recovery and return to Apple's helm, there is certainly a possibility that he might not be able to return. And if he does, there will be a time--perhaps 25 years from now--when Apple will have to carry on without him.

I hope that Steve Jobs gets to enjoy the 26th anniversary in good health from the CEO office at Apple.

For my daily segment on San Francisco's KCBS radio station, I spoke with co-anchors Patti Reising and Jeff Bell about the 25th anniversary of the Mac, my original impressions of the machine, and my predictions--not just for Apple but also for tech innovation.

Read my Los Angeles Times review of the Mac, published in January 1984.

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Click image for our special
anniversary coverage.

In January 1984, Steve Jobs--whom I described in my Macintosh review as "Apple's young chairman"--gave me a preview of the original 128K Macintosh. I was very impressed. Thousands of reviews later, I'm still impressed not only by what Apple accomplished back then but by what the company has been able to do since--especially after Jobs returned to Apple.

So, without any editing, here is what I said at the time. And, yes, along the way, I changed my byline from Lawrence J. Magid to Larry Magid.

Macintosh Shapes Up a Winner
by Lawrence J. Magid
The Los Angeles Times
January 29, 1984

I rarely get excited over a new computer. But Apple's Macintosh, officially introduced last Tuesday, has started a fever in Silicon Valley that's hard not to catch. My symptoms started when I talked with some devotees from Apple and the various companies that produce software, hardware and literature to enhance the new computer. By the time I got my hands on the little computer and its omni-present mouse, I was hooked. Apple has a winner.

The Mac, which retails for $2,495 is about 14 inches tall and takes up about the same amount of desk space as a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 paper. It is smaller and lighter than most of the so called "portable" machines. The entire system can be slipped into an optional ($99) padded carrying case to be hoisted over your shoulder or placed under an airline seat. The case and computer together weigh 22 pounds.

Of course any computer's real value is based on what you can do with it. For the first 100 days, Apple is including two valuable programs, MacPaint and MacWrite free with the machine. MacWrite has most basic word processing features with one outstanding addition. It can vary the size and style of your type on the screen and on paper, when used with Apple's new $495 Image Writer printer. This computer/printer/software combination produces the first truly "what you see is what you get" word processing system on a moderately priced microcomputer. You can vary the type size from 9 point (about the size used in most newspapers) to 72 point headlines. You can also change your type style, selecting an Old English font or one of the more common type styles. Your type can be in bold, italic, underline or even shadow print. All this magic is controlled by the computer itself--the software merely takes advantage of it.

Write and Illustrate Reports
MacPaint is to graphic images what MacWrite is to words. I'm no Picasso, but I found myself drawing some rather pleasing images, using the mouse as a paint brush to draw pictures on the screen. You can paint with different size strokes ("brushes"), in patterns or using pre-designed shapes. It's easy to custom design a letterhead, a map to your house, or even a self-portrait. The images you create in MacPaint can be integrated into documents produced on MacWrite, so you can create your own illustrated reports.

Until 1981, Apple, with some competition from Radio Shack, dominated the personal computer industry with its Apple II. The current version of that machine is still very popular. Apple started to loose market in 1981 when IBM introduced the first popular 16 bit computer. The IBM PC soon became an industry standard. Meanwhile the Apple Apple III was an unqualified dud and sales for its 32 bit Lisa were disappointing. Some analysists thought that Apple was a dying company. Apple's young Chairman, Steve Jobs blames his company's relatively poor performance on trying to compete with IBM on its own terms rather than "getting back to our roots." With former Pepsi president John Sculley at the helm, Apple is now focusing its marketing efforts on small businesses, home users, and colleges rather than Fortune 500 companies.

The Macintosh is as innovative today as the Apple II was in 1977. It's one of the few computers introduced in the last 18 months that makes no attempt to imitate the IBM PC.

It does, however, draw on Apple's experience with the larger and more expensive Lisa. Like the Lisa, it uses a hand-held "mouse"--a small pointing device which enables the user to select programs, and move data from one part of the screen to another. Also like the Lisa, Macintosh uses a black and white display screen whose resolution is so high that it can quickly draw detailed pictures while at the same time display crisp and readable text. Apple did more than scale down the Lisa. To the contrary, the Macintosh team came up with so many innovations that Apple decided to re-design the Lisa so it too can run Macintosh software. Apple has also introduced three new higher performance Lisa computers with prices starting at $3,495. The Lisa sold for about $10,000 when it was made available last spring.

It's Easy to Learn
The main advantage of the Macintosh is that it's very easy to learn and use. Apple claims that novices can learn to use the Mac in as little as 30 minutes. The company is banking on the machine's simplicity and modest price to attract "millions" of users over the next few years.

The system comes in three pieces. The main unit houses the 9-inch screen, a built-in disk drive and all the machine's circuits and connectors. The separate keyboard is attached to the unit via what looks like a modular telephone cord. The mouse, too, has its own cord and connector.

The system is driven by a 32 bit Motorola 68000 central processing unit. It comes with 128K of Random Access Memory (RAM), 64K of Read Only Memory (ROM) and one 400K disk drive. The 32 bit CPU and the extensive ROM are largely responsibile for its impressive graphics capability. The machine will eventually be upgradable to 512K once the new breed of 256K RAM chips become commercially available. An optional second (external) disk drive is $495.

Instead of using the 5 1/4 inch floppy disks that the Apple II helped standardize, the Mac uses 3 1/2 inch mini-floppies. These disks come with a built-in protective cover, can fit in a shirt pocket, and are far less vulnerable to damage than standard floppies. Apple will also be using the 3 1/2 inch disks on its new Lisa series.

Once you've set up your machine, you insert the main system disk, turn on the power, and in a minute you are presented with the introductory screen. Apple calls it your "desk top". What you see on your screen looks a lot like what you might find on a desk. Instead of just a blinking cursor you see pictures, called icons, that graphically represent the things you can do with the computer. One of them is a picture of a hand, writing on a piece of paper. That represents the MacWrite word processing program. Another shows a hand drawing on paper to represent the MacPaint graphics program. Other options are represented by equally clever icons. Any files that you have created are also graphically depicted on your electronic "desk top."

To select a program, you move the mouse to the icon and press the button on the top of the little rodent. If there are any additional options, they are displayed at the top of the screen, so you can move the mouse to make the appropriate selection. When this process was described to me, it sounded cumbersome, especially since I'm already comfortable with using a keyboard. But the mouse is so much more intuitive. As infants we learned to move objects around our play pens. Using a mouse is an extension of that skill.

All the commands are presented and issued in the same manner. Apple has gone to great length to insure that all of its software uses the same interface. What's more, they are using their extensive influence to assure that independent software vendors follow the lead. The intelligence that operates the mouse and creates the graphic icons is built into the machine's ROM -- making it relatively easy for software manufacturers to adhere to Apple's standards.

The value of a standard user interface can't be overstated. I run dozens of programs on my computer, and each software company has its own idea of how to move the cursor, erase data and save files. Even an experienced user must take frequent peaks at the programs' help menus and reference cards. If Apple gets its way, every program you buy will use the same basic set of commands. Microsoft Corp, in Bellvue, Washington, has announced Mac versions of its popular Multiplan spreadsheet program, BASIC language, and Microsoft Word--an innovative new word processing package. Lotus Development Corporation (Cambridge, MA) has has a forthcoming Mac version of its best selling 1-2-3 integrated spreadsheet, and Software Publishing Company (Mountain View, Calif) will release its PFS series of data base management tools. Apple provided pre-release versions of the Mac to these and more than 100 other software companies so that their products could be available soon after the release of the new machine.

Available software is critical to the success of any new computer system and Apple is counting on broad support since the machine can't run software written for MS-DOS or any other standard operating system. The machine's inability to run MS-DOS could be its salvation or its downfall.

Machine specific magazines help spread the excitement of a new computer. PC World Communications, Inc. (San Francisco) has already released the first issue of Macworld, an attractive and well written user magazine. The 145 page premier issue includes a photo essay on the Mac's hardware, several software reviews, tips for using the new machine, and a behind the scenes series of profiles on the people responsible for "Making the Macintosh." Within a few months there will be other magazines and scores of books about the new computer. Whether Apple can take a byte of out IBM's sales remains to be seen. But the new Macintosh has gotten off to a delicious start.

Podcast: Larry talks about the Mac with co-anchors Patti Reising and Jeff Bell on CBS station KCBS in San Francisco

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See the rest of our Mac anniversary coverage here.