Macenstein

Sprint, Samsung look for piece of iTunes’ pie

Sprint, Samsung look for piece of iTunes’ pie Posted by Lab Rat Today saw the announcement of not one but TWO new online music services looking to compete with Apple’s iTunes store. First out of the gate is Sprint Nextel Corp, whose just announced “Power Visionâ€? is the first online music download service offered by a US cell carrier. Power Vision is similar to Verizon’s high speed VCast network which allows customers to download video content to... Read More

Apple announces over 1 million videos sold in under 20 days

Posted by Helper Monkey In a statement released today Apple announced it has sold over 1 million videos via its iTunes music store in under 20 days. Given the fairly limited selection of videos to choose from (2,000, most of which are music videos) these are industry-rattling numbers. Steve Jobs noted these sales numbers imply a greater demand than expected, and vowed to increase the number of offerings. “Selling one million videos in less than 20 days strongly suggests... Read More

OS X 10.4.3 due this weekend

Posted by Lab Rat Macenstein’s sources have told us to expect the release of OS X 10.4.3 sometime this weekend, or Monday at the latest. This update is a monster, weighing in close to 100MB, and is expected to squash just about all known bugs that 10.4.2 missed (and some that it caused). Key updates to the Core Image, OpenGL and CoreGraphics are expected, largely in support of new features found in Front Row, Aperture, and Photo Booth. Numerous smaller tweaks to just about... Read More

Yahoo doubles its subscription music prices

Posted by Dr. Macenstein Yahoo Inc. has announced it will be doubling the fees charged to users of its online music download service. The monthly cost will jump from $6.99 per month (or $60 annually) to $11.99 a month ($120 annually). Yahoo, like many other online music services, uses a subscription plan instead of iTunes’ “pay-per-downloadâ€? model. The subscription plan gives users access to over 1 million songs for a flat fee, so users are effectively “rentingâ€?... Read More

Civilization IV for Mac coming early 2006

Posted by Lab Rat Aspyr announced today that they will be publishing the latest version of the massively addictive turn-based strategy game, Civilization IV for the Mac, due out in early 2006. Also announced is the planned release of Civilization III: Complete for Mac, with a target date of December 2005. (above: Civilization IV) Civilization III: Complete combines the original Civilization III and adds both the “Conquestsâ€? and “Play the Worldâ€? expansion... Read More

Sonnet announces new high-capacity iPod replacement batteries

Posted by Helper Monkey Sonnet has announced a new series of replacement batteries for most versions of Apple’s iPod music players. Owners of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation iPods, as well as the iPod mini, can purchase new batteries capable of providing up to a 78% increase over the stock battery which shipped with the unit. Sonnet ships the batteries in a kit which includes all the tools need to replace the battery yourself, as well as an instructional video demonstrating... Read More

iTunes video sales off to strong start

Posted by Dr. Macenstein The Mac Observer claims video sales via the iTunes music store are selling above and beyond Apple’s expectations. Earlier today, The Sydney Morning Herald published an interview with Eddy Cue, global head of iTunes, where they asked about the possibility of video content being made available for purchase in the newly announced Australian iTunes music store. “It’s something we just started in the US and we have nothing to announce at... Read More

Apple stock climbs to “dangerous� levels

Posted by Igor Apple stock rose yet again in active trading this morning, gaining $1.40, or 2.31%, and reaching a new high of $57.50 by 12 PM (EST). Apple’s stock price has caused considerable concern on Wall Street as of late, as The Street’s Walter Emmerling explained in a recent article. “Apple’s stock is quickly approaching the $60 mark which many analysts have set as an achievable price target.” writes Emmerling. “The problem is, if... Read More

Apple to bring back “themes� in Leopard?

Posted by Dr. Macenstein Macsimum News is reporting that Apple has recently been granted 2 patents. One relates to driver configuration in linking up multiple FireWire devices (yawn), but the other seems to imply we will soon see the introduction of “themesâ€? or skins to OS X. Patent number 6,958,758 is titled â€?Pattern and color abstraction in a graphical user interfaceâ€?. The filing describes “Systems and methods for providing a user with increased flexibility... Read More

NASA Confirms Shipment of First G5 Quad

Posted by Igor NASA confirmed today that the first G5 Power Mac Quad system has shipped. In an emergency press conference early this morning, NASA rocket scientist Bert Finkle displayed satellite imagery indicating the first of the “dual-dual coreâ€? systems has been shipped to a location just north of Danville Illinois. “There is really no mistaking the rather distinctive heat signature of the G5 Quad,â€? said Finkle. “It is actually the only PC which... Read More