MacCore- 11.15.06- Show 25
Media/Links
Untitled #1
V Introduction
* Apologies and Explanation of Audio Issues in Last Show
V Apple News
V MacBook Core 2 Duos Released
V Apple Wednesday released an update to their MacBook line, following on the heals of the MacBook Pro updates late last month. Apple boasts the new machines are 25% faster than pervious models. In addition to the Core 2 Duo Processors, some models also sport double the memory and greater storage capacity than the previous generation, as well as a double-layer SuperDrive
V White 1.83 - $1099
* • 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 512MB memory
• 60GB hard drive1
• Combo drive
V White 2.0 - $1299
* • 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 1GB memory
• 80GB hard drive1
• Double-layer SuperDrive
V Black 2.0 - $1499
* • 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 1GB memory
• 120GB hard drive1
• Double-layer SuperDrive
V Options
* Expand Memory up to 2GB (ads $175 on 2.0 Models, $250 on 1.83)
V Up to 200 GB (4200 RPM) Drive (ads $200 on 2.0 Models, $400 on 1.83)
* AppleCare (ads $249)
V 8GB "Product Red" iPod Released for $249
* Like the 4GB model released last month, $10 from the purchase of this product will go to fight HIV/AIDS and other blood-related diseases in Africa. THe 8GB Nano is otherwise identical to the regular 8GB Black Nano.
V Firmware Update Resolves MacBook Sudden Shutdown Syndrome
www.apple.com—macbooksmcfirmwareupdate11.html
* Apple Computer last week released a software update for its 13-inch Intel-based MacBooks that it claims will resolve an extremely frustrating issue where some of the notebooks would shut down randomly during use. According to Apple: "The MacBook SMC Firmware Update v1.1 improves the MacBook's internal monitoring system and addresses issues with unexpected shutdowns," the Mac maker wrote in a support article on its website. "This update is recommended for all MacBook systems, including those that received warranty repair."
* You must update to 10.4.8 to see the Update in Software Update however machines running 10.4.7 can download and run the utility
* Apple said customers who continue to experience trouble with their MacBook after applying the new firmware update, or those whose MacBook is in a state that will not allow new software installations, should contact Apple Care for further assistance.
* According to MacFix It, there are reports that Apple is no longer repairing hardware of affected MacBooks and instead directing people to try applying the Firmware update first. Some MacBook owners are reporting being turned away at authorized Apple repair centers (including the Genius bars at Apple stores) when seeking hardware fixes for the shutdown issue.
V PowerMac G5 Power supply Repair Extension Program
www.apple.com—repairextension
* Apple has initiated a repair extension program for the latest generation PowerMacs sold between October 2005 and August 2006 (including Dual 2GHz, Dual 2.3GHz and Quad 2.5GHz G5 models). According to Apple, if your PowerMac fails to start up after the power button has been pressed and its serial number falls within the given range (listed below), your computer may be eligible for repair free of charge.
* CK539xxxxxx - CK608xxxxxx
G8539xxxxxx - G8608xxxxxx
YM539xxxxxx - YM608xxxxxx
RM539xxxxxx - RM608xxxxxx
V Apple settles suit over defective 17-inch Studio displays
www.apple17inchlcddisplay.com—index.html
* Apple Computer has agreed to a settlement in a class action lawsuit brought about by customers who experienced quality issues with the company's 17-inch LCD Studio Displays manufactured beginning in May of 2001.The suit alleged that the inverter board of the display was faulty, causing gradient dimming of the top or bottom half of the screen and a power light to constantly blink on and off in a short-short-long pattern.  Although Apple has denied any wrongdoing or violation of law, it has reached an amicable settlement with class representatives in order to avoid the cost of a trial.
U.S. customers who purchased one of the displays beginning in May 2001 are automatically a member of the Settlement Class. Under the terms of the agreement, Apple will provide a cash refund to those customers who paid for a repair related to the inverter board. The amount of the cash refund will vary depending on who performed the repair, how much the customer paid for the repair, and how old the display was when the repair was performed.
Customers who had their 17-inch Studio Display repaired by Apple during the second year of ownership will be entitled to a $400 refund, while those who had their unit repaired in the third year will receive $350. If the repair was completed by a party other than Apple, customers will receive the actual amount they paid up to $150 during the second year and $75 thereafter.
V Apple Offers Aperture 1.5 Test Drive.
www.apple.com—trial
* The trial provides you with a fully-functional version of Aperture 1.5 that you can use and experiment with. While it includes all the features available in a licensed copy, the trial version will expire 30 days after you launch it for the first time.
* Please note that the 30-day Aperture 1.5 trial software does not include sample images or the tutorials that ship in the box. You can acquire both at the time you place your order by selecting the “retail box” option.
V Donald Rosenberg Joins Apple as General counsel
* Donald J. Rosenberg, senior vice president and general counsel of IBM, will join the company as its senior vice president and general counsel. in his over 30 years at IBM, Rosenberg has held numerous positions including senior vice president and general counsel of the IBM Corporation; vice president and assistant general counsel for litigation; and counsel to IBM’s mainframe division, where he played a key role in formulating its policies with regard to intellectual property protection. His focus on securities, intellectual property and competition issues has involved extensive interaction with the SEC, the US Department of Justice and the European Economic Commission.
www.apple.com—13rosenberg.html
V NVIDIA to acquire iPod chipmaker PortalPlayer
www.appleinsider.com—article.php
* NVIDIA will pay pay $13.50 in cash for each outstanding share of PortalPlayer common stock. The deal represents a total purchase price of approximately $357 million. The PortalPlayer chip is currently used in the 5th Gen. Video iPods and it has been reported that NVIDIA will succeed Broadcom as the graphics chip supplier for Apple's next-generation video iPod players
V Disney Sells Nearly 1/2 Million Films through iTunes
www.appleinsider.com—article.php
* Walt Disney Co. said Thursday it has sold nearly a half million films through Apple Computer's iTunes store since announcing the distribution deal a little less than two months ago. The sales figure, which amounts to approximately $4 million in revenue, was announced during the entertainment conglomerate's fiscal fourth quarter conference call with analysts and members of the media.
Disney said it expects movie downloads to generate $50 million in added revenue during the first year of the program.
V Apple working to give consumers credit on Album purchases for SIngles
news.com.com—2061-11516_3-6134596.html
* A CNet blog claims that Apple is working with labels to provide more incentive for customers to purchase full albums -- or at least not penalize them for buying singles ahead of time.

At present, if you purchase an iTunes single ($.99), and then later purchase the full album ($9.99), you are double paying for that single ($10.98). According to their sources, CNet states that in the future iTunes customers may get credit for any singles previously purchased when buying a full album.
V More on MacBook Pro 3GB Memory Limit
* We previously reported that while the MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo can physically accomodate two 2 GB RAM modules for a total of 4 GB, Apple's specs list the model as able to recognize a maximum of 3 GB of RAM. The MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo presumably uses Intel's 945PM chipset, which can physically handle 4 GB of DDR2 RAM. However, a number of items that must be stored in physical RAM space, and when RAM reaches 4 GB, there is some overlap.
* The net result is that at least 3 GB of RAM should be fully accessible, while when 4 GB of RAM installed, ~700 MB of of the RAM is overlapping critical system functions, making it non-addressable by the system. 
* This is an Intel Issue- not a Mac-specific issue
V New MacBooks and MacBook Pros Shipping with Hidden 802.11n Cards?
* , the wireless chipset is the Atheros AR5008E, Apple first introduced draft 802.11n compliant chipsets with the Core 2 Duo iMac, however the iMac uses a Broadcom chipset.

Apple has yet to release any Mac OS X drivers to allow the full speed of the devices to be realized. It is currently thought that Apple's iTV will employ 802.11n.
V Reports of Poor Airport Reception
www.macfixit.com—article.php
* As MacFixit Reports, several users have reported issues of airport signal stability with signal strength fluctuating wildly between full strength and no signals and sometimes not picking up networks.
V Microsoft Makes Deal for TV shows, Movies, for XBox
www.electronista.com—hd.video.on.xbox.live
* Microsoft has inked deals with CBS, MTV, Paramount, TBS, UFC, and Warner Bros. to bring TV shows to its Xbox 360 by the end of the year, which will directly compete with Apple's video iPod and the iTunes Music Store. The software giant is touting the new Xbox as the first gaming console in history to provide high-definition TV shows as downloads to own and movies to rent from the Xbox Live network
V Universal Calls All iPod Owners Thieves
www.electronista.com—universal
* Microsoft will pay Universal Music a royality fee for every Zune music player sold compensating for perceived losses to its music business. Universal on Monday accused all owners of music players beyond Microsoft's Zune of stealing music, according to Billboard. Universal CEO Doug Morris said his label refused to license its content to Microsoft's online store without royalties.
* "These devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it," Morris said, in effect stating that players without such licensing schemes are used primarily to listen to illegally copied songs. The executive also clarified the terms of the deal and noted that the company receives $1 per every $250 Zune sold, distributing half of the profits equally amongst its artists. The company has previously hinted that it will try to negotiate similar terms with Apple and other online store owners in the future but has not said that it would adjust the price of the music itself.
V More Video iPod Rumors- Patent Filing Shows Touch Sensitive Bezel
hrmpf.com—apple-describes-new-interface-for-ipod
* A patent application from Apple that was published on October 26, 2006 and named "Electronic Device Having Display and Surrounding Touch Sensitive Bezel for User Interface and Control". The patent describes and depicts a full-screen touch sensitive iPod.
* The focus of the patent is the incorporation of a touch-sensitive bezel (edge of screen) that can adapt to the screen contents to provide an input method for the user. This suggests that the use of this non-screen area would eliminate many of the "smudge" and "scratch" concerns for a full-screen touch iPod.
V Listener Feedback
V Toby
V Do you know of a way to have a hotmail, a googlemail and an aol account going into the apple mail account, so I can pick them all up together, instead of having to check 3 separate inboxes? If not, is there a way to get them all to go into one account?
V Gary
V I just bought a 80gig ipod.  A week later i was at the gym, when i opened my locker the headphone wire caught on the door and my ipod fell to the floor and the screen cracked.  I took it to the apple repair center in Hong Kong, they told me tough luck pay another $350 dollars and get a new one., I asked well if I had the 30 gig model would that cost me $350 dollars to fix as well?  She paused then said it's time for you to leave the store.  

I am a Canadian living in China who does not speak chinese.  My Ipod was bought in canada, and I wont be there anytime soon.  I think this is a poor atitude on apples part and these ipods are mass produced im sure they are paying $20 dollars or less for the screens after all they did buy 68 million screens this year
V Software Updates
V Mac Mini EFI Firmware Update 1.1, MacBook Version 1.0, MacBook Pro Version 1.2
* This EFI Firmware Update fixes several Boot Camp, start up, and wake-from-sleep issues on Mac mini computers
V BootCamp 1.1.2
www.apple.com—bootcamp
* Support for the latest Intel-based Macintosh computers
-Easier partitioning using presets for popular sizes
-Ability to install Windows XP on any internal disk
-Support for built-in iSight cameras
-Support for built-in microphones
-Support for the Apple USB Modem
-Trackpad scrolling and right-click support on Apple Laptops
-Improved Apple keyboard support including Delete, PrintScreen, NumLock, and ScrollLock keys
-Improved International Apple keyboard support
V ITunes 7.0.2
www.apple.com—itunes702.html
* iTunes 7.0.2 adds support for the Second Generation iPod shuffle and addresses a variety of stability and performance issues found in iTunes 7 and 7.0.1.
V DVD Studio Pro 4.1.1
www.apple.com—dvdstudiopro411.html
* Addresses an issue with disc layout for DDP and CMF images on Intel-based Macintosh computers.
V X Code 2.4.1
developer.apple.com—download
* Xcode 2.4.1 provides overall stability, performance, and security enhancements to the Xcode IDE, and is a recommended update for all Xcode users. Changes in the release include: stability and security fixes in the Xcode IDE, cctools, debugger, and compiler; CHUD has been updated to version 4.4.3
V X11 1.1.3
* This update addresses several issues in the X11 for Mac OS X package, enabling it to better handle:
* GLX stereo visuals
* offscreen rendering to GLX Pbuffers and Pixmaps
www.apple.com—x11update2006.html
V Apple Digital Camera Raw 1.0.1 for PPC and Intel Macs
* This update improves RAW file format compatibility for the following digital SLR cameras:
• Canon Digital Rebel XTi / 400D / Kiss X Digital
• Nikon D80
• Pentax *ist DS
Other issues addressed:
• Handling of large Canon RAW files (.CRW)
• DNG compatibility on Intel-based Macs
• Lines sometimes appearing in images exported from Aperture
V CrossOver 6.0b3
* Improved CD and removable volume handling:
* Fixed bugs in various APplication
* tweeks to user interface
* Now includes a partial Uers Guide.
V Media Central 2.4
www.equinux.com—latest.html
* This release sports a customizable User Interface, an advanced TV Module and improved .Mac Integration.
V Parallels for Mac- Build 1970 (Nov. 1)
* Now includes new Windows Installation Assistant. Windows installation is completely automated and requires no user interaction. Simply Select which Windows operating system you want to install and your name, company and Windows activation key
V Cocktail 3.7.4
* addresses a large number of bug fixes and improvements, and is strongly recommended for all users of Cocktail
V 1Passwd 2.0
1passwd.com—home
* * NEW Added 1Passwd extension for DEVONagent 2.0.3.
* NEW Added 1Passwd extension for OmniWeb 5.5.
* NEW Added Secure Notes.
* NEW Added Import of RoboForm Safenotes.
V Deals
V Refurbished MacBook Pros
* Refurbished MacBook Pro, 15-inch, 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo- $1399
* Refurbished MacBook Pro, 15-inch, 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo - $1449
* Refurbished MacBook Pro, 15-inch, 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo w/ 1GB RAM- $1499
* Refurbished MacBook Pro, 15-inch, 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo - $1599
* Refurbished MacBook Pro, 17-inch, 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo $2199
V Refurbished MacBooks
* Refurbished MacBook 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo - White - $899
* Refurbished MacBook 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo - White- $999
V Refurbished MacBook 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo - Black - $1099
V Refurbished PowerBooks
* Refurbished PowerBook 12-inch 1.5GHz SuperDrive- $1199
* Refurbished PowerBook 17-inch 1.67GHz SuperDrive -$1799 - $1899
V Refurbished iBooks
* Refurbished iBook 12-inch 1.33GHz Combo Drive - $799
* Refurbished iBook 14-inch 1.42GHz SuperDrive -$999
* First Generation 512 MB iPod SHuffle $29 at Apple Store, 1GB for $59
V 50% off Take Control eBooks
www.takecontrolbooks.com—catalog.html
* All Take Control ebooks are 50% off via the link to celebrate their 3rd Anniversary. These ebooks cover topics like Mac OS X, wireless security, digital photography, and more. After the discount, prices range from $2.50 to $7.50. The discount will show when items are added to your cart.
V Contact Us
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