About this Author
Sandy McMurray is a long-time technology journalist whose work has appeared in Time, the Globe & Mail, the Toronto Sun, Report on Business, Profit, and other sources. Between 1995 - 2002, Sandy wrote a weekly column about technology for the Toronto Sun, and served as Technology Editor for five Sun Media newspapers. He has been publishing on the Web since 1996.
Contact: readme@mac.com
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Monthly Archives
August 31, 2004
Posted by Sandy
The critics have spoken: Apple's new iMac G5 is derivative and boring, a big disappointment, and a missed opportunity.
Memo to Apple: the next iMac should have these features: - revolutionary, stylish design
(but nothing too-strange looking) - everything a Media Center PC can do
(but priced lower than a bare-bones Windows PC) - stable, reliable, and dependable
(but behaves just like a Windows PC) - built from both matter and anti-matter
Comments (5)
+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Headlines
Posted by Sandy
I have a client who has experienced three hard drive crashes in two years. He's fed up and ready to move from PC to a Mac.
There's just one problem: he uses Microsoft Access for his business. Until he can find a replacement for Access and find a way to move his Access data to Mac OS X, he's stuck with a Windows machine.
Microsoft says it does not offer Access in any version of Office 2004 because of the development costs and because Filemaker has the Mac market sewn up.
So... can anyone out there tell me if it's possible (and if it's hard) to move data from Access for Windows to Filemaker for OS X? Is there another option?
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Housekeeping
Posted by Sandy
 The $1,299 price tag and the all-in-one design won't please anyone who was hoping for a cheaper Mac or a headless Mac, but the new iMac G5 -- "from the creators of iPod" -- offers better value than the computer it replaces.
The new 17" iMac G5 costs $1,299 -- the same as the former entry-level 15" iMac G4. The new iMac G5 has a larger, widescreen LCD, a faster G5 processor running at 1.6 GHz (up from 1 GHz), a better video card and twice as much video memory.
The differences between the new 20" iMac G5 and the model it replaces are even more dramatic. The specs went up but the price went down.
...continue reading.
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Headlines
August 30, 2004
Posted by Sandy
I spent several frustrating hours last week trying to get an MPIO FY200 digital music player to work. Although the package said it was Mac compatible, I eventually had to download and install new firmware and update the device to get it working. This was not a user-friendly experience.
If iTunes users are happy, part of the reason is Apple's control of "the whole widget" --- the iPod, the iTunes software and the iTunes Music Store.
Does this really matter? I think so. Read MSN Music: It's Really About Windows:
Analysts say much of Microsoft's own sales success depends on its hardware partners, however. The digital music space today is still largely driven by consumers with portable players such as the iPod, and Microsoft still lacks anything with that heft, they note.
"There is no Windows media device that is the equivalent of iPod, either in terms of technology or in role as cultural icon," Jupiter's Gartenberg said. "Without an iPod-like device there, in the short term (Microsoft's store) might not be as significant as people think.
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Recommended Reading
August 27, 2004
Posted by Sandy
Recognizing that the iPod is more than a music player, HP has equipped its new mobile photo printer to recognize the iPod as storage device.
Translation: you can print the photos stored on your iPod hard drive without a computer. Just connect the iPod to the printer, select the picture you want, and print.
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Headlines
Posted by Sandy
 The first iPods from a company other than Apple will ship on September 15. You can order one now from hp.com/music.
Eschewing the name Hpod, the new iPod players from HP are called Apple iPod from HP. For marketing purposes, HP will use the logo above.
Also announced today: HP will put its mark on the iPod -- literally -- with an invention called HP Printable Tattoos. These will be protective wrappers stamped with album art. You will be able to print your own photos or art on a Printable Tattoo -- using an HP printer, of course.
The Apple iPod from HP will be the current iPod (fourth-generation) in two versions: 20 GB storage for $299, and 40 GB storage for $399.
You can order one now from hpshopping.com.
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Gadgets | Headlines
August 26, 2004
Posted by Sandy
The Rolling Stone article Microsoft to Debut Store makes several predictions about Microsoft's music store:
- available September 2
- up to 700,000 songs available
- not compatible with iPod
- to be integrated with Windows
- may offer Beatles catalog
Nothing earth-shattering there. However, there's an interesting tidbit in the quote from EMI's Ted Cohen. He says the Microsoft store is "a better mousetrap" because it integrates the company's search and instant-messaging technologies.
The iTunes store has a good search function, but the link to IM is interesting. It could be used to highlight and share playlists among store users.
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Recommended Reading
Posted by Sandy
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Fun Stuff
August 20, 2004
Posted by Sandy
Rant of the day: much of the rah-rah coverage of Real's Free-the-iPod campaign has accused Apple of using a "proprietary" file format in iTunes.
Many writers covering this story seem to be unaware of two important facts: - Apple's major competitors all use proprietary file formats to copy-protect the songs they sell online.
- The iPod and iTunes also support other file formats, including MP3 (32 to 320 Kbps), MP3 Variable Bit Rate, AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), WAV, AIFF, Audible, and a new format called Apple Lossless audio (similar to FLAC). Apple does not support Windows Media files.
...continue reading.
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Analysis
Posted by Sandy
Forbes columnist Arik Hesseldahl on Glaser vs. Jobs Real may be correct in principle, but that doesn't trump Apple's right to tell Glazer, Real and all Harmony users to go jump in the lake. Jobs is right to zealously defend the iTunes-plus-iPod business model until such time that it makes sense to change it. And if that means locking Harmony users out of the iPod, that's neither wrong, nor anti-competitive nor anti-consumer. It's just business.
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Recommended Reading
Posted by Sandy
Here's another reason Apple should not drop prices to compete directly with cheaper Windows-based computers: the general trend towards the PC as a commodity.
Windows-based PCs already have many of the typical traits of a commodity. To the average consumer, most home computers are indistinguishable from each other based on their features. This is a problem. If consumers base their purchase decisions on price, you must drop prices (and drop margins) to keep up.
This article predicts bad times ahead for PC makers who do not escape the commodity trap. The author highlights the stiff competition Dell already faces in Asia from less expensive mass-market PCs.
What's the solution? To escape or avoid this trap, you must change perceptions. If a $199 beige box is perceived as a viable alternative to your company's $999 (or $1,999) offering, you're cooked.
...continue reading.
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Analysis
August 19, 2004
Posted by Sandy
 Big news of the day: PocketMac BlackBerry Edition - $29.95.
from the PocketMac site: "PocketMac BlackBerry Edition takes care of everything for you. Install the software on your Mac in 3 minutes, configure which options you want enabled (Entourage Calendar, iCal, Tasks, etc.), connect your BlackBerry to your Mac via USB or Serial Cable, and start the sync. That's all that's required. That's literally it." The program works with the RIM 957 and BlackBerry 5810, 6210, 6230, 6280, 6510, 6710, 6750, 7210, 7230, 7280, 7510, 7730, 7750 and 7780.
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Headlines
Posted by Sandy
 Most of the tech writers and analysts calling for Apple to license its FairPlay DRM seem to have forgotten about Apple's strategic alliance with HP -- perhaps because we haven't heard much about it recently.
I'm told HP's version of the iPod, which was expected "this summer" is coming to the U.S. in September. (The worldwide launch date isn't set, and will probably depend on U.S. demand.)
This simple fact undermines some of the charges leveled against Apple by Real's Rob Glaser and others. FairPlay is available to business partners selected by Apple; just not to RealNetworks.
Bonus link: John Gruber's take on Harmony.
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Analysis
Posted by Sandy
I've been thinking about this question (again) since reading Alex Salkever's Six-Step Plan for Apple.
Salkever suggests that lower prices are the key to increasing Apple's market share. He says Apple can conquer the world by making Mac computers that are stylish and cheap.
That sounds good, but it won't happen.
...continue reading.
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Posted by Sandy
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Analysis
August 18, 2004
Posted by Sandy
RealNetworks describes its new software that "unlocks" the iPod: Before RealPlayer with Harmony, consumers buying digital music were forced to buy music that only worked on a particular brand of portable device, meaning that they could easily get "locked in" to that device, often without even knowing it. Real's amazing claim is that iPod users are trapped because they can't download music that's locked with copy protection schemes other than Apple's own. Trapped!
Meanwhile, Real's "solution" -- RealPlayer with Harmony -- is itself a software lock-in. (It's hypocrisy and chutzpah in one tidy package!)
Once you switch from iTunes, you can't go back or you risk losing access to all the music you buy from the Real music store to an iPod software update. Meanwhile, you can't put music purchases from the iTunes store on your iPod, because it's no longer safe to use iTunes, in case Apple tries to update the iPod to block the RealPlayer hack.
...continue reading.
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Analysis
Posted by Sandy
Forgive me readers. It's been several weeks more than a month(!) since my last post.
During that time, four members of my family moved, three of my children had to be driven back and forth to four camps, and I wrote several thousand words on a short deadline for a giant corporation that would not take no (or "it's not ready yet") for an answer.
I've been meaning to comment on recent Apple-related happenings, but after you've wrestled with the beta for SP2, written items for your own weblog, and played your finally-registered version of Lux for a couple of hours, there's not much energy left to speculate about Apple's strategic planning.
Mea culpa. I'm back.
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Housekeeping
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