iTunes 7 Update Released
There was a lot of fanfare for the release of iTunes 7 and its updated interface, movie-stocked iTunes
Store, and CoverFlow visual browsing system. There wasn't so much fanfare (at least not from Apple) for the recent iTunes 7.0.1 update,
but with any luck this will the release worth downloading and installing. Problems abounded with the original version of the
music player app, particularly for Windows users, with unhappy campers flooding the Apple support forums with tales of
sped-up audio playback, cover art collections ruined by the new "Get Album Artwork" command, and CoverFlow view inducing system-crippling
memory leaks.
I've been using iTunes 7 since the day it was released, and while it's been far from perfect (lots of missing album art, and
a few pieces of artwork mistakenly chosen by the program) I haven't experienced any problems with actually listening to music. That
being said, as soon as I heard about the .0.1 update I installed it. So far so good.
Dell's Got Core 2 Duo Laptops. Apple Doesn't. What Gives?
Intel's Core 2 Duo chips - the successor to the Core Duo chip that powers the MacBook Pro and upper-end MacBook portables - has
been available for some time now and almost every Intel notebook manufacturer has updated their offerings to include at least
one Core 2 Duo mobile machine. Everyone except Apple, that is.
What gives?
Seriously, Apple, what gives?
iPhone Rumors (Again)
The rumour mill is at it again with talk of the mythical iPhone. This time around everyone's banking on MacWorld San Francisco
next January for the unveiling, pointing to patents, so-called internal documents, and snippets of mobile phone-related code
in the latest iTunes upgrade. One report goes so
far as to claim that the phone will be a Cingular exclusive upon launch and feature a candybar form factor with a 3 megapixel
digital camera and 2.2 inch display along with "robust iTunes and iSync support."
The same article claims that "insiders" are reporting that Apple is expecting to ship some 25 million iPhones in 2007 alone. That's
a lofty goal to aim for, but then again sales have been brisk for music-centric phones such as the LG Chocolate, currently available
from Verizon in the US. With both Sony Ericsson and Nokia recently in the news regarding their forthcoming cellular music services,
an Apple-branded phone to further the iTunes Store's reach certainly seems to make sense. And with the iPod being such a runaway success,
how could an iPhone lose?
That is, as long as it's not ROKR Redux.
Zune: 30 gb, Wi-Fi, $249, November 14th
Game on for the holiday season. Microsoft's "iPod Killer" - Zune - will be available for purchase on November 14th. $249 gets yo
a 30-gig media player (same price as a 30 gb iPod) with 3.5" LCD screen (larger than iPod's 2.5" screen), an FM tuner, some preloaded content you'll probably just delete, and wireless connectivity for "Zune-to-Zune"
sharing of music, media, and photos. Zune will be available in black, brown, and white Microsoft will also be launched a "Zune
Marketplace" music service featuring $15/month subscription plans
as well as a-la-carte downloads for roughly $1 per song.
Read the press
release for more information.
