Archives: July 2004
Fri Jul 30, 2004
The iLap from RainDesigninc
The iLap, oh what a product, the makers at RainDesign claim that the iLap is so good at what it does you will go out of your way to use it, and i completely agree. Click "Full Story" for more. More...
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Apple: "I am not at liberty to discuss that."
July 30th: In a weekly phone call to Apple Support just to have small talk I finally got bold. Let's go back a bit. I call Apple just to tell them what I think, advice, boast my website and discuss computer specs and their ratio or repairs. Some questions they answer, some they don't. Eventually, they come right out and ask if I have a computer issue, and I just say, "well that's my time for today, talk to you guys next week." I am hoping the Apple support managers listen to my calls later and one day decide to hire me as a support guy cause I know so much.
Click "Full Story" More...
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Wed Jul 28, 2004
After a long hiatus, I've returned!
Basically, things have been incredibly slow around This Old Mac, as several months ago I sold my old PowerMac 9600, and my Quadra 605 with Linux project died after several failed attempts. Today, however, I recieved an old PowerBook 5300cs. This is an INCREDIBLY older PowerBook, it has a 10.4" Dual Scan monitor (ie, very bad), a 750 Megabyte hard drive, eight megs of RAM, and a 100Mhz processor. Frankly, I'm fairly stumped with what I should do with it right now. If anybody has any ideas, let me know!
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Griffin iTalk
July 29th: An early morning review. It is 12:21 AM and here is our review of the Griffin iTalk...
Griffin has become the leader for iPod accessories. Their iTalk FM transmitter for the iPod is often in the Top-10 of the Apple store. This means they are selling more iTrips than they are computers. The iTalk is a product released during Macworld San Francisco back in January. It started shipping in May and is great for students or professionals interested in recording lectures or long meetings and great for personal users that need to record notes and reminders. Of course, Belkin has a Voice Recorder but I did not like it and the iTalk kicks its butt. There are only two voice recorders for the iPod and the iTalk is the best one. More...
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Suicide Bomb Kills 68 Iraqis
On Wednesday there was a suicide bombing in Baquba, Iraq. According to police the bomber drove the Toyota Mini Bus in a market place near a police station. There was a line of police recruits waiting, when the bomb was detonated. Another bus was driving by with 21 civilians were killed. Fifity six other people were injured.
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Mon Jul 26, 2004
New- News Writer
I am the new US and World News poster here at MPG. Please note that the c. US and World News Editor (Political, and World Events) has been filled. More...
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MPG's News Shortage
July 26th: Let's give you a list of the happenings here at MPG.
1. A complete website redesign is in progress. We are changing the websit and giving it one theme throughout which means similar CSS, and a standard NavBar on left and right side of the pages connecting you to the rest of the internet via RSS news technology and our XML outputs via our editing engine.
2. We're Hiring! We have filled most positions, like Reviewer, Forum Moderator, and Opinion/Editorial Writers, but we need more. During the past few weeks, school has gone back in session and a family crisis have arisen so due to these events we need the following writers.
a. UK News Editor
b. US News Editor(Computer Related)
c. US and World News Editor (Political, and World Events)
d. Graphic Designer w/ knowledge of PHPbb forum technologies. We need a new theme for the forums to match our new release.
e. Windows/ Mac OS Developer interested in writing articles for our "Developer's Journal"
f. Old School Mac user interested in writing articles for "This Old Mac", a help journal involving upgrades and mods to old Macintosh Computers (Pre-G3)
g. Female Opinion Writer. We encourage women to write for us but have not found one yet so we would love for a woman to fill any of our positions but just this position is very important.
3. The main editor, Adam Jackson, has started working another job, so now he is working 50 hours a week and the new job is at none other than Arby's. He is working up to manager and has already learned six of eight positions. Only two away before he begins the Manager Training Program. In other words, when Mac news breaks, he is usually at work (although he has tried to get Tuesday's off) since that is when Apple releases new products. When he gets home he is too tired to write for MPG. We are staying with it, and working on some new marketing campaigns, and some advertising but it is a slow process.
4. Finally, we are working on the underpinnings of MPG. Like I said, we are working on a new design but are also tweaking some of the things that makes the current MPG work. Also, working on a new AdServer, forum type, Publishing engine, and are going to laungh ad space soon. These things take time, and we just don't want to throw up a website overnight like the current incantation of MPG.
Bare with us as we work to make MPG a hell of a lot better.
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Tue Jul 20, 2004
100 Million Song Winner's Celebrity Playlist on iTMS
July 20th: Kevin Britten, the 100 Millionth Song downloader on the iTunes Music Store, has placed his Celebrity Playlist on the iTMS. It includes tracks from my personal favorites, Jem, John Mayer, Roooney, Maroon 5 and Jack Johnson. He also gave us a glimpse into his life by his selections. You can purchase songs from his playlist including the 100 Millionth song on .
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More details on Duke-iPod deal
Today's edition of The News & Observer sheds more light on Apple's iPod deal with Duke University. The initiative, which will see 1,650 20GB iPods given to incoming freshman, will cost the university about $500,000 and is currently a one-time agreement, but could be renewed if the program is deemed a success. Student iPods will come pre-loaded with orientation schedules, calendars, campus tours, and the Duke fight song, while a site modeled after the iTunes Music Store will offer students course content, lectures, and more. Returning students who enroll in a class where the iPod is used with be given loaner models for the semester.
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Mon Jul 19, 2004
MPG in The News Pt.2
July 19th: MPG was last week featured on Macminute.com and our photo gallery was placed on The mug Center.com yesterday. We have a new appearance which is on Macteens.com's Macworld video. The video is made my Macteen Staffers once a year and is of great quality with interviews and a feel for the expo. We have extracted our clip out and placed it on our servers. Enjoy!
"Save to Disk" or Option Click
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Our Constant Pursuit of Attention and Acceptance
We live in a crowded world and more than a quarter of our society is based on acceptance and socialization. Humans separate would not be at the place we are now. It is our tribal nature and how we move in packs that took us to the top of the food chain. This instinct still exists in a more complex form and although we dont think about it, that pack mentality still controls many of our decisions (thus making it instinct). Before we had homes, cities or even clothing for that matter we were human. We may have been bigger and more archaic in nature but we were still human. Thus, our weaknesses of today were true thousands of years ago as well. One man could not take down a mastodon but 10 men with tools could. We learned through experience that we needed other humans to survive. Not just to recreate or to make our lives easier by giving someone else our job but for the survival of our civilization. More...
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60Gb iPod "not anytime soon"
July 19th: As reported by Macminute and other sites, an Apple executive has stated we should not expect a 60Gb iPod any time soon. 1-inch Hard Drive maker, Hitachi announced Apple as on of its clients for the new 60Gbs drive back in May but said that production of the mini hard drives would not begin until late June / Early July. Our guess is, with almost one million iPods being sold each quarter, Apple wants to make sure they have plenty of the drives ready to ship before announcing a 60Gb version of their 4th gen iPod. Apple usually announces the products then buyers have to wait months before receiving the model. This way when they are announced you can go in the Apple Stores and get one immediately. The latest release today of the fourth generation iPods was the first product to be available upon announcement in a long time. Most users have already purchased theirs. Also, with the pre-announcement of the iMac G5 (shipping in September), it looks like Apple is getting smarter about their product announcements. If you want a 60gb version, just wait. I am putting money on September during Mac Expo Paris.
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Fourth Generation iPod Released
July 19th: As we all know, the fourth generation iPods for Mac and Windows were released today. The configurations include 20Gb or 40Gb and prices at $299 or $399, respectively. The 4th Gen. iPod has the same click wheel incorporated in the ever popular iPod mini. The new iPod also is about 1 hundredth of a milimeter thinner thant the third Gen. iPod making it only a tenth larger than the iPod mini. They are currently availible, but who knows how long they will last. As per the norm, Apple Stores will get them first. MPG is hoping to get one soon when we get paid so check back in and we will let you know. The iPod also has a modified OS that makes it easier to find music without "thumbing".
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Sun Jul 18, 2004
New iPods to roll out this Week!
July 18th: After a leak of next week's NewsWeek magazine zoomed acrosss the Macweb we were in the first wave to publish it. This is because not many Mac news sites are still working at 11PM. Regardless, we have tweaked the hell out of that past news story and are creating a new one to summarize the new iPods and provide pictures to go along with them.
Steven Levy of NewsWeek interviewed Jobs regarding the new iPod that is going to roll out this week. The fourth gen iPod is going to sport the same capacities, but will be 1 mm thinner w/ an iPod mini type scroll wheel and a redesigned OS. No word on modified headphones as of yet. Also the prices of each iPod will be dropping and only two models will be sold. A 20gb version for 299 and a 40gb for 399. As soon as these new iPods come to our CompUSA we will purchase one and provide our readers with images.
Read the Full Article Here
For now, we have some user submitted images and those from MSNBC's website:"Click Read More" More...
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The Zipcord Retractable Headphones
How much of everyday do you spend un-tagling those pesky head phones of yours? Alot I bet! Someone finally made headphones that offer portabity and great sound all in one sleek package. The Zipcord retractable headphones are exactly what their name suggests, they retract to about the size of a quater and are a quater of an inch thick. The clever design lends it's self to the heavy traveler , and they can be used with anything; Cd players, MP3 players, computers, radio, I really mean anything. These headphones are $19.99 at ThinkDifferentStore. This is a high quality product and is well worth the money, as it will save you time and un-needed stress. It will also alow you to enjoy your iPod for that much longer.
If you are interested in any other great Mac products feel free to visit ThinkDifferentStore.com. They have just about everything a Mac-head on the go needs to survive!
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Fri Jul 16, 2004
Macworld Boston Photo Album
July 16th: MPG's photo album is up on our website. We have made it look good for all of you and hope you enjoy it. The macworld photos are backon page three. We wanted to take plenty of pics of Boston as well. And they are taken backwards so the first page is our last day and the 4th page is our first.
CHECK EM OUT!
Also you can see pictures of me and my chief reviewer, Matt.
and we changed our apparel and other shop items to reflect our going to Macworld
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MPG Apparel Updated for Summer!
July 16th: MPG has updated its line of apparel with new styles and added items. We will be bringing the store into our website soon but the same items are available through our affiliate, CafePress at http://cafeshops.com/mypg
Make sure to pick up some of these limited items and support MPG!
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MPG In The News
My Personal Getaway owner and writer, Adam Jackson, was quoted in MacMinute.com's recent article "Macworld by the Masses". The quote was from thier brief chat about the week's happenings and the ever-expanding Mac News industry. The quote read "One Mac user who was pleased was Adam Jackson from Florida. He said the show was exactly what he was hoping for: one small enough that he could interact with vendors and other Mac users. He wouldn't have attended if it had been in New York, Jackson said." It's only a small tidbit, but very cool none the less.
Macminute.
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Spymac Spycase.12
Since it's inception, Spymac has grown by leaps and bounds, from its birth as one of the earliest Mac-only communities, to the behemoth international authority on all things cool (and Mac) that it is today. Throughout the course of the transition, they have released new services, such as Wheel and Pro-mail, and products including hats, bags, and stylish penholders. Not only do these products show ones dedication and love for the Mac, but also the finely designed Italian cases just scream, cool. Our first review of the Spymac line is Spycase.12, the smallest of the Spycases. More...
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MPG Goes to Macworld!
July 10th: The following is our 2 days spent at Macworld Conference & Expo in Boston, MA. We posted 7 entries in total and have taken them into one entry separated by bold-faced titles. Click Read More for the entire stories. More...
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Thu Jul 15, 2004
Mpg Goes to Macworld Pt.2 ( Matts Reflections )
Well, here it is, Thrsday the last day of the 2004 Boston Macwolrd comvention, It is 10:22 and the doors open an 11:00. Personaly i cant wait, its that exiting last day where all the companies are trying to get rid of all their products and samples and we try to bring you out greatly appriciated readers the gread reviews you want and deserve. Adam is interviewing Beth Wickenheiser from, and the results of that will be posted later today by either myself or Adam. But this being my first macwold I have to admit it is not what i expeceted, it is alot smaller that what they had hoped, only about a fourth of the space hey rented was filed up. I heard great stories about the past Boston and San Francisco Macworlds and i guess i had a high expectations. Apple didnt even show up to this convention and they had to give Microsoft free space to get them over here. Many of the people who have gone to the past Boston Macworlds said that this time arround was emberassing and that the past Macworlds were easily 10 times in size. I was actually told that at some point in time in 1997 Apple ran out of room inside and had to set up circus tents outside in the parcing lot... More...
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Wed Jul 14, 2004
Apple Q3 Conference Call Results
July 14th:
Borrowed from Macrumors
Via webcast conference call, Apple stated its financial earnings today over fiscal 2004 third quarter ended June 26, 2004:
- Highest Q3 in 8 years
- $61 Million profit on revenue of $2 Billion
- Highest quartely shipment of macs
- iBook 240K, iMac 220K, 416K desktops
- Apple Retail Stores now total 80 with $270 million revenue
- Cash up to $4.96 billion. Apple is a debt-free company
- 2004 total revenue should exceed US$8 billion
- iMac G5 CONFIRMED by Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer (Previously Rumored)
- 860,000 iPods sold in Q2 - up 183% from same period last year
- Demand on iPod mini expected to "visibly outstrip supply" through end of the year
- iTunes Music Store generated a small profit
- hPod: HP will ship "this summer"
- Office Depot authorized to sell online. No plan to extend to retail stores
- Best Buy and Apple work well with iPod sales. No plans to increase working together on CPU sales
- Xserve G5s sold 13K units - a quarterly record for Apple
- As Euro iTunes Music Store launched, Euro iPod sales increased as well
- Over 13,000 retail outlets for iPod. More people want to sell it than Apple has supply to provide
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MPG Goes to Macworld (Matt's Reflections)
July 15th: Well, this is it Adam and me are on a plane back to Jacksonville. Overall I think that I am satisfied with the Boston MacWorld, there were a lot of really friendly vendors, and almost everything was provided for us. I realize that in my last review I raged on the convention a little bit and that is for the simple reason that we were on a tight schedule and ran out of time, I just didnt get a chance to get to the good stuff. First of all the building was amazing, it was brand new and it totally rocked out loud. We got treated really well, getting our media badges was no hassle and every one was very professional. They had a free shuttle running to and from the Macworld convention center every fifteen minutes. The food was provided, and there was a media room set up with drinks and computers with Internet access just for the media and staff. And a big whoooot to Spymac for their booth best one there by far they had to give out flyers because people were afraid to come in, it just looked so good in comparison to the other booths, me and Adam Actually helped the Spymac folks out because two of their employees didnt show up and they really are a good and legit group of people in spite of what is said about them often times. More...
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Mon Jul 12, 2004
Radtech Podsleeve saved my iPod!
July 12th : After a long night of rain and thunder, I was anxious to get out and get my daily errands done before work. The whole way out to the car I was dodging puddles left and right, all with my trusty iPod by my side. Usually, I keep it in my Terforma iSleeve, DLO Transcase or my Marware Classic case; but today I decided to try the Red Radtech Podsleeve. Its a mighty good thing I did too! More...
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Sun Jul 11, 2004
iTMS: 100 Million Songs Sold [UPDATED]
July 12th: At 1:25AM, the 100 millionth song was sold on the iTunes Music Store. Although, it is two and a half months late, we don't care. Someone had a very lucky day and won a 17" Powerbook, a 40gb iPod and a heck of a lot of free music! We all want to win it, but only one will be so lucky. Let's hope Apple will announce the 100 Mil song downloader soon so we can help him spend all those free ITMS credits. Good luck to those who entered the contest and sorry for those who chose to buy a 40MB audio book at the last minute .
[UPDATE]
states, "Kevin Britten of Hays, Kansas downloaded Somersault (Dangermouse remix) by Zero7; the 100 millionth song purchased from the iTunes music store. He will receive a 17-inch PowerBook, a 40GB iPod, and a gift certificate for 10,000 iTunes songs to create the ultimate music library for his new iPod. In addition we awarded 50 special 20GB iPods one to the purchaser of each 100,000th song downloaded between 95 million and 100 million songs." The 50 iPod winners will be announced soon.
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Thu Jul 08, 2004
"Playlist" brings iPod DJS together
July 8th: An iPod enthusiast has helped create "Playlist". Playlist is a London event taking place August 7th. The concept is iPod owners create a 15 minute playlist and the crowd judges who has the best playlist.
The event takes place at 596 Holloway Road London N7 6LB. Everyone is invited. You can Submit your playlist to be judged ahead of time. So far, only Belkin (maker of the iPod Voice Recorder and iPod Media Reader) has jumped on the sponsor list. Other manufacturers will be added soon to make for a great prize list for winners and competitors.
Unfortunately, MPG cannot be there as of now, but we are planning on sending our own, Roland J. Young to battle his tunes/ report on the event. It is a few months away so we hope you all go and join in the fun!
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Wed Jul 07, 2004
iPod mini Worldwide Release!
July 6th: The highly succsesul iPod mini, with shipping delays in the first quarter, will be released worldwide July 24th. Two months after Apple announced a worldwide ship date on January 6th at MacWorld San Francisco. Let's hope these don't carry sound problems as well like its US counterpart did.
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Tue Jul 06, 2004
USB Powered LED Light Sticks.
Many of us Mac users want to mod our computers slightly. Add a few LED lights maybe. Many of us with little, or no technically knowledge have been forced to shrug off the idea of adding lights to our Macs, but that's changed. ThinkGeek.com is offering a USB powered light kit. It's actually two kits each consisting of a control module connected to a three foot long USB cable. From the control module depending on which kit you get there is either dual 2'' LED bars, or a single 18'' LED bar. More...
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Sat Jul 03, 2004
The Pros & Cons of iSkin Products.
Chances are if you're a Mac user you've got an iPod, or a Keyboard--I sure hope you have a keyboard. And chances are that you own, or have seen at least one of iSkins' many wonderful products. Wonderful as they may be they do have their faults. For starters the iSkin's many iPod covers will degrade the battery if the iPod is charged inside the silicone sleeve. Heat doesn't disapate properly, and that's what zaps the battery. The ProTouch PBKeyboard Cover also has it's faults. In the 15 and 17 inch AluBook models the keyboard is used to vent a fair amount of heat through the keys. The PBCover can restrict the release of hot air and cause the Powerbook to overheat. More...
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Fri Jul 02, 2004
Up-Close: Dan Grover
Only days after the Dashboard Konfabulator battle was in full swing, Apple developer, Dan Grover composed his own Parody song of the situation. We contacted him for a look about him, his thoughts on the Apple Konfabulator battle, and his inspiration in creating this great tune. More...
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Thu Jul 01, 2004
A Fello Mac User in Need
July 2nd: A press release from a Mac User on the Spymac Forums states the following, "All right. I'll be blunt fellow Mac Users. I'm in need of help and I need you all to help me out. I recently found out that a program I am going to be in during college requires that I purchase a Windows laptop. Yes, I know. A Windows laptop. It seems the program director neglected to inform me when I had a three hour meeting with him last year! I'm in the process of working two jobs right now. Both pay me minimum wage $5.15 an hour. Both jobs are only part time. This is where you come in. I signed up for an AdSense account where I get roughly .35 cents each time a person clicks a banner ad. It's not much per click, but it's something. Something that's up 24/7 that can make me something, and something is better than nothing. For those of you who do take the time to click the banner--thank you very, very much."
Hook a Brotha Up
Discuss
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iMac orders halted for Redesigned Product LIne
July 1st: From Apple's , "Apple has stopped taking orders for the current iMac as we begin the transition from the current iMac line to an all-new iMac line which will be announced and available in September. We planned to have our next generation iMac ready by the time the inventory of current iMacs runs out in the next few weeks, but our planning was obviously less than perfect. We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers.". So it was confirmed what MacDailyNews yesterday noticed Steve Jobs hinting of a Paris release of a redesigned iMac. You can also see the same information regarding this delay, .
Discuss
Thanks to Larry Anderson from OSX Empire for the find.
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Parody of Apple's Dashboard Created
July 1st: Well the downright stupid but heated battle rages on between Apple's Dashboard ( a year away), and Arlon Rose's Konfabulator but one thing is certain this is like a big soap opera, with lies deceit, and a little bit of cheap sex this has turned into the most exciting thing the Mac community has had to talk about since Phil Schiller made a comment about the French back in 1996. Regardless, internet forums are full of conversation and the web is booming with editorials about it. I am refraining because if it gets so much hype, I won't talk about it. Anyway, I have to let you know a song was posted about the battle by Dan Grover, a Vermont Teen, to the tune of "Piano Man" by . We have requested an interview and will have it up soon.
Listen to the song.
Discuss
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