Charge Your iPod with an Onion?

Charging your iPod with an onion, gatorade, and screwdriver? I do not know about this one. I do plan to try this one out, I own five adapters so if one breaks it is no big deal.

iWeb Apps

Since the new release of the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, multiple companies have been releasing Web Apps especially compatible with Safari for the iPhone and iPod Touch. You can find a complete list at www.apple.com/webapps/. They seem to work well, and can be used as good additions to these mobile devices as long as your on the web. Check them out!

New Mac Ads

Okay, these are great. At first I thought that Apple would start to spend their advertising money for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Now i have seen the two new commercials and they are great.

Boxer
PR Lady
Podium(Hilarious)

Little Features in Leopard

I wanted to ask everyones opinion on little things that are nice. I am not talking about new features like Quicklook or Time Machine. But small features that make Leopard more enjoyable than Tiger.

Nice little Features:

1. Math equations in spotlight. Instead of opening Calculator or going into dashboard, use spotlight.




2. The Guest Account, I have a Macbook and an iMac. I have many guest over I prefer them using that account. They cant look at any of my e-mails or other private files, and when there done the history from everything they did gets erased. You must first enable this feature in the account settings.



3. Grab any section of a webpage and add it as a dashboard widget. This great for news, and e-mail. Select the mail section and you can check dashboard to see when you have received a new e-mail.



4. Wikipedia search and Apple terms search in dictionary. This allows you to search wikipedia directly in Dictionary.



Well, those are my favorite little features. Anyone disagree and think the features I think are nice are annoying? Any features you think I left out? Please comment.

iPod Firmware Update

iTunes does not recognize there is a new update? Here it is:

iPod Firmware v1.1.2

(From appleinsider.com)

Download it to the desktop.

Directions for Windows:

1. Hold shift and click "Check for Update" in itunes with your iPod plugged in.
2. It will allow to choose a file, just select the file you just downloaded from appleinsider.com.

Directions for Macintosh:

1. Hold option and click "Check for Update" in itunes with your iPod plugged in.
2. It will allow to choose a file, just select the file you just downloaded from appleinsider.com.

Here is an image of where you should click while holding shift or option (Shift for windows, and option for mac:
(Click image for bigger picture)
for you.
Make sure you do not open the zip file, when you select the zip file in iTunes it will automatically open it for you.
Thank you AAPL from Apple Discussion Forums

Leopard Start Video Found

I know you want to see the Leopard start up video again. Can't find it? Well i have found it, it is in higher quality than the youtube one because it is straight from my computer.



Something wierd though is that the audio and the video are seperate from each other. Im going to give you the steps to find it here.

1. Open up finder. Go into "Macintosh HD>System>Coreservices.

2. Find setup assistant and click the gear and select "Show Package Contents"



3. Go to resources.



4. Find the file "Transitionsection.bundle". Click the gear and select "Show package contents"



5. The files intro.mov and intro-sound.mp3 should be there. Now you have found the Leopard start up video.

New Writer

Hey, I am the new writer for the Apple Inc. News blog. I am a crazed Apple freak like my friend who has been managing this blog. Hope you guys like me, mncheeseboy. I hope I can bring more to this blog and make it even better. Enjoy!

Apple's Website Like Spotlight and Coverflow

Now that I have been on Apple's site, for support, getting widgets for dashboard, and watching the ads. I realized how much alike it works like your computer. The search acts like spotlight.



And while you browse through products it acts like coverflow.

Apple Quietly Updates Macbooks

Apple updated their Macbook line, but boy was it lame. They now allow you to have 4GB of RAM on a Macbook. They also upgraded the Macbooks to 2.2 GHZ. the video cards have been upgraded from 64MB to 144MB, this is has been a very quiet announcement by apple, people must be bored.

Semi Transparent Menu Bar

The semi-transparent menu bar. Talk about differing opinions. Personally I love the new menu bar. This adds to the desktop and really does give it a new look. For the people that do not like the new menu bar. Do I have an app for you. OpaqueMenuBar will get rid of the semi-transparent menu bar. Now, back to the Tiger menu bar.

Apple Sells 2 Million Copies of Leopard

Apple announced today that they have sold 2 million copies of leopard already. Pretty good for about five days. If you think about 2 million you must be thinking wow 2 million people decided to buy Leopard. Well, there are many ways people could have bought leopard. Paying for the full price for x-serve, or the regular one or five user disk. What about the many early iPhone adopters that want Leopard? You must be thinking what does the iPhone have to do with this? Well, they received $100 in store credit. They can use that and thirty bucks to get there hands on the single user version. Did you get your Mac after October 1st? If you did you can get your hands on a single-user version of Leopard for only $9.95. That means you cant say $129 x 2 million. We cant really be sure how many people used all of the methods listed to get Leopard. But lets just say that it averages to about $100. 100 x 2 million = $200,000,000 in five days. Talk about tons of profit.

iPhone and Leopard Team Up

The iPhone has helped Leopard sell. All of the early iPhone adopters received $100 store credit. To buy a single user copy of Leopard is $129. A lot of early iPhone adopters saved there credit. This means that the people that saved there credit, can buy Leopard for $30. This is why Leopard is going to be, the #1 operating system launch ever. I even asked the FedEx guy "Do you have a lot of Leopard's"? He answered "Tons". Smart, smart thinking Apple.

Leopard

Now that I have been able to test an try it out I am completely amazed. Leopard isn't just a few bells and whistles to tiger, with more minor features than major features. The main new features like Spaces, Time Machine, and the other big features are very major not, and are useful in the long run and take care of the features that should not even count as new features. I hope everybody is enjoying leopard. Just curious but what time did your pre-ordered copy come? Mine came at about, 3:00 PM.

Leopard Event

I will be going to Apple Store Montgomery Mall at 3PM to be there when Leopard is released. I want the shirt, so badly. I do not care if I have to wait, three hours in line, I just want to be there, it will be my first major Apple event.

Spaces "Time Saver"

I cannot explain how excited I am for when I open my front door and pick up the box with Leopard in it. One of the features I am most excited about is, Spaces. Right now in Tiger I have two users, "School, and "Jordan". Spaces will let me delete "School" this way I do not have to have two accounts for two separate things, I can just have two separate desktops. Now I can keep only the applications I use in school in one space, and everything else in the other.

Apple Worth More Than IBM

Apple has become one of the elite stocks, based on growth, and what its price is now. Today, Apple announced sales results, and WOW were they amazing, this made the stock shoot up, way up, up to about $186. This puts Apple's market cap at about $161 Billion. This is above IBM ($156.45 billion). This is the first time in history Apple's market share has been higher than IBM. Good job Apple.

Top 3 Features I Would Add to Touch

If could choose three features to add to my great little device (my iPod Touch), this is what they would be.

1. Definitely, flash this would make "the real internet" even more real. This feature would complete the touch and make it the ultimate internet, gaming device. This feature would enable you to do a lot more, play games, watch more videos, but than again it would allow more video ads to show.

2. A note program, and being able to add calendar events on the touch.Think about it, this will complete the touch and turn it into a real PDA. If they could enable so you can download with Safari on the touch, you could download, word, text edit, and even pages documents right into the notes program. Why aren't we able to add events with calendar, I think Apple knows they made a big mistake here.

3. This doesn't have to do with a feature on the touch itself but . . . what about a flip open keyboard. This would be a pocket size fold up keyboard. When you need to type something such as a web address, or if Apple ends giving us a notes program, a business speech, school work, and than transfer it from your touch onto your Mac.

Just think.

Third Party Apps on iPhone/iPod Touch

Steve Jobs wrote this himself:

Third Party Applications on the iPhone
Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.

It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once—provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones—this is simply not true. There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network. As our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target.

Some companies are already taking action. Nokia, for example, is not allowing any applications to be loaded onto some of their newest phones unless they have a digital signature that can be traced back to a known developer. While this makes such a phone less than “totally open,” we believe it is a step in the right direction. We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone’s amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs.

We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones.

Steve

P.S.: The SDK will also allow developers to create applications for iPod touch.

[Oct 17, 2007]

Leopard Available for Pre-Order

Apple announced a couple of days ago that Leopard will hit your door and shelves on October 26. I have already pre-ordered my copy. For those of you who bought your mac after October, 1st 2007 you can have a copy of Leopard shipped to you for only $9.95. There are over 300 new features. Including, time machine, spaces, a new finder and more.

Al Gore Awarded With Nobel Peace Prize

Al Gore received the Nobel Peace Prize today. Al Gore is on the board of Directors for Apple, I had not actually known that since today when I heard the news. You can take a look at some of the hot news articles, and read a couple.

Web Apps For iPhone/iPod Touch

Apple introduced web apps, for the iPhone and iPod Touch. There is a whole collection of them. From ESPN podcast center to a tip calculator. Some of the applications include, Facebook, Digg, and Pickleview.

I Have Received a New iPod

I recently took a trip to the Apple Store. I bought myself a nice new, iPod Touch 16GB. Right out of the box there was a dead pixel. Yes a single dead pixel. Yes, yes, I know you may not think that one pixel is a big deal but, if I am going to pay $400 for a product, especially a product from Apple. I expect the product to perfect, before anything goes wrong or I do something stupid with the product.

Thank you Apple for replacing my iPod Touch. Way to take care of your customers.

"iTouch"

How many people here agree, when people call the iPod Touch the iTouch it is really annoying. I am at the apple store and people say "I wonder if they have the iTouch in stock". Do people even know the real name of the thing. iTouch sounds kind of wrong anyways.

Thinness Of iPods

The new nanos are 6.5 mm thin. The Touch is less than 6 mm thin. Can Apple really go any thinner? They would have to make the headphone jack smaller to fit a device 2-3 mm thin. Also, they would have to create a whole new cable to transfer data between your iPod and your Mac or PC. This would create a big problem. For all the people that bought a car charger for there iPod 1-6 generation video/classic/iPod would have to possibly buy a new car charger to accompany there new iPod. Apple will find a creative/easy way to get around this problem. Possibly, make the data transfer cable the one for the shuffle. Who knows? Just think about it!

Help

I am a very unexperienced blogger. You may be able to tell by my posts. I am a student. I really am open to any ideas or suggestions. Please, if you have any suggestions, comments, would like to advertise, or posts that you would like me to do, please, please e-mail me at jordanapple@gmail.com! Thank you.

Apple Store Online New Design

Apple store has a whole new design, the page feels more open, and is less crowded. They put more emphasis on the new products, like amazon. Amazon is really becoming a big competitor with Apple. The store is neat, big, and pulls you in. Really big improvement Apple!

Amazonmp3 Big Competitor with iTunes

Amazonmp3 public beta released a couple of days ago. This is an extremely big effort to become a real competitor with iTunes, many other companies have tried and have not come even close. A song will cost you 89 to 99 cents. Albums from $4.99 to $9.99, both much cheaper than iTunes. The top 100 albums are all priced at lower prices. That is one of many of the huge advantages. Everything is DRM free, use the music with any application, any music player, and share with people legally! All music is encoded at 256kbps. On iTunes you got to put in an extra 30 cents if you want it encoded in 256k that is $1.29 for a song.

The only down side, amazonmp3 only has a selection of 2 million songs compared to iTunes 6 million+. Amazon may have a lot of work because songs from the old days were on records. That type of music is hard to convert to the music formats of today.
Amazonmp3 has been the greatest of all efforts yet to match up with iTunes.

Apple Discussion Forums

Ever needed help with on your Mac, iPod, software or anything "Apple". There are many user forums on the Apple support page crowded with many people waiting to answer questions. Answer a question and you may be rewarded with points from the person you helped (If they choose to do so). This can be very helpful if you dont feel like calling AppleCare, or making a trip to an Apple Retail Store. So look out, my username in the forum is jordanapple, so if you have any questions I will be there to answer. Or you may e-mail me.

New Leopard Welcome Song

I am really sorry I have not been making posts lately, I have been very busy. Here is a peak the new leopard os x release video and NEW song.

iPhone Price in Germany

The iPhone in Germany will cost you about 399 euros if you convert it to the US dollar that is roughly 596 US dollars. Looks like Germany will have to pay the starter price of the iPhone in the US. There were no surprises, nothing new was included in the Germany iPhone which will be hosted by Tmobile. Germany will not have 3G iPhone. BIG disappointment. No surprises or new features were added.

New Games New iPod

Apple released three new games today. Tetris, Ms. Pac Man and Sodoku. Those games are only compatible with the third generation nano and the iPod Classic. The nano 3G and the classic already come with three games. Apple stripped Brick, Parachute, Solitaire, and Music Quiz. I guess people just got bored of those old games. Although the classic and nano 3G come with three other games. Too bad the iPhone didn't bring any new features or upgrades when the announcement was made on Regent Street. Looks like we may have to wait a little while for the 16GB iPhone. The iPhone will debut in the UK on November 9th.

How to Type an 

I know this may not be any help to anyone. If you want to type an  just press Option+Shift+K.

iPod Touch

This post is being made at Apple Store Montgomery Mall. I have been lucky enough to try out the new iPod Touch. I am very surprised, just like the iPhone I was expecting it to be a lot bigger. Not only how tall or wide it was but how amazingly thin. I am planning on buying one very soon. The only problem I have though is that the screen is half empty. Hopefully they will make some new Applications so the screen will look more full.

If you Need Help, 50th Post

I want to thank all my readers. This is my fiftieth post. If anybody ever needs help with technical issues with there Apple product please feel free to e-mail me at jordanapple@gmail.com.

I will Be Making Tutorials on Youtube

This is my first of many tutorials that I will be posting on youtube.

Logic Pro 8

Apple released Logic Studio today.

New features include:

1.Logic Pro 8. New editing tools, single window design, simple design, efortless multitake ecording and more.
2. Mainstage. New view for the stage, keyboard racks, templates, guitar rigs and more.
3. Soundtrack Pro 2. Streamlined multitrack interface, dialogu tools, mixing for picture an more.

Plus you get Studio Instruments, Studio effects, Studio Sound Library, and Utilities.

Why only The Nano?

Why do Nike and Apple only make the Nike+iPod product for the nanos? I can understand that the nano is more light and is easier to run with but to all the iPod 5th Generation users out there, are not very happy. In the reviews for the product many people complain about the issue that the product works only with the nano.


Aside from this post I just want to let all my readers know that comments and e-mails about concerns, tips, or even news that you think I should post, are very helpful. All comments, and e-mails will be read.

E-mail me at jordanapple@gmail.com

Thank you to all my readers, and spread the word about this new blog.

Apple TV Can Do More

I want an Apple TV but the $299 or $399 dollars is not worth it to me. There is one thing that would get me to buy it. Put video games on iTunes and make them downloadable right to the hard drive of the Apple TV, no cables besides the controller (if controller is not wireless and the Apple TV itself). This would make iTunes more useful, and iTunes would be on the Apple TV not on your computer. That means no more drives to the store to buy games. That would sell more Apple TVs. I would definitely buy it for the $299 or $399 if it has that feature.

16GB iPod Touch Worth It?

Is the iPod touch really worth the $299 or $399 dollars. I am thinking of buying one but I still have the 30GB iPod Video. I am planning to go to the Apple Store at Montgomery Mall to check it out. Please Comment and give me your opinion.

Steve Jobs Apologizes

Steve Jobs does not only apologize to people about the early price drop on the iPhone but he also promises to give early iPhone adopters a $100 dollar gift certificate to use at any Apple Retail Store or at the Online Store. This will calm the fire in the many early iPhone adopters that felt "cheated" in the price drop.

What I think about the New iPods

iPod Shuffles- The Colors! The colors they are not as bright or as noticeable as the new colors. The new colors are dull.

iPod Nanos- The new nanos are very interesting by the means of their look. They offer a screen .5 inches smaller than the iPod video and classic, but you get a nice product for your moneys worth. The new interface works very well with the screen on the iPod nano. I have the same opinions on the colors for the nanos.

iPod Classic- This is a huge improvement in terms of memory for the iPod (You can now buy 160GB for your iPod, 40,000 songs.) The new interface is very well layed out. And the rounded corners and new faceplate make scratches less noticeable.

iPod Touch- The almost iPhone like iPod brings a whole new way to buy music. You can now use Safari and buy iTunes content if you are at a Wi-Fi hot spot. The pricing is a little bit high.

Other news headlines:

4GB iPhones are no longer available and the 8GB model is one hundred dollars cheaper than the old 4GB model. Apple should be making an update soon so that you can buy iTunes content on your iPhone, like the iPod Touch.

College students will not get the free* iPod nano on the new iPods but old models will be available and discounted at Apple stores until they run out of stock.

*Buy a qualifying Mac and iPod from Apple or a participating Apple Authorized Campus Store from June 5, 2007, through September 16, 2007, and receive a mail-in rebate up to $149 (the list price of a 4GB iPod nano. Qualifying claims involving a 4G iPod nano invoiced at $199 are eligible for a $199 mail-in rebate. Terms and conditions apply. Click here for full details.

Steve Jobs Quotes

I think we're having fun. I think our customers really like our products. And we're always trying to do better.

I want to put a ding in the universe.

Pretty much, Apple and Dell are the only ones in this industry making money. They make it by being Wal-Mart. We make it by innovation.

New iTunes?

Will Steve Jobs and Apple be announcing a new version of iTunes on September 5th? We are all waiting, expecting, and hoping that the new iPods will be the reason for the new iTunes. We will have to wait until September 5th to find out.

The New iPod(s)

Will this be what Apple announces on September 5th?

Leopard Welcome Released to Internet?

iTunes Store

Have you ever thought that it is kin of annoying that you have to buy each iTunes song, TV show, etc, one at time? Well you dont have to. You can change your settings so that you have a shopping cart and you add all of the files you want into a shopping cart. Here is how to to that:

1. Open iTunes
2. Look at the menu bar, click iTunes, and select preferences. You can also press +,
3. Choose store from the preferences.
4. Choose buy items using a shopping cart.

New Nano Colors, New iPods Soon!

9to5mac.com reports that apple announced new iPod Nano colors. The colors can be seen below.

Blue
Silver
Cranberry
Black-Matte
Light Green


9to5mac.com also reports that Apple will be making a "massive" updates on their iPods at the start of the school year! Apple product prediction coming tomorrow.

New Apple Refurbished iPhones

Apple, has added refurbished iPhones to the list. You can get the 4GB for $399 (Usually $499) and the 8GB for $499 (Usually $599). All Apple refurbished products come with the standard, 90 day warranty, and can be extended with Apple care.

I have also found a clue to what I think might be Apple's new updated product!

The iPhone is Indestructable

This proves that the iPhone is scratch proof.

Apple Tip of The Week

For those of you who are running iTunes, if you look at Technology Podcasts, you will find Apple, tip of the week. I find this to be a very useful tool. I subscribed to this podcast and get very excited when they release a new one every week.

Thoughts on Music - Steve Jobs on The Music Industry

Thoughts on Music

Steve Jobs
February 6, 2007


With the stunning global success of Apple’s iPod music player and iTunes online music store, some have called for Apple to “open” the digital rights management (DRM) system that Apple uses to protect its music against theft, so that music purchased from iTunes can be played on digital devices purchased from other companies, and protected music purchased from other online music stores can play on iPods. Let’s examine the current situation and how we got here, then look at three possible alternatives for the future.

To begin, it is useful to remember that all iPods play music that is free of any DRM and encoded in “open” licensable formats such as MP3 and AAC. iPod users can and do acquire their music from many sources, including CDs they own. Music on CDs can be easily imported into the freely-downloadable iTunes jukebox software which runs on both Macs and Windows PCs, and is automatically encoded into the open AAC or MP3 formats without any DRM. This music can be played on iPods or any other music players that play these open formats.

The rub comes from the music Apple sells on its online iTunes Store. Since Apple does not own or control any music itself, it must license the rights to distribute music from others, primarily the “big four” music companies: Universal, Sony BMG, Warner and EMI. These four companies control the distribution of over 70% of the world’s music. When Apple approached these companies to license their music to distribute legally over the Internet, they were extremely cautious and required Apple to protect their music from being illegally copied. The solution was to create a DRM system, which envelopes each song purchased from the iTunes store in special and secret software so that it cannot be played on unauthorized devices.

Apple was able to negotiate landmark usage rights at the time, which include allowing users to play their DRM protected music on up to 5 computers and on an unlimited number of iPods. Obtaining such rights from the music companies was unprecedented at the time, and even today is unmatched by most other digital music services. However, a key provision of our agreements with the music companies is that if our DRM system is compromised and their music becomes playable on unauthorized devices, we have only a small number of weeks to fix the problem or they can withdraw their entire music catalog from our iTunes store.

To prevent illegal copies, DRM systems must allow only authorized devices to play the protected music. If a copy of a DRM protected song is posted on the Internet, it should not be able to play on a downloader’s computer or portable music device. To achieve this, a DRM system employs secrets. There is no theory of protecting content other than keeping secrets. In other words, even if one uses the most sophisticated cryptographic locks to protect the actual music, one must still “hide” the keys which unlock the music on the user’s computer or portable music player. No one has ever implemented a DRM system that does not depend on such secrets for its operation.

The problem, of course, is that there are many smart people in the world, some with a lot of time on their hands, who love to discover such secrets and publish a way for everyone to get free (and stolen) music. They are often successful in doing just that, so any company trying to protect content using a DRM must frequently update it with new and harder to discover secrets. It is a cat-and-mouse game. Apple’s DRM system is called FairPlay. While we have had a few breaches in FairPlay, we have been able to successfully repair them through updating the iTunes store software, the iTunes jukebox software and software in the iPods themselves. So far we have met our commitments to the music companies to protect their music, and we have given users the most liberal usage rights available in the industry for legally downloaded music.

With this background, let’s now explore three different alternatives for the future.

The first alternative is to continue on the current course, with each manufacturer competing freely with their own “top to bottom” proprietary systems for selling, playing and protecting music. It is a very competitive market, with major global companies making large investments to develop new music players and online music stores. Apple, Microsoft and Sony all compete with proprietary systems. Music purchased from Microsoft’s Zune store will only play on Zune players; music purchased from Sony’s Connect store will only play on Sony’s players; and music purchased from Apple’s iTunes store will only play on iPods. This is the current state of affairs in the industry, and customers are being well served with a continuing stream of innovative products and a wide variety of choices.

Some have argued that once a consumer purchases a body of music from one of the proprietary music stores, they are forever locked into only using music players from that one company. Or, if they buy a specific player, they are locked into buying music only from that company’s music store. Is this true? Let’s look at the data for iPods and the iTunes store – they are the industry’s most popular products and we have accurate data for them. Through the end of 2006, customers purchased a total of 90 million iPods and 2 billion songs from the iTunes store. On average, that’s 22 songs purchased from the iTunes store for each iPod ever sold.

Today’s most popular iPod holds 1000 songs, and research tells us that the average iPod is nearly full. This means that only 22 out of 1000 songs, or under 3% of the music on the average iPod, is purchased from the iTunes store and protected with a DRM. The remaining 97% of the music is unprotected and playable on any player that can play the open formats. It’s hard to believe that just 3% of the music on the average iPod is enough to lock users into buying only iPods in the future. And since 97% of the music on the average iPod was not purchased from the iTunes store, iPod users are clearly not locked into the iTunes store to acquire their music.

The second alternative is for Apple to license its FairPlay DRM technology to current and future competitors with the goal of achieving interoperability between different company’s players and music stores. On the surface, this seems like a good idea since it might offer customers increased choice now and in the future. And Apple might benefit by charging a small licensing fee for its FairPlay DRM. However, when we look a bit deeper, problems begin to emerge. The most serious problem is that licensing a DRM involves disclosing some of its secrets to many people in many companies, and history tells us that inevitably these secrets will leak. The Internet has made such leaks far more damaging, since a single leak can be spread worldwide in less than a minute. Such leaks can rapidly result in software programs available as free downloads on the Internet which will disable the DRM protection so that formerly protected songs can be played on unauthorized players.

An equally serious problem is how to quickly repair the damage caused by such a leak. A successful repair will likely involve enhancing the music store software, the music jukebox software, and the software in the players with new secrets, then transferring this updated software into the tens (or hundreds) of millions of Macs, Windows PCs and players already in use. This must all be done quickly and in a very coordinated way. Such an undertaking is very difficult when just one company controls all of the pieces. It is near impossible if multiple companies control separate pieces of the puzzle, and all of them must quickly act in concert to repair the damage from a leak.

Apple has concluded that if it licenses FairPlay to others, it can no longer guarantee to protect the music it licenses from the big four music companies. Perhaps this same conclusion contributed to Microsoft’s recent decision to switch their emphasis from an “open” model of licensing their DRM to others to a “closed” model of offering a proprietary music store, proprietary jukebox software and proprietary players.

The third alternative is to abolish DRMs entirely. Imagine a world where every online store sells DRM-free music encoded in open licensable formats. In such a world, any player can play music purchased from any store, and any store can sell music which is playable on all players. This is clearly the best alternative for consumers, and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat. If the big four music companies would license Apple their music without the requirement that it be protected with a DRM, we would switch to selling only DRM-free music on our iTunes store. Every iPod ever made will play this DRM-free music.

Why would the big four music companies agree to let Apple and others distribute their music without using DRM systems to protect it? The simplest answer is because DRMs haven’t worked, and may never work, to halt music piracy. Though the big four music companies require that all their music sold online be protected with DRMs, these same music companies continue to sell billions of CDs a year which contain completely unprotected music. That’s right! No DRM system was ever developed for the CD, so all the music distributed on CDs can be easily uploaded to the Internet, then (illegally) downloaded and played on any computer or player.

In 2006, under 2 billion DRM-protected songs were sold worldwide by online stores, while over 20 billion songs were sold completely DRM-free and unprotected on CDs by the music companies themselves. The music companies sell the vast majority of their music DRM-free, and show no signs of changing this behavior, since the overwhelming majority of their revenues depend on selling CDs which must play in CD players that support no DRM system.

So if the music companies are selling over 90 percent of their music DRM-free, what benefits do they get from selling the remaining small percentage of their music encumbered with a DRM system? There appear to be none. If anything, the technical expertise and overhead required to create, operate and update a DRM system has limited the number of participants selling DRM protected music. If such requirements were removed, the music industry might experience an influx of new companies willing to invest in innovative new stores and players. This can only be seen as a positive by the music companies.

Much of the concern over DRM systems has arisen in European countries. Perhaps those unhappy with the current situation should redirect their energies towards persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free. For Europeans, two and a half of the big four music companies are located right in their backyard. The largest, Universal, is 100% owned by Vivendi, a French company. EMI is a British company, and Sony BMG is 50% owned by Bertelsmann, a German company. Convincing them to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace. Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly.

You can find this article here.

Dissassemble the iPhone

Watch this video to learn how to dissassemble the iPhone.

Photo Booth - Fun but a Waste of Time

As you can see below, Photo Booth looks fun, but is a very big waste of time.



This application has many effects, you can make yourself look like a drawing, or even like an alien.

Apple Remote - Good. . . But Could Be Better

Apple Remote rating 1-5 : 3

Why: This is a very nice, quality Apple product. But... why give it a 3 star rating? First of all I never give an Apple product a 5 star rating unless I am completely satisfied and the product is perfect. So that brings this to a 4 star. But I have a problem with the product! Because it works with the inferred sensor, if there is not a clear line between the receiver and the remote it will not work.

Beware to all users that are using the iBook or an earlier mac model, those models dont have a receiver so the remote won work with those models.

Beware to all Mac OSX 10.3 and earlier, Mac OSX 10.3 and earlier do not have front row, meaning you wont be able to use the full potential of the remote because you wont be able to control, DVD's, iMovie, and the other front row software.

This product may also be used to tease your co-workers, family, and any one else you feel like teasing.

Apple and Their Batteries

Apple and its batteries just can't seem to catch a break eh? This go 'round, Sydney Leung has filed a class-action complaint that reportedly accuses "both Apple and AT&T of fraud in neglecting to inform potential iPhone buyers of the costs involved in maintaining a working battery for the iPhone over the course of the handset's lifespan." Of course, Apple specs show that the battery in question is designed to hold a full charge for between 300 and 400 cycles, while still holding a majority of that charge afterwards, so unless Mr. Leung's (and a few others, too) battery mysteriously conked out after that oh-so-critical 300th charge, we're failing to see what ground he's standing on.

New iPhone Commercial

The new iPhone commercial has come out. You may view it below.

Top Songs

Have you ever wondered what the number one song was in a certain year. Well if you use iTunes Apple makes it very easy. Go to the Music section of the iTunes store, and look in the middle for a caption that looks like the one below.



This is a very helpful tool for music lovers.

Top Songs

New iMacs

Apple announced there new iMacs and can now be purchased in store or online. This new computer is cheaper than the old iMacs and it is more for your money.

When I first saw it I said " Look it looks like an iPhone". They look very similar.

www.jordanapple.com

Now that I have the domain name jordanapple.com you can now get onto my site by typing www.jordanapple.com. But if you still have jordanapple.blogspot.com in your favorites you will still be able to get on from there. You will need to type www. or else it won't direct you to my blog.

Discounted Mac Products

Go To MacMall where you can find discounted Apple products. Everything here is discounted and all computers have mail in rebate. If you buy an iPod you can get free cases and other accessories.

iPod AV Connection Kit

The iPod AV connection kit comes with everything you will need to connect your iPod to the TV. Although $99 may seem pricey but look how much everything it comes with would cost if you buy each item seperatley.

Cost

Apple iPod AV Cables $19
Apple iPod Universal Doc $39
Apple iPod Dock Adapters $18
Apple Remote $29
USB Power Adapter $29
Apple Dock Connector to USB Cable $19

Total $153

If you buy this you save $50!

iTunes Features

As iTunes is one of the best and most popular ways to get movies, music, tv shows, and much more, why not use it for more? Apple should make it so you download all of your widgets and applications because so many more people view than the downloads page of Apple.com. This could help Apple get more downloads of applications and maybe more revenue if people pay for good applications.

Powerfull iPhone

I know this is one of the common features but, this post is being made from an iPhone. Although this is only the third or fourth time i have played with one, I am now sure that I need one! Just kidding.

Convincing People

Have you ever met someone with a PC and you are trying to convince them to switch to Mac and Mac OSX? Well I am trying to convince my Grandfather, and I think we might be taking a trip to the store once his PC completely breaks. I hope it is soon! He thinks his Pc is fast, but it is the slowest thing in the world. He will be suprised when he sees the power of the Mac Mini.

Apple Fan Guide Lines

If you are an Apple fan here are some guidelines you should follow.

1. For those of you who know, some Apple products come with white Apple stickers. If you want to put one on your car make sure you follow these guidelines. If your car is dirty don't put a sticker on. Get your car washed and then put the sticker on.

2. You need to know your facts. If you are very into Apple you should know about Apple. If someone asks you a question and you don't know. Try to at least do your homework ad look it up for the person that asked.

3. Don't say your computer is working slowly in front of a PC user. They will usually respond with "See Mac's do crash . . ." or something like that.

4. Show people that you actually use your Mac. If you have a Mac, show people what it can do. Show them how will it works with all the iApplications and the iPod.

5. Don't overload on how good Mac's are. If you know they are good and have confidence in them don't go around saying so much about it. For example, don't argue a lot in forums about Apple. Also, don't go around reciting all of the Apple commercial lines.

For all of the people that are Mac fans, there is nothing wrong but, don't overdue it.

I am Back

Sorry about the slight delay, while I was at camp. Well from what I hear the iPhone is doing pretty good and is getting good reports. So keep checking for new posts, click on the ads. Thank you.

Camp

There will be no posts for the next two weeks so there will be no posts for two weeks.

Thank you

Cool Ads

If you go down to the bottom of the page you will see some new ads. They are very cool and interesting.

Magic on The iPhone

What a great idea to use magic with the iPhone, check out this cool video where someone does!

Stock Update

Apple stock opened today at $133.16 and closed today at $132.30. That is a .34% decrease and $.84 down.

Cool Room

This is my room, on top of my desk. 

Video Converter

Ever had trouble converting video to iPod format? Well now you can with iSquint, the number one video converter for Macintosh. Now you dont have to try converting your videos through iMovie. This converts videos with audio so no more sound trouble. 

iRack Video

This video introduces Apple's new product the iRack. Mad TV tries to make fun of Apple and George Bush.

Stock Update

The Apple stock or AAPL opened today at $128.79 and closed today at $132.75. The high for the stock today was $132.97. That means the AAPL stock went up $5.58 which is 4.39%.

The stock has gone up over $11 in the past two market days.

More information on AAPL.

Cool App.

The cool application Grab which can be found in the utilities folder in the Application folder, delivers cool features which allow allow the users to select an area of the screen and pretty much take a snap shot of the selected space. For taking pictures of something on the web instead of using a camera.

Apple Product Prediction: iPod

The next product that Apple will make will be Wide screen iPods they will be exactly like the iPhone except for no touch screen and no phone. Your prediction of the week brought to you by jordanapple.

Stock Update

We will not have a stock update today because the stock market is closed today due to the fourth of July.

Apple Will Do GPS For Mercedes

I recently heard that Apple will be doing the GPS for Mercedes starting in 2009. According to the German magazine "Focus" Apple is working on the navigation for Mercedes Starting in 2009. At the start in 2009, it will be exclusively from Mercedes, but six months later other vendors are allowed to have the Apple GPs System in their cars too. Because of how small the Mac Mini is I wouldn't be surprised if this small GPS system has a lot of power. This will make Mercedes more luxurious. 

Upgraded iPhone

Apple needs to make an upgraded iPhone, the iPhone is very cool but doesn't anyone else think that $499 or $599 is a bit pricey. The iPhone is one of the best products that Apple has ever made but they really need to change the price. Why did they have to put the exclusive with AT&T. The EDGE service is the slowest, they should've put it with Verizon or a faster server. So Apple please try to make these upgrades soon.

iPhone Sales Top 500,000

Apple announced that iPhone sales have topped 700000. That is 406,000,000 dollars if you  average that each iPhone was about 580 dollars because there is a 4:1 ratio that more people choose the 8 GB over the 4 GB. I would like to be Steve Jobs right now because I could really use that money! 

For those of you who like all of the features of a .mac but thing it is to pricey there could be a way to fix it. Introducing the notmac challenge, the contest to see who can create the best alternative to a .mac.

Iphone

The Iphone. Personally, coming from an apple lover. I think apple will sell many iphones but, because it runs a version of mac os x, don't you kinda think that it will take a while to turn the phone on? It will be pretty cool though everything else will be good.