PC World has posted a gallery of tech-related tattoos people have gotten over the years. I felt I compelled to show mine:
Category: Apple
Looking at the IIGS and the 3GS
Fron the Learning in Hand blog:
I thought it would be interesting to compare iPhone 3G S with one of Apple’s desktop computers from 20 years ago, Apple IIGS. The “GS” in IIGS stood for graphics and sound. However, it’s clear that today’s iPhone is much better with graphics and sound. The “S” in 3G S stands for speed. Compared to IIGS, 3G S certainly is the speedier computer. The similarities of these two computing devices pretty much stop at their names.
A Smart Look at Apple and Netbooks
Think about what a netbook really becomes. A shared email and browser that does IM, and frustrates everywhere else. Battery life? Low. Keyboard? Mushy. Multimedia performance? Slow. Disappointment? High.
My iPod touch functions pretty much like a very, very small netbook PC. I check email. I type out a few quick responses. I browse. I google ( no caps needed, it’s a verb now). I can also IM, play movies, play music, play games and do what no netbook PC can ever do.
Apple Dominating High-End Market
According to NPD, in June, nine out of 10 dollars spent on computers costing $1,000 or more went to Apple. Mac revenue market share in the “premium” price segment was 91 percent, up from 88 percent in May.
That’s pretty damn good. And it reinforces Tim Cook’s statement the other day regarding netbooks:
Our goal is not to build the most computers, it’s to build the best. Whatever price point we can build the best at, we will play there. At this point, we don’t see the way to build a great product for this $399-$499, this kind of price point unit. And, as I’ve said before—and I think this is playing out in many areas—many customers become disappointed and disenchanted after they’ve bought one of these.
Pro Apps Get Updated
Updated come to Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Server and Logic Studio.
No update to my favorite, Aperture.
I Threw up in my Mouth
Check out the last item featured in Gizmodo’s weekly Photoshop contest.
The Future of the iPod
While Apple doesn’t usually break out sales figures for individual products, during Tuesday’s conference call with analysts, Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer went out of his way to say that the iPod touch itself did “extremely well in the quarter, growing more than 130 percent” compared to the year-ago quarter. In other words, while iPod sales in general fell 7.2 percent compared to last quarter, the iPod touch was selling like gangbusters.
The Numbers
Apple shipped 2.6 million Macintosh computers during the quarter, a unit increase of 4 percent over the year-ago quarter. The company also sold 10.2 million Pods during the quarter, representing 7 percent unit decline over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone unit sales reached 5.2 million, up 626 percent from the year-ago quarter.
Damn.
Notes from Apple’s Earnings Call
Macworld has a nice play-by-play account of today’s event.
Apple Still Making LOTS of Money
The subhead from the company’s press release says it all:
Best Non-Holiday Quarter Revenue and Earnings in Apple History
Apple still proves to be recession-resistant.
Ex-Apple Employee Hired for Microsoft Stores
A key figure in achieving Apple’s ground-breaking retail store concept is now consulting with Microsoft on that company’s retail stores, the first of which are expected to open this fall. George W. Blankenship, 56, joined Apple in 2000, and his 20 years of experience as Gap Inc.’s vice president of real estate strategy helped fulfill the original concept developed by Apple Sr. V-P Retail Ron Johnson–position the stores at upscale, high-traffic locations to attract customers. As first reported by TechFlash, Microsoft has hired Blankenship to provide consulting services for its retail team, although the company refuses to say exactly what work he is performing. The consulting arrangement is probably meant to work around the non-competitive agreement (NCA) that Apple executives routinely sign when leaving the company. Much of the data that Blankenship might use to pick Microsoft store locations is held by third parties, so he won’t be handicapped by any NCA. As well, Blankenship’s assistance to Microsoft won’t create any peril for Apple, since after eight years of developing new Apple stores, the formula is hardly proprietary.
There’s a Joke in There Somewhere
Walk into the local Apple store at 10:35 on a Friday morning and you’ll notice something different: normal people.
These are not the mutants you’ll find trolling Fry’s for a new motherboard, a liter of Mountain Dew and packets of beef jerky. These are not the middle-aged pot-bellied dudes you’ll find eyeing the latest big screen television at Best Buy.
These are people like your mom. Among the 20 customers at the store Friday were several older women. One was getting a quick tutorial on how to download digital movies.