OK. So the new MacPros are awesome of course and I really want one (no I won’t get one, but I still WANT one). Of course like all good Mac geeks I quickly hit the store and started playing with configurations. You can get a pretty nice new set-up, without an Apple display of course (display prices are lower though), for around USD$2,500.00. One bit of good news is that Apple is now including 1GB of RAM standard (all Macs should ship this way), but why and the heck do they think it is still OK to make AirPort and Bluetooth add ons. These are Pro systems, right? All the other models have AirPort and Bluetooth standard. Yes, the “upgrade” is only USD$79.00, but what is Apples cost? USD$20.00 in parts? Come on.

Just for fun I played with maxing out options (see graphic on the right). I opted not to get the Fibre channel card or the modem, but still checkout the price? Wow, at least I don’t have to fill it with gas to make it run. ;)

Events in reverse chronological order

11:24 am Developer preview available today with Leopard to ship in coming Spring — That will be ahead of Vista. Yeah. Oops. My bad. I got overly excited. (although you never know with Vista)

11:14 am Enhanced iChat — multiple logins, visibility, animated icons, video recording, and tabbed chats, keynote presentations, back drops, photobooth effects, etc. Looks like some nice new and fun features. I hope voice recording quality is better than what we currently have in GarageBand. The PhotoBooth effects will be fun. Plus you have green screen so you can now be “anywhere” and have an iChat, too cool. I am sure business users will find being able to present Keynote presentations remotely a nice addition.
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As happens every time during these things the Apple online store is down, sure to be updated after the keynote will all the new sugary sweet Apple products. Yummy.

I think it may be down for a little more than an hour though.

Shooby showed this to me last night and I just saw it again on The Unofficial Apple Weblog, Flickr Find: Seen at WWDC 2006 – “Introducing Vista 2.0” banner. These images are from Mac Geek Gernot Poetsch. He is posting WWDC banner images from Moscone hall to his Flickr account. This one has a quote that looks like it says, ‘Introducing Vista 2.0’. One thing is for sure, Apple has a great sense of humor when it comes to poking fun at their rival.

There is another, not so visible image on Gernot’s Flickr account called Hasta la Vista. Vista. While these images are funny and look genuine, you have to wonder why Gernot didn’t position himself to get some better shots. I hope not, but this could turn out to be just some nice Photoshop work. It’s funny regardless.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Looks like VMWare has posted the links and information on their site to “pre-register” for the Beta of their new product for OS X. From their site… Love your Mac even more with the ability to simultaneously run any PC OS—Windows, Linux, NetWare and others—on Mac OS X. Switch between operating systems by easily tabbing between applications and share data between the two operating systems by dragging and dropping files on the fly—all without needing to reboot. This looks like it will be a nice competitor to Parallels and has been a popular option in the PC world for sometime. If you are at WWDC the company will be giving demos in the Yerba Buena room of the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco from 12:30 PM to 8:00 PM on Monday August 7th.

Well the big event is on in just a few hours. Unfortunately there is no live video stream of the event (but I am sure you can expect a delayed QuickTime stream to show up on Apple.com a few hours after the keynote). So that’s the bad news. The good news is there will be many blogs and sites offering near real-time “text” based coverage of the event. Below you’ll find a list of several sites that should be delivering all the WWDC goodness about as fast as they can auto-refresh it (please don’t flood the servers). I myself will be blogging my reactions and impressions along with some other Mac Geeks over at http://wwdclive.wordpress.com/. Also if you would like to get in on some reral-time chat with other MacCasters, then fire up iChat (AIM) and go to the chat room ‘maccast’.

Updated: Added more links to live coverage.

WWDC Coverage
WWDC Live (I’ll be blogging here)
MacNN
MacRumors
MacTeens
The Apple Blog
PodTech (Podcast with Photostream)
ars technica (IRC)

Listen to today’s show here!
MC20060803.mp3 [25.8mb 00:56:17 64kbps]

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 152. Scandinavia still not satisfied with iTunes, but France has a change of heart. iTunes Europe sells over 200 million songs. NBC ‘Heros’ on iTunes three weeks early. Apple .Mac outages annoying users. Apple removes Discussion Board support staff. Apple recalls MacBook Pro batteries. Misquote leads to iPod life-span complaints. Hackers demonstrate wireless vunerability on a MacBook, headlines don’t tell the whole story. Apple releases 4th security update for 2006. MacCast One Minute Tip #19 – Hot Corners. Follow-up on Network attached storage, lots of recommendations. A warning, beware of aging power adapters. Resetting the PMU/SMU to fix power issues, sleep and other issues. How to have your Mac read to you. Loads of speculation on upgrading Intel Mac processors. A tip for Enhanced MacCast listeners, burn audio CD with chapters. I explain the “subliminal” image in last MacCast.

New music, That Song (Is Stuck In My Head) by Full Minute of Mercury

Promo from Answers for Freelancers

With excitement like this, who is needing enemas? — Short Circuit (1986)

Shownotes: HTML or OPML
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I just saw this post over on ArsTechnica and was a bit taken back. Seems like Josh Aas of the Mozilla group was out browsing for music and discovered the Wu-Tang album “Think Differently Music – Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture” and after buying a CD single noticed something familiar about the image of the full album featured on the back of the single (see image on right). Well it turns out this is not just a new album, but a whole new record label formed by members of Wu-Tang called Think Differently Music Group. There is no word yet on whether Apple has any connection to the project, but I would think it is highly unlikely. The article notes that Apple still owns the trademark on “Think Different” and that the Wu-Tang page has a ® next to “Think Differently Music Group”. I see some trouble brewing here. After all the hoopla from Apple Records over Apple and the iTunes Music Store, can you imagine what kind of trademark questions this is going to raise? The Wu-Tang lawyers may need to start sharpening their pencils and their tongues. That or the Wu-Tang should be getting their pens out and preparing to write some fat checks. If your interested the album is available on iTunes.

Apple’s Mighty Mouse can’t seem to catch a break. I’m still amazed at the bad reviews it gets. And almost all the reviews of the new wireless version seem to have the same ‘Too little, too late’ mantra.

This review may be a little different. I have been using a Mighty Mouse exclusively for the past ten months, and I couldn’t be happier. It seems to address nearly every beef I’ve ever had with other mice. These three points are where the Mighty Mouse shines for me most:

1. Size & Weight
I have a problem with large, bulky mice (I don’t have dainty hands, by the way). The way I mouse, I basically use my thumb and ring finger to move, and index and middle for clicks. I have never liked ‘mitting’ my entire mouse. Too many mice that are ‘ergonomically’ designed seem to REQUIRE you to do a full on, sweaty-palmed wrap around. As a lifelong Mac user, I’ve always worked with quick mousing and lots of keyboard shortcuts. I don’t get stuck into the right-click, click, right-click, click mode that Windows traps you in. That is just too slow and constricting for me.

The Mighty Mouse is svelte, lightweight, and easy to glide. It has a low profile and symmetric Tic-Tac like shape. It’s easy to grab, move the pointer, and get back to the keyboard. You don’t need to conform your hand to the shell of the mouse just to move it.
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STM Loft (USD $59.95)
Website: stmbags.com (Buy now from RadTech)

Taking a cue from the latest MacRoundtable Podcast episode I thought I would do a mini review of the STM bags, specifically the Loft bag, as we became a supplier at work a few weeks ago.

We have a range of STM bags in the showroom, but by far my favorite is the Loft. While Sports 2 is the official educational bag for Apple in the US (for good reason; they carry everything a student could need), the Loft is much smaller and suits people like me who like to carry everything we need, but limit ourselves to not carrying the things we don’t.

Loft comes in two sizes; medium (15″) and small (13″) and is produced in two color combinations; grey & grey or tan & orange (depending on whether you are a PC user or a Mac user). The bag seems incredibly small when you get it in your hands and yet holds a lot. I took a medium sized bag and tested it with all my work papers and pads, a 15″ MacBook Pro, power cord, Ethernet cord, iPod connector and a range of other power cords I typically carry and it was great. My iPod fit into the small pouch on the strap, the notebook felt very secure and protected with the padding and extra “lid” on the Loft. It genuinely felt lighter than carrying the exact same stuff in my usual setup; a regular backpack with a cheap notebook sleeve in it.

I think build quality is one of my biggest concern with notebook bags since my current backpack is starting to wither. The straps (on my current bag) are coming apart from the bag, the bottom is looking thin and overall I don’t want to carry any real weight in it anymore. With the Loft however the build quality is such that I would feel comfortable carrying anything in there, especially with the extra padded strap so your shoulder won’t hurt. It feels strong both in the materials and in the stitching. In addition, the strong metal clasps on the straps (something most manufacturers cheap out on with plastic) make it feel even more secure and make me believe it’s robust enough to last for a least a few years of good use.

Of course it looks great and not at all like a laptop bag, so I would feel more secure walking around town with it (the reason I have my current setup). In short; I am getting a small one as soon as possible in the hope that I will someday be able to afford a MacBook. I love it, and can sell this product just like I do my Macs; with absolute confidence in every aspect of it’s design and ability.

One final note to you Mac Mini owners; you may want to checkout one of STMs other offerings, the Mac Mini lunchbox. One thing is for sure, STM knows how to appeal to an Apple owners sense of cool design.