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MC20050913.mp3 [20.7mb 45:16 64kbps]

A podcast about Macs done by a Mac geek for Mac geeks. Show 88. iPod Nano stuff, iTunes 5 stuff, ROKR iTunes phone stuff, new Tiger updates and Developer Transition Kits updates seeded. Will there finally be an Itunes Music Store Australia? Create and view iPod digital flip books at iPodScrubs.com. Followup on keys to activate Save dialog buttons, question about cell phones with Mac syncing support. JogTunes iTunes to workout by. Quicktime 7 is currently incompatible with Divx. How to convert AAC to MP3 and promo for the North Coast Macintosh Users Group Expo. New music, Sound Scientist by bill.

I just know, before this is over, I’m gonna need a whole lot of serious therapy.

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Several listeners have pointed out the fact the the Motorola E1 ROKR phone looks almost identical to the Motorola E398 (see picture). The obvious difference is the ROKR is white and adds the iTunes button, but considering the E398 has MP3 and MPEG4 support I think it is easy to tell that Motorola probably didn’t have to do much engineering on this phone. Some are already speculating on E398 hacks to add iTunes support. I still say it’s too bad Apple didn’t insist Motorola adapt the way slicker and cooler RAZR design especially in light of the Nano. I hate convergence as you know, but at least if you do it make it look cool.

Listen to today’s show here!
MC20050908.mp3 [20.2mb 44:01 64kbps]

A podcast about Macs done by a Mac geek for Mac geeks. Show 87. Apple’s big music announcements, Motorola iTunes phone, iPod Nano, new iTunes 5, QuickTime 7.0.2 update released, Steve Jobs will not keynote at Apple Expo and Sony and Apple in licensing talks for Japan iTunes Music Store. Listener reaction to Apple announcements, hurricane relief PSA, listeners iMac G5 power supply issue, yet another mac browser, Shiira. If you have audio issues check the MIDI Setup, how to cancel the save dialog from the keyboard, a review of SuperDuper and eMacCast Artwork Contest Winners, new motion|VFX contest. New music, In a Long Time by 46 Bliss. Bonus podcast promos.

Even a poisonous snake isn’t bad. You just have to keep away from the sharp end.

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Craig Patchett from the Behind the Scenes podcast sent the following email about Roxio’s new “upgrade” option or lack there of for Toast 7. Seems like they may be learning some upgrade pricing tricks from Apple.

I won’t be upgrading to Roxio Toast 7, even though I’m a registered user of Toast 6. Why? Because apparently Roxio couldn’t care less about its registered and loyal owners. The cost to upgrade to the latest version? The same as it is for anyone else to buy a copy. Technically, actually, it’s more. Any user of OS X qualifies for a $20 discount off Toast 7, which you can purchase from Buy.com with tax and shipping for $85. Net cost: $65 after rebate. Registered owners qualify for a whopping $30 discount, but only if they buy directly from Roxio for $99.95 + $11 shipping (the discount only applies to the CD version) + tax. Net cost: $80.95 + tax after rebate. So basically Roxio wants to reward those who are buying Toast for the first time and punish those who were foolish enough to purchase previous versions.

This approach to upgrade to upgrades is disgusting and is nothing more than a blatant example of corporate greed. Roxio should be publicly shamed by its existing customer base for choosing such tactics.

So the big announcements:

iTunes 5.0
iTunes 5.0 is available for download from Apple.com. New features include a redesigned look with the ability to organize playlists into folders. An improved shuffle feature called “smart shuffle”. You can now control the frequency of how you hear songs from the same artist of album. There are also now parental controls. The biggest new feature for Windows is users is the ability to sync their Outlook calendars and address book with the iPod.

“Motorola ROKR” iTunes phone
Works like an iPod Shuffle built into your phone. Connects via a USB cable and holds about 100 songs. Service in the US will be carried by Cingular

iPod Nano
New iPod will replace the existing iPod Mini. The iPod Nano uses flash memory and has a 14-hour rechargeable battery. The Nano will connect via a USB 2.0 cable and uses the standard 30-pin iPod docking connector so it is compatible with all existing iPod accessories. It features a color screen, is half as thick as the iPod Mini, comes in two colors (Black or White) and is available in 2 sizes 2GB and 4GB at $199.00 (USAD) and $249.00 (USD) respectively

Listen to the announcement here!
MC20050906.mp3 [0.56mb 01:06 64kbps]

Decided to wait until after Apple big music announcement tomorrow (Sept. 7th) to put out the next cast. Thanks for your patience.

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Listen to today’s show here!
MC20050902.mp3 [12.5mb 27:12 64kbps]

A podcast about Macs done by a Mac geek for Mac geeks. Show 86. Apple taking hurricane donations through iTunes, my “Try it, you’ll like it” concept becomes reality, at least for 12 hours. Motorola is also holding a big music event September 7th, big stars to appear in Motorola ads for iTunes phone, will we see a new .Mac soon? OS 10.4.3 Update will have over 400 minor bug fixes. MacCast review of the iMojo Shuffle Sweats. Tip for silencing the volume noises, the CopCast promo, take control of your Trash with Compost. Tip on editing multiple ID3 tags at once in iTunes. The eMacCast artwork contest has ended, winners to be announced on the next podcast. The Me and my Mom podcast promo. New music, Spirit Come by Foolish Things

I think the world has been run long enough by well-meaning professionals. We might give the amateurs a chance now.

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Woah!. I am not sure when this went live, but I guess maybe someone at Apple is listening to the MacCast. Apple has a Test Drive a Mac Mini program. It is an online exclusive program that allows you to order a Mac Mini and try it for 30 days, if you like it you keep it. Otherwise call within the 30 day trail period and you have 15 days to return it no questions asked. If you order a mouse and keyboard at the same time you can also return those. I wonder if Apple’s marketing team will be sending me a consulting fee? Just kidding.

Update: Something strange is going on. Looks like this promo is no longer on Apple’s site and the images and pages have been pulled. Even stranger is that I am an affiliate with Apple through their LinkShare program and this offer is in an email I just received, but all the links and images are dead. Hmmm. Maybe they didn’t like the idea after all? I’ll keep ya posted.

Update: (08/31 – 10:24 PM PST)
I just received this from LinkShare in my email:
“As a follow-up to an email we sent you this morning, please note that the Mac mini Test Drive promotion is no longer offered at the Apple Store. We have dynamically updated the banners and landing pages for this promotion, so if you are featuring this promotion on your site, they will automatically update to another promotion. Please be sure to update your Mac mini Test Drive text links. The rest of the promotions featured in today’s email are still live.

We apologize for the inconvenience”

Listen to today’s show here!
MC20050830.mp3 [20.1mb 43:57 64kbps]

A podcast about Macs done by a Mac geek for Mac geeks. Show 85. Apple applies for “Made for iPod” trademark, developers expecting smooth transition to Intel, Apple secures a steady supply of G4 chips, Apple wins PC Mags People’s Choice Awards, again. Stupid iPod thief gets caught red handed at Apple store, Windows apps are running under OSX86, sort of. Record companies pushing for higher iTunes prices, Safari updated version 2.01 released and special Apple Music event planned for September 7th. Typical PC User Promo, Mac vidcast recommendations, that little black dot is reminding you it’s time to save, listener comments from Argentina on “Try it, you’ll like it” concept, “Cashmere” Macs are not warm and fuzzy, issue where listening to AAC and enhanced Podcasts requiring reboots and listener review of Kensington Slim Type Keyboard. eMacCast Artwork Contest ends 9/1 please get your entries in on the MacCast forum. New music, Out of Mind by Last Minute Ville

Broaden your minds — have another beer. Have two!

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A Brief and Warped History of the Mac, part 8 (My Favourite Mac)

This week, I’ve been in the mood to reminisce and have been thinking about all the Macs I’ve owned, used or lusted over. Hopefully, this week’s edition will spark a nice thread in the MacCast forums because I’m sure all us Mac Geeks love to gush about which model is our favourite ever Mac.

Way back in the 1980’s when I was young and the Mac was just a little younger, I didn’t know much about computers, I was happy pottering with the Toshiba HX-10 machine that my grandparents bought me for Christmas when I was 4. Even at that age I could just about manage the simplest elements of the BASIC programming that it required – though I will apologise to my Mum for the hours of copying code into the computer that she was persuaded to do on my behalf.

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