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Tuesday, July 16, 2002 |
Apple reports its financials
Apple meets lowered expectations. The Mac maker reports quarterly sales and earnings that matched analysts' lowered expectations. The number of Macintoshes shipped fell 2 percent under year-ago levels. [CNET News.com]
I meant to pass this along earlier today, but I was too busy writing up another financial earnings call (for Chuck E. Cheese, of all things) to push the news to the site. Yes, my other job, besides Lycos and writing books is writing up financial earnings calls that I listen to on the Internet under tight deadlines. Alas, I didn't get to write up the Apple call...
10:37:11 PM 
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On the eve of Macworld Expo
I want to offer thanks again to those who have made donations to support Mac Net Journal. Since posting my note about the financial realities of this site, I have received $50 in donations - which is plenty to cover this month's costs of keeping MNJ alive! I estimate that in order to maintain MNJ at its current growth rate, the site needs to bring in at least $200 a month. This will cover hosting charges ($20 a month), bandwidth charges (just $8 this month, but sure to go up), software and hardware maintenance for the machines I use to produce MNJ and maybe a few dollars to help defray the biggest cost - my time.
The money required to run the site is so small because I am using the great Radio 8 Weblog software to build and maintain it. Radio allows me to manage the site, but it also makes it exceedingly easy to keep up with happenings in Mac news, and it makes it easy to create innovative documents like the ongoing Macworld Expo report page I created earlier today. I am not sure how I would tackle the current level of reporting on MNJ if I had to revert back to using a text editor and loads of time...
6:17:20 PM
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Macromedia releases Flash 6.0r40
MacNN noted this afternoon that Macromedia posted Flash 6.0r40. But beware...early reports on the OmniWeb browser list say that it breaks Flash playback on that browser. As always, your mileage may vary...
6:09:10 PM
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Newer rolls out new processor upgrades
MacCentral notes that Newer introduced new G4 upgrades for Power Mac, PowerBook G3s. The upgrades include G4 processors for WallStreet and Lombard-era PowerBooks, as well as upgrades for older Apple desktop machines. The $350 NUpowr G4 upgrades for older PowerBooks bump the processor to 500 MHz, but it requires that users send their PowerBooks off to have the upgrade done, much like the recently announced G4 upgrades for Pismo PowerBooks. The MAXpowr G4 upgrades for desktop machines range from 500MHz to 533MHz, with prices starting at $299.
12:35:19 PM
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Gideon offers savings on Desktop Bundle
Gideon Softworks has special Expo pricing of $25 when you buy the Gideon Desktop Bundle, which combines Dock-It (a tool that allows you to have multiple docks), Snard (a file and application launcher) and FileXaminer (an enhanced version of Apple's get info command). Save $10 by ordering the bundle during Macworld Expo. Check the Desktop Bundle page for ordering information.
11:23:04 AM
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Macworld Expo coverage
I have created a new outline for tracking the Macworld Expo news, as well as for coverage of tomorrow's keynote speech by Steve Jobs on the Macworld Expo page. Check often for notes about the Macworld Expo news that is important to small business owners, freelancers and everyday Mac power users.
10:30:49 AM
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Microsoft continues criticism of Apple
With friends like this, who needs enemies? The folks at Apple must already be tired with Microsoft's public campaign to steal the attention from Macworld Expo, which kicks off in earnest with Steve Jobs' keynote address tomorrow. Microsoft ran to the folks at MacUser UK to spout off about Apple's marketing efforts for OS X in Browne expands on Microsoft allegations. Among the complaints are mention that Apple has spent vastly more money marketing iPods than it has on marketing OS X since the release of the new operating system in 2001. It isn't surprising that a software company cannot understand marketing hardware.
Kevin Browne, head of Microsoft's Mac Business Unit, makes these points:
- Sales of Office v. X are more than 50 percent lower than projected
- Office 2001 continues to outsell Office v. X
- Only 300,000 copies of Office v. X have sold since its release
Of course, there is no mention that many folks have bought Office 2001 and then purchased an upgrade to Office v. X.
Underneath this debate, Microsoft has a point. Apple could be doing more to market OS X. But as I mentioned above, it is much easier for Apple to spend marketing dollars on easy-to-understand and easy-to-see hardware items like the G4 iMac or the iPod than it is to sell an operating system, and Apple remains more of a hardware company than a software company.
The back story on this recent spat of bickering between Apple and Microsoft is posturing. Mr. Bill may be upset about the Switch ad campaign and Apple's moves to consider other Web browsers and applications than Microsoft products as defaults under OS X, but more importantly, Microsoft is trying to play catch up again with Apple on things like Wi-Fi and ease-of-use. The bickering is a sign of Apple's strength, and Microsoft is trying to keep Apple in its place. But until Microsoft can present something innovative to continue to lure Mac users to buy its products, MS is slipping in relevance for Mac users. Again, it is about time...
9:28:02 AM
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Print Center Repair updated to version 1.3
Print Center Repair v1.3. - Print Center Repair is designed to rectify situations where Print Center will not open, printers cannot be added, and resolve a majority of -108 and -9621 errors. Version changes: Improved Print Center permissions repairs. Made significant improvements to the error handling system. Optimized the AppleScript and shell commands for better performance. Added the option to rebuild the /private/tmp directory with correct permissions and symbolic links. [AppleScript Info]
9:08:35 AM
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Omni Group, Bare Bones offer Macworld specials
The Omni Group, makers of OmniWeb, OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle, is among the companies offering special prices on its products during this week to coincide with the Macworld Expo in New York. Omni is offering $10 discounts on OmniWeb and OmniOutliner, as well as $15 off the purchase of OmniGraffle. Meanwhile, Bare Bones Software, the makers of BBEdit and MailSmith, offers a Macworld deal of its own. Buyers this week will get a free T-shirt with the purchase of BBEdit 6.5 for $79 or with the purchase of MailSmith 1.5 for $79. Upgrading from a previous version of either program costs $39.
7:17:07 AM
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© Copyright 2002 Rob McNair-Huff.
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