Apple Event, Tuesday Sept 9th, 2008

Given that I am now employed by Apple, I will refrain from speculating on any of the product or service announcements that will be made, but this invitation went out from Apple this week, regarding an event scheduled for next Tuesday morning (local time) in San Francisco. Looking forward to seeing what they announce!

(Believe it or not, even working for Apple, I don't know any more than you do!) :-)

Saturn And Mars

I watched an episode of PBS' Nova recently titled, "Voyage to the Mystery Moon". It was the story of NASA's Cassini mission to explore Saturn and land on its enormous moon, Titan. Very cool show about a pretty fascinating project. I am definitely very interested in space and space exploration.

Well, that show led me to do a bit more research on the internets, and while there, I discovered that right now (at least where we live) you can look up in the western sky, just after sunset, and see Saturn and Mars really really close together. It's pretty cool. You should try it.

This article gives a bit more detail, but it's basically July 9-11 that the planets will appear to be close together in the sky.

So if it's a nice night where you are (and you're near where we are) get out and enjoy the view!

Mac Trojan: Real Threat, or Website Traffic Generator?

I'm late to the party with this one, but it's been busy around here... what can I say?

So, last week there were reports that a genuine Mac OS trojan had been discovered "in the wild" (meaning, in the real world, affecting real Mac users). I checked it out (per the link above) today and found that it's still just a good opportunity to get some hits to your site.

The so-called "trojan" is an AppleScript file that must be downloaded, and double-clicked (opened) in order to do anything. I must admit, what it is able to do is impressive. It somehow works around the OS safeguards and is able to do some things only an administrator should do. However, it still requires user activation.

So, the Mac continues to be (by far) the safest computing platform available. I do wonder if this particular script "counts" enough for Apple to have to say there are now (1) viruses for the Mac?

(NOTE: I visited a page where Apple used to claim there were currently zero viruses for the Mac OS, and now it does not explicitly say that. Perhaps they are becoming a bit less smug about their incredible security? Perhaps.)

How Did I Miss This?

How busy have things been around here of late, you ask? Well, today I was browsing my news RSS folder (for the first time in a while) and caught a few articles titles referencing the big WWDC keynote today at 10am PST... and I thought, "TODAY???"

That's right, folks. There are big doin's today in the world of Apple, and I was totally unaware of it!

I'll try to do better next time... :-)

The Chapmans

I learned today that earlier this week, singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman's 5-year-old adopted daughter was killed in an accident in the family's driveway.

Somehow, God has made us similar. I am a fan of his music - and something inexplicably deeper than that. There are similarities in my songwriting to his. Also a "big fan" of their family, and the way they are not only adopting, but helping lots of families do the same. We have not adopted - yet - but apparently share a similar love for big families.

And as a dad of little girls... how sad this family must be right now. How sad. We know that we only grieve temporarily when we know Jesus (to know him is eternal life...) but still... how they must hurt.

They set up a page with a little family video they made just a few weeks before she was killed. As well as a place to leave comments. Here's the link:

http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/inmemoryofmaria/

Polygamists and Government

I wanted to comment on the incident that took place recently in Texas, where authorities stormed a private ranch and took everyone by force, separating kids from their families, and all sorts of very not-American things. It just made me sick when I heard about it.

I am not a polygamist. But I am a "libertarian". Not by political affiliation, by principle. We here in America (according to the Declaration of Independence) feel that all are created equal and should inherently be free. Especially freedom of religion. Now, that can make you do some kooky things. And you should have the freedom to do kooky things. You can't force other people to, and there are weird lines there when religion is involved, but in general, I'm against the government deciding what's too kooky.

For the second time this week I am linking to a column by Bob Lonsberry, local radio talk show personality. He's abrasive and a bit crazy sometimes, but sometimes can be poignant and present very valid points. He wrote what I wanted to (with much more information that I had) regarding the state seizing not only the ranch and the people, but their children and "relieving" the parents of their parental rights. All of them. As a group. Before proving any sort of guilt.

Yikes.

We're pretty kooky in our own right. We Campbells. We don't do things like most people. In most ways, I think that makes us stand out in a good way. But what if the government were to catch wind of our crazy thinkings? You mean, they don't really do school (like we do) with their kids... they just learn from every day as it unfolds?? or... Well, this won't happen yet, but, You mean they are Christians, but they don't attend any church services of any kind??? There are many more ways we're "different"... and we are raising a family of people to be "different". Where is it OK for the government (local, state, federal) to decide that our "different" has crossed some line and now our children are unsafe?

I might be drawing conclusions that are too extreme, but really... it's scary. What happened in Texas should not have happened in America, and I think we will continue toward this style of governing until all of our liberties are taken away. That's quite pessimistic, coming from my mouth... but unfortunately it's not just our politicians, it seems decades of cultural thought has already moved us far down that path of trusting "experts" and "institutions" more than individuals.

Quite sad.

So, for now, we Campbells will keep being kooky, and loving everyone God places in our path. (Including each other!) :-)

related links
ABC News

2008 NFL Schedules Announced April 15th

The NFL has announced that the 2008 schedule will be released today at 2pm. The NFL Network will be doing a special show coinciding with the release. It's a fun time of year when you get to see how the next season will unfold. Bills fans are hoping for a prime time game or two. I know I am going to look for the game against Cleveland and circle it on my calendar! That will likely be the "Buffalo Bills Review Game of the Year" where we all attend and invite any listeners to join us before and after the game for some Buffalo Bills fun!

For more details, see this page at ESPN.com.

Go Bills!

Thoughts on Barack Obama

I don't tend to wax political here... mostly because, while fascinated, I think it just gets pretty silly pretty quickly. It's been an interesting presidential race, though, with two democratic candidates firing shots at each other, and the republican candidate not seeming to have much (real) support from his party. Don't forget the perpetual third-party candidate, Ralph Nader. He's in the mix, too. Sorta.

Well, while Hillary is making up stories about dodging bullets, Barack Obama is both drawing praise and criticism for his views on race in America.

I said before what I think about "race". It should be a non-issue. We are all one race, we just have a few different features, and many different cultures. But we're all human. End of story. But with various comments from Obama about his "typical white person" grandma, and recently about how "bitter" people cling to religion and guns, as well as the racial comments by the preacher from his church... race is clearly an issue with senator Obama.

I read an opinion piece recently from a local radio talkshow guy because the title caught my attention. "Barack Is Not A Unifier". I read it, and I don't think the writer is a supporter of Obama, but the article didn't come across as a slam, more just a "wake up and smell the coffee" about this guy. It is strange how he is seen as a unifier when he has been quite extreme in his voting record, and the stuff I hear from him only unifies the people who think the same as he does.

I'm not supporting any particular presidential candidate here, nor trying to tear down any in particular. But I do think the national media (or maybe just his own campaign folk) have done a good job of painting Barack Obama in a very rosy light. I definitely shy away from labels, but if you had to pigeonhole me, you'd probably call me a Libertarian. I think that might be 180 degrees opposite of what Obama thinks regarding goverment and it's role in society.

Will be an interesting year. If the rockstar wins the election, Obama will be our next president. (And I will be very thankful for checks and balances at that point.) I still think Hillary cheated somehow when she won the elections up here in NY. I have never met one Hillary supporter up here in our area. (Though I have seen a few bumper stickers...) :-) So... don't count her out. And McCain... has been strangely silent. He'll win if the other two divide the voters enough, or even just make them mad enough to "vote for the other guy".

So, that's all the politicalness from GregsHead for now. Maybe more in November...

Apple Myth Debunking (By Another Writer)

I posted recently some thoughts on the ongoing myth that Apple computers are more expensive (comparing "apples to apples") than their Windows-running counterparts. It's pretty amazing that such thinking is still widespread. I like to give folks the benefit of the doubt, and say they just haven't actually seen the real numbers for themselves...

Today came across another article debunking several myths about Apple/Mac OS. Here's one snippet of what he said:

While users do pay some premium for both the Apple brand and the innovation that goes into Apple's often brilliant hardware design, the premium is not out of line with that users already pay for name brand systems from vendors such as Sony, HP or Lenovo. In many cases, comparable Apple systems are priced similarly or in some cases are even cheaper than their competition.

If you're interested, you can read the full article by Michael Gartenberg at his blog. It's relatively short. And, if you really still think PCs running windows are cheaper... just read the article. :-)

(Also, it's not just the price myth, he also takes on the software myth as well as the proprietary myth. Sheesh. Why so many myths??) :-)

Apple's Market Share

It's been quiet here at GregsHead because it's NOT been quiet in Greg's office or Greg's home! I even tried to post something like Steve did yesterday, but didn't have time to finish it! Ha! :-)

But wanted to post a link to this article about the Apple market share myth(s). Pretty interesting stuff. Was chatting with a fellow Mac user about it and he sent me this link.

From what I have seen (from my decidedly Mac-skewed vantage point) the world is much more than the fabled 2% Mac market share. And, as the article says, we are some of the coolest tech/computer users out there. :-)

It's not too late to "go Mac"...

:-)

The Issue Of Race

Wow, that title is way to broad - and official - for this particular blog post. It's accurate, but there's obviously too much that can be and has been said on that topic.

Some friends of mine have been having a (mostly) civil discussion over Barak Obama's recent speech on the issues of race in America. (Note: Please forgive any ignorance re: the content of that speech. It's been a busy time around here! Haven't gotten to hear/read the actual speech, just read/heard/seen snippets of reaction to it.) I did not really weigh in on the email discussion because of that, but after watching Meet The Press tonight, I do have some thoughts on the more general subject.

I am a white male. That fact (way beyond my control) might negate anything I say regarding "race issues" in the minds of some people. That's too bad. I think that proves that those people are missing the point (though, I certainly understand how I could be as well).

There are no races. There. I said it. There is one race: the Human Race. Right? Are we all really different enough to say that we are actually different races? Really? 'No' is the correct answer. I will not go into (nor do I have enough understanding of) all the genetics and scientific rationale behind that statement, but I can pretty safely say, there are no races... just one.

So why do we perpetuate the race "card"? Why do any of us? None of the real people I do life with do. None. Not one. It never comes up. (Ha. Except maybe my brother-in-law... but he's a different sorta fellow...) :-) It's completely irrelevant. Actually, so is gender. People are people. At least, that's how it is to me, and it's my perception of how it is to my friends.

But that's not what the media would have us believe. That's not what many would have us believe. We watch a NASA podcast that almost every episode declares some amazing fact about how that very week the first "asian-american woman from kansas" did something in space, or the first "black man from russia over the age of 50" did something else. Just silly people. WE ARE ALL THE SAME. Our skin may look different, but why do we perpetuate the differences? They are subtle at best. Culture, tradition, and racism perpetuate this insane notion of "races".

There are no races. Only one. We're all one "race".

Argh.

So, I've heard he gave a great speech. I will at least read the transcript. But I wish Mr. Obama (whom I guess is "multi-racial"... isn't that evidence that we are just one "race"?) would just ignore the race issue and talk about things that are more important to our country. I admit some naivety on this. I am not currently a "minority" group... but I hear that I soon will be. What then? Will "white" people be "featured" or "spotlighted" for their accomplishments simply because of their lack of pigmentation?

Seriously. I just don't understand.

So, my thoughts tonight... admittedly random and probably not focused due to my brain, heart, and body being all about my ever-growing household this past week or so... but I think I have said here before that if we could ever stop labeling people, grouping people, seeing "races"... we'd be so much better off.

The craziest part is that we do it as an effort to help diminish racism, or to combat it... but it only fuels it. More segregation - even with the best of intentions - only perpetuates the thing we are trying to end. Until we can see that we are indeed one race, there will always be "racism".

That's how I see it, anyway.

Quick Update

Looks like Sidney was probably right!

:-)

(more soon...)

Breaking News!

There are some advantages to staying up super late. I had some stuff to do tonight, and kind of randomly pulled up the Apple online store when lo and behold, I have a scoop! The Apple Store is currently down... and today (tomorrow for me) is Tuesday, which is when Apple typically releases new products.

I don't know what it will be. BUT... I've been telling folks for a couple weeks that I think Apple will be updating the iMac soon. They had a "limited time offer" on refurbs of the current generation listed at the online store for just about two weeks now, and to me that meant that at least an updated iMac is coming, if not a bigger revision of the best computer on the planet! :-)

So anyway. Now that I've broken the story...

I'm going to bed. :-)

Check the apple store for what the actual news is tomorrow. ;-)

Third Party Candidates

No, I am not a Ralph Nader supporter. I would not vote for him as his view of government seems to be quite different from mine. (He wants universal healthcare, less military spending, etc... which I don't believe I am for.) But on one level, I wish I could.

We saw Nader announce his candidacy (I think?) on Meet The Press this past Sunday. Tim Russert did his best to dissuade him, saying he would just ruin the chances of the Democratic candidate by stealing votes from that party. Nader said basically, "What kind of system is that??" I agree with him entirely. I don't like the two parties. I think anyone and everyone should be allowed to run for president, especially if they can get some support. I would most definitely vote for a third-party candidate that I agreed with on major issues.

Why are we so locked into the current system in this country? What would it take to break out of it? Nader is just ignoring the system and doing what he wants. I do applaud him for that, though again... I am also thankful he most likely won't win. :-)

Power to the people. Or... something like that. :-)

Sabres Deal Campbell to Sharks

As predicted last night, the Sabres did find a taker for their all-star (super star) defenseman. He will join the San Jose Sharks who are having a very fine season, and look to make a run at the Stanley Cup. He'll also join former teammate Mike Greer, who joined the Sharks a couple years ago.

The Sabres acquired winger Steve Bernier in the trade, along with the Sharks' 1st round and 7th round picks in 2008. They are definitely looking at it as getting something instead of nothing for Campbell. This article at NHL.com says that Regier tried to sign Campbell till the last minute here, and then dealt him so they didn't just lose him.

It's sad to see him go. That's three really big name players that we have lost in the past year. Chris Drury, Daniel Briere, and now Brian Campbell. Ouch.

We did sign Thomas Vanek, though...

The Sabres are in a bit of a slump, still riding a ten game streak with no losses in regulation, but only 2-3-1 in their last six. That puts them in 9th place for the moment, and out of the playoffs if they began today. Not sure if Bernier will be enough boost (or compensate for the loss of Campbell?) but perhaps the Sabres are not done dealing just yet.

They are a good team with a lot of talent. But this front office is getting a little annoying. It's time to hold on to guys like Drury, Briere, and Campbell. Is Ryan Miller the next to go?

Let's hope not.

Super Tuesday

Super Tuesday has come and gone, and I still think there is no clear front runner from either party. I have no idea whom I will vote for in this year's presidential election. Pretty sure I thought that in 2000 as well. Perhaps we'll learn more over the next several months? Or... perhaps not. Maybe there just is no real good candidate?

Here's a pretty thorough review of all the results from Super Tuesday, if you're interested.

Nationwide Wireless Internet

I still say it's coming. Depending on how they handle it (whoever wins this bid) it could be fantastic. Go Google.

Apple Lighter Than "Air"

The big news from the keynote presentation from Steve Jobs today at the Moscone Center in San Francisco was the announcement of the highly anticipated ultra-portable laptop - the MacBook Air. This computer is as thin as .16" and the full thickness when closed is .76". Whoa. Still has all the bells and whistles! (13" screen, 80GB hd, 2GB ram, built-in iSight camera, backlit keyboard, multi-touch track pad, 802.11n wi-fi, Bluetooth 2.1, and some cool software that allows you to access/use an optical drive on a network computer - Mac or PC!)

They're pretty pricy, but also a pretty amazing little product. You can even get it with a solid-state drive (flash drive), which might give you more battery life, but definitely is super fast and less parts to breakdown.

Other announcements included a new wireless router (AirPort Extreme base station) that includes a hard drive for easy network access, and Time Machine backups. It's called Time Capsule, and is available in 500GB or 1TB. And, the iPod Touch received some software updates, allowing iPod touch owners to access Mail via their iPod as well as some other "essentials" (weather, stocks, etc).

The other big announcement involved iTunes and the AppleTV. iTunes sells movies, but not all that well. Not compared to how they do with music. The AppleTV has done OK, but not that well. Well, now the newly lower-priced AppleTV gives you access to much more movie content which can be rented and immediately watched on your AppleTV. Movie rentals are $2.99 and $3.99 for 24 hour rentals. HD movie rentals are $4.99. You can also purchase music directly on your AppleTV now as well.

I'm still waiting for Apple to fully get into the TV business and release a real AppleTV. We should start saving up now, cause I know it's coming! :-)

Fun stuff today from Apple. Not sure I'll be getting any of it soon, but those MacBook Airs will sell faster than anything Apple has ever made. Even at that price (starts at $1799). Just watch and see.

[for more coverage, see the archived live coverage page from Macworld.com.]

100 Miles Per Gallon?

Came across an article in my news feed today talking about a new engine that is based on a concept from a 1930 engine that could increase automobile gas mileage up to nearly one hundred miles per gallon! That seems pretty crazy, but the article references the different structure of the piston chamber reducing weight and allowing more space (for more pistons I presume) as well as firing on both sides of the chamber?

Here's an excerpt...

The unusual configuration results in several advantages. Gas mileage can be boosted by 40 percent to 50 percent, when a two-module engine is compared with a standard diesel. The engine also can be made 30 percent lighter. Because the engine modules are horizontal, cars can be more aerodynamic.

(I do not presume to know what they are talking about, but it was interesting enough for me to post the link here.) :-)

Perhaps I have a subconscious fascination with the automotive industry as my Dad spent 30 plus years of his life working for them? :-)

Macworld 2008

It's that time of year again, the annual Macworld Conference and Expo is going on starting today in San Francisco, CA! For some reason I am not as excited this year as I usually am... maybe just too busy with other stuff. But, I'm sure I'll be following tomorrow's keynote presentation by Steve Jobs around my lunchtime and will be at least slightly excited by the new products and services announced.

Rumored this year is a new super slim MacBook. They are calling it the MacBook Air. We'll see what actually shows up.. there are a lot of rumors supporting something like that though, so I'd say that will be one of them.

Expect a full report back here tomorrow sometime. :-)

In the meantime, here's a pretty decent link with rumor "news" if you're interested.

Bad Water

It would seem that our little wind storm a few days back did more than knock down tree limbs, knock out power, and darken a 9-year-old's birthday plans. I heard through the rumor mill yesterday, and confirmed by public notice today that we have potentially sickening drinking water in our little town here!

(That could explain Jen's sickness yesterday, I suppose...)

So, this is my public service announcement for the day, I suppose. If you live in (or near?) Palmyra, NY... BOIL THE WATER!

JUST IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING.... This ended by the end of the next day. So, you don't have to keep boiling your water anymore... :-)

State Of The Union?

In a somewhat surprising move, the NFL decided to allow CBS and NBC to simulcast the Patriots vs Giants game that was scheduled to be broadcast on the NFL Network this Saturday night. The NFL is not known for its generosity, but the NFL Network is in such a small percentage of homes, and this game is of pretty significant (sports-world) historical significance, so it will be shown on all three networks.

New England coach Bill Belichick said, "It'll be like the State of the Union, on every channel."

If you'd like to read more, check out this article.

The Giants don't stand a chance, but I would laugh for DAYS if they managed to defeat the undefeated Pats. They are the least likeable "great" team I have ever seen in my couple decades of sports fandom. They are arrogant, obnoxious, self-absorbed, and really just a bunch of jerks. Very hard to root for them. It's hard enough to just stomach them at all.

That said, the Giants don't stand a chance.

But, not many more people can watch the annihilation of yet another 2007 NFL team. And the unsportsmanlike taunting and gloating of another.

Great TV, eh?

Venezuelans Say NO To Chavez

Not sure if you heard about the vote or not, but any mention in the news of my former place of residence usually catches my attention. There was a vote (yesterday, I believe) where current president Hugo Chavez was attempting to amend the constitution to remove term limits (among other things). He wanted to ensure that he could continue to run for - and win - the presidency. His ultimate goal is to move Venezuela from the democracy that it currently is to a socialist state - with him in command.

The vote was 51% "No", so not overwhelming (and Chavez is spinning that to his advantage) but it was still 'No'. This is a small victory, but still a victory.

I was just talking with a former elementary school classmate from Venezuela about the current conditions down there, and her response was, "He won't last too long."

I only have fond memories of Caracas. I mean, it's a huge city, and I'm not too fond of huge cities now, as an adult, but what I remember from living there with my family is all good. I'm sure a lot of that goodness is still there, but it's so sad to hear in the news, and from Venezuelan friends that it is not the same place it was when we left more than two decades ago. Maybe someday it will be again.

If you are interested, here are a couple articles I found today about the election.
Venezuela Rejects Chavez' Power Play (CBS News)
Hugo Chavez tastes defeat in referendum (The Telegraph, UK)

On Sean Taylor

The Bills play the Redskins this weekend, and the importance of the game has been seriously diminished by the killing of safety Sean Taylor. Taylor is one of the Redskins best players, leaders, and loved by all of his coaches and teammates.

A lot of people think that will motivate the Skins this weekend, but from what I have read, and especially heard and seen in press conferences and interviews, they are not thinking about football. I could be wrong, but I have a feeling the Bills will end up winning - maybe easily - and they won't get the credit for it. The Redskins are definitely mentally and emotionally somewhere else.

There is a bit of "good news" regarding the murder. I found this article today which says that the police have charged three suspects and detained a fourth. The "good" is that they have the people who are responsible (and confessions from them) but it's really sad that these guys are just teenagers. And, according to the story, were not intending to kill Taylor, just got "unlucky".

Not sure I'm buying that.

So, it's a really sad series of events, and certainly overshadows any of the fun of this game. It was going to be kind of fun, two 5-6 teams, Trent Edwards starting, London Fletcher playing against his old team, Derrick Dockery for the Bills doing the same... but sometimes there are things more important than football.

How About This, Eh?

I saw this article come across my RSS feed today, and really couldn't believe it. Gas is well over $3.00 (US) and now the Canadian dollar is nearly equal to ours?? What is this world coming to? :-)

Pretty crazy. Click the link to read the article.

Mac-Related News

I'm sure you'll remember that we stood in line on the night that Apple released their new operating system—Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard—and got ourselves some snazzy t-shirts... well, we finally got the OS, too! I have installed it on my laptop, and it's pretty neat. There are still many questions I have about it (Safari—the browser—crashes a lot, and the networking seems... fishy, among other things) but overall I do like a lot of the new features. Will be better when I can install it on my main machine here. (Too busy to risk doing that right now!!)

Besides Leopard there are a couple other items of interest I saw come across the RSS feed today...

Macs indeed cheaper than PCs
Multiplying Mac Trojan not epidemic yet

Yes folks, there are rumors of another Mac virus, and though I'll admit to not investigating thoroughly, it's still not the same as a self-propagating virus as you see infecting the Windows world. Not making excuses here, just trying to quell the shouts of, "Macs get viruses too!!!" Apparently there is a LOT of user input necessary for this virus to do anything. (Downloading, clicking, installing, etc.) And again, it's not self-propagating.

So, interesting stuff if you're a Mac fan.

And really... who isn't? :-)

100 Times Faster Than WiFi?

Check this out! CNet is reporting that IBM and MediaTek are working on chips that will wirelessly transmit data more than 100 times faster than wi-fi! Up to 2.5 gigabits/second?!? (Compared to 11 to 54 megabits/second of wi-fi.)

You could transfer a 10GB file in seconds. Wirelessly.

They hope to have something out on the market in three years.

Just Her Time?

I was browsing a local news site, and read this article. Very sad. But once I got to the end of it, and noticed detail that almost seemed glanced over, I concluded that perhaps it was just her time?

Apple Announces Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard

Just in case you are not subscribed to my Apple blog... thought I would let you know that Apple announced a release date for their long-awaited OS update. October 26th will be the day you can get your hands on the latest and greatest OS! There are links to pages detailing the many new features and upgrades on the article I posted at my Apple blog. Head over and check it out!

(If you already know you just want to buy it, you can click on the software retail box above...) :-)

Interesting Articles: Space, The Web & Miracles

I found a couple articles that interested me in my news feed this morning...

One Small Step Toward a Mars Landing ... at Sea
Reid Stowe is a "professional adventurer" (what exactly is that?) who is 100 days into a 1000 day stay on a small boat in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean. His goal is to help NASA prepare for what it will be like to have a very small group of people on a small vessel for close to three years. Interesting research project. He also has a website aptly named 1000 Days At Sea.


How Mark Zuckerberg Turned Facebook Into the Web's Hottest Platform
With my recent delve into the world of Facebook (finding and reconnecting with friends whom I have not had any contact with for over 20 years!) I noticed this headline, and found the article quite interesting. I had heard earlier that Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, had refused a $1 Billion purchase offer, but did not know the rest. Including the estimate that Facebook is now worth at least $5 Billion. Good job, Mark.

'Minor Miracle' For Everett
This is the best article, at least regarding the substance of its content. As you likely know, Buffalo Bills TE Kevin Everett suffered a life-threatening spinal injury on Sunday during the Bills/Broncos game. We were there. It was awful. Even worse was the report from the doctor who performed surgery the next day. (Watch Monday's press conference at BuffaloBills.com.) But last night, reports began surfacing that Everett was able to move his arms and legs, and doctors are actually optimistic that he will walk out of the hospital. That's just insane!

If it's true.

I would suggest guarded excitement as I am having trouble corroborating this story. There are no updates on BuffaloBills.com, which is extremely suspicious. I'll keep digging, but the linked article above does seem quite hopeful, and credits a few trustworthy sources. We shall see. From what I heard on Monday, even Kevin's survival is a "minor miracle".

More Kevin Everett Links:

• Send Kevin a Message of Support
  
• Shocked, Soaked, and Sad (from BuffaloBillsReview.com)
  
• Week One Overview: Some Highs, Too Many Lows (from BuffaloBillsReview.com)

The Public Debate Continues

As I mentioned last week, Apple & NBC are not getting along. First Apple publicly announced they would drop NBC shows from iTunes in the month of September. NBC rebutted Apple's public statement, saying that in fact it was not asking to sell shows for more, rather, they wanted to sell seasons for less, which Apple did not want to do. Then a few days later, it was announced that they would remain on iTunes through the end of the contract in December.

It's all rather confusing.

In the meantime, NBC announced that they would be selling shows via Amazon's Unbox service, which lets you purchase videos to play on your Windows systems, or download directly to your TiVo.

Now it has come out that Apple wanted NBC to sell their shows for $0.99/episode, as Apple does with their individual songs at iTunes. NBC was concerned that such a price structure would eat into DVD sales far too much as a series season sells for $40 on DVD, and would be less than $23 at iTunes.

The public feud continues. Stay tuned.

More on the New iPod Line

I was able to post several articles to my Apple blog yesterday regarding the updates to Apple's iPod and even iTunes line. I mentioned that I would be doing that earlier, and thought perhaps you'd like the links. Some pretty neat stuff. Lots of links off of my pages to great content at Apple's website as well.

And, if you click the photo above, you'll be taken to my GregsApples.com site, where you'll first have a chance to sign up for my Apple eNews. If you're at all interested in the stuff Apple is doing these days - and maybe especially how to get the best deal on some for yourself - I think you'll enjoy receiving the Apple @ BWD eNews. I send it out about 4 times a year, and when there are major Apple updates. (Like, I'll be sending one today.) :-)

Here are the links to yesterday's articles. More to come!

Greg's Apple News:
New iPods: Refreshed & Revealed
iPhone Price Tag Reduced 33%
iTunes WI-Fi Music Store & Starbucks
iTunes 7.4 Brings Custom Ringtones
VIDEO: iPod touch Overview and Tutorial (from Apple.com)
iPod Touch, iTunes Wireless... Wow. (Article @ Newsvine)

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Greg's Newsvine Column:

All New iPods, iTunes Wireless

Apple made their big announcements today. Nothing really unexpected, and most expectations were met. No Beatles announcement, but it won't be long. I'll be writing up much more on my Apple Blog later tonight, but for now, here are the highlights:

• iPod Shuffle in new colors
  
• iPod Nano is shorter, bigger screen, video, larger hard drives
  
• iPod is now iPod classic, and available in 80GB and 160GB.
  
• iPod Touch - the iPhone without the phone! 8GB & 16GB. Built-in wi-fi!
  
• iPhone is now $200 less, only 8GB size. ($399)
  
• iTunes Wireless. Purchase music over wi-fi connection right on your iPod!

Lots more to come. You can read up on it yourself at Macworld.com, they did a nice live update article as the presentation was unfolding today. Or, go straight to Apple's iPod page.

If you already know you want one... you can get one from my Apple store!

Sabres Already??

The Sabres sent out an e-mail yesterday with an ad for pre-season tickets. The games start September 21st! Holy cow! I love hockey, and think it will be another fun season in Buffalo... but I can't believe it's hockey season already!

They are offering 50% off on kids tickets for the pre-season games. Click the photo for details.

Apple Feuding with NBC

Apparently, Apple is sick and tired of NBC's shenanigans! The 3rd largest music retailer in the world (who also sells video content...) is parting ways with all of it's NBC content (30% of it's top shows!) in the month of September! Seems a drastic move by Apple, but they contend that NBC wanted to double the wholesale price of their shows, which would have raised the cost to consumers from $1.99 currently to $4.99/episode.

NBC on the other hand seems to claim almost the opposite... that they wanted to combine some of their content to make the package more attractive to the consumer.

Either way, the consumer is losing in this spat.

You can read more most anywhere on line, but here's a link to get you started.

I hope they make up soon. We got the Knight Rider from iTunes, and NBC also has the Sci-Fi channel as part of their content. And, it's just not nice to fight...

Apple Event September 5th

Another Apple Event is just around the corner. Apple is planning to hold a special event on September 5th, according to Arstechnica. Most rumor sites are expecting Apple's updated line of iPods to be revealed, including a possible full screen video iPod. (The iPhone without the Phone.) Also rumored, iPhone Nanos and video-capable Nanos. (Perhaps the same thing?)

I don't think we'll see a smaller iPhone... but, ya never know.

Stay tuned to my Apple blog for details.

UPDATE: Apple officially sent out invites to the event today, it's pictured above. There are some interesting things about the invite that most likely point to 1) an ipod-related event, 2) an iPod with CoverFlow view (much like on the iPhone?), and 3) the phrase "the beat goes on" was in the Beatles' final press release. Perhaps we'll finally see the Beatles at iTunes on the 5th?

More from MacNN

New iMacs, iLife '08, iWork '08 and .Mac

As was predicted, Apple announced a new iMac yesterday. And they are beautiful! You can tell from the photos, but in person they are even better. We took a trip to the Apple Store last night to see the new Macs, and it was worth it!

They are a bit leaner (slimmer), and they have lots more power (feautring a new Core 2 Extreme processor in the top of the line model) ... and they just look fantastic.

Enough about looks. What do you get with this new iMac?

Here's a quick overview of the new machines:

• Aluminum case and glossy glass display
• 20" and 24" ($1199, $1499, $1799)
• Great connectivity: USB 2.0, Firewire 400 & 800
• New keyboard - .33"!!! (feels like a MacBook)
• Up to 2.8 Ghz Core 2 Extreme processor
• Up to 4GB RAM, 1 TB!!! Hard drive
• Built-in, Ultra-fast 802.11n
• AVAILABLE TODAY!

Yes, that last point is actually a valid point. Lately it seems every time Apple has a special event, they are announcing something that won't ship for months! (Remember AppleTV and the iPhone??) So, this was nice to be able to see and play with right away.

First thing I noticed was the new look. It is stunning. That glossy glass display does make it look very nice. Jen didn't care for the functionality of it though. In the store with lots of flourescent lights, it was quite reflective. But to my eyes, it still looked very nice.

It's also super fast! When I tried to import photos into iPhoto to play with its new features, it was nearly instantaneous. Incredible. Everything opened very fast, and the new skimming feature worked transparently in either photos of videos. Fantastically fast machines.

Then there were the new features. Not enough time to play with them with more folks wanting to play with the one display model, but what I saw, I liked. The new Events feature in iPhoto (and iMovie, I believe) does make it easier to sort/find photos. I would have liked to see it work with a much larger library. But, with what I did have, it seemed like it will be a great tool for organizing our photos and movies. iMovie looks totally different, and to be honest, at first glance was a bit overwhelming. Perhaps it would not take long to learn the new features (supposed to be able to make a great movie in 20 minutes). I did not have enough time to play with it, though.

Actually, one of my favorite new features announced at the special event yesterday is the upgrade to .Mac. Along with the "Back To My Mac" feature that will be part of Leopard once it comes out in October, they announced a new way to use .Mac, and some capacity increases.

First, subscribers will get 10GB of storage, and 100GB of monthly bandwidth (versus 1GB and 10GB currently, respectively). That is a decent upgrade. Greater space was needed for one of the main new features announced yesterday as part of the iLife '08 upgrade, the .Mac Web Gallery. This is a superbly formatted, one-click way to publish photos and now videos as well. (Note... iMovie also offers an easy one-click publish option to YouTube as well! That's great!) .Mac Web Gallery is even better than sending stuff to iWeb, which is what you would do in iLife '06, from iPhoto. Check out this working model of a .Mac Web Gallery.

iWeb also got the enhancements I was hoping for. Now you can embed code (like YouTube videos, GoogleMaps, etc) into your iWeb/.Mac pages. iWeb has also been upgraded so that the features that used to only work with a .Mac address will now work with your own personal domain. (Like GregsApples.com!) :-)

Apple also announced a speed increase for the Mac Mini, a new application for its iWork suite called Numbers, and some other fun stuff. But I'm tired of writing about all this stuff! :-) The best thing to do is FIRST, visit my GregsApples.com blog, then click the links I have provided there to some GREAT content at Apple's website.

Some really great new stuff, and as I've said before... there has never been a better time to get a Mac!

Fusion from VMWare

I found this article yesterday, (which includes the video above) about an upcoming release of another virtualization option for the Mac. This software will allow you to run Windows apps as separate windows on your Mac, with icons in the dock... just like they were native Mac apps! Sweet! I think you still need to buy/install Windows, but sounds like the UI is much better.

(Articles on yesterday's Apple announcements are forthcoming. Some have been posted at GregsApples.com, but I am currently writing a newsletter, and will detail my hands-on experience with the new iMac here at GregsHead.net later today. Stay tuned...)

.Mac Update Tomorrow?

Well, it seems that along with the possibility of a new iMac, perhaps Apple will also announce a new version of .Mac, it's internet service. For a long time now, people have not been too impressed with .Mac, because without