Apple

First it was iPods that were smashed, then Xbox 360s and even Dodge Vipers. As this destructive trend continues, it was inevitable that someone would post a gallery of high-speed smash pictures.

Life has often imitated art in the long-running back-lot soap opera between Disney and Pixar, but the most recent story line is worthy of any Touchstone Pictures production. Only a few years ago, the powerful alliance of the two companies seemed to be all but dead after a widely publicized feud between their respective CEOs, Michael Eisner and Steve Jobs.

But since Eisner--a Hollywood icon in his own right--resigned after more than two decades at Disney's helm, relations have thawed considerably between the companies. So much so, in fact, that rumors are circulating of Disney possibly acquiring Pixar.

Sources … Read more

Continuing the small box trend it started with the iPod, Apple Computer has started packaging its software in containers barely wider than a CD.

Both iLife '06 and iWork '06 come in the new packaging, as do several GarageBand JamPacks.

The move addresses a well-known fact in the industry: Software boxes, which once were stuffed with large manuals, keyboard overlays and other goodies, have become largely empty space. Most boxes contain a flimsy "getting started" booklet and a CD or two.

Traditionally, the big boxes have been important in securing shelf space at retailers. However, since Apple controls … Read more

If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself. That's the tack Apple Computer has long taken, controlling both the hardware and software of nearly everything it makes.

Microsoft, meanwhile, has taken the approach that it can do the software, and if enough others are doing hardware, someone (or many someones) will get it right.

That approach has certainly paid off with Windows, but hasn't yet produced a winner in the portable music player business, and Apple CEO Steve Jobs suggests that it's not likely to do so.

"The problem is, the … Read more

Amid the crowds talking up specs and speed on the MacWorld show floor, there were those also concerned with fashion and flair.

At almost every vendor booth, particularly those showcasing iPod accessories, you could find something pink or girlie, be it a fuzzy iPod case, handmade flowery laptop sleeves or embellishments for computer screens. But we also found some stylin' new products that cross the gender lines.

One of our favorite finds, in terms of sheer retro funkiness, is Lifepod's collection of the modern day ghetto blaster. These bags and coolers have speakers on the outside and hook up … Read more

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Sun Microsystems Chief Executive Scott McNealy consistently credits Apple Computer for good marketing--to the point where he listed what he believes will be his own company's glorious iPod moments. But McNealy said Wednesday believes the iPod itself will be replaced in coming years by music stored in the network.

"Your iPod is like your home answering machine. It's a temporary thing," McNealy said at a panel discussion featuring reminiscences by Sun's four cofounders at the Computer History Museum here. "It's going to be hard to sell a lot of iPods … Read more

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Apple Computer's processor preferences are in the limelight as the computer maker on Tuesday began selling models using Intel processors instead of the PowerPC chips from IBM and Freescale Semiconductor that have been the computers' preferred brains since the mid-1990s. But another processor choice came to light Wednesday when Sun Microsystems cofounder Bill Joy revealed that Sun's Sparc chips were in the running during the last Apple switch, when it was moving off Motorola's 680x0 family.

"We got very close to having Apple use Sparc. That almost happened," Joy said at a … Read more

When Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the MacBook Pro laptop this week, he took a few minutes to highlight a nifty little feature called the MagSafe Connector.

As Jobs explained, MagSafe is a "new power adaptor...that's magnetically held in and when the cord gets yanked it just pulls right off. It works beautifully."

And he's right--that's why it's been a standard feature in many kitchen appliances for several years.

According to this CNN article from 2001, the breakaway cord is a standard that was developed by Underwriters Laboratories and is used on countertop deep fryers, … Read more

Apple Computer has applied for a trademark on the term "Mobile Me," according to a recent filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office.

No word on how Apple might use the term, though it does now have a speedier laptop in its lineup. The company filed four separate applications last week, covering a wide range of potential uses.

The filing was earlier reported by enthusiast site Macsimum News.