2 Guys, a Mac, and a Web Site

Windows product names through the years

Here's a look at Microsoft Windows operating sytem names throughout the years:

Windows 3.1

Yeah great idea, put the version number in the product name. Ok, yeah Apple does it to this day, but at least they give it another name, like Leopard.

Windows 95

Nothing like dating your OS. No, I don't mean taking it out on a date, but if you could Windows 95 would be the chick that looks great with makeup but hideous without.

iPhone a virtual certainty - maybe?

What what whaaat!? The Apple iPhone is an all-but-certainty? Seriously, the pundit speculation-frenzy is in high gear. And I guess it's not so much speculation as it is "this is what Apple is gonna do". And here we thought Apple security found their leak.

Take for instance what Kevin Rose said on Diggnation (courtesy of Macrumors):

- Going to be coming out in January
- All phone providers
- "It's small as sh*t"
- Don't know anything about the Operating System
- The OS is supposed to be "cool"
- Doing some unique things
- Two batteries, one charger. One for MP3 portion and one for Phone.
- 4GB ($249) and 8GB ($449)
- Flash memory, Slide out keyboard
- Maybe touch screen?

Not very complete details, but a few things that are specific. Plus, Kevin Rose has a pretty good track record.

Name a bunny, win an iPod

Trip dis', yo: you could win an 80GB iPod just for naming a bunny.

That's right, Peachpit is running a contest to name their mascot/logo that resides on the covers of their books. All you need to do is:
Come up with a creative and original name for our bunny and a story (no longer than 200 words) that addresses what the Visual QuickStart Guide series means to you (Has it increased your workflow? Gotten you out of a pinch at work? Helped you master your craft?)

You can also win a 20 book library (you pick the titles) and you get to pick a library that will receive an additional 20 book library.

So you get an iPod, get to expand your brain, AND you get credit for a philanthropic deed without even leaving your recliner! That should buy you some street-cred with the ladies. (Or the dudes I guess.)

That's a grand prize value of $1,350 - plus the unmeasureables of iPod coolness, IQ bonus and karma points.

Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

Overall creativity and originality; and
How well the name fits with the theme of the Visual QuickStart Guide series
The prizewinner will be determined by a panel of Peachpit judges

So head on over to http://www.peachpit.com/namethebunny to enter!

(And remember that Greg the Bunny probably won't win...)

An old Mac mini clone

I don't know how I ever missed this but almost a year ago to the day some pics were posted of a Mac mini knockoff.

That's downright theivery, I tells ya! But hey, this is China so they're allowed to do anything they want without recourse. If some company in France came out with a Mac mini clone, you bet your sweet bippy that Apple legal would be all over them.

Link: AOpen Mini PC via PowerPage

Why Did Apple Preview iTV?

With the iTV (or whatever it'll end up being called) Apple is going after the living room. This wasn't really a big surprise to people who follow Apple, but it -was- a big surprise that they previewed it before debuting it. Apple is all about secrets and not saying a friggin whisper about something new until the day it comes out. They're notorious for it - so why preview something as ... different ... as the iTV?

MIcrosoft acknowledges Apple's greatness?

Like many Apple geeks out there - my homepage is that of the apple start page. This in itself is not very interesting, but Apple's news for today is quite perplexing. It seems that the Microsoft owned MSNBC has posted a review of the new Mac Pro.

�The new Mac Pro desktop is a thing of beauty,� writes Gary Krakow for MSNBC. �Inside and out this box looks like it is the ultimate desktop computer on the market today. With two, 64-bit, dual-core Intel Xeon �Woodcrest� processors and its sleek design, the Mac Pro is the computer equivalent of a Ferrari, Maserati or Porsche�

Is this Microsoft's way of saying how much they secretly love Apple computers?

Leopard's "top secret" features

At the moment there is loads of speculation online as to what will be the so called "top secret" features of Mac OS X Leopard. This story over at 10layers.com got me thinking, what "top secret" feature would you most like to see in Leopard? Submit a comment and let us know!

Apple and Creative resolve their differences in $100M settlement

On May 15th of this year, Creative and Apple began a legal battle centred around patent infringement. Creative alleging that Apple's iPods infringed on its patent for a navigation system used to access music on the company's Zen players. According to a joint-press release, Apple will pay Creative $100 million USD to settle all outstanding lawsuits.

Why Leopard will be light years ahead of Vista

At the recent WWDC, we were treated to a superb Apple keynote presentation. One of the main aims of this presentation was to highlight reasons why Mac OS X Leopard will blow Windows Vista out of the water. Even with all of the new features contained within Vista, it will still have the same Windows soul we all love to hate. Why? Well in recent weeks, several beta testers and experts have questioned the stability of the latest Windows Vista beta and Microsoft itself hinted at yet another release delay.

5th Gen. iPod Hard Drive Replacement Tutorial

Here's how to upgrade your 5th generation iPod's hard drive (the iPod with video). This could also be useful for other purposes, like changing out your battery or blow drying your iPod if it gets wet. Like for instance, if you dropped it in the toilet accidently*.