March 28, 2009 1:22 am

Bites from the Apple: Tango and Cash

Apple took a bit of a break this week from its long march of product and iPhone OS rollouts during the month of March, with just an announcement of the dates for this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 8-12 in San Francisco. But of course, an announcement from Apple isn’t just an announcement–it’s a vehicle for speculation, rumor mongering, etc. Will Steve Jobs show up (even though he’s not scheduled to return from his leave until the end of June), perhaps to announce his retirement? Will the new Snow Leopard version of Mac OS X be ready for prime time and shipping by autumn? Will there be new iPhone hardware?

On that last point, Apple and AT&T are remaining fairly mum, but it’s looking more and more likely that we will indeed see a new iPhone this summer, as we’re seeing signs that Apple is trying to move through current inventory. This week, AT&T started selling non-contract iPhone 3G units (one per customer) and Apple joined in by selling non-contract models at its Apple retail stores (with no limit per customer). You’ll have to pay 0 (8 GB)/0 (16 GB) for the non-subsidized versions; you’ll still have to use the AT&T network (unless you go the jailbreaking route), but at least you won’t have to sign up for a 2-year commitment. And AppleInsider reports that AT&T is loosening the rules (on a case-by-case basis) for getting the upgrade, subsidized price for the iPhone 3G. Additionally, The Boy Genius Report was able to wrangle some mongering out of a high-placed AT&T source, who said that iPhone would be out in June and would be faster (potentially able to access AT&T’s 7.2Mbps HSDPA 3G network).

As for Snow Leopard, AppleInsider reports that, contrary to the originally stated purpose of it being a release meant to clean up code and make things run smoother, the new OS could have a “significant UI overhaul” with a darker Marble theme replacing the current Chrome interface. Currently, those UI changes haven’t been released to developers and AI surmises that Apple is holding them close to the vest for a big splash presentation at WWDC. Ars Technica adds that this could broaden the commercial appeal of the OS X refresh.

• Last week, Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer decried the Apple tax–i.e., the extra money one shells out for Apple products–and this week Microsoft further opened up against its rival with a new ad where they promise perky Lauren that they’ll buy her a laptop that meets her requirements (17-inch screen, speed, comfy keyboard) for under 00–which she finds in the HP DV7-1245dx from Best Buy (very similar to this one). To add insult to injury, she even opines that she’s not cool enough to be a Mac person after visiting an Apple Store and discovering that 00 would only get her a 13-inch MacBook.

  As you might expect, the gadgetosphere has been in full-throated commentary mode over this, with some agreeing that our current economic times demands better value while others point out that though the HP machine isn’t crap, it’s underpowered when compared to what Apple offers–even on the 13.3-inch entry-level unibody Macbook (which sells for about 0 more than Lauren’s price requirements). As my wife pointed out to me after I showed it to her, many people would be very satisfied with the power of the selected HP, and that’s very true. But a goodly number of people (certainly not a majority) would be frustrated by its limitations (both in hardware and in software operability), and that’s the niche that Apple excels at selling to. If you’ve got some thoughts, bang ‘em out in the comments.

• GigaOm reports that a Skype iPhone app may be released as early as next week (in conjunction with the CTIA Wireless confab). In other app news, Electronista reports that a SlingPlayer app has been submitted to Apple for approval in its App Store, which would allow you to view TV content playing through your home Slingbox
• Ars Technica reports (with graphs) that the next version of the Mobile Safari web browser in iPhone 3.0 provides an average 300 percent speed increase in JavaScript performance.
• In a bit of a corollary to Aric’s post on the five best sources of free web entertainment, Christopher Breen at Macworld lists out his alternatives to paying a cable company to get his TV requirements (Hulu, Netflix, iTunes Store and MLB.com).
• The end of exclusive 99¢ tracks at the iTunes Store will be coming to an end as of April 7, when Apple flips on the variable pricing scheme it promised/threatened at this year’s Macworld keynote. While some newer, hotter tracks will increase to .29, many older catalog tracks will sell for as little as 69¢ (via Technologizer).
• One of my blind spots on the Mac is using the command line-based Terminal to bend it to my will, but my tech writing hero Joe Kissell has just released the Take Control of the Mac Command Line with Terminal ebook, which from an initial scan looks to be a great way for nervous intermediate users to get all jiggy with some Unix.
• An “aha!” moment came to me earlier this week when I was contemplating how best to keep my mother abreast of our child’s growing library of books. Since she’s really good at (and really enjoys) picking out children’s books, my wife and I are having her send our son a book each month. But we wanted to make sure she didn’t double up on new books that we bought ourselves (for instance, I made a snap purchase of Where the Wild Things Are after seeing the new trailer). And this got me thinking about the Delicious Library cataloging software, which I never really put too much stock into (I can see my library on the shelves… why do I need to spend time cataloging it on my Mac?). But the newest version of Delicious Library now enables you to publish your library (entire contents or just a selection) to your MobileMe web pages via iWeb. I did a quick test, and it’s easy peasy, so it looks like I’ve got a weekend project ahead of me.
• And finally… Steve Wozniak suffered another injury (this time to his hamstring), but was able to carry on with the dancing (which included a bit of breakdancing worm move). And he keeps dancing for another week, thanks to enough viewer votes to keep him going while ousting Denise Richards. Next up for Woz: the tango. In other Woz news, it seems his iTunes library is on the fritz; let’s hope it’s been resolved so he can study up for next week’s tango.

–Agen G.N. Schmitz