Tuesday, July 25, 2006 at 12:28PM I think that Apple, should they ever come out with a phone, will call it the iPod. iPod has nothing to do with music, so why should they try and build another brand when they already have a winner?
iPhone not going to be called iPhone? - The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
I never thought about this but I think Scott McNulty over on the TUAW is right.Saturday, July 22, 2006 at 11:31AM You may have heard me mention on this weeks EuroMac Podcast that ScreenCastsOnline is to be featured in this months MacFormat magazine.
They were kind enough to send me an advance copy so I ripped open the mag and bunged the DVD into my macbook pro.
Some background first. When MacFormat first approached me they mentioned they wanted 4 early shows to insert on the cover disk and that they wanted to convert them into normal video files so that people could play them on their TVs. I responded that I was more than happy to supply the shows but didn't really want them to be converted to video due to resolution issues and overscan issues when viewing on a TV.
To cut a long story short, they definately wanted the video versions so I pointed out the issues and requested that they addressed them in advance.
You know where this is going don't you!
The freshly pressed DVD burst into life and instead of a menu, it started loading DVD player....
Then I recognised one of the ScreenCastsOnline shows appearing....
The resolution wasn't too bad....
Then it stopped....
Then it started...
Then it stopped.....
Oh dear!
I removed the DVD and tried it in my PowerMac G5, it loaded DVD player and it started the ScreenCastsOnline video.....
Then it stopped....
Then it started...
Then it stopped.....
Arrrrgggghhhhh.....disaster.
Then I took it to my XBox which is the only DVD player attached to a TV.
The ScreenCastsOnline video started OK and played OK.....
Then it transpires that the overscan on the TV means that the OSX menu and half the dock is missing.......
Arrggggghhhh.....double disaster
To get to the Quicktime files you need to quit from the DVD player and load the MAcFormat menu and they are hidden away in the submenus but I fear the damage will have been done by them and by association ScreenCastsOnline will look extremely amateur despite my doing all I could to draw the pitfalls of creating a DVD to their attention.
I've emailed the guys over at MacFormat but I think it's too late to do anything about it.
I'll put a special page on my website later.
Saturday, July 22, 2006 at 1:02AM 
So this is the first official contact with the Zune project - Hmm! Doesn't do a lot for me really. I've signed up for the newsletter to see what's going on.
In case you haven't heard Zune is the official name for Microsofts assault on the current dominance of the iPod and iTunes in the digital music space. They've got some heavyweights previously involved in the successful xbox 360 developement including J.Allard so they're pretty serious about it.
We'll see how it goes but it's a pretty big mountain for them to climb and they certainly won't do it with a single device. Interesting times ahead.
I wonder if Apple will leapfrog them each time like they do with their operating systems? OK, so microsoft hasn't released an OS for a while but you know what I mean :-)
Saturday, July 22, 2006 at 12:08AM Stop squinting at tiny web video. Instead, download and watch all the best internet TV shows in one powerful application: any video RSS feed, video podcast, video blog, or BitTorrent file. Fullscreen, high resolution, 100% free and open source. New channels arrive daily in the built-in Channel Guide.
Democracy - Internet TV Platform - Free and Open Source
I've been using the beta version 0.8.5 on th MacBook Pro for a few days now and I have to say I'm impressed. It handles video so much better than iTunes.
Well recommended. Any Extra Subscribers should try the HD and ED feeds in it. They look superb. I'll send out a mailshot to Extra! members with some instructions.
Friday, July 21, 2006 at 3:49PM ‘iPhone’ could add billions to Apple’s revenue Friday, July 21, 2006 - 10:09 AM EDT "Apple Computer Inc., known for its secrecy about new products, has given the strongest signal yet it's working on an iPod phone that analysts said could be released early next year," Bloomberg News reports. "'The biggest part of (Wednesday's) call was the iPhone,' said Piper Jaffray Co. analyst Gene Munster, based in Minneapolis. 'It was the closest we could get to the announcement of a new product from Apple.' An iPod phone may be released in the first half of 2007, Munster said. Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst Richard Farmer pegged the release in the first quarter," Bloomberg News reports."'The company is investing heavily in iPod and iTunes engineering and is very enthusiastic about its products in the pipeline," Oppenheimer said. The mobile-phone market may approach 1 billion units in 2008, Merrill's Farmer said. Every 1 percent share of the market Apple captures could add as much as $3 billion to the company's sales, Farmer told clients in a note Thursday after raising his rating on Apple shares to 'buy.' That's based on a device that will sell for about $300, the New York-based analyst said," Bloomberg News reports.
MacDailyNews | Not sitting around doing nothing: ‘iPhone’ could add billions to Apple’s revenue
This has gotta be the next big thing - Who wouldn't buy an Apple branded Wifi enabled Video iPod/iPhone/PDA/Apple remote that syncs seemlessly with iTunes and Leopard to keep all your music, video and contacts on a portable device. Notice how every new Intel mac comes with Bluetooth as standard - I wonder why? Why would Apple go this route? Well it's expected that 900 million mobile phones will be sold this year compared to 40 million iPods. As more phones are launched that can play MP3s it's really a matter of when the iPhone is released and not if! PS Apple already have the iPhone trademark.... Bring it on!