MacRumors

The BBC is reporting that an influential group of MPs in the UK Parliament is seeking to place a warning label on devices that contain DRM technology that would spell out how easy it is to move content from one gadget to another. Also being called for is an inquiry into online music store pricing.

While this appears to a first for requiring warning labels for DRM-enabled media players, similar inquiries into online music store price fixing have appeared in the U.S.

MacRumors has received word that Apple will be starting its Back-To-School promotion early this year. The promotion, which usually begins early-July, is rumored to offer a $179.00 rebate when students or teachers purchase a qualifying Mac and iPod. This would allow educational buyers to get a 2 GB Nano for free using educational pricing, or apply the discount on higher-priced iPods.

This information roughly parallels a recent ThinkSecret report also claiming that the promotion will begin on Monday. ThinkSecret, however, believes that the rebate will be $150.

Update: As rumored, Apple has announced its Back-To-School promotion. Qualified education individuals who buy a MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac, or Power Mac G5 and an iPod will get up to $179 back after rebate. More details are available at Apple's site.

Several readers have pointed out that analyst Peter Misek has commented that Research In Motion (makers of the Blackberry) and Apple may partner to make an iTunes-compatible Blackberry. Misek has previously accurately predicted a partnership between RIM and Intel. The globeandmail.com reports the following:

Such a deal would have huge merit because each company lacks what the other provides. RIM wants a firm foothold in the consumer market and Apple doesn't have a presence in the booming wireless data sector, he said.

The two might jointly develop a new device: Apple could create a cellphone combining its iPod music device with RIM's wireless technology, or RIM might embed Apple's iTunes music into a future BlackBerry, he speculated.

Senior executives at Intel have recommended that Apple work with RIM, Mr. Misek said in a research note.

The only other iTunes compatible devices other than the iPod is select cell phones by Motorola (ROKR, SLVR L7, RAZR V3i), which have seen extremely sluggish sales and high return rates. Rumors are also consistent (but with no firm release date) about Apple developing an "iPhone" that would be iTunes-compatible.

A new Gartner report (reported by AppleInsider) notes that despite increased sales, the Mac has yet to gain a market share increase.

The report, however, partially conflicts with a previous ZDNet report based on preliminary Gartner data.

U.S. Mac Market Share
1Q 2005: 3.8%
4Q 2005 (AI): 3.5%
1Q 2006 (ZDNet): 3.5%
1Q 2006 (AI): 3.6%

Worldwide Mac Market Share
1Q 2005: 2.2%
1Q 2006 (ZDNet): 2.3%
1Q 2006 (AI): 2.0%

The PC industry as a whole is growing, with overall PC shipments in the U.S. booming 7.4% quarter over quarter and 13.1% year over year, so Mac sales would have to increase at a greater rate than the market as a whole in order for the Mac's market share to increase. Similarly, if Apple does not keep pace with the market, its share will decrease.

In a time when many users interested in buying a Mac have been waiting for Intel-based versions, Apple roughly maintaining its current market share is perhaps a feat unto itself. AppleInsider provides the following analysis:

To Apple's credit, [the .1%] uptick in U.S. PC market share was achieved during a quarter when most prospective Mac buyers were prolonging their computer purchases in favor new Intel-based models that had yet to come to market. This suggests the company could begin to realize some share gains in the latter half of the year, once all of its PC offerings are readily available with Intel processors.

Also from the report, Dell is beginning to lose some ground to rival HP. HP's worldwide market share increased 1.1%, while Dell lost 0.4% according to the report. Similar trends were also present for the companies' respective U.S. market shares.

ThinkSecret reports that they have heard that Xserve will take advantage of Intel's upcoming Woodcrest processor. Woodcrest is Intel's successor to the current "Xeon" server-targeted processors. There had been reports that the Woodcrest family of processors would be making it into "Macintosh workstations" as early as 3rd quarter. Indeed, Woodcrest, is expected in June of this year, with the rumor site expecting the Intel Xserve to follow in July.

Meanwhile, PowerMac revisions (Mac Pros) are expected to make the transition to the recently announced Core 2 Duo processors (codenamed Conroe). These processors are expected in July.

ThinkSecret speculates that the PowerMac revisions would come at WWDC, and indeed, MacRumors has received confirmation Intel PowerMac revisions ("Mac Pros") are to be announced at the WWDC Keynote which takes place Aug 7-11, 2006.

ZDNet is reporting that Best Buy retail stores are beginning to stock and promote other Intel-based Macs in addition to already-stocked Mac Minis and iPods.

Best Buy, North America's largest consumer electronics retailer, and Apple are flogging the new MacBook units, as well as the MacBook Pro, Mac Mini and iMac systems, according to Samir Bhavnani, an analyst with Current Analysis. The Mac maker has prominent displays and units available in several Best Buy stores throughout the United States, he said.

Best Buy has been selling Apple's popular iPod music players and Mac Minis for some time, but the latest move represents a major expansion of Apple's retail efforts with Best Buy, as well as those outside of its own retail stores, Bhavnani said. [...] The move also shows that Apple is very confident about the inventory situation regarding its new Intel-based products, he said.

Best Buy originally began carrying Mac Mini's in its retail stores last year.

Update: While Best Buy's website does indeed show that Apple's laptops and consumer desktops are "Available at most stores", this label appears to be misleading as most stores outside of California do not appear to have stock of the machines (yet?).

Update 2: News.com has posted a photo gallery of a Best Buy store that is stocking and prominantly displaying Apple's complete lineup. Of note, a PowerMac is also among the display models, but was not reported to be among the latest initiative at the retail stores.

Appleinsider is reporting that developers were seeded an updated version of Mac OS 10.4.7 late last week. All major issues with the previous build appear to have been resolved, which indicate a release may be imminent.

Mac OS 10.4.7 will be the minor OS update by Apple and is expected to deliver bug fixes and enhancements to Mail, Safari, Aperture, Syncing and iChat. The current version, 10.4.6, was released on April 3, 2006.

DailyTech has updated its roadmap for Intel processors, giving a clue as to what can be seen in future Macs. At launch in August, Intel's Merom mobile CPU will come in ranging from 1.66 to 2.33 Ghz, and ranging in price from $209 to $637 which is comparable to Intel's current lineup's initial price points.

While initial Merom CPU's will use 667 Mhz Front Side Busses that exist today, a Q2 2007 refresh and new "socket P" rollout is slated to bump that speed to 800 Mhz.

In related news, Daily Tech also has uncovered plans for a single-core Conroe chip, named "Conroe-L." While interesting, it is doubtful that this chip will make its way into many, if any future Macs. Currently, the lowest-priced Mac Mini is the only Mac to use Intel's Core Solo processor.

According to Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Craig Berger (reported by EE Times), Apple's next-generation iPod Shuffle will use a SigmaTel media processor chip rather than the previously rumored (also by EE Times) Samsung-Apple "PortalPlayer-killer" chip.

Samsung and PortalPlayer were among other competitors for the contract, and according to the analyst, Samsung may have originally won the contract. However, when Samsung announced last month that it had secured contracts with Apple for future flash iPods, Berger believes Apple may have had a change of heart.

It is not surprising that Apple would 'punish Samsung for commenting publicly about its position within the iPod Nano follow-on, and we believe that SigmaTel is likely to be the resulting beneficiary of the Samsung executives gaffe, [Berger] added.

Currently, the 5G and iPod Nano use PortalPlayer chips and the Shuffle uses SigmaTel chips. As rumor stands currently, next-gen Shuffles will use SigmaTel chips, Nanos will use Samsung chips. Currently, the 6G iPod contract is unknown, and "true" video iPod contract is rumored to be still up in the air. Of note, a recent uncorroborated page 2 rumor indicated that the Shuffle was in line to be discontinued.

Supermodel Gisele Bndchen's official site reports that she has been photographed for a new ad campaign for the Mac. English translation:

Gisele has been photographed for an ad campaign on Apple's line of computers MAC (Macintosh), in the United States

Amongst other achievements, Bndchen was named "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" by Rolling Stone.

Apple recently launched a new Mac-focused ad campaign targeted at Windows users. The details of the new ads described above are unknown.

AppleInsider reports that Apple is working on a new all-in-one Mac for education, to replace the phased-out eMac, and that Apple is targeting release in the "September timeframe" 2006. If so, Apple would catch only the tail end of the purchase cycle for the school year beginning this Fall, since many educational institutions, faculty, and students are already planning their next purchases.

The upcoming model is said to have a design similar to the current iMac, with a single enclosure, LCD screen, and Intel processor. It is not clear whether it will simply be a lower-end iMac or be a distinct model line. Apple's challenge will be to keep the price down, despite the switch to LCD displays, because of the competitive pressures in the education market.

The CRT-based eMac has had its share of ups and downs over the years. Introduced in April 2002, the eMac was first sold only to education customers, but Apple soon added the eMac to its consumer line by popular demand. In efforts to keep the eMac up to date, Apple gave the eMac occasional price drops and speed bumps as demand waned, and rumors of the eMac's demise have circulated since as long ago as March 2004. The eMac line received a quiet update in May 2005. In October 2005, Apple dropped the eMac from its retail line and let inventory run down in the education channel.

Gamespot claims that according to a recruiter they have been in contact with, Apple has been heavily recruiting under the iTunes division for "C/C++ coders with a 'gaming background.'"

The exact project planned is reportedly "super secret" with no details provided to the engineer.

Apple's hiring manager is reportedly Mike Lampell, a game developer/director who had been laid off from LucasArts in August 2004. Gamespot was unable to verify Lampell's current employment location. Based on these details, Gamespot speculates that Apple may be serious about game research and development.

Apple has previously been known to be recruiting for OpenGL programmers to optimize the Mac OS X's 3d graphics implementation. Meanwhile, other job postings indicated that Apple was recruiting specifically for 2D/3D graphics programmers with ARM7 RISC (iPod) processor experience. This job listing triggered speculation that Apple was working on more iPod-specific games.