MacRumors

Apple met with resellers today and dropped prices on the remaining 20" G5 iMacs. Apple's own store now sells the 20" at $1499, down from $1699. According to reseller reports, there is little stock left remaining of the 17" and 20" iMacs so prices are "While Supplies Last".

Meanwhile, stocks of the remaining G4 PowerBooks are also reportedly limited, though their prices have remained the same at this time.

Another tidbits revealed to resellers, AppleWorks no longer comes with the iMac with no plans of a universal version.

Anandtech posts a review and comparison of the new Intel iMac compared to the G5 iMac.

Xlr8yourmac provides a reader report on a recent article in MacFan magazine (Japanese). According to the report, the Intel iMac Core Duo CPU is mounted in the standard Intel socket, making it replaceable. As a test, a 1.83GHz iMac's CPU was swapped out for a 2GHz one:

However, the author is not sure that it will run completely normally with an upgraded CPU. The author purchased a 2GHz T2500 from a PC shop and installed it in the socket of a 17" iMac and it booted OK. There seemed to be no problems and the About this Mac pane reported a 2GHz duo chip.

The cost of such a minor upgrade ($480 for a 2GHz chip) doesn't make sense at this time but does offer more of a upgrade path than previously available on the iMac.

Reuters reports that Google may be be interested in acquiring Napster:

Internet giant Google is in talks with Napster over an "extensive alliance" that could include an "outright acquisition"

While Napster itself denies it is for sale, the music downloading service has been rumored to be in financial distress with the recent layoffs of 10 middle managers.

Meanwhile, there has been speculation that Google will expand its offerings to include a music download service alongside the recently released Video download service. Google's Video Service was launched in January.Update: Google denies the rumors that it will be entering the music download/sales market.

TheStreet.com reveals that Apple filed for a trademark on the phrase "Mac Pro" in New Zealand in late 2005.

The November 18th 2005 filing categorizes "Mac Pro" under the classification:

computers; computer hardware; computer software; computer peripherals; notebook computers; laptop computers; tablet computers; computer servers; handheld computers; mobile computers; hard drives; audio speakers; speakers for computers; radios; cameras; video cameras; telephones; mobile telephones; personal digital assistants; electronic organizers; electronic notepads; magnetic data carriers; telephones; mobile phones; computer gaming machines; microprocessors; memories boards; monitors; displays; keyboards; computer input devices; computer cables; modems; printers; parts and accessories for all the aforesaid goods

Apple surprised many in January by rebranding the PowerBook under the name "MacBook Pro". Comments by jobs indicated that Apple wanted to use the "Mac" name in their products and that they were also moving away from the "Power" moniker.

Speculation pointed towards the iBook being renamed as the "MacBook", but this trademark might suggest that Apple was considering replacing "PowerMac" with "Mac Pro".

Appleinsider reports that Apple will be extending Front Row to be included with the iBook this spring.

According to the rumor site, Apple will be upgrading the iBook with a 13" wide-screen display alongside Front Row and the Apple Remote. Much like the recently released Intel iMac and MacBook Pro, the iBook will incorporate a built-in iSight and also come bundled with Photo Booth.

The iBooks are said to retain a similar design as currently shipping iBooks, and will retain Firewire 400 connectors contrary to previous reports. The 13" model is expected to consolidate and replace both the 12" and 14" form factors that are presently shipping. The name of the final product remains up for debate. Previous comments raised speculation that the iBook may adopt the "MacBook" name.

A previous report had placed the release of the iBook in the 2nd calendar quarter of 2006. All recent iBook rumors can be reviewed at http://ibook.macrumors.com

Macsimumnews reports on a new patent that appears to be one of Apple's which depicts possible uses for an accelerometer in a Tablet form factor.

The patent application includes diagrams of what appears to be a tablet form-factor screen with use of an accelerometer. Possible uses include:

- detecting movement of a portable device as a way to trigger whether a page of document or image may be displayed
- gaming application to detect a scene change
- in navigation application to navigate a large object or document that can not be displayed entirely at once
- determine whether a device is moving
- movement as password authentication
- and more...

Apple presently uses accelerometers in their PowerBook/MacBook line of computers described as "Sudden Motion Sensor" technology to park the heads of the hard drive if the laptop falls. These new patent descriptions may simply be in relation to research done in developing this technology, however the possibility of a Tablet Mac always draws interest of the Mac community. Apple has long been rumored to be working on a Tablet PC, since the demise of the Apple Newton PDA. Rumors peaked in 2003 with several credible sources pointing to the evidence of a Tablet Mac at that time.

Apple has reportedly started testing of a Mac OS X 10.4.5 update (Build 8H5), but also appears to be working on the "next generation versions" of Finder with a focus on advanced search features, navigation, and performance/responsiveness.

Apple has recently posted a Job description looking to hire a Finder Software Engineer. The interested candidate should be able to:

- Participate in all of the various stages of feature development from design brainstorms, through feature development, all the way to fixing that last critical elusive bug under a tight release deadline.
- You will be required to produce clear designs, excellent implementation and tight code.
- Deliver tight, well implemented features, fix bugs and develop Finder into the best file browser on the planet.
- Work on performance and responsiveness of the Finder, making it feel lightweight, fast, snappy and pleasant to use.

While it's unclear if this job description applies to Mac OS X 10.5, Apple did announce at WWDC 2005 that the next version of Mac OS X 10.5 would be called Leopard and would be released in Late 2006/Early 2007. A preview is expected at WWDC 2006.

While little information about Mac OS X 10.5 has leaked out, one early Page 2 report claimed "extensive use of Spotlight alongside an improved user interface and performance improvement."

Apple has added frameworks for a number of new shows from different networks on the iTunes Music Store. At the time of this posting, most of listings did not have shows available for download, but the following pages have appeared in iTunes:

The N - South of Nowhere (Season 1)
SOAPnet - Soapography (Season 1)
Nickelodeon - SpongeBob SquarePants (Season 1), Dora the Explorer (Season 1), Zoey 101
MTV - Beavis and Butt-Head, Laguna Beach, Wonder Showzen, Gauntlet 2, My Super Sweet 16 (Season 1-2), Jackass, Punk'd (Season 1-3)
Comedy Central - South Park (Season 1-2), Drawn Together (Season 1-2), Best of Comedy Central Stand-Up
ABC Family - Wildfire (Season 1-2)

As previously noted, Disney has also included a number of new short films as well.

Update: The Munsters and The A-Team were also recently added.

Intel announced today that they had made a 45nm chip using new techniques:

The fingernail-sized memory chip is etched with 1 billion transistors that are only 45 nanometers wide -- about 1,000 times smaller than a red blood cell, said Mark Bohr, a leading Intel engineer.

Intel's recent release of the Core Duo processors feature processors made with a 65nm process. The smaller chip making process typically increases clock speeds and decreases costs and power consumption. Plans for the production of the 45nm chips are targeted for the second half of 2007.

Meanwhile, Apple's former chip-partner, IBM, had previously announced a partnership with Toppan Printing Co Ltd to jointly develop a 45-nm chip making process for production by mid-2007.

ThinkSecret claims that sales of Apple's new Intel iMac are "lower than Apple expected". Meanwhile, sales of PowerPC-based iMacs and PowerBooks have reportedly dropped off considerably.

This is in contrast to comments made by Apple during the Q1 2006 Financial Results webcast. At that time they noted an "extraordinary response" to their announcements of the new iMac and MacBook Pro.

The rumor site also notes that several developers were displeased at the early transition. Meanwhile, major vendors such as Adobe and Microsoft have been silent about the timeframe that their applications will be transitioned to the new architecture. The work required to transition Carbon applications such as Photoshop and Office is reportedly substantial.[Update] AppleInsider begs to differ, based on American Technology Research analyst notes reporting that Apple's new Intel Mac models are selling well, in contrast to lagging sales of PowerPC-based Macs. Strong video iPod sales are reported as well.

Appleinsider posts some excerpts from a CNBC interview with both Steve Jobs and Disney CEO Bob Iger.

Jobs of course promises "a pretty exciting next five years", but also makes an interesting comment on animation films:

"You may watch your favorite live action film three, four, or five times in your life," said Jobs. "But for a great animation film, your kids may watch it a dozen or a hundred times."

Jobs opinion may be evolving. In the past he did not distinguish animation films from other films, and used a similar argument against the utility of portable video players:

But how many times in your life do you watch a movie? Most people probably wouldnt watch even their favorite movies ten times in their lives, and therefore are dont buy nearly as many movies as they do songs or CDs.

This time, he states that he expects movies on these portable devices may play an important role in the future. Recent rumors/speculation has claimed that Apple may release an "actual" Video iPod this year.

Incidentally, of note, Bob Iger states that he has seen "Cars" and said it was one of the best films he'd ever seen.

Meanwhile, Disney has added many Short Films for sale on the iTunes music store (itunes link).

Forbes reports on an interesting service called Stanford on iTunes (http://itunes.stanford.edu/) which made its debut in October 2005.

In an unprecedented move, Stanford University is collaborating with Apple Computer to allow public access a wide range of lectures, speeches, debates and other university content through iTunes.

There are presently 500 tracks available for free to all iTunes users. The Stanford iTunes section is only available from a direct link on the Stanford iTunes site.

Of interest to Mac users, they have recently added the full video (iTunes Link) of the Steve Jobs 2005 Commencement Speech at Stanford. A transcript of the speech was previously posted in June 2005.

The Stanford service appears to be a part of a larger initiative by Apple called iTunes U. The service from Apple offers universities the ability to deliver educational content for free.

Its the most powerful way to manage a broad range of audio or video content and make it available quickly and easily to students, faculty, and staff.

Disney issued a press release today announcing that they were acquiring Pixar in an all-stock transaction valued at $7.4 billion. According to the press release:

Pixar President Ed Catmull will serve as President of the new Pixar and Disney animation studios, reporting to Iger and Dick Cook, Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. Pixar Executive Vice President John Lasseter will be Chief Creative Officer of the animation studios, as well as Principal Creative Advisor at Walt Disney Imagineering, where he will provide his expertise in the design of new attractions for Disney theme parks around the world, reporting directly to Iger.

Meanwhile, Pixar Chairman and CEO Steve Jobs will be appointed to Disney's Board of Directors.

Steve Jobs is the present CEO of Apple Computer and there has been speculation about what consequences his new ties to Disney may have. Indeed, bringing Apple and Disney closer together with Jobs' involvement may cause some friction in future potential deals between Apple and other studios.