MacRumors

Fortune publishes a short 5-question interview with Steve Jobs which addresses the iPod's effect on Apple and Apple's current success. The teaser interview leads to a longer (subscription) article entitled "How Big Can Apple Get?" which provides more thoughts from Steve Jobs.

MacObserver hilights the key points from the article which will also appear in print in the Feb 21, 2005 issue of Fortune. It provides some interesting insights into the recent history of Apple from Steve Jobs' perspective.

Of interest, according to the article, Apple approached Adobe in 1998 to develop consumer targeted Video/Photo software, but Adobe said "no"... which triggered Apple's decision to develop its own software (FCP, iPhoto, iMovie).

IBM, Sony, and Toshiba officially announced the "Cell" Processor this morning. The new multicode processor has already exceeded 4GHz in lab testing and is designed to power a variety of operating systems.

Rumors of the processor have surrounded its anticipated use in the Playstation 3 from Sony. The new processor incorporates FlexIO and eXtended Data RAM (XDR) which together can offer "100 Gbytes per second of total bandwidth" -- which is expected to assist with real time graphics.

The processor is expected to be used in a wide range of systems: "as a core device sustaining a whole spectrum of advanced information-rich broadband applications, from consumer electronics, home entertainment through various industrial systems."

With IBM as a partner, the upcoming processor has drawn significant interest from Apple fans, but there appears to be no evidence of any interest in the new processor from Apple.

During the Superbowl this year, Apple and Pepsi advertised for the new iTunes/Pepsi giveaway as previously reported. Apple has posted Quicktime versions of the new iTunes/Pepsi ads tonight which aired during the Superbowl.

Reports of Napster's competing ad were true... with a full version of that ad also posted.

MacRumors underwent a server upgrade today... which should provide improved performance for the forums.... We hope this will address the recent issues related to the server. As always there may be occasional glitches with the move. Please report these problems to the webmaster.

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USA Today reports on Napster's upcoming Superbowl advertisement which is directly targeted against Apple's iTunes/iPod.

The theme of the campaign is "Do the Math" will be pushing the Napster To Go service which allows users to transfer an unlimited number of songs to their (WMA-compatible) music player for $15/month:

In Napster's 30-second ad in the third quarter, viewers will see a camera pan the stands of a Super-Bowl-like game. There are the usual shirtless rowdies who've spelled out "Napster" across their bellies.

The camera finally comes to rest on Napster's feline icon, who holds up a sign that reads: "Do the Math. How much will it cost to fill up your player?"

Several users have noted that iPhoto 5.0.1 update is provided in Software Update for Mac OS X.

...addresses issues with upgrading iPhoto 4 libraries, dragging albums into folders, importing MPEG-4 movies, and also includes a number of other minor fixes

iPhoto 5.0 was released in January as part of iLife '05.

MacObserver posts details about an upcoming iTunes commercials promoting a new Pepsi/iTunes giveaway.

Four new commercials for Diet Pepsi and the Pepsi iTunes promotion will debut during the NFL event, which begins this Sunday at 6:05pm EST, on the FOX television network. The spots will air in the first and second quarters over a total of two and a half minutes, the company said.

One of the commercials is posted in its entirety.

CNet explores the possibilities surrounding an upcoming PowerBook G5. Obviously, users are interested in it, but with the release of the updated G4 PowerBooks on Monday... they will have to wait a little longer.

Most feel that Apple is simply unable to utilize the current G5 in today's PowerBook enclosure:

"It'd be this really thick, heavy notebook, and it would be loud as all get-out," said Kevin Krewell, editor in chief of the Microprocessor Report. "Those would not be design choices that Apple would want to pursue."

CNet reports that a limited number of Wal-Marts have begun selling Apple's iPod Mini music player.

Apple's iPod Shuffle has been recently rumored to also make its way into the national retailers stores. Alongside rumors of the Mac Mini in Best Buy retail locations, it appears Apple is aggressively expanding its retail presense beyond official Apple Stores -- at least for select products.

Apple announced new PowerBooks today.

Apple today unveiled the fastest, most affordable PowerBook line ever, featuring PowerPC G4 processors running up to 1.67 GHz, faster hard drives and a faster 8X SuperDrive -- all housed in the PowerBook's signature aluminum enclosure. All new PowerBooks come standard with 512MB memory, faster graphics, integrated AirPort 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0 wireless networking and two new Apple patent-pending technologiesthe scrolling TrackPad and the Sudden Motion Sensor.

The new PowerBooks are available at the Apple Store:

12inch, 1.5GHz, 512MB RAM, 60GB, $1499
15inch, 1.5GHz, 512MB RAM, 80GB, $1999
15inch, 1.67GHz, 512MB RAM, 80GB, Superdrive, $2299
17inch, 1.67GHz, 512MB RAM, 100GB, Superdrive, $2699

Apple's PowerBook has seen the longest lead-times since revision... with the last PowerBook update released in April 2004.

Although initially predicting PowerBook updates for MWSF 2005, ThinkSecret recently revised their prediction to this Tuesday at the latest.

Despite speculation and rumors of PowerBook G5 updates, more realistic expectations predict G4 PowerBooks up to 1.5/1.67 GHz.

Recent unconfirmed hints, however, have noted that previous rumors of Dual-Core G4 processors making their way into the PowerBook may be true... with some expecting that the new PowerBooks will make use of the new dual-core G4 chips as early as this week.

MacObserver reports that Best Buy retail stores will begin selling Mac Minis and iPod Shuffles in the next 30 days.

Highly reliable sources at a number companies that manufacture third-party add-ons for the Macintosh have confirmed to The Mac Observer that Best Buy will be displaying and stocking the Mac mini at all of its retail stores, and not just a selected few.

Best Buy and Apple have recently held a limited trial period of selling Mac products (again) at select Best Buy stores. This pilot program was only available for a limited period of time. The Mac Mini already appears at the BestBuy.com website, but has not yet made its retail appearance.

Apple's Mac Mini has also briefly appeared on the online Target.com store... but no official word on availability of the low-end Mac at retail Target locations.

According to Apple Insider, Apple has entered into a partnership with WalMart to distribute the iPod Shuffle in possible all of their nearly 5000 retail stores.

a Wal-Mart feature calls for at least 50 units -- in this case 25+ of each shuffle model -- per hometown store, while metro area locations would require significantly larger quantities of the product.

Figuring conservatively, with 5000 stores each receiving approximately 50 units, the feature alone would demand a quarter million shuffles. "That of course is in addition to regular sell through, and is a very conservative number," sources added.

Now available in Software Update for those who have iLife '05 installed:

iMovie HD 5.0.1 addresses issues related to video and audio synchronization for DV projects and other minor issues.

The iLife '05 was announced at Macworld SF 2005.

The Register posts a story about a small html reference on Apple's Powerbook site.

According to the news site, the following url reference appeared on Apple's Powerbook pages:

http://switch.atdmt.com/action/apple_g5_powerbook

The reference was in an IMG tag, speculated to be a counter for Apple's various individual web pages. The reference was changed to apple_g4_powerbook shortly after the publishing of the story.

Rumors have placed a G4 Powerbook upgrade in the coming days/weeks.

[Update] The requirements section of Apple's 17" Apple Studio Display page says in French

Configuration requise: LApple Studio Display ncessite un PowerMacG5 avec un connecteur ADC ou un PowerBook G5 avec un port DVI vers ADC Apple

Meaning: The Apple Studio Display requires a Power Mac G5 with an ADC or a PowerBook G5 with a DVI port and an Apple DVI to ADC Adapter.

Apple has posted Security Update 2005-001 for Mac OS X in Software Update:

Security Update 2005-001 delivers a number of security enhancements and is recommended for all Macintosh users. This update includes the following components:

at commands
ColorSync
libxml2
Mail
PHP
Safari

For detailed information on this Update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n61798

Apple appears to have started using a numbering scheme for their security updates, rather than relying on date of release as they have done in the past.

Barely two weeks past introduction, Apple has apparently lowered the cost of Build-To-Order components for the Mac mini. According to MacRumors readers, pricing for the Bluetooth and AE combo has dropped to $99, along with pricing for 1 GB sticks of RAM being reduced to $325.
Additionally, the superdrive option now offered for the Mac mini has been changed from the previously-offered 4x model to the newer, faster 8x model, and the cost for a hard drive upgrade has been reduced from $90 to $50.

[Update] - the listing for the superdrive has been quietly changed back to the 4x model