Encarta Is Still Around?

Microsoft announced that they will cease to sell Microsoft Encarta software products by June 2009. Given that Wikipedia has 97 percent of the online encyclopedia market, I forgot that Encarta was still around.

Cat Doors Are A Bad Idea!

It is not a good idea to let your cats go outside, no matter how much they might ask. Here is yet another reason not to install the cat door.

New 'I'm A PC' Ads

If the new 'I'm A PC' ads were not so bad, they might be funny. The idea is that Laura here wants a new computer but says that she is not cool enough to own a Mac. She wants a pretty powerful machine for less than $1000. She finds an HP at Best Buy and is ecstatic.

I think that a hilarious follow-up ad would be when she finds herself trying to contact HP customer service when there is a problem.

Daniel Hannan Is A Genius

I wonder why we don't hear this kind of wisdom from our leaders.

Ultimate Mac Keyboard

I just picked up the Logitech diNovo Edge Mac Edition keyboard. This bluetooth keyboard is much better than the one offered by Apple. It is a little pricey but well worth the money. MacWorld magazine give it a 4.5 mouse rating.

If you find the Apple keyboards lacking, this could be the keyboard for you.

Ehud Tenenbaum Hacks US Banks

Israeli hacker, Ehud Tenenbaum, was arrested in Canada last year stealing about $1.5 million from Canadian banks. It turns out now that this was a drop in the bucket. An affidavit released yesterday details charges against Tenenbaum for hacking two US banks to the tune of $10 million.

Dell Adamo Released

Dell released a beautiful new machine today called the Adamo. It is slated to compete with the Macbook Air.

According to John New, senior product marketing manager at Dell,“It’s for an affluent crowd, and somebody who’s fashion forward, style conscious–who wants to project an image of success and style. They probably have a fine watch, and nice, name-brand accessories, and we want this to be one of them.”

What Mr. New seems to be missing is this affluent crowd that he is describing will not put up with the abysmal customer service that Dell is so famously know for!

Boo Boo Is Going To Be Huge!

Boo Boo is getting larger by the day. He is seven and a half months old today. He already weighs 9 pounds and is a whopping 36" nose to tail. He is still considered to be a kitten.

He is going to be huge!

Why Not Install Windows On A Mac

I have heard it more times than I can count - "why don't you install Windows on your Mac." Well, a picture is worth a thousand words!

New iPod Shuffle

Apple released a new iPod Shuffle this morning. This impossibly small device now comes with 4GB for only $79. The coolest feature of this new iPod is its Voiceover feature. With the press of a button, it tells you what song is playing and who’s performing it.

Apple has done it again!

You Can Upgrade from Win 7 to XP

Microsoft announced today that they will continue to offer XP for the netbook market for the foreseeable future, even after the release of Windows 7. Why might they do this one might ask? Market analysts believe that netbook users would rather use Linux than anything reminiscent of Vista.

Perception is reality!

Director of Cybersecurity Resigns

Rod Beckstrom, the U.S. government’s director for cybersecurity resigned yesterday. He criticized the excessive role of the National Security Agency (NSA) in countering threats to the country’s computer systems.

Where has Mr. Beckstrom been? The NSA has led signal intelligence in this country since November 4, 1952. Nothing has changed.

Apple Holding Its Own

My post a few days ago mentions the record drop in PC sales. Market analysts at Fortune have pointed out that Apple is doing well so far. This is largely due to their higher asking price. PC makers, led by Dell, have been racing to the bottom on prices for some time now. That is one of the reasons that their customer support is so deplorable. It is difficult to be a loss leader and provide good customer service. Their is just not enough margin for that.

Apples higher average sale price bodes well for them. While its sales might be slowing along with the rest of the industry (though not nearly as badly; the company’s unit sales rose only nine percent in the December quarter, down from a 44 percent increase in the year prior), its price points and profit margins are holding nice and steady.

Macs Are Not More Expensive

If I have heard that Macs are more expensive than PCs once, I have heard it 1000 times. To prove that this is indeed a myth, an Oppenheimer analyst compared the new iMac, Dell’s XPS One 24 and Hewlett-Packard’s TouchSmart IQ800t. The conclusion was that, spec for spec, the iMac offers a better value (see the above chart).

So much for that myth!

New Macs Announced

As I predicted yesterday, the new Macs are out today. They came out even faster than I thought they would.

There is a new Mac mini, four new iMacs, and a new Mac Pro. They all have more feature than previous models and are cheaper. How often do you see that happen?

Yes, I ordered one :-)

PC Sales Crashing Like A Windows Computer

Gartner projects that PC sales will fall faster this year than anytime in history. In addition to the economy taking its toll on technology sales, netbook computers are replacing desktop computer sales for the majority of consumers.

One interesting note is Apple sales. While flat last quarter, several new Macs are slated to be announced on March 23rd. Most Apple enthusiasts wait for new models to arrive to replace their machines. As such, this will be an interesting time to watch how the economy affects Apple's sales.