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My predictions for 2005

2004 was the Year of the iPod and a great year for Apple. Although there were many major Mac developments, including the iMac G5, the iPod took the spotlight this year as the hottest must-have consumer electronic product. The Airport Express was another major innovation we saw from Apple.

Here are my predictions for 2005 and a look back at 2004.

First, a look back at my predictions for 2004.

• G5 based XServes. I was right on this one.
  
• A limited edition system, perhaps a colored iMac or a new Cube, to mark the 20th anniversary of the Macintosh. I missed this one.
  
• A small, inexpensive, limited capacity iPod, probably around $100-200. The iPod Mini didn't get down below $200.
  
• Faster G5s, possibly reaching 3 GHz at MacWorld Expo, pushing 4 GHz by the end of the year. Not quite. The G5 only reached 2.5 GHz.
  
• A major iLife update. GarageBand!
  
• A redesign of the iMac, possibly a headless iMac. Half right. We saw the G4 iMac, but still no headless model.
  
• Wireless connectivity for the iPod, either Bluetooth or Airport Extreme. No.
  
• MacOS X 10.4 will be released late in the year. No.
  

• A flash-based iPod for under $200 and a higher capacity iPod Mini. Other iPods will gain more capacity.
  
• This year we'll see a low-cost headless iMac. We may also see a G5 based midrange desktop line priced lower than the current G5 minitowers.
  
• IBM will sell rebranded XServes as part of their server line.
  
• The G5 will finally reach 3 GHz.
  
• A G5 PowerBook. It seems very unlikely now, but Apple has surprised us with the impossible in the past.
  
• Tiger will be released March 24.
  
• A major upgrade to GarageBand that will make it easy to create and modify software instruments and the ability to use sampled instruments.
  
• Apple stock will continue to soar, yet pundits will still predict Apple's imminent death.
  
• The iPod's "halo effect" will bring a major increase in Mac sales and market share as more windows users become disgruntled with Microsoft.
  
• Airport Express will gain more capabilities, including the ability to stream audio from applications other than iTunes. A third party product has already been announced, but we will see it offficially supported by Apple later in the year.
  

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Buy a PocketDock and help tsunami victims

SendStation will donate $5 for tsunami relief for every PocketDock sold through the SendStation online store before January 31, 2005 to help victims of the Tsunami in South Asia. To support iPod users who may be eager to help contribute to the relief efforts, SendStation will also be offering free shipping on all orders through the end of January.

At the end of the fundraising effort, half the funds will be donated to the United Nations Children’s Fund (www.unicef.org) and the other half to Aktion Deutschland Hilft ("Mission Germany Helps", www.aktion-deutschland-hilft.de), which unites the efforts of the ten largest German relief organizations.

The PocketDock is a tiny adapter which lets you connect a standard USB or FireWire cable to the iPod's docking connector. Three versions are available: the original PocketDock FireWire, featuring a single FireWire port; PocketDock Combo, featuring a FireWire and a USB port; and the PocketDock Line Out, featuring a FireWire port and an audio line out jack.

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Tsunami/Earthquake Relief Resources

Over 80,000 people in Asia have died in Sunday's massive ocean flooding. UNICEF warned today that without immediate, wide-scale action to provide safe water in the communities hit by the tsunamis, millions of people will be at grave risk of water-borne disease.

Apple has dedicated their home page to charities that can help those victims. Here are the links, in case Apple changes the page.

American Red Cross International Response Fund
AmeriCares South Asia Earthquake Relief Fund
Direct Relief International International Assistance Fund
Médecins Sans Frontières International Tsunami Emergency Appeal
Oxfam Asian Earthquake & Tsunami Fund
Sarvodaya Relief Fund for Tsunami Tragedy
UNICEF South Asia Tsunami Relief Efforts

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Oz Music Code releases Alphabet Soup version 2

Oz Music Code
www.ozmusiccode.com

The good chefs at Oz Music Code have just released version 2 of their product Alphabet Soup.

Alphabet Soup version 2 is a simple, yet powerful sample player, editor, effects processor and mixer aimed at live performances (e.g. DJ's, theatre, radio, backing tracks) and education, without requiring external musical equipment.

With its drag & drop user interface and its low-latency performance, Alphabet Soup allows you to play your computer.

Alphabet Soup version 2 now also adds the following functionality:

- Support for Audio Units plug-Ins
- Support for both QWERTY and MIDI input
- Support for over a dozen file types including MP3
- Continuously saves your mix as you play
- Edit sounds while playing. Cut, copy and paste regions of sounds
including riffs from MP3 files onto playable keys
- New SOUPP file format allows you to save audio files, keyboard
layouts, volume and pan settings in one portable session file.

A download demo of Alphabet Soup is available at:
http://www.ozmusiccode.com/alphabetsoup/WhereToBuy.html

While you are visiting our site, be sure to sign up for our news feed.

http://www.ozmusiccode.com/alphabetsoup/CookingHints.html

Alphabet Soup - mix well before serving

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AbsolutVision Stock Photo "End of the Year" Sale

Save 50%. Get one year of AbsolutVision images for just $49.90!

Starting now and lasting through January 6th, customers can save 50% on the annual online subscription photo gallery! AbsolutVision Stock Photo Gallery gives you thousands of pictures (and hundreds added each month) for a fraction of what you may pay elsewhere for a single image!
To order, simply visit AbsolutVision online store and enter absoluthoho as the promotional code.

Visit AbsolutVision Photo Gallery today to find out more on this special sale.

About AbsolutVision.com

Founded in 2002, AbsolutVision Stock Photo Gallery creates and sells royalty free digital images to the consumer, business and creative professional people. The company's subscription-based model is cost effective and allows users to download thousands of quality pictures for a fraction of the cost and time typically inherent in gathering images for commercial or personal use. Individual downloads are also available at the site. For more information, visit www.absolutvision.com

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Great moments in microprocessor history

The microprocessor changed the world: how did we get from the first 4-bit models in the 1970s to today's 64-bit multicore monsters? This article covers the history of the micro from the vacuum tube to today's dual-core multithreaded madnes.

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Advanced Web Ranking v3.5 Released

Release date: Dec 27, 2004

Manage Your Search Engine Web Rankings

Caphyon LLC is pleased to announce the release of Advanced Web Ranking 3.5, a tool that helps check your web site position on all major search engines. Advanced Web Ranking runs on Mac OS X, Windows 98/2000/XP, Linux and Solaris.

Checking your web site position is a very time consuming task. For example, if you have 10 keywords that you want to monitor, and you want to check the top 20 positions for 10 search engines, you need to perform about 200 (10 keywords * 10 engines * first 2 pages) individual searches to get the results. Then you need to compare the results one by one to find where your site is positioned. It may take you days to complete this task if you do this manually. That's where Advanced Web Ranking comes to help.

Advanced Web Ranking is able to query over 200 search engines and quickly find out if you're moving up or down in the rankings, or if your site is listed at all. It will track the progress of your rankings over time and display that information in an easy to read and understand graphical and tabular reports. It can help you check not just the position of your website but the position of your competitors' web sites as well.

Advanced Web Ranking has the ability to generate and email reports after an update was finished. Couple that with the Scheduled Updates ability, and you will be able to turn on your computer in the morning and find reports on your websites ranks waiting for you in your Inbox. As a SEO, you can have updates being run and sent to your customers every night without even lifting a hand. Various types of reports (Current Rank, Top Sites, Web Site, etc.) can be created in any of the formats Advanced Web Ranking supports (PDF, HTML, Excel, XML or Text). Then they can be emailed to any of the addresses you pick from the Address Book, or saved to a folder where you can access them over the Internet.

What's new in Advanced Web Ranking 3.5
======================================

This version features the ability to display all the active scheduled tasks, suggest keywords using the Google Suggest service and the ability to zoom in and out in the Rank Evolution charts.

- Added a new dialog that shows all the active scheduled tasks
- Added a keyword suggestion feature in Project Settings that uses Google Suggest
- Added the ability to zoom in and out in the Rank Evolution chart
- Added the ability to stop update if an URL is found
- Added the ability to save the report with a custom file name
- Added the ability to import URLs from a web page
- Added the ability to select the location of the backup/restore folder
- Added the ability to customize the date format

Advanced Web Ranking costs USD $149 for the Professional edition. Users who don't need certain advanced features like printable reports can purchase the Standard edition for USD $59.

The application can be downloaded from:
http://www.advancedwebranking.com/download.html

More details about the application can be found at:
http://www.advancedwebranking.com

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Space Penetrators (Mac OS X) version 1.7 released

The Calm Before the Swarm...

Unfortunately, an ill-natured evil brain has penetrated deep inside your homeworld and you are the last line of defense for your once peaceful planet. Use your planet's sole cannon position to blast the menacing cerebrum and its protective swarm into stardust.


www.SpacePenetrators.com

A Mac Zealot armed with a Powerbook makes his first game.

• 3 unique customizable cannon choices
• 5 challenge rounds
• 4 difficulty levels
• 1 Nasty Brain
• Up to 19 levels of fast paced swarming
• An occasional U.F.O.
• Loads of lightning zaps, laser blasts, missile launches, power-up bonus drops, explosions, chaos, mayhem and total carnage.

New to version 1.7 Mac OS X:
• New enemy unit added: "Thorn Swarm Walkers"
• All 3 cannons are now customizable
• Each cannon now possesses one Master Attribute far exceeding the other 2.
• New Challenge Round 5 added: "Shooting Swarm in a Barrel 2"
• New Main Menu screen added displaying a few game tips
• Many game play tweaks to compensate for the new enemy units and customizable cannons.

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iGetter v2.1 for Mac OS X released

Presenta Ltd. is pleased to announce the new release of iGetter version 2.1 for Mac OS X.

New in version 2.1:

• Site Explorer is the new major feature included in v2.1. It allows exploration of entire web or FTP sites, so you can easily find and download files you're interested in.
  
• When the Site Explorer is used iGetter displays the web contents rendered in a separate view below the site tree. This makes the process of exploration very convenient as you see the web page directly in iGetter as you would with a web browser.
  
• Site Explorer works with all known FTP server types (Unix/OSX/MSFTP/ PublicFile/VMS/WFTPD/NetPresenz(Mac)/NetWare FTP).
  
• Improved compatibly with some FTP servers.
  
• Added support for FTP sites in the "Process Web Page" function.
  
• Fixed improper sorting of items in the FileAvenue and Most Popular views.
  
• Fixed a bug in Item Settings that prevents case sensitive modifications of the file name.
  
• Other fixes and improvements.
  

• Mac OS X 10.2 or later
  

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iPod & iTunes Garage: New Book Authored by Kirk McElhearn Reveals the Power of this Dynamic Duet

Upper Saddle River, NJ – December, 2004- Hear ye, hear ye! Attention all iPod and iTunes music junkies! Please briefly remove those conspicuous white earbuds and pay attention to hear this! Author Kirk McElhearn is the grand host of the iPod & iTunes coming-out party.

His new book, iPod & iTunes Garage, shows both Mac and Windows users the tips and tricks to transform their iPods into the most useful electronic device they own. And he demonstrates how to manipulate the iTunes digital music management program to make it the most entertaining piece of software in existence. The book covers the best features of iTunes and the iPod, including the new 4G model and the iPod mini. [And to be totally current, readers can visit McElhearn's blog-- www.mcelhearn.com -- to download a complimentary PDF update to the book detailing news about iPod photo, the iPod U2 and the latest versions of iTunes and the iPod software.]

McElhearn’s coverage ranges from the practical (“Installing the iPod Software”) to the sublime (“Turning your iPod into a Total Music System”.) The book has five basic parts. The first covers the iTunes software: both as an application independent of the iPod, then as the conduit to funnel music to the iPod itself. The rest of the book is devoted to the iPod: first, its features, as well as tips and tricks on using the iPod; then additional external software and hardware add-ons available to transform it into a comprehensive musical system and personal digital assistant.

For example, did you know that you can take your audiobook files, even those not purchased from Audible.com or the iTunes Music Store, and make them bookmarkable, so you don't lose your place when you listen to them? Or that you can use the iTunes Party Shuffle like a radio, or as a DJ to queue up tunes for a party? Or how about using the iPod in shuffle mode—do you know how many ways you can use this random playback?

“Most users don't know the tips and tricks that can help make iTunes a much more powerful digital music management tool,” said Kirk McElhearn. “And iTunes is the key to getting the most out of an iPod. My goal was to create a book that tells all.”

Starting modestly with the essential information such as how to install iTunes, in no time McElhearn breaks the sound barrier by presenting all the key features, such as how to create the twenty-first century equivalent of a compilation cassette tape: the playlist. McElhearn shows readers how to take control and organize their iTunes library so they're not overwhelmed when their music file collections balloon into the thousands.

McElhearn then turns his attention solely to the iPod, and first and foremost, aims to show readers how to leverage its primary function as a portable digital music player. He covers the basic functions that are essential for any iPod owner, including selecting and working with playlists, and important information not readily known, such as how to extend the device’s battery life and how to troubleshoot technical problems.

But skip ahead just a few pages, and McElhearn pushes the iPod to new limits. A sneak peek of these special topics includes how to transfer music files from one iPod to another, how to connect the iPod to a stereo, and how to store digital photos on the iPod. And for readers who frequently travel, McElhearn shows them how to charge their iPods on the move, how to listen to iPods in a car, and the best kind of headphones to filter out airplane noise. (And he even explains how to use the iPod as an alarm clock on business trips!)

Beyond this wealth of technical information, McElhearn weaves in one other dimension, which is to take a big-picture look at the sweeping cultural implications of iTunes and the iPod. Industry giants such as Steve Wozniak and Janis Ian share their opinions. And, McElhearn got in touch with dozens of musicians and authors, asking them what their “Essential Music” is. Musicians like Bob Weir, Peter Frampton, Chuck Garvey, John Foxx and Harold Budd; and authors like Arthur Golden, Peter Robinson, Christopher Priest and James Morrow share their favorite tunes.

In keeping with the spirit of the new Prentice Hall PTR Garage Series, the book is organized into more than 80 easily digestible topics to assist readers in immediately locating the desired material.

iPod & iTunes Garage (ISBN 0131486454) includes helpful screenshots and has an accompanying website: http://www.phptr.com/title/0131486454. The book will be available through major chain and independent booksellers nationwide and through online vendors at a suggested retail price of US $24.99.

About the Author

Kirk McElhearn is a freelance writer, journalist and translator. He has written or co-written 6 books on the Macintosh, and, as a journalist, he is a regular contributor to Macworld magazine and TidBITS. A native New Yorker, he has lived in France for almost two decades, and currently lives in Guillestre, a village in the French Alps. He has several thousand CDs, and three iPods so far. He ruminates at his blog, Kirkville: www.mcelhearn.com.

iPod & iTunes Garage is one of the flagship books launching the Garage Series from Prentice Hall PTR, a new street smart series of books about technology built on the premise that technical books don’t have to be boring, or be written in the impersonal voice of an all-powerful narrator. Already published within the Series is Web Search Garage by Tara Calishain, Java Garage by Eben Hewitt, and coming soon is “Web Design Garage” by Marc Campbell, “PHP-Nuke Garage” by Don Jones, “ActionScript 2.0 Garage” by Dan Livingston, and “Linux Desktop Garage” by Susan Matteson. Series Editor Eben Hewitt is the author of several other Java books for Prentice Hall PTR, including Java for ColdFusion Developers. He has several years of web-based programming experience in a variety of languages, and works as a senior programmer architecting and developing J2EE applications for an Arizona state government entity.

About Addison-Wesley/Prentice Hall PTR
Addison-Wesley (www.awprofessional.com) and Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference (PH PTR) (www.phptr.com) are respected publishers of quality computer science and engineering books and software for technical professionals. Both imprints are units of Pearson Technology Group, the world's largest provider of consumer and professional computer, information technology, engineering and reference content. Pearson Technology Group is an operating unit of Pearson Education, the world's leading educational publisher. Pearson Education is part of Pearson plc (NYSE: PSO), the international media company.

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