First off… Thank you to all of you have sent emails and messages with your concerns and well wishes. As many of you know San Diego is experiencing the worst wildfires in recorded history. On Sunday evening I was ordered from my home due to forced evacuation because of the Coronado Hills fire. We got out immediately and are safe and sound. We are now with family and just watching things unfold. The original fire that threatened us has been put out, but the larger Witch Creek fire has been moving our way. For now we will be stating put and waiting it out. At this point I am not sure when I will be getting out the next episode, but once this has ended you can be sure that I will get right back to it. The good news is that I will be able to get back to the Maccast. For that I am lucky. Others here have not been as fortunate. My heart and thoughts go out to all my friends and neighbours who have also been impacted by this tradgic event. I also want to give a huge thanks to the firefighters, police, military, emergency services teams, and volunteers. They are the true heroes.

The lesson… always check Apple.com right BEFORE encoding and posting the latest Maccast. Thanks Apple.

Looks like ifoApplestore and the other rumor sites were right when they claimed to have confirmed October 26th as the launch date for Leopard. See you at the Apple store in about 10 days, 10 hours, 41 minutes, and 10 seconds.

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A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 203. Apple launches iPhone Web apps directory. Apple recognizes Al Gore Peace Prize win. Leopard nearing gold master? iPod Touch breaks free (iPhone, too). RSS readers for the Mac. Remove iTunes DRM with iMovie. Subtitles in Quicktime movies. Sharing iTunes between accounts.

New music, Overboard by Shannon Hurley.

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We’re all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that’s all. — The Breakfast Club (1985)

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Straight from the UK, Geekanoids Shop is now selling black corduroy Geek Pouches for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPod Classic, 3rd gen Nano, and 5th gen iPod Video. Most of the Geek Pouches are black and made of 100% corduroy. There are also limited supplies of tan faux-suede Pouches for the iPod Touch (available while supplies last). Geek Pouches are not padded, but do serve to keep scratches off the iPod’s surface when storing it. It is important to note that the Geek Pouch does come in various sizes, so be sure you order the one that is specified for your model of iPod or iPhone. Prices range from £5.99 to £10.99 when purchased within the UK. More information, including international pricing, return policies, and more photos may be found at the Geekanoids Shop.

Thoughtout, the creator of many unique iPod stands, has released the PED3 Rotating Stand for the iPhone.
The flowing design is very sleek and also functional, with a full 360 degree rotatability. The PED3 is made in the US with an all-steel construction and a baked-on black coating. It’s seven rubber-coated fingers grip the iPhone gently while still allowing easy access to the iPhone’s ports. The PED3 can be purchased at the Thoughtout website for $39.99 US.

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A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 202. Starbucks iTunes WiFi and Free Song of the Day. 15″ MacBook Pro Battery Update. iMacs Freeze, Apple promises fix. Safari may be key to new iPhone Jailbreak. iPod Nano and Classic get update. New iPhone “Switch” Style Ads. There’s no such thing as a “Santa Rosa” Mac. Questions about Leopard. Keychain gone wild. Who should get an AppleTV. Closing the gaps in iTunes. The Mac “installer” paradigm for switchers.

New music, I’m Sorry by Girl Stuff

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If you’re going to lead people, you have to have somewhere to go. –Rumble Fish (1983)

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A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Special edition live from the OC Podcasters booth on the show floor of the Podcast and New Media Expo. I’m joined by Victor Cajiao from The Typical Mac User Podcast and we discuss Macs and podcasting. We go into a little bit on how we got started podcasting, discuss some of the strategies, methods, and technologies we use to produce our shows and have on some special guests. I also spin you a new track off Matthew Ebel’s upcoming album “Goodbye Planet Earth”.

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Pre-order Matthew Ebel’s “Goodbye Planet Earth”.

Mariner Software released Montage 1.3 beta this week. The public version is scheduled to be released in November. Montage 1.3 is a Mac-only screen writing software, and now supports exporting to Final Draft and Movie Magic Screenwriter, giving Montage more compatibility with industry standards.

Montage 1.3 now supports French, Italian, Spanish, and German, as has made improvements to it’s importing from Final Draft feature. Other changes include minor speed enhancements and bug fixes.

Though I personally haven’t used Montage, it sounds like an easy software to learn, yet powerful enough for professional screenwriters to use effectively. With it’s intuitively Mac-like interface, and pre-formatted themes for television, movies, and theatre, it’s a great tool for writing your next script.

Montage also has the ability to link with Apple Address Book, and includes hundreds of industry contacts, making it easier to submit your work.

If you would like to find out more about beta testing Montage 1.3, you can find information at Mariner Software.

Montage 1.3 will sell for $139.95 US, or can be acquired by a free upgrade to current Montage 1.0 owners. Montage 1.3 will also be sold onlne by Mariner Software as well as at retail stores, including: Amazon, CompUSA, Apple, Fry’s, MicroCenter, and The Writer’s Store.

Well Leo, looks like Microsoft is not afraid of the term podcast after all. In looking at the image of the new Zune however, they are not exactly giving podcasts top billing either. At least it’s finally in there.

Microsoft has announced the second generation Zunes. The designs look a bit cleaner and come in 4 colors, pink, green, black and glossy red (what no brown?). There are now 3 models. 2 flash based in 4 and 8 GB sizes and an 80 GB hard drive based model. The 80GB hard-drive model has a 3.2-inch screen. Other new features include wireless syncing, touch controls (scrolling?), and longer sharing times on “squirted” tracks. The 3 play limit still applies though. Along with the new Zunes Microsoft will launch the new “Zune Social” community web site in June along with an improved Zune Marketplace. General consensus on the web seems to be that the new Zunes will do OK, but will likely not make much of a dent in Apple’s iPod supremacy, probably stealing market-share from other 3rd part players like the Sansa and Zen.

For me what is most exciting about the new Zunes is podcast support. Finally. The Zune website says older Zunes will also be getting a software update, so I assume they will get podcast support too. Microsoft claims to have already sold more than a million Zunes, so that is a nice bump in potential new podcast listenership. It’s no iTunes 4.9, but good none the less. I am also hopeful that this may be the first sign that Microsoft is considering broader support for podcasting in it’s products. Hey guys, how about Windows Media Player next? Please.

My pre-ordered new Wireless Keyboard arrived, and I can say easily that my first impressions are very positive.

I have owned a Core2Duo MacBook for about a year, and become very accustomed to the keyboard style and layout. As a result, more and more when I sat down at my iMac to do some work I became annoyed at the bulky, blocky keyboard that came with the iMac. I even replaced it with the Wireless one that was previously released, which had little effect on my appreciation of the keyboard.

When Apple announced the new keyboard design I felt as if my mind had been read- for awhile now I had been thinking that it would be great if the keyboard for the imac was identical to that of the MacBooks. In fact, I’m considering an upgrade to a MacBook Pro, but am waiting for it as well to be upgraded to the recessed, square key design of the MacBooks and now iMac keyboards.

The New Wireless Keyboard is very, very compact. I don’t think it’s clear in the photos just how small, thin, and well-designed it is. It’s width and profile are exactly that of the MacBook’s- to a tee.
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