In case you missed it, David Spade has a show over on Comedy Central called the Showbiz Show. On a recent episode he took aim at Apple’s iPod and our obsession with it. Not exactly a glowing endorsement for the iPod, but some pretty funny stuff. Check it out (sorry it’s in Windows Media format, of course).

Looks like the episode this clip is from is also available for purchase on

The Penny-Arcade, http://www.penny-arcade.com, is a great web comic that mostly focuses on gaming. Of course we know that most gamers are also PC users, but it looks like Tycho and Gabriel (the guys behind Penny-Arcade) are becoming switchers. They sat down and actually used a Mac for a week and have confirmed what I always try to explain, but seems so elusive unless you just use a Mac. As Tyco writes in his latest post, “What I have ascertained is not that PCs as we know them lack good design, but that PCs as we know them have hardly any design to speak of. I’m not trying to be insulting. Use a Mac for a week, and we’ll talk again.” Check out their latest comic and blog post and you can see a good account of the computer enlightenment that takes place when you use a Mac. See I am not crazy.

Ok, ok. I know this is standard Microsoft bashing fare, but how can you not do it when they make it so easy. Several people sent me links to this video on YouTube. It shows what would have come to be if the Microsoft marketing team had been in charge of designing the iPod packaging. This is some really funny stuff and, while over the top, somewhat based in fact. Enjoy.

Video: If Microsoft Designed the iPod Packaging

I just grabbed and installed the 10.4.5 update off Software Update and it seems like the faster processor upgrades from Apple are not just for Mac Book Pro buyers. I may be imagining things, but my G4 iBook/933 seems to have a new lease on life. All of my applications are launching a lot faster. This is especially true on the second launch. I am not an expert, but to me Apple seems to have tweaked the caching a bit. Here is an example of what I noticed… on the first launch of Safari after the update it launched after 4-5 dock bounces, not a big deal. On subsequent launches however, it was up in running in under 2 bounces. AWESOME! The Dashboard exhibits similar behaviour. On the first hit of F12 it still takes a little time for my Widgets to initalize (but they do so about 3 times faster than before) and then on the second hit… BOOM they are there almost instantly. My scrolling everywhere is “like butter”, Expose does its swooshing acrobatics like a jet fighter, iPhoto screams and Spotlight searches are truly instant. It’s like I have a brand new iBook. Can everyone please tell me I am not dreaming. Am I just imagining things? Did Steve give me a virtual processor upgrade? Did some of those OS X for Intel optimization creep over into the PowerPC code? If anyone can enlighten us I would love to hear it, but for now I think this update to Tiger is the best ever.

The MacBook Pro is an awesome display of the latest and greatest technology Apple has to offer, but the old stuff is still pretty good too. A couple of listeners had pointed me to this site which features a music video programmed in Applesoft II on a 1979 Apple ][+ with 48K of RAM. I reminded me of the hours I spent in my youth programming BASIC on an Apple ][ e. This one really took me back. It is a great reminder of just how much an Apple computer can inspire creativity. Technology is only as great as the people who use it and Apple users are some of the best. Enjoy.

[ Apple ][ Music Video Link ]

So what did I think of the new announcements from Apple? Well I was pleased to see that my predictions of podcast support, both audio and video, in iLife ’06 were true. I also am very interested to give the new iWeb app a spin, but for me I am not so sure how useful I will find it. The first part of the Keynote moved terribly slowly. I was waiting in great anticipation for the “BIG” announcement. I can tell you that when Steve said new Intel Macs I was thrilled and then immediately crushed when he said they were new iMacs. No new features, just new processors. Didn’t they just put out new iMacs a few months ago? I think Apple is going to have some seriously pissed new iMac owners to deal with. Is this two revisions since May? Don’t get me wrong, Core Duo Intel based iMacs are a great thing, but I would have preferred a Mac Mini or better yet new Intel iBook. Of course at this point I knew it wasn’t over yet, since the fateful phrase we all know and love had not been uttered yet. And then it came…. “Oh, and one more thing”.

The MacBook Pro. YES. New Intel based Pro Mac laptops. SWEET! These things are seriously cool and have horsepower up the wazooo. Just check the specs page and you will see what I mean. I was getting a bit worried that this MacWorld was not going to live up to the hype and it almost didn’t. Now I only wish I had an extra $3,500 bucks lying around. Apple is ready to go with a new Intel native OS X update (10.4.4) and all iLife offerings in Universal Binaries. The Pro apps are getting updates soon and you can get a DVD with all the updates for $49.00 USD. Adobe and Microsoft say their updates are on the way and Steve claims the Rosetta performance on the new machines is “great”. I wonder if what he considers “great” is the same as what I consider “great”? I’ll let you know when I get may hands on a real system at the Apple Store.

Overall I would say this is nat as big a MacWorld as I thought it would be. I am still disappointed we didn’t see a Mac PVR system and the iWork ’06 update is pretty much a nothing update if you ask me. I know I won’t be upgrading. Personally iLife ’06 is the biggest news in my world. I can’t wait to try the new Podcasting features. I will try to get a post-MacWorld cast up soon. Stay subscribed.

Mac Geek out.

Checkout this story from MacCast listener Adam:

This story is so amazing, I hope you believe it. But honest to God, it’s 100% true.

So I bought a Nano for my uncle as a gift when they first came out. About a month ago, I get a phone message from someone at Apple. They say the Houston Police have contacted them and that they (the Houston Police) have my Nano and to please contact officer Richards and they leave me her phone number.
Continue Reading »

Thank you to all the Mac Geeks who made the MacCast such a joy to produce this year. I wish you all a very happy and safe holiday. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza and a joyus Festivus to you all.

Looks like there was a candid moment caught on tape by the UKs Sky News in which US President George W. Bush took out his personal iPod and started discussing his music. The interview of course did not go without a mistake or two. At one point he accidentally reffers to Don McLean as Dan. The President also appears to own multiple iPods as he also mentions owning a Shuffle. I wonder just how many iPod he has?

[Link to Sky News Video] (Requires Windows Media Player)

From the, “Boy isn’t that stupid” department, listener Ira pointed out to me that the new version of Netscape, Netscape 8, is now available for download. There is currently no Mac OS X version, but Netscape kindly offers that Mac users “Download the Windows Xp version”. Now, while I am sure they mean this as an option for those Mac users who also own a Windows PC, the text is not that specific. I wonder how many new or novice Mac users will download the Xp version and spend a few minutes in frustration as they attempt to run a .EXE. Either that or Netscape has some inside knowledge about then new Intel based Macs ability to run Windows apps? Maybe those rumors of Intel Mac OS X multi-OS virtualisation technology are really about to come true? I doubt that is what they meant. Darn.