iTunes 7 offers a bad experience for some

I am getting reports of lots of different issues ranging from crashes, to performance issue and display glitches

Some report that iTunes 7 seems to be a processor hog.

Many are pointing the new gapless playback as a source of problems.

I have not had any issues.

Many are also reporting iTunes not recognizing their iPods after the update. 3G iPods and iPod Minis seem to be the most effected.

Rumors that Apple is quickly working on an update. Are we all becoming Apple's BETA testers?

Mac Pros are CPU upgradable

Anandtech has successfully installed and run pre-release 4 core Intel Cloverton processors in a Mac Pro. They have a socket design that allows for CPU upgrades.

MacBook and MacBook Pro's CPUs are not upgradeable. They use Ball Grid Array which have balls that are used to solder the CPU to the board.

Clovertons will be great if you have an application that will use 8 processors, but are clocked slower than the current Dual Core chips 2.66 GHz vs 2.93GHz.

Next Apple event planned for Sept. 25th

Apple has invited press to their next event scheduled for September 25th, which is opening day for the Photokina photography show in Germany.

The invite shows a tight shot of the Aperture logo and says "Start Photokina early this year.", so it is fairly obvious we will get some news on the next version of Aperture.

iTunes generates $1 million for Disney in the first week

Robert Iger told Reuters they have sold 125,000 movie downloads in the United States since the launch of movies on iTunes

How much is people trying this out?

How fast will we see the domino effect with studios? Walmart is still pushing back on the studios. They get new DVDs for

Apple unveils new store design

New design is based on the 5th avenue NYC flagship store

stainless steel walls, Italian stone floors, illuminated displays and larger tables.

Allows them to display twice as many iPods and Mac, plus adds room for them to display 50 percent more products from other companies.

New stores will have an "iPod Bar"

Will the new stores keep the "open" feel of the current store, which I like.

Apple releases security and Airport updates

AirPort Update 2006-001 and Security Update 2006-005 posted

Apple Support

Both updates focus on fixing wireless security and potential attacks

Was there truth to the MacBook hack from Black Hat?

Also some Mac Pro Updates

Mac Pro (mid 2006) EFI Firmware Update 1.0 - fixes several Boot Camp and booting issues.

Mac Pro SMC Firmware Update, 'adjusts fan behavior in the Mac Pro,' .

The Firmware Restoration CD 1.1 which allows you to fix any Intel-based Mac if your mess up the firmware update and leave your machine becomes un-bootable.

Is Apple trying to claim ownership of "podcast"?

Apple has sent a cease and desist to Podcast Ready who makes a podcatcher called myPodder from trademark violation.

Might make sense if it was just for myPodder, but the owner is willing to change that name, but Apple is also taking issue with Podcast Ready? Is Apple claiming trademark on "podcast"?

Russell Shaw in a ZNet post says, Apple seems to be having issues getting a trademark for iPodcast and for expanding the iPod mark to non-iPod products, so this may be why they are being so aggressive about the "Pod".

This would be a stupid battle for Apple to start getting into. The term podcast and all the content related to it has likely done a lot to sell more iPods.

The term podcast was first suggested by Ben Hammersley in the Guardian and then used by Dannie Gregorie and later put into common use by podcast pioneers Adam Curry, Dave Winer and Dave Slusher.

Leo Laporte has already proposed changing "podcast" to "netcast". Would Apple prefer ZuneCast?

Why not just genericise the term and call them simply "Casts". i.e. "You have to checkout this new cast". That way you cover any media delivered via RSS enclosures.

iTunes 7. Bugs, fixes and workarounds

Remove all 3rd party plug-in, update your iPod, make sure you installed Quicktime 7.1.3, download and install or re-install the latest version of QT if not.

Many listeners looking for a quick way to access the equalizer whose button and keyboard shortcut has been removed.

Set up your own keyboard shortcut using System Preferences-->Mouse & Keyboard-->Keyboard Shortcuts

Click the "+" symbol to bring up the shortcut add dialog.

Select iTunes from the Applications dropdown and type "Show Equalizer" in for the Menu Title:. Pick the key combination you want to use. I did Apple+Option+Shift+E.

If iTunes was open you will need to quit and re-launch

Can't keep iPod Shuffle in list of devices when it's not connected (an iTunes 6 feature). Any workarounds?

Remove items from the Library source list. iTunes -> Preferences -> General and you can deselect (or select) any items you wish

Music videos not showing up on iPod? Go to the music tab and check the new check box "Include music videos" and click "Apply."

View pix from card or Camera directly in iPhoto

Cool tip from MacOSXHints

www.macosxhints.com

iPhoto 6 can directly access the photos on some digital cameras and memory cards.

Attach the camera or put the card in a card reader.

When the import screen comes up, press return twice.

You will now see the 1st photo in edit mode, with blank thumbnails in the top bar. iPhoto will not generate thumbnails, but you can select them to move to each photo and bring it up in the main window

If you press 'Esc', you will enter thumbnail view, but again there are not thumbnails generated so this is not extremely useful

You can't edit, but you can move photos one at a time into the library, buy dragging over the thumbnail. Dates may not import properly with some cameras and card readers.

If you really need selective import you are better off using Image Capture. Click the "Download Some..." and you can browse and download selected picts to a specified folder (but not directly to iPhoto?).

The MacBook Random Shutdown Syndrome (RSS) fix

A listener accidentally got some inside info from a new Apple Genius

He was having the RSS issue and the genius showed him a for with serial number range and procedure and parts for the repair

installing a new motherboard and a new CPU heat sink.

Heat sensors had to be exactly calibrated for the version of the motherboard?

Horizontal scrolling with a plain scroll-wheel mouse

Mike Rohde, a visual designer discovered this cool trick that works in many apps in Tiger

Hold the shift key while using the scroll-wheel and and you get horizontal scrolling.

Works in Photoshop, Illustrator, NetNewsWire, Firefox and iTunes

Why no Blu-ray drives in Macs

In a recent article Robert X. Cringely throws out the theory that Apple may be leaving out Blu-ray to use a a bargaining chip with Sony for movies on iTunes

Apple is on the board of the Blu-ray Disc Association and is an active member of the DVD Forum which developed the HD DVD standard.

I think Apple is just waiting for the battle to play out a bit more before choosing sides. Or maybe they won't? The Mac Pro has two optical slots for a reason right?

iPod Texas Hold 'Em lets you play Music and Game

Not sure if other games work the same way, but it was cool to not be stuck with the repetitive game music.

Correction on Battery Cycling

Listeners Bob pointed out an error in my understanding on Apples recommendations for keeping your battery in top condition

Apple Battery Page

Apple says to make sure you "cycle" you battery at least once per month. If you fully charge and then discharge the battery, that is one cycle. The battery should last for 500 of those cycles.

Discharging the battery to one half charge, and then charging it fully again twice is also equal to one cycle.

If you use you laptop most of the time plugged into the outlet then you need to make sure you do at least one cycle a month

iPod can't do all Canadian Time Zones

Listener Jonathan lives in Newfoundland Canada and their time zone is -3.5 GMT. The iPod only offers time zones in 1:00 increments

UTC-3:30 (Canada), UTC+5:30 (India), and UTC+9:30 and UTC+10:30 (parts of Australia)

This means when you sync iCal events they are off by :30

Fixes or work arounds? Set clock on iPod off by :30 mins?

The "GoDaddy" Report

For now dedicated server is with GoDaddy

Minimal down time and they worked with me to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Go Daddy's handling of the shut down was not good, but does seem to be industry practice. They have said they are now looking to change the process.

Does not mean I will stay there. I am shopping around for dedicated hosting. Leo recommends theplanet.com

www.theplanet.com

My story is more of a warning for anyone on a shared (cheap) hosting plan if you have ambitious plans for your site.

I am looking to new ways to help fund the MacCast. This may mean advertising, but it is not the only avenue I am exploring. It may become a possibility though.

Podcast Expo this weekend

Will be at the PME in Ontario California from September 28th through September 30th

www.podcastexpo.com

Will be on the show floor in the Orange County Podcasters Booth on Friday and Saturday

www.ocpodcasters.com

Visit the website

Show notes.

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"Set Me Free" by Anthony Rankin

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