iPod
Little green men
I love the little aliens from the Pizza Planet vending machine in Toy Story. Thanks to my friend Heather, and a long ago giveaway of some kind, I have two of the little guys guarding my favorite Mac, which is a little otherworldly in its own right...
Click on the photo to see the entire set.
Hide-a-Pod
If you have an iPod, or a new iPhone, and you're worried that the mere sight of the device may prompt a ne'er-do-well to attempt a snatch, consider the Hide-a-Pod as a deterrent. Even if you choose not to purchase a Hide-a-Pod, be sure to click on the Order graphic or Buy Now link for a special treat. You won't have to complete the order to enjoy the surprise. [Via David D. on the Ranchero iPhone list.]
iRebecca
I don't recall Steve Jobs talking about this new product during the Macworld Expo keynote.
Once again, we learn why they're called analysts
So let me get this straight: Apple sets new company records for revenue and profit, beats the Street's estimates, and ships 28 percent more Macs and 50 percent more iPods than they did this time a year ago, but because a bunch of analysts don't like future estimates, the stock price takes a dive? No wonder monkeys do just as good a job at the stock market as analysts.
Stevenote on iTunes
Apple has posted Steve Jobs's keynote address for the 2007 Macworld Expo on the iTunes Store. It's a 1.21 GB download, so make sure you've got the space to watch it on your iPod.
Yesterday's shuffle first ten
Kicked on ye olde iTunes in shuffle mode yesterday morning, to give myself some background music while I commenced writing this year's novel. What's funny is that I had earlier finished the chapter on the beauty and apparent oddities of the iPod's shuffle mode in Steven Levy's The Perfect Thing, his book devoted to the little white wonder from Apple.
Part of the chapter was devoted to the randomness of shuffle mode, the mathematics behind it, and how when true randomness is really at work, we begin to believe it's not really so random at all. Like say when people notice their iPod--and here I'll also throw in the iTunes application itself--seemingly playing a lot of the same type of music in a row. Such it was this morning, when I had an all-mellow mix.
As before, songs are linked to the iTunes Store, albums to Amazon.
1. "Never Say Goodbye" - Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
2. "September Skies" - The Brian Setzer Orchestra - The Brian Setzer Orchestra
3. "Yellow Ledbetter" - Pearl Jam - Jeremy
4. "Flesh for Fantasy" - Billy Idol - Greatest Hits
5. "DJ Culture" - Pet Shop Boys - Discography
6. "If I Leave This World Tomorrow" - Glenn Kaiser - Spontaneous Combustion (I've always loved Kaiser's voice, and think his blues work is so much better than when he fronted Resurrection Band/Rez)
7. "Understand Your Man" - Johnny Cash - Unearthed, Vol. 1 - Who's Gonna Cry
8. "Last In Love" - George Strait - Pure Country
9. "Your Presence" - By the Tree - These Days
10. "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such As I" - Elvis Presley - Elvis 30 #1 Hits
and a bonus, because I like the song so much:
11. "Loved and Forgiven" - Lost Dogs - Gift Horse
Disko goes Centerstage at Griffin
Griffin Technology today announced two new iPod cases, the Disko and the Centerstage, for fifth-generation iPods. Both are made from clear polycarbonate for protection, then diverge to their unique features. The Centerstage features an anodized aluminum flip-cover, which allows the case to convert in to a stand. The Centerstage flip-cover is available in four different colors. The Disko has three colored LED lights set around the scroll wheel portion of the case, as well as what it appears to be around the edges of the case. The lights are motion controlled, turning on with movement of the scroll wheel, and are powered by the iPod itself.
Personally, I wouldn't waste my money on the Disko, but I know there are plenty of folks out there who will love it, much the way they love the light-up mobile phone accessories. I can see a real use in the Centerstage, however, especially for those who may take their iPod to the office where they don't have a dock hooked up to their office computer system.
Koyono iPod cases, by Orbino
Koyono has announced some new iPod cases, hand-crafted by the leather goodsmen of Orbino. I especially like the brown, embossed crocodile skin Cambino case for video iPod models, seen here.
I've been using a Koyono ViewSlimmy as my main wallet for several months, and I love it. Great build quality, and it's holding its own in day-to-day usage. I would expect much of the same from these iPod cases.
I also have my eye on their BlackCoat Minimal, which, oddly enough, is not available in black.
Miscellany
- The U.S. Army now has podcasts.
- Picture Framer is one of myriad non-productive widgets, but it's probably the first one of that category that I like.
- There are new Get a Mac ads, and in "Trust Mac", I swear Justin Long is about to truly crack up every time he has to look at John Hodgman wearing the glasses and fake mustache.
[Via Paul.]
Miscellany
The iPod cases from ifrogz look very nice. I like the customizable aspects of the design, but would love to be able to upload my own image for the Screenz. A Retrophisch-branded iPod case in "Gun Metal" Wrapz and "Thick Black" Bandz would rock.
Amazon Grocery is now out of beta after more than 200,000 people have used it to shop for food staples.
One of the recent winners of a Flickr Pro account speaks to my childhood.
Tivoli's latest iPod accessory
It's a shame that at the time I reviewed the Tivoli Audio iSongBook, there wasn't the black version. Such is life. Now, Tivoli has the unusually-named iYiYi coming in the fall. Billed as a digital home entertainment system, the iYiYi doesn't look to have many more features than the iSongBook, but it does have a deeper casing. This means it's not as portable as the iSongBook, but will likely sound better, since the iYiYi will be capable of delivering deeper, fuller bass sounds, one of the areas in which I found the iSongBook lacking. [Wave of the phin to Uncrate.]
Miscellany
I must have a Gnome-be-Gone. Must. [Via Uncrate.]
Why is it I'm learning about Pete's Famous from Brent, rather than my parents, who have lived in the Birmingham metroplex for a decade? (I can actually answer this one; my parents bring their lunch to work, and don't go out.) I wonder how far Gus's place is from their respective offices?
Of course, I could see this eating into the PowerMate’s market. I mean, who needs a flashing knob to notify you of email when you can have a flashing keyboard? One reason I turned off that particular functionality of my PowerMate was the distraction of the blinking light...
Presenting the iCarta. iDon't think so. [Via Firewheel Design.]
A pair of Apple miscellany
"Apple simplifies .Mac Web access". So common sensical, I wonder why they didn't think of this sooner.
"Apple actively courting the Beatles". I like the Beatles, but I'm not exactly chomping at the bit to download any of their music from anywhere. For the sake of Apple, I would love for the iTunes Music Store to carry their full catalog; I believe, as one online commentator wrote, that the Beatles could make up any lawsuit-related losses easily through iTMS sales. Unlike myself, there are lots of people, including TUAW's Dave Caolo, who want individual Beatles albums. Personally, I have all the Beatles' songs I could want on my iPod already. It's called "1".
Miscellany
It's too bad I have no design experience nor web programming skills. The guys at Firewheel Design sound fun to work with, and they're about fifteen minutes away in Southlake.
Dan needs some of this furniture in his pad.
Cableyoyo's new Pop is a good idea, but most folks I know with iPods keep them in some sort of case.
What happens when you shove an iPod Shuffle in to a NES controller?
[With waves of the phin to the Firewheel Design blog, and Macsimum News.]
Miscellany
Waterfield Designs has a padded carrying case for the iPod Hi-Fi that allows the use of the system while remaining in the case.
Lost your iPod? Check craigslist to see if someone's found it.
Further proof that RSS is everywhere.
Dell can't compete with Apple
Dell has discontinued its sale of hard drive-baesd MP3 players. John Gruber:
Someone should make a list of all the pundits and tech columnists who, back in October 2003 when Dell first introduced the DJ, predicted that it was the beginning of the end for the iPod.
How you know you're a parent #1,487
While testing a new product for review, you set your iPod on shuffle, and hear Hootie & the Blowfish, dc Talk, King James (old Christian metal group), Petra (the Aerosmith of Christian rock), and then VeggieTales. Just kind of throws that whole rhythm off to have Junior pop in to the middle of the mix with "Come over to my house and play!"
Why stock analysts are worthless
(Alternative title: There's an reason the word "anal" is in "analyst") Apple quadruples its profit, but the stock takes a ten percent-plus dive because the company "missed" the number of iPod sales stock analysts --who are not employees of Apple, do not sit on the Board of Directors, and who are not Apple executives-- said they thought the company should have sold? They sold 6.4 million iPods in a three months. How many Rios did Creative sell in the last three months? Oh, that's right, they canned that music player. Hold on, it gets better. Those same analysts, who are poo-pooing Apple for failing to sell as many iPods as the analysts thought they should have sold, seem to think Delphi is a good buy. No wonder monkeys are just as good at the stock market as these guys. [With thanks to John Gruber, and Matt Deatherage and W.R. Wing on the MacJournals-Talk list.]