Reviews

It's two...two companies in one

Making a variation on the tagline from an old commercial: "Apple is a hardware company. No, it's a software company. No, it's two...two companies in one."

Amidst all the buzz surrounding Apple's cool new products -- from the iPod mini to the Power Mac G5 -- what is less talked about is a central facet behind Apple's continued success: Apple's dual role as both a hardware and a software company. Apple is the only vendor that creates both the hardware that … Read more

Making music with GarageBand

Warning: GarageBand can be hazardous to your health. How can you tell if you have fallen victim to this malady? Here are some of the warning signs: Are you mixing loops during times of day that should be spent on more trivial activities, such as eating and sleeping? Do you record your voice over and over, striving for that perfect take, while your spouse consults a lawyer to see if endlessly singing off-key qualifies as spousal abuse? If so, you've been hooked. I know. It's happened to me. I … Read more

by Ted Landau

The one where I visit Microsoft

Now it can be told.

Last November, a week or so before Thanksgiving, I visited Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond. Actually, it was more than a visit. It was closer to a press junket. I was invited by Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU for short and pronounced "Mac-Boo"). The MacBU is responsible for all of Microsoft's Macintosh products. They generously picked up the complete tab for my trip. I say this up front because it can be hard to be impartial when you are writing … Read more

A return to those thrilling days of yesteryear...

"The easiest-to-use, most powerful and innovative personal computer yet to hit the market." (InfoWorld)

"You won?t find another machine that?s as easy or as much fun." (Byte)

"It is far easier to use than anything we've seen before." (Bill Gates, as quoted in Macworld)

"The industry, as it catches its breath, is calling it a winner." (Softalk)

"It is the best hardware value in the history of the personal computer. It should establish itself as the next … Read more

by Ted Landau

The software developers that work for Apple are akin to miracle workers. Think about it. Apple, with resources inevitably limited as a consequence of its 4% market share, has come up with three major upgrades to OS X in three consecutive years. In contrast, Microsoft's next major Windows upgrade (code-named Longhorn) has likely been delayed until 2006.

But even without the Windows comparison, Apple's upgrades would be impressive. To see what I mean, take a brief scan of Apple's Mac OS X Web pages for Panther. You'll see a litany of new and … Read more

by Ted Landau

Last month, I broke one of my cardinal rules: Never buy a new computer model until it has been out for at least 3 months (waiting six months is usually better). Why? With a device as complicated as a computer, there are always some glitches that don't get discovered until after a new product ships. Apple inevitably releases a "version 2" of the product that fixes these glitches (and maybe throws in a few new features besides). That's when its time to pounce. Actually, a similar a rule applies to software as well: … Read more