New and Noteworthy: ComputerWorld reviews Quad G5; The small screen revolution; iPod, iTunes #1 in Japan

ComputerWorld reviews Quad G5 ComputerWorld has posted a brief review of Apple's Power Mac G5 Quad 2.5 GHz. The reviewer says "Real-world performance throttles back a bit due to disk I/O, but the increase in speed is immediately noticeable. I witnessed Final Cut Pro effects applied in real-time to eight video streams, and performance was barely affected. It must have something to do with the total RAM throughput being 8.5Gbit/sec. It's also worth noting that Mac OS X 10.4 and the G5 architecture can support up to 4TB of RAM. The machine isn't built to hold that much, since 99.9% of the user base couldn't afford it, but if you fill the 533-Mhz Double Data Rate 2 RAM Error Correction Code slots with the full 16GB on memory the box can currently hold, you?ve still got quite a screamer." More.

The small screen revolution The Age says that Apple has, once again, identified and capitalized on a burgeoning revolution in media retrieval. "For the past week I have found myself walking into walls and risking close encounters with strangers on railway platforms because I am fascinated by having my iMovies wherever I walk. Pixar's For the Birds, downloaded from iTunes Music Store for $3.40, is still worth a chortle on the 10th viewing. (A chortle for 33 cents is a good deal these days.) And this is only the beginning of an avalanche of stuff that will be available." More.

iPod and iTunes Music Store Both Number One in Japan Apple has announced that iTunes and iPod have captured almost 60 percent of the Japanese market according to Business Computer News (BCN). A press release says "Since the launch of the iTunes Music Store this summer and introduction of the iPod nano and fifth generation iPod, market share in Japan has grown rapidly, solidifying iPod?s position as the number one digital music player in Japan by a wide margin. iTunes is the number one online music service in Japan and its library has grown steadily with the addition of dozens of independent labels." More.

Previously on MacFixIt

• Enabling Safe Sleep on Mac models other than the PowerBook G4 (Double-Layer SuperDrive)
• PowerBook G4s (Double-Layer SD) [#9]: Dead battery issues (Unit shuts off or goes to sleep right after disconnect from power)
• Disappearing Mail.app messages (#3): More on the fixes
• Mac OS X 10.4.3 (#12): More on maintenance scripts not running under Mac OS X 10.4.3 Server -- try clearing caches; more
• iMac G5 rev. C (iSight) [#6]: Photo Booth does not relinquish built-in iSight; Front Row does not work with networked home directory
• iTunes 6.0.1 (#7): Cannot share certain types of files
• Fifth-generation iPod (with video) [#7]: Susceptible to cell phone interference?

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