New and Noteworthy: SF Chronicle: Zune Reinforces Microsoft's Dorky Image; Beatles: only on iPod?; more

SF Chronicle: Zune Reinforces Microsoft's Dorky Image The San Francisco Chronicle opines that the Zune is reinforcing Microsoft's biggest image problems. "Either the Micro-guys are clueless dorks -- Zune is as expensive as iPod, bulkier, and is neither as easy to work as iPod nor as cool. Or, worse yet, the boys up north are malicious bullies. According to at least one review, the music system only works with the Microsoft Explorer browser, not Firefox, which many others and I prefer." More.

[Meanwhile, PVRWire has instructions for viewing Zune content on a Mac]

Beatles: only on iPod? Fortune reports that iTunes is close to a deal to bring the Beatles catalog online "Other music stores, such as Microsoft's (Charts) MSN and Rhapsody, have courted the Beatles over the years to no avail, but it appears Apple is close to getting first dibs on the band's hits. [...] When reached by Fortune, an Apple spokesman responded that the company does not comment on 'rumor and speculation.' If the deal goes through, it will mark a Nixon-Brezhnev-worthy truce - with the band's record label, Britain's EMI Group, serving as a peacemaker - between Apple Computer's Steve Jobs and Neil Aspinall, the onetime Beatles road manager who is now guardian of the band's business interests under the rubric Apple Corps." More.

Universities report increased Mac sales The Penn State Digital Collegian reports on an increase in Mac sales on campus. "The Penn State Computer Store saw a large jump in its sales of Macintosh computers this past summer compared to the 2005 summer, said Robin Anderson, communications director of information and technology services. This parallels a recent study done by the Student Monitor, a research organization that studies college students' consumer trends. According to the study, 13 percent of college students planning to buy notebook computers have decided to buy a Macintosh, putting it in second place among preferred brands, behind Dell. Eric Weil, managing partner of Student Monitor, said he thought the numbers showed a noteworthy change." More.

Previously on MacFixIt

• Safe sleep: Manually turning off
• coconutWiFi: Continuing issues with dropped, slow AirPort connections
• Phishing potentiality affects Safari, Firefox password storage

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