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Author "don"

wrote in 660: Mac Treat #115: Saving Custom Text Colors, Vermont Legislature says No to Nuclear!, Tech Tails TV Schedule Poll .

*START SOAPBOX*

You all probably know that I am not a fan of nuclear energy as a path for energy independence, but even if I was put in charge of Vermont’s only nuclear plant, I could not have done a better job of undermining their chances for a license renewal than they did on their own.

First it was a failed cooling tower, then a barely competitive power purchase offer but the straw that really broke the camel’s back was the leaking tritium that had found its way into the ground water. After testing, it was revealed that despite their testimony that there were not underground pipes carrying radioactive water, there were many, and they were leaking.

The Vermont Senate, after several hours of debate, in a non-partisan vote, defeated the request for a 20-year license renewal by a vote of 26-4. While this was a vote about a specific antique leaking nuclear power plant, it reflects a sentiment in our state that we should rely upon sustainable renewable energy sources, energy efficiency and conservation for our energy needs in the future.

The Vermont legislature could be an example for our national legislature. Many initiatives are the result of republicans, democrats and progressives working together to fashion legislation for the good of the entire state. Having spent quite a bit of time up in Montpelier talking to these part-time legislators, I find them to all be committed to providing the best for our state. They work together using persuasion and compromise to achieve this goal.

Vermont’s annual exercise of basic democratic rights comes next week with Town Meeting day. All of the towns in Vermont–there are 255 of them–hold annual town meetings to elect local officials, from constable to selectman to cemetery commissioner, and to pass town and school budgets. In my town of Warren, with a population of about 1500, there is a potluck lunch in between the town and school meetings.

Vermont’s legislature reserved the right to approve any extension of the State’s only nuclear plant many years ago. Yesterday’s vote is the elected representatives of the people exercising their right to protect the people from a potentially dangerous license extension and a poor economic deal. Kudos to the Vermont Senate for their courage and foresight!

*END SOAPBOX*

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wrote in 660: Mac Treat #115: Saving Custom Text Colors, Vermont Legislature says No to Nuclear!, Tech Tails TV Schedule Poll .

bq. “With all due respect to alpha dog Don Mayer, I think he came away with an overly negative impression of Macworld Expo based on his brief visit. Yes, there were fewer exhibitors than last year, and yes, there were fewer attendees as well. But don’t take that to mean that Macworld was a ghost town, because nothing could be further from the truth.

On Thursday and Friday, the show floor was packed to the point of making it hard to walk the aisles, and all the exhibitors I spoke with were happy with the number of visitors they received. After all, even if there are more than 20,000 people attending in general, only some percentage of those people can physically walk past any given booth in a day. And while there were fewer people walking the floor on Saturday, IDG could have done a much better job of advertising in local media to alert San Franciscans who aren’t highly involved with the Apple world.

Most attendees I spoke with weren’t bothered by Apple being a no-show since, after all, they could just go to an Apple retail store or somewhere like Small Dog’s S. Burlington store to see all of Apple’s products. And exhibitors were downright happy that Apple wasn’t there, since it meant more attention for them, something that was especially important for iPhone developers who compete in the vast ocean of the App Store and get few chances to communicate with their users.

The lack of larger exhibitors like Adobe, FileMaker, and Canon, and medium-sized companies like SmileOnMyMac, Peachpit Press, O’Reilly Media, and Smith Micro was more keenly felt, but at least some of those companies will likely be back next year, having seen that Macworld Expo is far from being a deceased parrot.”

–Adam Engst, TidBITS publisher

“See more of Adam and TidBits here.”:http://www.tidbits.com

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wrote in 656: iPad Launch, iPad Considered, Apple's Huge Q1, Time Machine Upgrades .

With analysts estimates for Apple’s first Quarter (Oct-Dec) hovering around $10.4 Billion in sales and earnings of $1.77 per share, Apple announced their actual earnings and once again posted best ever revenue of $15.7 Billion and profit of $3.4 Billion or $3.67 per share. While some of that difference is due to an accounting change where Apple no longer needs to report iPhone and AppleTV sales over 24 months.

Nevertheless, Apple sold a record 3,360,000 Macs during the three months which represents a 33% year over year growth. They sold 8,700.000 iPhones and 21,000,000 iPods! With all eyes on Wednesday’s announcement which was hyped by Apple during the analyst’s call, one analyst said dryly that the financial report was “not bad for a warm-up act.”

The big news was the overseas strength of the brand for Macs, iPhone and iPod with 58 percent of Apple’s revenue coming from international sales. Mac sales grew over 40 percent in Italy, France, Switzerland and Spain while Australia was up 70 percent and China up 100%.

Apple added about $5 Billion in cash to the war chest, which has swollen to just under $40 Billion. Hapy speculated that Apple may be doing its shareholders a disservice by hoarding all that cash and not either paying dividends or investing it in more than low-yield short-term investments. I disagree and feel that in addition to the intrinsic support of the shares value that this cash represents, it also gives Apple unprecedented flexibility in terms of new product development, acquisitions and new initiatives.

While the number of iPhones sold appeared to be less than some analysts were expecting, the impact of 8.7 million iPhone is significant with Apple now reporting that over 70% of the Fortune 100 are deploying the iPhone and this is double the penetration since the iPhone 3GS was shipped in the summer of ’09.

While iPod sales were down year over year, Apple sold almost 21 million iPods with increased revenue. Their MP3 market share remains steady at around 70%. One particularly bright spot was the iPod touch with 55 percent growth.

Apple reported that it now has 283 retail stores with average revenue per store at $7.1 million and a record 50.9 million retail visitors.

Steve Jobs seemed pleased and said ” If you annualize our quarterly revenue, it’s surprising that Apple is now a $50+ Billion company. The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product the we’re really excited about.”

Apple is growing at nearly twice the industry’s 17% rate and with about 50% of the Macs sold at Apple retail (and most resellers as well) to new-to-Mac customers the prospects for market share growth are spectacular. On the other hand, you do not need market share when you can invent new markets the way that Apple has done with the iPod, iPhone and now a new game-changing product to be announced tomorrow.

The Apple story just keeps getting better and better and as a shareholder and Apple reseller I have to put the credit for this spectacular story on the extraordinary management team at Apple. The success story is fascinating alone but to continue to post record revenue and earnings during the worst economic conditions in decades is simply remarkable. Thank you Steve and the whole management team at Apple. Keep us smiling with new greatness!

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wrote in Apple Events .

With analysts estimates for Apple’s first Quarter (Oct-Dec) hovering around $10.4 Billion in sales and earnings of $1.77 per share, Apple announced their actual earnings and once again posted best ever revenue of $15.7 Billion and profit of $3.4 Billion or $3.67 per share. While some of that difference is due to an accounting change where Apple no longer needs to report iPhone and AppleTV sales over 24 months.

Nevertheless, Apple sold a record 3,360,000 Macs during the three months which represents a 33% year over year growth. They sold 8,700.000 iPhones and 21,000,000 iPods! With all eyes on Wednesday’s announcement which was hyped by Apple during the analyst’s call, one analyst said dryly that the financial report was “not bad for a warm-up act.”

The big news was the overseas strength of the brand for Macs, iPhone and iPod with 58 percent of Apple’s revenue coming from international sales. Mac sales grew over 40 percent in Italy, France, Switzerland and Spain while Australia was up 70 percent and China up 100%.

Apple added about $5 Billion in cash to the war chest, which has swollen to just under $40 Billion. Hapy speculated that Apple may be doing its shareholders a disservice by hoarding all that cash and not either paying dividends or investing it in more than low-yield short-term investments. I disagree and feel that in addition to the intrinsic support of the shares value that this cash represents, it also gives Apple unprecedented flexibility in terms of new product development, acquisitions and new initiatives.

While the number of iPhones sold appeared to be less than some analysts were expecting, the impact of 8.7 million iPhone is significant with Apple now reporting that over 70% of the Fortune 100 are deploying the iPhone and this is double the penetration since the iPhone 3GS was shipped in the summer of ’09.

While iPod sales were down year over year, Apple sold almost 21 million iPods with increased revenue. Their MP3 market share remains steady at around 70%. One particularly bright spot was the iPod touch with 55 percent growth.

Apple reported that it now has 283 retail stores with average revenue per store at $7.1 million and a record 50.9 million retail visitors.

Steve Jobs seemed pleased and said ” If you annualize our quarterly revenue, it’s surprising that Apple is now a $50+ Billion company. The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product the we’re really excited about.”

Apple is growing at nearly twice the industry’s 17% rate and with about 50% of the Macs sold at Apple retail (and most resellers as well) to new-to-Mac customers the prospects for market share growth are spectacular. On the other hand, you do not need market share when you can invent new markets the way that Apple has done with the iPod, iPhone and now a new game-changing product to be announced tomorrow.

The Apple story just keeps getting better and better and as a shareholder and Apple reseller I have to put the credit for this spectacular story on the extraordinary management team at Apple. The success story is fascinating alone but to continue to post record revenue and earnings during the worst economic conditions in decades is simply remarkable. Thank you Steve and the whole management team at Apple. Keep us smiling with new greatness!

Read More

wrote in 699: Time Capsule Drive Upgrades, Apple Re-Paves the Street, EyeTV Review, Weekly Tip .

The Apple story just keeps getting better and better and as a shareholder and Apple reseller I have to put the credit for this spectacular story on the extraordinary management team at Apple. The success story is fascinating alone but to continue to post record revenue and earnings during the worst economic conditions in decades is simply remarkable. Thank you Steve and the whole management team at Apple. Keep us smiling with new greatness!

With analysts estimates for Apple’s first Quarter (Oct-Dec) hovering around $10.4 Billion in sales and earnings of $1.77 per share, Apple announced their actual earnings and once again posted best ever revenue of $15.7 Billion and profit of $3.4 Billion or $3.67 per share. While some of that difference is due to an accounting change where Apple no longer needs to report iPhone and AppleTV sales over 24 months.

Nevertheless, Apple sold a record 3,360,000 Macs during the three months which represents a 33% year over year growth. They sold 8,700.000 iPhones and 21,000,000 iPods! With all eyes on Wednesday’s announcement which was hyped by Apple during the analyst’s call, one analyst said dryly that the financial report was “not bad for a warm-up act.”

The big news was the overseas strength of the brand for Macs, iPhone and iPod with 58 percent of Apple’s revenue coming from international sales. Mac sales grew over 40 percent in Italy, France, Switzerland and Spain while Australia was up 70 percent and China up 100%.

Apple added about $5 Billion in cash to the war chest, which has swollen to just under $40 Billion. Hapy speculated that Apple may be doing its shareholders a disservice by hoarding all that cash and not either paying dividends or investing it in more than low-yield short-term investments. I disagree and feel that in addition to the intrinsic support of the shares value that this cash represents, it also gives Apple unprecedented flexibility in terms of new product development, acquisitions and new initiatives.

While the number of iPhones sold appeared to be less than some analysts were expecting, the impact of 8.7 million iPhone is significant with Apple now reporting that over 70% of the Fortune 100 are deploying the iPhone and this is double the penetration since the iPhone 3GS was shipped in the summer of ’09.

While iPod sales were down year over year, Apple sold almost 21 million iPods with increased revenue. Their MP3 market share remains steady at around 70%. One particularly bright spot was the iPod touch with 55 percent growth.

Apple reported that it now has 283 retail stores with average revenue per store at $7.1 million and a record 50.9 million retail visitors.

Steve Jobs seemed pleased and said ” If you annualize our quarterly revenue, it’s surprising that Apple is now a $50+ Billion company. The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product the we’re really excited about.”

Apple is growing at nearly twice the industry’s 17% rate and with about 50% of the Macs sold at Apple retail (and most resellers as well) to new-to-Mac customers the prospects for market share growth are spectacular. On the other hand, you do not need market share when you can invent new markets the way that Apple has done with the iPod, iPhone and now a new game-changing product to be announced tomorrow.

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wrote in Uncategorized .

Apple sent the invites out to the press and others for the big January 27th unveiling of their “latest creation”. There is so much speculation around the office about what Apple might be announcing, that I thought I would open up the comments section here on Barkings! to see what you think. Personally, I can […]

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wrote in 652: A Look Back at 2009 and Forward to 2010! .

Here’s my annual set of predictions for the new year.

bq.Thank a hen in 2010
Do it again in 2010
Have a friend in 2010
Begin again in 2010

*Sports*

I was 0-4 last year as the Cubs and Bears really sucked and the Blackhawks and Celtics did not advance. Maybe I should stick to local sports.

* MLB Baseball: Yes, I am a fanatical Cubs fan. My mother used to use Wrigley Field as a daycare center and drop my brother and I off for games as we lived near the friendly confines. I have a Cubs tattoo on my shoulder and yes, I will once again predict that with new ownership will come a new found team spirit and finally a World Series Championship.

* NBA Basketball: The Celtics are banged up right now, but if they can get healthy, I think they are the team to beat! Celtics over the Lakers in 7.

* NFL Football: The Bears are out of it, so I’m going with the New Orleans Saints for the Superbowl.

* NHL Hockey: I am going back to my standard–who cares?

WNBA – I see the Phoenix Mercury led by Diana Taurasi (WNBA Player of the Decade) repeating as WNBA Champs!

*Weather*

It will be another warm winter in Vermont with only one day where the temperatures stay below 0° F all day. This year we will have one huge snowfall over 36 inches that will slow things down for a few hours.

It will, however, be an early spring with early April motorcycling.

This coming summer in Vermont will be one of the best with little rain after June 15th and warm temperatures cooled by mountain breezes.

The western states will see a very hot and unusually dry summer.

*Politics*

Health Care reform will pass and both the left and right will howl. States will have some freedom to experiment with other more comprehensive health care reform. Vermont will lead the way with a public option and true universal coverage.

Afghanistan is not going to work. The new policy of increasing troop levels will need revision in the light of an expanded non-geographically limited war.

Iran will test a nuclear weapon, triggering ineffective sanctions.

Relations with Cuba will continue to thaw.

There will be renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians after Israel signs a peace treaty with Syria and halts settlement construction.

Global Warming will continue to be talked about but no significant action taken. Cap and trade and carbon trading will get embroiled in partisan politics without any meaningful solution.

Vermont will elect a Democrat as governor.

*Economy*

Economic recovery will continue slowly, however, unemployment will significantly lag. More job creation incentives will be created.

Consumer Electric vehicles will hit the market with higher efficiency hybrids also becoming available, however, gasoline prices will remain below $4/gallon and that will make electric cars a niche market.

New incentives for renewable energy sources will be the fastest growing job creation sector.

Unemployment will reach 12% nationally before it starts to decline.

Chrysler will close its doors.

*Apple*

Apple stock will hit $300/share.

Apple will introduce a “game changing” tablet computer.

Apple will post record revenues and profits.

Steve Jobs will retire from Apple, Tim Cook will be named CEO while Steve becomes Chairman of the Board.

Apple will introduce an iPhone nano, basically adding cell phone functions to the iPod nano.

Apple will make remarkable gains in overall market-share for computers.

*Small Dog Electronics*

Small Dog Electronics will finally open its next store!

Small Dog Electronics eWaste event will again collect over 150 tons of eWaste.

Small Dog Electronics will add several products to the Chill Pill Audio and Hammerhead product lines.

Small Dog will finally be authorized to sell the iPhone.

*Miscellaneous*

There will be scientifically confirmed evidence of extra-terrestrial life.

There will be a bunch of new stunning 3D movies, 3D Television will be the next home entertainment product.

Cell phones and other portable devices will become mobile payment devices.

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wrote in Apple Events .

2009 was a great year for Apple. Apple experienced record growth in revenue and profit regardless of the most serious downturn in the economy in a generation. While not recession-proof, Apple has shown that it doesn’t hurt to have the hottest products on the planet even when the planet’s financial system is being stressed. January […]

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wrote in 651: Mac Treat #109, SDE Swag On!, Business Tax Deductions, Shipping Cutoffs, Coupons, Gifts and More! .

2009 was a great year for Apple. Apple experienced record growth in revenue and profit regardless of the most serious downturn in the economy in a generation. While not recession-proof, Apple has shown that it doesn’t hurt to have the hottest products on the planet even when the planet’s financial system is being stressed.

*January* – The last year of Apple’s presence at Macworld Expo in January. The show had an aura of finality to it and even though there is a Macworld again this year in February, there will be no Apple presence at the show. This year iLife ’09 was released with great new features that made it a compelling upgrade, especially for iPhoto. iWork ’09 was also released as well as a new 17-inch MacBook Pro.

*February* – Apple updated the entire range of Mac desktops with new iMacs, new Mac Pros and new Mac minis. Apple also updated the Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme with simultaneous Dual-Band WiFi.

*March* – Apple introduces the tiny 4GB iPod shuffle! Later in the month Apple introduced iPhone 3.0 software.

*April* – Apple introduces new Xserves with Intel Nehalem processors. They also announced the end of DRM for iTunes and introduced variable pricing for songs. Apple announced their financial results for the quarter with an astounding $1.21 billion in profit.

*June* – Apple introduces new MacBook Pros including the new 13-inch MacBook Pro. They also released the iPhone 3GS updated phone.

*July* – New versions of Final Cut Studio and Logic are released and Apple’s financial report indicates another $1.3 Billion in profit on spectacular Mac and iPhone sales. Steve Jobs is out sick and Tim Cook announced that “The Mac has now outgrown the market a staggering 18 of the last 19 quarters.”

*August* – Another update to the Time Capsules pushing the storage to a large 2TB! Snow Leopard is released at just $29 for the upgrade and the Mac Box set with Snow Leopard, iLife ’09 and iWork ’09 is released, too.

*September* – iPods! The iPod touch goes down in price and up in features and capacity, the iPod nano adds a video camera, the iPod shuffle adds colors and more choices in capacity and the iPod classic is moved from 120GB to 160GB without a price increase. To coincide, iTunes 9 is released.

*October* – Apple crushes the street again posting their most profitable quarter, ever, with a profit of $1.67 Billion. Apple sold more Macs and iPhones than any quarter. To complete the product offerings for 2009 Apple also released a slew of new products and updates.

iMacs were updated and the beautiful 27-inch wide screen iMac was introduced along with a new unibody white MacBook. Apple brought out the new Magic Mouse and even a new Apple remote. They updated the Mac mini again and introduced a server version of the Mac mini bundled with Snow Leopard server for only $999. Time Capsules were updated again, too.

*November and December* – not a time for product announcements but a time for sales and all signs point to another amazing holiday quarter for Apple with their common stock hovering around $200/share.

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wrote in 650: Mac Treat #108: Change Your Startup Image, The Best Device For Your Digital Media, Mac mini vs. Apple TV Feedback, Don's Top 10 Gifts .

I decided that my old Ogio bag was getting a bit long in the tooth and ragged in the seams so I asked our friends over at Brenthaven to give me a case to test. We have recently added the Brenthaven x-ray-friendly bags to our selection so the ProStyle II-XF seemed like a good choice.

Harvey Stone, the owner of Brenthaven is renowned in Apple circles for his energetic presentations at Apple Specialist conferences. He likes to put his laptop in one of his bags and then to the gasps of the audience, drop it from heights or toss it across the room. He obviously has a lot of confidence in the construction and protection offered by his products. (Harvey is apparently also an expert at making animal noises, but I have yet to hear his imitation of a hippo.)

The way an x-ray-friendly bag works is that it has a separate section for the laptop that can be spread out in the belt without taking the computer out. Since it is the only thing that is in that compartment, it cannot shield anything else (which is the reason that TSA wants you to take your computer out of your bag).

Brenthaven also has a “zero impact” policy in which they promise to invest in Green projects to offset any impact their products have on the environment. That certainly fits well with Small Dog’s commitment to planet!

The bag itself features high quality construction with high density foam to protect your computer, a great ergonomic shoulder strap and plenty of pockets and compartments. I find the bag to be very comfortable to carry and it definitely keeps its shape much better than my older bag.

The best part was walking through the lines at the airport without having to get an extra grey tray and take out my MacBook Air every time I went through the security lines. Brenthaven offers a lifetime warranty on their products and I can wholeheartedly recommend their ProStyle II-XF.

“See it here!”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/75043

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