7/31 Brief Hands-On Report-TechTool Deluxe 3.1.1 (Universal) On Friday, Micromat released the 3.1.1 updater to its TechTool Deluxe hardware testing and disk maintenance application. Apple provides TechTool Deluxe with AppleCare and it is a somewhat stripped down edition of Micromat's commercial product, TechTool Pro. The main feature of version 3.1.1 of TechTool Deluxe is that it is now a universal binary so that it runs on Intel-based Macs.

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PC Mag Best of the Year Winner. Limited Time Offer, Buy Now Save. Free Antivirus Protection. Free AVG Download For Your PC. Stop viruses,spyware,spam,malware. Alien Skin Xenofex 2 is an interesting and useful program which is designed with 14 more phenomenal plug-in effects. Simulate realistic lightning and clouds in your digital photos. Simulate realistic lightning and clouds in your digital photos. Derby, United Kingdom; Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia; Semarang, Indonesia; Kansas City (Mo), United States; Chlef (Ech Cheliff), Algeria; Bahia Blanca, Argentina.

Micromat also added the ability to check volume structures on the startup volume and to attempt to repair any problems that it finds. This feature was formerly relegated to Mac OS X's Disk Utility application. Version 3.1.1 also drops the Diagnostic and Rezero Unit tests and adds Drive Hardware and Directory Scan tests for a total of 16 tests. We updated our version of TechTool Deluxe from v3.0.3 to v3.1.1 with no problem. Then we ran v3.1.1 on our 2.16GHz MacBook Pro. Except for the Surface Scan test, TechTool Deluxe took just a few minutes to check out our MacBook Pro.

It found no problems so we couldn't test its repair capability. The Surface Scan test took nearly 40 minutes to check the 194,700,000 blocks on our 100GB 7200rpm internal hard drive and found no bad blocks. Unfortunately, TechTool Deluxe would not check our attached 80GB FireWire hard drive that we use for backups and an emergency boot drive.

While we are glad to have TechTool Deluxe 3.1.1 (Universal) that now works on Intel-based Macs, we await the delivery this week of the TechTool Pro 4.5.1 (Universal) CD for more complete protection. Bill Fox 7/29 More Key Universal Application Updates-TechTool Deluxe 3.1.1, Flip4Mac 2.1 and Thunderbird 1.5.0.5 - AppleCare version.

Added support for Intel processor compatibility (Universal Binary). Added support for Volume Structure testing of the current startup volume. Added CD download dialog for Volume Structure failure on current startup volume. Replaced Diagnostic and Rezero Unit tests and added Drive Hardware and Directory Scan.

Other minor changes and feature enhancements. Updated localization. The beta has gone final.

View Windows Media videos on a Mac. Added universal binary support for Intel Macs. Added playback optimizations for Intel Macs. Added significant export optimizations for PowerPC Macs. Added multi language audio support in player. Added overlay when importing WMV content in trial mode.

Added support for web authors to disable 'save as' feature in web browser. Improved support for MMS servers and live streams. Fixed DCT Blocking issue (progressive deterioration with increasing distance from previous keyframe). Fixed encode errors when the audio bit rate is set higher than the video bit rate.The Mozilla Foundation email client. Improvements to product stability. Bill Fox 7/28 Brief Hands-On Report-Mozilla's Updates to Firefox v1.505 and Sea Monkey v1.0.3 provides:.

Improvements to product stability. Added changes for Frisian locale (fy-NL). Twelve provides:. Improved stability. Thirteen.

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Fixed a bug that sometimes caused the URL bar to stop working properly when switching tabs. The ' bookmarks overflow icon will now display more reliably.

The Sea Monkey update page will load in a more useful browser window We downloaded, installed and used both updates and encountered no problems. Bill Fox 7/28 Apple Revised the Offerings from Two Hot Deals Retailers has deals on a wide variety Mac compatible hardware and software products including: the Audioengine 5 powered, 45W RMS/channel bookshelf multimedia speaker system for only $349.00! - a Hot Deals exclusive price w/free shipping!; 3.5' ATA FireWire/USB 2.0 external hard drive enclosure from MacAlly at a Hot Deals exclusive price of only $43.50!; organize your sales contacts w/Daylite 3, a great customer relationship management application from Marketcircle at a Hot Deals exclusive price of only $116.00!; free your ears from your iPod with the Small Dog Groove Cube portable external speakers at a Hot Deals exclusive price of only $14.00!;; and much more. Has deals on a wide variety Mac compatible hardware and software products including: MOTU Ethno Instrument - a massive collection of ethnic sounds and loops from Mark of the Unicorn for only $279.97!; Boss BR-600 8-track ultra-compact digital recorder w/built-in drum machine for only $399.97!; need an affordable audio interface? - then get the Saffire LE 4x6 FireWire interface w/24-bit/96KHz capabilities from Focusrite for only $299.99!; PreSonus TubePRE B-Stock single-channel tube microphone pre-amp w/direct instrument input for only $84.97!; get over 11,000 drum, instrument, vocal and effects loops for GarageBand in the Zero-G Pro Pack for only $154.97!; and much more.

Bill Fox 7/28 PowerBook G4 Titanium CPU Upgrades to 1.33GHz Available from Daystar Daystar introduced their new XLR8 CPU upgrade for the Titanium PowerBook G4 series. This new CPU upgrade delivers up to 100% faster performance for owners of most classic Titanium systems.

It has been shipping for 3 months to 'pre-release' customers and is now available immediately. The PowerBook G4 Titanium upgrade dubbed, 'XLR8 MAChSpeed G4 Titanium' is a factory installed upgrade. Users simply place their PowerBook in the provided box. The shipping, testing, installation and 100% quality assurance is handled completely by Daystar's Apple Certified Technicians.

A 'weekender' (in on Friday, back on Monday) program is also available. Daystar uses the latest model, highest rated Freescale PowerPC CPUs. It runs transparent to the operating system and is fully compatible with future OS's. The result is a system with much faster processing power, and improved performance in the Finder and every application. The following upgrades are available:.

The PowerBook G4 800-1000 MHz is upgraded to 1.33 GHz in speed. The PowerBook G4 550-667 MHz is upgraded to 1.25 GHz in speed. The PowerBook G4 400-500 MHz is upgraded to 550 MHz in speed Daystar's base price for the is $449 ($249 for the 400-500 MHz models) and that includes all parts and labor and US Ground Shipping. 7/27 Metallica Now on iTunes-The Last Digital Holdouts are Fading Fast The heavy metal band Metallica was one of the most vocal opponents of downloading digital music. Now they have yielded to the times and their songs appear on Apple's iTunes Music Store.

Some 150 Metallica songs and albums are available for download today. Dana Baggett & Bill Fox 7/27 Tonight on The Tech Night Owl Live-Net Neutrality and Mac Troubleshooting Tonight host Gene Steinberg and his irreverent son and co-host Grayson examine the the hot and heavy topic of network neutrality with Adam Engst, publisher of TidBITS and Bryan Martin, CEO of 8x8, which provides Packet8 Internet telephone service. You'll also hear from noted Mac troubleshooter Ted Landau, author of the 'Mac OS X Help Line: Tiger Edition.' The Web broadcast Thursday night from 6:00 to 8:00 PM Pacific, 9:00 to 11:00 PM Eastern.

Bill Fox 7/27 EyeTV 2.3 Update (Universal) Adds Full Screen Menu with Front Row Functionality The EyeTV software from Elgato can now be accessed from the couch across the room. Elgato added a Full Screen Menu to EyeTV 2.3, which features familiar Front Row-style user interface elements. EyeTV 2.3 supports the Apple Remote infrared remote control and works seamlessly with Front Row. EyeTV's Full Screen Menu interface closely mimics Front Row's functionality. Users can easily orient themselves, whether they are watching a slide show, a DVD, or playing back music or live television. On computers that shipped with Front Row, EyeTV's Full Screen Menu can be controlled with the Apple Remote infrared remote control.

Owners of older Macs can also take advantage of EyeTV's new feature by using the infrared remote control that was included with their EyeTV product. Is available immediately at many retailers and at the Elgato online store for $79 US. Existing EyeTV 2 customers can download the update free of charge. 7/25 Apple Technology Helps Low Performing School to Win IT Award Calling the school a low decile primary school in Aukland, New Zealand, OneNews reported that the school won the Judge's Prize at the Computerworld Excellence Awards.

What did they do? They have been making podcasts and have made them available on Apple's iTunes Music Store, gaining an international audience. According to the article, making podcasts has transformed the students' learning. Dana Baggett 7/25 I-Tunes U-New Apple Program for Delivering University Lectures by iPod Courtland State University is going digital with its lectures. Apple is helping CSU to develop a program that delivers digital lectures to iPods so that they may be reviewed where ever the student prefers. Apple is providing free assistance to CSU for this project under the banner of I-Tunes.

The program at CSU is slated to start this Fall. Dana Baggett 7/25 AMD Buying ATI-Big Groan!

We don't see how this can be good news for Mac users. The only graphics company to build third party graphics cards for the Mac, ATI Technologies, is being bought by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) for $5.4 billion, according to. As most of you probably know, AMD is the arch (only?) rival of Intel, the new supplier of Apple's Core Duo CPUs, and it has no Mac experience.

ATI's Radeon X1600 graphics are in the current iMac Core Duo and MacBook Pro and its graphics have been dominant on Mac platforms over the years. Yes, Nvidia's graphics have also been in Macs recently but as OEM graphics built by Apple, not as third party after-market cards, and rarely as the top dog-the GeForce3 and GeForce 6800 Ultra are exceptions when introduced. More often than not, the best graphics card available for the Mac has been built by ATI. Moreover, the only third party after-market graphics available specifically for the Mac, i.e. Without hacks, have been built by ATI. We certainly can't fault AMD for buying ATI.

It looks like a terrific move to us-for AMD. But we don't see how this is a positive event for Mac users. Sure, there may be no immediate issues but a longer term commitment may run against the strategic logic of the purchase. AMD is fighting for its life against Intel and it needs the ability to produce an integrated CPU/graphics environment to stay alive and possibly thrive. We don't see a line of Mac graphics cards helping with this battle, only tying up needed resources. We hope we're dead wrong.

Bill Fox 7/25 O'Reilly Emerging Telephony Conference: Opportunity to Participate Calls The Call for Participation for the second annual, aka ETel, is now open. Technologists, CTOs, chief scientists, researchers, programmers, hackers, business developers, entrepreneurs, and other interested parties are invited to lead conference plenary sessions and workshops at ETel 2007. ETel 2007 will be held 2/27-3/1/2007 at the San Franciso Airport Marriott.

Topics will be centered on innovations and projects in open source telephony, P2P VoIP, open source hardware, wireless mobility, mobile telephony, wi-fi VoIP, telco networks as platforms, and the intersection of VoIP telephony with web services. Proposals are due no later than September 26, 2006.

7/24 Hands-On Report-TypeIt4Me 3.0 (Universal), Really Cool Mac Software Riccardo Ettore's has been an indispensable utility for us since version 1.x. But when we got our Intel-based MacBook Pro we were disappointed to find out that TypeIt4Me, then at v2.3, did not work with Intel-based Macs under Rosetta. Now, we can use it on our MacBook Pro because v3.0 is a Universal Application, working on both Intel-based and PowerPC-based Macs. In addition, it has a new user interface written in Cocoa. TypeIt4Me has come a long way since its initial 1.x release. The just-released v3.0 is not just a universal binary but a much better application with a load of new features.

We started using TypeIt4Me just to insert repetitive phrases, sentences and paragraphs but it does so much more now. Here is the list of major new features added since the last PowerPC version 2.3:.

Clippings can now contain styled ('rich') text and/or pictures;. Expansion can now occur WITHOUT requiring a delimiter/trigger;.

Any single abbreviation can now be associated to expand only within a specific application (this is in addition to the 2.3 feature of associating entire abbreviation files to specific applications);. You can now embed or nest clippings within clippings;.

View/Print Clippings allows you to print a nicely formatted list of all your clippings:;. Open File. 7/21 Apple Revised the Offerings from Two More Hot Deals Retailers This Week has deals on a wide variety of Mac games with an exclusive 5% discount at checkout. All prices are before 5% discount: you've seen the hit movie now own the game - Cars The Video Game from THQ for only $29.95; hunt Baron Von Schtopwatch in WngNuts 2: Raina's Revenge from Freeverse Software for only $29.95!; Farmerama from Idigicon for only $19.95! - digital download only; Kakuro Quest's puzzles resemble crosswords or Cross Sums using numbers instead of words from Lost Sock Games for only $19.95!- digital download only; get the most comprehensive and most powerful flight simulator in the world - X-Plane Deluxe (7-DVD Edition!) from GraphSim Entertainment for only $59.95!; and much more. 7/20 Apple Posted Second Best Quarter in History-Q3 Earnings Beat Analysts' Estimate by 23 Percent Riding a huge increase in sales from notebooks, MacBook and MacBook Pro, Apple posted a $472 million net profit for the third quarter (ending June 30) of its 2006 fiscal year, the second highest in Apple's history. Earnings per share came in at $0.54 on revenue of $4.37 billion, vaulting over the analysts' consensus estimate announced by Thomson First Call of $0.44 by 23 percent.

Gross margin was a high 30.3 percent and cash and short term investments now total $9.2 billion. Compared with last year's third quarter, the 2006 Q3 is up 48 percent in net profit, up 24 percent in revenue, up 46 percent in earnings per share, up 2 percent in gross margin and up 11 percent in cash on hand. Overall, the third quarter was an outstanding result, the second best quarter in Apple's history. This terrific financial performance was driven largely by increased sales of Apple notebooks, the MacBook and MacBook Pro. Notebook sales were 748,000 out of a total Mac sales of 1,327,000.

The notebook sales were up 61 percent from Q3 2005 and 60 percent from the last quarter this year due largely to the introduction of the MacBook. The third quarter ended with some backlog of MacBook orders that will be satisfied during the current Q4 ending with September. Desktop (iMac, Mac mini, Power Mac and Xserve) sales at 529,000 continue to sag, falling 23 percent from the 2005 Q3 and 14 percent from 2006 Q2. Apple executives attributed this to a postponement of buying by pro users until an Intel-based Power Mac is available but mostly to the increasing popularity of notebooks led by Apple. Executives said that Apple is still on target to deliver intel-based Power Mac and Xserve replacements by the end of the year. IPod sales at 8.1 million were up 32 percent over last year's Q3 but down 5 percent from last quarter. Sales revenue was up over the 2005 Q3 in all three geographical areas (Americas, Europe and Japan) by 14 to 26 percent but down sequentially in Europe and Japan from last quarter by 7 and 17 percent respectively.

Apple executives said PC sales are down generally in Japan and expected good results from the new Apple retail stores opening there recently. They also said that Phil Schiller, Apple's Senior VP for Worldwide Product Marketing, is filling in for the recent departure of the top marketing executive in Japan. Sales in Latin America have doubled but there is still a tremendous and largely untapped opportunity there. The Apple retail stores are still doing well. They are up by 14 this year for a total of 155 world wide.

Sales revenue increased 29 percent over the 2005 Q3 and 12 percent over the last quarter. Nearly 50 percent of their sales are to non-Mac owners. With regard to education, that channel saw an 11 percent growth to make it the best third (June) quarter fort Apple's education channel in a decade, according to Apple's executives.

In response to a question about Boot Camp, Apple COO Tim Cook responded by saying that downloads of Boot Camp software were 'significant' in the third quarter. He was certain that Windows users are finding Boot Camp to be an aid to switching to Apple's Macs. Apple's Boot Camp allows an Intel-based Mac to boot and run Windows XP.

Apple expects the next (fourth) quarter to yield some $4.5 to 4.6 billion in revenue and some $0.46-0.48 earnings per share. The decreased earnings result from the back to school promotional discount offering a free iPod nano with a Mac purchase and other promotions. The financial results and projections were revealed in an Apple and a that we attended. Bill Fox 7/20 Apple's Mac Sales Growth in Q2 of 2006 15.4% was Second Only to Gateway in U.S. Released its computer sales data for the second quarter of 2006, i.e.

Apple's growth in sales from the same quarter in 2005 was 15.4 percent, second only to Gateway at 16.3% and just ahead of HP in third place with 15.2%. Sales growth averaged 6.4 percent across the industry. World wide, PC sales growth was 11 percent. In terms of the number of computer sales, Apple was fourth for the U.S. Behind Dell, HP and Gateway. Market share was 4.6 percent, just ahead of Lenovo at 3.9 percent and just behind Gateway at 6.2 percent.

The video chat rooms are hosted by broadband users who are running the Camfrog Video Chat Room Server software so any user can set up their own multi-user video conference for other users to join. Camfrog video chat download from internet for mac. No Webcam is required to see people, but some rooms might not allow users without Webcams.

The market share leaders were Dell then HP at 32 and 18.9 percent. Apple's second quarter year-to-year growth in sales in Japan at 14 percent substantially beat the overall PC market growth rate in Japan of just 0.5 percent. Bill Fox 7/20 Burning Downloaded Movies to DVD Begins-iTunes Movies Likely to Come Soon Portending movies being added to Apple's iTunes Music Store, CinemaNow has struck a deal with major movie studios to allow downloading and burning movies to DVDs. The technology to prevent piracy keeps the burned DVD from being copied but it should play on most DVD players.

The studios signed up with CinemaNow include: Sony, Universal, Disney and MGM. Still on the sidelines are 20th Century Fox and Paramount.

CinemaNow's deal includes 100 titles but does not include any major current hits. Basically, this deal is a test of the technology with movies costing from $9.

Downloading will take about 3 hours with the average high speed internet connection. Apple is expected to announce a deal allowing movies to be downloaded from its iTunes Music Store but no studio nor Apple is commenting on the prospect. The CinemaNow deal virtually guarantees that Apple's movie service is coming soon. Dana Baggett 7/20 Apple Revised the Offerings from Two Hot Deals Retailers has deals on a wide variety of Mac software and hardware products including: StockLayouts for Adobe InDesign Vol. 7/19 Waterproof iPod Shuffle Housing Shipping-Joins iPod and iPod nano Waterproof Housings H2O Audio, the leading provider of waterproof housings and headphones for Apple's iPod, announced today that it has begun shipping its new patented H2O Audio for iPod Shuffle waterproof housing. H2O Audio for iPod Shuffle is the latest addition to the company's proven and globally popular line of adventure sport and outdoor recreation accessories for the iPod. H2O Audio for iPod Shuffle features include:.

Waterproof housing for Apple iPod Shuffle players, secure to 10ft.(3m). Patented easy-access control pad function. Impact protection. Water, dust, sand and snow safe. Compatible with standard headphones. Compatible with H2O Audio patented waterproof headphones.

Secure armband for carefree mobility The new H2O Audio for iPod Shuffle housing provides unique full-function control that gives users ready access to all of the Shuffle's proprietary command functions even when fully submerged in water. MSRP for the housing is $39.95. H2O Audio Headphones are sold separately for $39.95. Dana Baggett 7/19 Apple Releases Q3 Financial Report Later Today-Likely to Beat Analysts' Estimates After the close of the NYSE today, Apple will release the financial report for the third quarter (ended June 30th) of its 2006 fiscal year. Apple will also hold an audio webcast conference call with financial analysts to present its Q3 report, including a Q4 projection, and answer questions. The webcast will occur at 2pm PT (5pm ET) and may be listened to with QuickTime from this Apple as we reported on Monday.

The consensus analysts' estimate of Apple's 2006 Q3 financial performance provided by Thomson First Call is $0.44 earnings per share , below Apple's 2006 Q2 at $0.47 as usual but much higher that the 2005 Q3 at $0.37. However, it is rare under CEO Steve Jobs that Apple does not beat the analysts' consensus, sometimes very significantly. We expect this to happen again today and will provide a report subsequently. Bill Fox & Dana Baggett 7/19 Divine Fiat Released New Keynote Theme-Photo Options We use Apple's Keynote for our presentations and Divine Fiat makes some really cool themes. Divine Fiat announced the immediate availability of Photo Options, their latest Keynote theme.

Designed with an eye towards professional and amateur photographers, Photo Options consists of two themes, Darkroom and Light Box, as well as Photo Icons, a separate set of high quality photography- related extras. They can be purchased from individually for $19.95 or as part of the Photo Options collection for $44.85. Bill Fox 7/19 Sirds 1.0 for Mac OS X Released by Katsura Shareware Katsura Shareware released Sirds 1.0 for Mac OS X this week.

Sirds lets you create Single Image Random Dot Stereogram (SIRDS) or Single Image Stereogram (SIS) from depth map and pattern images. SIRDS or SIS is an image giving a three-dimensional representation of a solid object or surface, and it does not require any equipment such as red & blue or polarized 3D glasses to view the stereo scene. You just need to learn how to view it in certain way with your own eyes. Sirds 1.0 for Mac OS X, the latest from Cool Mac Software developer, is $15. 7/17 New 'Kamas' Stand for Apple MacBook Pro and MacBook is Shipping with Heat Sink and Thermal Pad The finest professional stand made for PowerBooks is now available for the MacBook Pro and MacBook.

The completely re-designed Kamas stand from Power Support of Japan has an adjustable ledge that allows a CD/DVD disc to be inserted while on the stand and fits all models of Apple's MacBook Pro (15' and 17'-shown at right) and MacBook. It also fits all sizes of PowerBook G4's and iBook G4s and G3s. If you change models of MacBook Pro, you no longer need a new stand. The ledge which holds the lower front edge of the 'Book is now covered with a silicone rubber insert to grip the 'Book and to prevent any scratching or marring of its finish.

The new Kamas (PSK-11) stand has a special built-in '-4 o' finned heat sink and thermal pad for broader and better heat dissipation. The angle of the platform is adjustable from level to an angle that allows for maximum screen tilt while maintaining an appropriate viewing angle. One can store a keyboard under the 'Book as well (see below for MacBook). Made from steel in silver and black, the new Kamas stand is as precision made and as solid, sturdy and professional as its predecessors but with added heat dissipation, adjustability and protection. The new Kamas stand for the MacBook Pros and MacBook is available to order exclusively from for $119 and is shipping now.

Bill Fox 7/17 Apple to Report Q3 Financials on Wednesday Apple's July financial quarter ended June 30 and the eoprrt for the third quarter will be released on Wednesday. Apple will hold a QuickTime at 2pm PT (5pm ET). Bill Fox 7/17 Apple Offering Training Courses Before and After WWDC You can enhance your WWDC 2006 learning experience with Apple Training. IT and developer training courses are being offered immediately preceding and following WWDC 2006 at the Apple Campus in Cupertino and at v.2 Consulting in San Francisco. The following courses are available: - August 2-4: - August 2-4: - August 12-13: - August 14-16: - August 14-16: The number of seats in each Apple Training course is limited. Registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Bill Fox 7/17 Apple Posted New Article Improving Your Software with Static Code Analysis Techniques With Xcode and GCC, you can statically verify your code to improve quality and stability.

Read this article to learn about static analysis how to get started using it with an Xcode project. Check out the article. Bill Fox 7/17 Apple Posted Developer Note for New 17' iMac for Education The provides technical details about the latest $899 iMac for Education that replaces the eMac. 7/13 Bob Seger Now on Apple's iTunes Music Store with Newest Single Wait For Me Hooray-we oldster Mac users can rejoice! One of our all time favorite music artists has ended his holdout against his songs appearing for sale on Apple's iTunes Music Store or any other digital song service for that matter.

Bob Seger's Wait For Me, from his soon-to-be-released album Face The Promise, debuted yesterday on iTMS. So we're waiting, money in hand, for a slew his classic hits to appear, songs like Against the Wind, Night Moves, Old Time Rock and Roll and Like a Rock. Dana Baggett and Bill Fox 7/13 Just Out-Play Around with Mozilla Firefox 2.0 Beta 1 Release It's not for the faint of heart or ready for prime time but Mozilla has released what they are calling a, an alternative to Apple's Safari Web browser. Here's some of the new Mac-relevent goodies:. Built in Phishing Protection. Search suggestions now appear with search history in the search box for Google, Yahoo! 7/12 Apple Released New Boot Camp 1.0.2 Public Beta The new version of Apple's Boot Camp 1.0.2 Public Beta is available for via MacUpdate.com.

Boot Camp allows one to create a separate Windows partition on an Intel-based Mac, install a copy of Windows XP with Service Pack 2 on it and boot with it. Unfortunately, there are no release notes for v1.0.2 at publication time. The manual is labeled v1.0.2 but no changes from the previous version is noted.

Perhaps, it is an improved installer or some of the Windows drivers have been updated. In case it is the latter, one may wish to create a CD and re-install the drivers. Dana Baggett & Bill Fox 7/12 Apple Confirmed as Having Most Loyal Customer Base Among Computer Companies-Again! We all know it but a just-completed study by Satmetrix Systems confirms it. Apple Computer, along with Google (for online services) and Symantec (for computer software), is the computer company with the most loyal customers according to a series of Net Promoter Industry Reports just released by Satmetrix Systems, Inc. The results from these reports are indicative of each company's commitment to maximizing customer experience and driving revenue growth through customer loyalty.

'The companies with the highest Net Promoter scores are well known for their market performance and brand leadership,' said Dr. Laura Brooks, vice president of research and business consulting at Satmetrix Systems, Inc. 'Apple, whose score far outranks its closest competitor, is well known for its passionate and dedicated customer base.' The Net Promoter Score, created by loyalty expert Fred Reichheld of Bain & Co. And Satmetrix, measures customer experience and profitable growth, using a simple and radical question: How likely is it that you would recommend us to a friend or colleague? It allows companies to track promoters (customers who have a favorable view of doing business with the company and who will actively promote it) and detractors (customers who have a negative view and will tell colleagues, encouraging potential customers to take their business elsewhere) and produces the single most reliable indicator of a company's ability to grow by measuring its performance in its customers' eyes.

Apple's customers also indicated that there are certain aspects of a business which have a large impact on their likelihood to recommend and that these drivers are consistent across the high-technology industry. These were also consistent with those companies with the lowest Net Promoter rating who scored low in all four areas. The areas of a company which customers identified as having a large impact on their likelihood to recommend it to a friend or colleague were:.

Overall product or service;. Overall value (including the company's fees and charges);. Company reputation; and. Customer service and support.

The results of the Net Promoter Industry Report 2006 are based on responses from customers regarding their experiences with their actual provider. The study was fielded during the first half of 2005. 7/11 Impending HD-DVD vs Blu-ray Format Battle Nipped by Ricoh? Apple is one of the supporters of the Blu-ray format for high definition video DVDs. The other format is called HD-DVD. Both formats use blue laser technology with a smaller wave length than red lasers so that more information can be written on a DVD. The Blu-ray format allows a DVD to hold more information than the HD-DVD format but it is also more expensive.

Consumers, poised for another Betamax-VHS battle, are none to happy. So, it's Ricoh to the rescue according to EE Times as cited by CNet.

Ricoh will announce a part that allows DVD players to use both formats at the 2006 International Optoelectronics Exhibition in Japan later this week. Dana Baggett.

7/11 FileMaker Pro 8.5 (Universal) Shipping with New Feature-Live Web Data on Demand FileMaker, Inc., announced the immediate availability of, the first desktop database to provide built-in integration with live web data. As easy as it is to bookmark a web page, a live web page can now be added to a record in a database using the new Web Viewer Control in FileMaker Pro 8.5. Data in specified record fields, such as customer's address or product name, will drive the URL in the Web Viewer. Set it up once and there will be a live web link for every record in the database. Possibilities include street maps based on a customer address field, shipping status based on a shipment tracking number and stock performance charts based on a stock symbol.

'Delivering web data on demand continues our tradition of setting new standards in the database market,' said Dominique Goupil, president, FileMaker, Inc. 'With the new Web Viewer in FileMaker Pro 8.5, we are leading the way users will harness Web data.

And we expect to reignite the workgroup database category with this breakthrough benefit.' The new product line includes FileMaker Pro 8.5, FileMaker Pro 8.5 Advanced, FileMaker Server 8.0v4 and FileMaker Server 8.0v4 Advanced and all feature new Universal Application support. FileMaker Pro 8.5 runs on Mac OS X on Intel-based Macs delivering up to 91 percent (116 percent for the server edition) faster performance vs. Running on Power PC, based on the company's benchmark testing. The new versions also run on Power PC-based Macs, Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Available exclusively within FileMaker Pro 8.5, FileMaker also introduces the FileMaker Learning Center, a convenient way for users of all levels to learn FileMaker at their own pace.

The FileMaker Learning Center includes free video tutorials, how-to guides and many other resources. FileMaker Pro 8.5 also offers powerful new object functions and scripting capabilities, features that carry on the company's tradition of providing greater productivity for developers and more intuitive solutions for users. The upgrade prices are $99 from v8.x and $179 from v7.x or 6.x. Bill Fox 7/11 Free Image Tricks 2.2 is Out from BeLight BeLight Software released, an update to its free image-editing and image-generating tool. The new version adds more image filters and generators for modifying photos, creating original web-design elements, custom backgrounds, etc.

Image effects got faster thanks to OpenGL acceleration. In addition, Image Tricks 2.2 delivers more work convenience due to the expanded workspace and extra settings added to image generators. Image Tricks 2.2 changes:. 8 new image filters. 2 new image generators.

Image rendering accelerated due to OpenGL technology. Option to adjust colo.

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