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Along with the recent encouraging 3Q 2006 financial results from Apple on Wednesday, independent research firms Gartner and IDC have recently reported on 2Q 2006 market share (via MacWorld). Both firms report solid gains from 1 year ago, with IDC reporting a jump from 4.4 to 4.8% U.S. Marketshare and Gartner reporting a jump from 4.3 to 4.6%, making the Mac maker the 4th largest maker of...

Time.com has placed the Nike + iPod Sport Kit as it's Gadget of the Week. For a field already glutted with gadgets, the Nike + iPod kit is the most elegant of high-tech runner's aids. The MacBook has recently been featured as a Gadget of the Week, as well as the 4G iPod....

While Apple hasn't yet released its first Intel-based professional model desktop machine, many users are actively watching Intel's future roadmap for hints as to what may next appear in Apple's second revision Mac Pro and XServe machines. CNet News.com reported yesterday afternoon that Intel's quad-core desktop chip (Kentsfield) and Xeon-class chip (Cloverton) have been bumped up and should...

A couple of industrious readers have noticed that Apple's iMac support site was recently updated to include a product manual for a "Mid 2006" iMac. The manual does not appear to differ much, if at all from the current iMac manual, and does not list any specifications. The current iMac was introduced at Macworld San Francisco in January of this year. Recent rumors/speculation has indicated...

Nvidia may have beaten out Broadcom for the contract to supply Apple with next-generation "true video iPod" chips, according to EE Times. "Based on our analysis, we believe Nvidia is designed into the next-generation vPod socket at the expense of Broadcom," said Satya Chillara, an analyst with American Technology Research Inc. (Greenwich, Conn.), in a new report. "We believe the Nvidia chip...

According to Think Secret, Apple's second generation iPod Nano could arrive at Steve Jobs' August 7th WWDC Keynote address. The site predominantly echoes previous rumors that the new Nano would be available in multiple colors and be made of a more scratch-resistant metal alloy enclosure. In addition, Think Secret believes that Apple has secured enough 40 and 80 GB hard drives to make a minor...

ThinkSecret adds to its information on Apple's upcoming iWork '07 that the forthcoming revision of Keynote will entail "a myriad of subtle refinements more than any particularly notable new feature." Subtle refinements include some animated themes (with more theme resolutions reaching 1920x1080), new text transitions, a preference saving feature, the ability to export to iPod, and iWeb support. Wi...

Apple's forthcoming Mac Pro will sport dual Optical Drive slots, if a recent report from AppleInsider pans out. In addition, the power supply is rumored to be moved from the bottom of the enclosure to the top. Otherwise, the enclosure (mockup) would remain largely unchanged from today's PowerMac G5 design. This is contrary to what ThinkSecret currently believes -- that the Mac Pro enclosure...

Macworld has posted a roundup of recent analyst speculation on the possibility of Apple using Blu-ray in forthcoming products. Most analysts seem to agree that Apple will first include the technology on its professional "Mac Pro" line before transitioning it to its consumer products. "Apples past practices favor bringing new optical technologies to professional systems first, said Jupiter...

The Inquirer is claiming that Organic LED (OLED) displays may be used on next generation small-sized iPods (Nano and/or Shuffle replacement). This rumor is not necessarily new, as ThinkSecret reported in May of 2003 that Apple was considering OLED technology for iPods and possibly displays. OLED displays draw significantly less power than traditional TFT-LCD displays used in current iPod...

A reader reports that his Nike + iPod Sport kit has shipped. Indeed, the Apple Store (US) now lists a 24 hour shipping turnaround for the product. The Nike+iPod partnership was announced on May 23, 2006 via a New York press conference attended by several sports...

Multiple readers report that Apple's $899 iMac has been designated as an education institution purchase only product. From http://www.apple.com/education/imac/ $899 configuration of the 17-inch iMac is available for education institution customers only. For the past week, the education-only iMac had been available to both qualified education individuals and institutions. There has been no...

AppleInsider claims they have confirmation that Apple will be using Intel's Xeon 5100 series processors, also known as "Woodcrest" to power their next generation Intel-based Mac Pro Workstations. Previous claims indicated that the Mac Pro would continue the Quad-core tradition set by the latest batch of PowerMac G5's. However, in order for an Intel-based "Quad" to be developed, a...

Apple has posted the website for the Q3 2006 Financial Results Webcast. The webcast will take place at 2pm PT/5pm ET on Wednesday, July 19, 2006. As usual, it contains the following disclaimer. Please note that comments made during this call may include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from these...

Jason O'Grady posts on his ZDNet blog that Apple has acknowledged and identified the cause of a staining issue that was affecting a small but significant number of MacBook owners. It appears that the original MacBook plastics were too porous which led to staining after oils become embedded in it from prolonged use. Apple changed the formulation of plastics in the production line already, so the ...

CodeWeavers has announced that CrossOver Mac will be arriving this year in late July or early August 2006. Pricing will be at $59.95 for single-user licenses, with volume and educational discounts available. CrossOver Mac will support a number of Windows applications to run natively within Mac OS X using Wine, enabling the user to run Windows applications without having a copy of Windows...

MacRumors user "netdog" reports that he has successfully been able to get rid of his MacBook's "moo" issue by resetting his Power Management Unit (PMU). The steps he took were: 1. Shutdown and disconnect power. 2. Remove battery. 3. Hold down power button for more than 5 seconds. 4. Reinsert battery and reconnect power. 5. Boot. Detailed information on resetting the PMU on MacBook and...

According to News.com, security researcher Kevin Finisterre at Digital Munition has released "attack code" to the public that can locally exploit the launchd daemon. "Attackers may exploit this issue to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges," Symantec said in a security alert to customers that was updated on Thursday. The code affects Mac OS 10.4.0 - 10.4.6 (excluding the recently...

Blogger user "Reality Resized" has posted what he/she claims is a video of Mac OS 10.5 "Leopard" in action. The video is relatively short, albeit longer than fake Video iPod mockup movies that have surfaced over the past year. Notable depictions in the video are a tabbed, solid-metal Finder interface, as well as what appears to be slightly more system menu selection effects. The...

According to AppleInsider, iChat 4.0 (to be included with Mac OS 10.5 "Leopard") will include the capability to call traditional phone lines, much like existing VoIP top-dog Skype and betas from Microsoft and Google. It should be noted that LoopRumors had previously mentioned this capability as early as March 21st in their fourth installment of information pertaining to Leopard. The site then ...