SGVMUG

After personally reading hundreds of emails from disgruntled iPhone customers, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs appears to have had a change of heart and now plans to offer early iPhone adopters a $100 credit towards future Apple purchases.

In an open letter to customers published on Apple’s website, Jobs conceded that while the technology road is a bumpy one, Apple should have done a better job of taking care of early iPhone customers, many of which make up the company’s most faithful.

“Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these,” he wrote, referring Wednesday’s unprecedented 33 percent price drop on the iPhone just 9 weeks after release. “Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store.”

Details on the $100 store credit are still being worked out, according to Jobs, but will be posted on Apple’s website sometime next week.

“We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers,” Jobs added. “We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.”

iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store

Also launched alongside the iPod touch is Apple’s iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, which lets you browse the iTunes Top Ten lists of songs and albums overall or by genre, check out new releases and “What’s Hot,” or search for your favorite songs, albums or artists.

You can preview any song for free, then purchase and download the ones you like directly onto your iPod touch over Wi-Fi. The music you download will be automatically uploaded into your iTunes library the next time you sync your iPod touch with your computer.

Starbucks partnership

Apple also announced an exclusive agreement with Starbucks that allows you to access the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store for free in participating US Starbucks stores starting next month. When you enter a participating Starbucks location, your iPod touch, iPhone, or PC or Mac running iTunes will automatically recognize the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. You can see what song is currently playing or has recently played in the store, and immediately preview, buy and download it over Wi-Fi.

Apple on Wednesday catered to the demands of iPod users worldwide, unveiling a new “iPod touch” player featuring the company’s revolutionary multi-touch user interface that enables users to find and enjoy all of their music, videos and more on its widescreen display with just the touch of a finger.

iPod touch

First introduced on iPhone, the multi-touch interface uses pioneering new Mac OS X-based software to present the ideal user interface for each application. The iPod touch also includes Wi-Fi wireless networking, the first on any iPod, and three applications that use it — Safari, the most advanced browser on any mobile device, lets users wirelessly view web pages just as they look on their computer, and features Google Search or Yahoo! oneSearch; Apple’s YouTube application lets users wirelessly watch over 10 million free videos from the Internet’s most popular video website; and the new iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store lets users wirelessly browse, preview and buy songs and albums from the most popular online music store in the world. The iPod touch is an unbelievable 8 mm thin, and is priced starting at just $299.

“The iPod touch is a landmark iPod, ushering in a whole new generation of features based on its revolutionary multi-touch interface and built-in Wi-Fi wireless networking,” said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. “People are going to be amazed at how thin it is and how much it does.”

With its 3.5-inch widescreen display, iPod touch is ideal for watching movies and TV shows, as well as viewing photos and album art. The player also features a built-in accelerometer that automatically senses when you rotate it into its landscape position, just like iPhone. When you’re in music, it automatically switches to Cover Flow so you can browse your music collection by album cover artwork with just a flick of a finger. When in Photos, it automatically displays the photo in its landscape aspect ratio; and when in Safari it displays the web page horizontally.

Pricing & Availability

The 8GB iPod touch model is $299 (US) and the 16GB iPod model is $399 (US). iPod touch requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS X 10.4.10 or later and iTunes 7.4; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 2) or later and iTunes 7.4. Internet access is required and a broadband connection is recommended, fees may apply. The iTunes Store is not available in all countries.

In line with expectations, Apple on Wednesday introduced an all new iPod nano, bringing video playback, an enhanced user interface featuring Cover Flow, and a diminutive new design to the world’s most popular music player.

The new iPod nano features a larger two-inch display with 204 pixels per inch, which lets users watch their favorite movies, TV shows and music videos in the same resolution they currently enjoy on the video iPod. iPod nano also includes three fun games, and additional games can be purchased from the online iTunes Store, Apple said.

The new iPod nano delivers up to 24 hours of audio playback or five hours of video playback on a single charge, and is encased in a new all-metal design made with anodized aluminum and polished stainless steel and comes in five new colors — silver, black, blue, green and a (PRODUCT) RED special edition.

“We’ve taken the most popular music player in the world and added stunning video playback just in time for the holiday season,” said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. “The iPod nano just keeps getting better and better with each new generation.”

The screen on the new iPod nano features a 204 pixel per inch display that is 65 percent brighter than the previous generation and delivers 320×240 resolution that is ideal for watching your favorite movies and TV shows on the go. iPod nano also features an enhanced user interface that shows off album artwork and photos like never before, and now includes Cover Flow, so you can scroll through your entire music collection by album cover artwork using the Click Wheel.

Pricing & Availability

Available today, the 4GB iPod nano comes in silver for just $149 (US) and the 8GB model is available in silver, black, blue, green and a (PRODUCT) RED special edition for just $199 (US). Both the 4GB and 8GB iPod nano for Windows or Mac are available worldwide immediately through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. All iPod nano models include earbud headphones, a USB to 30-pin cable and a Universal Dock Connector.

According to Apple’s support pages, purchasers of iLife ‘08 who don’t meet the system specs for the new iMovie can download the iLife ‘06 version. The Apple specs state the new version of iMovie won’t run on any non-intel laptop nor will it run on any G4 tower. The only non-intel machines that will be able to run it are G5s 2.0 Ghz or greater [which started showing up in April/May 2005] .

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/imovieHD6.html

System specs for iLife ‘08 -

http://www.apple.com/ilife/systemrequirements.html

System Requirements

* Mac computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 processor.
* iMovie requires a Mac with an Intel processor, a Power Mac G5 (dual 2.0GHz or faster), or an iMac G5 (1.9GHz or faster).
* iDVD requires a 733MHz or faster processor.
* 512MB of RAM; 1GB recommended. High-definition video requires at least 1GB of RAM.
* Mac OS X v10.4.9 or later.
* 3GB of available disk space.
* DVD drive required for installation.
* QuickTime 7.2 or later.
* Other configurations may be supported. AVCHD video and 24-bit recording have additional requirements. Visit iMovie ’08 Camcorder Support for more information on AVCHD.
* 24-bit recording in GarageBand ’08 requires a Mac OS X compatible audio interface with support for 24-bit audio. Please consult the owners manual or manufacturer directly for audio device specification and compatibility.
* Burning DVDs requires an Apple SuperDrive or compatible third-party DVD burner.
* iPhoto print services are available in the U.S., Canada, Japan, and select European countries. Internet access required; fees and terms apply.
* iWeb requires Internet and web server access (.Mac recommended).
* Some features in iLife require .Mac. The .Mac service is available to persons age 13 and older. Annual membership fee and Internet access required. Terms and conditions apply.

System Requirements for iLife ‘06 -

The minimum requirements for iMovie HD 6 are:
- A Macintosh computer with a PowerPC G4, G5, or Intel Core processor
- 256 MB of RAM; 512 MB recommended
- High definition video requires a 1 GHz G4 processor or faster and 512 MB of RAM
- Mac OS X 10.3.9 or Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later; Mac OS X 10.4.4 recommended
- Mac OS X 10.4.4 (or later) required for themes, real-time video effects, and audio effects

So our guess is as good as yours. We don’t know what Apple is set to announce tomorrow. It could be thinner iMacs or a new Mac Mini or a tablet computer. At this point anything goes…

What do you think ? Comment and let us know..

The iPhone got it’s first software update last week. Even though Apple said that the update was just for routine bug fixes, they seem to have tweaked more than a few settings across all their apps. Walt Mossberg has more details on these settings on his MossBlog site.

Some of the tweaks are:

• You can add 50 favorites for quick dialing
• You can now send BCC in your email
• Calculator fix - the numbers get replaced when you relaunch calculator (I really wanted this !)
• You can make an emergency call even if the iPhone is passcode locked!

Read more on the MossBlog …

For those lucky people who bought the MacUpdate bundle that was talked about on our mailing list, here’s an FYI on GraphicConverter.
(BTW, this also applies to anyone who bought it at Macworld in January)

From his site- http://www.lemkesoft.com/

——————————————-
Note: All customers who order/ordered GraphicConverter 5.x (UB/X/Classic) directly from Lemke Software, our KAGI store or our Element 5 store after January 1, 2007 will receive the upgrade to version 6.x free of charge.
Customers who own a version from the MacUpdate bundle will receive a new license key the next days.

This offer does not apply to special promos or bundles sales of other resellers.

We e-mailed the new license keys already. So, please contact us, if you did not receive your new key.
——————————————-

If interested please go here to see what has been updated, changed, etc.

http://www.lemkesoft.com/xd/public/content/index._cGlkPTE2Mg_.html

(I’d paste in the text but there’s a lot of stuff - 24 items under new, 20 under updated, 15 under bug fixes)

Welcome to the new website and blog of the San Gabriel Valley Macintosh Users Group. We hope that this new site will help our community grow and prosper. We will be adding new features periodically to keep the momentum going and of course to help spread the Macintosh experience.

We have added the following new features:

1. An informative blog that we will keep updated daily with the latest in the world of Macintosh and associated products.
2. A photo gallery, displaying our own Thomas Ritter’s extensive collection of SGVMUG related photo graphs - www.sgvmug.org/gallery
3. A web calendar to keep you informed about our meeting dates and other important dates in the Mac world - www.sgvmug.org/blog/calendar
4. A email account for all paid members that can be accessed by POP3 or Webmail - imagine your own email address : yourname@sgvmug.org
5. A new Mac-Talk mailing list address: mac-talk@sgvmug.net. Get on the mailing list today and chat with us. Here is how you can join…

So come on in and make sure you subscribe to this blog so that every time we post a new article on it you will be notified by email.

And if you are not a member, please come attend our next meeting and become one. You will be glad you did…