MacNotables #736: Christopher Breen’s New Favorite Thing is iTunes Plus

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Christopher Breen
Apple has introduced DRM free-music in the new iTunes Plus, and the service has been adopted by Christopher Breen as his new favorite thing. Chris summarizes what may be the first real crack in the wall that is Digital Rights Management, the favorable pricing for albums vs. single tracks and the fact that this may be the first time in history that music is “upgradable.” Your questions about sound quality, whether you should avail yourself of the upgrade option, the potential impact on the music industry, as well as commentary on iTunes U, subscription music services and more are all answered by Chris in this in-depth examination of the latest upgrade to the iTunes Store.

MacVoices Announces iPhone Panel

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MacVoices has created a panel of experts who will be delivering rea-world experiences with buying, using and enhancing the iPone in the coming weeks. The panel includes:

Pat Fauquet
Pat Fauquet of Bob LeVitus Consulting
Pat, the Senior Agent for Bob LeVitus Consulting, is their resident expert on PDAs, smart phones and synching to the Mac. She has owned four Treos and three Newton Messagepads and has worked with clients around the world to troubleshoot synching issues between Macs, smart devices and various software packages. She also assists clients in exporting, importing and optimizing data from long-outdated address book applications into Address Book.

Paul Kafasis
Paul Kafasis – CEO, of Rogue Amoeba
Paul serves as the public face of Rogue Amoeba and handles product management for all of Rogue Amoeba’s application, as well as tackling the innumerable tasks no one else wants. When not working, Paul enjoys distance running as a form of fleeing from his problems. Unfortunately, he always winds up back at home, where the problems have been waiting and eating his snacks.

Dan Pourhadi
Dan Pourhadi – freelance writer, contributor to The Unofficial Apple WeblogDan Pourhadi is a Mac enthusiast and critic whose writings have appeared in various publications, including MacAddict and MacDirectory magazines, TidBITS, macCompanion, Macsimum News, Macteens, the Daily Herald newspaper, Northwest Passages, and several MUG newsletters. Dan’s a blogger at AOL’s The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW), and he regularly gives presentations on various technologies to Mac User Groups and Apple Stores in the Chicago area.

Stevesande-6
Steve SandeTake Control author, creator of Movable Beast and iPhone Ranch
Steve Sande has been in love with handheld devices since the first announcement of the Newton Messagepad and has run mobile device websites since 1994. He’s a member of the elite Möbius mobile computing conference group, and has a huge pile of smartphones cluttering his desk as a result. His latest sites are MovableBeast.com, which looks at mobile devices from the perspective of a Mac user, and The iPhone Ranch. Steve is a Mac consultant, instructor, and has written books on the iPod and iWeb for Take Control Books. He’s also the author of the help files for Mark/Space, Inc.’s Missing Sync products for Palm, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry.

MacNotables #735: The MacNotables’ Analysis of Microsoft’s Open Source Intimidation

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MacNotables Adam Engst, Andy Ihnatko and Chuck Joiner get in-depth on Microsoft’s recent claims of Office patents, their intentions to defend them and what they hope to accomplish. The panel decides on whether Mac users should care, veers off on an overview of the goods and not-so-goods of open source software, and share their Windows frustrations.

Adam Engst
Adam Engst
Andy Ihnatko
Andy Ihnatko
Chuck Joiner
Chuck Joiner

MacVoices #766 – Brian Ball of MacZot Discusses The Site That Delivers Daily Discounts on Mac Products

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MacZotMacZot dishes up one discounted Mac product per day in an innovative, fun format. MacZot creator Brian Ball talks about where the word “zot” came from, how MacZot came out of the baby industry, and why the 24-hour discount availability model works. The benefits of a MacZot listing for software authors and publishers, Brian’s personal goals for the site and for the future, the behind-the-scenes mechanics of MacZot and how the site reflects his personality are all discussed in this overview of one of our favorite daily web surfing destinations.

MacNotables #734: Adam Engst, Andy Ihnatko and Chuck Joiner Dissect the iPhone Frenzy

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We’re only weeks away from the probably release of the iPhone, and the anticipation couldn’t be more frenzied. Adam Engst, Andy Ihnatko and Chuck Joiner discuss some of the more interesting aspects of that frenzy, including the impact of the iPhone on Apple’s spiraling stock price, the biggest challenges faced by Apple’s entry into the phone market, why the iPhone shouldn’t be thought of as a combination of an iPod and a cell phone and Apple’s motivations behind the lead time of the iPhone announcement. The panel also discusses Al Gore’s screen real estate, and Andy proves he is the definitive Mac Geek by purchasing an issue of Playboy.

Adam Engst
Adam Engst
Andy Ihnatko
Andy Ihnatko
Chuck Joiner
Chuck Joiner