Apple today released a beta version of iChat that will exchange video with Windows users who use AOL's AIM version 5.5. Seems to work... pretty cool. Also included is Direct Connect, but it appears to not always connect directly between two macs.

Apple has released (available through Software Update) a new version of their Bluetooth drivers for the Macintosh. Bluetooth Update 1.5 (available for Panther users) will allow you to use a Bluetooth headset for your iChat connections and other sound I/O. Further, if you are near a Bluetooth printer …

An article from Wired discussed rock artist Peter Gabriel and his move (with fellow artist Brian Eno) to encourage new artists to look away from the traditional record labels and toward a direct relationship with their fans via the Internet. The pair were stumping support at Midem (a music conference …

Bob Massey of the Washington Post has a favorable review of Apple's new GarageBand (part of iLife '04). He ends the review with "The GarageBand name hides a certain irony -- it's hard to make a song sound any way but slick and seamless in this program. But this same relative …

Apple's new iLife '04 contains an interesting music program called GarageBand. With it, you can create music via a number of different methods, including MIDI keyboard input. However, if you're not yet ready to plunk down real cash on a keyboard and still want to play, look at microSynth, a …

It may just be $50, and not $6M, but Apple's upgrade to iPhoto works as promised, it is bigger (handles larger libraries), stronger (does a bunch more stuff, like photo sharing), and faster---oh, so much faster! So, if you have a lot of photos (or if you will have a …

The announcement last week that Hewlett-Packard would be aligning themselves with Apple in the approach to digital music was met by strong support in the Apple community and strong condemnation by both Microsoft and Dell. The press comments from these two companies spoke of "standards" and "choice", so what could …

I'm going to be putting the MacWorld Keynote up on the big screen on Tuesday at noon. Send me an email if you want to come. Most likely, it'll be streamed in via QuickTime.

There's an interesting article in Fast Company about Apple, Steve Jobs, and innovation. The gist of it is that "if Apple is so innovative, then why are they so damned small." The author, Carleen Hawn, makes some interesting points, but seems to have missed a particularly large one in my …

Wal-mart's PC-only, web-based service is now available for testing, with a $0.88/song price tag and rights similar to those of Apple's iTunes Music Service ( 3 PC copies, 10 burns, unlimited digital music player transfers), it may well provide some competition. Of course, it is windows only right now …

MacMinute has an article that points at a video from Japan showing the line on the opening day at Apple's new Ginza store. The line is said to have 5,500 people in it at its peak. Not bad for a "fringe player".

In half the time that it took Mac users to embrace the music service from Apple, Windows users have hit the 1,000,000 downloads mark for the iTunes application, Apple announced today. Apple has also sold 1 million songs since the Windows announcement on Thursday, but there is no …

As the Apple home page said, "Hell Froze Over." Apple has made iTunes for Windows absolutely identical to the Macintosh version, right down to the brushed metal. Importantly, you can find Mac servers (or Windows servers) using Rendezvous and play music from one computer on another (even cross platform).

Apple unleashed a flurry of new features and tweaks for the iPod and iTunes today. Among them are Windows iTunes, AOL integration, gift certificates, and allowances for iTunes; and voice recording and photo storage for the iPod. Here's the low-down: AOL Integration - AOL users can use their screennames and passwords …

Any good Macintosh übergeek will be at their local Apple Store (in the case of Northern Virginia, it'll have to be Clarendon, since the Tyson's store is closed for remodeling) on October 24 to fork over $129 for Panther. Of course, you may want to wait on the $129, but …

Apple released new versions of iCal and iSync yesterday that add a number of useful new features. The updates are both available from the Software Update panel in Jaguar (Mac OS X 10.2), although iCal must be updated first and then iSync since there is a dependence on the …

Almost a week after the vulnerability was found, Apple Computer has now updated Mac OS X to fix the SSH problem on both client and server operating systems. The update is part of 10.2.8, a periodic maintenance update which, according to the tech note, includes a number of …

They have seen Apple's PowerBooks and they are good. According to benchmarks from barefeats, the new PowerBooks are beating the old ones in performance, despite the removal of the Level 3 cache. I won't go into everything, but the new video chip (ATI Radeon 9600) makes a huge difference in …

An article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution contains a variety of quotes from musicians as diverse as the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir, David Draiman of Disturbed, and rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy indicating that the efforts being made "on their behalf" by the RIAA are not being appreciated by …

To a crowd of happy Apple enthusiasts in Paris, Steve Jobs announced revisions to the PowerBook line of G4 portable Macintosh computers. In addition, Apple has released a wireless keyboard and mouse using Bluetooth technology. The key changes in the PowerBook line are centered around the popular 15" model, which …