Among the Believers with Will Leitch

BOSTON—I had this really great idea. At this convention of what from all accounts to be a collection of Magic: The Gathering players and dudes with ironic Scarface posters in their basement, I would spend my final night here my only night here, actually partying with the Mac dorks. I would prowl the town with them, pounding shots, hopping from bar to bar, causing trouble, stirring shit up, all while debating the difficulties of troubleshooting the FileMaker Pro 7 product.

Look, I d even imagined what a great lead would be. Something like this:

Herbert Johnson loves PBG3 s, synchronizing his portable home directories, managing DNS, NAT and VPN firewall constructions and snorting lines of coke off the floor of dingy Irish bars in Boston. His proficiency in all these endeavors is impressive, though to an outside observer, somewhat bewildering.

Wouldn t that have been great? If they had Pulitzers for the Web, that would have totally won me one. I wanted to find out what made this guys tick; understand their Mac obsession over ether, tequila or, in a pinch, a vodka and cranberry. Unfortunately, it didn t really turn out that way. I had dreamed of a story like Stephen Glass famous young Republicans getting blasted piece for The New Republic. Of course, the only way he got that story was by, you know, completely making the whole thing up. I didn t consider that an option.

My search started around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, when I waited outside room P223 of the Hynes Convention Center as the attendees of the Neutered Admins: Creating a Limited Administrator Account Within Mac OS X left their session. I spotted a grouping of about four guys, all deep in conversation. Their discussion, I thought, surely was about what strip club they were hitting that night, or which Mac whore which guy was going to take home, something like that. They re at a convention; that s what people do at conventions, right?

I pulled up aside them and cleared my throat. Hey, guys, I m Will Leitch, a reporter here for Gizmodo.com. How s it going? So, what s going tonight? Everybody all hitting the town tonight? This might not have been the best tactic. They looked at me like I had just offered to sell them some heroin, or maybe just invited them to, hey, take a look at my dong.

Uh, we ve all got work to do in the room tonight, said the oldest one, a grey-haired one, probably everybody s boss. Good luck, though. They shuffled away quickly while I wondered if I should apologize to the Gizmodo editor for tossing the site s name out there so cavalierly.

I recalibrated and figured I d just crawl up and down Boylston Street, home of the convention center, the Bradlee School of Music and various pubs and clubs. I went back to my hotel, showered and changed out of my tie and into a Nirvana T-shirt I d brought specifically for this occasion. And then I hit the strip.

The first bar I come to is the Foggy Goggle Pub and Restaurant, right across the street from Hynes. There is a sign at the door: If you don t know how to have fun, don t come in! Something tells me there are no Mac guys in there.

Among the Believers with Will Leitch

I keep walking and come up to The Lenox, a hotel of much higher quality than my Howard Johnson s. Signs are set up throughout the lobby with the convention s schedule. Success! I stroll past the exercise center definitely nobody I d want to talk to in there and saddle up to the hotel bar, a sleek light blue cauldron of skinny people. I order a vodka tonic and sit next to a guy rifling through some papers. Being an investigative reporter, I sneak a peek at his work. It appears to be a legal brief, and the guy is clean shaven. I m barking up the wrong tree. I gulp down my drink, look around, see nobody wearing a Professor Frink shirt and leave.

I stop by Lir, an Irish pub, and order another vodka tonic. A middle-aged couple is next to me; he s drinking a domestic draft beer, she appears to be nibbling at a Diet Coke. Trying to be subtle, I take my convention badge out of my pocket and set it on the bar. The woman sees it, and her face lights up.

Are you with the computer convention? she asks me.

I am, yes, I m covering it, I m a reporter, I say, reaching for my notebook excitedly.

Oh, that s great, she says. My husband and I are on vacation, and we were really curious about that convention. Her husband glances over at us, bored. The woman shakes my hand; her name is Barbara. I really want to get a Mac computer, but Tom says they re too expensive. Did you see any good deals? I just think they look so neat!

I put my notebook back down and sheathe my pen. We make small talk for a bit, and then I point out the Great Outdoor Games on the television in front of us. Two women are log-rolling; it s more interesting than I would have thought. There s real strategy involved.

I finish my drink and leave.

Desperate, I notice a man on the street standing in front of a Lord & Taylor display window, staring at a mannequin that is looking away, completely nude save for a shawl draped over her shoulders. At this point in the evening, having still found no partying conventioneers, I m not beneath some racial profiling: He s Asian, not particularly fit and has unruly hair, and not in a stylish way. Worth a shot.

I stop next to him. Hey, are you with the convention? I ask.

It occurs to me, as his face shifts from confusion to fear, that the words Are you with the convention? when spoken to someone who is not, in fact, with the convention, sound similar to what What s the frequency, Kenneth? must have sounded like to Dan Rather right before he started getting pummeled.

He says, Excuse me? I look down, apologize and drift away. He goes back to his window and stares in.

Discouraged and frustrated, I decide that even if I m apparently terrible at finding conventioneers to drink with, well, dammit, I at least know how to have fun! To the Foggy Goggle! I hop in and grab another vodka tonic, served to be in a plastic cup with an orange wedge. The Foggy Goggle is nearly empty and has the depressing pallor of a place built to host fun but currently containing none.

I sip my drink and watch some more Great Outdoor Games. Now little dogs are jumping through hoops and running some sort of obstacle course. I notice three men at the table next to mine equally enthralled by the little dogs. It s getting late; now or never.

Hey, guys, you with the convention? I ask.

They are. Their names are Michael, Michael and Christopher. Michael II is the boss, and he looks it: Older, distinguished, polished. Too polished. I ask him what they do.

We re with [name of company redacted by their request], he says. We re financial planners. We re here to prospect new clients. This seems like a good place to go. Mac buyers tend to have lots of disposable income.

I sit there, sipping my vodka tonic in my plastic cup, wondering if this counts as a real conventioneer. Oh, close enough.

So, what kind of Macs do you guys use? I say, hoping they ll spit some technical jargon back at me.

Michael II grins. Oh, we don t have Macs in our office, he says. They re too expensive.

I nod, sip my drink and watch the little dogs scamper.

One of them, buckling under the weight, stumbles over to me and hands me a coaster-sized piece of paper, with a picture of the RIMAGE 360i printer on it. His name is Samir.

Sir, would you like to hear about our printer? he says. I wouldn t, but I take the coaster anyway and ask him how it came about that a flat screen television ended up attached to his backpack and hanging over his head.

He explains that he works for a company called Street Factory Media, which does underground marketing for major conventions. I point out that it doesn t seem very underground to walk around in 90-degree heat with flat screen televisions above one s head, and he laughs, though neither of us is sure why.

Samir, a muscular dude who looks to be in his mid-20s, has been in front of the convention center since about 8 a.m. that morning, an eight-hour shift. He says the backpack/flat screen combo weighs about 35-40 pounds. That s why I go to the gym every day, he says.

His friend doesn t seem like much of a gym rat; he s short, scrawny and trying not to gasp. I put out my hand to shake his, and he lifts and shakes like my dog.

How much longer you guys have to be out here? I ask.

Not long the smaller one says, and the evil part of me wonders if there s something I could steal from him. No way he d be able to catch me.

Road to Expo: Apple's new media experience coming soon [Think Secret]

Surprisingly, there are going to be less iPod announcements this year. The iPod unveiling will possibly include a new Apple-branded iPod Boombox and updates to the shuffle.

Intel power! With all of the Intel/Mac jibber-jabber that has been going on for the past year, will this event be the final unveiling for an Apple product that uses Intel hardware? Most likely. Various sources including Forbes, Appleinsider and ThinkSecret are reporting that there will be a Mac mini, iMac, and iBook all being powered by Intel's dual-core Yonah notebook processor.

There has been a trend where Apple releases a new version of iLife every year at MacWorld. This year is no different as a web mistake by Apple revealed an iLife '06 debuting at MacWorld along with a new application called iWeb.

Does your best friend's cat's gynecologist let you in on some juicy MacWorld rumors? Let us know.

Eve of Expo: Rumors [ThinkSecret]
Rumors [MacRumors]
Exclusive: Apple Plasma Displays [Powerpage]

The excitement is palpable, and we'll be covering things, country style, as best we can with LIVE BLOGGIN' and picture takin' and hootin' and hollerin'. We finally got our poll thing working, it appears, so let's portend, shall we? [Thanks for the photos, eobanb]

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

What does this mean? Well, you'll be able to watch cable TV from anywhere on any computer, at this point, except, I suppose, on a Linux box. SlingBox? Are you listening?

Sling Box Mac Support On The Way [ZatzNotFunny]

JBL takes its audio standings a step further with this crazy-looking On Time iPod Alarm Clock. Not anyone's standard clock, the On Time includes something called halo acoustics that is supposed to give you 360 degrees of sound, as well as a large, backlit LCD, an iPod Universal Dock, an alarm clock, AM/FM radio and a line-in for other audio products.

JBL On Time iPod Alarm Clock [Uncrate]

6:15. Media gets shuffled across the street to a holding pen.

6:30. I get in line at Starbucks. Everyone's there for Macworld. I can tell because they're all dressed in grayscale. A man holds the door open; he grins; spirits are high; we're all getting new iBooks, dammit, and the world is a happy place.

(Photo by Dan Lurie)

With Macworld being all the hype today, we thought we'd bring you a little reminder that not all things iPod have to be good. According to the Wall Street Journal, doctors are starting to see younger folks coming in with signs of noise-induced hearing loss, which they are attributing to the constant use of MP3 players and earphones. Not to worry, much of the same worries were raised when Sony brought out its Walkman those many years ago, but it does seem that because of the advanced technology in the new players (meaning more storage space and longer lasting batteries) we're all listening to our tunes just a little longer than before. And get this—hearing damage is directly related to the duration of exposure, not just the volume. Who knew?

Hearing specialists at centers such as the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles, Children's Hospital Boston and the American Academy of Audiology say the effect they are seeing now may be only the beginning, because accumulated noise damage can take years before it causes noticeable problems. "We're only seeing a few teenagers with hearing loss at this point," says Brian Fligor, director of diagnostic audiology at Children's Hospital Boston. But, he adds that many others may have subtle hearing loss that they have yet to recognize, "and by the time they do, they'll have done substantial damage."

Behind the Music:
IPods and Hearing Loss [WSJ]

I'm using a Compaq Evo. I feel less hate than I expected; it's more of a smirking pity for the schmuck with an ugly machine. We'll see how those bastards like it when I'm first in line for an Intel iBook. And when I'm rich and famous and have beautiful women and I'LL SHOW YOU ALL, SMUG MAC OWNERS.

The "Apple's selling plasma TVs" rumor is catching on and nearly being reported as a solid prediction. I still call bull.

Here's something to look for out of MacWorld. The Digital Lifestyle Outfitter (DLO) HomeDock Deluxe Home Entertainment Center for iPod with On-Screen Navigation (a mouthful, but quite worth it), looks like the first ever iPod dock to let you look at—and control—your media on the TV. That includes music, video and pics. Very advanced idea, though it may take a while to figure out the 18-button remote it comes with. Retails for $150.

MacWorld Expo 2006: New DLO HomeDock Lets You Navigate iPod on TV [i4u]

Specs and pricing for original DLO HomeDock [Shopping.com]

Aaron — the hippie-haired manager with two silent, head-shaking wingmen, who wouldn't tell me his last name — would only admit that foot traffic's been healthy, that it should be healthy all week, and that grass, indeed, is green.

No one wanted to discuss timetables for new products. No one wanted to speculate. The fear of Jobs is in them, and yea, they art sore afraid.

For now, just don't bother walking to one of Apple's flagship stores to buy its bold new release.

Serendipity. I was about to take a head-dive into a Macworld exhibit, tripping over my gadget power cords and connectors when I came across the Cableyoyo. This $5 cable spools, winds and unwinds all kinds of wires with ease, and matches the iPod white color scheme. Very zen.

Cableyoyo [Official site]

Now, on to this MacBook. The MacBook comes with remote and Front Row, which makes it quite the little home media machine. What's this about the MagSafe dealie?

Very nice. I've never dragged my Powerbook around the room by its power cable, but I actually just tried to pull mine out and it took some doing. It's funny that such a silly little thing would be such a big deal, especially with all the Intel stuff, but it's great to know they're still thinking about design rather than pumping out the product.

Overall, it's kind of a slow release. Nothing that we have to run out and buy this very instant. Intel is really the big news, and it's quite a feat that EVERYTHING will be cross-compatible. I guess it had to be done, but it's quite nice that they pulled it off. We'll be getting more product shots as our boys in the field hunt down and capture some of this stuff in the wild.

Mark Spoonauer of Laptop Magazine writes:

I like it because it's the only big-name system I've seen so far that actually takes advantage of the smaller hardware footprint of Core Duo, resulting in the only sub six-pound 15.4-inch notebook we've seen. Most other duo systems that have debuted are basically refreshes on the Windows side. Integrated web cams have been done before but integration with iLife '06 makes this a pretty compelling case for upgraders if not would-be switchers. I don't like that it has ExpressCard slot only (no PC Card slot), which means those who want to plug in EV-DO or HSDPA modems will have to wait for ExpressCard versions of those cards to come out. And where are the memory card slots for digicam owners? Wintel notebooks have had those for years. X1600 graphics pretty impressive for thin and light machine as it's their second highest-end solution, so gamers will be happy provided there's enough titles coming over...

More info after the jump.

PR Pablum Dump:

The new 17-inch 1.83 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US), includes:
— 17-inch widescreen LCD display;
— 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo processor;
— 512MB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 2GB;
— 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL / DVD+/-RW / CD-RW);
— PCI Express-based ATI Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memory;
— built-in iSight video camera;
— built-in AirPort(R) Extreme wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
— 160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
— mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold
separately);
— built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
— the infrared Apple Remote, Mighty Mouse and Apple Keyboard.

The new 20-inch 2.0 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,699 (US), includes:
— 20-inch widescreen LCD display;
— 2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo processor;
— 512MB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 2GB;
— 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL / DVD+/-RW / CD-RW);
— PCI Express-based ATI Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memory;
— built-in iSight video camera;
— built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
— 250GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
— mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold
separately);
— built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
— the infrared Apple Remote, Mighty Mouse and Apple Keyboard.

The 1.67 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:
— 15.4-inch widescreen 1440 x 900 LCD display with 300 cd/m2 brightness;
— 1.67 GHz Intel Core Duo processor;
— 512MB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 2GB;
— 80GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion
Sensor;
— a slot-load SuperDrive(TM) (DVD+/-RW / CD-RW) optical drive;
— PCI Express-based ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memory;
— DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included,
Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately);
— built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display;
— built-in iSight video camera;
— Gigabit Ethernet port;
— built-in AirPort(R) Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
— ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
— two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire(R) 400 port;
— one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both
optical digital and analog;
— scrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboard;
— the infrared Apple Remote;
— 60 Watt hour lithium polymer battery; and
— 85W AC power adapter with MagSafe magnetic power connector.

The 1.83 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), includes:
— 15.4-inch widescreen 1440 x 900 LCD display with 300 cd/m2 brightness;
— 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo processor;
— 1GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 2GB;
— 100GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion
Sensor;
— a slot-load SuperDrive (DVD+/-RW / CD-RW) optical drive;
— PCI Express-based ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
— DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included,
Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately);
— built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display;
— built-in iSight video camera;
— Gigabit Ethernet port;
— built-in Airport Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
— ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
— two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 port;
— one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both
optical digital and analog;
— scrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboard;
— the infrared Apple Remote;
— 60 Watt hour lithium polymer battery; and
— 85W AC power adapter with MagSafe magnetic power connector.

MacBooks ATTACK!

After the Jobs keynote, the Gizmodo team hit the MacWorld show floor as soon as it could to scope out the potential newsworthy items. By far, the coolest product on display so far is the MacBook, judging by the 10-person crush of people waiting to touch the thing. Even the Intel-based iMac doesn't compete.

Getting a quick glance at the MacBook, it looks almost identical to the existing 15-inch PowerBook. The only differences we could spot are the tiny iSight camera lens and the new logo (see side-by-side comparison in photo). We were shunted aside before we could try any applications to get a feel for the speed, but the person doing the demo of iPhoto was flying through the thing.

We also ran to the San Francisco Apple store three blocks away to try to take a closer look. As of 11 am Tuesday, nothing new was on display — disappointing, since this is the flagship. Guess we'll have to wait until February to see it in a store.

We'll have a deeper hands-on as soon as the madness stops.

MacBook Pro [Official Apple product page]

Came across the booth of this colocation and web host company that will host your Mac Mini starting at $29.99. They let you have full control of your machine through remote-control software, including rebooting. They also let you run whatever application you want. You don't get that in the Unix and Windows hosting world without paying the GDP of Uganda. This might be the solution for all you out there who want ubiquitous access to your music and porn.

Macminicolo [Official company site]

Update: We figured it out. These are Leander Kahney's boys. Leander is the author of The Cult of Mac. His sons were here to promote the follow-up, Cult of iPod. What we still can't figure out is why they're out of school on a weekday.

[Photo by Dan Lurie.]

First, the basics. iWeb is a website creation program. It's much easier to use than FrontPage or Homesite, and its pages are much prettier and more sophisticated than the freebie website programs you get from web hosting company. And it blows away blogging software like ecto and MarsEdit.

iWeb [Official product page]

iWeb is part of the new version of iLife ($79) — Apple's collection of multimedia programs that includes iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie, and Garageband. iWeb works closely with the other programs to make it easy for folks to whip together decent-looking websites with photos, music, video and RSS options.

It's easy to get started with iWeb. It comes with Apple-designed templates that have all the staple personal website pages: blog templates, "about me", photo albums and so on. It dispenses with HTML — you make your pages much like a word processor by dragging and dropping page elements. (We didn't get a chance to look at the resulting HTML code, but it's a safe bet it's too gnarly for purists.) And you're not stuck with the Apple templates — you can heavily customize everything.

The most impressive part of iWeb is its iLife Media Browser. It's a palette window through which you can access the media you've stored in iPhoto, iTunes and iDVD. Just drag and drop an album from iPhoto and you got your online slideshow — no need to monkey with JavaScript. Same with songs and videos. And if you add new media — say, a few more snapshots of Junior — iWeb can quickly update everything, including navigation.

iWeb is tightly integrated with .Mac, Apple's web hosting service. If you're a subscriber, you can include things like RSS and photocasting support to your iWeb-created pages. iWeb also takes care of all site navigation links and menus — a nightmare for hand-coded sites. The downside of .Mac integration is, your site will have be on the Mac.com domain. But iWeb also works if you have your own domain. You can save your entire website, save it in a folder, create an index page and upload it all to your web server. We didn't get to test this, but very likely, the result wouldn't be as dynamic and clean as publishing on .Mac.

Of course, if we had more time to kick the tires, we would be able to give you a list of shortcomings and warts. But at first glance, iWeb seems to be another top-of-its-class multimedia app from Apple.

When I tried it, the video looked a touch small, but equitable. But it was fuzzy—I had to take off my glasses. MicroOptical offers prescription inserts for the MyVu, so you can watch in 20/20 and let your friends complain when they try it out.

The MyVu weighs 68 grams and connects via an NTSC port, so it also works with your Archos, Zen, and may make a good camcorder viewfinder. MicroOptical has three more media toys in the works.

myvu [MicroOptical]

It takes a while to learn, but if you can learn to tap at 9-key screens until pimple-sized blisters form on our fingertips, the Half Keyboard is comparably quick to learn. Leave whichever hand you choose free for those mysterious "other things."

The Half Keyboard x2 will sell for $49.99, half the price of the half-sized board. It doesn't ship until April, but it looks a lot like the $595 Half-Qwerty.

Guy: Have you heard anything about 12 and 17? Girl: Right now we only have 15.4, but Steve said last night that we would be getting 12 and 17.

Now we just need to know—how long until we can buy these, and how excited in the pants will Jobs be when he announces them?

Overheard: 12- and 17-inch MacBook Pros Coming Soon [The Apple Blog]

Even sillier is the Hoodman ThermalRest, a keyboard wrist rest with an adjustable heater. Because, you know, everyone tells themselves, "Hey! My computing experience would be more comfortable if my wrists were a specified amount warmer!"

Much more reasonable camera hoods are available at their site. As is a much less reasonable iPod hood.

Products [Hoodman]
Laptop sun shades [Hoodman]
ThermalRest [Hoodman]

So what's the point of a sign reading "Not just a box with foam!"

Acoustilock [Noren]

Google, it turns out, set themselves up with SketchUp, a 3D design brainstorming tool. SketchUp has a plugin for Google Earth, which came out for the Mac this week.

A Google employee demonstrates Google Earth by zooming in on "Saddam's former home."

Verizon's man advised checking EVDOinfo's MacBook Pro page, which will be updated as news comes in. The EVDOinfo forum reports a USB 2.0 dongle sold by Elan Digital Systems. EVDOinfo's ExpressCard page will list ExpressCard format EVDO cards as they're released.

Then again, "heimerwisen" says on the EVDOinfo forum:

Maybe the new ExpressCard port ties into that new MNVO HSDPA wireless service Apple will soon be rolling out to allow Mac users to connect to all the .Mac services (and the Internet) from any point in the USA. Or maybe not.

MacBook Pro and EVDO [EVDO info]
ExpressCard for EVDO [EVDO info]

The sales copy hurts me as much as it does you, but its adjustable slant adds a dynamic twist to the usual line of desktop laptop elevators. The 360-degree turntable is nifty, too.

Macworld attendees can pre-order the iLevel in person, but it's not online for another week or two.

Products [Rain Design] [iLevel not listed at press time]

Team Smart Folders, headed by Jason Snell, vied with Team Force Quit, led by Dori Smith. The whole thing was an excuse for the best Apple in-jokes of the conference.

Breen asks, "In 1991, Microsoft introduced Word 2 for Windows. What version of Microsoft Word came out for Mac?" A contestant asks, Word for Windows/Mac question: "Isn't Microsoft our friend now?" "You're right," Breen replies, "they are, as is Intel." "We have always been at war with East Asia."

"We're friends with Microsoft for five years," says a contestant, joking about Microsoft's five-year commitment to keep updating Office for Mac. "After that, we'll be friends with Oracle," says Breen, "because Larry Ellison is a very nice man."

There's plenty of Windows-bashing. Breen plays narration from Gates's Vista (CNET has the original video) over a video of OS X doing all the exciting new things Vista will do. Later, Breen plays a video of Steve Ballmer freaking out onstage and makes a joke about Ballmer being nicknamed "the Bun-Warmer" (actually the nickname of the Newton prototype).

After rounds of multiple choice, a stunt question breaks the tied score ("We rounded off to the nearest hundred," say the judges). The teams have to locate six posters of musicians from the "Think Different" ad campaign, find Richard Dreyfus's narration from the "Think Different" commercial, and slap the whole shebang into an iPhoto slideshow.

"Anyone working for the RIAA here?" asks Breen. "Cause once this is up, it's a public performance, and we might have a problem." The Smart Folders win with quick Googling. "I'd like to thank the Internet," says Rich Siegel, "for all the illegal pictures."

As with any medium, you can't make a masterpiece in your first five minutes, but with some practice, Jam Studio could render some pleasant soundscapes with a meaningful mathematical basis. The software has no practical use at the moment, but it could be a boon for artist relations and even work its way into artworks themselves.

Jam Studio is available for free beta testing on MacOS 10.3 or above. Plans for a Windows version are uncertain.

Jam Studio [Pixound]

"We're used to being able to do that. But people ask me, 'When I drag my DVD to my iPod, it doesn't work.'" We want it to be super-easy, but what can we do in the meantime? Torrone recommends Handbrake Lite, which makes PSP-playable files as well.

Pop in a DVD, open Handbrake Lite, and pick the DVD track that's as long as your movie (you might need to check if there are features as long as the film). Handbrake Lite will autoencode your video to an mp4 file at about 500 MB. Torrone also recommends iSquint, which converts the formats .mov, .mp4, .avi, .mpg, .vob, .3gp, .asf, .wmv, and others. Both programs are freeware. Torrone excluded Windows programs, being at Macworld and all, but we found Favo Video Converter, $29.95 shareware with a free download.

Torrone sees many users frustrated that they can't simply copy DVDs as easily as they can with CDs. But Apple seems afraid to draw the MPAA's ire. When Torrone mentioned this session to Apple staffers, they grimaced. "Oh...DVDs to the iPod. Hm." He wishes Sony would step in and bridge the gap with a simple converter as they did with the Betamax VCR in 1984. Granted, we'd want to sweep the program for evil rootkit-burrowing DRM, but after that, on with the revolution!

Handbrake Lite [iSquint forum]
iSquint
Favo Video Converter [Softpics]
Previously: Getting Videos Into Your 5G iPod For Free

The Ratoc iPod Digital Wireless Connection Kit includes the clampable RS-Link1P-VW transmitter, a receiver, and an interface module. Still seems like a lot to hook up just to hear our polka mashups in a Jetta, and we'd like a foam iPod holder for the Beetle's flower cup. But there's no FM static and no extra set of playback controls.

iPod Digital Wireless Kit to Volkswagen Factory Radio [RATOC Systems]
Previously: Ratoc Systems REX-Link "Wireless Your iPod" Series

Or you can grab a light and temperature pendant logger for $39 and IM your friends about the weather, as if you took a healthy stroll through the park this morning.

HOBO products have software for both major computer platforms, so Windows users can slap temperature logs into Excel, and Mac users can perform interpretive dance to barometric data.

HOBO FlexSmart Kilowatt Hour Transducer [Onset]

Following in the footsteps of the iMac, the new built-in iSight is also great, especially for those who carry around an iSight with a PowerBook all the time. And from what I can tell, the picture quality is the same VGA grade that all of the other iSight cameras possess.

If there s a lesson to learn out of this, it s never follow the Steve Jobs 30-man posse unless you re looking for the same kind of action you usually see at your local bar fight. I think I even saw the posse trample an older parlayed guy, though Steve did look back to make sure he was okay.

All of this and more is made possible by 2point5's Mac Mini installation. It's a custom thing and you're going to drop a cool $5K to do it (plus the cost of the Mac mini itself), but c'mon, are Macs really even designed to be installed in cars? Hell yeah, they are.

Made for CES

The ubiquity of the iPod was the most notable thing this year at CES. Standing in the Microsoft booth at the Playsforsure kiosk, an attendee looking at the 40+ MP3 players before him said, "Where's the iPod?" "Apple doesn't come to CES," the flummoxed Microsoft responded. "They have their own show." Looking around CES, it was clear that Apple didn't need its own booth, since the iPod was everywhere. Companies either have an iPod product (like Bose speakers, the Griffin iTrip, or Belkin cup holders), products that work with the iPod, or products with the "iPod look" (think Sonos). Apple sets the standard for design.

According to the NPD Group, iPod peripherals will have a market north of $2 billion in 2006. That's a nice little industry as it is. But look for this to grow as product peripherals develop around video like they did for music. Made for iPod, a program which will apply an Apple "iStamp" of approval on products that work with iPod, is gaining ground just as quickly, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with Apple's intention to monetize the program. iPod has officially joined the ranks of products where the company's brand name has replaced the actual product name and become the product: you use an iPod to listen to music in the same way you use a Kleenex to blow your nose, you make Xeroxes with a copy machine, and you Google for information.

The iPod's success has inspired a deluge of compatible products. At this year s Macworld, for example, Apple announced a car stereo deal with the Chrysler Group. Apple s vice president of Worldwide iPod Marketing says that in addition to the 3 million Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge automobiles, "over 40 percent of all cars sold in the US in 2006 will offer iPod connectivity." Wow. So in addition to the iPod accessories, cassette adapters, FM adapters, cables, headphones, and cases that are iPod compatible, the entire car should be added to the list. iPod integration into cars isn't new, but the sheer number of cars is astonishing. I wonder how many people purchasing a car consider how well integrated it is with the iPod? Perhaps just a few of the Apple faithful.

There are also numerous products that have adopted the Apple aesthetic. Companies seem to think that if their products look like an iPod or an Apple, they are also recreating the entire User Experience—a supposition that simply isn't true. It's one thing to look like a product, it's another to behave like one. This point has been made by a number of people, but it s worth repeating. The iPod is successful because of a combination of things that look-alikes can t deliver. It's clean and easy to use (see "The iPod and the Bathtub"). It is backed by iTunes that has integrated e-commerce, and iTunes is supported by relationships that encompass, essentially, the entire music industry.

The iPod has succeeded far beyond what anyone expected. When it launched, everyone said, You re kidding right? Another MP3 player? But here s the thing. You can t just encase your product in white plastic, call it a day. Companies have to look deeper than that. From a design perspective, it s clear that many companies think that if they follow this pattern, they can achieve what Apple has with the iPod. But the pattern they see is one of imitation. The pattern I see is one of imitation. Apple is clearly engaging design where most other companies are not. In order to get closer to what Apple has achieved, companies can do several things:

A. Hire a competent designer at the C-Level in your company, and trust her/him to help integrate design into your infrastructure. Apple follows this model, as Jobs serves as the CDO (Chief Design Officer). He has a great aesthetic and works closely with his design team to build superior products.

B. Take a user-centered approach to product design. Seek out real people and engage them in the design of your products by asking them what they need, prototyping the possibilities and getting feedback from them on the result. I m not talking about focus groups, either. Groups end up being ruled by one or two strong-willed people, and the rest of the group will defer to their opinions. Do one-on-one interviews in people's homes to get their personal opinion, and observe their surroundings. What they say and how they live will tell you more than the lemmings that comprise most focus groups.

C. Craft a distinct look and feel for your entire product line, thereby
setting your products apart. NAD has such a distinct look, and one could easily pick them out in of a line-up of components. The design isn't award-winning, but at least it's recognizable.

Hannspree, which had its first appearance at CES this year, has a very distinct line of flat screen TVs that are all crafted to match a particular taste: basketball, racing cars, etc. Seen together, they comprise a unique Hannspree brand, but individually, the products take on the persona of their specific design. I wouldn't think "Hannspree" if I saw the Buzz Lightyear TV, I would think of Pixar instead. It remains to be seen if the Hannspree products will sell well and if their brand will emerge from this variety, but at least they stand apart from the sea of gray/black/silver flat panel TVs. It's a start.

Which brings us back to my discontent with the iPod. With the iPod, Apple has achieved an excellent design which has been brilliantly marketed and has transformed the consumer electronics industry. We're all very proud, but I'm sick of talking, hearing and reading about it. Is there a product besides the iPod that we can hold up and say, what a brilliant and well-executed design this is? No. Not at this year s CES. Companies seeking to innovate like Sony, who s recent failures have made them look really bad (see Sony rootkit) need to be willing to think more about solving customers problems by incorporating a user centered design to achieve what the iPod has. Who has the guts to step out on the dance floor, ask design to dance and shake their thang?

David Hoffer is a Senior Design Analyst for frog design.

The frog Design Mind column appears every Monday on Gizmodo. Read more frog Design Mind.

Opening up the Intel Mac mini [Macworld]