Apple’s new ad takes the gloves off and goes directly at Windows Vista and Microsoft’s latest ads.

Tags: Apple, Vista

In the last week Ive heard on podcasts and online the fact that Apple CEO Steve Jobs does not have any licence plates displayed on his car. Instead there is a barcode in its place. Rumour has it the plates are kept in the boot if required.

Actually i think this is pretty cool and makes alot of sense. You can just bet its cheaper to pay any fines that may be received rather than the hassle of replacing stolen plates all the time. The most important fact is that most number plates just ruin the look anyway especially on a silver Merc.

Tags: Apple, Steve Jobs

Apple announced today that the iPhone will be receiving the much-anticipated iPhone 2.1 software update this Friday 12 September 2008. According to Steve Jobs, the update is “big”. Of note, Jobs points out that there should be fewer dropped calls, lots of bug fixes, and huge battery life improvements. Additionally, applications should stop crashing and backups will be significantly faster.

Well personally i hope the expected tweaks happen as my backups are sometimes extremely long and I’m currently only using about 5GB of the 16GB space. The battery life has been so, so but hey i cant put the thing down. I have been lucky with only a couple of freeze ups requiring a restart and ive loaded about 20 apps.  Compared to my Nokia N95 the reception and signal strength has been low at times so that can only improve. I guess now we just have to wait and see what we get on Friday or Saturday down under.

Tags: Apple, iPhone

Microsoft has started its new ad campaign featuring its founder Bill Gates and sitcom star Jerry Seinfeld.

This is part of a new USD $300 million ad campaign being developed for Microsoft, which is aimed at combating the public’s poor perception of the company’s latest PC operating system Windows Vista. Vista has been continually slammed in the media since its release as being hard to use compared with rival products from Apple.

I watched the ad and well its quirky and a little strange at best. Will this campaign help restore faith in Vista just in time for the release of the next version of windows or will it die a horrible slow death?

At least I’m glad to see Microsoft get up off the deck and at least return serve to the Apple Mac v PC ads that have been so successful. These star the totally annoying dweeb Justin Long who is supposed to represent the Mac and the fantastic John Hodgman repping the PC. I just love the role John Hodgman plays, he just makes it.

The latest Get A Mac vs PC ad is “Off The Air” so check it out.

Tags: Apple, Microsoft

First, an iPhone price cut left early buyers feeling foolish, and then came reports that some iPods were spitting sparks.

Now, the new iPhone 3G has been marred by bugs, spotty service, disappearing programs for the device and a veil of secrecy over software developers trying to broaden its appeal.

Such a string of mishaps and missteps might throw another electronics company into crisis. But of course, Apple Inc. isn’t just another electronics company. Even as iPhone griping rages online, it looks like Apple’s sterling reputation will emerge untarnished.

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Source: CNN.com

Tags: Apple

As announced the iPhone 3G was launched in an additional 20 countries on August 22. You can view the list on Apple.com of the countries the 3G is available in and will be available in soon.

This is great news for those of us waiting to get our hands on an iPhone but with the already short supplies and waiting times, lets hope production can keep up with the demand. Despite this, CFO Tim Cook believes that production is ready to meet the increased demand.

Tags: Apple, iPhone

The Australian Taxation Office has advised Australians using Apple or Linux operating systems that they will be unable to lodge tax returns electronically using the ATO’s e-tax software unless they use a Windows emulator or a kiosk in one of the agency’s shop fronts.

Last year, 1.9 million Australians lodged their tax returns online using the ATO’s e-tax software. But e-tax still only works with Microsoft’s operating systems; Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 4, XP Service Pack 2 (32-bit) or Vista Service Pack 1 (32-bit).

However, e-tax is not compatible with Linux or Mac OS X, but according to the ATO, it has successfully trialled e-tax with Macs running OS X 10.4.3 with Windows emulator software.

Source: View full Post at ZDNet

Tags: Apple, ATO, Linux, Tax

Movies from major film studios are now available for both rental and purchase on the iTunes Store in Australia. Over 700 films from 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., MGM, Sony Pictures Television International and Lionsgate are now available, and new release titles will be available for purchase on the same day as their DVD release.

Pricing in Australia starts at A$9.99 for catalog title purchases, A$17.99 for recent releases and A$24.99 for new releases. Rentals are priced at A$3.99 for library title rentals and A$5.99 for new releases, with high definition versions costing one dollar more.

“Movie fans in Australia and New Zealand can choose from a great selection of over 700 films for purchase and rent on the iTunes Store,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services. “iTunes provides an incredibly easy and fun way for people to discover and enjoy movies, and has quickly become the world’s most popular online movie store with customers renting and purchasing over 50,000 movies everyday.”

Tags: Apple, iTunes, movies

What could be worse than not being able to get that iPhone 3G you have been waiting for? This story just about answers that question.

OPTUS customers who agreed to a raincheck purchase of Apple’s iPhone 3G are complaining of being billed even though they are yet to receive the popular handheld device.

Since the iPhone 3G’s Australian launch on July 11, customers have been scrambling to get their hands on the device, but many have gone home empty handed because of a stock shortage.

In response, Optus introduced a raincheck system to ensure customers could get priority access to the iPhone. The raincheck system guarantees Optus customers an iPhone when they sign up to a contract at one of the telco’s Optus World retail stores.

Now, several weeks after customers signed up to the raincheck system, it appears they are still without the iPhone and are being billed for it.

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Source: Australian IT

Tags: Apple, iPhone, Optus

Virgin Mobile has officially commenced sale of the iPhone 3G in Australia effective today Friday 1 August 2008. The iPhone 3G went on sale at Virgin stores around Australia offering the best data plan currently available in the country at a huge 5GB.

Now this is more like it, its still not unlimited but we are now starting to see plans with realistic data allowances.

Virgin will sell the 8GB iPhone 3G for $0 upfront on a $70 monthly plan, which includes $520 worth of calls and 1GB of data. If you are willing to cough up an extra $30 per month, you will receive an extra 4GB of data and get the 16GB iPhone 3G for $0 up front. All Virgin iPhone plans are based on 24 month contracts.

Virgin is also offering the option to unlock the iPhone from its network for $80, plus an additional $250 “early evacuation” fee if users opt out within six months.

Now note that Virgin is a wholly owned subsidiary of Optus.  What will this mean for all those customers who have already signed up with Optus and recieved much less data?

In less than 3 weeks we have seen many plans in Australia for the iPhone 3G, from the bad through to plans that are now more in the ball park. I think this is only the start and i expect things to heat up as carriers push for customers.

My decision to hold of being an early adopter has been difficult, but I’m relieved not to have signed a plan weeks ago and be waiting for a phone with this latest news.

View full details of the Virgin plans

Tags: Apple, iPhone, Virgin