eefsee writes "USA Today is running a story about Pepsi's Superbowl ad for their iTunes promotion. The ad will apparently feature teens sued by the RIAA, including one young woman who holds out a Pepsi and says, 'We are still going to download music for free off the Internet.' The RIAA response? 'This ad shows how everything has changed.'"

ErnstKompressor writes "I came across a story detailing an awesome car mod out of the Czech Republic. The author undertook what must be the most impressive exercise in computer integration I have ever seen, installing an extensive Mac system with custom Cocoa software controlling nearly every aspect of a 1993 Tatra 613. On-board systems monitoring, navigation, entertainment, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, plus much more, are all rolled into a tight, extensible, package. Check it out."

TheChocolatay writes "iTunes is now offering RSS Feeds for the latest happenings in the Music Store. Users can set up their parameters for a feed at Apple's iTunes Music Store RSS Generator. After you have set your parameters, just sit back as the news and track listings are sent to your favorite RSS Reader."

In yesterday's article, I gave an overview of Mac OS X Server, and described some of the features. Read on for some detail of the specific services that Server offers, and the final verdict.

What is the point of Mac OS X Server? Mac OS X is Unix. I have Apache, bind, sendmail, (and whatever I want) already on here. My Mac OS X box is a server already, right? I have a home network with a half dozen Macs, and have a box that does some serving, and I want it do more. So, I set out to figure out what this Server thing is. (Read on for the rest.)

jasonisnuts writes "I currently have a DVD-ROM (internal), a CD-RW (FW), and a DVD-RW (FW), and I also have a massive assortment of music CDs that I want to rip and catalog. Are there any free, shareware, or commercial utilities for Mac OS X that support ripping CDs from multiple devices at the same time and offer full CDDB/GraceNote support? And does this same utility or another offer burning to multiple sources in multiple formats? This will all be done on a Sawtooth 500MHz (upgrading soon)."

cigaar writes "iCal 1.5.2 has been released by Apple. You can download it through Software Update. From iCal's Help page: 'iCal 1.5.2 gives you the option of viewing your calendar, event, or To Do information in a drawer or in a separate window (using the Detach Info command in the Window menu), and includes improved alarm performance and other reliability enhancements.'"

emmastory writes "It shouldn't really surprise anyone that David Pogue has once again produced an unqualified success in the third edition of Mac OS X: The Missing Manual. Since OS X came out, I've read and reviewed some dozen Mac books, but when it comes time to pick a single volume to recommend to friends making the switch, I invariably choose Pogue's. It's true that OS X beginners can understand it without any problems, but that shouldn't suggest that it's somehow too simple for veteran users - it's just that the text is exceptionally clear, meaning that even beginners won't find it too scary or confusing. While other books are bigger (Mac OS X Unleashed) and others are written specifically for a more advanced audience (Mac OS X Power Tools), the Missing Manual is the best all-purpose book on the subject, and one that should be in the library of pretty much anyone who runs OS X." That answers the question of "Did she like it?", but read on for the rest of Emma's review, including a mini-interview with David Pogue.

Stephen E. Jobs writes "SiliconValley.com is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Mac by republishing some of its coverage of the machine's 1984 launch. 'After two years of secrecy, brainstorming and sometimes zany company maneuvering, Apple Computer Inc. will unveil a new personal computer Jan. 24 that is the size of a stack of paper and, for about the same price, contains more power than the basic IBM PC.' That's how one writer described the Apple Macintosh in 1984. There's more at SiliconValley.com."

dark_lotus writes "Apple introduces Logic Pro 6 and Logic Express. This brings Apple's audio offerings (GarageBand, Logic Express, and Logic Pro) to a similar setup with its three levels of video editors (iMovie, Final Cut Express, and Final Cut Pro). Logic Pro boasts new innovative software instruments, including Sculpture, a new component-modeling based synthesizer, and UltraBeat, a deep and rich percussion synthesizer that provides multiple synthesis techniques for generating every type of electronic or acoustic drum sound imaginable. You can read the press releases for the Preview of Logic and the announcement of Logic Pro and Logic Express. Logic Pro is priced at US$999, while Logic Express is priced at US$299. Today is also the launch of iLife '04 which comes with GarageBand, the new iLife app for music creation."

Aliencow inquires: "I've recently bought an iBook, and it started having the very common backlight problem. Basically, there are two types of things that can cause the problem: either the screen hinges pinching the cables, which is pretty easy to fix if you're not scared of opening things up; or it could be the logic board, which is what happened in my case. I've heard of someone being able to fix it by doing a bypass operation on the board, soldering a wire before the break and soldering it directly on the backlight connector. Aside from that, however I haven't been able to find much about how to fix that particular problem. Have any of you iBook-owning Slashdot readers had to repair your iBook like this? Any hints? If my repair is successful I'll surely snap a bunch of pictures and make a website, as this is a problem that affects a lot of iBook owners."

sunrein writes "After years of Mac OS X being available, MakeMusic has finally announced production and a Jan. 16 ship date of Finale 2004 for Mac OS X. This announcement comes after a public relations fiasco earlier this fall when the release date was pushed back just days before it was due to ship in late October."

Leo Bodnar writes "This eMac upgrade proves that with some effort Apple's entry-level consumer models like eMac can be converted into reasonably serious workhorse system at very reasonable cost. Not for everyone, but some find it useful!"

Visigothe writes "IBM released their XL Fortran Compiler and XL C/C++ Compiler for OS X. The compiler is binary compatible with GCC 3.3, and has multiple levels of optimization, creating binaries that are much faster than their GCC-compiled counterparts." No prices are noted, and the planned availability date is January 16.

Rick Zeman writes "Bruce 'Tog' Tognazzini, founder of Apple's Human Interface Group years ago, has finally pointed his electrons to Mac OS X 10.3. He's been dormant for while, and hasn't said anything since the early days of Mac OS X. His new articles include 'Panther: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly' and 'The Top Nine Reasons why the Dock Sucks,' all coming from A Guy Who Knows."

CameronWolf writes "Just in case there was any doubt about Apple computers decision to sell applications they used to give away, I got this response, via email, from Apple upon my enquiry: 'As the iLife applications have become increasingly integrated it has become more and more important for a user to have all of the "correct" versions on their Mac at once, working together, giving a unified user experience. This is one of the main reasons we've decided to offer iLife in suite form only. In addition, for iLife users who want the latest and greatest applications on their Macs, the iLife suite is priced very affordably.' Apple are running an upgrade scheme for those who bought a qualifying Mac after Jan 6th. Too bad I just had to have the iBook G4 the second it was released!" For those who used only the free iLife apps before -- those without SuperDrives -- this reason doesn't make any sense. If the goal were really to make sure you had the latest versions, they could simply make the latest iMovie require the latest iDVD.

finelinebob writes "In spite of Paul Thurrott's wishful thinking, Wired is reporting that HP will not support the WMA format in its version of the iPod. From the article, according to HP spokesperson Muffi Ghadial, "'We're not going to be supporting WMA for now ... We picked the service that was the most popular (Apple's iTunes Music Store). We could have chosen another format, but that would have created more confusion for our customers.' He added, 'Most customers don't care about the format they're downloading.'" Thurrott's singing a different tune lately, anyway...."

rbrandis writes "The general manager of Microsoft's Windows digital media division David Fester has suggested that iTunes' emerging dominance would be bad for consumers, because it would limit them to the iPod, as opposed to limiting them to Microsoft based products. In a moment of what must have been an attempt at ironic humor he said, 'Windows is about choice - you can mix and match software and music player stuff. We believe you should have the same choice when it comes to music services.'"

iPod Afficianado writes to a short piece at Connected Home magazine in which Paul Thurrott "is quoted as saying that HP's blockbuster deal with Apple will have one exciting side effect. The company will be working with Apple to add support for Microsoft's superior Windows Media Audio (WMA) format to the iPod by mid-year."

grouchomarxist writes "According to the press release here and this article at Forbes HP is licensing Apple's iPod technology for its own MP3 player and use the iTunes Music Store. 'HP and Apple today announced a strategic alliance to deliver an HP-branded digital music player based on Apple's iPod, the number one digital music player in the world, and Apple's award-winning iTunes digital music jukebox and pioneering online music store to HP's customers.'"