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Burning For The Masses (2/22/01)
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Okay, we're just about all keynoted out, here-- but we'd be remiss if we signed off without mentioning the scrummy new update to iTunes, Apple's free virtual jukebox software which debuted at last month's San Francisco Macworld Expo. We've personally found version 1.0 invaluable for its ability to generate infinite tapestries of swirling, pulsating psychedelia while playing punk renditions of old Partridge Family hits live over the Internet via AirPort. Who says computer technology hasn't enriched our lives?
But while version 1.0 showed us just how much fun passively staring at a screen for six hours straight can really be, Apple's gone and upped the ante; as faithful viewer Nick the Amazing (what can we say, he begged us to mention him) reports, Apple has just released iTunes 1.1. Apparently the latest version "provides a number of improvements"-- unspecified ones, of course-- but more importantly, it adds support for thirty-one external CD-R and CD-RW drive mechanisms. That means that you no longer need the internal CD-RW drive in a month-old Power Mac or a day-old iMac to take advantage of the CD-burning capability built into iTunes; with 1.1, odds are your external CD-R drive will work just fine. So instead of just staring at the pretty colors all day long, you can now take an active role in your digital entertainment cycle by producing your own custom audio CDs from your MP3 collection.
We should note that the arrival of iTunes 1.1 represents yet another fulfilled ship-date promise from last month's keynote; first the titanium PowerBook G4 shipped before the end of January, then the SuperDrive-enabled Power Mac G4 shipped before the end of February-- and now this. Uncle Steve indicated that an iTunes update to support external CD-R drives would appear within "sixty to ninety days." By our count, iTunes 1.1 made it out in only forty-four. Badmouth Apple's newfound obsession with floral patterns all you want, but if that's the price we need to pay for Apple hitting its announced ship dates, hey, we'll take it...
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SceneLink (2882)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 2/22/01 episode: February 22, 2001: Steve Jobs's wild past catches up with him as Apple unveils new iMac patterns based on flowers and dogs. Meanwhile, nVIDIA announces that its long-awaited GeForce3 3D graphics chipset will be available for the Mac first, and Apple issues its promised update to iTunes that adds support for dozens of third-party external CD-R and CD-RW drives...
Other scenes from that episode: 2880: This Could All End Badly (2/22/01) Alert the medical journals, because it's time to reevaluate what we know about the insidious phenomenon of LSD flashbacks. Most of the available literature indicates that users of lysergic acid diethylamide can experience symptoms such as "acquired color confusion," "flashes of color," and "geometric pseudohallucinations" for long periods after their last exposure to the drug-- periods of "as long as two years."... 2881: Do We Get To Gloat, Now? (2/22/01) Amidst all the "Blue Flower Dalmatian Power" controversy, we fully expect that many of you may have glossed right over some of the, shall we say, less disturbing surprises that surfaced during Uncle Steve's latest dog and pony show...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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