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OWC Tips & Deals 1/07/2007
Intro: In just a few hours, the OWC team and I will be on our way to San Francisco for the 2007 Macworld Expo! Hard to believe it's already that time again. In a week, well, will be hard to believe it's already another show past. Although the Macworld show officially begins with seminars that begin tomorrow, it is Steve Job's Keynote on Tuesday that really kicks things off. And following the Keynote, the expo doors open up and you get to check out all the latest introduced at the keynote + the stuff developers (like us) have to show too. If there was a way to safely harness it, the energy and excitement from the thousands of Mac Users present could easily power a small city. :) In a way, the Apple New Year is about to begin - or maybe Christmas part II a la Jobs. Regardless, a Happy New 2007 Year and and all the best as we continue journeys already begun and start new journeys throughout these days and years to come. 2006 rumors Macworld made true, 2007 rumor recap Each year I try to take a look at how things shaped up at the previous show. In years past, Apple used to be far more secretive - or maybe that's only an appearance. Letting loose with some product info early, like they've done at the recent events like WWDC, perhaps makes it easier save for some surprises. :) But here's last year's 'scoring' and our picks for this year: 2006 Macworld Expo Rumor turn out: Intel based Mac minis at the show - Nope Intel based Apple iBook replacement to be first Apple Intel Notebooks - Nope Alright - 6 Months ahead of when Steve originally said so, the first Intel Mac introduced and immediately available were the iMac Intel models. That was about the last thing we expected after the new G5 iMacs that were introduced less than 3 months prior (and the last thing new iMac G5 buyers expected too..). The first Intel base Apple Laptop was the MacBook Pro 15" introduced at Macworld, but available starting in February. That followed by the Mac mini Intel in March. And finally, the iBook was replaced in May with the MacBook 13.3" line. They did introduce Intel Macs - just not quite the ones expected - and those they did were way ahead of expected schedule too. Apple iLife 2006 iApp Suite - Yes! Using NAND Flash for Apple Computers to give them super startup speed - Nope. All those NAND Memory deals were tied to the then huge expected and since materialized iPod Nano sales growth. 2007 Macworld Expo Keynote Expectations in no particular order: iLife 2007 will be released... almost a sure bet with 2003-2006. :) Mac Pro 8-Way Xeon - We already know the Quad Core Xeons work in the current. Apple iTV - Maybe not ready for sale, but close and Keynote Feature Apple 'iPhone' - can't be called an iPhone, and seems less likely..... MacBook Pro 'SuperSlim' 12" Model - Been in the mills for some time New Headless Mac - Mac mini, we love ya - but we want slots for stuff! Leopard OS 10.5 Surprise Release - Probably not, but will be big in Keynote. Also - it's strongly rumored that some super, secret feature of 10.5 will be shown for the first time. Hmmmm. + Speedbumps? If nothing else - speed bump Macs in all the line ups :) Jobs might have some super surprise up his sleeve... but really, it's hard to have too many rumors these days as lately Apple has already delivered most all. There's those pie in the sky things.... but don't think we're quite there yet. What's really next and most exciting will be all the features Leopard OS 10.5 out. The various tech pundits already pretty well agree that Tiger OS 10.4.x is still well ahead of what Windows Vista offers and 10.5 is certain to really put the distance on. We'll certainly be seeing a whole lot more at the keynote... which barely a day a way! Wow! More about the Macworld show was also in our 12/29 newsletter. Say hello to the ModBook - The first true Tablet Mac solution! Or rather, get ready to... The cat is out of the bag, but still under wraps. Last week we officially 'pre-announced' the Axiotron 'ModBook' Tablet Mac solution which we will be unveiling after the Jobs Keynote on Tuesday Afternoon. What I can tell you now is that the ModBook starts with an Apple MacBook. But this is no hack job - the finished 'Tablet Mac' is, well 'finished'. Precision designed and manufactured parts ensure this product is solid, with clean lines, and with full functionality. We're talking everything the MacBook offers, sans keyboard and track pad, but with a great pen/stylus interface screen + it's the first Mac solution ever to offer built in GPS functionality too. Bottom line is that it is a fit and finished Tablet Mac and has been nearly three years in the making. While there have been requests of Apple to bring out this product themselves, the overall market for this kind of computing product still remains small. In my opinion, this is just the niche that Apple will be pleased to see covered - letting OS X powered Tablets be an option for those that otherwise would grudging adopt the Windows solution. It's a win - win as this is the perfect niche we are excited to support and at the end of the day, means more Macs will be out there. :) On Tuesday you'll be able to draw your own conclusions when the product is officially unveiled. If you are coming to the show, we'll have several units on display for demonstration too. Again, this is no hack job - this is a precision engineered solution polished and primed. Oh... and may as well use this to some advantage... an 'alleged' early rendering hit the net on Friday - it's a pretty good 'first look' before the real look on Tuesday. Come visit us at the show! Our booth number is S2218 (as listed on the pass), although we are listed on their show floor plan as being 2217. Same place, guess they couldn't decide which plot to assign our space from. Anyway, Macworld Expo opens at about 11AM - just following the Keynote and we'll be excited to see ya! You'll be able to hands on check out all of our latest gear including OWC storage solutions, NewerTech's latest processor upgrades and iPod gear, and plenty more - including of course, the new ModBook OS X Tablet solution. We're there most of all as opportunity to meet you. And if you're last minute going and didn't get your pass yet, it's still available as a gift from us online here. Save the $45 to spend on something you can take home if not save it for a rainy day. :) And if you're staying home - hey - no problem, we'll be doing are darndest to put all the latest up to date news + some web specials (you've already got the web specials connection) on our Macworld Expo main page. Anyway, enjoy the show! OWC and NewerTech solutions to feature Prosoft DataBackup II More than just for work, these days we store incredible amounts of difficult, if not impossible to replace personal data on our Macs. I'm talking about digital photos, music, movies all in addition to the the typical word, excel, quicken type of stuff we've used for personal finance, etc. for the past decades. It's horrible to have to recreate a complex spreadsheet or redo a year of Quicken data due to a data loss. As painful as that can be, it's nothing compared to loosing treasured digital photos, home movies, bought music, etc - that is difficult or impossible to replace should the worst occur. If anything is going to fail, it's typically the component with the parts that are moving. Parts in a hard drive move pretty fast. And it doesn't have to be a hardware failure that results in data loss either. An accidental deletion, a fluke system glitch, or even theft can leave you in the same position. Doesn't matter how it happens, if it's gone it's gone. For some of the circumstances, data recovery may be a possibility - but it's so much better to simply have a backup. For some time we have included EMC/Dantz Retrospect Backup with select FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB, and/or eSATA solutions. All of these solutions have been and will remain EMC Backup Certified for their data reliability and integrity. Just in time for Macworld Expo, we are are now including the Prosoft Data Backup II application with all OWC Mercury Elite 'Classic', OWC Mercury Elite-AL, OWC On-the-Go, and OWC Neptune Solutions - as well as NewerTech miniStack solutions - FireWire 800, FireWire 400, eSATA, and/or USB 2 models with capacities of 40GB to 750GB and which utilize a single hard disk mechanism. Our Multi-Drive OWC Elite-AL Raid solutions and OWC optical solutions will retain EMC Retrospect Backup. EMC Retrospect is a still a leading professional backup solution... but, the lack of recent Mac Updates, difficult User Interface, and steep learning cure has left many of the licenses we've provided of it left unused. What's the point in including it if it's not getting used? ProSoft is a Mac Centric software developer and the Data Backup application has won multiple awards due to it's extreme reliability, powerful functionality, and it's Ease of Use. As we are including a full retail licensed version, the same technical support and software updates benefits are provided no different than if you'd paid the full $59 Retail price (discounted at OWC for $39.99) from Prosoft! Makes it even easier to buy one of our solutions, especially if for backups is what you'd have in mind. Our high performance, highly reliable solutions are ideal for all your Audio/Video, Data Backup, Digital Photography, Editing, Music, Movie needs and more... By including Data Backup, which makes the Backup aspect extremely easy to setup and automate, hoping to help save those treasures before a problem ever (although hopefully never) occurs. For Fun and of interest Pretty cool light show with outer space origins - then identified as a Russian rocket coming back from outer space, caught on film by a news/traffic chopper. Came across this again from a long time OWC friend and it's a good one. If your a David Letterman regular, probably long ago saw this. Either way, the joke is always on Windows. Intro Closing: Wow - ok, Macworld looms even closer yet. A few hours of sleep before tomorrow's early AM travel... A day in SF to get the final details stamped out - and it's show time. I hadn't really planned to fire anything out till after the show - but - just couldn't help myself. The real scoops will be coming following the show when all the goodies - rumored or total surprises - are vapor no more. We've all had our New Year a week ago... The count down to the Steve Job's keynote - and Apple New Year of sorts - is ticking with a different 'Big Apple Dropping' at 9AM PST January 8th. Happy New Year... and a Happy New Year soon again. :) That's the intro - this is still ahead: Quick Tip: Keep you lap cool, updated Reader Specials, and Roger's Music on the Mac follow right after these 'messages from our sponsor': Quick Links A better Apple/Macintosh ISP at a better price - FasterMac.Net Super competitive rates, Toll Free Tech Support, and a brand new level of Anti-Virus and Anti-Spam protection coming on line - you'll be amazed at how much you get for less at FasterMac.Net. Even just for e-mail, FasterMac.Net makes the hassle of Spam effectively no hassle at all. Just what does OWC do with trade-ins, open box items, discontinued goods, etc.? We put 'em up on our Clearance Deals Page. Upgrade the Mac you have or get a new one? OWC's exclusive Benchmark Reporting System helps you answer your own question. Compare various stock Macs vs. New Macs vs. Upgrades - you pick the Macs to compare and from up to 15 different tests we've completed. Use Apple OS 9.2.2 & Apple OS X on Macs Apple doesn't support because OWC does with OS 9 Helper and Xpostfacto! Quick Tip: Backup Revisited Hit on this a bit in the intro and actually going to point you to a tip I originally wrote back in 2004. Even two and a half years later, this brief is not dated. And the DriveSaver's recovery stories museum link works all the same - just with newer stories added. The bottom line is that in addition to our 'live' drives that we use for our active stuff, it's just a wise investment to have a backup solution that includes the utilization of a backup application that does scheduled backups of your 'live' data. While I've never had a drive fail on me yet (knocking on wood), I did have a self-created data catastrophe related to my Mac being in sleep mode when I disconnected a FireWire drive I was booting from... which I then used at home... then reconnected to my Mac and work and hit the button the start it up - but it woke from sleep and totally hosed over the OS and file structure. A lot of the data was recoverable, but a lot wasn't... and if not for the good backup I had current at home - that would have been a far less pleasant of a day. We offer external solutions of 250GB for under $130, 500GB for under $250... If you ever had a drive fail, you'll be paying a multiple of that PER GIG if you want the data back. And that's of course if it is recoverable.... While other inflicted data losses might be cost less to recover from, still likely to cost you more than having the peace of mind and well rested nights you can have knowing your data is protected with an up to date backup. And laptop users - it is one of the saddest things to read about someone losing all their data when their PowerBook, iBook, MacBook, etc was lost or stolen. You want to be the one telling a story of how a backup saved your tail - not in the column of those wishing they'd made one. You may never have to use your backup, but again, you can rest a lot easier knowing you've got it... and there's also a lot less stress in the event of a 'false alarm' too. Two and half years old - but still the same for today. When I wrote about drives getting bigger then, we were talking 160GB, 200GB... today drive mechanisms can be up to 750GB and soon 1.0TB - back it up! :) Check out our Quick Tips Archive, Hardware/Software Review articles, and more - all in the OWC Product Reviews and Editorial center. Great Buys and Featured Exclusive Specials for OWC E-Mail Subscribers: A much larger selection of regularly updated Tips n' Deals reader discounted specials can be found on the Tips n' Deals Specials Page, which is updated just for - well - readers like you! These are just some samples of what you'll find on the aforementioned web page: Storage 500GB Maxtor QuickView SATA I/II 16MB 7200RPM HD for $139.00 *WOW* Optimized for Audio/Video, Great for all General Data too! Note: orders for this item should ship by Jan 10th - Weather delayed delivery or we'd be shipping right now! 500GB Maxtor MaxLine Pro SATA I/II 16MB 7200RPM HD for $156.00 *WOW* Enterprise class, High Performance storage. 250GB Seagate Barracuda SATA I/II 16MB Cache 7200RPM HD for $71.00 OWC Mercury Elite-AL 'Quad' FW800/400+USB2+eSATA Enclosure Kit $107.50 Flexible interface, performance solution - just add SATA I/II HD 250GB Seagate Barracuda IDE/ATA 16MB Cache 7200RPM HD for $69.00 320GB Western Digital IDE/ATA 8MB Cache 7200RPM HD for $99.00 NewerTech miniStack FireWire/USB2 Enclosure+FW-USB Hub Kit - $67 OWC Mercury Elite-AL Oxford912 FW800/400 Kit for IDE/ATA HDs $67.99, 20% off 250GB NewerTech miniStack FW/USB2 Complete Solution for $142.50! Wireless Buffalo 54G PCMCIA for PowerBook G3 & G4 Models- $19.00 While they Last Airport compatible 802.11b/g wireless card for OS X. Asus 54G 802.11b/g USB2 Wireless Adapter - any Mac or PC with USB - $34.99 Add Apple Airport compatible wireless to any Mac with OS X and a USB port. Genuine Apple Airport 802.11B Wireless Card - $79 or two for $149 Hard to find - for any Mac with an internal Airport Slot (see site) iPod Gear NewerTech nuPower SHIELD Aluminum Case for 1st Gen iPod Nano models Black version $12.00; Silver Version $12.00 Griffin iTrip FM Transmitter for 3rd and 4th Generation iPod Models - just $5.00 Sonnet PodFreq iPod FM Trans/Auto Charger/Cradle from $19.99, up to 33% off Refresh a 1st/2nd Gen iPod with a NuPower 1800mAh (+46%) Battery for $5.00 Books We have several dozen book titles from O'Reilly Publishing that are priced to move. These cover Mac OS X, Apple iTunes, iPods, iLife, InDesign, Google, you name it! While supplies last. Check our available O'Reilly book titles from $2.50 each, up to 93% off PowerMac G4 AGP Graphics / Gigabit Ethernet Model Processor Upgrade OWC/PowerLogix G4/1.2GHz 7455 with 256K L2 & 2MB L3 Upgrade $165.00 30 Day Money Back + backed by 2 Year OWC Warranty NewerTech G4/2.0GHz 7447 with 512K 1:1 Performance Cache $349.00 That's 10% off norm! 30 Day Money Back, 3yr NewerTech Warranty Open Box, Used, Discontinued, etc. - Clearance It's been picked through pretty good over the past week, but still some nice stuff to be found on our Clearance/Garage Sale Page. And worth checking up on now and again for the small updates/additions to it we make in between the major ones we're sure to e-mail you about. Stuff is limited to stock on hand and delists once an item is sold out. Again, deals like these and more - reserved just for Readers - found on your regularly updated Tips n' Deals Exclusive Specials Page. Music on the Mac: On location recording = easy! Greetings from the macsales.com Music Department! Having a laptop like a MacBook or MacBook Pro makes recording in the field an easy proposition. A simple audio interface such as an M-Audio Mobile Pre or the higher end FireWire 1814 give you two mic inputs with phantom power available too. Some of you may not know that the type of high quality condenser mics used to record with require this phantom power to be delivered to the mic through the mic cable. These interfaces have that covered. They are both bus powered so you don't need to plug them into an outlet. I just did a similar session last night at a local church. A talented high school senior needed to make a demo tape of her singing to go along with her application to the music program at DePaul Univ. She had a piano player all lined up and her church had a piano available in a nice sounding chapel. I brought just a few items. I had my MacBook Pro, an M-Audio FW 1814 audio interface, 2 M-audio Nova condenser mics and 2 mic stands. I put a mic (mono) in the grand piano. I positioned the other mic near the singer at a height that let her sing straight out, with good posture. You always get a better result if the singer does not have to sing "up" or "down" to the mic. We did a quick sound check using GarageBand as the recording application. In short order, she had recorded 2 takes of each of the 2 songs. I was monitoring it all with headphones. Together, we decided which take was the best. From there, it was easy to save the songs to my iTunes library and then burn a few CD copies for her. This setup is very simple to understand and we got a great result. It also all went smoothly because she was well prepared and sang beautifully. Having the right tools and right approach for the job make it all fairly easy! We have the tools and the free advice you need to record your own projects. Please find the "right stuff" at great prices here and use our audio forum to ask any questions you may have or simply share your experiences with others! Thanks! Get our entertaining new Widget called Daily Guitar Jam. For all your audio/music needs, www.macsales.com/music online. Browse and read other 'Music on the Mac' articles by Roger posted online. See how Roger created The Garage Album CD at The Garage Album website. Interact with Roger and other Apple Music/Audio users in our online music and audio forums. About our Music Guru: Roger Adler is a four-time Emmy nominated composer, producer, and performer. He is an endorser and clinician for the iGuitar by Brian Moore Guitars and his work is recognizable in over 1000 television commercials. Adler performed at the Presidential Inaugural Ball in Washington D.C. as recently as 2005 and his recordings include appearances on the Groundhog Day feature film soundtrack and The Garage Album. He is widely recognized for his role as Music director for the A&E television series "The Best of Comic Relief" starring Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, and Whoopi Goldberg and for 16 years as Music Director for the popular series "Wild Chicago." Adler is the owner of two recording studios serving the professional entertainment industry, i^3 audio at North Pier in Chicago and studioA at Lakeside Legacy Arts Park in Crystal Lake, IL. In addition to facilitating the Daily Guitar Jam Widget, Adler produces the popular Podcast Show "Rock Your Computer" which broadcasts to an international audience via Apple's iTunes Music Store. Closing: Going for a record here... Need to get a handful of ZZZs before the flight, so keeping this short. That's all! Thanks for reading, always the best, and hope you enjoy what comes of the Macworld Expo show! P.S. Once again, my advance apology for any typo in spelling of punctuation within the brain to finger to keyboard interfacing. Will make sure such 'glitches' are corrected in next edition prior to its send out. :) We Support our Troops The 'fine print': Contact Information+ ++++++++++++++++++++ Sales: sales@macsales.com or 800-275-4576, International 815-338-8685 Customer Service: custserv@macsales.com or 800-275-4576 / 815-338-8685 Tech Support: Online Tech Center or 815-338-8685 Please feel free to e-mail any comments or suggestions to:suggestions@macsales.com You may ALWAYS reply to our OWC Tips and Deals e-mail at owc@macsales.com with any questions or comments as well - PLEASE change the subject to reflect your e-mail question/comment to ensure a speedy reply! Other World Computing div. of New Concepts Development Corp. 1004 Courtaulds Drive Woodstock, IL 60098 815-338-8685 This is an free subscribed E-Mail Newsletter that can be joined via or website. This e-mail is only received if you have joined our list. Notification is e-mailed to your address when you join as well as if you choose to cancel, which you may do at anytime, no hard feelings. :) To change, remove, or add an e-mail address for our newsletter, you can visit our online subscriber page anytime. If you'd just like to unsubscribe, that can also quickly be done by clicking the link at the end of this e-mail. Prices & availability subject to change without notice. New specials go up and old specials updated everyday. We Apologize for typographical errors. This e-mail may be freely distributed in its original form, complete and without any modification, alteration, insertion, or anything else that would make this different from the original intent. If you would like to 'reprint' just a portion you may make a request by e-mail to: larry@macsales.com. All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2000-2007, Other World Computing - Since 1988 |