Reactions to Ballmer's iPhone rant: When Steve Ballmer told USA Today that the iPhone would flop, he didn't know what he was in for. (Because, you know, pro-Apple commentators can be ruthless! Or, at least, kinda harsh.) InformationWeek's David DeJean offers a level-headed analysis of Ballmer's comments in a blog posting whose title, "Sometimes Steve Ballmer Just Takes Your Breath Away," made us giggle. DeJean and others rightly point out that Ballmer just doesn't really get the mobile phone market. Still, it's fun to watch him go all kooky, calling the iPhone a device that just "doesn't appeal to business customers." Maybe so, but he seems to forgets that Apple isn't after the entire business market - just 10 million consumers.
Apple sued for patent infringement on iTunes Store: Here we go again... (Hey, we don't write the news - we just report it!) Internet media firm Individual Network LLC has filed a lawsuit in Marshall, Texas, claiming that the iTunes Store violates a patent that Individual holds related to targeted media delivery. Individual claims that aspects of the iTunes Store's interface that help users find content easily - such as the genre tabs and the Just For You feature - directly infringe on its patent. The complainant is demanding a jury trial and hopes to get a cut of every iPod and related device sold. No comment from Apple so far (natch) - but if the suit has legs, it could have much more far-reaching consequences than any other IP lawsuit before it, according to AppleInsider.
Apple, meanwhile, is doing a bit of legal crusading of its own. As a member of the International Intellectual Property Alliance, Apple and others (including Microsoft) are accusing Canada of being soft on piracy. "Canada lacks effective border controls on pirated products, and most of its other enforcement efforts suffer from insufficient resources and a lack of deterrent impact," the IIPA report states.
Steve to keynote WWDC: As expected, Steve Jobs will be the keynote speaker at the Worldwide Developers Conference to be held at San Francisco's Moscone Center from June 11 to 15. Scheduled at 10 a.m. on June 11, Steve's speech will focus on all the new features of the full beta version of Mac OS X Leopard, which Apple will hand out to each and every developer in attendance. We'll be there, of course, and we'll share all the juicy details!
More Apple love from Mr. Munster: Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster can't seem to shower enough praise on Apple - and, wait, there's more! Munster released a "market-share sensitivity map" showing that an increase in market share for Apple could significantly add to its bottom line (Really? You don't say.). Imagine, for example, that Apple exceeds market-share estimates of 2.7 and reaches a share of 3.5 percent. If that happens, Munster and Co. estimate, earnings per share could increase by 71 cents, a 12.3 percent jump. Kinda makes you wonder: Should you save up for a new Mac, or just put your cash into Apple stock?
Apple to double your support options: MacRumors reports that Apple is set to announce a new two-option support plan on Wednesday, effectively splitting its ProCare service into two $99-a-year options: ProCare and One-to-One. The main difference between the two is that One-to-One replaces a lot of the ProCare features (including priority repairs at the Genius Bar, free annual tune-ups, and more) with 52 hours of "personal training" on the Mac.
Microsoft demos Silverlight on Macs: In a move to "support 99 percent of the [computer] users out there," Microsoft surprised audience members at a demo of Silverlight, its new player for Web browser-based multimedia, by demo-ing the software on Windows PCs and Macs. Silverlight, which will compete with Adobe Flash, will run natively in Safari, as well as Firefox. However, Silverlight's development tools remain incompatible with Mac OS X.
In other news: Students at Texas Tech who miss class can soon head to iTunes U to get copies of other students' class notes and other student-created content, such as news articles, videos, and more. Hear from a happy Apple TV user (and see his goofy home-made "super remote"). Why one Apple watcher thinks iTunes will never offer subscriptions. Care to wax nostalgic about your first- or second-generation iPod?
