White Headphones: "A beacon to thieves".
The Times Newspaper today reports on the front page (no real news then?) that more and more iPodders are recklessly flashing their trendy white headphones in public. One iPod user was asked if he was using an iPod, "As soon as I told him yes, he pulled a knife out and started waving it at me, saying: 'Well hand it over, then.' I gave it to him and he ran off. He must have known I was wearing an iPod because of the white headphones." Silly arse!
Apple's response? "There are guys who would rather be robbed than change the colour of their headphones. Some users really like the coolness of being seen wearing an iPod".
Who wants to wear the white headphones anyway? They sound crap and they easily get dirty. Even the new in-ear one aren't that good. Get some nice Sony MDR-EX71s like I did. Black cables, brilliant sound, and they're cheap at Amazon.
Thanks to Ben Wade for forwarding this story to me.

More signals hint towards a load of new stuff by the end of April. AppleInsider has revealed that US stores have been warned of a 'dry spell' in the Apple CPU inventory (except for G5s).
This means they'll be updated iMacs, iBooks, PowerBooks, and eMacs to look forward to. They also report that back-orders for 20- and 23-inch Cinema Displays have now reached 1,300. Aluminum G5-style Displays on their way too, then!

iPod mini worldwide launch is pushed back to cope with US demand.
If you registered for Apple iPod Mini information, you would have received this mesage in your email:

Dear Customer
Thanks for registering with Apple to be kept up to date on iPod mini in Europe. Today we announced that Apple has moved iPod mini Worldwide availability to July. Please see our Press Release below.
We will continue to keep you up to date as we get closer to launch.
Once again, thank you for your interest.

Apple

Apple Moves iPod mini Worldwide Availability to July
CUPERTINO, California--March 25, 2004--Apple® today announced that it is
moving the worldwide availability of iPod(TM) mini to July due to the much
stronger than expected demand in the U.S. far exceeding the total
planned supply through the end of June. Apple expects to ramp up its
manufacturing of the iPod mini to meet worldwide demand in the July
quarter.
"The iPod mini is a huge hit with customers in the U.S. and we're sure
it will be the same worldwide once we can ramp up our supply in the
July quarter," said Tim Cook, Apple's executive vice president of
Worldwide Sales and Operations. "The iPod mini adds further momentum to
the iPod, which is already the leading digital music player in the
world."
The iPod mini is the world's smallest portable music player to hold up
to 1,000 CD-quality songs, and is encased in an ultra-portable,
lightweight anodised aluminium body, available in five colours--silver,
gold, pink, blue and green. iPod mini features the Click Wheel for
effortless one-handed operation, along with the same award-winning user
interface as the rest of the iPod family, and works effortlessly with
Apple's iTunes®, the world's number one digital music service.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the
Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the
Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing
experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers
around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet
offerings.
Once again, America comes first.

Apple updates Bluetooth Keyboard and mouse firmware.
No one knows what the update does, but Apple advises you to download it. See Apple - Support - Downloads - Wireless Keyboard/Mouse Firmware Update 1.1

Pictures: ©Apple

iChat Updated to v2.1
"iChat AV 2.1 adds support for video conferencing with AOL Instant Messenger 5.5 for Microsoft Windows." Download iChat AV 2.1 here.

Picture: ©Apple

Another year, another MacExpo. Register now for free entry!

iPhoto Updated to v4.01.
"iPhoto 4.0.1 includes many organizational and stability enhancements. Performance has also been increased throughout the application, giving you faster importing, smoother image viewing and easier Rendezvous photo sharing. This version of iPhoto also features improved thumbnail images in your photo library. To take advantage of this, your thumbnails must be upgraded, which may take a while, depending on the number of photos in your library."

Picture: ©Apple

iPhoto printing prices announced.
It costs £16.99 for a ten page, cloth covered, hardback book of prints. Anyone just got married? Had a baby?

Another magazine jumps on the iPod bandwagon. See Word mag's site here. Others include Mixmag, Sunday Times Style magazine, I could go on... When will this iPod madness end?!
And how many mags have to feature a 'What we played on our iPod this month' colomn? All of 'em. Well done to NME for not following the herd and sticking to 'what's been on our stereo?'. Very lo- fi.

4th Generation iPod rumoured to have colour screen for viewing photos and boast a 50GB HD (that's approx 12,500 songs!) So really it' become more of a storage device than a music player. The dial is also said to resemble the one on the iPod mini, ie. the row of buttons will be integrated into the dial. The likely date when we'll know for sure will be the iPod's anniversary on 28th April. See AppleInsider for more.

Over two years in the waiting - iPhoto Uk Print Service is up and running.
When it was launched in January 2002, one of the major selling points of iPhoto was that it enabled you to order a bound album of your selected prints. That was, if you lived in the US. At the time, they said that the service would reach our shores soon after. That was over two years ago.
Last night, the service sprung into action and us Brits can now order leather-bound photo albums in several different styles: Catalog; Classic; Collage; Picture Book; Portfolio; Story Book and Year Book, and different colours. Otherwise pictures cost from 23p each (4-x-6-inch) to £1.69 (8-x-12-inch). VAT and a £1.99 p&p charge is also added on top of that.
Read about it on Macworld UK