#FF00AA

@apple@

XP on an Intel Mac is a reality, dual-boot included, and the process seems fairly simple to follow. But, if I get this right, it relies on patching some XP system files (or at least some install files), so it may be just a matter of time before an innocuous Microsoft security update surreptitiously kills Wintel Macs. Oh, and the Mac’s peripherals aren’t handled (even the video card isn’t quite recognized — which puzzles me, considering that Apple uses standard chips).

In the beginning, I was interested, but when you think about it, for productivity applications an emulator will still be the simplest way to go (when it’s updated for Intel Macs), and as for games you can just buy a console, or play WoW on OS X.

 

@music@

DRMs eat up to 25% of your music player’s battery life. Makes sense.

 

@apple@

FileRun (the Finder replacement vaporware) has gone from “available on March 17th” to “available soon”. There’s a new screenshot, and I’m still not impatient. (But I still check that bookmark because I’m tired of the Finder’s imperfections.)

You know, in this day and age, committing to release a 1.0 version rather than lingering in beta state is quite commendable (unless it’s anachronic), but there’s no way announcing your product early and then postponing the release date over and over again can be a good way to build up brand recognition. Stevie would never do that. (He’d let the rumor sites do it instead.)

 

@apple@

How did I miss that? Endo [via] is a new RSS aggregator by the makers of Ecto, with a lot of cool ideas and nice polish. At version 1.0.x, it’s a bit less power-user-oriented than NetNewsWire, though, so I’m not switching — and it makes my iMac’s fans spin like mad when downloading my (700) feeds and their attachments for the first time (even though the preferences were set to 3 maximum concurrent downloads; I didn’t find a way to stop attachment download or even disable it). Still, it might be more pleasant to use than NetNewsWire for the casual user, and in any case it’s very promising.

 

@web@

There’s no such thing as a free iPod and the TRUSTe privacy seal doesn’t mean much. Both big surprises.