Apple

Apple's iPhone App Store, as long expected, passed the 100,000 app mark today.  Apple has been counting down the milestones since the store opened, last mentioning 85,000 in a conference call last month.  There are some interesting trends developing, however, that put that number into perspective.

Has Apple decided that among its top potential customers for switching to a Mac are Windows 7 pirates? Based on ads that Apple is buying on Google that might be the case --- search for "download Windows 7" and you'll see an Apple ad urging PC users to switch to the Mac. But search for "buy Windows 7" and you'll see no such ad.

Now you can jailbreak and unlock your iPhone -- even a 3G or 3GS with OS 3.1.2 or baseband 05.11.07. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers bow down and worship George "Geohot" Hotz. Not to mention really strange black & white photos...
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Has Apple tweaked the new build of Snow Leopard to prevent you running Mac OS X on a netbook? Reports say that it won't run on Intel Atom hackintoshes any longer. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers wonder if it's a deliberate block or just a side-effect of something else. Not to mention movie timelines...
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MediaMemo today reported that Apple has been shopping a $30/month, all you can watch TV service to the networks that would compete with Hulu and to a lesser extent cable.  The service would be built into iTunes and run across all of Apple's products.  To me this has tablet written all over it.

By most accounts, the iPhone's debut in China has been lackluster. Figures at the only Apple Store in Mainland China are incredibly bad. They sold 10 on Saturday and only one on Sunday. The Apple Store manager hopes that sales pick up during the week.

This, in a nation of 1.3 billion people and almost 800 million mobile users. In fact, China's leading mobile carrier has more subscribers than the US has citizens.

What's the problem?

NetNewsWire is the most popular RSS newsreader client on the Macintosh. It isn't just my favorite; the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg and many others mark it as their favorite way to read news on the Mac.

I thought it would be interesting to talk to Brent Simmons, the developer behind NetNewsWire, about the recent changes in the application and where it is heading.

Steve Jobs famously touts AppleTV as "just a hobby". –Like something they work on on weekends, sometimes. If they get around to it.

Looks like Android 2.0 is shaping up to be an attractive proposition. And Motorola has new hardware to match. Yes, Motorola: who knew? In IT Blogwatch, bloggers type the words "killer" and "iPhone" (not necessarily in that order). Not to mention pumpkin cannon...
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You'd think that Google just invented a way to make cars fly from the reaction to its new navigation software today.

Will Apple's customers buy the 27-inch Cinema Display for use as a monitor? I think so; here's why.

This may sound strange, but I believe there exists a certain subset of users out there who may be tempted to upgrade their PCs to Mac OS X rather than Windows 7. Here's why.

Apple hasn't had a flagship Macintosh lately; each model has had its area of specialization. The Mac Pros have always been the fastest but they have a very limited appeal. The MacBooks are the most popular. The Pro laptops are probably the ones to be seen with when out and about.

All of that just fell by the wayside. The new 27-inch iMac now is the "Mac to have".

In today's podcast: MySQL co-founder wants Oracle to sell database; IBM puts executive on leave over securities-fraud charge; and Apple posts big jump in profits.

...and there are more price cuts coming this quarter.

Apple lowered its price points on several line of its most popular products this year. This quarter shows that tightening the margins a bit had a huge effect on sales which also broadened Apple's market share. That, in turn, lit up Apple's stock price to well over $200.