Yesterday, when mentioning Google passing the $500 mark and Microsoft hitting $30, I neglected to point out how well Apple (AAPL) did too. They closed at $88.60 via Marketwatch:

some analysts believe that Apple will soon unveil the “iPhone,” which will be Apple’s first name-branded mobile phone. The iPhone is said to include the iTunes music-playing technology and instant-messaging capabilities.

I wonder what carrier will be offering the iPhone if/when it becomes a reality? His royal Steveness will probably tell the world at MacWorld in January 2007. My infrequently updated coverage of Mac-related goodness continues at my dedicated Mac blog, for those interested in all Apple-related material or by subscribing to the keyword RSS feed Apple here at Hmm

My first experience owning an Apple computer began in October 2004. While I haven’t become a complete Apple convert, I’ve enjoyed the experience overall to date and continue to learn more about Apple products and services.

Forget about utilyzing the talents of a bird with an amazing memory as I’d pondered last month, there might be a more realistic tech gadget solution to keep from losing keys on the horizon.

A new electronic gadget called the Loc8tor uses radio waves and multiple aerials, plus some fancy software, to locate postage stamp sized transmitters which can be attached to almost anything, within a range of up to 600 feet.

The Loc8tor sells for $99 USD and includes the handheld Loc8tor device, two mini homing tags, key ring loop and adhesive, user guide and batteries. Up to 24 tags can be used with one Loc8tor. Additional homing tags costs $44.95 USD for a set of two.

Seems a little on the pricey side and what happens if the batteries run out? You got it, it won’t work. Good idea but too bad the tag side of things couldn’t be done with something that doesn’t require batteries.

When buying a Zune one of the first things I wanted to do was use the same MP3 directory we’re using with my wife’s Mac. We have a pretty extensive CD collection that we have partially ripped to MP3 and store on an external Hard Drive (250GB) attached via USB to one of the Windows XP machines on our home network in a FAT32 partition we call WINMAC. In this partition, we store all our MP3 and album artwork and inside iTunes on our Apple Mac we have the iTunes preferences set to use this as the primary directory, see: iTUNES -> PREFERENCES -> General -> “iTunes Music Folder location.”

We also changed the “importing” section, particularly “Import Using” to MP3 Encoder and the “Setting” to ‘Higher Quality’ as shown below:

Setting the sync directory on the Zune was equally straightforward:

STEP 1. In the Zune player click on the up down circular arrow to make the inline sync window visible.
STEP 2. Click on “Sync Options”
STEP 3. Choose “more options” and the Options box will appear shown below.

STEP 4. In “Rip music to this location” section (#1) is where you change to the same sync directory as iTunes is using.
STEP 5. In the “Rip Settings” section (#2) change the format to MP3. You can drag the slider for the quality. I like using the highest quality which also results in a larger file size.

Here’s a video I made showing the process.

Most of the reviews and press I’ve read to date about Microsoft’s Zune player have been negative, mostly comparing it to Apple iPod which is now in its fifth generation. This hasn’t quelled my interest in going to the store today to check the Zune out on launch day (today).

Will I buy one? I’d say it’s still a 50/50 chance but I’m starting to wonder if that might be the only gadget this week I’ll be able to buy. I’m not hopeful at all for the PS3 on Friday and I’m worried about the Wii availability on Sunday after reading how Wii sports was getting nearly non-stop play at the recent Seattle Mind Camp.

Yesterday Microsoft had several Zune launch parties around the country including one in Seattle at noon today at Westlake in Seattle.

Just a taste of the media and blog coverage
[video] CNET discussion around whether the Zune makes Microsoft “cool” or not
Applematters.com argues against the logic of using Microsoft Points (1.25 points = $.01 USD)
Bloomberg: “Microsoft Corp. plans to add a video-sharing feature to its Zune player and will eventually sell a model that combines the device with a phone, Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said.”
White, brown or black? Gizmodo analyzes the different Zune launch colors.

Enough procrastination, Walmart on the hill is open 24 hours
Ok, the launch day excitement is calling, back later …

I’m thinking fake product alert here, but this does tickle the mind. Wonder if my wife would be interested in some emotibuds from futuronomie:

Emotibuds are small, whimsical adornments that slip onto the outside of your Apple iPod earbuds, turning the digital device into a vehicle for self-expression. The concept and design of emotibuds draws on the ubiquitous “emoticons” of the online world and allows users to bring such conscious expression into social space.

iTunes store downloads
While on the iPod front and a more serious note we finally did some more business with the iTunes video store tonight. Man, are the downloads slow there or what? Since we haven’t done much iTunes business, I’m not sure if this is the norm for Sunday evenings. Is it?

For those wondering, we bough the pilot episode of Numb3rs (CBS, $1.99 USD) and the complete first season of Commander in Chief starring Geena Davis (ABC, 18 episodes, $28.99 USD). Yes, I realize we can go to innertube and see some of the CBS material for free like Jericho (which we have watched there). We have this iPod alarm clock radio that has a video out in our bedroom so we can watch like regular TV from the iPod. Resolution is ok. Will write about this in more detail after we’ve used it for awhile as well as share some pics.

On Friday we downloaded some of the free content iTMS offers including the season two opening episode of the grown up Danny Partridge, Breaking Bonaduce. We had our eye on Heroes, but $42.99 for the season pass seemed stiff considering the pilot episode isn’t included. I like the idea of these season passes. They work similar to the way the TiVO season pass works in that as the episodes become available you can snag them.

Any other good TV shows available online that we should check out?

On Tuesday November 14, Microsoft’s answer to the iPod / iTunes one two punch called Zune will go on sale. The 30GB Zune player will be selling for $249.99 (pictured) per information on the brand new Zune website.

Davis Freeberg is just saying no to the Zune (and the PS3):

On Microsoft’s side of the business, they’ve created a product that supports wifi, but then they strip out all of the functionality that wifi could bring. Instead of ending up with an iPod killer, Microsoft has instead ended up with a music player that won’t even play their own music files. This is such a joke, that I can’t believe the company is hyping this as much as they have been

Let’s hope Microsoft doesn’t treat Zune like Sony has treated the PSP. They should make it easy for homebrew developers to create cool add-ins for Zune.

Another question is will we actually be able to buy the Zune player on launch day? I haven’t seen that many UMPC (Ultra Mobile Personal Computers). In fact, I can’t remember seeing even one UMPC in stores locally. The overall buzz I’ve been reading about the Zune has been lukewarm, which could translate to a good chance we’ll be able to walk into the nearest Best Buy and get one of these without much difficulty. I’m intrigued by the use of Microsoft Points to expand beyond the Xbox Live Marketplace and into buying songs. Microsoft has a huge opportunity in the micropayments area if they push it out to the web and beyond the Xbox. Am I $250 USD Zune curious? There’s always paying the restocking fee if the device is lame.

Retail store availability prediction: 90%.
Will we be buying a Zune player? 50% chance yes. When I first heard about the Zune with the bizarre rabbit comingzune ad admittedly I was much less enthusiastic, but as the launch date draws nearer, I’m warming up. Still on the fence until I actually see and touch one of these in store. I’ll be at the store on November 14, money in hand, looking at the demo. I wouldn’t mind having a portable music player for Windows, but I’m not sure how much I’d actually listen to one. Too many things to listen to like satellite radio, terrestrial radio, internet radio and podcasts.

PS3
That same Friday the Zune is released the much anticipated Sony PS3 will be going on sale. Like Zune, the PS3 has been taking PR hits, particularly over the pricing which many feel is too expensive. Ironically, it promises to be the inexpensive way to check out Blu-Ray in your home (compared to the $1,000 player), but I wonder if we’ll see sub $500 Blu-Ray players after the PS3 is launched? The launch game lineup for the PS3 isn’t exactly spectacular on paper, but we’ll see what happens once people start playing the games and reporting back their experiences.

Retail store availability prediction: 10% launch week, 1% holiday season
Will we be buying a PS3 100% yes, but due to the production problems I’m expecting to get blanked this year. I’m looking at this purchase like the Xbox 360 and don’t expect to be able to walk into a store and buy until tax time 2007.

Wii
The same Sunday the Zune is released, Nintendo is breaking out their next generation console the Nintendo Wii. The Wii has family fun with an intriguing looking controller written all over it. It will also be sporting an online connection complete with the Opera browser. Of the three, I’m looking the most forward to the Wii.

I think there will be a chance to snag the Wii the opening week but it will fast become the must have gaming system this holiday season . The PS3 will probably be high in demand too, but not because everybody wants one, but because there aren’t enough systems to sate the hardcore gamers (like me) that will buy most any new game system.

Retail store availability prediction: 70% launch week, 10-25% holiday season
Will we be buying a Wii 100% yes. I told my wife we had a good chance of being able to buy one of these on launch day/week.

Don’t count on it being coincidence that all three of these are being released the week before Black Friday. This is being done to stir up a flurry of interest heading into the all important holiday season shopping frenzy.

It’s your turn. What will you be buying during this month’s tech gadget week? Or maybe I should say “trying” to buy? Which of these three are you looking most forward to checking out?

Last night we were invited to a Best Buy invitation-only party at the Federal Way, WA store. The first 100 people received a free coffee mug. Best Buy served free drinks and candy and passed out Geek Squad shirts. Woohoo, I’m an unofficial member of the Geek Squad.

We shopped and purchased a 25 year documentary on the movie Halloween ($6.99 USD) and a clock radio for the iPod ($51 USD) which when we got home and plugged in didn’t work. The clock radio has a video out so you can plug it into the TV and watch the videos on iPod. Will be going back to Best Buy to try and (hopefully) get a working version later today, hence my frown in the picture to the right.

This morning I learned that today is the five year anniversary of the iPod:

CUPERTINO, California—October 23, 2001—Apple® today introduced iPod™, a breakthrough MP3 music player that packs up to 1,000 CD-quality songs into an ultra-portable, 6.5 ounce design that fits in your pocket. iPod combines a major advance in portable music device design with Apple’s legendary ease of use and Auto-Sync, which automatically downloads all your iTunes™ songs and playlists into your iPod, and keeps them up to date whenever you plug your iPod into your Mac®.

In five years the iPod has increased capacity by 20 times, reduced its size and weight, added photo, video and color and most notably become #1 in the portable player field. All comers have tried to compete and the iPod marketshare has only grown. Microsoft is about to take another shot with its curious Zune player and odds are against it making any serious traction. We bought the Shuffle and former versions of the iPod briefly, but took them back to the store. A week ago my wife decided she really wanted an iPod (black, not white) and this fifth generation iPod will be the first device we’ll be keeping.

The future of iPod?
Apple might be flirting with including XM satellite radio. As readers know, I’m a recent Sirius subscriber and we bought our oldest son the Sirius Stiletto 100. If Apple can get satellite reception angle working good with the iPod it is a natural fit. I think they would be wisest to offer both XM and Sirius though, not go with one over the other. Sirius continues to gain market share and they don’t want to pick the wrong one. That’s not a blast on XM as they might be better than Sirius (I’ve never listened to XM), but it doesn’t make good business sense for Apple to choose one over the other.

WiFi and internet browsing seems like another logical future addition to the iPod. Especially now that they have started toying with a few games. I’m not sure how good surfing with the click wheel will work, but somebody will create a mini-keyboard (if one doesn’t already exist).

I’m not sure how much lighter and smaller the iPod can get and remain usable, but history suggests they’ll keep trying on that front. My eyes suck, so the smaller they go, the less likely they’ll entice me to ever buy one. My wife’s eyesight is better, so she probably won’t mind.

A 500 GB iPod? We’ll see that within five years. Dare I predict we’ll see a 1TB iPod? 20 times 80GB = approximately 1.6 TB. The iPod could become the new Mac Mini with that kind of storage.

What iPod-related business have you done?
As for iTunes tracks we’ve paid for in five years? Two: Blue Oyster Cult “Veteran of a Psychic War” and James Blunt “Beautiful.” We don’t use iTunes on Windows, only on the Mac.

How many iPods have you bought over the last five years? How many iTunes tracks? Do you use iTunes on Mac only or Windows?

Have you bought a plasma TV yet? We haven’t taken the plunge on a plasma TV and may never do so if this new laser TV technology proves to be as promising as it sounds:

“But for the very first time with a laser TV we’ll be able to see 90 per cent of what the eye can see … Combine that with energy efficiency, price advantage and the fact that the laser TVs will be half the weight and depth of plasma TVS, and Mr Pelaprat says “plasma is now something of the past”.

Mr Pelaprat predicted LCD TVs would come to dominate the market below 40 inches, and laser television the market above that screen size, displacing plasma.

90% of what the eye can see? I remember this past Hmm piece where by 2014 we’ll get the whole 100% which makes me wonder how many will wait through the laser TV phase like we’ve waited through with Plasma TVs.

We are slow to replace monitors and TVs, much slower than computers. Laptop and tablet PC aside, we only have two LCD monitors, while we have a dozen or so CRT monitors. We have one, low-end HDTV that is primarily used to play Xbox 360 games. I like to visit the TV section of the various electronics stores and check out what’s new and exciting but I’m not motivated to spend thousands on TV sets or monitors. I might be interested in buying one of these new laser TVs next Christmas if the price is right. I have a hard time justifying more than $2,000 for a TV knowing that in a couple years it will more than likely lose most its value.

The new 30″ Apple Cinema display looks gorgeous but I’d rather spend two grand on four 19″ or larger LCD monitors and link them together than buy one 30″ monitor. Multiple monitors have provided a significant productivity boost. We talked about this when recording the last Webtalkradio show last Saturday (which should be released later this week, I think).

I would like to switch us to all LCD simply for power reasons. Those readers with several computers, are you using all LCD monitors? What did you do with your excess CRT monitors? Donate them somewhere? Use them as additional screens?

Apple:

We recently discovered that a small number - less than 1% - of the Video iPods available for purchase after September 12, 2006, left our contract manufacturer carrying the Windows RavMonE.exe virus. This known virus affects only Windows computers, and up to date anti-virus software which is included with most Windows computers should detect and remove it. So far we have seen less than 25 reports concerning this problem. The iPod nano, iPod shuffle and Mac OS X are not affected, and all Video iPods now shipping are virus free.

I’m somewhat curious — but in no hurry to check — if the new iPod my wife just bought arrived with this RavMonE.exe Windows virus. We are using the iPod only with our Mac so this doesn’t really apply even if the virus came packed with the iPod. We have a shared MP3 folder where we store all the MP3 we’ve burned and imported those from the Mac. The iPod has not been plugged into any of our Windows machines yet.

A number of people have pointed out the sentence from Apple after the one quoted above that reads:

As you might imagine, we are upset at Windows for not being more hardy against such viruses, and even more upset with ourselves for not catching it.

Cheap shot. They would have been far less arrogant and wiser to simply say: “As you might imagine, we are upset with ourselves for not catching it.” Not Apple’s way, I guess.

Nathan sees this as a classless move too:

You used to let your products speak for themselves. Show some class, or at least stand behind your products, not your bitter and arrogant attitude. I get the feeling that when the tide turns (and it always does), you won’t have a lot of friends bemoaning your demise.

This is weak, but it won’t hurt Apple’s momentum. Their ardent fans will raise their fists and say: “yeah, down with Microsoft.” The platform agnostic like me will just shake their heads. The people who already hate Apple will only despise them more.

At the end of the day I don’t think Apple is going anywhere any time soon. The Zune is going to be about as successful dethroning the iPod as Tablet PCs replacing laptops en masse.

One of the hottest portable music device outside of the iPod right now is the Sirius Stiletto 100 and Sunday we scoured the Circuit City locations to land at none other than Silverdale, Washington. We bought the last one of these black and white beauties for $329 USD + tax and couldn’t wait after the hour plus drive home to get the package open and start the ceremonial first charge.

This is a gift for our oldest teen who wanted to be able to listen to Sirius (yes, he’s hooked on satellite radio too) and also have a portable music device. He has been a long time Napster subscriber and loves music. More on that shortly, let’s see what the Stiletto packaging looks like.

Sirius has somewhat ripped a page from the Apple playbook on the compact, although not quite as meticulous packaging.

As labeled above:

1 - the antenna headphones of death. These are the worst designed headphones I’ve ever seen or listened to; totally uncomfortable and unlistenable. They have these ultrahard plastic ends that poke into your ears. You feel like if you listen long enough they will converge on your skull. It’s an interesting idea putting the antenna in the headphones but the design is just abysmal.
2 - the Stiletto comes with two batteries, one of which is a slim 2 hour battery and a fatter 4 hour battery. They should have offered a version without the fat batter and shaved $150 off the price tag as the price being too high seems to be a common complaint.
3 - USB cord to connect Stiletto to you computer but not enough power to charge the battery. The software comes packed with Yahoo Music Messenger of all things. You can transfer MP3 or Y! Music purchased files. Not sure if the free Yahoo files being rented can be transferred to the Stiletto.
4 - earbuds that don’t stay in your ears. I’ve never been a big earbuds fan, even with the iPod, mainly because anything that sticks down in the ear cavity seems like a recipe for going deaf early. Fortunately, the Stiletto uses a normal headphone jack, so you can plugin your favorite headphones.
5 - AC adapter included to charge the Stiletto.

Not pictured: software, instruction manual and Sirius channel lineup.

Our son took the Stiletto to school and his friends thought it was a cell phone. It sort of looks like one, especially with the fatter battery.

Lighter than it appears. 4.6 ounces with slim battery, 5.6 ounces with the standard battery.

No carrying case comes with the stiletto, not even some cheap cloth or plastic case, but it fits perfectly in a eyeglass case.

There are two ways to connect and listen: through the satellite, which only works in our area outside and through the internet via WiFi. Connecting to the WiFi was as easy as choosing the SSID and entering in the password. The recording function — one of the coolest parts of the Stiletto — doesn’t work with internet. The homekit is coming later this month which should offer an option to use an outside antenna. In its current state, good luck getting the satellite inside unless you are close to a terrestrial repeater.

The menu screen is colorful and easy to read and operate. Parental controls are available. Since this was our second Sirius receiver we paid an extra $6.99/month for three months (quarterly payment appears to be the minimum option) plus another $15 one time connection fee. The one time connection fee seems like another missed opportunity by Sirius to have been waived for the Stiletto.

The Stiletto has an internal antenna, but using only that even outside in the open air we couldn’t get a reliable satellite signal. We don’t have any terrestrial repeaters nearby here which doesn’t help.

The settings screen allows additional configuration: screen brightness, voice which will announce the channel (”buzzsaw!”) and more.

It’s really too bad that Sirius has no Major League Baseball contract. Noticeably absent from their game tracking features are MLB, but you can put in your favorite football, basketball and hockey teams so you can get notifications of when the game is starting or the score changes.

Connectivity, cost and features
The two major complaints I’ve read about the Stiletto are the satellite connectivity and cost. We have the Starmate Replay which we paid like $80 for and the reception with the home antenna is awesome. The ability to listen via WiFi is a decent response but without the ability to record anything is disappointing.

When connected via satellite the recording function is useful and has gotten Sirius into some hot water legally. You can record a song, even if you are in the middle. It will go back and record from the beginning. You can also record the talk shows.

The 2GB storage space compared to other portable music devices is anemic. For $350, the Stiletto should come with at least ten times the storage. Those with larger MP3 collectiosn who want to transfer their MP3 collection to the Stilettto will need to pick a smaller playlist.

Since this was a gift for our son, I asked him what he thought and he gave it a B+. I’ve noticed he has been listening to it constantly since we got it which reinforces his grade.

Me? For those who want a portable Sirius satellite receiver that tries perhaps too hard to be like an iPod, the Stiletto doesn’t have much competition and thus makes it harder to compare to other portable music devices. You can’t get Sirius on an iPod or UMPC or Zune, thus it probably should be compared primarily against the other Sirius players. From a design perspective, the godawful antenna headphones aside (really, the worst ever), it’s better than the other home Sirius players I’ve seen and used. Some are saying to wait for the second or third generation Stiletto, but for those who want an additional Sirius player that they can take anywhere quickly and easily, the Stiletto is ok. At half the price and with more memory (or at least an expandable slot) and better antenna headphones, I’d give it higher marks.

Grade: C-