TUAW 2006

Motorola recently launched the SLVR, the iTunes-compatible successor to last fall's failed ROKR. Like its predecessor, the ROKR is a great idea in theory, but it ends up as a disappointment. On the plus side, the design is much more sleek than the ROKR -- think of it as a RAZR without the flip (and who doesn't love the RAZR? Best. Phone. Ever.). Even better, it has 512 MB of built-in memory, so you can store music with ease.
However, we still hate the proprietary headphone jack, the 2-year Cingular lock-in and the 100-song iTunes limit. We really don't see people spending $200 for a phone that they have to use with Cingular, with a proprietary headphone jack and with no ability to buy songs directly from the phone. Come on Apple/Motorola, that's just weak!
Here's hoping that a "real" iTunes phone appears from Apple sometime in the future.
Is Paying the "Black Tax" worth it?
The new MacBooks are here and they come in two tasty colors: classic iBook white and dark and sultry black. We polled our readers to see if the Black Tax was worthwhile, and while the comments seem to suggest that no one is really going to spend $150 more for a black MacBook, we're sure there will still be plenty of buyers out there.So is paying a premium for a color really worth it? I'll go out on a limb and say, "yes, yes it is." The resale value will likely be higher (which will come in handy if those rumored Core 2 Duo chips arrive before Christmas) and come on, the economy is booming! Spend a little on yourself!
All the excitement over Boot Camp's introduction has plenty of Mac users doing the unthinkable: installing Windows on their precious Intel beauties. Although it's pretty neat to run Windows XP on your Mac,Vista is the future. Reports of users running preview versions of Vista via Boot Camp are starting to pile in, and while it might not be as speedy as XP, remember this isn't the final release of either Vista or Boot Camp.
Microsot's long-delayed next-gen OS should be shipping later this year, with a decidedly more OS X look. The next version of Apple's Mac OS X, Leopard, should be out later this year (early 2007 at the latest) too, but will it be able to compete?
Many business users use XP at work, but as we said, that's yesteryear's technology, Once PC users everywhere upgrade to Vista en masse, will Mac users need to dual-boot to keep up? I guess there is always the possibility that Vista could be a colossal failure and the PC world would remain in the 32-bit XP sphere for several more years, but come on, that's about as likely as a Microsoft-branded iPod competitor.
We'll just have to see if Leopard has the goods to compete with Vista.
Apple Stock: How high can it go?
Apple's stock (AAPL) is ON FIRE!! Closing in at nearly $90 a share, we have to ask, how high can it go? Is there any possible way Apple can end 2006 ABOVE $100 a share? The market in general is pretty good right now and tech stocks are on a tear, but $100 a share? Apple??! My, how times have changed.
| $100 a share | |
|---|---|
| $150 a share | |
| $75 a share | |
| It's going to crash and burn |
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Motorola SLVR Verdict: It's no "i"PhoneMotorola recently launched the SLVR, the iTunes-compatible successor to last fall's failed ROKR....
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"...I guess there is always the possibility that Vista could be a colossal failure and the PC world would remain in the 32-bit XP sphere for several more years, but come on, that's about as likely as a Microsoft-branded iPod competitor."
...aaaahahahahaah
Why so much love for the RAZR? I don't know if there was much difference between the Australian and US versions, but mine absolutely sucked. The interface was terrible, almost as if it was all done at the last minute.
April 01 2009 at 7:37 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply"and come on, the economy is booming! Spend a little on yourself!"
Haha. Too bad we can't say that today.
I actually loved my SLVR. Other than my iPhone, it has been my most favored handset. I used to upgrade handsets at the least every 6 months and for a while was upgrading every 4... UNTIL the SLVR. I even switched from Verizon to Cingular at the time.
That was definitely a fun read!
"We really don't see people spending $200 for a phone that they have to use with Cingular, with a proprietary headphone jack..."
Kind of similar to what the first iPhone was, only I think it sold for a little bit more ;-)
can we go back to that old logo. please.
April 01 2009 at 2:57 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replywow, this was a funny one, its so ironic-ish
wishing for an "iphone"
the economy is great go splurge
people actually thinking vista was going to be decent... (which it is better with sp1)
apple stock
funny stuff - just like it said "my, how times have changed"
Please do a TUAW 2016!!!!!!! :)
April 01 2009 at 2:34 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyYeah. I second that. This is a great series. A 2016 story would be cool.
April 01 2009 at 2:41 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThat would be fun. What will be more fun is reading it again in 2016!
April 01 2009 at 5:25 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHot Apps on TUAW
Deals of the Day
more deals- Refurbished Skullcandy Tokidoki Smokin' Buds Mic'd Headset for $5 + $2 s&h
- Stitchway Backup Battery for iPod / iPhone for $5 + free shipping
- Used Apple MacBook Pro 2.4GHz 15" LED Laptop for $1,030 + $29 s&h
- Refurb MacBook Air Core i5 Dual 1.6GHz 12" Laptop for $750 + free shipping
- Sony Dock 20W Speaker System for iPhone / iPod for $51 + $15 s&h
- Soulo Karaoke App and Wireless Mic for iPhone / iPad for $80 + free shipping
Software Updates
more updates- EFI Firmware Update brings Lion Internet Recovery to 2010-model Macs
- OS X Lion 10.7.3 released with Safari 5.1.3, Wi-Fi bug fix
- Aperture updated to 3.2.2, addresses Photo Stream issue
- Apple updates Keynote to address Lion issues
- Google Search app gets new look on iPad
- Apple releases Apple TV Software Update 4.4.3



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