The Hidden Costs of an iPod

During each trip to my local apple store I keep an eye on what people purchase. I am astounded by the staggering growth in the accessory market for the iPod. If there's something you need for your iPod you’re sure to find it. The accessory list seems endless with items such as armbands, cases, wireless transmitters, base stations, audio recorders, power adapters, USB cables, headsets, extra battery packs, charging stands and extra cables. Customers are flocking to Apple stores and other retailers to outfit their iPods for their personal taste. While some accessories are only $20, some are well into $300 range often costing more than the device itself. All these accessories put forth the question “How much the REAL cost of an iPod is?” As long as the iPod product remains healthy the iPod accessory market will remain healthy as well.

Review: iSight

One of my hardware issues when moving over to the Mac Mini was related to my video camera. The Logitech video camera I owned was old and PC only so I was in the market for a Mac compatible camera. While reviewing my various camera options I couldn’t stop myself from coming back to the iSight over and over again. The iSight’s appeal was two fold. First, it looks beautiful. It’s sleek, modern and just cool. Second, the iSight has a high quality auto focus that was essential for me to have. What I didn’t like about the iSight was its price. It is at the high end of the desktop camera price range listing at around $150. When researching what others thought of the camera I read dozens of articles of those who never used the camera, but considered it a waste of money compared to other mid price point webcam products. I recently purchased an iSight and could not be happier. Those who compare the iSight with a mid price point webcam are really not being fair. The iSight is superior in quality and hence its price point (plus a bit of Apple price padding). No one ever said the iSight was for everyone. As a switcher from Windows I had one problem with the device. The newer iSights, including the one I purchased, do not include an attachment for non Apple monitors. This was a real disappointment after opening the box. Through the documentation I learned I could purchase an accessory kit for $32 to get what I needed. After spending $150 on a camera I didn't want to spend another $32. The newer camera attachments are focused on Apple’s new aluminum products, laptops and the iMac. The packaging should be clearer with the attachment situation so the buyer can be aware. Excluding the attachment issue I’ve found the camera to be fantastic. The auto focus is excellent and the built in microphone works extremely well. I highly recommend the Apple iSight.

Review: Dot Mac

Technology solutions come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Apple’s Dot Mac is a little bit of all things. Dot Mac is a collection of web based services that are knit together to provide a variety of options. Dot Mac is about integrating the data on your Mac with the Internet. One of its features called Homepage lets even the most novice user become a web based publisher with stylish and attractive web pages that look anything but amateurish. Homepage allows you to select photos from your iPhoto collection and publish them to your own web site. The complexity of learning the web publishing process is brushed out of the way. Another feature of Dot Mac is its ability to synchronize data on your Mac with the Internet or other Macs. Using iSync or the Tiger integrated Dot Mac sync, you can replicate settings like your contacts, calendar, mail settings, bookmarks and more on one Mac to another. Dot Mac also offers the ability to store files on your computer on the Dot Mac server that can be accessed anywhere on the Internet via PCs for Macs. The iDisk, as it is called, can be used to backup files from your PC or Mac or can be used as repository for accessing documents remotely. Dot Mac also includes backup software allowing you to backup files and user settings to a CD, DVD, network drive or your iDisk. While Microsoft Windows includes a backup program the Mac does not. This is not the only backup software option but is a good value when packaged with other Doc Mac services. The Dot Mac service also includes a mac.com email address providing web based access to your email. Free email services like Gmail and Yahoo mail are comparable in form. Throughout your Dot Mac membership you'll have access to special offers from 3rd part companies. Apple will also provide bonus freebees such as loops for Garage Band or Widgets for Dashboard in Tiger (yet to be released as of this writing). Dot Mac is an incredible value to someone who currently doesn't have a method for obtaining the above services. With each feature of Doc Mac you use by means of another provider the value goes down greatly. Many have suggested Dot Mac should provide an al la carte service but that is unlikely to happen. Dot Mac does have a few frustrations. For example, Dot Mac only provides 250 Megs of disk space provided for email and iDisk. With disk space so cheap and with services like Yahoo and Gmail offering gigs of space for free Apple should up theirs as well to maintain the value of its product. iDisk is also extremely slow when transferring data up or down and I’ve found it more of a hassle than it’s worth. The challenge to the Dot Mac service is how can it grow. Tiger is providing minor changes to Dot Mac for better integration. If 3rd party software developers take advantage of the Dot Mac platform that will help increase the value. Apple alone can't grow the Dot Mac service. Overall, Dot Mac provides some compelling features for $99 a year. Dot Mac’s integration with the Mac OS and its various applications is fantastic.

Unreleased Tiger #1 on Amazon

The enthusiasm for Apple's new OS release called Tiger is showing on Amazon. Amazon has provided a $35 rebate incentive which has helped create interest and excitement from Apple loyalist and those Apple fans eager to see the latest OS. With rumors of Tiger going Gold and ready to ship, many feel that the Tiger release is only days or weeks away. While many thought the release would happen at the Summer Developers Conference it clearly makes sense to release now. Holding the release until the conference would not provide enough opportunity to explore the product prior to the conference. With the product released first you'll have a mountain of enthusiasm leading up to the Summer.