"Napster To Go" is the first subscription service that allows you to move an unlimited number of songs -- which are encoded in Microsoft Windows Media (WMA) format -- to portable music players. (But not to iPods, which won't play WMA files.) RealNetworks' Rhapsody and Yahoo!'s MusicMatch are unlimited, too. This gives music fans much more flexibility and choice. All the music you want at one price. Nice, very nice.

Think of it this way. A music subscription model is like cable TV, providing a host of different channels for a monthly charge. But iTunes is like your utility bill: The more kilowatts you use, the higher the bill. Those with limited budgets are more likely to see the subscription idea as a more cost-effective way to enjoy their tunes. With a constant revenue stream from monthly paying consumers, investors will be watching to see whether this plan will move Napster toward the goal of profitability.

The popularity of the iPod is what has made iTunes successful -- not the price per tune. But the availability of unlimited music selections and cheaper yet stylish players does pose a threat. If music junkies decide the $14.95 option is the real deal, then the erosion of Apple's dominance is just a matter of time.

Since we last tested an Apple Power Mac G5 nearly a year ago (May, 2004), Apple upgraded the processors inside to 2.5GHz, and added an innovative liquid cooling system to make sure the super-hot chips stay cool. Other than that, the computer is identical to the one we tested last year. It’s still an excellent machine in every way. However, those who think it’s faster than any PC might want to take a look at our benchmark tests. For Adobe After Effects users, it’s now an even closer call when trying to choose between Mac versus PC.

In September ... I reviewed a new Dell product, the Precision Workstation 470 with two Intel Xeon 3.6GHz chips inside. It blew through our After Effects tests faster than any computer I’d seen. The only drawback I found with the computer was its price, a whopping $5493 when it was first released. But that was six months ago – since then its price has plummeted more than $1000. Coincidentally, its price as configured ($4426) is almost exactly the same as that of the Apple Power Mac G5 ($4449) we just received here at the Midwest Test Facility. Since the two machines are only $26 apart, I decided this would be a perfect time to satisfy dozens of e-mail requests, asking us to compare the fastest Mac with the fastest PC. So here goes.

Looking at the results ... you’ll notice that the Mac G5’s performance is quite similar to that of our fastest computer, the Dell Precision Workstation 470. In the After Effects tests, although the G5 is only half as fast as the 470 in test 1, it rallies with test 2, coming to within a few percentage points of the 470’s performance. The Mac gets beaten in test 3 and 4, but rallies back to win its only test in our entire benchmark series, test 5.

Taking a look at all the rest of the benchmark scores, the Mac is beaten consistently by the PC. If you look to the left of the Dell Precision Workstation 470 scores, you’ll notice that the ABS dual Intel Xeon 3.4 GHz machine also beats the Mac G5 on all of the tests except one as well. Keep in mind, the 3.4GHz Xeon chip is the second-fastest Xeon chip in Intel’s line, and all of the Intel Xeon chips are due for a speed bump in the second quarter of this year.

Even though Apple CEO Steve Jobs promised a 3GHz Mac by summer, 2004, that obviously didn’t materialize. In fact, the only way Apple was able to enable a 2.5GHz chip to operate without melting down was to create an unusual liquid cooling mechanism, along with a group of fans that are, frankly, too loud for my taste. As Apple rakes in the cash for its smash-hit iPod line of personal music players, its G5 development has practically paused for over a year now. At the same time, PCs and their corresponding processors and chipsets continue to improve, albeit at a slower pace than in years past. Still, the PC shows itself to be a faster computer than the Mac in our benchmark tests.

Scientists may have found what makes a tune catchy, after locating the brain area where a song's "hook" gets caught.

A US team from Dartmouth College, reported in the journal Nature, played volunteers tunes with snippets cut out.

They scanned for brain activity and found it centred in the auditory cortex - which handles information from ears.

When familiar tunes played, the cortex activity continued during the blanks - and the volunteers indeed said they still mentally "heard" the tunes.

David Kraemer, a graduate student in Dartmouth's Psychological and Brain Sciences Department who led the study, said: "We found that people couldn't help continuing the song in their heads, and when they did this, the auditory cortex remained active even though the music had stopped."

Microsoft plans to all but end its stint as an Internet service provider to Mac users, discontinuing its MSN for Mac OS X software, CNET News.com has learned.

The company plans to notify customers this month and discontinue the service as of May 31, a Microsoft representative said in an e-mail. Microsoft announced plans to get into the market in 2002 and began offering the service in the United States the following year.

"Beginning May 31, Microsoft will make changes and no longer support the MSN for Mac OS X Internet Software client," the representative said. A Microsoft representative declined to say how many people subscribe to MSN for the Mac, but said it is "a small number."

A judge on Fritday ordered three independent online reporters to divulge confidential sources in a lawsuit brought by Apple Computer Inc., ruling that they were not protected by the First Amendment because they published trade secrets.


The ruling alarmed speech advocates, who saw the case as a test of whether people who write for Web publications enjoy the same legal protections as reporters for mainstream publications. Among those are protections afforded under California's "shield" law, which is meant to encourage the publication of information in the public's interest.

The reporters -- who run sites followed closely by Apple enthusiasts -- allegedly published product descriptions that Apple said employees had leaked in violation of nondisclosure agreements and possibly the U.S. Trade Secrets Act.

Opens May 19, 2005

The two best things abut Openoffice are:

1. It's free.
2. It's Cross-Platform.

Both these advantages mean that you can download OpenOffice and install it in Windows. Once you have done this, you can start using it and getting accustomed to it. At the same time, if you have problems, you can always fire up Microsoft Office.

OpenOffice is about to release its version 2.0. This is a great improvement over the previous version, and really makes it easy to shift from Microsoft Office. Version 2.0 is still in Beta, as of this piece, but a final version is due to be released by the end of this month. We suggest that you try out the Beta, or, if Beta versions aren't your thing, wait a few days for the Final version and use that.

The previous versions of OpenOffice were not very attractive. The new version changes all that with complete integration into the underlying operating system. On Windows XP, it will look like your XP applications, while on Linux it will use the UI (user interface) widgets that you have defined.

Previous versions of OpenOffice were criticized for not including a proper word count feature. It was not possible to do word counts of a selected block of text. This has been fixed in version 2.0, with standard word count features being added, and the word count feature being moved to the Tools menu.

There's been some talk lately about the future of Firefox. We believe Firefox has a bright future, and we are all working hard towards our short and long term goals.

First off, we are executing on the Firefox 1.1 Plan. This is an important incremental update to Firefox 1.0 that includes major enhancements to the Gecko platform we are built on, as well as a few application level enhancements.

Secondly, we are developing a plan for Firefox 2.0, which will include many feature enhancements and generally make browsing faster and easier than before. Coupled with the releases on the way to 2.0 will be significant platform enhancements that make it easier for people to build their applications on Gecko.

They stole the core of their code from PearPC! (an open-source project that they've, unfortunately, taken serious advantage of.) Essentially, this software is a crappy Visual Basic application written on-top-of a separate PearPC modification.

Today, informed observers [and, apparently, Betanews, which is neither informed nor an observer] report that the $50 emulator, which is said to mimic a G4 Mac running OS X, is largely a carbon-copy of PearPC, an open-source (ie GPL) emulator. The only apparent difference between Maui X-Stream's so-called commercial release and the open-source PearPC is the fact that after boot up is complete, the former "covers the window within its own display."

Many strong points about CherryOS containing PearPC code have been found. Some users of the PearPC community compared the files of CherryOS with PearPC. The Macintosh emulator for Windows XP, which has been released yesterday, has many equal strings and code blocks. Detailed information can be found on the websites below.

Also, nearly all the features that CherryOS had been hiped for, do not exist in the current version. No sound support, no drag & drop between Mac OS, and no speed improvements... It is basically just PearPC with a GUI. By the way, if you want a GUI for PearPC, then just visit our Files & Links section and download one under "PearPC Configuration Utilities".

Since the final name of the next Xbox hasn't been revealed yet, I'll refer to the system by its codename, Xenon.

CPU - Xenon's CPU has three 3.0 GHz PowerPC cores. Each core is capable of two instructions per cycle and has an L1 cache with 32 KB for data and 32 KB for instructions. The three cores share 1 MB of L2 cache. Alpha 2 developer kits currently have two cores instead of three.

GPU - Xenon's GPU is a generation beyond the ATI X800. Its clock speed is 500 MHz and it supports Shader 3.0. Developers are currently working with an alpha 2 GPU. Beta GPU units are expected by May and the final GPU is slated for a summer release. The final GPU will be more powerful than anything on the market today; in game terms, it would handle a game like Half-Life 2 with ease.

System Memory - Xenon will have 256 MB of system RAM. Keep in mind that this number should not be equated to typical PC RAM. The Xbox has 64 MB of system RAM and is a very capable machine.

Optical Drive - As many have speculated, Xenon will not use Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. Games will come on dual-layer DVD-9 discs. While the media is the same as that of the current Xbox, the usable space on each disc is up to 7 GB. The drive is slated to run at 12X.

Memory Units - Xenon will use 64 MB to 1,024 MB memory cards. 8 MB is reserved for system use, leaving a 56 MB to 1,016 MB for user data.

Hard Drive - As many have speculated, Xenon's hard drive is optional. 2 GB of the drive will be used as game cache. The final drive size is still being determined.

Camera - Xenon will have a USB 2.0 camera. It's capable of 1.2 megapixel still shots and VGA video. Photos can be used in-game and for gamer profiles. The camera can also be used for video chat. It's unknown if the Xenon camera will allow for EyeToy-like gameplay. Developers are currently using a simulated camera driver.

Sound Chip - Xenon does not have an audio chip in the traditional sense. Decompression is handled by hardware, while the rest of the chores are handled by software. DirectSound3D has been dropped in favor of X3DAudio. The former was deemed too inflexible.

Developers are being instructed to plan their games for high-definition. The baseline is 720p at 1280x720 for gameplay and video clips, 16:9 aspect ratio, 5.1 Surround Sound, and anti-aliasing. These features are the current minimum requirement.

It's nice to see that Microsoft is being aggressive with HD performance. Having all games run at 720p (potentially) makes for an incredibly engrossing experience -- particularly owners of HDTV sets. Users with standard televisions needn't worry; 16:9 content will be letterboxed to fit within a 4:3 aspect ratio by default. Developers are being instructed to make sure that any critical text will fit into and look good in 4:3.

The theatrical release poster is now on its way to movie theaters. The new one-sheet is illustrated by Drew Struzan, continuing a tradition begun with the Special Edition release of the Star Wars trilogy in 1997. This new poster places Anakin within the larger framework of the Episode III storyline, with the main cast of characters -- Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala, Darth Sidious, and the dark helmet of Darth Vader -- featured prominently.

Episode III is almost here. Be sure to catch the world premiere of the Revenge of the Sith release trailer when it airs on FOX during "The O.C." this Thursday, March 10th and it appears online at starwars.com Hyperspace.

Virgin Electronics is closing it doors less than a year after refocusing on digital music devices.

Company representatives confirmed the shuttering Tuesday. The Virgin Group-funded company moved from New York to Silicon Valley in July of last year to draw more talent to its creative digital products.

Virgin's closing is effective immediately, with all products discontinued. The company said it will honor warranties on previously purchased devices.

Sony Corp. is launching a new lineup of portable music players featuring flash memory chips starting in late March, part of the company's efforts to catch up with the industry leader Apple Computer Inc.

The Japanese electronics giant, which just named a new chief executive over the weekend, said Tuesday it is planning a global launch starting in late March of seven "Walkman" music player models equipped with flash memory chips.

The new Sony players ... support the generic MP3 audio format, which is what most people use when converting their music CD collections to digital files. That's a major concession for Sony, which had tried until recently to persuade consumers to only use its proprietary audio format, called Atrac.

The lineup includes a set of cigarette lighter-sized models, a bit more expensive than the iPod Shuffle but with a much longer advertised battery life -- 50 hours of playback time with a rechargeable battery compared to Apple's 12 hours. And unlike the Shuffle, the Sony players have bright, three-line screens to display song information.

This update addresses several issues with Microsoft Office 2004.

The new version of XPlay allows users of Windows 98SE, Me, 2000 and XP to take advantage of the iPod shuffle. Along with support for the iPod shuffle, XPlay 2.1 introduces support for all USB-connected iPods under Windows 98SE and Me.

XPlay, well known as the first product to provide Windows connectivity for iPods, is the only product that enables Windows users to connect with both Mac and PC iPods. It is also the only product that enables iPod compatibility with Windows 98SE and Me.

Now, everything that made XPlay easy to use with the iPod makes it just as clear with the iPod shuffle. You can move music to and from your iPod with the powerful drag-and-drop interface; copy music from your iPod to your hard drive; revise and reorder playlists; use your iPod shuffle just like an external hard drive; listen to your music through Winamp, Musicmatch, Windows Media Player, RealPlayer and most other popular software; plus take advantage of other powerful XPlay features.

Microsoft has commissioned six new font families designed expressly for reading on-screen with their ClearType technology. Unveiled at the Association Typographique Internationale conference in Prague last year, the new typefaces triple the number of quality on-screen faces a designer can choose.

The fonts will be available to Mac users only if Apple decides to license them. Apple has no set plans to do so at this time, according to Roger Siminoff, Apple senior marketing manager for professional graphics markets. The collection is exclusive to Microsoft and will be shipped as part of the next version of Windows in 2006, according to Mike Duggan, Microsoft's lead typographer in the ClearType and Advanced Reading Technologies team.

The six new typefaces range from elegant to sturdy to playful. This variety will do a lot for designers and editors who want more choices for highly developed fonts for the screen as they work to define the personality of their sites.

For a preview of the ClearType Font Collection: "Calibri," "Cambria," "Candara," "Consolas," "Constantia" and "Corbel," see Design Desk. The fonts are all named with a "C" so they will show up together in the fonts list.

Microsoft has done far more than any other group when it comes to readability research for the screen. The mission of the Advanced Reading Technologies team is one of Bill Gates' personal "Top Five" priorities, according to Bill Hill, director of the Microsoft group. Team expertise includes typography, cognitive psychology and research. View a report (in MS Word format) by Hill that helped to launch Microsoft's initiative.