Some people are not pleased with this.

I am, so far, conflicted. Don’t fuck with my Feist.

Even better, check this Translation From PR-Speak to English of Selected Portions of Steve Jobs’s ‘A Greener Apple’ Article. Here’s my favorite excerpt:

Dear Greenpeace,

Fuck you.

Love,
Steve.

I couldn’t agree more.

(PR Translation from Jesper via Daring Fireball.)

There’s a ton of useful new features and bug fixes but here are the highlights:

• User presets including iPod, AppleTV, and PS3 support
• Anamorphic, even in QuickTime
• Surround sound (both AAC 5.1 and Dolby Pro Logic II)
• Chapter markers (QuickTime-style)

See the full change log in this PDF.

You can download the program for various platforms directly from the project home page. I’m also mirroring the Mac version because their servers are a bit swamped at the moment:

Download HandBrake 0.8.5b1 for Mac from NVinNYC (15 MB).

All the actors and movies (almost all the movies I think) are available on this Flickr set.

Some more details from MacRumors.

My take: Brilliant! I loved John Cusack from High Fidelity and The Dude (can’t call him anything else) from The Big Lebowski but I was annoyed by the (one second) of Cameron Diaz (says a lot I guess). I got everyone from Steve McQueen on up except Burt Reynolds (and I should have got him because I watched Boogie Nights again recently… bad angle I guess).

The crux of the piece is that Apple would sell DRM free music if the big 4 music labels allowed this on the iTunes store, indeed Apple would prefer this to selling DRMed music.

It’s a fascinating read for several reasons. It’s an interesting new perspective on the business. But even more interesting is that Steve deemed this topic worthy enough to release this kind of statement. It’s not often you see this kind of open communication from a company like Apple, especially Steve himself.

I like the new colors but they are a bit garish. Also it’s interesting to see Apple’s first metallic orange iPod and first orange product since the Tangerine iMacs and iBooks.

I love Apple, they give me such good shit.

Ho ho ho, iTunes 7 for all!

Something like this could really be the decisive victory in the format war (once you realize that iPod owners are generally on the cutting edge of most electronics) and, assuming the other issues with copy protection are worked out, I’d be completely behind Blu-Ray (whereas now I’m undecided). It should be an interesting battle over the next few years.

1. iPod Boombox: These little things are cash cows and Apple wants a piece of the pie, but I would expect some differences from the ones already on the market.
2. Intel Mac mini: Probably with a Core Single (perhaps a Duo on the high end) and including Front Row functionality. I’m hoping for even more multimedia options like DVR and iPod docking but I’m not holding my breath since these features would increase the cost beyond Apple’s low target price point. It’s possible we’ll see a Mac mini A/V or something as a higher end option at some point, but again I don’t expect this.
3. More iPod accessories like the FM Tuner Remote and Socks: again, this kind of stuff is a cash cow for Apple.

Apple has announced it will hold a special event Tuesday, February 28 to show off some ‘fun new products’. [...] Solid information on what Apple may unveil at the event has escaped sources, but reasonable speculation suggests the debut of further Intel-based Macs or a new video iPod.

“Goody Gumdrops.”

Daring Fireball: Brief Observations Regarding the New Stuff Announced at Today’s Special Event

I’m still wondering about the Front Row because I need it for my Mac. Will it be free? Where can I get it? Will it work with third party remotes? You get the idea…

Stay tuned as these details and more get fleshed out in the next few weeks.

I mean it’s not like they couldn’t have released iTunes 4.9.1 to handle the nano (like they did for 4.7.1 with the shuffle) then dropped the new iTunes 5 with video store along with the new iPod.

Fuck this iTunes 6 shit!

I’ll be a little disappointed if the maximum iPod capacity is not changed for two reasons. First of all, I’m averaging adding about 20GB of music to my library every two years while I’m currently nearly filled up my 40GB iPod solely with music. So this means I would have a 60GB full in another 2 years. This may not be a huge deal (just get a new iPod then right?) until you take the second my second concert into account. The more important issue here for me and everyone else is that video takes a heck of a lot more space than audio. In fact, my movies album in my iPhoto library currently is about 10GB for 311 items (mostly trailers and music videos). This doesn’t include any full length movies, which can easily be around 700MB when ripped and heavily compressed from a DVD. Considering this, I think I could easily fill up a 60GB iPod with compressed videos alone. My point here is that, while very few people, including myself, have more that 60GB of music; lots of people have more than 60GB of videos and music in their digital collection.

Since I last posted, ThinkSecret has released a new article claiming that Apple will debut “two new iPods, each available in two colors” at the event. The colors are expected to be similar to the iPod nano: black and white. This is a slight amendment to their previous stance, which was that Apple would not deliver a video iPod at the event but instead use it to launch new PowerBooks and PowerMacs.

Meanwhile, AppleInsider has posted quotes from several analysts stating that they expect a video iPod to be released at the event. They also mention the likelihood of new PowerMac and PowerBook models.

AppleInsider also mentions the possible introduction of a Madonna branded iPod in pink, while ThinkSecret mentions this but says it is unconfirmed. Neither site provides details about the technical specifications of the new Macs.

My take is that, as mentioned in my earlier post, the event will usher in both new PowerMacs, PowerBooks, and hard-drive based iPods. However, I’m leaning towards ThinkSecret’s opinion in that I doubt the iPods will have full fledged video capabilities. In fact, it seems more likely that they will share the form factor with the current generation of iPods, leaving the only differences in price and/or storage size. The general consensus from both sites is that the current models will stay at current prices of $299 & $399 but see their storage bumped from 20GB & 60GB to 40GB & 80GB thanks to new perpendicular recording mechanisms. This sounds just right for to me. Apple loves their current pricing scheme because it places an iPod every $50 or so. This makes it tempting for those who need more space or want additional features to spend more, as well as making sure that some type of iPod is available for a variety of different budgets.

AppleInsider’s report, which was published first, simply makes the claim that Apple has a 5th generation iPod with video capabilities in production and will be introducing it soon. They don’t specifically claim it will be introduced at the event next Tuesday Wednesday and they don’t make any claims about the introduction of updated PowerBooks & PowerMacs.

ThinkSecret on, the other hand, goes on the record to expressly state:

The event… will not usher in the much rumored video iPod but rather new PowerBook and PowerMac systems.

Furthermore, they argue that Apple won’t be introducing an updated regular iPod to avoid diverting attetion from the iPod nano as their main holiday item.

So while there is a bit of difference in the proposed expectations, it would seem that AppleInsider is covered even if no new iPods emerge Tuesday Wednesday. However they do state:

Apple Computer has begun production of a new version of its iPod digital music player.

Which would indicate that the new iPod is due to be released sometime before the real holiday shopping season starts in November. It wouldn’t make much sense for Apple to be producing them now if they weren’t planning to sell them until next year.

My take on the situation is that both AppleInsider and ThinkSecret are correct to some degree. First, let me point out that betting against ThinkSecret is a loosing proposition, they have an alarmingly high accuracy rate. However, this is not to say they don’t make mistakes from time to time (see iPod mini stripes). Additionally, updated PowerBook & PowerMac lineups are sorely needed and a bit overdue, so ThinkSecret is probably right that the event will usher in those bumps.

The problem that I see with this proposition is that it seems a bit minor to send out press invitations if you’re just going to bump the specs of your pro machine lineup. It hardly seems fitting to market this kind of announcement as Steve’s favorite “One more thing…” because a speed bump is something that usually just results in a press release (or nothing at all in the case of the recent Mac mini bump). Even if the new machines have dual core processors, which seems likely, at least for the PowerMac, it would still seem that it would result in the impact of “One more thing…” being a bit devalued. Additionally, it’s out of scale with events of this nature in the past which Apple has used to introduce the original iMac, the first iPod, and, more recently last year, the iPod photo and iPod U2 Special Edition.

Right now Apple’s trump card is the iPod (and to a lesser extent iTunes), whether you like it or not (I’m still on the fence). Running with the idea that the announcement is iPod related; Apple’s recently introduced nano and iTunes 5, leave only the the shuffle or the regular iPod left for an update. While the shuffle can no longer be considered new in light of the nano, it doesn’t really have a lot of room to go. Apple can’t bump it’s size or add a screen without running into nano territory. This leaves price drops, which, while feasible, are again hardly “One more thing…” scale. So this leaves the regular iPod. An update here, especially one that added video capabilities, would certainly be “One more thing…” worthy. Furthermore, the regular iPod (a.k.a. iPod photo or iPod with color screen) is due for an update as it hasn’t seen any updates (only price drops) since it was introduced as iPod photo was introduced for the holiday shopping season last year.

All of this leads me to believe that an updated iPod is indeed Steve’s “One more thing…” that will be unveiled next week. Ideally, Steve will unveil updated PowerBooks and PowerMacs to warm the crowd up and drop the iPod for the “One more thing…”.

The other possibility, which I would consider an outside chance, is the introduction of an entirely new device that is music and/or movie related. The movie angle is important because, with all certainty, Apple aims to spool their dominance in the music market into a similar position in the movie market. The only real question here is a when, not an if. The invitation to the event next Tuesday Wednesday also lends credence to the movie angle as it has a red curtain background. AppleInsider proposed an “AirPort Express-like product” that is capable outputting video to an external display. The catch here is that such a device would likely be paired with a video iPod so it’s unlikely we’ll see this without a video iPod. Nevertheless, I’m leaving the left field angle open. Apple has surprised in the past despite the best efforts of ThinkSecret and AppleInsider and they could do it again.

*Sigh* It’s so long until next Tuesday Wednesday.

Update: I mistakenly reported the event was on Tuesday, when it is, in fact, on Wednesday, October 12th.

1. iPod Shuffle: Who needs a screen? I don’t most of the time. For $99 for 512 MB or $149 for a 1 GB model, who can argue? I heard the battery life is awesome too, Mosberg reported 15+ hours on his. Doesn’t that beat AAA any day? These things are going to sell like mad; we had about forty 512s at the store today and they were gone in about 2 hours. People were seriously like, “Hmm, you have them… Okay give me 2!” According to Steve, I’m getting a Gig one for free, “Hell yeah!”
2. Mac Mini: Again, at that price point (base $499), who can argue? Hell it even includes the new iLife. Were gonna sell a million of these too. They really are that damn small (imagine a stack of about 4 CD jewel cases). What remains to see is how fast it is, I’m looking forward to benchmarks, not that those will matter much to the target audience.
3. iLife ’05: Great upgrades to the four core apps (iTunes doesn’t count since it’s free), still totally worth the extra thirty at $79. My two questions are: First, who the hell is going to use the HD features of iMovie? Second, where is Asteroid so people can easily use the 8 recording tracks of GarageBand.
4. iWork (’05): Though the new Keynote trumps PowerPoint I don’t really see Pages giving Word much competition since it’s not nearly as robust. I’m planning to use Pages to edit and layout the pictures/tables/charts in my papers after I write them in Word (since Word does these things with about the grace of a linebacker). I have to play with them more before I can really judge them though. I will say moving from charging $99 for the original Keynote to $79 for the whole iWork package is a refreshing price drop which should help get out more copies of Keynote (which seemed to be laging in sales recently).
5. Tiger: Not much new info really, mostly rehash from WWDC, and no ship date damn it! Steve did show the refined interface (which looks quite nice in Mail). Of note however, is the updated info, now at the top of the Mac OS X page, which (especially if you didn’t see the keynote and haven’t looked at Tiger before) is quite impressive.
6. Final Cut Express HD: This seems to be basically just as powerful as the Pro version used to be now that it has LiveType & Soundtrack included and support for 99 audio and video tracks. Plus HD editing that might see some good use. The ability to work with iMovie as well as Motion projects should also help those stepping up who don’t need the ridiculous power (and high cost) of the Pro version.

Overall it looks like another breakthrough year for Apple!