Like I need another reason not to like News Corp. Now the awful Aussie and his minions want to get nasty with my favorite computer maker. According to an article in Macworld, News Corp is counting on a rough re-negotiation with Apple over selling their TV shows on iTunes.

Peter Chernin, President of News Corp, courtesy of Macworld UK:

“But let me say this, we’re the ones who should determine what the fair price for our product is, not Apple.”

No offense, but Apple does have a little experience determining what price people will pay for certain things. You might have heard a few of them… the iPod, the iPhone, the Mac. How much retail sales experience does News Corp have?

Maybe I’m being too picky. They’re obviously good at what they do (no matter how despicable I find their news operations). But do those successes offer any lessons for selling content directly to consumers? They make movies… but don’t theaters have discretion to set prices for tickets? (Actually, I don’t really know the answer to that one. I just assumed they did, since they seem to be different in different places.) They sell newspapers, but aren’t they largely supported by advertising (rather than price per unit)? They have a news channel, but they give that baby away on basic cable (supported by fees from cable companies and ad revenue).

Listen to me… the guy with no business experience whatsoever.

I’m not a big Ed Burns fan, but I’ve enjoyed a few of his movies. As someone with a significant investment in home entertainment, and an Apple enthusiast, I’m intrigued by his upcoming movie…

Ed Burns Talks to Us About ‘One Missed Call’, ‘Purple Violets’, and Digital Distribution – Cinematical:

Purple Violets will possibly be the first film ever released exclusively on iTunes. Starting October 9th, the film will be available for four weeks on iTunes, and they’ll see how the numbers are after that.

My last copy of iPhoto dated way back to version four. (And yes, this is another Mac entry… it’s all I’ve got to talk about… I haven’t been doing anything else.) I haven’t fiddled with any of the other iLife apps, but the new version of iPhoto has really impressed me. There aren’t a lot more editing tools, but the ones I’ve used are better. In particular, the touch-up tool has worked wonders on some of my scans of older pictures.

In the past I’ve opened images in Photoshop (Elements) and painstakingly touched up blemishes, scratches, and dust artifacts with a brush tool (sampling adjacent color and painting in the scratch a pixel or two at a time). There was probably an easier way, but I’m a hard way kind of guy. The touch-up tool in the latest iPhoto works like a brush, but it does a pretty good job of picking up the surrounding color and just filling in the scratch, without smearing or coloring over the stuff that was o.k.

Color me impressed.

I’ve been playing with the new computer, and it’s pretty cool and all; but I was looking forward to playing with the new iLife apps just as much. Here’s a few quick albums I threw together, including some sentimental favorites from a trip to Sanibel Island (FL) ten years ago.

http://gallery.mac.com/johnkauffman#gallery

I’m just getting started, but I’d really like to find a simple way to embed individual web gallery images in a WordPress blog. Maybe I should save a little fun for next weekend.

I am not a zealot. Really. I recognize there’s such a thing as personal preference. There was even one time when I recommended a Windows PC (over a Mac) to someone. As it happens, that person has regretted taking my advice ever since, but I digress. Trapped in an office filled with Michael Dell’s evil spawn, I kid with my office mates about our choice of computers, but it’s all good natured. The guy next door threatened to stick an apple sticker on my (office) door, and I excitedly asked him if he had two (one for my car). To this day I’ve got that same, tacky red apple sticker on my door… my badge of honor.

I don’t want to convert the world to the Mac OS, but sometimes I buy into a little of the doom and gloom… the stories of Apple’s demise. I wouldn’t mind if more people shared my affinity for Apple and their wares, if for no other reason that it makes it more likely they’ll stay in business, and keep making the products I like. As I’ve noted before, my dad had one of the original Macs, and still has that first issue of Macworld magazine (he was a subscriber until the mid 90’s, when the internet became a better source). I only mention this because I’ve been around during times of feast and famine. And yes, I owned a Performa.

Even though Apple has put those dark days far behind them, the news I read on my feed reader still took me by surprise:

Apple laptops grab 17.6% share – Mac – Macworld UK

According to NPD, Apple’s retail laptop market share for June 2007 was 17.6 per cent, a 2.2 per cent increase over the same period last year when Apple posted a 15.4 per cent market share.

I spent my impressionable years during that time when Apple’s market share (in terms of sales, not installed user base) was doing really well to be above 3 percent. Seventeen percent of the laptop market blows my mind.

For once, thank the maker, buying time has coincided with selling time. Needs, finances, and a new model iMac have come together in technological nirvana.

I can smell that new computer smell. I can feel that crisp, new keyboard under my fingers. I have new found appreciation for overnight shipping.

MacDailyNews – Verizon says Apple iPhone defections to AT&T have slowed:

“Verizon saw negative so-called porting rates — meaning more Verizon customers were switching to AT&T than vice versa. But as the month progressed, Verizon said it has seen a shift back to what it calls normal switching rates.”

Personally, I never considered switching from Verizon to AT&T for the iPhone… right away. My contract doesn’t end until next year, but when it does all bets are off. That kind of slow drain might not show up on the porting rates like the mania of early adopters willing to pay early termiation fees has (to get out of their Verizon contract), but I’ll bet I’m not the only one thinking about switching when my contract is up. Verizon best be on their best behavior between now and then.

MacDailyNews – Some AT&T stores refusing to show customers Apple iPhone?:

“Some AT&T stores reportedly have no iPhone displays on the floor, but still claim to stock the iPhone. Other accounts tell of AT&T stores with iPhone displays, but employees who refuse to bring out the iPhones “on Sundays” or “for fear of theft” due to small staff on-hand, or even claiming that “Apple won’t allow” them to bring out the iPhone to show to customers.”

Did you know that I didn’t realize today was the day the iPhone went on sale until my wife mentioned it I was a complete idiot until a few minutes ago?

I was reminded by a fellow Apple enthusiast that the iPhone doesn’t go on sale until next Friday.

I’d like to blame it all on my wife, but that wouldn’t be fair. I’m the one that should know.

There is no question which one I’d choose given the choice… I’ll take a MacBook Pro please. Still, there’s something about my PowerBook. Look no further than the name… now that’s gravitas baby!

I suppose with a name like PowerBook, there was nowhere to go but down.

You know what this was really about? I was just reading about my cousin’s infatuation with his MacBook Pro… and this is a thinly veiled attempt to reconcile the fact that he has one and I don’t.

Normally I’m a needs over wants kind of guy… or I like to think so anyway. Sadly, I must admit my computer is the exception.