For those of you who have been following the 700mhz spectrum auction, you know that if the C block doesn’t meet the $4.6 billion reserve price, then it will not remain open and a new auction will begin. Luckily, the bidding has gone extremely well and it’s up to about $4.3 billion right now. The next round just started and will be done in 45 minutes…

The minimum bid for the next round is $4.86 billion, so as long as someone bids for it, it will be forced to have open access. That’s a big win for everyone. Here’s to hoping that Google or someone else makes the bid to get the C block. That has the potential to really open up the mobile industry and there is a lot of room for innovation in that space. Perhaps the Google/Apple relationship will finally bear fruit. Open iPhone + Open Google Network could be amazing.

UPDATE: In round 14, there were no new bids for the C block and the minimum bid has dropped to $4.79 billion for round 15. Also, the grand total for the 700mhz spectrum auction is over $10 billion now.

Stop The Presses!!!! I have news that is going to shock the world! I’ve just recieved word from a very reliable source that the next gen iPod is going to use a portable fuel cell powered by human feces. Actually, it’s a brand new microreactor that can run on most kinds of animal feces. (more…)

For those of you who have been keeping up with the rumors on the internets, it seems that Apple might be announcing the MacBook on Tuesday. What’s even cooler is that the MacBooks could come in both black and white. YEAH! I’m stoked. Also, Nintendo is making their big splash on e3 in L.A. on Tuesday. Could these two companies be cooking up some bizarre plan to work together? Conspiracy theory? Yes. Impossible? No. (more…)

It seems like every time that a product or service hits it big - like the iPod, MySpace, or Craig’s List, hundreds of other companies or individuals try to copy the idea. Most of the time copycat products never do as well as the original did. Yet, even when the copycat product improves on the idea, it still doesn’t seem to catch on in the same way that the original did.

How does this happen? Well the reasons for copycatting are obvious enough. If something is successful, then people want in on the money and the success. Then, the obvious thing that people do is take the original product and make it better and cheaper. Conventional wisdom says that this should work. However, it doesn’t work and a whole generation or two of so-called “iPod killers” has proved this. You can’t just slap on new features and unseat the iPod or MySpace or Craig’s List. It just won’t work! (more…)

For those of you who haven’t heard the Nintendo Revolution is now called the Nintendo Wii. Ok, well I’ve been digging around the rumor mill and talked to some friends in the industry to find out what we can expect from Nintendo as far as a launch date and pricing are concerned. While this might come as a shock to some people, but the Wii probably won’t launch in November. In fact it’s looking more and more like July each day. (more…)

The reports of the MacBook Pro arriving this week were true. Apple announced the replacement for the vaunted 17″ Powerbook today and it’s a pretty impressive machine. It’s got the high-end Core Duo as well as a solid gfx card and memory. However, the $2,800 price point is pretty steep. Well, at least for most mortals. If you are a music producer or a movie editor, the 17″ MacBook Pro is made for you. Probably the smartest inclusion on Apple’s part is athe Firewire 800 port. I was surprised they left that off the 15″ MacBook Pro when it launched earlier this year. All in all I’d say that it’s an impressive replacement for the 17″ G4 Powerbook, but other than that it’s pretty much business as usual for the Apple switch to Intel. It’s faster and everything, but otherwise iSight, FrontRow, etc… are all Apple standard equipment by now. At least it’s a better deal than a fake carbon fibre laptop from Sony.

I reported on the Apple financial news earlier today, but word has it on the rumor mill that Apple might be unveiling the MacBook Pro 17″ laptop as its flagship laptop sometime in the next week at the National Association of Broadcasters confrence. This machine will probably have iSight, FrontRow, BootCamp and a creamy chocolate center. I’m sure the other zealots out there are going crazy over the news, but I say that this is crap. Why? (more…)

So I don’t usually report on financial news, but I’m pretty impressed by this. Apple’s year over year growth for the last quarter is about 30%. Revenue jumped by around a billion dollars. Profits jumped about $100 million or so. While Wall Street was expecting more from Apple, I have to say that they are full of crap. Steve Jobs and company have managed a huge turnaround over the last few years and it’s nothing short of phenominal. Also of some interest is that this was Apple’s second highest quarterly sales in Apple history. For a tech company as old as Apple to survive this long and now be having this much success speaks volumes.

Well, I’ve suspected this for quite a while, but it was really cool to read about it. Basically, as an Apple Genius worker explains, most people in Apple don’t usually know what Apple is going to announce. The sales reps and the store workers hear about stuff when everybody else does. Often times this will lead to Apple Store employeed getting burned by new products coming out a week after purchase. What’s surprising is that store workers can’t return merchandise. That’s a bit of a burn to those who buy an Apple product only for it to become outdated a week later. However, as the author so clearly points out, An Apple computer will still be a great computer for years even if it’s not the latest and greatest. As an iBook owner I can definately vouch for this. While I’m looking forward to the next generation of iBooks (aka the MacBook) I’m not exactly hurting because it’s not the latest and greatest. It’s the best laptop I’ve ever owned. Anyhow, the article is a good read and it gives further proof that I’m easily as well informed about what Apple is doing as most people working for Apple!

Read the article

I read a blog post today that reminded me of one of those really harsh realities of being a tech blogger. As much as we love the cool products that Apple makes or the “Don’t be evil” mantra of Google attempts to live by, once in a while we must all be reminded that Google, Apple, .and every other corporation at their very best are still very much for profit corporations. Now, this in itself isn’t perhaps a bad thing. However, the one glaring problem with all companies is that the rules are usually decided by what is illegal (what they can get away with) and not always what is “the right thing to do”.  (more…)