MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Appleinsider reports on some vague rumors of future iPod pricing and iPod distribution deals. According to the rumor site, Apple is planning on reducing the pricing of the iPod Mini by $50 "as soon as humanly possible". The iPod Mini is currently priced at $249, which is in-line with in line with Rio's recently announced Nitrus 4GB player which retails at the same price. Appleinsider also...

A Slashdot comment offers up an interesting rumor floating around Blacksburg, VA. The rumor here on campus [Virginia Tech] is that Apple is going to let them trade the G5 towers for G5 XServes, 1:1. So if you are wondering where the first 1100 XServes are going, look no further than Blacksburg. Now, Slashdot comment postings do not make for reliable sources, but we've since received further word...

According to a few reports, Soundtrack 1.2 should be released shortly. No word on new features. Soundtrack 1.1 as only recently released in December. Possible hints that pricing of the application could drop to $199... but...

Slashdot notes that a Mr. Paul Thurrott writes "The company [HP] will be working with Apple to add support for Microsoft's superior Windows Media Audio (WMA) format to the iPod by mid-year." Readers should note that Paul Thurrott has historically had an anti-Mac bias with the dubious distinction of being unable to correctly draw a graph. In November, when asked about supporting WMA, Steve...

Appleinsider posted a brief blurb at the end of their MW Summary hinting at PowerMac updates "on or after January 20th". We've heard at least unconfirmed hint of a similar timeframe for an unspecified product...

Several readers have submitted claims that the original 1984 ad has been further edited with a change of the date on the screen of "big brother" from 1/26/84 to 1/26/04. The new ad however is simply a different quality and the text can be read as "84" in certain shots, while it is ambiguous in...

Several readers have noted that on a free MacWorld Magazine fulfillment site from Apple, there appears an "iMac G5" in one of the options. This page is hosted on a non-Apple page and is felt to simply represent a...

Several readers noted that Apple Canada has an incorrect graphic on their website. The Xserve G5 graphic notes Xserve G5 1U, 64-bit, G5 Processor Single or dual 2.3GHzThe G5 Xserves which were announced yesterday come in a 2.0GHz, not...

According to a few reports, Apple may be replacing the 10GB iPod with a 15GB iPod tomorrow. Much attention has been placed on the rumored Mini iPods but little attention to the existing iPod line. According to these last-minute rumors, the 15GB line will replace the 10GB at $299, while the 20GB and 40GB would remain in their current spots at $399 and $499. The 15GB is reported to remain...

Now with confirmation of the existence of GarageBand... we can look back at one anonymous submission which claimed knowledge of the same. According to the anonymous report... the new "iApp" is called Garage Band and is a music creation tool, and should bundled with "the new group" for $99. (ed note: is this the Consumer Audio App with ~3GB of audio clips?) Also, coming from the source is...

Jon Bergeron let us know that if you are close to Minnesota State University Moorhead, they will be hosting the MacWorld SF Keynote presentation. Contact him at...

According to one report, Dr. Srinidhi Varadarajan -- of Virginia Tech/'Big Mac' fame -- is attending MacWorld San Francisco. Perhaps just a visitor... or perhaps a...

According to the most recent anonymous reports... Apple is planning on introducing both 1U (single G5) Xserves as well as 3U (dual G5) Xserves at MacWorld Expo. No knowledge processor speeds are available. These two sizes would be a bit unusual from a space/power standpoint, in that two 1U machines would provide more power and less space than a single Dual 3U machine. Regardless, ongoing...

This is to clarify a common misconception. 3G iPods = 3rd Generation iPods. (Not 3Gig...

MacOSX.com claims to have more details from "another informant" with an artist's rendition of the previous iBox rumor. Readers are reminded that fakes tend to run rampant pre-MacWorld. This product may resemble a rumor that made our Rumor Reject List from...

According to a previous reliable report -- Apple is working on a completely new Application that may be due as early as MacWorld San Francisco. A new report claims that this new application will come in the form of a consumer audio application. The new app is said to also include a large library of audio clips (~3gb altogether). The exact details of the new application are unclear. While...

Last minute rumors continue to roll in... According to an anonymous report... Optibase has been collaborating with Apple on a DVD authoring tool. The product of this venture is said to be released at MacWorld Expo. The company appears to be involved in MPEG encoding and content creation applications. How this affects Apple and their existing DVD Authoring applications (iDVD and DVD...

MacOSX.com claims to have received information about a product called the Apple iBox. According to the site, the iBox is essentially a modern set top box which would act as a wireless media hub connected to your television. Reportedly, the appliance will offer versions of iPhoto and iTunes to help manage your digitial media. Readers should note that anonymous emails to random websites,...