Gustacci.com

Apple TV Updated, Includes YouTube

Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 | Apple News, Apple View | No Comments

Apple Inc. announced an update to Apple TV.  Now you will not only be able to watch movies and shows downloaded from iTunes, you will also be able to browse and watch videos from YouTube.  The feature will be available in mid-June.  However, beginning tomorrow, Apple TV’s will ship with an option for a larger hard drive.  For an extra $100 you will be able to get a 160GB hard drive versus the 40GB that’s available now for $299.

Not all of the YouTube content will be available right away through Apple TV.  However, the full catalog should be available this fall.  Apple promises to add thousands of new videos daily.

Share This

iTunes Plus Announced - DRM-Free Music

Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 | Apple News, Apple View, Software | No Comments

Apple Inc. launched today iTunes Plus, which is a service part of the iTunes music store that offers music DRM-free.  Currently, only music from the recording label EMI is available in this format.  These music tracks come at a little higher price.  If you want the freedom of doing whatever you want with your music, you will need to pay an extra 30 cents per track.

Apple plans to have 50% of the iTunes music collection to be available in the DRM-free format by the end of this calendar year. At the All Things Digital conference tonight Steve Jobs mentioned that there are small independent labels that are also signing up to have their music sold DRM-free.  However, he did not mention any other major labels that are planning to participate in this quest for liberation.

In order to use the iTunes Plus service you will need to download iTunes 7.2, which was also released today.  The new iTunes adds a link to iTunes Plus in the Quicklinks section.  The first time you access iTunes Plus you will be asked to set some preferences and agree to another contract in addition to the one you agreed to when installing the software.

Share This

Mac Ads - Increased Marketing Campaign

Saturday, May 26th, 2007 | Apple News, Mac Resources | No Comments

Apple keeps cranking out new Get a Mac ads.  Recently they have posted 3 more.  Two of the ads poke fun at Vista.  These ads are also showing up on the web.  If you surf business or technology sites, you may have encountered them.  It seems that Apple is stepping up its advertising campaign.  Several years ago the only Apple advertisements that one would see where promoting the iPod.  Now it seems that every few weeks or a couple of months  Apple produces a new set of Mac ads.  Initially, the Get a Mac ads could be seen on TV and Apple.com.  As of lately they are now popping up through out the web.

Have you seen Apple ads on the web?  Do you think the increased marketing campaign is in any way related to Mac’s sales growth?

Share This