Lisa
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MacBook Air wafts around the rumorscape
Of our predictions about Macworld this year, the subnotebook likely topped the list for most mentioned, and though the name MacBook Air sounded strange to me when I first heard it (come to think of it, it still sounds weird, unless this is actually a product made out of hardened atmosphere), it looks like the evidence is mounting. Over the weekend, the name appeared in an Adium X usage log, and now we've got news that search engine ads and domain name lookups all point to Apple as the owner of macbookair.com (even if the site itself doesn't).So is this the name of Apple's new subnotebook? Of course, we won't know for sure until Steve says it on stage, but while it's not, on the surface, Apple's best naming choice, it could work, in an "Airport" and "Air Tunes" kind of way. It could be worse-- the thing could be called the MacPod. Or the PodBook. Or the PodMac. Or the Lisa.Update: macbookair.com isn't owned by Apple, but by some merry prankster. Let the speculation continue!
Monopoly Here and Now released at Macgamestore
I never even realized such a thing existed, but apparently Hasbro (which now owns the Monopoly brand) had released a computer version of the famous real estate game, completely updated for 2007-- as in, there are Hybrid cars and RAZRs in the game (yeah, yeah, I'll get to that in a second), and luxury tax now costs you $150,000, instead of the quaint old $75. And it's now been released for the Mac-- you can pick it up for $20 over at Macgamestore, or grab the demo for free at Macgamefiles.Gamespot users thought the PC version was pretty all right, so if you like the game a lot but don't always have the real opponents around to sit through the whole thing with you, this might be right up your alley.But of course, what I'd like to see, in either virtual or realspace, is an actual Apple-branded edition of Monopoly-- the Newton and Lisa can be Mediterranean and Baltimore, and Park Place and Boardwalk get to be the iPhone and the iPod touch. You can have little Jobs and Woz figurines to move around the board (the shoe stays-- love the shoe), although I'm not sure what the railroads would be-- Apple keynotes at Mac conferences? Get on that, Hasbro![via IMG]
The Mac collector
When we first got tipped this story (by RP-- thanks!), I was like "Oh boy, another guy who found a Newton on eBay and calls himself a Mac collector." But no, this guy is the real deal. He's got 100 Macs in his basement, including 30 Mac Classics and 18 original iMacs, as well as both a Lisa and a 20th Anniversary Macintosh. And these aren't just sitting around on shelves with cords all over the place-- oh no. These are set up just as Jobs would want them to be-- booted, running, cleanly placed, in an immaculate workspace, gently lit from above. If there's a Mac heaven, it's in this guy's basement in Missouri.The guy, named Jeremy Mehrle, says he started buying them when he was single to fill the space in his house. I don't know if he charges admission, but if so, I'd pay.
Blast from the Past: Apple Lisa Emulator
Ted Hodges over at Low End Mac turned up this fascinating Lisa Emulator developed by Ray Arachelian. After obtaining a copy of the Lisa ROM and the Lisa OS, Hodges gave the emulator a spin. His post shows many great screen shots of the Lisa in action. I hadn't known that all Lisa applications were always-on. (There was no "Quit" in Lisa.) And the "tearing off stationary to create new documents" metaphor was pretty amazing, too. Also, I'd forgotten that the Lisa offered preemptive multitasking! There really are too many cool Lisa features to list here, so pop over and read his entire post.[Via Digg]
Found Footage: Lisa ad staring Kevin Costner
In 1983, a sweaty businessman rode his bike to the office in the early morning. After ditching the bike and climbing the stairs, he clicked his computer's mouse, gazed contemplatively at the screen and answered an unexpected phone call with a smile. "Yeah," he said. "I'll be home for breakfast." The actor was Kevin Costner (hey, he's a lefty!). The computer was an Apple Lisa and the message was simple: Buy a computer, and you'll become so obsessed with it that you'll arrive at work hours before everyone else and even your spouse will question your interest in the most mundane aspects of domestic life.Ah, the information age. How lucky we are.[Via MacSupport]
Lisa sales binder
The Lisa was Steve Job's pet project until he switched to the Mac (oh, Steve, how mercurial you can be!). It was a revolutionary device that didn't sell well for the same old reasons: lack of software, and price.However, Apple did try and sell a boatload of them (I mean, they wanted to make money). Charles Eicher has spent some time scanning in a Lisa marketing brochure so that we could all look back and ponder a world that might have been.Lisa picture from The Mac Geek.
Rig of the Day: Vintage collection
Flickr user brrm (I really like that user name for some reason) shows off his great collection of vintage Apple hardware. Check out the great Lisa II (in very nice condition), his collection of Powerbooks (180, 180c, 520c, 190, 100, 2400/180c, Pismo and 15" G4) doing the wave, Newton 2000 (with original iPod) and various compact Macs. Also noteworthy is his NeXT cube. No, it's not Apple hardware but it does have a place in Apple history. Plus, it's autographed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who used a NeXT cube to write the very first web server and browser. Cool.Untitled by brrm. For the month of April, the theme for our Rig of the Day will be "Vintage Macs" in honor of Apple's anniversary. If you'd like to see your own rig featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr pool. Let's see your vintage Macs (Apples and Newtons, too)! We'll select an image every day to highlight.
30 years in Apple products: the good, the bad, and the ugly
Has it really been 30 years since two buddies named Steve sold off their prized possessions (Woz's HP calculator and Jobs' VW van) to raise money and launch a company? Has it really been 30 years since the two Steves, tired of selling blue boxes, built the Apple I and began selling it for $666.66? Yes, it has, and if you don't believe it, just compare Jobs' hairlines from '76 and today. And while the company has become known for many things, from its groundbreaking GUI to the iTunes Music Store, we know Apple has always been a hardware company at heart. So here's to you, Apple: the good, the bad and, yes, the ugly from the past 30 years. Happy Birthday.
