Jobs weighs in on the AAPL rout

AppleInsider has gotten its hands on an internal memo from Jobs to Apple employees commenting on the recent large drop in AAPL's price.

Not surprisingly, he didn't really say anything specific, but obviously he felt the concern about the stock price was enough to warrant speaking out and providing assurances.

"...we have outperformed many other blue-chip tech companies, including Google. I continue to believe that our fundamentals - our remarkable people, our clear and focused strategy, our new product pipeline, our 200+ retail stores, our $18 billion of cash in the bank with no debt, etc., will serve us well in the coming months and years."

MacJournals rants about Wall Street analysts

It has been an interesting week for anyone in the stock market, just about anywhere in the world. It has been an even more interesting month for anyone with stock in Apple. After hitting hitting an intra-day high of over US$200 on Dec. 28, AAPL has been in a steady decline, settling to just over $161 at the end of last week.

Then, on January 22, 2008 while Americans were celebrating Dr. King, markets around the world crashed. Apple had the pleasure of holding its Q1 2008 financial conference call the very next day, in the context of very jittery markets, with American indices also showing mini-crashes for the day. AAPL closed down 3.5% to a respectable $155.64 on Tuesday.

Shortly after market close, Apple announced that its last quarter was the best sales quarter in company history, with results blowing past all analysts' expectations. The after-hours crowd promptly reacted... by shaving 11% off AAPL's value. Why? Largely because despite Apple's stellar results for the last quarter, their guidance for the following quarter didn't meet Wall Street analysts' rosy expectations.

I lost a few bucks that day, but judging by their response, it seems the people over at MacJournals.com may have lost more. They have published a scathing analysis of "irresponsible" Wall Street analysts.

Ouch.

MacBook Air SuperDrive not supported on other Macs

Apple says the MacBook Air SuperDrive is made specifically for the MacBook Air and is not supported on any other Mac.

That is a disappointment. However, we don't know yet what that really means. It could work on other Macs even if it is not supported.

[Update]

Several have now confirmed that the MacBook Air's external USB SuperDrive does NOT work on other Macs.

MacBook Air released. It's tiny, and it's feature poor.

Apple today released its much anticipated MacBook Air. It comes in a very spiffy new design. It's tiny! Yet it still sports a full sized 13.3" screen and full sized keyboard.


The specs are as follows:

Core 2 Duo 1.6 GHz (or a 1.8 GHz for $300 more)
80 GB 4200 rpm 1.8" drive (or a 64GB flash drive for $999 more)
13.3" 1280x800 LED-backlit LCD
GMA X3100 graphics
2 GB RAM (non-upgradable)
iSight
802.11n + Bluetooth
Multitouch trackpad
Full sized backlit keyboard
Aluminum enclosure
No optical drive (or an external drive for $99)
DVI/VGA output (via dongles)
1 USB 2.0 port (but no Firewire - no target mode?)
Audio port (analogue only, no optical)
Speaker and microphone
Non-removable battery
No Ethernet port (but an optional dongle is available)

$1799

In other words, it's gorgeous, it's tiny, it's feature poor, and it's very expensive. Is this the Cube all over again? Well, maybe not, but I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be one of Apple's worst selling laptops in its current line.

Dashboard translator can't count

It would seem the Dashboard's Translation widget needs a little work, even for just numbers.

Panasonic announces 9.5 mm Blu-ray burner for laptops

Panasonic has announced a 9.5 mm thick Blu-ray burner, small enough to fit into the MacBook Pro. Unfortunately, it is a tray-load drive, and Mac laptops require slot-load drives. However, slot-load versions should follow soon.

The drive will make an appearance at CES 2008 in January.