If it looks like an iPod...

yeah, it's still an iPod, even if it's bathed in that awful "HP signature blue" and has been branded with an HP logo.

The apocalypse is upon us. HP and Apple joining forces to get digital music to the masses. Here are some excerpts from the Associated Press story:

Now, with a freshly inked deal with Hewlett-Packard, the world's No. 2 computer maker, Apple may have scored its most significant marketing coup yet. It also gets a crucial boost onto Windows-based computer desktops.

HP's decision to scrap its own development plans for a portable music player and online music store in favor of the shiny iPod and its iTunes pay-per-song Internet store paints another coat of luster on the consumer electronics' sensation of the moment.

In less than a year, iPod and its iTunes support sheath have broken open the world of digital music, drawing dozens of rivals into the market as the music industry surrendered its Internet inhibitions.

Apple has now sold more than 2 million iPods, making it the top seller of hard-disk portable audio players with more than 50 percent market share. ITunes has dispensed more than 30 million songs at 99 cents a pop.

Coated in HP's signature blue hue, the iPod will get a new name under the Hewlett-Packard brand. But everyone will know it's an iPod.

"We looked at the music space and said, `There's a great digital music player and a great music store out there, so it's logical for us to partner,'" HP CEO Carly Fiorina said in an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The drawing board for an HP-developed portable player and online music store was shelved after Apple called about a possible deal — and the game plan changed hastily just as attendees converged on Las Vegas, Fiorina said.

The deal means the iTunes music jukebox program will be pre-installed on all of HP desktops and laptops beginning this summer, a plus for Apple, whose computers are limited to a niche of less than 5 percent of the worldwide PC market share.

"The second largest manufacturer of Windows computers, for digital music at least, is standardizing on the Apple platform, and that has never happened before," said Phil Leigh, an analyst with Inside Digital Media.

HP's pricing has not been announced, but Apple's iPods start at $299. Apple's new, cheaper, compact model is not part of the HP deal.

"This is a big step for Apple," said Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing. "We're trying to grow the market for iPods and iTunes and to reach more Windows users, and HP brings a lot of Windows customers."

Other executives say Apple wields tremendous influence when it goes to the bargaining table with other companies.

Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple has a record of product and marketing innovation, a top-tier brand and a charismatic chief executive in Steve Jobs who last year persuaded record label executives to get over their copy-protection worries and make more of their music available on the Internet with fewer restrictions.

The one thing that is nice about this is that HP (and their scary CEO Carly Fiorina) had the cojones to come out and admit that Apple is doing the right thing with the iPod, and that there is nothing else that even comes close. The fact that they scrapped plans for their own player shows that they haven't completely lost their minds, though that whole Compaq purchase is still questionable.

We're still reeling at the thought of cheap-ass HP Pavilions at the Wal-Mart being bundled with iTunes. Man, the web-fingered Cletuses will not know what to make of that…

Lotsa snow

Well, people had been complaining about the lack of snow around here. No worries now.

Combined with the hard freezes of the past few nights, the roads are slick and covered with snow. Walking to the convenience store half a block away was interesting since the snow was about a foot and a half deep in some spots (like in part of our driveway). Roscoe seems to enjoy romping in the white stuff and twice so far has declined to come inside. He'd rather sit by the fence and "chat" with the dogs next door instead of sitting in his nice, dry dog house.

Anyway, here are some pics I took about half an hour ago.

I noticed these the other day... it will be entertaining when they fall. Maybe they'll find the annoying cat that uses the driveway for its litter box.


Yesterday, the yard was covered with footprints. Today's snow took care of that.

Yup, he's a cute fella. Seems quite at home with temps in the 20s-30s.

Still cold

A snow pic I took on Sunday before the dog ran through the yard

Last night, the temps got down to 9 degrees. I think we had a high of about 20something, and it was damn cold.

I don't have a whole lot else to say about snow, other than it's nice to finally have some. And the yard doesn't look that pretty any more (I lucked out and got really good light Sunday). The only thing I hope the continued cold weather brings is a little bit of Darwinism for the SUV-driving masses up here. Keep thinking that your H2 will protect you from death on icy roads, that your full-time four-wheel drive makes you invincible. Just because you have traction doesn't mean you don't need to slow down and brake sooner, you morons. But when you wipe yourselves out, the gene pool, and society, will thank you.

Stevenote '04

Yeah, of course we watched the keynote... but from where? ...


Well, we watched it in bed, of course! Gotta love Airport Extreme!

Another January, another Macworld Expo. Another one we weren't able to go to. We went two years ago when the new iMacs were announced, and then the next day I lost my job. But that's a post for another day.

No big big news today, other than the adorable iPod minis and a new iLife app called GarageBand. There were significant improvements to iPhoto and iDVD. iTunes remains the same. All five apps will be released on Jan. 16 for — get this — a whopping $49! That's $10 per app! GarageBand is music composing software for those of us without talent. It's got a neat feature that lets you export a finished track to iTunes. I suspect in the near future, swapping homemade tracks will be available through the iTunes music store.

Still waiting for an affordable iPod case that will knock my socks off. So far, no luck. In a bitter twist of irony, I received my white Sony MDR-EX71SL earbuds from Japan this morning — just as Stevie was announcing new earbuds for the iPod at the Apple Store for $39. It appears the Apple Store isn't carrying the Sonys any more. While it would've been nice to get a pair from Apple, I'd have to listen to them first. And I know the Sonys sound good; pretty much anyone who doesn't like the stock iPod buds picks up a pair of these.

T'was the Night Before Macworld S.F.

Yup, it's that time of year again... the time of year when we get dazzled by the Stevenote and have to buy the latest and greatest. That's not a bad thing, though. It's how I got this laptop!

Another fun and exciting Macworld San Francisco is upon us, and I'm mostly waiting to see what sort of neat iPod accessories can be found. So far, this one has gotten me drooling, not that I live an extreme enough lifestyle to justify owning one. The iSkin exo2 is a nice, affordable alternative to the iPod Armor, but I'm hoping the expo will bring a better choice of colors.

Rumors about mini iPods have been flying for several weeks now, and the morning's Stevenote should put all of that to rest. We're setting the alarm so we can watch the webcast. Geeks r us. I'd be happy with upgrades to the iLife apps, but in terms of hardware, I'm set. I can't complain about the iPod, other than the fact my damn headphones are somewhere between here and San Francisco, and that lazy excuse for a mailman hasn't been seen today.

Tom's computer has held up well in the three years we've had it, but I know a G5 would be a nice addition to our network. We shall see.

The Rainbow Bridge

Here's another Zoé pic, and the note I wrote to Sandee on the FML, and the reply


Date: Sun, 28 Dec 2003 16:43:36 -0700
From: bobaferret(at)macdotcom
Subject: Sandee, please greet Zoé

I found our original zferret, Zoé, in her hammock this afternoon, where
she died in her sleep. She was about 3 1/2 years old -- a blaze Marshall
with Waardenburg's. She's the first ferret I met when we moved to Idaho,
and she and her sister, Zima, were the first two we acquired right after
moving up here from California. Zoé loved playing with our big black
cat, Cassie (who outweighed her by 10 pounds!) and the two of them had
some pretty epic play session. I think in her mind, Zoé thought she was
bigger than Cassie! But Zima, her sister, would always remind her who
our alpha ferret was.

About 6 months after we got the girls, we brought home big Zeek. Zoé let
him know his place, but once Zeek got bigger, it was clear he was the No.
2 ferret. Then we brought home goofy Zumu, and Zoé didn't need to put
him in his place... he got along with everyone.

Zoé was a sweet girl with an attitude. She was our stunt ferret, and
loved to bite my husband's feet while we were cleaning their cage. She'd
lunge at him to let him know she wanted to wrestle, and she was a
big-time stasher of food. She loved yogurt drops and playing tug of war.

I'm really not sure what else to say about her. She's the first pet I've
lost since I had to put my dog to sleep 11 years ago. I've got a tribute
to her in my online journal if you need some more information about her. I need
to track down some more pictures of her, and take more time for
reflection.

Sandee, please make sure Zoé has plenty of room to run and frolick, and
has a nice hammock with three other cuddly ferrets to snuggle up with.
One of her favorite things was to pile into one hammock with the rest of
our crew. She won't know any ferrets when she gets to the bridge, so if
you can help her get in touch with my old cat, Samantha, and my dog,
Lady, I think she might feel a bit better.

Goodnight, Zoé.

Jennifer Kryder
and the zferrets: Zima, Zeek and Zumu

----------

Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 14:14:00 -0800
From: Sandee Sandee(at)ferretloversdotcom
Subject: Sandee Greets Dupree, Bob Marley, Zoé, and Oscar.

Hi, all-

I met a little girl with a lot of friends. Not here in the Ferret
Afterworld, but sprinkled around in the Dog and Cat Afterworlds. Her
name is Zoé. Zoé's cat friend is named Samantha. Zoé's dog friend is
named Lady. I arranged for the three of them to meet in the middle of
the Bridge. Again, there is only one Bridge, but it leads to many
places!

It took Zoé a little while to get used to speaking and hearing. She had
never done either well, as she was born with Waardenberg's syndrome. She
paid a very high price for that pretty blaze on her head, it seems to me,
but she isn't resentful. She says that the hoomin breeders simply didn't
know what they were doing, and she forgives them.

Zoé, Samantha, and Lady had a nice time chatting, and remembering funny
stories about their Mommy, Jennifer. Jennifer was very, very good at
loving, I'm told. Lady said that the best thing about the Dog Afterworld
was the food, and the open spaces to run in. Samantha said that the best
thing about the Cat Afterworld was the naps in the sun, and the other
naps in the sun!

Well, later I introduced Zoé to some friendly Businesses that I know.
They all like to snuggle up in groups for their naps. They said they'd
be happy to snuggle with Zoé, who snuggled with three other ferrets in
the World of the Living. Here, there is enough snuggling available for
everybody to have some!

Well, back to work!
Sandee