AppleInsider is reporting that Microsoft is now placing a recording booth of its massive “I’m A PC” advertising campaign outside an Apple Store in Birmingham, England. Its source also notes that a trio of staff from Microsoft will be turning people away from the Mac for the next three days. This is part of a wider campaign to clean up its image after being tarnished at the hands of Apple’s “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” ads.

Microsoft also has a website launched so you can upload your own videos to demonstrate that you are a PC as well. This way, they could use your face to help campaign for Vista. Now, I’m wondering if someone should say “I’m a PC, and I own a Mac”. That would be funny as.

A new “Get a Mac” ad has been released that sees PC raising some money to fix Vista via a bake sale, after their marketing team decided to run an “expensive ad campaign instead of fixing Vista”. Mac then offers to help out by buying a cupcake from Vista … a $10 billion cupcake.

This ad is basically a direct attack at Microsoft’s “I’m a PC” ads. To me, the “Get a Mac” ads are more funny and creative; while Microsoft has just decided to copy one thing from the ads – the introduction “I’m a PC”. I wonder what advertising campaign will they do for Windows 7 – maybe an appearance at The Colbert Report? Or what about another one at The Daily Show?

The ad can be viewed here, or visiting Apple’s website.

AppleInsider is reporting that the new Mac OS X 10.6, also known as Snow Leopard, will feature a massive rewrite of its Finder application to be on its Cocoa environment, similar to most applications that Apple and other developers have been using to write applications. On Leopard (OS X 10.5), it still uses the old Carbon environment.

New features include the support of Microsoft Exchange in Snow Leopard’s versions of iCal, Address Book and Mail; and a new, third option for disc image-based installations called ImageBoot, which allows you to set up any number of installations on a secondary partition, or even an external hard drive.

When Apple announced that they reached 1 million HD Downloads, let us remind ourselves that Australia still has no HD downloads (and why would we, with our barely sustainable internet caps), and that we still don’t have shows that are worth watching (like Heroes, Fringe or Bones) – well for me anyway.

And with all this “Fast Track” crap that our television networks are saying, will we see more US Shows being released in a couple of days after the US? Well, lets just say, that we better pray to God to make that happen.

In America, however, they have plenty of crap to download; and will have more crap to download with the Fall 2008 season; and with studios putting their shows in HD quality for only $2.99, it leaves us wondering why do you need HD quality videos if the iPod doesn’t support HD playback.

However, this is not the first time that the two companies were in a lawsuit. Apple sued Luxpro over its “super shuffle” player, in 2005 – the same time when Apple released its iPod shuffle, but agreed to change the name to Super Tangent. Another lawsuit was also conducted at the same year, which was won by Luxpro, when Apple demanded that the company stop producing, marketing and selling all of its players.

So, does this lawsuit make any sense whatsoever? We will have to wait and see.

The MacBook, as we mentioned, got an upgrade as well. It is all similar to the MacBook Pro, but now only comes in a 13″ model, adds an NVIDIA GeForce 6400M graphics processor and limits the RAM to 2GB. The 13″ inch model for the new ones comes in 2 versions, one for AU$2,099 that has a 160GB and has a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and another one that is AU$2,549 that has 250GB and a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor.

There will still be the white 13″ from the previous models, and that has 1GB of RAM, 120GB of space and has a 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. This is for those who want the click button, and not interested in those features (but who isn’t interested), and that will come at AU$1,649.

There you have it, the MacBook Pro has gotten an update (along with its sister product, the MacBook). A brand new, sleek design; has the same bezel display design as the iMac and it now ditches the click button in favour of touch-pad gestures, introduced in the MacBook Air.

Along with the changes, it comes with a NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics card with 256MB or 512MB, depending on the version. As well, it will come in either 2GB or 4GB of DDR3 RAM. It will also use the DisplayPort connector to connect to a monitor, but you can get an adapter for it to use it with DVI and VGA monitors. As usual, it comes with the usual iSight camera and a MagSafe adapter.

There will be two models, the 15″ and the 17″; with the 15″ having to options, the 2.4GHz model with 250GB of space, 2GB of RAM and the 256MB graphics card, or the 2.53GHz model with 320GB of space, 4GB of RAM and 512MB graphics card. The 17″ will be the previous model, but just having an upgrade.

The 15″ inch models cost at AU$3,199 or $3,999; while the 17″ will set you back AU$4,499.

• K29, MB382LL/A - $899 MacBook?
• M97, MB466LL/A - $1,299.00 MacBook
• M97, MB467LL/A - $1,599.00 MacBook
• M96, MB543LL/A - $1,799.00 MacBook Air
• M96, MB940LL/A - $2,499.00 MacBook Air
• M98, MB470LL/A - $1,999.00 15" MacBook Pro
• M98, MB471LL/A - $2,499.00 15" MacBook Pro
• M88, MB766LL/A - $2,799.00 17" MacBook Pro

However, MacRumors are saying that the $899 product will not be a MacBook, but a LED Cinema Display from Apple. It has also been confirmed that the new displays will have a DisplayPort connector and a MagSafe adapter.

But then again, its better to wait and see what gets released at that announcement.

Apple is staging an invite-only Town Hall event in Cupertino next Tuesday at 10AM (LA Time). It is rumoured that they will be releasing some new laptops, hinted by the tagline “The spotlight turns to notebooks”. It is also more likely that Apple will be refreshing its lineup by adding some new processors.

Reuters is also quoting analysts by saying there will be a drop in pricing from its starting price of US$1,099, after its stock prices have dropped due to the financial crisis in the United States.

Image from Engadget

And no, the brick is not the actual product; and so is the Macbook Brick. Wait, if it’s not a product, what is it? Well, you have to click the “Read More” link to find out.

Well, it is the beginning of Apple’s new process to manufacturing Macbooks, which will also see them no longer outsourcing the manufacturing to Chinese or Taiwanese companies, like Foxconn.

And with the news, many are saying that it is one of the biggest innovations that Apple has made. Though, it hasn’t been done before. Steve Jobs built his own automated plant in Fremont, California for the NeXT machines; but that failed since the demand wasn’t very high at the time.

The new manufacturing process will use lasers and jets of water to carve out the beautiful Macbooks, so meaning that Apple will have full control over everything. But what are the advantages over using 3D lasers and water jets to cut metal? Well:

• Carving Aluminium eliminates the need to bend the metal, creating weak spots or microfolds and rifts in the process.
• No seams in the final product, so it is smooth all over.
• Screws are no longer needed to build the product.
• The shell is just one piece of metal, meaning that it is super light, super strong; and more importantly, super cheap.

The new Macbooks using this process are still on target for an October 14th announcement, and the press (not us, since we live in Australia. Boo!) should be getting invites within the next few days.

The story, which appeared on CNN’s iReport, a citizen journalist website, claimed that the Apple co-founder had been rushed to a local emergency room following the “major heart attack”; following a series of rumours of Steve Jobs’ health after he underwent treatment for pancreatic cancer in 2004, and a more recent struggle with nutrition, according to AppleInsider, that has contributed to his visible weight loss.

Apple representative Steve Dowling has denied the report, saying that it was “not true”. In addition, CNN spokeswoman Jennifer Martin told Bloomberg that the content published on iReport is “entirely user-generated,” and once the community alerted CNN, “the fraudulent content was removed from the site and the user’s account was disabled.”

The company’s stock price fell to $97.07, losing 3 percent, at closing time. It earlier fell to $94.65, after the news was reported. This is the first time since May 2007 that Apple has traded below $100.

The recent performance of its stock has been declining since the middle of August, even though the company is breaking records and its products, especially the iPhone and iPod product line, are proving more popular. The declining stock value is due to the financial crisis that is affecting all companies.

CNN is cooperating with the Securities and Exchange Commission with its investigation, handing over the details of the user who posted the story.

So iTunes doesn’t have to shut down. The U.S. Copyright Royalty Board has decided to not change the rate on royalties that music stores have to give to the record industry, which was 9.1 cents per download.

The Copyright Royalty Board basically determines the rate on how much digital stores like Apple and Amazon have to pay every time you purchase a song on their service. But yesterday, Apple threatened to shut down its popular iTunes Store if the change would go ahead.

Under Norway’s Marketing Control Act, users who buy digital media are allowed to use the media in any device they choose. Apple, currently, does not license its iTunes DRM, also known as FairPlay, to anyone other than itself; unlike Microsoft, who has allowed many players to play its PlaysForSure DRM for Windows Media Player, except its own Zune player.

Two years later, Apple has opened up some of its content to be non-DRM under its iTunes Plus format, including content from EMI and many independent labels; though Steve Jobs made his position on DRM very clear in an open letter titled “Thoughts on Music”, saying that Apple wants to sell DRM-free music, but the record labels make the final decision.

However, the predicament that faces between Apple and Norway is very complex, as both sides have fair points in their dispute; where you can just buy music from other stores like eMusic and Amazon’s MP3 Store – which has DRM-free music from all major labels; rip the DRM tracks into a CD or just buy iTunes Plus tracks.

This, according to Consumer Ombudsman Bjørn Erik Thon, is a “test case” for the Consumer Council, as the Norwegian law does allow companies to change their practises before issuing fines if they don’t comply. This case could see Apple shutting down the Norwegian store or just remove the content that has DRM on it – providing a serious domino effect in other EU countries; like Finland, Denmark, France, Germany and The Netherlands, who have said that Apple should open up the music to other players.

Hong Kong readers might actually be gleeful, as they will have the iPhone sold unlocked, meaning that they can use their current carrier to use the phone. They will be selling it for HK$ 5,400 (AU$841.10) for the 8GB, and HK$6,200 (AU$965.72) for the 16GB models.

Weirdly enough, there is already a carrier carrying the phone there – Hutchison (also known as 3) has sold the phone since July; but also, to complete the activation – you will be able to do it over iTunes. But if you are from mainland China, you will be out of luck – this only affects Hong Kong.

Lets see if they expand this to many more territories.

Another rumour, also from AppleInsider, is that a 32GB version of the iPhone is coming soon; with retail sources saying that they are experiencing shortages of the iPhone 3G 8GB model – and if this was true, this would bring the line in parallel with the iPod Touch.

Source: AppleInsider (Via Engadget)

Currently, Apple has two versions of the adapters. If you’re one has a green dot on the bottom (as seen on the above right), you have been given a redesigned adapter – thus you will need not to change it. If not, you can exchange it at a local Apple Retail Store or order it via the web. You will also need your iPhone 3G serial number as part of the exchange process,

There have not been any reported cases of any injuries, but Apple has warned users not to use the adapters. This recall does not affect anyone outside the countries mentioned, nor the original iPhone.

The two notable updates are the video playback problems in some MacBook Air and a puzzling bug in “which some Macs could unexpectedly power on at the same time each day.” Never heard it before? Me either. The update should be up on Apple’s website and Software Update.

After waiting in the queue for one hour, with many people in front of me who managed to get there early, the store opened to huge fanfare, from both the staff and those who waited to have a look inside.

The first 1,000 people (which included me) got a free t-shirt, and I managed to snag a iPod Touch while I was there - with me giving my input soon. The store still looks like what you expect from Apple, and this store has the Genius bar, meaning that you can always ask them for support.

Pictures of the store are after the jump.

Gallery

As well, the shows will be in two formats - SD and HD formats. The SD format will be at $1.99, while the HD format will be at $2.99. No word if the deal will come to Australia after they recently allowed TV shows and movies to be bought on the store.

And guess what, Australia is getting another Apple Store - but this time it is going to be in Chadstone, meaning that the brand new store will be the first Victorian store.

It will open at 10am on Saturday 13th September, and those who will be there first will get a gift from Apple. It will also feature training sessions, workshops and its famous Genius Bar to give technical support.

Apple must be on a roll with launching new Apple Stores in Australia - at least they will have iPhones there, we hope.