Apple Context Machine

Audible.com agreed to an Amazon buy out while Microsoft made a bid for Yahoo in an effort to hold off search giant Google. U.S. courts added another two years to Microsoft's antitrust follow up, iPods turned out to be safer for heart patients than previously thought, and a new iPhone security threat was discovered.

Apple reported its best quarter in the company's history, NBC may be warming up to Apple again, MacBook Air reviews are coming in, the 3G iPod nano now comes in pink, and developers have already jailbroken the iPhone 1.1.3 update.

With Macworld Expo 2008 and CES behind us, Jeff and Bryan share their take on what happened, what was cool, and what went on behind the scenes when picking the TMO Editors' Choice Awards winners.

Apple was hit with an antitrust lawsuit for its iPod and music sales tactics, Mac market share took a jump in December, and the iPhone and iPod touch had trouble telling time on New Year's eve. In the entertainment world, Sony finally saw the value in DRM-free music, Warner dealt a hard blow to HD DVD, and Apple's "Get a Mac" ads included the best commercial characters in 2007.

You win some, and you lose some: Apple's iPhone and Time Machine where named top innovations of the year, and it looks like the company struck a movie rental deal with Fox. Amazon, however, scored a couple of hits against Apple thanks to deals with Radiohead and Warner Music. Also, Wal-Mart had a movie download store. It's closed now, and no one noticed.

An Apple rumor Web site is shuttering its doors, the Mac is stepping up to active duty with the Army, New York City pensioners are pushing forward with a lawsuit against the company, and the iPhone tops the Gen-Y Christmas wish list. Also, Apple is planning another New York store, a security update created Safari headaches, and Intuit proved that some updates cause more harm than good.

Apple's security track record for the week was mixed, Canadians can finally start watching TV -- or more specifically, they can start watching TV shows from the iTunes Store. The iPhone was named Time's gadget of the year, Opera went Netscape on Microsoft with an antitrust case in the EU, and Apple's "Get a Mac" campaign went retro.

The Apple lawsuit game is still going strong, analysts are looking forward to a blockbuster holiday season thanks to the Mac, and Apple's newest store in New York City opened. Two new Get a Mac ads hit the air waves, AT&T is opening its wireless network to any hardware, and Steve Jobs was named CEO of the year. All that, and Jeff and Bryan feed the soon-to-be-gone CompUSA to the Context Machine.

Apple and Burst managed to settle their differences over patents, and it only cost Apple $10 million. The iPhone invaded France, Google made a move for the 700MHz wireless spectrum, a QuickTime security flaw reared its ugly head, and it turns out Steve Jobs is the most powerful business person in the world.

Apple's lawsuit standing was mixed this week: One case against the company was dismissed, but two more were filed. Mac OS X is selling well in Japan and the iPhone is selling well in the U.K., most everything with an Apple logo on it was updated, Google unleashed Android, and Apple's new ads take a few shots at Windows Vista.

Apple had a happy and sad week. Happy: British and German customers got their hands on the iPhone this week, and Steve Jobs was named the second most influential person in the IT industry. Sad: It still has to face Burst in court over patent infringement claims, and former General Counsel Nancy Heinen's stock options defense began showing its ugly side.

Mac OS X 10.5 sales are off to a good start, the MacBook was quietly upgraded, NBC is sure Apple is behind a music pricing crisis, and a new trojan horse for Mac OS X appeared. This week, TMO columnist and renowned author Ted Landau joins Jeff and Bryan for some Leopard talk in the Context Machine.

Apple had a busy week with the launch of Mac OS X 10.5, its stellar earnings report, and the iPod's sixth anniversary. Microsoft gave up its antitrust battle against the EU, and Greenpeace tried to defend its toxic iPhone report. Also, Jeff and Bryan share some Leopard tips.

Even though Apple's iPhone complies with European hazardous chemical regulations, Greenpeace thinks it's still a toxic handful, and now a California group is ready to sue the Cupertino company over the findings. Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the iPhone and iPod touch will be open to third party developers come February, iTunes Plus tracks saw a nice price cut, and the Leopard count down begins. [Update: We have corrected the audio syncing issue and uploaded a new file. - Editor]

Apple and Orange are still bickering over details on bringing the iPhone to France, but that isn't stopping France Telecom from saying the deal is all sewn up. One couple is trying to ban the import of hard drive parts, and Jeff and Bryan feed the latest Hidden Dimensions column from TMO's afternoon editor, John Martellaro, to the context machine.