Millions and Millions of Macs

In the three-month period ending in June, Apple Computer shipped well over one million Macs—one million, one hundred eighty-two thousand Macs to be almost exact.

Millions and Millions of iPods

In the three-month period ending in June, Apple Computer shipped well over six million iPods—six million, one hundred fifty-five thousand iPods to be almost exact.

Billions and Billions of Dollars

Sales of more than one million Macs and more than six million iPods helped Apple generate more than three and one-half billion dollars in revenue in the three-month period—three billion, five hundred twenty million dollars to be almost exact.

Billions in the Bank, Millions More in Earnings

Apple ended the three-month period with over seven and one-half billion dollars in cash and short-term investments—seven billion, five hundred twenty-six million to be almost exact. The increases in interest rates over the past several months worked to the company’s favor by increasing the yield on the company’s cash. Interest earnings more than tripled to $46 million from $13 million one year before.

Half a Billion Songs Served

During July, the iTunes Music Store passed an important sales milestone. The half-billionth song sold moved across the Internet as music fans watched a digital ticker on the Apple home page count up to that monumental moment in Apple history. At the current rate of song sales, the iTunes Music Store might pass one billion songs sold sometime just before or soon after New Year’s Day to be almost exact.

Sharing the Wealth

Apple’s own wealth not withstanding, consumers have been happy to share their own wealth buying music through the iTunes Music Store while buying iPods and Macintosh computers in record numbers. Apple’s share of the US PC industry grew to a reported 4.5% in the 2nd calendar quarter, placing the company in the #4 spot in domestic PC sales. At the current rate of unit sales growth, Apple might overtake Gateway in the #3 spot within the next eighteen months or by Christmas 2006 to be almost exact.

Millions of Students, Thousand of iBooks

In late July, Apple announced upgrades to its iBook line of laptop computers. The upgrades were announced in time for back-to-school purchases. The new iBooks sport up to 1.42 GHz G4 chips and have built-in AirPort and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. The new iBooks are expected to be a big hit with students who have discovered Apple’s legacy of easy-to-use products through the popularity of the iPod. Thousands of iBooks will be purchased by first-time Mac users as millions of students head back-to-school somewhere between late-August and early September to be almost exact.

Millions of Readers, Thousands of Formats

Actually, that’s not almost exact. Our monthly readership can be counted in the tens of thousands of loyal readers, and each issue of ATPM comes in several different formats from PDF to the Web. What is exact is our attention to the Macintosh and the world of personal computing. Each issue of About This Particular Macintosh offers unique insights about the personal computing experience as well as spirited reviews of many helpful products. Our August issue contains august information on every digital page.

This latest edition of ATPM includes:

Bloggable: Get a Clue

Rob Enderle. Robert X. Cringely. Paul Thurrott. The Wall Street Journal. C|Net. In this world of sin and sorrow, there is only one constant: the amazing ability of tech pundits to misunderstand Apple and Macs. In this month’s Bloggable, Wes Meltzer takes another trip around the endless merry-go-round of stupid Apple predictions and analyses. Plus a large volume of other good reading.

Pod People

In this month’s Pod People, Eric Blair looks at how he went from iPod doubter to devout believer.

Outliners: Outlining and Styles, Part 2

This month’s ATPO surveys top Mac outliners to see how well they support styles.

FileMaking: Fields and Calculations

Charles Ross continues his tour of FileMaker by delving into the various field types available.

How To: Is Your Memory Failing?

“The machine was everything I had hoped it would be. The only danger was that while sitting slack-jawed in front of this new speed demon I might drool on the keyboard and short something out. Then the trouble started…”

Interview: John Hart, ModYourMac.com

Modding is all the rage in the computer community these days, and the Mac market is no stranger to this phenomenon. John Hart, winner of numerous awards for his work with ModYourMac sat down with us this month to talk about his latest work, his inspirations and some tips for those folks considering modification of their own Macs.

Desktop Pictures: From ATPM Readers

This month features images from ATPM readers: Arizona, Frog, Red Rock Country, Gateway Arch, and Sunset.

Cortland

Cortland wraps up dinner with his parents and friends, Wieser Graphics rises from the ashes, and Matt pays homage to influential Web comics.

Frisky Freeware: App Stop

Frisky the Freeware Guinea Pig checks out App Stop.

Review: Backpack

As the Web expands, so expands the amount of data we have to track for ourselves. Projects, parties, events, these are all things that require lists and structures and data. For those who can’t keep track of their own wallet without some drama, Backpack is your valet, holding bits and pieces of information you need, a checklist to get through all your tasks, and reminders when you forget.

Review: Boswell 4.0

Sometimes, as a writer, the perfect sentence is on the tip of your tongue. And sometimes, it’s lost in a file stuck somewhere that you can’t find. Better still, a file whose contents you only vaguely remember. Sound familiar? Boswell is the original Spotlight for your writing, a database for everything you tap out on your keyboard, and Wes Meltzer finds that, if you can get over the challenge of using it, you can make sure your writing is always exactly where you expect it to be.

Review: Brenthaven Pro 12/15

When a computer bag focuses primarily on isolation and protection; giving little if any thought to style and function, that computer bag can only be a Brenthaven. In this particular case, it’s the Brenthaven Pro 12/15, which according to their marketing was designed with Apple in mind.

Review: Detour

The Timbuk2 Detour is a vertical-oriented bag designed to be carried either as a briefcase, a shoulder bag, a messenger bag, or a backpack. Could it win over a backpack guy?

Review: MaxSleeve

The perfect traveling companion for your hard-shell backpack or laptop bag.

Review: Vyper

The booq Vyper carrying case for Apple laptops is stylish and sturdy, according to our reviewer.