Apple may be going to court again, this time against three Scandinavian countries. Apparently, iTunes' terms and conditions that make it exclusive for iPod music players is illegal in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, says Swedish Consumer Agency spokeswoman Marianne Aabyhammar.

The three Scandinavian countries are trying to break the exclusive link between iPod and iTunes and has brought the matter to their respective government mediators. Aabyhammar says, "If iTunes fails to improve its terms and conditions in Sweden, we may take the case to Sweden's market court."

Good news for our Canadian friends, Apple Canada has slashed the prices of fifth-generation iPods, in response to changes in international currency exchange rates (perhaps the increased value of the Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar?)

The 30GB model is now CAD$349, down from its previous price of $379. The 60GB model now has a $459 price tag (was $499). The recently announced special edition U2 iPod, based on the fifth generation design also drops to $379. iPod nano and iPod shuffle pricing remains unchanged.

Apple came like a roaring tiger to Bangalore, and left it like a mouse. Recently, Apple called it quits in India and pulls out its software development and support operations. Apple got cracking in India just this April and hired 30 people for Apple Service India Pvt. Ltd. - their subsidiary.

The decision to leave India was announced on May 29. All the employees were laid-off and were told by Apple officials that "the company is revaluating its operations and has thought of pulling back its Indian operations". Apple then gave the employees a severance package which included two months pay. Apple spokesperson, Steve Dowling said that "we have re-evaluated our plans and have decided to put our planned support centre growth in other countries."

It was a surprise that Apple pulled out even if the Bangalore operation offers low-cost and highly talented people. According to one of the suddenly jobless employees, "it started off with building dreams. We were not given any warning. They just told us the operations would now head back to the US." Another employee added that "on May 15, Apple officials addressed us and were highly appreciative of the workforce and the task it would execute in India. I wonder why they never said anything even then."

Apple initially planned on hiring at least 3,000 tech support workers in India. Steve Jobs was suppose to visit India last April to check out operations there, but the visit was postponed and pushed to September.

Surprisingly, a "Mac at Work" section is up at Apple's official site. The Mac at Work is a promotional site from Apple that contains online seminars, information, case studies, and event listings that will cater to the needs of every sector aside from Apple consumers. Now this is a welcome addition as Apple seems to be widening their horizons and are beginning to cater products and services to people who are in the market for more than just the iPod or the MacBook Pro.

It is interesting to see that Apple is now offering online seminars such as Advanced Molecular Visualization which is about the OpenEye Scientific SoftwareÂ?s VIDA for Mac OS X - a powerful and versatile software application for visualizing, managing, and manipulating large sets of molecular information. There is also a seminar tagged as Your Guitar. Your Music. Your Mac., wherein Apple will aim to bring the digital music revolution to your guitar.

It is a surprising development because Apple is known for its innovative ways of thinking and for being ultra-secretive about their newest projects. It is nice to see a company that is overflowing with intellectuals actually imparting some of their knowledge to ordinary people.

The sections at Mac at Work include different sectors such as Science, Education, Small Businesses, Events, and Seminars among many other things. Great job!

Apparently a shopper at an Apple store received a shock when he/she saw that the clerks were telling customers to order via the PC in the store - and all of their credit card information could be seen by anyone! All he/she had to do was press 'back' a few times and the numbers and names were visible. This user (calling him or herself applesecurity) took a few screenshots and made a blog online to let everyone know. The more people know about this security error, the better I suppose.

The browser being used was Safari, which does not usually permit you to view cached private pages... Here are the screenshots. Click the thumbnail to see full-sized versions.

 

Apple recently launched its Computer Take-Back Program that offers US Mac buyers an environmentally responsible way of discarding their old computers. Starting yesterday, the Apple Store and all Apple retail stores are giving  customers the option to  recycle their unwanted PCs regardless of brand.  Participating customers will receive an email from Apple with instructions and a label for free shipping and recycling.  All customers have to do is package their old equipment, attach the label provided and send them on their way. People living in or near Cupertino can also avail of the company's free drop-off recycling service at its headquarters.  According to the company all equipment received will be recycled domestically and no hazardous material will be shipped overseas.
 
Speaking of Green Apple, the company's free iPod recycling program is still available to consumers looking for environmentally friendly way to dispose of unwanted iPod.  Participants to the iPod program not only help keep the planet cleaner, they also get a 10% discount on the purchase of a new iPod. 

Since 1994,  Apple's recycling programs have processed more than 21 million pounds of electronics around the world.  We say keep up the good, green work!

You think college education is expensive? This single lesson costs Samsung a business contract worth millions. The lesson: Don't blurt out deals before signing on the dotted line! Here's the dish on that. Back in April, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. claimed they bagged a major MP3 chip design with Apple Computer Inc. The deal was described as a huge win for Samsung. What's wrong with that? Nothing except Apple, according to an analyst, has reportedly Â?punishedÂ? Samsung for its corporate blunder by maintaining its MP3 chip alliance with current chipmaker SigmaTel Inc.

Despite Samsung's bravado over the iPod chip business, SigmaTel managed to hold on to its key chip design within AppleÂ?s current and next-gen iPod Shuffle MP3 line. Currently, Apple uses SigmaTelÂ?s media processor chip for its current iPod Shuffle, their entry-level, flash-based MP3 player. Apple also uses PortalPlayer Inc.Â?s media processor chip for its current iPod Nano line. However, when signs that both SigmaTel and PortalPlayer lost the business at Apple, Samsung said the company won the MP3 media processor business for AppleÂ?s next-generation iPods. In fairness to Samsung there was "a good possibility that Samsung won both the [next-generation] Shuffle and Nano businesses,Â? but the South Korean company fumbled.

Â?It is not surprising that Apple would Â?punishÂ? Samsung for commenting publicly about its position within the iPod Nano follow-on, and we believe that SigmaTel is likely to be the resulting beneficiary of the Samsung executiveÂ?s gaffe,Â? said Craig Berger, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities Inc. The business provides a much needed boost for the struggling SigmaTel. Apple is projected to ship some 7.4 million Shuffles in 2006. Memo to Samsung executives: Next time wait for the blood on the contract to dry.

"PA Semi was counting on that deal. They had lots of guys walking around in a daze when Apple went to Intel. They had no idea that would actually happen." said one source from PA Semi.

Rumors had it that the California based semiconductor company were already in talks with Apple of delivering chips for their notebook line and possibly desktops. When word leaked out that Apple chose Intel instead, it was a major blow for the company.

But with a stellar reputation with its alumni that were responsible for DEC's Alpha chip, which for much of the 1990s was consistently the fastest microprocessor on the market, PA Semi had no trouble bouncing back.

PA6T-1682M, PA Semi's first processor, is a 2GHz, dual-core product with two DDR2 memory controllers, 2MB of L2 cache, and support for eight PCI Express. The product will ship in volume next year and be followed by single-core and quad-core chips. It also supports the Altivec floating point instruction set that currently provides a massive speedup for multimedia and scientific Mac software. At 2GHz, the chip consumes just 7 watts of power according to PA. Intel's Core Duo consumes between 21 and 25 watts.

This product could have saved a lot of Apple's most important software partners the trouble of a difficult and needless to say, lengthy porting process.

Currently, PA Semi - though barely coming out unscathed from its battle with Apple - is enjoying a $50 million worth of investment from other companies such as Texas Instruments. It could be a long time before we'll see if Apple really did mess up on choosing Intel over PA Semi. But one thing is for sure, hell hath no fury like a semiconductor company scorned.

Apple's 147th retail store will open its doors to customers on may 19, 2006 at fifth avenue commemorating the fifth anniversary of apple's very first retail store. The 20,000-square-foot subterranean store, situated under the general motors building plaza, will have a 32-foot glass cube marking the store's entranceway reminiscent of the louvre pyramid made by I.M. Pei. Rumors have it that Steve Jobs had the titanium constraints replaced because it interfered with the aesthetics of the $9 million dollar cube.

"We spent a lot of time designing the store, and it deserves to be built perfectly," Mr. Jobs said.

Apple says the stores have been profitable for several years, providing $151 million in operating income in fiscal 2005. "The numbers have been just astonishing in terms of the traditional retail numbers we look at," says Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Co.

But it's not all a bed of roses for Apple. Recently, there has been a decline in sales following Apple's shift to Macs based on microprocessors from Intel Corp., leading customers to postpone their purchases until the transition is complete. Lawsuits from resellers accusing Apple of favoring its own stores when deciding how to dole out inventory, has plagued the company since 2002 until this year.

Apple's success in the retail industry, inspired such companies as Gateway and Palm to follow suit, but only to fail miserably. So what's Apple got that others don't?

Analysts and customers alike, have high praises for Apple store workers for their fluency in the company's products. The "genius bar" is a section where technical experts help customers fix problems with their Macs and iPods, often free of charge. Workshops for programs like GarageBand and iMac, are held in theater-like sections of the stores, allowing customers to get familiar on how to use them.

New products are displayed on large open tables rather than stacked on shelves, makes it more inviting for consumers to learn more about the merchandise while having fun. Maybe we should "Think inside the box" as Apple's ad for the store's grand opening says, and see where it takes us.

The infamous Apple Glass Cube store is set to open May 19th at 6.00pm, the 5th anniversary of the opening of Apple's first store. The store, based in Manhattan's Fifth Avenue (767 Fifth avenue at 59th Street), has cost Steve Jobs $9 Million. The store, being famous for its extraordinary use of glass, sits below the main cube, under the shadow of the General Motors Building. Announcements have let it known that the store is going to be the first 24-hour location, allowing you to fulfill your urges of 3am iPod purchases.

The store is Apple's second in the city, but not expected to be the last, as the company has recently hired out a full 30,000 ft. building on West 34th Street. The success of the first, bringing in 5 million customers to date, has proved that opening hours to late night can suit the city that is always busy.

At the opening, Steve Jobs is expected to be in attendance, and there will be many free goodies, and lots of offers and prizes to lucky people. Remembering my Apple Store opening back in Birmingham Bullring, UK, the event was great, lots of fun and everyone left with something to commemorate it. I had my T-Shirt, which found a new home thanks to a certain online auction, and also there were thousands of dollars/pounds worth of goodies for grabs. Good luck to those that want to brave the elements to get an early entrance.