This should spark some debates among the die-hard Apple-addicts reading this. Analyst house Gartner says that if Apple wants long-term success, it should do what game firm Sega did in response to the Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox. In case you're not a gamer, what Sega did was to retire from the game console manufacturing business and concentrate on software publishing and development.

Yep. In an ambitious analytical report, entitled "Apple Should License the Mac to Dell," Gartner is suggesting exactly that. Apple licenses Mac-making to Dell, and quit hardware manufacturing altogether, to concentrate on OS and software.

Why, oh why must Cupertino give up on those little bundles of computing joy to Dell? Same reason Sega bailed on their Dreamcast: competition. In Apple's case, Gartner believes that increasing market pressure will cut into Apple's profit margins with the Mac. This is because Apple is recently using Intel chips, which is also a big reason for a surge in Mac popularity, says Gartner. They also say that Intel, as a component maker, effectively "subsidizes" Apple production.

But with pricing pressure from other computer firms like HP, Gartner believes that Intel "cannot go on supporting Apple (or any other customer) indefinitely." Instead, Apple could license Mac production over to Dell - which also uses Intel chips, and is "Intel's closest ally" - which has a more robust production and marketing infrastructure in place. The firm even believes that by doing so, Mac OS could capture 20% of the market, and Macs themselves could become more affordable.

Will Steve Jobs take heed? Silicon.com's conclusion is that he's not worried much about Apple's position in the market - or about the competition either. Most likely not, in that case. Nothing in the report either about other Apple hardware, like the iPod and upcoming iTV. What do you guys think?

SEGA Europe has released its sports title Football Manager 2007 for the PC, Mac, and Intel Mac platforms. Football Manager 2007 has over 100 new features all designed for easier playing for first time players.

If you want to try out Football Manager 2007, the company offers PC/Mac Gold Demo which provide sneak preview for a six-month period as the manager of your favorite ball club. The Gold Demo is totally compatible with the full version of the game so you won't lose your progress in the demo mode when you purchase the full copy of Football Manager 2007.

You can download Football Manager 2007 Gold Demo by clicking on the via link below.

SEGA has announced the successful launch of Football Manager 07 on PC, Mac and Intel Mac on October 1. The demo for this football management simulation games by Sports Interactive is now available to download from the official website and will allow gamers to sample the first six months of a season.

The demo comes in two different versions for each platform, namely, Vanilla and Strawberry. For the PC and Mac Vanilla version, the file only includes English language and the English league, with no kits, no player photos, no sound and basic graphics. The Strawberry version for both PC and Mac, meanwhile, includes playable leagues from Brazil, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain and Sweden, as well as Danish, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese and Swedish languages, with all relevant kits, player photos and graphics.

The Vanilla downloads are 66.45MB for Mac, and just under 80MB for PC. The Strawberry downloads are 248.67MB for Mac, and 260.43MB for PC.

Football Manager 2007 is due to be released for the PC, Mac and Apple-Intel by October 20, with the version for the Xbox 360 to follow later, as well as the PSP version.

While we tend to take those "iPod killer" nicknames with a grain of salt these days, Microsoft's Zune probably stands more of a chance than the rest of the field. The prime reason is the fact that Microsoft is building the Live service to envelop every device of theirs. While it may take a bit of time to fine-tune and polish every aspect of it, I'm sure Microsoft has enough moolah to keep everything going just fine.

Computerworld has an article up which talks about how Apple might just be scared of the Zune. While they've "innocently" left out a few things and skewed a few statistics, I still think I'd believe them. When I was thinking about the Zune the other day, one of the few things which I found to be very cool was the fact that I would buy it knowing that it would fit seamlessly with the rest of the Microsoft devices in my home. Now that includes my media center pc, my Xbox 360, and probably a few more things which I might buy in the time to come.

One of the main reason why I'd buy this is the strong integration with Live, and consequently, Xbox Live. You see, the Live service has been one of the greatest things to have ever happened to console gaming. Even though other manufacturers like Sega had tried it with the dreamcast, Microsoft did a helluva job. The result was an unbeatable success. Getting the Zune to "talk" on Live might add a lot of great things. For example, you could probably buy songs from the Zune marketplace on your Xbox 360, play them on it, transfer them to your Zune, and God knows what else. The fact that Microsoft hasn't advertised it right now doesn't mean it couldn't happen in the future.

The other great thing about it is that you can share your music over Wifi among your friends. This concept can be great for new bands who want to be heard. There's no better way to get yourself known than the viral way. If it works, then nice bands could be overnight rockstars! The only grudge I have is that if I've received a shared song from my friend, I can't share it to other people. This means that a song can't hit big-time until enough people have bought it and are sharing it with their friends.

I'll probably buy the thing because I'm bored with the music capabilities of my PSP. Let's hope it goes well!

Now why should the Xbox 360 and the PSP, and soccer have all the Sega/Sports Interactive (SI) management fun? SI announces to all that a try-and-buy demo for NHL Eastside Hockey Manager 2007 is now available for download. Nope, not from Xbox Live. This one's for PC's and Macs (and apparently only PCs and Macs via digital download) everywhere!!!

At least this is a refreshing change of pace for us, right? An announcement like this, but instead of the regular standbys (which are the gaming blogs), we get to post it on an Apple blog - which doesn't happen a lot of times for us. We thank SI for the breath of fresh air. We should do this more often. After all, Apples are for gaming as well.

The Mac demo is about 98Mb, and is fully functional, if only time-limited for six months (in game time, not in real time). Should you decide to purchase the title, the demo unlocks to become the fully-playable version. Have fun.

We've got screenshots and the demo download link at the full article!

Download: [Hockey Manager 2007 Mac try-and-buy demo]

In the recently concluded Tokyo Toy Show 2006, robots of all shapes and sizes dominated the show. But one tiny robot stood out. Sega Toys and Avex Entertainment showed off the portable music player accessory called the Mu-Bot. The Mu-Bot's hands serve as ear phones and the cord can be reeled inside the bot's tiny body. That's pretty much the only thing it does, but I have to admit, the tiny contraption is so cute!  It'll be available in different colors, too, which makes this robot all the more appealing.

Sega plans to release the Mu-Bot in December for 2,500 Yen ($21).