It’s finally here, DRM-free music in the iTunes Store. You will need iTunes 7.2 to play the new iTunes Plus DRM-free music, the new iTunes Plus music selections will also be at a much higher quality (256 vs 128 kbps AAC) than the non DRM-free music.

iTunes Plus DRM-free music is now $1.29 per song, or $.30 more than regular iTunes music, you will also have the option to update any previously purchased songs (if available In DRM-free versions) to the new higher quality and DRM-free versions for $.30 per song or $3.00 per album.

Official Apple Statement

I want to Start highlighting interesting Forum Posts by placing them on the main page, there is some really great information in the Switching to Mac Forum that sometimes gets a bit buried! Here is a recent Post from a new Forum member “JamesJM” that I thought was from the heart and may be relevant to many Switchers or people considering Switching to Mac…

“I swore I wouldn’t become a Mac elitist… And my apologies if that sounds confrontational… I do not mean it that way, sincerely.

Since… ohhhh, 1985 I’ve been using a PC, (Apple IIE before that)… I bought my first “MAC” this last Feb.

Now I won’t say a MAC is the “Ultimate” computer… lots of room for improvement. I also won’t say it ‘never crashes’… it does. (Few people actually say that anyway).

But now that I’m well into my third month of using a MAC I *can* say, with very little doubt, that MAC’s are BY FAR the superior computer.

There are things I do not like… but not many. iPhoto’s library comes to mind… what a MESS that thing is. iPhoto is fine, don’t get me wrong… but sheesh… what demonic mind came up with that proprietary library structure?
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Leopard has been a hot topic ever since it was announced, and as the release date grew closer they seemed to push it back further.  But why the delay? Why has there been such a setback?

When looking at the features announced to be in Leopard there is only one that really stands out, and that is TimeMachine.

This feature allows you to go through the entire history of your computer day by day to find and restore lost files. So its just a backup program that keeps a day by day backup right? All I need is a few 1TB hard drives and I’m good for a few months right?

Not quite, this backup method is completely different than anything seen in any of the major OS’s, this method of saving instances rather than backing up the hard drive is only native to one File System, and this File System is nothing like HFS+, this File System is known only as ZFS (Zettabyte File System), and the method used to create these instances in ZFS are known as Snapshots.

But why do we think that Apple have not extended the current HFS+ to support such a task?

Well, it was rumored that Apple’s File System Development Team had contacted Sun Microsystems to help in a translation of the Zettabyte File System to Mac OS X.

Then the Zettabyte File System made an appearance in the most recent Build of Leopard, as per the rumors.

But why would Apple choose this ZFS for Leopard?

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Do you have a MacBook or MacBook Pro? If you do then you’re in luck, give iAlertU and TheftSensor a try. These two Free Beta Applications take advantage of your MacBook or MacBook Pro’s Sudden Motion Sensor as well as other input information to activate a Security Alarm-like sound notifying you of intruders on your Mac.

iAlertU simulates a Car alarm and even takes a picture of the assailant, once activated iAlertU is triggered by just about any MacBook input including power removal, lid closure, keyboard, trackpad and motion.

TheftSensor sounds more like a nuclear plant melting down and is a bit more simplistic but is active upon boot-up meaning all you have to do is press your remotes menu button to alarm your Mac. Once activated TheftSensor will pickup any obvious motion as well as lid closure. This is nice because you can still work with the alarm activated just as long as you don’t close or pickup your MacBook or MacBook Pro.

Give these two MacBook security programs a try and see which one is best for you…

There has been a lot of talk lately about using your Mac and a next-gen console to provide picture and video content to your TV. I suppose this has a lot to do with the Apple TV and being able to mimic its features, or just for the sake of being able to play your movies and iTunes from your TV.

I recently got back into gaming again, and hooked up my wii to the TV, and after a vigorous workout decided I needed a sit down game and plugged in my Xbox 360.

“What does this have to do with your Mac?” I hear you scream. Well, after my wind down on the 360 I decided I was going to try a program I had recently downloaded. This program is called Connect360.
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Well I got my Wii less then a week ago and so like with all new gadgets, it’s been consuming a bit more of my time figuring it all out and seeing what I can actually do with it.

After all Switching to Mac is a Mac site so I don’t want to get too off topic. One item I mentioned in my earlier Wii for Mii Article was a nice PC Application called Orb that allows you to access your computers Music, Photos and Videos on your Wii. There is no Mac version of Orb but it will work on a Mac running Windows via Parallels or Boot Camp. On the plus side Orb is free!

I did find another option for viewing your Macs Multimedia content on a Wii and this time it’s in the form of a Mac only program called Wii Transfer, That’s right no Windows required! The catch is it costs $14, still a bunch cheaper then a Windows license if that’s all you are going to use Windows for. Wii Transfer works in a similar way to Orb in that they both work with the Wii’s Opera based Web Browser. Orb uses the Orb Website front end as its interface and then converts and streams your computer Multimedia files via the Orb PC Application.

Wii Transfer also uses a host Application but it runs natively on the Mac, what’s different about Wii Transfer is that it actually acts as a Web Server complete with all the graphics that you see in Opera when you enter the IP address of the computer you are sharing your Multimedia with. For example, on my Network my MacBook Pro’s IP is “10.0.1.5” so this is the IP that I enter in my Opera Web Browser along with “:9000” which indicates the port being used. Full example: “10.0.1.5:9000”
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As many predicted, Apple today released new Macbook models. This update is rather minimal with the base MacBook now getting 1GB of Ram, an 80GB Hard Drive and sporting a 2GHz processor. The Mid MacBook also gets a bit of a boost with a 2.16 MHz processor, 120GB Hard Drive and a faster 8x SuperDrive. The Black high-end MacBook was not forgotten and also noticed a faster 2.16MHz Core 2 Duo processor, bigger 160GB Hard Drive and 8x SuperDrive.

This update may not be huge, but just remember the price has stayed the same! If you’re in the market for a MacBook, now may be the time to buy as the older model MacBooks will be cleared out to make room for the new models and the same money you would of paid yesterday now gets you a faster MacBook with more storage!

The waiting is over, go get your new MacBook…

Talking about a Wii is a bit out of context for Switching to Mac but in the end I was able to share my photos, music and video from my Mac to the Wii with a little help from Parallels, Boot Camp and Orb.

I’ve been wanting a Wii for a while but tracking one down isn’t all that easy, luckily my day job happens to be visiting Electronic Retail Stores so it was only a matter of time till I came across a store that actual had a Wii.

So why the Wii and not the Xbox 360 or PS3? I already have an older Xbox and to be honest I really don’t use it much for gaming anymore, I guess the classic game controller style gaming has lost some of it’s appeal for me and on top of that I use my Xbox now mainly for playing back my DivX and Xvid flies via XBMC.

Sure the PS3 and Xbox 360 have fantastic graphics! Other than that it’s the same old same old but just with more realistic gore. On the other hand the Wii with its unique motion sensitive controls and interactive screen really caught my eye and when I got the chance to play with it at a friends I knew this was the game console for me and my family. Even my young daughter could use this with a bit of practice.
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If you missed Part 1-6 of the Van Gogh Diaries make sure to read them first to keep everything in context:

I have been being creative. Okay, so for a guy who calls himself vangogh that should be expected. Not the case though. For a very long time I have not created anything. Other than work, although work is technically “drawing”, work is very far from being creative. I do believe that what happened to me was the same thing that happened to many of the people that I went to art school with…

Life got in the way. I knew some very talented people. Some actually went on after art school to become real artists. Yeah, no kiddin. Make a living and everything from it. But most, like me, eventually found themselves working a real everyday boring job. One guy sells insurance. I am a survey and engineering technician for a civil design firm. Another dude I went to school with was drafting cabinets for a manufacturer last time I talked to him. You get married, have a kid or two, the bills come rolling in, and suddenly, being an “Artist” is no longer so glamorous. So you go out and get a real job that will give you health benefits (if you’re lucky) and hopefully pay enough so you can feed you family and pay the cable bill. Then, one day, (again if you’re lucky), you find yourself twenty years later with not only the ability to pay the cable but maybe a flat screen TV and maybe a sweet computer too. Twenty years is a long time, and you’ve worked hard. It’s looking like you’ll be working for another twenty years too, because although you can afford the flat screen TV you still have to buy it on credit. While you’re busy doing all that stuff, your brushes and paints and exacto knives get pushed aside to make room for Spongebob, Barbie and overtime. Eventually, the brushes and stuff get packed up and put in the closet.
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Personally I have no real emotional attachment either way towards Vista, this may be in part to the fact that I don’t use Vista and hope that any future Vista use is limited. On the other hand Jay from VistaSucks.WordPress.Com is a current PC user of 15 years who is also a former Mac hater to boot. Vista pushed Jay over the edge along with the death of his Xbox 360, Jay plans on shortly purchasing a Mac mini for his entertainment unit and an iMac as his main workstation. Jay also vows that “Out of principle, I will never pay for any product or service that financially benefits Microsoft in any way, again”. VistaSucks.WordPress.Com for the most part is a conglomeration of Link-posts to other sites with some excellent content dealing with Topics such as Apple, Switching to Macs, Open Source Alternatives to Windows, Apple TV, iPods, iPhone, Google, XBox 360s, etc.