Jobs on design process failures

In a recent Time interview, Apple CEO Steve Jobs talks about how the product design process can go wrong. He uses the car industry as an example. "Here's what you find at a lot of companies," he says, "You know how you see a show car, and it's really cool, and then four years later you see the production car, and it sucks? And you go, What happened? They had it! They had it in the palm of their hands! They grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory! What happened was, the designers came up with this really great idea. Then they take it to the engineers, and the engineers go, 'Nah, we can't do that. That's impossible.' And so it gets a lot worse. Then they take it to the manufacturing people, and they go, 'We can't build that!' And it gets a lot worse."

Apple ships iPod video, photo gallery posted...

Apple yesterday began shipping its newly introduced iPod video. Several Apple Stores report getting limited stock of the white 30GB version, while others said they didn't know when to expect to it. Each retail store is offering a contact list to put names of people interested in either model. The online store is quoting a ship time of 5-7 business days for both colors of both models. MacNN received the white version of the 30GB iPod video and we've posted an initial set of photos of the player. Like the iPod nano, the iPod photo does not offer FireWire support, however, it does ship with a special case to help protect the device from the same scratches that plagued the iPod nano and also includes a new dock adapter for using the iPod video with standard dock-based accessories.

CBS offers podcasts of news, entertainment, sports

CBS announced Monday that it is making some of its content available as audio podcasts for free via iTunes. Content will include CBS radio news, entertainment, and sports programming. Specific content will include "60 minutes", "Face the Nation", "Guiding Light", "Survivor Live", "NFL Hot Topic", "Soap Box", and more. The important question of when CBS will begin offering video remains to be answered, and word of audio podcasts comes shortly after Disney teamed up with Apple to offer video content through the iTunes Music Store. [updated]

Pacific Design offers iPod nano flip case collection

Pacific Design today announced that its iPod nano flip case collection will be going on sale at Circuit City, Radio Shack, and Ultimate Electronics on October 22nd. The three cases are designed to provide dependable protection in sharp, contrasting color designs without sacrificing use and accessibility to audio accessories and sync/power adapters. Color combinations include "carbon black" with red and white detail; "precious pink" with white and dove grey detail; and "big sky blue" with cobalt blue and white detail. Features include full access to headphone and sync/power port without removing the Nano; a clear vinyl window for screen protection; complete access to the clickwheel; a "Slim-StitchtT" design to reduce bulk; and a low-profile rear strap that clips to a belt or integrates with an armband. iPod nano flip cases will be available for $30.

Swedish Clips 4 rolls out C4 Shuffle Clip, Nano cases

Swedish Clips 4 today rolled out the C4 Shuffle Clip for iPod shuffle. The C4 Shuffle Clips consist of two merging parts that slide and click together, providing a clip on the back to securely attach the device to clothing. C4 Shuffle Clips are made from strong, durable plastic and are available for $13 in "piano black" (shown at right), "lime translucent", "pink translucent", and "non-colored translucent". The two-part construction allows mixing and matching of colors, and two Nano cases -- Nano non colored -- and Nano piano black -- are available for pre-order at $15, expected to be available in December.

PodPorn, the next challenge for filtering software...

With the release of Apple's new video capable iPod, the pornography industry is already eyeing a potentially lucrative new market: "PodPorn". The next challenge to publishers of internet content filtering software will be to screen that content to prevent underage youths from viewing inappropriate content. Brian Milburn, president of Solid Oak Software and original developer of CYBERsitter, has already begun research on the mechanics of filtering the coming onslaught of adult oriented video content for the iPod. "Gone are the days when little Johnny would steal his dads' Playboy and share it with the other kids behind the dumpster during recess. Now they will be showing full color, stereo, high definition porn clips," Milburn said.

Apple faces hard time wooing Hollywood to new iPod

Apple faces a far tougher task wooing film and television producers to create shows for the new video iPod than it did in the music industry, Reuters UK reports. In the week since Jobs unveiled the handheld iPod, which plays video clips on a 2.5-inch diagonal screen, media and technology executives have been trying to figure out whether people will watch shows on a small screen, what types of programs will work and whether money can be made at the $1.99 price Apple set. "There is no doubt people are going to access content in more flexible ways going forward," said Rick Feldman, who heads the National Association of Television Program Executives. "What we don't know, for independent producers, is what kind of content is going to be wanted and needed, what it will cost and what it can be made for," he added. Sources familiar with the thinking at rivals NBC and CBS said those networks have talked to Apple about providing content, but that the $1.99 price tag was too low.

Apple pressure shuts down iPod etailer in UK

Apple's aggressive moves to protect its iPod trademark and collect royalties from some iPod accessory makers has put at least one business out of business. Macworld UK reports that Everything iPod, which has been distributing iPod peripherals since 2002, will close down because of Apple's pressure, following recent Apple activity in which the company has been demanding that company's selling peripherals for its music playing products should cease using the 'iPod' trademark in their trading names and URLs." Apple also confirmed that it has begun enforcing an iPod tax on some iPod accessory manufacturers who produce accessories that plug into the "dock connector" at the bottom of the music player. CNET News.com quotes Phill Schiller as saying that the "electrical connection has specifications around that and licensing around that, and the way you get that assistance and information and licensing is through the 'Made for iPod' program."