Hijinks Inc.

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  • Apple to Intel: We like you… but we like ourselves more.

    Intel may have designed a custom processor for Apple and the Macbook Air, but that apparently isn’t enough.

    Apple has agreed to purchase chip manufacturer P.A. Semi for $278 million. P.A. Semi focuses on sophisticated, low-power chips that could be used in future iPhones, iPod touches, etc.

    The decision to center the iPhone design around a chip that Apple could own marks a significant strategic choice by Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs, and is aimed at ensuring Apple can continue to differentiate its flagship phone as a raft of competitors flood the market. According to a source affiliated with the chip company, Jobs and Senior Vice President Tony Fadell led the tiny group of executives who spearheaded the acquisition, which included negotiations that took place in Jobs’ home. [ more on Forbes.com ]

    Pretty sweet deal if you ask me, the timing of the annoucement also happens to conencide nicely with Apple earnings call later today.

  • Apple Releases Updates

    Apple just dropped version 3.1.1 of Safari, as well as version 1.5.1 of the Macbook Pro EFI Firmware Update.

    As always details about what these updates actually do is scarce:

    This update is recommend for all Safari users and includes improvements to stability, compatibility and security.

    This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of MacBook Pro computers.

    After the firmware is successfully applied to your Mac, your Boot ROM Version will be:
    MBP21.00A5.B08 or MBP31.0070.B07

    You can confirm the version of the Boot ROM installed on your computer using System Profiler.

  • Have you seen this man?

    This is what Mario would look like if he was transformed into a real person. The people over at Pixeloo have taken it upon themselves to “untoon” some of the most famous cartoons, and are taking suggestions. Some of them were better than others (and Homer is just plain freaky if you ask me). More pictures, and a ‘making of’ video after the jump.
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  • UFO Central: What We All Expected Has Finally Arrived.

    That’s right, our benevolent alien overlords have arrived (or maybe the Autobots. We can only hope). And we were worrying about the upcoming presidential election. Pshaw.

    Drudge has a headline right now that reads: “Mystery Lights Over Florida, Arizona; Residents Spooked.”

    Along with this picture.

    Strange Lights

    Taken from this video.

    Residents in Florida and Arizona reported seeing a strange pattern of lights last night (Monday, April 21, 2008), and a few got some fuzzy video for us to peruse.

    What does it all mean? Probably nothing. We’re probably going to get a very vague statement from the government Sector 7 stating that they were running test maneuvers of some kind and the whole thing will fade away. Still, flashbacks to Independence Day anyone?

    More photos and videos after the jump.

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  • Apple Q2 Earnings Preview

    Remember kids, tomorrow Apple is set to release its Q2 earnings after market close. While their earnings should be impressive and likely beat the market expectations of $1.11 per share, it’s the Q3 guidance people will really be focused on. As we’ve seen in the past an overly conservative outlook can destroy investor confidence in a hurry (see Apples Q2 outlook as reported with their Q1 earnings), almost as much as missing a quarters projected EPS.

    With the economy in a slow down Apple’s pricey computers and accessories may not be as likely to move, which is a point thats been raised over and over by analysts. It should be noted that some believe that Apple’s high prices make it recession proof, purely from the standpoint that they can drop the price per computer by $300 and still make a handsome profit. Apple dropping their prices… Yeah, that’s likely to happen (please pay attention to the dripping sarcasm there).

    However, the impending launch of the 3G iPhone coupled with the expanding availability of the iPhone in other countries should do nicely for offsetting any slow down in computer sales. Although since investors tend to act like a bunch of girls, they may see a decrease in computer sales as bad news and run scared.

    Let’s try and focus on Apple as a whole, not just their computer division… Mm’kay? After all, they did drop the Computers from the name, remember?

    In the interest of full disclosure, I own shares in Apple Inc. so I might be biased, yeah, maybe a little.

    p.s. Remind me to sell when Apple hits $200