Exclusive: Spy shot from behind closed doors at Canada’s newest Apple store.

Apple is normally very secretive about keeping the veil on Apple Stores until they are completed. Which makes this sneak peek a tasty tidbit. You may have already seen the floorplan, and you may have already seen the cloaked storefront but now… VistaSucks.WordPress.Com bring you the first spy shot of the interior of the new Apple Store Vancouver…

Apple now the most valuable computer maker in the world!

The Unofficial Apple Weblog reports: …with the recent gains Apple passed an important milestone. Apple has a larger market capitalization than IBM, meaning simply that Apple is now the most valuable computer hardware maker in the world. Let me say that again: Apple is, as of this writing, trading above $185 per share giving it a market cap of $161b, compared to IBM at $153b, HP at $133b and Dell at a measly $65b. Read the article on Tuaw.Com

How Apple Can Win The PC Battle

Let’s step back and analyze why Apple’s market share is increasing. Apple’s endless passion for speed, elegance and simplicity runs through their entire product line. In the last few years, Apple has created a line of iMacs with gorgeous displays. They also basically made the hard drive fit into the display, released the Mac mini, ported to Intel - just to mention some of the Mac changes. Read more.

A thought from the author: PC vs Mac

I came to a realization the other day while surfing around the net looking for things of interest. I happened to read a comment on a site from a PC user to a Mac guy. It was a very biased and ignorant comment that left me envisioning this PC user as a 5 year old kid with his index fingers in his ears yelling “Lalalalala. Macs suck. Lalalaa I can’t hear you!”

But then it hit me. I used to be one of those guys!

Wired: Kiss Boring Interfaces Goodbye With Apple’s New Animated OS

When Steve Jobs takes the stage Monday at Apple’s programmers conference, he’s likely to give the world a glimpse of an upgraded Mac operating system that could herald the biggest changes to the machine’s interface in 30 years.

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Apple Introduces 160GB Apple TV for $399

In the press released for YouTube videos for Apple TV, Apple also reveals that they will be introducing a 160GB Apple TV for $399.

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A Day in the Life of an Apple Genius

Apple jealously guards its Apple Store “geniuses” — the tech-support people behind Apple’s Genius Bars. The editors of Mac|Life, however, got two of those geniuses to talk. Here are their unapproved-by-Apple comments on what it’s like to work for Apple.

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YouTube comes to the Apple TV

alanquatermain presents a video featuring “A Series of Tubes”, a plug-in by Xdog that brings YouTube to the Apple TV. Watch the AwkwardTV plug-in directory for its appearance, which can be expected to be soon.

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How to convert a DVD to iPod (MP4) for free

There are a number of certain pay programs that claim to do it for free, but many are riddled with bugs and fail to take into account DVD encryption. However, by using just two free programs, you can easily convert a full DVD movie into an iPod-ready mp4 file. Read on for the full guide and links.

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Connect360 adds H.264 video support

Nullriver Software has released version 3.0 of its popular Connect360 program, which previously allowed streaming of music from iTunes, photos from iPhoto and limited WMV only movies to Xbox 360. This new version (coupled with the Spring Update for your console) allows movies to be streamed directly from iTunes. Forget blowing cash on AppleTV!

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iTunes 7.1.2 DRM cracked

This utility will scrub DRM from YOUR music files and make a backup copy of the originals for safe keeping. Great for iPod owners who now have another brand of music player - iTunes will convert your AAC files to MP3 when you’re ready to run away from Apple. I’m sure this story will be buried by DMCA lovers.

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SystM Episode 7 - Hacking AppleTV [Video]

Patrick Norton and Dave Randolph take you through some of the more popular hacks and mods out there for the AppleTV. They have sorted out all the articles out there and have come up with a complete step by step procedure to help you get your AppleTV up and running with a larger drive, SSH, Xvid and a RSS reader.

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Apple hints at video rentals through iTunes

Apple Inc. did not make any material announcements during its shareholders meeting on Thursday, but did hint that it will offer video rentals through iTunes at some point in the future. “Timing of this is difficult to determine, but we would expect [iTunes video rentals] sometime in 2008,” said analyst Gene Munster, who attended the meeting.

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Apple Stock Tops $106

AAPL closed at a new high on Wednesday when it easily cleared US$106 to land at $106.88.

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Slingbox and Apple TV (Video)

Video demo from the Sling Media Labs, shows how it’s possible to watch and control an Apple TV through Slingbox, and stream iTunes content to a smartphone or laptop. It’s enough to make any Apple fanboy drool.

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Converting movies for Apple TV using Roxio Crunch (an in-depth review)

Want to watch DVDs on Apple TV? On May 8th, Roxio will introduce a new application called Crunch designed specifically to convert a variety of different video formats for use with iPods, Apple TV, and the soon to be released iPhone. Check out how Crunch stacks up against the existing video conversion alternatives in our exclusive 3-page review.

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