Stan's List

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that RadioShack has notified 400 workers by e-mail that they are being laid off. The e-mails state, “The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated.” Nothing says thank you for your years of service to our company quite like an e-boot out the door.” More …
a most inhuman act.

DATAMATION’s John Welch offers an overview of Mac OS X 10.5 Server (Leopard): “If I had to give an overall ‘feel’ for Leopard Server, I’d say that in many ways, it’s a shot across the bow of Microsoft’s dominance in the small to medium business (SMB) market. The new features, while quite useful in Apple’s traditional market, are even more useful for businesses tired of paying the never-ending chain of CAL taxes that Microsoft vacuums out your pocket.” More …

Macworld UK reports that Microsoft Office alternative, OpenOffice, will ship in a native version for OS X next month. ‘OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute. Until now the software has required that users install the X11 Window System, a graphical interface that lets Unix-based applications work on Macs. The new version of the software won’t require X11, and will work just like any other OS X-native application.” More ….

BusinessWeek reports that Apple may be cutting prices on some albums, due to competitive pressures. Although the $9.99 album download has long been a staple for iTunes users, some albums, listed at $9.99, come out at $6.99 when you click through.

Only about 40 albums are affected (and who knows how well – or badly – they sell). But is Apple dipping a cautious toe into different pricing models? More …