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Apple Computer is prepping a lavish new version of the Mac Pro that will boast nearly twice the brawn of existing models and form the centerpiece of the company’s high-performance professional desktop line, AppleInsider has learned.

The iPod shuffle Reset Utility restores First Generation iPod shuffle. The restore process completely erases all music and data on iPod shuffle and reinstalls software version 1.1.4. iPod shuffle Reset Utility is only for First Generation 512MB and 1GB iPod shuffle. Any other iPod, including Second Generation iPod shuffle is not supported.

Use the iPod shuffle Reset Utility to fix the following issues:

* With the iPod shuffle switched on, pressing the Play button will cause amber and green LEDs to flash for a few seconds, and the unit will not play any music, nor can you sync music to it from iTunes.
* On a Windows PC, iPod shuffle will appear in My Computer as a “Removable Disk,” however the iPod shuffle volume will not mount correctly. The unit is listed in Device Manager under “Disk Drives” as “Apple iPod USB Device.”
* On a Mac, the unit will only be recognized in Apple System Profiler under Hardware -> USB and will not appear or mount in the Finder.
* When attempting to restore, the unit may not be recognized at all. However, if it is recognized, the restore may fail with an error dialog “Firmware update failure. Disk write error” or another error. It may take 3 restore attempts before the error appears. Note: iPod shuffle may take several minutes to be recognized.

Newsvine reports that a little comparison shopping at the Apple and Dell stores will turn up a pleasant surprise: like the Mac Pros, Apple’s revved Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros are cheaper than comparably equipped Dell Precision laptops.

The 15″ MBP weighs in at $1,999 versus the 15″ Latitude’s $2,874. At that price, the Dell doesn’t even have a DVD burner, although one can be added at extra cost (sometimes, Dell offers a free upgrade, to be fair). More …