ESPN Arcade: Cameraman for the iPhone review

If you've ever played the MegaTouch game at the local watering hole, trying to find the differences between two pictures, you'll be right at home with ESPN Arcade: Cameraman.

Cameraman includes over 70 images, and you must race against a timer to find the five differences between two different versions of the same photo. You can then compare your score to top scores online. The game play is straightforward, and surprisingly addictive, given the small size of each image. The short constantly looping music will drive you batty though. Turn it off, and enjoy:

TDL Live Halloween Special

Yes, it's time for our weekly look at Apple news and rumors from around the Apple world. And, it's also time to get a little spooky with our Halloween Special. What makes it special? Pumpkins. And smoke. Lots of smoke. Enjoy:

Thank You Microsoft: Netflix Comes To The Mac

I was just about to cancel my Netflix account. After all, why should I pay the same price as those using Windows computers, who are able to watch movies streaming instantly?

In another sign of the crazy times we're living in, Apple users have Microsoft to thank for making Netflix streaming on the Mac possible. Netflix will be using Microsoft's Silverlight to bring their streaming titles to the Mac. Why Silverlight? Well, one of the reasons the launch of these titles on the Mac has been delayed has been the requirements from studios to ensure copy protection of the content. On Windows computers, Windows Media Player provides an adequate level of DRM to satisfy content producers. Since Windows Media Player hasn't been updated for the Mac in years, Silverlight became the next best option. Since Silverlight is cross-platform, it will be interesting to see if all Netflix streaming is deployed via Silverlight in the future.

If it isn't already obvious, Apple's own QuickTime has stellar video quality, but lacks DRM options for third parties like Netflix. If nothing else, this may make Apple consider a subscription plan more in line with Netflix price offerings. A small portion of the Netflix catalog is currently available on any platform, but within 8-12 months, we could see some interesting competition between Netflix and Apple's own rental options.

The Retail Number Not Revealed in The Quarterly Call

One big question remains regarding Apple's plans to weather the financial downturn: Will retail stores continue to open at the same pace?

Apple has plenty of cash on hand, and could easily move full speed ahead with store rollouts, and probably get some deals on rent as well. The downside though, could be for short-term investors. If the economy takes a few years to recover (however you define that), then Apple's strategy of continued store openings would pay off big a few years down the road. However, in the next 12-18 months, the stock price could be in for an even rougher ride. Analysts would be concerned about increasing operating expenses with, at least temporarily, lowered returns. And of course there's always the thought of Steve Jobs leaving Apple. Whether his health is fine or not, at some point, he'll be ready to take a reduced role in the company. He could keep going for another 40 years, or he could decide tomorrow he's had enough. Jobs seems to have been mentioning all the great people at Apple - an implication to remember the iPhones and Macs come out thanks to far more people than just him.

The situation isn't completely unlike Apple's initial retail rollout. After the U.S. financial decline following 9/11, Apple boldly moved forward with retail expansion. Doing the same now could put Apple in a position to reach a whole new market plateau in three to five years. That potential future payoff could come at the price of investor hand-wringing in the short-term.

Could Education Sales Sputter?

In Tuesday's results call, it was nearly nothing but good news as Apple had arguably their best quarter ever when looking at revenue generated across the product lines. Steve Jobs joined the call, and briefly discussed some ways in which the economic downturn could affect Apple.

He said, and rightfully so, that Apple has some of the best customers in the world, and if times get tough, they are more likely to put off a new Mac purchase until the economic environment changes, rather than buy a competing product. For retail customers, that could be very true. But there's one major market for Apple in which the almighty dollar trumps brand loyalty: education.

Tim Cook reported in the call institutional education sales in the US were down 7%. They were also down 28% in California. In an otherwise stellar financial quarter, these numbers could point to future problems. If the economy sputters through several quarters of educational purchasing, districts will feel the pressure to either purchase lower-priced PCs, or hold off altogether. This makes it all the more frustrating that sources point to an impending discontinuation (but hopefully a revamp instead) of the Mac mini.

Apple can make as many computers out of a single piece of aluminum as they want, but it doesn't mean anything to the institutional education market. Districts don't want to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on adapters to attach Apple's latest and greatest to existing monitors for example.

With the educational discounts gone from the iPod, and reduced on laptops, maybe this market isn't as important to Apple as it once was.