Last week, we saw Apple's best ever quarterly results reported by Tim Cook, Apple's interim head. More on that and related stories later; plus a Trojan for those who have been trying to download pirated versions of iWork. And it is a look at iWork that is the main item this week.

iWork Updated (1) Keynote

In the main item I mentioned setting up an ad hoc network with the Mac and I have provided a link in the online article to my earlier System Preferences article on Sharing: actually in Part 2.

At the weekend I decided to check and see how the system worked for buying an iWork licence, so clicked on the opening panel and started the process, but I ended up buying it. Actually I bought it twice because I reloaded a form, but the process allowed me to delete the extra licence. Then I realised that the details were going to an old email account. Trying to change the information, I found I actually have two accounts, so had to use a third email account (lucky me, eh?), but found the page that listed my items purchased and the licence details were there. So actually were the details of the QuickTime Pro licence that I bought two or three years ago via the Singapore shop. Life is much easier these days.

We saw recently that the shipping date for iLife had slipped a bit until the start of February, but now we read that it is on the initial schedule and began shipping this week. That is also on sale via the Apple store in Thailand with free shipping but it is still shown as a pre-order there. [Wednesday evening update, 24 hours after order: Shipped]

Nonetheless, I placed my order and hope to have it in a few days.

One of the reasons I wanted to look at the online purchase process was that the last week has seen a Trojan horse for those lucky people who decided to download iWork via BitTorrent. A pirated version of course: with the price of this software, there are few reasons to go for this method: the Trojan gives you one less. RixStep had some sharp comments, some analysis and a couple of fixes. AppleInsider also reported early this week that as well as the iWork extra, pirated versions of Adobe CS4 may also be carrying an extra payload. The Register also had an article on this with the title, "Mac malware tide on the rise." Without being complacent, "tide" is hardly the right word. It is more like a little ripple.

Although it was almost invisible in the MacWorld Keynote presentation, iDVD has received an update this week and is now at version, 7.0.3. There is also an iLife media browser update available; but neither of these updates are connected to iLife 09. The media browser, if you download it will need a restart of the computer.

Next week is the 22nd Anniversary of the Post Database and this week is the 25th anniversary of the Mac. The editor asked me to write about the 22 years, and I worked in the Mac birthday too at the weekend. On Monday, I found a link to Time magazine's Top 10 Apple moments. As well as the moments (which are on separate pages) there are a lot of photos too:

1. The Beginning
2. Apple 1
3. Dawn of the Mac with a link to a 1984 Super Bowl advertisement (which is always worth watching, but the one on the Time page is not the real one -- see below);
4. The advent of the PowerPC processor
5. The return of Jobs
6. Computer candy - the first iMacs with coloured panels.
7. iPod mania
8. OS X
9. iTunes music store
10. The iPhone (of course)

That 1984 ad is so good and so significant that I am putting the link on the page:

As a trivia point, the woman who throws the hammer in the ad, Anya Major, was actually a discus thrower.

On the same day that Apple produced record results, again, Microsoft announced that thousands of jobs were to go. As ever MacDaily News pleads for Ballmer to stay head of Redmond for as long as it takes.

This comes in the light of Sony reporting massive losses, Lenovo, Dell, and a host of others big and small, including a 69% drop in profits at Nokia and Samsung's first ever loss; and Sun has also confirmed there will be 1,300 layoffs.

But not, as we said, Apple. Must be doing something right in Cupertino.

Part of that right idea was demonstrated last week when Tim Cook, acting CEO announced the latest quarterly figures. Apple posted record revenue of $10.17 billion and record net quarterly profit of $1.61 billion. These results compare to revenue of $9.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.58 billion. Go back and look at the figures from those other companies.

On the other hand, MS is taking an opposite path to Apple with DRM. While Apple just cut the threads a bit, MS is moving to tighten the reins. There is an interview in PCPro with High Griffiths who just announced a return to DRM when MS started its new MS Mobile Music Service. Working with others seems to be part of the problem, which Apple has had to face and got round, with the iTMS. It seems that DRM and MS have been having a cosy relationship, especially when one considers the rollout of Vista and the way some things would not work. And now here we are with the Zune dying on them and layoffs of at least 5,000 we are told looming and they just don't get it.

Latest news on the Zune appears to confirm just how bad it is with the Zune sales decreasing $100 million or 54%. Compare that to Apple's increase in market share of Macs and iPods worldwide and there may be a clue here. Mind you, the division that handles the Zune actually saw a 6% rise in income with things like the X-Box, while iPods only increased 3%. We also hear that Office Live will merge with Windows Live.

If you want bad, you might want to look at an infomercial that has been created by Microsoft to push their music which the Register describes as "so profoundly traumatising it could "make you want to kill your family". It is on YouTube, but it really is that bad and I am not going to inflict it on you. It needs to come with a health warning.

It is not all holiday time at Apple. A court settlement this week was made for those folks who bought the original iPod nano and found that it scratched easily. The figure involved is some $22.5 million and each person is expected to receive something like $25.

On the other hand, Microsoft may owe some $8.5 billion for the misleading Vista ready campaign because as a lot of people found, their computers certainly weren't and some users shelled out a lot of wasted cash. The lowest estimate of the figure is $3.92 billion while that other figure is the top estimate. That will take the smile off Ballmer's face.

What does Apple have to do to humour the analysts? Last week's figures, in the light of a bad economy which sees plenty of other comnpanies in dire straits, was a rare shaft of light, but not for some analysts. Particularly troubling was the view of Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray, normally pro-Apple, who is dissatisfied with the December figures for sales of iPhones and not happy with the refresh cycle -- new iPhones in other words -- so marks Apple down again. He still has a target of $180, which is down from $235 while the current price is way down, just below $90, but how does the analyst come up with these ideas: I can do better with a quick Internet search.

Fortune wrote positively about Tim Cook and his presentation at the results call last week. They particularly loved a reply of his to a question on how the company would run without Steve Jobs, he gave a blistering reply that I need to read out in full.

We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products and that’s not changing. We are constantly focusing on innovating. We believe in the simple not the complex. We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products that we make, and participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution. We believe in saying no to thousands of projects, so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us. We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups, which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot. And frankly, we don’t settle for anything less than excellence in every group in the company, and we have the self-honesty to admit when we’re wrong and the courage to change. And I think regardless of who is in what job those values are so embedded in this company that Apple will do extremely well.

Bearing in mind what I wrote recently about the positive outlook at Apple these days, for example in the light of the few products released at MacWorld, this would support my contention that despite what so many so-called journalists -- the fear mongers -- write, Apple may not be as dependent on Steve Jobs for its continued survival as so many would have you believe.

Part of that positive outlook is often shown by Jon Ives, one of the more public faces at Apple and responsible for much of the design work. A documentary being filmed on design at the moment, which will have its first public screening at the South by Southwest festival later this year, does have Ive as one of the subjects and they posted a photo of him in the design lab. Have a look at that -- the link is on the podcast page -- and see how even the part of the lab we can see is itself neatly set out.

A lot more from that conference call concerns the way the figures contrast with the dismal outlook of so many other companies. Apparently 46% of that stellar revenue came from international sales. More on that and some figures are given by Chris Foresman on Ars Technica.

In with the new and out with the old may well be a mantra of the new president of the United States, but they are having some trouble with White House staff and White House Windows computers. Well, they would, wouldn't they?

Many people in the new president's staff, plus Obama himself are Mac users and it is theorised that it may not be long before some of Cupertino's products grace the corridors of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

When I first had my iPod touch there was a neat little plastic stand that came with it so that I could rest the device on it and watch videos. I took it out one day and the last thing I saw of it was putting it in my shirt pocket. I have tried a few other things like bent paperclips, but nothing really does the job. Last week in TUAW I saw a neat little solution that uses pencils and rubber bands and I am going to see if this or something like it works for me.

For those using Macs with the latest display ports, Apple has released an update called Nvidia Graphics Update 2009.

And last minute updates include a firmware update for the iPhone and iPod touch (now at version 2.2.1) which was not perfect for me: I ended up restoring for the first time since I had it. Still no Thai keyboard.

Also updated was Quick Time Broadcaster -- streaming software for free. But iMovie HD is now no more. I wonder what we may also see in coming days?

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