(AI) = AppleInsider. (MR) = MacRumors. (MDN) = Mac Daily News. (LR) = LoopRumors. (MT) = MacTeens. Make sure to click on their sites for more.

1:06 - Last quarter was best Mac quarter ever, with 1.33 million Macs shipped (E, and check those lovely photos)

1:08 - MAC PRO! Woodcrest processors, Core 2 Duo. Up to 3 Ghz, 4 MB shared L2 cache, 64 bit ... (MR) Joel says these are "technically Xeons."

1:09 - Every Mac Pro gets two Woodcrest processors? (MR) That's two dual cores. Four cores and seven years ago, Apple released the iMac ...

1:11 - Joel just added AppleMatters Live to our info mix. They'll be (AM). The new Mac Pros will be 2.1 times as fast as the Quad G5s. (AM)

1:12 - Up to 16 gigs of quad channel memory. Four hard drive bays. Dual optical drives. More ports on the front. (AM)

1:13 - Actually, that's 1.6-2.1 times as fast as the G5 Quad. But it's twice as fast for real world apps. (NN) Maybe NN and AM can duke it out.

1:14 - Engadget has a lovely photo of the Mac Pro, which looks like a G5 tower with an extra optical bay. (E) 128 bit vector engine replaces AltiVec (NN) 4 PCI Express slots, doublewide graphics slot, space for 4 TB of storage (NN)

1:15 - 2.6 Ghz, 256 MB RAM (?!), Superdrive, $2499 (MR) This config has an nVidia 7300GT graphics card, 250 GB HD (MT) 256 MB of RAM? WTF? IMHO, ROTFL.

1:16 - You can customize up to 3 Ghz, 16 GB memory, 2 TB drives, Radeon X1900 or NVIDIA FX4500. SHIPPING TODAY. (MR)

1:18 - XServe! (AM) 16x SuperDrive in that $2499 Mac Pro (E) Engadget's photo coverage is GORGEOUS. Hats off.

1:20 - XServe will be configged like Mac Pro, same processor, 1U rack mount case (AI) Call that $2999. Up to 5 TB of storage possible. (MR)

1:21 - XServe available in October. What is "Lights out management?" (E) That standard config has dual 2.0 Ghz Xeon, 80GB drive, 667 Mhz DDR RAM. (G)

1:23 - Jobs is warming up to an OS X announcement. I'm going to spare you the blather, go to the liveblogging sources for that. Rest assured OS X is a cure for cancer and can create peace in the Middle East.

1:27 - No, I haven't gone to sleep. Apple thinks poorly of Microsoft's software innovation in the OS space. I'll wake you up when they're selling something.

1:31 - LoopRumors' page is a mess, I'm cutting them off. Leopard will support 64 bit applications. (AM)

1:33 - "Time Machine," a backup application (AI)

1:34 - It automatically backs up everything, every time you change a file, to a hard drive or server. (MR)

1:35 - You can restore one file, or restore your entire HD if it crashes. (MT)

1:37 - It lets you restore the state of your computer, including Finder windows, to timed points in the past. You can preview files and scenarios without restoring them, too. (MR)

1:39 - TMO thinks this is "revolutionary" because of the visual interface of warping through the past. (TMO) I suspect this is something you have to see to believe. Hopefully Engadget will have photos later.

1:42 - Time Machine is already integrated into Address Book and iPhoto, and developers can integrate it into their apps too (MT)

1:42 - Boot Camp! (AM)

1:42 - Quickly moved onto Front Row and Photo Booth. (TMO)

1:44 - Virtual desktops. (MR) It will be officially called "Spaces" (MT)

1:45 NOTE - Joel says that the $2499 Mac Pro config will have 1 GB RAM, not 256 MB like the livebloggers said. The 256 MB is on the video card.

1:46 - Basically, you have a virtual screen for each app or collection of apps you're running, and you can switch between them. Engadget's photo gives you an idea. (E) With Expose, you can see all the spaces at once, and you can drag and drop stuff between them. (MT)

1:48 - Spotlight can now search networked machines, if you have the right permissions. It will also add a bunch of features, read the MacRumors coverage for the full details. (MR)

1:53 - Core Animation, an animation engine. (MR) From the fellow who brought you Pixar. For the end user this doesn't mean much, but it may make apps prettier.

1:54 - Lots of neat accessibility stuff. Closed captions in QuickTime, and a text to speech engine (MR) Braille support (MT) How? Does your screen get bumpy?

1:56 - The new text to speech aka VoiceOver sounds a lot better than the old one, very natural. (MR) Does anyone remember Macintalk? "I'm so glad to get out of that bag ..."

1:57 - A-ha! Mail improvements! (MR)

1:58 - HTML based stationery, notes and to-dos in Mail. (MT) You can also make your own stationery. (AM)

2 PM - TMO is skeptical about the HTML stationery, seeing ugly backgrounds and massive bandwidth use ahead. I see the danger, after all we do live in MySpace Nation. MR says the To Do function will be linked to iCal and other apps as well.

2:02 PM - Stationery is easy to create, drag and drop like iWeb (AM) You can make ANY document into a To Do, with photos (E) To Dos will be a system wide service, activated by Command-A (MT) -- but wait a minute, isn't command-A Select All? I hope MT is wrong.

2:07 PM - More Dashboard stuff. "Dashcode" to help developers write widgets. Visual CSS editor. (MR) It includes templates for creating widgets (MT) Javascript editor and debugger built in. (AM) Weirdly, I think Dashcode might be the HTML editor I've always wanted.

2:09 - A button in Safari will let you turn any chunk of a Web page into a Widget. (MR) It's called Web Clip. (AM)

2:12 - Engadget is doing 500,000 hits every ten minutes. I am so not worthy.

2:14 - iChat's getting beefed up. Multiple logins, animated icons, video recording, and tabbed chats. (MR) But will it be more cross-platform-compatible, or should I stick to Fire and Proteus?

2:16 - You'll also be able to declare yourself invisible, and there will be photo-booth effects for video conferencing. (G) You can broadcast iPhoto slideshows through iChat and talk over them. (MR)

2:18 - You can broadcast Keynote presentations and play Quicktime clips through iChat, too. (AM) "Backdrops" let you pretend to be somewhere other than your drab home office. (MR)

2:20 - You can do motion backgrounds, too. (MR)

2:22 - By the way, iCal is multiuser now. (MT) XCode 3.0 is coming out today, hackers. (MR) Parental controls will be enhanced; no details. (TMO)

2:25 - Leopard will ship in Spring '07. Looks like things are winding down.

2:26 - A preview copy will be available on BitTorr ... uh, I mean, to developers immediately. (MDN) Keynote over. No phones, no iPods.

And the winners of best coverage are  ... MacRumors for speed and Engadget for completeness, great layout, and gorgeous photos! Thanks all of you for playing, and we'll see you next time.

Update: Hear more about Apple's announcements on Gearlog Radio.

Who has time to read nine Mac sites? We do. With Apple's latest announcements coming up fast, we're continuously monitoring Gizmodo, Engadget, MacNN, The Mac Observer, AppleInsider, MacRumors, MacDailyNews, MacTeens and LoopRumors. I'll boil down the most important points from Steve Jobs' keynote presentation for you here, along with where I'm getting it from. After the announcements, check out Gearlog and PCMag.com for top-notch analysis from our crew of trained geeks. Keep reloading Gearlog: for people who can surf to only one.

12:37 PM ET - I'll be annotating my coverage with the following abbreviations for sources. (G) = Gizmodo. (E) = Engadget. (NN) = MacNN. (TMO) = The Mac Observer. (AI) = AppleInsider. (MR) = MacRumors. (MDN) = Mac Daily News. (LR) = LoopRumors. (MT) = MacTeens. Make sure to click on their sites for more.

12:37 - The Apple store is offline. (LR) Apparently the soundtrack for the show is Gorillaz. (MT)

12:46 - Or Coldplay. (E) This all sounds like glimpses into Steve Jobs' iPod playlist.

12:49 - Now it's U2. (E) Hey, what else am I supposed to write about?

12:50 - Engadget is so far leading the pack for coverage. They have live photos. Way cool.

12:51 - Music includes Daft Punk and the Postal Service. (MR) OK, who's building the WWDC iMix? Joel? Mike?

12:54 - One of the announcements will be a VMWare beta for the Mac (G)

1:01 - Add Red Hot Chili Peppers and mix. (MR) The song is "Dani California" (MT) Still no Steve. Because they're like Hertz and Avis with Engadget, Gizmodo has embedded video into their page. (G)

1:03 - Jobs is up. (MR) One of those John Hodgman PC/Mac commercials is playing. (MT)

1:04 - There are 4200 attendees, from 48 countries. (MR) Note that I am not one of them.

1:05 - And ... it's MacRumors in the lead! Last quarter, 17 million people visited Apple stores; of new purchases, 50% are new Mac owners. Apple is doing well, gaining market share, etc (more details at MR)

1:06 - Last quarter was best Mac quarter ever, with 1.33 million Macs shipped (E, and check those lovely photos)

There's lots, lots more! Click here for the rest of our minute-by-minute coverage.

This week on Gearlog Radio with host Robyn Peterson: Sascha heralds the birth of the LG Chocolate VX8500 cell phone; Carol laments the "downsizing" of E3; and Jen and Jeremy gab about some of the strangest gadgets we've even seen (and perhaps a new low for Gearlog Radio -- surprise, surprise).  Oh, and by the way, in order to keep our conscience clear, we have to issue a parental advisory about the second half of this broadcast.

-> Download the MP3: Gearlog Radio: Is E3 Dead; LGs New Chocolate Cell Phone; and an iPod Vibrator?

On this week's show:

• Woe is E3? Does the recent "downsizing" of this gaming show spell doom?
• LG unveiled its new line of gadgets, including the iPod-like Chocolate VX8500 cell phone.
• Cingular lowers the bar for customer service by charging loyal subscribers high fees for using the TDMA network.
• We sent poor Jen out in the 100 degree New York City heat wave to measure the UV intensity with the handheld UVHawk. 
• iPod Vibrator:  What is it?!?  (And more importantly, what's the best tune to play?)
• To welcome the Banana Phone into existence, we all sing the Banana Phone song.
  

Hosts: Robyn Peterson and Sascha Segan

Panelists: Jen DeLeo, Carol Mangis and Jeremy Kaplan

Audio Engineer: Scott Bernstein

Subscribe Now:

-> Subscribe to the Gearlog Radio podcast in iTunes

-> Subscribe to the Gearlog Radio podcast via RSS

Update: Hear more about back-to-school gadgets on Gearlog Radio.

I'm so glad I'm finished with high school/college/grad school. I look back and I can't believe that I spent 19 continuous years writing papers, taking tests, and staying up late studying.

But I still find myself ogling at the kinds of technology that are available to students. I'm not talking about typical products you now need to buy for school, such as laptops, digital cameras, and printers (parents and teens are expected to spend $3.1 billion on CE devices for back to school this year, according to the CEA). I mean the kinds of things you may not have known existed for school. Here's a list of items for the scholar in various subjects. Read Gearlog's Back to School Part II roundup.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

"I like geography. I like to know where places are." -Tom Felton
SmartGlobe 3D Interactive Globe ($100, Shop.com)
A couple of months ago, Oregon Scientific visited our office to tell us about the SmartGlobe 3D Interactive Globe. The SmartGlobe made me realize just how long it's been since geography class! To play, select any of the 30 games and point the pen on the country or city the device tells you to find. What's really cool about it is that it's updated using USB. So if a tsumani or a war has happened recently, the SmartGlobe knows. You can customize the activities for three age groups (Ages 5-8, 9-14, 15 and up, although I recommend that older adults and parents play, too!). It accommodates up to four players. Operated by 2 AAA batteries in the Pen and 4 AA's in the Base (batteries are not included).

CREATIVE WRITING:

"My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way." -Ernest Hemingway

InnoDesk S'Cool Toolz Automatic Pencil Sharpeners ($6.99 each)

If you're a writer, then you know that getting up from your desk to sharpen your pencil just takes time away from being creative. Don't risk losing your thoughts with this battery-powered portable pencil sharpener. Comes in three bright and funky colors: purple/green, green/orange, and orange/purple. Available at many retail stores, including Wal-Mart, Office Depot, and Office Max.

SCIENCE:

"Science does not know its debt to imagination." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Fascinations' Antworks Illuminator ($28.95, FatBrainToys)
Never owned an ant farm? Then you'll get a kick out of this one. It contains a type of non-toxic gel which provides nutrients to the colony. There's no need to feed the ants or give them water. Plus, it comes with a removable LED, which serves as a neat display for the home or classroom. Set also includes: Magnifying Glass, Extreme Zoom Lens, and Ant Catching/Tunnel Starting Tool. Ants sold separately.

BAND:

"I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to." -Elvis Presley
Behringer USB-Guitar iAXE393 ($149.99)
Practice the guitar at home when you're not in band class. Developed by Behringer, the iAXE USB Guitar lets you play a song and record it straight to your PC with multi-track recording and editing software. You can even jam along with your MP3, WAV and AIFF songs or backing tracks on your Mac or PC. A built-in connector allows you to connect your headphones to your guitar. Comes with USB cable, software, guitar strap, and three picks.
 
PHOTOGRAPHY:

"It is part of the photographer's job to see more intensely than most people do." -Bill Brandt
SMOY's SOHO PhotoCuff ($17-$28)
Why not wear those photos you take in photo class? This wearable vinyl photo cuff bracelet also sports two handy pockets to store and carry extra photos if you want to change photos to fit your mood. Four different styles to choose from.