Back in Q2 2006, RIM comprised half of all smartphone sales; however, by Q3 2011 the company had fallen to 8 percent.

I can’t imagine there will be champagne corks popping in Waterloo after the Q4 earnings call on Thursday.

I’ve outlined the five stages below.

First stage - Apple will never enter that market.

Once a rumour surfaces that Apple is about to release something cool, CEO’s and tech pundits usually chime in about how there’s no way Apple will enter that market. However, betting against Apple is becoming an unwise thing to do. Harry McCracken at Technologizer has a list of many analysts predicting that Apple won’t do something. As the post points out, that’s a risky bet. Even listening to Steve Jobs isn’t always a good indicator of what’s to come. Jobs once said that people don’t want to watch video on a small device. Then the video iPod came out.

Stage Two – Apple will fail.

The next stage usually has analysts changing their predictions to fit with the new rumor that product “A” (let’s call it iProduct) is in the pipeline. Now is when they begin saying that Apple will fail in this new product category instead of saying they won’t release at all. The reasons are by now very familiar. It will be too expensive. It will lack features. Releasing iProduct would require Apple to give up too much control. Too much competition, too late or too soon. They usually come up with all sorts of pricing predictions that are highly inflated.

Stage three - Product will fail to gain significant market share.

Now that Apple has released iProduct, and we know the price, the analysts begin saying Apple will fail to gain any significant market share. Because the features are now known, they begin to use that against Apple. It doesn’t do Flash, it doesn’t have a keyboard, it doesn’t have an HDMI port.

Stage four - Once competitors release their version of iProduct, Apple will lose market share.

Now that Apple’s new iProduct is a genuine hit, analysts now turn to Apple competitors. Though they’ve been wrong every step of the way, they now say that Apple’s days at the top are numbered. Once competitor “A” releases their version of the iProduct, Apple’s share will plummet, and its dominance will be over. Backing up their argument is that all the features iProduct lacks will be included in the competitors product and consumers will flock to the anti-Apple device. “It has flash”, it has a keyboard, it’s cheaper,  it’s open!” They say this with a straight face, as if anyone other then geeks and neck beards knows or cares what open source software is. Steve Gillmor is fond of saying that Apple’s lack of support for Flash is a feature. He’s right.

Stage five - Silence.

This occurs four times a year immediately following Apple’s earnings call. iProduct numbers are released showing 8-million units sold, $2.9-billion in revenue. The analysts, wrong about Apple yet again, have gone dark. They completely ignore the amount of money Apple makes. Usually they focus on market share only. For example, Apple has 10% market share of all PC’s, forgetting that they make 35% of the operating profits. Or that Android has more market share (true) while ignoring that Apple makes 57% of the mobile phone profit. In fact half of Apple’s revenue comes from the iPhone.

They also ignore the fact that soon, Apple will be able to buy the entire phone market (excluding Samsung) with cash alone. Daring Fireball’s John Gruber recently linked to a 15 year old blogger who points out that Apple makes more money from the sale of one Mac than HP makes from the sale of seven PC’s. If a 15 year old can see this, how come Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer or Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis of RIM can’t. Or do they see it and don’t want to acknowledge it?

Another thing about the money Apple makes. Among those who recognize that Apple makes a lot of money, which is (almost) everybody by now, there is a myth that people who buy Apple products are somehow being hoodwinked or have fallen under the spell of Steve Jobs. They’ve “smoked the Apple crack”, or are simply, “Apple fanboys” who are foolishly overpaying for products when many other cheaper and better alternatives are available. As if BMW or Porsche owners are overpaying for vehicles that are exactly the same as a KIA, that they’re BMW fanboys who don’t know any better.

It is striking to me how many companies that have been disrupted by Apple and Google, still fail to notice. Maybe they think that if they say everything is fine, it will make it so. Meanwhile, RIM burns and Microsoft’s money still comes from 30 year old products, Windows and Office.

I can’t stop thinking about how desperate Microsoft has become. This deal with Nokia is something that makes total sense if you look at it logically while at the same time completely ignore history.

Nokia needs to cut costs because it’s hemorrhaging market share. Microsoft’s entire business model is finding hardware partners to distribute it’s software. Microsoft is being frozen out of the tablet space most recently with HP announcing their tablet, completely free of any MS software.

They are hungry for partners. It’s what they’ve been doing for 30 years.

So just put Windows Phone 7 System 7 Phone OS Mobile (or whatever it’s called) on Nokia phones and everybody wins.

It’s a match made in….well we’ll see.

In the meantime, asymco has a look at the history of Microsoft’s Mobile partners. I can’t believe how many of the companies went bankrupt.

Remember that famous 2007 Steve Ballmer video, you know, where he’s laughing about the iPhone…

“$500 fully subsidized with a plan. I said that is the most expensive phone in the world and it doesn’t appeal to business customers because it doesn’t have a keyboard which makes it not a very good email machine.”…”I like our strategy, I like it a lot”.

Well, as Horace Dediu points out, the man he was sitting beside was then-CEO of Nortel Mike Zafirovski. Nortel went bankrupt two years later.

Robert Scoble says Nokia fans who are disappointed are nuts. Scoble points out that Nokia has a vast distribution system that Microsoft can leverage.

Employees at Nokia have staged a walkout.

My question about the European Nokia customers, how many bought Nokia phones because they were a proud Finish company? Is regional pride a factor? Do Finland cellphone customers buy a Nokia phone because it’s a local company? And now that Nokia phones will be running Windows, will that loyalty evaporate?

I’m sure people in Waterloo, Ontario feel some loyalty to BlackBerry because RIM is headquartered there.

Emotion does play a part in people’s choice of phone. It’s a very personal device, a fashion statement. Steve Jobs understands this. Google understands this (think of their positioning around open). Steve Ballmer doesn’t see this. That’s why he couldn’t see how anyone in their right mind would pay $500 for a phone that doesn’t have a keyboard.

What I’m getting at is this. I think many Nokia fans will abandon the platform and switch to Android. Microsoft will pile $800-million into the Nokia partnership. Nokia will go bankrupt.

UPDATE…Nokia says Microsoft paid “billions” to get Windows Phone 7 on their phones. So they’ve already lost billions, rather than the $800-million I made up for fun.

UPDATE 2…Nokia CEO Stephen Elop denies that Microsoft has paid Nokia billions of dollars. Still, 0 plus 0 is still 0.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

- George Santayana philosopher, essayist poet and novelist.

Now, officially, SaskTel will start selling the iPhone 4 in the coming months. No firm date has been announced. The subsidized iPhone 4 will come complete with a three year lock-in, I’m sure.

The official release is here.

I know it’s just a media advisory, not really for the public, but boy their web site is terrible. They’ve spruced up the front end recently, but the pages still use the old layout. What were they designed with, Microsoft Front Page 2003?

Part of being in the Apple universe is great design, time to step it up guys.

The home page of their site has a splash banner saying the iPhone 4 is coming soon.

UPDATE…the iPhone 4 will be available from SaskTel on Tuesday, April 26th, 2011.

I hope Mr. Jobs gets lots of rest and regains his strength. Is this time more serious than the last? We can only speculate.

It’s more than just cool gadgets, Steve reminds me to be my best and to only spend time doing things I love.

Also the full WWDC Keynote address where Steve Jobs introduces iPhone 4.

$13.50 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $9.08 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.62 billion, or $1.79 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.

8.7-million iPhones were sold representing 137% year-over-year growth. 51.15 million iPhones have been sold since launch.

About half the Macs sold in their retail stores were to people who had never owned a Mac before.

We’re thrilled to report our best non-holiday quarter ever, with revenues up 49 percent and profits up 90 percent,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’ve launched our revolutionary new iPad and users are loving it, and we have several more extraordinary products in the pipeline for this year.

These numbers don’t even include the iPad. Amazing. Read it all here.

In Mission Saves

I may not have time to finish a big mission on a Tuesday evening after work. It’s really annoying to play for half an hour, then stop because you have other stuff you need to do, and find out later you have to redo all the things you’ve already completed, just because the game doesn’t save in the middle of a mission. Grand Theft Auto IV was notorious for making you drive for half an hour just to start a mission, and then repeat over and over. If you died with your enemy one shot away from death, BAM, back to the beginning and another 1/2 hour down the tubes. Nobody does in mission saves better than Call of Duty. You pick up pretty much right where you left off every time. This leads me to the next point…

Let Me Skip Cut Scenes

It’s annoying enough to have to repeat things you’ve already done because of no in mission saves, but it’s enraging to have to then listen to the stupid cut scene with inane dialogue for the tenth time! Let me skip cut scenes! I muted the sound in Infamous during many missions after one restart because I could not stand listening to the dialogue over and over. The main boss at the end kept saying, “You’re not going anywhere!” Not only the same line, but the same take the actor recorded in the session. Brutal. And it wasn’t long before I hit the mute button.

Death Recovery Too Long

Not every game is bad for this, but Infamous in particular had what felt like a ten second recovery time when you were near death. This was too long, considering many enemies could put you into near death with one shot. Either shorten the time it takes to recover from near death or lighten up on the damage one bullet can do.

Good Cover/Aiming System

It goes without saying, you must have a good cover and aiming system. Infamous didn’t completely fail at this, but Call of Duty Modern Warfare is the best at it. I quit playing Bio Shock because it had no cover system.

Provide Enough Ammo

Infamous had plenty of ammo, in the form of re-charging from the electrical grid. Modern Warfare has tonnes of ammo. Again, I quit playing Bio Shock within 2 levels because ammo was so hard to come by. I was spending all my time at that stupid vending machine where all your money would by five bullets! Are you shitting me? Give me some ammo for crying out loud!

Performance Glitches

GTA IV was miserable when lots of things started happening on screen. When tonnes of cops surrounded you the game would actually slow down and hinder your movement so you would not get be able to get away. Infamous wasn’t nearly as bad, but many times the game would stutter a bit at a key moment and I’d be dead.

Controller Responsiveness

Again, GTA IV had awful controller responsiveness. Call of Duty is the best. When I hit shoot, my character had better shoot, or duck or run or whatever. This sounds so simple but it’s amazing how many games fail at this. Infamous was so irritating when your character got knocked down it took FOREVER to get back up and before you’d even get another shot off, you’d be shot and killed. Often when you just wanted to jump to cover, you’d accidentally leap to a light pole and still be in the open where you’d be shot and killed.

Damage AI

If I have to shoot a regular enemy ten times to kill him and he has to shoot me once to put me down, that’s bullshit.

Armour

Armour that only works on one kind of enemy or only in a very limited set of circumstances is not worth having. Infamous had no armour at all. Your ability to deflect blasts never increased. Yes you get an energy shield at one point, but it doesn’t work for most of the attacks the bosses throw at you! I especially love when you come across some cool piece of armour or shield only to immediately face a new enemy that is twice as powerful, completely negating the affect of the just acquired armour. This also goes for weapons.

Weapons

New weapons are almost immediately followed by new enemies that are much harder to kill. I understand why this happens, but some games take this too far. Give me some time to blow the weaker enemies away before you bring in the tough dudes. That’s the fun part about new abilities and weapons, using them on foes that you used to have trouble with. If you instantly make all the enemies harder you’ve gained nothing.

Enemies

I understand why the enemies get tougher as you get tougher. If you were just invincible and could mow down everything in your path the fun would soon become boring. But I’m just asking for a bit more balance between challenging and frustration. I also get the model of big boss battles, they can be an exciting way to finish a game, but often they just descend into memorizing their moves and how to damage them. Rinse and repeat. What makes it really irritating is not being able to save if you are called away to something else and you lose all your progress.

Don’t Make Your Game Impossible

Say you are a game developer. In a sense you are the God of that world. You could write code that would make the big boss evade everything you throw at it, kill with one shot, have weapons blast away every piece of cover, have infinite life and loop his annoying taunts over and over because you didn’t want to pay the actor more money to record more lines of script. You could give the hero armour that is ineffective, weapons that don’t work on the big boss and include bugs and glitches that hinder the game players ability to properly duck and run for cover. You could disable in mission saves and skipping cut scenes to make the player crazy doing the same thing over and over until his wrists give out. Yes you could do all that because you’re the God of the video game world you’ve created. Congratulations. You’ve become a dick.

Conclusion

There are other things that can be annoying about video games, pop-in (where the background objects just pop-in as you get closer), artifacting, characters walking in mid-air and other often hilarious glitches that aren’t usually show stoppers. In fact they are often very funny, I’ve even come across a couple myself from GTA IV and Fear 2. No the biggest annoyance I have with video games are more AI and controller related, as the previous examples point out. These are the things that make or break a game for me. I’m a bit more than a casual gamer, but I’m not hard core. I don’t finish a game in a weekend. I sometimes buy game guides, but usually I just want to sit and play without too much trouble. Uncharted 2 was great for this. It was challenging and fun, but you didn’t pull your hair out in some insane and unfair level.

I don’t want to have to play a boss battle for hours. I should be able to beat them in 45 minutes. Not 45 minutes every day for a week. I don’t mind long games, as long as its spent playing new levels, not playing the same thing over and over because the cover systems sucks, you can’t aim properly, you run out of ammo, the boss is indestructible or your character slows down because your game can’t handle too many things on the screen at one time. I also don’t want my gaming experience to be longer because I can’t skip cut scenes or have to spend 10 minutes just getting to the mission I’ve already died in five times, but you can’t save so your screwed.

I want to have fun gaming, not feel like I’m being shortchanged by bad development choices, or bugs in the code.

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So because I bought Harry Potter on Blu-ray I might like Becker! What the hell is Becker? I don’t like Ted Danson. Other than being a collection of DVD’s these two have NOTHING in common. Even that is stretching it because one is Blu-ray and the other is DVD. Wow.

No doubt about it. The man behind Terminator, The Abyss and Titanic returns triumphantly with Avatar, an epic military action adventure meets Dances With Wolves. And it’s the movie that we’ll look back on as the true start of the 3D revolution. Sure 3D has been around for decades, but only now has it finally been executed flawlessly.

The best part about Avatar in 3D is that you quit thinking about how it’s a 3D movie. You just experience it. From the strange and beautiful creatures floating in the air, to the lush foliage in the foreground to the modern computer control surfaces, Avatar is a real world, not just a 3D gimmick. The best special effects are always the ones that don’t appear to be special effects; Gollum in Lord of the Rings, the liquid metal in T2, the Raptors of Jurassic Park, the opening sequence of the original Star Wars when the Imperial ship flies overhead. In fact Roger Ebert says Avatar made him feel like he did when he first saw Star Wars.

Many have said the plot is lame and predictable. I say two things, the plot of Titanic was predictable (we knew the boat was going to sink), and secondly, its how you get there that matters. The getting there is what makes Avatar work. The plot, while not that inventive, is adequate and believable.

The acting is also first rate. Even a role that could have been a stereotype, the evil military guy, is played very real and the actor (Stephen Lang) did not go over the top as so many military guy performances do. And this is part of why I liked Avatar so much, for the things Cameron didn’t do. Nobody makes long winded speeches about the senate and the trade federation (Episode 1 of Star Wars) and there is no Jar Jar. In fact, and this is key, the Na’vi (the tall blue people) act like an entirely different species and don’t follow human racial stereotypes like the newest Star Wars movies, or the more recent and dreadful Transformers 2 with it’s human race based robots. In Star Wars – Episode 1 who could forget the Mexican dealer selling spaceship parts, the Chinese aliens enforcing the trade blockade, or Jar Jar with dreadlocks and speaking in ebonics. Transformers 2 (one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen) did this with robots. I’m only going to say this once for all directors who are thinking of making a robot or alien movie…ROBOTS AND ALIENS DO NOT HAVE HUMAN RACIAL CHARACTERISTICS!

Avatar has none of this nonsense. The Na’vi act like Na’vi. The don’t sound like Mexicans or African Americans from the hood, or Asian gangsters. They sound like Na’vi. Yes you can draw a parallel between the Na’vi and Native Americans, but Cameron has invented a very real and unique sounding language and they don’t walk or move like humans. Because they’re not human. Cameron understands this. Maybe he can teach George Lucas and Michael Bay something about robots and aliens.

Avatar is one of those movies that comes along every few years that everyone must see. And you must see it in 3D. I was not sure what to expect when I first saw the trailer with the tall blue aliens, but the film really delivers. You actually feel for these 3D CG characters. I’m sure, just like with Titanic, when you watch the film again and again on DVD it may lose some of that magic, but Avatar has already earned it’s place in history.

Why not get an iPhone you ask? Well first, there was no iPhone when I got my BlackBerry and also the only GSM provider where I live (Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada) is Rogers and their coverage sucks compared with SaskTel (currently a CDMA carrier, but in 2010 they will be changing to UMTS or 3G)

I have the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition phone and really like it. I mostly use it for email and texting. I also have an iPod Touch so I get the best of both worlds.

So back to syncing, right now Missing Sync For BlackBerry is the only reliable option to sync with your BlackBerry. However it doesn’t allow you to add or update BlackBerry software.

I’ve tried using the BlackBerry Desktop on Windows using Parallels on the Mac, but when you plug in the device it doesn’t connect and the annoying Windows “dong” sound repeats incessantly.

This will change soon as RIM has announced that they will be releasing BlackBerry Desktop for the Mac in September! Finally, at long last. Hopefully it works.

UPDATE…Engadget has the review.

“Thriller” was the first cassette I owned. “Black or White”, “Man In The Mirror” and “Heal The World” were three of my more recent favorites.

Jackson lead a life of extraordinary privilege but paid dearly for it.

Cardiac Arrest is not something that just happens, even though it appears that way. A lifetime of stress, prescription drugs and multiple surgeries was obviously too much. His body was worn out.

Michael is at peace now. Thanks for all the moves, music and memories.

I just have my BlackBerry now and would never bother with a land line. Too expensive and too many robo-calls. You know it’s a solicitation when there’s a slight pause after you say hello and the computer either connects you to the call center or the recording starts up. Usually that gives you ample time to hang up. The only calls I get now are from my own bank trying to up-sell me on some insurance for my credit card or crap like that. I finally gave in and got the insurance, but they still phone. Apparently there are different levels of coverage and I was just at the first stage. But there isn’t much that can be done. The bank has to have your phone number. However I wish they would phone only if all my money is suddenly gone, or they are depositing money because I won some contest.

Land lines are important so 911 can trace the call if you can’t speak or are otherwise incapacitated, but that’s about their only advantage. I suppose the quality is better then some cell signals, but only marginally.

But the phone solicitation is a deal breaker. If I want to do business with you, I will call you. Or find your web site. As for trying to sell me some shit over the phone, fuck off.

UPDATE…It’s not just the phone. The doorbell rang a couple of minutes ago, causing the Pomeranian to go ape. Is it the cops? Or the fire department…NO…it’s a couple of young guys with clip boards and badges from some company I’ve never heard of trying to tell me they will install some system (not sure what kind of system) into the house for free and that it’s very important and have I heard of them. No I haven’t. I ask them to leave a brochure and at that point the turn around and walk away. What kind of bullshit scam is this? FUCK OFF, Get off my lawn!

UPDATE 2…So the local paper just called again, asking mom if she wanted to subscribe…again. So she politely told them that someone had phoned two days ago and that we already get the paper. That’s my mom. So polite. Courteous. I would have told them to screw off. Right before the newspaper called there was another robo-call, this time it said “This is your pilot speaking, you’ve won a trip to…”

We have to get back to the days like in the movie “Secondhand Lions” with Michael Cain and Robert Duvall or “Grand Torino” with Clint Eastwood, where you sit on the front step with shotgun and anyone who comes by peddling bullshit had better be able to run fast.

Apple posted revenue of $8.16 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.21 billion. These results compare to net quarterly profit of $1.05 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Thats an increase of $0.16 Billion. The best March quarter revenue and earnings in history.

I’m a PC.

Microsoft Corp. announced revenue of $13.65 billion for the third quarter ended March 31, 2009, a 6% decline from the same period of the prior year. Operating income, net income and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $4.44 billion, $2.98 billion and $0.33 per share, which represented an increase of 3% and declines of 32% and 30%, respectively, when compared with the prior year period.

That’s revenue decline of 6% and a decrease in net income of 32%.

Don’t worry PC, Windows 7 is just around the corner.

After Apple’s incredible results yesterday, maybe Steve Ballmer will shut up about Apple. Then again, maybe this is why he won’t shut up about Apple. Microsoft is clearly getting hammered in the mobile phone space by BlackBerry and Apple. In the consumer desktop space, it’s losing market share to Apple. It’s getting walloped online by Google. They do the best with software for business, and when business goes bad these are the results you get.

Gross margin was 36.4 percent, up from 32.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 46 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple sold 2.22 million Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing a three percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 11.01 million iPods during the quarter, representing three percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone units sold were 3.79 million representing 123 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter.

Only a 3% decline in unit sales from last year is amazing, considering the economic environment. Mac Pro sales were weaker year over year due to the economy. (I just bought a new Mac Pro, so for me it’s a big increase from last year!) The iPod Touch more than doubled year over year. Combine that with the iPhone and you have an enormous platform. It also appears unlikely that Apple is going into the Netbook space. Questions about that possibility were answered by pointing out that the iPhone and iPod Touch are great portable computers, but they continue to follow the space.

As for Steve Jobs return they, “look forward to Steve returning to Apple at the end of June.”

Last month I wrote about the reasons for going with the Mac Pro over the new iMac.

The best way to describe my new Quad-core Mac Pro is that it thinks as fast as I can. Okay, maybe not as fast as a human brain, but it’s still very speedy. I like working with lots of programs open at once. I’ll be uploading photos to Flickr, while downloading video from iTunes, writing an email and re-encoding a video file. Doing all this at once will bog many machines down, but not the new Mac Pro. I have yet to see it slow down. The only limiting factor is the speed of the internet (which has nothing to do with my computer). Otherwise it handles everything I can throw at it. Thanks to multi-threading my 4 processors appear as 8 to the software and I have yet to max out more than one or two at a time. Often tasks are spread out over the 8 cores evenly, with 10 to 20% usage.

I went with 8 GB of RAM and that certainly helps with my problem of having a lot of programs open at once. But the funny thing is, I feel less of a need to have many programs open at once because they don’t take very long to open. One icon bounce in the dock and BAM, it’s ready to go. I hated how long it took programs to load on the old iMac, which led me to leave stuff open all the time and consequently slow the machine down even more by having a lot of programs open.

The other thing that really helps with overall speed is to have a lot of empty space on your hard drive. If you’re down to 10-15% free space, you’re going to start running into big problems with slowdown. I have all four hard drive bays filled with two 1 TB and two 500 GB drives.

I reformatted my old iMac with a new install of Leopard and don’t have nearly the number of programs running on it, because it’s going to be my dad’s computer and he doesn’t need all those apps. Since doing that, the iMac now boots up super fast and is very snappy. Interesting that Macs, just like Windows, do seem to slow down as you install more apps and have more stuff running in the background. Not really a surprise, but something to think about if you’re noticing your machine slowing down. Might want to consider a fresh install, after backing up your data of course.

Back in December 2007 I had upgraded to Leopard on the iMac and had problems with GarageBand crashing on initializing. I never did solve the problem and even the new GarageBand does not load on my new Mac Pro. Just hangs during the load and crashes. The Apple forums are filled with posts about GarageBand crashing on startup. I suspect it has to do with my Pro Tools install. If I have a clean install of Leopard and iLife 09, GarageBand loads no problem, but as soon as I import my user data and settings it crashes. I would much rather have all my preferences and data from my old Mac, than have GarageBand work. I could start from scratch, but that would take a whole weekend to sort out. As someone pointed out, you can try going through all your Application Support files and MIDI files, but I’ve already wasted enough time with that. It’s not worth it. So I won’t be using GarageBand.

Aside from GarageBand not working, I am very happy with the Mac Pro and am glad I decided to spend the extra money and get something with some more horsepower than the iMac. I would recommend the Quad-Core to anyone like me who does more with their computer than the average soccer mom or student. The 8-Core is really only for people who are using high-end 3D software or if you need to render HD video, or if you have money burning a hole in your pocket.

Here are some benchmarks and reviews for the 2009 Mac Pros…

Macworld
MacRumors
Engadget

UPDATE…my Garage Band problem with crashing on initializing was due to Propellerhead Software in stalled with my Pro Tools Mbox Mini. The folder contains a bunch of ReWire plugins and if you remove the folder form Username/Application Support and then open Garage Band it works. Thanks to the MacRumors forums for the tip. I haven’t used Garage Band for three years because of this.