Aspyr releases Call of Duty 2 demo

Posted on Jun. 30, ’06, 4:23 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software

What’s better than playing a WWII -themed video game on your Mac? Playing that same game for free. Well, sort of. Aspyr Media has just released a demo of Call of Duty 2, a game which allows you to play as either Russian, British, or American soldiers against Nazis in WWII battlegrounds. The demo, which is also available on BitTorrent, allows you to play a single mission — “The End of the Beginning” — as a British soldier in 1942 North Africa trying to defeat German artillery at the docks. Please keep in mind, though, that Call of Duty 2 has very steep minimum requirements, including a 1.8 GHz G5 or Intel processor, a graphics card with 64MB of VRAM, and 4GB of hard drive space. If you want to know more about Call of Duty 2, you can check out Macworld’s review.

Spurious eBay item of the day: Please buy Alec Baldwin’s iPod. Please?

Posted on Jun. 30, ’06, 10:05 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iPod

What does it take to sell your 20GB 4th generation iPod on eBay? A little celebrity. Currently, for over $78 you can own a little piece of movie history: an iPod that (allegedly) belonged to actor Alec Baldwin. How do we know it’s his? Does it have his name on it?

Well, sort of. “Alec Baldwin” is engraved on the back of the iPod, though I’m not sure Apple really polices its engravings too tightly. Now, I’m an Alec Baldwin fan who has unabashedly proclaimed his love for The Shadow and The Hunt for Red October, but I’m still not certain I feel the need to buy his old MP3 player. Especially if the earbuds are used. The post claims that the iPod contains a selection of Baldwin’s music, including “Flaming Lips, the Doors, and Velvet Underground, along with New York Times and BBC News Podcasts.” So, my question is: did somebody steal Alec Baldwin’s iPod? Or is the actor feeling a little cash-strapped?

In related news, the iPod shuffle jointly owned by Stephen, Billy, and Daniel Baldwin is currently holding at around $5.

[via Defamer]

How to watch the World Cup on your Mac, 3rd Edition

Posted on Jun. 30, ’06, 9:51 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Video

I don’t know if this was available all along, but a reader wrote in with instructions as to how to watch the games via ESPN360 — FOR FREE!

Here’s how:

1) Download Flip4Mac
2) Open up QT, pull down the File menu, and select “Open URL”
3) Enter this address: mms://live.espnevent.espn.com.edgestreams.net/reflector:51921
4) Press play.
5) GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

[A million hat tips: woo]

Update: This feed works fine, without the need of a proxy, reports a friend in France.

The fun never ends: 10.4.7 Update Update

Posted on Jun. 30, ’06, 8:53 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software » Updates

We reported on a host of 10.4.7 problems the other day, and Apple has apparently now backtracked on the update, posting a revised version of the download for Intel-based Macs. What’s the deal? Apple explained the situation thusly:

Mac OS X v10.4.7 was released on Tuesday of this week. The install package that upgrades a Mac OS X v10.4.6 (Intel) system is being revised. The revision is to provide several files related to OpenGL performance that were missing.

Only the package that upgrades a Mac OS X v10.4.6 (Intel) system to Mac OS X v10.4.7 (Intel) is being changed. All other Mac OS X v10.4.7 install packages remain unchanged.

The change being made to the install package does not affect the security fixes provided in the package.

The new package is named: MacOSXUpd10.4.7Intel.dmg
It’s SHA-1 digest is: 10aa57dfccd63accb0939a894cea202a8910fb45

This applies only to the 10.4.6->10.4.7 update for Intel Macs and not the combo installer. MacFixIt has documented a way to check and see if you’ve downloaded the right update. Kind of glad I hadn’t installed the update yet. Sometimes it pays to wait.

[via Macs Only]

The iPod nano: small, beautiful, deadly

Posted on Jun. 30, ’06, 8:12 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Humor

The iPod nano is a marvel of engineering: it’s tiny, lightweight, and it sounds fantastic. But what you don’t know about this miniscule MP3 player could kill you. Eight different ways. From Sunday.

Should you ever find your life in danger, whilst possessing nothing but an iPod nano, McSweeney’s presents eight ways in which you can defend your well-being with Steve Jobs’s favorite music player. The techniques can be used to target everyone from rowdy soccer hooligans to tea lovers.

6. Carefully unstaple a tea bag and pour the contents on a plate. Break into the lithium-ion battery pack and saturate the tea with the battery’s poison, then dry the tea in the sun (or with a hair dryer if you are in a hurry). Put tea back in tea bag and bend the staple back to its original position. Put the tea bag back where you got it.

7. Download to the Nano “We’ve Only Just Begun” by the Carpenters. Tell someone you will give him or her your Nano if they listen to that song a hundred times in a row.

[via The Consumerist]

The future of tab management

Posted on Jun. 30, ’06, 7:35 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Internet

Born out of Google’s Summer of Code, Desmond Elliot has shown his work in a neat little movie. It’s a neat new approach to the problem of tab overflow. Safari, Camino, and NetNewsWire all currently allow a certain number of tabs given a window width, and the rest are overflowed into a menu that one can select from. The problem with this is that the overflow tabs can’t be seen without closing existing tabs.

One has to close those tabs by using a keyboard shortcut or menu item. That’s not a great solution. Further, it makes it harder to move between these tabs quickly because the menu has to be open to know what’s there. Desmond’s solution is allow one to scroll though the tabs using buttons on either side. That’s an elegant solution and far more intuitive than the current implementation. It’s only a matter of time before it’s in Camino, but I want it in Safari (and no, I’m not a fan of the rumored thumbnail tabs a la OmniWeb).

Mark/Space acquires MySync

Posted on Jun. 30, ’06, 6:48 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

I’ve been a little unsatisfied with the level of service that .Mac has been supplying lately. The real blocker has been the syncing component. I love it. I basically bought Yojimbo because of its support for it. MySync aimed to fake the service, allowing you to sync your Macs without subscribing.

I’ve never really played with it because I am an active .Mac member, but it’s always been in the back of my mind as part of a backup plan, should I decide to drop .Mac. Today, it was announced that Mark/Space acquired MySync. Mark/Space, known for their Missing Sync line of products, already has a good amount of experience when it comes to Sync Services. I expect we’ll see a very mature product with full support relatively soon. Hopefully that threat will be enough to force Apple to pick up the slack.

Intel releases 2.33 GHz Core Duo; start the countdown

Posted on Jun. 30, ’06, 6:00 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

One of the unfortunate things for Apple (depending upon how you look at it) as part of the Intel transition is that the current status of their products is highly visible. Apple can’t hide the fact that faster chips are available until the next chosen revision date. Anybody who reads tech news can find out now.

Intel is now offering 2.33 GHz Core Duo processors. When can we expect Apple’s response? I see two options. Apple waits for normal product refresh to integrate the new processors or they stealthily integrate them. The problem with the latter is that it removes a somewhat large part of the anticipation that Apple fans experience when waiting for the next model. The net result could be longer refresh cycles.

I’m on the fence about which is the better policy.

Son of Leopard fakery

Posted on Jun. 29, ’06, 2:46 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Geekery

Haven’t had your fill of fake Leopard yet? Perhaps movies are more your cup of tea. A video that looks to be building on the faux Leopard screenshots posted earlier in the week appeared recently on YouTube. It purportedly demonstrates a tabbed Finder, much like the screenshots.

My comments about the screenshots apply equally to this video. While I think a tabbed Finder would be pretty cool, and I could see Apple putting this into place, I don’t believe this anything other than an elaborate hoax. Still, I’m impressed with the work that they’ve put into it. As with the screenshots, if this was anywhere near legit, Apple would have cease & desisted YouTube into the ground. Also, as one of the commenters points out, Apple does not habitually label their OS as “Pre-releases.”

If only these fauxteurs would use their talents for good instead of stupid.

[via Infinite Loop]

iTunes 6.0.5 and iPod Updater 2006-06-28 out with support for Nike + iPod support

Posted on Jun. 29, ’06, 2:10 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software » Updates

With the Nike + iPod Sport Kit and Nike+ shoes soon on the way, Apple has updated iTunes and iPods to support some of the Nike+ features. iTunes 6.0.5 (also available from Software Update) allows Nike + iPod data to be synchronized between the iPod and iTunes. Also, according to The Unofficial Apple Weblog, iTunes 6.0.5 will be able to access the Nike iTMS content starting when it’s posted on July 18. In addition to the Nike+ features, iTunes 6.0.5 also fixes an issue involving integer overflow vulnerability in AAC encoded files.

In addition to the release of iTunes 6.0.5, iPod Updater 2006-06-28 (also available from Software Update) has come out, which provides Nike + iPod support for the nano, a volume limit setting for the iPod shuffle, and several bug fixes.

[via TUAW (for the iPod Updater)]

Video Skype for Mac out in the wild and very dangerous

Posted on Jun. 29, ’06, 1:51 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software » Updates

Yes, at last, Video Skype for Mac has been released! Well, not quite. Apparently, someone has leaked a very early development version of Skype for Mac 2.0, featuring video, out into the open. Unfortunately, this leaked program is very unstable, and will delete your Skype contacts and other important information. On the bright side, Skype for Mac 2.0 is very close to completion and will be out soon (the image on the right is a screenshot of the developer build).

Trick out Firefox to support your favorite World Cup team

Posted on Jun. 29, ’06, 12:00 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Video

So you’re too cheap to fork over the $5 to watch the World Cup on your Mac? This new Firefox plugin, Joga, might be the next best thing — it updates the scores in a little pop-up window right in your browswer. Plus you can trick out your browser with your favorite team colors.

One Man’s Journey : Leaving OS X for Ubuntu

Posted on Jun. 29, ’06, 11:00 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » Rivals

Most of us mere mortals will probably never abandon OS X for any full-fledged *nix distribution. But Mark Pilgrim is not a mere mortal — he is among the class of élite uber-geeks. (You might remember him from a few months ago — he spoke on Macworld Podcast #31 on Greasemonkey.) This is from the same guy, who, weeks before, had a blog entry in which the concluding question, with 100 percent seriousness, was : “So, to my illustrious audience, I throw out this question: how do you back up 100 GB of data per year for 50 years?”

But this comment is the best reason why most people who might want to dabble in *nix, will probably come back to OS X:

Magritte on a Powerbook

Posted on Jun. 29, ’06, 10:00 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Geekery

This is probably the sweetest laser etching that I’ve ever seen.

PREVIOUSLY: How to get your Powerbook laser-etched ; April 14, 2006

[via MAKE, Hat tip: Aaron Azlant]

Maine schools re-up Mac laptop program

Posted on Jun. 29, ’06, 8:47 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Business

The state of Maine has wisely decided to stick with Apple as the supplier for their statewide laptop plan, beating out a plan to replace the computers with Lenovo Thinkpads, supplied by middleman CDW-G. The plan calls for notebook computers for 32,000 students and 4,000 teachers for a price of around $41 million dollars, or roughly $289/laptop. The original deal, struck in 2002, worked out to about $300/laptop. Also included are upgraded wireless networks.

What I found interesting is that the article claims that the computers will be “iBook notebooks.” Seeing as how you can no longer buy iBooks in the Apple Store, will these be refurbed models? Or possibly ones that Apple had earmarked prior to the phasing out of the line? Or is there a chance that the article is just wrong and they’ll be using MacBooks instead?

One of my cousin’s daughters got an iBook from her school district in upstate New York as part of a similar deal and she loved it. The number of ways in which it let her harness her creativity were really impressive, and I think she may have gone Mac for life.

When you wish upon a star…

Posted on Jun. 29, ’06, 8:05 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software » Updates

Now that the purported Leopard screenshots have been debunked, it’s time to start speculating about what Steve & Co. might have in store for the grand unveiling of Leopard, several weeks hence. Our big brothers over at Macworld are pros at this sort of thing, having covered between them roughly 6,234,539 Apple product launches since 1869. So when Jason Snell, Chris Breen, Philip Michaels, Jim Dalrymple, and Rob “Whatcha talkin’ bout Willis?” Griffiths combine their powers, we get two things: 1) a list of 23 improvements that should be in Leopard and 2) Captain Planet.

The shopping list of features includes such goodies as a redesigned Finder, improved media center experience, tabbed iChat, better Boot Camp support and way way more than I could possibly fit in this tiny paragraph.

For my part, there are a number of features I’d love to see in Leopard, not all of them flashy either. With 10.5 hopefully seeing the light of day before Vista’s out of the gate, now is Apple’s chance to truly leapfrog far ahead of Microsoft. Regardless, whatever everybody’s thinking, you can bet that Apple will drop a couple of surprises that nobody saw coming.

What do you want on your Tombstone to see in Leopard?

Debug your Javascript

Posted on Jun. 29, ’06, 7:23 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Internet

Web developers, Apple has a new toy tool for you. Drosera, named after the largest bug eating plant (clever), allows you to debug Javascript in any WebKit app, as long as its using a very recent build of WebKit (a nightly). Additionally, you’ll need to set a plist parameter for Safari. It also shares a little in common with its brother, Web Inspector.

One of the unique things about Drosera, like the Web Inspector, is that over 90% of it is written in HTML and JavaScript. This is a true testament of what you can do with web technologies today and the rapid development that WebKit allows.

It looks like Drosera could be a very useful tool that may even allow web developers that are having problems deploying their applications to Safari find out a deficiency in either their code, or in Safari’s Javascript implementation (which could be reported). I think this will end up benefiting end users.

Yahoo Messenger 3.0 beta

Posted on Jun. 29, ’06, 6:37 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Yahoo has always been a little weak with their Mac support. While they’ve had a Yahoo Messenger client, its appearance and functionality was lacking. I never warmed up to the service either and there’s only one person that I’ve really ever talked to on it. Even then, I simply used Adium.

Yahoo is really stepping it up a notch with their 3.0 beta. It’s got a great new look, lets you use your Yahoo Avatar, lets you organize buddies by groups, and even has the dreaded “Buzz” feature. Webcam support is still there and Windows Live Messenger interoperability is planned. The bad news is no sign of voice chat support.

On the other hand, the “new look” is actually really good. It uses the Unified look and has a buddy list very reminiscent of iChat, but in my humble opinion, actually looks better. Yahoo seems to have a better grasp on the Mac look and feel, going so far as to make the webcam icon look like an iSight. If you’re a Yahoo Messenger user, it’s worth a download. If you’re not, well, it’s still not good enough to change service.

Speaking of 10.4.7…

Posted on Jun. 29, ’06, 6:04 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Dan asked you if he should install the recent Mac OS X 10.4.7 update on his MacBook. If he uses Firefox, that answer is a yes. I’m still stuck firmly in PowerPC town, so I can’t confirm this on my own, but an unpublicized fix included is one for antialiasing in some applications including the popular browser. You gotta love the fact that these kinds of fixes aren’t in the update description even though it’s likely to improve the experience for many users.

I’ve included the screenshot taken by Dan Benjamin of Hivelogic. As he puts it:

It’s easy to see that fonts rendered in Firefox (and some other apps) on Intel Macs just look wrong. They’re too light and the anti-aliasing isn’t working correctly.

At any rate, anyone noticing this should update straight away.

[via Daring Fireball Linked List]

Quicktime 7.1.2 out

Posted on Jun. 28, ’06, 3:47 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software » Updates

Wooho! Quicktime 7.1.2 is out, which means…a fix to an issue with previewing iDVD projects. Download it from Apple’s site or from Software Update.

Adobe updates Flash Player to 9

Posted on Jun. 28, ’06, 3:00 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Software » Updates

This morning Adobe released Flash Player 9, which is supposedly up to ten times faster than before. Interestingly, however, is that the application is still PowerPC based for the Mac. Adobe seems way too intent on making Mac users wait as long as possible to get their Intel Universal versions of Adobe products. However, I did find this quote on the Adobe support site:

Adobe plans to support the new Intel-based Macs with Flash Player 9, after the initial release of the Windows and PowerPC-based Mac versions. The preview release of Flash Player 8 for Intel-based Macs will then be replaced with a final release version of Flash Player 9 for the platform.

And the Slacker of the Year Award goes to……Adobe!

A Mac’s best friend: the Treo 700p

Posted on Jun. 28, ’06, 2:00 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Hardware

I know there are many people out there like me—people who are looking for the ultimate cell phone. My search has been going on for about a year. I’m just watching, waiting, and wishing for Verizon to offer me something good. And I think that something may have arrived.

If you check out this Macworld review of the new Palm OS Treo 700p, you’ll see that it earns a four mouse rating. Four mice, EvDO data access, Palm OS, qwerty keyboard, large color screen, Bluetooth, camera. This thing really has it all. The most compelling reason for me to buy this phone really boils down to two simple things: EvDO and a Palm-based OS. Let’s break it down.

EvDO allows you to achieve broadband-like data speeds on your cell phone. This is obviously advantageous in any situation, as phone-based download speeds will be fast, but it plays the biggest role when working with Bluetooth. The Treo 700p can connect to your laptop via Bluetooth and serve as an EvDO modem. With this feature, I can have high-speed internet on my laptop (without the purchase of an EvDO Express/Card), anywhere I have (EvDO) cellphone service.

Second: a Palm-based OS is so essential to working with a Mac. The cousin of this phone, the Treo 700w, runs off a Microsoft Windows OS. Need I say more..? Basically, the Treo 700p will sync with my Mac via Bluetooth using iSync, transferring all my contacts, calendars, to-dos, and more. If you so wish, you can even grab The Missing Sync and having expanded functionality with your Mac and Palm device. With The Missing Sync you haven even more control over what syncs to your Palm, including photos and music.

The only down sides to this phone (as far as I can see) are price and size. I stopped by Verizon today to get a hands-on look at the Treo 700p, only to find it wasn’t in the store yet. Anyone have any experience with this great looking phone? I’m very eager to buy one, as soon as Verizon stocks up.

10.4.7 Update Roundup: Changing OS X’s SOCKS? Adobe goes “unsane”? Losing your memory?

Posted on Jun. 28, ’06, 12:27 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software » Updates

Yesterday’s release of the 10.4.7 update seems to have caused some ripples around the web. Hawk Wings is reporting that the updater may change OS X’s SOCKS configuration, thus wreaking havoc with Mail.app’s ability to connect to mail servers. Check out that link for a fix.

Meanwhile, MacFixIt is indicating that some Intel Mac owners who have Unsanity’s Application Enhancer (APE) installed are having trouble launching Adobe Creative Suite 2 apps. The fix for that at the moment seems to be uninstalling APE.

Accelerate Your Macintosh! has seen a couple of readers reporting that installed memory has been “lost” (isn’t registering) after the update is installed. Switching the DIMMs to different slots may help.

One of our own commenters reported massive data loss and network instability.

And, as always, the venerable Macintouch has a slew of reader reports on the 10.4.7 updated process, both successes and problems.

All in all, seems about par for the course for an OS X update. How are you guys doing with 10.4.7? Any issues? Should I go ahead and install on my MacBook?

Apple ranks second on “The Wired 40”

Posted on Jun. 28, ’06, 12:13 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Business

Wired Magazine has released its annual list of “The Wired 40,” companies that are paving the way for the future. What does it take to make it on The Wired 40?

We start by looking for the basics: strategic vision, global reach, killer technology. But that’s not enough. To land a spot on our annual Wired 40 list, a business also needs the X-factor – a hunger for new ideas and an impatience to put them into practice. Such companies inevitably become trendsetters, literally: As we debated and redebated the list this year, six major themes flickered into view. From the rise of peer production to the end of carbon pollution, they tell us where the world is heading.

Apple had garnered the number one spot on 2005’s list, but the company has slipped to number 2 this year, losing the top slot to the monolith that is Google. Still, could be worse. Microsoft ranks in at #36:

The desktop OS gold mine won’t last forever. What’s next? Redmond’s latest to-do list includes software-as-service, security, even VoIP. Or it could simply buy a piece of Yahoo. (Take that, Google!)

Notable omissions from this year’s list include Dell (hard to believe they’ve ever paved anything, aside from the road to hell), and Steve Jobs’s former other company, Pixar (now part of the big happy Disney family).

iTunes 4.9 Anniversary

Posted on Jun. 28, ’06, 11:30 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Music » Podcasting

No one except Wired News seemed to remember that today is the one-year anniversary of iTunes 4.9, Apple’s first official foray into podcasts. I wrote Playlist’s first look when iTunes 4.9 was released, and having been a consumer of podcasts before 4.9, I can say that iTunes just makes it significantly easier. Why would I use a different podcast client and then play them in iTunes?

There are two things that I don’t get about this article:

The launch “was great because it made it easy to get a podcast, but not so good because all the others wasted away,” said [This Week in Tech host Leo Laporte], who notes that 80 percent of his then-200,000 listeners started using iTunes after the launch. “It puts everything in Apple’s hands. That’s a historically bad thing for any technology…. Podcasting was not created by iTunes. It is not reliant on iTunes.”

I don’t understand how this puts anything in Apple’s hands. Apple made it easier to receive podcasts. Why is that a bad thing?

And furthermore, why do all podcasters need to be on the top downloads in iTunes? What happened to podcasting for fun?

New iPods delayed?

Posted on Jun. 28, ’06, 10:33 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | iPod

CNNMoney reports that the next generation of iPods won’t come out until early 2007. Yikes. I was wondering why we haven’t seen any Apple events as of late.

On Wall Street, Apple stock has dipped a bit, reaching its lowest levels since October 2005 — today it’s trading around $55/share.

[Hat tip: Jonathan Seff]

Get your EV-DO here…piping hot EV-DO

Posted on Jun. 28, ’06, 9:28 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

For those of you MacBook Pro users who crave high-speed Internet access where there’s no Wi-Fi, well, you now have options. Last week I mentioned Novatel’s HSDPA ExpressCard, coming this fall, likely to Cingular. If you happen to prefer kicking it Verizon or Spring-style, all is not lost. Dell is releasing (reputedly by the end of the week) a re-branded Novatel card for those providers’ EV-DO networks, featuring speeds of up to an astounding theoretical 2.4Mbps. If only computers ran on theory. And sunshine. Actual speeds will probably be around 500Kbps or 1Mbps—still plenty fast for speed freaks.

There was some concern that there wouldn’t be any Mac drivers available to run this card, but there are reports that the 10.4.7 update does actually support it. As always, you’ll still need to work out a deal with your cell provider, who will probably only be wanting your first, second, and third born children.

[via Engadget]

Apple revs 17” MacBook Pro firmware

Posted on Jun. 28, ’06, 9:03 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software » Updates

Sometimes good things come in small (installer) packages. Apple’s released a firmware update for the 17” MacBook Pro that supposedly “adjusts fan behavior.” For those of you curious as to how I can spin this seemingly innocuous morsel into my usual long-winded narrative, the short answer is: no idea.

Perhaps we’ll see a similar update to deal with the MacBook’s mooing. I’d be interested to hear from 17” MBP owners to see if they’ve noticed any differences since installing the update.

[via MacCentral]

Look! Up in the sky! It’s an… iPod case!

Posted on Jun. 28, ’06, 8:33 AM PT by Jason Snell

Category | iPod

Time was, the biggest movie tie-ins you’d see would be 32-ounce plastic cups at fast-food restaurants. But time marches on, and it probably won’t surprise anyone to discover that the movie tie-in business has reached the world of the iPod.

Yes, XtremeMac is here with their new line of “Superman Returns” iPod cases. For a mere $30 you, too, can have a Pod of Steel.

This isn’t XtremeMac’s first foray into licensed iPod cases. Oh, no. They’ve also got cases featuring Star Wars, Looney Tunes, The Simpsons, Batman, Major League Baseball, and the NBA.

I’d like to scoff at this, but the fact is, if it were a Spider-Man case instead of a Superman model, I’m ashamed to say that I’d actually be pretty excited.

Competition heats up in online music

Posted on Jun. 27, ’06, 3:40 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Music

Yet another addition has surfaced to the vast array of online music stores today. Tower Records launched their online Digital Music Store which sports downloads priced identically to the iTMS ($.99/track or $9.99/album). A few differences, however, are Tower’s utilization of 192kbps encoded files and the Microsoft DRM standard. Yes, that means that these files are not Mac or iPod compatible.

[via iPod Observer]

OS X 10.4.7 now available

Posted on Jun. 27, ’06, 3:12 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple

Says MacCentral:

According to notes provided with both packages, the updates address the same issues. Among the changes, Mac OS X 10.4.7 addresses an issue that prevents AFP deadlocks and dropped connections; saving Adobe and Quark documents to AFP mounted volumes is more reliable; and Bluetooth file transfers, pairing and connecting to a Bluetooth mouse and syncing to mobile phones has been improved.

Aussie journalist makes the switch

Posted on Jun. 27, ’06, 2:19 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Apple

There sure have been enough rumblings in the recent weeks over Apple’s ads, Vista’s remarkable resemblance to OS X, and the future of Leopard. And here comes one more. This time, it’s from down under, and Graeme Philipson sure has an earful to say about Microsoft, and the Mac.

His article starts off with a list of grievances: things like rebooting, reformatting, viruses, Vista delays, greed, and hubris. Slowly but surely, Graeme sees the light of OS X cutting through the haze of countless Windows problems. He seems to be a rebel switcher, a PC user who is so fed up by Windows that Apple looks more and more appealing by the minute. And it’s just like he says:

Applications are becoming embedded on more and more devices. There are more mobile phones than computers on the planet. Information, and information technology, is moving beyond the era of discrete desktop computers towards a supernet of interlinked devices and mini-applications.

Microsoft doesn’t play there, try as it might. Google does. So does Apple.

And so Microsoft loses yet another fraction of their 95% market share. Here’s to hoping Graeme’s Mac experience is just as good as Microsoft’s isn’t.

[via TidBITS Talk via Jason]

A guide to common OS X shortcuts

Posted on Jun. 27, ’06, 11:52 AM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Apple

What’s the largest problem the Windows converts to OS X face? Learning a whole load of new keyboard shortcuts, many of which using keys that don’t even appear on most Windows keyboards (namely the ⌘, or Command key). Well, Apple has a whole page devoted to the variety of OS X keyboard shortcuts, ranging from how to boot from a CD/DVD to making the screen black and white. The guide also has many shortcuts that I didn’t even know of, such as how to turn on Voiceover (which I think I once did by accident).

Microsoft gets serious about digital hub?

Posted on Jun. 27, ’06, 10:34 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Rivals

As the old saying goes, “if you can’t beat ‘em, buy up enough companies until you can.” No doubt feeling a little bit lacking in the digital hub department, Microsoft has snapped up iView Multimedia, makers of MediaPro digital asset management software.

The acquisition is widely seen as Microsoft trying to bolster their case not only against Apple, but also against other rivals, such as Google’s Picasa photo management software. iView Media could be targeted as an iPhoto/Picasa-killer while their high end MediaPro software likely seems positioned to be a competitor to Apple’s Aperture.

iView sells OS X versions of its products, and in a statement on its website, it claims that they will continue to ship the Mac versions of their software.

The Macintosh versions of iView software are great products with a large and loyal user base that is important to Microsoft. As Mac users know, workgroups and teams often include a mixture of users working on both Windows and Mac workstations with a need for a high degree of collaboration.

Microsoft will fully support the existing Mac products, will continue to sell Mac versions of the current iView product line and will offer upgrade pricing to all Mac users of future products that may be available based on the iView products.

Apple’s MagSafe connector pioneered for dangerous cookery?

Posted on Jun. 27, ’06, 9:21 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

We’re not ones to be shy about our love for Apple’s novel magnetic power adapter. Even when it’s catching on fire, it still remains close to our hearts. It appears though, that Apple wasn’t the first company to come up with the utilizing the power of magnets.

A magnetic power connector standard was developed by an independent product safety testing institution, Underwriters Laboratories, which was recommended for all deep friers, fondue pots, and multi-purpose electric pots. The goal was to prevent injuries from spilled hot grease, often caused by children pulling on the cords.

A laudable goal, to be certain. Not being big on the electric fondue (boy, would that be a great name for a band), I’m not certain whether or not this standard has caught on. But I think we can all agree that the power of magnets is certainly scienterific.

[via digg]

Boot Camp MIA in ad?

Posted on Jun. 27, ’06, 8:10 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Advertising

And the plot thickens. Aaron noted that on their web page, Apple eschews their own Boot Camp solution when it comes to recommending how to run Windows on Intel Macs, instead advertising Parallels Desktop.

Now, an astute Mac Observer reader has noticed that Apple has also added a plug for Parallels to one of their new “Get a Mac” ads. The “Touché” spot, which features the Mac explaining that he can run both Windows and OS X, now has fine print stipulating: “Purchase of Windows and Parallels software required.”

So, whither Boot Camp? Conspiracy theorists are speculating that this means that Leopard will feature Parallels-like virtualization software instead of the current Boot Camp model. That may be, but I believe it’s irrelevant to the ad. My explanation is somewhat more mundane: As we noted when Apple launched the “Touché” ad, Boot Camp is still officially unsupported Beta software, whereas Parallels has reached official release status. Given the demographic that they’re targeting (i.e., people who are knew to the Mac), it makes sense for them to plug not only the currently most supported method of running Windows, but also the one that’s probably more attractive to most switchers: the ability to run Windows and Mac apps side-by-side.

Of course, on August 7th, this could all change completely.

And now, a very unfunny rebuttal

Posted on Jun. 27, ’06, 7:34 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Advertising

PC World’s Harry McCracken has written a point-by-point (or is that ad-by-ad?) response to the recent Mac ads. He’s pretty fair and balanced in his analysis, though sometimes he gets a little touchy (generally prefacing with the admission that the bottom-line message is generally true).

I have to wonder though. Is the irony that wafts around the article like thick cigar smoke apparent to him? Apple makes a series of humorous ads about how fun Macs are and how dull PCs are. There are jokes. The tone is light. The PC World Editor in Chief compose a piece, devoid of humor, with line by line analysis, painstakingly trying to get to the truth.

It puts a smile on my face.

Another repair extension program

Posted on Jun. 27, ’06, 7:04 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

The Mac to be fixed du jour is the eMac. Apple has started the eMac Repair Extension Program for Video and Power Issues. Catchy name. They will fix eMacs with serial number ranges:

• G8412xxxxxx - G8520xxxxxx
• YM412xxxxxx - YM520xxxxxx
• VM440xxxxxx - VM516xxxxxx

That exhibit the following issues:

• Scrambled or distorted video
• No video
• No power

And to think, I paid good money to see scrambled video on my Power Mac. What’s that? That’s the iTunes visualizer? Oh. Well, this should help a few Mac fans. If you aren’t having a problem, there’s no need to visit an Apple Authorized repair location.

[via MacCentral]

Gamblers sale on Delicious Library

Posted on Jun. 27, ’06, 6:15 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

The Delicious Monster guys are selling their premiere media cataloging software, Delicious Library, at a discount for a limited time. Here’s the deal:

Every week we are going to reduce the price of Delicious Library by $5. We will keep reducing the price until we sell a secret number of copies that we have set aside, or until four weeks go by. If you wait for the price to go down, you are taking a risk that the sale will end because we sell out! It’s called a “gambler’s sale” because the longer you wait, the more you might save — or you might miss the sale entirely.

Very interesting marketing. I already own a copy, which I love. My only gripe was the price ($40), but with amenities like built-in UPC scanning with your iSight, I couldn’t help myself. I haven’t really regretted the decision either. So what’s your strategy? Are you going to buy it now or stick it out?

[via Daring Fireball Linked List]

Ihnatko: Underused and unappreciated

Posted on Jun. 26, ’06, 4:55 PM PT by Andy Ihnatko

Category | Ihnatko

“Wait… I’ve been using Mac OS X for years; how come nobody’s ever told me about that feature before?”

I hear this lament way too frequently. Someone comes to me with a problem that’s been vexing them forever; I explain how they can solve it in five minutes without buying any extra software. Or I’m setting up for a talk and the overhead projector is already running. The audience notices that I seem to be accomplishing some tasks much, much more quickly than they normally do, and also that I’m not cursing at my Mac so aerobically that it sets off the room’s carbon monoxide alarm.

It’s true that many of Mac OS X’s ginchiest features are neglected middle children, overlooked and underappreciated. Herewith I present The Best Mac OS X Features That Most People Don’t Seem To Use.

A command line index

Posted on Jun. 26, ’06, 4:54 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Geekery

When I first started playing round with OS X’s Terminal, I felt a little lost in all of the Unix commands. I mean, there’s so many, and they can be very hard to remember. So, I was very happy when I “stumbled upon” the Linux BASH command A-Z index (using the awesome Firefox extension, StumbleUpon). Now, while the site does say it’s the Linux BASH command A-Z index, all of the commands can be used in OS X’s Terminal, provided that you’re using bash as the shell (it’s set as the default). So, next time you think that the rm command is for renaming a file (for people who don’t know, rm deletes files without sending them to the Trash first), check out the BASH index.

How to watch the World Cup on your Mac

Posted on Jun. 26, ’06, 3:20 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Video

I posed this question back in the early days of the World Cup — and after exhaustive research (thanks, Aaron!), found that there is a solution of questionable legality: BBCProxy.com.

BBCProxy.com, which is registered to someone in Moscow, seems pretty dubious at best. While the site is designed to look like the BBC site, there remains a disclaimer on the side of the page: “BBCproxy.com is in no way affilated with bbc.co.uk.”

The site gives you access to a proxy server which will successfully allow you to fool the BBC website into thinking that you’re in the U.K. so you can use their video streams that are normally only limited to those living in the U.K. — for the low price of $5 per match, or $30 for the remaining 10 matches. (And yes, the site accepts Paypal.)

Once paid, the site will email out a proxy address and port, and a username and password. Then, the site says that you just have to change the proxy server for your RealPlayer, and while the instructions are for Windows, they’re basically the same for Mac.

After that, the site lists at the bottom of the page what the BBC’s feed address is. Open that up in RealPlayer and you should see something like this :

Airport, eMac, and iSight leave EU Apple Stores

Posted on Jun. 26, ’06, 2:17 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Hardware

As Scott previously mentioned, the online Apple Store has been going down a lot lately. Well, one reason is because eMacs, iSights, and Airport Base Stations have been removed from EU Apple Stores. This removal is due to the fact that the products taken down from the Stores did not comply with the EU’s new environmental laws. In addition to these products leaving the online Apple Store, eMacs, iSights, and Airport Base Stations will no longer be sold in Europe starting June 30. Of course, the removal of these products can also be justified by the fact that they’re outdated and not needed anymore — new eMacs are most likely in development, iSights have been incorporated into all Macs which have screens (my guess is that the next line of Cinema Displays will have built-in iSights), and the Airport Extreme Base Station has already made normal Airport virtually obsolete.

Apple store & discussions down frequently

Posted on Jun. 26, ’06, 1:49 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Internet

Perhaps I simply spend too much time browsing the ever-famous Apple.com, but I’ve noticed something that has come much to my annoyance: unreliability from Apple. In the past three or so days, I’ve cruised over to apple.com/store to check my Order Status, only to find that the store “Will be back shortly.” A few hours later, I point my URL to discussions.apple.com only to find that discussions are “temporarily unavailable,” just as they are now. This has happened far too often recently. What gives Apple? Anyone else noticed this, or do I spend too much time at Apple.com?

Woodcrest arrives, eyes shift to Apple?

Posted on Jun. 26, ’06, 1:23 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Hardware » Intel Macs

Intel released their long awaited and highly anticipated “Woodcrest” server processors today. The processor now goes by the far more attractive name “Dual-Core Intel Xeon 5100,” in case you were wondering. Major features and improvements of the chip include:

• 135% performance increase with a 40% reduction in power consumption over the old Intel server chip
• will ship in speeds up to 3.0GHz with a 1.33 GHz FSB
• 4MB of shared L2 cache
• Advanced Smart Cache lets one core or processor use all the cache memory

Now we must wait. Apple may employ this new chip in an Intel server platform, or in their Mac Pro. Who knows? The same core microarchitecture technology used in the Xeon 5100 will also be employed in the future Intel Core 2 Duo chips rumored to appear in updated notebooks later on.

iWeb “sucks in the way of the worst program you have ever loved”

Posted on Jun. 26, ’06, 11:46 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software

Normally, a review of a six month old product wouldn’t be big news…and it’s not, really. But Ars Technica’s Charles Jade is no ordinary reviewer. Jade puts iWeb 1.1.infinity (as he calls it) through its paces, pointing out the good, the bad, and especially the tremendously ugly.

In the Internet Epoch, anyone can tell their story, but it’s not as simple as breaking out the charcoal sticks and berry paint. For the technically declined, grappling with an endless stream of uppercase letters—HTML, MP3, PHP, SQL, FTP—makes for an apathy-inducing experience at best. And while there are WYSIWYG web publishing tools, the number of end-to-end solutions that can create a media-rich experience of a “day in the life” and that use a lowercase “i” in the title are few indeed[…]

The answer is in the using, the first person-pronoun symbolized by the “i” in the title, and as an actual iWeb user I can definitively say iWeb is better than a cave wall. How much better depends largely on your point of iView.

As a former web developer, I have to say that I appreciate a good WYSIWYG editor, but it’ll never supplant hand-coding for me. Beginners may find iWeb a good way to get started in web design, though I imagine that many will quickly outgrow its capabilities.

AppleDefects dogs “lap” suggestion; Apple backpedals

Posted on Jun. 26, ’06, 10:38 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

When I was a kid, I was mystified by the idea that your lap disappears when you stand up. I mean, where did it go? Now that I’m an adult, I’ve moved on to other little questions of the universe, like driving on parkways and parking on driveways. I’ve grown, you see.

Apple’s at an age where they’ve stopped thinking about laps too. The company had excised most references to “laptop” computers, replacing it with the term “notebook.” Why? Well, the current crop of Apple portables run hot enough that putting them on your lap for a significant amount of time was not advisable. In fact, Apple’s own documentation for the MacBook is very particular that you should not leave the bottom of the computer in contact with your lap, or any place else on your body, for prolonged periods of time.

Unfortunately, it appears that Apple missed a spot on their student page that suggested you can use your computer on your lap. Since that was caught by website AppleDefects.com, Apple has apparently backpedaled and corrected their text, which now reads “Anywhere you want” instead of “On your lap.”

This, of course, raises the question: what if I want to put it on my lap?

[via Digg]

Hon Hai admits wrongdoing in “iPod city”

Posted on Jun. 26, ’06, 10:03 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » News

After loudly declaring the falsity of allegations that laborers at iPod assembly plants are treated unfairly, Hon Hai (aka Foxconn) has now come forward to admit that, well, that’s kind of the case.

It turns out that workers at the plant are forced to work an extra 80 hours every month, in clear violation of China’s labor laws, which set an upper limit of 36 extra hours per month. Some of the “confusion” may have resulted from the fact that Foxconn claims to pay the workers at least the minimum mandated by the local government.

Gee, glad we cleared that up. Why the heck is it like pulling teeth to get the truth out of companies? Just once I’d like to see a company correct a problem before the media gets a hold of it. Perhaps that’s a pipe dream.

[via Engadget]

WWDC Keynote to be hosted by Stevie “Wonder” Jobs

Posted on Jun. 26, ’06, 8:11 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Events

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines. We kind of knew this was coming, but it’s always good to get the ol’ official confirmation. And after this past week’s Leopard screenshot fakery, I’d have to guess people are waiting for the real thing with mouths adrool. So, wait no more:

Apple on Monday announced that CEO Steve Jobs and other executives will provide a preview of the company’s forthcoming Mac OS X “Leopard” release at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). The executive team will give the demo at a keynote presentation scheduled for 10:00 AM Pacific Time on Monday, August 7, 2006. WWDC takes place from August 7 - 11, 2006 in San Francisco, Calif.

Jobs will be joined by Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing; Bertrand Serlet, senior vice president of Software Engineering; and Scott Forstall, vice president of Platform Experience.

So, only six weeks to go. Plenty of time to fill up with predictions, arguments, and name-calling. Get to it!

Blinking lights of death (BLOD)

Posted on Jun. 26, ’06, 7:54 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | iPod

Apparently, hacking away at your iPod shuffle with a screwdriver is not the only way to kill it. Sometimes they die on their own. Your iPod shuffle may start signaling in an altered morse code. Instead of •••—-••• for SOS, it’ll blink with alternating green and amber lights.

“It just happened out of nowhere,” says Hunniford, a physics student at Simon Fraser University. Instead of his favorite songs, he got the alternating green and amber LEDs flashing on the front of his Shuffle when he pressed any button. The unit had worked the moment before, he says.

You won’t like iPod shuffle when you make him angry.