Critique of Apple’s “Get a Mac” campaign

Posted on Jul. 31, ’06, 2:26 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Apple » Advertising

Some are beginning to question the quality and effectiveness of Apple’s “Get a Mac” advertising campaign. Brandon Watts of OSWeekly.com has taken a look at Apple’s newest round of ads, saying that their simplicity makes them perhaps too easy to parody. He also says:

There’s no doubt that this ad campaign is interesting due to its simplicity and approach. Of course, you can’t just expect Microsoft to sit still and let these messages go in one ear and out the other. In an effort to give Apple a taste of its own medicine, Microsoft recently signed a deal with the enormously talented comedian Demetri Martin to have him star in a marketing campaign for Windows Vista. It sounds like Microsoft is also trying to take a fresh approach to how they advertise their upcoming OS, and I’m hoping for some healthy competition from their side, as well. It’s your move, Microsoft.

More iPod/iTMS pressure from…Verizon?

Posted on Jul. 31, ’06, 1:43 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Music

This afternoon I was greeted by a lovely email from Verizon Wireless, informing me of two things. The first was that “everybody loves chocolate,” and the second was “The LG Chocolate is here!” Now, what exactly could this mean? Well, the picture reveals all.

Verizon, in partnership with phone manufacturer LG, has introduced a new cell phone titled “Chocolate.” This phone may be the closest anyone has ever come to producing an iPhone. A brief list of highlighted features includes: expandable memory (up to 2 GB, 1000 songs), touch sensitive click-wheel-like controls, slide-out number pad for dialing, 1.3 megapixel camera, and Bluetooth. Sounds pretty normal, right? Well here’s where it gets competitive.

The phone has wireless access to Verizon’s VCAST network, allowing download of songs for $1.99 and thousands of other digital media clips. Additionally, users can download songs from their computer to the device for only $.99. Of course, users can also transfer any MP3 or WMA music files they already own. The phone also includes GPS-like software called VZNavigator, which gives real-time directions and maps. All this for $150 with a new 2-year contract. The competition sure is heating up for Apple.

SIGGRAPH ‘06: In which the author gets his podcast on

Posted on Jul. 31, ’06, 1:03 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Music » Podcasting

A close friend of mine is working at SIGGRAPH, helping give a workshop about video podcasting. Intrigued, I decided to attend. I know Cyrus is our resident podcastologist, but I’ve dabbled in audio and video before (what we called, in my day, the A/V).

The workshop fortunately was a Mac stronghold. There were about ten MacBook Pros, and a similar number of 60GB 5G iPods available. Rather than just recording our video with the built-in iSights (where’s the fun in that?) we assembled a slideshow of teapots in Keynote to which we added audio accompaniment via iMovie. For those of you wondering about teapots, they are sort of the ur-object for computer graphics (see Utah teapot). I like the idea of using pictures for video podcasts rather than just your standard talking heads. I’d upload mine but I don’t want to show off.

One odd quirk that my friend mentioned to me: though you might think GarageBand is the ideal programming for constructing a video podcast, it’s apparently unable to export video in an iPod-compatible format. The video will play in iTunes, though. Can anyone back this up?

Finally, AAPL gets back in the game

Posted on Jul. 31, ’06, 1:01 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Business

After quite a while of hovering around the high 50’s and low 60’s, it’s seems that Apple Computer may once again be on the rise on Wallstreet. Apple’s current $68 per share price comes partially as a result of an analyst’s upgrade of the company.

Keith Bachman, an analyst at Bank of America, claimed today that a strong demand for Apple’s MacBook computer and a possible upgrade of the iPod nano later in the year earn Apple a “buy” rating and target price of $79. Bachman noted, however, that he was not taking the possibility of an iPhone into consideration, which he expects to be introduced in 2007.

Working for Apple

Posted on Jul. 31, ’06, 11:50 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » Stores

What happens when one day you wake up and find out that all of your friends are working for Apple?

David Cohn, a New York City journalist, wonders:

At one point I could name 15 people who worked at the Apple store at the Grove, just off the top of my head. I can still name a few, and I can also spout off the names of friends who work at Apple stores in Century City, The Beverly Center, and the store on 5th avenue in New York.

Yesterday I had problems with my charger and being in LA, I head to the Century City store where I was greeted by three good friends from high school. We were able to shoot the shit and I was able to get good service. Believe me, this post isn’t complaining that all my friends work at the Apple store, I find it rather cool to walk into the store to get big smiles, hugs etc. But there is something about the whole ‘all of my friends work this one corporation,’ that leaves me puzzled.

Apple seems to higher in clusters. Obviously there is a bit of recommendations flying around, which happens in any business, but I wonder if their hiring clusters are statistically significant? How is it that all of my friends got hired?

How does Apple decide what hipster group they are going to attach themselves too? Why did my group of friends get labeled as a perfect group of Apple employees and how did Apple slowly convince all my friends to work there? Isn’t it odd not only that Apple wanted to hire all my friends and that all my friends in turn were happy to work for Apple? It’s as if Apple is a cult that demands you to give it money in return for false beliefs that they are the sole proprietor of some futuristic product….oh, right. My point, however, stands — it seems strange that one corporation would hire so many people that I know to work retail for them.

SIGGRAPH ‘06: The eternal battle between dark and light

Posted on Jul. 31, ’06, 10:50 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Huh?

Despite the old chestnut that Macs are superior to PCs for graphic work, there are plenty of the latter at SIGGRAPH. I’d say that the breakdown so far goes somewhere between 50-50 and 60-40, favoring PCs. That includes both the attendees with laptops as well as the computer hardware behind a lot of the presentations. There’s really no doubt that it’s still a Windows world though, especially as I come across the day-to-day realities: a screen in SIGGRAPH’s Guerilla Studio prominently asking if this is a legitimate copy of Windows, for example, or a crash on an otherwise impressive-looking touchscreen interface that yielded the familiar “this program has encountered an error and needs to close” dialog box.

Most surprisingly, though, is that Apple does not have a presence on the show floor. While the exhibition doesn’t open until tomorrow, a quick perusal of exhibitor list shows Microsoft, Google, HP, and others. I wonder if it’s because the use of Macs in this arena is simply a foregone conclusion or if it’s another sign that Apple prefers events in which it’s the big fish.

Audio Hijack Pro update simplifies chat recording

Posted on Jul. 31, ’06, 9:38 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Software » Updates

I’m glad to see that Rogue Ameoba is still keeping on top of things. Today, they’ve just updated Audio Hijack Pro, a program I rely on frequently when I need to capture audio from Skype. As someone who’s used it since the early days of podcasting, I can say that it’s gotten a lot better and simpler to use. So, fellas, keep up the good work.

On hold, but no Muzak

Posted on Jul. 31, ’06, 8:42 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

So, you may recall that I sent my MacBook in last week to get repaired for its mysterious shutdown curse. The Genius at the store quoted me a one week turnaround time for my computer—a week that has now come and gone.

I’ve been keeping abreast of my MacBook’s progress via Apple’s support website, but ever since they recieved it (on the 25th), the status has been locked at “On hold - Part on order.” On order? From whom? You’re Apple. All attempts at humor aside, I have to imagine they’re actually awaiting a part from the manufacturer, but the fact that the delay has been almost a week makes me wonder how widespread this problem is. Revisiting the original Apple discussion board thread reveals that I’m not alone in my “on order” delay, leading me to believe the either a) they were not experiencing a lot of this problem, thus did not have a sufficient stock of parts or b) their backlog has been depleted by having to replace a lot of these parts. Of course, it could always be c) I have no idea what’s going on. Yeah, that’s a distinct possibility.

SIGGRAPH ‘06: Welcome to the jungle

Posted on Jul. 31, ’06, 8:02 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Geekery

Good morning, dear readers. It’s a beautiful day at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center where I am coming to you live from SIGGRAPH 2006. For those of you not familiar with the event, it’s probably the largest conference/exhibition in the world devoted to computer graphics. The show itself is sponsored by ACM SIGGRAPH, a membership organization of computer graphics enthusiasts. This year’s show is anticipating 25,000 attendees from six continents—in a last minute switch, all of North America’s participants have been replaced by Antarctic penguins.

Anyway, I’ll be here most of the week bringing you the show highlights: the cool, the hot, the room temperature, so keep an eye out. I’ll be using a special code to denote related postings, so if you see the cryptic phrase “SIGGRAPH ‘06” in the headline, you can bet that it has something to do with, you know, fish.

Flying windows screensaver on a Mac? Oh yes

Posted on Jul. 31, ’06, 7:50 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Cool screensavers have been a way to show off since the days of After Dark (the original cool version). Fenêtres Volantes just might be the way to have the coolest screensaver in the office.

I’m not talking about the flying Windows screensaver. It takes your currently open windows, and makes them twist and fly around your desktop. They even fly back into place when you start using your computer again. It’s even freeware.

[via Digg]

The Perfect Storm

Posted on Jul. 31, ’06, 6:41 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Business

David Morgenstern of eWeek is predicting a “perfect storm” of Apple sales. In particular, he’s noting that because Macs can now run Windows, the Wintel base can feel safer when buying a Mac. It’s also changed the public perception.

With Vista missing the holiday and back-to-school seasons, many customers are buying Macs. A family in my neighborhood has been all PC since the PC XT. But the eldest son is going off to college and says he wants a Mac. It’s the vanguard of a new generation gap. He’s never owned a Mac but he’s gotta have one—a good sign for Apple.

Microsoft is helping the situation with repeated delays. I’m guessing the marketing tagline will end being “Wait for it.” He’s also betting on added security and improved digital media handling keeping new Mac users in Mac OS X, using Windows less and less.

Finally, he points out the fact that commodity PC manufacturers focus on the low end of the market while Apple focuses on performance at a higher cost. That’s the market to be in. The low margin game is a loser. The real money is in users that seek real performance.

[via Slashdot]

MacBook Pro battery recall

Posted on Jul. 30, ’06, 11:10 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

It’s not a total recall, but a series of batteries will be replaced at no cost to the owners as part of the 15-inch MacBook Pro Battery Exchange Program. The batteries are perfectly safe to use, they just won’t last as long as the replacement. The winning serial numbers are:

The affected batteries have model number A1175 and a 12-digit serial number that ends with U7SA, U7SB or U7SC.

Did you win? I hadn’t read about any MacBook Pro battery issues prior to this, so it’s good to see Apple being proactive. I just hope that by the time the Mac Pro is released (in one week, fingers crossed) it’s ready and won’t have the myriad of issues the MacBooks have had.

EDIT: Uhhh… of course I read this site. Sorry I forgot Dan. I read your stuff. Really. I swear.

Kip, your digital filing cabinet

Posted on Jul. 29, ’06, 8:57 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Lately, I’ve been filing nearly all my data into Yojimbo. It’s been working great, so much so that I feel like I want to put every one of my documents in it. kip takes it a step further and I’m liking the improvements that it builds in.

Kip is described as iPhoto for PDFs. You add your PDFs to kip and it allows you to add tags, notes, change the creation date, and even author. It also synchronizes your data to .Mac for easy access. Because it stores the files straight into the file system and doesn’t use a database, they’re accessible in the Finder, albeit without all that cool metadata.

Inside kip, it reminds you of how much space is left on your iDisk, lets you browse tagged documents (with some neat hover effects), and even take a close look at the thumbnail listings by showing a small magnified portion as you move the pointer around (it has to be seen to be truly appreciated). The current version (1.0.1) is free, but the next version will not be, so check it out now.

Dear aunt, let’s set so double the killer delete select all

Posted on Jul. 29, ’06, 3:58 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Rivals

I nearly peed myself watching a Microsoft demonstration of its speech recognition software. First we had “all your base are belong to us”, then “a series of tubes”. Now the new geeky comedic phrase of choice is “Dear aunt, let’s set so double the killer delete select all.”

You’re going to laugh yourself silly when you find out exactly what the the Microsoft guy said to get that output. Bonus comedy includes when he gets snippy and says “I’m glad you’re enjoying this.” I know I sure did.

[via Slashdot]

ICeCoffEE now Universal

Posted on Jul. 29, ’06, 3:37 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

One of the most underutilized features of Mac OS X is its Services. Make a selection and instantly whatever you selected can be acted upon by other applications by selecting the action from application menu -> Services -> action/appliction -> action. Right there is the reason it is so neglected by users. By the time you’ve gone up to the menu bar and navigated down to the action you want, you’ve lost most of the time you gained by using the service.

ICeCoffEE, which as of the recently released 1.4.3 version is a Universal Binary, was primarily written so that by command-clicking on text that is a URL, but not a link, will open in your web browser. However, it includes two ways to make Services more accessible. You can put it into the context menu for text, or in the menu bar. With a 12” Powerbook, my menu bar real estate is at a premium. Naturally, I don’t use it there. It’s right at home in my context menu though.

And don’t forget it’s free.

What is Google hiding?

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 5:12 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Internet

A UK developer and blog writer by the name of Tony Ruscoe has discovered some of Google’s deep, dark secrets. He sniffed through some of Google’s URLs and came across one of note: sandbox.google.com. This page contains a Google Checkout service, but it’s not actually the real Google service. Instead it’s some kind of internal testing page.

Via Tony’s account he created on the testing Google Checkout service, he discovered and subsequently added several unreleased Google services. For a complete list, see Tony’s site, but some of the more promising services include: Google Guess, Google Writely, and Google WiFi. Whatever could these be, and what could their launch mean for Apple (who seems to be becoming increasingly threatened by Google)?

[via Google Blogoscoped]

Macworld Podcast: David Pogue hijacks the show

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 5:00 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Music » Podcasting

Irrepressible New York Times technology columnist David Pogue returns to his Macworld roots as he pays a visit to another ocean-bound edition of the Macworld Podcast. Long-time Macworld readers will remember David as the back-page columnist for the magazine—maybe he can regain control of that page in the same way he tries to hijack hosting duties on this podcast.

Like me (Christopher Breen), David is a presenter on the MacMania 4.5 cruise. We talk about his sessions on the cruise and his recent review of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9.0. And we also receive a special visit from Pogue 2.0, David’s son.

Download Podcast #47

• AAC version (5.6MB, 12 minutes)

• MP3 version (2.8MB, 12 minutes)

Review : Sid Meier’s Civilization IV

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 3:00 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Games

As I promised you 11 days ago, my full review of Civilization IV is now available at Macworld.com.

I gave it a rating of .

Now, who wants to take me on?

Hi-Def video coming soon to iPod

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 2:22 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | iPod

iPod accessory manufacturer ATO is planning to make an accessory for the iPod which will allow you to play high definition video. The accessory, modeled after their similar iSee 360, is a sleeve which the iPod plugs into, providing a LCD screen and five hours of battery life.

iSee HD (as it will be called) will partition your iPod’s hard drive and store its HD videos there. The player should be able to handle MPEG-4, DivX, HD.264 and several other formats. Who knows though, by the time the iSee HD is released (5 months from now) Apple may have beaten ATO to the punch with a new video iPod. Hey, I can always hope, right?

[via CNET UK]

Apple spokeswoman confirms misquote

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 1:58 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | iPod

Two days ago Dan reported on Logan’s Run an Apple slip in the Chicago Tribune that claimed “an iPod is designed to last four years.” There was some speculation that this was obviously a misquote, and today that has been confirmed.

Natalie Kerris (the spokeswoman quoted in the article) has confirmed to iLounge that she was misquoted. She claims she told the Tribune reporter that “an iPod was designed to last for years.” Sounds like a bunch of careless English to me.

Parts of French ‘iPod Law’ Struck Down

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 1:16 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Legal

Remember that iPod law that the French National Assembly passed some time ago? Well, their Constitutional Council has struck down parts of it. Says the IHT:

Apple’s lawyers might want to drink a glass of French Champagne today, but not a whole bottle,” said Dominique Ménard, a partner at the Lovells law firm and a specialist in intellectual property. “The Constitutional Council has highlighted fundamental protections for intellectual property in such a way as to put iTunes a little further from risk of the French law.”

Released late Thursday, the council’s 12-page legal finding made frequent reference to the 1789 Declaration on Human Rights and concluded that the iPod law violated the constitutional protections of property.

In particular, the council eliminated reduced fines for file sharing and said companies could not be forced, without compensation, to make music sold online compatible with any music device.

The law, which had been approved by the French Senate and National Assembly last month, was brought for review by the council following the demand of more than 100 members of the National Assembly. The council’s review of whether the law fits within the French Constitution’s framework is one of the final steps before a law is promulgated. Now it could take effect as altered by the council, or the government could bring it once more before the Parliament.

Your iPod will be wet no more

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 1:12 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | iPod

While this may look like a hoax someone whipped together in iMovie, it most certainly is not. MAKE your own iBrella today!

Macworld Podcast: Cruisin’ with Chris Breen

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 12:00 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Music » Podcasting

The Macworld Podcast returns to the high seas—the Western Mediterranean, in this case—with a guest host. I’m (Christopher Breen) filling in for regular podcast host Cyrus Farivar, as I hitch a ride aboard the ms Noordam for MacMania 4.5. For this special edition of the Macworld Podcast, I spend some time with one of my fellow MacMania presenters, AppleScript and Automator project manager Sal Soghoian.

Long-time listeners will realize that this is Sal’s second visit to the Macworld Podcast; Cyrus first interviewed him back in Macworld Podcast #15. Sal’s back to talk about AppleScripting and OS X’s Automator automation feature; we also chat about some highlights of the MacMania cruise since the ship departed from Rome.

Download Episode #46

• AAC version (11.2MB, 24 minutes)

• MP3 version (5.5MB, 24 minutes)

[Chris Breen will have another Macworld Podcast with David Pogue, live and pre-recorded from the ms Noordam later today. — C.F.]

Running the AIM BudgetBot on your Mac

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 11:33 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Geekery

Ever since I heard about the AIM BudgetBot, I knew I wanted to install it on my media server at home, which is online all the time. Yesterday after I got home from work, I installed the file onto my Mac. Not knowing much about Perl, it took me a few tries to get it to work, but here’s what I did.

You can follow most of the instructions as they’re written.

However, where it says

my $budgetscript = 'c:/path/to/your/budget/script/budget.pl';

Obviously these are instructions for a PC crowd. So to Macify this path, change the C:/ nonsense to this:

my $budgetscript = '/Users/username/fixedbbot/budget.pl';

Make sure that your fixedbbot directory exists on your startup volume. If not, change /Users/username/etc/budget.pl to /Volumes/DriveName/Users/username/etc/budget.pl.

Finally, where Lifehacker says:

To start the BudgetBot, at the command line type ./budgetbot.pl. If you’ve taken care of business, your BudgetBot should now be online.

You need to open the budgetbot.pl file in BBEdit or its free cousin, TextWrangler. From there, click the #! pull-down menu and choose “Run in Terminal.”

If all goes well, you should be in business. Try texting your bot from your cell phone and see what happens.

The Dell, the Dell, the Dell is on fire

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 11:02 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Rivals

Catch on fire once, shame on you. Catch on fire twice, shame on…well, I’m going to say you again. Look, Dell, we know you really want to prove that your laptops are—how you say—en fuego, but this really isn’t the way to do it.

For the second time this year, a Dell laptop has unceremoniously ignited. This time, though, the victims happened to be IT pros with a 7.2 megapixel digital camera on hand. Meaning: hi-res pics.

Suddenly, Apple’s Quality Assurance problems seem pretty tame. Sure, the MacBook Pro’s a little bit too warm to rest comfortably on your lap. But it doesn’t trigger your smoke detectors or burn through the casing. Of course, Michael Dell will probably try to spin this in his company’s favor: “You see, we don’t see Apple as competition in the setting our users on fire department. The numbers don’t lie.”

[via The Consumerist]

Update: The Tom’s Hardware link appears to be down, but the pictures are also available at The Consumerist, above.

Graphic: Macs for the Masses

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 11:00 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » People

Although it’s a little old, this site neatly outlines in an easy-to-understand graphic how Apple prices various items in its product line to reach a “sweet spot.”

Keep your friends close, but your dust caps closer

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 9:23 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Tips

Sometimes the best solutions are decidedly low tech. Apple products in past years have increasingly included dust caps: little plastic tops that snap onto the ends of cables to keep them dust-free and protected. But these tops are tiny and often translucent, which means that once dropped they can be as hard to find as contact lenses.

Mac OS X Hints reader c8h10n4o2 has come up with an ingenious MacGyver-like solution for keeping track of these little fellows: tie them to the cable with dental floss. Brilliant! I’ve been keeping close tabs on my MacBook’s MagSafe dust cap for weeks now by making sure to always put it in the same pocket in my bag, but this idea is so much more convenient. Not only is dental floss resilient, but if you use the mint variety it’ll keep your power cable smelling fresh and clean. Plus, if you ever get something in your teeth while working, well, you’ll never be far from some floss.

E! TV Shows added to iTunes

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 9:14 AM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | iTunes » iTunes Store

Well, it seems that Apple has added another network to its iTunes TV Show roster, E! Th E! shows now on iTMS include The Girls Next Door, The Soup, the documentary series Dr. 90210, and, even though I wish it weren’t so, The Simple Life, starring my two most favorite celebrities in the world, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. It’s great to see that Apple is further expanding the TV Shows on iTMS, but why oh why couldn’t they just keep Paris Hilton out!

[via Infinite Loop]

Newton KOs UMPC in 8 rounds

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 8:48 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

When Microsoft/Intel’s Ultramobile PC platform (aka Origami) debuted earlier in the year, there were certainly a number of people who thought “wait a second…didn’t Apple try this 10 years ago with the Newton?” CNet UK evidently decided so, so they whipped up an eight round bout between Samsung’s Q1 UMPC and the Newton MessagePad 2000. And despite the MessagePad’s age, and the number of hits it took from the younger Q1, it delivered a devastating knockout in the form of price and battery life.

There are, of course, plenty of Newton devotees still out there (our own Andy Ihnatko, for example) and the platform is alive and…well, it’s alive anyway. I like the idea of a mobile PC that’s smaller than my laptop, and after the CNet piece, I’m tempted to snag myself a MessagePad 2000 on eBay. Then again, might Apple revisit this concept? It was Steve Jobs who killed the Newton, but the recent patent filings of the touchless iPod interface still make me wonder.

[via digg]

Moo money, moo problems

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 8:04 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

Apple’s been on a big admission streak lately, with the AppleCare articles about the MacBook Pro whine and the MacBook discoloration, but there are always other problems. Take, for example, the mooing MacBooks (you may recall that I was relieved to learn that my MacBook was not possessed by the spirit of a zombie).

MacUser reader (and MacBook owner) Jon Smith was annoyed enough that he set out to accomplish two things: 1) for the short term, develop a way to stop the fan from mooing and 2) get Apple to acknowledge the problem and fix it more permanently. He’s succeeded in the first, and is well underway with the second. Jon’s MooFix.com site features a Dashbaord widget that can stop the mooing by raising the CPU temperature slightly, thus kicking on the fans full time instead of intermittently. While he admits this is rather “a crude solution,” he’s also started a petition for Apple that they fix the mooing problem with a firmware update.

So MacBook owners, if you’re looking to solve the problem of errant livestock entrapped within your notebook, give MooFix a shot. And as for Apple’s participation, well, let’s hope their guilty conscience days aren’t over yet.

Choosing the Mac for you

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 7:13 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

Macworld Editor and fellow forums moderator Rob Griffiths has written about the right Mac for you. This is one of the most common questions in the forums. Add in the new Intel Macs, the imminent Mac Pro, and the school year fast approaching, some people really aren’t sure what to get.

Despite all the specs, it’s still a personal thing.

So now assume your friend tells you all of the above, and then asks which car to buy. Now you might have a few recommendations, but I bet that all of them would end with the same general advice: “You need to go look at and drive each of these vehicles to see if they really do meet your needs.” Nobody would blindly purchase a car they’d never seen or driven, based solely on the recommendation of a friend. And in that observation lies my answer to the question of which Mac someone should buy.

With the proliferation of Apple Stores, this is easier than ever. For latops, errr notebook, this is doubly true. You can play with your ruler all you want, but you can’t get a feel for one without touching it. Rob breaks it all down exhaustively, so check it out if you’re in the market.

Flip4Mac released publicly as Universal Binary

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 5:38 AM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software » Updates

After a while of waiting, Flip4Mac has finally been publicly released as a Universal Binary. In addition to being Universal, Flip4Mac 2.1 also adds significant export optimizations to PowerPC Macs, multi language audio support in player, and also fixed encode errors when the audio bit rate is higher than the video bit rate. Flip4Mac Player is still available for free.

Ellen Feiss interview

Posted on Jul. 28, ’06, 5:07 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » People

Ellen Feiss, geological star of an infamous Apple ad, was recently in a French movie. She did an interview for the Flux podcast.

Ellen Feiss, from Apple’s switch campaign, joins us from France, to talk about her role in the short film “Bed and Breakfast,” and her future plans.

Cool, now Apple just needs to do the right thing and make the film available for rental.

[via MacMinute]

Memo to Intel: This Internet thing is going to be HUGE!

Posted on Jul. 27, ’06, 4:30 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Hardware » Intel Macs

Editorial Director Jason Snell, in The Mac Word, on going to an Intel event:

One odd thing I noticed about Intel’s marketing was the heavy spin they put on the growth of the Internet. Essentially, Intel executives were suggesting that the growth of the adoption of the Internet by regular people will require fast computers powered by the Core 2 Duo processor. Although it’s a very easy picture to paint, I don’t really buy it: there’s nothing fundamental about the Internet that requires computers with a speedy new Intel chip inside. Rather, it’s the growth of rich digital media, like high-definition video, high-resolution digital photos, and ever-improving 3-D video games that will drive these new, ultra-fast computers. Intel executives mentioned most of that during the presentation, but kept falling back on charts showing the growth of the Internet. It felt very 1999 to me.

PCWorld.com redesign

Posted on Jul. 27, ’06, 3:58 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Business

Our sister publication, PC World, just launched a major redesign of their website today. Check out the Mac section here. (Psst, Editor-In-Chief Harry McCracken prefers Macs!)

Vista is trying to Mac the PC

Posted on Jul. 27, ’06, 3:20 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Apple » Rivals

While we still wait for Microsoft to decide that Vista is ready, there comes more news of a future makeover for PCs everywhere. It seems that Microsoft has realized black/beige plastic boxes don’t impress:

Microsoft feels the PC world needs a major face-lift, and one way to do it is through better integration of software and hardware. No one does that more effectively than Apple Computer (AAPL), and the folks in Redmond may be worried that their resurgent rival is getting too much traction in the race to dominate the digital home.

So Microsoft has been working on that problem with a team of 20 designers for the past 18 months. Their brilliant $6 billion solution employs:

“accelerated curves” and “purposeful contrast.” The preferred colors include a shade of black called Obsidian and a translucent white dubbed Ice. “We want people to fall in love with their PCs, not to simply use them to be productive and successful,” reads the enclosed booklet. “We want PCs to be objects of pure desire.”

Good luck on that one MS. My hopes are with you. Really they are. I just can’t wait for a square-Windows-running-computer-box-that-crashes. You might even say that I purely desire one.

[via BusinessWeek]

Macify your Firefox

Posted on Jul. 27, ’06, 2:55 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Internet

I just came across this sweet Firefox theme, called, Brushed, which makes Firefox more Mac-like. It’s the only Firefox theme that I’ve actually liked.

Microsoft: Vista will ship “when it’s ready”

Posted on Jul. 27, ’06, 2:00 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » Rivals

IDG News Service:

Microsoft continues to give itself room to further delay the release of Windows Vista. At its annual Financial Analyst Meeting on Thursday, Kevin Johnson, co-president of Microsoft’s Platforms & Services Division, said that while Vista development remains on track for now, Microsoft won’t ship the OS until the company thinks it’s ready.

“There is no data that says we’re not going to make the November business availability,” Johnson said, speaking to analysts and media on Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington, campus. However, he said that the company continues to evaluate Vista “milestone by milestone” and will ship the product “when it’s ready” rather than according to a hard and fast schedule.

Microsoft has said Vista will be available to business customers through volume licensing in November, with consumers getting the OS in January 2007. However, in reports following Microsoft’s fourth-quarter earnings call last week, some financial analysts wrote that they are already counting on Vista’s consumer release to slip further into 2007 and have adjusted their earnings projections to reflect this prediction.

That said, Johnson said the next milestone for Vista, Release Candidate 1, should be available before the end of September.

The operative word, of course, is should.

PREVIOUSLY: Bill Gates got served; July 15, 2006

Stressed? Try some iYoga.

Posted on Jul. 27, ’06, 1:33 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Software

Most pieces of 3rd party software aren’t big or important enough to make their way into one of my posts. However, this one was just so different and absurd it just had to be noted.

The software is called iYoga (and it runs natively on Intel Macs). Basically the application does exactly what it sounds like it does:

With iYoga, text-to-speech synthesis guides you through your personal yoga class with the natural comfort of the spoken word. Create your own asana sequences, hold poses for as long as you choose, and hear the words that you wish, as easily as typing a letter to a friend.

If it weren’t for the $35 price tag (and the fact that iCan’t do iYoga) I would have given it a try for you. Someone please let me know if you buy this software; I’d love to hear about your experience.

Have a Facebook account? Want free music?

Posted on Jul. 27, ’06, 11:30 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | iTunes » iTunes Store

Macworld UK:

Ten million 25-song iiTunes samplers are being given away free in the US under a new promotion.

Apple is working with social-networking service, Facebook, to offer the new back-to-school promotion. Launched in February 2004, Facebook’s site has registered over 8.3 million people.

Facebook will give away one million 25-song music samplers from iTunes each week for the next ten weeks. Each iTunes music sampler will feature selected songs from a different genre, ranging from Alternative to Rock, Hip Hop to Dance, and Electronica.

“iTunes is the most popular digital music service in the world and we are excited to offer this exclusive giveaway,” said Owen Van Natta, chief operating officer at Facebook. “We’re always striving to provide people with the things they care most about, and with over half a million bands listed on Facebook we know that listening to and downloading music is an integral part of our users’ lives.”

John the Evangelist in the 21st Century

Posted on Jul. 27, ’06, 10:54 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » Humor

[via Joey deVilla]

Mighty Mouse vs. Mighty Mouse

Posted on Jul. 27, ’06, 9:55 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

It’s like pitting brother against brother. Nick Starr has taken some side-by-side comparison pics of Apple’s new Bluetooth Mighty Mouse and its older brother, the conventional wired Mighty Mouse. For the most part, the two look quite the same, but there are a few minor differences. To answer my earlier question, the laser is totally invisible, which means goodbye to the cute optical ghost mouse. It does, however, mean that the wireless Mighty Mouse works on glass surfaces with no problems, a feat of which optical mice can only dream.

The Bluetooth version is also slightly heavier than its predecessor, due largely to the use of AA batteries. As our colleague Jim Dalrymple reported, the Mighty Mouse can in fact use one or two batteries. It only needs one, but if you put in two, it’ll use the second after first has been exhausted, thus doubling its life—Apple even includes two AA batteries in the box. You’ll also have to install the software included; it doesn’t seem to work with the previous iteration of the Mighty Mouse drivers.

Bluetooth and lasers are all very well, but I’m still not the biggest fan of the device’s ergonomics. When I’ve used them, I’ve been annoyed by the fact that I have to remove my index finger from the left click “button” in order to use my middle finger for the right click, nor am I happy with the way the “squeeze” buttons work. Then again, I do most of my daily work with a trackpad, so it’s kind of a different feel.

Hawking’s Wireless-108G router: you know, for Macs

Posted on Jul. 27, ’06, 9:30 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

Sometimes a product designed for Macs actually means something, and sometimes (as in the late 90s, early 00s) it just meant a Bondi Blue plastic exterior. I’m not exactly sure into which category Hawking’s Wireless-108G router falls, but it certainly is going for a Mac-like aesthetic with that crystal white exterior, a fact their marketing materials don’t hesitate to point out:

The product has also been elegantly designed to please even the most critical eye among Mac users.

Still, the router boasts that its MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) technology and Hi-Gain antennas allows it to extend 802.11b and 802.11g signals over longer distances, and with speeds of up to 108Mbps, all for $99. Of course, you won’t be able to hit speeds like that with your standard AirPort/AirPort Extreme card, so you’ll need to shell out for Hawking’s USB adapter or PC Card. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait for the 802.11n standard to be ratified. I’m betting you won’t be seeing new AirPort stations/cards until that happens.

[via Engadget]

Chips, no dip: Intel launches Core 2 Duo line

Posted on Jul. 27, ’06, 8:45 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

We spoke of the Core 2 Duo line when Intel announced them a few months back, and all too soon they’ll be arriving in computers everywhere. 10 new dual core chips were unveiled today, five for laptops and five for desktops, including the Core 2 Extreme X6800, which will cost $999.

As far as the Mac angle goes, we can certainly expect to see the Core 2 Duo chips appearing in Apple machines in the near future: the only real question is whether they’ll materialize as early as the WWDC in less than two weeks, at Macworld Expo in January, or somewhere in between. The as-of-yet unannounced Mac Pro would seem to be a prime candidate for the Core 2 Duo chip, although there are some rumors of upgraded MacBook Pros using one of the “Merom” (Core 2 Duo portable) chips appearing. And, of course, there’s still the replacement for the G5-based Xserve to come; it’ll likely use the Woodcrest chip based on the same Core architecture.

This generation of chips ups the ante on Intel competitor AMD, who’s still engaged in using an older chip fabrication process. AMD has cut prices on their chip lines in a hope to spur competition, and of course, they’ve also just made a bid to buy graphics card maker ATI. All of these things will certainly affect Apple in the next few months.

Merlin shows us Quicksilver magic on MacBreak

Posted on Jul. 27, ’06, 8:05 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software

I know I’ve spoken of my preference for Butler before, but Quicksilver is tempting me back into its shiny argent embrace. Merlin Mann, productivity guru extraordinaire, dropped by the latest episode of Leo Laporte’s MacBreak (direct QuickTime link) to show off some of the nifty things Quicksilver can do.

Now I’ll admit it: I used Quicksilver a lot on my desktop before switching to Butler. But I think part of the reason I ditched it was because I simply felt overwhelmed by the possibilities. Having now seen someone demonstrate what can be done, I’m starting to develop a wee bit of Quicksilver envy. Maybe I’ll have to give it a second chance…but then, what of Butler?

This was the same kind of dilemma that had beset James Dean when he uttered those famous words: “You’re tearing me apart!”

[via 43 Folders]

MacAfee releases Mactel compatible VirusScan beta, we yawn

Posted on Jul. 27, ’06, 7:42 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Security

Some of you may still be sold on McAfee’s antivirus software, the security software formerly known as Virex. I find it a little hard to believe, but weirder things have happened. It’s been updated to version 8.5 (beta).

Besides new processor compatibility, “On Access” scanning was added as a new feature. It examines every file as it’s opened and written to. I can feel those speedbumps already. Change some stuff in iMovie. Save. Wait for the pause. Wait for it. Wait for it. Done.

I think I’ll pass. Then again, it’s for enterprise, so I wouldn’t have that choice anyway.

EyeTV 2.3, now part of Front Row

Posted on Jul. 27, ’06, 6:11 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Video

When Apple introduced Front Row, the first thing I thought was “what about EyeTV?” Once I found out that it only handled media handled by Apple’s applications, I was less than enthralled. It’s a great idea, but part of that original idea should have been a plugin system. El Gato, makers of the EyeTV, were forced to work around the problem.

The EyeTV 2.3 update adds a Front Row like menu system that works great. I’d elaborate more about its Apple Remote support and Front Row integration, but unfortunately, Apple won’t let me do that with an older Mac. I can say though that the menu system looks and works great. In particular, the programming guide is start to look a tad like TiVo. Unfortunately, the multiple monitor support isn’t quite there (you can’t choose which display to use).

Other than that, El Gato has got it down. Maybe at WWDC Apple will announce that Front Row will add a plug-in system.

OmniPlan beta released

Posted on Jul. 27, ’06, 4:43 AM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software

Sorry, Derik, but it seems that this is the second Omni post I’ve stolen from you so far. But anyway, today The Omni Group released the public beta of their OmniPlan task management software. If you remember, OmniPlan was the mystery product that The Omni Group talked about on their blog. Well, now that it’s been released, what can you use it for? Let’s see what The Omni Group has to say:

How to get your project done on time and under budget:

Translate strategy into tactics everyone can understand
Create summaries of work broken into lists of activities
Distribute workloads fairly and efficiently
Manage costs as you go

Currently, as OmniPlan is in beta, it will be available for free, but the free beta license will expire on August 26th.

Will the real fake Leopard please stand up?

Posted on Jul. 26, ’06, 2:49 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » People

We covered a number of fake Leopard screenshots a while back, but apparently we did you, our loyal readers, a disservice by not covering Phil Ryu’s fake Leopard screenshot contest. Though it’s too late to enter for the prize ($1000 worth of Mac software), you can at least console yourself by taking a look at the winners, as picked by a panel of Mac developers.

Eric Patterson took home the crown with his series of four screenshots, depicting a redesigned Finder, Mail.app and iChat integration, and some new Safari features. Not only did his screenshots look great, but he formatted them to look like a Mac marketing brochure. There are some great features in there; one can only hope Apple has some similarly innovative ideas for the real Leopard. I, for one, would be all for iChat/Mail integration (and better message threading!), as I’m quite a packrat where correspondence is concerned; and I love the idea behind Patterson’s Finder Peek (though, as Delicious Monster’s Will Shipley points out, a similar idea used to exist in NeXTstep).

The countdown clock for Leopard’s unveiling is running (in fact, it has its own Dashboard widget), so stay with MacUser and Macworld for all the news.

iPod’s Run

Posted on Jul. 26, ’06, 2:31 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iPod

Perhaps you remember the 1976 sci-fi movie Logan’s Run, which takes place in a world where death at 30 is strictly enforced. Seems iPods may not be much different. An offhand comment by Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris (who may be looking for a new job soon) in a Chicago Tribune article says that “an iPod is designed to last four years.”

Now, before we get all excited here, that comment is not a direct quote, and it could very well mean something such as “iPods are designed to last at least four years” rather than suggesting that some sort of time bomb goes off in them 4 years to the day after you turn it on. Who knows, perhaps she even meant “an iPod is designed to last for years.” Easy mistake.

Still, the truth of the matter is that devices as complicated as cell phones and MP3 players will die eventually. That’s all there is to it. Certainly we’re accustomed to things like automobiles and appliances lasting longer, but there comes a point when even your car isn’t worth fixing. Entropy, baby.

As far as the rest of the article, “A Pain in the Pod,” goes, I particularly enjoyed this fellow who complained about his iPod dying:

“When I sent the first one back, they sent me a refurbished one within a week,” Lucero said. “But I still have the same problems. It’ll just freeze up, pretending it doesn’t want to work sometimes. I’ve gotten so [angry] that I’ve thrown it across the room. And then it worked. Banging it up a little bit helps sometimes.”

[via Infinite Loop]

PodBuffet in development

Posted on Jul. 26, ’06, 2:24 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Music

If you travel with your iPod, but don’t bring along a laptop with Wi-Fi for adding the latest tunes and videos, you’re now in luck. Australian digital entertainment company 22Moo (who’s motto is “Freshly Unique”) is developing an iTMS kiosk called PodBuffet.

While details on the project are scarce, the kiosk will run off an Intel Mac Mini with a 15” touch-screen display. Multiple dock connectors and USB/Firewire ports will allow iPods to connect to the device to download music and videos from the iTunes Music Store. The kiosks will be appearing in any place they can make money (namely airports, hotels, and shopping centers).

[via MacMinute; concept image from Kioskproducts]

Adventures with Apple tech support

Posted on Jul. 26, ’06, 1:53 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Hardware » Intel Macs

As I apparently am not the only one experiencing a few small issues with my new Intel Mac, I thought I would share my tale. Although I must say it is nowhere near as exciting as Dan’s. To make what could be a very long story shorter, I will abbreviate, hitting only the major points of the story (after all who really wants to read about someone else’s problems, when you have your own to fix?).

My problem was a squeaky spacebar on my MacBook Pro, which cut through the silence in a room like a knife through rock. I both visited my local Apple store (which would not replace the keyboard) and then called Apple technical support (which arranged to have the computer replaced entirely). I was to send the MBP in once I returned from London in one week’s time.

My computer’s trip abroad seems to have caused it undue stress, as not only was the spacebar squeaking when I returned to the States, but the backlight was flickering on and off, the keyboard was not responding after waking from sleep, and a distinct processor whine could be heard (which was directly tied to lack of CPU usage). I took the computer into my local Apple store once again as soon as I returned home, but the Genius said he couldn’t do anything there, as I was past my 14 day replacement period. He suggested I call technical support.

iTunes vs. Amazon: summer blockbuster?

Posted on Jul. 26, ’06, 11:56 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Video

Days after Microsoft’s admission that it is developing an iTunes/iPod competitor, the industry is awash in news that Amazon is looking to enter the digital download arena as well, specifically for video. Business 2.0’s Erick Schonfeld stacks up the competitors and their apparent advantages.

In Apple’s corner are the success of the iPod, and its position as an industry leader. On the flipside is Amazon, which is hardly without clout as far as tie-ins with Hollywood are concerned. People are as used to buying media from Amazon as they are from Apple, if not more so. If nothing else, Amazon is a worthy competitor for Apple, and where there’s competition, consumers will hopefully come out on top as companies vie for their patronage.

Still, there are interesting factors to considers, says Schonfeld, such as the data mining Amazon has at its fingertips:

And Amazon has a knockout punch of its own: its huge database filled with customers’ DVD purchase histories. Apple has accumulated enough data about song purchases to be able to recommend new music to iTunes users - but it’s starting with a nearly blank slate in movies. Amazon has vastly more data on the movie-buying habits of its customers.

Cory Doctorow, on why Apple’s iTMS sucks

Posted on Jul. 26, ’06, 11:00 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | iTunes » iTunes Store

InfoWeek:

by Cory Doctorow

When it comes to anti-copying technology, there are two possible outcomes: either you have a popular single-vendor system that’s bad for the industry and general public, or you have a multi-vendor system that’s bad for the industry and general public.

Apple Computer’s iTunes is hailed as the first really “balanced” copy-restriction system. Unlike the copy-restrictions built into failed systems from the likes of Sony, Toshiba, and Microsoft, the anti-copying/anti-use stuff in iTunes doesn’t seem to have deterred the public from buying iTunes music and the iPods that play it. Indeed, more than a billion iTunes have been sold around the world. That only amounts to a couple CDs’ worth of tracks on every iPod, but still, that’s not bad, especially in a field where the big success stories to date have been digital music stores that managed to go out of business without costing their backers too much.

Steve Jobs and Apple managed to lure the music industry into licensing the copyrights for the iTunes Music Store even though the Store’s use-restrictions are comparatively mild. There’s a bit of region-coding — you pay a per-download charge based on the country your credit-card is billed to. There’s a bit of multi-use restriction — only five CPUs can be registered to a given iTunes account at a time. There are some miscellaneous restrictions, including ones that are genuinely bizarre, like limiting the number of times you can burn a given playlist.

Macworld Podcast: Living in a Windows World

Posted on Jul. 26, ’06, 9:47 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Music » Podcasting

The August issue of Macworld delves into the Windows world, looking for ways to get your Mac to play nice with that other operating system (and vice versa). And this installment of the Macworld Podcast follows suit: I interview MacWindows.com publisher John Rizzo, who wrote the August 2006 feature article Living in a Windows World, about the state of Mac OS X-Windows relations.

I also check in with Senior Editor Jonathan Seff, who reviewed the iMac Education Configuration—the $899 iMac Apple had made available to its education customers. In addition to Jon’s -review, you can also see how the 1.83GHz iMac Core Duo measures up to the eMac it replaces in Macworld Lab tests.

Download Episode #45

• AAC version (11.8MB, 25 minutes)

• MP3 version (5.7MB, 25 minutes)

Video Skype quality

Posted on Jul. 26, ’06, 8:23 AM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Video

Yesterday I posted about the beta release of Video Skype for Mac. Well, now that it’s been a day since the release, I’ve been able to try out the quality of the video call. Call quality is pretty good; Mac-to-PC calls seem to exhibit higher quality and faster framerates than video calling between AIM and iChat. of course, video quality and is very much subject to the power of the computers calling each other. For example, a video call to my aunt with a fairly recent desktop PC went very smooth, with only some break-up of audio quality towards the end of the 20-minute call, while video calling my friend on a three-year-old laptop had slow, bad video quality, and there was incredible difficulty just trying to make and sustain a video connection. Also, I was not able to try out a Mac-to-mac call, where I assume an iChat-to-iChat call would yield better quality. Still, it’s great for my Mac-to-PC video calls to have better quality, at least when their computers can handle it.

More WWDC Bingo cards available

Posted on Jul. 26, ’06, 8:02 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Humor

We mentioned yesterday John Siracusa’s WWDC Bingo: your chance to win eternal fame (and the hatred of Steve Jobs) by yelling out “bingo” during this year’s WWDC keynote. Of course, in order to do so, you’ll need to have a board.

Some had complained that having only one board made things too predictable, so with the help of some programming know-how, John’s put up a full twenty additional boards, in color and black and white. For those prospective, ahem, opportunists, John has one stipulation:

The honorable thing to do would be to pick one card and stick with it, rather than downloading them all and then picking the card that looks the most likely to have a win on it. If anyone does download all twenty-one cards, I expect that person to play all of them at once, hardcore Grandma style.

I (and perhaps only I) will be representing the MacUser team, though not, sadly, at the keynote itself. But rest assured that if I see five in a row whilst sitting before my MacBook, I will be yelling aloud. So if you hear something strange while walking down a street in Somerville, it’s probably that. Or something else.

Insert your Zune pun here

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

Category | iPod

John Gruber has decided to write about Microsoft’s Zune, Magic 8 Ball style. It’s amazing how much he can convey by asking the right questions and coming back with those classic answers.

Q: So Microsoft has confirmed that Zune, the “iPod/iTunes killer” project that Engadget has been reporting on for a few weeks, is for real. It’s a “music and entertainment” project that will involve portable players, an online media store, and desktop software for managing media and getting content from the store onto the players; all of it integrated and all of it produced and sold exclusively by Microsoft themselves. Does this sound familiar?

A: YES — DEFINITELY.

It definitely gets funnier/more disturbing from there. He points out how by creating an entirely new DRM system (still rumored) exclusive to the Zune that its partners will be less than thrilled. Will PlaysForSure be left high and dry? You’ll have to read it to find out.

Get your 140 page Mac OS X history book for free

Posted on Jul. 26, ’06, 6:48 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Geekery

Amit Singh, whose Mac OS X Internals: A Systems Approach has gone on sale, has published an unabridged version of the first chapter of that book as a free PDF for perusal. Considering the book is 1680 pages, its 140 pages doesn’t seem all that surprising. Amit says:

The document is titled “A Technical History of Apple’s Operating Systems”. Whereas the book’s abridged version covers the history of Mac OS X, this document’s coverage is considerably broader. It encompasses not only Mac OS X and its relevant ancestors, but the various operating systems that Apple has dabbled with since the company’s inception, and many systems that were direct or indirect sources of inspiration.

To be honest, I haven’t even started reading it yet, but I will. I’ll also be ordering his book, though it’s probably not for everyone. Unless you’re hard core into how Mac OS X works, and I mean hard core, it’s overkill (read: not for those with a casual interest). On the other hand, this PDF is priced right for everyone.

[via MetaFilter]

OpenDarwin closes up shop

Posted on Jul. 26, ’06, 5:45 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Geekery

If it weren’t July, I would have called this an April Fools Joke. OpenDarwin is shutting down. They’re not happy about what OpenDarwin has turned into.

OpenDarwin was originally created with the goal of providing a development environment for building and developing Mac OS X sources as well as developing a standalone Darwin OS derivative. OpenDarwin was meant to be a development community and a proving ground for fixes and features for Mac OS X and Darwin, which could be picked up by Apple for inclusion in the canonical sources. OpenDarwin has failed to achieve its goals in 4 years of operation, and moves further from achieving these goals as time goes on. For this reason, OpenDarwin will be shutting down.

The geeks among us (including myself) are going to be concerned about what will happen to DarwinPorts (which I switched to from Fink a while back). The slightly less geeky Darwine will also need to find a new home.

Finally, the premier project that will have to find a new home is WebKit. Of particular concern is Surfin Safari, which lets anyone get first hand information about the state of Safari and where it’s going.

I hope they all find a new home.

[via Red Sweater Links]

Warner Bros. joins the party

Posted on Jul. 25, ’06, 2:42 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | iTunes » iTunes Store

Today certainly is a big day for the iTunes Music Store. First Metallica, and now Warner Brothers. With the addition of Warner Brothers to the iTMS, we gain digital access to several popular shows which will be sure to rack up the downloads. The most notable of these shows are Friends, The Flinstones, The Jetsons, and exclusive sketches from MADtv.

Apple: like no other

Posted on Jul. 25, ’06, 2:05 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Apple

I was casually browsing through my daily RSS feed of Apple, Mac, and technology news this afternoon when I came to realize something: Apple beats the pants off every other tech company. And here’s why:

One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven - Eight - Nine - Ten

Do you know what those are? They are links to news articles (each from a different site, mind you) about an updated wireless mouse. You may be thinking, OK Scott, that’s obvious (and I already know about the Bluetooth Mighty Mouse), who cares? Well that’s my point exactly—everyone cares. What other company could get such vast excitement and news coverage over a computer mouse? Those ten links (and countless others I’m sure to have overlooked) prove that Apple really is another kind of company. See if Dell, Microsoft, or Logitech get that much excitement when they release a brand new computer.

Welcome to the 21st century, Metallica

Posted on Jul. 25, ’06, 1:22 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | iTunes » iTunes Store

Metallica, one of the biggest named bands to hold out on digital downloading their music, has finally given in on this Tuesday, July 25th. Their music catalog can now be downloaded from the iTMS. As one of the first bands to start the uprising against Napster and the P2P revolution, Metallica has claimed:

Over the last year or so, we have seen an ever-growing number of Metallica fans using online sites like iTunes to get their music.

Oh, and by the way, the iTunes Music Stores in the U.S. and Canada are the only ones that will be offering Metallica…we didn’t want our fans in North America to have to wait any longer while our overseas record company tries to get their **** together!

Yes, that’s right, the delay in getting Metallica’s music online must be entirely the fault of the record companies. The fact that the band has vocally spoken out against digital downloads must have nothing to do with any delay.

Anyways, hope Metallica fans enjoy their new found glory.

Developers, start your code!

Posted on Jul. 25, ’06, 11:30 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Software

Editorial Director Jason Snell wants a new wrting-editing collaboration tool:

Just about every editorial organization has a process by which writers submit stories, editors (often several of them!) comment on and edit the story, writers do some degree of re-writing, and so forth. It can be a simple process or a long and drawn-out process, but just about everyone has one. And there are, quite simply, no good tools out there (so far as we can tell) for doing the work that we need to do.

Sure, Microsoft Word will let you leave comments and track changes in a document, but its features are buggy and, in Word’s most latest iteration, incredibly annoying. And the numerous tools out there for the collection, check in, and check out of various versions of documents are almost entirely geared at people who write lines of software code, not paragraphs of carefully constructed verbiage. (MediaWiki, the software on which Wikipedia is based, is great at version control and change-tracking, but it’s Web-based and can’t display changes in your document as you’re editing.)

In the past few months, Adam Engst and I have been working on a modest proposal of a sort — a document that details what we’re looking for in a tool for groups of writers and editors. What we’re hoping is that, somewhere out there, there’s a Mac developer who will take a look at our needs and decide that this is a woefully unserved market. That if there existed a Mac text-editing application that can intelligently track changes and comments across multiple versions and interface with a server-based version-control system, numerous editorial groups both large and small would embrace that tool.

Unfortunately, neither Adam nor I are programmers, so we can’t build this tool ourselves. And we don’t have budgets that would allow us to find a programmer and hire them to build the tool for us. But we can both commit to building a first pass on what features such a tool would have, offer ourselves and our organizations as avid testers us such a tool, and suggest that if such a tool did appear, we’d pay to use it.

Review : iMac Education Configuration

Posted on Jul. 25, ’06, 10:36 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Hardware

Intrepid Editor Jonathan Seff takes the new Edu-iMac for a test drive:

The Macworld Lab tested the $899 iMac with our standard suite of tests, and the results were impressive. The composite Speedmark score for all tests was 175, which compared very favorably to the eMac (137) and the MacBook with the same processor (155). The standard 17-inch iMac, however, beat out the education version by more than 15 percent (202).

Processor-intensive tasks such as a Cinema 4D render, iMovie filter, and iTunes MP3 encoding showed huge improvements over the G4-based eMac—71 percent, 43 percent, and 48 percent, respectively—and scores equal to or better than the standard iMac. And playback of HD movie trailers from Apple’s Web site was smooth, although I did notice a few stutters when playing clips in iMovie that have several transitions and effects applied to them.

The $899 iMac definitely suffered in 3-D game play—getting 30 fewer frames per second than the standard iMac and only about one half a frame more per second than the eMac—due to its integrated graphics, but that’s a sacrifice Apple seems willing to make for a computer meant only for the classroom (and I was able to play Unreal Tournament 2004 and Nanosaur 2 quite enjoyably).

The whiny MacBook Pro does indeed get the grease

Posted on Jul. 25, ’06, 9:25 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

I think I can sum up Apple’s new attitude in one word: terse. Following hot on the heels of the yellowing MacBook admissions comes another short, sweet mea culpa. For your reading pleasure, we present Apple Knowledge Base Article #303365 (again, in entirety):

If your 15-inch MacBook Pro emits a high-pitched buzzing sound, please contact AppleCare for service.

I must admit that this new Apple image of laconicism leaves something to be desired. I wonder if they fired the previous guy. Perhaps he has just moved on to better things.

By Apple standards, this post is already much too long.

[via digg]

Is 512MB enough?

Posted on Jul. 25, ’06, 9:02 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

The old adage says you can never have too much RAM. I heartily agree with this sentiment which is why, when I bought my MacBook, I opted to spend the extra dosh for a full gigabyte. Granted, I was moving up from an iBook with about 256MB, so that was a nice little jump there. But I figured the two 2.0GHz processor cores would be doing their fair share of heavy lifting.

Though the CPU obviously does help for certain tasks, RAM is still the biggest factor in the kind of work I do. Or so I’ve concluded in the past couple of days, whilst my MacBook has been in the shop. The MacBook replacement I borrowed from the Apple Store has the standard 512MB, and I find the system frequently grinding to a halt. Waiting for things like menus to drop down, or buttons to register that I’ve clicked them—even text I’ve typed to appear—has become agonizing, given the celerity to which I’m accustomed.

Activity Monitor shows that the processor really stays at about 85%-95% idle when I’m just doing some work; the real problem is that I end up with about 4-10MB of RAM free. The truth is that my work largely consists of running several apps and switching back and forth between them. My usual complement consists of Finder, Mail, Safari, Adium, NetNewsWire, MarsEdit, and Image Well, with guest appearances by AppleWorks, iTunes, and iCal. And of course, this isn’t counting background system utilities like Butler, Visor, Library Books and a couple others. Not to mention OS X’s kernel_task and Window Server processes which are, as of this moment, eating a combined 95MB. Now, perhaps my usage is heavier than the average person’s, but it’s not as if I’m running Photoshop or FinalCut Pro on top of it all—none of these are “professional” apps. So, hence my question, is 512MB of RAM enough for OS X? Thoughts, comments, pointed questions?

Update: Furthermore, as Joe reminds me below, the integrated graphics on the MacBook eat up an additional 80MB of memory, so it’s not as if I’ve even really got 512MB to start with.

Video Skype for Mac released!

Posted on Jul. 25, ’06, 8:34 AM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software » Updates

Finally, after so long, it’s finally here! Yes, today Skype released Video Skype for Mac. Well, mostly. The beta of Skype 1.5 for Mac was released today, without video, though Skype also released a preview version of Skype 1.5 for Mac with video. The preview version is less stable than the normal 1.5 beta, but still usable. While I haven’t had a ton of time to work with the 1.5 beta, many of it’s changes can be easily seen in a quick glance. For one, 1.5 features a totally new, re-designed UI with a more Mac-ish look and feel, including a simpler, prettier contact list, a search bar at the top of the Skype window, and calls that open in separate windows (for a more detailed overview of the new cosmetic features, see here). Skype 1.5 for Mac beta also has some bug fixes, including fixing CPU overload during video chats, having to restart Skype in order to detect a camera, and several other video fixes. Also, like 1.4.0.49 before it, Skype 1.5 for Mac beta is also a Universal binary.

As for video, I haven’t actually tried out video calling yet, but Skype was able to immediately recognize my Intel iMac’s built-in iSight upon its first launch, and the camera functions fine in the video preferences pane. Speaking of the video preferences pane, Skype allows you to change who can have a video chat with you and who sees that you have the ability to video chat. Because I haven’t actually has a video chat in Skype, I do not know how well the video quality compares to that of iChat AV, though I’m pretty confident that it will be better than the Mac-to-PC calls I’ve had using iChat and AIM for Windows. Also, if Skype’s video quality keeps up with that of its calling quality, it should be awesome.

Toast looking a little blu?

Posted on Jul. 25, ’06, 8:02 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software » Updates

Over at one of our other blogs, we’re closely monitoring the situation in the Next Generation Optical Format War (catchily tagged “Format War ‘06”). If you’re looking around, bemused, let me sum up for you: Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD, no holds barred, fight to the finish.

Apple has made no bones about their support of Blu-Ray (they reside on the association’s board of directors) but there have obviously not been any announcements of Apple hardware with Blu-Ray. Third parties will be shipping drives expected later this year, but OS X does not (as of Tiger) support them.

But worry not: when this comes about, the platform’s most venerable disc burning software will already be there. Roxio’s Toast software will not only allow burning to BD-R and BD-RE (rewritable) discs, but given OS X’s lack of Blu-Ray support, it will also provide software for mounting and reading from Blu-Ray discs. The Blu-Ray supporting Toast Titanium will come bundled with Blu-Ray drives, with the update presumably expected later for the rest of us.

Ironcoder 3: I like Fuzzy Freddy

Posted on Jul. 25, ’06, 7:40 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Geekery

Ironcoder 3 is over. There were 22 entries in all with Race Against Time by Mark Dalrymple as the winner. It’s a cute little game. Mark is the iron coder and gets to lead the next competition.

You can download all the entries including the source. Be sure to check out my favorite, placed ninth, Fuzzy Freddy. All that hair, so little time.

Mighty Mouse goes tailless; gains laser vision

Posted on Jul. 25, ’06, 7:14 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

Few would argue that Apple’s Mighty Mouse’s major failing was that it relied on a USB tether, but if that was your beef, then your prayers have been answered. Apple has released a Bluetooth version of the one/two-button mouse that goes for $69.99 (twenty dollars more than the wired version).

The only other major change in this revision is the replacement of the optical mouse sensor with a laser-based one. You may ask “is that better?” to which I respond “it’s a frickin’ laser.” Yes, you heard it here first, lasers make everything better.

To keep the MM’s profile svelte and shapely, Apple has decided to forego any sort of recharging or docking station. Instead, the wireless Mighty Mouse is powered by a pair of AA batteries accessible via a door in the bottom of the mouse.

All this leaves one question for me, namely, will the laser pointer still project that cool mouse image?

Mail.app icon fun

Posted on Jul. 25, ’06, 6:33 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Internet

Tim at Hawk Wings tipped me off to a very cool entry that gives you a way to download a Photoshop file that you can easily paste a picture into to make your own high quality Mail.app icon. Heck, the instructions even tell you how much to rotate the image you’re inserting.

You could insert a different bird (boring), your kids (lame), you (are so vain), or even your boss (you brown noser). The possibilities are endless. Be careful though, that icon will say a lot about you.

Courtesy of Dan, we have our own icons in the extended section.

Apple acknowledges the stain

Posted on Jul. 25, ’06, 5:49 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

I’m not talking about the human stain. In a new knowledge base article, Apple acknowledges the issue quite a few MacBook owners are dealing with. That is the yellowing wrist rests. The article titled “About white MacBooks’ palmrest area” consists of:

If your MacBook is exhibiting discoloration on the top case after some use, please contact AppleCare for service.

That’s not abridged. That’s the whole thing. If one of your poor suffering MacBook owning friends (my envy makes it hard to be too sympathetic) has this problem, point them at this KB article and tell them not to back down.

It’s a little surprising to me how quiet Apple is being about this, with this almost implicit admission of fault.

[hat tip to MacFixIt]

Apple publishes list of apps that support .Mac

Posted on Jul. 24, ’06, 2:31 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Internet

.Mac, Apple’s Internet services software, has been integrated into many different Mac apps over the years. Well, Apple has just recently published a list of apps that have the .Mac service integrated into them, such as Comic Life, Podcast Maker, and Transmit. Personally, I think .Mac is a waste of money as you can get a much better server space (my favorite is Bluehost) that offers more storage for a better price (Bluehost is 10 GB for about $100/year), more bandwidth (Bluehost is 250 GB/month), more advanced e-mail, and a slew of other cool stuff such as custom domain names and a ton of awesome web-based apps ready to be easily installed. Of course, nothing can match .Mac’s simplicity and ease of use, but I care more about bang for your buck than the simplicity of the service.

[via TUAW]

Custom skin your tech device

Posted on Jul. 24, ’06, 1:38 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Hardware

In a world full of generic technology, you may be looking for a way to add a personal touch to your iPod, notebook, cell phone, PDA, or PSP. There are countless ways to achieve this—scratches, dents, graffiti, watermarks—or you can resort to a solution from the geniuses at skinit.com.

These guys have a virtually unlimited number of different skins for over 1000 different devices (such as iPods, iBooks, and PowerBooks). You can choose from their wide variety of designs (such as the one I’ve chosen above), or upload your own. And at prices of $15 and $30 for iPod and computer skins, respectively, there’s no excuse for carrying around a boring old iBook anymore.

[via MacNN]

Zune comes to the table, and I’m excited

Posted on Jul. 24, ’06, 1:17 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Apple » Rivals

So Microsoft’s iPod competitor Zune is official now (notice how I didn’t call it an iPod killer), and some may be nervous for Apple’s future. Where will the iPod go? Will it dissolve from the face of the earth as soon as the Giant enters the MP3 market? After all, we learn from history that every product has a fall following its rise.

So while some maybe concerned for the health and safety of Apple Computer, I for one am excited. Finally some real competition (while it may not be real competition, the illusion certainly is there). Competition means innovation, as these analysts have certainly come to realize.

So while Steve and friends may be running around like mad men, pondering Zune’s effect on the iPod, I sit here in my chair waiting for more of the one thing Apple does so well: innovate.

The educational iMac makes the grade

Posted on Jul. 24, ’06, 1:04 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Hardware

While everyone this weekend was dealing with this record heat, you may have missed the benchmarks of the smokin’ hot brand-new iMac. Ok, it’s not exactly smokin’, but it definitely holds its own against the MacBook, and certainly bests the eMac.

Our testing in systems that use integrated graphics has shown how that can affect system performance, particularly in graphics-intensive applications such as 3-D games. Results for the iMac for Education were no exception, though we also found its smaller hard drive to be a bit pokier, with results in our folder duplication and archiving test slower than the retail iMac’s results.

Meet Mira

Posted on Jul. 24, ’06, 11:56 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Software

Nine days ago, Scott posted about Remote Buddy. Today, I discovered Mira, a new program that takes advantage of the Apple Remote, just like Remote Buddy. Hrm, what happens if you use both at the same time? (That sorta reminds me of the old Performas that had infrared ports on the front. If you had a TV nearby and turned on the TV with the remote, the Performa would turn on too.)

One Night…Mac

Posted on Jul. 24, ’06, 11:32 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » People

My friend Brad Aldridge drew this. He’s a budding graphic designer and cartoonist. Got any other original Apple-themed art? Send it our way.

Dell says in competition with Apple, “numbers speak for themselves”

Posted on Jul. 24, ’06, 11:28 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Rivals

Oh, Michael. Michael Michael Michael. The spin, my friend, it ain’t working. You may still sell the most computers of any company in the world but it’s not just about margins any more. It’s about the experience. And when it comes to that, well, dude, nobody’s getting a Dell.

The Q&A at Dell’s recent annual shareholder meeting contained some interesting comments by the Dell CEO and founder:

Apple certainly has done a very nice job with their products. I think you’re going to see a number of new, competitive dynamics in that market …music services. We’ve been working with MTV, which has a new service called Urge. That’s an exciting space that Apple has done well in, but I would be surprised if they are able to maintain the share they have today over the next ten or 20 years. In terms of competition with Apple (in PCs), our share numbers speak for themselves. Apple is growing, but is still not in the top five in share for computers.

Apple may not be able to hold their share in the music market over the next ten or twenty years. But I tell you this: it won’t be Dell that unseats them.

[via The Mac Observer]

Back in black

Posted on Jul. 24, ’06, 8:49 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Stores

I’ve become quite accustomed to spending a decent amount of time in the Apple Store. Over the last couple years I’ve dealt with a number of troublesome pieces of equipment from power adapters to logic boards, and I’ve had good and bad luck with Geniuses and other Apple personnel.

Yesterday was one of those occasions where the people were more than helpful, but the technology was sorely lacking. Having been able to clone the drive off my MacBook, I took the notebook into the store and explained the issue. The Genius as the CambridgeSide store had given me a case number, so it was just a matter of shipping the MacBook out for repair.

Not willing to be without a computer for a week (if nothing else, then for the sake of you, dear readers), I opted for a loaner MacBook. Since my white MacBook has an 80GB hard drive, the standard 60GB MacBook was going to be a little short on space, so I opted to borrow a black MacBook. So far, so good.

We strung a FireWire cable over and started up the migration assistant. Unfortunately, since my MacBook’s hard drive was pretty full, this process (which ought to take twenty minutes, according to the Genius’s guess) took more like an hour and a half. For those who’ve wondered: yes, watching progress bars does become zen after the first half hour. I ended up being the last person at the Genius Bar, and one of the last people in the store, so a big thanks to everyone at the Chestnut Hill Apple Store for being patient and understanding.

The transfer actually worked pretty well, though a handful of things didn’t make it, most notably my Windows XP installation (the files all got transferred, but not the partition itself; not surprising, given I’m using an NTFS partition). The black MacBook is nice, but I miss my full gigabyte of RAM (this has the standard 512MB), and both the up-arrow key and right side of the trackpad seem a little glitchy. Oh well, it’s only a week, after all. Here’s hoping the loaner doesn’t start doing the random shutdown dance.

At the WWDC keynote, bingo is the game-o

Posted on Jul. 24, ’06, 8:06 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Humor

We’re all geared up for the WWDC keynote. I know. It’s just two weeks away. The excitement is palpable. But this year, we’re going to do it a little different, thanks to Ars Technica’s John Siracusa. This year, it’s game on.

And that game…is bingo.

John’s assembled a WWDC keynote bingo card that features squares with possible products, phrases, and announcements that Steve might introduce in his big speech. From hotly anticipated items like the Mac Pro and iTunes movie rentals, to longshot rumors like a new kernel and an iPhone, to trademark phrases like “boom” and “one more thing…,” the card has it covered.

You’re encouraged to download and play at home (strictly on the honor system), but if you happen to actually be attending the keynote, well, the game’s a little different.

The first person in the audience to win the game is expected to yell “BINGO!” loud enough so that the rest of us schleps can hear it when we watch the keynote webcast video later. If we can’t actually hear you, it’s also acceptable if Steve Jobs hears you on stage and gives you The Glare.

Dangerous phrases

Posted on Jul. 24, ’06, 7:43 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware » Intel Macs

David Pogue is a great writer. I’m a huge fan. A recent column praising NaturallySpeaking says something really stupid. Like starting a myth stupid. And I quote:

NatSpeak also runs beautifully on the Macintosh. The setup is a bit involved: you need a recent Intel-based Mac, Apple’s free Boot Camp utility, a copy of Windows XP, and a U.S.B. adapter on your headset. And you have to restart the Mac in Windows each time you want to use NatSpeak. But if you can look past all that fine print, NatSpeak on Macintosh is extremely fast and accurate.

The setup being a bit involved is a huge understatement. The first sentence is all anyone will see. The Macintosh is more than just the hardware. As such, NatSpeak *doesn’t run beautifully on the Macintosh. It doesn’t run at all. Now a new marketing campaign by the NatSpeak developer’s can include that misleading sentence.

Thanks to Boot Camp, this may be only the beginning.

[via Daring Fireball Linked List]

Pimp my Pismo

Posted on Jul. 24, ’06, 6:56 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

My first Mac (that I owned unto myself) was a Powerbook G3 500 MHz (aka Pismo). It was cutting edge at the time and I miss its black exterior. It only had a DVD-ROM, but it was the first Powerbook with the ability to sport built-in wireless. I was an early adopter with that. Surfing the web in the bathroom was completely worth the $425 I spend on equipment.

I moved on to a 12” Powerbook G4, but I always had dreams of putting in a bigger hard drive (significantly easier to do than all recent models, save the MacBook) and getting a new battery. Nowadays, the upgrades would include the formerly available 900 MHz G3 upgrade and the newly available dual layer 8x DVD burner (available for $150). I have to admit, I never thought such a feat would be possible in my little Pismo. The best part is that it utilizes the fact that optical drives were easily hot-swappable in that line of Powerbooks. It makes me wish it were still that easy.

AMD snaps up ATI for one…er, five point four BILLION dollars

Posted on Jul. 24, ’06, 6:11 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Business

Aaron’s rumor of the weekend has become solid fact. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Intel’s major competitor in the x86 processor market, has bought ATI Technologies, one of the two leading videocard makers, for $5.4 billion. Macworld has more:

If approved, the deal will add significantly to AMD’s product line, bringing in a lineup of cutting-edge graphics chips and chipsets that include integrated graphics capabilities. Chipsets are the component on a PC motherboard that link a processor with main memory and other components, such as a hard disk.

Let’s flip it the other way around: with AMD as Intel’s major competitor, is there a chance that an integrated AMD/ATI chipset could eventually find its way into a Macintosh? After the PowerPC to Intel switch, my mantra is best exemplified by the James Bond movie above.

EyeTV 250 Review

Posted on Jul. 24, ’06, 6:10 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Video

Despite extremely spotty availability, an xlr8yourmac.com reader has gotten his hands on an EyeTV 250. It’s currently out of stock on El Gato’s website, as well as being unavailable at the online Apple store (thought it was previously listed).

I’ve been rather excited about picking up one of these to replace my original USB 1.1 EyeTV, considering the price, quality of the recording, and the inclusion of the gaming mode. He breaks down the differences between it and the EyeTV 200, as well as some CPU usage statistics doing various tasks.

Jobs, according to Atari

Posted on Jul. 23, ’06, 6:55 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » People

In a Podtech.net interview, Al Alcorn of Atari talks about what it was like to employ Steve Jobs (and apparently the transitive proptery, Steve Wozniak). Apparently Woz did most of the work for Jobs.

Jobs also tried to offer up the Apple II to the company, an offer which was rejected. Alcorn was even offered stock and opted for a free Apple II instead. Oops.

[via the Mac Observer]

Perhaps they should rename it Epistle.app

Posted on Jul. 23, ’06, 9:16 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Huh?

If Russian author Alexander Pushkin were around today, you think he’d be writing longhand? No way. Pushkin would be a Mac man, all the way. Besides his published works, Pushkin was quite the letter writer; I’m sure Mail.app would have been right up his alley.

But as Alexander is no longer with us, we’ll have to make do with the next best thing. User Maciej Ceglowski has imported a bunch of Pushkin’s early letters into a Mail.app mbox file, available for download at his site. Ceglowski was inspired by the Samuel Pepys Blog, a website that reposts entries from Pepys’s diaries (only 403 years off).

I like the idea of archiving letters in Mail.app; that is, after all, what it’s more or less intended for, even if preserves only the content. Unfortunately, it’s not a flawless solution.

I had to bump the date up by 200 years because Mail.app refuses to properly sort nineteenth century email. I consider this a bug.

[via Hawk Wings]

Genius in a bottle: Apple Store support tips

Posted on Jul. 23, ’06, 8:42 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Tips

Having had to make a couple appointments for the Genius Bar at the Apple Store over the past few days (for the randomly shutting down MacBook which has actually been behaving yesterday and today), I thought I’d share with you a little tip on how to spend less time waiting.

Making an appointment via Apple’s online Concierge service is de rigeur if you actually want to get to talk to a genius. If you’ve ever seen the depressing screen at right (as I have, all too often), though, you may wonder if the system does any good. My suggestion? Since the stores only let you make same-day appointments (unless you’re a ProCare member), make your appointment as early as possible. Me, I’ve been making them at 12:01AM, giving me a pretty wide choice of times.

Show up promptly, and make sure you check in at the bar. The CambridgeSide store (which I frequent) is busy enough that they’ll often hand out restaurant-style vibrating pagers even to those who have appointments.

And, though this may seem like common sense, once you sit down across the bar from the Genius, stay calm and polite. The ones I’ve interacted with have been very helpful and pleasant for the most part; I’m sure it has everything to do with my personable demeanor.

Omni Plan screenshots revealed

Posted on Jul. 23, ’06, 8:05 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software

I’m stealing an Omni Group post for Derik, for which all I have to say is: oh, too slow. Derik spilled the details on the Mac software house’s latest app, Omni Plan, just yesterday, but intimated that we might have to wait until Wednesday for further information.

Well, almost. Seems an enterprising user who’s been in on Omni Plan’s private beta sent Infinite Loop some screenshots of the new app, which sports some robust import functionality from Omni Outliner (quelle surprise!). The user’s opinion was that this point, the app mainly lacked “polish” (of, we presume, the shiny variety, not the sausage variety).

Not sure this is an app I’d ever really use, given—let’s be frank—my predilection for not planning things. Mainly in my earlier life as an IT professional it would have been more useful to me.

Ironcoder 3 is underway

Posted on Jul. 23, ’06, 7:45 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Geekery

The ironcoder contest specifies and API and a theme for developers. A bunch of the entries from the first contest were really cool and fun to play with. They have to hack a little program together really fast.

This time, Core Graphics is the API and time is the theme. I’m thinking there are going to be a ton of great entries. It’s a two day contest and it started last Friday at 5 CDT, so today at 5 CDT today, it’ll be over. Hopefully soon after we can play with the fruits.

LiteSwitch X goes Universal

Posted on Jul. 23, ’06, 6:01 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

I use the command-tab feature constantly. Before it gained its own palette window interface, the dock was used instead. I actually liked that, but it had the unfortunate side effect of causing the order to be based upon the dock order instead of the last time you visited that active application. LiteSwitch X gave what we see now back when it debuted.

Surprisingly, it’s one of the few applications that recently a ton of people have written about missing on their ICBMs. I’m probably missing something, but I don’t quite see what’s worth $15 in it. For the most part, it acts exactly as the current system application switcher does. It adds a couple options, but I don’t see the compelling feature. If any of you are a fan, please let me in on the secret.

Forensic troubleshooting: Bluetooth Audio Error

Posted on Jul. 22, ’06, 4:32 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Troubleshooting

Audio day continues here at MacUser. I was just trying to play some YouTube videos, and every time, the videos would stall at about two or three seconds. At the same time, I’d been getting a “Bluetooth Audio Error” informing me that my headset was not in range or on. I do indeed have my Bluetooth Headset paired with my MacBook, but the headset was off and far away. A check in the sound preference pane revealed that it wasn’t even selected, and yet it seemed to be trying to route sound to it for some reason.

I tried removing the Bluetooth headset from the Bluetooth pane, and even though it disappeared, I continued getting the error, and the headset was still listed in sound preference pane (though not selected). I tried trashing the sound preferences in my Library, but it changed nothing. A quick search of the Apple discussion forum yielded this thread, and the following suggested solution for a fellow having a similar problem, but with RealPlayer:

For users of Macintosh computers purchased after September 2004 (such as iMac G5s, Mac minis, and PowerBook laptops), a problem in Mac OS X on some recent Macintosh computer hardware can cause loss of sound in RealPlayer and certain other applications. Launching Apple’s GarageBand software once will resolve the problem.

iSight mic under XP bounty

Posted on Jul. 22, ’06, 3:22 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Windows

Disappointed owners of iSight cameras gave a collective groan last week when the new version of the Boot Camp beta was released without iSight support (honestly, I’d be happy for support for my computer’s internal mic). While we can hold out hope that the final release of Boot Camp will finally let XP on Mac users enjoy their iSights to the fullest, in the interim, user Mark is trying to set up a bounty on a driver for the external iSight’s microphone under XP.

Mark will collect PayPal donations from interested parties, and the developer who manages to come up with a driver will win the pot. While it’s not quite as exciting as the XP on Mac contest, it’s still important. Heck, I’d like to see a full iSight driver for Windows. How about it? I can offer you the contents of my right front pocket, which seem to be a handful of change, a fortune from a fortune cookie, and some lint. Any takers?

[via Gizmodo]

Vintage Apple: PlainTalk microphone

Posted on Jul. 22, ’06, 3:03 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

I’ve been doing some wrestling with my MacBook’s audio input. I wanted to plug in a good external mic, but as my trip through Boot Camp taught me, the MacBook’s audio input is a line-in port, not a microphone port, so it requires a powered microphone.

There’s an external microphone on my PowerMac G3, which I unplugged and tried only to realize that it didn’t fit all the way in, because the plug on it was longer than your standard 1/8th inch connector. That was puzzling, until I discovered this Apple support doc:

Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White)

The microphone input jack supports line-level input signals. Apple provides the PlainTalk microphone. It is a line-level input device with a longer connector than Apple’s previous microphone, and it receives its power from the computer. Other consumer line-level devices are also supported through the microphone input jack on these computers.

After a bad experience with an Altec Lansing USB headset (too much interference/noise in recordings), I’m thinking about picking up a Griffin iMic for my needs. Recommendations?

What an AMD and ATI merger would mean for Apple

Posted on Jul. 22, ’06, 3:00 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Hardware

There seems to be a rumor going around that AMD — Intel’s largest competitor for processors — and ATI — a very popular graphics chip maker— may be announcing a merger to their shareholders on Monday. Right now you may be thinking “Oh, I’m a Mac user, so I don’t have to worry about some PC processor and graphics chip companies merging.” Wrong. First of all, you probably do know that ATI makes the graphics chips in the entry-level configurations of most Macs (the MacBook and Mac Mini use an Intel integrated graphics chipset). Also, as AMD is Intel’s largest competitor, and Intel makes the processors for all the Intel Macs, AMD is in a way a competitor with Apple. So, what happens when one of Apple’s graphics chip makers and the rival to the company that makes it’s processors merge? It’s hard to say, but it might not be good. As I’m don’t really have any knowledge of how companies make these decisions, I can only guess, but it is possible that ATI could stop making graphics chips for Apple. Of course Apple does have nVidia making graphics chips for them to, but I don’t know if nVidia has any alternatives to the ATI chips in current Macs. So really, who knows?

A world of icons

Posted on Jul. 22, ’06, 2:45 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Internet

Apparently, Flickr user factoryjoe created an interesting photo composed of the icons of all of the apps on his Mac. The picture was done with the use of a program called Todos, which, using a simple keyboard shortcut, displays the icons for all of your applications, which when clicked open the corresponding program. Because Todos is free, and I love a good free app, I decided to create my own screenshot of all of my icons on Todos. And hey, if I can do it, why can’t you? So, download Todos for free, take a screenshot of its window with all of your programs in it, upload it to Flickr with the tag “macusertodos” or link to your photo in the comments of this post, or both.

[via TUAW]

Microsoft confirms Zune; a storm begins to form for Apple

Posted on Jul. 22, ’06, 8:48 AM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Apple » Rivals

Yesterday, Microsoft confirmed Zune, their mobile entertainment device which will compete with the iPod. While many details about the Zune are still unknown, Engadget has put together a nice list of information that it’s mostly sure of, and unsure of. Because of the still low-amount of knowledge about the Zune, it is unsure exactly what affect it will have on Apple and the iPod. I know that many people will deny the fact that any digital media player could ever even make the slightest dent in the iPod’s market share, but I have a feeling that the Zune isn’t like another iPod-killer before it. I think that it is possible that Micorsoft could actually create a player that’s good enough to have at least a moderate affect on Apple. But hey, right now the Zune is like a little storm in West Africa during the summer: it may start out as a little nothing storm, and stay like that, or it could slowly enter the Atlantic, make it’s way from Tropical Depression to Tropical Storm to finally a Category 1 or 2 hurricane, and before you know it you’ve got another Katrina on your hands. All I’m saying is that don’t let your devotion to Apple blind you from the fact that Microsoft very well could come close to hurting, though not killing, the iPod.

The segue of a lifetime

Posted on Jul. 22, ’06, 8:44 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Video

Dan has already pointed out the debate about iTunes video rentals. While the philosophical aspects of the store are interesting, I’m more interested in the logistical aspect that Phil brought up. Does it make sense to introduce such a service at WWDC, a developer’s conference? How does one go from talking about programming to movie rentals? So far we have:

• “Speaking of compilation times, we’re introducing a new movie rental service that you can use to entertain yourself while you wait for creation to complete.” - Me
• “… which is just another way that Leopard taps into the power of Unix. But even Unix isn’t as powerful as Peter Jackson’s mighty King Kong, which you can rent starting today…” - Phil
• “while waiting on PhotoShop to render under Rosetta…..” - macnuke

Can you think of a better segue? Let’s hear it.

OmniPlan, the latest Omni revelation

Posted on Jul. 22, ’06, 7:34 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Omni has revealed its latest creation, OmniPlan. It’s project management software. I guess it will make it easier to monitor tasks and status.

That said, it’s hard for me to really say what it does without some screenshots. It lets me map that functionality into something more tangible. I guess I’ll have to wait until Wednesday, when the public beta is released.

.Mac webmail problems, or I’m one straw away

Posted on Jul. 22, ’06, 6:14 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Internet

One of the reasons I use .Mac’s mail is that it has a web interface that I can use when not at any of my own computers. It’s essential. Normally, I really dislike using web interfaces (one, because they don’t feel organic, and two, because they don’t work without a net connection), but in a pinch, it’s the way to go.

Thursday was pure frustration for me. Every time I tried to access it, I got a “Sorry, it’s not working right now” message. I occasionally will get that and on the next reload, my inbox will appear, but not that day. I went through endless reload cycles, then broke down and went to verify the down status. It didn’t list any problems. A quick look in Apple’s discussion forums helped confirm I wasn’t alone.

Surely Apple can recognize their own problems. I see some kind of acknowledgment now, but that’s too little, too late. If I hadn’t already switched some of my email over to my webhost, I would have missed out on an interview with a local newspaper. If you look at the service log, the email outages have been getting more and more frequent. I’m getting the feeling I’m going to need to stop using my .Mac email. This lack of reliability is becoming a real issue for me (just as the spam is).

MacBook shutdown: bad for me, bad for you, bad for America

Posted on Jul. 21, ’06, 4:38 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

It was a mere two days ago that I uttered these words:

It’s hard to tell, as always, just how many users are being affected by [spontaneous shutting down]. I’ve had no problem with my MacBook, nor have I heard anything from others I know who own a MacBook or MacBook Pro. Could this be another example of the Internet echo chamber, or does Apple have a serious QA problem here?

It started up again readily enough, but cold fear had already crept into the pit of my stomach. Sure enough, later in the day it happened again—this time it took quite a while before the computer was willing to start up for more than a minute or so. I took it to my local Apple Store, but couldn’t get in to see a Genius (no Mac blogger clout there), so I made an appointment at another store for tomorrow.

In the intervening time, the computer seemed to stabilize. I had no trouble at all last night, even under normal usage for several hours. But this morning, I opened it up again and, sure enough, same deal. A minute or so into my routine, it died. I took it into the Cambridge Apple Store for my appointment at 3:30, and spoke to very nice Genius Brian. I’d been a little worried that the computer would refuse to have any problem, but my concerns were quickly assuaged (sort of) as the computer died after a couple minutes of waking. I’m arranging to ship it back, but I wanted to backup my data first.

A couple of things I’ve noticed: the only commonality between the times it dies are 1) it’s usually when waking from sleep and 2) take from it what you will, but the machine has only died in early morning, or in the afternoon. Can’t explain it, but there it is.

I’m planning to ship it back in the next couple of days, so I’ll keep you guys updated with the progress. Any fellow shutdown sufferers, feel free to commiserate.

Lightroom is now for Windows too (darn)

Posted on Jul. 21, ’06, 2:14 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Photography

Mac users have one less reason to flaunt their superiority in front of our PC counterparts today. Yes, that’s right, Adobe has released a Windows version of Lightroom, making it no longer a Mac-specific application. With the addition of Windows support and the expiration of Lightroom beta 3 on January 30th, 2007, perhaps this is a sign of something more official to come—and I’m ready, as Aperture is driving me up a very steep wall.

Skype hype increased with Wi-Fi phone

Posted on Jul. 21, ’06, 1:56 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Internet

It sure seems that there’s enough hype over Skype these days (pardon the cheesy rhyme). Most computer nerds simply can’t get enough of the fact that you can make free computer-to-computer calls, and incredibly low cost computer-to-phone calls.

Well, it seems it only gets more exciting from here on out. Belkin has released a Skype Wi-Fi phone that requires nothing but a Wi-Fi connection to make Skype calls. That means anywhere you have Wi-Fi (read: cafes, bookstores, neighborhoods, coffee shops, airports, schools) you can make free phone calls—no computer is needed. The phone will be shipping to American markets in August.

With such a functional, good-looking, and low-cost solution to VoIP calls, this could be the start of something very big, and I’m excited.

Intel slyly ships Core 2 Duo chips

Posted on Jul. 21, ’06, 1:12 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Hardware » Intel Macs

According to a report from MacNN, Intel has already started shipping their highly anticipated Core 2 Duo processors (code named Merom and Conroe). The Merom chips are low-powered mobile chips, while the Conroe are to be put into power-packed desktops. Conroe chips should be formally announced on July 27th in speeds of 2.0 GHz, 2.1 GHz, and 2.33 GHz with 4 MB of L2 cache. This will provide a 20% increase in performance over Yonah chips currently used in MacBook/Pro systems.

Both of these chips are available ahead of schedule, as Merom was supposed to ship next month, and Conroe was slated to ship next week. Unknown still, is what Apple will or may do with these processors. Might we see an updated MacBook Pro with the faster Merom processors? Could an updated iMac sport the new Conroe chips? The Mac Pro, hopefully released at the fast approaching WWDC, is rumored to utilize Intel’s recently released dual-core Xeon processor.

In all these rumors, only one thing remains for certain: the world of Apple is certainly more exciting now that Intel chips have found their way into Macs. Oh, the possibilities…

iTunes Music Store: to rent or not to rent?

Posted on Jul. 21, ’06, 11:57 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iTunes » iTunes Store

By now, you’ve no doubt heard the rumors about Apple introducing an iTunes Movie Rental Store at the WWDC in August. It’s certainly an interesting proposition, and one that I’ve advocated taking in the past, especially for Apple’s existing market of selling TV shows.

But not everybody thinks this would be such a wonderful thing. Two of Macworld’s own editorial staff, Jim Dalrymple and Philip Michaels, have faced off on whether or not this would make sense in the grand, Steve Jobsian picture of all things Apple. Jim took the ‘pro’ movie-rental side, while Phil argued against it, and both present reasonable and believable reasons for their stand. The winner? We won’t know until August 7th at the earliest.

One way or another, movies are likely to come to the iTunes store, though people have been speculating that since the first videos appeared last fall. It certainly seems like the logical next step, though there’s always the potential for Steve to surprise us all. iTunes Grocery Store, anybody?

AirPort turns seven!

Posted on Jul. 21, ’06, 11:12 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Hardware

As Dave Winer points out, today is the seventh anniversary of Apple’s AirPort. Oh, AirPort, what would we do without you, and what will you become in another seven years?

Can’t touch this: Apple’s next-gen iPod?

Posted on Jul. 21, ’06, 8:50 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iPod

Close followers on the iPod rumor circuit might remember a mysterious comment from Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou last month that Apple’s next generation iPod would have a “none-touch” concept. That was somewhat lost in the froth of the same company being accused of bad labor practices in its Chinese iPod factories. And many who did hear it, such as myself, dismissed it as misinformation or something being lost in translation. After all, how could you use an iPod without touching it?

But now, having seen recent patent filings by Apple, this comment seems a little more interesting. Sure, we know that Apple files tons of patents that it doesn’t end up using, but combined with Mr. Gou’s insight, and the rumors about a true videoscreen iPod, well, it seems somewhat more plausible. The patent uses a variety of sensors to detect when an object (such as your finger) is in close proximity. It can then activate input based on that proximity, such as making a virtual scroll wheel appear onscreen. Waving your finger about in a scroll wheel motion will then make it scroll.

The patent filing includes a specific reference to “new iPod touch screen GUI.” While a “none touch” iPod is hardly definite, it’s nice to know that Apple’s at least thinking about it.

[via Infinite Loop]

Shiira 2 visual preview

Posted on Jul. 21, ’06, 8:34 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Shiira, a browser built on WebKit, is going to add major improvements in the coming months (there’s pictures!). Since Apple introduced Safari, they’ve taken no chances with its interface or, dare I say it, Apple hasn’t given it the Apple treatment. The last major version added RSS.

If we’re looking for innovation, I’m beginning to think we’ll have to look to third parties and Shiira looks to be taking the most risks. They’ve got Tab Exposé, a tab thumbnail pane (PageDock), and much, much more. I can’t wait. I just hope they improve the icon.

“Get A Mac” ad shtick on “The Daily Show”

Posted on Jul. 21, ’06, 8:31 AM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Video

So last night I was watching a recorded episode my favorite TV show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. During Stewart’s talk on net neutrality, he brought in his “resident expert” on the subject, John Hodgman. John Hodgman, John Hodgman, why is that name so familiar? Oh yes, he plays “the PC” in Apple’s “Get A Mac” ads.

Well, this had been Hodgman’s first time on air on The Daily Show since he first appeared in the ads. So naturally, Hodgman and Stewart worked up a little shtick in which Stewart and Hodgman were computers transmitting information across the Internet, and Hodgman, as Stewart finally got him to say, was “a PC” (this statement was followed by applause from the audience, proof that Daily Show watchers are Mac fans). After the applause died down after Hodgman’s statement, Stewart then asked, “So I would be a different type computer, than?” after which Hodgman said “Ok, that’s enough” and the joke was over.

If you missed that episode of The Daily Show, you can get a video clip of the scene online.

[video link via TUAW]

Yahoo dares where Apple fears to tread: DRM-free tunes

Posted on Jul. 21, ’06, 8:03 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Music

You could look at Yahoo’s entry to the digital download marketplace as just another company hoping to cash in on the profitability of Apple’s coat tails, but that analysis would neglect one major point: Yahoo has managed to do something that Apple has not yet been able to. Namely, provide music tracks unencumbered by the Digital Rights Management that plagues consumers.

Yahoo, of course, is not the first to go down this path. eMusic has been doing the same for years, though their selection of artists has often been hampered by that stance. But Yahoo’s major offering of DRM-free music is the new Jessica Simpson album. Simpson is a high profile artist to be trying such a tack with, and Yahoo has taken it one step further by loudly proclaiming their support of DRM-free music in a blog entry:

As you know, we’ve been publicly trying to convince record labels that they should be selling MP3s for a while now. Our position is simple: DRM doesn’t add any value for the artist, label (who are selling DRM-free music every day — the Compact Disc), or consumer, the only people it adds value to are the technology companies who are interested in locking consumers to a particular technology platform.

We’ve also been saying that DRM has a cost. It’s very expensive for companies like Yahoo! to implement. We’d much rather have our engineers building better personalization, recommendations, playlisting applications, community apps, etc, instead of complex provisioning systems which at the end of the day allow you to burn a CD and take the DRM back off, anyway! And on the consumer end there is certainly some discount built into that $0.99 download for the fact that you can burn a limited number of times, can’t play it on your Squeezebox, can’t DJ it with your DJ software, and can’t make a movie out of it with iMovie? I certainly hope so. Un-DRM’d content is implicitly more valuable to a consumer.

The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs

Posted on Jul. 21, ’06, 7:45 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Humor

Simply unbelievably funny is the only way to describe The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs. What makes it funny? For me, it’s the repeated use of “friggin”, as in the subtitle for the site: Dude, I invented the friggin iPod, okay? Have you heard of it? Even his profile is a riot. His number one interest is “turtlenecks”.

It’s what Steve would write if he were in his late teens or early twenties and liked being aggressive publicly, because it seems like he’s actually quite nice in person. I have to admit though, the blog seems to fit when you think about that keynote a while back when Steve threw a digital camera off stage angrily.

Dennis Sellers has a dark secret

Posted on Jul. 21, ’06, 7:05 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Internet

A few of you may already know Dennis Sellers from his work at MacCentral, MacMinute, or his own Mac news site, Macsimum News. Yeah, he’s big time. I was shocked to find out he’s still on dialup. Ouch.

Of course, he’s not the only one to have done this. Chris Breen used to suffer. I know I never gave a second thought to the availability of broadband. I’ve always considered it a given. Dennis has decided to try satellite (much as Chris did). I’m just thankful I have my choice of cable modem or DSL (even though Verizon keeps teasing me with FiOS).

Treo 700w, welcome to the Mac

Posted on Jul. 20, ’06, 5:04 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software » Updates

Mark/Space, the people who make OS X syncing software for PDAs and smartphones, have just upgraded their Missing Sync software for Windows Mobile to version 2.5, which most notably contains support for Windows Mobile 5 devices. Obviously, this is great if you own a Windows Mobile 5 device, but this upgrade also helps out Mac users who own a Palm Treo 700w, which runs on Windows Mobile 5. Previously, the only way to use a Treo 700w with a Mac was to use the limited beta of The Missing Sync for Windows Mobile 2.5. Of course, now you can get the Treo 700p which works directly with OS X (though it can also work with The Missing Sync for Palm OS). The Missing Sync for Windows Mobile is available from Mark/Space for $39.95.

[via TUAW]

How the only Apple Center in Beirut is faring

Posted on Jul. 20, ’06, 3:52 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Apple » Stores

A few days ago we posted on how Intel Israel is doing during the Israel-Lebanon feud. Well, today, Cyrus Farivar, the same author of the Intel Israel post, wrote a news story for Macworld on how the owner of the only authorized Apple Center in Beirut is doing. Jean Medlej, (who owns the Apple Center, a sort of Apple Store outside the U.S. licensed by Apple but not run by them) lives in Beirut and has operated the center for two and a half years. He will most likely have to soon leave Lebanon with his family, leaving the Apple Center behind. According to Medlej:

“It’s very difficult, it’s a beautiful country, the people are nice—but, I don’t know. We’re not considering leaving forever, but there’s nothing to do here for the time being.”

“So we might as well leave for the time being and see what will happen and we’ll definitely be back.”

Medlej closed the Apple Center on the first day of fighting between Israel and Lebanon, July 12. Fortunately, Medlej has already begun plans for starting an Apple Center in Montreal, which hopefully should be able to support him and his family in North America. Medlej is still only one example, though, of the many people in Beirut and southern Lebanon affected by Israel and Lebanon’s feud.

OmniWeb 5.5 beta publicly released

Posted on Jul. 20, ’06, 3:27 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software » Updates

Derik, I’m really sorry I have to do this, but I’m going to have to steal an Omni post from you. Anyway, today the OmniGroup released the public beta of their OmniWeb 5.5 web browser, which previously was in a semi-private beta. OmniWeb 5.5 has several changes over OmniWeb 5.1, including support for user defined style sheets, being based off of a slightly customized version of WebKit, and most notably, being a Universal Binary. While OmniWeb 5.5 did whoop some tuches in TUAW’s browser test, I still prefer Camino and overall Gecko to the WebKit-based OmniWeb.

Time Gadget of the Week : Nike+iPod Sport Kit

Posted on Jul. 20, ’06, 2:30 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | iPod

Here’s Time’s take on it:

What’s freaky about the system is that there’s no GPS tracking system or anything, just a little gyroscopically enabled pebble and the receiver clip for the nano. The pebble measures the impact of each footfall, and the acceleration between your steps to determine your distance. While the system is good at guesstimating distances, it’s not perfect. When my wife and I tested it, it tended to say we went a tad farther than we really did. Serious runners should calibrate it to their stride. To do this, you go to a place where you know an exact distance (Apple suggests a school track), and follow simple instructions under the Calibrate menu item.

Apple, CBS ink ‘Big Brother’ deal

Posted on Jul. 20, ’06, 1:30 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Video

Alright, you Big Brother fans, you can now watch your favorite voyeuristic television show on iTunes. If you act now you can get the whole season of Big Brother: All-Stars for $30. Eh, I’ll stick to Lost.

[via Jam! Showbiz]

Apple on Possible iPhone: “We’re not sitting around doing nothing”

Posted on Jul. 20, ’06, 12:46 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » News

MacDailyNews:

MacDailyNews Take: Whopsie! Oppenheimer likely cringed at least inside as those words passed his lips yesterday. He had to know that Steve Jobs would be placing a call on his prototype iPhone as soon as the conference call ended. Looking back at our live conference call notes, we jotted, “Oppenheimer: Music phones aren’t ready to compete with iPod now, but that is likely to change in the future. Apple is ‘not sitting around doing nothing.’” Yup, that qualifies as “tacit acknowledgement of plans for an iPhone.”

[via Engadget]

Note: The photo at right is a mockup, stolen from Engadget.

Pre-loved iPods available with free accessories

Posted on Jul. 20, ’06, 11:23 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iPod

If you’re looking for a deal on an iPod, and you don’t mind a machine that someone else may have had their grubby little mitts on, Apple’s offering some pretty good deals on refurbished iPods. In addition to Apple-certified refurbishment, a one year warranty, and free shipping, Apple’s throwing in extra accessories at no added cost.

At the moment, the Apple store is offering your choice of a 2GB nano with lanyard headphones ($169), a 512MB shuffle with an armband ($49), a 512MB shuffle with an external battery pack ($49), and 20GB color ($199) and black & white ($169) Click Wheel (non-video) iPods with free Apple docks.

I know some people prefer to buy only new products, but if you’re looking for an introductory iPod for that special someone, this might still be a good deal.

[via digg]

Build your own AIM BudgetBot

Posted on Jul. 20, ’06, 10:12 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Geekery

Gather ‘round, script kiddies, it’s time to roll your own AIM bot. Those crazy kids at Lifehacker actually have come up with a bot that I could see myself sitting down and trying to write — a bot for keeping track of your personal finances.

The ability to text the BudgetBot from your cell phone is the crux of this whole thing, but before you can do so you’ve got to get your Bot’s “phone number.” First, send an IM to your cell phone from your BudgetBot (you’ll want to log into AIM with the BudgetBot you created). When you get the IM via SMS on your phone, you’ll see a 6-digit number (like 265060, my BudgetBot’s number). Add a BudgetBot contact with that number as your phone number et voila - you’re ready to text your BudgetBot like you’d text anyone else.

Gizmo Project makes computer to phone calls mostly free

Posted on Jul. 20, ’06, 9:10 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software

Not about to be upstaged by rival VoIP provider Skype, the Gizmo Project has gone ahead and made calls to land and mobile lines in over 60 countries free of charge. There are, of course, a few restrictions: mobile calls are only free in 17 cities (including US, Canada, and Puerto Rico), leaving 43 countries in which it’s only landline calls that are free (including UK, Australia, France, and Italy, for those of you thinking of making free prank calls to the pope). In addition, both you and the person you’re calling need to be “active” users of Gizmo Project.

An “active” account is one that is used regularly to make voice calls using the Gizmo Project software. If both you and your Gizmo friend have active accounts, you are eligible for the All Calls Free plan. Additionally, the person initiating the call from Gizmo Project must be calling a number listed in their Contacts tab and must be calling a number in one of the countries supported by the All Calls Free plan. If your account, or the account of the person you are calling is inactive, the call will just be charged at our normal low calling rates.

[via MacCentral]

Update: Don’t forget to read Macworld’s recent reviews of Skype, Gizmo Project, and other VoIP applications. — C.F.

Muggers are the real music thieves in UK

Posted on Jul. 20, ’06, 8:52 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iPod

I know Scott was just in London, so I’m sure glad he returned stateside safe and sound. Seems robberies and muggings are up 8 percent in Queen Elizabeth’s realm. The reason? iPods, of course.

Well, that’s what the press would have you believe. British Home Secretary John Reid thinks that kids carrying fancy cell phones and music players are providing too great a temptation for would-be assailants. Whether or not iPods are directly to blame, CNet.co.uk has provided some tips on how to conceal your iPod from your everyday mugger.

Cut an iPod-shaped hole in an old paperback book and insert the iPod into the cavity. This method has worked for centuries as a way of hiding valuable items without drawing attention to them. Put the iPod inside the paperback while you’re walking through volatile areas and then remove it to listen to when you’re back in safe territory. You could also cut a hole for the headphone lead, and run the buds out to your ears. Unfortunately, listening to a paperback novel will probably draw more attention to you than the iPod alone ever would.

Then again, if my suspicions prove correct, the muggers are probably reading the same articles, so don’t be surprised if blokes on the streets start snatching your light lunchtime reading.

The AAPL also rises

Posted on Jul. 20, ’06, 8:28 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Money

Aaron posted Apple’s Q3 financial results yesterday, ending with a fingers-crossed hope that the company’s stock price would be heading uphill. Now if only he’d hope that I’d finally get that pony I’d always wanted. As of the moment, AAPL is trading at just shy of $61. Excellent.

Anyway, there were some other interesting tidbits in the conference call with Apple’s CFO, Peter Oppenheimer (pictured): the Intel Xserve and Power Mac will appear by the end of the year, as scheduled; Apple’s marketshare in the US laptop market has reportedly jumped from 6% to 12%; and the iTunes Music Store did a not too shabby $457 million in revenue. Also, Oppenheimer commented that almost half of the Mac buyers in Apple stores are new Mac owners, suggesting that perhaps the latest Get a Mac campaign has had some effect, though, according to Apple COO Tim Cook, much of the enthusiasm could also be attributed to the beta release of Boot Camp, of which Apple has had “significant” downloads.

And when asked about France’s recent DRM law, Oppenheimer got to drag out the old “state sponsored piracy” chestnut. Still, with loopholes so big you could drive a truck through them, it remains to be seen how much of an effect the legislation will have on Apple’s business.

Uno, more than a card game

Posted on Jul. 20, ’06, 7:32 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Some people dislike Aqua. Even more have a real beef with brushed metal. The new hotness is the the so called “Unified” style. It’s a nice, clean look (I’m one of its fans). The problem is that few applications use it (though that number is rising).

Uno changes all that. It allows you to globally change all Aqua or Brushed Metal styled applications to one of two Unified looks. You can even change the Dashboard dock and iTunes. Be careful though, this does change system files. You can’t beat the price though. It’s free.

[via Softsift]

Another Myztery solved

Posted on Jul. 20, ’06, 6:43 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

I wrote earlier about MacZOT’s latest MyzteryZOT. It concluded Monday, with the five apps revealed Tuesday. I waited until today to write about it because I was a little underwhelmed to be perfectly frank. If you laid down your $5, you got:

• PHPStudio - Looks decent.
• CastLife - Already had a license to CastEasy from a previous Zot.
• AppZapper - I’ve got at least one of these licenses kicking around from previous ZOTs. I might have more.
• Soulver - A little interesting, but I don’t have a problem with traditional calculators.
• World of Where - Already have a license.

Basically, only two of the apps are new to me and only one of them marginally interests me. $5 may be a great price, but I’d rather spend a bit more for some stuff I’d use more often.

Requirements and FUD

Posted on Jul. 20, ’06, 5:59 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Huh?

David Morgenstern of eWeek has speculated about Leopard’s as-yet-unreleased system requirements. Based upon the fact that systems without Firewire didn’t make the cut for Tiger (and Panther dropping the original G3s, though they weren’t mentioned in the article), he suggests that all G3s won’t be able to run Leopard. He also suggests that requirements might be based upon the amount of VRAM. I disagree with both, but it’s a matter of opinion only.

What really got my attention was the end of the article, which includes a common myth that needs to be nipped in the bud.

Apple reports Q3 earnings of $472 million

Posted on Jul. 19, ’06, 5:03 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Money

Well, it’s that time of year again. But what time of year, do you ask? The Q3-earnings time of year. Today, Apple announced their earnings for the third-fiscal quarter, with $472 million of profit, bringing their total revenue to $4.37 billion. Apple’s earnings for this quarter beat out the analyst consensus of $.44, which actual earnings of $.54. Apple also announced that they had shipped 1,327,000 Macs and 8,111,000 iPods over the past quarter, making a 12% growth in Mac sales and a 32% growth in iPod sales over the past year. Hopefully these Q3 results will raise Apple’s stock price tomorrow, which already has happened today in after-hours trading as the stock has gone up $4.12 to $58.22.

You, iSync, and your Mac

Posted on Jul. 19, ’06, 2:28 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Tips

It seems one of the most unreliable and confusing processes of computing (from both the Apple perspective and the mobile phone perspective) is synchronizing. Standards are still up in the air, manufactures are locking out their phones (ahem, Verizon), and there just always seems to be some problem when it comes to syncing.

Apple has thankfully done a little something to help you out when using iSync. Here’s a recently updated Apple support article titled “iSync 2.2: About syncing phones.” There are tips for working with Bluetooth, what to do before you sync, and tips for working with specific phones from all major manufactures (except Samsung and LG). Still consistently a mystery, however, is pairing a phone for use with Dial Up Networking (DUN) and sending SMS messages from Address Book. I’ve still got my eyes towards Apple on this one, as we won’t get any help from phone manufactures.

Lyrics coming soon to iTMS?

Posted on Jul. 19, ’06, 1:43 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | iTunes » iTunes Store

One of my favorite features of the most recent iPods (and of iTunes) is the ability to store song lyrics. I love being able to look up the words to a song without waiting until I have internet access. The only problem in all this is actually obtaining and loading the lyrics into iTunes, which is sometimes painful (despite certain utilities which help).

This problem may soon be gone, however, as Gracenote (the company who provides Apple with its CD Database) has obtained the rights to the lyrics of over one million songs. Perhaps songs will start coming with lyrics preloaded from the iTMS? Whatever happens, I hope it doesn’t cost anything to the consumer; (often inaccurate) lyrics can be found in abundance for free on the net.

Your Tax Dollars at Work : DHS Buys iPods

Posted on Jul. 19, ’06, 1:30 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | iPod

Associated Press, on Katrina fraud and abuse:

12 Apple iPod Nanos and 42 iPod Shuffles, worth $7,000, for Secret Service “training and data storage.” Because the Shuffles cost less than $300, the Secret Service said they were not required to track them to ensure they were used properly.

First Look: Firefox 2 beta

Posted on Jul. 19, ’06, 12:53 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Software

Speaking of Firefox, make sure you go check out Rob “My-hints-are-bigger-than-yours” Griffiths’ first look at Firefox 2 Beta here.

This release of Firefox is being pegged as a major upgrade primarily due to changes that aren’t necessarily visible to the the everyday user. That’s another way of saying that lots of buzzwords have been updated or installed—things like support for JavaScript 1.7, OpenSearch, and SVG’s svg:textPath element. In addition, there’s better security for extensions (as well as better localization support), and session and persistent storage. Taken as a whole, however, these features will eventually make the user’s Web browsing experience better. But from a user’s perspective, these changes are more or less invisible. So what’s in it for the user to upgrade then?

While the Firefox 2.0 beta looks nearly identical to its 1.5 predecessor, there actually are a fair number of new features of interest to the typical user. Here’s a quick look at some of them, based on my testing with the 2.0 beta 1 release.

Take your Firefox to the Macs

Posted on Jul. 19, ’06, 10:27 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Internet

I really want to like Firefox on OS X. Truth is, it’s my primary browser when I’m forced to use Windows, but on the Mac I just keep it around for sites that don’t handle well in Safari (an increasingly small number). But my biggest gripe with Firefox is that it simply doesn’t feel like a Mac application. This mainly has to do with the buttons and “widgets” that one uses to interact with forms on the web. They look rather like they’ve escaped from sort of widget “re-education” camp.

Native OS X-style widgets are due out in Firefox 3.0 (which has recently been released as an alpha), but seeing as how 2.0 is still in beta, that’s a ways off. Until then, you can check out this excellent tutorial about how to make your Firefox look a little bit more like a Mac app, using a combination of Firefox extensions, themes, and good old-fashioned hacks. It’s certainly a step towards letting me run Firefox without continuously cringing.

[via Lifehacker]

LibraryBooks brings your library to you

Posted on Jul. 19, ’06, 9:52 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software

I’m kind of a library nut (I say, as I write this in a library reading room). Part of this—okay, most of it—comes from being raised by a pair of librarians and having spent much of my youth working in libraries. But a lot of it has to do with enjoying books too. After all, if you’re a true book lover, you you can’t really beat the price (or selection) of a library.

Many libraries now offer the ability to search their catalogs online, and even request materials from your web browser. Still, if you want to keep close tabs on what you have out at the time, and make sure you don’t incur dreaded late fees, it can be a pain to repeatedly check the website.

That’s where Harold Chu’s Library Books comes in. This little app sits in your menubar and keeps track of how many items you have out at any given time, and whether any of them are overdue. It can even add a calendar to iCal with the due dates for your materials. While not all library systems are supported, there is an impressive list of ones that are.

One caveat: I had some trouble with the latest release version of the application (it would quit almost instantly), but the latest beta version (direct download link) seems to work fine for me.

Boot Camp 1.0.2 actually DOES fix stuff

Posted on Jul. 19, ’06, 9:33 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Windows

Derik mentioned the very hush-hush update to Boot Camp that emerged last week, although there was alittle information at the time exactly what was involved with said update. MacFixIt has gotten a few reports about things that seem to have been improved. Notably, the common problem that many had with XP not retaining its time correctly seems to have been repaired. Also, one user reports that a problem he had with getting the Mac to recognize the ALT key at startup (for choosing between OS X and XP) seems to have been fixed as well.

MacFixIt is also reporting that there are updated drivers in the new version of Boot Camp, though there don’t seem to be much in the way of specifics on exactly which drivers have been updated and what have been changed. I haven’t gotten a chance to update my installation yet; I’m holding out some hope that it fixes the headphone/speaker glitch that I’ve experienced, but I probably shouldn’t hold my breath.

MacBooks and Pros do spontaneous shutdown?

Posted on Jul. 19, ’06, 9:18 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

Between yellowing wrist rests and whining processors, MacBook and MacBook Pro owners have had their fair share of problems. But just when you thought it was safe to flip on that computer again disaster strikes again.

It seems some MacBook and MacBook Pro owners have been experiencing random shutdowns, where the notebook will simply turn itself off with no provocation or warning. There are a number of forum threads on this problem, including a long-running one on the Apple Discussion Boards. The word on the metaphorical street seems to be that the problem stems from a logic board issue. Several users have had them replaced by Apple.

It’s hard to tell, as always, just how many users are being affected by this problem. I’ve had no problem with my MacBook, nor have I heard anything from others I know who own a MacBook or MacBook Pro. Could this be another example of the Internet echo chamber, or does Apple have a serious QA problem here? MacBook/MacBook Pro owners: feel free to add your thoughts.

[via Infinite Loop]

Use Xgrid to help Stanford

Posted on Jul. 19, ’06, 7:39 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Geekery

Surely you’ve heard of SETI@home or Folding@home. You download a screensaver that donates spare CPU cycles to massive computation projects. It’s a great way to get involved and it’s a smart idea for these projects because the amount of spare computing power in the massive amount of personal computers out there is simply mind-boggling.

When Stanford’s Molecular and Cellular Physiology department started one of these projects, they had to ask themselves, why reinvent the wheel? Apple supplies Xgrid for free (check it out in Sharing if you’re using Tiger). The setup really couldn’t be easier. If my Power Mac weren’t already running so hot, I’d donate its spare CPU, but my Powerbook, that’s going on the grid. There’s even a widget to monitor activity. How can you say no?

[via Digg]

Tip: Stop Safari forgetfulness

Posted on Jul. 19, ’06, 6:45 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Tips

Safari is my primary browser, which means I’m constantly using its password remember feature (because I’m lazy and have too many passwords). Keychain helps act as my memory. It always bugged me though, that you could press the “Never for this Website” button by accident have no apparent way to force Safari to remember. A hint from macosxhints shows us how to do just that.

The fix is easy — open Keychain Access (in Utilities), then look in the login keychain and find the site you tried to visit. Somewhere in the list, you’ll see an entry like this:

www.somesite.com (Passwords not saved)

Simply delete that item from the login keychain, restart Safari, and Safari will prompt you to save usernames and passwords when logging in to that site. The easiest way to find it in Keychain Access is to search for it using part of the website’s URL as your search term.

Very useful. Really though, this should be in Safari’s preferences. Maybe that’ll be one of those hundreds of improvements we’re always promised (and will be in August).

Driving over Mr. Jobs

Posted on Jul. 19, ’06, 5:54 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » People

Just when you think you’ve read it all, Wolf comes up with a doozy. He almost ran the turtleneck sporting CEO, Steve Jobs, and Phil Schiller over with his rental car. I don’t think I could do it justice. The story starts and Jonathan is bearing down with his car, shocked at who he’s looking at.

Well, not a problem, cars these days have feature called a brake — a means of slowing (even stopping!) the vehicle sans external impact. If you haven’t opted for this feature yet I highly recommend it — it will pay for itself in fender repair bills alone.

[…]

In emergency mode with sloppy aiming, as I went to stomp the brake pedal, the right side of my foot squarely caught the unfamiliar car’s accelerator as well. That’s right: I hit both the brake and the gas while I was trying to stop.

I hope it’s the case with all cars that when you press both pedals equally simultaneously, The Brake Wins. That’s what happened in this case, albeit with an undesired effect: the car went further than I wished it had, and the engine revved loudly, menacingly.

I know I’m relieved that he managed to stop. Phil and Steve weren’t amused, glaring at our poor protagonist. Scary.

An iPod Pocket PC

Posted on Jul. 18, ’06, 2:42 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Geekery

This guy found a way to get an iPod interface on his Pocket PC phone using a little app called pPod. The video could do with a little less rambling, but it nonetheless demos the interface very nicely. Now if only he would write a tutorial for all us who are desperately waiting for an iPod phone. This is as close as we can get for now.

[via MAKE]

Parallels Desktop now available in Apple Stores

Posted on Jul. 18, ’06, 1:50 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software

Remember yesterday when I posted about Parallels Desktop being available in stores? Well, already you can get Parallels Desktop at Apple Stores nationwide and at the online Apple Store. Parallels will also be available at other resellers, such as Staples, Office Depot, CompUSA, Fry’s Electronics, and Micro Center.

Get the most battery life from your MB(P)

Posted on Jul. 18, ’06, 1:19 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Tips

So, you think you know how to get the most from your MacBook (Pro)’s battery, huh? Well I’ll bet you know some of the things you can do to squeeze every last minute of power from your battery, but here’s a complete list, adapted from the MacBook Users Guide:

• Turn off AIrPort & Bluetooth
• Quit any open applications not in use. This will prevent the hard drive from spinning up unnecessary and also power less RAM.
• Turn down your backlight to the lowest setting.
• Remove CDs or DVDs from the disc drive.
• Ensure the “Put hard disk to sleep…” is checked in Energy Saver
• Finally, in Energy Saver make sure to choose “Better Battery Life” from the “Optimization” popup menu (available only when when power settings are set to “Battery”). Selecting this mode actually limits the speed and performance of your Intel processor, using less power and giving you greater battery life. Perfect for word processing, email writing, or file browsing.

Woz + Kevin Spacey + Adrian Lamo = A Movie about Hacking?

Posted on Jul. 18, ’06, 12:21 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » People

Yes, it’s true. The Woz and other computer luminaries of the last 20-30 years are banding together to make Can You Hack It? a movie about famed “homeless hacker” Adrian Lamo. This should be better than The Net, but probably not as good as Sneakers.

Nike + iPod unlaced

Posted on Jul. 18, ’06, 11:06 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

I’m still working through the enormous backlog of my week off, so forgive me if some of my stories aren’t breaking news. Aaron already posted how to get your Nike + iPod transceiver working with any sneakers (a great tip), but for those of you a little more interested in the inner workings of the little dongle, here’s a look at it au naturel (from Tewks.net, in case you couldn’t tell). You have to love the guys that go out and buy brand new equipment, only to break it. There’s something so…human about it.

I have no idea what the heck these parts do (paging How Stuff Works), but they sure look nifty. Unfortunately, the last electronics shop class I took was in 7th or 8th grade summer camp, and the only thing I remember about that was watching Sneakers. Good times.

[via digg]

Amazing Mac mods

Posted on Jul. 18, ’06, 10:00 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Geekery

Here’s a new article by yours truly from the August 2006 issue of Macworld:

Back in the day, clever geeks who wanted to customize a cool piece of hardware hot-rodded their cars. These days, they mod their Macs. In the Mac’s sleek exterior, they see an invitation to a little self-expression.

Modders love their Macs (and iPods) so much that they want to paint them, accessorize them, and put them into new cases—making the outside as personalized as their on-screen desktops. Here are some of our favorites.

Apple phone home redux?

Posted on Jul. 18, ’06, 9:15 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software

Just the other week, people were spinning out of control about news that Apple’s latest OS X update, 10.4.7, contained code that would check whether widgets were up-to-date, whether the user liked it or not.

Now, Tim Gaden of Hawk Wings posts that Apple Mail also checks in with Apple. A tcpdump of the process shows that Apple transmits a few strings of information to certinfo.mac.com. In Tim’s case, the problem was that at his workplace, port 80 (the HTTP port) was blocked, so Mail was hanging; hence the discovery.

While he’s not sure exactly what info Apple is transmitting, the naming of the server suggests that it might have something to do with security certificates. A fix found elsewhere on the web that involves deleting ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.security.plist seems to concur with that assessment.

I agree with Tim that the bigger problem is not the information Apple is likely transmitting (as it’s a very small amount), but more that Mail.app is dumb enough that it doesn’t respect proxy settings. Still, anyone who thinks they might have an idea is encouraged to check out the original post.

Dell Latitude vs MacBook bake-off

Posted on Jul. 18, ’06, 8:44 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

We’re having a heatwave in the country right now, which you may not know if you reside in a city composed of air-conditioned caves connected by glass walkways (I’m talking to you, Minneapolis). Having never had A/C in my house, I’m enjoying the cooler climes of public spaces like the library.

But given all this excess heat, it’s really unhelpful that my MacBook generates so much warmth. Almost as though it were situated on top of some unholy Hellmouth. Does everybody have this problem? Yes, says egg-frying man. Yes, they do.

Brian Krische decided to find out. Taking a MacBook and a Dell Latitude D620 (I’m not sure what relationship it bears to the famously flaming laptop), he ran them through their paces by playing the same DVD on both and periodically checking the temperature.

Though the MacBook did run hotter than the Latitude, the average temperatures of the two are pretty close, a point which Krische chalks up to fewer fans. For my part, given that the DVD in question was the recent remake of The Hills Have Eyes, I’m surprised that the computers didn’t just implode into nothingness.

[via The Consumerist]

Apple needs to get behind games before games will get behind them

Posted on Jul. 18, ’06, 8:08 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Games

Give me a minute to see if I can come up with something positive to say about the Mac gaming market. Hmm. Um. Well, I suppose it’s not the Linux gaming market. *ducks oncoming horde of Linux gamers*

Still, Lionhead Studios founder Peter Molyneux (whose soul is now wholly owned by Microsoft), spilled his opinion of Mac gaming in a recent interview with gamer blog Joystiq:

[Joystiq:] There’s this Catch 22 situation where not many people play games on the Mac and therefore developers don’t want to make games for the Mac.

[Molyneux:] Exactly. I think it would need Apple to get behind games. There’s nothing in their operating system that panders to games at all and I take my hats off to Microsoft. I think they’ve realized that games are important.

I think there are three major options, as far as the Mac gaming platform goes: 1) Keep on as it is now, and watch as support slowly erodes for games, especially given the introduction of Boot Camp. 2) Apple gets seriously into the game market, creating a framework competitive with Microsoft’s DirectX gaming architecture. 3) Somebody (Apple or a third party) figures out a way to get DirectX running on OS X. And while the latter two are certainly not easy, they look to be the only way Apple is going to get back in the game.

Is this what androids dream of?

Posted on Jul. 18, ’06, 7:41 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Geekery

The Electric Sheep may soon become my new screensaver of choice. Its website shows some simply stunning digital art. The developer describes it as:

Electric Sheep is a free, open source screen saver run by thousands of people all over the world. It can be installed on any ordinary PC or Mac. When these computers “sleep”, the screen saver comes on and the computers communicate with each other by the internet to share the work of creating morphing abstract animations known as “sheep”. The result is a collective “android dream”, an homage to Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.

Whoa, it’s just like being back in college. Or so I hear. Yeah. Unfortunately, I’ve been too impatient to get my first sheep. Maybe later today I’ll have my own that I can shear. For those not using Mac OS X, you can slum it with a Windows or Linux version.

[via APC]

Hot or not for your Mac setup

Posted on Jul. 18, ’06, 6:54 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

It was inevitable and yet I never thought of it. MacBattle pits pictures of two setups up against one another, letting you click the winner. I can see it now; instead of spending endless hours carefully choosing a 1-10 rating for someone I’ll never meet, I’ll click one setup over another… for endless hours.

Of course, it’s not quite hot or not, as it’s a comparison instead of a simple rating. Perhaps there’s still room in the market of Mac system rating.

Ars deconstructs the Mac Pro, before it arrives

Posted on Jul. 18, ’06, 6:08 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware

I’m one of those, waiting with baited breath for WWDC and hopefully, a Mac Pro announcement. My Power Mac G4 MDD (you want to talk about noise problems with your MacBook Pro? you don’t have it that bad) is starting to show its age… in a big way. I need a replacement and I’m ready for Intel.

With every machine transitioned, my mind started racing with possibilities. Lately, I’ve started reading the rumor sites with renewed enthusiasm. With all these specs being thrown around, I needed a guide to all this new hardware. Ars Technica is my guide. They’re predicting Xeon processors for the mid-range and high-end Mac Pros, with a Conroe in the entry-level. Naturally, I don’t be settling for anything but the middle one.

The rumor sites seem to just like throwing out numbers. Ars explains why theirs make sense.

Time & music, fused into one

Posted on Jul. 17, ’06, 2:28 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Apple » Humor

A concept seen to the right is of an iPod watch, cleverly designed by Peter Burns, which supports wireless bluetooth headphones and a 10GB capacity. This is quite the little device; I think the nano could learn a lesson from it. Now if only it was real…

Virtualization, coming to a store near you

Posted on Jul. 17, ’06, 2:08 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software

Parallels Desktop is a great virtualization program from Intel Macs, but unfortunately it’s only available online. Well, not anymore. Nova Development will be selling Parallels Desktop in stores along copies of Mac OS X. You will be able to purchase Parallels Desktop in stores for the same price as it is online, $79.95.

A few quick MP3 player statistics

Posted on Jul. 17, ’06, 1:37 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Music

If you consider yourself an informed Mac and iPod user, then you certainly will want to be familiar with the following statistics from Solutions Research Group:

• Percent of people who own a MP3 player has tripled in the past year—from 8% to 27%.
• Percent of men owning a MP3 player increased from 18% to 28% in the past year.
• Number of female iPod users has tripled in the past year.
• 45% of Americans download music online, while 23% of Americans have paid for a song download (up from 8% in 2005).

[via Playlist]

Civ IV beta patch fixes CPU, sound issues

Posted on Jul. 17, ’06, 11:51 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Games

Aspyr Media just announced a patch for Civilization IV, that fixes some of the problems users were having with sound. I can confirm that I experienced a lack of sound during the combat scenes, which struck me as weird. I’m glad to see that they’re fixing this. My full review of Civilization IV will be out in the coming weeks.

Intel finds itself on the front lines in Israel

Posted on Jul. 17, ’06, 11:48 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Hardware

IDG News Service:

Several barrages of rockets fired by Hezbollah guerillas in southern Lebanon hit the Israeli port city of Haifa on Sunday. The coastal city is home to one of Intel Corp.’s most important processor design centers.

The first barrage of rockets on Sunday killed eight Israeli workers and wounded 17 at a train depot in Haifa. No one was injured by two additional attacks on the city that same day, according to Israeli media reports. On Sunday, Israel’s Home Front Command ordered residents in Haifa to stay inside bomb shelters.

Despite the rocket attacks, operations at Intel’s Haifa design center have so far not been disrupted, said Koby Bahar, a spokesman for Intel Israel. The center employs around 2,300 workers, he said.

Responding to the Home Front Command’s orders, essential employees are working inside protected areas at Intel’s development center while others work from bomb shelters near their home. “The protective shelters in Haifa are equipped with wireless connections and all Intel employees have laptops, so that hasn’t affected work,” Bahar said.

Want an iPod? Give us a hint.

Posted on Jul. 17, ’06, 9:10 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Internet

Rob “the Hintinator” Griffiths of our sister site Mac OS X Hints is launching a brand new Best Hints contest. As if the site wasn’t good enough already, Rob and Macworld are teaming up to award nine iPods to those who submit the best hints.

The hints must be submitted through Mac OS X Hints’s usual channels; then Macworld editors will choose the best three hints for each of the months of July, August, and September. The winners will receive an iPod (30GB 5G for first place, 1GB nano for second, and 1GB shuffle for third) and a 12-month subscription to Macworld.

For those of you who’ve already submitted a hint for the first couple weeks of July, fear not: the contest is retroactive, so you’re taking care of. If you’ve been hoarding that secret hint all to yourself, in the hopes that some day it would bring you to an unbridled life of fortune and glory, well, you’re pretty weird, but here’s your chance. Be sure to check out the official rules before entering, and then get your hint on.

Leander Kahney is the anti-Dvorak: calm, rational, and correct

Posted on Jul. 17, ’06, 8:47 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Business

When the din of the Internet becomes a crashing roar, Leander Kahney of Wired News’s Cult of Mac blog is there to quell the waves. Unlike agent provocateur extraordinaire John Dvorak, Leander looks at Mac news with a critical and reasonable eye, rather than merely trying to generate cheap publicity. So when mainstream news sources started speculating about a consumer “backlash” against Apple, Leander investigated (a novel concept!), then deemed it “hogwash.” Or something very much like “hogwash.” Only, you know, much more sophisticated and all that.

But, in fact, there’s no consumer backlash at all. Apple’s firing on all cylinders, and is selling more Macs and iPods than ever.

Look at the numbers: Apple is enjoying about 20 percent year-on-year growth in Macs and about 200 percent growth in iPods. The quarter that ended April 1 was the second biggest quarter in Apple’s history, and continued blockbuster sales of both Macs and iPods are predicted.

Meanwhile, I look forward to the inevitable battle far above the Earth’s atmosphere when Leander will take on Dvorak—no holds barred.

[hat tip: Jason Tocci]

Remember, remember the 17th of July

Posted on Jul. 17, ’06, 8:06 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software

Yes, it’s the Mac holiday celebrated the world over as “iCal day.” Open up that Applications folder and gaze upon the iCal icon. What mysteries does its July 17th date hold? What might we learn about the thought process of Steve Jobs et al if we could only understand what July 17th really meant?

On the other hand, perhaps we can merely settle for the fact that July 17th, 2002 was the day that Apple introduced iCal. Well, hurrah. Happy 4th birthday, iCal.

And for those of you who are annoyed that the inactive icon for iCal always displays the mystical 17th of July, Mac OS X Hints has got you covered. But don’t forget to add a reminder in iCal itself so you won’t forget this specialest of days.

How the Click Wheel works

Posted on Jul. 17, ’06, 7:34 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | iPod

Arguably the one piece of the iPod that really makes it stand out is its Click Wheel. In particular, the ability to rub one’s finger around it to scroll through menus and adjust volume. Have you ever wondered how it worked? Wonder no more.

You gotta love Howstuffworks.com. They even tested to see that you can use an orange. I can’t do the explanation justice, but I will say one word: capacitance.

[via del.icio.us]

Microsoft to leave Macs out of Live Messenger? Shocking

Posted on Jul. 17, ’06, 6:53 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Internet

Sometimes I swear Microsoft is trying to sabotage their own products. Microsoft still isn’t sure it’ll offer a Mac Windows Live Messenger. Messenger clients are communication tools. They rely upon a large user bases and compete for market share. In order to corner the market, you have to make sure that not only is your customer able to use it, but all their friends. I don’t use pretty much anything but AIM because all my friends are on it.

Sure, Yahoo Messenger 3.0 (currently in beta) will help Mac users get in on the IM action, but if Microsoft wants to really wants to succeed, why cut out a market segment that’s on the rise and has been relevant thus far? It’s all pushing me to Jabber, the only IM network without an agenda. Then again, with Google hooked into the Jabber network and their arrangement with AOL promising an AIM to Google Talk connection, will the Yahoo/MSN network be relevant?

Ghata P., I knew him well

Posted on Jul. 17, ’06, 6:02 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Humor

Ok, so maybe it’s immature. Maybe the poor Mac Genius shouldn’t be jerked around like he was. I still laughed.

[via ifoAppleStore]

OS X re-created in Flash.

Posted on Jul. 17, ’06, 4:28 AM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Internet

Apparently someone wanted to re-create OS X in Flash, for what seems to be for showing off his/her Flash, website, and Photoshop work. The Flash OS X site, or iFizzle, can be displayed either in a white or black MacBook, a MacBook Pro, a Cinema Display, or an iMac. Of course, the iFizzle is nether the only or best Flash representation of OS X; FlyakiteOSX offers a much more realistic Flash version of the Mac operating system, including features such as Spotlight, the menus at the top of the screen, and double clicking.

[via Newsvine]

Microsummaries make bookmarks exciting again

Posted on Jul. 16, ’06, 6:03 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Internet

I’m a Woot addict. Today, their blog had an entry about their support for microsummaries. Basically, it supplies a very small summary for a web page. In Firefox 2.0, this will allow for bookmarks with dynamically updating description text. For Woot, this means a price and description of the product.

What about Safari though? Will Leopard add support? Will it change bookmark labels or take another more exciting approach? And what about the hcal format, which given its iCal basis seems like a natural? I’m hoping the next version of Safari is the microformats version, adding support for a ton of them.

Use Nike + iPod Kit with non-Nike+ shoes

Posted on Jul. 16, ’06, 5:10 AM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | iPod

So you lets say you want to get the new Nike + iPod Sport Kit, but don’t want to get the Nike+ shoes (personally, I’m, a fan of New Balance). Well, Podophile has figured out how to put your Nike + iPod sensor into any pair of shoes, using only a needle and thread and some velcro. All you need to do is attach some velcro to the tongue of the shoe, right below the laces, sew the velcro onto the shoe to secure it, and then attach some velcro to the receiver and attach it to the velcro on the shoe. Also, Podophile has even put up a guide for making the sensor waterproof by attaching the sensor to the shoe while in a small plastic bag. But, if you don’t like Podophile’s method, you can also get the Nike + iPod Sport Kit onto your shoes with the use of the Nike Run Shoe Wallet S05 (not available on the Niketown website), which attaches onto the top of any shoe and is the perfect size for holding the sensor. Another alternative is just to get an X-acto knife and cut a hole in the bottom of your shoe and place the sensor there. With all of these ways to get the Nike + iPod Sport Kit into normal shoes, it really makes me want to get one, except for the fact that it doesn’t work with the elliptical trainer, which I use very frequently. Oh Nike, why must you torture me!

[via TUAW and comments]

Straight talk from… Symantec?

Posted on Jul. 15, ’06, 8:14 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Security

I officially have a new favorite employee of Symantec. That’s Todd Woodward. He’s written one of the most well reasoned pieces by a security software company on Mac OS X.

Simply put, at the time of writing this article, there are no file-infecting viruses that can infect Mac OS X. … Long before the digital ink dried on those simplistic and sensational headlines our Security Response team had determined that OSX.Leap.A was a worm, and not a file-infecting virus.

He warns that although there are none now, it’s a possibility in the future. Naturally, I think the probability is exceedingly low, but the vigilance he suggests is never a bad idea. On any platform.

Bill Gates got served

Posted on Jul. 15, ’06, 7:03 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Rivals

Bill Gates has more money than he really knows what to do with. His company is also struggling to ship a product that’s been delayed more times than I dare try counting. Enter Wil Shipley, Delicious Monster developer. Wil has challenged Bill to a bet.

Still, I’m willing to risk $10,000 of my money against $30,000 of yours that you do NOT ship Vista by January. (That’s 1 to 3 odds, for bookie-types.)

That’s quite a wager. I doubt Mr. Gates will take him up on it. It’s certainly not because he’s afraid of losing the money. He’s just afraid of being wrong.

Old Mac OSes on Portable Gaming Systems

Posted on Jul. 15, ’06, 5:07 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Geekery

Here’s a video of Mac OS System 7.5 running on a PSP. And this guy managed to get Mac OS System 6.0 running on a Nintendo DS.

Some folks have way too much time on their hands. But they’re still awesome.

Pimp your Apple remote with Remote Buddy

Posted on Jul. 15, ’06, 5:07 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Software

Now, when I say pimp your remote, I’m not talking about a nappa leather case. I’m talking about something a little more useful.

It’s little piece of software called Remote Buddy. We’ve had a few other remote expansion software packages posted here at MacUser, but this one is a little special. It’s special because it’s expandable through specialized plugins called behaviours, which allow you to add new and different applications to be controlled by your remote. Some other particularly useful functions of Remote Buddy:

• Use your remote as a virtual keyboard and mouse
• Control and actively switch between both Front Row & EyeTV
• Comes with preloaded behaviours for tons of apps including iTunes, Keynote, PowerPoint, Photo Booth, Exposé, GarageBand, and many more
• Uses a remote-based interface for controlling and switching between apps—how easy!

If this sounds appealing, try out the 30-day trial version. Then go ahead and grab the app while it’s still in beta for only $12.54. You’ll receive a full upgrade for free when the app is officially released.

MAKE in iTunes

Posted on Jul. 15, ’06, 4:39 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Geekery

Just in case you may not have known, MAKE Magazine put out a shameless plug for their free iTunes podcasts. Self-promotion or not, this is just darn cool. The iTMS MAKE podcasts include audio, video, and PDFs to suit whatever style of MAKEing you’re looking to do…

MAKE is a publication…for those who just can’t stop tinkering, disassembling, re-creating, and inventing cool new uses for the technology in our lives.

MAKE celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend technology any way you want.

Sounds like Mac users to me.

The end of the whiny MacBook Pro

Posted on Jul. 15, ’06, 4:08 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware » Intel Macs

A few people have had many issues with their MacBook Pro emitting strange, obnoxious sounds. They’ve also been billed as extremely hot. Daniel Jalkut has been chronicling his own experiences. To date, the sounds his laptop has emitted are:

• Whining when a core is idle
• Humming/hissing when the brightness isn’t full
• The “moo”

After sending it in and putting up with a frustrating customer service experience, a rep finally agreed to send a replacement. There have been rumors of a new logic board, and I’m inclined to believe them now. Dan’s new MBP is silent. It’s even cooler.

What does this do for you if you’re one of the afflicted? Not a lot. However, it does mean that you should persist. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

London Rocking

Posted on Jul. 15, ’06, 9:00 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | iPod

Speaking of London, what’s this I read on the Beeb that iTrips are illegal in the UK?

Gadgets which transmit MP3 players’ output so they can be heard on FM radios may become legal in the UK.

Communications regulator Ofcom is holding a public consultation over the issue until September.

Using iTrips and other “low-power FM transmitters” is banned in Europe as their low-power transmissions can, in theory, interfere with legal stations.

The devices and other similar MP3 player accessories are popular abroad and widely available online.

The Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1949 forbids the use of radio equipment without a licence or an exemption.

But the gadgets are now expected to become legal to use - without a license - by 2007.

Elgato to release EyeTV 2.3 with Front Row-like interface

Posted on Jul. 14, ’06, 4:05 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software » Updates

When Front Row was first announced last fall, many people were disappointed at the fact that it did not include any support for TV recording devices. More than half a year later the problem still exists. Well, now there may be an alternative. Elgato Systems, maker of the popular EyeTV television recording devices for the Mac, plans to release it’s EyeTV 2.3 software with a Front Row-like interface. EyeTv 2.3 will have a full-screen mode that will allow full control of the EyeTV software using the Apple Remote, and even have an option to open Front Row. The full-screen mode is already implanted into EyeTV 2.2.2, which is included with the EyeTV for DTT stick (pictured at right), which allows European users to watch and record Digital Terrestrial Television on their Mac. While Elgato’s full-screen mode may be a good way to integrate TV recording functions into Front Row, Apple still should be able to get that feature directly into Front Row themselves.

The new iPod: the Apple…remote?

Posted on Jul. 14, ’06, 2:12 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Apple » Huh?

Sometimes, I honestly wonder what our world has come to. If the same amount of energy was spent on, say, world hunger as it was on iPod accessories, the world would be a very different place. That being said, have a look at the latest in Apple fashion: a nappa leather Apple Remote case.

This premium leather case is felt lined and made from “smooth ultra-high quality genuine nappa leather” which “incorporates vivid rosso red and brilliant white colors to give an air of luxury.” Someone wake me up when reality hits.

iPods, cell phones, and the future

Posted on Jul. 14, ’06, 1:29 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | iPod

According to MacNN and BusinessWeek Online, consumers are starting to favor mobile phones over their iPods. Rather than carrying both an iPod and a cell phone, many carry a phone which holds anywhere from 100 to 500 songs. The most recent of cell phones have reached the current top capacities of the iPod nano (4 GB).

I must say, even I have considered abandoning my iPod on an everyday basis. The Sony Ericsson W810i phone is quite an attractive looking little phone. Small, 30 hour battery life, expandable memory, camera, internet access, FM radio, and oh yeah, did I mention it’s a cell phone too? At a price of not much more than an iPod (it runs about $350) it’s rather hard to resist.

So what for Apple’s future then? Is the iPod obsolete in two years? Well, it’s like that old Darwinian saying: adapt or die. Thankfully, some recent patents seem to indicate Apple has chosen the first option.

The image above (courtesy of AppleInsider) is one of ten recent patents Apple has filed with in a European trademark and design office. It’s what appears to be a redesigned iPod nano with cell phone style buttons and a click wheel at the top. Who knows what the future may hold for this pencil-sketched iPod and the company we know (and love?) so well.

First-hand at the Apple store, London

Posted on Jul. 14, ’06, 12:56 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Apple » Stores

So here I am in London, right? And I know there’s an Apple Store present (I can smell it), but I’ve no idea where. Just so happens that I stumble upon it today. Luckily I’ve got my camera and MacBook in my bag, so I can share the wonderful presence of the London Mothership with all of you. Click here to be taken to flickr for a quick nine picture tour.

Apple scores high marks in customer satisfaction

Posted on Jul. 14, ’06, 11:51 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » Stores

When I saw this story on MacCentral, about how Apple just got a customer service high score from research firm Satmetrix Systems, I wasn’t surprised.

I just had to go to San Francisco store earlier this week to get my iPod replaced (the screen had gone all haywire on me, and it’s under warranty). I was expecting to wait at least an hour, but to my pleasant surprise, I only had to wait 10 minutes longer than I was supposed to, and my issue was resolved in another 10 minutes. Now if only I didn’t have to pay a $30 fee to get that iPod replaced after my 90 days after purchase, that would be sweet.

Analysts: Blu-ray looms in Apple’s future

Posted on Jul. 14, ’06, 10:26 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Hardware

MacCentral:

As with any future product, Apple is keeping its plans for Blu-ray under wraps. But industry analysts don’t think we’ll have long to wait before Apple puts a Blu-ray drive in an Intel-based Mac.

The most likely candidate? The as-yet unreleased machine that will replace the Power Mac as Apple’s professional desktop offering.

“Apple’s past practices favor bringing new optical technologies to professional systems first,” said Jupiter Research senior analyst Joe Wilcox. “DVD-RAM and DVD-R formats are excellent examples.”

Ross Rubin, director of analysis at market-research firm NPD Group, agrees that Apple will work with the professional machines first. However, noting that Intel-based pro desktops have yet to appear, he predicts Blu-ray drives won’t wind up in Apple systems for a few more months.

“January would be good—the timing for that would work out pretty well,” Rubin said. “It comes down to the introduction cycle, but we would see it in desktops first, no doubt.”

VPC for Windows free: precursor of things to come?

Posted on Jul. 14, ’06, 9:34 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Windows

Parallels Desktop may be a scene stealer right now, but Virtual PC is still a good product (for PowerPC owners at the very least). Microsoft has decided to make the Windows version of the software free. But not the Mac version.

It’s a little perplexing to me because most of its users would be buying copies of Windows, which isn’t a given for the Windows version. However, the strategy is pretty apparent in what’s suggested in the comments.

So you are trying to do to VMWare what you did to Netscape?

Sounds about right.

When they say “for education”, they mean it

Posted on Jul. 14, ’06, 7:45 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple

Before the eMac was offered to anyone with a credit card and something resembling a pulse, it was exclusively for those involved in education. However, that policy is not enforced very toughly. Apple has recognized that fact.

A note to dealers reveals: “Please be advised that the iMac for education is no longer available to education individuals. Effective immediately this product is only available to education institutions. The product will be removed from the Apple Education Individual Stores from 12 July 2006.”

I guess all those people with the bright idea to order that low cost iMac through a student or teacher are out of luck. Give me a moment to dry my crocodile tears. All that abuse has basically hurt many students.

Double shift dead spots

Posted on Jul. 14, ’06, 6:00 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Huh?

When you press your left shift key and press q; you get a “Q”. Hold the right shift key and press q; you get a “Q”. Hold down both shift keys. Press q. You get… nothing? Uhhhh. It’s not the only key. However, not all the keys go dead. Bizarre.

Wolf is on the case. The problem seems to be specific to Apple’s recent USB keyboards (such as those in the MacBook Pro and included with the desktops). My Macally iceKey doesn’t exhibit this problem. It’s minor and people are unlikely to notice, but has this ever bitten you?

Macbook functions as portable stove top

Posted on Jul. 14, ’06, 4:23 AM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Hardware » Intel Macs

We’ve all been hearing a lot about how hot the new Macbooks are. Well, now someone has actually proved how hot they really are by frying an egg on the bottom of one, which heated up to 159 degrees Fahrenheit. I bet that was one tasty egg.

[via TUAW]

Where’s auto-save 2.0?

Posted on Jul. 13, ’06, 2:17 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Software

In this modern computing era, some things just never seem to change. You would think that as hardware and software progress, so too would their basic given features. Take auto-save for example, the wonderful invention which has saved many a weary-eyed author. It so beautifully saves your document every ten (or two, or twenty) minutes.

But it is so outdated. With the power of modern hardware, where most computers (Macs) utilize dual cores, I will propose an auto-save 2.0. Why can’t an application monitor my usage of the program, and automatically save my document when it detects my attention has been diverted elsewhere?

Just yesterday I lost 25 minutes of work because my battery died. When switching out the battery, I pulled it too soon, before the computer had saved the memory contents to hard disk. This obviously caused the computer to shutdown. My fault? Of course. But could software have helped? Of course.

Quicksilver 1.0β49 out

Posted on Jul. 13, ’06, 1:49 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software » Updates

Quicksilver, currently the app that I can’t live without, has now been updated to version 1.0β49. For those of you that don’t know, Quicksilver is a launcher, which after a keystroke, brings up a simple, two-paned interface for opening applications and files, browsing your hard drive, and much more. β49 has several improvements over β48, including support for droplets, the ability to use hierarchal triggers, preliminary support for trigger scope and, most notably, a redesigned preference pane featuring a new guide pane. Quicksilver β49, like all of its previous versions, is free, and can be downloaded here.

[via digg]

AirPort your iBook on the cheap

Posted on Jul. 13, ’06, 1:10 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Geekery

Have an old iBook with no AirPort card? Realized that those useful cards will cost you quite a pretty penny? Want a solution? Check out this tutorial! It will walk you through the steps of installing a Lucent WaveLAN Wi-Fi card into your iBook. It fits nicely and even utilizes duct tape in the install process. Now that’s what I call budget computing!

[via MAKE]

The lost Mac ads

Posted on Jul. 13, ’06, 11:30 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » Humor

Ok, so it’s a little old, but still pretty damned funny. Or as Valleywag put it: “despite this funny video macs are still better than pcs so suck it.”

Click here to watch the video.

Thanks, podcast listeners!

Posted on Jul. 13, ’06, 10:30 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Music » Podcasting

Thanks to all of you podcast listeners who then come to Macworld.com! We appreciate your support.

CNET:

To whom should you be targeting your podcasts? Apple Computer users, Trekkies and maybe Nike lovers, according to a new survey.

Macworld is the No. 1 most-visited content site by people who download audio podcasts, according to media research group Nielsen/NetRatings, while StarTrek.com is the most visited content site among video podcast downloaders.

The report (click for PDF) is based on an ongoing survey conducted from 2005 to the present, according to a spokeswoman for the company. The survey asks actively online U.S. adults to answer questions about their behavior “within the last 30 days.”

Ballmer is infinitely quotable

Posted on Jul. 13, ’06, 9:20 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Rivals

You have to love Steve Ballmer. When he’s not dancing up a storm, he’s doing a standup routine. Today’s joke of the day:

“I think it’s probably important for me to tell our partners that, rest assured, we will never have a gap between Windows releases as long as the one between XP and Windows Vista,” Ballmer told thousands at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Boston.

The fun didn’t stop there. Billy G had to make it even more hilarious.

Meanwhile, Chairman Bill Gates said the company’s much-delayed Vista operating system is likely — but not guaranteed — to reach the market by January.

“We got to get this absolutely right,” Gates said. “If the feedback from the beta tests shows it is not ready for prime time, I’d be glad to delay it.”

We got to stop laughing so hard.

[via the Curmudgeon]

Apple won’t appeal case against online journalists

Posted on Jul. 13, ’06, 8:52 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Legal

MacCentral:

Apple Computer will not appeal a decision that favored the reporters of two Internet Web sites to obtain communications of allegedly leaked information. The Electronic Frontier Foundation confirmed in court documents on Wednesday that Apple would not pursue the case.

Apple sought to obtain communication between unnamed sources that allegedly leaked information to two Internet sites. On May 26, 2006 the judge in the State of California Court of Appeal 6th Appellate District agreed with lawyers for PowerPage and AppleInsider who argued that the confidentiality of sources for the online journalists were protected by the First Amendment.

All of our archived coverage on the PowerPage case can be found here.

MyzteryZOT on the cheap

Posted on Jul. 13, ’06, 8:34 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

For less than the cost of two gallons of gas ($5), the latest MyzteryZOT at MacZOT offers five mystery apps, revealed one per day. I can’t pass this by even though there is no guarantee that it won’t be five widgets. Please, please, no.

This is about the closest I’ll ever get to gambling. And it’s exciting. The speculation has already started. I like these two predictions in particular:

Everyone knows that AppZapper and HoudahSpot will be included.

Watch it be five licenses of AppZapper.

Mystery Omni product two

Posted on Jul. 13, ’06, 7:22 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

The last time Omni hinted about a new product, it turned out to be OmniDazzle. This time around, it’s anyone’s guess. They’ve given up three hints.

First, Some of you have asked for this product. Repeatedly.

Second, the icon blurred out and attached to this post.

Finally, It is NOT a replacement for Mail. Or a word processor.

If you’re so bright as to figure out what it is and drop your idea into the comments, you’ll get in on the beta. Sweet. Someone give me the inside dirt.

The top 25 take two

Posted on Jul. 13, ’06, 6:01 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » People

MacTech has its own top 25 in its MacTech 25: Most Influential in Technical Community. This time, I will be congratulating Dan Frakes and Rob Griffiths. They both really know their stuff and deserve this honor.

Also noteworthy are Andy Ihnatko whose columns appear here, and Rosyna Keller of Unsanity fame. It’s quite a list. It’s actually a good list to fill up your RSS reader.

The worst products of Q2 2006

Posted on Jul. 12, ’06, 5:25 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Hardware

PC Magazine has done us the favor of publishing the worst products of this past quarter, Q2 2006. While some of them could be worse (the Shure i4c), some of them certainly deserve their place on the last (the Polaroid PDC 5080). Check out the full list to ensure you don’t accidentally buy any of these technological blunders.

Macworld Podcast: Mac Gems, VoIP and Gamerhood

Posted on Jul. 12, ’06, 4:00 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Music » Podcasting

Macworld Podcast #44 is here!

Whether you work with multimedia, make Voice over IP calls via your Mac, or just want to get your hands on the latest games, we’ve got you covered in the latest Macworld Podcast, thanks to three interviews covering that diverse array of topics.

First up, Senior Editor Dan Frakes talks about his favorite low-cost multimedia applications. He profiles 10 of the best multimedia apps at Macworld.com as part of the “Software Jackpot” feature from the August 2006 issue of Macworld. In fact, you can see some of Dan’s picks for the other best bargain software offerings, including system enhancers, troubleshooting apps, and time savers elsewhere on the Web site.

On the VoIP front, we talk with Ted Wallingford of MacVOIP.com. He assembled round-up of VoIP application reviews for the July 2006 issue.

And to close out the show, I interview Senior Editor and Game Room blogger Peter Cohen about Aspyr Media’s plans to launch its own game download store. Be sure to check out Peter’s interview with Aspyr president Michael Rogers about the planned Gamerhood service.

Apple stock falls on analyst warning

Posted on Jul. 12, ’06, 3:40 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Money

MacCentral:

Apple Computer’s stock dropped almost five percent in trading today after Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Robert Semple said he expects the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter numbers to fall short of Wall Street expectations.

Semple said he expects Apple to forecast revenue of $4.6 billion to $4.8 billion, short of the $4.97 billion analysts expect for the fourth-quarter, which ends September 6, 2006. Semple also predicted Apple to announce a profit of 50 cents a share for the quarter, shy of the 52 cents expected by analysts.

Pane in the butt?

Posted on Jul. 12, ’06, 2:26 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Software

A man by the name of Paul Souders recently linked the photo to the right on his blog (click to be taken to flickr). Do you know what that is? It’s an Exposé of 34 different window panes. He complains about the number of panes present in applications, with the soon-to-be-famous quote:

I like panes and all but. Seriously. Enough. Is. Enough.

A flickr commenter raises the point that he likes panes. They’ve got functionality, organization, and options. Paul rebuts with:

[Panes are] not a “problem,” just “excessive.” It reminds me of palettes in the mac world ca. 1999, or dialog boxes ca. 1990. When a good interface solution appears, it starts showing up everywhere.

There are other solutions for showing “elements inside this element” (e.g. collapsible lists) or “properties of the selected element” (e.g. inspectors)…or maybe there are novel interfaces just waiting to happen. Seeing the multi-pane interface almost literally everywhere suggests to me that interface designers aren’t trying very hard, they’re just falling back on “what we know works”.

Precisely. A lack of imagination and creativity in the pane department. When will we see some sort of 3D organtization, or virtual desktops? As computers become a bigger part of our everyday lives, running (and using) 5 or 6 applications simultaneously, we need a better solution for application organization. And let me give software developers a hint: panes are not the answer.

Worried about widgets & CPU resources? You should be.

Posted on Jul. 12, ’06, 1:52 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Software

Joshua Scott Emmons has posted a great entry in the Mac DevCenter Blog. It concerns widgets and the amount of CPU power they consume while Dashboard is both active and inactive. Here are three major points I learned from his article:

1. Widgets are not supposed to consume any CPU power while Dashboard is hidden. However, there are some naughty widgets which don’t follow this Apple-made rule. (This same rule does not apply to memory. All widgets actively use RAM when running on your Dashboard.)
2. All Apple-made widgets (Weather, Calculator, Stickies, Stocks…) do follow the no-CPU-while-Dashboard-is-hidden rule. Load your Dashboard with all the Apple-made widgets you like.
3. Luckily Joshua found a way to reveal which widgets are the naughty ones using Activity Monitor. Check his article for the method.

I’ve come to view Dashboard & widgets as a double edged sword. Sometime they’re great, sometimes they’re the plague. I’ve heard rumors Dashboard will be gone in 10.5. I’ve got the feeling this will be a good thing for all power users. I’m sure Apple will come up with another Dashboard-like solution for candy-eyed consumers.

Jobs featured in religious flyer

Posted on Jul. 12, ’06, 12:39 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Apple » Steve Jobs

Ahh yes, freedom of speech. Such a wonderfully amusing thing. Sometimes, though, I question why I waste my time reading other people’s words of freedom. Perhaps it’s because they waste their time reading mine? Perhaps it’s simply because I can laugh at the product of their first amendment rights.

Take this for example. Do you know what that is? It’s a flyer produced by the religious organization called Jews for Jesus, which parallels Steve Job’s life to that of Jesus Christ and encourages him to embrace their beliefs:

Besides, you know something about operating systems. Isn’t it time you asked God to give you* a new OS?

Now that would be the best NeXTSTEP for you,* Steve.

Please go read this for yourself. I feel that if I type anymore of it out, there might be massive typos from the laughing convulsions I’m having.

[via Boing Boing]

Steam power your Mac

Posted on Jul. 12, ’06, 11:02 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Geekery

Ok, so, it’s probably not probable for you to find a power plant no longer in use, but in England, someone has done just that.

At a table, curator Rob Tufnell is using an Apple Mac powered by the engine. For this is the Steam Powered Internet Machine: the latest deeply eccentric project from Turner-prizewinning artist Jeremy Deller and his collaborator Alan Kane. “We were thinking about something that connects the industrial revolution and the digital revolution,” said Deller. Kane added: “They are worlds apart but there’s also a proximity. The steam age and the digital age are not so far apart.”

Very, very geeky. I just hope those clouds in the picture didn’t dump rain all over such a beautiful computing device.

[via MAKE]

Mac “Argh” moments?

Posted on Jul. 12, ’06, 9:50 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple

Robyn Peterson of PC Magazine has decided to switch from Windows XP to Mac OS X on a MacBook. He’s chronicling his journey. I hear this is common these days, but I’ve also heard it’s not as common as some might think.

His first non-introduction entry describes his first weekend. It’s been marked by major events, called “Argh” moments. First, he had a problem with WEP authentication (which he continues to use because of an old laptop only capable of it, even though it’s got to be the most futile effort in security). The next is there were only 7 GB of space left after he loaded up with 50 GB of data. He admits that’s not Apple’s fault, so I’m not sure why it was worth mentioning. Next, he has issues with autologin and the share appearing on the desktop with his NAS. I’ll admit, being able to map a network drive is quicker and easier than anything in Mac OS X.

The saddest part of the account is his description of his conversation with his boss, Jim Louderback, the Mac hater. Hopefully the next entry will lack such a section.

Boot Camp update… quietly… very quietly

Posted on Jul. 12, ’06, 6:58 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Hardware » Intel Macs

Apple is showing all kinds of love for Parallels (letting it take center stage in its own advertisements). It’s almost like their own Boot Camp is the farthest thing from their mind. That’s not totally true, as it’s now been updated to beta version 1.0.2 (download).

One problem. Apple seems to have neglected telling anyone. Oops. No word on any changes, but if you’re like me, you’ll want to keep up to date. And before you ask, iSights still aren’t supported.

Slingbox beta signup

Posted on Jul. 12, ’06, 5:16 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Video

We’ve mentioned the Slingbox for Mac alpha before. It’s now reached beta stage and they’re accepting signups. That means that if you have a Slingbox and a Mac, you might want to, you know, sign up.

Slingbox is a little box that you attach to your TV and TV devices to not only watch, but record content (if you have a TiVo or the like). It lets you watch it anywhere. Do you travel on business and want to watch the Red Sox game while you’re on the other coast, or another continent? Slingbox makes it happen. We’re one step closer and I can almost taste it. Once I know I can get the software, it’s going on my wish list.

CNET: Worst new sport is Segway polo

Posted on Jul. 11, ’06, 3:48 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple » People

Although Steve Wozniak may be a baller in most things, particularly pertaining to engineering, he may not be on the Segway Polo pitch. CNET has declared Segway Polo the worst new sport of the past year.

Hmm, if only there were a way to combine the dorkiness of riding a Segway with the snobbery of a polo match. It seems Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak’s next venture is to popularize the game of Segway polo, once he’s done finding ways of cheating in it and forcing them to rewrite the rules every week. When Woz isn’t busy annoying everyone on the Segway polo grounds with “tactics” such as throwing his mallet and clubbing shots over their heads, he’s busy braining passersby with errant shots. See all this and more in our incredibly uncomfortable video.

[Hat tip: Curt Poff]

Secrecy vs. Delays: A comparison of Apple and Microsoft’s business strategies for releasing operating systems

Posted on Jul. 11, ’06, 2:54 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Apple » Rivals

Lately there’s been a lot of talk about delays of the Windows Vista release date. Even today, for example, Microsoft declared an “80% chance” of Vista being released in January of 2007 (which also means a 20% chance of it not), over three years later than the original estimated release date for what then was codename “Longhorn.” Compare this to Apple’s strategy for revealing almost no information about its latest operating system, let alone its release date, until the very last minute (for example, Tiger’s release date wasn’t announced until April 12, 2005, only seventeen days before its April 29 release). Both companies give seemingly unsatisfying information about release dates, but which one is a better business strategy? As I don’t have a great knowledge of release date business strategies, I don’t really know, but Apple’s secrecy about it’s new operating systems probably keep other new operating systems from copying its latest features. Also, I think that as a user I would like Microsoft’s strategy of releasing public betas of its operating systems instead of Apple’s policy of only giving developers copies. Still, overall I think that I would be more happy with waiting for the final release of an operating system than losing all of the excitement about it if its release just keeps getting delayed.

Crazy GNOME dock

Posted on Jul. 11, ’06, 2:08 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software

We all know and (for the most part) love the OS X dock. Well, now there’s a dock that not only can hold icons for applications, but also have those icons bounce around the corners of your screen and come in contact with each other using real-world physics. Of course, the one problem with this dock is that it isn’t actually an OS X program, but one for GNOME, a GUI for Linux. The dock achieves its real-world physics feel from the Akamaru physics engine which powers it. A video demo of the dock can be found either here or on Google Video.

[via digg]

Grab TextExpander at 33% off!

Posted on Jul. 11, ’06, 2:02 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Software

We’ve covered TextExpander a couple of times here at MacUser. Essentially it’s a OS-wide text shortcutting app, which lets you use abbreviations and shortcuts to insert text and images. The normal retail price is $29.95, but as Tim at Hawk Wings points out, MacZOT is offering the app for a 33% discount. That makes this great little piece of software only $19.95. Now is the perfect time to buy if you’ve been contemplating TextExpander, or even if you haven’t, for that matter.

CD sales down, digital downloads up

Posted on Jul. 11, ’06, 12:17 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Music

Am I the only one who still prefers to buy a CD and shun those nasty digital download services? I can’t even remember the last time I payed to download any of my music, whereas I just bought a CD from Amazon.com last week. I prefer to physically own my music. The quality is better, the prices (usually) cheaper, I feel no need to backup my downloads, and there’s just something about owning a CD. But research company Nielsen Soundscan would have you think people like me are few and far between.

In the US, download music sales grew by 77% in the first half of 2006. CD sales decreased by 4.2%. Things seem to be changing. Could this be the beginning of the end for CDs? Consumers are getting more control over their music: wider availability of genres, choosing which songs to buy, full quality previews, and instant gratification. The consumer is empowered, and the recording industry needs to adapt to this new standard if they want to stay greedy profitable.

[via The iPod Observer]

Firefox 2.0 “Beta Candidate” released

Posted on Jul. 11, ’06, 10:51 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Internet

Our good friends at Ars Technica reviewed the latest update to Firefox, which came out today. As a committed Firefox user, I immediately downloaded this new update and tried it out. Except for the fact that all of my extensions don’t work anymore, I don’t see a significant improvement to merit a 2.0 release.

However, it does add a Feed Reader, available under General Preferences, which seems pretty cool. Also it adds an anti-phishing option and spell-check, as per Ars’ report.

And somehow, my status bar, which had disappeared, is now back.