MacTech News

13:21

Apple posts iPhone SDK 3.2 beta

Apple has posted the iPhone SDK 3.1 beta and iPhone OS 3.1 beta on the iPhone Dev Center. Apple says they're for developers and testing only and should be installed on devices dedicated to iPhone OS 3.2 beta software development. The iPhone SDK provides developers with the same set of application programming interfaces (APIs) and tools that Apple uses to create its native applications for iPhone. iPhone DSK 2.2.1 is available as a free download for Apple Developer Connection (http://developer.apple.com/) members.

13:09

Stanford University study looks at 'iPhone addiction'

According to a new Stanford University study, iPhone users are becoming so reliant on their iPhones that they are actually reporting being addicted to their the Apple devices. Almost half of the respondents in the 200 person study acknowledged an iPhone addiction, reports "The Huffington Post" (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/09/iphone-addiction-study-pa_n_490...). Students were asked to rate their addiction to their iPhones on a scale of one to five, from "not at all addicted" to "fully addicted." 45% answered with a four or above. The "Post" notes that the iPhone is seen less as an outside device and more of an extension of the person due to the amount of personal information held on it and the ways in which students use it to organize and facilitate their social lives. Stanford esearchers were surprised by how readily students seem to anthropomorphize the device.

12:40

New FireWire design guide ready from 1394 Trade Association

The 1394 Trade Association (http://www.1394ta.org) -- of which Apple is a member -- has issued its new 2010 FireWire Design Guide, which details the guidelines for implementing FireWire (IEEE 1394) ports on high level complex devices such as personal computers and automobiles, and on simple devices such as consumer electronics products. The new guide, which is available on the 1394 Trade Association web site, includes references to normative specifications as well as full reference designs that can be used as is or -- with the careful consideration of the trade-offs -- as a starting point for an optimized proven design. It also includes a comprehensive checklist of all of the factors and specifications a designer who plans to use 1394 should look for, from 1394-compliant connectors to a full range of power and configuration issues. There are chapters on mechanical issues, robust port design (ESD & Late VG), system design, cable power, link selection, firmware/higher layers and...

12:34

Pearson announces iPhone Developers Conference

On April 24-25, Pearson will host the second "Voices That Matter: iPhone Developers Conference," at Seattle’s Bell Harbor Int’l Conference Center. Authors and experts will join developers to share their knowledge, and participate in discussions, how-to sessions, and networking opportunities around the topic of application development.  What's more, the new iPad will be an integral part of conference activities. The conference is designed for: iPhone and iPad developers; long-time Mac developers wanting to leverage their existing skills; GUI designers; UX experts; and mobile application specialists. Speakers include Addison-Wesley authors Erica Sadun, "The iPhone Developer’s Cookbook, Second Edition"; Kevin Avila, "Core Audio" (publishing in November); Joe Conway, "iPhone Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide; Erik Buck, Cocoa Design Patterns"; Aaron Hillegass, "Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X"; Mike Daley, "Learning iPhone Game Programming" (Rough Cut); Suzanne Ginsburg, "Designing...

12:26

Source R&D debuts Mac compatible, wireless laptop docking station

Source R&D has released the the US$149.99 Warpia Easy Dock (http://www.warpia.com/Product_Guide-Easy_Dock.pdf), which will allow users to wirelessly connect their Mac (and PC) laptop to any traditional desktop setting. Based on wireless technology from Wisair, a provider of single-chip based Wireless USB solutions, the Easy Dock consists of a USB dongle that connects to your laptop and a receiver that connects to your monitor, mouse, keyboard, and speakers. Your laptop will instantly recognize the dongle and begin submitting a wireless signal to the receiver, transmitting the image with a resolution of up to1400x1050 to your monitor’s screen, according to Marc Levaggi, of Source R&D. It supports up to 1400x1050 resolution and HD video up to 720p. The Easy Dock works with Mac OS X 10.5 and higher, as well as Windows 7, Vista, and XP.

12:12

GameSpy updates suite of iPhone development tools

GameSpy Technology, a provider of online gaming services, has announced updates to their suite of tools for developers of iPhone games, including an entirely new customizable user-interface (UI) toolkit and new services such as in-app purchases and push notifications. Developers can either implement the new UI as is, change the appearance to match their game/brand or use the provided APIs (application programming interfaces) to include GameSpy's services into their existing game UI. The GameSpy API is common across all gaming platforms. A preview release of GameSpy's new iPhone development services can be previewed during the 2010 Game Developers Conference, held in San Francisco from March 9 through March 13. Interested developers can stop by GameSpy, located in Moscone South Hall #1124 on the GDC convention floor. More info can also be found online at http://www.poweredbygamespy.com .

09:21

UniPrint 7.0 simplifies network printing for Mac

UniPrint (http://www.uniprint.net) has launched UniPrint Version 7.0. Incorporating an enhanced printer driver, UniPrint Version 7.0 is the first printing solution that significantly improves overall printing quality, speed, manageability and security for Mac users working in a 32- or 64-bit physical or virtual desktop environment, according to Arron Fu, vice president, Software Development, UniPrint. The new version introduces a completely redesigned central management console. UniPrint can now centralize the task of managing server licenses. With the new management console, system administrators can utilize any machine that has a UniPrint component installed to apply a single license file on the designated license server, and also monitor license usage in real time from any remote location. UniPrint 7.0 also introduces a number of new features that make printing simpler and faster for the user, says Fu. This includes a unique Printer Profiler tool that allows system administrators...

08:27

Jumsoft adds to collection of add-ons for iWork

Jumsoft (http://www.jumsoft.com) has announced Pages Clip 6.0, continuing its collection of add-ons for iWork, Apple's US$79 suite of productivity tools. Pages Clipart provides users with options for illustrating their presentations, invitations, Web pages, posters, newsletters, and a variety of other documents. Use of the clipart images isn't limited to Pages (the word processing/document creation component of iWork). They're also compatible with Keynote, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and various graphics editors. Pages Clipart 6.0 sports 1,000 images. They're divided into 12 categories and cover a range of topics, such as work, leisure, family, IT, nature and baby care. All image files in Pages Clipart 6.0 are available in PNG and PDF formats; the former supports more advanced options for image customization, while the PDF images can be enlarged multiple times without degrading their quality. Each image features a transparent background, which allows the user to place it over...

08:21

Querious is new database manager for Mac OS X

Araelium Group has released Querious (http://www.araelium.com/querious), an US$29 database management application for Mac OS X. It includes the ability to view, edit, and search data, manage table schema, indexes, queries, and users, and ships initially with a native connector to MySQL 5. Direct, SSH, and SSL connections are all supported. The Querious interface features a design enabling fluid navigation between viewing data, editing schemas, writing queries, and administrating users, according to Seth Willits, creator of the software. Tabbed windows allows multiple active views at the same time including multiple sessions and query results. Data searches are done with the built-in Records Filter placed above the records view, or with full SQL queries. Queries are kept in a history, or saved as favorites in user-defined folders. Previously saved queries can be modified. Data can be exported as SQL, CSV, Tab, and other formats. Full backups can be exported with optional table create...

08:10

Mapdiva updates Ortelius map illustration software for Mac OS X

Mapdiva has updated Ortelius (http://www.mapdiva.com/ ), its map illustration software for Mac OS X, to version 1.0.7. With the update, Ortelius User's Guide is now online Version 1.0.7 adds dozens of fully editable map templates. Also included are automatic junctions and style transitions and new styles and symbols. Ortelius is a vector-based drawing program made especially for (though not limited to) map design and presentation. Through its drag-and-drop interface, Ortelius offers a solution for floor plans, landscape plans, scaled drawings, and a variety of custom maps. Ortelius allows you to draw directly with features such as roads, rivers, coastlines, buildings, symbols, and contours. It's designed for reports, presentations, books, research papers, invitations, magazines, web sites, brochures, public displays, and new media applications with professional-level results. Every drawing feature supports map attribute information, such as those imported from geographic information...

Mar 09

Animate 2 software coming for Macs, Windows

Toon Boom Animation has announced the upcoming release of Toon Boom Animate 2 (http://www.toonboom.com/products/animate/), an update of the animation software that lets you publish animation for all types of media, from online to HDTV. Version 2.0 will offer: distribution of character parts to layers; adjustment of velocity on multiple character parts; creation of richer-looking ambiance; SWF export with effects; direct import of scanned drawings (TWAIN); and text capability. Animate can handle such formats and jobs as vector, bitmap, symbols, pegs, camera, morphing, inverse kinematics, advanced lip sync and more. It enables users to create traditional and bitmap animation as well as combine both styles. Users can access lip-sync and cell swapping tools. Buy Toon Boom Animate 2 is available now at the special pre-launch price of US$549.99 until March 21. As of March 8, all new clients will receive a Toon Boom Animate 1 product code. Their Animate 2 product code will be automatically...

Mar 09

OWC announces Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini

Other World Computing (http://www.macsales.com) says its its OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini is the first 2.5-inch, 1TB, quad interface, bus powered portable storage solution on the market and available for immediate ordering with 10 models priced from US$119.99. It sports FireWire 800/400, USB 2.0, and eSATA interface connectivity. The fanless Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini delivers storage/backup to Mac or PC users in a portable, brushed aluminum. No AC adapter is required. In addition to the new 1TB model, the Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini is available in nine other quad interface models offering a variety of speed, capacity, and drive type options. They're compatible with Apple operating systems from Mac OS 8.6 through Mac OS X 10.6.x.

Mar 09

MacVector 11.1 for Mac OS X consolidates and 'tweaks' new...

MacVector has released MacVector 11.1. This release as been designed to consolidate and "tweak" the new features and changes that have been made over the last four major releases. MacVector 11.1 is designed to simplify and speed up many common workflows as well as providing better integration with Mac OS X and improving performance, according to MacVector President Kevin Kendall. Changes include increased interactivity between different views of a sequence, drag and drop of files and sequences between windows and dialogs, Growl support for the job manager, many performance enhancements and literally hundreds of other interface tweaks. MacVector 11 pricing can be found here: http://www.macvector.com/Buy/11201995.html . Version 11.1 is a free update for registered users of version 11.

Mar 09

Artman21 releases JeditAnywhere 1.0.2

Artman21 has released an update (version 1.0.2) of the system preference pane, JeditAnywhere (http://www.artman21.com/en/jeditanywhere/), that lets you edit the selected text in mailers, word processors or other applications with the Jedit X text editor.. With JeditAnywhere, by tapping the option key twice, you can invoke Jedit X and edit the selection without the copy and paste operation. After you've finished editing, tap the option key twice again, and the results will be written back to the selected area of the target application. JeditAnywhere requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later and Jedit X Rev.2.20 or higher. It costs US$12.

Mar 09

MonkeyBread Software releases the MBS SQLite Extension in version 1.0

Monkeybread Software has released version 1.0 of the MBS SQLite Extension (http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.de/realserver/). The MBS SQLite Extension is three things in one: a plug-in for the REAL Server from REALsoftware; a plug-in for SQLiteManager from sqlabs; and an extension for SQLite that you can use in all SQLite based database engines including the REALSQLDatabase class in REALbasic. SQLite Extension supports Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. Example projects for REALbasic are included for both REALSQLDatabase class and REALSQLServerDatabase class. You can test the plugin for free up to 10 minutes per launch in a demo mode. Licenses are available for approximately US135 9 per developer with one year of free updates.

MacTech Blog

Mar 09

Analyst: iPad will beat Kindle's all-time sales...

Apple could have the bestselling e-book reader of all time in just three months on the market, according to an estimate from FBR Capital analyst Craig Berger. In a note to clients -- as noted by the "Latest Electronics" site (http://www.latestelectronics-dennis.com/?p=3117) he thinks Apple is set to ship five million iPads just in the first half of 2010. At this rate, the tablet would push past Amazon’s unofficial lifetime record of three million Kindles in just the three-month span between early April and the end of June. Saturday, April 3 is when the iPad will go on sale in the U.S. At least the Wi-Fi only version will; the Wi-Fi + 3G model will hit US store sleeves in late April. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April. Beginning a week from today, on March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple’s online store (http://www.apple.com) or...

Mar 09

EFI criticizes the iPhone Developer Program License...

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) -- an organization founded to promote rights in the online and networked world -- has blasted the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement, saying that the "entire family of devices built on the iPhone OS (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad) have been designed to run only software that is approved by Apple - a major shift from the norms of the personal computer market." "Overall, the Agreement is a very one-sided contract, favoring Apple at every turn," says the EFI. "That's not unusual where end-user license agreements are concerned (and not all the terms may ultimately be enforceable), but it's a bit of a surprise as applied to the more than 100,000 developers for the iPhone, including many large public companies. How can Apple get away with it? Because it is the sole gateway to the more than 40 million iPhones that have been sold. In other words, it's only because Apple still "owns" the customer, long after each iPhone (and soon, iPad) is sold, that...

Mar 09

Apple wins design patents for iPod shuffle, MacBook Air

Apple has won three design patents from the US Patent & Trademark Office. They involve a power supply, the iPod shuffle and the MacBook Air Patent number D11,415 is for the ornamental design of a power supply. Patent number D611,470 is for the ornamental design of an electronic device (the Apple remote). Patent number D611,469 is for the ornamental design of another electronic device (the MacBook Air). The inventors on all the patents are Bartley K. Andrew, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Evans Hankey, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Steve Jobs, Robert Duncan Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Peter Russell-Clarke, Douglas B. Satzger, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whange and Rico Zorkendorfer. Three other patents by Apple have also appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Following is a summary of each. Patent number 7,675,529 is for a method and apparatus to scale graphical user interfaces. To scale a view component according to an arbitrary...

Mar 09

Analyst: iPad content to equal almost 30% of revenue...

According to Broadpoint analyst Brian Marshall, the sale of applications, e-books, newspapers and magazines for the iPad is predicted to equal nearly 30% of the revenue Apple will earn from selling the hardware by the end of 2011. In a note to clients -- as noted by "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com), the analyst believes content revenue will top 10 percent of total iPad hardware revenue by December of 2010, and a year later that number will nearly triple. He's increased his forecast for iPad shipments in the 2010 calendar year to four million units, up from a previous prediction of 2.2 million. Marshall told clients that "if the device lives up to its potential," he could see it shipping more than seven million in this year alone. "We believe the iPad offers a rich media experience that will translate into a content-based recurring revenue stream over time," he says. Saturday, April 3 is when the iPad will go on sale in the U.S. At least the Wi-Fi only version will; the Wi...

Mar 09

Analyst: Apple's lawsuit against HTC a '...

Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner has issued a behind-the-scenes report on the patent suits Apple filed last week against HTC, the Taiwanese smartphone maker. As noted by "Fortune" (http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/03/09/apple-talks-tough...), Reiner told clients: "Starting in January, Apple launched a series of C-Level discussions with tier-1 handset makers to underscore its growing displeasure at seeing its iPhone-related IP [intellectual property] infringed. The lawsuit filed against HTC thus appears to be Apple's way of putting a public, lawyered-up exclamation point on a series of blunt conversations that have been occurring behind closed doors. "Our checks also suggest that these warning shots are meaningfully disrupting the development roadmaps for would-be iPhone killers. Rival software and hardware teams are going back to the drawing board to look for work-arounds. Lawyers are redoubling efforts to gauge potential defensive and offensive responses. And strategy...

Mar 09

How about a division to help companies to integrate...

Recently I pondered (http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/is_closer_integration_betw...) whether closer integration between Mac OS X proper and the iPhone OS was coming. Regarding that convergence, I would like to see Apple either license or get into the business of helping a lot of different companies upgrade their interfaces. Like what? Home phones, office phone systems, auto information displays and controls, ATM machines, home information and security systems, etc. I could go on, but you get the idea. Now I don't think Apple will license the Mac or iPhone OS. However, there many areas where Apple isn't likely to get directly involved or where the company has little or no interest in making hardware/software. Instead of licensing one of their operating systems, perhaps Apple could create a division that specifically helps companies to integrate iPhone/iPod touch/iPad hardware into their systems. For example, I could easily see an iPod touch integrated as a controller for...

Mar 08

Analyst predicts continued upward swing in Mac sales

Using recent figures from the NPD research firm (http://www.npd.com) Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster is predicting a continued upward swing in Mac sales in the months ahead. "We expect the strong year-over-year growth in NPD data that we saw in January to continue in the month of February," he wrote in a note on Monday -- as noted by "TheStreet.com" (http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/story/10697430/1/apple-dell-h-p-poised-f...). "We believe this represents a buying opportunity ahead of NPD data for the month of February on March 15." Mac shipments climbed 33% during the first fiscal quarter of this year reaching 3.36 million units. This surpassed the prior quarter's then-record shipments of just over three million. As noted by "TheStreet.com," Munster explained, however, that Apple experienced weak Mac sales in the first half of 2009, making its 2010 numbers appear particularly strong. Still, he expects the company to ship between 2.6 million and 2.8 million Macs in its seasonally...

Mar 08

IDC computer market predictions look good for the iMac...

Many of the trends that influenced the worldwide computer market in 2009 will continue to resonate in 2010, but their impact will change as new market forces come into play. The news is good for Apple laptops and the iMac and, well, not bad for the iPad. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the lower prices brought on by last year’s challenging economy will create new opportunities for emerging sub form factors, such as ultrathin portables and all-in-one desktops. “We’re expecting consumer and commercial personal computer buyers alike to be more experimental with new types of computer, especially because of their lower price points,” says Bob O’Donnell, program vice president, Clients and Displays. “Hardware vendors and software developers should seize the opportunity to promote differentiation by rewriting the computing experience to match the new variety of Personal Computer sub form factors arriving in the market.” IDC’s predictions for the personal computer...

Mar 08

Blu-Ray still (slowly) gaining ground

It appears that the pundits who predicted that Blu-ray would never make it are wrong. It’s been an uphill battle—especially once the economy bottomed out—but the next gen optical technology continues to gain ground, if slowly. Overall, worldwide DVD and Blu-ray player and recorder unit shipments declined to 137 million units in 2008. The In-Stat research group expects a modest increase in 2009, with a more healthy increase in 2010, spurred by high volume shipments of Blu-ray players. Standard Definition DVD players will decline at a slow but steady rate as consumers opt for Blu-ray for replacement or upgrades in the primary television room. DVD players will continue to ship in areas where HD programming is less accessible including Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and parts of Asia, and for secondary television sets within a household. In North America, significant price drops of Blu-ray players are driving unit shipments to triple in 2009. With Blu-ray players as low as US$99...

Mar 05

Analyst: Apple will sell 33 million iPhones this year...

In a note to clients, Merrill Lynch analyst Scott Craig thinks Apple will see 33 million iPhones this year even without a deal with Verizon deal, as many folks have expected -- or at least hoped for (including Yours Truly). However, for Apple to continue to grow the iPhone market, it has to had more carriers at some point, he told clients. If Apple did indeed add a Verizon iPhone to its offering, Craig predicts that would see another eight million of the devices sold in 2011. Without a Verizon deal, Craig told clients he's upping his “base case” for the iPhone next year. He thinks 2011 units could go as high as 55 million if more carriers, including Verizon, are added by Apple.

Reviews and Kool Tools

Review: Gridiron Flow keeps you organized

Gridiron Software's Flow (http://www.gridironsoftware.com), which costs US$299) cannot be fully explained in this amount of space -- it’s too vast and too valuable. Instead, I’ll tell you what it does and what it’s good... Read more »

Real People Reviews: New WD My Passport Studio

Making an external hard drive stand out when there are so many to choose from can be quite a challenge, but Western Digital (http://www.westerndigital.com) has always been an innovator in this realm. In addition, they... Read more »

Review: Eos unveils Converge system for Macs, PCs, iPhones

If you want wireless audio throughout your house and office -- and don't mind spending some not-inconsiderable scratch to make it happen -- the Eos Converge from Eos Wireless (http://www.eoswireless.com) offers a... Read more »

Review: Mach Desktop can bring your Mac desktop to 'life'

If you want more than still images on your desktop, Mach Desktop (http://www.machsoftwaredesign.com/desktop.html) for Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6 spruces up your screen with Quartz Compositions, QuickTime movies or even web... Read more »

News Scanner

Tuesday March 9

14:48

Analysis: Ex-Sun CEO Schwartz: ‘Jobs Threatened to...

Mac Observer

Jonathan Schwartz, who was CEO of Sun Microsystems from 2006 until last month, on Tuesday published a blog post that leads off with: “I feel for Google – Steve Jobs threatened to sue me, too.” Why? In 2003, he unveiled Project Looking Glass, a prototype Linux desktop, and Mr. Jobs called to threaten a lawsuit because Sun was “stepping all over Apple’s IP.”

14:45

Steve Jobs' Threatening Phone Call Revealed [...

Gizmodo Apple

According to Jonathan Schwartz—then Sun's CEO—that's what Steve Jobs told him over the phone after Sun presented Looking Glass, a desktop concept similar to Mac OS X's. After that, Schwartz verbally cockpunched His Steveness and shut him up: "Steve, I was just watching your last presentation, and Keynote looks identical to Concurrence – do you own that IP?" Concurrence was a presentation product built by Lighthouse Design, a company I'd help to found and which Sun acquired in 1996. Lighthouse built applications for NeXTSTEP, the Unix based operating system whose core would become the foundation for all Mac products after Apple acquired NeXT in 1996. Steve had used Concurrence for years, and as Apple built their own presentation tool, it was obvious where they'd found inspiration. "And last I checked, MacOS is now built on Unix. I think Sun has a few OS patents, too." Steve was silent. And probably foaming at the mouth, and wanting to send Luca Brasi to get Jonathan brand new cement...

14:25

Pink Floyd objects to EMI "unbundling" of...

MacNN

Progressive rock band Pink Floyd on Tuesday sued its label EMI for allegedly breaking the terms of its contract through online sales. The complaint accuses EMI of knowingly "unbundling" the band's songs by letting those at iTunes and other online music stores buy some songs individually, against terms that insist all the content of an album be sold as one item....

14:20

iPhone Tweet Defense Slaughters Zombies With...

Gizmodo Apple

The premise of Tweet Defense is simple: The more you tweet and the more Twitter followers you gain, the stronger your tower defenses will be. Clever, though hopefully RT bonuses will come in the future. $1. [iTunes via Kotaku]

14:00

iObserver: AP Brings in NY Times Exec to Oversee App...

Mac Observer

The Associated Press on Tuesday said it has hired Nick Ascheim, who previously ran The New York Times’ website, to oversee development of apps for the iPad and other mobile devices. The AP already offers a free app for the iPhone and it said it’s hoping to charge a fee for the iPad one, “although it may be offered for free initially to help build an audience that would attract advertisers.

13:50

UniPrint 7.0 adds new printer driver, central admin...

MacNN

UniPrint has launched UniPrint 7.0, intended for Mac network printing in server-centric physical or virtual desktop situations. It works in both 64- and 32-bit environments using a PDF-based universal printer driver, which in turn is designed for Citrix, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and other non-Windows host system servers. It allows administrators to manage a single universal print driver and, through the use of PDF conversion and compression, in theory save up to 90 percent of the network bandwidth consumed by other direct prin...

13:44

WSJ: Google working on Android-based set-top box

Macworld

The Wall Street Journal reports that Google has teamed up with Dish Network to offer a set-top box based on the Android operating system.

13:32

Quirky outs Cloak case for the iPad

iLounge

Quirky has introduced its new Cloak case for the Apple iPad. The Cloak sports an office folder-like design and non-slip rubber construction, with plastic on the hinge mechanisms and support braces. The iPad slides into the case from the top, and is completely protected when the case is shut;…

13:30

Slate comes to the iPhone, along with a lot of...

TUAW

Filed under: Multimedia, Odds and ends, iPhone, iPod touch, App Review I've always liked Slate Magazine on the web. It's sometimes sassy and irreverent, but always interesting -- an eclectic mix of politics, culture and tech news. Now, Slate has come to the iPhone in a US$1.99 app that features all the articles from the site, as well as the blog posts, staff tweets and streaming video from the Slate podcasts. Once content is downloaded you can read it off-line, which is a worthwhile feature. Access to Slate on the web is free, and you can read Slate from any mobile browser by going to mobile.slate.com. So why the charge for the iPhone app? Slate says it cost something to develop it, and it gives you a much richer experience in a portable form. I can't argue with that, but I can argue with the ads that appear absolutely everywhere. Even the splash screen popped up with an ad. I think that's a bit much after I've paid for the app, but I'm beginning to see a lot of this in other apps as...

13:30

Samsung adds new sound bars, iPhone dock

MacNN

Samsung on Tuesday announced it will soon release the HW-C450 sound bar for simple home theater setups. The 2.1-channel system comes in black, while the HW-C451 will be available in silver. Apart from the color, the systems have an identical 280W power rating and sport Samsung's Touch of Color design. Their speakers are grill-less, and the subwoofer is wireless....

13:25

5 million iPads to be built in first half of 2010?

MacNN

Apple should be able to churn out approximately 5 million iPads in the first half of the year, claims FBR Capital analyst Craig Berger. The number is higher than what some analysts have said Apple will sell in all of 2010, and is based on a dismissal of claims that the company is experiencing production setbacks. "We believe various news articles and competitor notes calling for a build delay were just false alarms," says Berger. At least one report has suggested that the delay to April 3rd is based on software issues....

13:20

Taliban Leader, iPhone User [Flamebait]

Gizmodo Apple

If the terrorists could vote, they'd vote for Candidate X—this argument is America's greatest rhetorical treasure. So let's apply it to smartphones, right now! I've got a picture of a high-level terrorist with an iPhone and everything! Updated The man pictured here is the recently captured Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Mullah Abdul Salaam Zaeef, who is world famous for precisely the kind of stuff that you don't want to be famous for. Infamous, even! Update: Apparently the magazine misindentifies the man in the photo. That's actually Mullah Abdul Salaam Zaeef, a former Taliban official's who's been spotted with his iPhone before. (Thanks, Ray!) Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, next time you find yourself in an endless online flamewar about smartphones representing the side of Android or WebOS or Windows Mobile or BlackBerry, it is totally fine to call your opponent a terrorist. [Jeune Afrique—Thanks, Benjamin!]

13:13

News: HP Releases Slate Videos Touting Flash Support

Mac Observer

Hewlett-Packard has released a pair of videos touting its forthcoming Slate tablet, which it introduced in conjunction with Microsoft at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Both of them tout Slate’s ability to “access the full web, not just a part of it,” as Adobe’s Alan Tam says in the video while demonstrating Flash and AIR, which lets Flash applications run outside of a browser.

13:10

etc: Apparently the iTunes LP format was a...

Ars Technica

Apparently the iTunes LP format was a concession from the iTunes DRM/price negotiations and not Apple's idea. This is why you're failing, music labels! Read More: GigaOM, - Ars Technica Read the comments on this post

13:00

GDC 2010: Ngmoco explains how Eliminate Pro was built

TUAW

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Other Events, Developer, iPhone The 2010 Game Developers Conference kicks off today in San Francisco, and TUAW is in attendance to check out the latest and greatest in iPhone game development. The conference boasts a whole track dedicated to iPhone gaming this year, and all week long, we'll be bringing you panels, news, and interviews straight from the conference floor. This morning, panel number one was from Stephen Detwiler and James Marr, two engineers at Ngmoco, to talk to developers about how they put the server software together for Eliminate, the "freemium" first person shooter that's serving as their flagship app lately. tweetmeme_url = "http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/09/gdc-2010-ngmoco-explains-how-eliminate-pro-was-built/" tweetmeme_source = "tuaw" As they explained during the presentation, they had a heck of a goal with this project: they wanted to put together "the definitive FPS for iPhone," complete with all of the functions of a standard...

12:45

Apple's iTunes LP concept hatched by labels,...

AppleInsider

The iTunes LP format introduced by Apple last year was the brainchild of record labels looking to increase sales of whole albums, but sales thus far have been soft, a new report alleges.

12:40

Verizon-AT&T battle over LTE heats up

Macworld

The simmering marketing battle between Verizon Wireless and AT&T over whose LTE network is first and best promises to explode in the coming months.

12:40

Analyst: iPad to beat Kindle's all-time sales...

MacNN

Apple could have the bestselling e-book reader of all time in just three months on the market, according to an estimate from FBR Capital analyst Craig Berger. He believes that talk of hardware-related delays from competing analyst groups were just "false alarms" and that that Apple is purportedly set to ship 5 million iPads just in the first half of 2010. At this rate, the tablet would push past Amazon's unofficial lifetime record of 3 million Kindles in just the three-month span between early April and the end of June....

12:35

GDC kicks off with iPhone Game Summit

The Loop

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) kicked off in San Francisco this morning with a two day summit focused specifically on the iPhone. The summit gathers experts from the technical and business end of iPhone game development. Tuesday’s focus is on the technical and design aspects of making games for the iPhone, with lectures discussing the creation [...]

12:32

etc: The EFF has published the iPhone developer...

Ars Technica

The EFF has published the iPhone developer agreement. Many of the stipulations are not new to most of us, but the EFF offers a number of criticisms on the agreement's limitations. Read More: EFF Read the comments on this post

12:30

Report: RIAA pressured Apple into creating iTunes LP

TUAW

Filed under: iTS, Retail, iTunes, Apple This feature over at GigaOM has quite a few interesting insights about the iTunes LP program -- while Apple sells it wholeheartedly as "the visual experience of the record album," it appears the story behind the story is not quite so clean. According to an anonymous source in the industry (note, not Apple themselves), the service didn't come from Cupertino. Instead, it was designed by record companies, and agreed to by Apple as a "concession" to "make a gesture in favor of album sales." The piece also states that Apple subsidized the creation of the first few "LPs," some of which cost up to $60,000 to assemble and license. As you might expect with any other less-than-popular product at Apple, iTunes LP isn't exactly being thrown into the spotlight, either. While a much more visual music experience would be perfect for the iPad, GigaOM notes that it didn't even merit a mention by Jobs at the iPad announcement. It's certainly possible that iTunes...

12:06

Parallels Desktop update adds support for Chrome OS

Macworld

Parallels has just issued an update for Parallels Desktop 5.0 which adds support for Google's Chrome OS, according to the developer.

Rumor Scanner

Tuesday March 9

16:59

Sources say Apple was coerced into iTunes LP.

LOOPRumors

Apple was apparently muscled into promoting the purchase of entire albums through the iTunes Store by members of the Recording Industry Association of America. As part of the agreement which lifted digital rights management from iTunes in April 2009 and subsequently introduced a varied price structure for songs, Apple was obligated to support the iTunes LP format. Leaders in the recording industry who’ve seen their businesses take a huge hit due to Apple’s pay-for-the-songs-you-want model hope to reinvigorate the market for complete albums with this move. ipodnn reports that Apple was not especially interested in iTunes LP idea and that the project has achieved “mixed results,” with only around 29 titles to date.

11:57

iPhone Developer Agreement Revealed by Electronic Frontier...

MacRumors

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) yesterday announced that it had obtained a copy of Apple's iPhone Developer Program License Agreement and published it for public consumption. While the contents of the license agreement, which govern...

11:21

Apple Releases iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 4 for iPad

MacRumors

Apple today released iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 4 via the iPhone Dev Center, offering developers updated tools for building applications for the iPad. The last update to the SDK was issued two weeks ago, continuing a trend of biweekly revisions.

10:03

Survey investigates iPhone addiction.

LOOPRumors

A recent survey conducted at Stanford University indicates that students are becoming habitually and compulsively involved with Apple’s celebrated smartphone. In a survey of 20 students with iPhones, 69% reported that they likely forget their wallet before forgetting their phone. On a scale of addiction to the iPhone from 1 to 5, 10% reported themselves a 5, or fully addicted, 34% percent reported a level 4 addiction and just 6% said they were not addicted at all. Of those who had not reached a level 5 addiction, 32% were concerned that they would become addicted in the future. “One of the most striking things we saw in the interviews was just how identified people were with their iPhone. It was not so much with the object itself, but it had so much personal information that it became a kind of extension of the mind and a means to have a social life. It just kind of captured part of their identity,” The anthropolgy professor who oversaw the survey, Professor Tanya Luhrmann, said to...

07:30

MacHeist nanoBundle: 8 Mac Apps for $19.95 [Updated]

MacRumors

A few times a year, MacRumors partners with MacHeist to promote their Mac application bundle deal. Their latest bundle delivers at least eight Mac applications for $19.95 (over $280 value if all purchased separately) including: ...

07:15

FileMaker Pro 11 Brings Streamlined Database Creation With...

MacRumors

Apple subsidiary FileMaker today announced the release of FileMaker Pro 11, the latest version of its popular database application. The updated version brings several new features, as well as streamlined...

06:47

Gruber: No 'Widget Mode' for Minor Applications...

MacRumors

Last month, speculation that a number of minor iPhone applications such as Stocks, Weather, Voice Memo, Clock, and Calculator "missing" from the iPad could reappear in some sort of "widget mode" similar t...

Monday March 8

17:53

App Store clutter reduction continues.

LOOPRumors

Now that many ”overtly sexual” applications that are not offered by a large brand have been givin a swift boot from the App Store, Apple is moving on to the removal of iPhone apps built using templates from app-building services. The company is not nessasarily against templates, however the App Store has become clogged with applications made with them that simply replicate the function of a standard web page. Apple wants to maintain the unique and perceived usefulness of the iPhone, according to observers, and the abundance of these types of apps threatens to dilute that. “This is the ongoing balance point between encouraging innovation and growth on one side and wanting to tightly control user experience on the other,” says Medialets CEO Eric Litman in a report from TechCrunch. “Apple wants iPhone apps to be superior to Web experiences because they are extremely sticky and drive people specifically to buy the iPhone over competing smartphone platforms. Apps that are too simple or...

16:06

Windows 7 tablet spotted; features web cam.

LOOPRumors

For those who do not want to wait for its April 3rd release, a device has surfaced that offers a bulkier, more expensive alternative to the iPad. The Ezy Tablet PC, a tablet computer with a 10.2” multitouch screen, is available now with 2GB or 4GB of RAM and support through 3G and WiFi. The device’s battery life is just 3.5 hours compared to the iPad’s 10 hours and in weighs in at a hefty 2.2 pounds but features a built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam. The Ezy Tablet PC is powered by a 1.6G Intel processor compared to the iPad’s 1G A4. The device runs the Windows 7 operating system and sells for $679. Ezy Tablet’s specifications include: 10.2inch touch screen support multitouch with display resolution 1024x600 Broadband Internet access, 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi + WCDMATD-SCDMACDMA2000 Processor: Intel Atom N270 1.6G Chipset: Intel 950 Storage: 2.5inch 250GB SATA RAM: 2GB DDR Integrated 5 in 1 SD/MS/MMC/ms-pro card slot support capacity up to 8GB 1.3mega pixels built-in webcam. Integrated high-...

13:36

Game Developers Conference dedicates mobile summit to iPho...

LOOPRumors

The annual Game Developers Conference is taking place this week with heavy importance given to the iPhone OS platform. GCD traditionally invited thousands of game developers to a two to four day summit consisting of panels and sessions, including GDC Mobile, which dealt with all mobile and handheld devices. Realizing the iPhone OS platform’s meteoric rise, the GDC board has now decided to conduct the iPhone Games summit on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week in San Francisco. Sessions will include: - How to keep your game on top of the charts - Fastest path from concept to Top Paid - A big dash of success: how to capture the female iPhone gamer The release of the long-awaited iPad tablet device on April 3 will surely provide further spark to gaming on the iPhone OS.

13:22

9 out of 10 Oscar doc nominees choose Apple.

LOOPRumors

Out of the ten nominees in the categories of Best Documentary Feature and Best Documentary Short at the 82nd Academy Awards Sunday, nine used Apple’s Final Cut Studio to make their films. Using programs like Motion and Final Cut Pro, which are included in the Final Cut Studio package, filmmakers are able to produce highly refined rough cuts enabling editors to present a very polished final product. CNet reports that Kim Roberts, editor of Documentary Feature nominee, Food, Inc said, “I tend to work on a lot of independent documentaries and Final Cut Pro is affordable and a good application. It’s been a natural choice for filmmakers.” Filmmakers cite the program’s ability to handle an array of tasks, the range of tools included in the studio and its relative inexpensiveness as reasons for choosing Final Cut for their projects. “Final Cut Pro can do most everything that the million dollar systems can do and it costs you below $15,000 (this includes the cost of a Mac, Final Cut and video...

11:54

CBS to stream live March Madness games over 3G.

LOOPRumors

For the first time ever iPhone users can enjoy the NCAA tournament live through AT&T’s 3G network. The latest version of the CBS March Madness application, expected to be released today through iTunes for $9.99, will stream games live anywhere with AT&T 3G coverage. The application will provide live radio broadcasts, overtime and potential upset alerts, and an interactive tournament bracket with real-time scores. The 2009 version of the March Madness app offered live streaming video and audio of all 63 games in the tournament but only in areas with WiFi. “Last year, we were the first to do a live sporting event with the March Madness app, and since then the appetite for video and live video has grown massively for us…We one-upped ourselves,” said GM of CBS Mobile Rob Gelick, according to paidContent.org. “Now people can stay connected regardless of where they are.” While CBS plans to offer a free, limited version of the app for the Blackberry, the iPhone will offer complete...

10:39

Valve Officially Announces Steam and Game Library Coming t...

MacRumors

Valve Software today officially announced that it is bringing its Steam game distribution platform, as well as its own library of games, to Mac OS X next month. Steam and Valve's library of games including Left 4 Dead 2, Team ...

07:38

Apple Cracking Down on "Cookie Cutter" App Store...

MacRumors

TechCrunch discusses a picture that is being pieced together from reports from App Store developers suggesting that Apple is looking to crack down on "cookie cutter" iPhone applications that offer little...

Sunday March 7

22:54

First iPad ad airs during 82nd Oscar Awards. (video)

LOOPRumors

Apple aired the first iPad ad during the 82nd Annual Oscar Awards show tonight. Steve Jobs was also spotted at the Oscars this evening.

17:58

Apple Airs First iPad Commercial During Oscars, Steve Jobs...

MacRumors

Apple just aired their first iPad commercial during the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. A description of the ad by Doju: The commercial was just on, depicted a person using the iPad on their lap, going through the various features (iBook...

12:31

O2’s iPhone plan references “video calls.”

LOOPRumors

The “key features” list for the iPhone plan offered by O2’s British division seems to provide evidence that video conferencing will be a feature of the next-generation iPhone. The list of features indicates that “UK video calls” will cost iPhone users on O2’s British network the “same as voice calls” or “20p/min.” Redmond Pie reports that in addition to a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and a faster processor, the iPhone 4G could likely support video calling. The latest version of Apple’s iconic smartphone is expected to be announced at the World Wide Developer’s Conference this June.

08:15

Valve's Portal 2 Confirmed for Mac

MacRumors

After Valve's series of teaser images, it's now been revealed that their upcoming sequel Portal 2 will also be coming to the Mac. The above image comes from a series of scans from the latest issue of Gameinformer magazine which carries a cov...

Saturday March 6

21:39

According to Jobs: No iPhone-to-iPad Tethering, 10 Hour Ba...

MacRumors

Swedish site Slashat.se reportedly emailed Steve Jobs asking the simple question "Will the wifi-only version somehow support tethering thru my iPhone?" Steve Jobs' reply was a simple "no" and was sent from his iPhone. Tethering is t...

Friday March 5

18:30

LOOPRumors announces Free iPad contest.

LOOPRumors

Follow us on twitter and you could win a free Apple iPad. Winning is easy. When Apple released the Magic mouse, we gave one away to Philip Thompsen of West Chester, PA. The best way to follow our twitter feed is to have them sent to your mobile phone right when we tweet! Look for the first clue to the contest next week.

13:51

iPad Poised to Grab Significant Portion of e-Reader Market

MacRumors

Last week, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky released the results of a survey showing pent-up demand for the iPad exceeding that of the original iPhone, highest customer demand for low-capacity Wi-Fi-only and high-capacity 3G-enabled ...

Documentation Scanner

Tuesday March 9

13:42

TA10-068A: Microsoft Updates for Multiple Vulnerabil...

US-CERT Alert...

Original release date: March 09, 2010 Last revised: -- Source: US-CERT Systems Affected Microsoft Windows Microsoft Office Overview Microsoft has released updates to address vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office. I. Description Microsoft has released security bulletins for multiple vulnerabilities in Microsoft Movie Maker, Microsoft Office Producer 2003, and Microsoft Office Excel. These bulletins are described in the Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for March 2010. Microsoft notes that affected versions of Microsoft Movie Maker were either included with Microsoft Windows or available as an optional download. II. Impact A remote, unauthenticated attacker could execute arbitrary code or cause a vulnerable application to crash. III. Solution Apply updates from Microsoft Microsoft has provided updates for these vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for March 2010. The security bulletin describes any known issues related to the...

13:10

MainStage 2.1: Release notes

Apple - All P...

MainStage 2.1.1 is an update to MainStage 2, which is part of the paid upgrade to Logic Studio (2009).

09:44

iPod Hi-Fi: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Apple - All P...

Learn the answers to some of the frequently asked questions (FAQ) regarding iPod Hi-Fi.

07:30

Disable AirPort when Ethernet cable is connected

Mac OS X Hint...

At my office, I needed to find a way to turn of the wireless network when someone plugged in their network cable. I also did not want them to be able to turn the wireless network back on until the network cable was unplugged. I came up with the fallowing solution. I created a launchDaemon called com.companyname.ethernetmonitor, and saved it in /System » Library » LaunchDaemons: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> Label com.companyname.ethernetmonitor ProgramArguments /Library/Scripts/CompanyName/turnOffAirp...

07:30

Clean .DS_Store, .Trash, and ._resources files prior...

Mac OS X Hint...

Frequently we need to clean a directory before zipping it or copying it to an external USB drive to be used by Windows or Linux users. Apple Finder has the custom of populating directories with those unavoidable .DS_Store files, volumes with .Trashes, and some files (especially pictures) with ._resources. The following interactive script will safely remove these files prior to copying. #!/bin/sh # bash script to clean (delete) Finder .DS_Store, .Trashes and ._resources # Use cleandsstores.sh # juanfc 2010-03-06 if [ $# != 1 ] then echo "ERROR: use\n\t`basename $0` dirtoclean" exit 1 fi res=`find "$@" $ -name ".DS_Store" -or -name ".Trashes" -or -name "._*" $ -print` if [[ -z $res ]]; then echo "nothing to delete" exit 0 el...

Monday March 8

15:59

iPhone: Locating the serial number, IMEI, and ICCID...

Apple - All P...

If you need to find your iPhone serial number, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, identifier, or ICCID number this article shows you several different ways you can locate it.

15:37

iPhone: Improve backup and restore times by reducing...

Apple - All P...

Pictures and screenshots taken with the iPhone are stored on the Camera Roll. When you sync or perform a restore, iTunes creates a backup the contents of your iPhone, including the Camera Roll. The more pictures or other multimedia files that are on the Camera Roll, the longer a backup or restore will take. Improve backup and restore times by regularly importing the contents of your Camera Roll, and then sync that content back to the iPhone.

15:20

iPhone or iPod is not recognized properly by compute...

Apple - All P...

When drivers required by a PC's USB interface are not installed correctly or are out of date, an iPhone or iPod connected to this computer may not be recognized properly. One or more of the following may occur: Device does not appear in iTunes Device cannot be restored in iTunes An exclamation point appears next to the device's entry in Device Manager iPod screen does not display "Do Not Disconnect" screen when connected to the computer (does not apply to iPhone and iPod touch) iPod is not recognized as a disk in My Computer (does not apply to iPhone and iPod touch) Products affected iPhone, iPod touch, and iPod (all models) Microsoft Windows XP Microsoft Windows Vista Microsoft Windows 7

13:46

Mac OS X Server: Cannot join Windows 7 to a Mac OS X...

Apple - All P...

Microsoft Windows clients running Windows 7 and Windows servers running Windows Server 2008 R2 cannot join a domain mastered by a Mac OS X PDC. Windows Vista and earlier clients and Windows 2008 and earlier servers can join the domain as expected.

13:36

Mac OS X Server v10.5: SMTP Relay is enabled for loc...

Apple - All P...

When you set up the Mail service on a new installation of Mac OS X Server v10.5, SMTP is restricted by default to the local subnet. Machines on this subnet can relay through your mail service without authenticating. In some cases, such as a home office server connected to the Internet via cable modem or DSL, the "local subnet" may include other cable or DSL subscribers outside the home office.

13:35

Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6: How to use Migration Assistant...

Apple - All P...

You can use Migration Assistant to transfer your files and important settings from an older Mac to a new one.

11:27

Mac OS X v10.6: Issues after restoring a Mac from a...

Apple - All P...

If you use "Restore System From Backup…" to restore a Time Machine backup to a different Mac than the original Mac used for the backup, issues such as these may occur: Graphic anomalies may appear during startup, or may follow the mouse pointer AirPort or Bluetooth may not be available The Mouse System Preference pane may not display the Magic Mouse or its features Brief graphic distortion may appear when shutting down an iMac Other startup issues

07:30

Create SuperDuper! backup reminders using Growl and...

Mac OS X Hint...

I use a couple of shell scripts that use Growl to remind me to run SuperDuper backups. The first script (backupcompleted) is set to run after each SuperDuper backup. It writes a timestamp into an invisible file called .lastbackup in my home directory; here's the script: #!/bin/bash # This script is run by SuperDuper each time a backup is completed. date "+%s" > ~/.lastbackup The second script (lastbackup) reads the .lastbackup file and calculates the time elapsed. It takes one argument: the desired number of hours to wait before showing an alert. If the elapsed time is greater than the time suppled to the script, it shows a Growl notification. If the elapsed time is greater than twice the time suppled to the script, it also increases the priority of the alert (so you can set a diferent colour for it in Growl preferences). Here's the script: ...

07:30

10.6: Use AppleScript for precise trimming in QuickT...

Mac OS X Hint...

Most of us know that Quicktime X, included with Snow Leopard, can trim movie and audio files. However, this trim is less than precise, as you cannot specify an exact trim start and stop point. Worse yet, if you want to make 10 minute segments for YouTube, you have to write down the last trim end time, undo the previous trim after uploading, and hope the trim slider will let you select the same trim point to start your next clip. What a pain. Enter AppleScript -- trim is a scriptable function. Open your movie in Quicktime X, and open the AppleScript Editor in the Application » Utilities folder. In the AppleScript Editor enter this script: tell application "QuickTime Player" activate trim document 1 from start_trim to end_trim end tell Replace start_trim and end_trim with the time, in seconds, at which you wish ...

07:30

One solution to finding missing free space on an iPo...

Mac OS X Hint...

Over the weekend, I plugged in my old-style 80GB iPod for the first time in, well, a long time -- so long that the battery needed to be charged a bit before it would even sync. Once the sync started, things seemed to go well, but near the end of the photos section, iTunes displayed a message telling me there wasn't enough room to copy all my photos. This was a bit odd, because best as I could recall, my iPod had about 20GB of free space the last time I synched. And while it had been a while, there's no way I took enough photos to fill 20GB -- especially at the iPod's resolution (I don't sync full-sized copies). I noticed that the Other (orange) section of the Capacity gauge in iTunes was huge -- basically all the remaining space was used up by Other. Switching to the Finder, I quickly scanned through the iPod's various folders (it was set to enable disk use) with the Inspector open (Command-Option-I), and they all looked normal in size ... until I got to Photos &r...

Whitepapers & Screencasts

Mar 05

Tips for managing your money

You probably don't like paying taxes. Who does? But everyone really hates preparing their taxes. Now IGG Software (http://www.iggsfotware.com) -- which makes personal and small business apps for Mac OS X -- is offering a white paper on the "Top 10 Tips for Managing Your Money Year 'Round -- Or When Tax Time Looms." It serves up suggestions on how to mind your finances year round to make tax prep a lot easier.

Mar 05

White paper looks at Mac adoption in the enterprise markets...

Mac adoption is rising, even in the enterprise, and IT departments and support staff can't afford to ignore the Mac any longer. A recent survey by the Enterprise Desktop Alliance (http://www.enterprisedesktopalliance.com), an organization that helps IT departments integrate Macs into the corporate environment, shows that 66% of 322 IT administrators from large organizations with both Macs and PCs stated that their organization expects to increase the number of Macs in their sites. Additional responses show management priorities and organizational approaches to managing Macs. The respondents cited user preference, increased productivity, and ease of technical support as leading reasons for choosing Macs. Increased Mac usage can only mean increased Mac-related support issues. Unfortunately, most remote support products simply don’t support Macs at all, and many of the ones that do don’t work through firewalls. This means that if you needed remote support for a Mac outside the company...

Mar 05

White paper looks at using PCIe attached storage

The highest performance, expandable, directly attached storage can be achieved at low cost by moving the server or work station’s PCI bus “outside” and taking advantage of the benefits of the architecture when adding storage subsystems as needed, according to JRM (http://www.jmr.com/), which specializes in storage technology. JRM -- which has written a white paper (attached) on the subject -- says that to make use of high performance, high capacity, low cost SAS3 and SATA disk drives for mass storage, a bridging interface is required from PCI Express (PCIe) to SAS. PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) is a serial connection that operates more like a network than a bus. Instead of one bus that handles data from multiple sources, PCIe has a switch that controls several point-to-point serial connections. SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) is a computer bus that moves data to and from computer storage devices such as hard drives and tape drives. combines high-end features from fiber...

Mar 04

Disk vs. Tape

Many CTOs and system/network administrators feel that tape is something to be avoided. But a new white paper by the Tolis Group (http://www.tolisgroup.com) -- which makes back-up solutions for Mac OS X, Windows, Linux and Unix systems -- begs to different. The Tolis Group says that no longer is tape a performance, usability, or cost gating factor. In fact, the white paper says that LTO-4 technology is actually faster than the filesystems that feed it, the reliability is excellent, and the life expectancy of written tapes is measured in decades. The same can be said for other fine tape formats, though throughput performance varies. What's LTO? It stands for Linear Tape-Open, a magnetic tape data storage technology . IT developed jointly by IBM, HP and Seagate as an open alternative to the proprietary Digital Linear Tape (DLT). Developed jointly by IBM, HP, and Seagate. LTO-4 cartridges offer a native capacity of 800GB per reel -- twice that of the previous generation. Its sustained...

Mar 04

Screencast looks at Xtand AluPad

The Alupad from Just Mobile (http://www.xtand.net/products/show/productid/10) is an US$49.99 mouse pad with an anodized aluminum surface ensuring lasting durability with style. It's designed to complement Apple's Magic Mouse and Apple Aluminum Keyboard. The pad supports all optical mice for precise movements. The design complements Mac desktops and laptops. What's more, non-slip feet keeps Alupad staying secure on your desk. Aesthetically, it matches just about any aluminum "flavored" Mac, from the 13-inch MacBook Pro to the Mac Pro. To view a video about the Alupad, go to: http://www.youtube.com/myjustmobile .

A stupid permissions-related thing I...
Mail keeps crashing
No response at all
Valve releases its games on the Mac!!
Playstation Network screen names

ArtStudio – iPhone App Review
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Readdle Docs
Elite Platinum Releases New Finance A..

Nov. 20:	Take Control of Syncing Data in Sow Leopard' released
Nov. 19:	Cocktail 4.5 (Leopard Edition) released
Nov. 19:	macProVideo offers new Cubase tutorials
Nov. 18:	S Stardom anounces Safe Capsule, a companion piece for Apple's
Nov. 17:	Ableton releases Max for Live
Nov. 17:	Ableton releases Max for Live
Nov. 17:	Ableton releases Max for Live
Nov. 17:	Ableton releases Max for Live
Nov. 17:	Ableton releases Max for Live
Nov. 17:	Ableton releases Max for Live
Nov. 17:	Ableton releases Max for Live
Nov. 17:	Ableton releases Max for Live
Nov. 17:	Ableton releases Max for Live
Nov. 17:	Ableton releases Max for Live

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