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- Solid-state hard disks don't help battery life
Filed under: Hardware
In an interesting test by the folks over at Tom's Hardware, solid-state drives (SSDs) suck more power than their platter-based counterparts. Why should you care? Because the MacBook Air features an SSD in its higher-end configurations.
Tom's looked at four different SSD models, and compared them with a 7,200 RPM disk of the same size. One disk, from Crucial, touted its "low power consumption" in marketing materials. However, the disk reduced its test laptop's battery runtime from seven hours to six hours. Ouch.
SSDs are significantly faster, of course, but the idea that they consume less power appears to be false. As manufacturers develop thinner and thinner sub-notebooks, power consumption can only become more and more important.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Ive scores another design award for the iPhone
Filed under: iPhone
Apple's Senior VP of Industrial Design Jonthan Ive has won yet another design award, this time for the iPhone. The Mobile Data Association recognizes "those UK companies and individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the uptake and success of mobile data over the last 12 months." Ive won the MDA Personal Achievement Award for the physical "design of the Apple IPhone and its user interface" which "sets the bar very high for all present and future competitors and as such, is shaking the mobile phone industry."
You've got to figure by this time Ive is using these kinds of things as doorstops, but it yet another (completely unsurprising and thoroughly deserved) testament to Apple's design leadership.
[via Infinite Loop]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Apple updates RAW support with 10.5.4 update
Filed under: Hardware, Peripherals, Leopard
The Mac OS X 10.5.4 update might have made you restart your Mac, but it also added "RAW image support for several cameras." While Apple didn't tell us what these cameras were in Software Update, they did later update the RAW support page for Mac OS X Leopard.
According to the page, Apple's update added the ability to use the RAW format on these cameras:
- Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi / Kiss Digital x2 / EOS 450D
- Epson R-D1 / R-D1s
- Leaf AFi 7
- Leaf AFi 6
- Leaf AFi 5
- Pentax K200D
- Pentax K20D
[via ArsTechnica]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Cornerstone passes Versions on the way to yesterday's finish line
Filed under: Software, Developer
Cornerstone made a dashing premier as a full release recently, outpacing the much-anticipated Versions in its development cycle and leaving many of us wondering: why couldn't we have had such polished Subversion clients back when Subversion really mattered? With friendlier and more flexible version control systems like Mercurial and (my recent favorite) Git taking center stage, it just seems odd that two applications devoted to last year's RCS are vying for the spotlight.
After a 10 minute tryout, I have to say that Versions, though still in beta, was more intuitive in general. I really, really like the timeline feature in Cornerstone, though, which allows you to Command-click any two points on the timeline and see a diff with the built-in viewer. For basic Subversion-related tasks (and probably more advanced tasks that I didn't delve into yet), both clients are far ahead of what currently exists, both in usability and aesthetics.
For those who still have a strong interest in Subversion, and who haven't already sworn allegiance to Versions at some point in the year (plus) we've been waiting for it, Cornerstone just crowded the playing field. You can read more on Cornerstone at the Zennaware website.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Rumor: BestBuy, RadioShack to sell iPhone 3G
Filed under: Apple Corporate, Retail, iPhone
Boy Genius Report is reporting that Apple may allow sales of the iPhone at BestBuy and RadioShack retail stores in the U.S. This, of course, is in addition to it being sold at Apple and AT&T stores.
This would be the first time since the iPhone's introduction that a third-party reseller would be able to sell the iPhone. These rumors are definitely unconfirmed at this point so we don't know if this will happen in time for the retail giants to get in on the July 11th introduction sale.
[via MacNN]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Elgato says no to voluntary DRM broadcast flags
Filed under: Video
Yesterday, I was reading through our sister site TV Squad and saw this post about Broadcast Flags that prevent PCs from recording shows. Broadcast flags, which are signals sent in a digital TV data stream, indicate whether shows should or should not be recorded by third party equipment such as PVRs. Curious, I shot off an email to Nick Freeman of Elgato to see whether my Mac-based EyeTV would block flagged recordings.
Turns out that my Macintosh is a libertarian. I can continue recording any shows I receive. Phew.
Not only did Nick get right back to me, he put up this handy info page about Elgato's position on broadcast flags: EyeTV doesn't restrict recording. EyeTV (and Elgato's software in general) ignores voluntary DRM, the kind that asks you to shoot yourself in your own foot if you don't mind thankyouverymuch.
I was blissfully ignorant of these flags until yesterday. In a world of product placement and in-screen logos, does it really make sense to keep people away from watching your shows? It's not as though I don't get the concept -- a return to appointment television where people go to the bathroom during commercial breaks instead of fast forwarding -- but it just struck me as so incredibly brain-dead in its execution.
What a pity that Microsoft chose to support this silliness with Media Center. And bravo to Elgato for deciding not to. What kinds of voluntary DRM can you think up? Let us know in the comments. Mine is broadcast-approved earplugs. Stick them in whenever you encounter sounds that might be copyright.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - .Mac Bookmark webaccess going away July 6th
The above message has been posted to the .Mac Tips website. As you can see .Mac members are being told to sync their .Mac bookmarks to a computer (Mac or PC) by July 6th because web access to bookmarks is no longer going to be supported in MobileMe (.Mac's replacement). The July 6th date is actually a few days later than the one Apple first gave in this KB article (June 30th). It looks like Apple wants to give all .Mac members as much time as possible to get their bookmarks in order.
Does this mean we'll see the official launch of MobileMe on the 6th? Probably not, since Apple has stated that MobileMe will be available on July 11, but then again Me.com email is already being properly routed so this might all be part of a soft launch (as they say in the biz).
Thanks to everyone who sent this in.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - The iPod Gramophone
Filed under: iPod Family, Odds and ends
I like my iPod as much as the next guy (as long as I'm not standing next to Chris Breen, that is. He REALLY likes his iPod, a little too much if you ask me) but I've often found the device not to be 'Olde Timey' enough for me. Thank goodness the thoughtful people at Hammacher Schlemmer are selling The iPod Gramophone for a little less than $500.
The iPod Gramophone isn't a fancy set of speakers (we have no need for your woofers nor your tweeters here), but rather a horn to the bottom of which you attach your iPod headphones. Through the power of 'authentic horn acoustics' whatever your iPod is playing can be amplified to up to 55 decibels louder, not to mention the exponential increase in your steampunk street cred.
I don't know about you, but I would like to see more accessories making use of authentic horn acoustics.
[via bookofjoe]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Adobe Reader 9 released
Filed under: Software
Adobe has released version 9 of its Adobe Reader PDF display software. The newest version includes a number of changes including faster launching, "PDF Portfolios" (bundles of PDFs and other document types), native Flash support, and support for the online Acrobat.com beta (through Adobe AIR) with a variety of online PDF services.
Adobe Reader 9 is a free download from Adobe and is platform (Intel/PPC) specific.
[via Macworld]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Apple, Jobs face new options backdating lawsuit
Filed under: Apple Corporate, Apple Financial
In another chapter in the scandal surrounding Apple's choice to back-date options granted to key executives (including Steve Jobs), two plaintiffs have filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court against two former executives and members of Apple's board of directors.
Apple was sued similarly in 2007 by the New York City Employees' Retirement System, and the case was dismissed.
The suit names Steve Jobs, former counsel Nancy Heinen, and board members William Campbell, Millard Drexler, Arthur Levinson, and Jerry York. It contends that the accused intentionally filed false documents, hiding stock option grants to the higher-ups.
Apple, in an internal investigation, cleared Jobs of any wrongdoing, leading many to speculate that the company threw Heinen and former CFO Fred Anderson under the proverbial bus to protect the company's image.
[Via Macworld.]
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Widget Watch: Get Organized for free
Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, Freeware, Widget Watch
Those wizards of widgets at iSlayer have come up with yet another really useful tool for the Dashboard. Organized is a free widget with an event calendar, world clock, notes, and to-dos, all of which are synced to iCal and Mail.
As with other iSlayer widgets like iStat menus/nano/pro, it is obvious that a lot of thought went into the design of the user interface for Organized. It packs a lot of data into a very small widget and even has a feature I immediately turned on -- the ability to shut off Marker Felt as the default font for Notes.
If you download, install, and use Organized, consider sending these guys a donation so they'll continue to develop great stuff for us.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Cocktail for Leopard 4.1.3
Filed under: Software
Cocktail, the power-user's system housekeeping app, has been updated to version 4.1.3, and now features support for Leopard 10.5.4.
The utility lets you enable and disable Spotlight indexing, disk journaling, kiosk mode, and a host of other "undocumented" options for the Finder, Dock, Safari, Mail, and many other applications.
In addition to 10.5.4 support, this update fixes a Firefox 3 bookmark bug, a crash while clearing user caches, and an issue where the uninstaller may fail to reset some network settings.
Cocktail 4.1.3 requires Leopard, and is universal binary. The update is free to registered users, and a single user license is $14.95 (with other licensing options available). Earlier versions of the app for Tiger and Panther are also available for download.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - TUAW Poll: What are you doing with your original iPhone?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion
After looking over the iPhone 3G information here on TUAW and on the AT&T website yesterday, I started thinking about what my wife and I should do with our "old" original iPhones.
Without a SIM and phone service, the original iPhone essentially becomes an iPod touch. You can still update it to the new software when it arrives, you can use it with Wi-Fi in your home, and you can use it to watch video and listen to tunes.
By keeping the old iPhone as an iPhone touch, I can get rid of some of the old iPods I have scattered around the house. What are you going to do with your iPhone after July 11th?
Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - SlimKey 2 keyboard stand adds USB hub
Filed under: Accessories, iMac
Macessity, makers of the LowKey stand we covered a while back, has released version 2 of their SlimKey keyboard stand adding a USB hub on the right side. Basically the SlimKey is a steel shelf designed to hide Apple's slim keyboards under your iMac or LCD monitor so as to conserve desk space when you're not typing. The newest version incorporates a 4-port powered USB 2.0 hub on the right rear for a mouse and other USB peripherals. Personally, I find this design rather more aesthetically pleasing than the LowKey which puts the USB hub in front.
The SlimKey V2 is available for pre-order $64.99 and will be shipping on July 21. They also still have the SlimKey version 1 without the USB hub for $39.99.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - PC Tools iAntiVirus aims to be Mac specific
Filed under: Software, Security, Beta Beat
With the recent trojan scare PC Tools' timing for the beta release of iAntiVirus for Mac could hardly be better. While there are a variety of anti-virus applications for the Mac, iAntiVirus seems to be especially designed to reduce resource usage by simply ignoring virus signatures for Windows. The idea is that your Mac is immune to Windows viruses so why waste memory, etc. scanning for them? Otherwise iAntiVirus is pretty conventional with a menubar interface and real-time scanning.
In some ways I'm of two minds about this approach. It's true that I don't allow any Windows boxes on my home network so having a Mac-only solution makes sense. However, by not scanning for non-Mac viruses it's possible that your Mac might unwittingly pass along a virus or trojan by email, etc. I run an Enterprise version of Sophos provided by my University and I've been surprised by how many Windows virus signatures it has picked up on my machine from various downloads.
iAntiVirus is a free download, but virus definitions and updates are $29.95 for one year.
[via Macworld]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Chessmaster 9000 finally goes Universal
Filed under: Gaming, Universal Binary
I thought Adobe and Microsoft were bad, but Feral Interactive has just released a patch for Chessmaster 9000 that brings Universal Binary status to the well known chess application. Other changes in version 1.1.2 include support for the latest MacBooks with Intel X3100 graphics. So now you can finally try the Queen's gambit on your Intel Mac without the distaste of Rosetta.
The 1.1.2 Universal patch is a free download from Feral. Chessmaster 9000 retails for about $40.
[via MacNN]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - WWDC '08: Boinx + TheCodingMonkeys = BoinxTV
Filed under: Multimedia, How-tos, WWDC, Developer
We heard from TheCodingMonkeys last week, and there was mention of a joint project with Boinx Software. Being a big fan of Boinx software (iStopMotion, Mousepose, Fotomagico), I couldn't wait to see what they had up their sleeves. The project is called BoinxTV, and it's going to be an invaluable tool for a wide range of video production applications. It allows for on-the-fly camera switching, transitions, lower thirds, graphics, logos, crawlers, graphs, title, you name it. And when you finish a run, you've got a QuickTime movie that requires no post production (unless you really want to). Oliver and Dominik share more about its audience and development in the video after the jump.
If you're interested in hearing more about the beta and staying up-to-date on the current status, check out http://www.boinx.com/boinxtv. I've been asked to emphasize that BoinxTV is pre-release. Many aspects of it, including the UI pictured above, are constantly changing and improving.
[Viddler link|QuickTime format]
Continue reading WWDC '08: Boinx + TheCodingMonkeys = BoinxTV
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - AllBookmarks in your menubar
Filed under: Freeware
AllBookmarks is a simple, free menubar application from the makers of 1Password. Basically it gives you one-click access to all your Safari, Firefox, OmniWeb, Camino and Flock bookmarks as well as your 1Password Bookmarks (if you have 1Password installed). The interface includes a live search box, though it doesn't seem to work as well as I would like. Nonetheless, it's relatively easy to navigate the hierarchical menus.
AllBookmarks is a free download from Agile Web Solutions.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - iPhone 101: Headphone issues
Filed under: How-tos, iPhone, iPhone 101
Recently, my iPhone was having issues. Specifically, it thought headphones were inserted when they weren't. I first noticed the problem as I was typing and didn't hear that familiar "click" that normally accompanies a key press.
I thought I had accidentally toggled the ringer mute button (which I seem to do often), but no, it was set to ring. I inserted some headphones and heard everything - the clicks, music, etc.
I placed a call and tried turning the speaker on and off to no avail. Next, I rebooted the phone. No dice. I connected it to my Mac and performed a sync with iTunes and still, there was no sound.
I reset the phone by holding down the power button and the home button. Still, there was no sound without headphones. At last, I got a can of compressed air and gave a couple of short blasts into the headphone port. That did it! The phone must have been interpreting the junk that had collected in there over the past year as headphones.
A simple solution that, hopefully, will save you some time.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Rolando: A different iPhone game
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, iPhone, App Store
Here we go. You guys sounded really jaded on the comments for the kart racing game, so here's an iPhone game that might actually break some new ground. It's called Rolando -- Simon Oliver is the developer, and he sent us a tip and the trailer above, and if you're looking for some fun and innovation in iPhone gaming, here you go. It looks kind of like a cocktail of LocoRoco, Lemmings, Kirby's Canvas and Katamari Damacy all mixed together with some iPhone originality for good measure. With a mix like that, you can't go wrong.
Simon tells us it's a "physics-based platform/puzzler.". He says that there will be four different worlds in the game, with ten levels each, including boss levels and bonus stages, and while it's not seen in the video, there might be a little accelerometer action as well. There are a few different versions of the little circular guys, called Rolandos (the King Rolando, with the crown in the video, has to be moved around by the others, for instance), as well as various implements throughout the levels that can be controlled directly. Simon's aiming to get it in the App Store by August, and while pricing hasn't been finalized, he's thinking $9.99 sounds good.
Don't like kart racing on the iPhone? As long as we can get a few good original games looking as good as this one does, you may not have to worry.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать
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