Briefly: Apple TV shipping? Mac Pro deal
updated 05:30 pm EDT, Thu March 15, 2007
Apple TV shipping?
In brief: Apple may have already begun shipping its Apple TV set top box, and Silverado Systems is offering new Mac Pro systems with free AirPort, Bluetooth, and wireless keyboards as well as Mighty Mice through the rest of March. MacTech is planning to include the 150-page VBA to AppleScript Transition Guide in the back of its April issue, a Best Buy in-car stereo patent discovered today specifically mentions Apple's iPod as a key storage device, and LaCie has discounted its recently announced LaCie d2 SAFE Hard Drive by $40. Apple's own support forum is bustling with posts from customers who pre-ordered its Apple TV and have now seen charges appear on their credit card statements. The change suggests impending shipment of the set top boxes, coinciding with Apple's own predicted mid-March shipment time frame.
Mac Pros with free AirPort, Bluetooth, more
Silverado Systems is celebrating its 4th anniversary by offering all new Mac Pro systems with free AirPort, Bluetooth, and wireless keyboards as well as Mighty Mice form now throughout the month of March when customers purchase a Mac Pro with AppleCare.
Additionally, through the end of March the company is offering all customers who purchase MacBook Pros with AppleCare a free Booq PowerSleeve case. Consumers need only select a Mac Pro or MacBook Pro from the company's Web store and add AppleCare to enable the free options, which are selectable from a popup menu.
Free guide in April
MacTech Magazine has announced that it will include the 150-page VBA to AppleScript Transition Guide for free in the back of its April issue. The subscriptions are sponsored by Microsoft's MacBU, requiring readers to pay only shipping to receive the guide.
MacTech is issuing a "last call" for users to order by March 31st to start with the April issue and receive the book, as well as a bonus chapter on AppleScripting Entourage that doesn't have VBA support.
iPod "key" to Best Buy patent
A newly discovered patent filed by brick-and-mortar retailer Best Buy cites Apple's iPod as one of the key storage devices that work with its new in-car stereo system.
The system allows a driver listening to a music station to tag new tunes on the fly by pressing an "Add" button located on the receiver. The deck then records the RDS profile of the song and stores it on an iPod, potentially to purchase the track at Apple's iTunes Store.
LaCie hard drive wins award
LaCie's d2 SAFE Hard Drive recently won an award for Innovation in Technology at the 2007 Data Protection Summit, and as a result the company is offering a $40 discount on the drive through March 28th. The drive ships with all cables necessary for immediate use, as well as one-click backup software for Mac as well as Windows systems.
