C&D letters sent to Apple, MS; $200b suit threatened...

Apple along with other technology giants such as Microsoft, Adobe, and RealNetworks were sent a cease & desist on Friday demanding they integrate Media Rights Technologies' (MRT) proprietary technology to prevent music streams from being "ripped." While most intellectual property lawsuits focus on infringement, the novel approach taken by MRT may be a first in the industry, according to AppScout. MRT claims that Digital Millennium Copyright Act signed into law by President Clinton, and invoked in the Grokster decision, forces companies to comply with the act and provide copy-control technologies. MRT, which took its technology to Microsoft but was blown off, says it has given each company 10 days to respond and will file lawsuits against those companies totaling more than $200 billion dollars.

Briefly: review; Microsoft "oPhone" spoof...

In brief: MacNN has reviewed Music Man from Mireth Technology, and Inside Mac Radio hosts are holding a free photo walk through San Francisco at the World Wide Developers Conference. MacJams.com in conjunction with BeatHive have released a free 40MB collection of Apple Loops, and a mock video has surfaced of a fictional Microsoft branded "oPhone." MacNN has reviewed Mireth Technology's Music Man ($30 boxed, $20 for download) audio software for organizing, ripping, converting, burning, and playing MP3, WMA, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, AIFF, and MIDI files. Music Man features a simple tabbed interface that lets users prepare to burn discs, play media, and more.

T-Mobile tapped as Euro iPhone carrier?...

Germany-based T-Mobile may become the iPhone's official carrier for Europe, according to those close to the negotiations. Although it had previously been suggested that Vodafone would win -- an implication the carrier publically denied -- it's now believed that its rival at T-Mobile is favored as the sole outlet for iPhone sales in the continent. Other Europe-wide providers such as O2 and Orange were said to have been in the running but unsuccessful in reaching the later stages of contract discssions. Terms of a possible deal weren't discussed but may be different than the multi-year exclusivity agreement Apple has signed with AT&T in the US.

Apple offers refurbished PowerBooks, iPods

Apple is offering reconditioned PowerBook notebooks and various iPod models at reduced prices. Refurbished G4 laptops currently include the company's 12-inch 1.5GHz PowerBook with 512MB of memory, an 80GB hard drive, and a SuperDrive for $1,199; 15-inch 1.5GHz PowerBook with 512MB of memory, an 80GB hard drive, and a Combo Drive for $1,249; and its 15-inch 1.67GHz PowerBook with 512MB of memory, an 80GB hard drive, and a SuperDrive for $1,299. Refurbished iPods currently include the current-generation iPod shuffle with 1GB of storage capacity for $49; first-generation iPod nanos in 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB capacities available in various colors for $102, $149, and $199, respectively; and Apple's current-generation video iPods available in black or white with 30GB and 80GB storage capacities for $199 and $279, respectively.

Gear4 launches iPod speakers with Bluetooth...

Gear4 today marked the release of the HouseParty Blu, an iPod speaker dock with the important addition of an onboard Bluetooth receiver. The technology lets the 30-watt stereo play music from A2DP-supporting cellphones or any other source using the wireless standard while still freeing up ports on the main system. Gear4 also includes a minimalist touchscreen for controlling playback as well as a remote that can separately navigate the speakers as well as the iPod itself. A line-in jack provides a hook for the iPod shuffle or other wired-only music players without Apple's Dock Connector.

Apps: Health Tracker, Labels X, 1Passwd

• Health Tracker 3.1.0 ($20) enhances the application that tracks and graphcs health related measurements. Users can blood glucose levels, weight, measurements for various body parts, personal percentage of body fat, and other variables. The update runs natively on Intel-based Macs as a Universal Binary, and adds several enhancements to the graphing display. [Download - 2.9MB]


• Labels X 1.8.2 ($10) is a free update to all registered users of the file labeling enhancement utility that enables the software to work on a large number of systems after a reboot. Labels X enables users to apply various color tints to files or folder icons, as well as the file or folder name. [Download - 3MB]


• 1Passwd 2.4 ($30) is a password manager that works within a Web browser. The update brings support for Apache login windows as well as Graphical License cards. 1Passwd adds anti-phishing protection as well as automatic form filling capability to Mac OS X, and the upgrade is free to all 1Passwd customers. [Download - 4.5MB]


• Petal Palace 1.1.5 ($20) updates the 3D falling-blocks game with more responsive in-game mouse control. Petal Palace challenges players to pick flowers by arranging t hem in lines to ensure the palace isn't overgrown. The latest revision includes some minor improvements, and fixes a bug in the "Extra Markers" display. [Download - 3MB]


• BabyaTV (free) is a professional video capture application that saves output to Apple's QuickTime .mov format for use in iMovie, iDVD, Final Cut Studio, or on websites. Users can select the recording device stream format, set record device master as well as per-channel gain, and assign audio channel labels to source channels. [Download - 191KB]

Salling Clicker 3.5 adds Front Row support

Salling Software today released Salling Clicker 3.5, a major update to the company's two-way remote control software. Salling Clicker allows mobile phones and handheld computers to control popular applications such as PowerPoint and iTunes on Mac and Windows computers. The new version adds innovative new features, support for the very latest handheld devices, and other enhancements. The latest revision also expands its Wi-Fi connectivity to support smartphones based on the Windows Mobile and Symbian operating systems. Salling Clicker 3.5 for Mac includes support for Apple's Front Row software, eliminating the need to bring an Apple remote when travelling. The software also boasts enhanced support for iTUnes, PowerPoint, EyeTV, and Keynote. Salling Clicker 3.5 is available for $24, requiring Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later.

Apple seizes 9.9% of U.S. retail laptop sales

Apple notebook retail sales in the month of March reached 9.9 percent in the U.S. even as the company's desktop Mac retail sales ranked fifth overall with 7.7 percent of sales, according to Bloomberg. The Cupertino-based company likely increased sales via its "Get a Mac" ad campaign alongside new Intel-based Macs that can run Microsoft Windows via Boot Camp beta software. Apple reported during its quarterly financial results in April that half of customers who purchase Macs from its retail stores had not previously owned a Mac, and that its retail efforts were much more lucrative than anticipated. Apple's retail laptop share beat out Compaq (which garnered 8.5 percent of sales in March) but still trails Gateway, which accounted for 13 percent of notebooks sold.

Study: iPods interfere with pacemakers

A new study presented by a 17-year-old Michigan high school student found that Apple's iPod portable media players can cause pacemakers -- small cardiac implants designed to monitor the hearts of people at risk of heart failure -- to misread heart pacing or fail entirely. The study which tested the effect of iPods on 100 patients with a mean age of 77 outfitted with pacemakers found that the portable players caused electrical interference 50 percent of the time when the iPod was held 2-inches from the patient's chest for 5-10 seconds, according to Reuters. The study examined iPods exclusively, and the results were presented to a meeting of heart specialists on Thursday. iPods caused pacemaker interference when held 18-inches from the chest in some cases, and in one particular instance caused the pacemaker to stop functioning entirely.

HANNS.G ships five LCDs...

HANNspee's computer display label HANNS.G this morning announced the immediate availability of five new LCDs. The line emphasizes widescreen even at the basic level, with two 17-inch, 1440x900 displays with 500:1 contrast and 8ms response in black (HW-173DBB) or silver (HW-173DB0); the company also has a trio of 19-inch displays, including two widescreen models (HG-191RPB and HW-194DJB) with a quicker 2ms pixel response and two-watt integrated speakers as well as a single standard-ratio model, the 8ms HS-191DPB.