Apple, Fox sign iTunes rental deal?...

Apple has reportedly signed 20th Century Fox to a new rental service that it is starting, allowing users to rent new releases by the studio, providing a download that expires after a given amount of time. According to The Financial Times, Fox studios will be the first of many to provide media for this rental service, and will also be the first to use Apple's own FairPlay protection service outside of its own products, such as iTunes and the iPod. In addition to offering the rentals, Fox will be including a FairPlay-encoded version of the film with each of its physical DVD products, effectively allowing users to rip an iPod-quality version of the film that can not be distributed on the internet.

First Look: CS Odessa's ConceptDraw MindMap Pro 5...

As Apple's appeal grows – thanks to the easy-to-use Mac OS X, and the versatility of the Intel processors – the large business and enterprise sectors are starting to adopt the Macintosh platform as a new office standard. Apple has a long history of support from business-minded developers such as Microsoft, Marketcircle, The Omni Group, and CS Odessa, and with them, the company has garnered a variety of productivity software. CS Odessa's ConceptDraw MindMap Professional 5 looks to provide a solid and powerful, but simple way for business professionals to capture brainstorming sessions and put them into a readable flowchart-style plan.

Briefly: Reviews, MacBook tops Amazon.com...

In brief: MacNN has reviewed Need for Speed Carbon as well as AKVIS Chameleon 5, Apple's MacBook took one of the top three sales spots during Amazon.com's holiday season, and 'Toon Santa' is offering free 3D models of Apple's iPhone, iPod, and iMac. MacNN has reviewed Need for Speed Carbon ($40, shown at right), an arcade-style street and canyon racing game that features music from popular artists like electro-clash Ladytron and Australia-based Wolfmother.

Review: LaCie Ethernet Disk mini HE

Network-attached storage has often been the reserve of businesses, and is only now catching on with home users wanting to share a common pool of files between their computers or with others online. But what about as the hub for a media center? With some help from Axentra's HipServ software, LaCie is hoping that its Ethernet Disk mini Home Edition is simple enough that it can stand as storage for iTunes or even a game console. We put the 500GB drive through its paces in our review to see whether it can stand in both for work and play.

iPhone helps O2 lure customers of competition...

Apple's iPhone is helping its UK wireless carrier partner to lure customers from competitors, according to FT.com. O2 CEO Matthew Key says about 60 percent of UK iPhone customers are new to his company, and expressed confidence in the prospect of landing an exclusive deal for Apple's second-generation iPhone with faster 3G wireless service when it ships in late 2008. Key also said he expects 200,000 iPhones to sell in the UK by early January, a number that some analysts are calling conservative.

Airlines planning to filter in-flight Internet...

As airlines begin resuming in-flight Internet services, some have already decided to filter what passengers can do, writes the Associated Press. American Airlines -- confirming plans -- will be joined by Alaska Airlines in soon blocking access to VoIP services such as Skype, while companies such as Virgin America are currently contemplating a ban. The problem is that VoIP not only consumes large amounts of bandwidth, but may generate tremendous noise in a cabin from numerous ongoing conversations. Wi-Fi-enabled handsets could help circumvent the bandwidth concern.

Apple, new tech trigger flash oversupply?...

A combination of Apple's seasonal sales and new manufacturing process are instigating a crisis in NAND flash memory, claim memory makers. As Apple typically ramps down its requests for the memory to reflect cooling demand after the holidays, the company has left the associated chipmakers with excess stock that will force them to drop prices to clear warehouses: immediate prices for 8-gigabit (2GB) and 16-gigabit (4GB) multi-level flash chips have dropped by as much as 25 percent in the second half of this month, the report says. Additionally, more densely-packed 50-nanometer flash memory has begun mass production at the same time, increasing the amount of overall memory on the market.

Android phones at Feb. expo, Apple missing?...

Phones using Google's Android platform could make their first public appearance as early as February, according to the exhibitor listing for the Mobile World Congress show beginning that month. The search engine developer has booked two separate spaces at the event, giving the company an unusually large amount of space that is not believed to be connected strictly to promoting the software side of its platform.

Briefly: Google Mac widgets, iRemember...

In brief: Google updates its Mac widgets, MacNN reviews iRemember 2.2, macProVideo teaches upgrades and color correction, and Custom Solutions slips subliminal messages into Macs. Mac users who regularly rely on Google's Gmail, Blogger or Search History widgets were recently asked to upgrade the software; the company now explains that it was informed of vulnerabilities by Thomas Roessler, of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards group. In particular, the Gmail widget would previously write tags in a subject header without checking, allowing malicious users to execute JavaScript that could assume control of a computer. Newer versions of the Gmail and Blogger widgets can be found here, while the Search History widget is located separately.

Nokia extends Ovi invitation to Apple...

Nokia has offered Apple a chance to join its Ovi Web portal, which would integrate the iTunes Store with the company's own collection of services -- including the Nokia music store, photo sharing, and access to services like Flickr. "In Finnish, Ovi means door. And our door is open. Of course, Apple can get into our portal. We even invite (Apple Inc chief executive) Steve Jobs to do so," said board member Anssi Vanjoki. Vanjoki also said that Apple's iTunes Store would be an enrichment for Nokia's customers, according to Thomson Financial.

Flip4Mac WMV 2.2 adds Leopard, better streaming...

Telestream has released a new update for its Flip4Mac WMV Components packages, bringing their version to 2.2. The software is used to play, import and/or convert Windows Media videos in a manner compatible with QuickTime; the upgraded edition is now fully compatible with Mac OS X Leopard, and should better support online streaming, whether through websites or directly from servers. The application now also has a JavaScript browser plug-in, which allows web developers to create interactive options for users such as playlists and custom buttons.

IDC: Acer, Apple among winners in notebooks...

Notebook computer marketshare has seen a major shakeup in the third calendar quarter of this year, says a recent report from the marketing research group IDC. While HP retains a comfortable lead, Acer and ASUS have both moved up one rank to assume second and eighth places respectively. Acer's tactic of splitting its portables into clearly split home-oriented Aspire notebooks and business TravelMate lines has lead the company to sell 4.15 million notebooks and achieve a marketshare of 14.2 percent, keeping Dell at third place with 4.01 million and continuing the Texas firm's sales slump versus its rivals, according to the report.

Airport Extreme 'not available' in UK...

The Airport Extreme base station has been temporarily removed from sale at Apple UK's online storefront, checks show. While still listed under wireless accessories, the Extreme's status has been changed to "not available," and accordingly no price is mentioned either. The disappearance is also apparently unique to the UK, as the American, Canadian and French online stores still have the wireless router in stock. No official explanation has been issued.

Optimus OLED keyboard pushed to February...

Art Lebedev Studios today revealed that its Optimus Maximus keyboard has been delayed until late February. Although the company has nearly filled its capacity for preorders, which began earlier this month, the firmware that controls its unique features needs to be improved before the device can begin shipping in earnest, according to the Russian design house. The firmware flash method to update the keyboard's software also needs improvement before the final release.