News Archive for 08/06/13

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Apple event security paranoia: bathroom escorts

06/13, 9:15pm

Apple security paranoia

Apple's notorious secrecy when dealing with unreleased product is especially prevalent at conferences as journalists and the like are ferried around by Apple PR reps to avoid early leaks, heavily contrasting the easy-going image of actor Justin Long in the famous "Get a Mac" commercials. Computerworld writer Matt Hamblen had a need at WWDC to repeatedly use the washroom, each time he was escorted by a friendly, but stern Apple representative.

Fifth Ave. store buffs value of NYC property

06/13, 8:30pm

Fifth Ave store value

An instantly recognizable icon of Apple's retail presence, the Fifth Avenue "Glass Cube" store is said to have contributed to raising the value of the property it sits on by over $1 billion. ifoAppleStore reveals that Apple's $100-per-square-foot retail space, combined with other retail locations in the plaza, have helped the selling price when former owner Harry Macklowe sold the location to Boston Properties Incorporated for $2.8 billion this year.

Ziphone unlock works on iPhone 2.0

06/13, 7:05pm

Ziphone unlock for 2.0

The Ziphone iPhone unlocking and jailbreaking application was revealed on Friday to support the new v2.0 iPhone OS, the final version of will ship next month. A post in the developer's blog reveals that the application enables support for the device on many international networks, including AT&T, Rogers and Fido in Canada, T-Mobile, Vodaphone, TIM, Claro, and many others. Ziphone is available for iPhone owners on either Mac OS or Windows.

EFiX dongle promises easy Mac OS installs on PC

06/13, 4:45pm

EFiX PC-to-Mac USB dongle

A developer is promising an easy, hardware-assisted means of installing Mac OS X onto PCs, accounts say. The creators of the EFiX USB dongle claim that by attaching their device to a PC, users can then simply boot from a Mac OS X disc, and continue with installation as if the system were a native Apple product. Typically, the creation of "Hackintoshes" requires a number of complex steps, as Apple does not allow the Mac OS on third-party hardware.

Briefly: Sony Rolly review

06/13, 4:30pm

Sony Rolly Review

Japanese electronics makers once had (and to some degree, still have) a reputation for eccentric but entertaining gadgets -- devices that were fascinating precisely because they didn't make business sense and did something imaginative that no other device would do. For awhile, that creativity seemed to fade away. The Rolly brings that oddness roaring back in a player that can't help but generate smiles. Whether it justifies its feature set and price tag is the real debate and the subject of our full-length review.

10.5.4 to solve old, possibly new, issues

06/13, 4:30pm

10.5.4 update coming

Apple is allegedly preparing to unveil Mac OS X 10.5.4 to solve issues present in former versions of the operating system, including a problem where some users' machines would freeze upon shutdown. AppleInsider reveals that the patch solves a dozen issues that have been prevalent through several incarnations of the operating system, but it does not clearly state whether it addresses an incompatibility with Firefox, first reported by MacNN on Wednesday.

Apps: Resourcery, EmailCampaign

06/13, 4:25pm

Pandora

Resourcery 1.0 ($12) makes it possible to access all of your resources for all of your projects from one integrated window. It has a focused set of features designed to make it a project resource management solution that is simple to use with virtually no learning curve involved. Open it up and start using it right away to manage your projects and their resources. Add project items (information, reminders, tasks, etc.) to your projects. Attach any number of files, folders, applications, web links, and email addresses to any project and any item within a project. Keep notes on projects and each of their items. [Download - 5.1MB]
EmailCampaign 1.0.2 ($100) email marketing software with no subscription fees. Version 1.0.2 fixes a Leopard related bug in the Bounce Handler that would not extract bounces from a server, the Clipboard, a text file, Apple Mail, Entourage and Power Mail. Sending your campaign to a large contact list will almost always give you some bounces (returned mail) based on full mailboxes, delivery timeouts and other reasons.
Pandora 2.3 ($30) media collector's web spider and search agent for Mac OS X. Version 2.3 introduces support for a wide range of international text encodings in the pages in reads, giving users the ability to travel the world in their search for web-based media files. Pandora can simultaneously perform as many tasks as it's given. Multiple sessions can, at the same time, be performing searches, URL scrapes, or even running through folders on your hard drive, via "Open..." in the "File" menu. [Download - 2.1MB]
Dragoman 1.1 ($40) a universal batch file converter for Mac OS X Tiger and Leopard. Designed to improve productivity and efficiency, Dragoman allows users to convert images, photos, music files and archive files with a drag and drop interface. On popular demand the new release adds support for raw digital camera formats of Canon, Kodak, Sony, Nikon, Olympus and Fuji cameras, as well as for Adobe's Digital Negative and Photo CD format. [Download - 19.3MB]
Tidy Up! 1.4.2 ($30) search for duplicate files and packages; by the owner application, content, type, creator, extension, date modified, date created, name, label, visibility and more. You can also search by the tag, duration and bit rate of MP3s and AACs audifiles, search the content of the iTunes, iPod and iPhotdatabases, search the messages of Mail and synchronize deletions with iTunes, iPhotand Mail. The new release adds compatibility with compatibility with iTunes 7.6.2, iPhoto 7.1.3 and other applications. [Download - 8.4MB]

Axiom debuts M3 Garage Speakers

06/13, 4:10pm

M3 garage speakers

Axiom Audio has announced the availability of its special edition Axiom Garage Speaker—a bookshelf unit. The device is tread-patterned, brushed silver exterior, and is comprised of a 1" titanium tweeter and 6.5" aluminum woofer, each speaker features anti-standing-wave cabinetry and vortex porting. The speakers will play with as little as a 10-watt amplifier, or can handle as much as 175 watts of input power. Axiom Garage Speakers also include a threaded mounting receptacle that accepts most speaker brackets including the company’s Full Metal Bracket. For horizontal mounting situations, Axioms Ceiling Bracket can be used. Axiom Garage Speakers are priced at $375 per pair.

Microspot intros free 3D Toolbox editor

06/13, 4:05pm

Microspot 3D Toolbox

Microspot has released 3D Toolbox, an editing tool which lets users view and edit 3D Studio Max and SketchUp files; models from either program can be incorporated into the same scene. The free version of the software provides tools for shape editing, color selection and backdrop insertion, but the $15 Standard edition is required to save files and export high-resolution images.

Sony readying Wii-like, two part gamepad?

06/13, 3:45pm

Sony Wii Like Gamepad Leak

Sony is developing a unique controller that would help the PS3 offer motion-based games like those found on the Nintendo Wii, GamesIndustry claims. Anonymous sources allege that the gamepad would act as usual in most cases but separate into two distinct parts, each of which would have a built-in accelerometer that recognizes movement. The pad is already said to be in the hands of some companies producing games for the PS3 and would let them implement code to support the controllers in advance.

New York thieves use iPhones to lure victims

06/13, 3:20pm

Robbers use iPhone lures

Four Brooklyn men have been arrested in connection with a scam involving the iPhone, writes the New York Times. Michel Origval, Elorge Zamy, Ulyses Campbell and Christopher Thervil have been charged with robbery and possession of a weapon, following a string of incidents in which people responded to Craigslist ad promoting a bulk sale of iPhones. The men would arrange meetings with potential buyers on Flatbush street corners, only to steal money and any other possessions they had with them.

Briefly: Reviews, e-book offer, disc rip rental

06/13, 3:15pm

Briefly reviews ebooks

MacNN recently posted reviews for the iHome Dual Alarm Cube Clock and the iFrogz Audiowrapz Treadz for the iPod Nano, Expressivo is offering users 50 free e-books, and Primera has a new renting program for the Bravo SE Disc Publisher. What makes the Audiowrapz Treadz stand out from the crowd is its thick (2mm) silicone case that contains a hard plastic liner with a built-in speaker system. The three integrated silver speakers use passive speaker technology and do not use any more power from your iPod than your standard headset or earphones.

AT&T mulling fees for heavy Internet use

06/13, 3:05pm

AT&T Mulls Overage Fees

AT&T believes it "inevitable" that its most frequent Internet users will pay some kind of surcharge for the extra demand on the network, says company representative Michael Coe. The official cautions that there are no plans in place but notes that AT&T, like most providers, is facing a surge in traffic on its DSL service that is primarily led by a small group of users and may need to be controlled by charging extra for heavy usage. About 5 percent of customers use 46 percent of overall bandwidth, Coe explains.

Analyst: Xbox 360 price cut by E3

06/13, 2:25pm

Xbox 360 Cut by E3 Rumor

EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich today said that an Xbox 360 price cut or model change is very likely to take place by the E3 gaming expo next month. The researcher doesn't point to specific sources but is confident that Microsoft will either drop prices on the consoles at the event, introduce at least one new version, or combine the two in a single update. It's unknown whether Sony will follow suit with the PlayStation 3, though the company is predicted to respond to any Microsoft cuts with one of its own within two months.

Verizon to discount bundles without landline phones

06/13, 2:00pm

Verizon No Landline Bundle

Verizon will let customers see reduced rates on multiple services for the first time without requiring a landline, the carrier said on Friday. The Flex Double Play bundle will let the company's cellular users drop between $8 and $12 from their monthly rates if they also sign up for specific Internet-based services, including either the 3Mbps DSL connection, a 20Mbps FIOS fiber-optic plan, or FIOS TV. Faster Internet plans aren't qualified for the bundle.

Toshiba preparing ultra high-end gaming notebook?

06/13, 1:35pm

Toshiba Qosmio X305

Toshiba is preparing its own entry into the world of luxury gaming notebooks, a report claims. Specifications are said to have leaked for the Qosmio X305, which is alleged to be running a 3GHz Core 2 Duo, with support for still faster speeds through overclocking. Video is meanwhile said to be powered through a GTX-level Nvidia GeForce card, with an extremely high 1GB of onboard VRAM. This amount of memory is rare in desktop computers.

Mellel 2.5 adds cross referencing prowess

06/13, 1:20pm

Mellel 2.5

RedleX has released Mellel 2.5, a significant update to the leading word processor for Mac OS X. The new release adds robust cross referencing capabilities, allowing users to refer from one point in the text to another (e.g., "see page 15"). Mellel's reference entry dialogue allows, accordingly, to create reference formats, composed of different elements such as reference to the page number, position in the text (above, next page, below, etc.), page range, and so on. Users can also save and re-use such formats again and again, making the necessary modifications as they go along.

UK government declares modchips legal

06/13, 1:00pm

UK: Modchips are legal

The creation and sale of modchips is legal, the UK government has stated. The region's Court of Appeal has ruled in favor Neil Higgs, a vendor who had been selling thousands of modification kits for consoles like the Xbox, which in turn let gamers play pirated titles. Some 26 charges were filed against Higgs in late 2007, but as a result of today's ruling, they have all been invalidated. Higgs will also receive full compensation for his legal costs.

Sharp starts selling 108-inch LCD TV

06/13, 12:35pm

Sharp 108-inch HDTV

Sharp today fulfilled promises made last year with news that it will begin selling what's believed to be the world's largest single-panel HDTV. At 108 inches diagonal, the LB-1085's screen is designed with public view in mind and produce a relatively rich picture for a large screen likely to be seen outdoors. While the contrast ratio is limited to 1,200:!, the 1080p image displays with as many as 76 million colors, or far more than the 16.7 million of most LCDs.

Korg serves notebook DJs with nanoSeries

06/13, 12:00pm

Korg nanoSeries

Korg late yesterday previewed a new set of music controllers for artists whose studio or live work centers around notebooks. The nanoSeries attaches through USB and is small enough to sit in front of a portable on stage or in a tight recording environment either to play software instruments or to control MIDI devices. The nanoKONTROL caters most to electronic artists with stand-ins for mixers, including nine equal sets of fader and knob controls as well as 18 switches. It also comes with a discount for Ableton Live to get new DJs started on live electronic performances.

Telenor still seeking to sell iPhone 3G?

06/13, 11:20am

Telenor after iPhone 3G?

Norwegian phone carrier Telenor is still contemplating a deal for the iPhone 3G, a company representative claims. In response to an inquiry by a MacNN source, Caroline Ellis, Telenor Mobile's Head of Customer Relations, has explained that while the company has signed no contract for the iPhone, an agreement is currently being "considered," and a decision has yet to be made.

Acer launches wireless-focused DLP projector

06/13, 11:00am

Acer P5260i Projector

Acer late yesterday unveiled a DLP projector in its Professional series explicitly tailored to wireless use with PCs: the P5260i takes the earlier P5260E and adds 802.11g Wi-Fi that allows it to stream media directly from a computer without needing either a cable or an adapter. The projector can natively play AVI, DivX, MPEG-1/2/4, WMV, and XviD videos along with the raw VOB files normally found on DVDs; although the projector itself outputs at 1024x768 resolution, the P5260i can accept both wireless and wired feeds up to 1080i or 720p.

TomTom: iPhone navigation software is real

06/13, 10:35am

TomTom on iPhone software

TomTom has in fact produced real-time navigation software for the iPhone, according to one of the company's French representatives. Yann Lafargue denies allegations from other sources, which first said that Apple's SDK license forbids real-time navigation, and then that TomTom itself had no internal prototypes. "Since the SDK became available," Lafargue observes, "some of our engineers tried to put Navigator on the iPhone. And the first tests showed that it worked well for the most part."

Intel to launch budget Core 2 Quad soon?

06/13, 10:15am

Intel C2 Quad Q8000 Soon

Intel is prepping a surprise launch of a new budget line of quad-core processors in a matter of weeks, say component makers in Taiwan. A variant of the Core 2 Quad to be called the Q8000 series will slot below full-featured Q9000 chips and offer both a lower clock speed as well as drop a pair of features to upsell certain customers to better parts. VT technology that helps accelerate virtual machines will be absent, as will TXT (Trusted Execution Technology) used to help lock down PCs at some businesses. The goal is to undermine AMD's three-core Phenom X3 processors.

Gigabyte Atom-based UMPC given first launch window

06/13, 10:00am

Gigabyte M528 Launch Info

Gigabyte today gave release info one of the first known ultra-mobile PCs using Intel's Atom processor. The M528 will first appear in the Taiwan area in late July and should be priced in the middle of the UMPC range at an equivalent of $750; the device centers around the extremely energy-efficient 800MHz version of the Atom that should extend battery life even with additional performance and features versus the earlier A110 chip.

Verizon makes Dark Knight Nokia 6205 official

06/13, 9:30am

Nokia 6205 Dark Knight

Verizon finished its week through the launch of the Nokia 6205 Dark Knight Edition. Tied into the Dark Knight movie, the clamshell phone both comes with the title's logo on the back as well as a preloaded trailer, backgrounds, ringtones, and screen savers. Buyers of the phone also get an opportunity to enter a contest to win $10,000 and other prizes linked to the movie.

MacPractice launches USB dental camera

06/13, 9:30am

USB dental camera for Mac

MacPractice Inc this week announced the fruit of a recent collaboration with National Dental Inc, manufacturers of specialist cameras to the dental sector, introducing the first USB 'intraoral' camera for Apple-based dental practitioners. The DocPort Macro Intraoral camera comes complete with Mac OS X specific Macpractice DR photo software, and the option for a 'foot pedal' for ease of use.

O2 details BT Wi-Fi plans for iPhone owners

06/13, 9:25am

BT Wi-Fi for UK iPhone

O2 has published new information on its expanded Wi-Fi service for iPhone owners. Beginning with the launch of the iPhone 3G on July 11th, Wi-Fi will grow beyond The Cloud to include BT's Openzone, which incorporates over 3,000 hotspots located around the UK and in various businesses around the world. In total, owners of either first-generation or 3G iPhones will access to more than 9,000 hotspots.

ASUS claims thinnest 22-inch LCD

06/13, 8:55am

ASUS LS221H Display

ASUS on Friday unveiled a new LCD series its 22-inch range that takes the company's displays further upscale. The LS221H is 0.98 inches at its thickest point and uses materials that are rarely found on LCDs, including leather on the bottom half of the frame and an extra-hardened glass that both prevents scratches and also improves visual quality by allowing more light through and reducing glare. The panel itself is considered above-average with a 4,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio as well as separate dynamic color adjustments.

Apple posts Xsan 2.1 updates

06/13, 8:45am

Apple Xsan 2.1 updates

Apple today released updates to Xsan, its enterprise-class storage area network solution. Xsan 2.1, Xsan 2.1 Admin and Xsan 2.1 Uninstaller updates have been posted to both Apple Downloads and Software Update. Patch notes reveal that this relatively minor release focuses on delivering an overall improvement in speed and filesystem reliability, along with a multitude of small bug fixes. It is recommended for all users running Xsan on Mac OS X 10.5 or Mac OS X Server 10.5 or later.

EU to cap cell carrier data, text roaming

06/13, 8:25am

EU Caps Data Text Roaming

The European Union today warned carriers in its member states that it would start regulating the roaming rates for data and messaging in the region without voluntary price drops. While not saying what would dictate the regulation, Commissioner Viviane Reding explains that the government body will start posting Europe-wide prices in the next two weeks and will likely demand that most prices be regulated lower if not dropped voluntarily.

ASUS sets prices for US-edition Eee PC 901, 1000

06/13, 7:45am

ASUS Eee PC 900 1000 Price

ASUS late yesterday set out tentative American pricing via LAPTOP for its Eee PC 901 and 1000-series micro notebooks. The 8.9-inch Eee PC 901 will sell for $599 in the US for both the 12GB Windows XP-based version or the 20GB Linux model; the 10-inch Eee PC 1000 will sell for $699 with as much as 40GB of flash memory. The special hard drive-based 1000H will use its less expensive rotating storage to drop the price to $649 while doubling capacity again to 80GB.

SecuriKey v3.0: USB token security for OS X

06/13, 6:50am

GT SecuriKey v3.0 ships

GT Security, this week announced SecuriKey v3.0 for Mac OS X 10.4/10.5, Windows XP and Vista. Promising robust data safety using a multi-layer AES-based encryption, simple and straightforward installation and setup, the device offers instant security for any workstation. SecuriKey essentially functions as an 'ignition' key for any computer. The provided USB token and designated password are both required to gain complete access to the machine. Upon removal of the key, the computer is instantly 'locked' under a feature GT Security calls 'Continuous Protection;' thus prevening access by anyone not in possession of the USB token and login credentials.

EditShare introduces Universal Media File

06/13, 5:25am

Universal Media File ships

EditShare this week introduced a software solution that creates a single media file type which can be used in both Avid and Apple Final Cut Pro video editing applications. Used in conjunction with Editshare's Flow Ingest software, the Universal Media File technology allows the seamless acquisition of media in one format, and simultaneous output to multiple other formats. In shared workflow situations, the Universal Media File promises to add a new dimension to work environments by eliminating the need for file conversion, file duplication or the congestion of valuable ingest channels.

iPhone 3G's second proximity sensor revealed

06/13, 5:05am

3G iPhone proximity sensor

In April, specifications were allegedly leaked from Hon Hai/Foxconn offering users a glimpse of the then-unreleased 3G iPhone, showing a third sensor, which has now been confirmed. iLounge writes that the 3G iPhone features an ambient light sensor, as with the previous model, but also two proximity sensors, which sources indicate is to improve face-detection functionality. The original device reportedly had issues dimming the screen when a phone call was answered using the handset.

PiddlePup Games unveils Crumb puzzle game

06/13, 1:55am

PiddlePup unveils Crumb

PiddlePup Games on Thursday unveiled Crumb, a colorful new adventure game where players must collect magical crumbs in a quest to unveil the mysteries of the Forest Mother. Players choose one of six playable characters to venture through 50 levels in the lush Enchanted Forest, solving puzzles to unlock the secrets of the forest. PiddlePup Games is currently selling Crumb for $20, and is available as a Universal Binary download from the company's site.

Qik video streaming coming to iPhone

06/13, 1:15am

Qik video streaming

Qik on Thursday added iPhone compatibility to its live internet streaming capture service – Qik is avidly used by investigative journalist Robert Scoble, among others. Qik allows users to create a live stream from an internet-enabled camera device (such as the iPhone) for live reporting coverage, or other similar instances. The service requires users to be signed up with a data plan -- an unlimited plan is highly recommended for the amount of data used by the app.

Koyono offers three new Mac-cessories

06/13, 12:50am

Koyono accessories

Koyono on Thursday unveiled three new products designed for Mac, iPhone, and iPod users from BlueLounge and Industrialized Nation. The Sanctuary is a dedicated charging station for portable devices, such as the iPod, iPhone, Bluetooth headsets, and cellphones, among others. The Sanctuary supports over 1500 devices, while keeping cables and devices organized. Koyona is selling The Sanctuary for $130, available from its website.

"Dell E" MID series takes on Eee 900, MacBook Air

06/13, 12:30am

Dell outlines "Dell E" MID

Dell's foray into the mini-notebook market has been dubbed the new "Dell E" series, which will include two different screen configurations: the 8.9-inch model is designed to take on the Asus Eee 900, and the 12.1-inch "E Slim" may be a rival to the MacBook Air and Lenovo X300 (and its successors), according to Engadget. Defining a new product category called the "Mobile Internet Device" for 30 minutes of web experience (vs. 3 min on an Smartphone: "iPhone" pictured), Dell says the new Atom-based mini-notebook line is designed to bridge the content/usability gap between cell phones and full notebooks. The light-weight "mini-Inspiron" notebooks, first revealed earlier this month, tout "no moving parts" with flash-based drives, DDR2 RAM configs, 802.11g WiFi access (with WiMax expected sometime after October of this year), user-replaceable batteries, 'instant-on' functions for quick/convenient access, full-size keyboards, and a built-in low-res 0.3MP Web camera; they will be available with "limited configurability" and limited colors starting in August with a second version due in the second quarter of 2009.