News Archive for 08/07/07

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Least Squares computes linear regression on your Mac

07/08, 12:00am

Least Squares graphing app

VVI has unveiled Least Squares, a math application that computes and displays linear regression. Users can input a variety of data points and the software will compute and draw a line on a graph to fit the data. The company says Least Squares uses a "concise and elegant” interface that can be used to teach linear regression, or as a professional tool for data exploration.

Italians get home iPhone activations, third carrier

07/07, 9:00pm

Italian home activations

Italian iPhone customers will supposedly enjoy the leisure of activating their iPhone from the comforts of their own home, while a third company – 3 Italy – announced it would also sell the iPhone, come September. Macity writes that both Telecom Italia and Vodafone will not be able to activate the iPhone 3G at the store, and will instead take both the device and SIM card home to perform the activation through iTunes, similar to how the first iPhone was sold.

Averatec All-In-One meets iMac head-on

07/07, 8:20pm

Averatec All-In-One

Averatec on Monday introduced a new all-in-one desktop PC that seeks to take on the illustrious Apple iMac in terms of design and features, while also offering several high-end features such as desktop-grade Core 2 Duo CPUs. Unlike the iMac – which uses the mobile Core 2 processors – the Averatec model uses E4600 2.4GHz processors, Intel's desktop-calibur chip. The Avertec All-In-One provides a 22-inch widescreen with a built-in HDTV tuner, 320GB hard drive, and a vertically oriented optical drive.

Briefly: OmniFocus review

07/07, 6:45pm

Snapshot acquired

In brief: We have published a review of OmniFocus, Snapshot has been acquired by LateNiteSoft, Blizzard is giving away World of Warcraft expansion pack keys, a REALbasic survey is now online and Mission Repair offers flat-rate MacBook LCD replacement ... We have posted a review of OmniFocus, a task manager from The Omni Group in Seattle, WA. It is loosely based on the vaunted Getting Things Done (GTD) philosophy of David Allen, who holds the term's copyright. OmniFocus is not rigidly tied to the Getting Things Done approach, but strict GTD adherents can use it. This Tiger and Leopard compatible program has a simple and single purpose: To allow your computer to do the work of managing tasks -- from feeding the cat to making your first million.

DealNN: JBL speakers, I-Rocks, iPod touch

07/07, 6:45pm

DealNN deals JBL speakers

Today's deals at DealNN: JBL Spyro 2.1 speaker system with two-flower shaped speakers and a subwoofer is available from Amazon.com for $80. Also at Amazon is the Panasonic flash memory HD camcorder that captures video in 1920 x 1080 resolution for $536. Users can also receive a I rocks travel charger with USB adapter for FREE after mail in rebate from MacMall.com.

Corkboard "tricks out" your clipboard

07/07, 6:35pm

Corkboard 1.0 beta release

A new Texas-based developer says he has found a way to build a better mousetrap, with an application that soups up the traditional clipboard. The clipboard is a staple of the Mac OS and a place to put stuff you want to copy or paste, but the new utility brings new functions: Ayluro Corkboard 1.0 runs alongside a user’s clipboard, providing additional tools to expand storage, organize data and retrieve items. Perhaps the handiest feature: it can be used to store copies of everything in the clipboard. So, for example, if a user were to store a block of text it wouldn’t be lost if the writer accidentally copies something else to the clipboard.

Apps: Troi File Plug-in, World Clock

07/07, 6:20pm

Hazel

Troi File Plug-in 4.5.1 for FileMaker 9 ($80) tool for getting access to information outside the FileMaker Prdatabase. Any files or folders stored on the computer can be accessed through the functions of the plug-in. Troi File Plug-in recently added support for drag and drop, GPS and XMP metadata. Troi File Plug-in 4.5.1 is a maintenance release that fixes some reported issues. [Download - 3.1MB]
World Clock Deluxe 4.5.4 ($20) display multiple clocks in a horizontal or vertical palette, in the menu bar and in the Dock, show Coordinated Universal Time and Internet Time, assign labels and colors to clocks, calculate date and time conversions across different time zones and show the current weather all over the world. This release adds 99 cities including Algeria, Angola, Bolivia, Brazil, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Somaliland, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. [Download - 7.5MB]
Hazel 2.2 ($22) watches whatever folders you tell it to, automatically organizing your files according tthe rules you create. Hazel 2.2 focuses on power users, providing many features for advanced workflows. In this release, Hazel introduces powerful pattern matching features as well as the ability to define custom tokens. Hazel also expands its support for AppleScript, including the ability to edit scripts directly within your rules. [Download - 1.6MB]
GPS-Info CMM 1.1 (donationware) free Finder context menu plugin that displays the GPS coordinates embedded in a photo, and offers to display that location in Google Earth, Flickr, Panoramio, Google Maps, or MapQuest. Supported photo formats are JPG, TIFF, PSD, and RAW. In this release, the IPTC fields city, state, and country are being displayed, if they are contained in the photo [Download - 336KB]
TaskTime4 4.5 ($20) straightforward method of tracking time spent on jobs you do for your clients. It can generate invoices which can be emailed, printed, and saved tdisk. The new release adds a daily Report item to the Options menu, a combined Project Manager and Client Manager into new Manager Window and a project summary has been added to Project tab of Manager window. [Download - 6.3MB]

IOGEAR offers 12-in-1, 56-in-1 memory card adapters

07/07, 6:05pm

IOGEAR - 12-in-1, 56-in-1

IOGEAR has released two new media-card readers in its new Universal Memory Bank line: the 12-in-1 Pocket Card Reader and the 56-in-1 Memory Card Reader. Both new readers feature adapters for most popular memory cards, allowing users to access data from cell phones, cameras and other multimedia devices via one USB reader, eliminating the need for multiple proprietary USB cables. In addition, both devices allow users to read from and write to multiple cards, with hot-swap ability. The readers are backward-compatible with USB 1.1 and require Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher or Windows 2000, XP or Vista. They are available now for $12 (12-in-1) and $20 (56-in-1).

O2 sells out of online iPhone pre-orders in hours

07/07, 5:55pm

O2 sells out online

After confirming last week that it would host early hours on July 11th as the iPhone 3G launches, O2 on Monday confirmed seeing "unprecedented" demand for the device, citing sales numbers for pre-orders through its website. Pocket-lint reveals that the UK wireless carrier offered customers who pre-registered through its website the chance to purchase the iPhone on its online store, and noted that, within hours, it had completely sold out of the stock set aside for those orders.

First Look: Logitech QuickCam Vision Pro

07/07, 4:55pm

QuickCam Vision Pro

Every Mac comes with iChat, which allows for video conferencing over a high-speed Internet connection. Unfortunately, the Mac mini and Mac Pro lack a built-in iSight camera, so if you want to use video conferencing with these Mac models, you’ll need to buy a separate webcam such as Logitech’s QuickCam Vision Pro.

New Moto Q 9 promises EVDO Rev A, GSM roaming

07/07, 4:30pm

Moto Q 9 Napoleon Leak

Verizon will soon have a third variant of the Motorola Q 9 that promises to be the definitive version of the phone, according to a leak from BGR. So far codenamed just the "Napoleon," the device will add faster EVDO Revision A access on the carrier's 3G data network. It should also contain a GSM radio to let the phone roam on most world networks and will further add Wi-Fi for fast data when neither EVDO nor the GSM chip's EDGE are practical.

Epson ships Ensemble home cinema systems

07/07, 4:15pm

Epson Ensemble cinemas

Epson today announced it released two complete home entertainment systems, with the Ensemble HD 720 and Ensemble HD 1080 systems. Either is capable of throwing up high definition images on a 100-inch motorized screen that is part of each package courtesy of Epson's PowerLite 3LCD three-chip HD projector. As the product names suggest, the projectors are the main difference between the two packages, with the former capable of 720p (1280x720) HD images, the latter of 1920x1080 (1080p) resolution video.

BMO: Apple EPS to rise based on Macs, iPhones

07/07, 4:10pm

BMO: EPS boost off Macs

Investors should expect higher earnings per share (EPS) from Apple than previously predicted for FY09, says an analyst with BMO (Bank of Montreal) Capital. Keith Bachman writes that although he had previously predicted an EPS of $6.21, he now thinks it will reach approximately $6.31, with an ultimate price target of $205. This is based not just on the imminent release of the iPhone 3G, Bachman notes, but on the strength of Mac sales.

Casio EX-F1 firmware update allows pre-recording

07/07, 4:05pm

Casio EX-F1 firmware V1.10

Casio America announced today it will make its Firmware Ver. 1.10 available on July 8 for its EXILIM Pro EX-F1 digital camera. Among the features unlocked by the update will be a unique Prerecord Movie function that will enable video recordings to start five seconds before users press the record button. The Prerecord function will work with all of the camera's movie modes, including 30 fps Standard, 300, 600 and 1200 fps High Speed and High Definition modes. Casio did not reveal how the Prerecord Movie function works.

Telecom Italia lists iPhone 3G contracts

07/07, 3:40pm

TIM iPhone 3G contracts

Having already announced its pre-paid plans, Telecom Italia has published the official subscription options for the iPhone 3G. The cheapest subscription, Starter, costs €30 per month and provides 1GB of data, but still requires customers to pay per minute or text message. The 250 plan (€50) upgrades to 250 minutes and 100 texts, while the 600 plan (€80) offers 600 minutes and 200 texts.

Ultra low-cost Kyocera TNT! lands at Virgin

07/07, 3:35pm

Kyocera TNT at Virgin

Virgin Mobile's US branch today picked up the TNT!, one of its lowest-cost cellphones but with a handful of additions beyond the very low end. Made by Kyocera, the flip phone has an external display missing on the Aloha and Oystr and is also capable of basic web browsing on a 1xRTT data link.

Sony VAIO FW, SR leaks show MB Air styling

07/07, 3:05pm

Sony VAIO FW and SR Leak

Sony's VAIO FW and SR have been spotted and reveal a design reminiscent of aluminum MacBooks along with additional specifications for at least European models. The VAIO FW is both confirmed to be one of Sony's first notebooks with a 16:9 ratio display and has a 16.4-inch, 1600x900 LCD sharper than the 1440x900 screens found on some 15.4-inch portables. It also has the same through-tray keyboard design as the VAIO TZ, the MacBook Air, and some other systems.

Vodafone announes Portugese, Italian iPhone plans

07/07, 3:05pm

PT, ITA iPhone 3G plans

International carrier Vodafone has announced the monthly rates for the iPhone 3G in Portugal and Italy. In the former country, most phones will require a two-year contract; the cheapest plan is the "Best iPhone 100" option, which costs approximately €30 per month, and offers 100 minutes, 100 texts and 250MB of data traffic. Best iPhone 230 (€45) upgrades to 230 minutes and texts, while the 500 plan (€65) graduates to its own corresponding numbers. Data remains fixed. Prices for the actual phones range from €299 (8GB) and €389 (16GB) under the 100 plan to €129 and €219 under the 500 option.

1 in 6 businesses to support iPhone

07/07, 2:05pm

Goldman on iPhone in Biz

Approximately one in six businesses is likely to be supporting iPhones within a year, according to a report by Goldman Sachs analyst Jason Armstrong. A check with technology executives shows about 17 percent of them planning to support the device within one year, allowing workers to use the Apple device for company e-mail and other business roles. The welcome for the device is a "very strong number" for a device which hasn't yet been released and is only likely to increase once companies can test the phone, Armstrong says.

Leak shows new BlackBerry Thunder media UI

07/07, 1:30pm

BBerry Thunder Media Leak

New reported images of the BlackBerry Thunder have been released today by BlackBerrySYNC that show an apparently reworked media player for Research in Motion's first touchscreen device. The images reveal an interface that is heavily based on the current BlackBerry software but includes an iPhone-like category picker for music, video, recording, and similar features but also has a more visual album browser and a full-screen video player.

Details leak on new XM Radio media player

07/07, 1:15pm

XM details XMP3 player

Details of XM Radio's upcoming media player -- codenamed Phoenix -- have been made public, FCC filings appear to show. Documents at the organization refer to an "XMP3 Car Kit," scheduled to ship later this year. While manuals, photos and illustrations are currently being held confidential, the filing suggests that the name of the player is in fact XMP3, as it matches a trademark application from June under "digital audio radio hardware and accessories" and "satellite radio hardware and accessories."

Packard Bell revamps gaming line with ipower X2.0

07/07, 12:40pm

Packard Bell ipower X2.0

Packard Bell is planning to take its first steps into the world of high-end gaming PCs, an announcement reveals. The company has announced the ipower X2.0, a revamping of its current ipower systems that is said to be aimed at garnering more attention. Foremost in the construction is a new case design, which adds highly angular corners to a glossy black finish. As with many gaming computers, owners can see the insides of the system through a translucent panel.

Microsoft protests EU $1.4b fine

07/07, 12:15pm

Microsoft Protests EU Fine

Microsoft today argued in the European Commission's Court of First Instance that the record $1.4 billion fine imposed against it is unfair. The complaint follows a promise to appeal the EU-run Commission's decision and claims that the punishment is both excessive and was imposed without giving Microsoft legal options it expected before it was fined.

Apple submits filing for 'iPhone' trademark

07/07, 11:55am

Apple iPhone trademark

Apple has formally filed to trademark the name "iPhone" with the US Patent and Trademark Office, documents show. Although the device has been on sale in the United States since last year, the company still does not technically own the trademark; this is likely due do a legal battle with Cisco, now resolved, over an existing VoIP phone which also bore the iPhone name. At present, the companies are allowing each other to share the iPhone moniker.

Apple posts iPhone upgrade guide

07/07, 11:10am

Apple iPhone upgrade guide

Apple has posted a new support article for people upgrading from first-generation iPhones to the 3G, enabling them to carry over unique content from the original device such as notes, photos, e-mail accounts and SMS messages. The upgrade guide notes that in the US, people must use the new SIM card shipped with each 3G; in other countries, the card from the old phone will function in the new one. In either case, iTunes 7.7 or later is required.

BaKno announces online-gaming in Kasino 2.0

07/07, 10:55am

BaKno's Kasino 2.0

BaKno has announced Kasino 2.0, a cards simulation game that now features online gaming. Kasino 2.0 features Texas Hold 'em poker, with plans to add Black Jack and Caribbean Poker in a later version. Kasino 2.0 pits the user against nine of 500 different simulated players in offline mode, but the big feature of the 2.0 release is the online community play. It works online with both Mac and Windows users for the broadest spectrum of players. BaKno offers a full-featured demo on its website. The Universal Binary software runs on Mac OS X 10.2 and higher and is available for $20. A promotional two-seat license is currently available for $30.

New MacBook Pro case spotted in leak?

07/07, 10:40am

New MB Pro Case Spotted

Apple's next-generation MacBook Pro may have had its first glimpse today, says the Taiwan-area site Apple.pro. The report claims to have a photo of the new notebook's casing in prototype form as well as additional details, including items not pictured in the leak. The design appears to be more tapered like that of the MacBook Air and doesn't immediately reveal a backlit Apple logo, although this is most likely due to the incomplete nature of the case.

Microsoft to reexamine Yahoo if Icahn wins

07/07, 10:30am

Microsot Reexamines Yahoo

Microsoft will reconsider buying some or all of Yahoo if billionaire investor Carl Icahn's proposed board takeover by proxy of the search company is successful, the Windows developer said in an official statement Monday. Microsoft now says it's willing to entertain a "major transaction" to buy some or all of Yahoo if the latter's board is replaced with Icahn's takeover-friendly choice of directors, which includes the investor himself.

28% of Japanese users consider iPhone switch

07/07, 10:30am

iPhone in Japan

In the face of reports suggesting ambivalence to the iPhone 3G in the Japanese market, Kakaku.com has released survey results indicating that these accounts may be significantly off the mark. The Japanese iPhone is currently set to be carried exclusively by Softbank on July 11th; in the Kakaku survey, early 8,000 people (90 percent male) were questioned in June through a price comparison portal for electronics. Extrapolating from the respondents' answers, Kakaku says that over 50 percent "will definitely purchase one," or at least intend to. Of this group, over 45 percent are not current Softbank subscribers.

Media Catalog 4.0 boots performance 770%

07/07, 10:20am

Media Catalog 4.0 released

Robert Kuilman has released Media Catalog 4.0, featuring a speed increase and bug fixes. Media Catalog 4.0 catalogs removable media such as archive CDs, DVDs and removable hard drives. Version 4.0 utilizes Leopard's Quick Look feature to give users a visual of cataloged files and it has been optimized for a 770-percent speed increase over version 3.9. Media Catalog 4.0 runs on Mac OS X 10.4 and higher and costs $25, with discounted pricing on multiple licenses.

O2 pay-as-you-go iPhones due 'later this year'

07/07, 10:05am

O2 iPhone pay-as-you-go

O2 UK customers wanting a pre-paid iPhone 3G will have to wait longer than contract subscribers, the carrier has announced. The wording on its pay-as-you-go subsite has been changed to list availability for "later this year," in contrast with the July 11th launch for contract plans. One of the few third-party distributors of the iPhone, Carphone Warehouse, has meanwhile issued a statement saying that pre-paid 3Gs will ship "in time for the Christmas period."

Yahoo, AOL rushing merger talks?

07/07, 10:05am

Yahoo AOL Rush Talks

Yahoo and Time Warner have spent the weekend in talks meant to accelerate a possible merger between the search engine giant and Time Warner's AOL division, says Britain's Times newspaper. Pointing only to insider sources, the publication claims Yahoo was in talks over the Independence Day weekend to speed up exploring the revived AOL deal as well as other options. Yahoo is allegedly eager to have some form of alternative deal to a Microsoft buyout of its search business in time for a crucial August 1st Yahoo shareholder's meeting.

iPresentee releases Keynote Motion Themes 2.0

07/07, 9:40am

Keynote Motion Themes 2.0

iPresentee has released Keynote Motion Themes 2.0 for Apple's Keynote presentation software. The new visual themes are Money, Rain, Exercise Book, Story and Curtain, all of which include fourteen or more master slide layouts and moving background graphics. Keynote Motion Themes 2.0 requires Mac OS X 10.4.10 and QuickTime 7.2 (the minimum for iWork '08) with iWork '08 installed. Individual Keynote Motion Themes are priced at $10. The package of all five themes is available for $25.

Segway CTO joins Apple as VP of product design

07/07, 9:30am

Segway CTO joins Apple

Segway's chief technology officer has left the company to join Apple, accounts say. J. Douglas Field is said to be responsible for the whole of the engineering team behind Segway's two-wheeled "personal transporter" vehicles, which were originally invented by Dean Kamen. At Apple Field will become a vice president of product design, serving alongside the likes of key designer Jonathan Ive.

Rogers roadmap reveals BlackBerry Bold, Kickstart

07/07, 9:20am

Rogers BlackBerry Roadmap

Rogers will quickly follow up its iPhone 3G launch with multiple BlackBerry models, according to a leaked roadmap. The outline reconfirms reports that the BlackBerry Bold launches July 25th as the Canadian carrier's first 3G BlackBerry but also adds that the BlackBerry Kickstart flip phone will be ready by the second half of September as a lower-cost alternative that some have reported may cost as little as $50 on contract.

T-Mobile prepping national 3G for October?

07/07, 8:35am

T-Mobile National 3G Soon

T-Mobile's 3G network could expand to the national level as quickly as this fall, according to reports. The fledgling high-speed cellular Internet access is claimed to launch on October 1st in T-Mobile's "top markets" and will be accompanied by multiple phones at or near launch: one of these will allegedly include the Google Android-based HTC Dream smartphone, which is already confirmed for T-Mobile in late 2008 but hasn't been tied to T-Mobile's 3G network until now.

NTT DoCoMo kicks off BlackBerry service in Japan

07/07, 7:55am

NTT DoCoMo BlackBerry

Japan's dominant cell carrier NTT DoCoMo on Monday said it has started BlackBerry Internet Service, giving the carrier its first implementation of Research in Motion's push e-mail network for home users as well as for small companies that don't require their own servers. The service needs a specific phone, the BlackBerry 8707h, but supports both e-mail and web access on the provider's cellular network.

Pioneer develops 400GB optical disc

07/07, 7:25am

Pioneer 400GB Optical

Pioneer this morning promised to expand removable storage with one of the largest confirmed optical storage capacities available. By cutting back on the potential for interference from different layers on a given disc, the electronics maker says it can manufacture readable discs with 16 layers; at 25GB per layer, this equates to 400GB on a single disc.

Add-on brings inline PDFs to Firefox 3

07/07, 6:55am

Firefox-Mac-PDF add-on

Google Code project owner 'Colesbury', has released Firefox Mac PDF Plugin. Unlike other browsers such as Safari, Firefox by default does not allow for inline viewing of PDF files (that is, the viewing of .PDFs without need of third-party applications). Based on the PDFKit in Cocoa, the open-source Mac-PDF plugin allows users to view full .PDF documents within the browser itself, bringing Firefox into line with other browsers that already sport the feature. The plugin requires Firefox 3 and Mac OS X 10.4 or later. (Last week Adobe's PDF file format became an ISO standard and the company released Reader 9 with several new features.

Vodafone offers iPhone for US$150 in New Zealand

07/07, 6:20am

iPhone New Zealand

Vodafone New Zealand revealed on Monday that the iPhone 3G in New Zealand will be priced at $199NZD (around USD$150) when purchased with a 24-month contract. With stocks expected to be "strictly limited," the company has to disclose the its rate plans for the new device, but is expected to announce a significant tariff restructuring in the next few days, moving away from the traditionally high data costs seen in the country. Previous price plans have seen charges of up to NZD$10 per 1MB of data, with dedicated 200MB bundles costing NZD$35, however, this is expected to drop to a more manageable cost of around NZD$10 per 10MB used for casual users. Like O2 in the UK, Vodaphone is promising that will be able to pre-order the iPhone 3G in the next few days.

O2 UK launches iPhone 3G pre-order service

07/07, 4:20am

iPhone 3G pre-order by O2

Current UK iPhone users with the O2 carrier, on Monday received news that they can pre-order the new iPhone 3G starting 8AM Monday morning. New phones will be delivered directly to customers by courier on Friday the 11th July, coinciding with the iPhone 3G launch. There is no upgrade fee for the iPhone 3G 8GB version for customers contracted to the £45 and £75 monthly tariffs, and a £99 charge for users of the £35 and £30 tariffs. For users wanting the 16GB version of the device, it is free with the £75 tariff, £59 with the £45 per month tariff, and priced at £159 on the £30 and £35 tariffs. O2 notes that these prices only apply to existing customers, and expire on the 11th of July when the iPhone is officially launched to the public.