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Tuesday, May 13th
Last updated: 11:56 AM EST
Evening Edition
Mac Office 2008 SP1 optimizes suite, VBA coming back
The Microsoft Mac Business Unit on Tuesday announced the release of Microsoft Office 2008 Service Pack 1, a major update that provides increased stability, security, and performance enhancements. The update culminates several months worth of feedback from the Microsoft Error Reporting Protocol tool into optimization and improvements. Microsoft is posting the download on its website, but says it is also available through Microsoft Auto Update.
Afternoon Edition
Extended battery upgrade for MacBook Air (external)
QuickerTek has introduced an extended battery upgrade for Apple's MacBook Air. The says that users gain six to ten hours of additional battery power, delivering a total of 12-16 hours of battery life when used in conjunction with the (charged) internal battery. "Since the MacBook Air has a non-removeable battery, the typical user strategy of using multiple batteries is not possible. QuickerTek had already developed battery charging technology for MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops, but those solutions did not charge AND power the computer at the same time. QuickerTek's MacBook Air External Battery powers and charges the internal battery while in use."
ExtremeZ-IP 5.2 gets print server, Time Machine
Group Logic on Tuesday released ExtremeZ-IP 5.2, which extends support for the latest Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard capabilities, including Time Machine backups. This release also combines the functionality of company's leading ExtremeZ-IP File and Print Servers into a single solution, allowing all customers to leverage the ExtremeZ-IP Zidget that enables easy service discovery and setup without using the legacy AppleTalk protocol. Group Logic says that ExtremeZ-IP is "the only" Windows solution to deliver complete support for the Mac file and print sharing and that it is now also the only solution to enable Windows servers to be used for Time Machine backups.
Morning Edition
Apple debuts two new 'Get a Mac' TV ads
Apple has premiered two more TV ads in its "Get a Mac" series, pitting Apple computers against those with Windows. The first of these, "Pep Rally," features a squad of cheerleaders, and positions Macs as having "record sales," and being the most popular computers on college campuses. The second ad is entitled "Group," and continues the arc of Windows Vista suffering from instability issues, whereas Macs are positioned as reliable and less crash-prone.
Canon rolls two small SELPHY photo printers
Canon on Tuesday refreshed its photo printers with two additions to the SELPHY line. Just recently launched in Europe, the CP770 is designed to look accessible with a basket-like shape and a handle for owners to tote the printer around and make prints on vacations. A battery pack is available to run the printer for "hours," Canon says. The printer itself builds in a 2.5-inch preview LCD and outputs 300DPI, 4-by-6 inch prints in 52 seconds.
Apple hunts for touch-panel, flat-panel engineers
Two new job openings at Apple may point to technological trends at the company. Recruiters are firstly searching for a senior module process engineer, who would be hired full-time in Apple's home city of Cupertino. There they would be responsible for leading engineering efforts on multi-touch displays, from conceptualization to product formation. Candidates are expected to have a PhD in Physics or Mechanical Engineering and three years of experience, or an MS degree with five years of experience.
The Tube 2.7 adds 'placeshifting' via iChat
equinux has released The Tube 2.7, a free update to its Mac TV software that adds live-streaming of content via iChat. Users now can share the show they're currently watching with others via iChat, tell friends about their TubeToGo web gallery and subscribe to a podcast of their latest recordings, e.g. on the Apple TV in the living room. The Tube, described as a modern TV solution that brings digital TV to the Mac, timeshifting features (pause, rewind, etc.) as well as information about the show via the electronic program guide (EPG). In addition, the integrated TubeToGo web service, free-of-charge, allows users to publish recordings in a web gallery and watch them via mobileSafari on an iPhone or iPod touch whilst on the go; users can also remotely manage and schedule recordings.
BlackBerry Thunder to be RIM's iPhone killer?
The first early details have surfaced regarding Research in Motion's first touchscreen device and position it as a direct answer to the iPhone, according to a rumor launched by BGR. Tentatively labeled as the BlackBerry Thunder for the public and the 9500 with its model number, the device bucks earlier expectations by dropping any signs of a physical keyboard in place of an almost entirely touch-driven interface. Only the call, answer, BlackBerry, and escape keys survive the transition, according to the claim.
BeamYourScreen adds iPhone conferencing
BeamYourScreen has announced that its self-titled HTML viewer is now officially compatible with the iPhone. The viewer is meant for web conferences; once a meeting host has begun a session from a PC, iPhone owners can enter their session ID through Safari, and view the host's desktop in real-time. This includes virtually anything the host loads, such as websites, PDF files and Office documents. Up to 20 guests are supported.
Apps: Liquid Ledger, PageSender, Dejal Simon
Jobs, Apple execs to present WWDC keynote
Apple has confirmed that CEO Steve Jobs, along with a "team of Apple executives," will deliver the keynote at this year's WWDC conference. The event is scheduled for 10AM Pacific time on June 9th, and will take place in the West wing of the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco. Although details of the keynote have not been made official, Apple notes that it will focus on Mac OS X Leopard, and "OS X iPhone," as it is now branding the iPhone's firmware.
MS debuts stargazing app with "Mac" support
Microsoft today kicked off the public beta of WorldWide Telescope, a downloadable app built for browsing the viewable universe. The software uses an Internet database to provide high-detail images of nebulas and other astronomical objects without requiring a large download; a unique approach stitches together images to create a seemingly unified view that uses terabytes' worth of data. The system is also unique in providing the views from specific telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, and allowing users to switch between viewing X-rays and observable light.
HBO launches on iTunes with variable prices
Beating yesterday's predictions by Portfolio, HBO has already launched its programming (iTunes link) on the US iTunes Store. Six TV shows are presently available, including The Wire, The Sopranos, Rome, Deadwood, Flight of the Conchords and Sex and the City. Listings for the shows further confirm that while most episodes are priced at the standard iTunes rate of $1.99, those for Rome, Deadwood and The Sopranos are $2.99 each, marking the first time Apple has allowed variable pricing for TV shows in the US.
Creative hops bandwagon with Vado camera
Creative today took a cue from the unusually successful Flip camera and launched the Vado. The company promises an improvement on the concept of an ultra-simple, YouTube-oriented video recorder with a design it says is both thinner and lighter than its rival and gives the camera 2GB of built-in flash memory. This gives the Vado up to two hours of recording time at its native 640x480 resolution, Creative says. Built-in software can help streamline uploads either to YouTube or Photobucket, though the use of MPEG-4 allows common video editing software to edit captured footage.
Olympus adds mid-grade E-520 DSLR
Olympus early this morning updated its E-series cameras with the E-520. Replacing the E-510, the new 10-megapixel digital SLR mirrors changes brought to the earlier E-420 with a larger 2.7-inch LCD and a much more advanced live preview feature: photographers can not only use autofocusing but also see the effects of changes to exposure and white balance before taking the shot. The camera also shoots faster, at up to 3.5 frames per second, and includes both face detection and shadow compensation to bring out detail in darker areas.
Early Morning Edition
Adobe DNG gets camera profiles, new metadata tags
Adobe has released an update to the Adobe Digital Negative specification (DNG), its publicly available archival format for the raw files generated by digital cameras. The DNG 1.2.0 Specification (May 2008) provides new and expanded specifications that offer increased flexibility and improved workflow for their raw images, including formalization of the concept of a "camera profile" and allowance for multiple camera profiles to be embedded in a single DNG file. Adobe has also defined additional metadata tags for the DNG format, including a field to indicate the integrity of the raw data within the file, offering a tool to validate the safety of photographers' image data. Adobe's DNG SDK has also been updated to reflect the changes to the specification. In addition, a DNG Codec for Windows Vista -- only available for 32-bit editions -- has also been released on Adobe Labs. Adobe DNG Converter is available as a free download from Adobe's website.
Monday, May 12th
Last updated: 11:56 AM EST
Evening Edition
Dell to phase out XPS gaming PCs to push Alienware
Next month Dell will begin phasing out four of its popular XPS gaming systems, in favor of the high-end PCs that are part of its recently acquired Alienware PC line. The surprising move is part of its continued turnaround efforts--along with an expected design overhaul in its Inspiron line-- after slipping behind rival HP in overall PC sales and struggling to achieve profits in consumer PCs, the Wall Street Journal reports. With the focus on the Alienware line, Dell says that a combined gaming design and development unit will focus on the seven current Alienware models, which has lost some "mojo," according to one analyst. Dell also noted that the gaming market, which focuses machines with high-end processors and GPUs priced at nearly three times the price of the average consumer PC, is strategically important because gamers' purchasing decisions influence other PC buyers.