http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008805090392
A tech-savvy White Plains woman whose apartment was burglarized solved the crime herself after she was able to log on to her stolen laptop, photograph one of the suspects with it and get photos of another, police said.
Very cool, check out this article, it’s an interesting read.
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/04/28imac.html
CUPERTINO, California—April 28, 2008—Apple® today updated its all-in-one iMac® line with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors and the most powerful graphics ever available in an iMac. With prices starting at just $1,199, iMac includes faster processors with 6MB L2 cache and a faster 1066 MHz front-side bus across the entire line, and 2GB of memory standard in most models. The 24-inch iMac now offers a 3.06 GHz Intel processor and the high-performance NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS graphics as options, extending iMac’s lead as the ultimate all-in-one desktop computer for both consumers and professionals.
“The iMac’s gorgeous aluminum and glass all-in-one design has been an incredible hit with our customers and is just one of the reasons Mac sales are growing three and a half times faster than PC sales,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With the latest Intel processors, a faster new graphics option and more memory, customers now have even more reasons to love the iMac.”
Very cool, bringing new updates to the iMac has to be a good thing, the option of a better video card brings extra functionality and possibilities for the platform, couple that with the 2GB RAM and it’s a powerful home/office pc. I’ll need to read up more.
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/safari311.html
Safari is the fastest and easiest-to-use web browser for Mac and PC. Safari 3 introduces new features to help you find your way and enjoy your time on the web.
Arrange your tabbed windows with just a drag and drop. Instantly and graphically locate any text on the current web page with the new find command. Easily find webpages you have visited with full history search that remembers the text content of sites.
Very cool, I’ll need to check it out and see what it’s like.
http://psystar.com/openmac_the_apple_alternative.html
The Open Computer is a PC that works just like a Mac with Apple’s latest operating system OS X 10.5 a.k.a. Leopard. With the Open Computer you can run OS X natively as if you had purchased an expensive Apple computer except that, while paying less, you receive more. Apple’s entry-level computer, the Mac Mini, is a small and not very powerful machine. When comparing base configurations, the Mac Mini costs 150% of the price of the Open Computer while offering poorer performance, smaller storage space, and RAM. Not only that but the Mac Mini doesn’t have the option for an nVidia GeForce 8600 video card like the Open Computer does so playing games on it is a lost cause. You can view the comparison and see for yourself. You can even buy one right now.
It will be interesting to see what the response for this is. It raises two key issues am I buying an Apple Mac for the Apple experience or for the design? Does this mean we’ll see the opening up of the Apple OS to non Apple hardware? Does it not highlight the issues with the mac mini? That the Mac Mini is brilliant for some customers, but that they could be missing a sale by not offering a mid size pc unit? Not everyone likes small form factor pcs, nor is willing to pay for/live with the constraints or perceived constraints of the small form factor.
http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207100608
LONDON — Infineon Technologies appears to have won the coveted prize of baseband supplier for the upcoming Apple 3G enabled iPhone.
Zibri, the hacker behind the ZiPhone application, claims to have made the discovery while trawling through the code for the iPhone beta SDK.
Reports suggest the code in the latest SDK includes a line that makes reference to the Infineon SGOLD3H chipset, also known as the PMB8878.
Infineon (Munich, Germany) already has the baseband socket for the existing EDGE version iPhone with the SGOLD-PMB28876.
According to Infineon, the SGOLD3 is fully HSDPA category 8 capable, with a potential download data rate of 7.2Mbits/second.
According to Zibri, the specification of the 3G iPhone — expected to be unveiled in June — includes support for cameras of up to 5 megapixels, MPEG4/H.263 hardware acceleration and video telephony, streaming, recording and playback.
Very cool, I wonder when the new iPhone will be released - am quite tempted to get one - will it support multimedia text messaging?
http://www.itpro.co.uk/news/184239/apple-sued-over-vastly-inferior-imac-colours.html
Computer, iPod and iPhone maker Apple is being sued by a woman outraged by the Mac maker’s claim that its newest iMac is capable of displaying millions of colours.
While the claim is true for the new 24-inch iMac, which can display almost 17 million colours, the 20-inch version is only capable of displaying 262,144 colours - about 98 per cent fewer colours.
I wonder if this is more a thing because of the Apple brand?
Would there be the same level of interest if it was a company selling unbranded or re-branded machines?
At the same time the debate about marginal cost against revenue/brand issues is always a difficult challenge. What is the perceived value from a brand or revenue standpoint of the additional display power/configuration. By that I mean (from a shareholder viewpoint), how much more revenue or brand value would I get by providing the higher definition screen?
I hadn’t noticed the difference in the screen.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.pl.apple03apr03,0,5576342.story
A firmware update apparently has rectified the reboot-on-wake problem that has dogged the 2008 edition of the Mac Pro since its introduction just before the Macworld show in January.
I use the word “apparently” because Apple does not mention the issue in its explanation of the update’s benefits. Instead, we get only a vague statement: “This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of Mac Pro (Early 2008) computers.”
Owners of the affected Mac Pros can obtain the fix by running Software Update. It shows up as “Mac Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.3.”
An update has been released to resolve an issue with specific Mac Pro computers, run a software update to see if your system is affected, it’s always good to keep your operating system and system firmware up to date.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtImbrMvvxg&eurl=http://www.powerbookguy.com/xcart/ and www.powerbookguy.com
Check out this video talking about recycling computers, in this case talking about the services ‘powerbookguy’ offers in terms of refurbishing/repairing Apple computers and notebooks.
I have to confess, I’ve been tempted to get another PowerBook. A Titanium I think is just what I need (possibly due to the memories I have of my first ever Powerbook a G4 1GHz), in the meantime though, deciding what it is you need from your computer, whether it’s something to browse the web, typing or just music/photography thinking about a refurbished computer could be environmentally friendly and financially efficient. I wonder whether the average user might work fine on a G3/G4 notebook (myself included) We’ll have to see, it’s going to depend on you and your needs.
Related to this I have to announce my successful hard drive installation which I blogged about and the memory upgrade I got for the Powerbook, it’s flying along nicely now. Even on the Windows side, just upgrading your RAM, defragmenting the disk (or even replacing the disk) can bring new life into an older computer.
http://patphelan.net/apple-attempts-blackmail-with-its-irish-staff/
I have just had three phone calls from Apple staff in Hollyhill today panicking about a note they received this morning the contents of which are below.
An interesting article about the terms and conditions that are reportedly attached to staff getting an iPhone, check it out.
http://mac.blorge.com/2008/03/22/apples-mac-mini-to-get-new-processors-and-graphics-chip/
Mediocre and overpriced hardware; that’s the apt description of the Mac Mini. It may be a “low cost” Mac but it has stagnated while it’s more capable bigger brothers like the MacBook and MacBook Pro have received better and more regular update cycles. Now, finally, the Mac Mini is getting an incremental boost in processing and graphics power.
Apple has decided not to pull the plug on the Mac Mini as it was previously thought it might do. I don’t know which is better or worse, perpetuating the below average nature of the Mac Mini or canceling it all together.
On one hand, no more underpowered insignificant horsepower; on the other hand, no more “entry level” Mac. You decide which alternative is the least objectionable.
I wouldn’t exactly call the update to a starting point of 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo processors, Intel GMA X3100 graphics (the same used in MacBooks) and a bump from 667MHz front side bus to 800MHz, extraordinary. But, it is a slight improvement. Here’s hoping the memory gets bumped from 1GB to 2GB as well, a boost in standard hard drive capacity would be welcome too.
The Mac Mini seems to kind of split the viewpoint amongst colleagues and friends. Some go on about the notebook hard drive (I have too), others highlight that it’s just what they’re after a small pc for typing, for their front room or as a media center. Regardless, if we could think more in terms of price/bundles and price as well as functionality, it would be appreciated. We’ll have to see if the Mac Mini is updated and what specifications/enhancements it will have.
