Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by Dan Knight
- 2005.03.11
PowerBook,
iBook, iPod, and other portable computing is covered in The 'Book Review, and general Apple
and Mac desktop news is covered in The Mac News Review.
iPod Defeats Blue Screen of Death,
Recovers Data from Crashed ThinkPad
NEWS: Techworld's
Chris Mellor reports:
"If your laptop crashes, what's the best to recover the data on
it? Well, one IBM engineer used his iPod.
"At Big Blue's USA PartnerWorld conference Steve Welch used
software on the iPod to save the crashed ThinkPad. The software is
One-touch Rescue & Recovery On Linux and is not as yet an
announced IBM product.
"Welch said the iPod-based software could rebuild a hard drive
in an hour or so and provide instant access to data such as e-mail
and Lotus Notes...."
Official Star Wars iPod Skin
PR: The first and only official
Star Wars iPod skin was introduced today at
StarWarsShop.com - the official Star Wars Store from Lucasfilm. It
features Episode III Darth Vader in flames and was developed by
MacSkinz exclusively for StarWarsShop.com.
The "i" Behind iPod - Innovation,
Integration, or Inertia?
NEWS: engadget.com's Peter Rojas
says:
"More than two decades after the debut of the Macintosh, Apple
decided not to license the iPod design generally. The one exception
has been HP, which is currently acting more as a reseller than a
licensee. So, as with its famous computer, the iPod's fate rests
solely in Apple's hands, Those hands have pushed the polyphonic
pods toward a dominant market share. However, how much of this has
been due to innovation, the integration with iTunes, or simply
brand momentum?
"Early iPods had clear form factor and ease of use advantages
versus their competitors. Nowadays, though, the hardware
competition has become much stronger, particularly in the "mini"
segment that's seeing strong growth. The changes that we've seen
since the debut of the iPod have mostly been refinements - thinner
designs, color screens, smaller form factors, shuffled controls,
and tweaked interfaces. Compare this with Apple's iMac, which has
seen two dramatically different form factors since incarnation. One
could argue that the slow-growth consumer desktop computer market
needs more pizzazz to create excitement, but shouldn't a company be
advancing the product that's driving its growth most
aggressively?....
"Ask Apple what's driving the iPod's success and the company
will tout integration. Indeed, producing a product with the benefit
of tighter integration often results in losing the first-mover
advantage. Apple's integration has reaped huge benefits for the
iPod in a time when digital music has been confusing and awkward
for many users and the company will likely continue to maintain a
wider lead here than it will in hardware or software per se.
However, it's a risky bet that over time the Windows Media world
won't simplify to the point where that advantage is minimized.
"So how does Apple avoid what happened to the Mac?"
Brush Chrome Your iPod
NEWS: ukthoughts.co.uk has posted a
tutorial that will enable you to turn your (previously
shiny) scratched iPod into a more individual chrome brushed
iPod...
You will need:
- An iPod (duh!)
- Some sandpaper - this is key, you don't want it too coarse to
give a better effect.
- Masking tape (or equivalent)
- A secure base to put your iPod on.
NewerTech High-capacity Replacement
Battery for 4G iPods
PR: Newer Technology, Inc. (NewerTech) and Other World
Computing (OWC) have introduced a new high-capacity
750mAh replacement battery for all Fourth Generation Click
Wheel iPod models from Apple Computer.
Available immediately for $25.99, this new NewerTech NuPower 4G
750mAh battery model offers the maximum capacity possible with 20%
more capacity than the factory-installed battery shipped with 4G
iPod models. Also available are NewerTech's 2100mAh and 1800mAh
iPod batteries, which offer up to 70% more capacity for First and
Second Generation models, and the 850mAh iPod battery, which offers
30% more capacity for Third Generation models.
"With NewerTech's NuPower battery line, you're not just getting
a replacement but a battery that makes your device better than new
in terms of longer runtimes between charges," said OWC President
Larry O'Connor. "In general, our company's focus is to go beyond
just maintaining a device and to help users get more from what they
own. There is always a time to buy new, but we're here to make
things better than when they were new."
As with all of the NewerTech iPod batteries, non-scratch
installation tools and instructions are included with the 4G
version. An installation video also can be found in OWC's online
tech center at www.macsales.com/techcenter
Fifth Generation PortalPlayer SoC
Triples MP3 Player Battery Life
PR: PortalPlayer, Inc., a
leading supplier of advanced system-on-chip, firmware and software
solutions for the MP3 personal media player market, today announced
its next-generation PP5022 System-on-Chip (SoC). The PP5022 is
designed to meet next generation requirements for feature-rich
hard-disk drive-based personal media players.
The PP5022 is the fifth generation personal media player
integrated circuit from PortalPlayer. With a range of architectural
improvements from the previous PP5020, the new chip, starting to
ship now, offers more than a three times reduction in SoC power
consumption and enabling up to triple the battery life.
PortalPlayer's innovative parallel processing architecture combined
with optimized firmware allows for lower clock rates and core
voltages, leading to dramatically lower SoC power levels versus a
comparable uniprocessor system. Decoding a typical 160 kilobits per
second (Kbps) MP3 stream now requires less than 25mW.
"The PP5022 chip is a very sophisticated product that enables a
rich user experience with substantially longer playback time," said
Will Strauss, president of Forward Concepts, a research firm
covering the electronics market. "PortalPlayer is continuing to
bring new innovations to the audio market such as a tripling
battery life for MP3 players, integrating USB 2.0 Host Controller
and Transceiver into the media processor and providing transparent
compatibility with peripheral devices such as digital still cameras
and printers."
"Our goal with the PP5022 was to offer a solution that balances
lowest operating power while continuing to increase system
performance." said Michael Maia, vice president of sales and
marketing at PortalPlayer. "We achieved this goal and will continue
to deliver the lowest operational power during playback and
encoding of rich media content-the PP5022 is our most innovative
SoC to date, resulting in best-in-class battery life in hard drive
jukebox systems."
PortalPlayer PP5022 System-on-Chip
Power - Power consumption of the system was markedly reduced by
using a 0.13 micron CMOS process with 1.0 to 1.2V core power,
dynamic load balancing, clock gating, and support for 1.8V Low
Voltage synchronous DRAM. Efficient parallel processing reduces the
required clock rates driving typical operation down and further
enabling lower voltage operation. Together with pseudo synchronous
blocks within the device that improves clock distribution by
dynamically turning off inactive modules on a per clock cycle
basis, these improvements lead to dramatic power reductions. The
PortalPlayer Firmware Development Kit (FDK) will support these
features as well as highly optimized split decoders to further
lower clock rates on MP3, AAC and WMA decodes. Dynamic Voltage
Scaling (DVS) is supported enabling the device to operate over a
wide voltage range to match needed performance to the specific
task.
Performance - The PP5022 features a highly parallel media
processing architecture that integrates dual 32-bit ARM7 central
processing units (CPUs) with zero wait state four-port 128
kilobytes iRAM and six direct memory access (DMA) channels
connected through multiple high-speed internal buses. The
PortalPlayer SoC maximizes total processing throughput per clock
cycle, which leads to lower clock rates in standard operation than
a comparable ARM9-based SoC. Additionally, having multiple internal
buses provides higher data throughput, while avoiding the
performance bottlenecks of competing systems. The PP5022
architecture enables a high on-demand peak performance without
sacrificing ultra low power for mobile devices in standard
operation than comparative DSP, VLIW, SIMD, or single RISC
microprocessor solutions.
The high performance media processor engine design supports up
to sixteen concurrent tasks for maximizing system throughput and
responsiveness to end-user commands. Dedicated high-performance
interfaces reduce latencies and improve download speeds and
performance of database engines when a large number of music files
and photos are being managed.
System Input/Outputs - The PP5022 is offered in a 261-pin 12mm
x12mm TFBGA package, providing added flexibility through a wide
selection of fully integrated high performance system input/outputs
including: the analog physical layer and USB 2.0 controller for
high-speed Device, Host and On-the-Go support; FireWire Link Layer
integration; dedicated ATA-66 enhanced IDE bus supporting up to
four devices; 4-bit SDMMC controller; consumer CD I2S port;
8/16-bit expansion IO; B/SIR infrared; TWC 3-wire controller; 4
channel, 8-bit ADC; 4 channel, 8-bit PWM/FM; up to 48 GPIOs;
dedicated 16-bit memory controller for two banks of 2.5V or 1.8V
SDRAM; and digital video input for direct connection of image
sensors or mobile video services such as DVB-H.
Display - The PP5022 display subsystem meets the demands of
today's diverse display technologies in personal media players
ranging from mobile high-resolution TFT and STN flat panels to NTSC
and PAL TVs. The "Dual View" display enables navigating the
handheld players' LCD to preview and select music, photos and video
while playing a different image concurrently on the TV. Display
support includes: 8-bit parallel bridge interface; 4-bpp mono
serial or parallel controller for direct interface panels; 18-bpp
color TFT or CSTN controller; CCIR-601/656 TV out; hardware color
space conversion and 4-bpp hardware overlay support.
SV-iMini Water Housing for iPod
NEWS: Surfermag.com's
Mason Freekirk reports:
"San Diego-based H2O Audio has come out with a sealed waterproof
housing that it claims will enable you and your iPod mini to go
wakeboarding, surfing, snowboarding, swimming or kayaking. The
housing is called the SV-iMini and it retails for $149.95.
Supposedly, the SV-iMini housing is submersible up to 10 feet, but
after reading a few mixed reviews I was hesitant to risk losing my
$250 iPod to King Neptune - but was willing to give it a shot
anyway in the name of science."
RadTech Announces mini Cocoon
PR: RadTech announced immediate
availability of the Mini Cocoon - a stylish and versatile,
semi-rigid clamshell case for iPod mini. Designed for maximum
protection, the Mini Cocoon is really two cases in one. A tough,
outer clamshell completely encases the iPod mini for rugged
protection. And, a silicone skin allows access to all control
elements and ports, providing added protection while nestled in the
case, or when used separately apart from the case.
The case has an integrated, high-quality belt clip and comes
with a lanyard to allow the iPod mini to be worn around the neck
while in the skin, or while encased by the clamshell. While in the
case, a clear strap safely secures the skin to the case, even when
open. Plus, for added convenience the case comes with a storage
pocket for items such as ear buds and cables.
OWC Offers Products to Extend Life of
iPods
PR: Consumers want the biggest bang for their hard-earned
bucks. But in an increasingly throwaway society, products that
provide a good value are harder to come by.
So when companies like Apple Computer, producer of the popular
iPod, leave consumers to choose between paying for an expensive
replacement option or buying new, Other World Computing steps in.
The McHenry County company offers high-capacity batteries that
extend the life of First, Second, Third, and Fourth Generation
iPods.
Priced from $25.99 to $39.95, OWC's NewerTech iPod Batteries
cost a fraction of Apple's replacement program and also provide 20
to 70 percent more capacity than Apple's iPod batteries. OWC
includes non-scratching tools and instructions for installing each
replacement battery. For individuals who prefer more visual
guidance, installation videos for the different models are
available under the Tech Center tab at the company's website -
http://www.eshop.macsales.com. A
typical installation takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
OWC ships about 10,000 batteries each month. They represent the
fastest growing segment of this $28 million-per-year company.
Another iPod enhancement sold by OWC is the iPod Road Trip! FM
transmitter. This $14.99 device allows users to listen to their
iPod tunes through a car stereo by plugging one end into their
cigarette lighter, the other into their iPod and tune their radio
to 87.9 or 107.7.
"Our goal is to offer customers better and more cost effective
alternatives that don't just keep them at their best, but make them
better," said OWC President Larry O'Connor. "Our products not only
save people money, but extend a product's life with a replacement
part that itself lasts longer, which is more friendly to the
environment."
ice>Link v1.1 for iPod Car
Integration Bracket
PR: ice>Link is a solution in high quality iPod
vehicle interconnection.
ice>Link takes the place of your
external CD Changer and it operates like one. iPod starts when CD
changer is selected on a supported factory or aftermarket radio,
and paused when any other source is selected. Track control from
radio and steering wheel controls are provided.
The next evolutionary step in iPod vehicle integration -
ice>Link v1.1 - allowing cross platform compatibility
and effortless migration from classic to 3G or mini iPods without
having to replace the entire ice>Link unit. Even better, you can
use all generations by simply using the appropriate connectors.
ice>Link's Active
Docking Cradle fully supports all 3rd and 4th generation iPods. The
cradle securely holds your iPod in place and it has a built-in dock
connector to connect your iPod to the ice>Link.
Featuring support for both the 30/40 GB and the 10/15/20 GB
models with the help of user installable spacer takes the worry out
of future upgrades of your 3G and 4G iPod.
Modular design allows interchangeable iPod connection options,
as well as easy routing and extending of cables.
When ordering an iceLink kit, you will need to choose what the
type of connection will be included in your order. You have the
option of choosing one of the following connections:
- 3G/4G Active Docking Cradle - Supports all 3G and 4G
ipods.
- 3G/4G/mini Active Docking Cable - Supports all 3G, 4G and mini
iPods.
- Active mini Docking Cradle - Supports the mini iPod.
Charging the iPod while in the car is effortless - just place
the iPod into the cradle.
For classics the connection option includes a firewire plug that
connects directly into the iPod and supplies 12V DC at all
times.
The dock connector models now feature a variable output line
voltage to match the specifications of the OEM or aftermarket
amplifier system - 0.8V-1V-2V-4V. For the classics, output is
derived from the top connector and power-on volume level may be
pre-set by end user.
Retail boxed and end-user installable kits connects to the trunk
end of CD changer cable for BMW, Mini, Audi and VW vehicles.
Professional installer kits require the removal of radio
to connect vehicle specific cables. Parts of the dash, console and
trim may need to be removed in order to remove the radio. Original
cabling generally will not have to be cut or altered in any ways,
but will connect into provided socket. Kits are radio specific,
must know exact type for successful installation. Requires specific
radio removal tools, some electronic and installation knowledge.
Security code may be required to unlock radio.
Professional installation is strongly recommended.
Limitations
ICELink requires disconnecting of trunk or glove compartment
mounted cd changers, however does not effect the operation of
factory in-dash single or multi cd changers, but may not be
compatible with factory satellite or DVD modules for some vehicles.
Please read compatibility remarks on vehicle specific kit.
ice>Link Plus for iPod Car
Integration Bracket
PR: The
ice>Link Plus plays high quality music from your iPod
through your existing car entertainment system's CD changer port.
There is no longer a need for cassette adapters, cigarette lighter
chargers or bulky FM transmitters. You can start enjoying crisp,
clean CD quality music with charging and iPod control from your
exisitng car entertainment system. Imagine having access to over
10,000 MP3s at the touch of a button. The sleek design of the
ice>link cradle will compliment most vehicle interiors as if it
were offered form the factory.
When used wth compatible vehicle
entertaiment systems, the ice>Link Plus starts and stops the
iPod as you enter and exit CD changer mode on your car's
entertainment system. Fast Forward, Rewind, Search and seek
commands are passed to the iPod also - this is really great for
vehicles with entertaiment controls. You can also select your first
five playlists by selecting disk numbers 1-5 on your radio.
Use your radio or iPod to navigate through playlists, albums and
songs and access the simple to use ipod interface. The ice>Link
interprets the radio controls from your vehicle to the iPod to
emulate a fully loaded CD changer with advanced features.
ID3 Text Display...
Read the song title and artist information right from your
radio. The same information is also displayed on the iPod, so if
your radio doesn't support text display, you can always look at the
iPod.
Simple Interface...
The ice>Link Menu is the main part of the ice>Link user
interface. Features to enhance your listening experience include
different play modes such as scan, repeat and shuffle. The menu
also lets you enter the playlist browser, where you can acces all
of your iPod's playlists.
Compatible with ALL iPods...
Dension's Acvtive Docking Cradle is the most recognized part of
the ice>Link package. It holds the iPod and it also serves as
the docking connection to the ice>Link interface. The Active
Docking Cradle or Active Docking Cable is available for 3G/4G and
mini iPods
iPod integration kits for 1999+ Mercedes Benz vehicles with the
D2B fiber optic system for Audio 10, 30, Comand 2.0 and 2.5
systems. Call for details at 562-595-5153.
Complete Guide to the iPod shuffle
NEWS: ipodlounge.com's Jerrod
Hofferth says:
"As the most stripped-down version of Apple's iPod to date, the
iPod shuffle represents an all-new philosophy in iPod design: its
lack of a screen and touch-sensitive control wheel, combined with
its low price and low capacity, make it an interesting new member
of the iPod family in two fundamental ways. First, it's a low-risk
way for new iPod owners to test the digital music waters. Second,
it is different enough - and cheap enough - to entice existing iPod
owners as a supplemental unit for workouts or light travel.
"Regardless of which of these two types of shuffle owner you may
be, we hope you will find much of this iPod 101 tutorial useful.
New iPod owners users will find themselves better acquainted with
iTunes, and existing iPod owners will see tips on how best to
choose and transfer small portions of a large music library onto
the iPod shuffle...."
Nonviolent iPod Shuffle Disassembly
NEWS: Engadget's Barb Dybwad
says:
"So you just know the iPod shuffle will be the next casuality in
the non-replaceable battery saga, right? Hackaday editor Jason
Striegel heads this off at the pass by showing you in technicolor
detail how to "non-violently" disassemble your shuffle to prepare
you for that inevitable need to jettison the no-longer functional
lithium ion. Or, take the guts of your shuffle, sew it into your
favorite article of clothing and give that Burton snowboarding
jacket a run for its money, fashionista."
Jason Striegel says:
"While most shuffle owners don't know it yet, in a year or two
there will be a lot of folks wondering where their battery life
went. applecare's battery replacement service for normal ipods is
available for the low, low price of $99. think they will have a
cheapo shuffle battery replacement service? Think different.
"We mentioned earlier that someone posted photos of an ipod
shuffle disassembly. The previous disassembly left a few key
questions unanswered, namely:
- do you need to butcher the buttons to take your shuffle
apart?
- will the average joe be able to replace the battery?
- what else is under the hood?
- can it be cleanly reassembled?
"This howto will attempt to answer these questions while
disassembling the shuffle in a non-destructive manner."
iProtect Cleaning Cloth
PR: The
iProtect Cleaning Cloth is a convenient way to clean an
LCD screen. Each side has a different surface for the most
comprehensive cleaning requirements. One side is micro fine for
removing all dust particles. The other side is more course for
removing fingerprints and greese.
Safely remove greasy fingerprints and dust from your LCD
monitor.
The iProtect Cleaning Cloth is made with ultrafine microfibers
especially to effectively remove dust particles, grease and
fingerprints that reside on the LCD surface.
iProtect LCD Cleaning Cloths do not scratch the LCD surface but
will pick up and hold particles from the LCD screen.
iProtect LCD Cleaning Cloths have two different surfaces
designed to effectively clean LCD screens. The soft vanquished
surface (front surface) is designed for fine particle removal and
dust cleaning. The rough and interlacing strands of the knitted
surface (reverse side) is designed to clean fingerprints, grease
and marks on the surface etc.
The iProtect LCD Cleaning Cloth features a fringe wave design
that will not scrape the LCD panel compared to the fringe stitch
found commonly on most cleaning cloths.
Cleaning Applications:
- Use soft surface of the cloth to clean fine particle and dust
from the object
- Use rough surface of cloth to remove fingerprint or grease; rub
gently
- To get rid of stubborn grease damp the cloth with water, clean
gently and wipe
- Cloth is machine washable; use only PH-Neutral agent;
tumble-dry
- After drying, keep cloth in the protective box it is packaged
in.
The iProtect Cleaning cloth is ideal for cleaning LCD displays,
notebook computers, MP3 players, lenses, compact discs, computers,
cameras, musical instruments, and a large range of optical
equipment.
iPod Deals
For current iPod prices from a variety of sources, see our
Best iPod Deals.
