Tiny TVMicro Tuner, iPatch iSight Cover, Intel iMac Boots Vista, Bank Goes Mac, and More

Compiled by Charles Moore and edited by Dan Knight - 2006.04.13

This Week's Apple and Desktop Mac News

PowerBook, iBook, iPod, and other portable computing is covered in The 'Book Review. News about Apple's transition to Intel CPUs and other Intel developments is covered in The Macintel Report. iPod news is covered in iPod News Review.

All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.

News & Opinion

• Original Ways to Switch to the Mac
• Japan Bank Turns to Macs for pre-IPO Makeover
• Intel iMac Boots Vista after Complete Wipe of OS X

Products

• TVMicro: TV Has Never Been Smaller
• 'The iPatch' iSight Cover for Your Mac
• The Memory Place Offers Savings on Mac Memory Upgrades

Desktop Mac Deals

News & Opinion

Original Ways to Switch to the Mac

PR: BeLight Software published the collection of ideas received during the "Let's Get Switched" contest. Proposed switching methods range from setting up an iChurch for Apple adopters, to iPod banning laws.

"I think most will agree that nothing comes close to the best Switching solution than Apple's Boot Camp. But still many ideas that we received are fun to read" says Andrew Cherfas, Marketing Manager for BeLight Software.

About "Let's get Switched" contest:

In the end of March, BeLight Software run a special contest in order to celebrate Apple's 30th anniversary. All visitors were asked to contribute their advice on how to convert a "die-hard" PC user to the Mac. More than 300 brilliant ideas were received.

BeLight Software was founded in January 2003 by a team of very different people in Odessa, Ukraine. The common goal is to provide Macintosh community with smart Mac OS X applications, combining the newest computer abilities and simplicity of use. The product line includes the award-winning Business Card Composer, Mail Factory, Swift Publisher, Disc Cover and Image Tricks for small businesses and home users.

Link: Let's Get Switched

Japan Bank Turns to Macs for pre-IPO Makeover

Reuters' Jonathan Soble reports:

"On the 16th floor of a central Tokyo office tower, rows of workers sit perched behind the cool white lines of Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh desktop machines.

"This isn't a graphic design firm or a publishing house - usually among the few businesses to favor Macs over PCs that run Microsoft Corp.'s ubiquitous Windows operating system.

"This is the headquarters of Aozora Bank, one of three Japanese lenders snapped up by foreign investors after collapsing in the late 1990s.

"Now majority-owned by U.S. buyout fund Cerberus, Aozora is sprucing up ahead of a widely expected share listing, and it has asked Apple to outfit 2,500 work stations at its main office, data center and 17 branches.

"The order has made Aozora the iPod-maker's biggest financial industry client worldwide."

Link: Japan Bank Turns to Apple for pre-IPO Makeover

Intel iMac Boots Vista after Complete Wipe of OS X

The Register's Tony Smith reports:

"Windows Vista has been booted on an iMac, according to a poster on the OSx86 Project forum yesterday. Previous attempts to install and run Vista - currently available in pre-release form - have been unsuccessful.

"According to OSx86 Project's correspondent, the solution is to eradicate the machine's Mac OS X disk partitions and install only Vista. Airman Pika said he used Apple's recently released Boot Camp utility to install the Microsoft operating system and apparently had to delete all the OS X partitions."

Link: iMac Boots Windows Vista, Survives to Tell Tale

Products

TVMicro: TV Has Never Been Smaller

PR: Miglia's TVMicro lets you to watch analog TV on your Mac in a window that floats anywhere on your screen and can be resized as you need. Barely the size of an iPod Shuffle and in 'cool' white, TVMicro delivers a crystal clear picture and is compact enough to take with you anywhere you travel. Simply plug TVMicro into a free USB 2.0 port, connect your antenna or analog cable feed and start watching TV! Powered by EyeTV 2.0 software, TVMicro is perfectly suited for users on the go or people wanting a quick and simple solution to watch TV on their Mac. TVMicro also allows you to record straight to your Mac with a single mouse click.

Iain Mackay, Director of Sales, commented: "Miglia's TVMicro is a great little product at a dynamite price, it will massively increase the number of people who can afford to watch analog TV on their Mac and makes a perfect copmpanion for TVMini, our DVB-T solution. With TVMicro you can access online TV Guides and receive a crystal clear, unprocessed picture directly to your Mac. TVMicro is the perfect solution for people who want a quick and simple way to watch TV on their macs while they work, or play."

Key features TVMicro:

• Watch analog TV on your Mac almost anywhere in the world
• Watch TV in a window or in full screen
• Browse Online TV Guides to find the right TV show for you
• Remote Control included for perfect viewing experience

System requirements:

• Mac with USB 2.0 Connectivity
• PowerPC G4, G5, Intel Processor
• Mac OS X 10.4 or higher
• Dual G4 or G5 or IntelDualCore CPU required for full size recording

Miglia TVMicro is available now from Miglia's distribution partners, and it's online store, for a recommended retail price of £58/€82/$99 ex VAT.

All units carry a full 2 year RTB warranty. A list of distributors and resellers is available on Miglia's website.

Link: TVMicro

'The iPatch' iSight Cover for Your Mac

PR: The iPatch is a nifty little device to help keep time spent at your computer private. Now you can be 100% sure nobody can "see" what you're doing. When you wish to use your in-built iSight Camera, simply slide the iPatch to one side.

Love your internal iSight camera, but wish it wasn't "looking" at you all the time? the iPatch is ideal for checking your emails in your birthday-suit...

The iPatch comes in two distinctive designs; Classic and Curve. Classic blends-in with the form-factor of your Mac in perfect harmony. Curve takes it's cues from Dali's "La persistencia de la memoria" (Wikipedia)

Colors - Available in four colors, choose the iPatch to suit you mood. Ivory matches your iMac's body, Sunshine for Summertime, Candy Pink for fun, and the translucent Smoke for contrast.

Customize the iPatch - Your Mac is fun, the iPatch is fun. If you like, use it to mount anything from a small microphone to a little cuddly toy. Your Mac, your way.

Compatibility: iMac 20" & 17" models (MacBook Pro coming soon!)

Were you banned from buying a New iMac with a built-in iSight Camera for your workplace for security reasons? Many firms simply can't allow cameras within their facility. With the iPatch you can have your favorite Mac, without covering it in security-tape! The iPatch can be fixed permenantly in place if required ('Perma-fix' # included).

The iPatch ensures that your internal iSight Camera can only see what you want it to see, when you want to see it.

Slide the iPatch to one side when you use your in-built iSight Camera. Slide it back when your done.

Features:

• Handmade in the USA
• Includes 'Perma-fix' # (to attach the iPatch to your Mac)
• Two designs: Classic, and Curve
• Available in four colors: Ivory, Candy Pink, Sunshine & Smoke

Link: The iPatch

The Memory Place Offers Savings on Mac Memory Upgrades

PR: A highly decorated computer memory distributor, The Memory Place now offers a full line of Apple memory upgrades. Along with a lifetime warranty and award winning customer service, The Memory Place offers cost savings of up to 62% over the Apple Store.

The Memory Place is introducing memory upgrades for all the latest Apple computers, including the Mac mini and iMac with Intel Core technology. These new models boast processing speeds up to 4x faster than the previous iMacs, thanks to their new design around Intel processors and DDR2 667 MHz SDRAM memory.

Although the new Apple Mac mini and iMac models ship with 512 MB of RAM and memory upgrades are available upon purchase, The Memory Place offers instant savings of up to 62% over the Apple Store and retail outlets! While the average BuyMemory.com savings on an iMac Intel Core Duo 1 GB upgrade is about $160, you can save over $760 on the iMac G5 20-inch 2.1 GHz 2 GB memory upgrade. With that much money back in your wallet, you could buy an entire computer system with the dollars you've saved!

This customer service-friendly distributor's core business is in premium quality computer memory upgrades with a Lifetime Warranty, earning an unprecedented 9.8 out of 10 Customer Satisfaction Rating on Bizrate.com and Shopzilla.com. An easy, online memory configurator is available to find your computer's upgrade. A well-seasoned staff of Memory Upgrade Experts is also available by phone for that comforting human voice and a personal service touch.

The Memory Place has offered high quality memory products for over 23 years at steep discounts for Apple and IBM compatible computers as well as printers, digital cameras, PDAs, laptop computers and other handheld devices such as the latest mobile phones. They offer a tremendous variety of top brand memory upgrades for all computer models, ranging from the antiquated to the very latest available. Along with their award winning customer service, they provide free tech support and upgrade advice.

Visit BuyMemory.com or call 1-800-306-8901 for pricing and upgrade advice.

Link: The Memory Place

Desktop Mac Deals

Low End Mac updates the following price trackers every two weeks:

• Low End Mac's best Mac mini deals
• Low End Mac's best iMac Core Duo deals
• Low End Mac's best iMac G5 deals
• Low End Mac's best iMac G4 deals
• Low End Mac's best iMac G3 deals
• Low End Mac's best eMac deals
• Low End Mac's best Power Mac G5 deals
• Low End Mac's best Power Mac G4 deals
• Low End Mac's best Power Mac G3 deals

For more deals on current, recently discontinued, and older notebooks, see our MacBook Pro deals, 12" PowerBook G4 deals, 15" aluminum PowerBook G4 deals, 17" PowerBook G4 deals, titanium PowerBook G4 deals, iBook G4 deals, PowerBook G3 deals, and iBook G3 deals.