PowerBook, iBook, MacBook, and other portable computing is covered
in The 'Book Review. iPod, iPhone,
and Apple TV news is covered in The iNews
Review.
All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.
News & Opinion
Products
Software
News & Opinion
New Nvidia Motherboard May Offer Clue to Mac mini's
Future
Macworld's
Peter Cohen says:
"Nvidia this week introduced a desktop variation of the same
motherboard design that debuted as part of Apple's new MacBook and
MacBook Pro last week. Introduced Monday, the new GeForce 9-Series
motherboards are coming from leading PC manufacturers this month.
"Apple's newest MacBook and MacBook Pro systems
both share a motherboard design that features a motherboard-based
graphics processing unit, or, in Nvidia's parlance, an mGPU. This
enables the machines to work faster than previous MacBook systems could
while still conserving energy, without having excessively slow
integrated graphics.... The MacBook Pro also adds a discrete Nvidia
graphics processor that users can turn on and off using Energy Saver
controls if they prefer to have faster graphics....
"Companies Nvidia has announced that are manufacturing the
motherboard include ASUS and Foxconn, two frequent manufacturing
partners of Apple's.
"These last two items may provide some clues to the future of the
long lamented Mac mini,
which, according to one report, may be on its way out - at least in its
current form...."
Link: Does
New Nvidia Motherboard Offer Clue to Mac mini's Future?
Nvidia Intros New Desktop Chipsets
AppleInsider's
Sam Oliver reports:
"With its new mobile chipset platform now embedded in each of
Apple's notebook families, Nvidia plans to step up its efforts to
advance Mac game developments. Separately, the chipmaker has just
announced similar GeForce 9400 and 9300 chipsets for desktop CPUs,
which could find their way into new iMacs....
"Speaking to bi-tech.net last week, Nvidia General Manager for
Notebook GPUs confirmed that his firm would proactively leverage its
The Way It's Meant To Be Played program to encourage developers to
release more titles for Mac...."
Link:
Nvidia to Join Mac Gaming Push, Intros New Desktop Chipsets
Due Next from Apple: Refreshed iMacs
AppleInsider
reports:
"Assuming last minute snags are avoided, the coming weeks should
bring new iMacs, rounding out Apple's 2008 hardware introductions as
the company enters the holiday shopping season with one of its
strongest product portfolios ever.
"Avid AppleInsider readers will notice that our little 2008 hardware
roadmap . . . has thus far panned out quite nicely, clearing
the way for new iMac models to edge their way to market sometime in the
next four weeks."
Link:
Due Next from Apple: Refreshed 20- and 24-Inch iMacs
The FireWire Firestorm
Mac Observer's
Ted Landau says:
"Although I would prefer that FireWire remain an option - for all
the commonly cited reasons (such as maintaining the capability to
connect FireWire hard drives and FireWire-based camcorders), the
complete demise of FireWire now appears inevitable. It absence from
Apple's MacBooks is
just the harbinger of what's coming down the road. So we might as well
start getting used to it.
"...this ought not to be a big deal.
"Except there is one big deal here and it is a critical one for me:
Target Disk Mode. As a troubleshooter, I am loathe to give up on this
feature....
"If Apple could deliver an alternative to FireWire Target Disk Mode
(allowing the mode to work via USB or Ethernet, if that's possible), I
would not think twice about getting a MacBook sans FireWire. Without
such an alternative, I won't be buying one, at least not until I have
no other choice."
Link:
The FireWire Firestorm
FireWire Isn't Alone: A Brief History of Features
Apple Has Killed
Technologizer's Harry McCracken reports:
"Apple has a storied history of being the first company to introduce
an array of new technologies in its computers, or among the very first,
at least. It all started with color graphics in 1977's Apple II and
continued features such as graphical user interfaces, FireWire, WiFi,
Bluetooth, and light-up keyboards - and items such as the buttonless
touchpads on its new laptops. But it's just as core to the company's
character that it's often the first company to kill a technology if it
appears to be heading for the dustbin of computing history.
"Which is causing a bit of a firestorm this week: The new MacBook
has no FireWire port, and some Apple fans are very, very unhappy about
that. In our T-Poll on the topic, 49% of respondents are pretty ticked
off, and 85% think FireWire still has life in it; only 10 percent
applaud Apple's decision....
"Like I say, Apple would clearly prefer to move too fast rather than
too slowly when it comes to eliminating technologies that may be past
their prime . . . I know of no instances in which feedback
from angry customers caused it to reverse its decisions...."
Link:
FireWire Isn't Alone: A Brief History of Features Apple Has
Killed
No FireWire over Ethernet - Maybe in Snow
Leopard
The Apple Core's Jason D.
O'Grady says:
"Since Apple announced the new MacBook last week sans FireWire,
there's been a backlash from the Apple community about the
omission.
"Users love the high-speed data protocol for things like Target Disk
Mode (TDM), transferring clips from digital video cameras and for
connecting to external hard drives. Mac techs love FireWire because TDM
is one of the best ways to diagnose a damaged hard drive (without
having to physically remove it from the computer). In fact, over 60
percent of respondents to my recent poll said that they can't live
without FireWire....
"Apple, in its infinite wisdom, decided that MacBooks don't need
FireWire, and Steve Jobs claims that most camcorders are all USB,
anyway. The problem is that it isn't true....
"In a piece written before the new MacBooks were announced some were
speculating that Apple could support FireWire over Ethernet if the
FireWire port was indeed dropped from the new MacBook. Unfortunately it
has come to light that it's currently impossible to run FireWire over
Ethernet....
"There is hope though...."
Link: No
FireWire over Ethernet; but Maybe in Snow Leopard
How to Turn Your Mac into a WiFi Access Point
InformationWeek's Mitch Wagner reports:
"No WiFi for your Apple? No problem. Make your Macintosh share its
Internet connection, wirelessly, by following this step-by-step,
illustrated guide."
Link:
How to Turn Your Mac into a WiFi Access Point
Run Mac OS X on a PC
The Register's
Brian Hurley says:
"Want to run Mac OS X on a PC? Perhaps you don't want to pay the
premium for Apple's hardware - or Apple doesn't make the kind of
computer you need, such as a netbook. Because of its native roots in
Motorola and PowerPC code, this has traditionally required instruction
level emulation. Two things have changed. Apple based Mac OS X on NeXT
code, which could run on Intel. And since 2006 Apple has been making
Intel PCs. In theory, installing Mac OS X on a PC is much
easier....
"Should you try this? As a minimum, I'd recommend the following: You
are comfortable editing BIOS settings and knowing the details of your
hardware and chipsets. You're not afraid of the Unix command line (not
a definite requirement, but many of the troubleshooting guides out
there mention it, so you'll probably have to use it at some point). And
probably the most important: You have a lot of time...."
Link: Run Mac OS X
on a PC - Special Report
EFI-X Dongle Co-Creator Asserts It's Legal to Run
OS X on PCs
Softpedia's
Filip Truta reports:
"Muzzle, a Dutch Hackintosh community site, has posted an interview
with Davide Rutigliano, the co-creator of the EFI-X hack dongle and CEO
of Art Studios Entertainment Media. Davide weighs in on the legality of
the product and on what its future may be. Clearly a PC running Mac OS
X is an intriguing subject, so we encourage you to read on.
"The EFi-X dongle is the last step towards porting Mac OS X to the
PC without leaving anything important behind. Certain system
requirements have to be met, of course, but if you pack the necessary
hardware, reviewers say the experience is much better than with a
typical Hackintosh. In fact, some say it works perfectly! Think this
sounds too good to be true, or . . . legal? Think again, says
Davide...."
Link:
It's Legal to Run OS X on PCs with EFI-X Dongle EFI-X Co-Creator
Asserts
Products
iKey Releases Keyboard with Trackpad and Bluetooth
Technology
PR: iKey, Ltd. officially released a new industrial keyboard
featuring Bluetooth wireless technology. It is the world's first fully
sealed, wireless industrial keyboard with an integrated touchpad.
The new BT-87-TP keyboard is specially sealed to be dust proof and
submersible. It features an integrated touchpad and 87 keys, including
12 function keys.
"The key difference between the BT-87-TP and our other wireless
models is the Bluetooth technology," said Joel East of iKey Business
Development. "It does not require a dongle or other external receiver
and will connect easily with any Bluetooth-enabled computers, allowing
users to carry the keyboard from workstation to workstation."
The compact case design and internal Bluetooth module make the
BT-87-TP highly portable. It can be easily mounted or carried and can
connect to any Bluetooth-enabled computer. This makes the new mobile
keyboard an ideal fit for material handling, medical, food/beverage
processing, and other environments where rugged flexibility is
important.
Measuring roughly 12" x 7.75" x 2", the BT-87-TP is designed for
mobility. The industrial keyboard features a rugged ABS polycarbonate
case with an easy-to-clean silicon rubber key overlay, and is built to
withstand harsh, dirty, dusty, wet, and corrosive environments.
Additionally, the keyboard can be used with enclosure-housed
computers and machines that are separated by a barrier for safety,
security, or environmental reasons. Each BT-87-TP requires two AA
batteries.
Link:
iKey BT-87-TP
MacWay Announces SilverDrive Quattro 1.5 TB
PR: MacWay has announced an industry first with the immediate
availability of its SilverDrive Quattro 1.5 TB, the world's first 1.5
Terabyte quad interface single drive external Hard drive. It's High-end
electronic featuring FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0 and eSATA
interfaces combined with a whooping 1.5 TB hard drive, makes it the
fastest, the biggest an the most versatile external Hard drive offering
on the market today.
The
SilverDrive Quattro 1.5 TB is the latest member of the SilverDrive
Quattro lineup praised by the press (it got the Editor's pick award of
the famous SVM Mac magazine) and users.
It's the industry's first whopping 1.5 TB capacity, offering 50%
more hard drive space than the biggest competing single-drive products.
Moreover, the exceptional speed of the hard drive sets new records.
The quad interfaces allows the SilverDrive Quattro to be connected
to any computer using the best speed available. From the universal USB
2.0, the practical FireWire 400 to the speedy FireWire 800 and the
fastest eSATA connection, the SilverDrive Quattro does it all.
Finally, all these technological breakthroughs ship alongside a very
stylish enclosure 100% made of high-grade aluminum that allows it to
skip a fan, thanks to its passive cooling properties, for the most
silent operation possible.
The SilverDrive Quattro is priced at €299 (19.6% VAT included)
for the brand new capacity of 1.5 TB and with quad interfaces
Specs
- 100% high grade aluminum stylish enclosure
- Passive cooling to avoid the use of a fan and allow the most silent
operation
- Excellent speed - eSATA mode is as fast as internal SATA
- Excellent connectivity thanks to its eSATA, FireWire 800 (x2),
FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 ports
- Removable standing feet allowing vertical positioning for a
footprint on the desk.
The SilverDrive Quattro hard drives are available worldwide through
MacWay's www.macway.com online store or its Paris and Strasbourg retail
stores :
- SilverDrive Quattro 1.5 TB 7200 rpm : €299
- SilverDrive Quattro 1 TB 7200 rpm : €189
- SilverDrive Quattro 750 GB 7200 rpm : €169
- SilverDrive Quattro 500 GB 7200 rpm: €129
- SilverDrive Quattro 320 GB 7200 rpm: €109
Link:
SilverDrive Quattro
Software
MacSpeech Ships First Major Update to MacSpeech
Dictate
PR: MacSpeech, Inc. has released MacSpeech Dictate v1.2, the
first major update to the premier speech recognition solution for the
Macintosh. Now for the first time, MacSpeech Dictate customers can
dictate any specific word, no matter how obscure, by spelling it
letter-by-letter with the new Spelling mode.
The new version 1.2 update also introduces Phrase Training, which
helps increase accuracy even more as one uses MacSpeech Dictate. The
MacSpeech Dictate 1.2 update is also a maintenance release that fixes
reported issues and introduces a new "Move" command for easier verbal
editing of a document. The MacSpeech Dictate 1.2 update is free of
charge and now available for registered customers, using the "Check for
Updates" feature.
"MacSpeech Dictate 1.2 makes amazing accuracy get even better as you
use it," explained Andrew Taylor, founder and CEO of MacSpeech, Inc.
"We're thrilled with the huge leap forward this update provides our
customers, who can now dictate precise spellings, move their cursor
using their voice and improve their recognition accuracy toward the
holy grail of 99%."
The new Spelling mode in version 1.2 makes it easy to spell-out
acronyms, names and unusual words. The new Move command, introduced in
version 1.2, allows people to use their voice to relocate the cursor
within a document for easier vocal editing.
Version 1.2 includes new Phrase Training, what speech recognition
applications on other platforms refer to as "Correction," to improve
speech recognition accuracy over time. The new Phrase Training
capabilities empower people to act immediately, when they notice text
has been recognized differently than intended, and promptly train the
application to recognize the word or phrase.
Recognition accuracy increases as a person uses MacSpeech Dictate,
notices misrecognitions and trains the application right away. The
applicable profile stores the Phrase Training data for future
reference. Using Phrase Training as one uses MacSpeech Dictate
continually increases accuracy over time from what was established
during the initial voice training, or from specific execution of
vocabulary training.
The MacSpeech Dictate 1.2 update also includes significant interface
enhancements for a more efficient, intuitive experience.
MacSpeech Dictate is a new speech recognition product for the
Macintosh, with underlying speech recognition powered by the dictation
technology used in Dragon NaturallySpeaking from Nuance Communications,
Inc. MacSpeech Dictate delivers a truly Mac user experience, and
conforms to behaviors already familiar to Macintosh fans worldwide.
Beyond dictation, MacSpeech Dictate lets people perform basic
navigation of their Mac and control it with their voice to launch
applications, open new windows, execute menu commands, etc.
System requirements: MacSpeech Dictate requires Intel-based
Macintosh hardware and requires Mac OS X 10.4.11 or Mac OS X 10.5.2 and
higher.
MacSpeech Dictate is currently available in English in the US, in
the UK, and in other English-speaking countries through International resellers and
distributors.
Link: MacSpeech
Dictate
PopCard 3.0 Brings iCards to the Masses
PR: Pixaria Software has announced the release of PopCard
3.0, a free to use, PHP script that gives website owners an easy way to
add Apple 'iCards' style electronic greetings cards to their sites. The
free PopCard 3.0 PHP script represents a great alternative for anyone
looking to set up a similar service for visitors to their own site.
Pixaria Software announces the release of PopCard 3.0, a free to
use, PHP script that gives website owners an easy way to add Apple
'iCards' style electronic greetings cards to their sites. With the
recent demise of Apple's .mac iCards website as the company completes
its transition to MobileMe, PopCard 3.0 represents a great alternative
for anyone looking to set up a similar service for visitors to their
own site.
What makes PopCard different from the wealth of other free and
commercial electronic greeting card scripts is that with PopCard, the
recipient isn't required to visit the website from which the card was
originally sent. Instead, the image and the sender's personalised
message arrive in the recipient's e-mail inbox as a beautifully
rendered JPEG image attachment, resulting in more personal and user
friendly message.
As well as providing a simple interface to pick from a selection of
predefined images, PopCard can also be configured to securely use any
JPEG image that can be accessed over the web. This makes it a snap to
integrate with existing photo galleries such as Pixaria, Coppermine,
Gallery 2 or even Flickr.
PopCard 3.0 is a complete rewrite of the original script (first
released in 2004) and brings major performance and security
enhancements, full Unicode support and greatly improved e-mail client
support including all the major webmail services.
PopCard is available as a free download from the Pixaria Software
website and support is provided via the Pixaria user forums.
Link: PopCard
Desktop Mac
Deals
Low End Mac updates the following price trackers once or
twice a month:
For more deals on current and discontinued notebook models, see our
MacBook deals,
MacBook Air deals,
15" MacBook Pro
deals, 17" MacBook
Pro deals, 12"
PowerBook G4 deals, 15" PowerBook G4 deals,
17" PowerBook G4
deals, titanium
PowerBook G4 deals, iBook G4 deals, PowerBook G3 deals, and
iBook G3 deals.
