Appletell

Macintosh and iPhone software updates and announcements for November 20, 2008:

• Silly My Apple Space users, hurling your bodies out into The New Blog. If you had any inkling of the true nature of the blogosphere, any at all, you would’ve hidden from it in terror.
• I wonder if the fellows at publicspace.net have considered making Gene Gene the Dancing Machine the spokesman for The Big Mean Folder Machine.
• Speck announces SeeThru Satin for the MacBook. I think that may be naughty.
• The Big Concept and Alphabet Art, my two favorite PBS shows, are now also Logo Design Studio Pro expansion packs.
• Freeway has been updated. Three cheers for the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956!
• Use StoryMill to write your story, so long as it’s not The Mill On the Floss, because that’s already been written.
• Headphone companies need to quit giving their headphones helicopter names. I mean, HFI-15G is really the best you can do?
• VelaClock brings world clock capabilities and a bunch of moon phases to the iPhone and iPod touch. So…okay. Good.
• It’s about time someone revolutionized the way I view media with my iPhone and iPod touch.

MORE »

Are you going to have an Xbox 360 under your tree this year? I know that Microsoft is Apple’s biggest competitor, but a lot of people own both. I am one of them. If you want to get your Mac and Xbox 360 to talk to each other, download Connect 360 from Nullriver.

You can browse and play your iTunes music by song, artist, album, genre or playlist. As you add/remove content to/from your iTunes library, Connect360 keeps your Xbox 360 up to date. You can even listen to your iTunes songs while playing a game on your Xbox 360! Now that’s entertainment. Further, Connect360 can automatically update your iTunes play count and play date for songs played on your Xbox 360.

Once you have the software installed and running on your Mac, all you need to do is navigate to the video, music, or photo folders on the Xbox 360 dashboard and you will see your Mac listed as an option. It’s just that simple.

Product [Connect360]

• Microsoft promoting New Xbox Experience with contest,  plenty o’ Microsoft Points
• Apple and a gaming console?
• Street Fighter IV not coming to US arcades

Macintosh and iPhone software updates and announcements for November 19, 2008:

• LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures whips its way to the Mac on November 28th. See? I said “whip” because Indiana Jones uses a whip.
• iMuffs arrive just in time to keep your eyes nice and toasty for the winter season. Or maybe not. I guess it depends upon how you use them.
• myPower ALL Plus MP3700 may sound like something you see the muscle heads drinking at the gym, but it’s actually for your laptop.
• OS X Reality talks with Aaron Fothergill about Flick Fishing for iPhone. Do you suppose they went for the Fothergill joke, because I totally would have.
• Create your own plug-ins for Sandvox. I mean, what are you? Lazy?
• Create your own apps for iPhone. I mean, what are you? Lazy?

MORE »

News of the HP TouchSmart tx2 swept blogs, news sites, and social networks alike this week, and, as imagined, this touch screen laptop was instantly pointed out as a direct victory over Apple.  For example, BusinessWeek even wrote, “Apple watchers assumed Jobs & Co. would be the first to offer a multitouch laptop, but Hewlett-Packard has beaten them to the punch.“  Being that Apple created the extremely successful touch screen iPhone that soon became a huge drive behind the development of many of the touch screen phones on the market today, many people are surprised that Apple hasn’t announced a tablet or touch screen computer yet. Now, with this product from HP, many of those people feel as if Apple has already lost the race in this category, and that is not the case.

To begin with, Apple already has a form of multitouch integrated into their laptops in the form of their glass trackpad. We’re aware this isn’t the same as having the whole screen be touch, but it is very helpful, nonetheless. On top of this, if Apple ever does release a multitouch laptop, we’re sure many of their customers will be much more blown away by Apple’s model than their competitors’ as usual. Although the HP tx2 does look quite tempting, we think it’s fair to assume that Apple’s quality of product is always top notch. Then, there is always the thought that we may not even need multitouch on our laptops.  There aren’t that many situations where it is necessary, if you ask me. And if you are an artist who would like to draw on your laptop, you’re more likely to use a Wacom anyways.

What do you think? Has Apple lost the battle for the multitouch laptop market, or is it much too early to call? Let us know in the comments.

Via [BusinessWeek]

• HP introduces the TouchSmart TX2 laptop
• Trade in your tech?  How Greensight saves you some cash
• $200 Eee PC by next year?

Whether you like him, hate him, or are indifferent, Barack Obama, uses a Mac. That has to say something about our President elect. In no way should this have weight on whether to vote for someone, but it is kind of cool. He does use a Research in Motion Backberry as a mobile device, but still…

We all know Obama is going to be a younger President. Maybe a little inexperienced. Maybe a little “green.“ The fact that he uses Macs also tells me that he is tech savvy, something we could not have said about Presidential candidate John McCain, who stated at one point that he did not know how to send an e-mail. I spent four years of my life defending the United States of America, and I feel slightly better knowing the Mac will be used, even if it’s sparsely, in Washington.

How do you feel about it?

Source [SodaHead]

• Obama’s win results in new malware attack
• Obama, technology and the future - Part Two
• Obama, technology and the future - Part Three

As Apple and Psystar continue to duke it out over the sales of non-Apple computers running Mac OS X, Psystar recently filled a counterclaim saying that Apple was violating anti-trust laws in its exclusivity regarding which computers can run their operating systems. A California judge has dismissed the counterclaim.

Psystar’s counterclaim stated that Apple’s exclusivity on the operating system to Apple labeled computers is “an anticompetitive restrain of trade.“ Psystar has twenty days to amend the complaint.

Psystar started to sell $399 Leopard Compatible machines earlier this year. Critics were quite skeptical of the OpenMac when it began to ship, and wondered how long it would be before Apple sued Psystar. They filed a formal complaint to the U.S District Court for the Northern District of California on July 3rd, 2008.

Since that time, Psystar continues to sell their leopard compatible machines, but now under the names Open Computer and Open Pro.

Via [MacRumors]

• Contest: can you be Yahoo’s next CEO?
• Apple Releases Apple TV 2.3, couple nice new features
• Apple rated #1 in customer satisfaction in recent survey

As if all of the holiday season goodness hasn’t already been enough for you, Microsoft wants to make it better by offering a kind 50% off on the Special Media Edition of Mac Office 2008. Although this isn’t across the entire line of software that Microsoft offers for the Mac, it will help you save around $250 off of this certain product at various retailers. With the economy the way it is, that is an opportunity you don’t want to miss. Whether you are upgrading or were simply waiting for the price of the software to come down, this is your chance to capitalize on this software.

If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering what is so special about this “Special” Media Edition. Well, like the normal Mac Office 2008, it has Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Entourage, and Automation actions and workflows. However, this version also includes Microsoft Expression Media, a digital media assets manager. And although you may not use this software ever, this sale does drop the price of the Special Edition below that of the normal Mac Office, so why wouldn’t you buy it? Oh, I know; it’s because there is always iWork for a slim $79.

Product [Special Media Edition Mac Office 2008]

• Microsoft Office Home and Student only $79.95 (with free shipping!)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment titles “not available on Xbox 360”
• New Xbox Experience features Street Fighter II Turbo “branded destination”

Apple is finally taking orders for the new 24” LED Display. However, they have not yet updated the ship date, which still reads November. According to various people I have spoken with at Apple, this means it will ship within the next two weeks.

The new Display will run you $899 (USD) directly from the Apple Store. It features a new design similar to that of the new MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. It also includes the new Mini DisplayPort that is included with the new notebooks.

I posted a hands-on with the Apple 24” LED Display a number of days ago that I hope will help you determine whether you should buy one.
Via [TUAW]

• Hands On - Apple 24” LED Display
• Macessity releases SlimKey Stand version 2
• A refresh for the Apple Cinema displays may be in the works

Macintosh and iPhone software updates and announcements for November 18, 2008:

• Download Adobe Creative Suite 4 for free! After 30 days, though, be prepared to give up a lung in order to keep using the programs.
• Chat in real time with friends on your iPhone while watching Flavor of Love 3. Technology has just reached the apex of its usefulness.
• Literature? Who has time for literature? Get EngLits for iPhone and never have to read again.
• 99Games has released one game for the iPhone, but it may have 99 pieces.
• TubeStick boogie all night with help from TubeGuide.
• So, wait…my iPhone’s going to give me tea leaf and Turkish coffee readings to tell me my future in love, work and money? I’ll make my own money prediction…I’m never going to drink Turkish coffee.
• See, I thought the QuattroPower iPhone 3G case had a built-in razor, so now I’m disappointed.
• Having an iPod speaker that looks like a yo-yo is cool until someone thinks it is a yo-yo and tosses it to the floor.
• The new MYOB AccountEdge 2009 offers the ability to assess the health of your business. Yeah, uh, not really the time to be assessing the health of your business.
• Is your MacBook Juiczing? Because you may get 12 additional hours of it, but if you get caught, they’ll take away your medals.
• I think is saw Kings Corners open for Extreme earlier this year. Now they’re an iPhone card game. Strange turn of events, that.

MORE »

Some owners of the new MacBook and MacBook Pros have discovered something strange when you try to play some iTunes video content to an external display. If that display is not HDCP compliant, then iTunes will return \an error saying that a connected display is not authorized to play protected movies.

While this may seem like a minor issue, consider if you plan on playing a purchased iTunes movie through a projector. Most projectors these days still feature a VGA input for connecting a computer. These users will now be unable to play content purchased from the iTunes Store.

MORE »