Appletell

Man And Machine, a purveyor of peripherals for Hospitals and Labs, is suing Apple and CBS.  Man and Machine claims that they started selling their “Mighty Mouse”, a chemical and water-resistant mouse, a year before Apple came out with their mouse with the same title.  Man and Machine claims that when CBS sold the rights to the name of their Superhero mouse to Apple, they were selling rights that weren’t theirs.  They company claims that there earlier sale of the device trumps the sale of rights. 

M & M does acknowledge the fact that CBS had the rights to the name “Mighty Mouse”, but in they say that CBS didn’t own the rights to a technology version of the name, as CBS’ name only applies to cartoons. 

“Because of Apple’s size, fame and large advertising budget, Apple’s use of the Mighty Mouse trademark has and will continue to overwhelm M&M’s use of its Mighty Mouse trademark and will cause M&M to lose the value of that trademark,” the lawsuit reads.

Despite the fact that a dollar amount has yet to be attached to the suit, M & M is seeking damages, attorney fees, and a Court Order to prevent Apple from using the name.

Via [Mac Megasite]

For those who are having a hard time organizing their life’s accumulation of receipts and documents in time for the filing of tax returns, Neat Receipts Advance Release for Mac may just be what you need. PC users who are more organized than us may find the Neat Receipts familiar as this is the same PC version ported into the Mac system.

Neat Receipts is a nifty way of getting rid of receipts and documents by scanning and organizing them on your Mac. And like we said, this is just an Advance Release for Mac, hence some of the features in the PC version are not yet completely available. Anyway Neat Receipts was developed using Apple’s programming environment Cocoa and as such Mac users will find the intuitive design of the Neat for Receipts familiar with other Mac applications. 

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Time Capsule is Apple’s answer to network-attached Time Machine backups within a local area network. It allows multiple people to back-up wirelessly or wired, making it ideal for laptop users. However, online backups are far more secure - as they’re stored in a datacenter away from your own home.

A company called Macminicolo.net has been offering Mac Mini-based backups for a while now, and is now offering a brand new service with Time Machine in Leopard. “Transport” will allow you to purchase a Time Capsule unit which will be hosted at their datacenter - all of your future backups will be stored in this secure location. Their plans start at just $29 per month, with a set-up fee of $25. You have the choice of either asking a hosting provider to purchase and install a Time Capsule, or the option to send one to Macminicolo.net for installation in their server farm.

Which do you prefer, local or network backups?

Via [Macworld UK]

I’ve had my iCurve for years and love it, though I’ve always wanted a second display. When, and if I ever get that second display, the Ergotron Neo-Flex Combo Lift Stand is definitely an item I would consider purchasing. The difference between the Neo-Flex and other stands is that the Neo-Flex has a stand for your laptop, and a VESA mount for a display, giving a sleek and aligned setup. This places your laptop’s in a nearly direct alignment with your mounted external LCD display, allowing seamless use of dual monitors. Desk space is also cleared up with the display’s stand no longer in place. As with many VESA mounts, the Ergotron Neo-Flex is a bit pricy, selling at a whopping $179. Of course, if you’re desperate for desk space and have been craving a laptop stand/mount combo, then it may just be worth your money. Otherwise, an Elevator should do just fine.

[Ergotron] via [TUAW]

If you love unlocking your iPhone or iPod Touch with your finger, you can now have that same functionality on your Mac for only $50.00.  A new device from UPEK called the Eikon Digital Privacy Manager provides security for your Mac with the swipe of a finger.  It can be used to log into your Mac, unlock the screen saver, and perform other password functions, such as confirming an install.  One thing I find particularly interesting is that it can be used to speed up fast user switching.  This is great for people who love to have that added security to their Mac and like the idea of fingerprint security.

Better yet, this device can also be used on Windows with Boot Camp and camp help perform UAC tasks.  And with all those security alerts in Windows, we all know how time saving that can be.  It also allows you to scan any and multiple fingers in case you somehow cut a certain finger.  It actually looks really cool and convenient, I might have to pick one up myself.  They can be bought at Amazon.

Via [Mac|Life]

Famous modder Ben Heckendorn is at it again, this time with an Apple IIgs laptop.  This laptop is very impressive, and although it may seem dangerous, Ben said it gives off just about as much heat as a pocket calculator (calculators give off heat?).  Here are the full specs:

• 15-inch screen
• Original Apple IIgs motherboard
• Custom acrylic keyboard with laser etched keys
• Compact Flash adapter as the hard drive
• Side port access for floppy drive, joystick, and mouse
• Original mouse
• Glowing blue “][” logo
• Built-in stereo speakers

This isn’t Ben’s only awesome creation, be sure to check out his PS3 mod as well.  Also, there are more pictures and a video up on his site.

I just received a 23” Cinema Display. I bought it off of eBay for the “cheap” price of $600. This is a steal compared to Apple’s list price of $899 before tax and shipping, but a rip-off when comparing it to a similar monitor.

Before the Cinema Display, I had a 24” HP. Cost? $369, before tax and shipping. It had four USB ports compared to the Cinema’s two. It could tilt from perpendicular to the desk all the way to parallel to it. It could move up and down. It could swivel. It could even rotate to portrait mode. It was very feature-paced for only about $400, but I got a Cinema Display anyway. I’m a sucker for the Apple brand.

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Macessity today introduced two new stands for Apple’s Mac Mini desktop computer. Both stands, the M4-Mini and M-Mini share a similar design - one that matches a Mac Mini perfectly with its 0.1085-inch thick steel, coated in an aluminum color. It is leveled with non-skid rubber pads to prevent it from moving whilst on your desk. The stands are designed to sit on top of your Mac Mini, allowing you to place any display that weighs up to 60 pounds.

The M4-Mini is a more expensive model that features a built-in, self-powered USB 2.0 hub - that allows you to extend your Mac Mini’s USB connectivity by an extra four ports. The M4-Mini will cost $59.99, and the M-Mini will cost $44.99; both will be available on April 28, 2008.

Via [Macworld]

Apple today released Firmware Updates for the Intel iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Aluminum Keyboard.

The firmware updates are available at apple.com and through Software Update. They “[fix] several issues to improve the stability of [the] computers.” The keyboard update addresses an issue with keys repeating themselves wittttttttttttthout warning.

Firmware Updates require a restart and the keyboard update renders your keyboard useless for as much as 5 minutes while it installs, then it, too, requires a restart of your computer. Follow the instructions (usually “Quit Everything, Touch Nothing") to the letter, other wise your computer may get messed up. Potentially REALLY messed up.

Oddly, I downloaded the Firmware Update for my MacBook Pro manually, as Software Update didn’t find it and it told me I didn’t need the update. Is this happening to anyone else?

Symwave, a semiconductor maker, has announced the FirePHY-1600, which doubles the speed of FireWire to 1.6 Gbps. Current FireWire 800 only manages 800 Mbps.

FirePHY-1600 is fully backwards compatible with Firewire 400 and FireWire 800, and the speed increases are dramatic. According to Macworld, Symwave says that in under 5 seconds, you can transfer 1,000 4 megapixel photos. Of course, this is possible at 1.6 Gbps, which is the maximum throughput. Actual throughput will be less on average.

Given that FireWire is an Apple-introduced standard, it would be nice to see Apple first on the bandwagon for Firewire 1600, at least in their Mac Pros.