Appletell

AppleInsider reports that new MacBook and MacBook Pro models have been spotted by their sources, reassuring the fact that updates to the MacBook line are imminent. The upcoming MacBooks are said to have the same screen sizes as the current ones: 13, 15 and 17 inches. They apparently share a similar aluminium design—"as if they were members of the same product family"—unlike the current MacBooks and MacBook Pros, which have distinctive looks.

As previously stated, the new designs are described as a combination of the 13-inch MacBook Air from January this year and the iMacs that were released summer 2007. Back in April, AppleInsider reported that the edges of the new MacBook line would be trimmed and tapered, and instances of a black material would be used to contrast the aluminium. The FireWire 400 port and the 28-pin DVI-I port have said to have been removed from the MacBook Pro, and replaced with a smaller FireWire 800 port and a mini-DVI port.

Read [AppleInsider] Via [MacRumors]

Rumor has it that new MacBooks are expedcted to be unveiled on October 14th (yes, that’s an Apple Tuesday). Seth Weintraub of Computerworld noted that a re-design of the MacBook Pro is needed, and he took some educated guesses as to what the next-gen MacBook Pros may look like…

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If you’re a student in the UK and are looking to buy a new Mac, you’re in luck. The same Back to School promotion that ran in the US is now in the UK, but instead, Apple are including the new 4th gen iPod nano and 2nd Gen iPod touch—the ones that were released in last week’s “Let’s Rock” event.

The promotion allows up to a £95 rebate cheque on any new Mac, iPod nano or iPod touch purchased. To be qualified for this promotion, you must be a student at a higher education institution, or a lecturer or teacher. The deal will end October 31, 2008. This date could be when the MacBook (Pro)s come to an end, and new ones are released—it would seem strange for Apple to release new notebooks half-way through a promotion.

If you’re interested, visit Apple’s UK website.

A number of Windows Vista users are having problems with iTunes 8, causing the operating system to display a “Blue Screen of Death” when an iPod/iPhone is connected for syncing. Apple yesterday released a technical note suggesting that Windows Vista users should uninstall Apple Mobile Device Support, then restart their computer, and finally re-install iTunes 8. At the time of writing, it’s unknown what the exact error within Apple Mobile Device Support was causing the BSOD.

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Kevin Rose’s spy shots turned out to be correct! The 4th generation iPod Nano is exactly like the spy shots we’ve seen in the last week or two — it has an aluminum oval design, with a longer screen. Jobs claims it’s the “Thinnest iPod we’ve ever made”, and “You’ll be blown away by how thin it is”. As for new features, the 4th-gen Nano will have an enhanced UI, accelerometer from the iPhone and iPod Touch for CoverFlow — and, support for the new iTunes 8 Genius function.

Details after the break.

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After his rumours of iTunes 8.0, Kevin Rose has published a mockup of the soon-to-be iTunes interface. The annotated screenshot above shows an area of the iTunes sidebar, currently used for smart playlists, replaced by Genius Playlists. There is also a new Genius sidebar on the right-hand side, which is expected to recommend music from the iTunes Store. A button on the bottom right will start/stop the genius feature.

More after the break.

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Line Rider is undoubtebly one of the most addictive flash games on the web. The popular game is set to come to the iPhone and iPod touch for the low price of $3—although some may argue that it should be free, seeing as it is free-to-play on the internet. The iPhone version of Line Rider will bring the ability of uploading and downlodaing tracks via the official Line Rider site. It will also benefit from the multi-touch interface for track creation and play; your tracks can be played out in a movie mode.

Details after the break.

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When Google Chrome Beta 1 was released earlier this week, Mac users were shocked by the fact that it was Windows-only. Google, with a reputation for creating their apps for all platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux), had not yet released a Mac version of their web browser. In an interview with BoomTown’s Kara Swisher, Sergey Brin said “I know, I know, it’s embarrassing.” He was unable to provide a date for the release of the Mac OS X version of Chrome, but did mention he is “asking every day” and hopes “it’ll be a matter of months.”

More after the break.

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Kevin Rose—who recently rumoured the launch of new iPod nanos, iPod touches and iTunes 8—has just released details on what will be new in the upcoming relase of iTunes 8. Rose says iTunes 8 will include a new feature called “Genius” — it intelligently makes playlists from songs in your library that go great together. The Genius feature will include a “Genius Sidebar,” which will recommmend music from the iTunes Store that you don’t yet own.

Details after the break.

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Orange, the exclusive iPhone carrier in France, has admitted to capping their 3G download speeds after receiving many complaints from users and several customers comparing speeds to other European countries. iPhone users on the T-Mobile network in Germany were repeatedly receiving download speeds of over 1800kbps, whilst those on France’s Orange network were struggling to reach 400kbps. Orange’s technical support lines were jammed with calls of slow speeds, and in some cases the support technicians voluntarily renamed the Access Point Name and other variables to increase download speeds. These customers reported speeds in excess of 3mbps.

Details after the break.

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