Macenstein

Review: I-Dog

Posted by Helper Monkey It is well known amongst my friends and family that I am a complete and total geek, as well as a Mac lover to boot. When occasions like birthdays and Christmases come around, invariably someone tries to surprise me with the “coolest�? tech gadget they can find, preferably Mac-related. This is no easy feat since I waste almost every spare moment of my life online reading about the latest gadgets and looking for things to review. This year a friend... Read More

A satellite with a click wheel? iPods being used in UK space program

Posted by Helper Monkey Let’s see Dell’s Jukebox do this! Macenstein reader Wolfman Mac pointed us to a rather interesting story at Telegraph.co.uk that discusses the efforts of a Brittish company that is manufacturing satellites out of various everyday components, ranging from DVD players to iPods. Surrey Satellite Technology Limited recently launched their Giove-A satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome satellite in Kazakhstan. “We specifically make low-cost... Read More

Music companies under investigation for possible online music price-fixing

Posted by Dr. Macenstein The Associated Press is reporting that New York’s Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has subpoenaed several of the major music companies as part of a preliminary inquiry into whether the digital music services have engaged in any illegal price-fixing activity. You may remember in September that Steve Jobs claimed music companies were acting ”greedy” and had been putting pressure on Apple to raise music prices on its iTunes service. Sony... Read More

Apple website inadvertently “outs” Icelandic supergroup

Posted by Igor While browsing around Apple’s Icelandic beta site, (as I do most Fridays), I came across a startling bit of hate-mongering. It appears Apple (or at least its Icelandic web programmers) have decided to use the site to “outâ€? Iceland’s supergroup Skitamorall. Like most of you, I have all of Skitamorall’s albums, and up to now have had no question in MY mind as to their undeniable heterosexuality. However, it appears Apple may know something... Read More

What?! No new iTunes “Free Downloads of the Week� this week?

Posted by Helper Monkey Like many of you, each Tuesday I rush to my computer, launch iTunes, and greedily download the two horrible (yet free) “Free Downloads of the Weekâ€? Apple is nice enough to provide iTunes users with each week. Since the iTunes Music Store’s launch, I have downloaded each and every one, and I think there were perhaps 2 worth playing a second time (and one, Run by Snow Patrol, I had already purchased before it was featured as a free download). Bad... Read More

Are iPods too risky to insure?

Posted by Dr. Macenstein British Insurance agency Hiscox estimates Apple is likely to sell 9.4 million iPods this holliday season. To that end, Hiscox has released a memo urging customers to reevaluate their insurance policies this month to make sure they cover their iPods and their purchased music incase of loss or theft. According to Hiscox, “Recent figures show that muggings and snatch thefts of iPods in London have increased more than fivefold since last November, all... Read More

iPod Invisa available on eBay

Posted by Igor Fans of the recent Saturday Night Live skit featuring “Steve Jobsâ€? introducing the latest iPods will be pleased to know they can now actually buy their very own iPod Invisa. A listing on eBay claims to have the hot new iPod. The initial listing started at only 1 penny, but after 9 bids the auction has risen to $40 with 6 days left (still an amazing price for ANY iPod, let alone Apple’s latest offering!). The auction describes the iPod Invisa as... Read More

The Pink iPod mini: Hello Kitty Edition

Posted by Lab Rat From Japan, the land of all things Hello Kitty, comes the official Pink iPod Mini: Hello Kitty Edition. Basically it is just a pink iPod mini with the Hello Kitty logo emblazed on the back, although it DOES ship with some sort of docking station/cradle thing in the form of a faceless bear named BE@RBRICK. Unfortunately, Babel Fish can’t seem to translate the page for us into any useable format, so we can’t figure out what they are charging for... Read More

Microsoft officially drops Internet Explorer for Mac

Posted by Dr. Macenstein In what should come as a shock to no one, Microsoft has announced plans to officially remove Internet Explorer from their Mactopia website on January 31st, 2006. While there are plenty of other web browsers available for the Mac which provide a better internet browsing experience than IE does, there are still a few nagging sites that just don’t display right or allow you to log on at all as a Mac user without Internet Explorer. Recently, Firefox... Read More

At least 3 iPods for Bush?

Posted by Helper Monkey Remember last April when the New York Times gave us a peek into the songs on President George Bush’s iPod? Well, Macenstein reader meggert has alerted us that there is now some disturbing video of Bush running through his iPod selections brought to us by Sky News journalist Andrew Wilson. Of interest here, Bush mentions that the iPod he has with him is a “clunker” compared to the new iPod Bono from U2 apparently “droppedâ€?... Read More