Apple Special Event September 12th… New iPods, Movie Store, and Core 2 Duo Macs
Posted by Dr. Macenstein
Well, we just received our invitation to Apple’s September 12th super secret “special event�, and…
…um, ok, so we don’t actually rate high enough to get an Apple invite. BUT we DO waste most of the day reading other sites that DO, and from those we have discovered two things.
First, the date is indeed September 12th, which is also the date that Mac Expo Paris begins. There will not be an official keynote in Paris this year, but apparently whatever the special announcement is, it is big enough to be streamed to London. Why London and not Paris? Well, that’s where Apple’s European headquarters are located. According to MacBidouille, the European press has already been invited to cover the event. Plus, Apple might still be mad over that whole “France vs. iTunes� debacle.
Secondly, there have been reports that the Core 2 Duo chips that have recently turned up in other PC manufacturer’s laptops will find their way into Apple’s MacBook Pros (if not MacBooks) and perhaps even an updated Mac mini or iMac. On top of that, reports of new iPods and the debut of an iTunes movie download store have combined to make this potentially one of Apple’s bigger announcements.
For what it’s worth (nothing), our 2 cents say that all three possible announcements will indeed occur. On September 12th, it will have been 336 days since the last iPod revision back in October of last year. Even if Apple can’t deliver a radically new touch-screen design, they have to at least include a larger drive and Bluetooth connectivity (and/or drop the price a couple bucks) to compete with the latest batch of portable players.
We have faith that Apple will also somehow include a larger screen for playing those downloadable movies we are also betting will be announced. The infamous Lion’s Gate conference call in which the President let slip Apple’s intentions to debut an iTunes movie service before the end of the year, plus a new BusinessWeek article citing info from “unnamed sources� (always the most knowledgeable) pretty much sealed the deal.
As for the Core 2 Duo chips arriving in new Macs, Apple really doesn’t have much choice. As far as new hardware goes, Apple pretty much lost their coveted “element of surprise� the day they decided to use the same chips as 80% of the PC market. Apple can’t really hold off updating hardware by more than a week or two after any other PC manufacturer has incorporated Intel’s latest technology, and all reports indicate slapping a Core 2 Duo into an existing Core Duo motherboard involves all of 5 minutes of effort.
In fact, we’re pretty sure Apple would have already announced the new lap/desktops if it wasn’t for the fact that this year’s Paris Expo fell so close to Intel’s delivery of the Core 2 Duo. Apple is just so used to announcing things at planned events to help build hype and speculation, they figured, “Why pay to cater TWO events?�.
We’re sure Apple will be sending us a special press invitation to their NEXT special event, but in the meantime, we will pretend we don’t know what they are announcing on the 12th and do our best to look surprised, just to make them feel better.
Free on iTunes: “Covert”, Animated short film
Posted by Helper Monkey
After months of free, full-length television pilots of debatable quality, comes a nice change of pace. Apple has posted a free, 3-minute animated short called Covert, from Short Films International.
“The world of espionage and counter-espionage is alive and well today, as this animated thriller so aptly coveys. Surprising and intelligent. A demonstration of short animations at their most excellent.�
The film manages to cram a good deal of suspense into its 3-minute run time. I’m no film critic, but I give it an 8 out of 10. Get it here.
Get Bryce 5.0 FREE – for a Limited time
Posted by Dr. Macenstein
Faithful Macenstein reader rico has alerted us that DAZ Productions is making its Bryce 5 3D landscape modeling and animation software available for FREE for a limited time. Now through September 6th, you can download the full version of Bryce 5 from downloads.com. Upon registration, you will be sent your serial number and link to download Bryce presets.
The current shipping version of Bryce is 5.5.
NOTE: Bryce 5.0 does not run under Mac OS X Tiger (Mac OS 10.4 and above).
Review: The Marine Aquarium 2.6 screen saver by Serene Screen
Posted by Lab Rat
Thanks to some of Mac OSX’s core imaging effects, there has been an explosion recently of very cool free OS X screensavers on the net (none cooler, of course, than the awesome Mr. Sparkle 1.5). However, the majority of these are one-trick ponies consisting of swirling multicolored Quartz Composer-based effects. While they are often very beautiful, inevitably after about 2 days I am bored and begin my web search anew.
My search for a screensaver “with a soul� led me back to an old favorite, the Marine Aquarium screensaver by SereneScreen. For those unfamiliar with the Marine Aquarium, (as you can probably guess by the name) it is a saltwater fish tank simulation screensaver, but the beautiful visuals elevate it out of the mere screensaver category, and push it towards digital art. The Marine Aquarium holds the distinction of being the only screensaver I have ever paid money for, although that was many years ago. Over the years I had failed to keep current with the app as I switched and upgraded Macs along the way, and I was looking forward to seeing what was new.
You can adjust the lighting in your tank from day to night, or leave it set to automatically cycle.
The Marine Aquarium is now up to version 2.6, and no, my old key code was not accepted (I apparently last purchased version 1.1.2). Upon upgrading, I was pleased to see that Serene Screen made a number of modifications to the app, including a redesigned interface and a number of display options; but more importantly, they added an additional 7 fish from my previous version, for a whopping total of 28!
I must admit upfront that I am a bit biased towards Marine Aquarium. At my house I have a 120 gallon fish tank, and here at the Lab the good Doctor was nice enough to put in a 50 gallon tank, so I often like to waste time staring at fish. However, neither of those tanks looks half as good as the Marine Aquarium does on a 23 inch Apple display.
Choose from 28 diffferent fish, or let the computer choose randomly for you for a unique look each time.
The Marine Aquarium is designed to mimic an actual saltwater fish tank, and does so via beautifully textured and animated fish, a total of 28 in all. You can choose to have up to 7 on the screen at a time, and there is support for dual monitors (although the fish will not swim from one monitor to the next). You can customize your tank’s look to some degree by controlling the lighting, the bubbles, the shimmer of the water, and whether or not the time and date are displayed. This last feature is very nice. Serene Screen chose to add an optional crystal clock to the tank that can display the time and date in either analog or digital formats. The transparent crystal design allows fish to be seen when swimming behind it, adding to the 3D feel of the screensaver.
And actually, the reason the Marine Aquarium fish look so 3 dimensional is that they are. By hitting the “w� key, you can toggle off the textures on both the fish and the coral background, and see a 3D wireframe rendering of the fish as they swim by.
Pressing “w” brings up wireframe mode, allowing you to see the 3D geometry behind the scenes.
Issues
The only issue I have with the Marine Aquarium is that (as far as I can tell) the background rocks and coral, while very nice looking, are the same background I saw 3 years ago when running version 1.1. The part of me that still can’t believe I am paying for a screensaver feels that I should have a couple more environments or customization options for the background.
Conclusion
The Marine Aquarium is one of those apps that truly needs to be seen in person to be appreciated. Luckily you can download a free demo from SereneScreen’s site, including a standalone version you can launch as an application. While paying for a screensaver goes against every freeware-loving bone in my body, I have no problem paying for an app that is the result of real effort and skill. I think anyone who owns a high quality LCD display owes it to themselves to at least download the demo and give it a try. Three years later, I am happy to say the Marine Aquarium still elicits “oohs� and “ahhs� from clients as they pass sby.
The Marine Aquarium 2.6 screen saver by Serene Screen
Price: $19.95
Pros: Beautifully rendered fish and environment, can choose from 28 different fish, new date and time feature is a great idea
Cons: Some different background options would make a great app an amazing one.
ABC News Video Collection on the iTunes Music Store
Posted by Helper Monkey
Disney-ABC Television Group announced today that originally-produced ABC News videos including exclusive interviews and raw footage will be available for purchase on the iTunes Music Store.
“We are committed to making news available to our audience whenever they want it, however they want it, and we are always looking at new ways we can better educate, inform and empower customers on a variety of platforms,� said David Westin, president, ABC News. “We’ve had a tremendous response to our “World News� podcasts, and with this new iTunes offering, we continue to provide what content consumers want and have grown to expect from ABC News.�
Tailored specifically for the iTunes consumer, the series offer a wide selection of videos in the categories of “ABC News Specials,� “The Day It Happened,� and “Celebrity Flashback.� With material available for the first time since broadcast on network TV, individual videos can be purchased on the iTunes Music Store (www.itunes.com) for $1.99 each.
“We are pleased to make ABC News content available to iTunes customers alongside our current array of entertainment programming from ABC, ABC Family, Disney Channel, Jetix and SOAPnet,� said Albert Cheng, executive vice president, digital media, Disney-ABC Television Group. “As we continue to provide consumers with quality programming across all digital platforms, we drive incremental viewing opportunities, further awareness of our programs and deepen consumers’ relationships with our brands.�
Review: The USB Air Purifier & Thermo Alarm Clock from USB Geek
Posted by Lab Rat
If you are anything like me, you sit next to a big smelly co-worker (sorry you had to find out this way, Helper Monkey). So when I came across USB Geek’s USB Air Purifier & Thermo Alarm Clock, I was pretty excited.
The USB Air Purifier & Thermo Alarm Clock is a cute little white orb-like device which plugs into your computer’s powered USB port to deliver a bunch of features, some of which are actually useful.
First of all, it’s a clock. Its large display shows you the current date, time, and day of the week. It is also an alarm clock, which you can silence via pushing down on the device (similar to hitting SNOOZE on a conventional alarm clock). Pushing down on the device also causes the orange backlight display to come on, allowing for nighttime viewing of the clock display.
At first, I really could not see the need for this device to have a time and date display at all (other than the fact that adding a clock to a device probably costs about 5¢ these days). After all, this thing is sitting about 12 inches from my computer, which also displays the time and date. However, on further reflection, I decided for many users, this could actually be quite beneficial. First, for the dorm room crowd. I personally don’t have my computer sitting 2 feet from my bed, but I remember back at school I did. Having an alarm clock this small would be perfect for cramped dorm living. Secondly, I actually found myself using the clock when playing games like Civilization IV which take over the entire screen, thus blocking out the Mac toolbar’s clock. I also at one point set the alarm to go off to remind me to stop playing the damn game, and go do something productive.
Another feature of the Thermo Clock is a built-in thermometer. The current temperature is displayed just above the time on the face of the device. This feature’s usefulness is much more debatable. The temperature displayed is only the current interior temperature, which, in my house at least, rarely fluctuates more than 5 degrees throughout the year. It is the outside temperature that would be more valuable to know. In theory the makers could have perhaps included some software that asked for a zip code, then searched the web for approximate local temperatures, but again, I have a feeling the temperature feature was kind of thrown in as part of the “clock kit� the manufacturers chose, and might have cost more to get rid of than leave in.
Ok, so it is an alarm clock and thermometer, but what I really wanted to know was how well it worked as an air purifying device. On the right side of the orb is an on/off switch. Turn that on, and the unit (allegedly) starts cleaning the air. To be honest, I did not notice any amazing air cleaning power. I held the orb up right against my ear, and heard a very faint hissing sound, so I think it IS doing something, but the thing is just too small to make a big difference. USB Geek has a video on their site showing how the USB Air Purifier is able to remove smoke from a small Lucite box (about the size of the old G4 Cube) over a period of 5 minutes, and I have no reason to doubt that it can. However, even dorm rooms are bigger than the G4 Cube, so don’t expect it to get rid of that pot smoke before the RA arrives.
Light Show
OK, so the alarm clock works, the thermometer is useless, and the air purification is perhaps more gimmick than a practical solution for someone with allergy needs.
So, is it a piece of junk?
No. The reason is 2-fold. First, when you turn the air-purification button to “on�, you may not be treated to a blast of ionic air freshness, but you ARE treated to a pretty cool light show. The USB Thermo Clock has a series of ever changing colored LED lights on the back which provide a soothing glow, and just plain look cool. I am a fan of all things shiny, and the way the colored lights reflect off my mini Tower from Plasticsmith makes my computer look even cooler. Again, I think this would be a cool addition to a dorm room, somewhat safer than a lava lamp, and less cheesy than a disco ball. The multi-colored LEDs add instant atmosphere to a room.
Above: It may not be the best air purifier out there, but I am a sucker for shiny objects!”
The second reason the Thermo Clock doesn’t suck is, it only costs $32. Personally, I like the changing lights so much, I would pay $32 just for that functionality alone. The alarm clock and purifier are just gravy.
Conclusion
The USB Air Purifier & Thermo Alarm Clock is a somewhat gimmicky device, but in my opinion, it is being marketed for the WRONG gimmick. The focus here should be on the cool LED lights on the back of the unit, not so much the air purifying aspects. The device’s specs claim the air purification’s range is about 9 square meters. I didn’t notice much/any difference in a 3 square inch area, much less 9 square meters. However, that does not mean it is not doing anything. I am not going to construct my own Lucite smoke box and test it. It’s entirely possible it’s removing small amounts of dust and smoke from the air, it just isn’t emitting that “ozone fresh� smell that $350 air purifiers like the Sharper Image’s Ionic Breeze line do. And why should it? Anyone buying something this small and for this price expecting to feel like they are living in the great outdoors is delusional.
The USB Air Purifier & Thermo Alarm Clock is a great space-saving, affordable alarm clock which provides a very cool light show (and may or may not clean the air in the process). I see this being a great gift idea for college-age kids going back-to-school, or for anyone who wants to add a little color to their Mac. For the price, this is one of those quirky computer accessories that delivers clean fun (if not clean air).
The USB Air Purifier & Thermo Alarm Clock from USB Geek
Price: $32
Pros: Cool lights, Alarm clock, USB powered, cute design, cheap
Cons: Billed as an air purifier, yet too small to really deliver
Apple Special Event September 25th
Posted by Helper Monkey
According to Macworld UK, Apple will be holding a special event at this year’s Photokina 2006, a photo and imaging exposition held in Cologne. Based on the focus of the show, Macworld UK is guessing that Apple may preview a new version of its high-end Aperture photo software at the September 25th special event.
This is the first time Apple will be attending the Photokina exposition, which is expected to have 160,000 attendees from 140 countries.
Rumor: New MacBook Pros November 30th?
Posted by Dr. Macenstein
Macenstein reader Sean sent us a couple blurry camera phone pictures (our favorite kind!) and his theory on when the new MacBook Pros will arrive.
“I am an employee at CompUSA, i wa sin our apple shop and realized somethign very nteresting about the macbook pro sign. in the bottom right corner, the sign has an expiration date, the only reason i can see why they would do this is because they are planning a new relase.� [sic]
Quite frankly, we are not familiar enough with Apple’s signage to know if this means anything or not. The line in question reads “Sign expires November 30, 2006�. It would seem a little strange that one of the most secretive companies on the planet would put a release date for its next hardware revision out in plain sight.
This could merely be something to alert vendors when to remove old advertising materials if they have not yet received new ones, and for all we know there could be this little line at the bottom of every poster for Apple products with an arbitrary 6 month expiration date. We really don’t know. But, in the hopes that this turns out to be something, (combined with it being a slow news day) we are posting it anyway. Thanks for the tip, Sean!
MacSoft releases Halo Universal Binary
Posted by Helper Monkey
MacSoft has completed its port of a universal binary version of Halo, meaning the game will (finally) run natively on Intel Macs.
The update is free to anyone who purchased the PPC version of Halo AFTER January 1st, 2006 (approximately when the new Intel Macs were announced), and was smart enough to hold on to their dated sales receipt for 8 months. If you purchased Halo before the first of the year, or lost your receipt, MacSoft will still ship you a new disc for free, but there will be a $9.99 shipping charge. Those wishing to download the update in lieu of receiving a physical disc may download the update from the MacGameStore. There is a $5.00 downloading charge for owners of the original game.
MacSoft claims the reworking of Halo into a universal app was a huge undertaking requiring a large portion of the code to be rewritten, thus the delay and “shipping� costs. The update is not necessary for those people running Halo on PowerPC systems.
Review: BT500 Rechargeable Bluetooth Mini Mouse by RadTech
Posted by Lab Rat
Bluetooth mice are all the rage these days, but the majority of them are plagued by the same nemesis all wireless devices must face; battery life. Nothing makes you feel more like a caveman than turning on your computer only to find your wireless mouse or keyboard’s batteries have died, and you are fresh out of AAA’s. Now you are forced to hunt around the garage for an old fashioned chorded mouse (I have actually had to use the “hockey puck� mouse that shipped with my original iMac on occasion).
RadTech has come as close to solving the problem as possible with their BT500 Rechargeable Bluetooth Mini Mouse.
Specs
The BT500 is a 3-button optical mouse (not laser) and has a 800 dpi tracking rating. It is quite small, about half the size of the Macally iLaser, and it weighs only 64 grams (including batteries). It is built for travel, and for an extra $10 RadTech sells a RadPack Travel Case for the BT500 that also can carry the recharging cable.
The BT500 ships with 2 NiMH rechargeable AAA batteries. Battery life is excellent thanks to its battery saving sleep mode. I got about 8 days of pretty heavy use out of the BT500 before a recharge was needed. RadTech claims the batteries can last as long as 6 weeks under moderate use (if you turn the mouse off when not in use). To charge the mouse, simply connect the mouse to an open powered USB port. A full charge takes about 2 hours.
I have seen a fair number of rechargeable mice that use the docking station/cradle solution to recharge, and while that works well if you always keep the mouse docked when not in use, it can be a bit of a pain if you accidentally drain it and have to wait a couple hours for it to charge before you can use it again.
RadTech chose to use a USB cable as a charger, meaning should you accidentally drain the BT500’s battery, you can simply connect the charging cable and keep working while it charges, in effect using it as a regular “chorded� mouse. This is not only a smart decision that minimizes downtime, it is also a necessary one, as the BT500 is a “mini� mouse, ideal for travel, and it would pretty much negate the portability benefits of the mouse if you had to also lug around a separate charging station.
Customization
These days, people expect more from a mouse than just 2 or 3 buttons and a scroll wheel, even from pint-sized mice like the BT500. To that end, RadTech has created the RadMouse Bluetooth HID Driver which adds a System Pref (are you listening, Macally?) allowing you to customize how the BT500’s buttons work. What is really neat is you can actually assign different actions based on different applications, so for instance if you wanted to assign the right mouse button to change the background color of a composition in After Effects 7, you can assign it to the key combo “Shift+Command+B�. However, in all other apps, right-clicking would act as normal. Very cool, and it works great.
Above: RadTech’s RadMouse software
Issues
The only complaint I have with the BT500 is I feel it is too small. This is not a problem so much with this mouse as travel mice in general. While I definitely prefer it to using the trackpad on my PowerBook, during extended use I find my hand cramps up, and really wants to extra support of a full-sized mouse.
Conclusion
The BT500 is an excellent travel mouse that provides very accurate tracking, great battery life, and a very intuitive customization experience via RadTech’s RadMouse software. If you are a road warrior, the BT500 is an excellent choice for on-the-go computing. However, (like most travel mice) I found it to be a bit too small to recommend as a desktop mouse replacement.
The BT500 Rechargeable Bluetooth Mini Mouse by RadTech
Price: $59.99
Pros: Great battery life, can use while charging, great software
Cons: Travel sized is great for travel, but not as a desktop mouse replacement, case costs extra
