Macenstein

Apple releases Security Update 2006-007

Posted by Helper Monkey Security Update 2006-007 is recommended for all users and improves the security of the following components: AirPort ATS CFNetwork Finder Font Book Font Importer Installer OpenSSL PHP PPP Samba Security Framework VPN WebKit gnuzip perl For detailed information on this Update, please visit this website: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61798  Read More

Review: Freak Show brings Photo Booth to all Macs

Posted by Dr. Macenstein I remember early last year taking my then 4-year-old daughter to our local Apple Store and spending a good 40 minutes or so playing with Apple’s Photo Booth software on one of the demo MacBook Pros. She would make the requisite “hilarious” faces all 4-year-olds make when put in front of a camera, and then I would save the snapshots and e-mail them home. 5-year-olds everywhere will love Freak Show’s effects Well, a month or so... Read More

Apple redefines “free”

Posted by Helper Monkey As we enter the holiday buying season, it seems nothing is free. Even Apple’s “Free downloadsâ€?. A recent trip to the FREE ON iTunes section of the iTunes store shows that Apple has decided that “freeâ€? means “something costing anywhere between $0 and $1.99“. Out of the 8 free items listed (we’re still not sure why Apple doesn’t list ALL its free wares in the FREE ON iTunes section…) Apple has... Read More

Free on iTunes: NBC’s 30Rock

Posted by Dr. Macenstein NBC has made the “Blind Date” episode of their new hit comedy 30Rock available as a free download on iTunes. From the show description: Jack plays matchmaker, setting Liz up on a blind date – Confident he can fix both Liz Lemon’s (Tina Fey) sketch show and sex life, overbearing boss Jack (Alec Baldwin) sets Liz up on a blind date with his friend Thomas. With Liz readying herself for her blind date, Jack infiltrates the writers’... Read More

Review: The Volta by Sonnet Technologies

Posted by Lab Rat Ever since getting my 60 GB video iPod, I have found myself using its video capabilities more and more. Where I used to listen to music all day at work, now I find myself just as often listening to movies and video podcasts to help get me through my day. And while Apple’s recent firmware upgrade for the 5th generation video iPods increased my iPod’s video battery life to a whopping 6+ hours, I still need to recharge my iPod periodically, or risk... Read More

Review: The iCar by Corgi – Possibly the worst iPod accessory EVER

Do you know someone who owns an iPod? Do you hate them? Well, if the answer was “Yes“, then we may just have the perfect Christmas gift suggestion. The iCar, by expert model manufacturer Corgi, is an interesting, if unnecessary idea; take a 1/24 scale model of a Cadillac Escalade, pimp it out with some lights, hydraulics, and working spinner wheels. Then, slap it on top of a fairly cheap speaker system with a headphone jack, and then call it an iPod accessory. If... Read More

Star Wars on iTunes? It could happen

Posted by Helper Monkey CNN is reporting that News Corp., owners of the Fox movie studio (among almost every other thing) is close to a deal with Apple to sell Fox-owned movies on the iTunes store. Fox has produced many hits, such as the X-Men and Ice Age franchises, but what has most of us tech geeks in a frenzy is this deal may mean there will be yet ANOTHER way to spend money on the Star Wars series of movies. Having bought VHS versions of all its incantations (even the re-visited... Read More

A little Donald Rumsfeld/Mac humor for ya

Posted by Helper Monkey Faithful Macenstein Reader (and presumably long time political analyst) Larry L. sent us a humorous link over at Boing Boing. It consists of a pretty funny Mac-centric Donald Rumsfeld resignation screenshot, and if you are into politics and Macs check it out. (I am not going to repost the pic here, as it is not our joke to tell).  Read More

New iPods December 5th?

Posted by iGor Ah, the slow news day. The kind of day when a Mac reporter’s thoughts turn to entertaining any piece of unsubstantiated gossip they can come across. Oh sure, it wasn’t SO slow, really. There WAS the announcement of the new Core 2 Duo MacBooks, but people were pretty much expecting those. Besides, you don’t come here for standard, run-of-the-mill news you can read on any old Mac site. No, you come here to see if anyone has yanked our chain with... Read More

Apple adds Sundance Channel and National Geographic programs to iTunes

Posted by Helper Monkey This week Apple has once again broadened its iTunes store offerings by adding The Sundance Channel and The National Geographic Channel to the store’s “television” section. The Sundance Channel lineup consists of: The Hill, a 6-episode show focusing on the inner workings of “rebel” Congressman Robert Wexler’s office, The Staircase, a documentary following a North Carolina murder trial, and The First Amendment Project,... Read More