News for Thursday, 4 September 2003

By the same time we were gonna release our patent, that was key in our evil plan to become masters of the universe, the most excellent site Transfert.net learnt us the vote was postponed between 22nd and 25th September instead of September 1st.
The reason is there are too many dissents even in each political formation in the European Parliament. Besides, the controversial issues didn't go unnoticed: many papers in economic press had a very critical approach, which was hard to ignore.
Let's hopee this delay will lead to a more thorough reflexion, as promised.

Microsoft just announced their new line of peripherals.
Users of mice from that brand will be delighted to learn Microsoft has optimized its products consumation, whose autonomy will be extended to 6 months.
Yet one those products is kind of weird.

Here's the first leathercoated mouse in the world!
For sure leather allow better results when driving a car. Yet with a sad tendancy to getting used on top and dirty down inside.
Perhaps a fashionable present to do to your father on his birthday.

IBM and Austin University (TX) work together on a new architecture codenamed TRIPS (Tera-op Reliable Intelligently-adaptive Processing System). Its main original specificity is to have a CPU working by blocks, which allow to increase many times the amount of orders treated in parallel, and thus global performances. By 2010, this CPU will execute a thousand billion operations per second and will run on a 10 GHz frequency basis.
IBM was chosen as a partner both for consulting and engraving.
The first prototype unit would appear after 30 months of work.
If we're lucky enough Apple will have delivered its G5 by that time...

Thanks to Jade who, following our previous news concerning the Phase 26 USB, just mentioned to us another interesting product from Terratec, the PHASE 28 PCI; which harbours better characteristics when compared to the PHASE 26 USB. The PHASE 28 PCI is a better choice for a Mac desktop.
Technical characteristics :
2 balanced analog inputs 6.3 mm (1/4")
8 balanced analog outputs 6.3 mm (1/4")
192-kHz / 24-bit resolution
Surround formats up to 7.1
Gain knobs and signal LEDs for all input channels
S/PDIF digital I/O
MIDI interface for 16 channels
Multi-platform (MAC + PC)
Low-latency ASIO support

CD-R has become world's favorite storage. It may thus be legitimate to wonder how long this storage will live after being burnt. The Registerquotes an article from PC Active according to which some CDs may not be read after two years, even if kept in a cool and shadowy place !!
Don't forget then, besides of your saves, to equally duplicate often your archives CDs !!

Terratec just announced that its external USB audio interface for professional usage is now available, the PHASE 26 USB.
Hereafter are the technical characteristics:
Six (5.1) analog Surround studio level outputs
Stereo input for line/studio devices
Stereo input with preamp for turntables (record players)
Microphone input with Peak LED and Gain knob
Headphones input with volume control
96-kHz/24-bit resolution
1 digital S/PDIF optical in/out
1 digital S/PDIF coaxial in/out
MIDI interface for 16 channels
Multi-platform (MAC + PC)
Low-latency ASIO support

Thanks to Guillaume for this info

The current DivX players are all using the EM8500 chipset from Sigma Designs. So they are all compatibles with the MPEG4 ISO IEC. However, the file format .mp4 (identical to the .mov) is not recognized by sigma software. Only an .avi file containing a MPEG4 video can currently be read. We can only hope that the next software updates will correct it and make .mp4 files playables.

Realtek, audio chipset manufacturer, is going to release in a near future a chipset able to control the sound on 8 channels (7.1).
This new sound standard should be generalized in 2004 under the pressure of Dolby Laboratories and Digital Theatre Systems.
The G5 having a digital output, it might be possible in the future to enjoy a sound system 7.1 on the last Apple PowerMac.
We can only expect that this will come faster on our Mac than the Dolby 5.1, it took so many years to Apple to finally make it a standard.

As often, it is with delay on the manufacturers' announcements that the DVD+RW alliance has officially presented the 8x burning for DVD+RW specifications, which should allow to go under the limit of 10mins for a 4,7 Go burn.
The first drives at this speed shall arrive at the fourth semester of 2003. The blank media should cost 20 to 30% more than the 4x certified. But in France this increase shall be limited as the tax on CD is fixed at 1,5 Euro.

We kept on hearing that the G5s had a Mac OS X 10.2.7 version, and we forgot to ask ourselves if it would end up coming out for the other machines.
The thing is under way. The testers received the 6R54 build.
We shall keep you informed of the improvements brought by it.

A reader on XLR8Yourmaccompared many machines by running compilations under CodeWarrior.
Here is one of the results:

Processor Clock Ratio secs Ratio
G3 B&W 450 MHz 0.32 170 0.35
G3 iBook 800 MHz 0.56 98 0.60
G4 DP 1.42 GHz 1.00 59 1.00
G4 DP 1.42 GHz 1.00 62 0.95 (2 simultaneous tasks)
G5 1.6 GHz 1.13 42 1.40
In this context, the G5 sails away from the other machines.

[Translator's note: we often mention the FNAC, France first retail chain for DVD, Books, CDs, Video, Hi-Fi, Computing, etc. here is some more news about it]
Roy just received from the FNAC a brochure fully dedicated to the Mac.

We are curious to know how much this operation cost to Apple France.

Michael, who bought a G5 1,8 GHz at FNAC [again!], sent us his first observations:

Here are my first comments. Box content : 1 CD-R 1 DVD-R the installation DVD The user's manual and the usual paperwork An adaptor DVI/VGA A white mouse with cord A white keyboard with cord A phone plug and cord A USB lengthener cable the power cable And the Airport Antenna First boot ready fast. Request for Install DVD. Install lasts less than 5 mins. No reboot. First weirdness: I requested an English install, then later, a message popped up telling me that as the DVD is localized for France, it cannot install the OS with English menus. But when the Finder came up, I did have the English menus. Software update comes up straight away (my machine is connected to ADSL) and offers my, as menu of the day, Ipod Software Update 2.0.1 et 1.3 ! Applications Folder On top of the basic apps, are included; -Art Directors Toolkit 3 -GraphicConverter FR -OmniGraffle -OmniOutliner plus a folder called Installers holding the Developer Tools, FileMaker Pro 6 Trial and the Plug-in for optimizing Photoshop for G5. In Developer Tools we find GCC version 3.3 Length of the start up sequence between pushing the button down and the appearance of all Finder elements: 51sec.

Here is the Xbench 1.1.1:

The bruner is a Sony DW-U10A with firmware A43h
The hard disk is a Seagate.

LG just released a LCD 23" display at the 16/10 format. Its native resolution is 1920*1200 Pixels.

You understood it, the LCD is very similar and maybe identical to the Cinema Display 23" from Apple.
It costs 3200 Euros compared to 2390 for the Apple one.

Yesterdy many special offers appeared at resellers on the PowerBook 17". Per instance, at Valcenter in Switzerland, the Apple laptop went simply down of 500 CHF and is now at 4599 CHF.
In France, at the FNAC, you are entitled, for one more Euro, to an Airport Extreme base Station and an iSight camera! A nice gift of a value of about 400 Euros, not bad!
usually this kind of special offers are used to eat up the remaining inventories. Moreover, the FNAC offer is running until September 20th, which is the day of the end of the Apple Expo. Is this a precaution measure, or a date forced upon by Apple which might hope to replace the product range on this day?

Our friend Mathieu bought a G5 this morning!

I cancelled my order fo the 23rd of June on the Apple Store to wait and see the news on the performances and availability, expecting the worst surprises in terms of disponibility especially. I decide to wait until the Apple Expo and that there would be enough in storage. Well, thanks to the News item on MacBidouille yesterday, I arrived first thing in the morning today at the opening of the FNAC Digitale [Translator's note: FNAC is a major retailer for CD, Books, DVD, Hi-Fi, video and IT, the FNAC Digitale being the one dedicated to technology related products] and there you have it, I bought one of their (only 13 were left out of 18 at the time) remaining G5 1,8Ghz. The salesman (really friendly) was not aware of yesterday's news. So he told me he was now expecting quite a few clients today!

This week end will be the 2nd edition of the Sony DreamWorld, at the Palais des Congrès, Porte Maillot, in Paris. Teh first edition attracted 50 000 visitors over 2 days (but it is worth mentionning it was taking place in Japan).
A few days apart from the Apple Expo, then, you will get a chance to see in a same location over 7000m2 the whole of sony activities and the derivated products: movies, music, IT, video games, future technologies,...
Many live concerts are planned.
The whole benefi of the entrance fees ( 6euros) shall be given to UNESCO and Handicap International.
The website of the event.

LanGamers.ch a has tested the USB iBead on a Mac.

This USB flash memory key is also a MP3 player. if you can't afford or don't want to buy an iPod, this gizmo might be made for you.

A research team from the Technion Institute in Haïfa found a failure in the encryption algorythm of the GSM protocol (the European originated mobile phone standard protocol).
When exploiting this failure, one could eavesdrop and obtain information on the mobile phone users.
According to the GSM association, the risk is minimal as one would need a fairly heavy infrastructure to exploit this failure.
So you can keep on making phone calls without worries, as probably only Echelon can listen to you. Although we wonder, is it a flaw or a backdoor?

Macway (French reseller) just announced the immediate availability of its 802.11G range:
- A PCI card, compatible 10.2.6 or more, and with all G3 for 78,94 E tax incl.
- A PC Card for G3 laptops with PCMCIA slot and 10.2.6 for 78,94 E tax incl.
- A routeur/Switch 4 ports for 148,30 E tax incl.
From now on, all Macs (G3-G4) apart the iBook and iMac/eMacare entitled to 54Mbs.
http://www.macway.com/

Everybody knew already the japanese to be excelling in Mac customization.
And so, one of them, probably out of jealousy of the PB G4 17", managed to illuminate the keyboard of his iBook.
If you too want to type in the dark, go and see there ! Available in white or blue (for the latter, only japanese explanations)

apparently in great shape, Sonnet announced a 802.11G card for the Powerbook Ti and G3 with a PCMCIA slot.
it needs Mac OS X 10.2.6 at least to work.
Sonnet

The little world of PC emulators for Mac has really been in a turmoil recently. After we heard of the buy of Virtual PC by Microsoft (which really hints of a first class burial), then saw the real-false comeback of RealPC , it is now the turn of OpenOSX.
Sepcialized in selling open-source world softwares (and after offering gimp for $25 !), they take a shot at Bochs which is now packaged and sold by them.
So, as a Macbidouille exclusive, here is the link to download the application for free. Ah but!
Ha! Eh ? [Taz] just told me he has been using Bochs for a while now and he will be writing an article on it shortly ;-)
PS : if indeed we can acknowledge a good effort to, through a graphical UI, make Unix tools available for everyone, to start making business with it is a bit dubious...