News for Monday, 8 September 2003

To meet the pressing demands of the clients of some [French] phone operators ;-), I let online an article on GPRS connexion via IR or Bluetooth under Mac OS X. It should be enhanced later by additional pictures and new methods.
As usual, your comments are welcome.

Comin' back to the news concerning the article from PC Active and namely the lifespan of date on burnt CD-R, it appears thru variuous tests that were done, many brands will not allow them to last.
PC-Active test method is a simple one: CD from thirty different brands (more or less well known) burnt and tested in 2001, were then sheltered in their original cases in a closed place. This CD-R were then analyzed to the level of a bit, and it appears many CDs had become unreadable... in no more than a two year lapse !
While CD-R makers are prompt fo declare they give us bunches made to last from ten to a hundred years (some even boasting they'd last 50 to 200 years !!!), we're far from what had been announced.
But, that I must say to all CD-R users, they won't all destroy your data in such a short time.
Their lifespan seems to depend on many different causes:
- the media (the CD-R substratum and engineering process itself),
- burning operation quality (which depends on both the burner and the speed used).
To ensure the longest possible life to your CD-R, you should :
- use a media, burner, burning speed triad adapted to your data importance. Which means a stress on quality and ottpimized use of their capacities .
- Cautious keeeping and handling.

We have just received from an anonymous source a driver (beta version) for the Formac Pro-TV card.
Warning, this is not officially a Formac driver. According to our source, it allows to use the Studio TVR with the Formac Pro-TV version 2.
This is still not perfect, since the sound is not really nice; but it is definitely better than nothing.
ProTV_Beta_Installer.sit
StudioTVR3.sit
PS: download it quickly before we are forced to remove it :)

Softwares designed to generate copies of large DVD video files are quite popular. After DVD2One, DVDRemaster has just been released.
Of course our friend from Macetvideo have already tested it (macetvideo="mac and video" is a french web site dedicated to the use of Mac in video applications).
http://www.macetvideo.com/DVDRemaster

On theirs new iMacs technical documentation (ici) it appears 1 & 1.25 GHz G4s have a 256 Ko cache. This is the proof they are 7455 and not 7457 as they'll have 512.
To minimize dissipated heat, Apple probably chose to use 1GHz 7455A and the brand new 1.25 7455B. Overclockers will be delighted, as those two CPUs are easliy overclockable.
Also gives us a clue as why the iMac line has changed while the laptops didn't.
So that they don't lose on battery lifetime or CPU heat, the laptops need 7457 CPUs. These problems are easily solved on desktop machines.

With 10 Millions of titles already sold, Apple can be proud of its iTunes Music Store.
We are curious to see what Microsoft is able to do to compete, with a potential market dramatically superior to Apple's one. First data (if ever published) will tell us more.
Apple actually repeats that the Windows version of iTMS will be available before the end of the year. Concerning the European version of iTMS, there is still no date........

Apple just launched their new iPod campaign on their site.


These images should be invading Paris while Apple Expo gets closer.

As for all Apple computers since few years, it is possible to use a G5 as a standard external FireWire HD. However, in that case, fans are getting "nuts" and generate an amazing amount of noise as reported by Michaël.

For your info, I have had an explanation to a problem in Apple Forum. Management of the generated heat in a G5 is software -based, and in Target Disk mode, the OS is not loaded. For that reason, a PM G5 having no info concerning the temperature of its different components, will simply turn on to full speed all the fans, just to be sure that nothing will melt or burned... To finish regarding that news, it is quite certain that I did not buy a G5 to use it as a luxurious external drive (the noise problem happened only in Target Disk mode), I anyway have 2 questions: Whereas 1 hour of video encoding with iDVD has generated almost no change in the rotation speed of the fans, why Apple is taking some much security margin concerning the cooling system? Are the Dual processors, and the next generation/revision will be noisier? Having no idea how to send you a proof of this info , I have developed a new test to calculate the NOM/min (vibration frequency of a tissue/minute), a test not so much used during benchmarking, but how important sometimes.... Setting up, what you will need : - 1 tissue (a clean tissue preferentially) - 2 pieces of double-side tape to fix the tissue to the G5 - 1 brand-new G5 booted in Target Disk mode. - A digital camcorder to record the 2 engines located inside the G5. - 1 microphone placed in front of the fans. And here is a little movie to demo the test:

G5FAN.mp4.sit (4 Mo)
That way you will realise that a quite G5 can become as noisy as a dragon. This info confirms what we had learned in June that the G5 is storing on its HD the info related to the heating/fan speed management.

As we'd foreseen, Apple updated their iMac line:
- 15"/1GHz/256 MO DDR 333/80 Go/4Mx 32 Mo/USB 2.0 BlueTooth and Airport Extreme ready for 1434 Euros VAT.
- 17"/1.25GHz/256 MO DDR 333/80 Go/5200 Fx 64 Mo/USB 2.0 BlueTooth & Airport Extreme reday for 2032 Euros VAT.
- 17"/1.25GHz/512 MO DDR 333/160 Go/5200 Fx 64 Mo/USB 2.0 BlueTooth & Airport Extreme for 2427.88 Euros VAT.
To see and order 'em:
L'Apple Store
PS: US top of the notch version of the iMac has 1 Go RAM

So that you may realize more easily what's changed in the iMac line, here are screenshots from the AppleStore before, and after today's update.

Before

After

This update was really necessary. Ever changing are the competitors from the Dark Side, ad if Apple didn't try and stay in touch with those changes, sales will drop for sure.

Apple just renewed their iPod line.

The entry model, still a 10 Go one, is now 349 Euros
The second model, from 15 to 20 Go, is worth 449 Euros
The top of the notch model is now equipped with a 40 Go HD, up to 10,000 songs ! Its price is 549 Euros.
The prices on the whole line thus dropped by 50 Euros.
To learn more and order:
Apple Store.

The Dual G5 is supposed to be equipped with a Pioneer DVR-106. This DVD Burner normally support DVD- and + R/RW medias.
However, according to Pioneer source, Apple would have flashed them so that they would not burn +R/RW medias.
The DVR-106 currently has Firmware 106, while the ones in the G5 have a special Firmware verison A606. We can surely install another Firmware on it to make it accept the +R/RW medias. We will try that as soon as possible.

It is in advance on our predictions that the Apple Store France closed a moment ago (shortly before 12:50 Paris Time) .
So in any case, new machines arrival seems confirmed!!
One weird point is that at the time of writing the US Apple Store was still open.
But it must be said that it is still night time over there.
So, shall we for the first time be first before the US?

Here is what could be the first pic f a G5 processor card.

If it does not look so impressive from the outside, it is actually very complex, with an large and impressive amount of circuitry (one talks of 12 layers like on high range video cards).
According to unconfirmed information, multiplicator coefficients settings resistors would be on the back.

Be before being bought back by Palm attacked Microsoft for anti-competitive behaviours. A settlement has been founf between the two firms to cease the proceedings.Microsoft will pay 23 millions dollars.
Once again Microsoft substitutes money to defense in good faith.

Michaël dared to take apart his brand new G5.

Very amazing work of design and engineering in any case. At first sight, it seems like every little part has been thoroughly tought through. Most cables are carefully wrapped; it feels like very nice work.... The innovation that impressed me the most is the disappearance of the electric brick that ended up... in the base of the tower. The brick is not cubic but flat (well, I think, I did not have a look.). Really the sort of details that make Apple a brand that stands apart, when it wants to...

There are the pics of the heat dissipator from all sides.



And for Macbidouille the first picture of the back of the CPU:

As you can see, the connector does not look so different from the one that could be found on a G4 card.

Thanks to Beatloop for this info.

Just a word of caution to warn the future owners of G5, in order to help them not waste the ceremonial moment of the unwrapping! You just received your so-long-awaited G5, it is the uttermost excitation, you are throwing yourself at the box, the eager to see the final configuration on your desk puts you in a state close to drunkenness... BEWARE !!! This marvel of technology and power, under its massive appearance, is actually quite fragile. I am technician in an Apple center, and so I have had the privilege to see this machine since it came into the shops (about a week and a half ago) and to observe that the front part (under the optical drive) is actually very sensitive, a little bump or a bit too strong a pressure on the grid and your G5 ends up bumpy. So be careful, refrein your excitation so as to enjoy fully this marvelous machine...

There you are, you have been warned.

Charles put together a little Freeware that allows for getting Entourage contacts out in order to import them intot the AdressBook.
We congratulate him on this nice iniative.
The user's guide is dead simple:

Open Entourage and chose "File>Export Contacts..." Then start Entourage to Vcard and follow on-screen instructions. Make your export from Entourage to Vcard. Open then your AdressBook and run an import( File>Import>Vcards) from generated file.

Entourage to Vcard.sit

Apparently, it has been quite hard for some Mac sites this summer.
After 2 weeks off, G4noise.com is back on.
The website is furthering its interest. It will deal with all things G4 MDD.

If you did not pay attention to the last days news, we strongly advised you to keep an eye on the Apple Store today.
If we had to speculate further, we would venture up to advising you to look around 2:00pm Paris time. TheApple Store might then be closing for a few minutes for update.
To get there:
Apple Store

Thanks Laurent for the info
It might be that Apple should offer in the near future bulk prices for download on the iTunes Music Store.
Indeed, many American universities, to avoid seeing their students sued by RIAA for illegal downloads of music, are looking at include in their tuition fees subscirptions to legal music services.
But Apple offers only by track-payment. We are positive that if they do not accept to offer subscriptions, others like Microsoft will be delighted to.