News for Tuesday, 26 July 2005

The Apple Store is back online with new hardware :
The new iBooks which are declined in two flavors now instead of three previously :
- iBook 12", 1,33GHz PowerPC G4, 512K cache L2, 1024x768, 512MB DDR333 SDRAM, 40GB Ultra ATA, Combo, ATI Mobility Radeon 9550, 32MB video DDR, AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2 integrated. Trackpad with scrolling capability and Sudden Motion Sensor. Price : € 1049,00 TTC
- iBook 14", 1,42GHz PowerPC G4, 512K cache L2, 1024x768, 512MB DDR333 SDRAM, 60GB Ultra ATA, SuperDrive, ATI Mobility Radeon 9550, 32MB DDR vidéo, AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2 integrated. Trackpad with scrolling capability and Sudden Motion Sensor. Price : € 1349,00 TTC
The 14" combo version disappears. Comparing to the old revision, we are given a traditional frequency increase, more and better RAM (DDR333 512 MB vs DDR266 256 MB), a better graphics card (ATI Radeon 9550 vs 9200) and more hard disk space for the 12" version (40 GB vs 30 GB). The Sudden Motion Sensor HD protection function appears like on PowerBooks.
The new Macs Mini :
- MacMini 1,25Ghz PowerPCG4, 512MB DDR333 SDRAM, ATI Radeon 9200, 32MB DDR video, 40GB Ultra ATA, Combo drive, AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth available as build-to-order option, Modem. Price : € 529,00 TTC
- MacMini 1,42GHz PowerPC G4, 512MB DDR333 SDRAM, ATI Radeon 9200, 32MB DDR video, 80GB Ultra ATA, Combo drive, built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth, 56k Modem available as BTO option. Price : € 629,00 TTC
- MacMini 1,42GHz PowerPC G4, 512MB DDR333 SDRAM, ATI Radeon 9200, 32MB DDR video, 80GB Ultra ATA, SuperDrive, built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth, 56k Modem available as BTO option. Price : € 729,00 TTC
No speedbump, no new graphics card... But a new SuperDrive version. Also more RAM (512MB vs 256MB). And on middle range and high range models, built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth (but no more modem).

Available via Software Update or here.

iPhoto 5.0.4 addresses an issue with browsing photos that have been auto-rotated by a camera.

This update weighs 41 MB.

Thanks to CGDP :

iMac G5 Sleep Light 1.0 Update available through Software Update
The iMac G5 Sleep Light Update adjusts the brightness of your iMac G5 sleep indicator light so it's not as bright during the evening. The daytime brightness remains the same.
This update is installed in Applications > Utilities and should be launched automatically. Click on Update and follow on-screen instructions to install this update.
Notice : Once the update is launched, please do not cancel it nor interrupt it. One minute is needed to achieve the update. Your computer fans may run at full speed but they will slow down to normal speed when the update is done.

We were surprised of the enthousiastic reactions that welcomed our news about the K750.
This mobile will now almost deserve the iPhone name.
Here are some more goodies for its users:
- On Esato's site you'll have a Tiger like theme.

- On his French Blog, Dominique wrote some hints about the K750, including the way to use GPRS via the USB cable! Problem is this service is incompatible with K750iGrabber.
- Cédric, one of our readers, created a small remote control to use with VLC. You might download it here:
VLC.hid.zip
You may also get Salling Remote Basics which contain HID remotes for Powerpoint, Keynote, iTunes, VLC, EyeTV and DVDPlayer. They'll be installed via bluetooth on a simple double click.

You dreamed of it Numark did it.

Here's a mixing table supporting two iPods, and that allows mixing. While purists might resent it as a crime, enlightened amateurs could well be tempted.

You all know the emoticons, used in messages on every forums in the world.
Microsoft just submitted a patent about those in the US. Here's what it says:
http://appft1.uspto.gov/....
Those terms describe quite exactly the use that's been made of it for years.
We finally had to admit Microsoft could implement in their systems and apps concepts others had invented first, so they could make money out of it.
Yet use the patent system to lock things others offered to the use of a whole community, really beats us.
Who would say no to a company whose economical power could earn them a place in the G8 ?
[Upd.] In fact, it is more precisely about personalized emoticons and how to transfer them from one user to another. This is a boundary to what Microsoft want to have patented, yet here's the reaction of the Open source community via Mark Taylor (source PC Inpact):

It seems we live nowadays in a world where the most laughable of paranoid attempts of commercial control on mere social concepts has become the job of an army of lawyers, in the hands of one the most powerful companies on Earth

Pier, a reader from Switzerland decided he would add blue LEDs on his Mac mini.

The result shines :)

It's pretty useless, so it will become a must have for some people.
His web page:
http://www.lorenzetti.dyndns.org/
As you will notice, his page is hosted on a personal computer, so you'll need patience to get there.

Yann is the owner of a 17" G5 iMac from October 2004. Like too much of those machines, his iMac had increasing boot problems. As we recently published info about condensers, he opened his machine and sent us some pics.


There's no hesitation: many condensers have gone cconvex, and two even began to have a leak.
Notice that this weak zone on top of a condenser was made on purpose by the manufacturer in order to avoid that a faulty or overloaded condenser would explode.

Almost every Mac users know Konfabulator. This software democratized the use of Widgets on the Mac long beforce Apple implemented Dashboard in Tiger.
After the editing company was bought by Yahoo, the soft has been made free. Its most recent buyers will even be refunded.
Behind this announcement the future of the Web can be seen. The Web giants, now well established, will begin (or go on) buying other companies in order to gain prestige and develop their activities.

One of our readers, who went to London Store on Saturday, let us know that Apple were doing high rebates on their exhibition laptops and Mac Mini. They probably have good reasons to do so, you might speculate about it.

Always looking to legitimate themselves and trying not to be overcome by Google, MSN also offer their own satellite views visualizing system. A funny thing is that on MSN pics, Apple HQs don't exist.

On the left Google's image , to the right the one from MSN.
It would seem Microsoft uses older images than those used by Google.
Or Apple developed a sophisticated cloaking system in order to be invisible from Microsoft so they cannot be spied upon :)
Anyway, the quality of images Google offers is far better.