Monday September 10, 2007

- New iMac 20": Entry Level LCD Panel! - Lionel - 14:08:48

First a report from Arthur:

I had a rather bad surprise couple of days ago when starting using my iMac Alu 20" received last Wednesday. Yesterday morning, while displaying a RAW photo with Lightroom, I was surprised by artifacts, similar to those seen on compressed JPEG with blue sky. Then I forgot about it. Till yesterday evening when I displayed a gray to white scale with Omnigraffle... big shock! I obtained large stripes, with ugly sides...a disaster...
So I decided to display a white to black scale, and photos below illustrate the astonishing result. On the white side, the first 5 centimeters on the left are entirely white:



And on the right, the last 5 centimeters are fully black:



And in between one can see those vertical stripes of 1cm with ugly sides.

I started looking on the web, and with our friend Kiryu, we found the reference of the LCD panel being used in the new iMac 20" Alu from Kodawarisan. It is a TN panel, encoding colors in 18-bits (6-bits per RGB layer), instead of 24-bits for the previous 20" iMac, or the new 24" iMac Alu (IPS or MVA panel).

Of course, I can not make any use of this new iMac 20" Alu for my photo business, so I will try to negotiate with Apple to get It exchanged with either the previous iMac 20" or the new iMac 24" Alu. I screwed myself as I could not imagine Apple could have changed so dramatically the quality of the LCD panel used in iMacs.

Of course, if you purchase today the new iMac 20" for 1199€ (all taxes included), it will be a perfect companion for most users. However, if you plan to use it as a photo editing/reviewing platform, or more generally if you need support for 24-bits color and a wider view angle, then go for the new 24" iMac Alu, or the previous 20"/24" iMacs.
One can indeed regret that Apple is not providing enough details regarding components being used in hardware models (LCD panel, true CPU/GPU specifications, etc.)

[translation by Linathael]

- How Music Majors/Labels Offer Music on iTunes Store without Owning Copyrights - Lionel - 11:02:33

First a report from Jean-François Taillard:

I want to report a quite amazing story that happens to me. One of my records, including some performance made on J.S. Bach suite, and legally recorded to the Swiss competent authority (known as SUISA), are illegally available on the iTunes Store!!

The proof:
Make a search on the iTunes Store with my name "Taillard”, then click on "Basel Brass Quintet". Then look at the author mentioned for this track, my name is indeed indicated!

Now, go on my website, and you will find the same music track which is freely available:

http://www.free-music-scores.com/brass_trio.htm

So, you can get for free the same MP3 file which is sold on the iTunes Store...

The original record by Basel Brass Quintet was produced in 1995, under a German label known as AUROPHON (not existing anymore).
So, in summary the album entitled "A celebration 250 minutes of Bach" is illegal as it includes tracks for which the Major/label does not own the rights (at least for my record, but my story could also be true for many others tracks included in this album)...

We wanted to publish this information to illustrate how "illegal" music tracks or albums can end up on the iTunes Store due to the rather annoying behavior of some music majors/labels which do not really check for copyrights, and act as pirates, the same way some users share and download illegally music tracks from P2P network. Maybe Majors think they are not concerned by the law, and think the world should turn the way they want it to turn, not the way it is supposed to be.

[translation by Linathael]

- Adobe Keeps Working on Online Photoshop - Lionel - 10:46:46

Last week, during the Photoshop World, Adobe unveils some information regarding its online free version of Photoshop, currently known as Photoshop express.



The user interface will be massively based on technologies known as Web2.0 (such as Flex, AJAX, etc.). If a strong interactivity will be the core of this offer, you will need a fast internet connection to really enjoy it smoothly.
Adobe expects to compete with those internet-based applications released from years by Google, as well as bringing more people to know Photoshop and to invest in a standalone version of this Pro-oriented application.

[translation by Linathael]

- iToner 1.0.1 Available - Lionel - 10:45:52

iToner is an application developed by the well-known Mac software company Ambrosia. It allows users to easily create their own ringtones for the iPhone, then to simply load them on the iPhone.
Last two updates of iTunes released by Apple (iTunes 7.4 and 7.4.1) made iToner not working properly anymore, and Ambrosia to find a solution for the US$15 application to bypass those limitations added by Cupertino. Ambrosia quickly reacted and released iToner 1.0.1 allowing users to benefit from all features, so no US$0.99 fee per ringtone anymore. Of course one can suspect that it will remain functional till the next iTunes update.
In a near future, Apple and Ambrosia might play a little game which might annoy Cupertino while Ambrosia will receive support from Mac users, including ours. Do not give up.

[translation by Linathael]

- iTunes Store: Ready for Renting Movies - Lionel - 10:44:53

Apple does not currently offer to rent movies on the iTunes Store, as it is easier to maintain the store by simply selling films and TV shows, but things might change in the future according to David Watanabe, known for its software NewsFire.



While he wanted to report a problem on the iTunes Sore, he spotted on the list of potential issues "Did Not Receive - Rental Movie".
It indicates that while the Store does not offer renting movies, the system is designed and ready for supporting such function. However it remains to be demonstrated that a movie renting on the iTunes Store is financially interesting, as well as an offer largely requested by customers. So far all online renting movie stores have failed, or have trouble surviving (at least in Europe).


[translation by Linathael]