News for Tuesday, 6 March 2007

MacScoop is reporting that they found some strings in the latest release of iTunes that point to the ability to play games on the AppleTV.
We did some digging following their discovery and we can confirm it:

A search for "Apple TV" in the program's localization strings, which can be accessed from the compiled version of the program, brings us the following result, among many others:
'Are you sure you want to sync games? All existing games on the Apple TV "^1" will be removed' where "^1" is a variable which is replaced by the name given to the Apple TV device.
[...]
Here's how to make this verification:
- Open your Applications folder and find the "iTunes" icon
- Right-clic (or ctrl-clic) on the iTunes icon and choose "Show Package content"
- Go to "Contents/Resources/English.lproj"
- Open the "Localizable.strings" file with a text editor
- Perform a search on the string mentioned in this article
- It should highlight the line number 2841

But we at Hardmac also found that there are strings that point to the ability to sync games with a PHONE, meaning probably that the iPod games will be playable on selected cellphones, including the iPhone (that would be the least...). Also, you will be able to sync your contacts and calendars on the AppleTV:

"4301.161" = "Are you sure you want to sync games? All existing games on the mobile phone “^1” will be replaced with games from this iTunes library.";
"4301.162" = "Are you sure you do not want to sync games? All existing games on the mobile phone “^1” will be removed.";
"4301.163" = "Syncing games on “^1”…";
"4309.126" = "Songs cannot be added to “^1” because all of its space has been reserved for data.";
"4309.127" = "Syncing contacts on “^1”…";
"4309.128" = "Syncing calendars on “^1”…";
"4309.145" = "The Apple TV “^1” is synced with contacts and calendars on another computer. Do you want to sync with this computer and replace all existing contacts and calendars on this Apple TV with those from this computer?";

Well, of course, if you own Equinux MediaCentral, you can already play games on your TV, but the games are more like Pong, Tic-tac-toe and such than full-fledged (dare I say it) iPod games...
We'll keep digging to see what we can bring back...

As we were telling you, the mod making it possible to install a MacPro 812.11n Airport card in Core Duo Macs had people rush on these cards, and consequently also had Apple react.
Offers have quickly begun to multiply on eBay, some less honest that the others. And it hasn't taken long for companies to get interested this fruitful market.
Quickertek thus proposes a card compatible with the Core Duo MacBook, MacBook Pro and iMac. While we don't know yet whether or not it is the same as that of the MacPro, we know a least its price: $146, which sure is a rip-off when you know that you can get a Mac Pro card in the US for only $50, and that it comes in Europe as a customizable option for only €50.
On top of that, this card isn't even Apple specific (which would explain...). It is simply following the design created by Broadcom (ref BCM94321MC) whose spécifications you can find on their site.
And indeed, Dell uses the same product for its older laptops.

Fujistsu will release by the end of May a 2.5'' 160GB 7200 rpm hard drive. Equipped with SATA 2, it also supposed to be very quiet with only 25dB annnounced.
The maximum capacity for 2.5'' 7200rpm disk being currently 100GB, this hard-disk will sure find a niche in the laptop market if it delivers the announced results.

There are weeks like this, you'd wish they wouldn't exist. At least, that's what they must be thinking, over at 1, Redmond Drive.
First it was reported that hackers have breached the XBOX360's "hypervisor", which is the thingamajig that prevents unsigned code to run on the machine, which has the potential to allow to run anything, including another OS [now hang on, I'd like to see that... BTW, the PS3 can run Linux out-of-the-box, and there is even is a Sony-sanctionned distro...]. Second, some people have found a simple and efficient way [in French] of hacking Vista's activation system. This new hack will be difficult to plug for Microsoft, since it relies on features that allow OEM manufacturers to deactivate the registration process for their machines.
This is, once more, proof that anti-piracy mechanisms are worthless and only serve to delay piracy. And also annoy legit users...

Being Mac geeks does not make us (totally) dumb. And while our favorite computer manufacturer is a bit late in updating its line of LCD panels, or at least in lowering the prices, Dell is doing some aggressive marketing.
You can now buy Dell's colossal 30" LCD monitor for $1,349 (plus a handful of $ for shipping), while Apple's own 30 incher is still selling for $1,999... that's, like, $650 more!
OK, Dell's monitor might not be as stylish as Apple's, but it is HDCP compliant (so you can hook it to your PS3 or HD-DVD or Blu-ray high-def player), has 4 USB2 ports (Apple's has only 2 USB2 but 2 FireWire), a
9-in-2 Media Card Reader and ships with a 3-years extended guarantee (vs 1 y for Apple).
Wake up Apple! It's time for a long-awaited upgrade...

So, last week, there was the, erh, Paris Car Tuning Show [moose's disclaimer: I was NOT there], and Arnaud sent us this picture:

Alpine is really trying hard to tell everyone that their products iPod-compatible. There's everything: "made for iPod" official logo, giant-sized iPod-shpaed displays...
Love it or hate it, there are 90+ millions iPods out there... now that's something!

iTunes has been updated to 7.1 (27.5 MB through Software Update).
Changes relate to Apple TV support, a new fullscreen CoverFlow [yummie! it's cool, but please bring us the backside tracklisting like it was shown on the iPhone] and some optimized sorting/organizing options for your tracks.

With iTunes 7 and the iTunes Store, preview and purchase high-quality hit movies plus new and classic games designed exclusively for the Fifth Generation iPod. Flip through your collection by album cover with Cover Flow, protect your iTunes library by backing up to CDs or DVDs, and much more.
Using iTunes 7.1, you can now enjoy your favorite iTunes movies, TV shows, music, and more from the comfort of your living room with Apple TV. iTunes 7.1 also supports a new full screen Cover Flow and improved sorting options to let you decide how iTunes should sort your favorite artists, albums, and songs.

Apple has released a new version of Quicktime QuickTime (7.1.5, 44,2 Mo through Software Update) that fixes some bugs and security issues, according to the readme blurb.

What's new in QuickTime 7.1.5
QuickTime 7.1.5 delivers numerous bug fixes and addresses critical security issues. This update is recommended for all QuickTime 7 users.

Important notice to QuickTime Pro users
Installation of QuickTime 7 and later will disable the QuickTime Pro functionality in prior versions of QuickTime, such as QuickTime 5 or QuickTime 6. If you proceed with this installation, you must purchase a new QuickTime 7 Pro registration code to regain QuickTime Pro functionality. After installation, visit www.apple.com/quicktime to purchase a QuickTime 7 Pro registration code.