News for Monday, 26 March 2007

As we reported about it recently, for video content, the BD format is now also taking the lead vs. HD-DVD; and it might explain why Hitachi decided to dramatically decrease the price of its HD-DVD standalone players from April 1st (amazing, not the best date marketing wise I guess).
So, the first model, HD-A2 will now be available for US$399 (-US$100), while the high-end model, HD-XA2 will be 200US$ cheaper and priced US$799.
Blue laser diodes remain scarce and the price of this key component did not decrease yet, so Toshiba is mostly cutting into its own margin; a bit like SONY and its PS3 currently sold without any profit.

The website Apple TV Hacks decided to provide and collect all hacks related to the Apple TV; and one can already find numerous ones, among them:
- Harddrive Upgrade
- Enable SSH
- Enable Apache
- Enable Apple Desktop Remote client
As the apple TV system is mostly a MacOSX "light", many functions existing in MacOSX can be used or activated, keeping in mind that it runs on a 1GHz CPU with only 256MB of RAM.

First, thanks to Baptiste for reporting a developer notes issued by Skype, and explaining how to use the iSight with its maximal resolution (640x480), while Skype is originally locked to 320x240.
Then, you will need to have at least the version 2.5.0.85 installed on your computer.
You then need to edit the file entitled "config.xml" and located in ~/Library/Application Support/Skype/YourSkypeAccount/
Replace the following code
<Video>
<Device>Built-in iSight</Device>
</Video>

by:
<Video>
<CaptureWidth>640</CaptureWidth>
<CaptureHeight>480</CaptureHeight>
<Device>Built-in iSight</Device>
</Video>
Save the file, then relaunch Skype. You will of course need a fast upload internet connection, and this higher resolution will give the opportunity for your contacts to better enjoy your nice face, so smile :)

Couple of days after the CeBIT 2007 ended up, it is time to summarize the most important announcements. NEC and Sony unveiled new models of DVD and Blu-ray burners, all available in different format: 5.25" (desktop), slim (notebook) and ultra-slim (ultra portable or sub-notebook, the format used in MacBook Pro). Those models distributed in Europe under the brand name Optiarc should be available in July (no information concerning prices).

Concerning the ultra-slim Sony NEC BD-5710S burner, it is almost sure that Apple will use it at least in its Pro models. But as usual without a HDCP chip added inside to the motherboard, such drive will not be able to play BD video content in full format; without mentioning the Apple Cinema display not HD ready yet.
NVidia unveiled its new GPU, GeForce 8xxx and graphic cards built around this chip, including a model featuring a passive cooling system. All graphic cards feature a HDMI port compatible with HDCP; making them a perfect option for a Mac Pro if Apple decide to develop the dedicated drivers.

Concerning HDCP compatible displays, if Apple is still not offering a model in its catalog (it will probably be unveiled at the Special Event organized at the NAB), LG and Samsung announced new models all including HDCP chips; so if you can not wait for the NAB, then you will have to chose from those 2 manufacturers.

You probably read about this strange rumor associating Vista as the main reason of the potential delay of Leopard. Digitimes mostly contributed to spread this rumor, claiming that Leopard will be postponed to improve BootCamp support for Vista.
Frankly, we do not think that Apple would delay for more than a couple of days the introduction of a brand new generation of its OS due to an incomplete support of Vista in its beta application BootCamp. In addition, one can already use Vista via BootCamp, and the reported compatibility issues are mostly linked to Vista itself, and also present on PC.
It really remains unclear who could have interest for such rumor, except speculators and/or analysts trying to set up a "coup" on the market share, as Apple became a volatile stock, prone to gain or lose up to 10% within one day depending on the phase of the moon.

As usual with Pioneer, we tested the compatibility of the last burner model, DVR-112D with OS X. And as usual the burner is compatible, while not all features are supported with OSX.4.9.
If this burner is able to burn DVD at 18x, it remains very difficult to find supported media; so far only 5 references are available:
- DVD-R That's "TYG03"
- DVD-R MKM "MMC 03RG20"
- DVD+R MKM "MMC "
- DVD+R That's "YUDENOOO"
- DVD+R SONY "SONY"
If you use toast, such information about the media can be found from the menu bar Disk/Burner Information. But we could not find any of those 5 references in our favorite chops, proving that 18x burning speed might be a feature that you will never be able to enjoy.
Last but not least, as there is not application available on OSX to flash a burner, you will have to reboot from BootCamp partition to flash it with the last firmware available from http://tdb.rpc1.org/, it will turn your 112D into a 112 model, adding support for DVD-RAM burning, while making your burner region-free.