- Happy Birthday to Macintosh! - moose - 22:57:02

Oh, we almost forgot!

Yes, the Macintosh was introduced exactly 24 years ago, on January 24th, 1984.

And 24/24 is well worth a celebration...

You've gone a long way, baby!

- Silicon nanowire technology: Higher capacity in only 30 minutes! - Lionel - 19:52:25

Source : News.com

The battery industry has just realized its' first major improvement in batteries since the introduction of lithium-ion technology in 1991. Labratory tests have shown that new batteries utilizing silicon nanowires have up to 10x the capacity of current lithium batteries, while being able to charge in as little as 30 minutes. The Boston Power Corporation has announced that these batteries may be fit for consumer use in the future, ushering in a new generation of battery performance.



Thanks to new advances in the more efficient combination of alloys, the following improvements are met:
- 4400 mAh/cell, as opposed to just 2600 mAh/cell using current technology.
- Greatly improved operational lifespan
- Greatly diminished risk of heat-related incidents
- Finally, the ability to charge to 80% capacity in only 30-45 minutes, nearly matching that of current technology, albeit at a much higher ratio of capacity vs charge time

Hopefully we will see more widespread use of this revolutionary new technology in notebooks very soon, enabling Apple to produce thinner, lighter ultraportables; and enabling a capacity boost for larger machines.

[translation by JCantrell]

- HD-DVD format on Death Row - Lionel - 18:38:29

Source : TGdaily

A new study released in the U.S. the second week of January following Warner's announcement of abandoning the HD-DVD format confirms its devastating effect. During this period, 1758 HD-DVD players were sold versus 21 770 BluRay players, giving the latter a 93% market share. The week preceding, the two formats were neck and neck. Unless a miracle occurs, BluRay is victorious by KO.

[translation by Clive At Five]

- Apple to lower its iPhone sales forecast? - Lionel - 18:24:09

Source : Digitimes

According to digitimes who cited a Chinese Newspaper, Apple lowered its iPhone sales forecast for their second fiscal quarter, which closes at the end of March. While subcontractors were "reserved" for the manufacture of 2 million units, they now will only provide 1 to 1.2 million. If the information is confirmed, it could signal the release of a new model of the handset, or maybe a business model, redesigned to be more flexible!

[translation by CliveAtFive]

- The latest OSX 10.5.2 update seed brings RAW support for Nikon's D300 and D3 - moose - 10:50:09

This is big news for all the Nikon lovers out there: we got conformation that the latest OSX 10.5.2 update build seeded to developers brings RAW support for RAW pictures taken by Nikon's D300 and D3 cameras.
We know that some people have jumped on these cameras, especially the D300, as soon as they were out, only to get stuck when they were using Aperture: the software wouldn't display their images (although it would import them). And since RAW support is a system-wide feature, it means that 10.5.2 will bring support for D3 and D300 RAW files in Aperture, iPhoto, the Finder and all the other apps that use Apple's graphic libraries for displaying RAW files.

The evidence:

- MacBook Air USB Port is on Steroids - Lionel - 10:10:35

Source : http://www.electronista.com

As a possible BTO with the MacBook Air, Apple offers an USB external DVD burner. This peripheral can NOT be used on other hardware, and this has nothing to do with some proprietary policies, but simply with its power requirements.
An optical drive drains a lot of energy, especially with CD and DVD burners when the laser beam is light on for several minutes at full power. The UJ-857 often found in Apple notebook officially requires 1.5A (and the reality is probably beyond).
It is a lot, and way too much for a single USB port (0.5A usually at most). So Apple decided to boost the power capacity available from the single MacBook Air USB port to make it compatible with the external SuperDrive. In addition, the MacBook Air could also be able to power any external 2.5" HD without the requirement of a dedicated power supply for the peripherals.

[translation by Linathael]

- Apple Share Value Massively Dropped Yesterday - Lionel - 10:09:35

Even with posting best quarter ever, with the highest revenue and earnings in Apple’s history, Apple share value went massively down yesterday. We are not really following stock market as we concentrate of Apple-branded products and software; but many readers were questioning how this could impact the future of the Apple-logo company:
- The Apple share is becoming a highly speculative value and variation are consequently going quickly up and down, without really correlating with the true value of the company, its portfolio, sales and pipeline; especially considering the current stock market environment in USA and all over the world.
- The potential risk of recession in the USA makes some analysts thinking that consumers will reduce or delay purchase of non-essential products, and potentially in first line electronic devices such as iPod or iPhone, and in less extend computers.
- Some analysts were disappointed with the lower than expected predictions revealed by Apple for the second quarter, with iPod sale finally reaching a plateau phase, while Apple sold 2,319,000 Mac units.
- iPhone sales are good, but some might have thought it will take a larger part of the mobile phone market.

Apple really cares about its share value on the stock market, and it will most likely speed up development of new and innovative products to make investors happy and more confident in the future of the famous Cupertino-based company.

[translation by Linathael]

- RAM is getting more expensive - Lionel - 08:54:53

Source : Digitimes

It's not the first time that this is announced, but this time it's serious: after months of outpricing eachother, RAM modules are getting more expensive again since the beginning of this year. The prices have already increased about 20%, and there are no signs that there's gonna be an end to this soon.
But thanks to the real low prices at the moment, you probably won't notice the increase within the next couple of months.

[translation by xavier]

- Jailbreak of 1.1.3 iPhone firmware is ready - Lionel - 07:42:35

The team working on the iPhone have succeeded in finding a flaw that allows jailbreak to be installed.

Jailbreak not only allows the user to use any SIM card with the iPhone, but also access to the system so that third party applications can be installed. However, you will not find the tools or the necessary procedure to do this on any site. There are hot discussions on the sites of these teams, where the majority want to wait until Apple announces the official procedure, either with first official application or with the availability of the SDK kit. They fear that the flaw that they have found will be plugged by Apple - forcing them to find another and this task is becoming more and more difficult.
Of course, the community that awaits this version of jailbreak is also divided, between those who are impatient and those who understand the situation.

[translation by crispin]

- Wimax : The 3GPP hasn't said the last word - Yoc - 00:16:14

Source : Electronista

In the field of high-speed mobile, although 3G is now widely entrenched in Europe, it is likely to be quickly challenged by WiMAX, which offers potential transfer rates that far exceed 3G.

Yet the 3GPP, who define the GSM standards of tomorrow, came close to finalizing the specifications of what might be called "4G." Based on a technology quite similar to 802.11n + MIMO (Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output), they reached a theoretical throughput of 326 Mb/s. A real-world demonstration was made in December with a Nokia unit reaching speeds of 173 Mb/s.

The technology will be deployed in 2009-2010. That leaves two years for providers to decide how they will be able to convince us to buy this new technology at a high price...

[translation by Clive At Five]