Monday April 14, 2008

- The Return of the Clones? (A $399 Headless Mac) - Lionel - 15:51:43

Source: Macgé

Steve Jobs Killed the Mac Clones many years ago, yet company Psystar has decided to play the troublemakers and sell a Mac clone.

Their "OpenMac" is nothing more than a typical Intel-based machine built from standard PC-components - granted, many of which are the exact same (or better) components found in our Macs today - and sold $399.

To run Mac OS X on the aforementioned hardware, they use the latest tricks pioneered by the minds at OSx86project to build their own "Hackintosh," which we're all pretty certain Apple doesn't like too well.

There are, of course, many things to say about this:
-- Under the Leopard End-user License Agreement (EULA) Apple does not permit use of Mac OS X use on anything other than a "Apple-labeled" machine.*
-- Can be found in configurations that excel the specs of even a Mac Pro (GeForce 9600GT)
-- The machine will rely on hacking Mac OS X, and will not be updateable without the risk of bricking the system.

In short, this company mainly seeks to make themselves known through this process, as did ZiPhone with JailBreak & Unlock. Apple will likely fire back at Psystar as it did to SIM-unlocking groups (silently with software updates). Though it should be noted that the availability of SIM-unlocking did not prevent sales of iPhone, but on the contrary, increased them!

If this is the case, however, it is Leopard that is being unlocked to work on 3rd-party hardware that is not being purchased from Apple. This represents potentially substantial hardware losses for the Mac-maker.

It will be interesting to see Apple's true reaction to the OpenMac. HardMac will keep you posted on any developments.

*-Some Hackintosh builders have used the ambiguity of this statement to their advantage: They simply take one of the Apple logo stickers (which come with a myriad of Apple's products) and affix it to their cases, henceforth creating an "Apple-labeled" computer.

[translation by CliveAtFive]

- A non-flammable Lithium-ion battery - Lionel - 07:56:36

Source : TGdaily

German researchers succeeded in making a Lithium-ion battery that would be completely non flammable. To arrive at this result, they succeeded in replacing the organic electrolyte, the component likely to catch fire by a very stable polymer which keeps its solid form.
The fact that it is solid also avoids the risk of leakage. A prototype will be presented by the end of the month, but it will be necessary to wait several years for the possible passage to an industrial level.
During this wait, the batteries will continue to be the weak link in our mobile products. One must reconcile several things that do not go well together; maximum capacity, small dimensions and a minimal weight and stability.

[translation by crispin]

- Free listening of music is good for sales - Lionel - 07:47:58

Source : CDR Info

In an statement, Last.fm, the free site of music listening praised itself as having a positive impact on the sales of music. To show what at first seems paradoxical, they quote an increase of 119% of album sales generated on the Amazon site which is their partner. Additionally, according to their studies, people using their site buy 66% more music than previously.

Nowadays when one passes more and more from time in front of the computer, to the detriment of television and radio, these sites could become the equivalent of the variety programmes and could be used to promote artists. It is all the more true for Last.fm which seeks the position of a Community site based on music, the 'Community' word having become the 'open sesame' at the moment when trying to make a fortune on the Web.

[translation by crispin]