Tuesday April 15, 2008

- Some news about VoIP on iPhone - Lionel - 17:33:48

Today, Fring announces the first worldwide VoIP application for the iPhone; but it requires the mobile phone to be jailbreaked.

Probably to remind Fring that other VoIP solutions were already on the market for the iPhone, Call4Mac simultaneously announced that its VoIP application named iSoftPhone, is now available in version 2.2.

[translation by Linathael]

- Apple TV Updated to 2.02 - Lionel - 17:29:45

Apple offers an update to 2.0.2 for the Apple TV. It fixes a bug introduced with the previous version when connecting to 802.11n 5GHz network with the large bandwidth option activated.

[translation by Linathael]

- Gartner analysis flames Windows Vista - Lionel - 16:37:19

Source: http://www.computerworld.com

You don't need to be an expert to know that Windows Vista has failed to convince the world's PC users to upgrade, even now, over a year after its release. Many PC manufacturers continue to offer XP in its place, especially in the professional world, where users are more cautious to change.

Two Gartner analysts have pilloried Microsoft in a recently-published scathing analysis. According to them, Microsoft has fallen short of expectations in the market and that such a cumbersome management of software compatibility has not been seen in twenty years. They are not there by a long-shot and Gartner advises professionals to migrate neither on a case-by-case basis as the renewal of machinery nor en masse.

The situation is all the more uncomfortable for Microsoft that the PC industry, Intel in the lead with its ATOM processor, moving toward machines at very low prices at the expense of performance. They are not tailored to run Vista although Intel expects to sell hundreds of millions of these products in the coming years. That is certainly the reason that prompted Microsoft to extend its support for XP, which was originally expected to end soon.

Microsoft is in an awkward position that will beg it to be questioned: Apple has made two transitions from old technology (from Mac OS 9 to OS X then PPC to x86), which is no doubt difficult to implement. Perhaps this is the route Microsoft must traverse in order to drop the weight of their bloated and resource-starved Windows Vista. Admittedly, such a transition would be very painful given the huge boat they have to bear.

[translation by CliveAtFive]

- GF 8800GT for Mac Pro Rev1 Available! - Lionel - 16:35:15

Thanks to Michel for the information:

It is now official, directly from Apple:

Today we are announcing the availability of the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT graphics card kit for the 1st Generation Mac Pro expanding the range of graphic cards available. Please note this kit is different to kit for the current generation Mac Pro's. We are also today introducing aggressive new pricing for the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT Card and the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT bringing the price down to €100 and €230 respectively.

So only good news! Interesting to see how Apple seems to reconsider how graphic card upgrading might be beneficial for Mac users... or maybe this is to prepare the introduction of the Radeon HD 3870 as we recently spotted it in a TechNote from Apple

Beside the announcement, the Apple Storesare not reflecting such upgrade yet.


[translation by Linathael]

- An iPod tax will be soon levied in Britain? - Lionel - 08:46:43

Source : ARS Technica

Due to those in government in Great Britain not modifying the law, it is legally prohibited there to rip a CD and to put the music on a walkman; it is simply regarded as hacking.
In actual fact, the British do not take notice, and 88% of them are not even aware that it is against the law. The BPI, which is a gathering of music editors, are said to be ready to take part in legalization of this generalized process. As one has to expect, this goodwill must be compensated.
They thus propose several solution, a tax on the mp3 players, as in France, with an extension of an extra licence on bought CD.

Of course, the debates are loud; but the English start from a point a good deal further than in France. In Britain, currently, to listen to CDs on one's iPod legally, it is necessary to repurchase online all its pieces.

[translation by crispin]

- Video problems with portables containing the Penryn - Lionel - 08:30:45

Source : APCMag

A video display problem affects certain portables containing the Penryn processor, the very latest generation.
It is characterized by this type of corruption of the image.



Strangely, it affects both the MacBook and the MacBook Pro which have radically different graphic solutions. It appears that the next update of Mac OS X, or all at least its beta, regulates the problem, which is good news.
If one encounters many less hardware problems than two years ago, Apple obviously suffers from the evil eye with the software.
It was already necessary to wait many weeks recently so that Mac Pro can wake up from sleep normally!

[translation by crispin]