Wednesday September 10, 2008

- iTunes8: how to hide the genre browser column and the iTunes Store arrows - moose - 16:30:27

Apple has done it again and removed silently the possibility to change some options in iTunes 8, notably the possiblity to hide the iTunes Store arrows in the track lists, as well as the "Genre" column in Broser mode: this was previously possible through the Preferences, but not any more.

But they haven't removed the settings, they simply have removed the GUI options for them. So if you want to turn these "features" off, quit iTunes, fire up your Terminal.app and type the following, then hit RETURN:

defaults write com.apple.itunes show-genre-when-browsing -bool FALSE
to remove the genre column or

defaults write com.apple.itunes show-store-arrow-links -bool FALSE
to hide the iTunes Store arrows.

Type the same with TRUE instead of FALSE if you want to show them again.

- Amazon to Sell Sim-unlocked iPhone 3G? - Eric - 15:16:02

Our German friends from http://www.opensourcemac.de published a screen capture indicating that Amazon Germany might be ready to launch the iPhone 3G as a SIM-unlocked and subscription free model. The price is set to 749 Euro. If so far the offer might look to be restricted to Germany other Amazon stores might release a similar deal in their countries.
This is an interesting move towards the right direction (getting ride of the exclusive partnership), one can get the same device (SIM-unlocked and subscription-free) from Belgium at a lower price!

- Video Output via USB2.0: for Vaio Only - Lionel - 14:10:18

Source : CNET

Sony announced a new USB dock dedicated to its Vaio notebooks, the VGP-UPR1.



If it offers a USB hub, it uses the DisplayLink technology to offer video output (DVI and VGA ports) with resolution up to 1600x1200. Of course, do not expect to be able to play 3D games, but for sure for text and table editing, it is a perfect tool. This dock is compatible with all PC notebooks featuring USB2.0, but it does not work on Mac due to the lack of drivers... It would have been so perfect for the MacBook Air...


[translation by Linathael]

- Thoughts on New iPods - Eric - 14:03:54

While the keynote of yesterday Special Event just finished, Toshiba announced its new generation of 1.8" HD based on 120 GB per plate. There are currently available in 2 versions, 120 GB and 240 GB, the first one finding its way in the new iPod Classic. However, unlike previous iPod revision, Apple decided to stop the race to storage capacity and will not offer an iPod Classic featuring 240 GB of storage space, as it dropped the 160 GB model. Not so surprising since the current HD-based online music players are living their last "hours" as flash memory should become the default physical support for storage in such device, it is only a question of time and cost/GB. The choice of 120 GB might indicate that the next iPod Classic will feature 100 GB of flash memory; indeed larger storage space might interest only a niche market or users who can get similar storage space via external HD featuring small Linux OS for being "independent". The last iPod Classic with 160 GB storage space are available on the Refurb Store for just 296.95€.

This new 120 GB 1.8" HD is also an interesting news for Mac users, as the MacBook Air could now have a larger HD with the right format for an upgrade of current "small" 80 GB HD.

New iPods seems to define the way Apple defines the digital music player models based on their usage and target: Shuffle for the "pocket version", iPod nano for the main stream market and iPod Touch for those willing to have it all (music, video and games), a kind of PDA without phone capability. The iPhone is the ultimate device to corrupt users into a severe addiction to Apple devices. So next steps for us are the expected revision for MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac mini. How long will we have to wait? Back-to-School period is there and Apple does not seem ready to offer new models for students yet.

- Mitsubishi Launches Laser-Based TV - Lionel - 10:02:42

For now years, all companies have been trying to convince us that they have reached new milestones in term of display and rendering for our TV. While technologies have been announced in the past with a lot of enthusiasms and marketing campaigns it did not really deliver (OLED, SED, ...) and models based on such systems are not really popular or available.
Mitsubishi decided to shake the field by launching its first laser-based TV.



It will be the first TV able to render 90% of the eye-visible spectrum, far away from the Plasma and LCD technologies both saturating at 30 to 40%.
This 65" TV model will be priced 7000 USD. The other big advantage is its power consumption, 200 W, so three fold less than an equivalent plasma TV.

[translation by Linathael]

- Dell Tries to Get Inspired by the MacBook Air Ads - Lionel - 09:55:47

Source : Engadget

Hereafter is the Ads for the Dell Latitude E4200, the new ultra portable notebook from the company.



While trying to surf of the popular the MacBook Air ads, Dell does not really impress at all. Before being opened the envelop seems to contain something rather thick. at the end, the Dell Latitude E4200 might be smaller in size than the MacBook Air (smaller display too then), but Dell forgot to compare the thickness of both notebooks...

Dell should rather try to invent or define something original instead of copying...

[translation by Linathael]

- NVidia hopes to start over by the end of the year - Lionel - 07:55:19

Source : Xbit Labs

NVidia has had a significant advantage over ATI for a long time, however they lost this at the time of the arrival of their Geforce GTX280. Even though they proved very powerful, they were not so significant when compared to largely less expensive Radeon HD4870. The launch of Radeon HD480 X2 has made their loss complete.

The chipmaker tossed around by this problem will react by the end of the year with a new product called GT212. Even if architecture will not be noticably different from the GTX280, these chips will be produced in 45nm (compared to 65nm currently) what will allow a reduction of their production costs and to be able to go up much higher in frequency.
Time is likely to appear to drag for them; the media being focused on the manufacturing defects of their chips intended for the portables.

[translation by crispin]

- During this period the PC continues to evolve - Lionel - 07:39:41

Even though we are eager to see new Macs, especially portables, the PC world at least continues to advance. The new creed of the manufacturers is battery life:

- HP announced a 14" portable equipped with a Core 2 Duo processor that has a basic battery life of 10 hours. In a 'Better' version, by adding a low consumption LED screen, a SSD and an additional battery, it reaches the 24 hours, a new record for this kind.
- On its side Toshiba goes the smaller route with an ultra-light equipped machine fitted with a 12.1" screen. Since the processor runs at only 1,2 GHz, this product weighing around one kilogram sees a battery life of 12,5 hours when equipped with a SSD disk, and an hour less with a traditional disc.

Apple, who were the champions for a long time, have been largely exceeded with battery life, especially if one looks at the MacBook Air.
But since the competition can do it, there is no doubt that they will offer soon new products to us that will allow us to plan a whole day's work without seeing a socket-outlet.

[translation by crispin]