News for Tuesday, 12 February 2008
Following the new update of Leopard and the release of Aperture 2.0, an update of the iLife 8.2 assistant is available for downloading.
Strangly this also includes corrective measures for Aperture.
This update supports system software components shared by all iLife ’08 applications to improve their stability and performance. This update also supports important bug fixes for Aperture 2.0.
By
jeremy.
Original by
Lionel
- 12/02/2008 18:58:50 CET - Category: Video
Source: NVidia
The growing success of the iPhone and other smartphones has prompted NVidia to announce its first processor, the APX 2500, which will be aimed at such devices.
Based on an ARM core CPU, it use Nvidia's expertise in 3D acceleration with a chip able to decode and encode video in 720p.
It will also be able to handle cameras with a resolution of up to 12 million pixels.
NVidia clearly indicates that its target is mobile devices running Windows Mobile with support for Direct3D. The manufacturer leaves the door open to other systems (Mac OS), and will also be compatible Open GL.
Samples of the APX 2500 have already been distributed to interested manufacturers. Mass production will start during the spring.
By
linathael
- 12/02/2008 18:03:32 CET - Category: Software
I have been following for months the evolution of this project entitled "Fruux" and driven by our German friends at
http://blog.fruux.net/. AS originally stated, all good story starts with a good idea:
I continue to think that the address book is one of the great untapped Web 2.0 opportunities, […] and certainly more than an outside-in, invitation-driven "social networking application" represents my real social network.
Tim O’Reilly, 2007-09-27
A true "social networking application" allowing you, at home or one the move, to keep track of your contacts at a mouse click. I recommend you to have a look at their
blog to learn more about the way Fruux has been developed but also thought from the really beginning as a classical Mac application: make user's life easier.
After Dominik and his colleagues have been working hard for months, time for beta test has finally arrived, and from what is offered today, it looks really promising, being a true alternative for some .Mac services while making most of Sync conflict history.
Additional information for registering and beta testing at:
http://twitter.com/fruuxBy
Moose.
Original by
Ewok
- 12/02/2008 17:50:59 CET - Category: Apple
Aperture 2.0 is out and the list of "100+ new features" makes apparent that Apple has been listening to users.
Check it out.
My favorites at first glance are:
- All-in-one Inspector and HUD
- Metadata entry shortcut
- All Projects view
- Broad camera support /Baseline DNG support (yes, that's cool, it means that even if you do not have your new camera supported natively, you can use a DNG to work from, and then when support is added, switch to RAW)
- Quick Preview mode
- Recovery control
- Vibrancy
- Devignette adjustments
- Lift only adjustments
- Duplicate detection on import
- Support for lens metadata (YAY!)
- Extended search logic in Query HUD/Keyword filtering options in Query HUD
- Reconnect override
- Tethered shooting support
- Background image export
So, that comes perfectly along with
today's post I did on our blog. And yes, we now have a solution that allows users to work with their "RAW" files even if the RAW format is not supported by Aperture yet (DNG)...
By
jeremy.
Original by
Lionel
- 12/02/2008 14:43:06 CET - Category: Laptop
Apple markets the Air MacBook with a small 45W charger. By way of comparison, the MacBook has a 60W charger and the MacBook Pro 85W.
MacFixit reported that it would be a little small for the machine. In the case of intensive use, plugged in, the battery will virtually not recharge at all. A completely discharged battery can take 8 hours to be recharge fully, which is too long.
Appleinsider reports that the time is reduced to 5 hours using the charger from a MacBook ( which requires raising machine for connecting the larger MagSafe ).
Note: It looks like a bug to conclude that the (re)charge is much faster on an off-machine as compared to a machine-on-standby, since consumption in standby is very low.
It is also possible that Apple preferred a slow battery charger to prevent the risk of a dramatically swelling battery (as has been the case on some MacBook Pro's), since such a swelling could destroy some components.
By
linathael.
Original by
Lionel
- 12/02/2008 13:38:58 CET - Category: Apple
That's it, as we expected it recently, Apple might be updating its MacBook Pro models today. The
European Apple Store should be closed down soon too.
The HD-DVD camp is losing support every day:
- Best Buy has announced they'll support Blu-ray in their stores. They will still offer HD-DVD, but Blu-ray media and players wil get the best places on the shelves.
- NetFlix, a movie rental service, will leave HD-DVD somewhere later this year.
Toshiba's HD-DVD players are selling for as low as $112, or less than €100, for the
HD-A20 (1080p compatible), they're not selling as well as expected apparently.
But still Toshiba is not giving up yet, it probably takes Paramount to leave HD-DVD before they'll admit their loss.
By
xavier.
Original by
Lionel
- 12/02/2008 12:09:21 CET - Category: iPhone
A new method to unlock an out of the box iPhone 1.1.3 has been made available. Only the Windows version is functional yet, the Mac version is still bugged.
All you have to do is download the tool ZiPhone and a GUI made by Unlock.no, and follow the short on-screen instructions.
For more information, see
Ziphone on Zibree's blog and
The Ziphone GUI
By
crispin.
Original by
Lionel
- 12/02/2008 10:33:03 CET - Category: Apple
In order to test a Mac Pro with a non standard configuration, we recovered a (very expensive) Apple RAID card. For both generations of the MacPro this card is installed in the PCI Express slots on top and takes over control of the 4 hard disks iinstead of the mother card.
On close study of this card, we are surprised to find this:
A line has been added to the pcb by hand using a thin piece of wire. The work has been done in best way possible and this story is more an anecdote rather than a real problem. Apple has done a similar thing with the bipro card in certain macs. Knowing that they took nearly a month to deliver this card, it is possible that this do-it-yourself was set up to ensure compatibility with the last Mac Pro.
As soon as our super-muscular configuration is ready, we will publish the tests.
By
jeremy.
Original by
Lionel
- 12/02/2008 10:07:31 CET - Category: Apple
If there is one thing we can not deny Hardmac (Macbidouille) is one of the most critical Mac sites in the world. Friends point out your failings, enemies applaud them. But even though love is blind, criticism should be measured. We should not lose sight of what we love about the Mac, nor our pride in defending Apple, even when it has not been easy. And so a point of thanks.
Thanks, Apple for having created the MacBook Air! I have been fortunate to have one in my hands yesterday and even though I considered myself as old fashioned, the first word that came to mind is the famous "Wow!" (experience) infinitely more appropriate for this machine than Vista ...
We have already heard tons of criticism about this machine, almost always made by those who have only seen a photo. But taking control is something else!
The MacBook Air is simply superb finesse and elegance, so that it's hard to imagine that it could be opened up to reveal for a screen and a keyboard.
-- It has only one USB port? Too bad it will suffice.
-- The battery is not removable? Seek an outlet to plug its charger, the size of those of the first iPod.
-- It has no integrated burner? Too bad, but I never burnt dvd's on a trip to avoid draining the battery.
Enough said. As long as you need a machine that will accompany you anywhere ... the Macbook Air is simply perfect. It is far too small even for most backpacks in which it will get lost, and needs to be restrained.
Whether or not it pleases the majority, it will bring joy to those who decide to purchase it.
By
jeremy.
Original by
MacEnsteph
- 12/02/2008 09:42:32 CET - Category: Mac OS X
The long-awaited X 10.5.2 is available and so is the 1st security update of the year. It is available for download for Tiger (client and server, PPC and Intel) - but is included in the X 10.5. 2 (Leopard). It also contains the last 2007 update.
The update "Security Update 2008-001" is recommended for all users. It improves the security of Mac OS X. This update also contains security update "Security Update 2007-009".
For more information on this update, please consult the following website:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61798-fr (french)
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61798-en (english)
By
andrew
- 12/02/2008 07:34:39 CET - Category: iPhone
There have been several reports on the Internet quoting Microsoft's sales figure of 14.3 million Windows Mobile phones sold in 2nd half of 2007. This has been picked up by Windows fan sites such as Supersite for Windows and endorsed without any clarifications. Some observations :
1. Microsoft's figures are worldwide. Note that Apple only started selling iPhones in the UK and Germany half way through 2H of 2007. Whilst sales in France were in the last month of 2007. The figures quoted by Canalys only relate to the US market, which given the limited number of countries officially selling outside of the US, makes it more useful as a yard-stick indicator of growth :
Canalys estimates that Apple took 28% share of the fast growing US converged device market in Q4 2007, behind RIM’s 41%, but a long way ahead of third placed Palm on 9%. This was also enough to put Apple ahead of all Windows Mobile device vendors combined, whose share was 21% in the quarter according to Canalys figures.
Source : Canalys
2. The iPhone is a smartphone. Whilst Windows Mobile is used in Smartphones such as the Motorola Q; it is also sold in feature phones (or low end non-smartphones). Microsoft's figures only indicate the number of licenses sold for the period, and not the type of handsets it is deployed on.
3. Apple sell phones, not operating systems which are deployed on phones. Therefore, it is more useful to compare iPhone sales with other phones, and not Windows Mobile (the operating system).
4. Pundits and bloggers and tech journalists all seem to forget that Apple sell
one handset. When it comes time to reporting facts and figures, this fact seems to be forgotten and the singular iPhone is compared to
all of Nokia's handsets, or all RIM handsets, etc.
To summarise, Apple have sold 4 million units of a single model (iPhone) in the USA and 3 other European counties in a six month period. Compare that to entrenched mobile handset makers who sell tens or hundreds of various handset models in every single country worldwide. Now doesn't that put things into perspective!
By
JCantrell.
Original by
Joe
- 12/02/2008 05:08:51 CET - Category: Apple
Since the release of 10.5.2 mere hours ago, two more updates have been published by Apple, available via Software Update, or the Apple Support site:
- Leopard Graphics Update :
Recommended to all users, this update includes updated graphics frameworks, intended to imrpove stability and compatibility of your Mac.
This update requires OS X 10.5.2
48Mb direct download HERE on the Apple Support site
- Updated WebObjects for OS X 10.5 Server:
WebObjects 5.4.1 is an update of the release included in Mac OS X Leopard Tools. This release fixes several bugs in areas such as web services serialization, deployment tools, and database compatibility, among others.
This update requires any version of OS X 10.5 Server
153 Mb direct download HERE on the Apple Support site.
