News for Wednesday, 21 January 2009

QuickTime 7.6 is now available via the software update.

QuickTime 7.6 includes changes that increase reliability, improve compatibility and enhance security. This release is recommended for all QuickTime 7 users.

More information is available at Apple.

Apple just updated the specification of the entry-level MacBook, aka "white model". It now sports the same hardware as the unibody models, and has its much faster graphic chipset the NVidia GeForce 9400M.
We think that it is really interesting news as it will boost graphical performance of the entry-level even though the CPU loses 100 MHz of clock speed.
The RAM remains DDR2 format and might have a small impact on pure graphical performance if one compare with unibody models or the same white model equipped with DDR3 RAM modules. One would have to demonstrate it by a test, as this is only based on the larger bandwidth offered by DDR3 which is used by the graphical chipset.
Owners of the MacBook unibody will most likely be very surprised (and upset) when they will notice that the white MacBook still has its Firewire port despite running on a GeForce 9400M...
For a direct link to the dedicated store webpage: MacBook models on the Apple Store
update: So far only the US Apple Store seems to be offering this new White MacBook model... interesitngly as spotted by Isidore,one of our forum members, it sports a mini DVI connector and NOT the mini display port.

Bit-Tech published a test of a 256 GB SDD G.Skill Titan. This drive uses simultaneously two controller in RAID 0 and offers excellent results with respectively 200 and 160 MB/s in reading and writing modes

Those results preserves the access time with only 0.2 ms, making this model very competitive even compared to the Intel X25-M or the reference, the Intel X25-E. All have in common to use MLC memory chips.
However, as most of the entry-level SSDs, the SDD G.Skill Titan uses the JMicron memory controller which lacks cache memory. As a consequence, performance levels drop significantly when the controller has to manage multiple access/request. The fact that it holds 2 controllers decrease the bottleneck effect of multiple tasks, when compared to similar SSD, but it still exists. With a target price of 499 USD for 256 GB, this SSD seems to be built for success, and it demonstrate that MLC might be more promising than expected by some analysts.

While it usually takes years to become a recognized manufacturer or actor in a field (and only few days to destroy its reputation), Intel quickly demonstrates its skills and competence to release high-end SDDs on this emerging market. Today, and despite announcements from other manufacturers, the 80 GB Intel X25-M SSD remains the best in its class (see our previous tests, here and there). Its only problem is to have a limited storage space of 80 GB, while competitors offer 128 or 256 GB. While Intel released a model offering 160 GB, TC Magazine announced that the founder will still double storage space by the end of the year to reach 320 GB. Competitors should then offer SSDs with 512 GB. It seems that manufacturers will double capacity of their SDD models every six months, and if prices decrease accordingly, SSDs might capture the market of storage space unit in notebooks within 3 years.

Qualcomm, a well known manufacturer of wireless technologies especially for mobile phones, announced yesterday to have acquired assets of patents and technologies related to multimedia and graphic from AMD. Some employees working on such project will then move from one company to the other. With such acquisition, Qualcomm expects to expend its activities with the development of SoC including not only the mobile network technology but also multimedia. Both companies will compete on the mobile phone market, as AMD joined the field with the development of more performing but complex devices and handhelds. AMD received 65 millions USD, almost nothing if one considered that AMD bought ATI for 4 billions USD...

In an interview, Steve Wozniak commented reactions following the announcement of Steve Jobs' medical leave. He stated that it would be difficult to preserve private life when the value of Apple share is so much dependent on Steve's health or actions. And he criticizes the need of some people/media to always look for personal or private information. He thinks that Steve Jobs' medical leave will have no impact on Apple operation, as the launch of a product is the last phase of a 1- or 2-years process.
In case of longer leave, he thinks that while Steve is important and charismatic, the company has talented collaborators and Steve is not the only one making Apple running smoothly.

The spelling corrector is one of the characteristics of the "made by Apple" telephones which many speak about. Some complain about its inefficiency, and others of its unflexibility. Since version 2.2 of the firmware, one can finally disactivate it completely… But before arriving at that point, here how to better control it.
The corrector is supposed "learn" words that one uses often. If you write several times in the memo pad a word with a fault, and you refuse the suggestion of the dictionary, it will end up no longer propose modifications to you. However the fact is that this training does not hold, and in a short time it "forgets" and returns to the original correction.
Here the discovery of Erica Sadun intervenes (Creator of several applications for the iPhone and a writer recently for Ars Technica). She found that the field of text that is taken into account and remembered by the dictionary is the research field of Google in mobile Safari! One wonders really what pushed Apple to put this characteristic at this place!
Thus henceforth, if you use original words, abbreviations, or if you had enough of the erroneous suggestions, all you have to do is to launch a research in Google (you are not obliged to await the results); I carried out some tests, and for the moment the added words are recognized by all the applications of the iPhone.
For those which have a jailbroken iPhone, the file which keeps the additions for the dictionary is the following: /private/var/mobile/Library/Keyboard/fr_FR-dynamic-text.dat