News for Tuesday, 27 January 2009

Apple jsut released a firmware update via iTunes for the iPhone/iPod Touch.

It is dedicated to iPhone 1G, iPhone 3G as well as all generations of iPod Touch. This update is supposed to improve Apple Lossless file rendering on iPhone.

Apple has put online a list of camcorders supported by iMovie 09:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3290?viewlocale=en_US
One finds there without surprise the devices that encode in MPEG 2, AVCHD but also in MPEG 1, MPEG 4 and H.264.
Note that Apple strongly insists on the fact that its system eliminating the camera shake has sometimes a difficult operation with the CMOS sensors (the main part of the general public video cameras).
This filter can increase defects of the image related to the incomplete captures in the event of too abrupt movements.

Apple has posted several software updates:
- Update of iDVD 7.0.3 (29,3 MB)

This update improves overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues.

- Update of the iLife navigator 2.0 (3,8 MB)

This update improves overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues. It is recommended for all users of Aperture, iLife ’08, iWork ’08, and Mac OS X 10.5.6 Leopard or later.

It is amusing to see these updates for iLife 08 on the day that 09 arrived.
- Update 2009 for the NVidia graphic card 1.0 (3,1 MB)

This update improves the movement of the cursor during the use of the port Mini DisplayPort from Apple Mini with a DVI adapter on the MacBook Air, MacBook and a MacBook Pro equipped with a Mini DisplayPort. It also improves the reproduction of video HD on systems equipped with a graphics card NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT or GeForce 9600M.

It will be interesting to see whether it regulates the problems encountered with the DVI link dual adapter. On the other hand, it is strange to see that the 8800 GT does not seem concerned by the improvements of this update.
They are available via the Software Updates

If the announcement of a new White MacBook seduced several users or customers especially with its support for FireWire and its low target price, one should keep in mind that this is the result of a compromise, so it has a cost:
- Slower CPU
- No LED-backlighting
- DDR2 RAM modules, so in theory lower frequency and smaller bandwidth, and potential impact on graphical performance as the GF 9400M chipset uses the RAM.
- Video output only support external display till 2560x1600, no more support for composite video.
- Shorter battery lifetime, to 4.5 hours.
- Apparently only one of its USB ports could deliver 500 mA and more to peripherals. Others are limited to 100 mA, enough to power a keyboard or a mouse, but not chance to power USB external HD.
None of those limitations are truly a limiting factor, if you know them in advance and purchase the notebook model while being aware of them. So, if low price tag and support for FireWire are two priorities, then this model if for you, if not, then you could get the unibody design and the associated functions, but it is a bit more expensive.

End of last week, the US justice released some of the financial forecasts aiming to evaluate the cost of the "Vista Capable" label glued on computers which were not really able to fully support or deliver all Vista functions. Current figures ranges from 3.92 to 8.52 billions USD, representing the budget required to upgrade the 13.75 notebooks and 5.65 desktop computers purchased between April 2006 and January 2007 in order to allow them to fully run all Vista functions and features.
Microsoft will most likely think twice in the future before putting tags on computers, under the pressure of OEM and apparently Intel too, in order to partially foul the customers about the real ability of those hardware to run Vista properly.

Adobe announced its plan to release information and specifications about its Real-Time Messaging Protocol during the year. Behind this name also known as RTMP, there is a technology allowing web browsers loaded with the Flash plug-ins to read/play audio and video streaming content. This documentation should allow developers to develop their own servers.
If you should mention this move in the right direction, one should not forget that Adobe is most likely acting in order to try to stop the reverse-engineering project Red5 which is aiming to ease the development of an open source Flash server. So, such decision will make Red5's developers happy, but one should also mention that this documentation will not include the Adobe secure technology, also known as DRM, used to protect audio or video streaming.
In other words, RTMP will becoming more "open" will remain a proprietary technology that Adobe expects to push in order to impose flash as a web standard for audio/video streaming. The company will then have the tool to negotiate with TV channels for streaming their shows and series in a more secure way than the current technology. It will also give Adobe power to force endorsement of flash support by Apple in the current and future iPhone.

Even though it does not officially exist, the disc of 2 TB from Western Digital is now on sale in Australia


The WD20EADS is sold for 377,20 Australian dollars (that is a little more 190€). As soon as it is available in France, we will try to graft it to the Time Capsule, especially since Time Machine can use up all space quickly for backups if there are several connected computers.

Here is some information that will excite the press. Apple has succeeded in patenting the multitouch such as used in the iPhone.

This patent covers all the actions related to this technology such as enlarging of the images with two fingers, rotations… and more generally all actions than one can make on a screen of the iPhone. Henceforth, all those wanting to use this technology will have to pass the hurdle of Apple authorization which will certainly enrage more than one, especially as Apple is certainly not ready to let its competitors make something that looks like its telephone.
We have never appreciated the principle of software patent, and we do not this time even though Apple is the winner. This patent is likely to slow down considerably all the remainder of the electronics industry concerning this technology. Thus, new mobiles coupled to touch screen computers or the concept Surfaces of Microsoft will suffer.
If you have the desire to explore these pages of sketches and text:
http://patft.uspto.gov

The Russian government thinks of creating an national operating system derived from Linux.
The obvious goal is to break the dependance on the Americans, essentially Microsoft for their software needs thus to make them less vulnerable in the event of an economic conflict and also to save an important quantity of currencies (the rouble has been heavily devaluated these last months).
Of course, the local branch of Microsoft denounced this initiative and considered it as useless. It is especially very dangerous for the firm which could there lose an enormous market, and perhaps others if the idea is contagious.