February 2008
Tunewear today announced the availability of the Tuneshell clear case for the entire current iPod lineup. The Tuneshell is constructed from clear polycarbonate plastics, and offers complete screen protection, while leaving ports and controls open for use. Three case styles are available for the iPod nano 3G, which include Tuneshell Mirror, and Tune…
Here are URLs that were submitted to our queue on Jan. 29, 2008
but didn’t make it into actual stories… This is an automatically generated list of URLs which found
their way into our URL queue, but were not picked up by writers
due to a limited writer pool, lack of sufficient time, peril,
floods, or hangovers. It has not yet been reviewed by a…
Red Giant Software today unveiled Magic Bullet Frames, its latest plugin for Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Premiere Pro. The plugin is designed to allow users to shoot video on low-cost film, and then scale the footage to 24p, giving it a professional finish. Magic Bullet Frames uses motion-adaptive and field-blended modes to process frames, and can a…
In brief: A book on iPhone binary development has made its debut, a new gaming site for users with disabilities is available, Big Nerd Ranch has announced plans for a Ruby on Rails boot camp, and Apple introduces 30 Coding Head Starts … iPhone Open Application Development is a new title designed to teach users how to write Native Objective-C Appl…
GarageGames today released Torque Game Builder 1.7, an update to the game development software that features improved editors for modifying link points as well as collision polygons. Further changes include new methods for dealing with scene objects, and a new editor for creating vector objects. The latest update to the TGB engine follows the relea…
iPhone Drive 1.4 ($20) Mac OS X application which lets the iPhone and iPod Touch be used like a disk for portable file storage. This release adds Adds Call Log access. Adds SMS message access. Adds camera photo access. Adds the ability to play music stored on the iPhone or iPod Touch. This release adds Call Log access; SMS message access; camera ph…
January 2008
The US Patent and Trademark Office today published 11 of Apple’s patent applications. Among the 11, a patent regarding AAC audio bit allocation, as well as one pertaining to hierarchical menus stand out. Apple has presented a concept for perceptual audio encoding, a bit allocation technique that is designed to reduce the size of a file by finding a…
IGG Software today released iBank 3 Public Beta, a trial version of its financial management application for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. The software includes iBank for iPhone, a Web-based iPhone application that allows users to enter transactions from an iPhone on-the-go. The update powers a redesigned interface with Mac OS X Core Animation technology,…
Equinux today began shipping the fifth generation of its online auction management software, iSale 5. The application allows Mac users to create as well as manage online eBay auctions, and features a template editor that allows supports customization of the included 222 templates. iSale 5 simplifies the search for product information and pictures, …
Nokia will use much of its time at next month’s Mobile World Congress to demonstrate future technology for its smartphones, the company says in two entries on its official Symbian series 60 (S60) blog. The Finnish firm had previously previewed a small number of technologies at its Go:Play event last year but now intends to elaborate on its plans. …
Telecom Italia Mobile is the leading candidate for the Italian iPhone carrier, according to extrapolations based on evidence in the iPhone software package, while a vast EDGE network outage is affecting a significant portion of iPhone users in the US. Italian news site Macity has pointed out that the TIM_Italy.bundle introduced in the v1.1.2 iPhone…
The two unknown companies reported to be using the MacBook Air’s processor are Fujitsu and Lenovo, CNET claims to have confirmed. The systems themselves have not been leaked but are expected to roll out “shortly,” the alleged sources say. The extra-small packaging of the processor is nonetheless expected to offer a blend between the thinner and s…
The percentage Macs occupy in the US computer market should double within the next three years, a new analysis claims. The research firm Gartner is predicting that by 2011, Apple will control over 12 percent of US computer sales, making it a major player, if still likely to be dwarfed by Windows vendors Dell and HP. Market share is also expected …
The Mac OS X install disc that ships with the MacBook Air can only be used with that model, Apple has revealed in a Knowledge Base document. The installer has a mechanism that prevents this software from being installed on other Macs. Also, Apple says that other Mac OS X 10.5 installation media (presumably including the retail, store-bought copy of…
Dell today denied claims that it would release a phone developed with Google at next month’s Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona. Company spokeswoman Anne Camden explains that Dell neither has any product to announce at the event nor has any plans to attend. The official did not explicitly confirm or deny the possibility of a phone at any poi…
Apple’s iTunes software surpassed RealPlayer in unique users for the first time in April of 2007, according to WebSiteOptimization.com, and was the only contender among the four major streaming media players to show a positive growth rate over the past year. iTunes grew 26.8 percent from December 2006 to December 2007, while QuickTime and RealPlaye…
Sony at today’s press conference for the PMA photography show confirmed that its 24.8-megapixel photo sensor is destined for a future pro digital SLR camera. The news ends concerns that the sensor would be used only for scientific use and is also accompanied by very early details of the camera itself. Sony has already developed a version of its i…
Slacker today ended months of delays with news that it began shipping the Slacker Portable. True to the original concept, the company’s inaugural player is built around the notion of the device as both an online and offline radio station. Although users can still load their own content, the player is built to automatically download and play prese…
Research in Motion has developed what should be the company’s first consumer-oriented phone add-on, FCC filings show. The device is currently known as the BlackBerry Remote Stereo Gateway, and is essentially a Bluetooth receiver that connects directly to a audio system while streaming music from a nearby BlackBerry phone. It may in theory be comp…
SanDisk is preparing the release of two new SDHC cards in its Ultra II line. The preeminent one is a 32GB model, representing the largest possible size for the SDHC format; this is still rarely seen in the commercial market. Unlike Toshiba’s rival card however, the SanDisk card writes at a fast 15MBs, making it more suitable for HD camcorders and…
Bidders in the auction for the 700MHz wireless space have reached the minimum bid necessary to require that a winner institutes open access on any wireless network they create, the US Federal Communications Commission has confirmed through its auction site. At least one bidder in the auction has pressed past the crucial $4.6 billion mark for the “…
Prolific memory maker Kingston has upgraded its line of SDHC memory cards, which now includes a 16GB model. The SD4/16GB is the largest SDHC option from the company, and should theoretically be able to hold over four hours of six-megapixel video, or some 5,080 JPEG photos captured at an eight-megapixel resolution. Unlike Kingston’s other SDHC opt…
MacNN and its network sites — Electronista, iPodNN and Leftlane News — have gained custom Home icons for the iPhone and the iPod touch. This takes advantage of Apple’s WebClip option in the v1.1.3 firmware, which allows users to create Safari bookmarks that launch as if they were native applications. The rules and methods for assigning custom i…
A Kansas man has posted photos of his fully functional iPhone after the device flew off the trunk of his car at freeway speeds, only to be run over by a semi truck traveling at an estimated 70 miles-per-hour. The man says his iPhone still works seamlessly in every way — from making and receiving calls to sending text messages. “Much to my surprise…
The MacBook Air’s custom-made processor should soon be licensed for use by other PC builders, say claims by PC Advisor. A contact allegedly aware of Intel’s plans expects at least two unnamed computer builders to use the special Core 2 Duo in systems to be released “soon.” The technical details of the notebooks are not described, though the small…
SubRosaSoft has updated all of its Salvage applications to v6.1.5, bringing with them several enhancements. FileSalvage recovers data from Mac OS X systems; PodSalvage can retrieve lost music (and other files) from iPods, and OfficeSalvage can be used to specifically target office documents. Finally, CameraSalvage is meant to restore images from …
Al Gore has exercised his stock options to make a greater investment into Apple, reports indicate. The former US vice-president, now a member of Apple’s board of directors, has used his privileged position to buy 1,000 shares in the company at a reduced rate of $7.48, offering an immediate profit potential of $124,060. Due to fluctuations in the …
Sigma at the PMA photo expo has committed to a release window for the DP1, its unusual crossover between compact cameras and digital SLRs. Now due sometime in spring, the final camera still maintains the 14-megapixel Foveon sensor that defines its shooting characteristics. The new three-layer silicon technology (also used in the SD14) captures ea…
The MacBook Air is dependent on a exclusive version of Mac OS X Leopard, Apple technical documents show. “The Mac OS X 10.5 installation media that shipped with your MacBook Air is designed for use on this computer only and not intended for any other computer,” the document warns. Owners are further cautioned that the installer “prevents this sof…
Amazon today said it would acquire Audible in a share buyout deal worth roughly $300 million. The agreement effectively gives Amazon control of Audible’s audiobook collection and is described as an effort to develop and expand the audiobook forrmat, which is largely dominated by the now-acquired company. The finished deal is expected to be approv…
Stanford University is teaming up with iTunes to provide Lively Arts gift cards, a sampler card that offers attendees to the Lively Arts events 10 free downloads of featured artists. The iTunes sampler card will be given out from January 25th until March 15th at the various events, and will also be available to users through various campus services…
Google recently unveiled the release of the Google Toolbox for Mac source code, joining the ranks of Google Data APIs Object-C Library of open source materials available from the internet services giant. The development team calls the collection eclectic, containing apps that are required for most every day tasks. Eventually, the Google Mac Team ho…
At the Photo Marketing Association Show (PMA), Eastman Kodak added the EasyShare Z1012 IS Digital Camera - with 10-megapixel resolution and 12X optical zoom with optical image stabilization - to its line of Kodak EasyShare Consumer Digital Cameras. On the heel of two other EasyShare introductions at CES earlier this month, the compact Kodak EasySha…
DataMind recently unveiled Jade 1.0.2, a program designed to enhance image colors, contrast and dynamics, while preserving overall image quality. Users can fine-tune the algorithms that Jade uses to tweak any processing done to a photo. Jade can also batch process images, saving users the work of repeating a set of corrections to potentially thousa…
School Suggests Students Who Support Gay Rights Are an “Illegal
Organization” PONCE DE LEON, FL - A Florida high school has been trampling the
First Amendment rights of students who support equal rights for
gay people, according to a federal lawsuit filed today by the
American Civil Liberties Union. In its lawsuit, the ACLU…
HumanSoftware today began shipping MagicFrames 3000 plug-in Universal, its plug-in for Corel and Adobe Photoshop/Elements. The plug-in adds edges, frames, borders, or special pattern effects to images. Users choose from more than 3,000 frames and 1,200 edges using an editable layering system. The update works in RGB16b mode, and features a special …
Apple today launched a series of tutorials geared toward PC owners who are entertaining the prospect of owning a Mac. The three current guides already available include ‘Anatomy of a Mac,’ ‘Move to Mac,’ and ‘Windows on a Mac.’ Anatomy of a Mac explains the process of using a Mac right away, including the internet setup assistant and the desktop. T…
Garmin tonight surprised the cellphone industry by taking its own leap into smartphones. The Nuviphone aims both to compete with the iPhone as well as to bring Garmin’s experience with GPS navigation to the forefront. Almost entirely controlled by a 3.5-inch touchscreen interface, the device centers around its native GPS unit: in addition to stra…
Artis Software and The Iconfactory have released xScope 2.0, an update to the application that allows users to measure as well as compare and contrast anything on the screen. The update adds ‘Dimensions,’ a simple tool that projects a beam from the mouse cursor to instantly locate the edges of images, margins, and blocks of text. The latest revisio…
Apple today unveiled iWeb 2.0.3, an 18MB patch that improves the application’s stability and reliability with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. The update says little more, mirroring closely the vague nature of the patches that were released yesterday for iWork. The patch is available through the Software Update utility, or from Apple’s website….
Pentax expects to offer an even higher-end digital SLR than its just-introduced K20D, company product manager John Carlson has confirmed. A roadmap for the electronics maker reveals that a new, higher-end camera should be enroute sometime in 2009 and will be considered the first fully professional camera from Pentax. It “would be a new category” …
In brief: Apple jumps to number 10 in search activity, a new book on backing up in Leopard debuts, a user has compiled a list of closed-captioned movies on iTuns, Encore and PlayFirst are teaming up for Mac games, and Rocket Raid cards are now certified for Matrox … The unveiling of the MacBook Air has caused a surge in search activity for Apple,…
Sony this afternoon revealed that it would follow up its Cyber-shot updates with a trio of digital photo frames under the S-Frame label to showcase images taken with these and any other camera. The 7-inch DPF-D70, equally 7-inch DPF-V700, and 9-inch DPF-V900 (none yet pictured) all have 800x480 resolutions but are some of the few digital frames ca…
Apple today announced that its new Apple TV software update, which allows users to rent high definition movies directly from the living room, is “not quite finished.” The company says it plans to make the free software download — which CEO Steve Jobs unveiled during his keynote speech at Macworld in San Francisco earlier this month — available to…
Dell today sent word that it will drop its longtime Direct Store practice. All of the Texas PC maker’s 140 try-before-buying kiosks currently operating in the US will be shut down; the points of sale are less useful now that the company’s computers are already available at Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and a handful of other locations, Dell claims. The shi…
Nikon’s new D60 SLR, announced just yesterday, will additionally be one of the first cameras to be a part of Eye-Fi’s Connected program, the latter company has announced. Eye-Fi produces self-named Wi-Fi memory cards, which allow people to copy data without removing a card from a device; this involves a special configuration process, which sets up…
Macessity has unveiled its MX4 Rack Tray for Mac mini, a device made specifically for Apple’s smallest desktop Mac. The tray features designated locations for one Mac mini at each corner, supporting up to four of the systems while providing ample ventilation via air slots in the base. Holes located in the tray sides allow for easy cable management,…
LANDesk Software today unveiled LANDesk Security Suite 8.8, an update that brings data leakage progression, wireless access point detection enhancements, patch management, host intrusion prevention, and other enterprise-level benefits. Data leakage prevention allows administrators to govern what information can leave a facility, reducing the chance…
Kollective.de has introduced an updated version of its TINBOT iPod cases. As the name implies, they are made of impact-resistant tin, but they are also lined internally with neoprene, preventing scraping and offering extra protection against outside forces. The updated cases have been slimmed down, but focus primarily on offering new art choices …
Sony has uncovered two future additions to its line of portable photo printers, the FP95 and FP75 (not pictured). Both are designed to print 4x6 images in approximately a minute, but the latter is a relatively basic model, with a 3.5-inch screen, and simpler editing functions including enlargement, rotation and color tweaking. Supported memory ca…