9to5 Staff

Apple subsidiary, FileMaker, this afternoon introduced the latest iteration of its personal databasing application, Bento, raising the software up to version 3.

Bento 3 offers new ways to view, use and share photos, contacts, calendars, files and more, the company says, including full integration with iPhoto, multi-user sharing and new security options.

That iPhoto integration means you can link images to contacts, projects, events and other information stored in Bento.
 
“Think of Bento 3 as a powerful, easy way to bring together all of your key Mac information and photos,” said Ryan Rosenberg, vice president, marketing and services, FileMaker. “With Bento 3, we’re providing new ways for you to view and interact with your information so you can organise contacts, projects, events and even more details of your life.”
 
You can now share your Bento libraries with up to five users over a wired or wireless local network. You can also encrypt any field and assign passwords to secure your information in Bento 3.

A new Grid view will display thumbnails of photos, text and numeric-based information, while improved File Lists show image thumbnails, instead of just text.

The software now ships with 35 pre-designed templates, including those for wine collecting, job hunting, home searching, vacation planning and more. The recently launched Bento Template Exchange shows off hundreds of downloadable templates designed by Bento users.
 
Bento 3 has a suggested UK list price of £29.95 but, for a limited time only, FileMaker is offering a £10 rebate to existing users of Bento 1 and Bento 2 via an instant rebate scheme to users who upgrade.

Bento 1.0.3 for iPhone and iPod touch resolves compatibility issues related to Bento 3 for Mac and will be available soon. Current users of Bento for iPhone and iPod touch will see a notification on their device when the free update is available for download.
 

Well, here’s a natural evolution of the work Apple’s already involved in, seems the company is developing a touchscreen remote for the “upcoming Apple TV”.

This makes sense, after all, we can’t imagine every Apple TV owner is necessarily going to want to spend the cash required to pick up an iPhone or an iPod touch to use as a remote control for the media-focused device. There’s going to have to be some form or remote control, if only so you too can lose an Apple product down the back of the sofa…

So, Boy Genius Report cites this information as emanating from a source which the site rates as pretty hot, having correctly previously predicted iPhone homescreens in iTunes along with integrated social networking elements.

The site claims to have been sent an image “we’re told is a product mock-up that may coincide with the launch of a revised Apple TV.”

What’s interesting here is that you can see a Safari button on that there mocked-up screen. We wonder if the on-screen controls become a keyboard if you hold the remote in landscape mode?

In any case, Boy Genius Report warns readers to take this information on board with a high degree of caution, However, given Apple’s recent Apple TV price cut, its no great stretch of imagination to predict a new model of the device is currently wending its way out of Apple’s secretive r&d labs.

We wonder if it will have support for games?

Elgato has introduced an App for streaming TV recordings from a Mac to an iPhone or iPod touch, EyeTV for iPhone.

The software means users of the Elgato EyeTV TV tuner family of devices can view their show recordings wherever they are around their home using a WiFi network. Better still, they can also control their TV tuner, setting it up for remote recording, scheduling as well as providing a TV guide.

The app connects to any Mac running the latest version of Elgato’s software, EyeTV 3.2, and will automatically locate a Mac on the local network using Bonjour.

The software also supports remote streaming, accessing your remote Mac using free locator utility, ‘My EyeTV’, which was made available within EyeTV 3.2. This automatically sets up any router that supports UPnP or NAT-PMP protocols.

EyeTV requires the iPhone Software Update or later and EyeTV 3.2 or higher.
 

Vodafone this morning will confirm it has reached a deal to carry the iPhone in the UK, following a similar confirmation from Orange yesterday. Both networks will vie for iPhone customers with O2, which now loses its exclusive deal for the device in the UK market.

The carrier has reached a deal to sell the iPhone in the UK and Ireland from "early 2010", reports claim.

With three carriers now confirming they will be selling the device in the UK, and given that T-Mobile has also been discussed as a possible iPhone vendor, increased competition between the networks should eventually translate into good news for consumers.

"There will be a price war," said Steven Hartley, analyst at technology research house Ovum told the Telegraph. "Research shows that in every country where there is more than one operator selling it, it is cheaper.

"It could be very disruptive, but it depends how Orange play it. If they get really aggressive O2 will have to respond and a full-on price war could start."

The analyst expects the monthly tariff for the device to fall by up to £5 per month, given the increased competition. Orange has already said it intends charging less than O2 does for the device.

Virgin Mobile is also thought to be attempting to clinch a supply deal for the UK market.

In vaguely related news, China Unicom has confirmed it will make the iPhone available in China starting this Thursday.

According to iLounge, Apple has begun to allow Made For iPod and Works With iPhone-certified developers to include automatic application download prompts.  If the devices are connected to the Internet via Wifi or WWAN, the user can just plug in the accessory, then download the necessary software to get the devices to work.

A similar feature works for printers in Snow Leopard (and numerous other desktop OS functions).  Plug the printer in and the OS goes out to the Internet to get the software it needs to work.  Now this type of functionality has been brought to iPhone.

This functionality was introduced in iPhone OS 3.0 but this is the first time iLounge has seen it in action.  They go thru the steps of installation of the Griffin iTrip Controller in screenshots below.

It looks like that was why the store went down earlier. Good to have for new iMacs and MacBooks eh?

Update: We’re getting word that this has been aroun for awhile.  disregard.

Why? 

Update: Store’s back up.  Is the Barclay’s financing new?  Microsoft Office Business edition?  No.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eschipul/

Michael Tchao joined Apple on Monday as Vice President of Product Marketing. He will report to Phil Schiller, Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Product Marketing.  This is a much different role than that which he had 15 years ago during his first stint at Apple.  You see, Mr. Tchao was one of the guys who convinced then-Apple CEO John Scully of releasing the groundbreaking but ultimately flawed Newton tablet back in the early 90’s.

Mr. Tchao is returning to Apple after 15 years away from the company.  He was at Apple as a Manager, Strategic Alliances, Multimedia Group for two and a half years and spent another four and a half years as Group Manager, Product Planning & Strategy, Personal Interactive Electronics.  It was at this role where he was part of the Newton team.

Although it is not clear what Michael Tchao is up to these days [ha!], he was largely responsible for the creation of the newton. Apple’s advanced R & D had been working for years on slate computers that read handwriting and beamed data across the room (‘Alien technology’ Mulder would say). Yet these technologies were meant to be incorporated in high-end $5,000+ super cool computers of the future. He and Steve Capps came up with the idea of using some of these technologies in a small consumer device to be sold today.

 The idea was completely rejected by the head of Advanced R&D at Apple. Yet, Michael believed this was such a great idea that he approached John Sculley directly while on the company plane over the pacific and made a successful pitch for the Newton project. Sculley had always hoped for such a device and was won over by the opportunity to father a revolutionary new paradigm in the field of personal computing.

Since then, he has had many other roles, most recently the as the General Manager, Nike Techlab/Nike+ where he was focused on the Apple iPod integration.

From the Times:

“He’s got the scars and the great ideas” about tablet computing, said another former Apple employee who worked with Mr. Tchao. He did not want to be named because the hiring was not yet public.

 This information goes beyond interesting, especially in light of the tablet rumors of late.  Here’s a video of Micheal talking about Nike+

Apple has released an update for iWork ’09, iWork 9.0.3.

Apple’s release notes follow:

About iWork 9.0.3
This update addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, updates the help, and fixes a number of other minor issues in Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. The issues addressed include:

– Exporting to CSV from Numbers when using table categories
Improvements to comment notification and security in iWork.com Beta are also included in this update.

This update is recommended for all users of iWork ’09. The 59.62MB software is available from Apple Support or through Software Update.

Here’s another one of those ads that take over the site. Check IGN, it might still be live.

Nice. Via TUAW

Today, Apple released a new licensing scheme for K-12 and higher education.  The new plan is aimed at reducing paperwork and headaches for school administrators while at the same time saving institutions money and making software audits easier.

Interestingly, they’ve also bundled iLife and iWork into the basic OS package which will likely put the software on many more educational machines.  Millions more.  Until now iWork has been a separate purchase and often left off of lab computers and kiosks in favor of Microsoft Office.

At 10,000 seats, for instance, the cost of the OS/iLife/iWork package is $20/seat.

Whether or not this is to just simplify purchasing or a response to Google Apps gaining a foothold in education isn’t certain.

The move will also put the iLife suite in front of millions more potential switchers and could even provide an interesting way for institutions with Mobile Network Home directories to let their students manage their image, movie and music libraries.

From Apple

The new Apple Education Licensing Program makes it easier to keep your institution’s Apple software current and compliant. Coverage is purchased annually, keeping costs consistent year after year, and the new bundle structure allows you to manage against a single expiration date. Each license renewal provides one year of coverage, including any new releases that become available during the year.

Under the new program, you can also license the Mac Software Collection and professional applications for students to use and take with them after graduation.

Apple software can be distributed through your institution’s secured network or physical media kits—the choice is yours. A one-time enrollment fee (10 percent of the annual purchase price) is required when your institution signs up for a license. If you enroll before December 13, 2009, Apple will waive the enrollment fee.

Some prices are listed below for institutes of higher learning.

via MacNN

European regulators continue to examine claims of exploding iPhones in Europe, warning today that the product could be withdrawn from sale should investigators find proof the devices can be dangerous.

EU Commissioner for Consumer Protection Meglena Kuneva issued a warning today that iPhones will be pulled from store shelves if it turns out recent screen explosions are hardware-based problems.

The investigation is now in the hands of independent lab experts, who are working to discover if there’s a problem with the iPhone.

"I don’t need (Apple)’s permission to stop goods entering the market," Meglena Kuneva told reporters in Brussels. "If goods are dangerous, then we will order a recall."

"We are checking with labs to see if there is a problem with the phone, with their batteries or if there has been misuse of the device," she added Kuneva. "We need to have 100 percent certainty from one member state that these goods are dangerous.

"(But) if I receive from the French authorities information that they are dangerous, I will act in the interests of the consumer. I will ask my network for a recall of the product as we did with the Italian (Senseo) coffee machines. There, it was proven that they burned the hands of consumers."

Apple allegedly maintains the few reported incidents of exploding iPhones are freak incidents, arguing that users have caused the built-in lithium ion batteries to overheat.

The investigation continues.

The good news?  VideoLAN, the multi-purpose, cross platform, open source video encoder/decoder was updated this week to a 64-bit version 1.02 (yes we’re aware of Perian).  Download the 64-bit version here.  While you shouldn’t expect to see too much speed improvement or CPU optimization from the new code, the upgrade does improve overall performance and plugs a few security holes. Note from the site:

After almost 2 months and 27 million downloads of VLC 1.0.1, the VLC team is proud to present the third version of the Goldeneye branch of VLC: 1.0.2!

This version introduces many fixes, notably for SSA decoding, v4l2, MacOS interface, ogg/theora, x264 modules and security issues. It also introduces the port to 64bits for Mac OS platform and 2 new languages (Kazakh and Croatian).
Because of the security issues, we strongly recommand everybody to update its version of VLC.

[also version 1.0.0 and on doesn’t support Tiger]

The bad news? 

If you rip DVDs with Handbrake, the upgrade will ‘break’ the application’s ability to use VLC for decoding DVDs, effectively rendering the program useless.  Fortunately, there is a 64-bit beta snapshot available to those willing to try out some beta software (Use the GUI interface – GIT version).  While it was able to rip a DVD for us (and a bit speedier we might add), it popped up the following warning which might dissuade more than a few software adventurers:

After all of that, however, we were able to burn an encryped DVD by cancelling the scan.  Our testing so far has been limited, we’d love to hear how it has been going for you out there.

The numbers keep piling up for the App Store.  Today, Apple announced that the iPhone App Store downloads surpassed two billion and the number of apps available for download surpassed 85,000.  The App store hit a billion downloads in late April and turned a year old in July with 1.5 billion tallied. 

App Store by the Numbers:

2 Billion: Apps downloaded
85,000: Apps available
125,000: developers
50,000,000: iPhone and iPod touch customers
500,000,000: Apps this quarter alone
>10,000,000 Average apps per day average currently

Apple’s Press release follows:

CUPERTINO, California—September 28, 2009—Apple® today announced that more than two billion apps have been downloaded from its revolutionary App Store, the largest applications store in the world. There are now more than 85,000 apps available to the more than 50 million iPhone™ and iPod touch® customers worldwide and over 125,000 developers in Apple’s iPhone Developer Program.

 “The rate of App Store downloads continues to accelerate with users downloading a staggering two billion apps in just over a year, including more than half a billion apps this quarter alone,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The App Store has reinvented what you can do with a mobile handheld device, and our users are clearly loving it.”

Today, iPhone and iPod touch customers in 77 countries worldwide can choose from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. With the recently introduced iTunes® 9, it’s now easier than ever to organize and sync your apps right in iTunes and they will automatically appear on your iPhone or iPod touch with the same layout.

Yet more Mac security FUD has been reported as fact, with a security researcher touting that a group of Russian hackers have been offering 43-cents per Mac as a reward to hackers subverting security on the platform.

It’s a FUD report, of course, as it fails to note that the general rate for Windows hacking is 50-55-cents, and fails to note that the website offering the bonus has since shut down, due to lack of interest.

As reported by Greg Keizer at Computerworld and repeated through numerous publications – including at least one which really should know better – it has been claimed that Russian hackers are targeting the Mac.

Naturally, all the usual suspects are involved in the info chain who bought us this ‘story’: Graham Cluley of Sophos quotes another researcher, Paul Ducklin, who himself points to a presentation given last week by Dmitry Samosseiko, himself a Russian-born researcher for – wait for it – Sophos.

CNN has the best rebuttal of the story. It takes a look at the six-page security research document and points out that the reference to Mac security occupies precisely one paragraph.

"Mac users are not immune to the scareware threat. In fact, there are ‘codec-partnerka’ dedicated to the sale and promotion of fake Mac software. One of the recent examples is Mac-codec.com. At the time of writing this article, the site is no longer available, but just a few months ago it was offering $0.43 for each install and offered various promo materials in the form of MacOS ‘video players’."

With security researchers seemingly determined to slam Mac security (potentially because they’d be out of a job if everyone switched to the platform) CNN notes that actual instances of Mac targeting groups are extremely rare. The report also points out that the site at the centre of the story has now shut down.

Once again these security warnings are pure FUD. Widely reported as fact. Doubt we’ll see a retraction by any of the publications who blindly carried the story.

Of course, we’re not saying Mac users can afford to be complacent. You can’t. It’s wise to be wary of downloaded files from sources you don’t recognise, it’s wise to be wary of opening links purporting to be from big names such as Amazon or PayPal, in case they are spoof phishing attacks.

Basically, common sense prevails, one must keep an eye on what is going on – but come on, it’s time to separate the FACT from the FUD.

China Unicom will begin selling the iPhone in China from next month – but the steep price tag it’s charging has set expectations of massive sales in the country back.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s KT Corp. continues in talks with Apple for release of the device in that country, but hasn’t set a ship date or price at this time, Reuters informs.

Back in China, China Unicom’s stock fell 5 per cent to a near three-week low after the carrier said it will begin selling iPhone in China next month. The stock decline was attributed to the high cost the carrier expects to charge, 5,000 Yuan, approximately $732.50, far higher than analysts had hoped for.

The high price tag could damage Apple’s chances of seizing a good slice of the world’s largest mobile market. Price is seen to have depressed iPhone sales in both India and Russia already, both territories industry observers had potentially seen as strong markets for the device. Once again, in both these markets, prohibitive prices have dampened actual take-up of the device.

With an estimated 15.8 per cent of the 140 million-strong Russian population living under the poverty line and an average per capita GDP of $15,800, the $1,000 Apple originally wanted to charge was just too high for the product to get the street appeal it has managed to generate elsewhere.
 

Apple has taken three of the top five places in this year’s CoolBrands list, with the iPhone at top of the poll, Apple itself in third place and the iPod securing fourth place in the list, led for the last three years by Aston Martin, which fell to second place this year.

The success of the iPhone this year, which sold 5 million units between March and June, has led to it rising from second to become the most stylish brand. The shortlist for the survey is compiled by 2,500 voters. The final twenty brands are voted on by a panel.

BlackBerry saw some gains, climbing 16 places to seventh place, while the BBC’s iPlayer was the only new entry to take a top 20 slot. Google’s YouTube was recognised as the number one online brand.

Stephen Cheliotis, chief executive of the Centre for Brand Analysis, said: "The iPhone is something everyone has been talking about. There has been so such a buzz around it and people who haven’t got one, want one.”

Top 20 Coolest Brands:
    1.    iPhone
    2.    Aston Martin
    3.    Apple
    4.    iPod
    5.    Nintendo
    6.    YouTube
    7.    BlackBerry
    8.    Google
    9.    Bang & Olufsen
    10.    PlayStation 3
    11.    Xbox
    12.    Tate Modern
    13.    Dom Perignon
    14.    Virgin Atlantic
    15.    Ferrari
    16.    Sony
    17.    Mini
    18.    Vivienne Westwood
    19.    Rolex
    20.    BBC iPlayer

Ending O2’s exclusive status as sole UK iPhone supplier, France Telecom’s Orange this morning said it will begin selling the iPhone in the UK from later this year.

"Orange UK and Apple have reached an agreement to bring iPhone 3G and 3GS to Orange UK customers later this year," Orange said.

"Orange, which has the largest 3G network covering more people in the UK than any other operator, will sell iPhone in all Orange direct channels including Orange shops, the Orange webshop and Orange telesales channels, as well as selected high street partners," the carrier said.

O2 will continue selling the device, but its exclusive contract will expire. The company has attracted over one million iPhone users to its network since the device went on sale.

Orange has already published a page to its website where customers interested in getting an iPhone can register their interest.

Orange in the UK has also proposed a merger with the UK arm of T-Mobile. If approved, this will create the UK’s largest mobile network, and make the iPhone available to over 49 million UK mobile users.

Commenting on this news, O2 this morning issued the following statement: "We’re proud that we’ve been able to offer an exclusive iPhone deal to our 20 million customers for the last two years. We always knew that iPhone exclusivity was for a limited period of time, but our relationship with Apple continues and will be an ongoing success. We have over 1million iPhone customers and they remain very important to us."

We’re not sure what to say about this guy.  At first, not fans AT ALL. Certainly not as good as the last guy.  But dare we say it sticks in our heads?  Like "Co-stanza"

via FakeSteve

For the next four hours, Amazon has the Kill-a-watt electicity usage monitor for $50+ free ship.

Product Features

• Graphic timer reads energy consumption by the kilowatt-hour
• Calculates electricity expenses by the day, week, month, or year
• Can turn appliances on and off; 96 programmable on/off settings per day
• Built-in surge protector guards against voltage spikes; monitors 2 tasks at a time
• Measures approximately 5 by 3 by 2 inches

Amazon.com Product Description
Empowers You to Save Hundreds on Electric Bills and More
Are your electric bills costing you a fortune? Cut costs and take control of your electrical appliances with the Kill A Watt® Graphic Timer.

This advanced timer has the ability to monitor 2 tasks at once. First, it serves as a catalyst to turn your household appliances on and off as it simultaneously monitors its energy consumption so you can have total control of your electricity usage even when you are not at home. With up to 96 different programmable power on/off event settings per day, and 7 different combinations for the different days of the week, makes this device the smartest, and easiest to use, timer out there.

Not only is it a thrifty device, but the Kill A Watt GT 4480 is also the perfect tool to ward off would-be thieves by turning on and off a connected lamp at random times, giving your empty home the appearance of being occupied. The Kill A Watt function helps you save money and protects your appliances. Now, you can save energy by using lights and electronics only when you need them. The built in surge protector also guards your appliance from voltage spikes. With the simple press of a button, you can read the consumption by the kilowatt-hour and calculate electricity expenses by the day, week, month, or year.

The Kill A Watt Graphic Timer is a 3-in-1 product. It is a Graphic Timer with a Power Meter built-in that serves as a Surge Protector. It presents the information to you in a simple, easy-to-understand format.

Easy to Use, with Many Practical Applications
 
Large LCD display counts consumption by the kilowatt-hour
This is one of the most sophisticated timers on the market and yet is very easy to understand. It’s a digital version of a straightforward mechanical timer with a visual interface. It is easy to program the quarter-hour ON/OFF periods for 7 days and 24 hours as you would program traditional mechanical timers. Unlike other timers, the Graphic Timer is not limited to one day of programming–the unit allows unique programs for each of the 7 days of the week. Measurements and programming are stored in memory and retained during power outages. A backup battery allows armchair programming before you even plug it in.

This fully loaded surge protector doesn’t just guard your electrical devices from voltage spikes. It also provides protection against over current, over voltage, and under voltage delivering clean safe power to your expensive equipment. When the voltage presented at the wall outlet is over or under the normal voltage range, the unit will switch to Abnormal Voltage mode shutting off the power at the outlet. Similarly when the current load presented by the connected appliance exceeds the maximum current (15A), the unit will switch to Over Current mode and the power will be switched off to the outlet. The GT also helps prolong the lifespan of your appliances by gently applying start-up power via its Zero power crossing spike-free switch.

The power meter once connected to your appliance will assess how efficient they really are. The Large LCD display will count consumption by the Kilowatt-hour, same as your local utility. You can track minute-by-minute changes in electric consumption as major appliances are turned on and off. It lets you track the amount of electricity that your household uses in real time. It helps you reduce your energy consumption and decrease your monthly bills while helping the environment. Also check the quality of your power by monitoring line voltage. The unit displays the total cumulative appliance power consumption in Kilowatt Hours (KWH). The unit will display KWH from 0.01 KWH to 9999 KWH.

Examples of the Different Uses of the Kill A Watt Graphic Timer
 
Test your energy usage, set up a 7-day timer, and more

You can plug your entertainment center’s power strip into the GT and program it to turn off when you are not home to avoid any standby power from flat-panel TVs and cable boxes that suck up huge amounts of electricity even when not in use. If you need to use a connected product, the conveniently located on/off control allows a temporary override without changing the timer settings. You can go back to the timer mode very easily by hitting the Auto button. This neat feature allows you to use power only when needed, and gives you total control of your appliances. According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory a surprisingly large number of electrical products–TVs to microwave ovens to air conditioners–cannot be switched off completely without being unplugged. These products draw power 24 hours a day, often without the knowledge of the consumer. We call this power consumption "standby power."

Use the Kill A Watt as a 7-day timer with up to 96 on/off cycles per day. You can conveniently program your Christmas lights to go on/off in a wide variety of programming options set differently for each day of the week. i.e. stay on longer in the weekends or go on earlier on Wednesdays.

Plug your lamp into the unit and use it as a security guard. It wards off would-be thieves by turning a connected lamp on and off at random times, giving your empty home the appearance of being occupied.

Test for Yourself and Observe the Results

Put the GT to the test and see how you can save money on your electricity bill. Program the GT and plug your entertainment center’s power strip but keep the timer function off. Measure one week’s cumulative power consumption in KWHs and retain the information in your records. Now turn on the timer function the following week, which will eliminate any standby power that will otherwise be used by the appliances in your entertainment center. Compare the 2-week records and see how many KWHs you have saved. Multiply the KWHs saved by the rate your utility provider charges for electricity and it will give you the total money saved that week by using the Kill A Watt Graphic Timer.

Technical Specifications
Accuracy: +/- 0.2%
Input Power: 115 volts AC, 60 Hz
Max Current: 15 amps
Max Voltage: 125 volts
Max Power: 1875 VA
Dimensions: 5.1 inches long x 1.6 inches thick x 2.4 inches wide
Approvals: ETL (c), ETL (us)
Origin: China
Manufacturer Warranty: 1 Year

Product Description
A smart addition to any home, this unique timer allows for total control over electricity usage, even when out of town on business or away on vacation. The handy gadget reads energy consumption by the kilowatt-hour and calculates electricity expenses by the day, week, month, or year. It can also be used to turn household appliances on and off, with seven different combinations for each day of the week and up to 96 programmable on/off settings per day. Connect it to a lamp with random on/off times to make an empty house look occupied, or attach it to valuable appliances–its built-in surge protector guards against voltage spikes. The graphic timer can monitor two tasks at once and measures approximately 5 by 3 by 2 inches.

Engadget has an interesting little extra information on the Light Peak 10Gb bus standard that Intel curiously demonstrated on a Hackintosh this week.  Now we know why they used a ‘Hackintosh’ – it actually wasn’t a Hackintosh but a real Apple Blue Motherboard. 

It turns out that Apple has developed the standard and was instrumental in bringing it on board over at Intel.  Instrumental in this case means Steve Jobs aguing with Intel chief Paul Paul Otellini about getting the product into new motherboards.

10Gbs is fast.  It is 10 times faster than Gigabit Ethernet (and is duplex meaning both tx and rx are 10Gb as the same time).  That is also faster than the DisplayPort connector that connects Apple’s displays.   The video below shows a video card driving an HD monitor while a 2 GB file copy transpires in a few seconds.

The good news from Engadget is that Apple machines with this technology are to debut within a year – they say around the back to school season.  A lower power version is due a year from then (in 2011) and would be a good fit for mobile devices like a tablet.  The bus standard is expected to hit 100Gbs in the future as well.

In the meantime, it might also make a good dock connector-type port.  It would allow USB/Firewire/Ethernet/DisplayPort all to run at full speed simultanously and would only require one plug.