September huh? Of what year?
Well??? What happened?
Author
Is iDVD EOL'd?
As far as we can tell, Apple hasn’t done a thing to iDVD ’09 to differentiate it from iDVD ’08. Not even a few fresh templates. In fact, they left the ‘iDVD’ off of the side of the box, like it didn’t exist anymore. Is it EOL’d?
We know Apple doesn’t care much for the bag o’ hurt that is Blu Ray disks. In fact, a DVD player doesn’t even grace the AppleTV or MacBook Air. Optical is definitely on the decline in Cupertino.
As a side note, Apple had also removed iTunes from the iLife package as of iLife ’08.
Wow…just Wow. Jobs, Gates, Macintosh dating game
We’re amazed this hasn’t been burned.
iPhoto '09 Places is great IF you have a geotagging camera
Let’s face it. The geotagging feature is great on iPhoto ’09 but there are only a few cameras out there that currently have geotagging built in. Obviously the iPhone does, and for most of us that is it. While good for a camera phone, iPhone images aren’t fantastic. Some of you might have theGPS-enabled Nikon’s Coolpix P6000 13.5MP Digital Camera which is the camera that Apple showed off during the iPhoto demonstration. Most of us don’t have geotagging for great photos. But there is a pretty cool little workaround.
Eye-Fi Explore SD cards ($100), which have a built in Wifi card, use their wireless capabilities to geotag pictures. While it isn’t quite as accurate as a real GPS (or even Cell tower GPS), it is still accurate enough to get the point across. It triangulates based on nearby Wifi hotspots that are in a national database with geographic coordinates. This is very similar to the technology that the iPod Touch uses to find itself in the Maps application. If you aren’t in a Wifi’s range when the picture is snapped, it will point to the area where the next wifi point is triangulated. (more below)
Using the Eye-fi Explore obviously could cut down on your usable amount of storage space (2GB) and also probably uses your battery significantly faster, but having a geotagging function is probably worth it for most. You’ll also need a camera that takes SD Cards. Cameras that take CF Cards, SonyMemory Sticks, xD cards or any other type of media unfortunately won’t be able to take advantage of this technology.
Manufacturer Product Description
A Wireless Memory Card? Yes, there really is Wi-Fi inside that tiny little card. It’s going to change the way you take, save and share photos.
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It makes your camera a Wi-Fi camera. Upload your photos automatically.
Photos shouldn’t be trapped in your camera. Set them free effortlessly and wirelessly. The Eye-Fi Card is a wireless SD memory card for your digital camera. It stores pictures like a standard SD memory card, but also uses your Wi-Fi network to automatically upload images from inside your camera to your PC or Mac. No cables, no cradles, no fuss. It also neatly organizes your photo uploads by date in the folder you choose.
Key Features
- Unlimited Geotagging
- Wi-Fi Hotspot Access for 1 year
- Unlimited WebShare Service
- Wireless Uploads to Computer
- 2 GB of storage
Eye-Fi Explore is for those who tag or organize, for those who blog or share in real-time, for those who need to upload here, there or somewhere else, and all the rest who are simply passionate about managing, sharing and saving their memories.
It uploads photos wirelessly to your computer and to the web, of course. But, Eye-Fi Explore also automatically adds geographic location labels to your photos and allows you to upload from more than 10,000 Wi-Fi hotspots across the nation. Your memories will be easier to search and more fun to share with geo tags, and you’ll be able to upload them on the go.
How it works
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Geotagging
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With Geotagging, your photos will be automatically labeled, or tagged, to show where they were taken. Today, tags make searching for photos easier and make sharing them more meaningful, but it’s a time-consuming and manual process. With Eye-Fi’s Geotagging Service, you won’t have to spend your time entering the info. It’s done for you when you upload your photo. |
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Using its built-in Wi-Fi, the Eye-Fi Card locates any surrounding Wi-Fi networks as you take pictures. Then, the Eye-Fi Service translates that data into geographic location and adds the information to each picture (in the EXIF data) as it is delivered to the web or your computer. It’s as easy as that. You snap the shot and the photo shows up labeled with the city and state in which it was taken. The coverage area is expanding all the time, as new Wi-Fi access points appear and as the location of those wireless networks are mapped and added to the system. Today, in North America, about 70 percent of the populated areas have been mapped. In Europe, the top 50 metropolitan areas are covered, along with 70 percent of the populated areas in Germany, France and the UK. Coverage is expanding in Western Europe as well as several areas of Asia, including Japan, Korea, Taiwan and other countries. Certain online photo sites already support geotagging and even have visualization tools that let you map your memories. Check out Flickr, Picasa and SmugMug to see what geotagging can do. Many desktop photo management programs also make good use of geotags as well, including Adobe’s Photoshop Elements 6 (PC only), Google’s Picasa (PC only), Ovolabs Geophoto (mac only) and Microsoft’s Pro Photo Tools (PC only). Eye-Fi Explore includes unlimited Geotagging. |
HotSpot Access
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With Hotspot Access, you’ll be able to upload from more than 10,000 Wayport Wi-Fi hotspots across the US just as easily as at home. You don’t need to have your laptop with you or even have an account with the hotspot provider. Your photos will be delivered to your photo-sharing website and to your computer, even if it’s thousands of miles away. |
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To make this possible and easy, Eye-Fi has worked directly with hotspot provider Wayport. Wayport offers Wi-Fi access at thousands of locations, including most McDonald’s restaurants, major hotels, airports, and other locales. To see a map of all the locations in the US, click here.
An Eye-Fi Card with Hotspot Access already includes access to Wayport hotspots. Simply walk into a Wayport location and turn on your camera. Your Eye-Fi Card will recognize the network, connect to it and start uploading your photos while you have a burger or wait for your flight. If you want to be informed about your uploads, you can choose to receive status updates from Eye-Fi as either email or SMS messages. We’ll let you know when you’ve connected to a supported hotspot network and are uploading and we’ll let you know when your upload is finished. And, like all Eye-Fi uploads, if you leave the location before your upload is finished, it will pick up right where it left off the next time you’re in a supported location. Eye-Fi Explore includes 1 year of Wayport Hotspot Access. Eye-Fi Explore users will be able to renew Hotspot Access for $19 per year after the first year. |
WebShare
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With WebShare, your photos can be automatically uploaded to your favorite photo sharing, printing, blogging or social networking website. No wasted time sitting in front of your computer. No fussing with upload software. No delay in sharing your new memories with friends and family. Choose from among more than 20 of the most popular websites and some up-and-comers too. You can upload images privately and |
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control if and when they are viewable by others. Many sites even let you edit your photo albums online. And, you can change your preferred upload site at any time. You can even upload to the Web when your computer is turned off. The Eye-Fi Share and The Eye-Fi Explore will upload your photos directly to the Eye-Fi Service through your home Wi-Fi network. We’ll deliver them to your photo site and then deliver them to your computer the next time you turn it on. The Eye-Fi Service is secure and encrypted, so your data and photos are safe and private. Eye-Fi Share and Eye-Fi Explore include unlimited WebShare service. Upload and share all you want. |
Product Description
For those who tag or organize, who blog or share in real-time, who need to upload here, there, or somewhere else; and for all the rest who are simply passionate about managing, sharing, and saving their memories: there is now the Eye-Fi Explore Wireless SD card. It uploads photos wirelessly to your computer and to the web, of course. But, Eye-Fi Explore also automatically adds geographic location labels to your photos and allows you to upload from more than 10,000 Wi-Fi hotspots across the nation. Your memories will be easier to search and more fun to share with geo tags, and you’ll be able to upload them while on the go.
Fring update to bring Last.FM other goodies to iPhone?
iLife Shipping from Apple, Best Buy and now Amazon
As we reported yesterday, Best Buy and Apple are now shooting iLife out their backsides. But what about 9to5mac affiliate Amazon? They’ve just updated their page.
This item will be released on January 28, 2009.
Go get it….
iLife ’09 $79
iLife ’09 Family Pack $99 (up to 5 licenses – screw you Brady Bunch!)
iWork ’09 $79
iWork ’09 Family Pack $99
The Box Set – which includes iLife ’09, iWork ’09 and a Leopard license
Single License: $169
Family License: $229
Remember to check all of the Apple related deals at 9to5mac.com/toys (feed).
Papermaster to join Apple on April 24th
It looks like the Mark Papermaster/IBM hiring saga is over. Apple today released the news in a Press Release entitled "Mark Papermaster to Begin at Apple as Senior Vice President of Devices Hardware Engineering on April 24". According to Apple, the litigation between IBM and Mark Papermaster has been resolved. In other words, some cash changed hands. We hope he was worth it.
Papermaster will inherit outgoing iPod chief Tony Fadell’s turf along with other devices that spring from the iPhone and iPod touch platforms. This is probably one of the most, if not the most exciting areas of product development for Apple right now. The competing Netbook platforms on PC are the only growth area and Apple is widely expected to come up with an answer – although Apple’s will of course have to be a twist on the idea that you never thought of.
Papermaster’s mug still isn’t gracing the Executive Bios Page yet at Apple but you can bet it will shortly.
iPhone/iPod Touch 2.2.1 update brings stability updates in Safari, more
Weighing in at 246MB and bringing with it two mentioned fixes and untold more secret changes, the update just hit our screens. Jailbreakers might want to take a wait and see approach as the modem software is updated to Firmware 02.30.03
why are you still here? go get it and report back with any Safari Snappiness™.
We are just starting to get reports in on iLife '09…
iWeb has some interesting new widgets (see picture below) but not a total overhaul. iDVD not much changed (EOL’d?). iMovie has a slick (marble?) new overhaul and has totally redesigned from the ground up. iPhoto is as cool as advertised. And then there is GarageBand…What new things have you found?
GarageBand
iWeb widgets including Adsense!
iMovie is totally different.
2 TB hard drives hitting the scene
Western Digital is heading the relentless progression of Hard Drive technology by unleashing their new 2TB "Green" monster. (sorry Sox fans). Hot Hardware got their hands on one and ran it through the Windows NTFS ringer. Results? It held its own speed-wise against other 7200 RPM drives. WD says they’ll retail at $299 but with 1.5TB Drives hitting $129 routinely, we expect to see these guys at around the $200 range very soon. Specs below.
- Capacity: 2TB (400Gb/sq.in. areal density)
- 32MB cache buffer
- Variable spindle speed
- 3.5-inch form-factor
- 500GB/platter, 4-platter design
- 3Gb/sec SATA with NCQ
- SATA power connector only
- PMR head technology
- RoHS compliant
;)
;)
;)
NVIDIA Graphics update 2009
Apple, today is attempting to rectify the problems associated with the Dual-link DVI adapter and 30-inch screens that have been plaguing new MacBook/AIR/Pro owners (including myself) since we received our devices (2 months late). And some other stuff. Hit software update and report any and all snappieness™.
This update improves cursor movement when using the Apple Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter with the Mini DisplayPort enabled MacBook Air, MacBook and MacBook Pro. It also improves playback of HD video running on systems with NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT or GeForce 9600M graphics.
Valleywag reporting Jobs getting surgery at Stanford Hospital today
Update: SAI says: A Valley source tells us this is wrong. "He was in Apple meetings today, as a matter of fact. Valleywag is 100 percent wrong."
Yeah, we know, we know Steve Jobs health rumors are strictly off limits but this is a dooosey and it is making the rounds so you might as well hear it from us. Of course there is no possible way to verify and Valleywag’s track record is spotty at best.
But just in case, maybe you’d like to know where to send the get well soon cards – or the comment flames?
Google Web Drive coming soon
We’re kinda going off topic – or cross topic if you’d like – here but we know a lot of you readers use Google Apps. Plus, you like hints solving technology mysteries right? Well, we’ve uncovered some information on Google’s infamous GDrive or Webdrive that seem to indicate that you’ll soon be able to store your documents with Google. Here’s the Google Webdrive icon:
http://9to5mac.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2009/01/mini_webdrive.gif
More From GOS:
Cédric Vergé noticed a change in one of the CSS files for Google Apps: there’s a class named "webdrive" and an icon for the new service.
When Google released Picasa for Mac, many people wondered what’s the mystery behind a menu option titled "Google Web Drive":
Last week, Tony Ruscoe found some traces of an internal Google document which mentioned an update for Google Docs, which will slowly morph into GDrive. Apparently, Google Docs will be the web interface for GDrive, while a Windows/Mac client will integrate the service with the operating system and make it easy to synchronize files.
Fix the Hinge! Users complaining of a loose hinge on Unibody MacBook Pros
You know how this works. A group of people who have purchased Unibody MacBook Pros likes the rigidity of the old MacBook Pro hinges vs. the new one. So of course they started a petition and got it dugg to get attention put on the matter. It isn’t clear what exactly Apple could do at this point except tighten some screws or use less lubricant. But we do know everyone will have an opinion on both sides of this matter.
Dare we ask? Opinions?
Deal from 9to5mac/Toys: 16GB USB stick, $25
From 9to5mac.com/Toys: Amazon today has the 16GB Kingston Data Traveller model no. DT100/16GB, for $25.07 with free shipping ($1.57/GB). That’s tied with last week’s mention and the lowest total price we could find by $5.
Product Description
You’ve trusted Kingston’s DataTraveler with your most important files. Now Kingston proudly introduces the sleek and capless DataTraveler 100. It holds all your documents in an affordable, convenient device and helps budget-conscious users break storage barriers, allowing them to easily store and move large files in a device no bigger than a pocketknife. DataTraveler 100 was built with simplicity in mind, allowing you to focus on your data. The USB connector is safely housed inside the sleek case, so you don’t have to worry about losing a cap. DataTraveler 100 is available, with 16GB capacity, offers you plenty of room to hold just about any document, from term papers to digital images, spreadsheets, music or other important data files. Backed by a five-year warranty and Kingston’s legendary service and support, DataTraveler 100 is a reliable, inexpensive solution for carrying digital files with you anywhere you go.
Microsoft Songsmith. Is this real?
iLife '09 shipping, at Best Buy?
For those of you wanting to pick up iLife ’09 at the earliest possible second, your wait might soon be over. Readers in several forums including Macrumors are saying that they are getting notices that iLife is on the way. Of note, Best Buy also says it is released today – January 25th. We had previously received word that iLife had gone Golden Master last week. Apple’s PR says the 27th.
The Apple Store also has added the "Add to cart" button (below) which replaces the "Pre-order".
iBluetooth to bring file transfers to jailbroken iPhones
You know that Bluetooth chip in the iPhone is capable of doing wonderous things, right? It is able to do A2DP stereo wireless and EDR Bluetooth file transfers. For some reason (battery?) Apple has decided to leave these features out of the software.
Never fear, MeDevil has found a way around Apple software limitations and is building a hack that will allow file transfers called iBluetooth. It will be in your Cydia iSpazio repository "soon".
As with all hacked applications, we urge caution when installing, you don’t want something like "this" to happen. (This = Android app that erases memory and installs spyware.)
Frankly, we’d more like to see Stereo Bluetooth but we’ll take what we can get. (via Giz)
Happy 25th, Macintosh
Apple Interactive Television Set Top Box prototype is AppleTV of yesteryear
Apple’s TV ‘hobby’ is probably older than you might think. Engadget uncovered a little Ebay auction on a protoype Apple set top box circa 1995. Never heard of this? Check Wikipedia for the deets. Oh, and if you have a measly $250 and a big Apple nostalgia streak, click on that ‘buy it now’ button. Update: Auction Over – someone is $250 poorer
Weekend Deal: Samsung Touch of Color 46" 120Hz 1080p Widescreen LCD HD Television
From 9to5mac.com/Toys, comes a pretty solid deal on a some very high end Samsung HDTVs:
Amazon.com offers the Samsung 46" 1080p Widescreen LCD HD Television, model no. LN-46A550, for $1,049.94 with free shipping. That’s $50 under our mention three days ago and the lowest total price we’ve ever seen for this HDTV. Plus, Amazon adds a free $200 NFLShop Gift Certificate via this mail-in rebate. Features include a 1920×1080 (1080p) native resolution, ATSC (HD), NTSC, and QAM tuners, 30,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 5ms response time, 500 cd/m² brightness, three HDMI inputs, and VGA, component, and other video inputs. Deal ends January 31.
On the higher end:
Today only, Amazon.com offers the Samsung Touch of Color 46" 120Hz 1080p Widescreen LCD HD Television, model no. LN-46A630, for $1,299.98 with free shipping. Plus, get a free $200 NFLShop gift card via this mail-in rebate. That’s $36 under last week’s mention and the best deal we’ve ever seen for this TV. The bezel of this TV is edged in the color Red. The flat panel features a native resolution of 1920×1080 (1080p), 120Hz refresh rate, 40,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 4ms response time, ATSC (HD), NTSC, and QAM tuners, three HDMI inputs, and VGA, component, and other video inputs.
Got a scratched Nano? How bout $25 for your pain?
The short of it is this: The original iPod Nanos were easy to get scuffed up. Some people got together and filed a lawsuit. Five years later, they’ve settled on $4 Million for the plaintiffs and $25 for each person who can prove they have purchased a 1st generation iPod Nano. If you got a sleeve with your nano, you only get $15. Seems a bit frivolous, doesn’t it?
Video of MacWind
Tim Cook made it fairly clear that Apple didn’t want to compete in the Netbook space at this week’s earnings report. We know you’ve been waiting for that Apple Netbook so we’re showing you the best/easiest substitute. Tha MacWind (via CultofMac) seems to be a worthy paceholder until Apple joins this space – if at all. MSI has been gracious enough to provide Mac drivers for their WiFi hardware so everything now works out of the box. Keep in mind all of this Hackintoshness is a legal gray area so make sure you’ve bought at least 3 copies of Leopard in the past year like us.
..dig the accents… If you are interested in starting a MSI MacWind, the biggest part of your journey will be getting the Wind. There happens to be a sale at 9to5mac Affiliate Amazon.
From 9to5mac.com/toys:
Amazon.com offers the MSI Windbook Intel Atom 1.6GHz 10" Widescreen Ultra-Mobile PC Notebook, model no. U120-024US, for $379.99. With free shipping, that’s the lowest total price we could find for this newly-released model by $20. This 2.6-lb. notebook features an Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor, 10" 1024×600 LED-backlit LCD display, 1GB RAM, 160GB Serial ATA hard drive, 802.11g wireless, 6-cell battery, 1.3-megapixel webcam, memory card slot, Bluetooth, and Windows XP Home.
Do you really want to take that new MacBook Pro into the bathroom with you?
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thepartim-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B001P5GKBM&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr From there head over here for the rest of the instructions.
Another Mac Trojan found in torrented Adobe CS4 crack
Intego today reported another Trojan found in widely circulating in Mac Bittorrents. Last week it was the iWork torrent. This time it is with the Adobe CS4 Serial Cracker (not the DVD image installer itself). If you don’t torrent software, at this point you have nothing to worry about. From Intego:
Exploit: OSX.Trojan.iServices.B Trojan Horse
Discovered: January 25, 2009
Risk: Serious
Description: Intego has discovered a new variant of the iServices Trojan horse that the company discovered on January 22, 2009. This new Trojan horse, OSX.Trojan.iServices.B, like the previous version, is found in pirated software distributed via BitTorrent trackers and other sites containing links to pirated software. OSX.Trojan.iServices.B Trojan horse is found bundled with copies of Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Mac. The actual Photoshop installer is clean, but the Trojan horse is found in a crack application that serializes the program.
After downloading this version of Photoshop, users will run the crack application to be able to use it. The crack application extracts an executable from its data, than installs a backdoor in /var/tmp/, a directory which is not deleted when the computer is restarted. (If the user runs the crack application again, the Trojan horse creates a new executable with a different name; these random names make it harder to ensure safe removal of the malware.)
The crack application then requests an administrator password, launching the backdoor with root privileges. This copies the executable to /usr/bin/DivX, then creates a startup item in /System/Library/StartupItems/DivX. The program checks to see if it has been launched with root privileges, then saves the root hash password in the file /var/root/.DivX. It listens on a random TCP port, and answers requests such as GET / HTTP/1.0 by sending a 209-byte packet, and makes repeated connections to two IP addresses.
Next, the crack application opens a disk image which is hidden in its resource folder, in a folder named .data, and proceeds to crack the Photoshop program, allowing it to be used.
Since the malicious software connects to a remote server over the Internet, the creator of this malware will be alerted that this Trojan horse is installed on different Macs, and will have the ability to connect to them and perform various actions remotely. The Trojan horse may also download additional components to an infected Mac.
Intego is issuing this alert to warn Mac users not to download Photoshop CS4 installers from sites offering pirated software. (As of 6 am EST, nearly 5,000 people have downloaded this installer, according to a major BitTorrent tracker site.) Since the Trojan horse, in this case, is found merely in the crack application that is bundled with Photoshop CS4, users should avoid downloading any cracking software from sites that distribute pirated software. The risk of infection is serious, due to the number of infected users, and these users may face extremely serious consequences if their Macs are accessible to malicious users. The first version of this Trojan horse was seen downloading new code to infected computers, which were then used in a DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack on certain web sites. Since this new variant uses the same technology, and contacts the same remote servers, it is likely that it will attempt to download new code and perform such actions.