Hey everyone – we are continuing to try to bring you some great Mac related deals at our Amazon Store. Hope you find these items relevant and useful. We’ll keep these going periodically until Christmas.  BTW, we make a few percentage points off of a sale if you buy – we haven’t tested nor do we endorse these products)

Amazon.com offers the Sony HandyCam HDR-SR5 40GB HD DV Camcorder (pictured) for $699.99. With free shipping, it’s the lowest total price we’ve ever seen by $28. Features include a 40GB hard drive, Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens with 10x optical zoom, 1080i recording, 2.7" widescreen LCD, 2.1-megapixel still images, Memory Stick PRO Duo slot, USB connectivity, and more.  It lists for $1000.

If you want to take the next step up from Sony and get 1080P recording, hit the Sony HDR-SR7 AVCHD 6.1MP 60GB High Definition Hard Disk Drive Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom which is  $999.  It is $400 off of list.

Sanyo Xacti HD700 7MP MPEG-4 High Definition 720p Camcorder with 5x Optical Zoom (Silver)

$299

(edit – too good to be true – wentback up to $519 – hope you got one early! We’ve linked to the Brown one which can still be had for a very reasonable $349)

Reatil Price: $600

Other stores: $530-600

BTW- we should be able to provide a review on oh about December 26th…

Manufacturer Description
Shoot high-definition today with this elegant state-of-the-art true 720p high-definition camcorder that doubles as a 7-megapixel digital camera. Encased in a stunning enclosure, the HD700 features a 5x optical lens and a large 2.7-inch widescreen display making the HD700 as convenient as it is useful. And, a HDMI port on the docking station allows you to simply connect to the latest high-definition TVs and recorders to view and share your footage. Also, the HD700 records to the latest MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 global standard, delivering exceptional video clarity and detail while maintaining the smallest file size possible.

Xacti HD700 Highlights

5x optical zoom The HD700 digital media camera features a 5x all-glass optical zoom lens with a bright maximum aperture of f/3.5. Consisting of nine groups and twelve total lenses (3 aspheric elements, 5 aspheric surfaces), the HD700’s lens provides a fantastic field-of-view with a 38-190 mm range (35 mm equivalent). Combined with the 12x digital zoom, the HD700 provides up to 60x zooming capability.

Large, 2.7-inch widescreen display The Xacti HD700 features a large 2.7 inch widescreen Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). The display flips out from the camera and rotates up to 285 degrees on an axis that allows you to take great video or still images from otherwise-difficult-to-view positions, especially useful when shooting in large crowds or in small rooms.

Convenient SD/SDHC memory card slot The Sanyo Xacti HD700 records high-definition and photos directly to a standard SD or SDHC memory card. In fact, the HD700 is capable of recording up to 2 hour and 46 minutes of 720p high-definition video on a single 8GB card (sold separately).

Random access Each video is recorded as an individual MPEG-4 and each still as a JPEG so you can have true random access allowing you to review a specific image or video quickly and easily, without waiting for tape rewinding or fast forwarding.

Ergonomic design The Xacti series has become known for the small size and ergonomic design. The HD700 features a comfortable angle designed to easily fit in the palm of the hand. The HD700’s adapts the new 105-degree angle design that is research proven to be less tiring to hold and shoot than typical camcorders. Easy to hold and easy to shoot with, the HD700 raises the bar in compact camcorder design.

Mac OS compatible Got a Mac? The new HD700 was designed to work with Apple’s full complement of video editing applications including the new iMovie ’08. Easily edit your movies and add them to your website or YouTube for sharing or create versions for iPod, iPhone or the Apple TV. It’s easy!

Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0 included For Windows Customers, the Sanyo Xacti HD700 includes the powerful award-winning Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0 video editing software. Adobe Premieree Elements 3.0 software makes creating and sharing impressive home videos a snap. Burn your footage to DVD in two simple steps, complete with a DVD menu and scene index, or easily assemble your movie by rearranging clips with drag-and-drop simplicity. And share your movies on DVD, the web, mobile phones, and virtually anywhere else.

Other Great Features

• HDMI highi-definition output
• Digital image stabilization
• In-camera editing
• Innovative docking station included
• Superfast Startup (Record in as little as 1.3 seconds)
• Playback directly onto a HD or standard TV screen
• Easy connection to VCR or DVD recorder
• Remote control included

Product Description
Shoot high-definition today with this elegant state-of-the-art true 720p high-definition camcorder that doubles as a 7 megapixel digital camera. Encased in a stunning enclosure, the HD700 features a 5x optical lens and a large 2.7-inch widescreen display making the Sanyo HD700 as convenient as it is useful. And, a HDMI port on the docking station allows you to simply connect to the latest high-definition TVs and recorders to view and share your footage. Also, the HD700 records to the latest MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 global standard, delivering exceptional video clarity and detail while maintaining the smallest file size possible. Playback directly onto a HD or standard TV screen. Easy connection to VCR or DVD recorder. Remote Control Included 5x all-glass optical zoom with a bright maximum aperture of f/3.5. Consisting of nine groups and twelve total lenses (3 aspheric elements, 5 aspheric surfaces), the HD700’s lens provides a fantastic field-of-view with a 38-190 mm range (35 mm equivalent). Combined with the 12x digital zoom, the HD700 provides up to 60x zooming capability Each video is recorded as an individual MPEG-4 and each still as a JPEG Records and plays from optional SD and SDHC memory cards; accepts up to 8GB capacity ? The new HD700 was designed to work with Apple’s full complement of video editing applications including the new iMovie 08. Easily edit your movies and add them to your website or YouTube for sharing or create versions for iPod, iPhone or the Apple TV NTSC / PAL (interfacing via included docking station or connecting adaptor) 720p 1280×720 video HDTV resolution capability Unit Dimensions 2.9 x 1.4 x 4.3 inches (W x D x H); Weight 6.7 oz. approx. (main unit only), 7.5 oz. approx. (including battery and a standard SD card) Includes SANYO Software Pack, Docking station, Dedicated AV interface cable, Dedicated Component interface cable, Dedicated USB cable, Cable adaptor, Lith

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thepartim-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000W9YXFM&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr

We’ve been using Skype on our Leopard MacBook since – oh about mid-October with very few problems – but there have been many cited on the Internets – mostly in relation to Apple’s redesigned firewall.

Well, for those with problems, Skype has answers – in the form of a 2.7Beta release (at your own risk).  Skype betas have treated us relatively well over the years so we’ll be downloading and testing this shortly.

From Skype:

OK Ipod Touch v 1.1.2 already hacked.  but iPhone…still wait

OK, here we are again.  Apple is updating the iPhone.  For most of us, there is no reason to upgrade.  YET.  Apple is reportedly bricking AnySIM iPhones again , breaking the iToner and disabling all 3rd party applications.  For the tradeoff, Apple is providing international keyboards (AZERTY and QWERTZ for our European friends) and fixing bugs – including the TIF browser exploit which was used to jailbreak the 1.1.1 version.

Obviously there is a subset of people who have no intention of Jailbreaking/ using any of the 3rd party applications now or at any point in the future.  If so, this upgrade is for you.  Enjoy.  Let us know how it goes.

There are those who are sitting on the fence and may want to use a third party application at some point but haven’t jailbroken their iPhone yet.  WAIT.  We know it is tempting but just wait.  WAIT.  If there is a jailbreak on the 1.1.2 or a Option-restore to 1.1.1 then you are golden – upgrade away.  If not, it is a one way street and your iPhone will be jailled.

If you are using/enjoying applications like Navizon (we luv u navizon), Voice Notes (Thanks Erica!), Apollo/Mobile Chat, NES,  Books.app, WeDict, Sketches, Widgets, iBlackjack, Term-VT100, PDF Viewer, Sudoku, Themes, or the many other 3rd party apps, you can’t upgrade.  Let’s just repeat it just in case there is some confusion:

DON’T UPGRADE YOUR IPHONE TO 1.1.2

If you are (rightfully) concerned about the TIF exploit, AppTapp has a great fix for it.  They will likely also be able to port any imrovements that you’ll see in 1.1.2, so again.  So, again…Wait.

Hopefully the community will be able to knock out a hack for this phone pronto and we can all unite again under 1.1.2.

Apple, we understand you are just doing your due diligence and look forward to the day when you aren’t doing the bidding of the wireless telecom industry.

 Until then.  Thanks for the update.  We are going to pass…for now.

EDIT: As an astute reader just pointed out – it would also make sense not to update iTunes to 7.5 until we see exactly what Apple has planned for us.  Patience!

We made a quick little Automator application that removes the Time Machine restrictions on what kind of disk you can back up to.  We found the tip here.

We are now happily backing up or Leopard machines  to the SMB Share on or DLink DNS-323.

Download the Flux Capacitor here.  It is an automator action so you’ll see the unix command that it runs.  After you are done, Voila!  You’ll see ALL of your shares in Time machine – even wireless.

Obviously Apple closed this functionality for a reason so use at your own risk.

digg_url = ‘http://9to5mac.com/time-machine-fix-flux-capacitor-43262455’;

All of the big boys are there.  Linksys, Dlink, Netgear and of course, our little pony, Apple’s Airport Extreme, Gigabit addition.  We’ll get right to the results as the Ars can get a bit wordy.  The short answer is Airport Extreme is #1.  Especially with 5.0 Ghz (which used to be used in 802.11A) 802.11N only mode for its cutting through the household devices interference and Gigabit Ethernet for wired devices.

We couldn’t agree more.  If you are gonna drop a bill and a half on a wireless router (3 times the price of the capable base G models) you are gonna need a reason.  Gigabit Ethernet is a differentiator.  So is FAST wireless speed.  The other routers didn’t seem to offer much of a wireless speed increase – especially at significant distances with interference and regular ethernet speed.  The USB Hard drive/printer port also helps – though its reliability is still not up to Apple spec.

We are still a bit on the fence on when to update as some of our devices aren’t N capable and we won’t be able to enjoy the N only mode that shows the best speeds.  If we were in the market for a new wireless router today, however, the Airport Extreme would be at the top of our list.

Slashdot sends us to Tom Karpik who illustrates very plainly a significant bug in Leopard.  It turns out that if you are moving data to an SMB (Windows) Share and the connection to that share is lost, the data you are moving which hasn’t already been copied is gone forever.  It isn’t on the Mac and isn’t on the Share. (Update – it turns out that this is true for a lot of shares – USB/Firewire etc – and has been the case in previous Mac OS’s)

Tom does an excellent job of demonstrating why this happens – which is basically that Apple deletes the data as it is being copied. 

It is possible that this is due to the last minute changes in Time Machine which originally allowed users to set a Windows share to be the backup partition in Leopard Beta but in the final version was turned off.  Since this is a pretty significant bug and Apple is fairly good at quashing serious issues we’d expect the next update (10.5.1) to fix this.

Until this is updated, be extremely wary of moving data to SMB shares.

Apple is doing a silent (and slight) refresh of it’s MacBook and MacBook Pro line as supplies of the new machines hit retailers.  While processor speeds, HDs and RAM specs remain mostly unchanged on the MacBooks, the motherboard chipset is being updated to include a 800Mhz bus and the GMA X3100 video card whose drivers had previously been spotted in Leopard (har).   The updated motherboard also includes better power management and Pre-N wireless.  

Unfortunately, it still comes with a combo (no super-) drive standard.  :(

The MacBook Pros now offer the option of a 2.6Ghz chip at a $250 premium and still top out with 4Gb of RAM and 250Gb hard drive options.

This refresh is similar to the silent Mac Mini refresh earlier this year which was made with little fanfare.

Obviously, much bigger announcements are on the horizon in the portable space from Apple.  If we had to guess… we’d say Macworld is looking like a pretty likely time frame…but our timing sucks.

Obviously,  Time Machine is a very complex and ground-breaking application.  Unfortunately, it looks like Apple wasn’t able to get it completely running the way it would like in time to get out the door in time for Leopard GM.  It does really great work to a local USB or Firwire disk drive.  However, you won’t be able to back up to network drives at all whereas you (in the Leopard Betas) were able to back up to Airport Extreme USB disks as well as other SMB and AFP shares.  A@ron at Macrumors forums was able to revitalize this functionality by doing the following:

1) disconnect airport disk and plug into computer as a USB drive directly.
2) Set up time machine to use this volume.
3) In terminal cd to volume "cd /Volume/HDD"
4) In terminal "touch .com.apple.timemachine.supported" this will create an invisible file.
5) In terminal "sudo chown root:admin .com.apple.timemachine.supported"
6) In terminal "sudo chmod 1775 .com.apple.timemachine.supported"
7) In terminal "ls -l -a" the .com.apple.timemachine.supported file should be -rwxrwxr-t
8) eject disk, unplug from mac, plug into Airport.
9) mount at mac using connect to server in finder (command k) and afp://airportname.local./HDname
10) see if time machine now sees the drive and tries to use it.

We were able to do this as well.  In fact, we were able to do this and got our NAS SMB share working again as our backup space for Time Machine.

Obviously this is a hack and not something you want to be relying on for real backups.  Most likely Apple will continue to work on reliability issues and re-enable the functionality that the Beta included in a 10.5.x release.  This was one of the coolest features advertised about Time Machine, however, and Apple simply trying to brush the loss of the functionality under the rug is a bit of a letdown.  We’ll be waiting somewhat patiently for updates.

EDIT: While it thinks it works, the time machine backups to the SMB share are not actually moving any data.  More. Work. Needed.

As the current iPhone 1.1.1 locking proves, there is a VERY dangerous flaw in the current iPhone and iPod touch software. A malformed TIF file can be used to get root access to the device. Obviously that is good if you want to install some useful applications on your iPhone/iPod, however that is extremely bad if you are worried about someone taking over your iPhone. Ironically, this might be a good thing for those who accidentally let Apple Brick their iPhones – try to stay with us here…

Theoretically, the malformed TIF file could be used for more nefarious tasks than updating than installing useful apps or updating the modems firmware…stuff like making a 900-number dialer($$ cha – ching $$), a bot installer (iPhone Spam-bot?), a baseband modem crippler or just good old-fashioned bricking the iPhone….

Hypothetically, one of these malformed tif files could even have the same effect as the “bricker” 1.1.1 update. However, this time Apple’s Safari security will be to blame, not the users who are trying to assert their legal right to move the phone to other carriers. The only recourse Apple will legally have is to unBrick all of the iPhones that their update has caused and reset the baseband modem to factor settings.

One has to wonder if the malformed tif file vulnerability would have been discovered and applied to the iPhone had Apple not closed the Intaller.app development community out of the iPhone originally. Perhaps it is better to have these incredibly intelligent people on your side?

No, Apple hasn’t finally caved into their high end users’ demands and offered a Blu-Ray option on their portable line. Aftermarket specialist Fastmac has, however, and is offering the 50Gb Optical Disc upgrade on some of Apple’s recent laptops and consumer desktops:

– iBook G4
– iMac G5
– iMac Intel
– MacBook Pro (17-inch)
– Mac mini
– PowerBook G3 Pismo
– PowerBook G4 Titanium (667 Mhz or higher)
– PowerBook G4 Aluminum

The $1000 pricetag is hefty for the average Joe, but if you are in the making-movie biz and need to do work on a laptop, this is almost a no-brainer.

We are not sure we’d want to drop a G on Blu-Ray for an iBook but we can’t wait to see the 17 inch HD screen enabled playback version of the device!

From the company’s press release:

http://fastmac.com/press/pr_42.php

Fastmac Announces 2X Blu-Ray Optical Drive Upgrade for Laptops; Low Profile Slot Loading Drive Provides 50 GB of Storage on 1 Disk for Apple PowerBook, iBook, MacBook Pro, iMac & Mac mini; New Drive Cuts Burn Times in Half

October 05, 2007
Salinas, CA – Fastmac today announced the first & only 2X Blu-Ray optical drive upgrade for Apple’s PowerBook, iBook & MacBook Pro computers. The new slimline, slot loading drive uses the fastest & most compatible Blu-ray mechanism available to provide up to 50 GB of storage on 1 disk, without sacrificing compatibility with standard DVD & CD recordable media. Fastmac’s Blu-Ray optical drive upgrade is scheduled to ship within 30 days and is available for pre-order from www.fastmac.com for a special introductory price of $999.95. Each drive carries a 1 year warranty and a 30 day money back guarantee .

Fastmac’s new Blu-ray slot loading drive gives photographers, videographers & musicians the ability to save anything, anywhere- now twice as fast. System and database administrators can archive and retrieve large amounts of data on 1 convenient disk. And consumers can now watch today’s latest HD content in true high definition with surround sound anytime & anywhere they happen to be. Blu-ray is the next generation of storage technology & entertainment and it’s available today, only from Fastmac.

Fastmac’s new Blu-Ray slot loading drive has been tested and certified compatible with Adobe’s Premiere Pro CS3 video production software that includes Adobe Encore CS3 and is part of the Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium Collection. Adobe Encore CS3 integrates with Adobe Photoshop & Adobe Premiere to provide a rich set of creative tools for the production and output of full-featured, menu-driven DVD and Blu-Ray Discs. It is the only video production and editing software available for the Mac OS that supports built-in Blu-Ray Disc authoring for playback on stand-alone Blu-Ray DVD players & the Sony PlayStation 3.
About Blu-ray
Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disk (BD), is the name of a next generation optical disk format developed by a consortium of electronics and computer manufacturers including Apple, Dell, HP, JVC, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony & TDK. The format was designed to enable the recording and playback of High Definition (HD) content and to allow storage of large amounts (up to 200 Gb) of data. While current optical drive technologies rely on a red laser to read and write data, the new format uses a blue-violet laser (hence the name, Blu-ray). The blue-violet laser has a 38% shorter wavelength (405nm) than a red laser (650nm), allowing the drive’s optical pickup unit to focus more precisely than ever before. Data can then be packed more densely on standard sized disks. Despite using a new type of laser, Blu-ray drives are compatible with standard DVD and CD media through the use of a combined red, blue & violet optical reader and writer.

In addition to broad support from the electronics, music, computer & video game industry, 6 out of 8 of the major Hollywood film studios support Blu-ray media and 5 out of those 6 (Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, MGM & Sony) have decided to release their movies exclusively in the Blu-ray format. With its forward and backward integration with new and old media, Blu-ray is destined to become the successor to today’s DVD format.
Specifications
Fastmac’s slimline Blu-ray slot loading optical drive supports reading, writing and re-writing to single and dual layer Blu-ray media at up to 2x speeds. The drive is also compatible with standard DVD and CD media and can write to DVD-R and DVD+R media at 8x speed in single layer and up to 2.4x speed in dual/ double layer mode. It can rewrite to DVD-R and DVD+R media at 4x speeds. The drive also supports DVD-RAM reading and writing at up to 5x speeds and standard CD-R and CD-RW burning at 8x speeds.
Compatibility
Fastmac’s slimline Blu-ray slot loading optical drive upgrade requires Mac OS X 10.2.8 or higher and is compatible with the following Apple computers:

iBook G4
iMac G5
iMac Intel
MacBook Pro (17-inch)
Mac mini
PowerBook G3 Pismo
PowerBook G4 Titanium (667 Mhz or higher)
PowerBook G4 Aluminum

Blu-ray burning requires 3rd-party software such as Adobe Premiere CS3 or Roxio’s Toast 8 Titanium, which enables Blu-ray disk support in the Mac OS Finder. Native support for Blu-ray burning within iLife & iTunes is expected in the future via Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, but cannot be guaranteed at this time.
About Fastmac
Fastmac is an OEM designer and manufacturer of innovative upgrade products that add value and extend usability of Apple computers & iPods. Fastmac’s award-winning product line-up includes drive, CPU, LCD and battery upgrades, including the world’s longest lasting PowerBook & iPod batteries & the only replacement batteries for Apple’s latest MacBook portables. More information about Fastmac is available via http://www.fastmac.com/company
Press Contact
Michael Lowdermilk (Mlowdermilk at Fastmac dot com)
Business Development Manager
Fastmac Performance Upgrades
1172 S Main St., Suite 243
Salinas, CA 93901-2204
Tel: 408-850-6233

Nobody sent us a flyer and we aren’t getting paid to post this (though we’ve provided an easy link to our Amazon Store), but we just got ourselves a crush on the Mitsubishi PK20 LED DLP Pocket Projector. Why? Several reasons:

1. It is LED powered so very low power consumption compared to bulbs
2. Power Consumption is so low that it includes a laptop-sized battery that lasts for up to 2 hours. – a normal projector would require 2 car batteries for that
3. LEDs are cool – temperature cool – so they don’t heat up your space
4. SD card slot reader
5. SO SO Small and getting smaller. The design of the device fitting on the palm of a woman’s hand below says it all. As the Tech gets better we could see much smaller devices and even *gasp* built into laptops
6. A nice, simple remote for easy access

All of this efficiency of course comes at a price. The device can be found under $500 at certain shops which is a bit higher than the equivelent powered bulb projectors. Of course with LED projectors, the projection isn’t nearly as bright – so you will need to dim the lights. Also, this device being ultra basic, it doesn’t have the finer controls that you need for focus and resizing. Also it is native 800×600 with the ability to do an interpolated 1024×768.

Still though, with Component AV in and a tripod adapter and at such a low price, we can’t help but think this would be a great addition to our gadget gear.

-Even with an iPhone component cable (yeah we tried! We can’t stop talking about it)

From an Owner/Amazon Reviewer:

Pros:

• -no need to replace lamp (ever)…this feature is worth the price of the projector alone
• amazingly small
  – 7’x5′ (or smaller) image
  – simple menus
• tripod mountable makes it very portable & easy to adjust size & position
• excellent for DVD movies
  – project image on walls (don’t need the hassle of having a screen)
• very silent
• auto shut-off if no signal detected

Cons:

• can’t adjust size of the picture to fit screen, except by moving unit
• Lights overwhelm the picture
  – no standby mode…will not turn on automatically if signal detected
• pain to fit to a screen

Wishlist:

• more powerful/multiple LED
• more adjustments

I feel like it is Christmas every time I open my iPhone installer.app lately.  Along with VNSea, NES and MobileChat, here comes another AMAZING developer-hacker application.   I don’t see Apple having 1/2 of this stuff by the time the next release is out. AS a matter of fact, I don’t see a lot of hacked iPhones going legit any time soon.

Back to Navizon:  Using both cellular triangulation and a DB of Wifi hotspots and ISP IP addresses, Navizon is able to provide a semi-accurate view of where you are at a much faster rate than most GPS systems.  Granted the accuracy of the device depends on a lot of factors, and your results may, of course vary. 

The Navizon.app also just throws your coordinates into the Maps application and puts a little pin where it thinks you are.  So, so clever.  In my informal tests, it was about 500 Meters off at my home and about 200 meters off at work.  Each of these results used cellular data and got the information in just seconds.

The number of applications to deliver content using geograhic location on the iPhone are virtually limitless.  I am sure developers are hard at work on more applications that take advantage of this knowledge.  If Google Adsense isn’t all over this then someone needs to get fired, yesterday.

I can’t wait to see where this application goes, how exciting!  Get hacking!

OH, btw, it DOES work in Europe – at least France.

A very interesting application just hit my iPhone’s installer.app repository.  VNSea, the port of the venerable VNC Client that is used in many remote desktop installations, including Apple’s own Remote Desktop.  Although the application doesn’t appear to be working too well – we got just a flash of the desktop before the application crashed – the possibilities are endless for VNC client like this.  

Controlling a home computer or server from the road would give access to unlimited amounts of applications and data.  This is definitely something to look out for.

From the website:

Mike Bombich has been making OSX software and instruction guides since there was OSX. In the early days of Macintosh OSX administration, his software was a lifesaver to many a Macintosh administrator.  As Apple started to catch up, his software releases started to slow down and (I think?) he got a much deserved job at Apple.

If you haven’t used his software, guides or fourms, you may want to familiarize yourself with them: 

NetRestore

NetBoot Across Subnets

LoginWindow Manager

Apple Remote Desktop Database Access Manager (ADAM)

Carbon Copy Cloner

The purpose of Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) is to assist
you in moving your entire Mac OS X installation or selected folders from
one partition to another as easily as possible. CCC can copy all the system
files necessary, maintaining Unix permissions and ownership, to create
a bootable backup of your drive. Moving your X installation to a larger
hard drive? CCC is right for you!

So back to the news: Carbon Copy Cloner get’s its 1st upgrade in like 5 years.  We can’t wait to try it!

From the Website:

Google today announced their Online presentation application. It isn’t going to win any awards for beauty (baaad templates!) and it is next to useless in the Safari Browser – much better in Firefox – but it is a huge step in the right direction.  

The chat and collaborative features in Google Docs and Spreadsheets are there which opens the possibility of online presentation building and “presenting.” However, it has obvious downsides as well.  It is certainly not as full featured as current presentation tools like Powerpoint and Keynote.  

It doesn’t do:

• Animations of any kind
• Advanced image manipulation
• Advanced text formatting
• Sound
• Video
• Exporting PowerPoint files

What it does:

• Imports PowerPoint files
• Exports HTML file
• 15 built-in themes
• Text formatting
• Basic image manipulation functionality (adding, resizing)
• Versioning
• Collaboration
• Online presentation sharing

However,  it doesn’t work too well on Safari – which means it doesn’t work too well on the iPhone either(thought we could write a post without mentioning that?).  Yeah we tried it – it doesn’t work at all – just gives an error message – for now.

So back to industry implications.  It certainly may help break up the Microsoft monopoly on office software (not that Powerpoint was anything impressive) and makes the OS a bit less important.  It really doesn’t effect Apple’s Keynote too much because Keynote’s audience is the aesthetically capable and Google is promoting a bare bones solution (at least now).  It will certainly hurt Zoho Office’s offering.

Really, though, we are waiting for Google’s Wiki tool to come out.  They bought Jotspot like 200 years ago – what are they waiting for already?!  Is it us or is Google’s innovation machine slowing to a crawl?

There are a lot of things that you can buy for $299.  None could possibly be as exciting as a 4Gb iPhones that are being sold clearance from Apple

When it rains it pours! 

Not much else to say
but if you have to unlock your iPhone (like us tomorrow) you now have like 10 less steps to do – Amazing work at http://www.freeiphoneunlock.com/unlock/

It is in Beta still and the coders are off to bed for some much deserved sleep.  Perhaps tomorrow it will be more stable – it looks good enough for us!

Download the application in its current state here.

True iPhone liberation has really arrived. Kudos to the people around the World who have used the internet to communicate and solve a problem that not one, or ten people alone could have.

The free version of the software unlock is finally out there. We aim to get a new, wrapped in cellophane, iPhone and document the whole process of activating it, unlocking it, and moving to a foreign carrier.

Further Reading (more after the jump):

http://www.freeiphoneunlock.com/guide/

http://iphone.unlock.no/

http://9to5mac.com/iphone-hacking-roundup-223453452

Plan is this (keep in mind, this will all take place in France from unwrapping to calling):

• Activate Phone: We are tempted to use DVD Jon’s method but are instead opting for the “TUAW method” which involves entering a nonworking SS# and opting to get the AT&TGO pay as you go plan – but of course, never paying – just “GOing”.  This should activate the phone without costing us anything.
• Unlock Phone: Unlocking the phone with the buffer overflow “movie file” that the iUnlock application yields.  Again, Amazing work people.
• Use Phone: We have a work SIM from Vodaphone UK (unlimited EU data) and an Orange France Pay as you go plan.  We hope to use both for both data and calling
• Install 3rd Party Apps like a IM client, terminal Client and other fun stuff that is out there.  We broke down all of the Hacking sites here.

Our iPhone is currently clearing customs at Charles de Gaul Airport. God speed little guy!

The iPodtouch’s physical storage limitation of 16GB enraged a lot of people.  Why?  Most were worried that they wouldn’t be able to store much of the video that they wanted to watch on their beautiful new 480×320 screens.  However, Apple allows you to play movies over the net.  Don’t believe us?  Point your iPhone/iPodtouch browser over to:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/iphone

Yep.  Links to Quicktime movies.  Full 480×320.  Full stereo sound and amazing video clarity.  They also start up right away and play fully without having to catch up if you are on relatively speedy Wifi enabled Internet connection.

So what is stopping us from taking our incredibly diverse .mp4 movie collection and putting it on the web?  Not much really.

Just point your Web Server directory to the folder that has your media files.  No index.html page necessary – just enable directory listing on the webserver and allow the web browser to open the mp4 files.  Now we have an iPod with 2TB of storage.  

Technically, this can be done with music files and audiobooks as well.  Anything that is read by Quicktime/iTunes should be compatible.  Perhaps Apple should run with this on a Airport Extreme update?  This functionality would be really easy to build in and make simple for the masses.  

As long as we are near some Wifi – which isn’t that infrequent!  Now Bring on the 3G iPhones!