Apple announced all those lovely new products yesterday... here is my video update (1 of 2) on the details and my further thoughts on the new MacBook and MacBook Pro. The second video covering the MacBook Air and new Cinema Display should be online shortly.
Geekanoids News #8 - 13th October 2008
Wow, these weeks are flying by... another news update from us below. This week I get all excited about Apple's laptop announcements due tomorrow. Plus, a new technology for digital cameras from Olympus and Panasonic. Finally, this years MacLiveExpo gives me the opportunity to travel with a light laptop bag for once.
Geekanoids News #7 - 6th October 2008
Another week another news, but this week finds me wet and fed up with the constant rain. The news stops for nothing though, so we look at rumoured MacBooks, a new Seagate external hard drive for the Mac and the T-Mobile G1 Google Android mobile phone.
Stuff Live starts REALLY soon
As you are aware, I have attended Stuff Live for many years. It is a great opportunity to see some of the latest in the tech world. Well, Stuff are once again bringing the UK’s premier home cinema, gadget and technology show to London. Yes that’s right, put the dates in your diary for Stuff Live 2008, in association with What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision, from 31st October – 2nd November 2008.
Highlights of the event include the Guitar Hero Stage where they will be hosting the first ever UK competitions throughout each day. There will be great prizes for the winners so ROCK IT TO WIN IT! So come and show off your skills in front of a live audience at the UK's leading technology show!
The show will also feature a Chill-Out Lounge where the Games Room Company will be providing the best and most luxurious games equipment you can buy. Challenge your friends at Pool, Air Hockey, Pinball, 'old Skool' Arcade games and much more in a specially tailored Chill-Out Zone. There will also be the world’s first hovering chair worth £5,000, and product showcases from the likes of Canon, Sonos, Tom Tom, Tvonics, LG, Jolida, Asus, Archos, Pure Digital and many more.
The winners of the What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision annual awards and the Stuff magazine 2008 Awards will also be exhibited at the show. The winners are announced at an annual awards ceremony in London, this October.
The new website to point your browser to is www.stufflive.co.uk. It is packed with more information on exhibitors, activities, competitions and show information than ever before. Highlighting the very best products on show this year, from hi-fi and home cinema entertainment packages, digital cameras to robots, as well as providing advice and tips on new product launches, and what to see and do at this year’s show... I might even see you there.
Ticket sales
Tickets, which cost £20 for adults, and £10 for children under 16 years of age plus a £1 booking fee, on sale the website now www.stufflive.co.uk or by calling 0870 040 0383.
Could the HTC Touch 3G be my next iPhone?
It saddens me to write this, but I find my faith in the iPhone diminishing more every day. Yes, of course I love it... it is my music player, movie and podcast machine, organiser and phone (not camera). The trouble is I want something a little different. In the early days it was really different to own Apple gear, but since the mass consumer appeal of the iPhone 3G, well things have changed.
The devices from HTC have always interested me, but their new Touch 3G looks very promising. Not to steal someone elses hard work, check out this excellent first take over at CNET Asia.
Geekanoids News Video #006 - 29th Sept 2008
Another week has flown by and some interesting bits have caught my attention this week. Japan iPhone sales update, Adobe Creative Suite 4, an interesting eBook reader, plus an alternative to the iTunes Store. Check out the video below.
Geekanoids News Video #005 - last week
Why do I keep forgetting to post these. I guess my schedule is so busy that it slips my mind. Anyway, here is last weeks news for you to catch up on.
Stuff.tv vidcast entry - I love my Stuff!
Don't worry guys and gals... Geekanoids will continue to run and run, bringing you news and reviews for your consumption. However, I do aspire to greener grass, or errr fruitier pastures. Having been a reader of Stuff magazine for a long time, I just had to enter their Vidcast competition... wish me luck.
You can watch the video below, or by clicking this link.
Quark announce a slew of products inc. Server 8
Quark announced today the simultaneous fall release of Quark Publishing System® 8, QuarkCopyDesk® 8, and QuarkXPress® Server 8, marking the complete compatibility of Quark’s enterprise solutions with QuarkXPress 8. With the release of these offerings, customers can leverage the superior design capabilities of QuarkXPress 8 with the flexible, automated workflow of QPS® in their publishing environments. Together these offerings connect key publishing tasks and technologies to help customers lay the groundwork for Quark® Dynamic Publishing Solution.
Built on an open standards-based architecture, QPS 8 provides a flexible framework for marketing departments, agencies, and magazine and newspaper publishers to manage their publishing workflows. Through compatibility with QuarkXPress 8, QPS 8 delivers greater design capability for the delivery of print, Web, and Flash® output, and - through the universal file format of QuarkXPress 8 and QuarkCopyDesk 8 - allows publishers to preview, edit, and output high-fidelity documents created anywhere in the world.
QuarkCopyDesk 8, Quark’s text and picture editing software, and QuarkXPress Server 8, the composition and rendering engine that powers publishing workflows and business applications - both core components of QPS - are also compatible with QuarkXPress 8. QuarkCopyDesk 8 inherits QuarkXPress 8’s new intuitive interface, advanced typographical control, and support for East Asian text, as well as improved page and baseline grid features, and operating system-level drag-and-drop functionality.
In addition to compatibility with QuarkCopyDesk 8, QuarkXPress Server 8, and QuarkXPress 8, QPS 8 introduces:
- A ready-made adapter for Alfresco Enterprise 2, the leading open source content management system, allowing users to store assets in a single repository and view and update content in real-time
- User interface support for 13 languages including Japanese, as well as hyphenation and spell checking for more than 30 languages, enabling advanced international collaboration
- Improved asset management through QPS Connect Client, including multi-page preview, multiple asset check-in, metadata tagging, custom grouping, and full text search functionality
- QPS Web Hub support for East Asian languages, including the support for Rubi and Group Characters
- Support for native Adobe® Illustrator® file formats, which eliminates the need to switch back and forth between QuarkXPress and Illustrator for editing
QPS is the most flexible and easy-to-use workflow system available today. Unlike Woodwing´s Smart Connection Enterprise and Softcare´s K4, only QPS offers XML-based Job Jackets technology to evaluate design and content accuracy in order to prevent errors early in the production process. Only QPS offers ready-made integration with Alfresco Enterprise 2, the leading open-source content management system. In addition, it is the easiest workflow system to set up because it is configured through a graphical user interface instead of a browser interface or text-based configuration scripts. QPS also works with more desktop applications than Smart Connection Enterprise and K4.
"Quark Publishing System 8 is the most flexible, cost-effective, and easy-to-use publishing system available today," said PG Bartlett, Senior Vice President of Product Management for Quark. "Its compatibility with QuarkXPress 8, combined with the power of QuarkCopyDesk 8 and QuarkXPress Server 8, helps customers build the foundation for dynamic publishing."
Quark will be onsite at IFRA (Booth #10240) October 27-30, 2008 and Graph Expo (Booth #4421) October 26-29, 2008 to demonstrate Quark Dynamic Publishing Solution, QPS 8, QuarkCopyDesk 8, QuarkXPress Server 8, and QuarkXPress 8. While onsite at the two events, Quark will make another significant announcement related to QPS 8.
Quark Publishing System 8, QuarkCopyDesk 8 and QuarkXPress Server 8 will be available in Q4 2008.
For more information on QPS 8 and the entire portfolio of QuarkXPress 8 compliant solutions, please visit here. To learn more about QuarkXPress 8, please visit here.
Geekanoids Gaming Reviews - forthcoming
Exciting news today, we have increased our readership so so much over the past year. This has lead to many requests for coverage of the gaming variety. So, it gives me great pleasure to announce that from the beginning of October you will be seeing a lot more game reviews. We also have some awesome gaming accessories too.
To kick things off, we will be bringing you reviews of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2009 (PS3), Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (PS3), Baja: Edge of Control (PS3) and the Logitech Driving Force GT steering wheel.
The most exciting product though, is the Raceroom Seat from PlaySeats. This awesome gaming seat is available in loads of different designs, classy black versions, thru to stunning white A1 GP or Takuma Sato version. They have fully adjustable steel frames and a unique folding mechanism so that they pack down to a nice compact size. Well will be kicking things off in style with an in-depth video review of the PlaySeat very soon.
Lexar Offers Kodak-Branded SDHC Memory Card
Lexar Media, today extended its KODAK-branded memory card offering with the introduction of the 16GB KODAK Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC) High-Speed Card. The new high-capacity KODAK-branded card is designed to capture and store large volumes of high-definition video and fast-action photographs when used with today's popular SDHC-enabled digital video and point-and-shoot cameras. The new 16GB KODAK SDHC High-Speed Card is speed-rated at 60x, capable of minimum sustained read and write speeds of 9MB per second for capturing full motion video without interruption. For more information about the 16GB KODAK SDHC High-Speed Card, please visit www.lexar.com/kodak/.
"As more point-and-shoot digital cameras include advanced features such as HD video recording and rapid-fire picture-taking, a greater number of photographers demand a memory card that is fast enough to enable them to take advantage of their new camera's technology," said Manisha Sharma, director of product marketing, Lexar. "The KODAK SDHC High-Speed Card is an excellent choice for not only Kodak cameras, but all SDHC-compatible digital cameras. The strength of the KODAK brand paired with Lexar's high-speed, high-capacity capabilities enables users of the card to experience the enhanced benefits of today's digital cameras."
Available in October, the new 16GB KODAK SDHC High-Speed Card includes a limited lifetime warranty and 24-hour customer support from Lexar. The KODAK SDHC High-Speed Card is also available in 4GB and 8GB capacities. The KODAK High-Speed line of memory cards also includes the 2GB KODAK Secure Digital (SD) High-Speed Card.
Seagate FreeAgent Pro - new lineup for 2008
Seagate has announced its Autumn 2008 lineup of the award-winning FreeAgent™ external hard drives. This new generation of the Seagate® FreeAgent™ family includes attractive desktop and mobile options, for both Mac® and Windows® operated PCs that make it a breeze to back up, share and protect valuable digital content like photos, videos and music. I especially like the Go version for the Mac, which has this snazzy little desktop dock. The Mac Desktop version also looks the business... reviews will appear on the Geekanoids website in due course.
The remainder of the official press release from Seagate reads as follows;
Seagate’s flagship offering, the FreeAgent Go portable storage solution, is the slimmest external drive available today. At a height of only 12.5mm, the new FreeAgent Go easily fits in a pocket while still including all the advanced shock and vibration protection people have come to expect from Seagate. Another industry first, the new FreeAgent Go is the first external hard drive to offer a docking option, providing a practical way to move from the desk to the road, while leaving the hassle of fumbling with cables and locating USB ports to the history books. With up to 500GB of capacity, the FreeAgent Go bridges the gap between standard portable solutions and desktop solutions with enough storage to carry entire libraries of movies, pictures and music. No longer does one need to sacrifice capacity for portability, Seagate FreeAgent Go provides the benefits and convenience of both in a truly seamless on-the-go package.
“With the amount of content being created and consumed today, the average broadband household will soon need close to a terabyte of storage to account for their personal media collections on PCs, portable devices, and DVRs," said Jane Shields, research analyst, Parks Associates. “With Seagate’s coupling of high-capacity, reliable and easy-to-use solutions with attractive designs, the company is helping more people enjoy the benefits that come with backup and sharing of their digital media collections.”
“The growth of the 2.5–inch form factor external hard disk drive market has been very strong – almost doubling in 2Q08 compared with 2Q07,” said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director, Removable Storage at IDC. “This growth is much higher than the overall market and driven by
the products’ convenient size and connectivity, as well as their large storage capacity and affordability.”
The FreeAgent Go desktop docking station is sold separately and comes paired with a black leatherette carrying case to add style while protecting the drive from the bumps and scratches encountered while traveling in hand bags and during other on-the-road adventures. The FreeAgent Go is now available in a variety of popular colours, including silver, black, red, and blue. The drive also ships with a flexible, thin USB 2.0 travel cable.
The FreeAgent Desk drive and FreeAgent XTreme™ drive are the family’s two 3.5-inch high-capacity desktop offerings, and provide up to 1.5 Terabytes of storage. The sleek and modern design of these drives provides the flexibility to sit horizontally or stand vertically to maximise your workspace. The FreeAgent Desk drive is a brushed aluminum high-capacity solution with a USB 2.0 interface. The FreeAgent XTreme drive is a midnight black, brushed aluminum high-capacity storage solution with a triple interface of eSATA, USB 2.0 and FireWire 400.
“The first FreeAgent storage solution offering introduced in 2007 unquestionably made a mark for Seagate in the consumer space, demonstrating that hard drives can be designed to provide a stylish complement to a computing environment,” said Pat King, senior vice president and general manager of Seagate’s Consumer Solution Division. This second-generation of FreeAgent storage solutions takes the extra step of providing easy-to-use technology in a consumer-friendly package.”
Seagate FreeAgent drives are compatible with Windows® Vista® and Windows® XP® Operating Systems and come equipped with Seagate Manager™ software, an enhanced application that provides scheduled automated back ups and multi-computer synchronisation. The FreeAgent drives for Windows also offer security in the form of software-based AES-256bit encryption and Seagate DrivePass™ password protection for drive access to help keep your information safe and private. The environmentally smart utilities help save energy by putting the drive in sleep mode once it has been idle for 15 minutes. Seagate FreeAgent hard drives include Energy Star 5 rated AC adapters and are now packaged in 100% recyclable materials. And with Seagate’s industry-leading five-year limited warranty, the FreeAgent storage solutions provide the confidence that your digitally-captured memories and life’s work is on a hard drive you can trust.
As part of this product introduction, Seagate will also unveil external storage solutions designed specifically for the Mac community. The Mac community has spoken and Seagate is listening. The FreeAgent Go for Mac and FreeAgent Desk™ for Mac are both formatted for use with Mac OS X out of the box and are Time Machine ready with FireWire800/400 or USB 2.0 connectivity. Seagate understands that Mac customers have specific needs and performance requirements and these demands are being met with the FreeAgent external hard drive for Mac offering.
FreeAgent™ | Go Drive for Mac
With a FireWire 800/400 interface and USB 2, docking station and carrying case the Seagate FreeAgent Go drive for Mac is equipped to move seamlessly between the desktop and road. Formatted for use with Mac OS X and Time Machine ready, the FreeAgent Go for Mac is the perfect back up companion for any Apple® computer. Seagate FreeAgent Go for Mac is available this month for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of £94.99 for 250GB and £110.99 for 320GB.
FreeAgent™ | Desk Drive for Mac
The high-capacity FreeAgent Desk drive for Mac features a brushed aluminum arctic silver finish that is a perfect match for the current iMac Desktop. With both a USB 2 and a FireWire 800/400 connection and tuned to be Time Machine ready, the FreeAgent Desk for Mac is available this month for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of £102.99 for 500GB and £142.99 for 1TB.
FreeAgent™ | Go Drive
A pocket-sized storage drive that packs a punch, the Seagate FreeAgent Go drive is slim, compact and shipping in four colour options available as of this month in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of £62.99 for 250GB, £79.99 for 320GB and £150.99 for 500GB.
FreeAgent™ | Dock and Case
Protection for those on the go and a dock station for convenient and quick access to your files, these accessories for the FreeAgent Go drive are sold separately. The dock and case will be available in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific for a manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of £19.90.
FreeAgent™ | Desk Drive
This convenient desktop storage solution, Seagate FreeAgent Desk drive, is the perfect desktop companion for basic back up and security for all your digital files. This high-capacity USB 2.0 interfaced drive provides enough room to hold libraries of images, music and video. The FreeAgent Desk drive is available as of this month in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific, for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of £67.99 for 500GB, £75.99 for 640GB and £107.99 for 1TB.
FreeAgent™ | XTreme™ Drive
Designed for performance, especially for those who work with high-definition video and graphic files, the Seagate FreeAgent XTreme drive is the perfect fit. The FreeAgent XTreme delivers a 3GB per second transfer rate with the eSATA connection. This drive also includes FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 connection options. The FreeAgent XTreme is available worldwide for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of £94.99 for 500GB, £102.99 for 640GB and £134.99 for 1TB.