So it seems as though we will not be seeing a Video iPod, but we will be seeing a new aluminium metal finish iPod Nano, plus a selection of five different colours. Green, silver, black, blue and pink, along with the new metal finish. Plus a new 8Gb version in black only (seems like black is bein favoured like the MacBook for top of the range Apple products). [Engadget]
New iPod from Apple... no, just enhancements
Early reports are coming through that the full size iPod is being enhanced, rather than replaced by a new Video iPod. This is a shame, but I may well update this post should news surface that a new model is in fact coming out. The enhancements include a brighter screen.
It's Showtime - 5 minutes and counting!
So everyone is filtering in to the Apple event and the talk in the line is about the Video iPod, will they? won't they? the anticipation is almost unbearable. [engadget]
It's Showtime - Apple special event almost here!
OK, so it is just 3.5 hours to Apple's Media Event (6pm UK time) and I am getting excited. Not normally one to post rumours I just could not help myself let you all know my predictions, some are in agreement with others, with a few thrown in from myself at the end, so here goes.
- iTunes Store: This is now down showing an 'It's Showtime' message. I think the exclusion of the word 'Music' in this message means it is a forgone conclusion that Apple will announce Movie Downloads. I am hoping for some good big movies, but I think we will only see something like 'Disney with more to follow.
- Video iPod: This will be Steve's main product announcement. My take on it is a full screen, touch sensitive, slightly bigger than current iPod. It will also be all black or all white, no shiny metal back, as we all hate fingerprints.
- Video Dock: The best new accessory for your NEW Video iPod... will allow you to dock your new Video iPod and record from any source (Sky or Cable), then play back directly on the iPod... or synchronise with iTunes and you can playback on your Mac... or DockiT and you can play back on your TV. Wow !
- AirPort Video: We thought all the announcements had been done when the famous "One More Thing..." comes from Steve. The AirPort Video allows you to record on your Mac and stream the recordings to your TV. A very sleek box, with three status lights so you know what is happening at the Mac end of things in case it is in a different room.
That's it for now, enjoy !
New 24inch iMac - too much for my bank !
Sorry for the lack of posting this week, I am on a well earned holiday, but have sneaked into an internet lounge just to make this quick post, a bit late for hot news, but here it is for you to enjoy. Shame my bank balance won't allow me to buy 24 inches of real estate.
September 6, 2006—Apple® today announced that its entire iMac® line now features the new Intel Core 2 Duo processor in every model, delivering up to 50 percent faster performance than the previous iMac.* A new 24-inch iMac with a brilliant 24-inch widescreen display joins the 17- and 20-inch models, and iMac prices now start at just £679 (inc. VAT). Every new iMac includes a built-in iSight™ video camera for video conferencing out-of-the-box; Apple’s breakthrough Front Row media experience; and iLife® ‘06, the next generation of Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications.
“Every iMac—from the £679 model up through the new dazzling 24-inch widescreen model—now features blazing Core 2 Duo performance,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “And the new 24-inch widescreen iMac is the fastest, biggest and brightest iMac we’ve ever made.”
The new iMac lineup includes four models: a 1.83 GHz and a 2.0 GHz 17-inch, a 2.16 GHz 20-inch and the all-new 2.16 GHz 24-inch iMac, and features the new Intel Core 2 Duo processor which delivers up to 50 percent faster performance than the previous 20-inch iMac running industry standard benchmarks.
Ideal for both consumers and professionals, the 24-inch iMac features a 24-inch widescreen LCD display with a 1920-by-1200 pixel resolution that offers 30 percent more screen real estate than the 20-inch model and a brighter display to make reading text and viewing images even easier. The all-new 24-inch iMac packs professional performance into the convenience of an all-in-one design and includes a 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB of shared L2 cache, 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory, a 250GB Serial ATA hard drive, NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics with 128MB of GDDR3 memory and a SuperDrive™ for burning professional-quality DVDs. Delivering greater customisation for performance and expansion needs, users can configure the new 24-inch iMac with a 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 3GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory, a 500GB Serial ATA hard drive and the NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory for outstanding graphics performance.
All I can add is wow !
iColour your Apple Laptop
If you fancy making your Apple Laptop a bit more individual and you have the guts to do what looks like a very simple install, then point your browser over to iColours. For just $3.99 (with free worldwide shipping) you can get a snazzy blue filter for your iBook, PowerBook, MacBook or MacBook Pro logo. The new MacBook incarnations are untested, so if you have any info on these then add it to the comments section on Geekanoids and pop iColours an email.
NAS Storage for Macintosh
For a long time now I have been listening to and researching various discussions about suitable Network Attached Storage devices (NAS) for the Apple Mac. Well, stepping up the chase for information I came across this offering from Iomega (long time fan).
The Iomega StorCenter looks very interesting indeed and quote Mac compatibility. From the Iomega website... "The Iomega StorCenter Network Hard Drives provide a central location for sharing and protecting your data (up to 500 GB) across your home or small office network. Without adding the cost and complexity of a server, you can now share and store your critical files, photos, music and video from any standard or wireless computer."
- 500 GB capacity (2x 250 GB)
- 2 host USB 2.0 for printer sharing and.capacity expansion
- RAID 0 (striping) and 1 (data mirroring)
Pinnacle Announces Enhanced Podcast Factory
Pinnacle Systems today announced the availability of an enhanced version of Pinnacle Podcast Factory, which includes localised and easy-to-use software for recording and editing podcasts, adding music, and creating and publishing MP3 files with RSS feeds. This complete solution to create great-sounding audio podcasts also includes a localised video tutorial, all in a brand new packaging design.
“According to FeedBurner, nowadays there are more podcasts than radio stations worldwide, with more than 60,000 podcast feeds and a growing podcast circulation at a rate of nearly 20% per month.” said David Barnby, Vice President Sales and Marketing for EMEA. “This shows that many people are eager to communicate with the world, but the primary obstacle has been the relative complexity of putting together the different pieces of hardware and software required to produce and distribute a professional-quality recording. Pinnacle Podcast Factory removes this barrier.”
Pinnacle Podcast Factory is powered by M-Audio, another leading brand from Avid. M-Audio is renowned for its music creation products on which professional recording studios have been relying for years. Pinnacle Podcast Factory is an all-in-one hardware/software solution compatible with both PC and Mac, and includes:
· Broadcast-quality microphone and professional 24-bit/48kHz USB audio interface for making top-notch recordings of voice and live music
· Audacity software, to easily record and edit podcasts and create radio-style productions that integrate speech, music and sound effects, simply by dragging and dropping
· Podifier software, a simple to use application that automates the creation of an RSS feed, processes the MP3 files, and uploads them to a server
Localised video tutorial in 6 languages and 16 tutorials (pdf)
Price & Availability
Pinnacle Podcast Factory will be available from mid September through the Pinnacle Website at www.pinnaclesys.com and at most major retailers and e-tailers such as www.amazon.co.uk and www.dabs.com. It carries an SRP of £99.99.
We hope to bring you a review of this package, check back soon.
Clever advertising photos at sherbsblog
Surfing is great when you stumble across things like this. Head on over to sherbsblog and there are a small selection of really interesting advertising photos. My pick of the punch head up this post.
Design a Logo Competition
Things are hotting up so quickly here at Geekanoids that we need some sort of identity. I thought it would be a great idea to throw this open to our readers, with so many talented Photoshop users out there, I am sure someone will make a lot better job of things than I ever would.
So, we are looking for a new logo to head up the website, it can be any colour, shape (although I do like blue) and would be used for the website, email and written communications and other branding activity.
Please check below for the rules, guidelines and how to enter the competition.
1. The logo design should be your own work.
2. Submissions should be in JPEG format, no bigger than 400K initially. These should be emailed along with your contact details to geekanoids@gmail.com
3. The design should lend itself to be used in full colour and also single (monochrome) colour.
4. If your design is chosen as the winner the logo work should be available as a high resolution EPS file that will be OK to print up to A3 size or bigger, so please take this into consideration when putting your design together.
5. You will be given full credit for creation of the logo.
6. By submitting the design, you accept that if your design wins, full ownership and copyright of the design becomes the property of Wiki Design, the publisher of Geekanoids.
7. You agree to supply the high resolution version upon request.
8. There is no money or prize offered for this competition, just the fame and credit for being a design genius :-)
9. Geekanoids reserve the right to cancel the competition at any time.
10. We cannot guarantee a response to all entries, although we will try.
11. The editors decision is final and no communication will be entered into to discuss the decision.
12. Closing date for entries is 30th September 2006.
Yojimbo review coming soon
The kind people at Bare Bones Software have supplied us with a full version of their Yojimbo software to review. In the next week or so we will bring you an introductory review, followed by a long term review about six weeks later. We thought that introducing a long term review to our site for certain applications and products would be useful to our readers, as it will give you an initial insight into the product, followed by a real in-depth look later on that should let you know if it is worth 'splashing your cash'.
Wake up in style !
I have been saving my pennies for on of those flashy iPod dock alarm clocks for a while now, but now I have stumbled across Aurora I may well just use my Mac. This natty little (FREE) app allows you to set alarms and wake up to a song or selection of songs stored in your iTunes library. You can set which playlist, time and date, volume and a whole host of other options.