Mac users can download Vista

Well, sorry for the slightly misleading heading, this is not just for Mac users, but will be of interest if you plan to run Microsoft Vista under Bootcamp, Parallels or some other way. According to Electronista, the recently launched Microsoft Windows Marketplace will have various versions of Vista available to purchase and download from the 30th January. Worth noting in case you want to get hold of the OS quickly and with the minimum of fuss... if that is at all possible with Windows.

Mac OSX Leopard to have new DVD Player 5.0

AppleInsider reports (complete with screenshots) of the new DVD Player software deemed to be included with Apple's release of their soon-to-be launched OS X Leopard software. Looks like it will be an all black affair with minimal highlights. With chapters appearing in a scrolling section across the top of the screen, a bit like full screen mode in iPhoto.

Skype founders announce Joost

Skype founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis have announced that their new TV come video stream service, that used to be known as The Venice Project, is now officially called Joost. This new online TV service is currently in beta testing, but certainly looks interesting, and if anyone can pull this off, the Skype guys can.

"Joost™ is a new way of watching TV on the internet, which uses new and established technologies to provide the best of both the internet and TV worlds. We're in the process of making it as TV-like as we can, with programmes, channels and adverts. You can also see some things that we think will enhance the TV experience: searching for programmes and channels, for example, as well as social features like chat. There are many more new features to come!"

Well, I will be waiting for the Intel Mac version of the player to be released before testing myself, but rest assured that I will bring you news of any future developments.

Seagate launch superfast tiny hard drives

Seagate, makers of very reliable hard drives, recently upped the ante with the introduction of new 15,000RPM 2.5-inch hard drives. I got all excited when I first heard about this, but have learned that they are not standard SATA hard drives (my MacBook was temporarily smiling), but use a Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) connection. Maybe we will see adapters and/or updates to the next generation of laptops to incorporate support into new designs.

From Seagate's press release, "Seagate Technology (NYSE:STX) today introduced the world's fastest hard drive - the Savvio 15K drive, the new 15K-rpm addition to the Savvio family of 2.5-inch Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) enterprise drive solutions. The Savvio 15K drive provides the highest hard drive performance density and reliability while ensuring ultra-low power consumption, reducing thermal loads in data centers. With its combination of benefits that were created for modern storage systems, the Savvio 15K drive is well-suited for a broad range of mainstream enterprise applications in both large enterprise data centers and small, medium businesses, that lowers overall system Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)."

Read the full release here.

iStat Pro 3.3 Released - Intel Temperatures

iSlayer have released version 3.3 of its superb iStat Pro widget. This new release now supports the display of temperatures for the Intel based Macs. Prior to this release, an extra third party extension was required. I have used iSlayers products for a long time now, so this superb monitoring widget comes highly recommended. Of note, the tiny version of this widget, iStat Nano, was also recently upgraded to version 1.8, this also gives full Intel Mac support.

Apple Discussions - AppleTV & iPhone

Apple Inc. recently introduced two new areas to their discussion forums. One for the AppleTV, which is due to start shipping in February, the second for the iPhone, due around July in the USA and end of 2007 for the UK.
This is a nice move by Apple, as it gives prospective users the chance to discuss the products, but also allows Apple to see just what people are looking for in the final products. This may well allows last minute tweaks and inclusions, so is good for everyone.

Quark - New UK Education Program

Quark Inc. announced today the introduction of its new UK education program and pricing at BETT 2007, the world's leading educational information and communications technologies (ICT) event. Quark has developed the new program, with discounted pricing, to target the specific needs of educational communities, including schools and higher education. Quark is committed to providing the designers of tomorrow with the tools they need to succeed in the industry. The new programs have been developed as a direct result of collaboration with schools and higher educational establishments in the UK.

ModBook by OWC launched at MacWorld

Apart from the iPhone being announced at MacWorld Expo 2007, the other hot news was the ModBook which was launched by Other World Computing. The Axiotron ModBook is a modified MacBook which has a cool new touchscreen, GPS, and a neat way of folding into tablet form. This video, courtesy of MyMac.com will give you a good idea of what it is all about.

iPhone - Hilarious Video

This funny iPhone video is just so hilarious I had to bring it onto the Geekanoids website. I never knew the iPhone was going to be so useful.

Apple iPhone Yahoo IMAP Push Email

Wow, what an evening (for us in the UK due to the time difference) and what a keynote by Steve Jobs. Yes, it was a little disappointing, when the other items were squeezed into 20 or 30 minutes to make space for the massive iPhone announcement.

Reading between the lines, the device is fantastic, absolutely superb. Pricing is acceptable, but the wait is too long. The main two problems I am having getting my head around is this. Why Yahoo? Why did we not see .Mac IMAP push email. I mean, come on Apple, I am sure you are capable of doing this.
Second problem is Cingular, for the UK anyway, what carrier are we going to have to support all of these superb services? Well, time will tell how things pan out, and we might even see some minor revisions to the iPhone before its final release.

Apple TV Announced at MacWorld Expo 2007

Apple® today premiered Apple TV™, an easy to use and fun way to wirelessly play all your favourite iTunes® content from your Mac® or PC on your widescreen TV, including movies, TV shows, music, photos and podcasts. Using Apple TV’s stunning new interface, anyone can quickly browse and view their entire collection of digital media from across the room using the simple and intuitive Apple Remote. Apple TV easily connects to almost all modern widescreen televisions, and will be shipping in February for just £199 (inc. VAT).

“Apple TV is like a DVD player for the 21st century—you connect it to your entertainment system just like a DVD player, but it plays digital content you get from the Internet rather than DVDs you get from a physical store,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Apple TV plays the same iTunes content that users enjoy on their computers and iPods, so now they can even watch part of a movie in their living room, and watch the rest later on their iPod.”

Apple TV has a 40GB hard drive to store up to 50 hours of video, 9,000 songs, 25,000 photos or a combination of each and is capable of delivering high-definition 720p output.* Apple TV is easy to connect to a broad range of widescreen TVs and home theatre systems and comes standard with HDMI, component video, analogue and optical audio ports. Using high-speed AirPort® 802.11** wireless networking, Apple TV can auto-sync content from one computer or stream content from up to five additional computers right to your TV without any wires.***

The seamless integration of Apple TV and iTunes lets users choose from four million songs, 5,000 music videos, 100,000 podcasts and 20,000 audiobooks. Users can enjoy their favourite music on a home entertainment system and view slideshows of their photo albums on a widescreen TV. Apple TV makes it easy for users to explore their entire media collection with an easy to use and intuitive new interface. With the Apple Remote, consumers can easily browse through their favourite videos, music and photos from up to 30 feet away.

Pricing & Availability
Apple TV, which includes the Apple Remote, will be shipping in February through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com/ukstore), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers for a suggested retail price of £199 (inc. VAT).