Geekanoids Seeking Tech Writers

Over the next six months we are looking at developing the Geekanoids website even further, trying to bring an even wider mix of editorial and reviews to our readers. There is only so much my small team can do, so to deliver the quality we want, we need you!

If you have a passion for Apple kit, or a real technology or gadget addiction, and you feel you have the ability to contribute a small amount of time to this website, then please get in touch.

Let us know what you have done previously, maybe link us to some of your previous work. The final requirement would be to submit a small article (something not previously written) about a new piece of kit that has just entered your life.

This is a non-paying gig at the moment, so please take this into consideration before you apply. However, it will attract exposure for your work, along with the love and satisfaction of being able to contribute to Geekanoids. Send your applications via email to geekanoids@gmail.com

160GB BTO Apple TV on 1st June

Not content with one, two, or three announcements, in a fourth, Apple today also announced that it is offering a new Apple TV build-to-order option with a 160GB hard drive. The new larger hard drive offers four times the storage for up to 200 hours of video, 36,000 songs, 25,000 photos or a combination of each.* Apple TV is easy to connect to a broad range of widescreen TVs and home theater systems and comes standard with HDMI, component video, analog and optical audio ports. Using high-speed AirPort® 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking, Apple TV can auto-sync content from one computer or stream content from up to five additional computers right to a TV without any wires.**

Pricing & Availability
Apple TV, which includes the Apple Remote, is available through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. Apple TV has a suggested retail price of £199 (inc. VAT). Apple TV with a 160GB hard drive will be available 1st June for a suggested retail price of £269 (inc. VAT).

YouTube Comes to Apple TV

Apple today announced that it’s bringing the Internet’s most popular originally-created content from YouTube to the living room with Apple TV™. Beginning in mid-June, Apple TV will wirelessly stream videos directly from YouTube and play them on a user’s widescreen TV. Using Apple TV’s elegant interface and simple Apple Remote, viewers can easily browse, find and watch free videos from YouTube in the comfort of their living room.

“This is the first time users can easily browse, find and watch YouTube videos right from their living room couch, and it’s really, really fun,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “YouTube is a worldwide sensation, and Apple TV is bringing it directly from the Internet onto the widescreen TV in your living room.”

Thousands of the most current and popular YouTube videos will be available on Apple TV at launch in mid-June, with YouTube adding thousands more each week until the full YouTube catalogue is available this Autumn. With Apple TV’s stunning interface and simple Apple Remote, users can easily navigate through YouTube’s familiar video browsing categories or search for specific videos. YouTube members can also log-in to their YouTube accounts on Apple TV to view and save their favourite videos.

Apple TV seamlessly integrates with iTunes® to wirelessly play a user’s favourite content from a PC or Mac® on their widescreen TV, including movies, TV shows, music, photos and podcasts. Apple TV users can choose from over 500 movies and 350 TV shows in near DVD quality; over five million songs; 5,000 music videos; 100,000 podcasts; and 20,000 audiobooks from the iTunes Store (www.itunes.co.uk). Users can enjoy their favourite music on a home entertainment system and view slideshows of their photo albums on a widescreen TV. Television shows and feature films are available in the US only, and video availability varies by country.

Palm Launches Foleo

Just when you thought things were coming to a quiet end at Palm… well, maybe that is a bit strong, what I really mean is that for Palm to move forward, they needed to do something special. Well, take a look at the Foleo, due this Summer for $499 (UK price TBC), this little device offers web, email, and photos on the move. This new device looks very interesting, with Bluetooth and Wifi built-in. If the 10-inch screen is good and the browser has good support (currently labeled up as Thor), this could be the business person or bloggers best friend. More details when we have them on UK pricing.

**UPDATE** Runs under Linux, and the browser is Opera, so looking pretty good. Let's hope the UK pricing stays £299 or under.

iTunes U - Learn with your iPod

A double whammy of big news, with Apple also announcing the launch of iTunes U, a dedicated area within the iTunes Store (www.itunes.co.uk) featuring free content such as course lectures, language lessons, lab demonstrations, sports highlights and campus tours provided by top US colleges and universities including Stanford University, UC Berkeley, Duke University and MIT.

“iTunes U makes it easy for anyone to access amazing educational material from many of the country’s most respected colleges and universities,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “Education is a lifelong pursuit and we’re pleased to give everyone the ability to download lectures, speeches and other academic content for free.”

“From its earliest days, Stanford has sought to serve the public by sharing the knowledge generated by our faculty and students,” said Stanford Provost John Etchemendy. “Our partnership with Apple and iTunes U provides a creative and innovative way to engage millions of people with our teaching, learning and research and share the experience of intellectual exploration and discovery that defines our university.”

Created in collaboration with colleges and universities, iTunes U makes it easier than ever to extend learning, explore interests, learn more about a school and stay connected with an alma mater. Content from iTunes can be loaded onto an iPod® with just one click and experienced on-the-go, anytime, making learning from a lecture just as simple as enjoying music.

The iTunes Store features the world’s largest catalogue, adding new education content to over five million songs, 350 television shows and over 500 movies. The iTunes Store has sold over 2.5 billion songs, 50 million TV shows and over two million movies, making it the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store. Television shows and feature films are available in the US only, and video availability varies by country.

Apple launch iTunes Plus

Apple today launched iTunes Plus—DRM-free music tracks featuring high quality 256 kbps AAC encoding for audio quality virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings—for just 99 pence per song. iTunes Plus is launching with EMI’s digital catalogue of outstanding recordings, including singles and albums from Coldplay, The Rolling Stones, Norah Jones, Frank Sinatra, Joss Stone, Pink Floyd, John Coltrane and more than a dozen of Paul McCartney’s classic albums available on iTunes for the first time.

iTunes will continue to offer its entire catalogue, currently over five million songs, in the same versions as today—128 kbps AAC encoding with DRM—at the same price of 79 pence per song, alongside the higher quality iTunes Plus versions when available. In addition, iTunes customers can now easily upgrade their library of previously purchased EMI content to iTunes Plus tracks for just 20 pence a song and £2.00 for most albums.

“Our customers are very excited about the freedom and amazing sound quality of iTunes Plus,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We expect more than half of the songs on iTunes will be offered in iTunes Plus versions by the end of this year.”

“This is a tremendous milestone for digital music,” said Eric Nicoli, CEO of EMI Group. “Consumers are going to love listening to higher quality iTunes Plus tracks from their favourite EMI artists with no usage restrictions.”

With the release of iTunes Plus, customers can now download tracks from their favourite EMI artists without limitations on the type of music player or number of computers that purchased songs can be played on. iTunes is also offering customers a simple, one-click option to easily upgrade their library of previously purchased EMI content to the iTunes Plus versions. EMI music videos are now also available in iTunes Plus versions with no change in price. iTunes Plus songs purchased from the iTunes Store will play on all iPods, Mac® or Windows computers, widescreen TVs with Apple TV™ and soon iPhones, as well as many other digital music players.

The iTunes Store features the world’s largest catalogue with over five million songs, 350 television shows and over 500 movies. The iTunes Store has sold over 2.5 billion songs, 50 million TV shows and over two million movies, making it the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store. Television shows and feature films are available in the US only, and video availability varies by country.

With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as integrated podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, seamless integration with iPod® and the ability to turn previously purchased songs into completed albums at a reduced price, the iTunes Store is the best way for PC and Mac users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online.

Video of the Intel Metro Laptop

Friends at AeroXperience got this great video of Intel's ultra-ultra-ultra thin concept laptop, the Metro, with lots of footage of the e-ink lid display in action. My opinion "Nice looking laptop, shame about the Vista, shame about the external e-ink display."

via gizmodo.com read more | digg story

Pandora Will Launch Wifi Internet Radio Device

Pandora made a pre-announcement of an upcoming Wifi music player to be built by SanDisk and powered by Zing. The working prototype that CTO Tom Conrad demo’d tonight was physically similar to the Sansa Connect device launched last month with Yahoo, although it was slightly longer and thinner. Pictures included.

via techcrunch read more | digg story

Cinemas use night goggles to nab pirates

Malaysian cinemas have found a powerful new weapon in their fight against movie pirates -- military-style night-vision goggles. After showing people to their seats, trained ushers are strapping on the goggles and scanning darkened cinemas around the country to spot anyone trying to make illegal copies of movies...

via Reuters read more | digg story

ModBook Shipping Soon

I covered the ModBook details when they were originally announced. This encouraging update came to my attention on the engadget website.

Apple needs to create an ultra-portable like this! Maybe with Multi-touch?

via engadget read more | digg story