Casio intros Exilim cams with "makeup" mode...
Casio today began its prelude to the Photokina show with three new Exilim cameras for the US and elsewhere, two of which introduce a new automatic image tuning feature. The Zoom series tops out with the 10.1-megapixel EX-Z300 and the 9.1-megapixel EX-Z250, both of which include a new Makeup feature: the optional setting can dynamically improve the look of faces in portrait shots by either eliminating blemishes or reducing the impact of long shadows. They can also automatically correct overly dark faces or stitch together three shots to simulate a long exposure time.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Early Morning Edition
MS unveils SideWinder X5, X6 gaming input duo...
Microsoft this morning used the advent of the Leipzig Games Convention to launch a second generation of its reborn SideWinder gaming and performance peripherals. The X6 Keyboard is completely new to the range and has extra game-specific touches such as a Cruise Control feature, which sustains a common action, and in-game macro recording. It also has more intuitive game-oriented controls such as large dials for screen brightness and volume, a breakaway number pad and a lit-up W/A/S/D key area for playing first-person shooters in the dark.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Vodafone details iPhone 3G launch pricing, details...
Vodafone on Tuesday announced official pricing and availability information for the iPhone in India, offering the device starting at an astonishing Rs 31,000 (~$715) for the 8GB model, or Rs 36100 (~$830) for the 16GB. Vodafone is offering potential customers a chance to own the device "before others do", by placing a Rs 10,000 (~$230) deposit, allowing them to book a specific time for their purchase and setup for the launch on August 22nd. [C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Jobs: fix for iPhone lockup coming in Sept....
In response to one user's concerns – and potentially thousands of others' by proxy – Apple CEO Steve Jobs has personally, but briefly, addressed that the various iPhone app freezes would be resolved through a software update in September. For the past several weeks, users have been experiencing issues with third-party applications freezing the system, failing to start, or even halting the device's boot process, prompting a sometimes lengthy restore through iTunes, according toAppleInsider.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 1 comment]
Tuesday, August 19th
Last updated: 9:05 PM EST
Evening Edition
DJ-1800 v3.2 supports Nicecast, more...
A new version of the professional DJ software DJ-1800 has been released for Mac. Version 3.2 supports the Hercules DJ Rmx controller and improves iPhone and iPod touch integration. Full support for Nicecast, an internet broadcasting application, allows users to share their mixes. DJ-1800 is a complete system, not requiring any hardware mixers or CD players. A full plug-in API allows the integration of any DJ controller.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Intel shows off quad-core low-power Core 2 Extreme...
At its IDF developer conference in San Francisco Tuesday, Intel unveiled 4-core laptop processor that uses just 45 watts . The Core 2 Extreme is the latest addition to the Centrino 2 platform launched in July. David Perlmutter, Executive VP and General Manager of Intel's Mobility Group also introduced the latest dual-core processors for ultra-thin notebooks like the MacBook Air.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 1 comment]
Next-Gen Intel Core i7 Processors get "Turbo Mode"...
Intel's next-generation Core i7 Processors will include a new "Turbo Mode," that delivers a speed boost without a "heat penalty." Pat Gelsinger, Senior VP and General Manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group outlined the company's processor roadmap in his keynote speech at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco Tuesday. He said the i7 chips will make its first appearance in desktop PCs and "energy-efficient high-performace server products," code-named "Nehalem-EP."[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
HP's Q3 reveals computer shipments up 20%... HP's third quarter financial statements, released today, showed an increase in computer shipments of 20 percent and an increase in notebook profit of 26 percent. Those numbers are significantly less than one of their main competitors, Apple, that just reported computer shipments up 41 percent with a 43 percent increase in revenue. Despite the growth differences in the computer sector, HP still dominated in overall revenue of $28 billion, almost quadruple Apple's numbers for the quarter.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
WaveMaker 4.0: one-stop web app creation...
The folks at WaveMaker think big, calling their Visual Ajax Studio 4.0 web app development tool "a fundamental breakthrough" -- and they may just be right. In a demonstration for MacNN it took about three minutes to build a simple database web app -- something that traditionally takes a team of developers to manage the complex weaving of web and server functions. This could be especially good news for the growing number of Mac Developers, since WaveMaker is browser-based. The company says it works just as well on Safari as it does on Microsoft Internet Explorer -- in fact it works better on Safari.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Freecom unveils "smallest" hard drive... Freecom has announced a new hard drive, the Mobile Drive XXS, that houses a 2.5" hard drive in a total package weighing just 5.5oz. The overall dimensions of the device are 4.3" x 3.1" x .5". The drive is actually an internal Samsung HM160HX that is connected to a bridge unit with a USB socket. The drive is contained in a soft rubber case, operating at 5400rpm with a cache of 8MB. No external power source is needed, since the unit draws all of its power from an available USB connection.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Cooliris 1.8 gains Safari 3.1 compatibility...
Cooliris has released an update to its self-titled browser extension, bringing it to v1.8. Formerly known as PicLens, the plug-in lets users access more elaborate, full-screen galleries of images and videos on a website, presented in a "3D Wall" view that lets users rapidly scroll through dozens or hundreds of images. A site must be Cooliris-enabled for the technology to work, but some supporting sites include Google, YouTube and Facebook.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 2 comments]
Apple will cover, replace exploding Nanos...
After recently discovering the sizzling first generation iPod nanos were not an isolated incident, Apple is recognizing the issue and offering to replace the faulty units. Three reports out of Japan showed several incidents of the player smoking or sparking, which also saw melted face plastics and bent back plates. In response to the claims, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry is examining three cases in which the devices caused burns to their owners.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 6 comments]
Forums: software update, email woes, new App Forum roundup: MacNN forum goers have been discussing the latest 2.0.2 software update for the iPhone 3G, stating that it seems to have improved the overall speed of contacts, updates and GPS. Viable calendaring systems that will work properly with iCal on XServe are discussed in this thread. One user was about to purchase a 30-inch monitor, but instead decides to ask opinions from other forum members about the pros and cons of having two 24-inch monitors instead of one 30-inch. Calverson, a Forum Regular want's to buy a second portable Mac and is looking for some advice on the one with the best battery life. Users debate the legality of a new App that allows you to stream media from your home computer to mobile devices such as the iPod and iPhone.[print | email | 1 comment]
Apple applies for iDisk, Macintosh trademarks...
Apple has applied for two new additions to its trademark pool, filings show. The first is simply entitled iDisk, and covers the online file storage system first debuted through .Mac, and more recently continued with the advent of MobileMe. A successful trademark would be listed under International Class 042, and Apple cites its iDisk website as evidence of commercial use.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 1 comment]
Casio shows photo printers with keyboards... Casio Japan today hoped to stand out against traditional digital photo printers by launching two with much more control over editing images than before. The PCP-1200 and PCP-250 both have a QWERTY keyboard that permits comments and other text overlays for photos and also enables content creation that would be impractical on photo printers using only a touchscreen, such as calendars.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 1 comment]
Fantasktik toolbar allows docking, collapsing windows...
Dockland Software has announced Fantasktik, a taskbar app for the Mac which allows switching between Finder and application windows. It groups windows according to application in collapsed form on the taskbar, and uses Leopard's Core Animation to offer previews of the minimized content. The app uses a click-and-slide method for searching through numerous windows in a grouping, and offers one-click window switching. Collapsing and expanding windows is also a one-click operation.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
ClipWrap converts m2t files to QuickTime HDV...
Divergent Media has announced ClipWrap for the Mac, an m2t batch converter for creating QuickTime HDV files. With most Hi-Def cameras recording in m2t transport streams, and few video applications capable of handling m2t, ClipWrap attempts to bridge the gap, converting the streams to QuickTime movies. The software is a rewrapping tool, moving video and audio streams to a QuickTime container. In theory this avoids generational loss through re-encoding, and saves hours of encode time.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 2 comments]
Olympus readies 7X zoom Stylus, new FEs...
Olympus on Tuesday gave a preview of updates to its camera lines ahead of Photokina with European announcements of cameras that should appear in the US. The µ[mju:] 1060 (Stylus 1060 in the US) is unusually long-ranged and boasts a 7X zoom, 37-260mm equivalent lens that helps compose distant landscape shots. Both hardware- and software-based image stabilization keep the resulting 10-megapixel images steady and are backed by a very high-speed mode that shoots at nine frames per second in exchange for lower-resolution three-megapixel shots.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Destineer ships Age of Empires III: Asian Dynasties...
Destineer has announced that the latest Age of Empires III expansion pack, The Asian Dynasties, has shipped for the Mac. The pack features three new Asian civilizations -- the Indians, Chinese and Japanese -- each of which receives units unique to its culture. Game modes include a new single-player campaign, which allows players to relive major events in Asian history.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Archos intros media tablets with 3G, more...
Archos mid-Tuesday launched an aggressive campaign to capture the touchscreen media player market with the Internet Media Tablet line. The devices are pitched as complements to the earlier fifth-generation media players and focus primarily on Internet access: all use a Flash-enabled version of Opera for browsing and support both radio and video streams. Aside from a new and slimmer design, the 5-inch Archos 5G also marks one of the few devices of the type with built-in 3G: an internal modem and SIM card support HSDPA cellular data from most providers and enable Internet access from most areas.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Pad for iPhone/iPod controls Macs over Wi-Fi...
Philip Hansson has announced Pad, an iPhone and iPod touch application for remote controlling a Mac via Wi-Fi. The app lets users can control a Mac's mouse, keyboard and volume controls, and supports functions such as dragging, zooming and scrolling, left-, right- and double-clicks, and hotkeys with the option for application-specific custom keys. A host Mac can use any resolution, and any number of screens.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Intel announces Mainstream SSD drives...
In the wake of last Friday's leak, Intel has now formally announced its Mainstream series of SSD drives. Models will be available in 1.8- and 2.5-inch sizes, and rely on MLC (multi-level cell) NAND memory, which should in theory aid to keep prices down. One of the first examples is the 80GB X25-M, which is also Intel's first SATA-based SSD for notebook and desktop OEM builders.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 2 comments]
US cellphone sales down 13% in spring...
A report today from The NPD Group reveals that 2008's spring quarter saw cellular phone sales in the US drop to 28 million units, or 13 percent less than the same time period in 2007. Revenue from the sales for the same time period, at below $2.4 billion, represented a two percent decrease, the NPD report concluded. Accounting for the discrepancy between these numbers is the fact consumers are spending 14 percent more in the spring quarter of 2008, $84 on average, on phones that have more features, with sales of QWERTY keyboard-equipped handsets jumping by a record of 28 percent, while handsets with Bluetooth jumped 12 percent.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Morning Edition
Ricoh intros newest 10-megapixel R10 digital camera...
Ricoh's newly introduced R10 digital camera uses a 10-megapixel CCD sensor, like the R8 it replaces,. The R10 ups the size of the LCD screen, now sized at 3 inches versus the R8's 2.7-inch version, with resolution pegged at 480 by 320 pixels. The camera features Ricoh's 3rd generation of face recognition software and a range of easy shooting functions that automatically optimize settings based on the shooting environment.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
In response to one user's concerns – and potentially thousands of others' by proxy – Apple CEO Steve Jobs has personally, but briefly, addressed that the various iPhone app freezes would be resolved through a software update in September. For the past several weeks, users have been experiencing issues with third-party applications freezing the system, failing to start, or even halting the device's boot process, prompting a sometimes lengthy restore through iTunes, according to AppleInsider.
[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 1 comment]
Morning Edition
