The iPod Classic 120 GB
Geeks.com sent us over for a whirl the highest capacity available iPod mp3 player, the 120 GB version of the iPod Classic. In the era of the touchscreen iPods and smartphones, how is the Classic design holding up?
Firefox 3.6 with Tumbly Support
Firefox will now include code to detect how a laptop or mobile device is situated in relation to the ground for devices with the appropriate hardware. "One new feature that we’re including as part of Firefox 3.6 is support for web pages to access machine orientation information if it’s available. As you can see from the you can use it to figure out if the machine is moving and what direction it’s facing. Originally built as something that we would include for our upcoming mobile browser release, we’ve made it available on desktop systems as well. Many modern Macbooks and Thinkpads contain devices and drivers that expose this information. We’ve added support for Linux, Macs and some Thinkpads where drivers and devices are available."
Microsoft Sponsors Family Guy Episode
Those who enjoy the popular television show will be happy to know that November 8, 2009 will feature a variety show from the makers of Family Guy, and it will play for its entire allotted time without any commercial interruption-- courtesy of Microsoft. The company has made a deal with Fox to have Windows 7 propaganda integrated into a special entitled "Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show," which will include varied live-action Family Guy musical performances, animated shorts, and celebrity guest appearances. Just how the show will be used to advertise Windows 7 is unclear, but the folks at Microsoft say that "you'll see us deeply integrated into the content... you'll hear a lot about how Windows 7 can help you simplify your PC -- it's simple, fast and easy to use." So sit back in the lazy chair on November 8th, take a bite out of your Windows-branded toast, and enjoy.
The Amazing MorphOS 2.4 G4 Mac Testing Effort!
As we all know, the MorphOS team recently released MorphOS 2.4, which added support for the PowerPC G4 version of Apple's Mac Mini. Even though this long-awaited 'feature' is a very welcome one, I personally think that of all the G4 Macs MorphOS could support, the Mini is the least interesting. As such, I want to find out if any other G4 Macs happen to be supported too - without us knowing about it.
Linux Foundation Offers Members Hardware Discounts
"Back in June, the Linux Foundation started their individual membership program and they're now expanding it with new hardware discounts. Starting this week, those who pay the $99 for an individual Linux Foundation membership will also get up to 40 percent off of Lenovo devices and employee purchase pricing from Dell and HP... When the Linux Foundation started the $99 yearly fee provided users with their very own Linux.com email address. Now users can lock-in their email address for $150, for what the foundation calls a 'permanent' address."
Dell Starts Talking Down Netbooks
In what is about as surprising as the sun rising in the morning, Michael Dell has started talking down netbooks. Dell made his comments about netbooks at the Churchill Club in Silicon Valley, and considering the impact of netbooks on manufacturers' bottom lines, it's really not that surprising.
OpenVMS V8.4 Field Test
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We missed this one when it was announced, but since there's not much VMS news these days, I thought "better late than never." Dying to get your hands on the upcoming OpenVMS 8.4? HP is inviting participants for the field test of the next version of OpenVMS. As a field test site, you have the opportunity of trying the latest version of OpenVMS early.
Best Free Open Source Software for Mac OS X
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InfoWorld surveys the FOSS-on-Mac OS X landscape, detailing the most essential free open source applications for the Mac, all precompiled and ready to run. 'In many cases, you're not just getting an open source tool; you're getting a range of options to add to that tool as many of them have yet another layer of openness hidden inside. Several of the applications have their own built-in environment for extending the software. Some accept plug-ins, some have pop-up windows for writing short extensions, and some have both -- so you have even more options for customization.' From AppleJack to GIMP to jEdit, each of these top 10 open source apps and utilities for the Mac prove that the best free open source software isn't just for Windows users.
EFF Warns TI Not to Pursue Legal Threats Against Hobbyists
So, we have Apple who is paranoid about people installing legally purchased copies of its operating system on non-Apple labelled machines. Just when you thought it couldn't get any more ridiculous than that, we have a hardware company trying to prevent people from installing operating systems on its hardware. Wait, what?
Ubuntu Linux Adds Private Cloud Backing
Canonical's Ubuntu 9.10 Server Edition will include private cloud capabilities, thanks to support for the open source Eucalyptus project, InfoWorld reports. Available for free download on Oct. 29, Ubuntu 9.10 Server Edition will introduce Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud, an open source cloud computing environment based on the same APIs as Amazon EC2. Users will be able to set up 10 to 15 private servers, leveraging the same capabilities they would use with Amazon, thereby allowing them to take their applications off the Amazon cloud and put them instead into a private cloud, or vice versa
FreeBSD Gets Grand Central Dispatch Port
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Not too long ago, Apple open sourced its Grand Central Dispatch library, which aids in developing multithreaded code. It was suggested that it could be ported to other platforms, and the FreeBSD team has done exactly that. They have also done a lot of work related to getting GCD to work in a POSIX environment.
MorphOS 2.4 Released, Adds Mac Mini Support
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I barely finished and published my MorphOS 2.3 review for OSNews, and here we have the release of MorphOS 2.4. The biggest improvement, if you could call it that, is the one thing a lot of people have been waiting for: MorphOS 2.4 includes support for the entire range of PowerPC G4 Mac Mini computers from Apple.
Eee Keyboard Detailed by FCC
Aspects of the mouth-watering Eee Keyboard have been mysterious since we first heard about it at the beginning of this year. Now that the FCC has had a go at the device and has released its documents, we have sweet description in full. "Several of the documents hidden from our anxious eyes during the FCC filing have now gone public. Not only can you visually inspect its innards, the feds have also laid bare the full spec sheet for the ASUS Eee Keyboard model EK1542. Beneath the 5-inch, 800 x 480 pixel touch panel (with stylus) we'll be getting Windows XP Home running on an Intel Atom N270, 945GSE / ICH7-M chipset with Broadcom AV-VD905 video decoder, 1GB of DDR2 memory, either 16GB or 32GB of flash storage, 4-hour battery, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI and VGA outputs, integrated stereo speakers and mic, 3x USB, headphone and mic jacks, and external WiFi / UWB antenna. The Eee Keyboard's on-board Ultra-Wideband (UWB) throws 720p content to your TV within a 5-meter range (10-meters for non-video transmissions) via a UWB receiver packing 2x USB ports, another mini-USB port, audio out, and HDMI. You can even connect to two external monitors at the same time using UWB and either VGA or HDMI cable. Now all we need is a final date and price... ASUS?"
Guest Account Bug in Snow Leopard Causes Data Loss
We generally don't report on individual bugs or security issues in operating systems, but a pretty serious bug has reared its ugly head in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. If you had a guest account enabled prior to installing Snow Leopard, then you are at risk of losing all your data.
Apple, Psystar File Motions for Summary Judgement
Now that all the nastiness of the discovery phase is behind us in the Apple vs. Psystar case, both parties are trying to get the case settled before it goes to court, much like the recent Vernor vs. Autodesk case. Both Apple and Psystar have filed motions asking for a summary judgement.
Sidekick Suffers Catastrophic Data Loss
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Bad news for Cloud Computing boosters. A massive screw-up on the part of the Microsoft subsidiary that runs the Sidekick service has resulted in all data stored on the service's servers being lost. Data stored locally on the Sidekick devices is still intact, and T-Mobile will be figuring out a way to facilitate the upload of that local data onto the servers at some point. It's a hard lesson to learn when we rely on someone else to safeguard our precious data. I'm afraid this will be the nail in the coffin for "Pink," the Microsoft mobile device hardware project reported to be based on Sidekick tech.
Apple vs. Microsoft: Top 20 Stolen OS Ideas
InfoWorld's John Rizzo chronicles the 20 most significant ideas and features Microsoft and Apple have stolen from each other in the lead up to Windows 7 and Mac OS X Snow Leopard. 'Some features were stolen so long ago that they've become part of the computing landscape, and it's difficult to remember who invented what.' Windows 7's Task Bar and Aero Peek come to mind as clear appropriations of Mac OS X's Dock and Expose. Apple's cloning of the Windows address bar in 2007's Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard as the path bar is another obvious 'inspiration.' But the borrowing goes deeper, Rizzo writes, providing a screenshot tour of Microsoft's biggest grabs from Mac OS X and Apple's most significant appropriations of Windows OS ideas and functionality.
Miscellaneous Material
And another week passed by, another Week in Review. Lots of different stuff this past week, there's no theme or recurring subject, though. My item of the week is Palm's announcements regarding freeing up webOS development. What's yours?
Episode 26: The Skype-on-iPhone Show
Even after a disastrous recording session we still managed to produce an hour and a half show. We are joined by David Adams to discuss disclosure, bits and pieces in the news, rounding off with Microsoft Works Office 2010 Starter. Apologies for the poor quality, we really did have a lot of crashes.
Digging Into Mac OS X’s Single-Application Mode
Way back, when we were recovering from our hangovers from the millennium parties, Apple introduced, for the first time, Mac OS X and the Aqua user interface. This was still a preview, so it wasn't quite as polished and finished, of course. It also contained a feature that never made it into the final releases: single-window mode. Or did it...?