Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by
Dan Knight
- 2005.03.02
PowerBook, iBook, iPod, and other portable computing is covered
in The 'Book Review.
Mac mini News
General Mac News
Mac mini News
Mac mini Sure to Lure Mac-phobic Buyers
NEWS:
The Sun-Times' Andy
Ihnatko says:
"The Mac Mini is the first
desktop computer that I've ever lost inside my sofa.
"I didn't have time to set it up on the day it arrived, and a
week later I found myself nervously retracing my steps. ('OK. I
know I was eager to look at it, so I took it out of the box. Then I
took it upstairs with the rest of the mail, which I read while
watching TV sitting on the ... no, it couldn't be there, could
it?')
"Indeed it was, safely tucked between the cushion and the
armrest. The Mini is without a doubt the smallest full-featured
desktop I've ever seen. It disappears on your desk. If its
footprint were any smaller, you'd have to fold your DVDs before
inserting them.
"Apple engineers were very wise to stop where they did, winding
up with a machine that's only 2 inches thick and 6.5 inches
square....
"Yet - unlike the industry's previous attempts to make a
minimum-footprint desktop - it's hard to think of anything that
Apple left out. A combo drive is standard (with a DVD burner as an
option), as is an ample supply of ports (Ethernet, FireWire, dual
USBs, modem)...."
Mac mini Tower - the New Hotness
NEWS:
iPodlounge's editors say:
"If a 'gimme' were to be defined in the dictionary outside of
its golfing connotation, it would be an invention so smart, yet so
natural, that the first person to sell it would almost certainly
make a million dollars. Plasticsmith's new Mini Tower ($39.95) is a
gimme: a clear acrylic Mac mini enclosure made for all 100 million
people who lusted after Apple's G4 Cube computer back in 2000, but
were deterred by the price.
"For a pittance, the Mini Tower makes the inexpensive Mac mini
look plenty like the Cube, suspending it vertically above the
surface of a table and turning its top and bottom Apple icons into
left and right sides. The mini's top surface is obviously nicer
looking than the bottom, but neither is unattractive, and the
acrylic adds a ton of gloss and class to the already beautiful
Apple case. Four rubber feet hold the Mini Tower still and prevent
its polished bottom from being scratched."
How to Get the Most from the Least Expensive
Mac mini
NEWS: Gannett News Service's
Leonard Fischer says:
"Few new personal computers have garnered as much buzz in recent
years as the Mac Mini, which
was introduced in January and is now widely available at Apple's
retail stores and online....
"For some buyers - those who are upgrading from an older system,
for example - plugging in your existing keyboard, mouse and display
might not be a big deal, but for prospective buyers who need to buy
these essentials, it can balloon the Mini's pint-sized initial
price.
"Is the Mini a smart value for you? After spending a week
experimenting with the Mini, here's our take on how the Mini stacks
up for several types of users
mini equipment setups are profiled for the following
categories:
- Entertainment geeks - Overall value: Excellent
- Thrifty students - Overall value: Very good
- Paranoid Internet surfers - Overall value: Excellent
Mac mini as Plasma Parasite
NEWS:
Gizmodo says:
"There is a beauty here, to see this Mac mini violently seizing
the back of this plasma screen. A tiny parasite, forcing its will
onto the giant host, preempting sitcom reruns for flashing Jobsian
indoctrination. And who would have thought the method of this
plasma display's utter consumption would be two zip ties? They tie
with deadly efficiency."
Spring Break Projects for You & Your
Mac mini
NEWS: Nerd Vittles
says:
"Well, it's that time of the year again. The Nerd Vittles staff
(Larry, Curly & Me) will be taking a breather for a bit to
recharge our batteries. But, in the finest college tradition, we're
leaving you lots of homework in a pretty package. Here's a listing
of what we've built thus far in our Mac mini ISP-In-A-Box project.
So, while we're taking it easy, pick out a few projects you haven't
tried and knock yourself out. And today's stumper: Why are some of
the contestants holding their numbers upside down? Hint: Think
Outside the Box."
Mac mini
SleeveCase
PR: The Waterfield Designs Mac
Mini SleeveCase is a neoprene and ballistic shell for the
mini computer from Apple. Added protection comes from the flap.
Want a compliment, try the Mac Mini SleeveCase with the Small
VertiGo. The perfect bag to carry around the Mac Mini SleeveCase
and accessories.
Available in one size: 7.25" x 7.25" x 2.5"
Mac Mini Case: $39
General Mac News
MacOSX.com Launches Free Tech Support
Service
PR: MacOSX.com announces free
personal technical support services. The new free service feature
is email based and provides individual attention by a Macintosh
tech. Responses to issues are generally provided in less than 24
hours.
Support is not limited to the Mac only, but includes anything
that runs on or attaches to a Mac, including connecting to
networked devices such as Windows & Linux systems. Printers,
scanners, modems, iPods, and displays are just a short list of
hardware devices supported. Most software is covered including
Adobe products, iLife applications, Microsoft and more.
The support service is staffed by volunteers who enjoy helping
out fellow Mac users with troubleshooting problems as they may
arise. Currently, over 70 volunteers are helping support the launch
of the new service and even more volunteer techs are needed. Anyone
with a desire to help others and technical know how for the Mac
(even if specialized) is desired.
Is There a Cell Processor in Apple's
Future?
NEWS: eWeek's John Rizzo
says:
"Before and after this month's unveiling of the PowerPC-based
'Cell' processor, the Mac industry buzzed with predictions that the
forthcoming chip would be adopted by Apple Computer as its
next-generation computing platform.
"While the specs of the new chip are impressive, especially with
its integrated support for virtualization and speedy video
performance, analysts said differences between the Cell and the
current PowerPC architectures will make any transition an unlikely
prospect for the next few years.
"Besides, use of the Cell chip in a Mac would make sense only if
Apple Computer Inc. could get its Mac OS X to run faster than
it does on a PowerPC - a task that may prove more difficult than it
sounds."
Miglia Technology announces Evolution TV
PR: Miglia Technology has announced Evolution
TV, a fully featured digital video recorder for your
Mac.
Eric Ferraz, Product Marketing
Director, Miglia Technology, commented: "Any USB 2.0 enabled Mac
can now record TV programs and VHS videos to create digital files
in industry standard formats. Evolution TV marks a big step forward
in the TV tuner market, thanks to its full support for MPEG-2/4 and
DivX encoding. Thanks to the wide availability of MPEG-4/DivX
compatible DVD players, customers can now store several full length
high quality movies on a single DVD and watch them directly on
their TV!"
Delivering a clean and sharp picture, Evolution TV comes with
fully featured software enabling you to watch and record live TV,
schedule recordings, access online TV guides and much more.
Evolution TV will be shipping mid-March.
Compatibility:
- Mac with USB 2.0
- PowerPC G4/800 processor and higher
- 256 MB of RAM
- Mac OS X 10.3.x and higher
Pricing and availability: Evolution TV is available now from
Miglia's distribution partners, refurb or online store, for a
recommended retail price of €209, $279, and £149 (all
prices are ex VAT).
All units carry a full 2 year RTB warranty. A list of
distributors and resellers is available on Miglia's website.
MP3beamer
PR: MP3beamer is a music
appliance that allows you to set up one machine to store all your
music and then access that music from other computers, portable
players, software programs, or even your own home stereo. With
MP3beamer, you can organize your music collection in one location,
access and play on different machines, stream music to multiple
machines over the Internet, and even use a media receiver to access
your music collection on your home stereo, and, of course, load
your music onto portable MP3 players like iPods.
MP3beamer acts as a digital music
recorder (DMR). Just as a digital video recorder (DVR) stores your
video and allows you to play it back on TVs, a DMR stores your
music collection and makes your music library instantly accessible
from just about anywhere using any software or any device -
including Windows, iPods/iTunes, web browsers, PDAs, and home
stereos.
Once you've set it up, MP3beamer makes organizing your music
simple. Not only can you save your entire CD collection on
MP3beamer, the MP3beamer sends songs you've saved in your iTunes,
Lsongs, or other online music libraries and sends them to your
chosen device to play. Different people can access MP3beamer at the
same time from different machines.
When you add music to MP3beamer, it will automatically copy it
to all your computers through an action called "syncing." If the
sync feature is on, then songs added to MP3beamer are auto-copied
to iTunes or Lsongs and vice versa. MP3beamer can stream music to
virtually any MP3 software including Windows Media, MusicMatch and
Winamp.
It takes just minutes to set up MP3beamer. To load your music
onto the machine, just drag and drop your existing music collection
from a USB drive or over the network to the MP3beamer machine. You
can also quickly rip your CDs by just inserting them into the
CD-ROM drive and MP3beamer will automatically look up the track
titles and convert all the tracks to a high-quality MP3 format.
You can listen to your music on the MP3beamer machine, but more
importantly MP3beamer includes technology that beams your music
library to other computers, devices and software programs so you
can access your music in many ways from many places. Click here to
see details on different devices and how they work with
MP3beamer.
MP3beamer is also designed to work with media receivers, which
means you can wireless access all of your music on your home stereo
in brilliant digital quality. Just select your favorite playlists,
artists or albums and all the music will be beamed from your
MP3beamer machine to your receiver. See this chart for a list of
recommended media receivers.
MP3beamer sells for $399.
Big Tiki Drive, a Flash Drive in the
Form of a Grinning, Glowing Tiki Idol
PR: TikiMac has unveiled the Big Tiki
Drive, the world's first hi-speed USB compatible storage
device in the form of a big, grinning Tiki idol, complete with
hypnotic glowing eyes and a blinking "aura" - for Macintosh and
Windows PC-compatible computers and starting at $59. The Big Tiki
Drive is simple and inexpensive way for users in home, business and
educational settings to transport and share their data quickly and
easily.
The Big Tiki Drive is 100%
plug-and-play compatible with Macintosh systems running Mac
OS X 10.x and OS 9.2.x without requiring any special drivers.
It will also operate on PC-compatible computers running Windows ME,
2000, and XP. It supports hi-speed USB for fast data transfers and
is backwards compatible with USB 1.1.
Big Tiki Drives are currently available in 256 MB, 512 MB,
1 GB, 2 GB and 4 GB capacities, include a 6'
illuminated "Lava USB" data cable in either red, white or blue, a
soft drawstring pouch for storage and transport, a protective
connector "end cap" and comes with a 2 year limited warranty and
unlimited technical support.
Pricing and Availability: The Big Tiki Drive is available now
through TikiMac authorized resellers, specialist stores and its
online web store. It is available in 256 MB($59), 512 MB ($79),
1 GB ($119), 2 GB ($229) and 4 GB ($429)
capacities.
radioSHARK AM/FM Radio with Time Shift
Recording
PR: The radio airwaves will never be safe again. radioSHARK
adds an AM/FM radio to any Mac or PC* - but that's just the
beginning.
The radioSHARK can record any AM or FM
radio broadcast in real time. You can also program it to record a
scheduled show, or to 'pause' live radio so you can return right
where you left off moments or even hours before (See 'What is
Time-Shift Recording?' sidebar above).
radioSHARK includes a full-featured application that controls
all radio and recording functions. Favorite station presets can be
set with the click of a mouse, and new stations can be scanned and
tuned with ease. The application is also where you program
Time-Shift Recording, either to take a break without missing any of
a show or to record your favorite broadcast to listen to later.
The radioSHARK connects to and is powered by USB. The fin-shaped
device acts as an antenna and can be positioned for best reception
and recording. Any recorded broadcast can be transferred to an iPod
or any other AIFF-compatible digital music player to replay on the
go.
radioSHARK gives you control of how and when you listen to your
favorite radio shows. Dive in today and take a bite out of the
airwaves!
Simply put, time-shift recording allows you to pause a live
broadcast and return to it moments-or even hours-later and continue
exactly where you left off. (it's a lot like a popular TV accessory
whose name we can't say&but rhymes with Steve-O.)
radioSHARK also allows you to start and stop recording at any
time while you are listening, and lets you schedule recording so
you won't miss your favorite radio show.
- * Mac OS X (10.2.8 or higher) or PC running Windows XP
Hamrick Software's VueScan adds PDF File
Creation
PR: VueScan now supports
the creation of Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files, a
popular feature request from VueScan users. Users can now create
single and multipage PDF files in one step, directly from the
scanner, without having to spend hundreds of dollars to purchase
products like Adobe Acrobat 7.0.
VueScan 8.1.36 now supports the creation of Adobe Portable
Document Format (PDF) files, a popular feature request from VueScan
users around the world. Now users can create single and multipage
PDF files in one step, directly from the scanner, without having to
spend hundreds of dollars to purchase Adobe Acrobat 7.0 or a
comparative product. Used extensively by professional
photographers, film processing labs and consumers around the world,
VueScan 8.1.36 now offers an enhanced, user-friendly interface with
support for raw files for 142 digital cameras, and support for 414
scanners.
The Standard Edition of VueScan costs US$49.95 and the
Professional Edition costs US$89.95 for a single user license.
Multi-user licenses are available. A fully functional, trial copy
of VueScan can be downloaded from <http://www.hamrick.com/>.
VueScan is available for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. It
automatically adjusts images to optimum color balance, which
reduces the need to manually do this in Photoshop. VueScan includes
built-in color calibration of scanners, producing colors that look
true to life. Supporting more than 100 brands of negative film,
VueScan offers options for scanning faded slides and prints; batch
scanning, IT8 color calibration and other advanced scanning
features.
DVForge Announces Major Price Reductions
PR: DVForge, Inc.
announced that it has reduced pricing on most of the products
marketed under the company's MacMice and JamPod brands.
"During 2004, we experienced over 660% sales growth over our
2003 levels," said Chuck Leonard, Executive Vice President for
DVForge, Inc. "One result of that growth is that we have had major
improvements in most areas of our company operations, such as lower
production costs (from higher quantities), and reduced shipping
costs from our factories. After looking at our current actual
costs, we realized that we could offer our customers substantially
lower prices on nearly everything we make, and still earn about the
same margins we have previously earned. We want to thank the many
tens of thousands of customers who have increased our business to
the point where we can build our products in high enough numbers to
pass along these savings in the way of reduced prices."
The following products now have new, lower pricing: The Mouse
USB mouse, reduced from $39.99 to $29.99. The SightFlex iSight web
cam stand, reduced from $29.99 to $19.99. The iFlex iSight holder
for PowerBooks, reduced from $19.99 to $12.99. The MicFlex USB
microphone, reduced from $49.99 to $39.99. The iBreeze acrylic
PowerBook cooling stand, reduced from $29.99 to $24.99. The JamPlug
miniature guitar amplifier, reduced from $49.99 to $39.99. The
GuitarPlug and MicPlug USB audio interfaces, reduced from $49.99 to
$39.99.
The stated price reductions are now in effect, and any of the
affected DVForge products can be ordered from the DVForge website
or from any DVForge reseller worldwide.
Desktop Mac Deals
Low End Mac updates the following price trackers every two
weeks:
For deals on laptops, see our Best PowerBook G4 Deals,
Best iBook G4 Deals,
and Best iBook G3
Deals. For deals on iPods, see our Best iPod Deals.
