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The Cube: Out of the Mountain Too Early
Political '1984' Ad Parody Under Fire
Apple Cracking Down on Apple TV Hacking?
Hack a Mac contest at CanSecWest
Apple TV-to-SD TV adaptor price cut 40%
eWEEK: Apple's Boot Camps Now Supports Vista
PC Mag: Inside Apple: Starz Suit Threatens Apple TV
The Mac Night Owl: The Fear-Factor: Yes, Microsoft Has Lost its Clout!
PC Mag: Tesla Roadster: Test Driving Your Electric Dream Car
PC Mag: 'Star Wars' Stamp Put to a Vote
The Cube: Out of the Mountain Too Early
OS News's Thom Holwerda says:
About one year ago, I sold my iBook G4 in order to buy the then upcoming MacBook. Due to an unexpected change of plans (I moved to a new house), that MacBook never reached my desk; I still really missed having a Mac around. Now, almost a year later, I am again back on Mac. So, what did I buy? A sleek black MacBook? An all-powerful Intel PowerMac quad-core? No. David, OSNews' owner, sent me his G4 Cube.
I have always been a huge fan of the PowerMac G4 Cube, ever since it was released in 2000. Sure, at USD 1799 they were not exactly cheap; especially taking into consideration the fairly low specifications. But, putting that aside, you did get the best-looking computer money could buy-- and today, it still is.
The Cube is Apple's pinnacle of design; a cube-shaped computer suspended in a glass plastic housing measuring 10"x8"x8". The computer itself is grey, the Apple logo embossed on the housing is the dark greyish-blue variant (smoke). On top there are two air vents, as well as a slotloading optical drive. There is no power button; instead, there is what I refer to as a power 'sensor'; the sensor 'feels' it when you lay your finger on it, and powers up (or down).
For the full commentary, visit here:
http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=17583
Political '1984' Ad Parody Under Fire
NewsFactor's Frederick Lane reports:
In a statement released on Wednesday, Rosenblum Productions, a Chicago-based company that owns the exclusive television and motion picture rights to George Orwell's famous novel, "1984," said that "it is monitoring closely the controversy" over a YouTube video clip that incorporates images of Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) into the famous "1984" Apple Macintosh ad.
The clip, entitled "Vote Different," was posted to YouTube by "ParkRidge47" on March 5, and has been viewed nearly four million times since then. Gina Rosenblum, the president of Rosenblum Productions, said that the YouTube video is a copy of "a prior commercial infringement of our copyright."
"We recognize the legal issues inherent under the First Amendment and the copyright law as to political expression of opinion," she continued, "but we want the world at large to know that we take our copyright ownership of one of the world's great novels very seriously."
Although George Orwell (the pen name of author Eric Blair) died in 1950, his popular novel is still protected by copyright and will not enter the public domain until at least 2044. Rosenblum said that she purchased the rights to "1984" from his estate and his wife, Sonia Orwell, in 1981. She and her company, she said, are currently in negotiations to create a new motion picture based on the novel.
{Editor's note: Ms. Rosenblum also claims responsibility for Apple's original "1984" commercial only airing once. CM]
For the full report, visit here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20070329/bs_nf/51103
Apple Cracking Down on Apple TV Hacking?
Wired's Joshua Ochs reports:
Apple TV is a capable little box, with a Pentium 4 processor, 40GB hard drive, NVidia GForce 7300 graphics and 256MB RAM. Technically, there's not much to distinguish it from the Mac Mini, or even game consoles like the XBox or Nintendo's Wii. But far as functionality is concerned, it's a tightly-run ship, offering iTunes-to-TV media streaming and not much else.
And if reports from tinkerers are correct, that's exactly how Apple intends things to stay.
Reports are coming in that modifications made to the box are being rolled back remotely by Apple, though anecdotal reports do not evidence make. Apple TV hacker "IPP" writes:
For the full report, visit here:
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/03/apple_cracking_.html
Hack a Mac contest at CanSecWest
news.com.com's Joris Evers reports:
The organizers of CanSecWest, a fixture on the security conference circuit, are organizing a "PWN to OWN" contest. Two Apple MacBook Pro computers will be set up as hacker targets. The person who successfully breaks into the machine can keep it. The conference will be held April 18-20 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
For the full report, visit here:
http://news.com.com/2061-10789_3-6171472.html
Apple TV-to-SD TV adaptor price cut 40%
The Register's Tony Smith reports:
Would-be Apple TV buyers looking to hook the iPod-style set-top-box to a standard-definition telly will be pleased to hear one of best ways of hooking the two up together is now rather cheaper.
J S Technology this week knocked the price of its component-video to RGB converter from Ł150 down to Ł90. In addition to RGB Scart output, the unit can also pump out a VGA signal for a computer monitor to display.
The price cut makes the converter a more viable way of connecting the Ł199 Apple TV to an old-style television.
For the full report, visit here:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03/29/apple_tv_to_sd_converter_price_cut/
eWEEK: Apple's Boot Camps Now Supports Vista
"Apple has released a new update to its Boot Camp software that will now support Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system.
The latest 138MB download of the Boot Camp 1.2 beta is now available through the Cupertino, Calif.-based company's Web site.
The Boot Camp software allows Intel-based Macs to run Windows. In addition to having an Intel-based Mac, beta requires the user to have at least Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.6 or a later version of the company's operating system."
To read more, go to:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2109278,00.asp
PC Mag: Inside Apple: Starz Suit Threatens Apple TV
"Apple began shipping its new Apple TV set-top media center to customers last week, on track with the company's revised estimate after unspecified development snags caused Apple to miss its originally anticipated February ship date.
To little surprise, eager customers began prying apart the new device almost as soon as it hit their hands, adding features and learning a little better how the Apple TV (Read review) works. For media aficionados, the most significant news is that testers have managed to expand the Apple TV's media format support."
To read more, go to:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2108805,00.asp
The Mac Night Owl: The Fear-Factor: Yes, Microsoft Has Lost its Clout!
Once upon a time, the name Microsoft invoked feelings of abject fear from most of its competitors. And no wonder. The world’s largest software company was notorious for entering PC-related markets and squeezing out competitors. Its victories over the Mac and Netscape are legendary.
Here's the URL for today's commentary:
http://www.macnightowl.com/2007/03/29/the-fear-factor-yes-microsoft-has-lost -its-clout/
Notes: You can also access our RSS feed, available at:
http://www.macnightowl.com/rss
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http://www.macnightowl.com/atom
PC Mag: Tesla Roadster: Test Driving Your Electric Dream Car
"Dear PC Magazine reader: I just took a ride in your dream car. If there was ever a vehicle whose design was inspired by PC technology, it's the Tesla Roadster, a 100-percent electric car under development at a 170-person startup just south of San Francisco.
Due on the market this fall, at a price of $92,000, the Tesla is powered by the same lithium-ion battery cells that drive the average laptop or smartphone, and you can charge it from an ordinary wall socket. There's even a grate under the rear fender where the car expels hot air, just like the typical desktop PC.
Several prototypes are already assembled, and last night, I was invited down to the company's Silicon Valley offices for a spin down the freeway. No, I didn't get to drive. Each prototype was built at a cost of over a million dollars, and only the lucky few covered by the company insurance policy are permitted behind the wheel. But I did get the rush of sitting in the passenger seat of this Lotus-like two-door convertible. And what a rush it is!"
To read more, go to:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2109194,00.asp
PC Mag: 'Star Wars' Stamp Put to a Vote
"The United States Postal Service has decided to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Star Wars with a stamp. Which one it is is up to you.
At the USPS site customers can vote from one of fifteen possible stamp ideas. The winning stamp will be available on May 26."
To read more, go to:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2109269,00.asp
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