The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) http://www.tuaw.com The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/feedlogo.gif The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) http://www.tuaw.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[All about the bedunkadunk]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/08/17/all-about-the-bedunkadunk/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/08/17/all-about-the-bedunkadunk/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/08/17/all-about-the-bedunkadunk/#commentsThis second iMac mockup prototype posted on Mac Kompass looks like an attractive television set (but not really like an Apple designed product). The curvilinear back, which I think looks quite striking, is offset by the unremarkable front. A nice case study nonetheless.
imac_german.jpg

TUAWAll about the bedunkadunk originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 17 Aug 2004 13:33:44 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Tue, 17 Aug 2004 13:33:44 EST<![CDATA[Baseless Claims]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/08/16/baseless-claims/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/08/16/baseless-claims/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/08/16/baseless-claims/#comments With all the speculation that arose after The Register posted details of Apple's European trademark filing for a "handheld computer", and Think Secret's claim the new iMac will sport an all-in-one body form factor, its interesting to see what speculative industrial design Mac mockup master Isamu Sanada came up with:

Continue reading Baseless Claims

TUAWBaseless Claims originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 16 Aug 2004 21:43:28 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Mon, 16 Aug 2004 21:43:28 EST<![CDATA[iZartan]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/08/16/izartan/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/08/16/izartan/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/08/16/izartan/#commentsimac-chameleon.jpgThe Mac Observer notes that Apple has applied for a patent for a colour changing computer case, using "a collection of red, green and blue LEDs, capable of being used to generate any colour entered as an RGB value". Looks like the concept is aimed at the iMac and/or eMac line of products:

A computing device is disclosed. The computing device includes a housing having an illuminable portion. The computing device also includes a light device disposed inside the housing. The light device is configured to illuminate the illuminable portion.

Personally the concept in itself sounds too gimmicky/cheezy for Apple to seriously pursue simply as an aesthetic direction. The idea was actually penned back in 1999, but Apple filed for a trademark on a "MORPH PAD" in the UK on July 14, 2004, possibly indicating more solid plans regarding the use of such a concept in the finicky and trend hungry consumer market. But I'm sure Apple has plans of creatively incorporating the feature into something greater than a computational disco ball. Or not. The obvious idea would connect such a feature with music/multimedia. Another idea would use the case colour capability to indicate the status of your computer in much the same way the power light pulses on various Apple computers when in sleep mode (i.e. after an application crash, the case would flash red several times, or when a file was sucessfully downloaded the case would change green to notify).


TUAWiZartan originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 16 Aug 2004 16:43:36 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Mon, 16 Aug 2004 16:43:36 EST<![CDATA[iMac G5 kraftwerk]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/08/13/imac-g5-kraftwerk/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/08/13/imac-g5-kraftwerk/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/08/13/imac-g5-kraftwerk/#commentsMac Kompass posts an impressive mockup marriage between an iPod mini and the defunct but never forgotten Cube:

iMac_G5.jpg

TUAWiMac G5 kraftwerk originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Aug 2004 01:57:22 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Fri, 13 Aug 2004 01:57:22 EST<![CDATA[Get Emote-ional]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/08/04/get-emote-ional/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/08/04/get-emote-ional/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/08/04/get-emote-ional/#commentsEmoteMail.gifI personally use Proteus for my everyday instant messaging, but its always fun to test drive other new chat client that might offer just a little bit more or something wildly new. EmoteMail diverges from the usual laundry list of features of other instant messengers and adds an additional dimension to online communication by capturing facial expressions and indicators of typing speed with graphical cues. An interesting direction that might not catch on because in a sense, people seem to enjoy the anonymity of online chat. Might be interesting to cyber with ;)

Instead of dynamically modifying individual characters, EmoteMail relates contextual cues to each paragraph. The prototype uses a camera and a timer as sensor inputs to capture additional information relating to the paragraph. Reminiscent of the commonly used smileys, the EmoteMail client annotates every paragraph with a small black and white thresholded image of the face of the writer. Each paragraph also includes a background colour representing how much time the paragraph took to compose. If the sender changes their facial expression (perhaps as part of an emotionally meaningful communication) then the small camera grab beside each paragraph reflects this. By capturing a snapshot of the face of the writer with every paragraph, the system attempts to display the fluctuation of the emotions throughout the message, rather than attempting to summarize the whole message as a certain mood.

TUAWGet Emote-ional originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 04 Aug 2004 15:08:47 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Wed, 04 Aug 2004 15:08:47 EST<![CDATA[Accessorize Your Accessory]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/24/accessorize-your-accessory/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/24/accessorize-your-accessory/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/24/accessorize-your-accessory/#comments

Its really too bad the 4 megapixel Finecam SL400R family from Kyocera will only be available at Apple's Ginza store in Japan (for about $400). I think they're quite fetching.

TUAWAccessorize Your Accessory originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 24 Jul 2004 05:43:36 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Sat, 24 Jul 2004 05:43:36 EST<![CDATA[Thinking Different]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/18/thinking-different/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/18/thinking-different/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/18/thinking-different/#comments"Intelligence" is as debatable of a term as "taste", and nothing produces passionate debate online like questioning one or the other (maybe "less filling" or "taste great"). Using a diction and style program to analyze the vocabulary and readability of Slashdot, PC and Mac users' posts, Paul Murphy of LinuxInsider set out to discover which camp has the best grasp of the English language. The results are cited as a purely unscientific and loose indicator of intelligence, since "almost everyone agrees that a native English speaker's ability to write correct English correlates closely with that person's ability to think clearly."

So do Mac users differ? You bet. Here's the ratings summary based on about 3,000 lines of text taken from reader comments hosted by the Macintouch site:


 Kincaid: 8.9

 ARI: 9.4

 Coleman-Liau: 10.0

 Flesch Index: 67.8

 Fog Index: 12.0

 Lix: 40.5 = school year 6

 SMOG-Grading: 10.7


Not only were these ratings significantly higher than those given Slashdot's contributors, and thus better than those given text from the PC sites, but the vocabulary was larger too. Without collapsing words to their root forms, but after removing punctuation (including capitalization) and numbers, the Macintouch stuff had 870 unique words to only 517 for the combined PC sites.

No real surprise there. But to be fair, conversely, I would confidently wager that a test measuring scientific/mathematical proficiency would produce results heavily skewed toward the Slashdot crowd. And a survey measuring artistic ability would most likely pivot results back favouring the Macintosh population. In reality, claiming "superiority" of any sort is a moot point since different tools are used for different jobs by different personalities. That being said, an interesting tangent would be to poll political affiliation and social/political activism amongst users ( Kerry,  Bush,  and&#8230; ahem Al Sharpton...use Macs). In either case, remember to vote and spell check!


TUAWThinking Different originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 18 Jul 2004 14:50:05 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Sun, 18 Jul 2004 14:50:05 EST<![CDATA[iMac Unavailable Online]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/16/imac-unavailable-online/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/16/imac-unavailable-online/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/16/imac-unavailable-online/#commentsIn correlation to Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer's iMac G5 announcement, an Apple Weblog reader pointed out that Apple has taken down the option to purchase the 15", 17" or 20" iMac models from their online store. Instead of the option to purchase, online visitors will be met with the following surprisingly humble explanation:

Apple has stopped taking orders for the current iMac as we begin the transition from the current iMac line to an all-new iMac line which will be announced and availble in September.

We planned to have our next generation iMac ready by the time the inventory of current iMacs runs out in the next few weeks, but our planning was obviously less than perfect.

We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers.

*Note: the notification was posted at the beginning of this month, up for more than two weeks.


TUAWiMac Unavailable Online originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 16 Jul 2004 05:13:36 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Fri, 16 Jul 2004 05:13:36 EST<![CDATA[Always Bet On Black]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/15/always-bet-on-black/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/15/always-bet-on-black/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/15/always-bet-on-black/#commentsipod_xtype.jpgI've been on an ongoing mission to win a major online sweepstake prize the last couple of months (past prizes that I've won have been binoculars, a dial-up modem, a couple of DVD movies, candy, and home goods products). But I've noticed the popularity of iPods as grand prizes, since they make for an obvious promotional prize for music label sweepstakes. But this sweepstake sponsored by Jaguar for a limited edition iPod caught my eye because the "x-type" iPod is coloured black.

Chris Stephenson of Exposure, the marketing group handling the campaign reported "[that] 72 percent of all our traffic [to the site] is using Mac OS X" after starting the 75 black iPods giveaway promotion. That's an impressive feedback figure. One problem now: only one left. Good luck.

TUAWAlways Bet On Black originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 15 Jul 2004 17:08:03 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Thu, 15 Jul 2004 17:08:03 EST<![CDATA[OSX DOOM 3 confirmed and will be done "when it's done"]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/15/osx-doom-3-confirmed-and-will-be-done-when-its-done/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/15/osx-doom-3-confirmed-and-will-be-done-when-its-done/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/15/osx-doom-3-confirmed-and-will-be-done-when-its-done/#commentsdoomosx.jpgAlthough already expected for a long while now, id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead posted the following confirmation of an OS X port of their highly anticipated first-person shooter in his .plan update (alongside the announcement of Doom 3 going gold for the PC):

More remains to be done for the OSX version of DOOM 3 and that will take some time. We won't release the OSX version until it's just as polished as the PC version. The date for OSX DOOM 3 remains "when it's done", but I can confirm that it's definitely coming.

Hopefully Mac gamers will see a demo version early in the same way id offered one before the release of Quake III Arena (since the smaller Mac gaming community offers a much more manageable group to test out multiplayer). Too bad many of us G4 owners will likely need an upgrade to really enjoy the game and its subtle, moody environments (Dual G5 and NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL seem highly recommened).


TUAWOSX DOOM 3 confirmed and will be done "when it's done" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 15 Jul 2004 16:38:24 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Thu, 15 Jul 2004 16:38:24 EST<![CDATA[This Apple Isn't Quite As Ripe]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/12/this-apple-isnt-quite-as-ripe/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/12/this-apple-isnt-quite-as-ripe/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/12/this-apple-isnt-quite-as-ripe/#commentsv1000S.jpgThe new line of PC cases from Lian Li Industrial look suspiciously inspired by the current line of Apple G5's, don't they? Note the inclusion of cutting edge floppy drive. Drop in a fast Intel or AMD processor or two, run PearPC, buy yourself a Apple keyboard, mouse, and a new Cinema Display, and you'll have......a very slow Macintosh. Well, to their credit, at least they're nowhere as ugly as this or this PC case.

TUAWThis Apple Isn't Quite As Ripe originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 12 Jul 2004 15:58:08 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Mon, 12 Jul 2004 15:58:08 EST<![CDATA[The iPod gets a little more interesting]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/11/the-ipod-gets-a-little-more-interesting/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/11/the-ipod-gets-a-little-more-interesting/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/11/the-ipod-gets-a-little-more-interesting/#commentsThe Register's Andrew Orlowski reports:

Best known for its Symbian Series 60 software, Simeda recently introduced a small piece of file discovery software for wireless Pocket PCs which implemented Apple's Rendezvous service. Now they've gone a step further, and begun to make the iPod truly social.

In a bundle that hooks a Pocket PC up to an iPod - with the iPod as a USB slave device - the entire contents of the yuppy's music hoard can now be shared with the rest of the world: via streaming or file transfer.

While multinational recording labels drag their feet in developing and implementating new ways to sell and distribute digital music files, fortunately smaller developers like Simeda continue to innovate and take charge of expanding how we use and share our media. This sort of wireless solution was bound to happen in the realm of portable music devices, but my money is on corporations trying to stop this technology rather than adopt it (to their advantage, if they weren't run by short-sighted accountants and lawyers). The idea seems ripe for street level advertising and marketing (literally), and to further cement iPods and their ilk as devices with social capabilities. Imagine warchalking, but for music&#8230;.


TUAWThe iPod gets a little more interesting originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 11 Jul 2004 16:14:27 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Sun, 11 Jul 2004 16:14:27 EST<![CDATA[The G5: Looks Great On Paper]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/05/the-g5-looks-great-on-paper/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/05/the-g5-looks-great-on-paper/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/05/the-g5-looks-great-on-paper/#commentsSince the likelyhood of me being able to upgrade to a dual 2.5GHz G5 in the near future is as unlikely as a Donald Trump mohawk or Mary-Kate potbelly, I've settled upon starting to construct a miniature cluster of paper cutout G5 models. They're quiet, small, cheap and stackable. No Cinebench scores ready yet, nor any word about a matching paper model 30" Cinema Display.

TUAWThe G5: Looks Great On Paper originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 05 Jul 2004 17:34:49 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Mon, 05 Jul 2004 17:34:49 EST<![CDATA[NVidia's Nbelievable GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/01/nvidias-nbelievable-geforce-6800-ultra-ddl/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/01/nvidias-nbelievable-geforce-6800-ultra-ddl/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/07/01/nvidias-nbelievable-geforce-6800-ultra-ddl/#commentsgeforce6800.jpgThe specially engineered Mac version of the $599 NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL card that Apple announced alongside the new 30" Cinema Display is one heck of an impressive piece of hardware (and at that price, it should be). The video card comes with Dual DVI connectors and is able to support dual 30" Apple displays at full resolution! That's more real estate than the Donald. It won't be available till August for those fortunate enough to be able to afford hefty priced monster graphics card, but the fellas at Tom's Hardware have an indepth preview of the PC version due in July for us to drool over in the meantime.

What NVIDIA has achieved with the GeForce 6800 Ultra makes even experienced graphics cards editors shake their head in amazement and wonder. The performance this card offers will sweep graphics cards enthusiasts (the author included) off their feet and carry them off into a state of ecstasy in which they can only gape in awe at the sight of these simply amazing benchmark results - Freezinassin! Compared to the GeForce 6800 Ultra, the former high-end models Radeon 9800XT and FX 5950 Ultra often seem like nothing more than cheap mainstream cards...

TUAWNVidia's Nbelievable GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 01 Jul 2004 04:11:28 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Thu, 01 Jul 2004 04:11:28 EST<![CDATA[Size isn't everything]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/28/size-isnt-everything/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/28/size-isnt-everything/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/28/size-isnt-everything/#comments30 inch Cinema DisplayAs a very happy owner of 23" of high definition goodness, I've been very curious and eager to see the release of a new product line of cinema displays from the kids at Cupertino. And today my wish was granted, with the arrival of a new line of flat panel displays sized at 20", 23" and a gargatuan 30". So demanding is the 2560x1600 resolution of the largest display, it requires a newly announced $599 NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL graphics card. Now that's uh spicy meatball!

Colour me a designasaurus rex, but I find these new displays lacking in the industrial design department. In fact, they quite frankly come off as cold and bland. Yes, I understand they're meant to be complimentary to the current Tony Starks Industries styled G5 (which I think are sophisticated minimalist chic), and with that goal in mind they succeed. But from the vantage point of these displays as individual design solutions, they seem underwhelming. I think the base reminds me too much of something IBM would have designed in the mid to late 1990's. Don't get me wrong, I'm wowed by the technical achievement of their sizes, and I'm sure the build quality is superior to most other flat panel displays. But although the anodized aluminum may be cool to the touch, this discriminating Apple fan doesn't deem them as cool to the eyes.

TUAWSize isn't everything originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 28 Jun 2004 18:39:28 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Mon, 28 Jun 2004 18:39:28 EST<![CDATA[30-inch HD display rumor]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/22/30-inch-hd-display-rumor/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/22/30-inch-hd-display-rumor/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/22/30-inch-hd-display-rumor/#commentsApple Insider reports rumored specs and pricing for a new family of Cinema display LCD flat-screen monitors:

Of the three new displays, the 23-inch and 30-inch will be High Definition (HD) displays, with the new 30-inch display supporting a maximum resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. All models are said to include two FireWire ports in addition to a built in two-port USB hub.

Sources with ties to Apple's retailing efforts said Apple will introduce the new 30-inch HD display at $2999, while dropping the price of the 20-inch display to $999. Pricing information on the 23-inch model is less specific, but is said to fall between $1499 and $1799</>

The dream of second 23" HD Cinema display for dual desktop workspace suddenly now seems more and more realistic!

TUAW30-inch HD display rumor originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 22 Jun 2004 14:52:15 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Tue, 22 Jun 2004 14:52:15 EST<![CDATA[Virginia Tech's G5 Supercomputer drops off Top 500 list]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/21/virginia-techs-g5-supercomputer-drops-off-top-500-list/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/21/virginia-techs-g5-supercomputer-drops-off-top-500-list/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/21/virginia-techs-g5-supercomputer-drops-off-top-500-list/#commentsIts not just Apple consumers who are susceptible to shipping delays of desired Apple products. Now Virginia Tech and their supercomputing "SuperMac" has been affected in reputation and rank by the delay in the upgrade of 1,100 Power Mac G5s to Xserve G5s, currently "off the latest list (23rd Edition of TOP500 List of World's Fastest Supercomputers) - at least temporarily. Virginia Tech is replacing hardware and the new hardware was not in place for the compiling of this TOP500 list".

Number one this year is the Earth Simulator supercomputer, built by NEC and installed in 2002 at the Earth Simulator Center in Yokohama, Japan, with an astounding benchmark performance of 35.86 Tflop/s. An Intel Itanium2-based supercomputer at Lawence Livermore National Laboratory came in second. No official word yet where my G4 933MHz placed in ranking [holding breath].


TUAWVirginia Tech's G5 Supercomputer drops off Top 500 list originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Jun 2004 12:29:46 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Mon, 21 Jun 2004 12:29:46 EST<![CDATA[XIII Demo]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/17/xiii-demo/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/17/xiii-demo/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/17/xiii-demo/#commentsXIIIThe cel-shaded FPS XIII uses the Unreal 2 game engine to provide a unique graphic novel style narrative, complete with the "whizzz", "bang" and "pow" of comic book visual styles. And lucky for us Mac gamers the game is now available as a demo at Macgamefiles.com here. Requirements call for OS 10.2.3, a G3/G4 700MHz, 256 MB RAM, 3D Graphics Card with 32 Mb VRAM, DVD drive, Quicktime 6 and at least 1.6 Gb free hard disk space.

TUAWXIII Demo originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 17 Jun 2004 12:18:28 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Thu, 17 Jun 2004 12:18:28 EST<![CDATA[Xbox Next prototype modified G5]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/17/xbox-next-prototype-modified-g5/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/17/xbox-next-prototype-modified-g5/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/17/xbox-next-prototype-modified-g5/#commentsIn an article about the next generation gaming console from Microsoft, IGN mentions that the "Xbox Next" will not only be powered by a chipset similar to Apple's PowerPC G5 computer, but the actual development kits are little more than "modified Apple G5 systems pre-packed with Xbox 2 emulation software."

"I heard [Apple CEO] Steve Jobs found it pretty ironic and funny that Microsoft has been shipping Apple systems to developers," one studio source joked to IGN on the subject.

Perhaps we'll see those 3GHz G5 machines first in a Microsoft product. The horror&#8230;the horror.


TUAWXbox Next prototype modified G5 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 17 Jun 2004 01:37:40 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Thu, 17 Jun 2004 01:37:40 EST<![CDATA[OS XBox]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/15/os-xbox/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/15/os-xbox/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/15/os-xbox/#commentsIt might be like a musical duet with Bjork singing with Britney Spears, but an anonymous poster at Mac OS X Hints describes how you can share OS X files with a modded XBox machine in nine easy steps using the XBox Media Center.

Addendum: Another tutorial solution to the same problem was posted by seven5, at xbox-scene.

TUAWOS XBox originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Jun 2004 13:10:59 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Tue, 15 Jun 2004 13:10:59 EST<![CDATA[iTunes Auto Edition?]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/15/itunes-auto-edition/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/15/itunes-auto-edition/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/15/itunes-auto-edition/#commentscar_stereoMacUser UK notes alongside today's announcement and launch of the new European iTunes Music Stores for the UK, Germany and France that Steve Jobs alluded to the eventual appearance of iTunes in the automotive stereo market. Apple is apparently in negotiations with "a number of major car manufacturers to bring iTunes into the car".

He said that while you can play iTunes music through your computer, your iPod and your h-fi, the car remained the one area where people listen to a lot of music but couldn't access their iTunes collection.



TUAWiTunes Auto Edition? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Jun 2004 12:55:25 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Tue, 15 Jun 2004 12:55:25 EST<![CDATA[Apple iPod Ad Campaign Wins Top Honours]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/12/apple-ipod-ad-campaign-wins-top-honours/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/12/apple-ipod-ad-campaign-wins-top-honours/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/12/apple-ipod-ad-campaign-wins-top-honours/#commentsiPod_winnerThey say imitation is the highest form of flattery. But possibly a more rewarding form of acknowledgement of achievement is the $100,000 Grand Prize Kelly Award, handed out each year by the Magazine Publishers of America "to magazine campaigns that demonstrate creativity and effectiveness." Apple's TBWA\Chiat\Day designed "Silhouette" ad campaign showing people dancing with iPods against brightly colored backgrounds won top honors at this year's Association of National Advertisers Print Advertising Forum at the Plaza in New York.
 



TUAWApple iPod Ad Campaign Wins Top Honours originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 12 Jun 2004 23:06:07 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Sat, 12 Jun 2004 23:06:07 EST<![CDATA[New Dual G5 2.5GHz Liquid Cooling System]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/12/new-dual-g5-2-5ghz-liquid-cooling-system/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/12/new-dual-g5-2-5ghz-liquid-cooling-system/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/12/new-dual-g5-2-5ghz-liquid-cooling-system/#commentsg5cooling1.jpgOne of the most notable and discussed hardware feature of the recently announced new top of the line Dual 2.5 GHz G5 is it's liquid cooling system that replaces the previous heat sink cooling solution.

"This system provides a continuous flow of thermally conductive fluid that transfers heat from the processors as they work harder," explains Apple. "The heated fluid then flows through a radiant grille, where air passing over cooling fins returns the fluid to its original temperature. Mac OS X dynamically adjusts the flow of the fluid and the speed of the fans based on temperature."

Senior Director of Product Marketing for Apple Tom Boger also noted the cooling medium used is comprised mostly of water with some propylene glycol, and is maintenance free and very quiet. It seems likely we'll be seeing this cooling solution more in future products considering the negative feedback about fan noise levels in previous models.


TUAWNew Dual G5 2.5GHz Liquid Cooling System originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 12 Jun 2004 22:48:26 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Sat, 12 Jun 2004 22:48:26 EST<![CDATA[iTunes 4.6 update]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/09/itunes-4-6-update/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/09/itunes-4-6-update/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/09/itunes-4-6-update/#commentsCheck your software update: iTunes 4.6 is now available. The iTunes 4.6 update is required for AirTunes support, adds other minor enhancements, and also available for download from Apple here.

iTunes 4.6 (8.4MB) includes support for playing your music wirelessly using AirPort Express with AirTunes. It also includes a number of other minor enhancements.

TUAWiTunes 4.6 update originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 09 Jun 2004 14:53:08 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Wed, 09 Jun 2004 14:53:08 EST<![CDATA[Airport Express]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/07/airport-express/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/07/airport-express/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/07/airport-express/#comments Apple just announced the Airport Express, the first mobile 802.11g base station that plugs directly into the wall enabling wireless internet, USB printing and the ability to wirelessly stream iTunes music to a stereo all for $129.

airportexpressEnjoy your iTunes music library in virtually any room of your house. Share a single broadband Internet connection and USB printer without inconvenient and obtrusive cables. Create an instant wireless network on the go. Extend the range of your current wireless network. How many devices do you need to do all this? Just one.

Presenting AirPort Express.

Featuring AirTunes for playing your iTunes music wirelessly on your home stereo or powered speakers, AirPort Express brings not only the Internet but your music to wherever in your home you like to enjoy them most - whether you use a Mac or Windows PC. Unmatched in its ease of use, it delivers data rates up to 54 megabits per second, fits in the palm of your hand so you can take it wherever you go - and it costs just $129.

TUAWAirport Express originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 07 Jun 2004 16:37:27 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Mon, 07 Jun 2004 16:37:27 EST<![CDATA[More G5 Rumors]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/04/more-g5-rumors/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/04/more-g5-rumors/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/04/more-g5-rumors/#commentsApple Insider has turned up the heat amongst the Mac rumors community with their successive days of details that might possibly foreshadow new G5's coming very, very soon. First, new photos in an Apple service and repair document which appears to show the updated and unreleased Power Mac G5. According to this document, the new machines will sport larger heatsink covers, smaller motherboards and the omission of front inlet fans that are contained in current G5 cases. And then today Apple Insider notes that  "Apple Computer, Inc. has told several resellers not to expect any further shipments of its iMac G4, and has delayed new Power Mac G5 orders from some resellers by several weeks", a sign that Apple is emptying stock to make room for the arrival of both new G5 Power Macs and new iMac models.

Insanely Great Mac is reporting a similar analysis with realistic and conservative estimates of the predicted new lineup:

The word around the traps is that the base model might be 2GHz (single processor), with a 2.5 or 2.6GHz DP in there somewhere. DP 3GHz is for the more optimistic tipsters. Given that the availability of high-end processors is likely to be constrained, one wonders whether Apple would go with DPs - at least to begin with.

The timeframe for Steve Jobs to fulfill his promise of 3 GHz machines 12-months later after the announcement last June is closing in quickly. 2.6 GHz is not the same as 3.0, but its sure heck of better than staying stagnant at dual 2.0.


TUAWMore G5 Rumors originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 04 Jun 2004 20:58:06 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Fri, 04 Jun 2004 20:58:06 EST<![CDATA["10 Things Apple Did To Make Mac OS X Faster"]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/03/10-things-apple-did-to-make-mac-os-x-faster/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/03/10-things-apple-did-to-make-mac-os-x-faster/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/06/03/10-things-apple-did-to-make-mac-os-x-faster/#commentsKernelthread.com has an interesting and informative breakdown of ten things Apple did technically to improve OS X's performance. An interesting note is the mention of "perceptible" user performance versus actual hardware/hardware optimization. If you ever wanted to know why OS X is a notable technical achievement, here's your chance to get some home schooling in mostly layman's terms.

Some of these are simply good ideas and obvious candidates for implementation; some are guidelines or tools for developers to help them create high-performance applications, while some are proactive attempts at extracting performance from strategically chosen quarters. Consider the following a sampling of such optimizations, in no particular order:

    BootCache
    Kernel Extensions Cache
    Hot File Clustering
    Working Set Detection
    On-the-fly Defragmentation
    Prebinding
    Helping Developers Create Code Faster
    Helping Developers Create Faster Code
    Journaling in HFS Plus
    Instant-on

TUAW"10 Things Apple Did To Make Mac OS X Faster" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 03 Jun 2004 12:47:58 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Thu, 03 Jun 2004 12:47:58 EST<![CDATA[10.3.4 problems?]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/29/10-3-4-problems/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/29/10-3-4-problems/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/29/10-3-4-problems/#commentsI knowingly took a first-adopter risk after downloading and installing the 10.3.4 updater recently released this past week. Overall, no major snafu's and performance seems slightly improved overall (applications are launching quicker, Safari is especially snappier). But I've had one issue since upgrading: my volume up key on my Apple Extended USB Keyboard is not responding. The neighboring volume down key is working fine and dandy, and everything else is seemingly operable. Its a minor annoyance. Anybody else having any issues or quirks since upgrading?

TUAW10.3.4 problems? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 29 May 2004 12:35:41 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Sat, 29 May 2004 12:35:41 EST<![CDATA[Mac OS X Update 10.3.4]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/26/mac-os-x-update-10-3-4/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/26/mac-os-x-update-10-3-4/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/26/mac-os-x-update-10-3-4/#commentsosx1034.gifCheck your Software Update or download the updater from Apple for a bevy of functionality and reliability improvements for Panther. Enhancements included with 10.3.4 Update include:


o.improved file sharing and directory services for Mac (AFP), UNIX (NFS), PPTP, and wireless networks

o.improved OpenGL technology and updated ATI and NVIDIA graphics drivers

o.improved disc burning and recording functionality

o.iPods connected via USB 2.0 are now recognized by iTunes and iSync

o.additional FireWire audio and USB device compatibility

o.updated Address Book, Mail, Safari, Stickies, and QuickTime applications

o.improved compatibility for third party applications

o.previous standalone security updates


For detailed information on this Update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n25764 

TUAWMac OS X Update 10.3.4 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 26 May 2004 16:55:05 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Wed, 26 May 2004 16:55:05 EST<![CDATA[You can get with this or you can get with that]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/26/you-can-get-with-this-or-you-can-get-with-that/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/26/you-can-get-with-this-or-you-can-get-with-that/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/26/you-can-get-with-this-or-you-can-get-with-that/#commentsSo the owner of the company I'm working for has finally realized all my cries and complaints about his insufficient 300MHz G3 print "workstation" are indeed valid, after he himself tried to work on some of the files I had tackled after hours. Nothing wakes you up to that fact like watching hours of work disappear behind the spinning wheel of a hypnotic colours. He's thankfully decided to buy a new machine in the coming week, and proposed the choice of: A) a low end G5, but with only 512 MB of memory, or B) a single processor G4 1.25GHz with 1 GB of memory. Weighing those options I'm definitely leaning toward the G5, since the hardware seems superior in almost every category, and hopes he upgrades the memory to 1 GB. What's your opinion of each computer, any of you out there fortunate to be working on either? Am I missing out on any real world factors that would make the G4 a consideration?

*Unfortunately, though not surprisingly, the seemingly no-brainer decision to go with the G5 was overuled this morning. I walked in to the office and found a new 1.25GHz G4 mirror door, as the owner decided he couldn't wait and went and bought the machine at the local Apple Store. Its blazing fast compared to the G3, so its a well received upgrade. But from another standpoint, I think he made a short term penny-pinching decision instead of one based upon a long term outlook of price versus performance. And don't even get me started on what he said about how the 23" cinema displays are totally useless&#8230;.sigh.

TUAWYou can get with this or you can get with that originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 26 May 2004 12:55:25 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Wed, 26 May 2004 12:55:25 EST<![CDATA[Macworld Awards 2004: Winners]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/22/macworld-awards-2004-winners/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/22/macworld-awards-2004-winners/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/22/macworld-awards-2004-winners/#comments macworld2004After reading the list of winners at the Cannes Film Festival, I think it appropriate to list some of the winners just recently announced at the Macworld UK Awards 2004:

Editors' Choice: Apple Product of the Year

Power Mac G5.

Readers' Choice: Best non-Apple Hardware

Wacom Graphire3

Readers' Choice: Best Software

Adobe's Photoshop CS.

Editors' Choice: Storage

LaCie's Bigger Disk

What?!? No prize awarded to Quark for most asinine installation process and overall frustrating software experience? They'd sweep each and every year. But seriously, they should also include a category for shareware/freeware for next year...the smaller developers deserve recognition too!

TUAWMacworld Awards 2004: Winners originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 22 May 2004 15:35:26 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Sat, 22 May 2004 15:35:26 EST<![CDATA[G5 Speculation for WWDC]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/21/g5-speculation-for-wwdc/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/21/g5-speculation-for-wwdc/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/21/g5-speculation-for-wwdc/#commentsMacRumors Forums is buzzing about  Croquer dans la, a french Mac site, that claims to have the system specs of the new G5 configurations to be announced at the upcoming WWDC. Translated text:

G5 equipped with PPC975 (code name: Trinity) will be announced with the WWDC and deliverable at the latest in APPLE Expo. The PPC975 consumes on average 65W with 3 GHz and integrates 98 million transistors. All the models will have two Superdrive site and 4 sites of hard disk. Side its, 24-bit 192Khz at least on the top-of-the-range one. APPLE will propose with ATI a graphics board PCI-express train professional of the type Fire GL

Config (likely to change):

o.Mono PPC 975 To 2.2 GHz AGP 8x FSB 1.1 GHz Superdrive

o.Dual PPC 975 to 2.6 GHz PCI-Express train 16x FSB 1.3 GHz, Superdrive Extreme (double layer)

o.Dual PPC 975 to 3 GHz PCI-Express train 16x FSB 1.5 GHz, Superdrive Extreme (double layer)

TUAWG5 Speculation for WWDC originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 21 May 2004 16:54:49 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Fri, 21 May 2004 16:54:49 EST<![CDATA[Security Hole Patrol]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/20/security-hole-patrol/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/20/security-hole-patrol/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/20/security-hole-patrol/#commentsparanoidandroidTaking heed of the warning about the serious security hole discovered in OS X, I took note of a new haxie released by Unsanity that just might prevent unwanted hijacking of your beloved machine and the valuable information on it.

Paranoid Android can protect you from this potential vulnerability until Apple makes an official fix available. It does this by watching the URL schemes that are requested and delaying them until you've had a chance to say whether you'd like to proceed or not. If you know that the url that's being loaded is legit, go ahead, but if it looks suspicious, Paranoid Android gives you an opportunity to cancel it.

Since I'm already running Unsanity's other haxies, ClearDock and Xounds, I think its a good stopgap solution till Apple plugs the hole themselves.


TUAWSecurity Hole Patrol originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 20 May 2004 13:35:17 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Thu, 20 May 2004 13:35:17 EST<![CDATA[Chinese PC Vendor Import and Bundles iTunes]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/18/chinese-pc-vendor-import-and-bundles-itunes/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/18/chinese-pc-vendor-import-and-bundles-itunes/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/18/chinese-pc-vendor-import-and-bundles-itunes/#commentschina_itunes
Apple and Founder Group/Founder Technology announced a business deal to preinstall the iTunes software with every PC the number two Chinese computer vendor sells starting next month. China is one of the fastest growing computer sales and software markets, a virtually untapped market, so this aims to become a notable deal for Apple in the long term despite the current non-inclusion of the iTunes Music Store itself (since this is only a US domestic business model for now). This is likely the foundation and opening move of a global rollout for the iTunes Music Store.

"Digital music is becoming very important in the Chinese PC market, and Apple's iTunes is the runaway market leader," Founder Technology chairman Wei Xin said. "As the first Chinese company to bundle this innovative software with our PCs, we are excited to provide our customers with the world's best digital music experience."


TUAWChinese PC Vendor Import and Bundles iTunes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 18 May 2004 13:15:43 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Tue, 18 May 2004 13:15:43 EST<![CDATA[P-P-P-Powerbook]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/15/p-p-p-powerbook/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/15/p-p-p-powerbook/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/15/p-p-p-powerbook/#commentsP-P-P-PowerbookMetafilter posts a link documenting possibly the best eBay scammer scam ever pulled off involving a fake escrow site, a hijacked eBay account, FedEx pacakge tracking, overseas cameraphone spies, a revenge fulfilling duty tax, and the eventual delivery of a one of a kind P-P-P-Powerbook (mirrored site)!  Revenge is sweet...especially when it costs the scammer £350.


TUAWP-P-P-Powerbook originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 15 May 2004 04:49:18 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Sat, 15 May 2004 04:49:18 EST<![CDATA[iG5]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/13/ig5/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/13/ig5/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/13/ig5/#commentsiFridgeSo what do you do when you have an extra iMac G3 board, an itching to tackle a production challenge, and a lot of spare time on your hand? How about creating a miniature G5 desktop enclosure out of spare iMac parts (and a Pentium cooling unit), polystyrene plastic sheets, perforated stainless steel plates, glue and paint?! That's exactly what J. Peter Kellner did, successfully creating a diminuitive G3-powered likeness of the much more powerful Apple G5 desktop. He has been as so kind to post a step-by-step visual documentation of his pet project, from start to finish, at Applefritter.com. This is right on up there with the G5-style Cube enclosure created by a Japanese Mac enthusiast.

Maybe I'll one up them all by modding my refrigerator into the ultimate G5 uber-desktop. I'll definitely have the cooling issue covered and I can mod the SuperDrive into a cup holder for the icemaker dispenser. Far from Genius Bar material&#8230;.

TUAWiG5 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 13 May 2004 03:34:31 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Thu, 13 May 2004 03:34:31 EST<![CDATA[Call of Duty Shipping]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/10/call-of-duty-shipping/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/10/call-of-duty-shipping/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/10/call-of-duty-shipping/#commentscall of dutyAspyr is now shipping the World War II first person shooter, Call of Duty. The demo was a pleasing tease, and this full 24-mission version with online multiplayer options should please any FPS Mac gamer. Features of the $49.99 (retail price) game include:

    o. Play through 24 epic single-player missions on four interconnected campaigns, or go online for Axis versus Allies team-based multiplayer action.

    o. Intense battlefield moments put you in the heat of the action, capturing the chaos of battle like never before.

    o. Together with your squad, take on Nazi forces through a variety of authentic combat missions.

    o. Move through the ranks, taking on more dangerous missions such as sniper missions and ambushes until you are promoted to tank commander.

TUAWCall of Duty Shipping originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 10 May 2004 22:39:49 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Mon, 10 May 2004 22:39:49 EST<![CDATA[New Powerbooks?]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/10/new-powerbooks/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/10/new-powerbooks/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/10/new-powerbooks/#commentsDigitimes, a Taiwanese source reports that Quanta Computer will deliver new notebook models "to Hewlett-Packard (HP), Apple Computer, NEC and Sony" in June. The planned delivery date coincides with WWDC, so the obvious rumor now emerging is a surprise arrival of Powerbook G5's. The more likely bet is that Apple has simply moved more or all of its Powerbook G4 production to the Taiwanese computer manufacturer. After all, Apple's vice president of product marketing Greg Joswiak made it a point to hush expectations of a G5 laptop just as recently as April. But the time does seem ripe for a surprise from Cupertino, doesn't it?

TUAWNew Powerbooks? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 10 May 2004 22:21:55 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Mon, 10 May 2004 22:21:55 EST<![CDATA[An update from G3 land]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/08/an-update-from-g3-land/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/08/an-update-from-g3-land/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/08/an-update-from-g3-land/#commentsram-chipsA small but heated debate occurred between the owner of the business I'm contracting at and myself yesterday about memory, with him contending 256 MB of memory was plenty enough to work with while concurrently on QuarkXpress, Photoshop CS and Illustrator on his older G3 B&W workstation. This despite reoccurring application freezeups and slow motion responsiveness to simple commands such as "open file" and "save". On a related note, Mac Slash posted the results of their poll asking what the minimum memory configuration Macs should ship with. An overwhelming 55% think 512 MB should be the minimum, followed by 1 GB at 16%. As someone who is currently trying to work with what I believe is below the minimum of RAM with Panther for work involving any graphics, 512 MB seems about right for professional work. I've had to battle geriatric reponsiveness while working on a G3 300 MHz blue & white on a daily basis the last week, with my normally expedient shortcut key punching workflow hampered by the slow setup. As noted previously, I was impressed that OS X Panther ran as well as it does on older Power PC machines, but its becoming more and more painfully obvious these former workhorse desktops need maximum memory, larger drives, and if possible a video card upgrade to run effectively as professional machines. I suspect a moderately priced upgrade to either 512 or 768 MB would make a notable difference, possibly alleviating the many graphical quirks I've been facing using Quark 6 (with large 50+ page documents, the document page window loses the ability to scroll and only reappears with restart). I'm actually going to resort to bringing in my own additional memory from an older machine to supplement the system. But as it stands I'm getting paid by the hour, mostly to watch a spinning beach ball.

TUAWAn update from G3 land originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 08 May 2004 17:10:22 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Sat, 08 May 2004 17:10:22 EST<![CDATA[Its All In The Wrist]]>http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/07/its-all-in-the-wrist/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/07/its-all-in-the-wrist/http://www.tuaw.com/2004/05/07/its-all-in-the-wrist/#comments

Calling himself the director of the New Species Apple Laboratory, Isamu Sanada (in reality a photographer) has become possibly the most notable member of a small group of Apple hardcore devoted to the rendering of speculative, fantasy and reimaginations of Apple products. His newest creation is the hiPod, a mockup wristwatch with an MP3 player, cell phone and PDA capabilities. Combining the iPod scroll wheel interface with a circular dial pad that takes cues from the archaic rotary telephone, its an imaginative interface solution. A small flipscreen and matching (wireless?) earphones finish the handsome imaginary Apple product.

The state of technology is currently not  at the point for this idea to come to fruition as a consumer product even if Apple was to adopt the outside design (at least in terms of all the functions and capabilities of the hiPod). But in 2-3 years it could go from pipe dream to reality considering the direction technology is moving toward. I'd imagine Apple could have yet another big hit on their hands and our wrists with such a product, as the consumer cachet of such a device would possibly be even greater than the iPod. Its definitely worth considering since Apple has apparent plans to move away from traditional computing products and inch toward becoming an digital appliance brand.

TUAWIts All In The Wrist originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 07 May 2004 02:00:26 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Fri, 07 May 2004 02:00:26 EST