Exchange support works as smoothly as Scott and Mike had hoped, but there's still no two-pane Mail client. The multiple mail message selection works, however, and we finally found out why the Calculator button has changed -- apparently there are a ton of new features in there, including a sideways scientific calcalculator. There are a number of other fun features and improvements as well, although the main event, the App Store, only functions enough to give an error that it can't connect.
June can't come any faster, as far as we're concerned. Bring on the iPhone version 2.0!
OK, they didn't really try to fry an egg. But for those of us using those first searing-heat MBP's, you'll be happy to know the Penryn MacBook Pro's are a little cooler (temperature-wise anyway). On average, about 10° F cooler, and the fans run slower and quieter. Sorry if this kills any MacGuyver-esque plans of using Penryn laptops as emergency griddles.
For a much more detailed analysis of the Penryn advantages, check out the Engadget post, complete with Xbench tests and a flavorful grid with all the analysis.
Engadget found this slick little gem over the weekend for your jailbroken iPhone. It's a virtual guitar (a lot like Jam Sessions if you've ever played that, actually -- reaffirming my thought that the iPhone is the best handheld gaming device ever made), where you can put your fingers over the strings at the top, and then strum on the bottom to play notes and chords. Not only can you play your own songs, but you can even play along with any stored music you have on your iPhone, too. And every song, I tell you, can be improved by throwing in another guitar solo.
Pocketguitar for the iPhone and iPod touch is available on the ModMyiFone.com Community Sources packing in Installer under Toys. Load it up and strum away.
So is this the name of Apple's new subnotebook? Of course, we won't know for sure until Steve says it on stage, but while it's not, on the surface, Apple's best naming choice, it could work, in an "Airport" and "Air Tunes" kind of way. It could be worse-- the thing could be called the MacPod. Or the PodBook. Or the PodMac. Or the Lisa.
Update: macbookair.com isn't owned by Apple, but by some merry prankster. Let the speculation continue!
The guys and gals over at our sister blog Engadget were keeping busy at the recent CES and have turned up some interesting products with a Mac angle. In the video above they're checking out a new music instruction software package called Guitar Wizard which works a lot like the Guitar Hero game (our coverage). The key difference is that Guitar Wizard uses a real guitar and actually teaches you something about playing. The kit consists of the software and a midi pickup which can be attached to your own guitar for $150, or you can get a kit that includes a guitar as well for $300. New songs will be downloadable at 99 cents each.
This is yet another bonanza year of the iPod-docking-station compatible device if early reports from CES are to be believed. New docking solutions include jack-equipped cars, digital photo frames, iPod-compatible pacemakers, genetically modified cattle with horn-implanted docks, wearable dockware, iPod-compatible beer, and so forth. Or something like that. I got a little bored reading through today's press releases and may have embellished a bit.
Actually, the iPod-compatible news from CES this year is a bit on the slim side. After last year's Macworld-CES head-to-head grudge match, CES seems to have realized this year that it doesn't produce all that much in the way of interesting Apple-related news.
Engadget brings us this exploded iPod (that poor site is getting beat up today), which has been dissembled and placed in a protective block of carbonite translucent resin. Why? Don't ask why-- it's, like, art, man.
Billy Chasen is the artist in question, and here's the best part of the whole story: that iPod you see above? It still works. Apparently he just took it apart-- he didn't actually disconnect anything, and so it can still charge and play as normal. Which makes me wonder-- when the next ice age comes and all of our iPods get frozen in ice, will future generations still be able to come along, warm them back up, and see what we were listening to? Maybe I should get that Tiffany off my Pod just in case.
Apparently there are two solutions-- the one above is part of a script based on ieraser, and the other is called iUnlock (Engadget says that one "appears to be in a more complete state"). We aren't yet sure what these do-- whether they're an actual unlock, or simply a reverse engineer of the iPhoneSIMfree unlock released the other day.
Either way, it doesn't much matter (hope iPhoneSIMfree made their money while they could). Even if these solutions (both of which seem to be straight code at this point-- there's still no simple "userfriendly, automated tool" available) aren't exactly what people need to use any SIM in their iPhone, a free, open source solution is likely just around the corner. Until Apple changes the firmware, that is.
The main questions of legality lie around an exception to the DMCA, which allows you to unlock your cell phone "for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network." Under that law and that exception, it's perfectly legal to use an iPhone on T-mobile, Verizon, or any other provider that you can get it to work with. Things really only get prickly when you start selling those unlocked phones, or somehow profit off of selling unlocked phones. Then, Apple and AT&T start to have a case against you for honing in on their business.
Oh, and the other fun part is that the DMCA exemption that gives you an out on this one actually expires in November of 2009. So if nothing is done on that front, unlocking phones will be illegal within a few years. Still, Engadget makes the same conclusion that I would-- unlocking your iPhone for personal use on another network very likely won't bring AT&T's legal goons to your doors. It likely will void your warranty, and while some unlocks brag that they'll stay after updates, a future update may undo the unlock.
You've seen the pretty pictures on Apple's iMac webpage, but take a look at these pics Engadget snapped at the Apple event. They got their hands on one of the new iMacs sporting both the wired and wireless keyboard and took a few pics.
After spending a few days with the iPhone, our friends at Engadget have posted an absolutely exhaustive iPhone review. They start in 2004, when the very first rumors began to swirl, and progress to the ROKR E1, Apple's doomed relationship with Motorola, and finally last Friday's iPhone release.
They look at every imaginable aspect of the little device. You'll practically know what it smells like when you're done reading. Check it out.
Oh those endearing Chinese manufacturers - what would the electronics industry be without at least a few crappy knockoff products to keep original manufacturers on their toes? (Answer: companies like Apple could probably lay off a few lawyer infantries, but that's a whole 'nother conversation.) Engadget has caught footage of the 'tPhone', which sounds and looks like some sort of Windows Mobile (strangely, it uses a desktop Windows startup sound) device with heavily modified and/or skinned software. Does this look appealing? Remember: you don't have to be afraid to say 'no.'
Of course, Engadget touts the advantages of this device, namely a removable battery and microSD card slot. That said, eagle-eyed TUAW readers have also pointed out that the recently updated iPhone gallery reveals what could possibly be some sort of slot at the top of the iPhone, as exhibited in the gallery's first picture. Add that to all the interesting new iPhone tidbits we're digging up, and it looks like we might still be in for more discoveries (and possibly even official Apple announcements) before the iPhone actually lands next week.
Our good friends at Engadget are covering Walt Mossberg's All Things Digital conference, which is a high end tech get together. Of interest to TUAW readers is that Mossberg is interviewing Steve Jobs right now. Head on over to Engadget to read the whole thing.
The TUAW podcast is back in effect ladies and gents, though this week we're a tad late due to some technical difficulties. Nevertheless, expect a steady new stream of podcasts and screencasts from here on out, starting with today's entry: TUAW Podcast #23: There and Back Again with the iPhone. Fellow TUAW blogger Michael Rose and I explore the iPhone's past, including how far back speculation about one of Apple's most anticipated devices actually reaches, as well as when Apple first gave away any hints that it was even considering such a device (hint: it's older than the 4.5 years Jobs mentioned at Macworld 07).
We then take a look at the state of the iPhone now, less than a month from its expected release, why the corporate and enterprise worlds are taking an unexpected interest in it, what happened with the 'iPhone/Leopard delay' email hoax Engadget experienced on Wednesday and how powerful that kind of news can really be. Heck, even a tech-savvy dolphin makes it into the show - where else are you going to hear that?
Michael wanted to clear up one specific piece of data we spoke about, however: we were discussing some differences between the iPod and iPhone, and Michael indicated the MP3 player retail market hit $600m in March. Turns out he was a tad high, as these numbers from Bloomberg put the number for MP3 players sold at retail at just under $225m. Just wanted to make sure we're keepin' it real.
Update: It took a couple of days for iTunes to catch up with our podcast feed, but as of Monday the show is appearing on the iTunes store. Sorry for the delay.
Ban Drawbaugh over at our sister site Engadget has a fantastic tutorial up about upgrading your Apple TV's harddrive. As David pointed out, the stock 40 gig harddrive just isn't going to cut it for most people (my iPod is 80 gigs for goodness sake). Ben uses the Terminal to do the drive cloning (though I imagine for those of you who avoid the Terminal I am sure you could use Carbon Copy Cloner) and iPartition to resize the media partition.
OK, they didn't really try to fry an egg. But for those of us using those first searing-heat MBP's, you'll be happy to know the 
Just in case you missed it, Engadget did a nice little analysis of whether 
After spending a few days with the iPhone, our friends at Engadget have posted an absolutely exhaustive 
The TUAW podcast is back in effect ladies and gents, though this week we're a tad late due to some technical difficulties. Nevertheless, expect a steady new stream of podcasts and screencasts from here on out, starting with today's entry: TUAW Podcast #23: There and Back Again with the iPhone. Fellow TUAW blogger 
