Monday August 25th 2008 05:52:39 PM

Mac & iPod reviews and how-to's from Mac experts and enthusiasts.

Mac Fusion at WWDC?

It’s the eve of WWDC08 and the rumor mill is buzzing. A new report from TUAW shows a new Mac geared towards developers called Mac Fusion. We’re not sure how real it is and where the report comes from, but it does look somewhat fake for the following reasons:

  1. Apps in the subtitle is not supposed to be capitalized.
  2. The Apple logo on top of the device looks out of perspective.

More photos of the rumored new Mac are available at TUAW.

June 8, 2008 | Filed Under Rumors, WWDC08 | 1 Comment 

Latest 3G iPhone leaks are fake - here’s why

The latest 3G iPhone leaks have been making their round on the internet since yesterday and a lot of speculation has come into effect as to if they’re real or not. The images have now made their way onto CrunchGear, Engadget (who calls them fake), and Mac Rumors. I think they’re not, but people seem to insist that these are early rough drafts from Apple.

First of all, why would Apple miss the sleep/wake button on the Product (RED) version shown here? They could have easily copied it from the other version sitting right next to it.

There’s also inconsistent use of Apple’s flagship Myriad Pro font which Apple has been using since 2002. Take a look and you tell us if these are real or not.

Here’s a question, wouldn’t Apple legal demand these photos be removed if these were real? That’s exactly what happened with the 3rd-generation iPod nano just last year.

June 7, 2008 | Filed Under Rumors, WWDC08 | Leave a Comment 

iPhone boxes at Quanta?

Forbes went to the Quanta Computer distribution center on the West Coast and discovered tons and tons of mysterious brown boxes. What could they be? New iPhones, a new Mac tablet? Take a look for yourself here.

June 5, 2008 | Filed Under Rumors, WWDC08 | 2 Comments 

Monday brings iPhone app store

According to CNET, Apple is scheduled to launch their third-party applications store on Monday at the Worldwide Developers Conference where Steve Jobs will be taking the stage with his keynote address. The new app store will also bring the new 2.0 firmware update to current iPhones and the future 3G iPhone which may be introduced as well.

The keynote kicks off Monday at 10am at the Moscone West convention center in San Francisco.

June 3, 2008 | Filed Under Rumors, WWDC08 | 1 Comment 

Rumor Roundup: Apple OLED keyboard, Blu-Ray Mac Pro at Macworld?

Mac ProAppleInsider has the scoop on a couple of new rumors including a new Apple OLED-based keyboard, and Blu-Ray drives inside the Mac Pro.

“Apple Inc. in a new patent filing proposes to solve the ages-old problem of having to manufacture distinct keyboards to support the various alphabets and key arrangements of foreign countries by developing an OLED-based model where key arrangements are altered on the fly by software.”

The new keyboard would be similar to the much hyped Optimus Maximus keyboard.

Analyst reports Blu-Ray drives inside of new Mac Pro

“The Mac maker during the first quarter of 2008 is expected to introduce a significant overhaul to its Mac Pro professional workstations, which are expected to be among the first systems from the company to include drives capable of supporting the Blu-ray format, sources close to AppleInsider and other Apple news publications have said.”

Previously, Apple has said that they will support both HD DVD and Blu-Ray formats.

January 3, 2008 | Filed Under Rumors | 3 Comments 

iPhone 1.1.3 confirmed with new features

iPhoneGearLive claims to have their hands on a copy of the latest iPhone firmware, version 1.1.3. New features include Hybrid view support in Google Maps, the ability to add web apps and bookmarks to the home screen, and Google Maps “Locate Me” which finds your current location based on cell tower location.

Photos are mirrored at Mac Forums for the time being.

December 28, 2007 | Filed Under Rumors | Leave a Comment 

Five Macworld Keynote Predictions

Macworld Expo 2008 is just around the corner, and no one knows exactly what will be introduced by Jobs & Co. but here are a few predictions.

1. iPhone Software Update
Steve will demo a new iPhone software update with new features such as Leopard notes syncing. The SDK may be previewed with applications by big developers who got their hands on it early.

2. New AppleTV
The original 40GB AppleTV was introduced at Macworld Expo 2007. It’s been about a year since it was updated with new features. It would be nice to see some integration with the rumored iTunes movie rental service.

3. Mac mini Update
Apple’s cheapest Mac is also the one that hasn’t gotten any major updates over the course of this year. The last update was in August of this year and it was only to bring the Mac mini to a Core 2 Duo processor.

4. New Apple Cinema Displays
Wow, the last time these babies have been updated was in 2004 when they got their current aluminum look at WWDC. Over the past 3 years their price has dropped but features have not been added. I’m guessing they’ll be getting the glossy coating and a HDMI port for AppleTV.

5. New Mac Notebook / Tablet
Rumor has it that Apple is brewing up an ultra-portable notebook or tablet, that is thinner than today’s MacBook Pros, and runs off of a solid state disk. Only time will tell, but this is what everyone is hoping for.

December 28, 2007 | Filed Under Macworld 2008, Rumors | Leave a Comment 

iTunes Movie Rentals Coming at Macworld?

itunes-icon.pngFinancial Times is reporting that movie studio 20th Century Fox has signed a deal with Apple for movie rentals on the iTunes Store.

“Apple has signed News Corp’s 20th Century Fox studio to a new online video-on-demand service in a deal that could change the way people pay for online film content,” the article reads.

The service would be introduced at Macworld Expo in January, along with an improved AppleTV interface for purchasing rentals directly from the set top box.

December 26, 2007 | Filed Under Industry News, Rumors | Leave a Comment 

New 10.5.2 update to ship with new Mac models?

aluminum-imac.jpgArsTechnica is reporting that a new Mac OS X Leopard update, version 10.5.2, will be accompanying new Mac models introduced at Macworld Expo 2008. “Apparently, the update will leverage a new compiler and libraries for Intel processors that will bring significant performance boosts to Intel Macs,” the post reads.

Their original source, HardMac, is also reporting that Macworld will come with new Mac Pros, an update to DVD Studio Pro, and an Xserve “Ultra” edition.

As we’ve mentioned in the past, MacSpark will be covering the Steve Jobs keynote address live via a new system launching in early January.

December 19, 2007 | Filed Under Rumors | 1 Comment