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Top 5 Things To Check Out at Macworld 2010

Macworld 2010 opens today. It is the 25th annual gathering of Mac users. That’s right, 25 years!
But thanks to the absence of Apple this year, this “Mecca for Mac Heads” may be the last. So check it out while you can.

The show runs for 5 days. The Expo showfloor opens on Thursday at noon.
For the [...]

Opinion: MacBook, or iMac + iPad?

20100208-imacipad.jpg

The announcement of the iPad has done a lot of things: it’s stoked up excitement in the Mac using community, it’s got a bunch of developers feverishly coding exciting new stuff, and it’s got retailers and cell phone companies the world over drooling over the money they can make from it.
And it’s also somewhat upset [...]

In Depth: 30 Days with the Nexus One

It’s been a month since my review of Google’s “SuperPhone”, the Nexus One. Since that time, we’ve surfed, updated facebook, navigated, called, played endless hands of cribbage and even tried to freeze it to death on a trip to Dayton Ohio. Follow me after the jump to find out does the “SuperPhone” stand the [...]

Apple second only to Microsoft in cash and investments… and that’s about to change

Silicon Insider posted this interesting graph putting into perspective exactly how large Apple is, compared with the other big three tech companies out there. And it’s all about cash.
Essentially, Apple is the second most cash rich company out there, with a little under $39.8 billion in cash and short and long term securities to call [...]

AppleTV Update Adds an “Off” Switch

Apple published the 2.2 update for Apple TV users last night and the biggest news may be that users will now be able to turn the device off from within the control panel.

A major complaint about Apple TV has been that the thing runs extremely hot, in addition to the fact that even when not in use, it sits there burning kilowatts of energy, very much at odds with the company’s aspirations to environmental friendliness.

Now, finally, users may put the device into “Standby” mode by pressing the “Play/Pause” button for about 3 seconds from the Main menu. There is also a “Standby” option accessible from an interior menu that I can’t mention here because WordPress doesn’t like the word. But it rhymes with vettings.

As expected, US Apple TV users can now buy HD TV shows directly from iTunes. The latest update also lets users make music video playlists from their favorite songs and Genius can be used with Apple TV, as long as users activate Genius in iTunes and sync with their device.

See all the update features here.

About the author

Lonnie Lazar

Lonnie Lazar is a writer, musician, web designer attorney. He writes about Apple for Cult of Mac and Mac|Life, and about VoIP and telecommunications for Voxilla. Follow Lonnie on Twitter @LonnieLazar, join the Cult of Mac on Facebook, and find Lonnie's photos on Flickr.

Email the author | Read more posts by Lonnie Lazar.

9 comments

    Putting the AppleTV into standby mode by holding the Play/Pause button has been available since it was released. The only difference before this update was that it took 6 seconds instead of 3.

    Pretty sure the Play/Pause for 3 Seconds Standby always was there, that’s what I used when I wanted to slightly lessen the chances the box would burn down the house. Maybe they just added the “Standby” from “Settings” menu functionality?

    It has always(*) been possible to put it in standby by holding the Play button for 3-seconds. It’ll be nice to have it in the menu too.

    (*) I got an AppleTV when it was originally launched and I’m pretty this is given in the instruction booklet.

    Another dumb post from Lonnie. Apple TV always had the standby mode, since version 1.0. Someone hire a fact checker for this person already.

    I’ve been able to put my ATV in stand by mode by pressing and holding the play button since version 1. Have they changed what happens?

    @satinjive – Apple put the Play/Pause and Settings > Standby changes in the listed Features for the Update, as you can see in the linked document. Take it up with them.

    If you have other examples of factually inaccurate reporting on my part, I’ll be happy to post corrections.

    No, you’re right, Lonnie. I just tried, and the play/pause standby approach only works from the main menu, whereas before it worked anywhere, even during playback. So, this is a change. So, to all you posters, judge not…

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    Unfortunately, although the AppleTV 2.2 software update makes the existing “standby” mode more accessible, my unit still draws a full thirteen watts while in standby mode, so the power savings and heat reduction are very modest.

    Please see the post below for more details, if interested:

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