hardware - page 45

In what can only be considered a turn of logic from an alternative “evil twin” universe, Hackintosh maker Psystar answered Apple’s cease and desist lawsuit of July 3th with their own alleging restraint of trade and antitrust violations.

via Computerworld

// Opinion Follows //

It’s been long anticipated that  Psystar would play the “Antitrust Card” in defense of its illegal activities.  The only thing is, it’s not illegal to have a monopoly. The key predicate to an antitrust suit is that the consumer must in some way be harmed by the monopolistic behavior of the defendant.  Rudy Pedraza, Psystar’s president summed up their consumer harm argument by saying: “It’s not that people don’t want to use Mac OS X, but they’re not open spending an exorbitant amount of money for something that’s essentially generic hardware.”

So that’s it, ‘the Apple’s hardware is too expensive’ argument we’ve heard time and time again, and have time and time again refuted. On a direct feature for feature comparison with Sony, HP or IBM, Apple hardware is no more expensive than the competition.

Our industry is FULL of monopolies that no one seems to disagree with, examples follow:

• Tivo has a monopoly on the Tivo OS, in that it too can only be employed on Tivo or licensed 3rd party hardware.
• Sony has a monopoly on the PlayStation, PS2, PS3 and PSP operating systems and regulates very closely the hardware they’re allowed to run on
• IBM has a monopoly on mainframes and the mainframe Z-OS
• even Microsoft has a monopoly on XBox OS and limits the hardware it can run on

While I can understand that free spirited hackers take unbrage at being locked out, there is nothing inherently wrong or illegal with Apple’s strategy of controlling the whole widget. Monopoly “sounds” bad on it’s own, but in Apple’s case they’re not abusing their power.

The picture above is burning up Digg right now. It supposedly shows the redesign of the MacBook Pro, which is expected to be refreshed any day now.

The new machine looks gorgeous. With smooth, rounded contours, it resemble the MacBook Air, and there appears to be the magnetic hinge borrowed from entry-level MacBook, which would be a big improvement on the Pro’s current latch/hook design.

Alas, it isn’t a leak — it’s a mockup from the MacRumors forums created by user mciarlo.

First generation units of Apple’s mini music player, iPod nano continue to pose a risk of catching fire while charging, according to these pictures provided by a reader at Consumerist over the weekend.

Apple agreed to replace the device.

Ministry of Industry, Trade and Economy officials in Japan are investigating similar reports of nanos overheating there.

Sega’s Super Monkeyball made news this week for racking up the most sales among paid apps in Apple’s first month of business with the AppStore, a tsunami of consumer love amounting to $30 million in new business for Apple and its third-party iPhone application developers. But a report at Gizmodo says “the best implementation of iPhone tilt control is conceptually identical to a seven-year-old Game Boy title, which itself was based on the old wooden marble-in-a-labyrinth puzzles that have been around since, well, who knows?”

After all the novelty and hype have settled on the iPhone gaming front, will we continue to see the platform as something as revolutionary as Apple’s cadre of evangelists would have us believe it is? The Gizmodo report points out that, as least with respect to games that rely on the iPhone’s accelerometer to make things interesting, “A portable gaming device that…can make sensitive games like Crash Bandicoot Racing and Monkey Ball almost unplayable” isn’t truly portable and in fact may be little more than an impressive, elaborate gimmick.

Via Gizmodo

Ten years is one of those nice round numbers that always sparks nostalgia and reminiscing and (hopefully) waves of warm and fuzzy feelings, whether its focus is a sports career, a marriage or a business enterprise. Today, in the world where Cupertino, CA is the center of the universe, all thoughts are on iMac, Apple’s user-friendly, all-in-one desktop computer that said hello to the world on August 15, 1998.

The iMac has grown and changed in many ways throughout its ten years of existence, but remains possibly Apple’s best-known and most accessible calling card for a growing market of consumers curious about the complete user experience at the root of Steve Job’s business philosophy.

We present here a gallery of iMacs, from then to now and our anniversary greetings. We’re looking forward to the next ten years.

UPDATE: THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.

Think you’ve got the chops to be a photo editor?

Cult of Mac, in association with Hulger makers of the retro P*Phone handset adapter for Mac and iPhone, is sponsoring a week-long caption contest, the winner of which will win free-of-charge a spanking new Hulger P*Phone handset adapter, the retro iPhone adapter that reduces your exposure to cell-phone radiation by 95% and may cause people on the street to believe you are the Man from U.N.C.L.E., or Maxwell Smart, or someone with a hot-line to the White House, or – you get the idea.

Just reply in the comment section with your best caption for the photo above before midnight PDT on Sunday, August 17  and we’ll choose the winner on Monday the 18th.

You’ll get to pick your choice of available colors from Hulger and have this groovy, healthy handset delivered absolutely free.

Miss Moneypenny’s cell phone number is not included with this offer.

Apple has been selling the same Cinema Displays, with occasional price adjustments and minor spec improvements since 2004.

MacRumors adds today to growing speculation about What’s Next for Apple”, suggesting the Cinema Display line may get a major makeover in time for Macworld 2009, scheduled for January 5th – 9th at San Francisco’s Moscone Center.

The new Cinema Displays are expected to incorporate LED backlights to fulfill Steve Jobs’ promise that Apple would completely eliminate flourescent-backlit displays.

UPDATE: The MIT design team referred to in this post is basing its design not on the Apple II, but on the Nintendo Entertainment System, which used the same processor chip. We regret our error, which was originally reported by The Boston Herald article to whcih our post was linked. Thanks to David Zeiler at The Baltimore Sun for the clarification.

Derek Lomas, an American graduate student, has recruited Apple II enthusiasts at this month’s MIT International Development Design Summit “to give Third World schools Apple II computer labs like the ones I grew up with.”

Lomas, Jesse Austin-Breneman and other designers want to create a computer that Third World residents can buy for much less than the ones currently being developed by MIT’s Nicholas Negroponte, who has been working since 2005 to provide $100 laptops to Third World kids. “We see this as a model that could increase economic opportunities for people in developing countries,” sas Lomas. “If you just know how to type, that can be the difference between earning $1 an hour instead of $1 a day.”

Lomas discovered kids using a cheap keyboard and Nintendo-like console hooked up to home TVs running simple games during an internship in India last summer and hit on the idea of upgrading the devices’ 1980s-era technology. He and others at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology symposium hope to get buy-in from programmers to help upgrade the systems – which are based on old Apple II computers – with rudimentary Web access and more.

The six member team at MIT is working on writing improved programs and connecting to the Web through cell phones. The group also wants to add memory chips – which the devices currently lack – to allow users to write and store their own programs. “We think we can develop a really good educational tool that could give kids exposure to keyboards, typing and mouse usage at an early age,” said Austin-Breneman, a 25-year-old MIT graduate and a mechanical engineer.

Via The Boston Herald

AppleOwner.com, a Taiwanese Apple-oriented website, has leaked what are purported to be pictures of the new MacBook, a highly anticipated revision to Apple’s line of increasingly popular notebook computers expected to be available within the next six weeks.

The photographs are long on suggestion, but short on detail, and may well be noting more than placeholders on the AppleOwner website. Make of them what you will.

Via Gizmodo.

The mophie juice pack 3g, coming in September from mStation, promises to more than double the useful life of Apple’s iPhone 3G battery. Despite Steve Jobs’ insistence that iPhone 3G batteries would be an improvement over the those in the original model, many users have found surfing the web on AT&T’s 3G network, running Bluetooth and using the many applications they have downloaded from the AppStore actually leaves them wanting much more out of an iPhone battery charge.

The juice pack 3g is a rechargeable lithium polymer battery that will come ‘pre-charged’ and ready to go straight out of the package. The battery is housed in an ergonomic, comfort-grip case with a soft-touch, non-slip finish. The added “juice” will give users up to an additional 350 hours of standby time, 6 hours of talk time on 3G, 12 hours of talk time on 2G, 6 hours of Internet use on 3G, 8 hours of video playback, or 28 hours of audio playback, according to a company statement. The battery’s proprietary design provides short circuit, over-charge and temperature protection as well as smart power management. It features a 4 LED ‘charge status’ indicator letting you know how much juice is left, and connects to your computer via USB passthrough – making it easy to simultaneously charge and sync your iPhone 3G.

“iPhone 3G users have demanded a product that will boost battery life for extended on-the-go use” says Ross Howe, Sales and Product Development Director for mStation/mophie. “juice pack 3G delivers this exceptional battery enhancement while keeping the unique style and feel of the iPhone intact.”

Mophie is currently taking entries to raffle off 10 free juice pack 3Gs when they ship this fall.

Image via iPhoneSavior

A quick peek at the iPhone availability widget reveals the model least-likely to be sold out at any Apple retail outlet is the 16GB in White.

The relatively ready supply of this particular model may or may not be related to possible side-effects of the injection-molding process used to manufacture the phone casings, which are apparently proving susceptible to hairline cracks, as reported by ZDNet.

It will be interesting to see how the re-sale value of white iPhones compares to that of the black models when the next hardware rev comes along.

Although once famously proud of annihilating its R&D budget, it appears Dell is now in some cases reading from the Book of Apple, in taking existing ideas and–at least in some ways–improving them. In recent weeks, we’ve seen the Dell Dock, taking the UI device from OS X that’s loved and loathed in equal measure and adding handy auto-categorization. (And, yes, I’m well aware Apple didn’t invent docks, but if you’ve been paying attention, that’s kind of my point.)

However, while the Dell Dock is an interesting curiosity, the Studio Hybrid (depicted) is a rather more ballsy production, not only taking on the Mac mini and AppleTV, but exposing some of the shortcomings in Apple’s range of highly consumer-oriented desktop machines.

In terms of hardware, the Studio Hybrid is nothing new: Dell has shoe-horned a laptop’s guts into a small and fairly contemporary form factor. But when it comes to options, Apple’s machine is trumped in some key areas. Dell offers Blu-ray as an option (albeit with a $250 price-tag), HDMI video out, a card reader, and also pushes adding a TV tuner. (Amusingly, you can also add a bamboo shell for $130, which almost makes Apple’s black MacBook price-tag look sensible.)

Sure, there are compromises, not least the Dell lacking Mac OS X, the bizarre omission of wireless in the stock model, and the fact that on Dell’s online store, you have to click ‘Go to Next Component’ about 56 billion times to configure your unit (versus the streamlined and efficient approach taken on the Apple Store). But, to some extent, it does highlight the manner in which Apple is almost dropping the ball when it comes to living-room computing.

AppleTV shows promise, and the future of media is undoubtedly going to be centered around downloads. However, we’re not there yet, and people have too much investment in optical media. Therefore, AppleTV becomes an additional unit to homes already suffering from clutter under their televisions. And the mini, despite offering loads of potential, seems to have been practically shunned by Apple, banished to the corner like an unloved and unwanted child.

Rumors always abound regarding future Apple kit, with pie-in-the-sky wishes dashed by the brutal hand of reality upon an Expo or WWDC keynote. My wishes are rather simpler, though: a Mac mini that genuniely makes a play for the living room. Take a leaf out of Dell’s book, Apple, and bundle in that card reader, so people can more easily bung photos on their TV screen. Add that Blu-ray option for people who want to own media rather than rent downloads. And add HDMI video out by default, so people can connect their mini to a new TV without faffing about with additional leads.

Don’t worry about the bamboo option, though.

The folks at ChannelFlip do a good service, if only to distract us from iPhone news and MobileMe angst.

We were writing just last week that Apple’s lawsuit against Psystar could be the final stake in the heart of Mac clone computer makers. Some ideas are just too irresistible to die, we guess, because here comes a guy named Elijia Samaroo and his company, Open Tech, Inc waving a new red flag in the face of Apple’s legal department with the promise of an “open” computer that runs OS X.

Open Tech claims to be aware of the legal problems incurred by Psystar and intends to avoid them by not pre-loading its machines with OS X, the blatant violation of Apple’s licensing terms that should prove Psystar’s undoing. Open Tech says it plans to simply configure a system for the intended OS — Windows, OS X , Linux, Ubuntu — and provide a “do-it-yourself” kit that will help with whatever OS a customer buys separately.

Grab the popcorn and soda, and recall the ending of Basic Instinct.

Apple filed suit against Florida-based computer maker Psystar on July 3rd, alleging copyright infringement, inducement of copyright infringement, trademark infringement and other legal claims. It seeks any profits earned by Psystar from sales of its Open Computer, triple damages for willful acts, a permanent injunction against the sale of the product and a recall of units already sold.

Despite a seemingly definitive ruling against Apple clone-makers in a landmark 1983 copyright decision, Psystar has lately continued selling what it calls “open source” computers with copies of OS X, while Psystar owners and managers admitted in public statements their knowledge of the existence of Apple’s software license agreement and its terms, according to the suit.

Legal experts speculate Psystar has almost no credible defense against the suit and believe this may truly be the end of Apple clones after the last major knock-off shop, Franklin Computers, closed its doors in the wake of the 1983 case.

Via CNet.

If it seems prices of the latest iPod and iPhone accessories are rising, you may have Apple’s licensing department to thank, according to a story in Popular Mechanics. Though the company is typically reticent to discuss the details of arrangements such as the one that allows some electronics manufacturers to place a “Made for iPod” designation on their products, managers and decision makers for both retailers and manufacturers indicate Apple’s licensing fees and specially made chips that allow gadgets to work with Apple gear can add 10% or more to the price consumers pay for an item.

Last year, Apple introduced a proprietary authentication chip that works like a silicon key to unlock streaming video functionality on iPhones and iPods and generally authorizes the devices to work with approved accessories. The “auth chip” meant third-party companies wanting to produce iPod-compatible gadgets first had to deal with Apple–the only company selling the chip. Previous-generation iPods could output video over a generic $2 iPod video cable, but new phones and iPods require officially licensed Apple cables–and these can cost up to $50, according to the report.

Apple’s contention is that its authentication technology and licensing protocols, which can entail auditors from Cupertino poring over a company’s books and records to ensure that Apple gets paid for every device sold, helps maintain high quality for products associated with the Apple brand. Some manufacturers complain, on the other hand, they must reduce the quality of their wares in order to pay Apple its share and still keep prices at levels that stimulate consumer demand.

Photo via iFixit

The iFixit guys did what they said they would do and are up with first-look photos and analysis of their dissection of the iPhone they bought this morning in Auckland, NZ. They report the only other American outfit there with them was a team from Engadget.

The photos posted on the iFixit page link to hi-res images for a better look inside the new phone. Some good news is the iPhone battery, while secreted away beneath a sealed case, is not soldered-on inside, which should reduce the cost of replacing one after it withers from surfing the web at 3G speeds.

Apple has dropped the price on its MacBook Air with a solid state hard drive by $500. The new pricing on the computer our own Pete Mortenson called “a dream secondary computer for the rich and famous” is not likely to cause a hiring spurt by Apple’s retail division in advance of next week’s highly anticipated iPhone 3G debut.

Update: For a well-reasoned rebuttal to at least my views on design, check out Leigh’s counter-post once you’re done reading here.

I’ve been alluding to this for a few months now, but let me repeat: The Mac is poised for innovation over the next few years on a scale that we haven’t experienced since the initial move to OS X in the previous decade. After five years of focusing on new categories like the iPod and the iPhone while gradually improving its Mac product line, the company has now freed up the resources to strengthen its core and highest-revenue business: Macs. And at the same time, new technologies are emerging to take the Mac to the next level. To read why, click through.

Channel Flip is a “video magazine” produced in London with a focus on Mac tech-tips, video gaming and film. Instead of writing articles, the Channel Flip team produces short, snappy clips of how-tos and reviews of mobile phones, HDTVs, laptops and portable technology, as well as gaming titles on console, portable and PC. The film department looks at the week’s must-watch DVD releases, including film analysis and a close view of things going on in the movie world.

The clip above shows how to use Apple’s Time Capsule for something more than a mere back-up device and network router.

Photo by Silvio Sousa Cabral

Amid reports of a surge in orders for all flavors of Apple gadgetry, anticipation of the iPhone 3g’s July 11 debut has the Apple Retail division preparing for the onslaught and chipmakers such as Broadcom and Marvel hoping happy days are here again.

Wall Street analyst Craig Berger, speaking for FBR Capital Markerts, says the bump in Apple’s supply chain activity “suggest[s] Apple continues to knock the cover off the ball, that its product cycle momentum is ramping, and that any consumer spending malaise in the U.S. or Europe has yet to impact Apple-related product demand.”

In a memo distributed throughout its Apple Stores division, company executives laid the ground rules for interacting with the public as 3G launch day approaches. Among the anticipated issues, the idea of getting on a waitlist for first dibs was shot down definitively by Apple corporate, and retail employees have been told to call any customer who has reserved an iPhone Personal Shopping session on or after July 11th to inform them Personal Shopping sessions will not apply to the iPhone 3G.

At an Apple Store in New York this week, actor Kiefer Sutherland is said to have made a strong case for obtaining a pre-launch iPhone 3G to no avail.

The company plans to hold worldwide retail meetings on July 6th to begin conveying more specific official launch procedures to its staff, according to a report at the Unofficial Apple Weblog.

UPDATE: This post originally borrowed liberally from an article written by reporter Dan Warne for APC Magazine. Though I linked to Dan’s piece and indicated the “10 Reasons” were his ideas and not mine, I realize now that reprinting his article with only the slightest changes and editing on my part could be seen as misleading at best and were certainly not in keeping with the standards to which I and Cult of Mac aspire. I ask for readers’ – and especially for Mr. Warne’s – forgiveness for my error — Lonnie Lazar.

People have been dying for the iPhone 3G for over a year, ever since the first user attempted downloading a web page on AT&T’s excruciatingly slow EDGE network. And let there be no doubt, when the phone hits global streets on July 11, people will rejoice, the coffers at Apple HQ in Cupertino will once again groan with excess and mobile carriers from AT&T to Vodaphone to O2 will breathe short-lived sighs of relief.

But in spite of the wow-inducing touchscreen interface, the bright and bold display, the push-synching of email, contacts, calendar, tasks and photos from Apple’s new MobileMe services, and the relative pleasures of speed on the 3G network – as always – Apple will have released a product that fails to meet some consumers’ insatiable expectations.

Herewith, 10 reasons to feel like Steve Jobs is ripping you off once again, as compiled by APC Magazine reporter Dan Warne:

Photo by Rinox via flickr

Apple has long been a poster child for the wisdom of Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand. With active trade in some of its discontinued products, such as the iSight camera (which regularly sells on auction sites such as eBay for more than the original purchase price), and high-resale values for “previously owned” and “refurbished” models of its computers, the reality has been that the cost of owning an Apple over the years has not been nearly so high as its reputation for premium pricing might indicate.

The iPhone is providing additional confirmation that, despite complaints about the company’s obsessive desire to control the user experience, they must be doing something right at 1 Infinite Loop.

iPhone Atlas reported recently on the high prices still being fetched at resale by the original model phones, indicating concern over the ability to unlock and/or jailbreak the upcoming model, combined with significant demand in countries where the iPhone 3G will not initially be on sale, including Russia and China.

While the current value of first-generation iPhones may be high, with reports of the bid on 16GB phones near $600, some believe the market for the phones will stay active with prices coming down as the availability of 3G models gets closer. Michael Johnston at iPhone Alley suggests the window for high prices may be closing soon and Dennis Sellers writes for Macsimum News that active trade in the post-3G launch market for first-gen iPhones could see prices come down under $100.

With Apple and AT&T seeming to have foiled the unlocking/jailbreaking movement that flourished in the wake of iPhone’s initial release, Stateside customers who must have the speed and features of the 3G model but still have, or want, service with a carrier other than AT&T, will either have to wait and see if the new models can be jailboken or look to Apple’s deals with a different carrier in almost every country overseas, where the phones will go on sale next month. Across both ponds Apple has had to agree to a wide range of prices and options for selling the iPhone 3G, making it likely that in quite a few countries outside of the U.S., you’ll be able to buy an iPhone without a contractual agreement.

Ford & Lincoln / Mercury cars are now shipping with a voice activated technology they call “SYNC”, which proudly proclaims “Powered by Microsoft” on all the adds they’re running. My first thought was: ‘Now what the heck would anyone willingly admit that?‘

My second thought was: ‘Why isn’t Apple just OWNING this space?‘ Click through, and we’ll chat about this after the jump.

AT&T may be subsidizing up to $425 of the cost of each new iPhone it activates for service when the 2.0 3G models launch next month, Barron’s reports.

According to Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner, AT&T will cover an additional $125 premium over the carrier’s typical $200 smartphone subsidy because the company thinks the iPhone will increase subscribers and average revenue per user. Apple will receive an additional $100 bounty for every new AT&T customer who signs for service at an Apple Store.

The early book on the new phone is very bullish, with Reiner calling for 15 million units to be sold in 2008 and another 33 million in 2009.