Blake Patterson

A recent article from Wired confirms that the iPod will not be going the way of the Microsoft Windows Media Audio (WMA) format. An earlier Page 2 rumor detailed a report by a questionable source that HP is working with Apple to bring the WMA format to the iPod. Showing this to be false, HP's digital entertainment...

As per the recent rumors, today Apple released speed-bumped eMacs: $799: 800MHz G4, 128MB SDRAM, 40GB HD, CD-ROM $999: 1GHz G4, 128MB SDRAM, 60GB HD, Combo drive $1299: 1GHz G4, 256MB SDRAM, 80GB HD, SuperDrive Head to Apple's eMac page and have a look. ...

Apple has released the Mac OS X v10.1.5 update. (Standard drill--go to System Preferences / Software Udates to download.) Stated improvements in this version: Peripheral Device Support: --Expanded support for new Canon digital cameras. --Improved support for Nikon FireWire cameras. --Expanded support for SmartDisk, EZQuest, and LaCie disc recording devices. --Improved support for MO drives. ...

XLR8YourMac.com is running a story that reveals that the new iBooks, based on the PowerPC 750FX CPU (the IBM "Sahara"), can be overclocked in software. Whereas the bus speed/multiplier of previous G3's was set by resistors, this new G3 allows configuration via a CPU register. A user installed Apple's CHUD tools on his iBook 700 and was able to get it running at 800MHz. There seems a...

A user has just written in with news of a Quartz Extreme demo movie over at MacNytt (Swedish site). The demo was performed on a dual G4 450 w/ GeForce 2MX video. Very impressive footage -- have a look. submitted by Nastarovja...

Apple has released their new version of iPhoto, v1.1.1, which can be downloaded from the iPhoto product page. Some new features in this version: Adjust brightness and contrast E-mail photos easily Set desktop background image Import from PhotoCD or PictureCD Improved printer templates Display EXIF photo data etc... Brightness and contrast adjustment is great, but if only Apple would...

A classic operating system afficionado, z80 has setup the NeXT Information Archive, a web repository for all things NeXT. He has placed many scanned NeXT brochures, documents and the like on-line to allow folks a glimpse at the incredible hardware and software put out by NeXT in the late 80's-early 90's. Steve Jobs formed NeXT after being pushed out of Apple in the mid ...

Many users have reported that Mac OS X v10.1.4 is now available from Apple. The standard System Preferences / Software Updater drill will bring it to your Mac....

Apple announced today that it has purchased Zayante, a leader in FireWire technology. Have a look at Yahoo's writeup of the acquisition. Link submitted by kungfu...

Given the response to the recent posting about IBM's scary 333 power-on hour specification on its GXP series drives, it seems worth noting that in response to such a show of concern about the reliability of these drives, IBM has put out a release indicating that it is going to remove that item on its spec sheet. The linked article refers to the 120 GXP in particular, where the 333 hour spec is...

It is no secret in the storage world that IBM's 75GXP drives have had reliability issues. We've seen stories of users replacing drive after drive of this particular device. There is even a law suit pending against IBM with regards to this drive. The successor to this drive was the IBM 60GXP series, a drive which does not seem to have generated the same, unusual level of user problem reports....

A recent discussion on DALnet's #macintosh IRC channel revealed to me an interesting site with info (in French) and pictures of a number of Apple prototypes that for the most part have not appered in the better known Apple history books/sites, such as AppleDesign. A particularly interesting unit is the "Bookcase SE." Have a look at the site...

It looks like the sun has finally set on Be, Inc. Be, lead by ex-Apple CEO Jean-Louis Gassee, offered unto the world a robust, real-time operating system that began its life on some equally impressive hardware back in '95. There was real innovation there, and it is sad to see this happen. Though I still firmly believe that Apple made the right choice in going with NeXT over Be back in '97 in...

Mac OS X v10.1.3 update is now available from Apple. (Standard System Preferences/Software Update drill.) As stated in the update's descriptive blurb: CD Disc Recording Peripherals: Expanded support for QPS, EZQuest, LaCie, Yamaha, MCE Technologies and Sony devices Image Capture and iPhoto: Improved support for several digital camera models from Canon, Kodak and Sony Graphics and ...

As detailed in an Excite.com release, it seems Apple has joined forces with Sun and Ericsson in moving forward with content delivery. To quote the article: "Apple Computer Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Ericsson said Tuesday they have teamed up to develop a system for bringing multimedia content such as movie clips to...

Tom's Hardware Guide has placed a review of the nVIDIA GeForce 4 online that encompasses the GeForce 4 MX and the various GeForce 4 Ti's available. Much benchmark data is provided, comparing these boards to other nVIDIA and ATI video cards which might prove rather useful to those trying to decide which way to configure their...

ZDNet Australia has come out with an interesting story dealing with two rivals close to our hearts, Apple vs. Sony: A Digital Smackdown. Detailing the differences (and similarities) between the individual approach of each company as to just what the role of the computer ought to be, the piece is rather interesting...

As folks are now aware, the mid and top-end models of the new pro machines come with the new GeForce 4MX installed standard. Looking at the performance graph on one of the product pages dealing with the new Macs, it seemed to me that something was a bit fishy (why a GeForce 2MX in that DP 800?). I'd actually expressed my hunch to a few folks that the GeForce 4MX was not a much (any?) higher ...

I took a trip to the new Apple Store in Clarendon, VA today and snapped some shots of the new iMac, up close and personal. Have a look. Even though I was very impressed with the new iMac ever since I first saw photos of it, I've got to say that seeing it and actually touching it, in person, has made me so much more impressed by it. It definitely feels very solid and sturdy, moreso than one...

Apple has placed a streaming QuickTime link to The Power of X Presentation, given on Macworld SF day 2 by Apple's Senior VP of Software Engineering, Avie Tevanian and VP of Worldwide Product Marketing, Philip Schiller. It's a somewhat technical presentation delving into the guts of OS X and what makes them so robust. Definitely worth a...