New MacBooks and Other Fun Stuff! October 21, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in Apple, Computers.Tags: Apple, Apple Macbook, core i7, imac, intel core i7, mac, mac mini, macbook, magic mouse, mighty mouse, updates
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Let there be Shinyness!
Whoa. Apple today decided to unleash a whole slew of new stuff. Foremost among them, an updated unibody white plastic MacBook (see above pic). Like the 13″ MacBook Pro, its now carved out of a single hunk of plastic, and is packing the new LED screen, glass multitouch trackpad, slimed down design, and updated specs, starting at 2.26 Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 2 gigs of RAM, 250 GB hard drive, at the same price of $1000. Not bad at all.
Next! New Mac Minis. The little Mac has gotten yet another specs boost (it got one earlier this year as well. You can see our review on the early 2009 Mac Mini here), with now at $600 you get an upgraded 2.26 Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB of RAM, and an 160 GB hard drive, and at $700 you get an even faster 2.53 GHZ C2D, 4 GB RAM, and 320 GB hard drive, making the Mac Mini, as it was, the cheapest way to go Mac. (kinda… provided you aren’t gonna spend money, on, you know, screens, mice and keyboards… if you need some of those, well then this next Mac is the way to go). Also announced was a Mini Server Edition, with no disk drive and instead a 1 TB (or 1000 GB) hard drive, meant for small business owners (any teenaged small business owners out there…?)
The new awesome iMac
But the big player, (and big is very much intended here) is the new updated iMacs, at 21.5 inch and a MONSTER 27 inch beast. Notable is the option for Intel’s new i7 chips in a quad core configuration which is awesome (basically you’ll be getting great speed and power for your Mac while not killing your electric bill. Apple uses the same Core i7 chips found in new laptops in the iMacs– helps keep the sleek design and low power usage– and you can check out our post on the HP Envy 15 and Pavilion dv8 laptops from IDF for full details on all the greatness that is Intel’s new Core i7). Also interesting, is that the screens on the new iMacs support video-in. So you can use your lovely, massive LED widescreen display on say, your new MacBook. Specs on these things are beastly – check ‘em out here.
The new “Magic Mouse”
Finally, peripherals. Apple’s got two new ones here – a new mouse, this time dubbed “The Magic Mouse”, which looks like it fell out of Star Trek, and eliminates the trackball for, you guessed it, multitouch gestures. Haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but it looks pretty cool. Also added was a new, sleek and aluminum Apple Remote, to match the current line of aluminum iMacs and MacBook Pros.
…Phew. That’s everything. Anyone out there buying new Mac stuff now? Sound off below readers!
iPhone MMS Finally Live!!! September 25, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in Apple, Cell Phones.Tags: Apple, att, Cell Phones, iPhone, iphone 3g, iphone 3gs, mms
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Sending a video– now finally do-able on the iPhone 3G and 3GS
Well, today is September 25th, and if your an AT&T iPhone 3G or 3GS owner you know what that means– we finally get to send pictures, audio and videos from our iPhones (as commenter me pointed out– 3GS only can do video, 3G can only do audio and pix)!!! Yes, something a phone from like 5 years ago could do we can now do!!!
All right, that’s enough excitement. The update is live now and to get it you need to connect your iPhone 3G or 3GS to iTunes, click on “Check for Update” on the iTunes iPhone page, and then download the carrier update. After that, restart your phone (either by turning it on and off or holding down the home and power button for about 10 seconds which restarts it automatically) and then poof– your ready to MMS away. That’s it. Pretty simple, no?
So there you go– MMS on the iPhone is finally here. Sound off with how the update is going for you and how you like the “new” feature in the comments.
Apple Announces Updated iPods, iTunes September 13, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in Apple, Mp3 players and iPods.Tags: Apple, iPhone, ipod, ipod classic, iPod Nano, ipod shuffle, ipod touch, iTunes
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So, Apple’s annual iPod event was this week, and they, as usual announced the latest round of iPods for the Holiday season, as well as a new version of iTunes. So, lets go through it, shall we? (more…)
AT&T Bringing MMS to the iPhone 3G and 3GS Sept 25th September 3, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in Apple, Cell Phones.Tags: Apple, att, Cell Phones, iPhone, iphone 3g, iphone 3gs, mms
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iPhone 3GS– All the above, and now finally MMS
Summer may be coming to a close, but if you own an iPhone 3G or 3GS (sorry first gen iPhone owners, your out of luck here), then great promise lurks on the horizon: AT&T will be following through on their assurance during Apple’s WWDC in June that MMS would arrive to the iPhone at the summer’s end, which, based on what they announced today, appears to be September 25th. So yes, on that eventful day, you will finally be able to do on your iPhone what you could’ve done with a free phone for the last 5 or so years.
What is MMS? Basically, MMS (or Multimedia Messaging Service) is the tech that lets you send videos, audio and pix in a text, as oppossed to SMS– Short Messaging Service– which is just words in a text message. So yeah, it’s definitely something that should’ve been here years ago (I would’ve thought in the first iPhone, if not for sure in the 3G launch, but oh well, beggars can’t be choosers).
However, another highly popularized feature soon coming to the iPhone called ”tethering”, enabling you to connect your iPhone to your computer and share the internet connection, will make its opening appearance a bit later than expected, when specfically we’ll let you know when we do. But hey, 1 out of 2 in a day ain’t bad right?
Info from AT&T
Snow Leopard – Review September 1, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in Apple, Computers, First Look/Reviews.Tags: 10.6, Apple, osx, review, snow leopard
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Roar.
Well faithful readers, the next round of the OS wars have been. And in a surprising move yesterday, Apple announced that they’ll be releasing their opening shot, Mac OS 10.6, a month earlier then expected: available today (!), for $30. So, is the upgrade worth it? Read on.
Apple Event September 9th– I Wonder What We Should Expect September 1, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in Apple, Mp3 players and iPods, Rumors.Tags: Apple, cameras, events, ipod, iPods, Rumors
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Apple today announced that they’ll be holding an event on September 9th– and from the pic above, it looks to be music oriented. So don’t buy that new iPod just yet; waiting an extra week or so may turn out to be really smart. As in the past, Apple used the September event to show off new iPods, and with strong rumors floating around the web of new iPods– see our post here– we wouldn’t be surprised if they update the iPods again.
Just to briefly cover some of the other rumors of what Apple is expected to show off (remember– these are just rumors): new iPod Nano, Touch, and Classic with cameras (as we wrote about in that previous post– just now the rumors are that the Classic too will be getting a camera), iTunes 9 with some possible integration with sites like Facebook, Blu-Ray for Macs, among some other rumors. So while we wait to find out on September 9th what Apple really has planned, feel free to guess on what you think Apple will show off in the comments.
Oh, and don’t forget to check back on the 9th, as we’ll have everything covered here.
Pic from Engadget
Dropship – Review August 17, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in Apple, Cell Phones, First Look/Reviews, Video Games.Tags: app store, game, iPhone, ipod touch, iTunes
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Dropship. Retro made awesome.
Ok, so this is an older game on the iPhone platform that I’ve been meaning to review for a while now, and one of my favorite games all time – Dropship. So, why now? Well, because ngmoco, the dudes who make it, just made it free, so now’s the time for a review so you all can check it out.
Dropship is effectively a 2.5D (not quite 3D gameplay, but looks 3D, so you make the call) space shoot. There are 2 basic modes to it – Missions, and Free Play. The Missions mode basically has you flying through a maze, retrieving a glowing green box, and dragging via tractor beam out. This is complicated by the maze, and the hordes of turrets seeking to blow your glowing, retro-style ship to nothing. Blowing up these turrets results in a shower of particle effects, and they’re more then just for show – flying towards them allows you to absorb them for energy, which is essential, seeing as flying take energy as fuel, and crashing into walls and being shot loses you energy. However, you aren’t unarmed. You have a gun. As it happens, initially a pretty lame one. However, by carefully rescuing humans scattered around a level, you get temporary (read: ammunition) upgrades – one human gets you rapid fire, another while you have rapid fire spread shot, then laser, then hyper laser. These are almost essential for winning. As for free play mode, it’s similar, except less maze and the objective is instead to rescue x-amount of humans. It’s much more fast paced and progressively harder then the missions. Also, the game has an achievement system, giving you something to strive for.
Finally, though, are controls – the make it or break it factor for any iPhone game. Dropship takes the crown in this over any game I’ve ever played. Dropship has a two stick control system – left side movement, right side weapons. Standard stuff. Except in Dropship, the digital controls aren’t static – where ever you place your left thumb – thats the left control. Ditto for weapons. This is the crucial factor that makes Dropship not only playable, but fun.
Overall, Dropship is a great game – good graphics, great controls, and just fun to play. Best of all, as mentioned before, its free. So go grab a copy and give it a shot.
Download here. [iTunes Link]
Beejive IM – Review July 27, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in Apple, First Look/Reviews.Tags: Apple, apps, beejive, im, iPhone, ipod, ipod touch, Reviews
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Beejive IM – the multitasking majesty
Alright. For a long time now, there’s been one king of IM apps on my iTouch, and thats AIM. But now send out the heralds: the new king has arisen! Beejive IM! There are a few things that set aside Beejive from AIM, including Facebook’s built in chat, Google Talk’s Safari web app, and a host of others. The main difference is that Beejive not only boasts push notification, which keeps you logged onto an account (AIM also now does this), but it allows you to go and log into all your accounts from all your places at once (something AIM only let’s you do with only your screenname). And if you’re on an iPhone, this morphs into being socially connected anytime, anywhere, to everyone. Pretty sweet in other words, especially for us teens.
Speaking of different accounts, that’s where Beejive really delivers, supporting the incredible list below: AIM/Mobile Me, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, MSN/Windows Live, MySpace IM, Yahoo Messenger, and even Facebook Chat. And thats the main reason why it takes the IM spot on my iPod– the amount of compatibility makes it incredibly useful. Once you add your accounts to Beejive you can access them through a buddy list, like in AIM, as well as view open chats and set favorites. Also, the option to view individual buddy lists for each account is also there, which is useful if you only need to find some friends on AOL, but want to stay logged in on your other accounts.
However, there is a catch, likely to deter some readers. Beejive, unlike AIM– which is either free with ads or $2.99 for a no ad version– is a paid app costing $10. However, for those of you who always want to be in the loop on all your accounts, I feel that it’s a fair price to pay for it. Overall though, I really like Beejive, even despite the price tag, and rate it a 5/5.
Interested? Check it out here (warning: link opens iTunes)
