Apple may be reluctant to launch a netbook – and given their financial success selling mid- to high-end notebooks we can’t really blame them – has spawned a busy community of Hackint0sh creators, many of whom turn to humble Atom-based netbooks such as the MSI Wind for use as donor machines for OS X. All that might change, however, with the news that Apple have tweaked Mac OS X 10.6.2, their upcoming operating-system update, to prevent installation on Atom-based computers.
Been waiting for an unlock for your iPhone 3GS? Thanks to George Hotz, who goes by the handle of Geohot and offers the blackra1n unlock tool, a new version – blacksn0w – capable of unlocking iPhone OS 3.1.2 will be launched on November 4th. According to Hotz, one unlocking company has gone as far as to offer him $10,000 for the necessary code; however the good news is that the blacksn0w unlock will remain free.
Problem is, that won’t stop various less-than-honest unlock merchants from “borrowing” blacksn0w and charging iPhone owners for what they could readily do themselves for free. Hotz is asking people to share the information about his – and the iPhone Dev Team’s – offerings, to try to reduce the number of people conned into paying unnecessarily.
Video demo of the unlock after the cut
While we already knew that November 10th was the magic day when UK would-be Apple iPhone 3GS buyers would have a choice of not just O2 but also Orange as their network, until today we didn’t know exactly what they’d have to pay. Now Orange have revealed iPhone 3GS pricing details, including a free 3GS on 24-month contracts of £45 ($74) upward, or a free 3G 8GB on a £30 ($49) 24-month contract.
Pay as you go details after the cut
Some people go to the park or Starbucks to people watch, I prefer an outing to Best Buy. I love checking out all the newest gadgets and tech under one roof (more than I should even let on), but I often get distracted by watching people who seem totally confused about which PC to buy. More often than not, I see them peruse the notebooks and desktops on display and struggle to figure out the difference between, let’s say, a netbook and a full-size notebook. And when they approach a Blue Shirt, the answers I have heard can be quite comical. No kidding, it’s the size of the netbook that makes it different!?
Apple patent applications either meet with resounding “I want that, give that to me now!” or “meh, why?” and it seems the reception to these iPod Bluetooth Headset illustrations is leaning toward the latter. The patent application shows a device similar in shape to the existing Apple Bluetooth headset, but that would have a detachable second earbud, an integrated display and onboard storage.
That storage would turn the headset into a full-blown iPod, similar to the shuffle. You would also be able to record voice notes, since it would have an integrated microphone, and of course it could be used for hands-free calling in the regular way. Apple’s application also describe a form of basic automatic volume adjustment that would change earpiece volume depending on the ambient noise picked up by the microphone.
As predicted earlier today, Apple have pushed out their latest firmware for the Apple TV. Version 3.0 brings with it a newly redesigned GUI, along with compatibility with iTunes Extras and iTunes LP as introduced in iTunes 9. There’s also support for Genius Mixes and internet radio playback, and the whole set-top box experience is apparently smoother and quicker.
An upcoming update to the Apple TV has been tipped by a change in Terms & Conditions for the iTunes Store. The new agreement – which is shown as of today – lists that “you can now use iTunes LPs and iTunes extras on Apple TV with software version 3.0 or higher”; however Apple are yet to release version 3.0 for their set-top box.
TomTom have confirmed that their Car Kit – the optional accessory to accompany the TomTom iPhone app – will only fully work with the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, thanks to a limitation in the TomTom application. The app’s limitation means that owners of the first-gen iPhone, together with iPod touch users, won’t be able to take advantage of the Car Kit’s integrated GPS receiver and speakerphone.
Rumors are circulating that Apple has rejected Intel’s Moorestown chips as unsuitable for their mobile device range, after Cupertino engineers decided that the Intel CPUs demanded far too much power. According to Fudzilla, Apple have informed Intel that Moorestown needs to have one-tenth the idle power consumption it manages currently before it’ll be suitable for any of Apple’s devices.
Continued »
Apple have released Magic Mouse drivers for Mac OS X 10.5.8, which will allow those still running OS X Leopard to use the multitouch functionality of the new peripheral. The update is accompanied by the 10.6.1 Snow Leopard driver; however, the imminent OS X 10.6.2 release is expected to add native support for Magic Mouse to the Mac platform, which would mean that users could simply pair their mouse and begin using its multitouch capabilities.
Chrome OS: Waiting Is The Hardest Part…Though Necessary
Apple is no longer the Nordstrom of Tech, they’re the “New Nordstrom”
Can Anything Replace Windows XP As the Best Netbook Operating System?
Hey, Premium Notebooks or Netbooks, Get the Basics Right!
SlashGear Japan
