iTunes 10 revealed with TV show rentals, social networking

By Terence Huynh on September 2nd, 2010 No Comments

Apple Logo GenericiTunes 10 has also been unveiled at this year’s September event, and with this comes a brand new social network that competes with Last.FM. Called Ping, it lets users post thoughts and opinions at what songs they listened to, plus view concert listings and tell the world which ones are you attending.

Okay, it is essentially Last.FM.

The other big news of the announcement was that iTunes will now be getting TV show rentals on iTunes, with the rumoured ABC/Disney family and Fox signing up, but also BBC America.

Episodes are 99c to stream and you will be able to watch it the day after broadcast and on an iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC or on the Apple TV. You have 30 days to start watching it, but you will have 48 hours to finish it after opening it.

Apple TV gets another revamp – now $99 and smaller

By Terence Huynh on September 2nd, 2010 No Comments

Apple has not only updated its iPod linuep, but everything digital media with an update to its Apple TV, which is now made 80 percent smaller and looks like a Mac Mini, and at a smaller price tag of USD$99. It now allows you to access the iTunes store, allowing you to rent TV shows and movies. It has also partnered with Netflix in offering its streaming services to the device, which is a plus.

HDMI, Wi-Fi and Ethernet are included, plus an internal power supply. The remote also is made a bit easier with a new design, with the next and previous buttons now located at the bottom and the play/pause being now the enter button – but essentially will do the same thing.

Apple are taking pre-orders, but it will be out later this month.

iPod touch gets promised revamp – includes Facetime, Retina Screen

By Terence Huynh on September 2nd, 2010 No Comments

It’s brand new. The fourth-generation iPod touch is here, and yes it looks like the iPhone – and it is pretty much the iPhone without the phone. With the new Retina display, two cameras for FaceTime, HD video recording via a 5 megapixel camera and the A4 chip, you can get this instead of the iPhone – again, if you don’t want the phone bit.

Oh, and it’s bloody thin. Very, very thin.

Of course, this includes the new iOS 4.1, allowing the device to use FaceTime, multitasking (something missed when users of the second-generation got their iOS 4 upgrade) and the brand new Games Center, which Apple has been pushing for since this year.

It comes out next week around the world at a price tag of AU$289 for the 8GB, AU$378 for the 32GB and AU$499 with the 64GB.

New iPod nano is touch-y

By Chris Southcott on September 2nd, 2010 No Comments

Apple just showed off the new 6th gen iPod nano which is finally living up to it’s name. It’s now touch controlled, has no click wheel and is 46% smaller than the old model. There’s a clip on the back, so it’s similar to a shuffle, and it has a volume button (thank goodness). It will go for 24 hours of music and comes in 7 colours. Also it starts at $199 for the 8GB and $229 for the 16GB. As with the shuffle, it ships next week and pre-orders are now available.

P.S The camera is gone. Shock horror!

Apple announces new iPod shuffle

By Chris Southcott on September 2nd, 2010 No Comments

Yes, it’s that time of the year again. Apple has just announced some brand new iPod’s and our first serving is the iPod shuffle. The new shuffle brings back the buttons removed in the current model, has a 15 hour battery, comes in 5 colours and is $69AUD. You can preorder it today or when it ships next week.

ABC, Fox agree to iTunes 99c rentals for shows

By Terence Huynh on September 1st, 2010 No Comments

Apple Logo GenericRUMOUR MILL: Just hours before the September Apple event tomorrow, there are reports that US Television networks ABC and Fox are reported to have agreed on a deal with Apple on allowing 99-cent rentals of its television shows through the iTunes store.

According to The Wall Street Journal, quoting those familiar with the matter, the deal will allow users to watch the show on the variety of Apple products and on iTunes and watch the show just once before it is deleted.

ABC’s involvement has been widely expected, due to Apple’s Steve Jobs is the largest shareholder of its parent company Disney after its acquisition of Pixar. Fox’s involvement, however, will see some limitations, including only rentals on shows it airs and produces, and a limited number of episodes.

The deal will not affect any cable channels, or shows like American Idol because digital rights are not handled by Fox.

Apple to live stream September event – for Macs

By Terence Huynh on September 1st, 2010 No Comments

Well, after learning from their previous mistakes when trying to demo the iPhone 4 but were not able to because of the numerous wireless connections trying to live blog the god damn event, Apple has decided to live stream their event on its website.

Only one problem. You need to be using an Apple product to watch the event, limiting access to those who use Snow Leopard with Safari, or using an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.

Yes, I know. WTF!?

The event starts at 10am Los Angeles Time tomorrow – that’s 3am here in Melbourne. Full press release is below.

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Apple admits proximity sensor still not fixed

By Terence Huynh on August 30th, 2010 No Comments

Yes, we know that most of the Apple news that we have posted in the past month have been negative about Apple – mainly because the pro-Apple fanboy James is busy with study – but Apple has made a rare acknowledgement that the proximity sensor has not been fixed yet, despite an update coming soon.

An upcoming update, version 4.1 of the iOS mobile operating system, appears not to have a fix; and it was confirmed by Fiona Martin from Apple Australia, after being questioned by Fairfax’s Ben Grubb.

This goes against what Steve Jobs said at the press conference about the signal issues, saying that he will release it when they release it with the next major iOS4 upgrade.

The proximity sensor determines how close your face is to the iPhone, meaning that your face does not hang up the call, or do any other things during the call. However, users have reported problems with the sensor as many found that they could end the call by simply using their cheek when it is pressed on the screen.

Dev Team: iOS 4.0.2 jailbreak not in the works

By Terence Huynh on August 26th, 2010 1 Comment

After the iOS 4.0.2 firmware update – the very same one that patched an exploit that allowed people to jailbreak their iOS device via a PDF – you may have wondered why your jailbroken iPhone no longer was jailbroken. Well we have some news to tell you about it – some very, very bad news.

The iPhone Dev Team have announced that they will not release an update that would the jailbreak to work on those who have updated to the new firmware, but will be working on a jailbreak for the iOS 4.1.

“If the cat & mouse game escalates too quickly, especially during beta FW periods, nobody but Apple benefits. For this reason, there won’t be a 4.0.2/3.2.2 jailbreak specifically during the period where 4.0.2/3.2.2 is the latest public release,” the team wrote on the blog.

“At best, some future 4.1x FW jailbreak *may* be compatible with 4.0.2/3.2.2 (but don’t count on that).”

Those who are running the iPhone 3G or iPod Touch 2nd gen will still be able to jailbreak your device via redsn0w.

Apple ‘Special Event’ to be held September 1

By Chris Southcott on August 26th, 2010 No Comments

As if nobody saw this one coming, Apple are officially holding a special event September 1 (US Time) presumably to announce a new iPod’s and Apple TV’s.

It’s on at September 2 at 3AM AEST which is unfortunate for us Aussies. Still, Stay Tuned! We may have a live blog.

iPhone 4 camera mystery tint causes problems

By Terence Huynh on August 23rd, 2010 1 Comment

Antennagate has been a huge problem in the United States, but now another controversy? A new defect has been reported by many users, and this time with the phone’s camera as many photos are being obscured by a mysterious bluish-green tinge on the image.

The problem can be seen on the right.

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App Store currently being looked at by Australian Ratings Board

By Chris Southcott on August 20th, 2010 1 Comment

Mobile Gaming has changed alot over time. What used to be quick time wasters can now be full-blown games that spice up your wait at the Bus Stop. But what the Australian Government may be considering would be a big slap in the face to all developers of mobile entertainment.

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10.6.4 Graphics Driver update available

By James Wilson on August 18th, 2010 No Comments

Apple today released a software update regarding the recently publicized driver issues that arrived in Mac OS X 10.6.4, namely from users of the immensely popular Steam-delivered Portal and Team Fortress 2 games. Full text of the update below:

- Addresses frame rate issues occurring in Portal and Team Fortress 2 by Valve, on iMac (Late 2009 and Mid 2010), Mac mini (Early 2009 and Mid 2010), Mac Pro (Early 2009), MacBook (Early 2009 and Mid 2010) and MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010) or MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010) models.
- Resolves an issue that could cause Aperture 3, or StarCraft II by Blizzard, to unexpectedly quit or become unresponsive.
- Resolves an image corruption issue that may occur when disconnecting and reconnecting external displays while the system is running.

This update requires a restart once downloaded. So click the Golden Apple Menu and download the latest code to make pwning n00bs more epicz.

7 inch iPad on the way?

By Tom Solari on August 17th, 2010 1 Comment

RUMOUR MILL: We have been hearing rumors that there might be some sort of a smaller iPad on the way but now these rumours are starting to seem more true. A DigiTimes article says that this smaller iPad is due to be realised around the end of the year and is set to feature a 1024×768 pixel 7″ IPS display, be powered by a Cortex A9 processor paired with 512 MB of RAM.

I am wondering, if this is actually true, whether this turn into the iPad 2nd Gen because of the original iPad’s complaints about usability or whether this will turn into some sort of iPad Nano.

iPhone 4 to land in China in September

By Terence Huynh on August 17th, 2010 1 Comment

While the iPhone 4 success is no doubt huge – despite the several reported problems like Antennagate and the proximity sensor – China looks to be the next market for Apple’s iPhone 4 world domination with state-run telecommunications company China Unicom announcing it will sell the device next month, according to state-run media.

China Unicom has not confirmed any deals with Apple, but the company has an exclusivity agreement with Cupertino, as it started offering the iPhone 3G sans wireless features. It recently launched the iPhone 3GS, and this one was allowed to have its wireless features in tact.

Also, the telco is rumoured to be distributing the iPad into the country, according to the Caixin media group – citing an unidentified source within. However, no timetable has been set for the iPad launch.

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