Technology Wrap

How to Increase Productivity on a Mac

2007-02-03T21:58:00.000-05:00

I'm a huge fan of Mac OS X and one of the best things about it is that you can boost your productivity three times over. There are some great tips and tricks that you can use on the mac to boost your productivity as shown by this video. Most importantly, I think this should video should be seen by Windows users as well because you can see some amazing stuff that you can't do on Windows. I'm not trying to switch anyone; I'm just trying to provide you with the facts.

LaLa.com: Legally Trade Your CD's for $1

2006-08-27T20:51:00.000-04:00

Its been awhile since the website lala.com started their great business idea. However, many people have yet to here about LaLa. The website offers a cd trading service which reminds me a little bit of Netflix mixed with ebay. A LaLa user starts by adding their cds to their "Have List". Then the user picks cds he or she wants from a huge database. LaLa.com then sends you some shipping materials to ship your cds in. If one of your cd's is on someone's want list, you may ship that cd to them for only .75 cents shipping. Lala.com then credits your account for 1 cd, meaning you can select a cd from your want list to be shipped to you for only a $1 fee.

Buy NewsFire (or Blog), Get Inquisitor Free

2006-08-20T00:10:00.000-04:00

If you buy NewsFire today or tomorrow then you will get a free license to Inquisitor. Both are Mac products and I have heard of both but never gave them a second glance until now. Basically, it is a buy and get a goody free deal.

However, if you own a blog and publish about this deal then you can get Inquisitor for free (yea, yea). Check it out here.

Sorry, I'm Late

2006-08-18T20:08:00.000-04:00

I would like to apologize for not producing any content for the last 3 weeks. I was on vacation for about a week and honestly I got lazy and stopped making content. I realized that eventually I'm going to burn out because this isn't my job and really the only reason I do this is because I want to be a blogger and make some use of the all the time I spend on the web. Also, I want to get into CSS, HTML, and Java a lot more then I know and I realized I haven't been doing all that great a job at it.

So on behalf of myself I just would like to say sorry I'm late in coming back to the TechWrap and I'm going to produce some more content.

However, I began to produce too much content that I ended up getting sick of what I was doing. So basically, I won't be producing as much content but it will still be here. Hopefully, there will be some new changes in the TechWrap's future and it should be for the better.

Google Talk Version 1.0.0.95

2006-07-29T16:53:00.000-04:00

A new testing version of Google Talk is now available version 1.0.0.95

New in this release:

File Transfer
Music Status
Voice Mail

Way to go Google!

You can read all about the new stuff here. Download link is in the title as usual.

Rumored Mac Pro Specs and Design

2006-07-14T16:09:00.000-04:00

Here are rumored pics and specs for the Mac Pro. The Mac Pro is the name for the Intel replacement of the PowerMac. Click the images for a better view.

The Office Webisodes are now up

2006-07-13T14:15:00.000-04:00

The Office Webisodes are now up. They are short clips that I'm guessing will eventually add up to a full episode (or more).

Check them out here.

Nike+iPod Sport Kit to come this week

2006-07-12T20:08:00.000-04:00

AppleInsider is reporting the Nike+iPod Sport Kit will come this week and hit Apple retail stores tomorrow. The $30 kit will support the iPod Nano but not the iPod with video.

X360/PS3/Wiii Call of Duty 3 Screenshot Comparison

2006-07-12T00:22:00.000-04:00

These pics are via IGN. The seperate screenshots go in this order: PS3, Wii, and 360. I didn't do any photoshop and make an actual side-by-side comparison because I suck with photoshop but I used Mac OS X's Expose to do the best I could. The top left is the Wii, bottom left is the PS3, and top right is the 360. Click the photos to enlarge.

Nintendo Wii controller system with Madden '07

2006-07-09T19:07:00.000-04:00

Check out these screenshots that show the Wii controller in use with Madden NFL 2007. I can't wait 'till the Wii comes out.

Funny Apple Mac Ad Parody by Best Week Ever

2006-07-07T23:01:00.000-04:00

The guys at VH1's Best Week Ever have made a hilarious parody of the Get a Mac ads by Apple. Caution: These ads are extremely funny and be ready to l.o.l.

Apple working with Sony on PS3?

2006-07-07T12:51:00.000-04:00

On the PS3 official website the Apple logo flashes for a brief second at the very beginning. Is Apple working with Sony on the PS3? Check out these flickr photos if you miss it.

The Office Webisodes coming in a Week

2006-07-06T22:00:00.000-04:00

Back in May I first reported on the release date of The Office Webisodes coming on July 13th. Well, I just wanted to post this quick reminder saying that in a week the webisodes will be here and you can get your Office fix. Be sure to get your monitors tuned to NBC.com on Thursday July 13th.

Call of Duty 3 Gameplay Footage

2006-07-05T11:52:00.000-04:00

The highly anticipated Call of Duty 3 game now has some recent gameplay footage on the web. If you are even remotely interested in video games then you have got to check this out.

Apple comes out with $899 educational iMac

2006-07-05T11:22:00.000-04:00

The Education market now has an Apple offering in the form of a cheaper iMac. It makes sense with the iMac's award-winning design and all they had to do was downgrade some specs. The downgrade includes only a 80GB hard drive...etc. Yada yada yada. Here is a picture that shows a side-by-side comparison of the educational iMac and the regular lower model. If you would like to buy one then you need to access the education part of the Apple website.

Nintendo Wii Launch Date in Print?

2006-07-02T18:42:00.000-04:00

The Nintendo Wii launch date is rumored to be November 6th based on a recent Sports Illustrated for Kids that names the launch date.

Yahoo Messenger chats with MSN messenger

2006-07-02T12:09:00.000-04:00

With the recent Yahoo Messenger Mac Beta you can now chat with MSN messenger folks. Microsoft and Yahoo announced a deal that could help them defeat AIM by allowing chatting between Yahoo Messenger and MSN Messenger. I'm not sure if this will work but it seems like a good step and I sure would love to see interoperability between all the IM services. Here is a screenshot showing the chatting taking place. Click the pic for a better look.

The Nintendo Wii Power Supply - It's Big

2006-07-01T23:59:00.000-04:00

Ever since the Xbox 360 power supply came bricking along everyone cares about power supplies nowadays. Here is a picture of the Nintendo Wii's power supply (the gray thing to the right).

New Site: VideoWrap launches

2006-06-30T20:15:00.000-04:00

The TechWrap now has a sibling! I've launched a new site called "VideoWrap" and here is a brief description via the site:

"Your destination to see all the best YouTube, Google Video, and Yahoo Videos on the web. Stay tuned for all the best from funny to stupid to dramatic to spontaneous. Keep your channel tuned to the VideoWrap!"

The only way most people ever view YouTube or Google Video videos are through links from a friend or site. Most people never search and scour the web for videos and because of that I decided that the VideoWrap could make sure you never have to but still get that video fix you always wanted. I just started posting today and have found 8 great videos already.

The YouTubes and Google Videos of the world wide web are dominating the bandwith waves and the VideoWrap is a great way to get a piece of the action and view a ton of videos. Watch

double the videos you usually do in half the time. Check it out here.

Apple DVR: Apple's Next Big Thing?

2006-06-30T17:19:00.000-04:00

InformationWeek has posted an article that speculates and cites speculation about an Apple DVR possibly called "AppleVision." I will not post any details about the article mainly because I don't wish to write about a rumor and something that might not exist. I have written on rumors in the past but only ones that really excite me. Check out the article here.

Nike + iPod Sport Kit won't support the iPod

2006-06-29T18:16:00.000-04:00

The Nike + iPod Sport Kit is not going to support the iPod itself. The Nike + iPod Sport Kit will only support the iPod nano. It's true. For all the countless regular iPod owners you won't be able to use the Sport Kit in all its goodness (well we'll see).

Here is my proof. First, if you go to the Nike + iPod Sport Kit website you can see that nowhere is there a mention of an iPod as a requirement. Only the iPod Nano. Also, today there was a new iPod Updater released (get it here). In the release notes there is a specific mention of only the iPod Nano getting "Nike + iPod support." All the iPod got were some bug fixes.

As more proof, I talked to 2 seperate Apple representatives at two separate Apple stores and they specifically told me that only the iPod Nano will be supported (sorry Shuffle). It seems that Apple has made it pretty clear to their retail employees that the Nike + iPod Sport Kit will only support the Nano. I asked one of the guys I talked to what the reason was. He told me that since the Nano is smaller, and Flash based so it is more ideally suited for running. The iPod is a hard-drive based player which (the Apple employee says) causes skipping and because of its size it wouldn't be suited for running. Personally, I have never experienced any skipping with my old 4th generation iPod (hard drive based) when running so I really don't see the logic behind Apple's thinking. Also, the new 5th generation iPod is pretty thin and even though it isn't as small as the Nano I still think it is a good small size.

So what am I (consumer) supposed to do? I've got the regular iPod and just bought the Sport Kit.

Well, you've really got three options. First, you can probably return it at the Apple Store; also since no one has gotten their kit yet (including you) you can probably cancel your online order.

Second, you can just receive your product and keep it hoping that someone creates a fix or Apple mends its ways and give you support for the kit. It can be determined that support for the kit is derived from the iPod updater because the Nano just had to receive an update which means that this is a software issue and nothing hardware. That means that someone could hack the software and give support for iPods. Also, most likely the guys that developed iPod Linux will hopefully develop support for the kit in an updated iPod Linux version.

Third, as soon as you get your kit you hoot and holler to Apple that there isn't support for the regular iPod and that you demand. Hopefully, everyone starts to go up-and-arms over this in the blogosphere and Apple listens. So for anyone reading this and has an iPod please call up Apple and request support for your iPod. Either now or when the Sport Kit first hits homes.

Office 2007 delayed (again)

2006-06-29T17:52:00.000-04:00

Microsoft, company that loves to delay products, has announced plans to delay its upcoming Office 2007 to "early 2007."

A Microsoft spokesman said, "Based on internal testing and the beta 2 feedback around product performance, we are revising our development schedule to deliver the 2007 system release by the end of year 2006, with broad general availability in early 2007."

This could mean that Windows Vista, the upcoming OS from Microsoft, and Office 2007 will be released at the same time. Office 2007 boasts a new interface and a complete redesigned file format.

Microsoft has been known for its delays in its long history. If I'm not mistaken Vista has been delayed about 2 years and I can't imagine what the numbers are for Office 2007.

You can get the beta for Office 2007 here. Or you can test drive Office 2007 online via your web browser here. If you just can't take all these delays by Microsoft then you can try OpenOffice.org. Actually, they just released a new version, 2.0.3.

Internet Explorer 7 Beta 3 released to public

2006-06-29T16:55:00.000-04:00

Microsoft has released IE 7 Beta 3 to the general public. Here is an overview of what IE 7 does:

Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) Beta 3 has been designed to make everyday tasks easier, provide dynamic security protection and improve the development platform and manageability. End user improvements include a streamlined interface, tabbed browsing, printing advances, improved search functionality, instant feeds (RSS), dynamic security protection, and more.

Now that you've got the sales pitch I suggest that you do not download it because Internet Explorer has long been a pain, nusance, and a disaster. Instead I recommend Firefox.

System Requirements for IE 7:
Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)
233 Mhz processor or higher
64MB ram

Get it here (download at your own risk).

Sony PSP Digital Camera Details/Review

2006-06-29T16:34:00.000-04:00

Sony PSP Digital Camera Details are here and are very disappointing. First, the digital camera looks like this:

The camera attaches to the mini USB port on the top of the PSP and creates a 360 X 504 pixels picture. It will arrive in Japan in the Fall of this year. The most disappointing part of the camera is a lacking 1.3 megapixel resolution that you can now get on many cell phones. Does Sony actually expect people to buy this product? Plus, why would you when you can just use your cell phone to take the same photo?

I'm not going to be taking my PSP everywhere to take photos at a poor resolution when I could just take my digital camera. However, if Sony had given it 3 or 4 megapixels at a decent price (price isn't yet known on this 1.3 Mp camera) then I could see myself going to a wedding or family event and snap some photos with my PSP.

Sony just doesn't get it. If there was a good resolution and under $50 I could really spend $300 ($250 on the PSP and $50 on the camera) and get not only the camera value but also a gaming system, music player, video player, and photo viewer all in one package. Then that would seem like a sweet deal.

However, Sony has decided to provide a crap product that almost no one will buy and will give no value.

OpenOffice.org goes 2.0.3

2006-06-29T16:17:00.000-04:00

Here are the list of enhancements by OpenOffice.org:

performance improvements: for example, a 23 percent improvement in certain Calc benchmarks
further improvements to file format compatibility with Microsoft Office files
new email integration features for users wanting to send emails in Microsoft file formats
more control over how exported PDF documents will display when opened in a PDF reader
support for more languages and improvements in hyphenation and thesaurus
support for Intel architecture for Mac OS X plus improved Mac OS X System integration
built-in check for updated versions

OpenOffice.org is an open source publishing platform that many use instead of Microsoft's Office suite. This version is now a Universal Binary and of course the aforementioned improvements. OpenOffice.org is available for Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD and is open-source. Get it here for free.

iTunes 6.0.5 released

2006-06-29T15:40:00.000-04:00

Apple has updated the popular iTunes software and comes with a couple of new features mostly tied to the iTunes Music Store.

A list of the enhancement in the update via Mac OS X's Software Update:

"With iTunes 6, you can now preview, buy, and download music videos, short films, and hit TV programs on the iTunes Music Store and sync your music and purchased videos with iPod to enjoy on the go.

iTunes 6.0.5 allows you to sync your Nike + iPod workout data to nikeplus.com, where you can easily track your progress, set training goals, challenge others, and much more. Visit the Nike Sport Music area on the iTunes Music Store to download workout mixes, Athlete Inspiration playlists, Nike podcasts, and more."

According to the shoe-maker, the Nike section of the iTunes Music Store will be coming July 14th. Also, not mentioned in my Software Update but I noticed on the download page for iTunes here that it says this:

Sync Home Movies
Create iPod-compatible versions of your own movies using iTunes.

All you have to do is select the video that you have and right-click and hit the option "convert selection for iPod" and then you should be set. I've only been able to play with this for a few minutes so please don't quote me if I'm wrong here but the only videos you can convert are the ones that you can actually place in your iTunes library which means no AVI, DivX, RMVB etc files can be converted through iTunes.

Also, there is an AirTunes Enhancement:

Simultaneously stream the same song wirelessly to up to three home stereos or powered speakers — using AirPort Express with AirTunes.

Skype for Mac w/ Video, DO NOT DOWNLOAD

2006-06-29T10:58:00.000-04:00

A Skype for Mac w/ Video post that I reported earlier this morning is an unstable build and may delete your contacts and other data. DO NOT DOWNLOAD it. I apologize and only a minute ago was recently made aware of the problem. A Skype developer let it be known that it was a previous unstable build and SHOULD NOT be downloaded.

I apologize for posting about it before but I was not aware of the problem until a minute ago. If you have downloaded it then just uninstall it and install the latest Mac version from Skype.com. I uninstalled the unstable build on my MacBook Pro and installed the official Skype for Mac and everything was a-ok.

Google Checkout unveiled

2006-06-29T10:46:00.000-04:00

Google Checkout has now been released here. To tell you a little about the service Google has released a video describing Google Checkout.

Also, here is a Google Checkout video designed for merchants/sellers.

NBC and YouTube - Deal or No Deal?

2006-06-27T14:48:00.000-04:00

Deal. NBC previously served YouTube with orders to take down the now famous 'Lazy Sunday' clip and other SNL footage. It seems now according to Clickz.com NBC has decided to take advantage of YouTube's immense popularity.

NBC has reached an agreement with YouTube that says that YouTube will promote NBC's fall lineup and other shows for one year on its site. YouTube will have an official NBC "Channel" that will have exclusive clips to promote shows such as The Office, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and others.

Also, a contest will be held for the best 20-second user created promos for the hit show "The Office." The contest will run through July 21 and the top promos will be featured on-air and on The Office's official website.

YouTube's co-founder and CEO Chad Hurly stated, "We are delighted to work with NBC on an official basis. Bringing more enertaining and exlusive content to YouTube helps further our goal of providing the best video entertainment experience on the Internet."

NBC has taken a step in the right direction and realized the benefits of YouTube and is trying to capitalize on its market. I wish other major networks follow the same road as NBC because they are taking a turn in the right direction. After the Lazy Sunday fiasco many in the blogosphere denounced NBC and proclaimed them evil. Now, I think NBC will be seen in a different light.

Video: Banned Xbox 360 Ad (Best Ad Ever)

2006-06-26T23:26:00.000-04:00

Here is a Xbox 360 ad that wasn't allowed to be on television. A great concept and I understand why Microsoft won an award for the best ad gimmick (Jump in).

New Flip4Mac Universal Binary Beta

2006-06-26T21:45:00.000-04:00

Flip4Mac, the plugin that allows you to play .wmv files in Quicktime, has now updated its universal binary beta. Previously, there was a closed beta and now this one is open for 24 hours. I don't know when this started but I'm guessing sometime today so jump on this as soon as possible.

All Intel Mac owners should download this ASAP. Get it here.

WarnerBros offers iTunes-movie competitor

2006-06-26T18:42:00.000-04:00

WarnerBros in partnership with GUBA.com have released an online Video On Demand (VOD) service. Movies and TV Shows are available. TV shows are available for $1.79 an episode but let's face it that isn't the news you really care about. Here's what you do care about: WB movies are now available for $9.99 but $19.99 for new releases. Also, there is a 24-hour rental that you may purchase for $1.99. Downloads can run up to 1.3 MB/sec.

Also, the DRM allows a single DVD burn backup copy and is playable on up to 2 computers and 1 portable device. As far as I have been able to determine the content is in a Windows Media format which basically guarantees no support on a video iPod.

WB previously announced a BitTorrent model and this is not it. I have no clue when that will be released but hopefully soon.

WB has beaten Apple to the starting line but with the lack of iPod support I just can't say that it will be a success.

BestBuy: Halo 3 coming 11/16/06

2006-06-25T23:43:00.000-04:00

According to BestBuy.com, Halo 3 is set to release on November 16, 2006. Conveniently, that date is one day before Sony's PS3 is set to release. Microsoft and Bill has made it clear that Halo 3 and the PS3 will be released on the same day. This date is just barely off so I'm not going to call the police.

This date, via BestBuy, sounds accurate although it has not been confirmed. If the date is accurate then gamers will be on a rampage getting to their nearest gaming store. Also, this date is about a week before Black Friday, the biggest shopping day in the US, and just before Christmas.

Funny Vid: Nintendo Wii vs. Sony PS3

2006-06-25T19:55:00.000-04:00

I think this video basically sums up why the Nintendo Wii is going to kick some serious tail.

Funny Vid: Apple bloopers @ Macworld

2006-06-25T19:05:00.000-04:00

I found this video on YouTube and thought it was pretty funny:

Mac vs. PC Ad Spoof

2006-06-24T00:49:00.000-04:00

I completely disagree with this spoof but hey it's in the name of fun (i think). Click the pic for a better view.

Super Mario Galaxy to have 2-player Co-Op

2006-06-22T19:50:00.000-04:00

Super Mario Galaxy will have Two-player Co-op for the first time in its history. Super Mario Galaxy, for those of you that don't know, will be the next installment in the Mario series for the Nintendo Wii.

"Nintendo has confirmed this in the past few days, though has not outlined exactly what lies in store. However, what we do know is that one player will use a standard WiiMote, the other a WiiMote and Nunchuck and both will play at the same time."

I can't wait to get my hands on Super Mario Galaxy. Wiiiiiii!

6 Wii Launch Games Announced

2006-06-22T19:30:00.000-04:00

In the upcoming addition of Nintendo Power, 6 new launch titles for the Nintendo Wii will be unveiled. Here is the list:

Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Rayman Raving Rabbits
Red Steel
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz

Now I'm guessing you are wondering if these will be the only launch titles available. The answer is yes unless Nintendo decides to throw a curveball and releases more games than expected. It is important to note that Super Mario Galaxy did not make the cut.

MacBook Pro battery swelling and dying

2006-06-22T17:19:00.000-04:00

Apparently due to overheating sometimes a notebook battery swells up causing loss of keyboard functionality and even the notebook itself. Well it seems that this fate has dawned upon earlier MacBook Pros. Check out the damage:

It seems that Apple is only addressing this issue on a case-by-case basis. I haven't heard anything as to whether this affects the newer MacBooks. Also, no news yet as to whether it affects a certain range of serial numbers but since I myself have a MacBook Pro I'll be sure to update here whenever any new news pops up.

Bill Gates watches Pirated Content

2006-06-21T20:14:00.000-04:00

Bill Gates, in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, admitted to watching pirated content on YouTube. Here is how it went down:

WSJ: You watch physics lectures and Harlem Globetrotters [on YouTube]?

Gates: This social-networking thing takes you to crazy places.

WSJ: But those were stolen, correct?

Gates: Stolen's a strong word. It's copyrighted content that the owner wasn't paid for. So yes.

So the world's richest man in the world and CEO of a company that has software which is pirated constantly pirates physics lectures and the Harlem Globetrotters. Absolutely hysterical.

TiVo Desktop Update 2.3 brings iPod support

2006-06-21T18:50:00.000-04:00

TiVo has now released a new Desktop Update version 2.3. Version 2.3 now costs $25 and will allow you to convert files to MPEG-4 or H.264. Basically, the new update adds support for your iPod, PSP, Treo, Nokia phone, and any other device that has support for MPEG-4 or H.264 files.

The other addition that the update provides automatic transfers of recordings to your PC overnight.

Go here for the update.

If I'm not mistaken this update has no support for Macs and only Windows 2000/XP.

Netflix to offer Downloadable Movies

2006-06-20T18:07:00.000-04:00

Netflix VP Eric Besner has announced that Netflix will soon offer a set-top box that will allow you to download movies.

For example, I want to get the newest rental available and instead of adding it to my online Netflix queue I would just add it to my TV queue and it would download overnight so I could watch it the next day. The set-top box will be connected to the internet and to your TV and will allow you to watch movies on your TV.

The business model has not been worked out which means that pricing, hard drives, how long you keep the movies, etc are unknown.

VP Besner said this is just one of Netflix's internet plans.

Command & Conquer 3 to come to Xbox 360

2006-06-20T15:33:00.000-04:00

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars will be coming to the Xbox 360. EA’s Vice President of Creative Development Louis Castle said in an interview with Gaming Steve that an Xbox 360 version of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars is currently being developed. His exact words were "They're definitely gonna release it for the 360, you heard it here."

Currently there isn't a single Real Time Strategy (RTS) game available for the 360 even though that will change with Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II. LoTR: BfMEII "boasts a new and intuitive console-specific control scheme that will allow novice players to enjoy the game's signature strategy gameplay while giving expert players the flexibility needed to engage in a deeply complex strategy experience. Players will directly control hundreds of units in an attempt to defeat enemy armies, conquer new lands, and seal the fate of Middle-earth."

The same team that developed the Battle for Middle Earth console-specific control scheme is developing the Command & Conquer 3 game for the Xbox 360. Command & Conquer was previously available for the N64, PS1, and Sega Saturn and wasn't that great of a game because it did not allow the fast micro-management that is used for RTS games.

Opera 9 released

2006-06-20T13:23:00.000-04:00

Opera 9 has been officially released with a load of new features. Opera is a good browser that I detailed for a full week in a segment called A Week at the Opera. There I outlined what was good and bad about the Opera browser.

Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI
Part VII

Here are the new features in Opera 9:

BitTorrent

You don't need a separate BitTorrent application to download large files. Simply click a torrent link and start the download.

Content blocker

Remove ads or images - it's up to you. Right-click (CTRL-click on the Mac) on the Web page and choose "Block content".

Add your favorite search engines

Right-click on the site's search field and select "Create search" from the menu.

Thumbnail preview

It is easy to have many tabs open at once in Opera. But exactly which tab had that video you wanted? Hover your mouse on any tab to see a thumbnail preview.

Site preferences

Want to view a site in a different way or deny certain cookies? Want to block pop-ups on certain sites only? Right click and select "Edit site preferences".

Widgets

Small Web applications (multimedia, newsfeeds, games and more) that make your desktop experience more fun. Use the Widgets menu to discover new widgets and access your favorites. Visit widgets.opera.com to learn more.

Improved rich text editing

Use advanced text editing features for today's most popular Web applications.

TechWrap is back from a Short Break

2006-06-19T22:41:00.000-04:00

Hello all. I just would like to say that I am back from my vacation and appreciate everyone that bore with us through our lack of articles. I tried accessing a computer but all I had time for was email.

A lot of things have happened and I've missed out but tomorrow's a new day so I'm not going to go back and write stories on old news.

iTunes Movie Store coming soon?

2006-06-19T22:28:00.000-04:00

MacRumors is reporting some rumblings about an iTunes Movie Store. Here is what they said:

"Variety has posted an update on negotiations between Hollywood execs and Apple on the rumored iTunes Movie Store. According to the report, negotiations are still ongoing with Hollywood execs, who don't know whether to regard Jobs as a friend or foe.

"He came in with a lot of bravado and said, 'We set our mind to what we were going to do in the music business and revolutionized it, and now we want to do the same thing with film," recalls one studio person close to the talks for movie downloads.

Movie execs anxious to beat piracy are debating how much power to give Jobs, who recently was successful in strong-arming music executives into sticking to a flat $.99 (USD) pricing model per song. Movie execs are hoping to have a tiered model, whereas Jobs is insisting that movies be sold at an easy-to-remember $9.99 (USD).

On March 14th, Apple made its first full-lenth TV movie feature available on the iTunes Music Store at $9.99 USD. The movie seemed to indicate that much of the technical groundwork had been laid for iTunes movies, with only content left to be obtained.

Also complicating the deals: The studios are working out terms with a host of other distributors, including Amazon, Movielink and BitTorrent, in part to make sure that one company does not dominate. It seems that none of the studios wants to be first in making a deal with Apple. Disney would be the logical leader, but even they are cautious, fearing it will look like in-house synergy rather than a business decision.

Movie studios have been rolling out their own movie services in past months, including Starz's Vongo (subscription-based) and Universal's own download-to-own store."

Songbird, the next iTunes?

2006-06-17T01:23:00.000-04:00

Songbird is a Web player built from Firefox's browser engine. Songbird is open source, will run on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux and supports user contributed, cross-platform extensions.

This could reinvent the way iPod owners do music on their computer. With its open source capibilities, users will be able to manage their music the way they want.

Currently Songbird is in beta stage development and needs quite alot of work. When I installed and tested it, I noticed that almost 80mb of ram were being consumed. And I was only listening to one mp3! Hopefully, the ram consumption will be reduced before the final release.

http://www.songbirdnest.com/

Flock, the browser, releases Public Beta

2006-06-14T13:06:00.000-04:00

Back in October of '05 I first talked about a developer beta of Flock, a web browser built on Firefox. Well now Flock has released an official beta (version 0.7). I'm using it right now and it looks very good. Flock supports Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux and is free for download (of course). The look and feel is better (in my opinion) than Firefox and I was able to import bookmarks, RSS feeds, and everything else in less than a second.

The default search engine is Yahoo but you can easily change that. Flock stresses photos with built-in Flickr and Photobucket support. Not only does Flock have Live Bookmarks like Firefox but it also has a Feed reader where you can look at the articles themselves.

Flock also has built-in blogging where you can drag and drop photos. In Flock you can also favorite sites and tag them via del.icio.us. Although it works great and I really like Flock I'm not going to use it. I have a lame reason but it is important to me. The kicker was that with the live bookmarks I couldn't drag and see the RSS feeds. To see the RSS feeds you have to click every single seperate feed. I like to save time and Firefox allows me to do that.

White MacBook Yellow Discoloration FIX [UPDATED]

2006-06-14T00:34:00.000-04:00

Like the TechWrap previously reported, there have been some MacBook discoloration problems on white MacBooks. The colors range from yellow to gray to burnt orange. This is a fairly new problem but gladly someone has found a fix.

That someone was a man by the name of gavers; he used nail polish remover to do the trick. Here is what he said:

"I found that Non-acetone nail polish remover cleans it up nicely. Only problem, my fingers feel like sand paper after using it.

You should use clear, or blue colored Non-acetone nail polish remover. If you use another color it will slightly tint your MacBook that color. Do not use acetone based, or isopropyl alcohol, those may damage the plastic."

Many seem to say that it has worked although it hasn't worked for everyone. ACETONE or isopropyl alcohol based nail polish remover can melt plastic so stay clear of that.

UPDATE: A couple of commenters noted that in the previous paragraph I said non-acetone will melt plastic which contradicts all the previous stuff before it. Thank you to Mark 2000 and Anonymous for pointing that out so I could fix it. The truth is that ACETONE based nail polish remover will melt plastic and not the other way around.

Here are some before and after pics (an old iBook I know but this fix works just fine on Macbooks):

PS3 Controller Spelling Mistake (what is up with Sony?)

2006-06-13T13:50:00.000-04:00

Kotakuite Oly hit Sony's super swish Ginza showroom, which was not only displaying the PlayStation 3 for all to see, but a glaring spelling error. Instead of "Select" the controller says "Serect."

This was at a showroom so I guarantee this won't be on actual PS3 controllers and I'm pretty sure this is the only one of its kind but this is hilarious. Wow, Sony just can't do anything right. The last good thing that I've written about Sony is free online play. Besides that though I really can't think of anything good.

Feedburner adds Dashboard Widget Support?

2006-06-13T11:18:00.000-04:00

For a couple of weeks now the TechWrap has had a Dashboard Widget that I made using Dashcode. That widget is a basic RSS feed that I made using Feedburner. Since that time though I have not been able to see any statistics for how many subscribers there were etc.

This morning I was checking my account when I noticed that the Widget RSS feed I made now has actual stats. When I looked at the RSS reader it said this:

" Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; Intel Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/418 (KHTML, like Gecko)"

I'm 100% positive that this is for widgets and I am happy to see that Feedburner has added widget support. I've never had any problems with Feedburner so I presuming that this is not a fluke but real support for Dashboard.

If you want the TechWrap widget then download it here. If you don't know what RSS is then go here.

Vid: Motorola Q running Pocket NES (Mario)

2006-06-12T23:29:00.000-04:00

This is a video of the Motorola Q running Mario. I thought it was pretty cool and I guess I'm a geek but I would love to get a cell phone that I could play some classic games on.

I Got A Free XBOX 360! 100% FREE

2006-06-12T21:59:00.000-04:00

Yes it is true. I did get a free Xbox 360. The trick is this company called FreePay. All you have to do is a simple offer like Blockbuster Online and then refer some friends to do the same. For the Xbox 360 I had to refer 8 friends and once I did I was able to get a Free Xbox 360 and they shipped it to me free. If you would like an Xbox 360 then go here. Right now I am trying to get a Free iPod Video. Go here if you would like one. I only need one more referral to get a Free iPod Video so I'm pretty excited. Jump on the bus while you can and get your free Video iPod. Also, I'm doing another site for a free MacBook. Check it out here if you want to do it. Here are some proof pics:

Sony to have Free Online Play

2006-06-12T21:57:00.000-04:00

Sony is believed to offer free Online Play for their upcoming PS3 based on Ken Kutaragi. Their online service is rumored to be called HUB. Here are the comments by Kutaragi:

"We don’t charge for the basic functions of the network like matching services. Things like that are taken for granted on a PC, aren’t they? There’s the feeling of why a game console gets to charge for a service that’s normal on a PC. So, we just made the basic services available, and based our business on the contents," he said.

This seems like pretty concrete evidence for free online play on the PS3.

Kutaragi also stated that he wishes to sell "content" online although it is unclear what type of content (though that 60GB HD could hold a lot of "content").

This seems like a logical explanation and makes me wonder why I am paying for my Xbox Live. I wonder what Microsoft will do in response by hope they make Xbox Live free (doubt it). This could be some justification for the high price of the PS3 and some users may just see it this way. We'll just have to see if it'll work.

Apple releases new Get a Mac Ads

2006-06-12T21:41:00.000-04:00

Apple has unveiled three new Get a Mac ads named "Out of the Box", "Touché" and "Work vs. Home." Reports circled around this morning of the new ads when some guys were watching CNN. Now the ads have been officially released on Apple.com and can be watched in HD.

"Out of the Box" showcases the Mac's ability to be used straight out of the box without having to install or rid the computer of software. "Touché" showcases Boot Camp while "Work vs. Home" showcases the great things you can do with a Mac vs making spreadsheets in XP.

White MacBook Discoloration Problems

2006-06-12T21:30:00.000-04:00

It seems that some users in an Apple Discussion thread have reported discolorations on their MacBooks. It seems that the colors range from gray to burnt orange. The discolorations are only on white MacBooks and seem to be pretty bad (just look at the pics below). One guy was able to send his MacBook in for a fix-up but other than that no one has gotten lucky.

Apple seems to have deemed it a cosmetic issue which they generally do not address. If this has happened to you than I suggest you take your MacBook to your nearest Apple Store because you will probably get better service than on the phone. However, if you don't have an Apple Store near you then I suggest getting on the phone and complaining like hell.

Motorola RAZR to get iTunes

2006-06-12T14:42:00.000-04:00

First came the ROKR, then the SLVR, now it's the RAZR's turn. Like the two previous phones the RAZR will get iTunes-compatibility in its next update slated for this month. The RAZR V3i was originally unveiled in November 2005 and was slated for the US shortly thereafter but was delayed.

The iTunes RAZR will have a 100 song limit and will sport a 1.23 megapixel camera and a micro-SD expansion slot. The phone will be a Cingular-exclusive.

CBS shows added to iTunes

2006-06-12T13:09:00.000-04:00

CBS shows have been added to the TV shows section of the iTunes Music Store. The shows include Survivor, NUMB3RS, and the CSI series. Previously, CBS' only offering was the NCAA tournament.

This means that the top 4 networks on TV are now on iTunes (FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS).

On a side note I just would like to address the recent decline in articles on the TechWrap. This is because I have been on vacation and will go back on vacation later this week so please bear with us. Thank you.

ThePirateBay is Back with Search

2006-06-06T19:04:00.000-04:00

ThePirateBay is now officially back with search restored. It looks like no matter what no can bring these guys down.

ThePirateBay is an online torrent search engine where you can download umm...stuff. ThePirateBay is known for spitting in the face of Hollywood and making public insults at the MPAA and RIAA.

Review: Google Spreadsheets

2006-06-06T11:32:00.000-04:00

Like reported yesterday, Google Spreadsheets is now a beta. You can signup for the beta and give it a go. I was fortunate to get an email this morning and gave Google Spreadsheets a go.

First off I noticed that there is rarely any type of lag and seems very good for an online spreadsheets application. You can download your spreadsheets in .xls or .csv or get the html of your spreadsheet.

I messed around with my spreadsheet for quite some time and I must say that the 'share' feature could be really useful. You can allow people to edit your spreadsheet or view your spreadsheet. All you have to do is enter their email address and your friends can get their spreadsheet on. Also you can chat with them via the spreadsheets window which is a necessity.

I tried inviting one of my other email addresses that was a gmail account. I was able to access it and see that myself (my 1st email) and myself (my 2nd email) were viewing it at the same time. With my 2nd email I had not signed up for the beta but was able to access the spreadsheet. Than, I signed out and tried logging into Google Spreadsheets with my non-beta account and it worked! Seems like you can invite people to Google Spreadsheets indirectly. So if anyone misses out on the beta than just post your email in the comments and I will send you an "invite". If you are uncomfortable putting your email than just email me (look in the sidebar and my email is there).

How is this going to be useful in the business world? Why thank you for asking. Example scenario: Say I'm a business exec and I've just made a spreadsheet but I need my boss to check it out and make sure it is ok. I made the spreadsheet in Excel so I just import it into Google Spreadsheets. I invite my boss via email and he logs in and gets to see the spreadsheet. Then, we chat it up and make some edits and when all is said and done we cut out a lot of hassle and the constant sending back and forth of the document.

I believe Office 2007 will have a feature similar to this called Live Meeting; i think. I'm not sure so don't quote me. However, I think it will cost some money which I definitely would not pay for.

One thing that somewhat bugged me is that there isn't as much integration as I would have hoped. Really, you can integrate this with all that much but I found something. In Google Analytics there is a save as .csv file. I did and it downloaded to my computer. I wish it would have given me the option to open it in Google Spreadsheets instead. I gave some feedback to Google and hopefully this will be implemented soon.

Personally, the only reason I would use this is for the real-time sharing feature because I've already forked over plenty of money for Microsoft Office for Mac and trust I'm going to use it if I've got it. Spreadsheets seems to be secure enough but I don't know if business execs fear having corporate info placed on the web (although anyone good enough could just look at emails and get the documents from there).

Overall, I've got to give Google Spreadsheets a 5/5 because it does everything you want it to, works great, feels like an application instead of being online, and it enables real-time sharing.

Apple releases Updated U2 iPod

2006-06-06T10:51:00.000-04:00

Apple has re-released the U2 iPod complete with video and shiny black and red. The only main design difference is an all-black stainless steel casing. Pricing is at $329 and the extra $30 that you fork over is for an iTunes Music Store coupon that will get you an exclusive 30-minute video with music and interviews.

The U2 iPod comes with 30GB and engraved autographs of each band member on the back. Here are some photos:

Picture of the back:

Steve Ballmer can't Rid PC of Spyware/Malware

2006-06-05T23:54:00.000-04:00

Originally, I had decided not to post this but I'm sorry this is just undeniably hilarious and it further stresses the fact that Microsoft generates its own bad press.

Microsoft VP Jim Allchin recently told a story about Steve Ballmer and it turned out to be a good one. Steve Ballmer was at a wedding reception when the bride's father said that his PC was slowing to a crawl and asked Ballmer to check it out. PAUSE. This is Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Just keep that in mind.

So Ballmer took the PC under his care and the CEO and manager of the Operating System in front of him COULD NOT rid the PC of malware and spyware.

Ok, ok he couldn't do it. Maybe he is just a business man and isn't that techie. Ballmer sent the PC to some of Microsoft's best engineers and they could NOT rid the PC of spyware and malware no matter what they tried. The PC was infected with over 100 pieces of malware: many of which the TOP engineers could not exterminate.

Moral of the Story: If Microsoft's CEO and top engineers can't rid their own OS from malware and spyware then how do you expect the ordinary person to do so?

Google Spreadsheets (Sign Up Now for Beta)

2006-06-05T23:36:00.000-04:00

Google is now offering a signup program for the upcoming beta of Google Spreadsheets. It is on a first-come first-serve basis so sign up soon. Google Spreadsheets will be an online Excel if-you-will and will hope to compete with Microsoft's Office Excel.

Google Spreadsheets will allow you to create, share, and store spreadsheets. Here are some pics from their Google Spreadsheets Sneak Peek.

Flip4Mac becomes Universal! Finally!

2006-06-05T23:16:00.000-04:00

Flip4Mac is now a Universal Binary. Although it is a closed beta there are some great guys out there that have provided links to download so you can have it even if you didn't sign up for the beta.

For those of you that don't know Flip4Mac is a plugin that allows you to play .wmv files through Quicktime. Microsoft now supports it as its official way to play .wmv files on Macs ever since they cut Windows Media Player support for Macs.

Eventually, Flip4Mac will be released for real and of course for free but if you wish then go ahead and download. I chose to download it because I have been waiting for it for so long and I hate having Windows Media Player on my Mac.

It works great for me and I haven't experienced any difficulties.

Download here.
Another link just in case the previous one doesn't work.
Another option.

Xbox 360 to get 125 New Features Tomorrow

2006-06-05T22:48:00.000-04:00

Here is the complete list via xbox.com. Before you start reading I just would like to point out that all these improvements are being made while still being the ONLY next-gen system out For Sale. These new features just puts the Xbox 360 one step ahead of the Wii and PS3.

NEW FEATURES

“Download manager” - Marketplace items now download in the background, queue up to six pieces of content
DVD bookmark support will remember the film’s timing and location when resuming viewing
Fast-forward and rewind now offered at 2x -16x for any videos saved to hard drive
“Boot to Dashboard” setting will bypass the loading of any disc in the drive and open directly to Dashboard during power-on
Begin slideshows from any photo
Music player saves “shuffle” setting
Much player save “repeat” setting
Music player now displays which file is currently playing in the playlist
Music volume level persists between game / reboots
8 new locales added (Chile, Brazil, India, South Africa, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia)
Separate settings now offered for Game and User volume controls
Themes can now be set from the “System” blade on the Dashboard
User-selected music continues play when switching from Dashboard to game or game to Dashboard
“All Arcade Games” added as a selection in the Xbox Live Arcade area
Personal gamer pictures allowed as Gamertiles – displayed only to those on your Friends List
Added support to disable sound effects when navigating Dashboard
Instantaneous “Change Theme” option added upon downloading new Dashboard themes
Preserve folder structure of source when viewing photos
A / B labels now provided to identify memory units in Dashboard
Online status set to “Away” when screensaver becomes active

SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS

DVD Player

Improved audio/video sync after extended pauses
Improved visual quality
DVD player outputs at native resolution over VGA connection
Improved playback smoothness
Improved fast-forward and rewind smoothness
DVD play continues to attempt to read a disc after “disc read” error
DVD play à Pause à Play jitter / out of synch issues improved
DVD play à Slow Play à Play jitter / out of synch issues improved
Repaired issues with missing menu selection icon from DVD disc menu for certain films
Improved Xbox 360 Guide efficiency during certain films
Repaired playback stutter during certain films

Music Player

Player now populates music data (Title, Artist, etc.) when no track information is available
User music is now pauses, instead of stopping, when games override user-selected background music
Selecting an artist’s album no longer displays albums for all artists
Improved performance when retrieving playlists from a Windows Media connection
List music tracks in track-order when viewing albums by specific artist
Unified music controls for music player in Dashboard and pop-up Guide
Improved playback for Mono AAC-encoded files
Improved connection timing between console and CD database over Internet
Player no longer allows hard-drive selection when no hard-drive is connected
Removed handling of MTP/USB devices when playing music from them more robust
Improved error codes / messaging associated with unplayable content

Localization Improvements

Fixed partially truncated strings in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian
Korean clock / date format corrected after initial set-up
Fixed system hang when changing the language of the console immediately after signing out
Korean virtual keyboard “down” navigation now works for lower-right button
Korean virtual keyboard caps disabled for input mode
Fixed overlapping characters for pre-paid Gold membership card (Japanese localization)
Removed extra spaces in several translated words (French localization)
PC name displayed properly when containing Japanese characters
Support single apostrophe character for Japanese virtual keyboard

Memory Area Improvements

Streamlined selection – no profile selection required
Improved overall performance, allowing quicker access to content
Improved content views including name, file type, size, profile owner and location
Faster identification of file types and fewer steps for actions such as copy, move, delete, etc.
Capacity (or percentage-full) of storage device now consistent between select-a-device and storage scenes
Device selection now shown on each screen to improve usability

Miscellaneous System Improvements

Time elapsed now displayed when playing music files
Enhanced categorization of media library
Accelerated scrolling of large music lists
New “shuffle” icon
Repeat / Shuffle icon now operates as toggle button
Default button for manual IP address is now “A” instead of “Done”
Hidden and system folders are no longer displayed from MTP / mass storage devices
Difficulty levels for gamer profiles ordered correctly
Added additional line and word-wrap to “Publisher” in video area
Shuffle / Random no longer skips last image in list when viewing photos
Improved handling of Friend Requests between Gamertags that have changed names
No longer asked “Exist to Dash?” when switching between areas in the Dashboard
New error messages for when Windows Live ID requires password change
Unlocked Achievements now displayed first in Game Summary page
Selecting an Achievement now shows the specific Achievement details
Full date now displayed for “Member Since” and “Next Bill Date” tabs on Membership scene
Updated messaging for deleting arcade games purchased by different profiles
No longer launch music CD in disc-tray when moving from Live sign-up to Dashboard or Network Troubleshooter
Improved voice quality when connected through wired gamepad
Show “Last Played Game” selection in Xbox Live Arcade first before enumerating all games (when Arcade game was last game played)
Improved performance of picture enumeration from iPods formatted for Mac
Adopt latest updates to Cero-based ratings for Family Settings
Show videos downloaded from Marketplace in the Video area of the Media blade
Improved usability around “Play Now” when downloading demos, trailers and videos
Added support for South Africa-specific Family Settings
Updated support for Japanese game ratings
Video area changed to include game trailers and entertainment videos
Improved robustness of Gamerscore when doing account recoveries
Improved messaging around handling corrupt or non-fully recovered profiles
Improved download performance for popular content being downloaded through Marketplace
Total USB keyboard support
Testing Live connection while streaming music from PC works correctly
Next item / Focus sound not played when scrolling past the bottom of the video list
Handle profiles on memory units inserted into system while enumerating profiles from other storage locations
Warning / Alert icons now show as part of deleting items in Memory area
Repeat rate for remote control matches game controller repeat rate
“A” button disabled when in a list with no items available
Wireless battery level added to mini-pop-up guide over backward-compatible games
Pop-up guide / Dashboard now supports USB keyboard
Console no longer enters “charge” mode when shutdown and the battery has been removed from wireless controller
System no longer waits indefinitely when attempting to contact Windows Media Connect service on XP PC
Improved Marketplace storage device selector
Correctly set focus on selected item when back button pressed on “select a game” scene
Notify users when multiple wireless SSIDS with identical names are within reach
Provide Gold membership information when trying to join a session or accepting game invites with Silver accounts
New text to highlight the ability to clear the passcode for Live account signing
Photo slideshow no longer resumes when pressing “previous” or “next” from paused state
Improved handling of corrupt profiles when deleting them
No longer turn off wireless gamepads after system update reboot
More robust handling of initial setup experience for memory unit users
Improved handling of backward-compatible update experience, reboot back into Xbox v1 environment instead of Dashboard
Improved handling for "block communications" from other players
Improved keypress sounds when using USB keyboard
Improved usability and performance of content enumeration for storage devices
Show visual location for where Xbox Live Arcade games reside
Improved user messaging when overwriting content while copying
Improved consistency of messaging between "sign out" and "switch profile"
Updated troubleshooter text for connection to Windows PC's joined to domain
Better support for Xbox 360 game disc recognition
Improved initial setup text messaging
Improved overall error message terminology
Game updates downloaded to memory unit no longer show "please reinsert" notification when memory unit removed
More robust support for handling game deletes from memory unit and simultaneously removing memory unit
Improved system performance between console and affiliated Windows Media Connect PC

2000s: Decade of the Cult

2006-06-04T19:37:00.000-04:00

I usually don't get that editorial but this time I will. It seems to me that cults are springing up left and right in mainstream America. This decade more than any other is the Decade of the Cult. There are cults for Apple, Microsoft, Whole Foods (yes whole foods), Starbucks, anything open source, Google, Yahoo, Digg, anything video game, and even IKEA. These are just some to name a few. Never before have people idolized companies as much as they do now. Mostly it is due to the Internet. The internet gives you the latest ins and outs of every company, strategy, move made, acquisition, and even celebriticizes CEOs. Big brand name companies have ideologies now that CEOs say is their way of life (just listen to Whole Foods CEO John Mackey).

Fanboys are everywhere on the web hiding in forums and comment pages. I like Apple and anything Apple-related (well almost). It's because they make great products that are useful to me. However, contrary to what I like, I do not preach sermons on the 1-button mouse or believe in using only Apple software. I am not a part of the Apple cult. I am not a fanboy. I like Apple but I do not love them.

It seems to me that one cannot even make a remark about one of the aforementioned companies without being bashed at. I've read so many comments (too many) that seem so polarized. I've read forum topics that make it seem like someone would die for that company. I will be honest; I have been bashed a few times over my views on a certain product. It has not happened recently because I feel that I have to restrict myself before I get into a huge debate over one thing or the other that wastes an hour of my day.

Fanboys and cult members should be banished off the face of the Earth. It seems that the fanboys and cult members are everywhere nowadays and cannot be put away.

The reason I am writing this is to try and influence some readers out there as to what you may say and how you are thinking. I beg and plead that you do not become a part of one of the main cults. Don't try and be ideologically sound with the company you adore. Be open to other solutions and other ideas. Be open to different products and don't care so much about the brand that it is. If it is good than buy it and if it isn't than don't. Don't be one of those people that buys anything that comes out of a companies' ass.

If you were to ask me if I liked Windows about 5 years ago I would have said yes. Now, I have looked at other options, even experimented with Linux and if you were to ask me the same questions I would say no in a heartbeat. Be open to change and don't be a fanboy. Don't be an over-obsessive person and part of a cult.

Be human.

Game Informer reveals Nintendo Wii secrets

2006-06-04T14:59:00.000-04:00

This article from the upcoming Game Informer magazine focuses on the pros and cons of the development environment of the upcoming Nintendo Wii. As well as revealing the last big secret concerning hardware functionality. Here are some summarizations from that article.

-Pros-

-Inexpensive graphics development.

-Developer-friendly “camera” program

-Will support HDR lighting, normal maps, bump-mapping, nurbs rendering, and panoramically-composted depth-composited cubemappng, ray-tracing.

-Chipsets are very inexpensive although EXTREMELY powerful, WILL incorporate many aspects of the Project Reality study.

-Nintendo is providing extensive documentation to ease the incorporation of the Wii-mote.

-Cons-

-Challenging to program effectively for the Wii-mote, due to it being very new to the industry.

-Marketing to be more challenging for bigger third-party franchises due to nature of the innovative qualities.

-The development cycle to possibly equal the time cycles of PS3 and Xbox360 due to the time needed to be innovative and effectively program for the controller.

-The challenge of marketing the Wii’s controller in ads and commercial may turn third-parties away from exclusivity. (The challenge to display through ads how “playing is believing”)

-The Final Secret/minor surprises also-

-Wii will include a built-in decent resolution camera that can be used to add your face to character models and add innovation to games. These snapshots can be tweaked as well. It is still being decided whether to allow camera to record and stream video. Mention made to have this feature be a strong feature in online play.

-A wireless headset will be made available at launch.

-SD cards will range from 2GB to 7GB and will be priced “within reason”.

-A new router technology is still in development and not yet available to developers. In the final product Nintendo hopes to be able to make every Wii a sort of “Wi-Fi hotspot” with each user connecting to that user and so on. They also want to be able to allow different users to share things and are thinking about setting up a pseudo-P2P network through Connect24, where users can share content and “other things”. This means that even if you have a dial-up connection or no internet, you can still connect to Wii Connect24.

-The Wii will indeed have a PPU included in final hardware. It will have only 32MB though, which will still take a considerable amount of pressure off of other chips.

-A still-in-development simple dev tool will be made available to users through the Connect24 network. It will allow users to create a simple game in 2D or simple 3D and share it with the world. This will hopefully be available on the network by launch.

-The last big secret is the “graphics solution”. It revolves around a whole lot of non-volatile RAM (opting out of HDD support, RAM is much faster than a HDD). And a development interface that centers on a AI-controlled command-line interface. This additional tech only included in final dev kits, while most developers don’t have access to final dev kits.

Test your Internet Speed (Great tool)

2006-06-03T20:26:00.000-04:00

This is a great tool to test out your Internet speed by download and upload speeds. Try it out here. I've tried many different internet speed tests but the one that I've used mostly (CNET's) gives it to you instantly which does give an accurate depiction of your true internet speed. This one take about 45 seconds and is worth every second. I took the test multiple times and for the most part it was plus or minus 200 kbps for downloads and plus or minus 15 kbps for uploads.

Apple releases Mac at Work

2006-06-03T18:52:00.000-04:00

Apple has introduced a new site called Mac at Work that stresses Science, Small Business, Pro, and Education. Apple is really trying to take back some market share and is starting to push using Macs for things other than just "lifestyle" fields like music, movies, and photos. Hopefully, it works and with those new business-black MacBooks they just might. Couldn't you just imagine it? You walk into the office with a sweet MacBook and your boss rolls buy and starts oooo-ing and ahh-ing at your aesthetically pleasing yet business suitable Mac.

Atlanta Apple Store Opening

2006-06-03T14:26:00.000-04:00

A new Apple Store is in our midsts at the Perimeter Mall in Atlanta. I'm here typing this post directly from the new Apple Store. This is the 3rd Apple Store in the Atlanta Metropolitan area and it is probably the best (in Atlanta). Music is playing and it is pretty jam-packed in here.

This Perimeter Store is the first Apple Store opening since the famous Fifth Avenue grand opening (you know the one with the big cube). It looks like this one hasn't disappointed. The store is big and if I'm correct the biggest now in Atlanta. Everything seems to be on display right now. All the standard Mac stuff such as the iMac, MacMini, MacBook, MacBook Pro, iPod etc. This store however also seems to stress other products as well. Unlike other Atlanta Apple Stores this one has got a full row dedicated to printers, and storage solutions such as the LaCie 500GB Big Disk Extreme.

Also, there is a row dedicated to speakers with, of course, the iPod Hi-Fi.

Like the Fifth Avenue Store in New York there is now a Studio Bar. Here is what it is meant to do:

"The Studio is the creative hub of the Apple Store, Perimeter. A place where your ideas and our help come together to enhance your Mac projects. Whether your interest is photography, moviemaking, music or everyday use of your Mac, our team of Creatives can help you. They’ll teach you one-on-one how to re-touch photos, compose music and make Hollywood-style movies. To save time, use the Apple Store Concierge to Make a reservation."

Sadly, I couldn't come in the morning because I already had plans but I came as soon as I could and unfortunately it looks like I missed out on the Free T-Shirt so that means that 1,000+ people have already come in.

Here are some of the pics I took below. I used the Built-in iSights and the cameras that they have at the Apple Store. I brought my own camera but my batteries were too low. Sorry about that.

Video: ThePirateBay servers being raided

2006-06-02T22:12:00.000-04:00

This is a video of the recent Pirate Bay raid that was reported earlier. The "authorities" begin to cover up the cameras. I don't really see the point all that much but I guess I'm just too dumb to find a good reason besides not wanting to be on the internet. Oops guess it didn't work.

MacBook and MacBook Pro Heat Fixes

2006-06-02T21:30:00.000-04:00

I have a wonderful MacBook Pro and I've been able to not let the heat get to me. Here is a couple of tips that I suggest so that the heat doesn't bother you. Some are common sense and others are (hopefully) helpful to you.

Try and keep your MB (MacBook)/MBP (MacBook Pro) on a flat surface. The reason you ask? All of the MB/MBP's vents are in the back. To get good airflow you should keep it on a flat surface.
The MacBook and MacBook Pro's aren't laptops. Well, according to Apple they aren't. You can look all you want inside the manual but nowhere does it say that the MacBook or MacBook Pro is a laptop. Rather, it says that it is a notebook. What does this mean? Don't put it on your lap otherwise you will feel the burn. (P.S. to all the men reading this. Long, extended periods of notebook usage on your laps will cause a decrease in sperm count.)
If you are going to put the notebook on your lap then at least do not put them on any skin. Wear some clothes!
On your MacBook check the vent and see if there is a plastic sheet on the vent. There have been reports that some MacBooks (no MBPs as far as I know) have the plastic covering.
Try limiting your use of video playback. They get your fans rolling more than Daunte Culpepper.
Limit your CPU usage. Common sense: The more programs you have open then the hotter your MacBook or MacBook Pro will get.
Put your MB/MBP to sleep whenever you can. This will quickly cool your MB/MBP and an easy fix.
The room temperature does affect your MacBook/MacBook Pro. Try and keep your room as cool as possible. If your room is 90 degrees Fahrenheit then it will affect your notebook.
If you are a MacBook Pro user, install the SMC firmware update via Software Update. It addresses some fan problems in the MacBook Pro and should help with the heat problems.

If you do these things than you should be just fine and you shouldn't feel the burn all that much. If you have any more hints than post them in the comments.

Pyramid of Piracy

2006-06-02T20:08:00.000-04:00

This is the Pyramid of Piracy folks. Brought to you by the MPAA. I recently read in Time (not sure really) that the FBI and MPAA mostly target the top tier or "The Suppliers" because without them no one would be able to get all the Pirate Booty. If you are a Pirate which section of the pyramid do you belong to? The title links to the actual PDF but I took a quick snapshot of it with Mac OS X's Command+Shift+4 (shameless plug). Click the pic for a better look.

XBL Vision Camera to cost $40

2006-06-02T11:53:00.000-04:00

According to Joystiq's anonymous Microsoft source the Xbox Live Vision Camera will cost $40, the game UNO, a wired headset, and a month of Xbox Live Gold Service.

It will be released on September 19, 2006.

New Yahoo Video - YouTube killer?

2006-06-01T15:45:00.000-04:00

Yahoo has redesigned its Yahoo Video service (like previously reported) to allow user-submitted videos and to compete with YouTube. It allows you to tag videos, rate them, feature, and embed videos into your own site. Basically, it has got all the nuts and bolts that everyone else has. However, for Windows users the videos will come in windows media format and flash for Macs and Linux. This is a different move from YouTube but doesn't really do all that much to differentiate itself. The redesigned Yahoo Video will be popular mainly because it is Yahoo but I don't think it will dethrone YouTube.

Right now YouTube is like the holy grail of only video providers. YouTube is just so hot right now that I don't think Yahoo will make the dent it wants to.

If you wish to submit a video than it needs to be less than 100 MB and in wmv, flv, asf, qt, mov, mpg, or avi format.

New Lag Meter for Online PC gaming

2006-06-01T12:05:00.000-04:00

LagMeter has just been introduced and helps you quantify your lag when playing online PC gaming. The great part is that it tells you whether you are causing the lag, your network, or the game server. Get it here. It is in beta right now but that shouldn't stop you.

"Harlan Beverly said the toughest challenge about developing LagMeter was to quantify Lag in a meaningful metric that made sense. “LagMeter solves this by introducing a new metric, Lags per Minute (LPM), which is essentially the number of measurable Lag events in a minutes worth of game-play.” For a formal definition of Lags Per Minute, click here. In addition to displaying Lags per Minute, LagMeter also measures and displays our tried and true favorite metrics – Ping and Frames Per Second (FPS). It even has an advanced configuration tab that allows the user to tailor exactly what is being measured based on which game they are playing or which network port or device is running the game. "

Sony releases PSP Firmware Update v2.71

2006-06-01T11:48:00.000-04:00

You can download the update here. This update is available via Network Update or you can use the link provided and transfer that to your memory stick. Here is what is included in the update:

Game demos may now be downloaded from the Internet and transferred to Memory Stick for playing on your PSP.
Video output is now displayed properly when "external tuner" is selected in LocationFree player.

CAUTION: You will not be able to play homebrew if you update to this version.

The Coolest MacMini PVR Setup Ever

2006-05-31T22:11:00.000-04:00

Now I have seen some cool MacMini setups in my day including one that was mounted into a car but none of them have been as clean as this one. Jeff over at 123MacMini has a MacMini PVR setup that is not only hooked up to a great display but has a great use (unlike those car MacMinis).

Check out these guts:

AMD-ATI Merger in the Making

2006-05-31T18:26:00.000-04:00

According to Forbes, AMD (the chip maker) and ATI (graphics card maker) are going to experience a merger of some sorts soon. Right now, the AMD-ATI Merger "looks likely." This could have drastic effects on AMD's and ATI's product line. If this occurs there could be some major ramifications including Intel taking an even bigger dive, better integrated graphics systems, bundles, and price effects.

Right now it is up in the air if the prices would go down or go up let alone if this thing even happens in the first place.

Nintendo DS Lite selling before release date?

2006-05-31T11:24:00.000-04:00

The Nintendo DS Lite, originally slated for a June 11th release, is availabe for sale at Target and Walmart. There have been many different reports across the web so this isn't just a one-time incident. Check out this one guy who was able to buy one:

Originally, there was a post on the Nintendo forums but it looks like Nintendo has taken it down. Is this pre-release release a mistake on Nintendo's part?

ThePirateBay Servers Raided

2006-05-31T11:09:00.000-04:00

In their native Sweden, ThePirateBay.org enjoyed a level of immunity from copyright prosecution rarely seen in the file-sharing world. Often defiant in the face of those wishing to enforce their intellectual property rights, ThePirateBay.org would go on to become one of the premier BitTorrent indexing and tracking sites.

As one of the largest trackers, ThePirateBay.org largely replaced the demise of the SuprNova.org search engine. SuprNova.org met its demise in late 2004, when it was under pressure from the entertainment industry to shut it operation down. Conversely, such pressure has been ineffective against ThePiratebay.org.

“…The police right now is taking all of our servers, to check if there is a crime there or not (they are actually not sure),” ThePirateBay.org spokesperson “brokep” told Slyck.com.

The seizure of ThePirateBay.org’s entire server farm will guarantee this BitTorrent tracker will remain offline until the police complete their investigation. Whether this will keep ThePirateBay.org offline indefinitely is another matter.

“We are not sure when it will return, but we are moving it to another country if necessary,” brokep said.

Video: SlingBox Mobile on Motorola Q

2006-05-30T22:47:00.000-04:00

This video is of the SlingBox Mobile program designed for cell phones (duh). For those of you that don't know what the SlingBox, let me tell you. The SlingBox is a great device that hooks up to your TV and if you have one, your Tivo. From there you can watch your TV from any wirelessly-enabled device such as your laptop or your data-plan-enabled cell phone. It really is a brilliant device and looks a little something like this:

You can get

Here is a video that shows the SlingBox Mobile at work on the soon-to-come Motorola Q.

There is a free 30-day trial for SlingBox Mobile here. No credit card required. SlingBox Mobile requires Windows Smartphones or Pocket PC-enabled devices.

First Call of Duty 3 screenshots

2006-05-30T18:41:00.000-04:00

This is the first Call of Duty 3 screenshot. There are no plans for a PC version. The image looks amazing, especially the smoke and glass flying everywhere. Overall, this should get many people excited about the next installment in the already-popular WWII FPS thriller.

I think today is just a day for wonderful screenshots.

*Note: To get the full effect of the picture make sure to click the image so you can see the full image resolution.

Funny Vid: Mario, Luigi, and Myspace

2006-05-30T18:28:00.000-04:00

I found this video on YouTube and thought it was pretty funny. I don't use Myspace (please don't shun me) and I probably never will. If you do or don't you should still check out this funny parody of it.

Nintendo Zelda Twilight Princess Screenshots

2006-05-30T18:06:00.000-04:00

These shots are from the highly-anticipated Zelda Twilight Princess. Most likely these are screenshots taken from a Gamecube. Enjoy.

Supermodel Gisele in Apple ads?

2006-05-30T12:47:00.000-04:00

On model Gisele Bündchen's site there is a new news update that can be translated into:

Gisele has been photographed for an ad campaign on Apple's line of computers MAC (Macintosh), in the United States

I have no clue what this ad is about but we'll just have to wait and see.

Is Apple really that cool enough for Gisel? Or is Gisele cool enough for Apple?

Sidekick III coming June 26th

2006-05-30T10:07:00.000-04:00

Several reliable leads are pointing to a June 20th launch party for the Sidekick III and a June 26th launch to the general public. We previously reported in May that the Sidekick III was approved by the FCC and that the confirmed features were Bluetooth, 1.3 megapixel camera, and a MiniSD expansion slot. As far as I know those features haven't changed but keep reading the TechWrap to find out more details.

Funny Vid: The History of Microsoft

2006-05-29T21:27:00.000-04:00

PLEASE take this with a grain of salt. This is all just humor and please don't take it as nothing more. This video is made by some guys that really hate Microsoft and it is completely biased against them and shows none of the good things that Microsoft has done. However, it is still pretty funny in some parts.

CNET's Image Hosting Service = No ImageShack

2006-05-29T19:49:00.000-04:00

CNET's has quietly released a new Image Hosting service that could be the downfall to such services like ImageShack and PhotoBucket. CNET's new service is called AllYouCanUpload and is a part of their Webshots subsidiary. Why is this such big news? Well first there are no ads on the uploading site unlike Imageshack and Photobucket. Also, there is no limit on the number of photos you can upload, the size of those photos, or the maximum bandwith allowed. Users can upload up to three photos at a time and there is no resizing done unless the users requests it.

However, you cannot have an account nor can you search for previously uploaded pictures or any pictures for that matter.

This service seem superb and well thought out. I hope Imageshack and Photobucket pick up the ball on this one and do something to match CNET if they wish to survive.

'Apple Mac OS' appears on Dell.com [Updated]

2006-05-29T19:37:00.000-04:00

Under Dell's support page in Drivers and Downloads the words "Apple Mac OS" appeared. If you go under product model and pick something out and then hit go you should see the same screen like shown above. Then just select the drop-down menu 'Select an Operating System' and what do you see? Well, for me, I don't see 'Apple Mac OS' anywhere in sight so maybe it is just hiding. It looks like Dell must have taken it down or Engadget is playing some stupid joke.

Most likely, this was some type of prank or an error (doubt it) on Dell's part.

*Update: For product choose the Latitude and for type choose the X1 and it the next arrow. Then look at the OS drop-down menu and you should see Apple Mac OS.

The Office Webisodes in July

2006-05-29T17:58:00.000-04:00

NBC's hit show, The Office, is going to have some IPTV content available in July. These IPTV shows nicknamed "webisodes," which are online-only episodes, will have The Office that everyone knows and loves. I have not been able to find any details as to whether these are full 20-min (30 min show with ads) or just short mini-clips. Of course, I, myself being a huge Office fan, would hope that it is much like ABC's current show service online. ABC currently allows you to stream full episodes of Desperate Housewives, Lost, Commander-In-Chief, and Alias. However, The Office "webisodes" are different in that they are created just for the world wide web.

Also, there aren't any details as to whether these shows can be downloaded or if they are stream-only. Most likely it will be stream-only so that NBC can utilize their current system of playing small, 1 min or less, clips.

Most likely this is a trial for NBC to see if there really is a market for shows on the web. Also, these webisodes will be free (hopefully). The Office is currently available on iTunes for $1.99 per episode. No details as to whether these webisodes will be available via iTunes.

A funny pic I found of Dwight below. If you haven't already seen The Office than you should immediately. It is just phenomenally hilarious.

Funny Pic: Bill Gates on Macs

2006-05-29T16:16:00.000-04:00

This is a pic from when the original Macintosh was introduced. I wonder if he still thinks this? I know I sure do.

Half-Life 2 on Xbox 360

2006-05-28T21:19:00.000-04:00

Half-Life 2 will be coming to the Xbox 360 in February 2007. Well, sort of. According to EBGames and Gamestop Half-Life 2 will be coming to the Xbox 360 on February 5th, 2007. Valve has only recently anounced development for the Xbox 360 and has not mentioned any Half-Life 2 development for the Xbox 360. However, Half-Life 2 is available for the Xbox and I hope it will be available for the Xbox 360. Plus, let's face it. It only makes sense for Valve to make Half-Life 2 available for the Xbox 360. Surely, they will get some increased revenue and it could even be a big hit with the X360. One can only hope.

Nintendo registers multiple Wii domains

2006-05-28T20:43:00.000-04:00

Nintendo has registered multiple domains; all of which are centralled around the Nintendo Wii. WiiKaraoke.com lends credence to the rumor that the Nintendo Wii will have a built-microphone. One obvious domain is WiiSports but all the rest seem out there. I tried to add some of my own ideas as to what these domains would mean in the list below.

WiiSports.com - sports (duh)

WiiKaraoke.com - Wiimote will have mic?

WiiCooking.com - what in the world

WiiPower.com - NintendoPower magazine's sister?

WiiLove.com - aww: No, seriously what in the world?

WiiVC.com - we will see

WiiWorld.com - community and online

WiiFamily.com - community

WiiFun.com - fun?

WiiMusic.com - downloadable music or perhaps just music you can stream while playing

WiiLife.com

WiiConnect24.com - online connection?

WiiHistory.com - no idea

WiiStory.com - stories of each of nintendo's games

Wiiareone.com - corny

WiiSchool.com - help with your Wii

WiiNews.com - new news with your Wii

WiiMagazine.com - Exclusive Wii-only magazine

WiiPuzzle.com - little mini puzzles you can play through your Wii

WiiChannel.com - something to do with TV

WiiExecutive.com - ?

WiiGeneration.com - ?

WiiActive24.com - like WiiConnect24.com

WiiAnimation.com - watch anime from your Wii?

WiiChallenger.com - something with space or maybe tips & tricks for your games

WiiGetTogether.com - corny

WiiManagement.com - ?

WiiBreeding.com - get your mind out of the gutter

WiiCountry.com - We country in the South

WiiLanguages.com - different languages that you can have on your Wii

WiiScenario.com - different scenarios etc on your games

WiiParents.com - parental control

WiiCreator.com - game development

WiiAlive24.com - like WiiActive24.com

WiiJourney.com - RPG games

WiiStudent.com - student games?

WiiVenture.com - no idea

WiiFitness.com - work out with your Wii

WiiScience.com - no idea

WiiBeauty.com - how to apply makeup with your Wii. I hope not

ShallWii.com - dancing? (corny)

WiiGirls.com - girl-specific games

WiiBoys.com - guy-specific games

WiiEarth.com - ?

WiiMoney.com - ?

Google Checkout

2006-05-28T18:41:00.000-04:00

For what seems like years Google has been rumored to introduce a Paypal killer. Google Checkout could be it. Google Checkout, according to Garret Rogers, may be a simple solution for purchasing stuff online; something that could be integrated into Google Analytics as well as allow businesses to track purchases via easy-to-use web stats.

This is all rumors and speculation at this point but it does seem like the name implies some type of business-oriented product. However, if this is the concept behind Google Checkout than this only half competes with Paypal. Paypal is mostly used for purchasing through its parent-company eBay but it is also used to send money across the web. Based on these rumors, Checkout does not seem to compete with this area of Paypal's market.

For quite some time (possibly 2 or more years; I can't remember), it has been rumored that Google would come out with a Paypal-killer called Google Wallet that would be almost the same as Paypal. I don't know whether the Google Wallet concept still exists or if Google Checkout is the replacement (can there be a replacement for something that has never existed?) for Google Wallet; or possibly that Google Checkout and Google Wallet will someday coexist in the same online-money world.

Right now both Google Wallet and Google Checkout is all rumors and speculation so take this with a grain of salt.

Apple developing new educational Mac?

2006-05-26T23:19:00.000-04:00

AppleInsider is reporting that Apple is currently developing a new educational Mac. The previous eMac was discontinued for consumers in 2005 and Apple is trying to revitalize their educational market offerings with the new Intel chips. Apple has fared well recently in the educational markets but they are facing some stiff competition from low-priced PC offerings.

AppleInsider was not able to find out whether the eMac brand will still be used. Personally, I'm at odds to whether they wish to revitalize a brand that they basically killed just a year earlier. The old eMac had the old-technology CRT monitors and Apple will be looking to the newer, better LCD displays. However, Apple is looking to keep costs down and match up with its competitors.

The eMac was originally available for education markets only but that stance changed when consumer demand was extremely high and recently changed back in 2005. It is unclear if this new Intel educational Mac will be education-only and exclude regular consumers.

Nintendo Wii will win Japan; Not PS3

2006-05-26T11:22:00.000-04:00

73% of Famitsu Magazine readers in Japan say they believe the Nintendo Wii will "win" the console war in Japan. 70% said that they were most looking forward to the Wii while only 21% say they are most looking forward to the Sony PS3. Another blow to Sony: 88.4% say that they think the PS3 price is too high and only 10% think it is about right.

Although the market is different in the United States if you just look at the Wii vs. PS3 in the U.S. I think the results will be pretty similar. The excitement around the Wii has been phenomenal since E3 and it should do very well both in Japan and in the U.S. I think it will be a huge hit in Japan and an overwhelming success. In the U.S. the results won't be as dramatic but it will far exceed expectations.

*Pic taken from engadget

Xbox 360 to get Dashboard Update

2006-05-26T10:31:00.000-04:00

Microsoft has announced plans to release the first major Dashboard update to the xbox 360 since the November launch.

There will be a hoarde of new features and the list includes:

Better organization of Xbox Live Market place. It will focus content into specific sections with new releases being at the top.
New Background download manager: Now you can do other things while downloading whatever. There will also be a queue of up to 6 downloads so you can set the queue and do whatever else you want to and not have to worry about the downloads. If you happen to access xbox live than the downloads will pause until you exit xbox live.

Previously when watching game trailers (now going to be called Game Videos) you couldn't play/pause/rewind/fastforward. Now you can.
There has been increased music player and DVD playback usability.
You will be able to set your console to away much like in IM clients after inactivity.
There will be USB keyboard support so you can get your type on.
Last but not least, you may now launch Dashboard instead of the game when a game disc is in the tray. For this feature it is a default setting (that you change to select the Dashboard option) so you will have to switch it back if you ever want the game disc to load first.

As for the release of the update it is up in the air although Microsoft has said that it will be in "in about a week." Hopefully, it'll be next week but possibly expect some time in early June.

DivX 6.5 for Mac

2006-05-25T15:49:00.000-04:00

DivX has released DivX 6.5 for Mac. The download is a Universal Binary which means it runs native in a PowerPC Mac and an Intel Mac. The download includes the DivX converter which costs $19.99 but comes with a free 15-day free trial. DivX for Mac also includes the DivX codec which allows you to convert movies via Quicktime's export (convert) feature. Furthermore, DivX for Mac includes a plugin that will allow you to watch DivX files in Quicktime. Last but not least, DivX for Mac will also include the DivX web players so you can watch DivX files via the web.

You can download it here. Just hit the Free Trial button. Your ability to play DivX files never costs anything. Only the DivX converter does so if you don't need it then don't buy it.

Simple solution for MacBook Heat issues

2006-05-25T12:57:00.000-04:00

Of our fellow blogspot blogs has noticed a simple solution for solving MacBook heat problems. Basically, where the vent is (as shown below) there is a little plastic cover there that blocks the vent.

Most likely, it is only to prevent dust from getting in there but it does cause some major problems. As shown below you can take out the plastic covering and it should significantly reduce some heating problems.

One thing to note is that this seems to only be for the MacBook. I checked my MacBook Pro and can't seem to find any type of plastic covering so I'm pretty sure this is a MacBook-only fix. Personally, I don't have too many heat problems but I don't have a Revision A MacBook Pro.