An uncovered patent
made by Apple reveals plans to create an iPod
powered by light.
MacRumors reports that it has found a patent by Apple to creat
e an iPod (and presumably an iPhone) with a solar panel under
the LCD screen by which it can generate additional power. Th
e patent postulates a thin three-level sandwich of sorts that incorporates a to
uch sensitive layer, a display and a photovoltaic panel. The unique Apple twist
is that by doing so it won't have to create a separate charging panel; it'll l
ook the same, only you don't have to charge it as often, or at all. With its gi
ant screen, the iPhone'll be especially energy-efficient.
The patent also mentions that the multiple solar cells would be coupled directl
y with specific components within the device, including the memory and the data
-processing system.
Talk about hot gadgets. This is way cool, but don't hold your breath just yet.
May 2008 Archives
An uncovered patent
made by Apple reveals plans to create an iPod
powered by light.
MacRumors reports that it has found a patent by Apple to creat
e an iPod (and presumably an iPhone) with a solar panel under
the LCD screen by which it can generate additional power. Th
e patent postulates a thin three-level sandwich of sorts that incorporates a to
uch sensitive layer, a display and a photovoltaic panel. The unique Apple twist
is that by doing so it won't have to create a separate charging panel; it'll l
ook the same, only you don't have to charge it as often, or at all. With its gi
ant screen, the iPhone'll be especially energy-efficient.
The patent also mentions that the multiple solar cells would be coupled directl
y with specific components within the device, including the memory and the data
-processing system.
Talk about hot gadgets. This is way cool, but don't hold your breath just yet.
Update on
that report on the Samsung L870 slider ph
one using Apple's Safari web browser: turns out it ain't true
after all. Or something like that.
Engadget reports that Samsung's takin' it all back:
Actually, L870 is equipped with S60 OSS browser, also known as S60 safari browser because both are using same webcore platform. Sorry again for th e unclear specification, and bothering you with this."Hmph. Ooooooookay. Something smells mighty fishy here. Either Apple lowered the boom on Samsung fo r spoiling the surprise and renegged on the browser deal, or Samsung's PR guys can't even get their act (or names) together. As Thomas Ricker of Engadget wryly points out, "the S60 browse r has never been known, even informally, as the 'S60 Safari browser'. "
Many Mac users have been hoping for safer, faster Soli
d State Drives in their lappies ever since the Air wa
s launched with the option. In fact, many secretly pray that SSDs become (cheap
ly) available with all new Macbooks, hopefully to be announced
at the WWDC Jobs keynote in a few days, cost, capacity and av
ailability notwithstanding.
But what about us with existing clunky and primitive old Macbooks and M
acbook Pros? Will we be doomed to be forever looking from the sideline
s, laboring under the slower, power-hungry and easily damaged old-fashioned har
ddrive?
Never fear, ExperCom is here!
ExperCom is offering a service that does SSD upgrades for both new and old Macb
ooks or Macbook Pros, at prices ranging from US$550 to US$899. Or you can buy p
reconfigured units directly from them at US$1649 for a white Macbook with a 
Once upon a time, a Powerbook had a terrible kitchen accident.
While the casing was a loss, everything else was saved. Now it's running bare-
ass, its vitals tacked onto a corkboard with pushpins, like a dissected frog st
ill alive in a dish. Fascinating in a tech-gross way.
(From Claudio Sinatti's blog
via Engadget)
For t
hose of you new 10.5.3 updaters who are wondering what this 
As is usual
after a major update, there is a gaggle of smaller ones that come waddling up
after. The first of these after today's humongous Leopard Update 10.5.3
is Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update 2.1, whic
h is a 2.9mb download on Software Update. Wha
t it does is:
This update extends RAW file compatibility for Aperture 2 and iPhot o â08 for the following cameras:
- Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/Kiss Digital x2/450D
- Epson R-D1
- Leaf AFi 7
- Leaf AFi 6
- Leaf AFi 5
- Pentax K200D
- Pentax K20D"
Let i
t be said that Mac-A-Doodle can sure call 'em.
Mere hours after us predicting it'll come soon, Mac OS X Up
date 10.5.3. arrives. We even got the size correct - it's a big one, a
ll right: 420mb.
As usual, Software Update is cryptic about what's new. All it
says of this near half-gig Leopard update is
The 10.5.3 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leo pard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, co mpatibility and security of your Mac."However, further digging uncovers the ff. (wordier) info about 10.5.3, which we reproduce here to save you the trouble of a click:
General âªÂ   Fixes a font issue that could result in Helvetica Narrow being used in applications instead of Helvetica. âªÂ   Addresses an issue with stuttering video and audio playback in certain USB devices. âªÂ   Resolves stability issues with Word of the Day, iTunes Artwork, and Sl ideshow screen savers. âªÂ   Fixes an issue in which certain attached hard drives may not show up i n the Finder. âªÂ   Addresses an issue with .Mac syncing of Dashboard widgets over multipl e Macs that use different screen resolutions. âªÂ   Includes additional RAW image support for several cameras. âªÂ   Improves the accuracy of the Software Update progress bar indicator. âªÂ   Addresses an issue in which Finder may not be available if the compute r name is blank in Sharing preferences. âªÂ   Improves Active Directory binding and login. âªÂ   Eliminates a delay when logging in as an Active Directory user in a .l ocal domain. âªÂ   Improves Spotlight searches on a AFP file server volumes. âªÂ   Clients can now change their password at the login window when bound t o a Mac OS X 10.4 Open Directory server. âªÂ   Improves Safari reliability when connecting to the Internet through a Microsoft ISA proxy. Address Book âªÂ   Addresses reliability issues when searching for contacts using built-i n search. âªÂ   Resolves issues with mapping addresses that contain an ampersand chara cter. AirPort âªÂ   Improves 802.1X behavior and reliability. âªÂ   Improves reliability when using Time Capsule. Automator âªÂ   Addresses an issue in which some actions may not work with the "Show W hen Run" option enabled. âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which the "New iCal Event" action may not work. âªÂ   Resolves an issue that prevents workflows from being saved in the Find er's contextual menu. âªÂ   Fixes reliability issues for Automator scripts that search for files b y date. âªÂ   Resolves an issue that prevents workflows from being saved in the Find er's contextual menu. âªÂ   Addresses an issue in which Automator workflows as Finder plugins do n ot work when the workflow begins with the "Get Selected Finder Items" action. âªÂ   Fixes an issue in which the "Copy Files" action does not reliably work when added from Automatorâs warning dialog. iCal âªÂ   Addresses potential privacy issues by allowing events to be marked as private. âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which the inspector does not show capacity and av ailability info for conference rooms within a building. âªÂ   Addresses an issue in which the current day could appear in the left-m ost column of the weekly view. âªÂ   Addresses reliability issues with meeting alarms, invitations and atta chments. âªÂ   Resolves issues with reliability when restoring from iCal backups. âªÂ   Fixes accuracy issues with auto-completion, availability data and loca tion names. âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which iCal may send cancellation notices for even ts in the past after a calendar is deleted. âªÂ   Fixes reliability issues with iCal syncing. iChat âªÂ   Addresses reliability issues with screen sharing. âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which saved chat transcripts may reported as "sti ll in use" after opening and closing them in iChat. âªÂ   Resolves an issue with group chats not being indexed in Spotlight. âªÂ   Only the last 250 messages of an active chat are saved. Fixed to sav e unlimited number of lines. âªÂ   Addresses issues with echo cancellation that may occur on portable Mac s. Mail âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which Mail may prevent idle sleep when set to aut omatically check for new messages every minute. âªÂ   Addresses stability issues that may be encountered when dragging large attachments into an email message. âªÂ   Fixes an issue that could occur if two compose windows are open when d ragging a file to the Mail icon in the Dock. âªÂ   Addresses reliability issues when changes are made to a mailbox while offline. âªÂ   Resolves wrapping issues that may be found with consecutive spaces in plain text. âªÂ   Fixes issues with certain web pages appearing garbled when emailed fro m Safari. âªÂ   Fixes an issue in which the Sent, Drafts, and Outbox mailboxes incorre ctly list the "cc" recipients in the "To" column. âªÂ   Addresses reliability issues with attachments added to plain text note s. âªÂ   Fixes reliability issues with authenticated RSS feeds. âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which attaching an alias to an email message may not send the actual file. Parental Controls âªÂ   Addresses reliability issues with application logging and time limits. âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which Parental Controls may prevent forced sleep. âªÂ   Addresses performance issues with web content filters. âªÂ   Fixes an issue with managed accounts in which iChat transcripts may no t be created. âªÂ   Addresses issues with 4-byte files and whitelist. Spaces âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which switching to a different space and returnin g back to the original space may reorder the application windows with a differe nt active window. âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which activating an application from the Dock swi tches to a different space, even if there is a window for that application in t he current space. âªÂ   Fixes an issue in which Command-Tab may incorrectly switch to a new sp ace. âªÂ   Addresses reliability issues with Spaces when syncing preferences over .Mac. Time Machine âªÂ   Includes fixes for Time Machine compatibility with Time Capsule. âªÂ   Resolves certain issues when backing up a portable Mac that is on batt ery power. âªÂ   Addresses compatibility issues with Aperture 2. âªÂ   Addresses reliability issues when performing a full restore from a Tim e Machine backup. âªÂ   Fixes an issue in which certain function keys may be disabled after us ing Time Machine. âªÂ   Fixes a possible alert message that incorrectly states a backup volume does not have enough space. âªÂ   Updates Time Machine to reliably restore attachments and messages in M ail. VoiceOver âªÂ   Includes Braille Update 1.0 which enables GW Micro, HandyTech, HIMS, Nippon, and Papenmeier Refreshable Braille displays. âªÂ   Addresses an issue with Braille dot 7 and 8 underlining. âªÂ   Fixes an issue in which HTML page anchors may be ignored by the VoiceO ver cursor. âªÂ   Fixes an issue that prevented Hot Spots from being used in text areas . âªÂ   Resolves an issue with spell checking in which VoiceOver may only anno unce the first misspelled word if there are multiple words spelled incorrectly. "Remember that it's always a good idea to run RDP before and af ter the update, and an even better idea to backup your data before doing the up date at all (if you're not using Time Machine yet). For most u sers though, prudence dictates waiting a day or two to see if the foolhardy one s (like me) will run into trouble with the update. I'll keep you posted.
So far, Apple<
/strong>'s mobile version of the Safari browser has only been
seen on the iPhone screen. Previously it's been ported for 
Seems like a solid phone. We don't know yet how Safari'll look or fare on a sma
ll screen (amazingly, it'll be a full browser as opposed to a hobbled version),
but we're willing to bet it'll be better than the S60 web browser. No word yet
from either Samsung or Apple as to how this odd pairing came about, but maybe
we'll hear something at the WWDC.
As more builds for the 
This is the
kind of attention-grabbing nonsense reportage that gets picked up and passed a
round the net so much because of its amusing nature that it enters the public c
onsciousness and becomes common knowledge despite not having any basis in actua
l fact, changing the image of the subject forever. That said, this one's too go
od to pass up, so we mention it here too. Heh.
I've read reports that complaining of the harsh edges of its top case, but this
is a first. Someone actually got cut by the sharp edge of, allegedly, a 
The fact
is, anyone can get cut by anything, if he tried hard enough. I mean, a No.2 pencil can poke an eye out, but it's still in the hands of billi
ons of children the world over, right?
Even if the Air is eventually deemed dangerous for public use, I think I'll ris
k it. Mainly because my Mac is my main tool for breadwinning these days, and I'
m not about to let it go. Besides, it's also great to know that I can actually
slice the bread with it as well.
After the Zinio freebie deal for the iPhone,
there's even mo' better reading available for Mac users.
The NY Times rele
ased the beta version of the Times Reader for the Mac a fe
w days ago. It's a good standalone offline reader, and I get mileage out of it
on the occasions when that sneaky wifi signal is hiding from me. I can now just
read the newspaper, so to speak.
The Times Reader is an app that runs well on its own without t
he help of a browser, downloading and formatting the day's issue in a clickable
faux newspaper layout. Being a beta, it has its quirks. Mine has the irritatin
g habit of zapping back to the first page of an article when you try to read be
yond the first page. It's an intermittent glitch though. Another niggle I find
is that you can toggle a 7-day archive of past issues, but of the four days of
downloads I've had so far, I can only access the current newspaper; the past fe
w days just seem to disappear. (Maybe I'm just doing something wrong.)
The sections of the paper are aligned on top for quick access. So you don't get
lost wandering in all the verbiage, it helpfully grays out articles that you'v
e already read, and if you've ever tried reading the New York Times, that's an
awful lot of text indeed, and a gray-out feature like that is really useful.
The only part that doesn't sit well with me is that it insists on installing 
Here we debut a new Mac-A-Doodle section - Things That
Make You Forget Your Mac. At least temporarily. (Talking Appl
e 24-7 does get a bit draining sometimes. We need a break every so oft
en.)
In this irregular feature we show things of interest to Mac-A-Doodle readers th
at may occasionally eclipse your Mac and Apple obesession for
a time. It can be anything from toys to software to books and movies and other
gizmos, and even (God forbid) other computers.
We begin with Hasbro's new US$150 Star Wars Legacy Collection Millennium Falcon, a 2-and-a-half foot
toy with the works - and we mean the works; Hasbro pulled out all the stops on
this one. It's something we wish we had when we were kids, and is every movie g
eek's wet dream. Oh, to be young again...
Zinio, that wonderful source of online versions of your favori
te magazines, is field-testing (or as they say, "incubating") The Zinio Mobile Newsstand, a
service made specifically for the iPhone and the iPod
Touch, and makes use of the graphics and multi-touch features of these
gadgets.
At the moment, all you need d
o is head on to zinio.com/iphone on your device to get full, free (for
now, otherwise it's US$5 per issue), hi-resolution and fully readable copies o
f your titles.
Available ones include Popular Mechanics, Car & Driver, Men's Healt
h, Playboy, Penthouse, Esquire, PC Magazine, Popular Photography, Elle, Technol
ogy Review, Reader's Digest, Macworld US and Macworld UK.
Read them while they last! (And if you know how to tweak Safari to pretend it's an iPhone, you can read these mags on your Macs as well, in full desktop mode. Heh.)
UPDATE: I've gotten more questions about how to tweak Desktop Safari to pretend it's Mobile Safari for iPhones than is comfo
rtable, so here's the secret, once and for all: Go to Safari Prefs/Advanced
and check the box to enable the Develop menu. Then go to Dev
elop/User Agent and select Mobile Safari iPhone. Have fun.
Man & Machine, who
's suing Apple and CBS for alledged infringem
ent on the use of the Mighty Mouse name, replies to Ma
c-A-Doodle, via representative Erica Tingler:
Man & Machine, Inc. declines to discuss its trademark-infringem ent complaint against Apple, Inc. and CBS Corporation, the underlying merits of the case, or any related settlement discussions, since the litigation remains pending. Meanwhile, we remain committed to protecting our rights to the MIGHTY MOUSE trademark and also to finding a fair resolution for all involved parties. Man & Machine designs and manufactures a completely customizable line of hy gienic, cost-effective, water-resistant computer keyboards and mice. They are d istinguished by their ability to be washed and disinfected, and matchless in th eir rugged, sealed design, 100% latex-free silicone construction ideal for medi cal, healthcare, dental, and institutional environments â the best of breed cho ice anywhere safety, durability and user health are priorities."All I can say is, all right then, may the mightier mouse win. Update us on how it goes, Ms. Tingler. Good luck.
Psystar, that maker of those uber-controversial Mac clones, has created something else we never thought would see the light
of day: Mac OS X Service Pack 1. Well, sorta.
Aside from its brazen hardware cloning, it installs Leopard on
to these Frankenstein machines, in direct violation of provisions of the Leopar
d EULA that forbid 3rd party sales and installs of the operating system. Not co
wed in the slightest by Steve & His Legal Eagles, now it even has
the cheek to actually improve on Leopard by fixing some inherent problems in th
e OS, including glitches in Time Machine, Keyboard Viewer and
various other niggles.
Beginning this Monday the various patches, bug fixes and workarounds will come
preinstalled in shipping units, but existing users can download the bunch, whic
h constitutes what is essentially Service Pack 1, from the Psystar website. Some fixes are specific to their hardware, like o
ne that repairs conflicts between Apple's Airport Extreme rout
er and the Realtek network card that ships with the Psystar bo
xes, while some actually improve on Leopard, like support for new versions of <
strong>Java and adding international standards for networked devices.
Oooh. Now we've seen everything. Whoever these guys are, they've got big ones,
don't they?
In the meantime, we wonder why Apple hasn't lowered the boom on these cheeky ba
shi-bazouks. It's gonna be fun when it finally happens, that's for sure.
(Via InformationWeek)
The
little mouse that could, did.
Generate a lawsuit that is. Apple Inc. and CBS are being sued by a Maryland-based company called Man & Machine for use of the name "Mighty Mouse" for Apple's innovat
ive little input device. Apparently Man & Machine had dibs on the name as i
t pertains to input devices, as in waterproof and chemical-resistant industrial
-strength mice.
It's a very circuitous story, actually. I thought naming Apple's new mouse afte
r the super-rodent we all know and love might result in legal tussles, but when
they never materialized I figured Steve took care of it ahead
of time. And he did. Apple bought the rights to the name from CBS, who had own
ed it since 1955, for their new benippled, buttonless wonder.
Then, suddenly, out of a blue sky swoops in Man & Machine, coming to save t
he day. Apparently they came out with their hospital/lab-friendly version of Mi
ghty Mouse more than a year before Apple's version, and they now claim that the
name, in the context of computer peripherals, belongs to them, thereby compell
ing themselves to sue both Apple and CBS for the injustice. Man & Machine w
ants to block Apple's use of the Mighty Mouse name and get some cash for their
trouble. (I think we all know why they took this long to sue, don't we?)
If they succeed, any suggestions on a new name for it? Mightier Mouse? Rodent R
oller? Mouse-k-Steer?
(Via 9to5Mac)
Let's ta
ke a little time off this frenzy of talking about the new iPhone and when it's coming out and who's carrying it and what features it has and
how it looks like and if I should sell my old one now so I can still get a good
price and snap up the new one even though I have no idea if I can actually use
it in my country just yet...
Ahem.
See what I mean. Let's talk about other things for a moment. Like phishing.
Just a heads up. A new scam is doing the rounds that involves the iTune
s Store. Scammers con people into giving up credit and other important
info by luring them to a faux iTunes site where you're asked to update your bi
lling info. iTunes account holders get email telling that they have a problem w
ith their account and request you to fix it by updating your critical info on t
he fake page. Old and tired phishing scam, but a fresh and rich field of harves
t.
Just a little Public Service Announcement from the Doodler. (I know you guys wo
uld never fall for such a silly thing, but it's nice to be reminded. Right?)
One of the most anticipated things later this year (aside from the obvious new
iPhone iteration announcement), is the flood of new apps borne
of the release of the SDK, to be made available through the <
strong>iTunes Store. A lot of these new apps likely were first discuss
ed in iPhoneDevCamp.
Last year, the iPhoneDevCamp was a hotbed of new and innovative ideas, and this
year the madness continues with iPhoneDevCamp 2. The gatherin
g is meant to encourage development and stimulate creativitity and ideas for ap
p creation and development for the iPhone and iPod Touch using
the SDK and web standards in a non-profit, collegiate atmosphere. Think camp f
or geeks.
iPhoneDevCamp 2 this year will be held August 1-3 in San Franc
isco at the Adobe Systems Headquarters, for those of you curio
us, or want to somehow participate. For regular updates, follow iphonedevca
mp on Twitter.
A good friend and co-worker of mine, the extremely talented Hinge Inquirer Crea
tive Director Chris Garperio, recently got himself a f
lat-screen HDTV, and is now obsessed with finding hi-res inputs to fee
d it. He eventually ended up connecting his MacBook to the 
Voila! Your Macbook now outputs full digital surround, including 
A
pple seems to be softening up on its one-provider-fits-all po
licy for the iPhone in other parts of the world.
Recent announcements reveal that yes, it is now possible to have different prov
iders sell the iPhone in the same markets, particularly in Europe. For example, Deutsche Telecom has had the exclusive right
to distribute the iPhone in Austria, but now Orange is getting in on the action there as well. In Italy, <
strong>Vodafone and Telecom Italia are now both distr
ibuting the iPhone, while in Egypt and Portugal, Vodafone and Orange both have their finge
rs in the Apple pie.
In the US, the five-year exclusivity contract between Apple and AT&
T apparently still stands, but T-Mobile USA has recen
tly started providing wifi service in Starbucks cafes alongsid
e AT&T. Hmm.
In the Doodler's home country, it was recently announced that Globe, one of the two dominant telecom providers along with Smart, will be releasing the iPhone in the Philippines this year through its part
nership with Singapore Telecommunications, which has acquired
the rights from Apple for the region.
So it isn't impossible to see a Smart iPhone in the future as well, after all.
Well, as we say here in my country, the more, the many-er.
The chie
f executive of Intel Germany has revealed that Apple is developing a touchscreen device similar to an iPhone, but larger, and with a bigger touchscreen.
Hannes Schwaderer made the statement at an event held in Munic
h, Germany that this alleged tablet-device-phone-pda-something will be
using his company's new Atom processor for mobile devices. Th
is supports rumors circulating the net that Apple is indeed developing a tablet
gadget for general computing that may or not be a new iPhone model. Whether th
is announcement is based on fact or on one too many brewskis is yet to be deter
mined.
Can you say Newton 2.0?
(Via Electronista)
The geek version of the saying "You can never be too rich or too thin."Â is "Y
ou can never have too much RAM or harddrive space."
MCE Technologies took half of this to heart and is now offering the MCE OptiBay Harddri
ve, a 500gb 2.5" harddrive replacement for the optical drive of the 
The iTunes Store has just begun selling shows from cable compa
ny HBO, starting off with episodes from six shows: The
Wire, Flight of The Conchords, Rome, The Sopranos, Deadwood and 
Two pieces of great news for my country, the Philippines! One
is, I'm back, and the other more important one is that Engadget reports that Globe Telecom is releasing the iPhone in the Philippines!
Well, apparently not all credit goes to Globe. According to Engadget's
EIC Ryan Block, it's actually Singapore Telecommunications which secured the rights, and is releasing it through it's partly-owned s
ubsidiary Globe.
According to Engadget:
Singapore Telecommunications (aka SingTel) announced that it's secu red agreements to distribute the iPhone in Singapore (on SingTel Mobile) and it s partly-owned subsidiaries in Australia (on Optus), India (on Bharti Group), a nd the Philippines (on Globe Telecom). Vodafone's also distributing the iPhone in India and Australia though, so we'll h ave to wait until later this year to find out who gets to shoot first." No news as to when though, nor any other details yet, but knowing it'll actuall y happen is the important thing. I'm hoping it'll be announced at the WWDC next month. (Thanks to Jason for the heads-up!) UPDATE: Globe Telecom has made the announcement (tersely thoug h; Engadget had more to say) on its website. Question now is, what's longtime rival Smart going to do? I don't think they'll take this sitting down.
Hey gang
. I'll be in Bali, Indonesia for the next few days (business t
rip), and I don't know my net situation there yet. So if I don't get to post an
ything here until the weekend, you'll know what happened. I hear bandwidth and
availability there is worse than Manila's (deliberately so, if my source is to
be believed), but I'm hopeful.
Consider it a short break if you don't hear from me. Then again, after last mon
th's long posting hiatus, you guys are probably used to it. In the meantime the
signal is amazingly good here at the Centennial Airport while
I wait to board for my flight to Jakarta.
Anyway, catch ya later.
Good question. Honestly, if the new Asus EeePC 900 was available some months back, it might have t
ipped the scales against some folk's choice of the 'ultraportable' Macb
ook Air. (Me included.) The new EeePC gets launched in my neck of the
woods this coming Monday, and the Doodler got an advance review unit (a 12GB 
All signs point to a worldwide rollout of the next iteration of the iPh
one sometime soon, unlike the previous spotty and country-specific lau
nches since the product was introduced last year.
For instance, the latest releases of iPhone Software 2.0 have
included handwriting recognition for Traditional and S
implified Chinese, where drawing a character on the screen with your f
inger will get you prompts for four possible characters on the side of the scre
en.
Plans have also emerged for the release of the new iPhone in Japan, Rus
sia, Mexico and Latin America, while Vodafone
has confirmed it has won rights to distribute the iPhone in I
ndia, Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Portugal, New Zealan
d, South Africa and Turkey. T-Mobile
will also release it in Austria and Italy.
No word on the Philippines yet, but hope springs eternal.
(Pic care of Ubergizmo)
If you're the type who really needs to do everything you can to your gear, here
's something you can do to your jailbroken iPhone - add video
wallpaper.
A group of developers called Skrew created an app called 
Of course the sticking point with the MacBook Air is that it i
s a closed machine - it is what it is, and that's it. Well, that's never really
stopped some folk. If there's a will - plus some dremel tools and a soldering
iron - there's a way.
Take this guy named Jordan Bunnell who added an EVDO broadband
wifi card (a USB727 Verizon Aircard) to the innards of his Ai
r, something most people didn't think possible given the space available. True,
he had to sacrifice his wifi and Bluetooth,
but he proves it can done. Hm.
Check out the butchery, complete with pictures and discussion here and here.
The Doodler's favorite podcast - Buzz Out Loud - has morphed into a vidcast for real. Unlike the live Ustream feeds I wrote about before, this one's a full-bore video, complete with a
multi-camera setup and a director!
Other than that, nothing's changed much as far as content and execution are con
cerned. Except for the fact that now hosts Tom Merritt,
 
Talk about low-profile.
As of today Apple's now apparently selling movies on the iTunes Store, whereas previously you could only rent them (at that
atrociously time-limited way everyone's ticked off over). Seems like a signific
ant change, but for some reason Apple is downplaying it; not even a whiff, when
they normally would trumpet to the high heavens anything new. Regular resoluti
ons so far, no HD yet; average cost seems to hover around $15/movie.
Another notable change is the simultaneous release of new movies on iTunes in s
ync with brick-and-mortar DVD releases. Not quite as downplayed as the movies-f
or-sale thing, this move is a glove-slap-in-the-face for traditional outlets. <
em>Cry havoc and let loose the dogs of war!
Talk about low-profile.
As of today Apple's now apparently selling movies on the 
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has made the Time 100 Mo
st Influential List again in the Builders & Titans category, hitting No. 82.
Quoting from the Time piece about Jobs by Barbara Kiviat:
Steve Jobs is great at playing the countercultural icon. He's a col lege dropout who once backpacked around India looking for spiritual enlightenme nt, and he takes only $1 a year in salary. There are righteous battles to fight , and with Macs and iTunes and iPhones, Jobs fights them, taking on the entrenc hed megaliths that try to dictate our tastes in computers and music and mobile phones. But don't let the black mock turtleneck and denim trousers fool you. More than anything else, Jobs is a canny CEO who knows how to sell product. Steve Wozniak was the technical genius behind the first Apple computer; Jobs saw the marketa bility. He now presides over a company with $24 billion in annual sales and 22, 000 employees. Jobs, 53, is revered by tech and design geeks, but the world's b usiness-school students may have the most to learn from him. Apple's stock has shot up more than 70% over the past year, thanks to Jobs' strategy of focusing on his most profitable customers and coming up with new things to sell themâthe ultra-thin MacBook Air most recentlyârather than just chasing more market shar e. Jobs may be a celebrity CEO, but he doesn't jump out of airplanes or traipse ar ound Africa with bundles of cash. He is always in character and always on messa ge, so much so that when late-night TV parodies him, he's invariably rolling ou t some new iProduct . Jobs gets called mercurial, egomaniacal, a micromanager. If that sounds a little like a CEO doing his job, maybe that's because he isâan d a mighty fine one."See the Time 100 listing here.
Since this morning none of my graphics seem to be showing up on this blog. Hmm.
..
I have no idea why. They were ok yesterday. I have them on a popular photo serv
er that I've been using for years for all my stuff, and this is the first time
I've had a glitch. But I've searched the net for some sign of trouble with them
 , and save for a site maintenance episode there today, nothing seems to be a
miss. Just my blog pics here. (Glitch could be on our side, come to think of it
.)
I uploaded one to the Inquirer server (which I should've been doing from the ou
tset - but I'm a creature of habit) for the previous Java update post, and it s
eems to work. Double hmm...
Will get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, the Doodler begs your indulgen
ce.
UPDATE (two days later): The pics are back. Cool.
Apple updated today Java for Mac OS X 10.5.2 (Upda
te 1). What it does is it adds Java SE 6 Version 1.6.0_05, bla
h blah blah blah. Please note it just adds the new version and doesn't change o
r replace the version you're currently using (which should be Java SE V
ersion 5). It's for 64-bit Intel Macs only, so it won
't show up in Software Update if you don't need the thing.
It's available as a standalone 57mb download too (get it here), but eager-beaver-updat
ers (EBU) might make the mistake of installing it on non-qualified Macs
like Power PCs and 32-bit Intels. I
n fact, the formal Apple blah-blah says:
This release is only for Mac OS X v10.5.2 and later, and should not be installed on earlier versions of Mac OS X. This r elease is for 64-bit Intel-based Macs only and cannot run on PowerPC-based or 3 2-bit Intel-based Macs."Like I said. So please don't get carried away now.
