After the Zinio freebie deal for the iPhone, there’s even mo’ better reading available for Mac users.

The NY Times released the beta version of the Times Reader for the Mac a few 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 the 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 irritating habit of zapping back to the first page of an article when you try to read beyond 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 few 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’ve 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 Silverlight, Microsoft’s plug-in that is its version of Flash or Quicktime. I try to keep as much Microsoft off my Mac as possible (with the exception of Office, which I can’t seem to wean myself from no matter what I do.)

No offense to my mothership, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, but this newspaper is worth a daily look. All you need is the Times Reader app beta, internet access and a NYTimes account (which is free). Heck, you can even do the daily crossword puzzles.

Man & Machine, who’s suing Apple and CBS for alledged infringement on the use of the Mighty Mouse name, replies to Mac-A-Doodle, via representative Erica Tingler:

Man & Machine, Inc. declines to discuss its trademark-infringement 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 hygienic, cost-effective, water-resistant computer keyboards and mice. They are distinguished by their ability to be washed and disinfected, and matchless in their rugged, sealed design, 100% latex-free silicone construction ideal for medical, healthcare, dental, and institutional environments – the best of breed choice 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.

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 subsidiary Globe.

According to Engadget:

Singapore Telecommunications (aka SingTel) announced that it’s secured agreements to distribute the iPhone in Singapore (on SingTel Mobile) and its partly-owned subsidiaries in Australia (on Optus), India (on Bharti Group), and the Philippines (on Globe Telecom). Vodafone’s also distributing the iPhone in India and Australia though, so we’ll have 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 actually 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 though; 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.

The rumors were true - updated iMacs, hot off the griddle! It seems the only thing they didn’t get was that it was happening a day earlier than the customary Tuesday announcement.

So what’s up? Same price, better specs! Core2Duo Penryns, faster speeds, more goodies:

• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• 802.11n WiFi
• Gigabit Ethernet
• built-in iSight
• 5x USB2
• Firewire 400
• Firewire 800
• 8x double-layer SuperDrive

Here’s the breakdown:

• 20-inch iMac: 2.4GHz proc, 128MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT (1680 x 1050), 1GB RAM, 250GB 7200RPM disk, $1,199.
• 20-inch iMac: 2.66GHz proc, 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro (1680 x 1050), 2GB RAM, 320GB 7200RPM disk, $1,499.
• 24-inch iMac: 2.8GHz proc, 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro (1920 x 1200), 2GB RAM, 320GB 7200rpm disk, $1,799.
• 24-inch iMac: 3.06GHz proc, 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS (1920 x 1200), 2GB RAM, 500GB 7200rpm disk, $2,199.

Available now. Here. Cool.

Gizmodo’s got proof!

Someone actually got an actual living, breathing Psystar Open Computing unit, that third-party hardware pseudo-Macintosh desktop and made a video of it booting up. Software Update can’t seem to figure out what it is, but it thinks it’s a Macbook Pro. Whatever it is, it’s damned fast!

See the exclusive video!

UPDATE: Psystar itself seems to want to validate itself. It just put up a video of its own on their site, although they can’t seem to shake off that cloud of seediness and smarm that’s been clinging to it from Day One, up to now. Especially now. Watch it here.