Gizmodo: .mac

Apple's Free iPod Promotion Ends on September 15th: It's a Good Idea to Wait

Sean Fallon — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:30:00 EDT

If you are looking to take advantage of Apple's annual back to school promotion, here is a friendly reminder that September 15th is your last chance to score a free 8GB nano, 8GB iPod touch (after rebate) or a discount on a Mac. Just remember, we don't know what is coming on September 9th, so it might be a good idea to hold out just in case a miracle occurs and the updates are part of the deal. [MacBlogz]

Leaked Apple Patent Filing is Full of New Multitouch Tech For a Mac Tablet

John Mahoney — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:58:30 EDT

Appleinsider has gotten their hands on a large patent filing from Apple that we haven't seen before, and it's loaded with plans for how a multitouch interface would work on a tablet Mac running full-blown OS X. It covers how small interface buttons will be handled, iPhone-like scrolling through lists, details on a full multi-touch keyboard, and a nifty pop-up scroll wheel. And on top of all that, it seems like it'll even work if you have freaky alien fingers! Let's take a closer look.

The full QWERTY keyboard above has provisions not just for multiple finger keystrokes, but for accepting inputs from all fingers of both hands for touch typing, including multiple key combinations like ctrl-alt-delete and shift/option commands.

As for solving the problem of the many places in OS X where tiny buttons may be difficult to tap (window control buttons, for instance), it looks like we'll see the same pop-up monocle zoom as the iPhone for getting a clearer view of what needs to get tapped.

And a virtual scroll wheel design element can pop up when needed, and be manipulated with single finger swipes, or moved around the desktop with a double-finger drag.

This seems like the most fleshed-out set of multitouch tablet tech we've seen from Apple. It's just a patent filing (dated April 15, 2008), but it seems like things are getting a bit more serious on the Mac Tablet front. And I maintain, being a patent filing illustrator has got to be one of the weirdest, if not best, jobs for someone handy with drawing.
More at: [Appleinsider]

Question of the Day: How Many USB Ports Are You Using?

Sean Fallon — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:10:00 EDT

If you are anything like me, you have waaaay too many gadgets plugged into your USB ports. I have a hub of course, but it is still hard to keep up with the insane amount of stuff you can plug in these days. That having been said, I am curious to know how bad things have really gotten. So, how many USB ports are currently in use on your computer?

Psystar to Countersue Apple, Take No Guff

Dan Nosowitz — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:30:00 EDT

Psystar, prominent makers of "Hackintosh" PCs running Mac OS X, is set to respond to Apple's copyright infringement suit on Tuesday and file a countersuit of their own, just like we thought. Psystar owner Rudy Pedraza insists that his OpenComputer hardware is merely "providing an alternative, an option" to Apple's pricey hardware. Pedraza plans to countersue Apple under two federal antitrust laws, hoping to prove that Apple's fierce tethering of OS to hardware represents an "anticompetitive restraint of trade." It'll be an uphill battle to fight Apple's legal team, but I kind of hope they win: it's like David versus Goliath, if David and Goliath were both big nerds. [CNET]

Open Tech Mac Clone Company Wants To Sell Itself For $50,000

Jason Chen — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT

It's only been three weeks since the Mac "clone" company Open Tech made its debut, but it's already putting itself up for sale for $50,000. In an email on July 20, their Vice President Elijah Samaroo said that they were going to "beat Psystar and not make the mistake they did." By this we took it to mean not distribute a hacked copy of Leopard, which is already available on the internet and is what people have been installing OS X on non-Apple machines for quite a while. That's not what they were doing, unfortunately.

When we asked them whether they could install a plan retail copy of Leopard you purchase at the store onto their hardware without modification, they said "no." The only legit way of actually being "open" is to modify hardware to fool Leopard into thinking that you're putting it on a Mac. In this sense, Open Tech is the exact same as Psystar, and both will most likely be smacked down by Apple. $500 is too much to pay for this company. [Wired]

Mac minis Turned Into Other Fetish Boxes People Drool Over

matt buchanan — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:30:00 EDT

Apple might neglect the Mac mini more than apparently hipsters do showers in mid-August, but some people love it enough to lavish it with the attention no one else does. Hideo Takano is one of those people, transforming the little fetish block into other boxes people obsess over: an over-sized Lego block for Apple-loving manboys to dream of building a Mac minizord, and a cute little gas can for pyromaniacs. Or simply other Macs—like a Quadra or a Mac Pro. We really love the bright red gas can:

Do check out the rest of his roundup at Mac Mod Lab. The Pro envy feels a played out, though an actual Pro stuffed into a mini would be worthy of wankage. [Mac Mod Lab via Technabob]

Microsoft's Seinfeld Ads Considered Other Stars Like Colbert, Sarah Silverman, McConaughey and the Late Bernie Mac

Sean Fallon — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:30:00 EDT

Earlier today we learned that Microsoft is planning a $300 million advertising campaign starring Jerry Seinfeld in an attempt to counter the success that Apple has had with their PC vs Mac ads. However, according to FBLA, Microsoft may not stop with Seinfeld. Rumor has it that stars like Sarah Silverman, Willie Nelson, Travis Pastrana, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Nader, Rob Corddry, Stephen Colbert and even the late Bernie Mac were/are being considered for the ad. Again, it's just a rumor, but this approach worked for the Bill Gates retirement video didn't it? [Yeah, no Bernie Mac for obvious reasons. - BL] [FBLA via Gawker]

Apple Gives MobileMe Customers 60 More Free Days

Jason Chen — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:56:53 EDT

Apple's tacking on an addition 60 days to the 30 days it already doled out to MobileMe subscribers, which means you've got an entire three months extra to wait out the issues you've been having. Apple sent out these emails today to MobileMe subscribers, but if you're one of the ones with MobileMe mail snags, you might not have gotten it. Well you've seen it now! Apple has some qualifications, so click on to see if you're eligible. [Apple]

Rohos Logon Key Converts Any USB Stick To a Mac Login Key

Jason Chen — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:50:00 EDT

Rohos Logon Key is a bit of software that can convert any USB key you have into an actual "USB key" to unlock your Mac. The software sits in your login screen and detects the serial number of your USB key (which is unique, but might not be too easy to duplicate) as the identifier to log you in. Quite cool if you need a convenient way to secure your files from friends and relatives, but probably isn't strong enough to deter any professional data thieves. [Rohos via MacNN via TUAW via Everything USB]

10 Years of the iMac: A Visual History

matt buchanan — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:41:00 EDT

Tens year ago today, the original Bondi blue iMac went on sale. In more ways than one, it marked the rebirth of Apple into the one we know today and the dawn of the Jobs + Ive era. Not a bad legacy. To celebrate, here's a visual history of the iMac through ads, starting with one of the original Jeff Goldblum-narrated commercials, which somehow even seems smarmier in retrospect. Which design was your favorite?

*Not technically an iMac G5 commercial, but the closest I could find for the white flat panel iMac—let me know, and I'll put it up.

I'm kind of a sucker for the Pixar-lamp-style iMac G4. [Hat Tip to Cult of Mac]

Lightning Review: Logitech DiNovo Keyboard Mac Edition

Jason Chen — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:00:00 EDT

The Gadget: The Mac edition of Logitech's Bluetooth wireless DiNovo keyboard, which has been around in its Windows state since 2006. The Mac version has Mac-customized keys like Expose and Spotlight, as well as media playback keys and an on-board trackpad.

The Price: $159

The Verdict: High quality for a semi-premium price. The DiNovo keeps the same form factor as the old PC version, but adds Mac-centered function keys and shortcuts like Dashboard, Mail, Safari, iTunes, iPhoto, Expose and Spotlight, as well as custom playback controls, an on-board mini-trackpad, a volume slider and the obligatory command, option and control keys.

In terms of build quality, it's super stable and can stand up to quite a bit of hard typing if you've got hammer fingers. It's also on the soft side of keyboard (not like the IBM clackfests), so people who enjoy the latest Apple aluminum keyboards will definitely like this. In fact, it's probably even slightly more comfortable than Apple's, which is good, seeing as this costs about twice as as their wireless version.

There's no num pad, but even without it the keyboard takes up a not insubstantial amount of space on your desk. There's a nice docking station for recharging once a month. We'd definitely give this a thumbs up for users who type a lot to justify the $160 price tag. [Logitech]

Psystar "Definitely Still Shipping" Mac Clones

Sean Fallon — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:49:00 EDT

Psystar simply doesn't know when to quit. Despite being in the midst of a lawsuit with Apple, they continue to push their luck. Not only are they offering free Leopard restore disks to their customers, Psystar has also confirmed that the Mac clones are "definitely still shipping." They had better hope that their fancy Palo Alto-based Carr & Ferrell lawyers can back up all of this machismo. [InformationWeek]

Quick Tip: Quick Sync Only Calendar and Address Book To Your iPhone

Jason Chen — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:45:00 EDT

Here's a quick tip on how to sync only your address book and calendar with your iPhone—perfect for the times when you want to get in and out and not worry about whether it's going to transfer five albums or back up all your apps. Just use iSync by pulling down the dropdown in the iSync icon and hitting sync there. Remember to set your phone to manual sync in iTunes first or it'll run the whole process normally when you connect your phone. [Mac OSX Hints]

Psystar Lawyers Hinting at Antitrust Defense Against Apple

Sean Fallon — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT

If you thought Mac cloners Psystar were going to go on the Apple chopping block without a whole lot of fuss...think again. The case is about to get a lot more interesting now that their defense team seems prepared to play the antitrust card in court. As Colby Springer, one of the lawyers on Psystar's team noted:

"This case has been mischaracterized. There are a lot more complicated issues than just copyright or trademark. There are more complex issues [than those] in respect to the end-user licensing agreement. And antitrust issues come into play, too..."

When pressed further about the situation in the interview, Springer added: "But take a look at the website of the lead attorney representing Apple," he said. "Apple knows where this is going."

I seriously doubt that an antitrust defense will get Psystar off the hook in the end, but it seems to be their best legal option by far. In fact, they probably prepared for this from the beginning. At any rate, it will certainly open up some interesting debates in the coming months. [Computer World via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Logitech Makes Wireless DiNovo Edge Keyboard for Macs Too

Kit Eaton — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:15:00 EDT

Logitech's diNovo edge keyboard, originally billed as "the most advanced keyboard in the world" has only been available in Windows versions, but today Logitech are releasing a version for Macs. Just like the original it's got multimedia keys, "PerfectStroke" keys and a touchpad-like touchdisc, but this time it's also got Mac-specific keys for launching apps like Mail and Safari. Plus it's got a power button, so you can switch off your Mac by remote. It connects through Bluetooth, comes with a charger base/stand and will cost you a jot under $160. Press release below.

FREMONT, Calif. —(Business Wire)— Aug. 6, 2008 Logitech (SWX:LOGN) (NASDAQ:LOGI) today announced the perfect keyboard to complement your Mac(R) computer. The Logitech(R) diNovo Edge(TM), Mac(R) Edition is the newest addition to Logitech's line of award-winning diNovo keyboards and the first diNovo keyboard specially designed for the Mac.

"We're truly delighted to offer discerning Mac enthusiasts our highest quality in keyboard design and performance," said Denis Pavillard, vice president of product marketing for Logitech's keyboards and desktops. "From the piano-black finish to its built-in TouchDisc(TM) touch pad, the diNovo Edge can make it a pleasure for you to type, control music or launch your favorite applications."

Since the introduction of the original diNovo(TM) Media Desktop(R) in 2004, Logitech's diNovo line of distinctive keyboards has garnered many awards in response to its blend of design and performance. The newest diNovo keyboard is exceptionally thin (1/2 inch or 11.05 mm) with a high-gloss, semi-translucent Plexiglas(R) frame, sharp angles and soft-orange backlighting. The aluminum palm rest with anodized-silver finish looks good with any Mac computer, including the iMac(R) and the MacBook(R) Pro.

In addition to its design, the diNovo Edge, Mac Edition features optimized Mac keys for one-touch access to Mail, Safari(TM) and iTunes(R), as well as many other Mac-specific applications. The new Logitech keyboard even offers a Power button that turns your Mac computer on and off, while the TouchDisc allows you to scroll and navigate from your keyboard. Moving a finger up and down or across the disc moves the cursor on the computer screen, and moving the finger in a circular motion around the perimeter of the TouchDisc enables you to scroll horizontally and vertically through documents. (Logitech Control Center software installation is required for some features.)

For a typing experience that's comfortable, fluid and silent, the new Logitech keyboard features the Logitech PerfectStroke(TM) key system. PerfectStroke is designed to create longer key travel - 3.2 mm compared to 2.2 mm - than that of typical notebook keyboards, which means that the distance your fingers have to travel to activate a key is optimized for your comfort. And because micro-scissors distribute force evenly across key surfaces, even if you strike the edge of a key, the key stroke still feels the same.

An included charging base eliminates the hassle of changing batteries, with a four-hour charge giving you up to one month of battery life. A 10-minute power charge provides one day of use.

So you can get started right away, the new Logitech keyboard connects directly to a Mac computer through Bluetooth(R) wireless technology, providing a range of up to 30 feet.

Pricing and Availability

The Logitech diNovo Edge, Mac Edition cordless keyboard is expected to be available in the U.S. beginning this month. The suggested retail price in the U.S. is $159.99.

iTunes 7.7.1 is Out

Brian Lam — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:22:53 EDT

No word on what it does besides "improve stability and performance". Keep in mind that this comes a few days after iPhone app DRM was cracked, so if you're dabbling in the black arts of app swapping, you probably want to wait til someone else reports on whether this affects that or not before upgrading.

Apple Claims Major MobileMe Bugs Worked Out, Time to Move On

Sean Fallon — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:44:00 EDT

As of yesterday evening, Apple claims the bugs that have plagued the service since its launch have been worked out, including restoring the mail accounts of users that were locked out for nearly two weeks and resolving a new bug that caused devices to drop calendar and contact data when syncing wirelessly. With those issues behind them Apple has resolved to switch gears and focus on improving other areas of the service. Appleinsider forum members are still reporting problems though, so this resolution may still be a little premature. [MobileMe Status via Appleinsider]

John Mayer Does Apple Tech Support for His Dad, Fails Miserably

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EDT

In a twist of destiny, John Mayer—the guy who writes to Apple Support saying "Hey guys, John Mayer here" and actually gets replies back—had to turn into tech support guy after his dad called saying "Hey, John Mayer's dad here." The musician tried to guide his father through Mac OS X in order to find his Entourage icon with no success, getting more and more frustrated with every turn of the conversation. We were able to grab the hilarious 100% unedited clip from TMZ before it disappeared.

You all know we are not fans of John—one of Steve Jobs' favorite pop heads—but having experienced similar situations with family and friends, we absolutely sympathize with his frustration. Update: Some readers are saying this is staged. We don't know if it is or not, but it's funny nonetheless. Update 2: No, we are still not fans of John Mayer.

...

OK, you are right. We don't. [Tumblr — Video no longer available — Thanks Benny and Richard]

Microsoft's "Vista Doesn't Suck" Ad Campaign Thinks Everyone Remembers The 15th Century

John Mahoney — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:30:57 EDT

Either that or their agency just really loves Thomas Friedman. Anyhow, Microsoft's $300 million campaign to return fire after Apple's "Mac vs. PC" ads with our buddy John Hodgman—which, like it or not, were a wildly successful campaign and definitely helped shape the public's perception of Vista—has begun with this image from microsoft.com, comparing the potential realization that Vista doesn't suck to the debunking of the flat earth theory. It took a bold voyage to the New World by one Christopher Columbus to change everyone's mind on the first one—but Microsoft is hoping a little ad campaign will do the trick to clean up the gross misconception the public (and tons of Windows users) seem to have about Vista.

It makes sense that Microsoft is going for a more conceptual ad here, rather than tick off a list of everything that people should perceive Vista is good at (they already do that on the page the ad points to). I can think of a lot of other future installments, like "At one point, everyone thought witches walked among us" or "At one point, people thought they could turn lead into gold," or "At one point, people thought that it was a good idea to shit into ditches alongside the city streets." The campaign basically writes itself—why don't you guys give is a whirl. [ZDNet via CrunchGear]

Microsoft Live Mesh Client For Mac Leaked, Tested

John Mahoney — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:20:42 EDT

After opening up more spots in the technical beta last week, the Live Mesh folks got a bit ahead of themselves and accidentally let leak a pre-release version of the Live Mesh Mac client, which brings file and data syncing, but no remote desktop control yet, to Intel OS X machines. The download link is gone now, but the folks at jkontherun were able to grab it and put it through its paces and grab some screens. [jkontherun via Liveside]

Psystar HQ Up for Sale, Buy It Now for $4.6 Million

matt buchanan — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:20:18 EDT

Not looking so good on the Psystar front. Following Apple's inevitable lawsuit and demand that every Mac clone be recalled, apparently their HQ is on the market and "priced for quick sale" by owners Constructora Canahuati. "Find new headquarters" is a hell of an addition to an already busy to-do list. [Yahoo!, Thanks Sean!]

Apple Demands Recall of Every Psystar Mac Clone

matt buchanan — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:50:00 EDT

More details on Apple's long-coming obliteration of Mac cloners Psystar: Not only have they hit them with eight claims of copyright infringement, breach of contract, trademark and trade infringement, and unfair competition, they're asking that every Psystar Mac clone sold be recalled. That would obviously bankrupt them, and then Apple wants whatever's left, asking for all profits made in addition to both actual and statutory damages. Here's what we expect the proceedings to look like:

But just think, a Psystar Open Computer might become a sought-after collector's item in a matter of months. Maybe buying one wasn't such a bad idea after all! [Yahoo!]

Apple Admits MobileMe Snags, Gives Free 30-Day Extension

Kit Eaton — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:34:20 EDT

Apple's MobileMe service hit so many snags during its launch period that Apple have just issued an email apology to members. Saying "The transition from .Mac to MobileMe was a lot rockier than we had hoped," Apple's apologizing with a 30-day membership extension for free to anyone who was a .Mac member with an active account as of July 9, 2008 and new MobileMe members who created accounts on or before July 15, 7:00 PM PDT. Details can be found on the Apple support page here. The email also apologizes for the controversy over the speediness of "push" services, and says that Apple's not using the term until it really is "near-instant on PCs and Macs, too."

We have recently completed the transition from .Mac to MobileMe. Unfortunately, it was a lot rockier than we had hoped.

Although core services such as Mail, iDisk, Sync, Back to My Mac, and Gallery went relatively smoothly, the new MobileMe web applications had lots of problems initially. Fortunately we have worked through those problems and the web apps are now up and running.

Another snag we have run into is our use of the word "push" in describing everything under the MobileMe umbrella. While all email, contact or calendar changes on the iPhone and the web apps are immediately synced to and from the MobileMe "cloud," changes made on a PC or Mac take up to 15 minutes to sync with the cloud and your other devices. So even though things are indeed instantly pushed to and from your iPhone and the web apps today, we are going to stop using the word "push" until it is near-instant on PCs and Macs, too.

We want to apologize to our loyal customers and express our appreciation for their patience by giving all current subscribers an automatic 30-day extension to their MobileMe subscription free of charge. Your extension will be reflected in your account settings within the next few weeks.
We hope you enjoy your new suite of web applications at me.com, in addition to keeping your iPhone and iPod touch wirelessly in sync with these new web applications and your Mac or PC.

Thank you,
The MobileMe Team

[Apple]

Apple Finally Unleashes Lawyers, Force Lightning on Psystar

matt buchanan — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:57:36 EDT

Three months after Psystar openly declared war on Apple's EULA and started selling its Open Computer running Mac OS X, Apple has filed a formal complaint against the company with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. They apparently waited for Psystar to distribute a modded version of the 10.5.4 update, filing the suit a day after, on July 3. Though the suit's intricate details are unclear right now, reason number four for not buying a Psystar machine just went live. [Apple Insider]

MobileMe OS X Update Available Now (Again)

matt buchanan — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 19:11:50 EDT

With yesterday's bumps mostly smoothed out, and MobileMe live for a straight day, Apple is apparently comfortable enough to push the MobileMe OS X update back out. (It was pulled after going up briefly on Wednesday.) Interestingly, it's version 1.1. Hit Software Update to get the party started, and let us know how it goes. [Apple]

MobileMe Website is Up, One Day of Awkwardness Late

Kit Eaton — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:31:00 EDT

So we showed it to you briefly yesterday, but then MobileMe turned around and seemed to bite the Apple that made it, and has been unavailable until just now. Can we assume more technical hitches than its developers had anticipated? Yes, I think we can, particularly given Apple's "it's taking longer than expected" error message. But now it's up, and since the iPhone has already been on sale in some places for nearly a whole day, that can only be good news. Update: There's a getting started tour, which didn't appear to be there yesterday. Everything else works as anticipated. [Me.com]

Apple Mega-Launch Report: iPhone 3G, iTunes App Store, Firmware 2.0 and MobileMe

Wilson Rothman — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:38:21 EDT

For those of you just crawling to your computers, here's what's been going on this very busy AM:
• First, the App Store opened its doors on iTunes 7.7 (available for download), and we did the first video walkthrough of the App Store featured on some early iPhone 2.0 firmware.
• MobileMe, the service that replaces .Mac, suddenly went live, and then suddenly went dead again. Fortunately, we were in long enough to post the first live screenshots.
• The free 2.0 firmware update for iPhone leaked out, so now anyone with an iPhone can download it—iPod touch owners still have till it's for sale, though. ($9.95, last we checked.)
• Sales of actual iPhone 3Gs began amid the hullabaloo—some dipwad named Jonny won this year's Greg Packer award.
• In our morning-long comb through the over 500 apps in the App store, we've found some interesting little gems, and shot the first video of the iTunes Wi-Fi remote for iPhones.

MobileMe Is Up!

Wilson Rothman — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:03:46 EDT

Apple's MobileMe, the bigger/better/more version of .Mac, just went live, sort of. We logged in and poked around, but then the site went dead and the server started redirecting us back to the old "coming soon" page. Here's what we saw before things went away:

As promised, all of the .Mac galleries are there, now capable of editing online as well as from iPhoto, with everything synced happily:

Calendar was automatically synced too:

The look and feel were exactly like the video in the "coming soon" page, you could click on Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Photos, iDisk and a Users account-manager tab. Mail didn't work for me at all, and the server denied me by the time I hit iDisk, but all the stuff in the middle was working fine. Stay tuned for more. [MobileMe]

.Mac Down For MobileMe Transition

Jason Chen — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:25:04 EDT

It's official. .Mac is down for the MobileMe transition as of about 9ish Pacific time. It's a little more than an hour past the start of the 8PM-2AM window, so things should be on target for coming back up before 2AM. Our only question at this point is why those four languages are the only ones on the .Mac maintenance site? Are they the four largest .Mac countries? Is someone at Apple a huge WW2 buff? [Mac]

MobileMe Setup in iPhone OS 2.0 Video

Jesus Diaz — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:45:00 EDT

We already knew that MobileMe email services are now fully active and accessible through any desktop mail client. This morning I tried to set up MobileMe on my iPhone with OS 2.0 and I discovered that the calendar, bookmarks and contacts all synchronized fine, even while push synching—the ability of MobileMe to make changes to your iPhone over the air as they happen—is not active yet.

As you can see, MobileMe's setup is quite straightforward. Like with .Mac accounts on the original iPhone, the preference panel only requires you to add your user name and password. After the information is verified, the iPhone takes you to a screen where you can turn on and off the synchronization of calendar, mail, bookmarks, and address book. In its current beta state, the synchronization process completely obliterated my current data, replacing it with Addy's.

Unfortunately, as you can see in the video, she didn't have any data in her .Mac account except for mail messages (she has never synchronized her current Sony Ericsson or MacBook with the .Mac servers, so everything was empty after the first sync). I don't know if completely replacing the existing iPhone contents is the desired behavior or a bug in the iPhone OS 2.0 beta, so we would have to wait for the release of the new operating system this Friday to see how it it really works. There are two possibilities: either the synchronization would mix the existing data and the incoming data in the iPhone, or it would assume that you would like to fully replace your iPhone contents with a fresh copy from MobileMe.

After the first synchronization over the air, however, the push synchronization didn't work. We would have to wait for tomorrow—which apparently could be the date for MobileMe activation—to see how it goes. Stay tuned for our ongoing iPhone 2.0 and MobileMe testing.

How To: Me.com Mail Fully Working, Set It Up Now

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:55:00 EDT

Both sending and receiving of me.com mails is working now. Following a tip by reader Gizmodo reader Tom, we have tested this with our own Mac.com accounts. It works perfectly, both for sending and receiving. Setting it up is very easy:

1. Go to your mail program.

2. Create new account.

3. For the user name, use your current .mac account (in my case: jesusdiaz)

4. For the incoming server select IMAP and enter mail.me.com

5. Use your current .mac password.

6. For the SMTP (outgoing) server enter smtp.me.com

7. Use your current .mac password.

Done.

Mac mini Rack Lets It Hang Anywhere, Adds Front USB 2.0 Ports

matt buchanan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:30:00 EDT

The Mac mini looks good because the front is completely minimal. Unfortunately, that makes the front completely useless, and a pain in the ass if you have it set up where you need spelunking gear to get to the USB ports. Enter the unfortunately named Hang With Mi, which lets you mount your mini anywhere and adds four USB 2.0 ports to the front. Downside is that it needs its own power source, but the overall neat and convenient factor definitely adds up to the $50 pricetag. [macessity via Unpluggd]

Mac Pro Overclocking Tool By ZDNet Boosts Cheapo Model to Whoa Mama Model

Jason Chen — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:00:00 EDT

ZDNet's come up with a software-based app to overclock processors on the Intel 5000 and 5400 chipsets, which (as of right now) is the Mac Pro and Xserve. Apparently ZDNet Clock is so good, the cheapest 2.8GHz Mac Pro outperforms the 3.2MHz Mac Pro, saving you $1600. You'll have to fiddle with the slider to get it customized for you, so don't think you can just drag it to the right and not have a crashfest on your hands. Hit up ZDNet to see the details. If you can get this to work right (and have enough cooling), it could be fantastic for heavy computational tasks. [ZDNet via Wired]

MSI Wind Running Mac OS X Also Thinks It's a Mac Pro

Jesus Diaz — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:00:00 EDT

It's not even out yet and people have already hacked Mac OS X to run on the MSI Wind. Like with other non-Apple Leopard boxes, the little computer believes it is a Mac Pro, which is OK because we all want to be Mac Pros when we grow up. This version is still lacking some fine tuning, but it runs quite well according to Insanely Mac forum member Jav:

Well, here it is. The new MSI Wind running Kalyway 10.5.2 (modified Leopard install). I still have to make some small adjustments, like the resolution and the wireless network card, but I couldn't resist posting these images that I'm sure will get the interest of more than one person. Ethernet and Bluetooth work right out of the box, so I'm really expecting a lot from this small notebook. — Translated from Spanish

I like the idea of a $399 mini-notebook running Leopard at full capacity. [Insanely Mac Forum — In Spanish 2-Germans 0 — Gracias Perico!]

Dealzmodo: Parallels Desktop 3.0 For $39/$49

Jason Chen — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:26:50 EDT

You probably already know that both we and Lifehacker enjoy running Windows on our Macs using Parallels. Well, MacHeist has a deal today where you can pick up a copy for just $49, which includes a copy of MacPilot. That price gets even sweeter ($10 sweeter) if you previously bought a MacHeist bundle. Get yours now if you like good deals. [MacHeist]

Dell Dock Puts a Little Mac OS X Into Vista Studio Laptops

Wilson Rothman — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:01 EDT

Dell's Studio Laptops will be getting a little touch of the Mac OS when they ship, thanks to the Dell Dock, a launcher that cleans up the Vista desktop in the most charming, albeit derivative, way. Below you can see "Before" and "After" images of the cleanup:

Here's the standard Vista desktop:

And here it is when it's been all Dockified:

Dell talks about customizing it in various ways by adding and deleting icons, changing colors and adding text:

There's no mention of whether you can move it to the bottom or sides, though. Wouldn't that be, uh, Mac friendly? All joking aside, I would like to say kudos to Dell for the cool execution. I, for one, can't wait to test it out.

[Dell]

Linksys (Finally) Builds Mac-Friendly Setup Wizard

Wilson Rothman — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Linksys today announced EasyLink Advisor setup wizard for Mac OSX 10.4 and up, available for download in support of WRT310N, WRT160N, WRT110 and WRT54G2. New routers will ship with a disc containing both Mac and Windows setups. The other good news is that Linksys will now support Mac users when they call for tech support. As a fan of Linksys and Macs, all I can say is, "It's about freakin' time." [Linksys]

EFiX Instant, No-Mess Hackintosh USB Dongle Details Emerge

matt buchanan — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:30:00 EDT

EFix has updated their site with some more details on its voodoo USB dongle that'll supposedly boot, install and run OS X "unmodified," straight from the DVD on any PC (Intel processors only though). Among the freshly listed goods are "official Apple Updates," an interactive system boot selector and power management features.

Under the list of products now are desktop and notebook versions, as well as one for PCI slots (which would be sweetness), and a complete system (a la Psystar, presumably). FYI, doubting Steves, the dongle "is a completely unique device with very intricate protection above and beyond your wildest imagination." The "About Us" and "Where to Buy" tabs are still blank. [Efi-X]

Can Command + Legoland + 1 Brick Your Mac?

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:32:00 EDT

This is the second thing I found in my trip to the center of the Lego universe. Road sign or secret tip? I tried the keyboard combo in my PowerBook and it didn't work, but given the origin of the command symbol—as commanded by Steve Jobs and executed by Susan Kare—I thought it was well worth a try.

Finally she [Susan Kare] came across a floral symbol that was used in Sweden to indicate an interesting feature or attraction in a campground. She rendered a 16 x 16 bitmap of the little symbol and showed it to the rest of the team, and everybody liked it. Twenty years later, even in OS X, the Macintosh still has a little bit of a Swedish campground in it.

It certainly marks the spot in this case.

I'm back from Lego's headquarters in Denmark, frantically writing features, editing video, and preparing images showing the amazing brick manufacturing process, the Lego cathedrals with billions of pieces in them and giant robots moving them around, the Lego secret vault with every single set ever produced, and many more awesome things. I've to say that I've been blown away and, trust me, it's not just fanboyism. [LEGO in Gizmodo]