Harman Kardon intros iPod speakers, car audio tuner
Harman Kardon and its sub-label JBL this morning refreshed their audio lineups for the spring, centering attention on a unique car audio kit. The MS-8 is the first car audio tuner designed explicitly for owners themselves: it combines a digital audio processor with adjustment controls and headphone monitors to tune a car's existing speaker system. A step-by-step process theoretically improves bass, dynamics, frequency response and other factors within 10 minutes....
published yesterday, 20 hours 41 minutes ago, macintosh-news-network
10.6: A workaround for a Boot Camp x64 installation issue
Today I installed Windows 7 Ultimate x64 via Boot Camp on my 2007 MacBook Pro 2.4GHz machine. I was stumped when I couldn’t install the Boot Camp drivers from the 10.6 DVD in Windows. I tried several different approaches, but every single try ended with the message Boot Camp x64 is unsupported on this computer model when launching the Boot Camp setup app. I could also not install the 3.1 update. The only visual indication was Nvidia drivers installing, and afterwards, it would simply quit while all the time there was no reference that I was actually about to install Boot Camp. Knowing that I didn’t do anything wrong, I didn’t want to give up and finally found a solution. Here's a step by step guide: Boot into Windows 7 and insert your 10.6 DVD Right-click on Start » Programs » Accessories » Comman...
published on Wednesday, the 17. March 2010, macosxhints
iPod shuffle owner files lawsuit over alleged sweat damage
An iPod shuffle owner has filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple, after his device allegedly malfunctioned due to perspiration, according to The Wrap. Manhattan Beach, California resident Stephen Vale claims sweat ran down the headphone cord during an exercise session, shorting out the in-line controller on the third-generation Shuffle....
published on Tuesday, the 16. March 2010, macintosh-news-network
Wearable computing expert now Apple "prototype scientist"
Apple has hired an expert in "human-computer interaction for mobile applications" to complement its research and development in mobile computing, according to a new report from Computerworld. Richard DeVaul, known for his work in the field of "wearable computing," is Apple's newest senior prototype scientist. DeVaul originally studied architecture, anthropology, and physics at Texas A&M before working on a masters degree in visualization science. Before finishing his masters thesis on "novel dynamics constraints approximation algorithm for computer animation applications," DeVaul left Texas A&M to pursue an MD and later PhD degree in Media Arts and Sciences at MIT. While at MIT, he also worked as a research scientist at MIT's famous Media Lab. DeVaul's PhD dissertation revolved around a project called "Memory Glasses," which were designed to provide the wearer with context-sensitve cues to assist in memory recall. Much of the research focused on determining how to determine context, including using GPS location and accelerometer data—something that Apple's mobile devices can already provide. Research into how to present recall clues also showed that subtle, even subliminal information could prove useful in assisting memory—the same kind of subtle clues and interactions that are evident throughout the iPhone OS. After DeVaul finished his PhD, he spent the last six years working as the CTO and president of AWare Technologies, which he also co-founded. AWare originally focused on mobile monitoring technologies for athletic and military applications, as well as motion analysis for Olympic teams. The company later focused on adapting its technology to fitness tracking applications, including developing the StepTrak Lite activity tracking iPhone app. AWare's FitAWare system is similar in some respects to a system that Apple recently applied to patent that generates workouts that users can use to compete with each other as a sort of game. Apple has also teamed up with Nike in the past on the Nike+ run-tracking system as well as a system to track exercise on certain gym equipment, both of which interface with iPods and some iPhones. As Apple's senior prototype scientist, DeVaul reports directly to SVP of industrial design Jonathan Ive, ostensibly developing and building prototypes of mobile—and likely wearable—computing devices. Reportedly only seven people besides Ive and CEO Steve Jobs will even know what he is cooking up inside Apple's research labs. DeVaul will likely explore ways to make computing devices that are ever more mobile and constantly accessible, a job that fits Apple's direction as a mobile devices company. Read the comments on this post
published on Monday, the 15. March 2010, ars-technica
Modify one iWeb project on multiple different Macs
Here's a simple workaround that will let you modify your own iWeb website from multiple locations and machines: Carry the original files on a USB stick, and trick the local machines into using the USB stick instead of the local file by using an alias. Important to make this workaround work is that the alias file is set with its 'Open With' set to 'iWeb.' Detailed steps are below. This workaround assumes that the data for all websites created by your machine are on your USB stick. (For management of multiple websites, see this older hint). First, generate your website with iWeb. iWeb stores all information in your user's Library » Application Support » iWeb folder, in a file named domain.sites2. Navigate to this file in the Finder, then: Copy the file domain.sites2 to a USB stick. Create an alias of domain.sites2 (will be called ...
published on Monday, the 15. March 2010, macosxhints
FTC may oppose Google's AdMob buyout
The Federal Trade Commission has signaled that it may at least temporarily block Google's buyout of AdMob, a set of leaks from within the process hinted late Thursday. As part of its investigation, the FTC is reportedly asking "at least two" companies to sign statements that would likely argue that the mobile ad deal abuses Google's web dominance. Such testimonies are usually gathered when FTC agents believe the Commission will block or change a deal, WSU professor Stephen Calkins told Bloomberg....
published on Thursday, the 11. March 2010, macintosh-news-network
Former Sun CEO claims Jobs threatened lawsuit in 2003
Former Sun CEO and president Jonathan Schwartz claims to have received a lawsuit threat several years ago from Apple CEO Steve Jobs. After Schwartz unveiled the prototype Linux desktop titled Project Looking Glass in 2003, Jobs allegedly called to personally notify Sun that its graphical effects were "stepping all over Apple's IP," according to Schwartz's personal blog....
published on Tuesday, the 9. March 2010, macintosh-news-network