Oct 25, 2008 Oct 27, 2008 Sunday October 26, 2008
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Netflix begins testing Watch Instantly on the Mac
Filed under: Internet ToolsNetflix has been talking about bringing its "Watch Instantly" movie streaming service to the Mac for a long time, and now Engadget is reporting that they're finally beginning to roll it out. The "Watch Instantly" service allows unlimited Netflix subscribers to stream about 12,000 TV shows and movies to their computers (or set-top devices), but has been limited to Windows PCs since the service first appeared. Ironically, this is being made possible thanks to Microsoft's Flash-wannabe Silverlight browser plugin. As we noted way back in 2007, the holdup was the need for Microsoft DRM on the streaming videos and the new Silverlight-based player incorporates Microsoft's Play Ready DRM. Unfortunately, the initial roll-out is limited, but Netflix expects to bring "the new platform to all Netflix subscribers by the end of the year." Sadly for PPC owners, it will be limited to Intel Macs. Nonetheless, it's great to see Netflix finally coming through on the promise of Watch Instantly for Mac users.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Google Earth brings virtual tourism to iPhone
The Internet giant releases an iPhone version of its geographic exploration software. And with multitouch and GPS, the interface is better than a PC's.
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Is There Any Hope For MacBook Pro Matte Display Restoration?
Anthony Hunt has posted The Matte display for MacBook Petition on PetitionOnline.com which reads: To:Â Apple Computer We pledge to purchase a new MacBook if you, Apple Computer, would be so kind as to provide the option of a matte display. Sincerely, The Undersigned I'm all for bringing back matte display, and when I visited and signed, more than 5300 others had done likewise, but I have to say I'm not terribly optimistic. While some have suggested that Apple ditched the matte display option on the new 15″ MacBook Pro to cut costs, I think the main impetus was the new MacBook Pro's “display under glass” styling motif pioneered with the aluminum iMac in 2007. So unless there is some way to have a matte finish glass surface that would work, I think it's highly unlikely that we'll see a return to matte in the near future. Possibly if a lot of high-end graphics users dug in their heels and started bailing to the Windows side, it might get Apple's attention, but in the meantime, if you want a matte display, the option is still available in the 17″ MacBook Pro for a few more months at least. But it would be prudent to anticipate it will be gone when a 17″ unibody machine arrives. (more…)
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Will MacBook chip end Intel graphics franchise?
Apple's decision to use Nividia is turning some heads and portends more design wins. But will it end Intel's market share lead in graphics?
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Screaming fast Mozilla browser Minefield gives a glimpse of Firefox's future
Filed under: Software, Internet Tools, Open Source, TUAW LabsI was really disappointed when Google released their Chrome web browser for Windows only. When it comes to browsers, I've tried them all. Right now I regularly switch between Firefox and the latest nightly build from Webkit (essentially Safari). Firefox has the extensibility I rely on, while Webkit has the performance I crave. I had hoped that Chrome would magically combine those two crucial traits and become my new go-to browser. Unfortunately, Chrome is not yet nearly as extensible as Firefox, and isn't available for Mac (yet). So imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon the latest experimental Firefox build from Mozilla, called Minefield. This Minefield should not be confused with the unofficial optimized builds of Firefox that Brett wrote about, which are also referred to as Minefield. Minefield is Mozilla's code-name for this generation of Firefox, and the code name is used for unofficial builds to avoid infringing upon the Firefox name. So, what's so special about the Mozilla Minefield build? It's fast... smokin' fast. This is essentially a version of Firefox with the new TraceMonkey JavaScript engine under the hood, and as Ars Technica reports, it tests even faster than Google's V8 JavaScript engine. As most Mac users have noted, Firefox is kind of pokey on the Mac platform, particularly compared with WebKit or even Safari, and even when compared with Firefox on a similarly spec'd Windows machine. Version 3 of Firefox was supposed to fix the performance problem, and while it's somewhat better, it's still not great. Well, Minefield is great. Using Gmail or even a complex content management system is a breath of fresh air. I feel like my web apps are finally keeping up with me.There's one caveat, and it's a big one: though the current version number is 3.1b2pre (the "b" denoting beta status), this is really alpha software. That means there will be bugs, and you will experience problems. Surprisingly, though, Minefield has been very stable in my testing -- not yet crashing in a full day of testing. I have restarted it a couple of times due to suspicion that something strange was going on, but I can't say for sure if it was. If you use it with your regular Firefox profile rather than creating a new one, Minefield will complain that most of your extensions are not compatible. Using Nightly Tester Tools, I re-enabled all of the extensions that it disabled, and every single one of them appears to be working normally, even the complicated ones like Better Gmail 2 and TabMixPlus. I've only had a problem with one site so far, but unfortunately it's a big one: Google Docs. The page simply won't load. But for now, I'm willing to open WebKit or Camino to edit my Google Docs, because I'm just too smitten with the raw speed that Minefield offers. One last note: being a nightly build, you will likely find that new versions are available, well, nightly. Mozilla makes the process of upgrading to the latest version virtually painless by using the built-in version monitoring process that Firefox uses. [via Ubuntu Unleashed]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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App Store Deal of the Week:Â Effector
Nearly two months ago, we penned the sad news that Air-O-Matic's “Pull My Finger” application was denied from entry to the App Store. Pull My Finger (if you couldn't guess) was a fart noise machine for iPhone. It was one of those times in life when I realized I couldn't have what I didn't know I needed. Good news, fellow immature fart joke aficionados! Effector is in the App Store, and will fill that void in your life. Effector is a sound machine. It comes loaded with noises like a machine gun, or car horn, or applause — you get the idea. It has a slider allowing you to play the sounds in a delayed loop. While it's pretty basic on the surface, Effector has some neat tricks up its sleeve. (more…)
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A boxful of awesome: Box.net iPhone
Filed under: Internet Tools, Reviews, iPhone, App Store, iPod touchI love Box.net -- the online file storage system that makes it easy to store and share files with other users quickly and easily. A couple of years ago, TUAW wrote up how to use Box.net as an iDisk (and this still works), but now the Box team has made it even easier to access your files while on the go, with the new Box.net iPhone app.The app, which is compatible with the iPhone and the second generation iPod Touch (sorry 1st Gen touch users!), is simply awesome. Box.net already had an iPhone friendly mobile interface at i.box.net, but while you could access some files from that page, you couldn't play back media and document viewing was more limited. The new application means you can play back audio and video (assuming the file is compatible with the iPhone 2.1's firmware support for QuickTime), view PDF or Office files, view photos, and upload photos from your iPhone or iPod Touch directly to Box.net.Even nicer, the Box.net app integrates directly with your address book, so you can share a folder or individual document with a contact, just by clicking the "Share" button and selecting the contact from the address book. The application also notifies you of any updates or changes made to your box, which is great for individuals who collaborate with other users using a Box.net account.I have a free Box.net account (which limits me to 1 GB of storage space and puts a 25 MB cap on file sizes), but I was able to access all my files and documents with ease. On my iPod Touch, Box.net loaded PDF files faster than some other tools I have used for PDF viewing, though I did find that network activity did impact overall speed. When the bridged router I use with my non-802.11n devices was in heavy use, it could take quite some time to load a large PDF. When the G router was idle, load time was almost non-existent, even for 8 or 9 MB files.I don't have an iPhone, so I cannot vouch for EDGE or 3G speeds -- but over WiFi, speed was solid. The interface of this app, as you can see from the gallery, is just superb. It perfectly matches both the Box.net website and the iPhone user interface guidelines. Maneuvering through files was a cinch and I love the integration with the address book for sharing files or folders. Being able to upload photos directly to Box.net is also pretty great.If there was anything that could be on my wishlist, it would be the ability to upload other types of tiles to Box.net as well. Of course, you can always e-mail uploads to Box.net, so this isn't an absolute necessity.Box.net is free and available from the App Store now.Gallery: Box.net for iPhoneRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Mystical Macworld Musings
I've recently returned from a trip to Japan. Compared to my home state of California, Japan is 16 hours ahead. This means, for example, when it is Wednesday morning in Tokyo, it is still Tuesday afternoon or early evening in San Francisco. As I explained to my friends, Japan lives in the future. While in Japan, I knew what the next day was going to be like, well before my friends back home! More seriously, while I was generally able to keep up with Mac news during my trip, it will likely be a few more days of recovering from jet lag before I am truly back on track.
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12 Promising Tech Stocks - Barron's
Tech shares are trading at major discounts, but Barron's Mark Veverka cautions investors to pick selectively. Below are several tech stocks that are showing signs of life in a beaten down sector. First, the bad news: tech stocks are down precipitously this year, with the Morgan Stanley tech index down 45% vs. a 40% decline for the S&P 500. Sales are expected to drop, as Goldman Sachs forecasts this year's consumer spending will be a measly 0.6% before dropping to 0.5% in 2009, while key corporate clients will likely reduce IT spending by 4.5%, the first decline in a decade. The cheap dollar, which had helped overseas sales, is now strengthening against the euro and other currencies. To put it simply, says Bill Whyman at International Strategy and Investment, "tech is fighting economic gravity."