Genius, a regular purveyor of cheap and cheerful technology, has today announced a pair of "dual platform" tablets that play nice with both Windows and Mac OS. The EasyPen i405 comes with 28 programmable hot keys, a software bundle, 4 x 5.5-inches of real estate and a $79 price tag. This is trumped by the MousePen i608, which throws in an optical mouse, a 6 x 8-inches working area and -- best of all -- one more hot key to program. Bargain hunters out there might want to prick up their ears, as the MousePen is already available at Amazon and Newegg at prices south of $60, far below its suggested retail price of one Benjamin -- hey, it's no Wacom, but it certainly won't dent the wallet too bad.

Colorware's well known for offering up all sorts of consumer electronics in all sorts of hues, but the outfit has definitely stepped up its game with the Stealth MacBook Pro. This limited edition piece is an all-black 15-inch MacBook Pro with a matte display, 3.06GHz CPU, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, 256GB SSD, an 8x SuperDrive, zero gloss finish and a SofTouch coating that'll make it downright impossible for your fingers to stop stroking it. Reportedly, these will be limited to just ten units, and each one will cost a not-at-all affordable $5,999. See Apple, this is what you get when you voluntarily axe the BlackBook. Opportunity, lost.

[Via Engadget Polska]

To think, we've been waiting on the edge of our seats since January to get our hands on Ecamm's BT-1 wireless, Bluetooth-enabled webcam for OS X. Sure, 640 x 480 / 15fps H.264 video quality is comparable to what our MacBooks get anyway, but hey, at least you can be a little more artsy on your Skype calls without losing that prime display viewing angle. All that waiting doesn't matter now, anyway, since it's finally shipping out. Price is $150 and it includes a mini-tripod and USB charger cable -- can't seem to get rid of wires entirely just yet. As for Windows support, it's still not there officially, but we've no doubt some intrepid young coder with an afternoon to spare will fix that.

It was just a day short of a year ago that we first got a bad feeling Snow Leopard was going to be end of the road for the PowerPC crowd. Now we know the truth, with Apple confirming Mac OS X version 10.6 will require Intel processors, cutting the cord on that rich lineage of alternative CPU support. From here on out it's Intel or bust -- until Apple finds a new silicon suitor it prefers, anyway.

[Via MacRumors]

Sure, Apple didn't really shock anyone with the announcement of the iPhone 3G S this morning at WWDC, but there was no shortage of news at the Moscone Center -- we also got new MacBooks, final Snow Leopard details, and a release date for iPhone OS 3.0. On the other hand, it wasn't all good news either: AT&T's iPhone upgrade pricing and service levels leave a lot to be desired, and Apple's unfortunate penchant for sealed-in batteries has finally hit the 15-inch MacBook Pro. Apple's posted its stream of the keynote if you want to relive things in real-time, but here's a quick rewind in case you missed anything:

The good

• Current iPhone owners will get iPhone OS 3.0 for free, although some features like video recording and voice control are limited to the iPhone 3G S. It's not perfect, but we don't really complain about free.
• Snow Leopard upgrades will cost just $29, instead of the usual $129.
  
• The original 8GB iPhone 3G is now only $99 for new AT&T subscribers. That's definitely going to make some waves in the smartphone market.
• We'd have loved to see some external design improvements and maybe some more surprising features that weren't rumored, but overall the iPhone 3G S is definitely in the "good" column -- it's a solid set of improvements to an already very good platform.
• MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (including the new 13-inch Pro) specs have increased while prices have come down, and glory be, FireWire is back on everything but the Air.
  

The bad

• As usual, iPod touch owners are going to get dinged $9.95 for the iPhone OS 3.0 upgrade. Hey Apple -- maybe switch these guys over to subscription accounting as well?
• Let's face it, "iPhone 3G S" is a pretty clunky name.
• Sure, it's nice that the MacBook Pros now have an SD card slot, but losing ExpressCard hurts. And why not a multicard reader? Pro DSLRs still use CF.

The ugly

• Sure, new customers and qualified upgraders are getting some sweet pricing on iPhone hardware, but AT&T's basically flipping existing customers the bird -- they'll have to pay anywhere from $399 to a whopping $699 to get an iPhone 3G S. You'd think they'd have looked at how many people went from a first-gen iPhone to a 3G and realized those same people would want a 3G S, but apparently not.
  
• On top of that insult, AT&T isn't supporting all of iPhone OS 3.0's features out the gate: MMS is coming "later this summer," and tethering has been promised but there's no timeline and no pricing information. Thanks, AT&T.
• Sure, it's grand that the 15-inch MacBook Pro's battery now lasts for up to seven hours on a charge and won't lose capacity for five years, but a non-swappable battery on a workhorse professional machine just doesn't cut it for us.

So all in all we'd say that the good outweighs the bad, although AT&T really disappointed here. Of course, that's just scratching the surface -- check out the rest of our coverage after the break and let us know what you think!

After showing off Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" at last year's WWDC, Apple is finally ready to ship it out the door this coming September, for a quite reasonable upgrade fee of $29 for Leopard users (as opposed to the regular $129 for larger refreshes). Folks who buy a Leopard machine between now and December can get the upgrade for $10 in shipping. While the added feature list is relatively slim, and there are few surprises between what was confirmed last year and the various leaks from developer previews, Apple's still giving users and developers some fun new tech to play with -- particularly the GPU-exploiting OpenCL, and the Grand Central Dispatch tech for developers to ease application optimization for multi-core processors. Pretty nerdy stuff, but if it makes our Dashboard Sudoku Widgets run faster, we can hardly complain. Other updates to the OS Apple is trotting out at WWDC:

• Apple rewrote the Finder, while keeping it mostly the same on the surface, for a bunch of "little benefits." Tweaks include faster Quick Look previews and Spotlight searches.
  
• There's built-in Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 support in the OS, including Mail, Calendar and Address Book syncing.
  
• QuickTime X has a new "modern foundation," HTTP streaming and a whole new look. Users can record and trim video, and upload to sharing sites like MobileMe and YouTube.
  
• Snow Leopard has half the footprint of Leopard, amounting to 6GB in savings and 45% faster installs.
• New trackpads can handle handwriting recognition now, and there's new text selection "AI." There's also support for wireless Braille accessories (pictured).
  
• Safari 4 is available for Windows, Leopard and Tiger, but Snow Leopard adds "Crash Resistance," which keeps browser and tabs intact even if a plugin crashes -- user just refreshes the page. 64-bit version does JavaScript 50% faster.
• All core apps are 64-bit, and performance improvements abound. Mail boasts 85% faster message loads and 90% faster loads, while Time Machine has a 50% faster initial backup time.

Update: More Snow Leopard additions and refinements are detailed here. Highlights we've spotted so far include Text Expander-style capabilities in Text Edit and Mail, and three finger and four finger multitouch gesture support for older (pre unibody) MacBooks! [Thanks, Jakob]

Not that Dell's other Mini machines aren't perfect candidates for creating your own hackintosh, but it's stellar to know that the outfit's newest member is as well. After going on sale earlier this month, the Mini 10v has been procured, unboxed and dissected, all in the name of unabashed discovery. Interestingly, it seems as if the RAM slot requires that the keyboard and motherboard be lifted for access, but for even the mildly seasoned computer user, that's absolutely nothing they can't handle. If you're into hardcore, uncensored splayings of newfangled netbooks, the read link is where you need to be, holmes.

[Via MyDellMini, thanks Erik]

That's right Mac lovers -- your mildest dreams have come true. A new update of OS X is now available via your friendly Software Update window... a little something Apple likes to call 10.5.7. What are you waiting for? You know you love updates. Full list of fixes / tweaks after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Apple's freshest Mac Pro, which was the first machine of any kind to ship with Intel's newest Nehalem-based Xeon processors, has been on the block for a few months now. By our estimation, that's plenty of time for the pros (and "prosumers," if you will) to get a good feel of their new workstation. Design wise, not a lot has changed in the machine, but we're anxious to know how you feel about the more subtle changes as well as the internal overhauling. Apple's charging a small fortune for this bad boy, so we fully expect you to be critical here. What's it missing? What should've been included? Are you still bitter that WiFi is a $50 option on a multi-thousand dollar machine? Sound off below!

If you're keeping track of Snow Leopard's progress, you'll be pleased to know that a new build (10A335) has been released into the hands of devs (and consequently, the world). Most interestingly, however, is that it seem this new iteration has a handy screen grab feature that hasn't made an appearance until now -- namely, the native ability (under QuickTime) to "record" your on-screen activities. There are other third-party apps that handle this duty, like the classily-named Snapz Pro X, but the inclusion in this latest beta will almost certainly mainstream the function. It should come in handy if you're constantly trying to tell you parents how to change their network settings, or if you're thinking about producing your own version of You Suck at Photoshop.

[Via Mac Rumors]

Take a good look at the box above, folks -- it just might be the first, the last and the only Open(3) you ever see. Psystar's latest Mac clone, which was launched right around a month ago, has miraculously managed to ship out (or, at least one has). If you'll recall, the company has been battling with Apple for months on end for selling OS X-equipped machines without Cupertino's blessing, but apparently it's still doing at least a bit of business under the table. Hit up the read link for a Flickr gallery full of this here slap in the face. It's good stuff, trust us.

[Thanks, Mike]

When they said "Tuesday," they meant it. Not long ago, the clock struck midnight in the Land of the Rising Sun, and sure enough, the bona fide Skype application (v1.0.0.63) for Apple's iPhone has gone live. It's absolutely free to download, and early reports from Japan have been pretty stellar in regard to sound quality. We're fully expecting it to roll out elsewhere as Tuesday (March 31st) arrives in various time zones, so make sure you (and at least one Skype buddy) stay up late to try 'er out. [Warning: iTunes read link may not work for all time zones yet.]

[Via Engadget Japanese]

For those that don't visit Fry's Electronics on any regular basis, you probably reckoned that Wayne Dalton's totally promising USB To Z-Wave adapter had simply failed to ever make it onto store shelves after being launched 14 months ago. Turns out, the device (and the OS X-friendly Houseport software) has just been loosed from its limiting "Fry's exclusive" agreement, and it's about to ship out to anyone who desires it starting June 1st. We're told that the hardware and software hasn't changed since CES 2008, and even the retail price ($87) will remain the same. Of note, eager beavers can snag a limited number of upgradeable pre-production units today for $79, but then again, you never really know what you're going to get. Hang tight, Mac-owing home automators -- your long-awaited solution is nearly here.

Apple's been saying all along that Snow Leopard would be more about under-the-hood performance and stability enhancements than huge feature changes, so take this with a grain of salt, but AppleInsider claims that a forthcoming 10.6 developer beta could potentially feature a new UI codenamed "marble." The new appearance is said to be darker and sleeker than the current Unified / Aqua look, and speculation is rampant that the new scrollbars in the current versions of iTunes and iPhoto offer a peek into the future, along with the well-circulated mockup of the new QuickTime X player seen above. We'll see if Apple breaks with its plan to focus solely on the internals soon enough -- but for right now, we're wondering what your biggest gripes with the current OS X interface are, because we certainly know ours. What do you want fixed? Sound off!