BrushedMetal
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How Apple introduced brushed metal
Remember when "brushed metal" dominated the look of Apple's software products, including OS X? Stephen Hackett at 512 Pixels does, and he's put together a look at its origins. Brushed metal didn't debut with Mac OS X 10.3, as many believe. Instead, Hackett notes, the UI motif first slipped onto our screens with QuickTime 4.0 in 1999: "The feature that's most remembered, of course, is its UI. Gone was the Platinum look that graced almost every single window in MacOS, replaced with a slick UI with embedded buttons, dials and more." Hackett will publish more posts exploring the evolution and eventual demise of brushed metal. We're looking forward to it.
Thrustmaster's Ferrari F1 Wheel Add-On takes you from zero to hero in $200
You may never get the chance to join Ferrari's Formula 1 team, but indulging your imagination is about to get a lot easier, now that Thrustmaster has unveiled its new Ferrari F1 Wheel Add-On -- a life-sized replica of the wheel you'd find within the 150° Italia. Announced yesterday, this rubber-textured wheel features a full slate of professional-grade rotary knobs, switches and action buttons -- including two rotary encoder switches, eight push-buttons and a set of "push and pull" sequential shifters that, true to form, are attached directly to the wheel face. Designed to seamlessly attach to your T500 RS, the accessory will be available in two models: a PC- and PS3-compatible mode, with 13 action buttons and three D-Pads, or an advanced PC-compatible mode, with 25 action buttons and one D-Pad. No mention, however, of that And if you look in the upper left corner, you'll even find your very own boost button. The Add-On is slated to start shipping in early October for $200, so buckle up and steer past the break for more details, in the full PR.
Cowon's all-metal J3 PMP gets official
We'd already gotten a early look at Cowon's new all-metal J3 PMP earlier this month courtesy of the red dot design awards, but the company has just now gotten fully official with it, and detailed its complete specs. As expected, this one packs a 3.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen, along with 4GB, 8GB or 16GB of storage, a microSD card slot for further expansion, a built-in DMB TV tuner and FM radio, Bluetooth support, a built-in speaker and, of course, that brushed metal case -- not to mention a few familiar UI elements. Unfortunately, there's still no indication of a price, nor is there any word of a release over here. Update: At least one website has listed prices of between 189,000 and 359,000 South Korean won, or roughly $166 to $316. [Thanks, David K]
New screenshots of iPad apps start to make this thing seem less like a giant iPhone
We already knew that the iPad would be getting a few pieces of software that haven't shown up on its tinier, phone counterpart -- but now that a few screenshots of forthcoming apps for the device have reared their head, we're getting a clearer picture of just what this thing will feel like. If these shots of the new Yahoo! Entertainment, Bento, OmniGraffle, and Brushes are any indication, the iPad will be doing a lot more than just zooming up your Facebook profile. There's definitely an emphasis on content creation, file exporting (if not saving), and syncing with desktop versions of some of these apps, and Yahoo!'s work (alongside Brushes') shows that we've only begun to scratch the surface of what interfaces will be like on this device. We're sure the next week will be filled with all sorts of these kinds of leaks, but for now you can cherish the moment when you first laid eyes on your new way to check a TV schedule. A few more shots after the break, and lots more at the sources.
Apple's new iMac
Who could've seen this one coming? Apple surprised no one this morning with brand new iMacs. Built from aluminum and glass, the new all-in-one desktops feature a complete, slimmer redesign and will come in two sizes: 20-inch and 24-inch. There's the usual compliment of ports like USB 2.0, Firewire 400 / 800, a slot loading SuperDrive, iSight camera and so forth. The new look features a glossy display to match the majority of Apple's consumer lineup, and new keyboards are indeed coming along for the ride -- in an extended wired version as well as a mini wire free model, running the Bluetooth 2.0 spec. Under the hood Apple has up to a 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme processor, ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro graphics, up to 1TB of storage, 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.0, with 8x SuperDrives and 1GB of RAM standard across the board. Prices start at $1,199 for the 20-inch, $1,499 for a processor and graphics bump, $1,799 for the 24-incher and $2,299 for Core 2 Extreme. The full rundown of Apple's stock models is after the break.Update: Corrected the 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme spec, and added a fourth configuration to the rundown.%Gallery-5646%
Will the Mini live or die?
I got a suprising number of "hurrahs" yesterday when I mentioned how afraid I was that the Mini might get killed before I was able to buy one with Leopard pre-installed on it. Rumors about today's Apple event (which we'll be metaliveblogging, so stay tuned) are everywhere, and one that I've heard pretty often is that the Mini's last days are upon us.Personally, that's really disappointing-- even if the Mini isn't quite the performer or the bastion of beauty that the iMac or the Mac Book Pro is, there's always room for the little computer that could (could convert the Windows faithful, I mean). So that's why I'm so happy to hear that Macenstein says the Mini won't be killed today-- instead, he's heard it'll get a nice upgrade: "The mini will sport a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, a 100GB hard drive, SuperDrive, and cost $699." He also suggests it'll get a design refresh, which I'm totally fine with. However you want to play it Jobs, just don't kill my Mini!Is Apple's smallest desktop headed for the junk heap, or is a brand new version headed for the Apple store? We'll find out when the press conference starts in about half an hour from now.
Rumor: New iMac on August 7
It's no real secret that an iMac update is most likely in the works, but ThinkSecret says they've narrowed down an actual date for the announcement: August 7th. As soon as two and a half weeks from now, we could be seeing a brand new iMac on the Apple Store.The rumors, as you may have heard, say the new iMac will sport a brushed metal enclosure, to match up to the MacBook Pros and Mac Pros out there, and other sources say the new iMac will include a matching keyboard. ThinkSecret also speculates that iLife may be released earlier than its expected October date (originally, the suite was tracking a release right alongside Leopard). But apparently those rumors are less solid than the iMac release-- iLife and iWork are both supposed to take advantage of new techs in Leopard, so it would be a bad idea to release them early just for the sake of releasing.As always, don't forget to take that standard grain of salt with all of these rumors. But if you are thinking about picking up an iMac, looks like it might behoove you to wait a week or two just in case.Thanks, Corinne!
LG &37 media player melds touchscreen with brushed metal
While everyone is still waiting for the true video iPod, LG appears to have kinda sorta beat 'em to the punch with its new "&37." Sure, we've seen touchscreens before on media players and even electronic dictionaries -- but none of them come in brushed aluminum, and really, who doesn't love brushed aluminum? Good looks aside, this 2.4-inch media player, which recently debuted at the Korea Electronics Show, packs 4GB of strage, a three-hour battery, a photo viewer and a "mobile XD engine," whatever that is. We imagine that you'll be able to find this 51.5 x 90 x 10.4mm (2.02 x 3.54 x 0.4-inches) ampersander in Korea sometime soon, but no, we don't know how much it'll set you back. Click on over to the next page & check out a few glamor shots of the &37.[Via I4U News]
Aqua is dead, long live Aqua!
Apple seems to use iTunes as a test-bed for new user interface design styles, and iTunes 7 brings with it an almost complete overhaul the Aqua look we have all grown to love/hate/tolerate. While on the surface, the iTunes 7 interface may seem very similar to that of previous versions, there are a few very distinct differences that I think forebode greater system wide changes to come in 10.5 Leopard. Since the initial version 10.0, OS X has gone through a variety of system-wide interface changes while still keeping some very important aspects of the original Aqua UI. First we lost the pinstripes, then we got brushed metal, and most recently, we see the move with most applications to a "unified" interface. With iTunes 7, Aqua is gone for good. Glossy radio buttons, scroll bars, control buttons and track information windows are all gone; replaced by sleek utilitarian sand-blasted metal. I think this is the first significant peek we've had into the rumored complete redesign of the OS X UI for Leopard. I, for one, welcome this change. While the glossy days of old were an exciting way to draw new users–indeed, it was part of way I switched– it quickly became an eyesore for many; designers in particular. The introduction of the Graphite visual style fixed a lot of issues graphics professionals had with the bright colors of the interface clashing with their work, but everything was still not dandy. For pro and power users their Mac is not only a computer, it is the tool of their trade, and something they use day in and day out to get things done, and while no one wants to work in a badly designed, ugly UI, minimalist utilitarianism is sometimes the key to reducing distraction. Of course, much of this is personal opinion, but it is an opinion I know is shared by at least a small core group of Mac die hards. What's your take on the new interface? Is it just a fluke, or a hint at things to come?
Godot M9500 4GB digital audio player
While we never really heard anything about a lawsuit following the release of Godot's suspiciously familiar mini music player, it looks like the company is swiping a more generic trait this time by outfitting the M9500 in a coat of brushed metal. The palm-sized 4GB DAP sports a 1-inch hard drive beneath its flashy casing, and can playback MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WMA, and WMA-DRM files when not tuned into an FM radio station. The relatively small 124 x 64 pixel LCD displays ID3 tags, and this unit manages to include line-in recording to convert any incoming audio signal to MP3 without the use of a computer. The rechargeable battery supposedly keeps the jams flowing for 9 hours, and with 12 minutes of anti-shock, you joggers should be just fine while on the move. Although this unit could easily be regarded as just another ho hum offering -- albeit one with a glitzy faceplate -- it does offer a few nifty extras such as voice recording and a "bookmarking" feature that allows you to easily recall where you were if you happen to be rudely interrupted (or otherwise) while listening to an audiobook. If you've somehow avoided an impulse buy on one of these middle-of-the-road DAPs, and you just can't resist that brushed metal allure, the M9500 can be picked up now for £80 ($151) in the UK.[Via Shiny Shiny]
Daring Fireball: brushed metal saga continues
"Brushed Metal: Can I borrow a hundred dollars?Safari puts his hand on the door to close it.Safari: I have to go.Brushed Metal: Fifty?Safari: Get out of here."After this week's release of a completely non-Brushed Metal iLife 06 suite, Daring Fireball's John Gruber is at it again with another hilarious episode of a doomed Anthropomorphized Brushed Metal Interface (note: colorful language warning). In case you didn't catch the first installment, in which iTunes 5 was the first official sign of Brushed Metal's numbered days, you should probably check that one out first as it might make more sense. Either way, they're a couple of darn funny posts from a great writer. Kudos John.
