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The original Apple Watch lineup is officially obsolete
Apple's first generation Watch is now officially obsolete, including the Hermes and $17,000 18-karat gold Watch Edition models.
Apple discontinues its AirPort WiFi routers
The longstanding rumors of Apple exiting the WiFi router market were true: the company is officially discontinuing its AirPort and Time Capsule base stations. An Apple spokesperson told Engadget that the company would continue to provide hardware and software support (such as patching bugs and vulnerabilities), but the devices themselves will only be available "while supplies last." The tech giant will post a series of knowledge base documents over the next few weeks to help guide customers wondering what to buy.
Neverware turns your tired laptop into a speedy Chromebook
When your old laptop takes five minutes to boot Windows, you may start to think about giving it away or worse, tossing it. A company called Neverware has a better idea -- why not convert it to run Google's Chrome OS? Using the company's free Cloud Ready software, you can convert it into a dual-boot system that runs both Chrome and Windows. Chrome OS is not demanding of resources at all; in fact, your old machine may be more powerful than many new Chromebooks. That means it'll run all of Google's apps and be peppy enough to browse the internet, work on WordPress or do other web-based chores.
This is the Modem World: You Use THAT?
Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology. That's what she said to me. "You use THAT?!" she repeated, pointing at my humble iPhone 4. "Is that even a 4S?" she stepped back as she glanced for backup. "Aren't you some techie?" her friend joined in. I felt like I had been caught with my pants down. I had to prove my tech worthiness to these girls. I had a reputation to protect.
Fujifilm sees which way wind is blowing, ends production of cinema film
Since your average talkie is now recorded onto SD card and SSDs, companies that produce old-timey film are feeling the squeeze. As such, and despite its own efforts, Fujifilm is shuttering a large part of its cinema business by March 2013. While it'll continue to produce stills film (for the time being, at least) and archival material similar to Kodak's Asset Protection film, moves are under way to redirect its focus toward digital tools that won't be left behind as people start to make movies on their smartphones.
Sonos listens to reason, drops dedicated controller in favor of smartphone apps
Sonos will halt the sale of its pricey CR200 remote control from June 1st, after acknowledging that it's been nudged into obsolescence by free software controllers for Macs, PCs, tablets and smartphones. It'll honor warranties and issue software updates for the "foreseeable future," but CEO John MacFarlane indicates the decision was inevitable, having been brewing ever since the "early days of the iPhone explosion." That never stopped his company from selling the CR200 for a hefty $349, but then again he probably deserves some respect for finally making the call. After all, rival Logitech charges a premium for its own touchscreen-equipped Duet and Touch controllers, even if you only use them once during installation and then never go near them again.
In defence of the SuperDrive
Echoing our own Michael Grothaus last year, MG Siegler hopes Apple drops the DVD drive from future Macs: "Just like the floppy disk before it, the optical disc will fade into irrelevance. And now you see why Apple has never included a Blu-ray drive in any of their machines." Erica Sadun wrote a post last week asking if you agree that the disc is dead, and over 65 percent of respondents said they did. I agree the days of the optical drive are numbered, but I also think there's more life left in it than Siegler does. I only own a single Mac -- a mid-2009 15" MacBook Pro. It doesn't have an optical drive because I replaced it with an MCE Optibay housing an SSD, whilst keeping a 500 GB HDD in the normal hard drive bay. This means that whenever I want to use the optical drive, I have to get it out of my desk drawer and plug two USB cables in, so I know I've used it several times in recent weeks. Notably, I still rely on that optical drive for quite a few things.
Best Buy's Buy Back Program will let you trade in old tat for new hotness
Best Buy's crafty ploy for the new year has seemingly been uncovered by BGR's tipsters. According to those knowledgeable sources (and the paperwork they've passed along), Best Buy intends to roll out a new Buy Back Program, which will guarantee a given trade-in value for your gadgets, depending on how old they are. Thus, any laptop, tablet, or smartphone you buy from the retailer will be tradeable for 50 percent of its original price within six months of purchase, 40 percent before the first year passes, 30 in the 12- to 18-month period, or 20 in the dying embers of a two-year ownership period. That's pretty hefty depreciation and you'll have to pay an up-front fee to get enrolled in the Program, but hey, if you upgrade like mad, maybe there's some way to make this a financially appealing proposition for the consumer. Maybe... though probably not.
The growing list of unsupported Macs
Out with the old, in with the new. This week's hardware releases were met with new additions to Apple's vintage and obsolete hardware lists. The following have been added, and I'm sad to say that I'm still using the Dual Ethernet Airport Base Station: iBook G4 (Early 2004) iBook G4 (14" Early 2004) eMac (USB 2.0) Apple Cinema Display ADC Apple Studio Display 15" ADC Apple Studio Display 17" LCD Apple Studio Display 17" ADC Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2002) Macintosh Server G4 (QuickSilver 2002) PowerBook G4 (DVI) iBook (14.1 LCD 16 VRAM) iBook (16 VRAM) AirPort Base Station (Dual Ethernet) I've also got a 20" G4 iMac and my wife uses at 14" iBook, both of which were previously added to the list. Supported or not, they're still useful -- check out this Macintosh Classic being used as a window display. Back in 1994 my employer had several SE/30's connected via LocalTalk, and we thought that was the baddest thing on the planet. Not to mention late-night games of Maelstrom and Glider Pro. Oh, memories. [Via HardMac]
Are MMOs truly as persistent as they claim?
The two biggest differences between single player RPGs and massively multiplayer online RPGs are the MMO and persistent components found in the latter. Player vs. Developer has a thought-provoking blog post up claiming that MMOs are not as persistent as they claim to be."Persistent" can be defined as "continuing without change in function or structure," which when you really think about it doesn't quite fit with how it is employed in most MMORPGs. Many MMOs claim to have a "persistent struggle," or "persistent world," which is only half true. Developers are constantly changing their MMOs and it impacts how we play.What happens at the end of an expansion cycle? Often, players stop trying to progress and wait for the new content that makes old content obsolete. What happens when classes undergo constant balance shifts? Players are forced to compete on uneven playing fields. What happens when some gamers benefit from bugs or exploits before they are fixed? It can hurt player morale.Many of these changes are for the best, but it does illustrate that MMOs are not truly as persistent as they claim.
Apple: Welcome to the obsolete list, PowerBook G4
Ars Technica reports that Apple will announce the latest additions to its list of vintage and obsolete machines on March 17. The list, initially reported through MacMerc, includes the following:The "vintage" machines are ones where service parts are available to repair machines purchased in California due to existing statutes. This classification does not apply in the other 49 states. Xserve RAID Xserve (Slot Load) Xserve (Cluster Node) The rest of the additions, to grace the "obsolete" list, include: PowerBook G4 Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio) Power Mac G4 (Quicksilver) Macintosh Server G4 (Digital Audio) Macintosh Server G4 (Quicksilver) These machines have all had good runs. I had a Quicksilver as my first post-college work computer and thought it was the greatest computer I've ever worked on the time - way, way back in the golden days of years gone by (aka 2002). These computers will now join their brethren in the Mac retirement home. But just because Apple classifies them as obsolete doesn't mean that you can't breathe new life into them. Have fond memories of these machines? Share them in the comments!
Forum post of the day: Epic choices
Even without a release date, we can all feel Wrath looming. Whether it's pouring over the new specs as soon as they become available, saving materials for future Death Knights, or leveling up an alt to send as a main character to Northrend, we're all prepping to take our adventures into Northrend. Many wonder how far their gear will carry them toward level 80. Many players were frustrated that their hard-earned gear was quickly reduced to obsolescence in Burning Crusade, and fear that that will happen again. Manbearppig of Frostwolf wants to know if gearing up a character now will be a good way to spend time. Some point out that better gear earned now will translate into easier leveling in the future. In a similar thread, MVP Faizaniel of Dragonblight stated:My scrubby non-purple gear is getting replaced pretty fast; high-end gear, not so much. While it's unlikely that you're keeping much from level 70 at level 80, it's really up to you whether the benefits of getting to use the nice gear now, and having it help you level more quickly once Wrath comes out, are worth earning the gear now.
Fake loading screens for iPhone
There are tons of iPhone wallpapers out there by now, but this set is extra special-- it's a set of satirical wallpapers, designed, says Josh, to "show off the true power of the iPhone" by replacing the standard loading screen with one of your own. Did you know your iPhone could attract total strangers, create Universal Healthcare, or even resolve global warming? It can-- just as soon as the loading bar completes.I think my favorite is the one shown here, though. Sure, since it's just a picture, you could say that the bar will never finish, so the iPhone will never be obsolete. But as one of the people waiting for v2.0 to buy an iPhone, seeing the bar past halfway at least inspires a little hope that we're almost there.Thanks, Josh!
Blu-ray won't be obsolete in 2007
There is something about the latest technology that makes people love to use the word obsolete. The new iPhone makes the iPod obsolete, the latest Core 2 Dou makes the old one obsolete, but most of the time these devices are just as useful as they were when they were released -- and certainly still "in use." In October, when the BD Profile 1.1 is mandated by the BDA, all the current players will be every bit as useful as they are today. Sure it would've been great if Blu-ray was actually ready (no it's still not ready now) when HD DVD was, but who wants them to stop adding features now? Sure it sucks when you pay $1000 for something only to have it replaced with a faster, better model less than a year later for half the price, but come on, obsolete? Knowing all this, we'd still rather buy now and enjoy HD movies than wait till all the bugs are worked out, 'cause we all know that'll probably never happen.
Nefarian says buff warriors!
So the guild Obsolete on Azjol-Nerub decided to run Blackwing Lair one last time to get their shiny Tier 2 pieces. According to the warlock Evriya, everything worked okay up until Nefarian, who did three class calls in 15 seconds and then turned all the living casters and rogues into warriors. Yes, turned them into warriors, complete with rage bars. I did not believe this at first, but Obsolete has some pictures and videos of a paladin with rage bars up. Evriya believes that everyone somehow got stuck in berserker stance. After some urging from forumgoers, the guildmates went to a warrior trainer to see if they could train extra spells, but were instead stuck with a bunch of mana-using spells and no mana to use them with. They took it all in stride, though, inviting people to come make a level one alt on their server and "duel the one and only Rageadin." Luckily for Obsolete, GMs went and fixed their characters one by one, so there won't be any 25-man all-warrior raids in the near future. Best thread comment: "So that's where all the rage went!"
