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Apple to introduce iTunes Movie Store, new iMac, iPod nano, and video streaming device?
Wow, that's a long title. Blame it on AppleInsider, who believes most -- if not all -- of those yummy goodies will be delivered to us in a nice wrapped package by The Jobs himself at next week's supposed media event. According to the rumor peddler, at the yet-unconfirmed September 12th event Jobs will take the wraps off...drumroll please: An $9.99-a-pop movie download service with films from at least one major studio. The idea is that the rest will see how Freakin' Amazing it is and follow suit -- a la TV shows. A new 23" iMac that we reported on earlier. A new non-scratch metal iPod nano with "at least double the storage capacity of today's models." What they believe is a new Airport Express-like device designed to stream video content from your Mac to your TV/home entertainment system. AI says "it's arguably been one of the most closely guarded secrets at Apple since the evolution of the first iPod digital music player." That list makes this year's Macworld seem lacking. I'm most interested in that streaming device. This isn't in the article, but imagine: plug your Airport Express to a TV and be greeted by a Front Row-like interface that streams videos/music/photos directly from your Mac, controllable by the included Apple Remote. Pipe dream? Maybe. But I guess we'll find out next week. Check out the article for more in-depth information and AI's standard "it could be pushed back a little" disclaimer.
Hawking's Wireless-108G MIMO for Macs
While rumors of a MIMO or otherwise high-speed networking tech to replace Apple's aging Airport Express wireless networking products have been bandied about, actual products still do a bit more to actually boost networking speeds. Hawking Technology's new Hi-Gain Wireless-108G aims to do just that, though from the looks of it they don't offer a compatible 108G wireless card to take full advantage of the speed boost. The router is rather equipped to get the most out of a multi-user 54G network by boosting range up to 3x, stabilising connections and penetrating dead zones. Of course, most MIMO routers claim a similar collection of enhancements, and Hawking's compatible Hi-Gain range-boosting adapters are merely 54G, but it might be just the bump your network needs until those Airport ExpressErer products come along.
Airfoil, Audio Hijack Pro can now "Minimize to Menu Bar"
Airfoil and Audio Hijack Pro, the slick Mac OS X audio broadcasting and recording (respectively) software from Rogue Amoeba, have just been updated with a handy new feature: minimize to menubar. It's a new preference that (you guessed it) will allow these apps to minimize into the menubar, with some features still accessible without having the entire app open on your desktop. Rogue Amoeba has provided a demonstration video to show off this small but functional new feature.
Airfoil Airport Express streaming comes to Windows
It's been over a year since Rogue Amoeba came out with Airfoil, a program that lets you stream music from your computer to an Apple Airport Express using any application, rather than just iTunes. Unfortunately for Windows users, Airfoil was Mac-only, leaving the Airport Express as an iTunes-only device on Windows boxes. However, that's now changed, as Rogue Amoeba has launched a beta version of Airfoil for Windows, which the company says will work with most Windows media programs, including Windows Media Player and Real Player. Of course, in the past year, Airport Express has had a lot of competition on the Windows streaming front, with devices like the Linksys Wireless-G Music Bridge undercutting it on price, and offering full compatibility with most Windows programs out of the box. But if you're a Windows user with an Airport Express and you've grown frustrated by its limitations, here's your chance to set it free.
iTunes 6 shares videos
C.K. thought we had posted on this already, but neither of us could find the post so, here goes: DownloadSquad picked up on a quiet new feature in iTunes 6.0.2: sharing video (along with audio) on a local network. Fortunately, it sounds like you don't have to do anything aside from enabling sharing in your preferences. DLS also picked up on an odd quirk: videos purchased in 6.0.1 can't be played on 6.0.2 machines, which is surprising to me because I thought DRM'd content couldn't be played through sharing on other machines no matter what. Either way this is a great new feature, and the original digg post DLS found this at brings up all the media center and video-enabled AirPort Express rumors, which I'll just let y'all tackle in the comments.
Hidden new iTunes feature: multiple speaker streaming
A commenter known only as "David" on my post about the new MiniStore in iTunes noticed a great new feature that I'm surprised wasn't somehow worked into yesterday's keynote: multiple speaker streaming. iTunes can now stream music to multiple AirPort Expresses, and even keep playing the music on the originating computer. Users have been clamoring for this ability since the day the AirPort Express hit store shelves, it finally shows up in a .0.2 iTunes update - and not a single peep about it? I guess not every new feature, option and button can claim a coveted keynote mention, but it's good to see you TUAW readers are on your toes when we're neck-deep in news ourselves.
TUAW predictions roundup for Macworld 06 keynote
Alright everyone, we're on the home stretch for tomorrow's keynote, and we thought it would be fun to round up predictions (hopes?) from some of the TUAW bloggers of what will be introduced. Some of these predictions might be honing in on rumors, others could simply be baseless hope for a particular product. The main point of this post is to spark some conversation about what we could see tomorrow to help pass the time and keep the shakes from setting in. So without further ado, here are TUAW's predictions for the Macworld 06 keynote: C.K. - black Intel iBooks running on flash memory Damien Barrett - a Mac mini media center with iLife '06, programmable remote Dave Caolo - iLife '06 including FrontRow David Chartier - a nearly-finished preview of 10.5 Leopard, with a release scheduled before Vista (like that's hard to do) Laurie A. Duncan - iWork 06 gets a major update, finally offering a viable alternative to Office for OS X Scott McNulty - Sell your songs on iTunes, publish your blog on .Mac, get your vlog streaming from Apple's servers Victor Agreda Jr - AirPort Express update that includes video streaming So there you have our hopes and predictions for what we'll see on stage tomorrow. I think we all agreed that we won't see any new iPods, as some of these potential new products (like a Mac mini media center) could really carry the line they have out now. Time will only tell, so until then, feel free to discuss.
