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Apple releases updates improving printing, scanning, iSight cameras and QuickTime
Over the past few days, Apple has been releasing updates for printer and scanner drivers in Snow Leopard, iSight cameras in LED Cinema Displays and QuickTime 7 for Windows. First, Apple released printer driver updates for Snow Leopard for Lexmark printers and Brother, Canon and HP printers and scanners. Next, Apple released a firmware update for the iSight camera that's built into the Apple LED Cinema Display. According to Apple, this firmware update corrects an issue with the built-in iSight camera on the LED Cinema Display where the camera may not be recognized by applications. Finally, Apple released QuickTime 7.6.5 for Windows, which fixes an issue where applications weren't reliably loading libraries required by QuickTime at startup and the incorrect display of QuickTime movies embedded in a webpage using custom scale attributes. All of these updates are available from the Apple Support downloads page and Software Update.
Brother, NEC look to invade your retinas next year
Brother may spend a big chunk of its time on things like printers and sewing machines, but it's also quietly been working on some decidedly more futuristic products, and it may just be set to deliver on one of them. While it wasn't offering much in the way of specifics the last time we heard about its retina display technology, Brother now seems to have a fully developed, fully functional prototype (pictured above), and it says it plans to commercialize the glasses sometime "next year." Naturally, there are a few considerable limitations compared to more traditional displays, but the company's as yet unnamed goggles do promise to beam an 800 x 600 image directly into your retina that'll appear as a 10-centimeter wide image floating about one meter in front of them -- which is certainly no small feat, even if it may not be the most practical one. Slightly less specific, but also working on a retina display of its own is NEC, which apparently hopes to incorporate a microphone into their display and use it as a real-time translation device that would quite literally display subtitles as you talk to someone. Ambitious, to be sure, but NEC is also saying it hopes to get it on the market in 2010. Read - Register Hardware, "Brother creates direct retinal imaging specs" Read - Far East Gizmos, "NEC develops Worlds first retina-display translation Eyeglasses" [Via Popular Science]
Brother's SV-100B Bluetooth "Document Viewer" looks like an e-book reader to us
It's finally coming true; all those e-ink readers we expected would flood the market after the Kindle's initial release were apparently just waiting for its successor before jumping into the fray. Joining recent announcements from iriver, Neolux, and Plastic Logic is Brother, with the SV-100B. The company is calling it a "Document Viewer," featuring a 9.7-inch, 1200 x 825 display -- larger and stocking twice the pixels of the Kindle 2. However, it's not meant to be a Kindle-killer, instead aimed at business users who will pair this over Bluetooth with PCs or mobile devices to keep its microSD card filled with content, content that must be run through a converter app prior to display. No MSRP was announced, but given its focus on the corporate clientele it will surely be priced accordingly when it ships early this June. Update: Will commented to let us know this will apparently retail for ¥140,000, or just shy of $1,500. So, yeah, not really aiming for the consumer market here.[Via Engadget Japanese]
Guildwatch: Brother against brother
The worst thing about the screenshot above? "Nùker" is a character that's already been known around the server as a ninja. We swear, people -- we work week after week to bring you all this news of nefarious guild switching and loot stealing, and you're not even paying attention. Given, as ninjas go, taking the mammoth is a pretty lame way to ruin your rep (or at least ruin it even more), but still, we're posting all of this for a reason here, people!Oh, that, and because it's really funny. More drama, downed, and recruiting news after the break in this week's Guildwatch. If you've got guild news of any kind (especially drama -- we're full up on downed news lately, but drama is harder to come by), send it right along to wowguildwatch@gmail.com. And keep an eye out for your server and guild in this week's GW -- you never know when we'll show up on your doorstep.
Brother Quattro 6000D hands-on
We just got a nice look at the beastly Brother Quattro 6000D sewing machine here at CES. We've done a fair amount of embroidery in our day, and we have to say, seeing this machine in action is pretty impressive. Disappointing Disney branding aside (yup, that's Mickey Mouse beneath the giant 4.5 x 7-inch Sharp HD LCD), the Quattro boasts a 50 square inch workspace that is probably any quilter's dream, and it's also got 3 USB ports. Sadly, the purchase price ("about $9,000") is probably prohibitive for most of us casual stitchers. No word yet on availability, but check the gallery and video after the break.%Gallery-41216%
The Quattro 6000D: this ain't your grandmomma's sewing machine
The latest piece of tech in the war on grandmas has gotta be Brother's Quattro 6000D sewing machine, a beastly machine with specs that will help even the most diligent granny patch up those quilts or ripped teddies more efficiently. Once you get past the huge 50 square inch workspace, you'll notice the 4.5 x 7-inch Sharp HD LCD display and embedded runway lighting. Brother's "InnovEye" and "Up-Close Viewer" technology places a camera right next to the needle to give the user a birds-eye view on the LCD to allow perfect placement before stitching. Advanced embroidery features and built-in tutorials should certainly mitigate any mishaps, and should you get the urge to plug every flash drive you own into it, there are 3 USB ports. From our perspective, it looks like the hardest part will be getting this monster home from the store and finding a place to store it -- and what to attack with embroidered flowers first. No word on price or release date yet, but there are a few more glamor shots after the break.
Apple posts Canon/Brother print driver updates
Yesterday Apple posted Brother Print Driver 1.1. Apple says that the update includes updates for "drivers for printers on your system." Apple also posted an updated for Canon printer users. Canon Print Driver 1.1 provides updates for "drivers for printers on your system." You can download these updates by opening Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update). Apple also notes that these driver updates will only be available if you have version 1.0 of the drivers installed already, the printer is connected to the computer, and a print queue is created.
Brother Industries shows off eyeglass-mountable retina scanning display
While it's yet to be seen if eyeglass-mountable displays will become as commonly used as, say, Bluetooth headsets anytime soon, Brother Industries at least looks to be making some steady progress at shrinking 'em down to a reasonable size, and it's got a few other tricks up its sleeve to boot. That latter bit comes from its use of a retina-scanning system as opposed to a simple LCD mounted in front of your eye, which effectively uses your retina as a screen to make it appear like images are actually floating in space in front of you. What's more, while the eyepiece currently needs to be wired to a rather sizable contraption in order to pump out those free-floating images, the company says it expects to be able to switch to a wireless system and shrink things down to a decidedly more wearable size by 2010.[Thanks, Tom]
DS Daily: Sibling rivalry
For those of you have siblings -- whether you still live with them or not -- we thought we might ask about your gaming relationships with them. If you're a little older now and living apart, we're curious as to whether or not you both grew up gamers, and if you liked the same sorts of games. For those of you who still live with your rivals siblings, we pose the same questions, but we also wonder if you guys play together ... particularly when it comes to DS. Is everyone packing their own unit, or do you have to share?
Brother's RL-700S prints out RFID cards
It's just too fitting that a company dubbed Brother would unleash a printer that enables even the little guy to become a Big Brother, but the RL-700S printer can indeed pop out IC tag labels with embedded RFID by the dozen. Presumably marketed towards businesses who need to keep better track of personnel, this machine also sports an RFID reader to keep a digital eye on those passing by, and even laminates the cards so that your dutiful subordinates will never suspect that their hard-earned "Employee of the Month" card is actually an undercover tracking device. Additionally, users can even pick up an optional PS-9000 module that enables network printing, and while we're not savvy on the price, it looks like it'll only be available in the oft surveyed nation of Japan anyway.[Via OhGizmo]
Brother's MPrint MW-260: boring B&W printing in the palm of your hand
While those compact photo printers are all well and good, they don't really compete with the incredible amount of teensy tiny in this new MPrint MW-260 from Brother. Fortunately for them, they do something useful, while MPrint can only churn out black & white A6 papers of questionable value. We're sure the enterprising businessman or resourceful secret agent could find a use for the thing, especially with Bluetooth, IrDA and USB connectivity, and compatibility with PCs and several flavors of Windows Mobile, but we'll probably just stick with writing things on our arms for now. Specs aren't shabby though: 300dpi, 20ppm, 0.73-inches thick. No word on price or availability, but it's unlikely we'll be seeing this one outside of Japan.
