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20,000 posts? Yup, 20,000 posts!
Damn, have we really hit 20,000 posts? We can scarcely believe it ourselves, but this post right here marks the 20,000th time we've posted something to Engadget. Crazy, huh? Big thanks to everyone out there for keeping up with our daily onslaught of gadgets, we truly appreciate your attention.
Engadget: "Time Machine restores best, not first"
Ross Rubin has posted an interesting Switched On column at Engadget this week analyzing two of the largest enhancements on their way in Leopard: Time Machine and Spaces. Ross points out that, obviously, Apple isn't quite first with a virtual desktop manager or a piece of backup software - not by any stretch of the imagination. He even explains some of these features' counterparts from other platforms, which is an interesting trip through time and other platforms. However, Ross tips his hat to Apple's versions because they do soar above the rest in their presentation, integration and (an Apple trademark) user experience. Time Machine wins a specific merit in its own right because it seems to be the first backup utility to allow users to browse the history of their directory structure just as it existed on their machine - with file previews, folder structure and everything. This is especially useful because of the visual nature of so much of our work; tracking down a deleted roll of images, for example, is much easier by browsing their thumbnails and original folder organization than trying to guess whether IMG_0841.JPG or IMG_0814.JPG was the picture of little Johnny taking his first steps.It's a good article that gives credit where credit is due, and offers some high hopes for the quality of these major new features.
Engadget gets hands on with the Mac Pro
Engadget spends a little time with the new Mac Pros, and has posted some pictures of the experience. Check out the post for some cool pics of the strangely familiar Mac Pro.
WWDC 2006 banner
Our good friends at Engadget came across this picture of a 2006 WWDC banner in Moscone Center (that' where WWDC takes place in sunny SF). So, what does this banner tell us? Well, that thing that looks like a G5 tower probably contains an Intel chip (I assume) which might be 64 bit (hence the 64 bit logo). We can also see the subtle leopard print on the OS X disc, which isn't as obnoxious as I thought it might me.Check out the Engadget post for more pictures and share your thoughts in the comments.
Zune zooms straight past gaming?
Microsoft has confirmed the existence of Zune, a brand-name that will eventually come to represent an entire line-up of portable media devices. The first device is said to be shipping this year, with more to come in 2007. At the moment, Microsoft seems to be attempting to draw attention to Zune's music and movie capabilities, which is no doubt an attempt to position the brand as a direct competitor to the iPod. This announcement (and the media blitz surrounding it) is intended to put a maximum amount of pressure onto Apple; mentioning Zune's gaming capabilities would dilute the "iPod killer" message that Microsoft is trying to plant in people's heads. Despite this, there are certain tidbits that we can extract from this official announcement that could influence how Microsoft's entry into portable gaming will play out.Rumors about J. Allard's disappearance were true; he's emerged as one of three people heading the project, alongside Robbie Bach and Bryan Lee. Don't be surprised if J. Allard turns out to be the "face" of Zune, just like he was the "face" of Xbox 360. The drive-based and integrated WiFi aspects of the design as well as the community orientated software strongly suggest that the gaming device will feature Xbox Live Anywhere. What's still unclear is how Microsoft will market their portable gaming machine. With the introduction of a new brand name representing portable entertainment, how will this link to Microsoft's established Xbox brand? Are we talking "Zune w/Xbox" or will the portable gaming device be distinctly associated with one of the two brands, to the exclusion of the other? One way the two brands appear to share a connection is through their respective viral campaigns: they both feature rabbits (Origen, Coming Zune).The overriding message conveyed by this announcement is that Microsoft is going out of its way to tackle the different portable entertainment markets on an individual basis. This approach contrasts sharply with Sony's entry into portable gaming. With the PSP, the company simultaneously took on the likes of the iPod, the Nintendo DS and more expensive video-only devices. As a result, the PSP has suffered from a degree of brand dilution which has resulted in the near failure of the UMD format and has limited the device's popularity as a gaming machine. By ignoring the gaming capabilities of the Zune (for now) and singling out the iPod and other portable media players, Microsoft is attempting to learn from Sony's mistake. Currently the Zune's immediate target is the iPod, and to some extent, future video-centric iPods, but when Microsoft finally decides to reveal the gaming capabilities of Zune, expect gaming to be singular focus.
Amsterdam Engadget Reader Meetup tonight!
Just a final reminder that we're having an official Engadget Reader Meetup in Amsterdam this Thursday, if you're anywhere nearby you should definitely swing by. We'll have free Engadget t-shirts for the first 25 people who show up, some sweet prizes from Slim Devices to give away, and of course, a chance to kick it with your fellow gadget geeks. Here's the scoop:Thursday, July 20th, 20066pm - 8pmGarden RoomRennaissance Amsterdam HotelKattengat 1Amsterdam, 1012 SZ NetherlandsPhone: 31 20 621 2223 The event will be followed by drinks afterwards at:Cafe Luxembourg Spui 24 1012 XA Amsterdam Phone: 31 20 620 6264SPONSORSVenue sponsored by Irdeto, a company that provides comprehensive solutions for digital content protection in Digital TV, IPTV and Mobile environments.Drinks afterwards sponsored by by the Nederlandse Gamedagen, the largest game industry event in The Netherlands. You can read more about them at www.nlgd.nl[Massive thanks to Christopher and Seth for helping set all this up, as well as everyone else who offered their assistance or advice]
A visit to the Engadget store...
That "Engadget" store in Malaysia? Yeah, it's for real, Engadget reader/shopper Jereme Tupa swung by the store on a recent visit to Kuala Lumpur and captured some nice footage of a very nervous-looking clerk denying that he'd ever heard of Engadget the website. Whatever, dude, we're not going to sue you or anything, but don't front that you didn't swipe both our name and our logo. Just fess up (and maybe throw in a nice little gift certificate to your shop) and we'll let it slide.WATCH - StorefrontWATCH - Denial
Xbox 360 getting an HDMI port soon?
That is the latest rumor from Xbox-Scene, who were also sent the requisite fuzzy picture of what is purported to be an Xbox 360 motherboard with HDMI-out equipped. No word from the anonymous source if this is actually coming soon (or ever), if it could be part of the HD DVD-equipped Xbox 360 that isn't planned, or just a mockup of some kind. We also don't know if this would be a deep color 1080p capable HDMI 1.3 output or...well really anything at all just yet but it makes for an interesting picture. Do you need a digital output on your next-gen console or are you proudly analog forever?[Via Engadget]
The Engadget Linux 5G iPod theme!
We know some of you out there supposedly have iPods, and we're assuming since you're an Engadget reader, the likelihood of that iPod running Linux is at least slightly higher than average. If you fit the profile, check out our main man Goemon4's Engadget theme for 5G iPods running Linux. Besides having a better interface than our site, you can wow your nerd bros with a geek threefer: Engadget + iPod + Linux. For ultimate Engadget nerd-dom load 'er up with Engadget Podcasts, outfit Firefox with the Engadget search engine plugin, and hit up the Engadget Mac Dashboard widget.P.S. -If you haven't noticed, chances are if you build some fun Engadget related tool, plugin, or software, we'll post about it!
Engadget Podcast on Apple's 1st Birthday for Podcasting
Speaking of first birthdays, it's already been a whole year since Apple "legitimized" Podcasting and added it as a standard feature to iTunes. Remember how we debuted at number three? How awesome was that? Well, we had to give a little shout, since they listed Peter and I among their pioneers of Podcasting, recognized on their iTunes 4.9's first birthday. Check it out here -- and if you haven't already subscribed to the Engadget Podcast do so here: subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3), or add the Engadget Podcast RSS feed to your aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3).
Microsoft to pull a PS3, place motion sensors in Xbox 360 pad?
In a recent episode of Gamertag radio, Peter Moore speaks out about the increasing complexity of video game controllers, comparing today's gamepads to the simplicity of the Atari 2600's button-and-stick joystick. He didn't exclude the Xbox 360 controller's design from criticism, mentioning that his 14-year old daughter found the controller somewhat confusing. Naturally, there was a point to his self-criticism; later on in the podcast he says that Microsoft is "doing a lot of stuff there. Nothing that we're ready to talk about, and we're not going to force anything that is not going to be intuitive and innovative."The most obvious conclusion to make from this statement would be that Microsoft is working on a new, simplified controller, which may or may not "borrow" the Wiimote's defining feature, although the part where Moore says that "[Microsoft is] not going to force anything that is not going to be... innovative" could suggest that simply slapping a motion sensor inside an Xbox 360 pad isn't on the cards.British tech magazine T3 points out that the company could possibly be working on a simplified controller--to be sold in parallel with the main Xbox 360 pad--designed specifically for Xbox Live Arcade games. The magazine reasons that the company won't want to make the Xbox 360 pad's ergonomic design obsolete any time soon, which lends credence to the possibility of a simplified controller designed to play simple games to compliment the "hardcore" 360 gamepad.[Via Engadget]
Engadget Reader Meetup in Amsterdam on July 20th?
So our European correspondent Thomas and I were chatting the other day about my upcoming trip to Amsterdam when we came to the conclusion that it was about time we held an Engadget Reader Meetup over there. I'm only there for a couple of days, but are there any Engadget readers in Amsterdam who'd be down for an event on July 20th? Let us know in the comments if there's any interest and we'll try and get something together. I read somewhere in my Lonely Planet guidebook that people in Amsterdam like to party, so please don't disappoint me. P.S. - We're on the hunt for both a venue and a sponsor, so if you can hook us up with either please drop us a line in the comments.
Engadget: Samsung's BD-P1000 launch party
Engadget gets to have all the fun. They got the invite to yesterdays launch in NYC for the first Blu-ray player on the market - the BD-P1000. They have some nice pics up of the event over on their site. It seems like it was just a lot of Blu-ray/Samsung marketing hype to us so maybe they aren't as lucky as it seems. They rounded off the event with a Terminator 2 1080p demo on what Engadget called "a huge freakin' plasma." Plus, the room had some cool Philips'ish ambient lighting. Check out the link for tons of pics.
600 PowerMacs used for 007 Ultimate DVD Collection
Eureka! After all this MacBook/Intel Mac news lately, we finally come across some news about the good ol' faithful PowerMac, or to be more specific: 600 of them. Taking a cue from Microsoft Vista naming conventions, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is releasing a James Bond Ultimate Edition DVD Collection, in which every 007 film has been remastered and digitally enhanced for that oh-so 21st century gleam. The remastering was done by DTS Digital Images using 600 PowerMac G5s, or what I like to refer to as "more PowerMacs than you or I will ever see in a lifetime".Mike Inchalik, DTS Digital Images vice president of strategy and marketing, stressed the renowned reliability of PowerMacs as a key factor in this undertaking. The company had to process 42 miles of film and scanned each frame at a resolution of 4,000 x 3,000 pixels in preparation of higher-resolution releases in the future. Ultimately, over 700 terabytes of storage were required for the project as each single frame of film is a whopping 45 megabytes. Apple, if you're listening, I think you're gonna have to boost your MacBook Pro hard drive capacities for movie editors. Just a hunch.Check out the full details on this project's undertaking, as well as some hints at future portable (iPod) video technologies, at Macworld UK.[thanks Yak!]
DS Lite launch partay!
Engadget's Paul Miller and Ryan Block dropped by Nintendo's official DS Lite U.S. launch party in New York over the weekend. Their write-up features a few dozen photos of the interior of the Nintendo World Store, including the above picture of Ryan being molested hugged by a giant Mario. They also snapped shots of people in the queue playing with their imported DS Lites (oh, the sweet fanboy irony), the first person to officially purchase a DS Lite in the U.S. and a functional Gulf War-damaged Game Boy.Update: Should have been "Lite", not "lite."
Video demonstration of anti-DRM group at SF Apple Store
One of our sister blogs, The Digital Music Weblog, dug up a video of an anti-DRM demonstration by that DefectiveByDesign crew we blogged yesterday. This demonstration was in San Francisco, and from the editing of the video, it looked pretty successful - if you count talking to roughly two people successful. Maybe the hazmat suits threw off potential anti-DRM converts, causing them to think the group was there for some kind of a real cause.Does anyone else see the irony in the use of music they have absolutely no rights to? I don't think they're helping the 'we're consumers and we deserve whatever we want to be treated fairly' cause by trampling on a band's music rights.
Engadget: Top five HDTVs
Engadget's weekly column, The Clicker, ran a topic that might be of interest to most of you. They have taken some of the pain out of shopping for a new HDTV. They have five very good HDTVs and provided a good explanation of why they are special and what makes them better then others. Plus, to make it a bit more fun, Engadget style, they have put a celebrity to each HDTV. For example. The Westinghouse LVM-42W2 is number five on their list because of its great value and name. In other words, it is rail thin, cheap and comes with a former high-end name- like Paris Hilton. See, now isn't that fun.Bet you can't guess who goes with #1. (hint: the HDTV is a high-end projector)
An easier method to get Windows Vista to run with Boot Camp
Yes, before you fire off a flaming comment, we know this is The Unofficial Apple Weblog, but we thought it might be nice to post a tip for those of you who either want or need to play with the next generation of Microsoft Windows, reportedly due out within the decade (hey, it was originally due in 2003 - by its present 2007 date they'll be almost half a decade late already). This Apple Discussions forum thread details a slightly more appealing trick for getting Vista, now in a public beta (but overloaded with download requests as of this writing), to install and run with Boot Camp. Basically, you need to have Boot Camp already set up and installed with Windows XP. Then, burn a DVD of the Vista beta you just downloaded. And before you ask: no, unfortunately, Vista won't run on Parallels Desktop - yet. Parallels has publicly mentioned making this work with a future version, but there is no ETA for when this support will land.Now - and this is the 'at your own risk' part - you need to use some kind of partition manager (the forum poster used one from within XP, but I've heard you can use one that starts up from within the Vista installer when booting from the DVD) to delete an ambiguous partition that Boot Camp creates that is around 180-200 MB in size. Again, we can't stress this enough: this is done at your own risk - you are messing with your boot record and after this step, Boot Camp won't be able to adjust your partitions or blow away and reclaim your Windows partition anymore. Mac OS X and Windows will still boot just fine, but this isn't an ideal setup for the faint-of-heart Boot Camp user.if you take the plunge and nuke that partition, however, you should now be able to boot from the Vista DVD and use it to upgrade your copy of Windows XP - which in and of itself could spark a discussion as to whether one should upgrade or install clean new versions of Windows; it usually isn't recommended with Mac OS X, who wants to take bets on Windows' ability to have a smooth OS upgrade ride?If you try any of this stuff out, feel free to post your thoughts on the experience, and then go wash your hands of one of the dirtiest things you can do to a Mac.
M-M-M-MacBook Pro eBay scam
If you remember the P-P-P-Powerbook scam last year, then you're going to love the new and improved M-M-M-Macbook scam. Once again, a Something Awful forum dweller by the name of isnoop has documented quite the adventure involving a MacBook Pro sale on eBay, and the intrepid scammer who didn't quite get what he ordered. Check out the first post in the forum for links to the key events of the scam, and marvel at this wonderful entertainment the internets make available.[thanks C Keigher!]
Say hello to the Xboy's big daddy
Until Microsoft unveils its (rumored) contribution to mobile gaming, we'll have to settle for its (much bigger) daddy. Dave over at portablesystems.net has posted a bunch of photos from his portable Xbox hack which features a decent sized LCD, battery power and a surprisingly authentic green paint job. You've got to marvel at the effort that must have gone into this project, although you'll excuse us for being equally excited at the prospect of seeing the Xman's offspring.[Via Engadget]
