Front Row
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Put your Mac to sleep using an Apple Remote
Here's a tip for all you folks out there that have a Front Row enabled Mac (and I mean one that Apple recognizes as having Front Row on it, sorry hackers). Let's say you're curled up on your bed watching a DVD on your iMac via Front Row. The movie ends and you want to go to sleep. You have to get up and put your Mac to sleep, so that the bright screen doesn't keep you up, right?Wrong. You can put your Mac to sleep using the included Apple Remote Control. Simply hold down the Play button for a few seconds and the screen will dim an show you the icon pictured in this post (which has been edited for size). The snoring Apple Remote Control icon lets you know that your Mac is about to go to sleep. Keep on pressing the play button if you want this to happen, or release it if you want your Mac to stay awake.Nifty, huh?
Front Row and iPhoto Updates too...
I saw Dave's post about the updates, and so I launched Software Update and found a few that he didn't mention: Front Row Update 1.2.1 and iPhoto update 6.0.2.All I have to say is: bonjour! Update: looks like Dave got the iPhoto update in there in an update to his post while I was writing this one...
Apple Announces New Intel-based Mac Minis
Well, it's not quite the Apple Media Center that I've been wishing for, but it's close. At today's special Apple Event, the company announced two updated models of their Mac mini.1.5GHz Intel Core Single1.5GHz Intel Core Solo processor2MB L2 Cache667MHz Frontside Bus512MB memory (667MHz DDR2 SDRAM)60GB Serial ATA hard driveCombo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)Price: Starts at $599.001.67 GHz Intel Core Dual1.66GHz Intel Core Duo processor2MB L2 Cache667MHz Frontside Bus512MB memory (667MHz DDR2 SDRAM)80GB Serial ATA hard driveDouble-layer SuperDrive (DVD R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)Price: Starts at $799.00Both models come with built-in Airport Extreme, Bluetooth, and integrated Intel GMA950 graphics processor with 64MB of shared DDR2 SDRAM. Each mini also has a Gigabit Ethernet port, four external USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire 400 port, optical digital and analog audio in/out, and built-in mono speaker. Each machine also ships with new Front Row software that uses Bonjour technology to locate shared music, photo, and movies databases on your home network. This means you can store your data on any computer in the house and play it on the mini which can be connected to a standard computer monitor, or to your television.
Apple's remote controls more than FrontRow
Mat on Macs has recently made a discovery: The Apple remote that shipped with his iMac can be used to control more than FrontRow. Specifically, he found that play/pause, chapter forward/back and 4x fast forward/back all work with DVD Player (play and pause even work if DVD Player is not the frontmost application). Also, his remote worked with Quicktime Player and adjusted the system volume. That's pretty cool. Now I want one of those iMacs even more.
Rig of the Day: Intel meets StrongARM
With both the Macworld Expo and the Worldwide Newton Conference wrapping up ealier this month, I thought this shot was entirely appropriate. An Intel-powered MacBook Pro and its remote flank a Newton 2100. It's nice to see these distant cousins getting along so well. I've often jokingly said that my own 2100 is "...the size of a baby dolphin," and seeing this one in relation to the Apple remote only confirms its size (hint: get a lot of cargo pants)."Intel & StrongARM" by "Splorp"If you'd like to see your own rig featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr pool. We'll select an image every day to highlight.
Why isn't Photo Booth free?
I inevitably ended up playing around with Photo Booth for a while. As much as I wanted to hate it as a frivolous bit of code on my new iMac, I have to agree with Scott. It's a cool little app.I also have to ask... why doesn't Apple release this for everyone? I mean, it's not a part of iLife (nor is Front Row). Why is Apple only offering these programs with new hardware? I'd think giving them away for free would be good karma for Apple.
iPods and Macs taking over cars
Woops, I take my "Macs aren't going anywhere" post back, as they're certainly going one place in a big way lately: cars. I have a double dose of iPod/Mac in-car news coming at you from our sibling site, Autoblog. First up: they caught wind of a projection from the Telematics Research Group that by 2011, 73 million cars on the road could have iPod integration. I'm no professional, but I'll toss my own prediction into the hat: by 2011, a lot of un-burned blank CD's are going to be lying around.Next on the list is probably the slickest "Mac mini in a car" setup I have seen to date. As if one Mac mini feeding two screens in a 2006 Infiniti M45 Sport isn't enough, the creator is also using a Palm Treo 650 and Salling Clicker to run the setup, as well as Rsync X and an AirPort network to keep the mini's library in tune with a PowerMac G5 in the house. Oh yea, how could I forget the Mac mini also seems to be running Front Row? Maybe that's why this setup wasn't featured on that new "Big Ideas" page Apple just put up.
