frontrow
Latest
Open Front Row to third party developers
JC, writing for Mac Geekery, thinks Apple shouldn't add a PVR (that's personal video recorder, folks) to Front Row like lots of Mac folks want. Nay, he thinks that Apple should include hooks into Front Row to let third party developers get their content into it.These Front Row plugins could be anything from El Gato letting you watch your recorded shows, to NewNewsWire displaying your RSS feeds in a Front Row like fashion.I think it is a great idea, what do you think?
Install Front Row (with Bonjour) on any Mac
So the new Mac minis are cool, and Front Row leveraging Bonjour is just plain smart. But what about the rest of us who can't afford to go out and buy yet another shiny new Apple product?Behold: instructions for installing the latest version of Front Row (with Bonjour support) on just about any Mac that can run 10.4.5 and iLife '06. A friend of mine turned me onto these instructions, and along with his Salling Clicker-enabled mobile phone, he has a pretty nice Front Row remote setup going on his 12" PowerBook. From the instructions it sounds like the setup is pretty simple, but as usual: this isn't exactly supported or even condoned by Apple (and is illegal since you're basically stealing Front Row and putting it on a non-Front Row Mac), so you're kinda on your own in case something doesn't go as planned.With all that said, enjoy (if you dare) the latest version of Bonjour-enabled Front Row for the rest of us.
Why doesn't the Front Row remote have a click wheel?
As I was writing up my previous post about a Designtechnica article praising the Front Row remote for its simplicity and iPod-like ease of use, a question came to mind: if the Front Row remote is another extension of Apple's easy-to-use ideals, why doesn't it posses a click wheel? That round white circle is one of the iPod's design fundamentals that has brought the device into so many households and pockets. More importantly, it's also just about the best darn UI for browsing through massive amounts of media - and isn't that what Front Row is designed to do? I see Front Row as Apple's "iPod for the living room." It is a really, really simple piece of software that wrangles all our content (just like the iPod) together for our viewing and listening pleasure in just about any room we want. From this perspective, I wonder if Apple dropped the ball on the remote's design. Don't get me wrong, I really like the remote (especially in comparison to its competitors) and I'm excited to one day afford a Mac mini for our living room. I just think it would be so much cooler if we could have a click wheel to control nearly all the media we have on our computers. Apple could easily have made the remote the size of something like the iPod nano which would still give it that "amazingly small" aura, as well as room to fit a click wheel and maybe even save some production costs. A click wheel Front Row remote would make it even easier to browse through the zillions of songs, videos and photos that people can now access from the comforts of their couch. Lastly, I think it would even help Apple to further the iPod brand, as users could now have the same UI on one of their home remotes as they have on the music player in their pockets.*Sigh* It's too bad Apple didn't give me a call when kicking around ideas for the remote. Maybe I'll get lucky with the 2.0 redesign version some day. Something tells me, however, that I shouldn't hold my breath.
Front Row now remembers video position
Reg mentioned this in a comment, but I didn't have a chance to test it out until now, and by golly it works (though getting screenshots of Front Row is a bit bothersome).As you can see above, I was watching a video (Channel Frederator) and then exited out of Front Row whilst it was still playing. Front Row automatically stops the playback, which isn't new, but now when you go back to the video you were watching you can either start from the beginning, or pick back up from where you were.
Front Row remote: "sophisticated simplicity"
Michael Greeson has written an article for Designtechnica purporting to see Apple's future in digital home media simply by analyzing their famously minimal 6-button Front Row remote and the new Mac minis. While it might sound like quite the leap, he's written a great article that gives some serious credit where credit is due in terms of the remote's wild departure from the accepted design norm. Dubbing a philosophy of "sophisticated simplicity," Michael believes many of Apple's careful design choices in products like the Mac mini, the iPod and this remote are finally striking the right chord with consumers who are tired of products with so many buttons and features that they're nearly indiscernible from an airline pilot's control panel.The article is a nice homage to Apple's design ideals, and I for one am glad to see someone appreciating Apple for what the company and their products are really worth, above and beyond the typical "hey there's no viruses" or "wow this iPod's great." Check it out.
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 releases iTunes, security updates
Apple has made both iTunes 6.0.4 and Security Update 2006-001 available via Security Update. According to Apple, iTunes 6.0.4 "...addresses stability and performance issues related to Front Row," and today's security update improves the security of the following components: apache_mod_php automount Bom Directory Services iChat IPSec LaunchServices LibSystem loginwindow Mail rsync Safari Syndication Go and get 'em, folks.Update: Reader Bob points out that iPhoto has also been updated. It's now at version 6.0.2, which, according to Apple, "...resolves several minor issues with playing shared slideshows in Front Row." Thanks, Bob!
Apple investigating iMac Core Duo video problems
Apparently some folks who have purchased Apple's new iMac Core Duo machines are experiencing video problems in Front Row -- particularly the appearance of horizontal lines during video playback. The problem reportedly affects iMac models with 256MB of VRAM, running build 8G1171 of Mac OS X v10.4.4. Seems the problem is so prevalent, Apple has actually acknowledged it in an e-mail to CRN:"Apple is aware of this issue and is looking into it. If a customer has any technical issues, they should contact AppleCare."Gee, thanks.Anyone here experiencing any video problems with one of them new iMacs? ConsumerMachine.com, a site blogging about the problem, believes the issue is fully software-related and has posted a possible fix -- let us know if you have any luck.[via Macworld UK]Update: Fixed the recepient of Apple's e-mail -- CRN, not ConsumerMachine.com
Apple products in the Engadget awards
Engadget has compiled their list of tech awards for 2005, as selected by the readers and Engadget editors. Categories ranged from "Gadget of the Year" to "Disappointment of the Year." Apple received six readers' choice awards (but no editors' picks, oddly enough). So, here's how Apple fared, as selected by Engadget readers: Gadget of the Year: Apple iPod 5G (Editors' pick: Xbox 360) Desktop of the Year: Apple Power Mac G5 Quad (Editors' pick: Sony RC series) Laptop of the Year: Apple Powerbook 15" (Editors' pick: IBM Thinkpad Z) Media PC of the Year: Apple iMac G5 with FrontRow (Editors' pick: Niveus Media K2) Portable Audio Device of the Year: iPod nano (Editors' pick: iRiver U10) Portable Video Device of the Year: Apple iPod 5G (Editors' pick: Cowon A2) While not really an Apple product, Disappointment of the Year went to the Motorola ROKR E1. I whole-heartedly agree.
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.
TUAW's Macworld predictions scorecard
Swing and a miss! When we made our pre-keynote predictions yesterday, we felt reasonably confident. Now, as the smoke clears, we can see just how far off we were. Let's review: C.K. - black Intel iBooks running on flash memory. C.K. got the Intel part right. Partial credit. Damien Barrett - a Mac mini media center with iLife '06, programmable remote. I really wanted to see this one come to fruition. Alas, it just didn't happen. I was with you on this one, Damien. Dave Caolo - iLife '06 including FrontRow. Wow, what was I thinking? We did get iLife '06, but that was hardly a stretch. As for FrontRow...maybe next time. David Chartier - a nearly-finished preview of 10.5 Leopard, with a release scheduled before Vista (like that's hard to do). I was wondering if we'd get even the slightest hint about Leopard. I guess we'll have to wait until the World Wide Developer's Conference. Laurie A. Duncan - iWork 06 gets a major update, finally offering a viable alternative to Office for OS X. Partial credit to Laurie as well. At least Steve didn't refer to iLife as "...Office for the rest of your life" this year. Worst. Slogan. Ever. Scott McNulty - Sell your songs on iTunes, publish your blog on .Mac, get your vlog streaming from Apple's servers. Scott scores on blog publishing via .Mac. As for Apple hosting people's vlogs...I've got my fingers crossed for that one. Victor Agreda Jr - AirPort Express update that includes video streaming. Drat, this would have rocked! Are you listening, Steve? Some of you scored better guesses that we did. Joshua wrote, "iLife '06 with iWeb...updated Mac Mini...expanded .Mac...iWork '06." Brad nailed "...Intel iBooks, 10.4.4 and updated iLife/iWeb." JayB wins the TUAW Dreamer's Award with, "The idea of the huge 50 inch plasma tv with built in computer seems like a feasible Apple product." Amen, brother.
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.
