Genius
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Apple launches iTunes 8, NBC comes back, TV shows at $1.99, Genius in the house
Just in time for couch season, Apple has busted out iTunes 8 with a slew of new features, like the Genius sidebar. Also, NBC is back on board with its lineup of TV shows. According to Jobs, "The Office is coming back, Monk, Battlestar Galactica, 30 Rock... and they're coming back in HD." HD versions of shows will run you $2.99 while SD versions run a reasonable $1.99 (when compared to, say, a full month's cable access). Meanwhile, "Genius" is a new feature that Apple says will change the way you browse your media. "Old browsing wasn't efficient," said Jobs. "in iTunes 8 you can look by album cover, and this new bar at the top let's you look at anything graphically in little tiles." Basically, Genius is a contextual iTunes store recommendation tool that will, in essence, make it easier for you to spend money. It also makes custom playlists on the fly based on your habits, and shares them (anonymously, they promise) with other users. So what's missing so far? None of the rumored subscription services, for one, and any mention of new hardware or iPhone functions, like, say disk mode. We'll keep wishing. Apple says it is making iTunes 8 available immediately (which, to them, may mean "some time later"), so let the download races begin!Update: We've got a gallery of iTunes 8 -- check it out below.%Gallery-31533%
iPod touch 2.1 firmware walkthrough
Last night, Apple offered up the iPod touch 2.1 firmware early for iPod touch owners (iPhone owners will have to wait until Friday). Not much has changed since the 2.0 firmware, but Apple did add some features to the Music section of the iPod touch -- most notably, Genius.Unlike Genius in iTunes on your Mac/PC, Genius on the iPod touch doesn't connect to Apple's servers and exchange information (however, it may download an indexing file of sorts from iTunes on your computer). You can create a Genius playlist on the iPod touch using 2 methods: While playing a song, tap once on the artwork, then tap on the genius button (in the middle of the pop-up toolbar) Tap on "Playlists" on the bottom toolbar and select "Genius" When you use the Playlists > Genius button, you will need to specify a song for Genius to analyze. Once your Genius playlist is created, you will be presented with a screen with 3 new buttons along the top: Save - this button allows you to save your current Genius playlist New - tapping this button will create a new Genius playlist (you must specify a new song to analyze) Refresh - tapping on this button will refresh the current playlist, replacing any old songs with new ones The Genius logo will appear next to the songs that you've chosen to analyze. That is all of the new features in 2.1: just Genius. Be sure to take a look at our gallery of Genius screenshots.%Gallery-31586%
Windows Gurus to infiltrate retail stores, tell you why Vista rules
In case you missed the completely baffling Gates / Seinfeld ad, here's the skinny: Microsoft is getting serious about polishing the tarnished Vista brand (its words, not ours). According to new reports, that aforementioned spot is just the beginning of Redmond's costly push to "change consumers' perception of Windows," and soon you'll be seeing Microsoft Gurus in your favorite B&M locations. These so-called experts will be there to "explain the benefits of Windows," but we're not sure if they'll only be around to answer inquiries or if they'll be actively approaching you in an uncomfortable attempt to talk about Aero and ReadyBoost. We're hearing that some 155 representatives will be deployed before the year's end at stores like Best Buy and Circuit City, so at least you now know where not to shop if you're terrified of confrontation.[Via Electronista, image courtesy of StarBulletin]
Rumor: iTunes 8 to include Genius recommender, grid view, new visualizer
Kevin Rose is at it again, with a brand new round of rumors about iTunes 8, supposedly premiered next week at the big Apple iPod event. Did I miss the meeting where we all declared him king of iPod rumors? King or not, he's got what he claims is inside information, including a writeup about something called the "Genius" sidebar, which creates recommended playlists for you, a new grid view (like Delicious Library?), and a new music visualizer.Additionally, Rose's tipster mentions HD TV shows in the iTMS, and reiterates the previous rumors of new IPod nanos and Touches. None of these things are a huge surprise -- while the Genuis system will certainly be interesting to see (and make fun of) if real, HDTV and the new iPods are old news in Rumorville by now.Is it OK if we hope for some faster and easier iPhone syncing with a new version of iTunes as well? Whatever is coming next week, we'll find out all about it then.
Genius' SP-T1200 speaker system loves to be touched
Okay, so you could argue that most any speaker system would appreciate some TLC, but Genius' latest really adores it. The SP-T1200 2.0 Touch Speaker System comes with a black-onyx finish and enables owners to rely on a touch screen to control function, volume, bass or treble. When touched, the panel lights up to visually show that contact has been made, and while these promise 30-watts of skull-rattling sound, we wouldn't count on audiophile type results. Grab 'em now if you wish for $99.
Genius introduces G-Pen M712 / M609 pen tablets
It's been a hot minute since we've seen a flashy new pen tablet from Genius, but the outfit is getting set to unload a new duo onto the market for artists looking to get their penmanship directly onto the LCD. The G-Pen M712 and M609 both arrive with Vista / Mac-compatible software, sport 4,000 LPI resolutions and come with rolling pads at the top for scrolling, zooming and adjusting volume. As for the M609, expect a screen size of 9- x 5.5-inches (wide) / 7.25- x 5.5-inches (standard) and 26 hot keys, while the M712 offers up a bit more real estate at 12- x 7.25-inches (wide) / 9.5- x 7.25-inches (standard) and includes 34 hot keys. Look for 'em both to land real soon for $195 and $249, respectively. Full release waiting after the jump. %Gallery-21520%
KYE's Genius BT-03i Bluetooth headset rocks touch control
It may not be the prettiest Bluetooth headset we've ever seen -- or the second prettiest, or the third -- but the Genius BT-03i has a little ace up its sleeve that most headsets don't: touch control. As you might expect, the touch sensitive strip is used to control volume during a call, while a lighted icon serves as a warning to others, "leave me the frick alone, I'm on the phone here." The headset's innovative enough to have been mentioned as an honoree for the CES 2008 Innovations Awards, and at the $79 asking price, it might just be worth checking out. Grab it starting next March.[Via BlueTomorrow]
Genius Traveler 915BT Laser: the presenter's mouse
On the heels of IOGEAR's own presentation mouse comes the Traveler 915BT Laser, which is quite a few rungs above being a one trick pony. Genius' latest is a Bluetooth mouse that boasts a 1,600dpi sensor, built-in laser pointer and the ability to shuffle forward and back through your PowerPoint slides. There's also a battery indicator light along with an on / off switch to conserve energy, and the "4D" scroll wheel enables easy access to pages that extend left and right, too. Unfortunately, there are no details regarding a price or release date, but word on the street has it landing for around $50.[Via PCLaunches]
Genius offers up G-Pen F610 pen tablet
Genius' latest digital pad (dubbed the G-Pen F610) does quite a bit more than just give users a medium for digitally penning their most favorite doodle ideas, as the 29 programmable hot keys will probably make your keyboard a tad envious. Furthermore, the two pen buttons can "also be programmed as left and right mouse buttons," further distancing you from your tried and true control combo. As for the tablet itself, it measures in at six- x ten-inches, plays nice with Vista and OS X, and features a pen with nearly one year of battery life. Regrettably, Genius has yet to open its trap in regard to a price.[Via PCLaunches]
Forum Thread of the Day: Quest text that makes you laugh
Relyndrel sets us off on a hilarious ride through Blizzard's real genius: turning something as straightforward as playing a videogame into a rich, entertaining, and sometimes even meta experience. He starts off a collection of the best quest text in the game, including the various letters, yells, and whispers that float around while doing said quests. All the best stuff is here: Fruit vendor, do you not value your life?! Rend Blackhand's note to a stupid orc: "Destroy this letter, idiot!" Blizzard's sly reply to AV whiners And the terrific Digging Through Bones dialogue I don't see my favorite mentioned in the first few pages-- as I've said before, my favorite quest in the whole game is probably the Absent Minded Prospector, in which a dwarf leisurely browses through a dig while you're left to fight off all kinds of huge golems.Really, this game is just all about clicking buttons-- you click a button to start a quest, you click some buttons to kill things (or do some thing), and then you click another button to end a quest. But it's the flavor that Blizzard adds-- all of these weird characters, strange stories, and references to everything else we know-- that really make the experience what it is, and show off just how good Blizzard is at making clicking buttons interesting and fun.
Genius Traveler 515 Laser mouse rocks touch-sensitive scroll
We can't say that Genius' latest laser mouse is apt to cause any cancellation emails to start flying over those recently ordered Obsidians, but the Traveler 515 Laser does a fair job in the specs department to make up for its vanilla looks. Similar to Saitek's critter, this pointing device boasts a touch-sensitive OptoWheel scroll area, right and left click buttons, Flip 3D and Smart IE hotkeys for Vista users, Turbo Scroll for blowing past those incredibly long patent filings, an adjustable 800 / 1,600 DPI laser, and compatibility with OS X and most Windows flavors. Additionally, this device is said to play nice with both righties and southpaws alike, and while looks may not be everything, we imagine that this one will end up priced a tad lower than its dashing competitor in order to compensate in the attractivity arena.[Via EverythingUSB]
Genius DS wants to train your brain
With all this brain training going on, one wonders just how long before DS aficionados start racking up the patents and the Nobel Prizes. Maybe we're just not quite there yet. We need to train further. Well, don't despair, future genius inventors, there's yet another edutainment title on the horizon, and it's coming to stretch your gray matter. Genius DS - Equal Cards is slated for this summer, and seems to be primarily a math-influenced title, and the math puzzles use cards that must be sorted. Sounds riveting.
Genius introduces the G-Note 7100 digital pad
Sometimes it's not really convenient and/or appropriate to lug around your Tablet PC everywhere you want to take digital notes, but the problem with regular old pen-and-paper-style notetaking is that you have to spend unnecessary time scanning in your scribbles later. That's where products like the new G-Note 7100 from Genius come in, a digital tablet that stores up to 100 pages of notes written with the pair of included pens -- but unlike similar devices such as the Aiptek MyNote, Cross Crosspads, or Logitech io series of pens which require a special surface or paper, this one lets you write on standard, everyday legal pads. Specs-wise you're getting a resolution of 2,000 LPI, 32MB of on-board memory, USB connectivity with XP and Vista PC's, and bundled handwriting recognition software. Available immediately, the 7100 retails for $160, which also includes batteries, backup pen tips, a starter notepad, USB cable, and a handsome, possibly-leather portfolio.
Genius adds to mouse / VoIP phone combo madness
Yes, it's yet another mouse /VoIP phone combo unit, this one coming from Taiwan-based Genius. As with those other identity-conflicted devices, the Genius Navigator 880 will handle mousing and phoning duties equally well, although if you think its name suggests that it'll also do GPS navigation, you'll be sorely disappointed. Designed primarily for use with laptops, the mouse end of the equation packs a decent 1200 dpi resolution, while the VoIP side of things boasts seven dedicated phone buttons when flipped open, as well as the all important blinkin' light to let you know when a call is coming in. Both options will leave you tied to your laptop, however, as this one's only available in a corded option. From the looks of it, Genius is going to be making the device available in India first (for about $40), although we wouldn't bet against it showing up elsewhere.
Apple upgrading online Concierge reservation system
It looks as though Apple's Concierge, their online system allowing for Genius Bar reservations, is undergoing a bit of an upgrade. There wasn't much warning, and we don't have any details of what shiny new goodies are going to debut, but it was an already pretty slick system that is bound to get even better if they're making this big of a deal out of it. Stay tuned.[Upate: Someone (no, literally: "someone") in our comments pointed out that Apple has already rolled out this shiny upgrade to some of their retail stores, and you can already access it at the San Francisco's store site. Looks like a handy new system.]
Ungenius - the other side of the Genius Bar
Beyond a doubt, Apple's retail stores have been and still are making headlines of all kinds - from business magazines hailing the stores' sleek design, to consumer reviews giving the stores high marks for their unique and (ideally) helpful Genius Bar feature. However, as some of you may know - not everyone's trip to the genius bar wraps up with a happy ending, and I'm not just talking about the customers; the Geniuses don't always have it so peachy-keen either.Hence, Ungenius - a blog by "JC" who apparently has some stories to tell of his adventures "aton[ing] for the sins of a multinational corporation during nearly four years as a Mac Genius". JC delves into all sorts of topics surrounding the world of the Genius including QA, the obvious defects that have made headlines as of late, and even some thoughts as to why Class Actions might be bad for consumers.Whether you've made a shrine for the last Genius who helped you out of a pickle or you're putting the finishing touches on a Genius Voodoo doll as you read this, Ungenius might be an interesting read from the other side of the cheery Apple retail store fence.
