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Software Update: Pages and Keynote (iWork '06)
If you're an iWork '06 user, Software Update has a couple of presents for you: Pages 2.0.1 and Keynote 3.0.1. About the Pages update (direct link): "addresses issues with charts and image adjust. It also addresses a number of other minor issues."About Keynote's update (link): "addresses issues with three-dimensional charts and textures. It also addresses a number of other minor issues. This update should be installed on all computers that share your Keynote 3.0 files, so that textures display properly."Enjoy.
HDMI issues at GDC? Or simply no cable?
The PS3 dev kits on display at GDC apparently skipped the HDMI connection for some of their demos, casting doubt on how far along Sony's come with its hardware and digital standards compliance.During GDC, Sony brought along a few PS3 demo units to show off audio and video, which TG Daily spied from a distance. As you can see above, the PS3 graphics demo unit used a standard AV Multi-Out connector while the "two HDMI ports right below the AV Multi-Out port were unused." TGD apparently offered to lend Sony officials an HDMI cable of their own to connect to the system, but they were turned down.Of course, there's also a conflicting pic which Chris Grant took for us on Joystiq Central that seems to show that very HDMI connection being used, probably with another unit. (Scroll down to the second pic here to see it.) So what's the real story? Was Sony lacking enough updated HDMI 1.3 hardware and/or 1.3-compatible TVs to show off the HD goods, or were they simply short on cables? Maybe their budget was a bit tight for GDC (what with Phil's focused keynote and abundance of GDC sessions from Sony), so hopefully we'll see everything hooked up nice and tidy for E3.[Thanks, Michael, Racky, pheen, and DocEvil; via TechSpot and CD Freaks]
MotorStorm, Resistance and more: pictures from Sony's GDC keynote
Despite Sony asking attendees not to take pictures during Phil Harrison's keynote speech at GDC, a member of a Spanish forum managed to sneakily snap pictures of the games that were shown and has now posted his roll online. The photos are blurry and from a skewed perspective, but they give us an early idea of what games like The Getaway, MotorStorm, Resistance: Fall of Man, Ratchet & Clank and Warhawk will look like on PS3 hardware. We've cropped a selection of the best images, so click here to see more.[Thanks, hellmasterx]
God of War 2 GDC video leaked online
No one was supposed to be recording at the time, but it appears that the trailer for God of War 2 (from Phil Harrison's keynote at GDC) has managed to find its way onto the intarwebs and into our hearts.There you can observe good ol' Kratos jabbin' and choppin' and doin' his thing with his mythological Greek friends. Of course, if you haven't played (or finished) the first God of War game, be aware that a minor spoiler is revealed early on by the trailer's narrator. (Didn't see that one coming, didja?)But, yeah... who do we have to thank for breaking Sony's embargo on this footage? Apparently some guy named "Element" who helps out at playsyde.com. Will Sony act against YouTube for hosting such a video? We'll have to see now, won't we? Whatever the case, an official direct-feed version would certainly be appreciated if it can be managed.[Thanks, David; via digg]See also: Playsyde cam-footage post thanking "the great Element" for this clip Sony confirms God of War 2 worldwide Q1 2007 Unreal Engine 3 and other PS3 tech demos from GDC floor [no GoW?] GDC: The PS3 keynote blow by blow [a few GoW 2 details]
Chris Grant co-host on Gaming Steve podcast
Joystiq's very own Christopher Grant is not only posting from the 2006 Game Developers Conference, he's also starring in a podcast.Okay, so technically he's just co-hosting an episode of an ongoing podcast with Gaming Steve, but you can't miss this opportunity to hear Chris's laid-back, sweetly smooth voice. (There are reports that Chris also sounds somewhat like a stoner, but we wouldn't be able to tell you what those kind of people sound like anyway, so what can we say?)As for the podcast itself, Chris and Steve go into the events of the last day, enthusiastically sharing about Microsoft's bloggers breakfast with Peter Moore (inset), Phil Harrison's PS3 keynote, what the new Battlestar Galactica might have to do with games, and everything else that they saw in San Jose. And, hey, maybe if we're lucky, we'll get another guest Joystiqer co-hosting with Steve today. More from GDC as we get it...See also: Direct download link for the podcast in question [55 minute-long MP3] Gaming Steve's "Day 3" report on GDC 2006 [where we got the pic] Joystiq @ GDC: In the beginning... [w/a little bloggers breakfast info] GDC: The PS3 keynote blow by blow
Region-free PS3, free online multiplayer confirmed
During a Q&A session with media over lunch after yesterday's GDC keynote, Sony's Phil Harrison confirmed that PS3 software will be region free and that multiplayer gaming will also be free.While we'd heard rumblings of the region-free set-up for games back in early November, we hadn't heard any official confirmation outside of Australia until just the other day. Importers (as well as online gamers) should be quite pleased with the development, though this move likely won't follow for Blu-ray movie discs. It's good to see the region-free status of PSP games spread to the PS3's.If online multiplayer is included as part of Sony's free basic service (known internally as the "PlayStation Network Platform"), then what would constitute Sony's premium service besides the typical content downloads for games? Subscriptions for movie and/or music services, perhaps? And going back to the region-encoding news, it's heartening for our friends on the Continent to hear Phil's following statement: "It's possible for developers to put all the TV formats - PAL, NTSC, HDTV, and so on - on the disc." Can Sony bring the world together with games?[Thanks, DarkFlash; image taken from Final Fantasy Odyssey]See also: Free basic service on "PlayStation Network Platform" GDC: The PS3 keynote blow by blow ["P(S)NP" just an internal name] PS3 region encoding unlikely? [from Sony Computer Ent. Australia] PS3 to share region encoding on Blu-ray [for the U.S. and Japan?]
Major press conference set for March 15th by Sony
We all knew that Sony's Phil Harrison was going to deliver a keynote at the GDC next week, but it looks like we might get "some details" early thanks to a major press conference set in Tokyo for this Wednesday the 15th.After a hint about just such an event from a certain Koei executive, gaming news site Ferrago claims Sony is "conceding that a major press conference will be held" on that date. It is hoped that further details concerning the PS3's launch schedule and its upcoming games would be revealed if the event actually takes place.[Via Joystiq]
Found Footage: Steve Jobs' Macworld bloopers
In a move that I'm sure is just begging for the wrath of Jobs, someone has put together a well-crafted blooper video that looks at the best quirks, mistakes and glitches of Steve Jobs' Macworld keynotes. The video is hosted at YouTube and we're linking to it here, so you should be able to click on the image above and play it right here in TUAW (or your RSS reader) as long as Flash is enabled.I have to agree with the post at FreeMacBlog: it's pretty tough to watch this and not squirm at least a little, especially during my personal favorite: the 2005 keynote when I believe it was Sony's CEO who painfully stumbled and blundered through a speech about... well I don't even remember what it was about anymore.This video is a nice reminder of those unfortunate (yet darn funny) blooper moments of Macworld keynotes that we all so easily forget once we open our new [insert Apple product here]. Check out FreeMacBlog's post where I found this, or head over to YouTube where the video lives - at least for now.
Custom Keynote themes for 5G iPod
I really dislike having to endure slide presentations, even when I'm the one talking. However, delivering the show via my iPod does add a little bit of fun to the process for me ("Is that coming from his iPod?"), and it's easier to lug around than a laptop. Keynote Pro's EP Edition themes were created specifically to be presented from a 5G iPod. They have been designed for enhanced readability and use with the iPod AV Cable, without losing any detail. There are currently three themes available for $9.95US each, or you can purchase all three as a bundle for $24.95. The EP themes require iWork '05 or '06 (Keynote 2.x or higher), Quicktime 7 and, of course, a 5th Generation iPod.
9 out of 10 for iWork
No, not from us (though I haven't had a chance to play with iWork '06 yet), however MacOSXhints is a big fan of iWork '06. Rob is most excited about the improvements in Keynote 3 including a number of things that you can now do with bullet lists. I own the prior versions of both Pages and Keynote but I have never used either. That's just me though, what would you give iWork '06?
My first Macworld, Pre-show and Keynote
Having never been to a Macworld before, let alone San Francisco, I thought I'd let those of you who have never been here in on some first impressions. First off, San Francisco is quite an amazing town. The people have been fantastic, the food, the architecture, and so on. But this isn't a travel blog, it's a Mac blog. So let me tell you about this Macworld thing, seen through the eyes of a total MWSF n00b. And I want to thank everyone for sending in those comments and suggestions on things to do in the City (see, I got it). At least I never called it "frisco."My father, brother, and I travelled to San Francisco with one goal in mind: see the rock show that is the keynote. In fact, we are leaving today because my brother has to get back to his college classes before he gets in trouble. Since when did education mean not broadening your horizons? Oh well. Yes, we paid nearly $200 a person just to be at the real Macworld for a day. We're crazy like that. Luckily, since we got up at 4 a.m. and stood in line for a couple of hours, we did. But I'll talk about that in a moment.
Is Steve's "one more thing" yet to come?
Leander at the Cult of Mac blog has been feeling like Steve's keynote from this past Tuesday just didn't have the polish or energy that Macworld keynotes typically do. He was discussing this with a friend recently who, he says, is very much "in" at Apple, when his friend had something quite interesting to say. Namely, that "key products" had to be omitted from the keynote due to "supply issues." Now, this is rumor, of course, so do with it what you will. Leander writes:"'They can't get enough Core Duo (chips),' said my source. He also said that if he were me, he probably wouldn't order one of the new MacBook Pros. I asked if there would be MacBook replacements for the 17-inch and 12-inch PowerBooks, but he said, 'Oh, it's much cooler than that. Much cooler.'" Here we go again. So, what didn't we get to see and when wiill it be released? Let the baseless conjectures begin!
iWork just helps bring AppleWorks customers into 20th century
Since iWork 06 was clearly the 5th wheel of yesterday's keynote, I'd throw money down that it is (unofficially) nothing more than a 20th (note: not 21st) century version of AppleWorks just to give those who still use it something OS X-ish to switch to. I would also bet that Apple is sick of supporting that old horse and could simply be using iWork to help put it out to pasture.If you watch yesterday's keynote, iWork 06 gets a mention on stage but almost immediately a "well we don't have time for it now, but you can check it out on the web" from his Steveness.Um, what? You're going to mention this software you introduced barely a year ago but then promptly drop-kick it off stage? And where is Numbers, one of the supposed missing links that could propel iWork into the "useful" category of so many users software toolbelts?Given this year's "we barely care" treatment of iWork, I think it's safe to say that Apple really isn't planning on stacking it up against Office. At least, not anytime soon.
So no Apple plasma HDTV after all :(
Blah blah blah, laptop, blah blah, iPod, blah blah blah, dual core Intel processor. No 50" plasma screens, no UDI. The best news we got was DVI out on the new laptops, no word if that will include HDCP, but unless they'll upgrade your laptop to Blu-ray or HD-DVD, who cares?I'm so disappointed, check out the rest of the coverage of the Jobsy one's keynote on Engadget and TUAW.
Apple stock leaps 6% following keynote
With Steve's voice still echoing from the stage at the Moscone center, Apple's stock climbed 6% to $81.89 by the early part of this afternoon. It would appear that Mac fans weren't the only ones impressed buy the new hardware and successful holiday shopping season. I'd say things are going well in Cupertino.[Via Macenstein]
Microsoft promises 5 years of Office development
During today's keynote, Jobs brought a Microsoft rep up on stage who announced a promise to develop Office for OS X for another five years (make of that what you will). They also announced that a new version of Office as a universal binary will be available later this Spring (March I believe), and that a Rosetta-optimized version would be available either today or very soon from Mactopia.
Macworld 06 keynote available for streaming
Today's Macworld 06 keynote is now available for streaming from Apple's QuickTime site. From reports from our bloggers on the scene, I believe it clocked in around an hour and a half. Jobs unleashed a lot of goodies this time around, so it should make for good viewing. I know that a few commercials debuted, and the audience from what I heard really liked them.One thing disappoints me however: this isn't available as an iTMS download, at least not yet. It's only available for streaming. Oh well, I guess we can't have it all.
Apple announces iWork 06
Apple also announced iWork 06 at today's keynote, bringing major updates to both Pages and Keynote, though some kind of much-requested spreadsheet application did not arrive. New in Pages 2 are more Apple-designed Templates, 3D charts, freeform curves, shapes and masks, tables with calculations (semi-spreadsheet abilities), Mail Merge with Address Book and reviewer comments which allow you to add reminders, comments and todo lists in a document sidebar.Keynote 3 gains HD themes, cinematical transitions, 3D charts, the same freeform curves, shapes and masks as Pages, tables with calculations and the same reviewer comment features.iWork 06 has the same pricing scheme as iLife 06: $79 for a single license, $99 for a 5-pack, and is available now from Apple's online store.
I'm buying a new Apple [BLANK]
So, I'm switching jobs (you may have heard) and therefore I had to turn in my 15-inch PowerBook (Fare thee well, Kurosawa; you served me well). I've set up a temporary user account on my wife's 12-inch PowerBook, which I have temporarily usurped.But, I'm very excited, because for the first time in a long time, I'm ready. I'm waiting to buy a new computer and it's falling nicely in time with the Stevenote and possible new hardware announcements. Whatever they announce at the Keynote (btw, we have a whole slew of TUAWers there and will be live chatcasting the event with multiple detailed posts to follow), Intel-chipped PowerBooks, iBooks, Mac mini entertainment centers, an Intel-chipped iTablet, or something entirely new, I'm getting one as fast as I can and reporting all the details back to you all as soon as I get it. If there are multiple options available, I'll post back here and get your input. I'll want to order ASAP, so check back for a poll: what should C.K. order / what do you want reporting on first?It's like Christmas morning all over again!
No live Keynote webcast, again
The only thing more fun than poring over all of the new stuff that's revealed during a Steve Jobs keynote is watching Jobs himself deliver the goods. He's such a talented public speaker, and knows precisely how to work a Mac geek like me into a credit card-fueled frenzy. For the past couple of years at least, Apple has not provided a live web broadcast of the keynote, opting instead to post the video to its website after the fact. It looks like that's the plan for this Tuesday as well, which is disappointing. I'll watch the video, of course, but watching it happen live is so much more pleasant than impatiently waiting for a bare-bones and overburdened website to refresh its content.Come on, Steve, let us have the webcasts back. Aside from feeding my adolescent need for instant gratification, the webcasts are a real display of Apple's technical prowess. Or something.
