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Microsoft will talk about 'the next version' of Windows at Computex tonight
Microsoft's Computex keynote today was all about the software giant's expansive portfolio of current offerings, but it started off with a pretty awesome promise: a partner preview event is coming tomorrow (Taipei time) where we'll get to hear about the next version of Windows. Steve Guggenheimer, the man who dished up this delicious tease, naturally had nothing more to say on the matter, but we do know that said event kicks off at 10AM local time, making it 10PM ET (on Wednesday!) in the US. Whichever side of the Pacific you're on, however, rest assured that we'll have all the details that Microsoft is willing to disclose about its future as soon as they become available. Update: Remember, there's a remote chance that we might see Windows Next (aka, Windows 8) revealed a few hours earlier when Steven Sinofsky hits the stage at the D9 conference Wednesday afternoon. Naturally, we'll be bringing the conversation with Microsoft's president of Windows to you live, just as soon as things kick off at 3:15PM PT (6:15PM ET). %Gallery-124967%
Found Footage: Steve Jobs demonstrates NeXT Step
Here's a great piece of Apple history. In this video (check it out after the break), Steve Jobs gives a demonstration of a NeXT computer. You'll remember that Steve formed NeXT in 1995 after being ousted from Apple. Years later, in 1996, Apple purchased NeXT after Steve's return. Much of the current Mac OS X system is built on the OPENSTEP foundation. You needn't look too closely to see the predecessors of Mac OS X, like the dock, the services menu, the home directory and windows that display their contents while being dragged. It's also interesting to hear Steve put the Mac down on a couple of occasions. For a nice illustration of how NeXT features became a part of Mac OS X, look here. Looking at this, one could argue that Steve's dismissal from Apple was the best thing that happened to the Mac OS. [Via Reddit]
In Brief: Jobs' journey through the wilderness made Apple Inc. possible
There's an interesting Randall Stross piece in Saturday's New York Times about the alternative timeline where Steve Jobs never resigned from Apple. Given his legendary fussiness over every detail and his frustrating inability to get the NeXT hardware platform past the "expensive curiosity" stage, Stross surmises that Jobs learned painful lessons about delegation and collaboration during his years at NeXT. When he returned to Apple (along with the NeXTStep operating system that formed the core of Mac OS X), he was far more ready to handle the challenge. Do you think Steve would have failed to transform Apple if he had never left? We welcome your musings below.
Rhapsody on an iPad
No, not the music service. I'm talking about OS X's grandfather. And here it is booting on an iPad. Developer Steven Troughton-Smith saw the video of Windows 95 running on an iPad in emulation and was inspired to try the same thing with Rhapsody -- the development OS was developed by Apple in the time between the purchase of NeXT and Mac OS X. He used a modified version of the Bochs emulator to accomplish the feat. Why? "Just had to one-up Engadget's post." He notes that it took a good five minutes to boot, and another five just to log in. Icons and a desktop appeared that. Unfortunately, a mouse cursor was left out of the equation, which Steven noted could have been due to installing the VMWare mouse driver for Rhapsody. This isn't the first time he's thrust an obsolete OS onto his iPad via emulation. Check out these screen shots of Windows 1.01. As for the BeOS, "I tried BeOS 5.1. It didn't load." Drat. Check out the gallery below for more screen shots. %Gallery-90361%
Toshiba Cell Regza 55X1 and Regza Next concepts hands-on (video)
Now that the Cell-powered cat's out the bag, we had a chance to get up close and personal with a number of its 55-inch Cell Regza 55X1 LCD TVs on hand at the CEATEC show floor. It's certainly not the thinnest flat-screen panel, but the screen was crisp and colors bright. The Cell and most of the heavy duty components were housed in a separate Cell Box -- frankly, it was disappointing just how large the box was, out-sizing even the original PlayStation 3. For reasons that weren't quite made clear to us, the 3TB of storage were divided among four separate drives, two 1TB and two 500GB. None of them are accessible, leaving you only an external USB drive as an expansion option. Frankly, the real draw here (at least the multitaskers inside of us) is eight-window display function and hyper-fast channel scrolling, which in our time with the TV worked great without a hitch. Also on hand were the four Cell Regza Next concept models. There's not much to say about the entertainment server and the all-in-one, but we do have to give credit to the 4K2K TV for the expected visual quality. The 3D unit was showing off a hands-only motion-controlled user interface, demonstrated only by a Toshiba rep, that seemed to have a few technical hiccups. As we've said before (Natal, anyone?), waving your arms is a fun concept, but here we're not yet sold on the usefulness over novelty of it -- something Toshi can mull over between now and at whatever point in the future it plans on upgrading it beyond concept phase. Video of the 55X1 and the conceptual 3D UI after the break. %Gallery-74643% %Gallery-74648%
Found Footage: A working NeXT Cube
Al Diblasi over at Alfred.TV keeps coming up with fun videos with old Apple or related devices as the centerpiece. In this latest 53-minute masterpiece on YouTube (below), Al boots up a 1991 68040-based NeXT Cube, and then shows off some of the built-in applications, an original brochure for the NeXT, a cool NeXT black turtleneck (Steve Jobs' influence, obviously), and a couple of versions of the NeXTstep OS and development environment.For those of you who are new to the Mac world, NeXT was the company Steve Jobs founded after being kicked out of Apple. Originally, they produced both hardware, of which this NeXT Cube is a prime example, and software. NeXT was purchased by Apple in 1997, and the NeXTstep environment evolved into what we now know as Mac OS X and the Cocoa development suite. A NeXT computer used by Tim Berners-Lee was the world's first Web server.Be sure to watch or at least skim through to the end of the video, where Al finds a couple more Apple gems in his brother's basement. You can follow Al's trips through retro computing on Twitter.
Today's a big day for Steve
Fun fact: September 16 is the day in 1985 that Steve Jobs left Apple, and also the same day in 1997 that he returned to Apple as then-iCEO. Jobs first left after CEO John Sculley ousted him from Apple's board of directors after both had tried to be "co-CEOs." Jobs also filed papers that same day in 1985 founding NeXT, the company that he intended to use as a weapon against Apple. Instead, Apple wound up acquiring NeXT for $400 million in 1996. Parts of the NeXT operating system, NeXTStep, eventually became the underpinnings of Mac OS X. [Via Wired.]
Telstra gives data users more megabytes for same dollars
Oh sure, Telstra's Next G HSDPA network is pretty swank, but what's the use in having a potent high-speed infrastructure if it's too expensive for anyone to use? Thankfully, said carrier is finally loosening up a bit on its data pricing by giving Aussies more megabytes for the same price that they're currently paying. Starting now, $10 mobile data packages include 150MB per month (up from 20MB), while the $29 pack includes 300MB per month (up from 80MB). Additionally, excess data rates have been "reduced" on both packs, though dollars and cents weren't mentioned on that. Best of all, customers already subscribed to one of the aforesaid plans won't have to do a thing in order to see their capacities bumped.
NeXT collection on eBay
Combining two of our little trends lately, retroware and eBay vintage, here's the motherload for any NeXT fan-- a complete (and boy do I mean complete) set of NeXT computer cube stuff on eBay.Holy cow that's a lot of stuff-- he's a matching grayscale (!) display and speakers, all the cables, a spare motherboard, all the books and discs, and even the original sticker sheet. Who keeps the sticker sheet?!? The thing even still runs Omniweb (inside NeXTSTEP 3.3 patch 2), and he's got a screenshot of Google up and working.So how much will it run you? Currently, the auction is at $710 with a business week left to go even higher, but seriously now-- how much is it worth to you to get a little piece (or in this case, a lot of pieces) of non-Apple Jobs? Thanks, Richard! (who saw it on Boing Boing)
Former Apple General Counsel still in hot water
Joel Rosenblatt of Bloomberg.com writes that former General Counsel Nancy Heinan may still be sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for the backdating issues that recently plagued Steve Jobs, Apple, and Pixar according to her attorney Miles Ehrlich. Heinan's history with Jobs goes way back, into the days of NeXT, where she was general counsel before moving with him back to Apple. She stayed with Apple until last May, when she resigned several months before Apple disclosed the backdating investigation.
Cage's Next gamer pictures and theme
We've got another movie related gamer picture set and a theme for United States Xbox Live members. Right now you can head to the XBLM to find your free Next gamer pictures and theme featuring Nicholas Cage. And speaking of Mr. Cage, sorry man, but we're just not big fans of the long hair. Let's just say the length doesn't compliment your face structure, okay? Head online, because the free XBLM downloads dinner bell is ringing, so go get 'em guys!
PSP Fanboy Theatre: Volume 8
Note: This edition was delayed due to New York Comic Con.PSP Fanboy offers the latest and greatest movie and game trailers, formatted for the PSP in this new weekly feature. Check it out every Saturday. PSP owners can download files wirelessly via m.pspfanboy.com.Instructions: Save all movie and thumbnail files to MP_ROOT/101ANV01/. Requires firmware 2.00 or above. Do NOT place in "VIDEO" folder. Firmware 2.80 or above do not need to download thumbnails. Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for TheatersDownload MP4 (9.18MB) | Download THM The following videos are featured after the break: Next, The Condemned, Underdog, Bee Movie[Update 1: Corrected link for Next.]
Apple fanboy crafts Mac heaven in ultra-mod home
It's one thing to sacrifice your freedom to snatch 39 iPods from a retail shelf in an act of desperation fanboyism, but to devote a substantial chunk of square footage in one's ultra-modern home to Apple is an entirely different type of determination. Sure, we've seen various forms of collections before, but this edition features no fewer than 74 Mac computers, posters galore, and a dedicated bar to boot. In total, Jeremy Mehrle of St. Louis, Missouri has 30 classic Macs situated at the bar, 18 different CRT-based iMacs, various PowerMacs, a plethora of iPod paraphernalia, Mac OS boxes spanning years of development, Apple printers, Newtons, a PowerBook 165c, a Next Cube, four Apple IIs, and to top it off, a 20th Anniversary Mac as well -- and that's still leaving quite a few out. Although we can't fathom how much time, loot, and resources it took to essentially construct an Apple museum with a modernized style similar to Apple retail locations today, we can't help but give credit where its due, so here's your props Mr. Mehrle, now make sure your security system is in working order, okay? Click on through for a few more snapshots, and be sure to tag the read link for all the Mac mania you can handle.[Via ChipChick]
Jobs' Years in the Wilderness - NeXT
I'm always a sucker for interesting stories about the history of the Mac and I just ran across this fascinating account of Steve Jobs in the eleven years after he left (or was pushed out of) Apple and his triumphant return in 1996. It's an interesting story, well-told, and all of the characteristic Jobsian traits are on display, including and especially his quasi-maniacal perfectionism and demand for control. And of course since OS X is built on what was NeXTstep, it's also a kind of genealogy of our favorite operating system as well. Head over to Low End Mac for a very interesting read.
DS Daily: Down the line
Nintendo has absolutely dominated handheld gaming since ... well ... forever. They've been slow to upgrade technology (just look at how long the original 4-shade Game Boy lasted) due to this success, but eventually, it has to happen. But exactly how does one upgrade from the Nintendo DS? Backward compatibility has been a general mainstay for Nintendo in the handheld scene, but that would require the same dual-screened approach as before. Should they resurrect the revered Game Boy name, or stick with their new franchise title?Certainly, the next handheld from Nintendo is quite a ways off; Japanese people still need several more for conveniently playable doorstops. But how would you do it?
Japanese hardware sales, 18 Dec - 24 Dec: New Year's Resolution Edition
As we here at the Fanboy ready ourselves for the revelry of a new year, we must turn back and view 2006 through shiny, gold-tinted glasses. It's been a full twelve months of taking names and kicking ass (look forward to a special Review of 2006 series), but we can't help but think that we could do better.What's in store for 2007? The library of DS games continues to expand with gems like Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, Dragon's Quest IX, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates, Diddy Kong Racing, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Phoenix Wright 2 (oh hell yes), Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, and much more. We'll be starting up a series of Fanboy podcasts quite soon, and we'll be bringing some new talent into the fold as well.Let's not forget, of course, the reason you guys come here in the first place: the weekly Japanese Hardware Sales posts. In case you've missed the hilarity, there's a run-down of every edition after the break. We're curious: which were your favorite? Let us know! We look forward to 2007, readers, and have a wonderful New Year's!And holy hell look at those DS Lite numbers.- DS Lite: 485,584 165,876 (51.88%)- Wii: 279,277 171,040 (158.02%) - PSP: 138,588 89,626 (183.05%)- PS3: 76,882 5,940 (8.37%) - PS2: 46,209 8,479 (22.47%) - Xbox 360: 17,213 45 (0.26%) - Game Boy Micro: 2,394 903 (60.56%) - GBA SP: 1,858 9 (0.48%) - Gamecube: 1,250 98 (8.51%) - DS Phat: 380 222 (140.51%) - GBA: 57 15 (35.71%) - Xbox: 11 8 (266.67%)[Source: Media Create]
Macworld: what a difference a decade makes
Stevemas (that's Macworld to you) is just around the corner and the Mac web can hardly wait. What will Apple wow us with this time around? A true video iPod? New displays with built in iSights? Only Steve knows for sure, however, let's cast our gaze into Apple's past for a moment. Let's go all the way back to January 1997.Picture it: San Francisco, early January 1997. Alanis Morissette was playing on the radio, though ironically enough her song 'Ironic' wasn't ironic at all. Just last month Apple announced that they had acquired NeXT. During the Keynote Gil Amelio announced that Steve Jobs would be returning to the fold. People were happy right? Well, I am sure some people were but this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article (Find Articles seems to be a big fan of pop ups, so fair warning) paints a different picture.Mac users were worried that Apple would be abandoning the Macintosh OS for the Unix based NeXT OS and that their current machines would be rendered useless. They were right, OS X is based on NeXT, but luckily for Mac users it took Apple a very long time to get OS X out the door. It is interesting, though, to see the Apple faithful a little anxious about having Steve Jobs back at Apple, since now everyone is afraid that Steve might actually leave Apple at some point.
NeXT crucial to PC game history
John Romero, pausing from his CPL project, recently updated his weblog, reminiscing about the tenth anniversary of Apple buying NeXT; id used NeXT machines to develop some of its most iconic games. Doom, Doom II, and Quake were created on NeXT boxes, and Romero also says Raven Software developed Heretic and Hexen on the same platform. Romero's post delivers lots more geek love, with more specific notes about the development process; we almost forgot that developers have platform allegiances even if their products are made for other operating systems.[Via TUAW]
A decade of NeXT and Apple
In the summer of 1989, I had a really, really tough assignment: I had to evaluate the NeXT Cube for a publishing company. What a hardship to have that black box on my desk, along with that 400-dpi laser printer! I don't know how I ever managed.It's hard to believe that it was ten years ago, on 12/20/1996, that we welcomed Steve Jobs and NeXT Computers back into the Apple family. Legendary game developer John Romero remembers, and he's got a fascinating post up about the role of NeXT in bringing his babies to market.According to Romero, the original development environment for both Doom and Quake was NeXTSTEP; in fact, the first four years of id Software's efforts were on NeXT. He fondly remembers the days of simultaneously building for three different architectures, and side-by-side map editing across the LAN with cofounder John Carmack.Romero ends his post by noting that he spent the 15 years prior to 1996 working on computers built by Steve Jobs, and that "maybe someday I'll get one of those kickass iMacs." Cue the salivary glands of Mac gamers everywhere...[via IMG]
C4 Tip: Drag-and-drop text in Cocoa apps
During The Grube's UI presentation at C4, he pointed to one particular example of "functional inconsistency" in Apple's software: the discrepancy in results when you drag-and-drop text in Carbon apps (TextWrangler, AppleWorks, etc.) vs. Cocoa apps (TextEdit, Safari, etc.).When you select text in Carbon applications, you're able to drag the text by simply clicking the selection and dragging it. In Cocoa apps, however, you need to click the selected text and hold the mouse button down for a fraction of a second before you're able to drag it. Your cursor changes from the text selector to the pointer. But clicking and immediately dragging results in you re-selecting the text.The Cocoa differentiation is a result of NeXT designing a way to enable both dragging and re-selecting, which was carried into OS X.It's a minor inconsistency, but has frustrated me countless times. Glad that's all cleared up.Thanks John!
