Macgasm

I’m a little flummoxed with the announcement of a new battery charger being sold from Apple. I had to pinch myself to figure out if I was watching a Saturday Night Live spoof, or if this thing actually exists, turns out that it does exist.

It makes a lot of sense that Apple would be concerned about the state of battery chargers since they now have Bluetooth keyboards, Mice, and Trackpads. Apple’s battery charger comes with six rechargeable AA NiMH batteries, as well as the claim that it’s more than ten times better than the industry average when it comes to power usage. “Thanks to an intelligent power management system, the Apple Battery Charger uses less power once your batteries are fully charged, making it one of the most energy-efficient rechargeable battery solutions ever. The Apple Battery Charger can recharge one or two batteries at a time. It’s optimized for Apple-supplied batteries and it works with AA NiMH batteries from other companies, too.” It’s great to see that these aren’t super special batteries that require Apple branded batteries to work.

At $30.00 for the kit it’s a pretty competitive price option for rechargeable batteries, and it’s not going to look out of place with all of your other Apple gear.

It might not have been announced at WWDC like many had expected, but Apple’s Magical Trackpad has finally found its way into their online store.

It’s exactly what everyone expected it to be—a giant laptop trackpad— and it’s being sold for $69.00. The Magic Trackpad is literally the re-embodiment of your laptop trackpad, complete with a giant button. It’s curious that Apple’s decided to introduce a trackpad, but the multitouch capabilities is something that I’ve been yearning for on my Mac Pro since the advent of the iPhone. You’re now going to be able to do everything that you can on your laptop trackpad, on your desktop machines.

The device has roughly the same footprint as Apple’s keyboard lineup and it will sit nicely beside it on your desk. The Magic Trackpad also connects to your computer via Bluetooth.

Is there a use for one of these things in your workflow? I’m seriously considering opening up my wallet for one of these right now.

As a Canadian I don’t really care much about TiVo.  It’s one of those technologies that haven’t been brought to Canada, and it’s still unclear whether it’s because of arcane laws or a decision by TiVo to leave us out in the cold. I felt like a jilted ex-lover back in 2005, but now, not so much. It’s been hard to really care about a company that doesn’t care about us, so I’ve left behind coverage of their business.

But, they have made their way back onto my radar today with a rumour that TiVo is in negotiations with Apple to include their service in the Apple TV software.  It’s interesting on the surface, but seems extremely unlikely when you stop and think about it for half a second.

Why’s TiVo on the Apple TV unlikely?  Apple’s been negotiating with television executives regarding “rented” television shows on iTunes.  It hardly seems likely that they’re going to bring a service that lets you “TiVo” television, when you can download an episode on demand through iTunes.

Could I be wrong? Sure, it wouldn’t be the first time, but I have a hard time seeing Apple taking these sort of steps with their Apple TV.  It’s taking a step backwards technology-wise, and it seems to be counter-intuitive to everything we’ve been hearing about cloud based services from Apple.

But, it didn’t take long for the news to take its toll on stock prices,  according to Electronista TiVo shares jumped 6.5 percent yesterday. It’s obvious that everything Apple touches turns to gold, but bringing TiVo stock up 6.5 percent has to be a new trophy on Apple’s mantel.  No one’s talked about TiVo in half a decade, or at the very least, since Netflix came along.

Photo Credit: HessieBell

Article Via Electronista

Are you in need of a real speed bump from wireless? You can use Ethernet cable, but that is only one option. I’m actually a big fan of the underutilized IP over Firewire. If you have a Mac, you probably have Firewire ports, so let’s start taking advantage of it. It might not be as fast as Gigabit ethernet, but Firewire 800 is really freaking fast when compared to 802.11G or even 802.11N. So, here is how to network two Macs over Firewire:

First, launch System Preferences on the Mac connected directly to the internet, and then go to the Sharing preference pane. Check the box labeled “Internet Sharing,” and then check the Firewire box.

Now, on the receiving computer, disable all other forms of network access, and then launch the Network pane in System Preferences. Now make sure that the Firewire display reads out with a green icon, and says “Connected.”

That’s it. You now has a very fast network connection between your Macs. This will make a huge difference if you’re moving gigabytes of data.

There’s been a war brewing for a while now, and I have to say, sometimes our comment system is on the front lines. The “openness” of Android vs. the “closed” Apple model is articulated quite well on this graphic tee. One company is unruly while the other is mechanical and efficient. Chris Bishop has put together a T-shirt that aptly sets the scene of the battle. Whether you think Android is an unwieldy character that needs taming, or that Apple’s suppressing a young and misunderstood monster, it doesn’t really matter.

This T-shirt is pretty kickass, and could come to define an entire generation of technology users!

You can get a T-shirt for $19.00, a poster for $19.00, or both if you love it that much.

Could it be? Could the Mac Pro lineup finally be getting a refresh that professionals have been expecting for a while? MacRumors seems to think so, and their readers agree. After checking availability at multiple Apple stores around the globe it seems like the Mac Pro could be getting a new spec bump at the very least.

That makes three major update rumors in the last two weeks. Last week it was rumoured that the iMac and MacBook Air lineup had their production cycles slowed down, if not completely halted, to brace for an update. So could we be seeing new iMacs, MacBook Airs, and new Mac Pros in the upcoming weeks. It’s highly unlikely that all three will be unveiled at the same time, unless they’re only getting spec boosts.

System boosts tend to take place in the middle of the night while no one’s paying attention to Apple’s website. If anything the iMacs and Mac Pros fall into this category, whereas the MacBook Air could be delayed until a major Apple event. Given the key differences in the rumours, it would make sense for Apple to plan a press event around the unveiling of the new MacBook Airs. Rumours last week hinted at a completely new device.

If you’re in the market for any of these machines, it might be smart to take a moment and evaluate the rumours before you purchase a new machine. There’s nothing worse than buying a new machine only to have a new model come out the next day. But, in all fairness, these are just rumours, and it could be upwards of six months to a year before anything comes to fruition on this front.

Welcome to the world of Apple rumours. It’s a vicious cycle.

Article Via Apple Insider

Last week we told you guys that Bumper refunds were being sent out, then we let you know that you could submit your request for a free Bumper via an iPhone application, and now we’re letting you know that Apple wasn’t kidding when they publicly announced that they’re going to have a hard time keeping up  with the demand for bumpers. Creating enough bumpers is going to be a challenge for Cupertino; that’s why they decided to partner up with some other case manufacturers. But, then we heard that 3rd party cases were going to be delayed as well. So, if you’re expecting these magical cases to solve your non-existent problem any time soon, you might want to think about going to pick up a different magical case, because they won’t be arriving in the mail for another month.

Today we’re hearing that the Apple Bumpers are already delayed, and will be shipping in late August. We know that it takes time to get these things made, and that ramping up production is costly both financially and manpower-wise, but shipping by the end of August seems to be a long time away. The people who are having serious issues (all two dozen of them) have to be extremely annoyed that it’s going to take another month before they get a solution for their problem. This brings me to my next complaint.  Everyone and their brother seems to be picking up a free case despite their phone functioning properly.  It’s starting to drive me absolutely crazy.  We get it: you love free stuff like we do, but I wouldn’t be running out to pickup a free iPhone 4 case unless my phone was having some serious problems.

If Twitter has any value at all, it’s tracking trends, and the amount of people who were outright shocked that a refund for a Bumper showed up in their email is pretty self-explanatory.  Not many people knew there was an attenuation problem, and not many of them knew they’d be getting a refund.  If there was ever proof that Apple’s market reach is comprised of a broader demographic than bloggers like to admit, this might be it.

Article Via Cult of Mac

Our Screencasts have been on hiatus since we’ve been so very busy lately. We want to get them back up and running on a regular schedule, so we want two new dedicated Screencasters for our team. If you think you’ve got what it takes, please submit your sample Screencasts to us for consideration.

In case you forgot, here are the rules:

1) Keep your Screencast under five minutes.

2) Keep it relevant to Mac users. No Windows or Linux tips, please.

3) The Screencast must have audio narration. Visual-only Screencasts will not be considered.

4) The two winners will be chosen by myself and Joshua Schnell based on which Screencasts we like the most.

5) Please e-mail a link to your screencast (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) to gbrunner@macgasm.net by August 2nd, 2010. Please don’t e-mail the files directly.

6) If you’re selected, you’ll become a member of the Macgasm team. You’ll be asked to provide at least one Screencast each calendar month.

We’re very excited about this, so hit us with your best shot. We want to see what you’re capable of accomplishing. Rock our socks off.

Image Credit: Juliana Coutinho