Jailbroken Apple TV Plex(es) its muscles
There’s been a few Apple TV jailbreak stories that have done the rounds but they’ve all been pretty, well…naff.
But Plex on Apple TV – now that is big.
If you’re not familiar with Plex, allow us to fill you in. Plex is a Mac OS X based media platform that is based on the popular, open-source, XBMC Media Centre.
What it does is uses your Mac as a media server base, and lets you play media content across compatible devices. As well as local storage Plex can also act as a media server for content streamed on the web and it boasts compatibility with the likes of the BBC iPlayer, Hulu, YouTube and 4oD.
So, in theory, a Apple TV running Plex means that you’d be turning your hobby box into a full-blown Google TV-killing machine.
At the moment the hack is just a “proof of concept client” and there are a few known bugs. However, if you do fancy giving it a try yourself, then check out the Plex forums for advice.
Connecting Your WP7 Phone To Your Mac Now A Step Closer
Well, if you are a Mac owner and are considering purchasing a Windows Phone 7 smartphone, Microsoft’s beta version of their new Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac may just tip the scale in favor of that purchase. The utility will help you sync your media (photos and music, in particular) with your Mac. What is particularly interesting about this utility, is that it does not use the traditional file/folder metaphor for the sync mechanism. Instead, it leverages iTunes and iPhoto (the Mac’s venerable music and photo management software) as the conduits for the syncing. So, if your media is managed with those apps then this new sync facility will be particularly attractive.
Apple delays white iPhone 4 into spring 2011
Let’s just be honest, Apple: white stuff is impossible to manufacture. In fact, scientists have yet to prove that white even exists, so we’re not sure why you’re bothering to try to make a phone out of it! That’s right: after a missed availability date in July and another delay after that, Cupertino has once again pushed back the manufacture of the palest iPhone 4 — this time clear into spring of 2011. It won’t say why, but in all likelihood, they’re still dealing with the same manufacturing woes they’ve had from the start. By the time mid-2011 rolls around, it seems probable that the release will be butting up against news of the iPhone 4’s successor — or at the very least, a CDMA version of the phone — so it’ll be fascinating to see how this timeline unfolds. In the meantime, yeah… might want to give up the wait and go for black.
Office 2011 for Mac is available
There are plenty of free, paid, web-based, desktop-bound, cross-platform, or uni-platform alternatives, but there can only be one Office. Microsoft’s flagship desktop suite of productivity applications just got a major new update. Office 2011 for Mac replaces Microsoft’s Mac-specific Entourage email app with the industry standard Outlook, brings in some interface tweaks from Office 2010 over in PC land, and integrates with those Office Web Apps you’ve been hearing so much about. The entire “Home & Business” bundle goes for $279, and if you’re not so into Outlook, you can get the Word / PowerPoint / Excel “Home & Student” version for $149.
Apple MacBook Air Review
It’s beautiful, it’s stunning, it’s thin, it’s like a supermodel. That is probably the best way to describe the MacBook Air to anyone asking. But should you be buying the thinnest MacBook on the planet? We’ve been living with the new model to find out.
Cast from aluminium, the MacBook Air is “cake cutting” thin with a design that tapers from 17mm at the back to just 3mm at the front, although you’ve got to also take into account the feet and general sitting on the desk form factor. If you’re wondering how that stacks up against a MacBook Pro – that 17mm is roughly the same height as the side of the bigger more powerful laptop, while the thin end when on a desk is the height of a CD jewel case. Read more 
VLC downsized to fit on the iPhone and iPod touch, now playing in the App Store
If you like your players orange and portable but don’t have a tablet, you may be in luck. The VLC Media Player app, which recently made the iPad a little more codec-friendly, is now available in the App Store for the iPhone (4 and 3GS) and iPod touch. This new version is also said to support even more file types, offer better performance, and allows for the deletion of files right through its own interface. It’s available now, so get downloading — your classic cartoons await.
iPhone 4 82% higher screen damage rate than 3GS?
Specifically, iPhone 4 owners reported 82-percent more damaged screens in the first 4 months, compared to iPhone 3GS owners. The company is also not entirely impressed with the aluminosilicate glass, which they reckon “doesn’t seem any less likely to break than previous models.”
At least a quarter of the broken glass claims involved the back panel, SquareTrade says, and the company is projecting accident rates of 15.5-percent by twelve months after purchase. Of course, as a warranty company it’s perhaps in SquareTrade’s best interests to be ominous about the figures, but with over 20,000 handsets covered you do have to wonder if there’s still something to it all.
Apple MacBook Air
Unveiled at the company’s “Back to the Mac” event, the new MacBook Air is said to be Apple’s lightest and most portable notebook ever, owing much to the decision to scrap a hard drive for the same flash storage technology used for the iPad which is said to deliver an impressive battery life of up to seven hours.
Apple MacBook Air Specs
The 13-inch weighs 2.9 pounds and boasts an 11.6-inch high-res LED-backlit display.
There’s a full-sized keyboard and a glass Multi-Touch track pad, mic, speakers and notably a built-in FaceTime camera to make video calls between the iPhone, iPod Touch and now Macs which Apple also announced at the event. Read more
Jobs previews Apple Mac OS X Lion
Steve Jobs described the preview of the next Mac OS X platform as the “entrée” for the Back to the Mac event.
But, there were still some juicy details regarding Lion, including a dedicated MacBook App Store.
Jobs described how Mac OS X Lion was inspired by iOS and brings with it all of the things that you love about your iPhone and your iPad.
Multi-touch gestures will be supported via the Magic Trackpad – Jobs said multi-touches don’t work vertically, so no touchscreen support for your Mac just yet.
The App Store will be a Mac specific one, with all the usability of the current App Store, including top charts, free and paid apps, one touch downloading and the same 70/30 split for developers. Read more
Steve Jobs: 7-inch Tablets DOA, Android is fragmented, not open
Apple’s solid financial performance for the past quarter got them headlines enough, but it’s CEO Steve Jobs’ no-holds-barred attack on rival “open” platforms and tablets trying to colonise the middle-ground between iPhone and iPad that will likely stick in most memories. Making an unusual appearance on the financial results call, Jobs dismissed 7-inch slates – like Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and including the ongoing rumors of a smaller iPad version – as “tweeners” falling in-between smartphone and iPad and likely to be dead on arrival, while also saving a few obituary words for RIM.
Jobs pointed out that a 7-inch screen is actually a little under half of what the iPad offers – 45-percent in fact – and said that “this size isn’t sufficient to create great tablet apps, in our opinion.” Although a higher resolution could help, “it is meaningless unless your tablet also includes sandpaper, so that the user can sand down their fingers to around one-quarter of their present size.” Android, Jobs reckons, isn’t ready for tablets, and he pointed to Google’s own suggestions that manufacturers should wait for 3.0 Gingerbread as evidence that he’s not the only one. Read more
