Seriously, I can’t stop blogging about Apple’s goings-ons this week. And it’s not my fault, the company just keeps doing stuff. I can’t keep up. Take, for example, the quiet launch of a new store on Apple’s website. Gone is the “Hot Deals” section, being replaced by the Apple Outlet. It serves the same general purpose as the Hot Deals section of the store, but is now more easily navigable. We like it.
The deals are still there, like a Refurbished iMac 24-inch with a 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB RAM, and a SuperDrive for $1,699, shipped. That’s tight.
We’re a fan of refurb electronics. Having worked at a big-box retailer for years, I personally found out that refurbed products are tested more rigorously than new, and have the same warranty. So unless you’re sketched out by the idea of someone previously fondling your iPod, it’s a great place to get your gear.
Apple Outlet [store.apple.com]
[Update, 05-31-07, 2:37PM PST] So some other famous bloggers and I were discussing this unlikely rumor, and we started to realize something: With core elements of Vista in place on Intel hardware, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to imagine OS X running Windows apps. Then, by chance, I ran across this article at Mac Daily News posits the very idea, and that this could be the way big secret Steve is keeping for WWDC. Bootcamp 2 isn’t in the current preview of Leopard, nor are many other expected toys. We still think the whole thing is a little suspicious, but what a possibility it creates, no?
This is probably the most insane Apple rumor we’ve ever heard, and most likely crap. But in the interest of generating site traffic, and to secure bragging rights of being “first!” if it’s somehow real, and because we’re reckless, we bring it to you now.
Our Trusted, Reliable Source™ at the WSJ’s D conference that fed us all the Foleo goodness was chatting with some other PR types who work for Apple during Steve’s chat yesterday. He/She said they were nervous over Mr. Jobs accidentally spilling Leopard secrets two weeks before its official unveiling at WWDC. The source said something jokingly about how it’s really a re-designed version of Vista, and, to their surprise, the PR type said, “No, Vista runs great on the new Macs by itself, and Bootcamp 2 lets us ship it as an add-on option for dual-boot.” Or something to that effect.
We’re thinking the Apple PR person was messing with our source, the idea is to run ideas up the flagpole to see if they fly. We really don’t see any Macs shipping with dual-boot to Windows anytime soon, but Steve has surprised us before, so who knows? We mark the likelihood as very low, but stranger things have happened. Thanks for giving me something to post on a slow news day, Apple PR dude/lady!
If someone could explain why or how this is funny, on some level other than a base one, I’d be thankful. It’s one of those exploding golf balls, but at its center, it’s got a condom. Not a wrapped up one, which you could later use to avoid getting The Herp from the course hooker in the pro shop, but rather, ya know, just a condom. Supposedly it just flies out when the ball ’splodes. There’s some pun in there somewhere, but I won’t be the one to make it.
No, really, I don’t get it. Explain this to me, and you win my eternal respect for a month. Eternal, friends.
Oh, and it comes with a “sexy tee”, which means a piece of plastic roughly shaped like a girl. Sexy!
Exploding! Golf ball (with condom inside!) [product page, via Nerd Approved]
You may recall awhile back I reviewed M-Audio’s Torq Mixlab setup for DJs. I love it and think it’s great software, but I only spent so much initial time using it then took a break. This past week, I’ve been playing with it for hours on end and have started to really get mixing well down again. To showcase how well Torq Mixlab works, I’ve made a decent 45-minute house/electro mix for ya’ll. If you enjoy 4/4 beats, electronic noises, and getting high, you’ll probably dig it.
Those of you who don’t want to stream it can download the MP3 directly
here. Enjoy the music and if you feel inspired yourself, check out Torq Mixlab from M-Audio.
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The man in purple has announced that his first new single, “Guitar” from the upcoming “Planet Earth” album, has arrived. Fans can get the single starting today when they use Verizon Wireless’ free new V CAST Song ID to identify the single. To get the track you’ll have to download the Song ID app to a V CAST Music-enable phones, then from your PC go to the Verizon Wireless music site where you play the interactive video and hold the phone to the speaker. This will identify the song, which you can then download for free. Yes, this sounds like a lot of work… but it’s music fit for a king, make that from Prince.
Verizon Wireless Music
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to many of you, but if it does then you really need to get out of your parent’s basement and get some. Sure, the kids these days use SMS to cheat on tests and see what their homies are up to for the night, but texting for sex is bigger than we thought. Why do you think I have the Sidekick3? To keep up on my CG e-mails? No. I make use of the cheap unlimited data plan to booty call my shorties when I need to get a piece. OK, not really, but I do drunk-text quite a bit. I know you do too, so don’t act like you don’t.
A recent poll conducted by About.com tells us that 17 percent use text messages to ‘arrange sex encounters,’ while 28 percent used it to communicate with family members. I’d hate to mix up a text there. Keeping in touch with your friends takes the cake with 32 percent while non-sex related texts between lovers was limited to 15 percent.
I think texting for sex is a lot bigger than this poll might lead you to believe. A quick search for a funny image for this story on Google led me to this interesting article that was in NY Mag. It’s bigger than you think. What say ye?
Poll Results: 17% Use Text Messaging Mostly To Arrange Sex Encounters
If you frequently use the excuse “my battery died” to get out of working, don’t buy the new Lenovo ThinkPad X61 or X61s notebooks or the X61 Tablet. According to the company’s details on the three systems, the ThinkPad X61s will keep you up and running for more than 12 hours and the ThinkPad X61 and X61 Tablet will run approximately up to 11 and 10 hours respectively. Of course, this is with the combination of an eight-cell standard battery and optional extended life battery, but still, that’s a crazy amount of productivity from just two batteries.
Along with the extended battery life comes an improved design for broadband wireless, called Ultra Connect II, so you can get a signal anywhere. Lenovo claims up to a 30 percent improvement above previous models. (And you thought that was just a regular, old antenna.)
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Apple’s latest blow to other online music download services is iTunes Plus — tracks encoded at 256Kbps in AAC format with no copy protection restricting usage. Big deal? Maybe not as big as many people hoped, thanks to some glitches and limitations, but it’s still a huge step in the right direction for downloaded music. But is Steve Jobs following the right path by shunning the subscription model in favor of a deceptively open download model?
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Holy disingenuousness, Batman. Check out this “next generation” VoIP provider called iPhone2. Now, I’ve never used any of the company’s products. In fact, they may be the best VoIP guys out there. But naming your company iPhone2? Isn’t that some sort of trademark issue? Any lawyers in the house?
Home Page [iPhone2]
The new street view feature that appears in Google Maps is pretty righteous, but how the f*ck are they doing it? It gives me the creeps and if it ever shows up around me I’ll be kicking and screaming. It’s zooming into people’s homes and everything. It’s a clear violation of my privacy.
So who is doing all this? Immersive Media is the culprit and the means by which they’re doing it is quite laughable. A VW Beetle? Seriously. Anyways, the Beetle is cruising around with an 11-sided camera catching you in the act of whatever it is that you do. Creepy and cool at the same time. Don’t you think?
Google Maps zoom: here’s the device and vehicle behind it [BoingBoing]
Listen up, Zune users. Word has come down to my ears that a new firmware update for your handy PMP will be available for download at 10:00 PST today. It’s not a major upgrade, but it does improve the Zune’s shuffling action, which some users have hated on. (Not me, I don’t drink the Haterade.)
No word on what other changes are included, but we’re doubting there’s anything surprising. Or is there!?
Zune Update 1.4 Out Today [Cesar's Zune Insider]
Readers: after posting a wee story about the iPhone, we received this most excellent comment. Mad commenter — Who are you? Tell us your story. I promise to give you a fair shake. Email us at tips @ crunchgear dot com.
I ordinarily wouldn’t put a comment in a stupid blog but your behaviour is so infuriating Steve Jobs, I have to.
Steve: This is a promise. I will do everything possible to see that justice prevails and that you face criminal prosecution for robbing me. You, Larry and if she was complicit, Gina. You dirty f*cking assholes.
I guarantee you: you will face Federal charges for filing perjured patent applications with the USPTO, and Matt Powers and his crooked sh*thead partners at WG&M who have been conspiring with you will face prosecution under the RICO statutes.
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According to a recent patent filing Apple has made, the iPhone will have crystal clear reception with absolute minimal interference. This technology is designed to keep interference away from the iPhone that other gadgets and devices might cause. Just a small detector chip is all it takes.
Apple plans on alerting you also when your signal becomes fuzzy or interrupted via audio or text. Here’s the kicker, though. Although the patent doesn’t mention the iPhone at all, it clearly states that the technology is designed for a cellphone with media capabilities. Sounds like an iPhone to me! Perhaps for once, I’ll be able to have a cellphone unaffected by the dreaded speaker buzz.
Apple patent keeps iPhone signals clean [MacNN]
Like gadgets? Games? Witty banter? Not working at the pizzeria this summer? Know a little PHP? Drop me a line at john at crunchgear dot com along with one post in CrunchGear style and a few paragraphs about yourself. Don’t send me resumes, but PHP/programming experience is a plus. Pay dependent on skill set and how cool you seem in your email. Applicants must have majority of day free, so you cubicle rats are going to have to suffer. Act now!
Face it. Loving Star Trek is about as dorky as a dork can get. But one Star Trek fan had the last laugh when he sold his one bedroom flat for more than five times the market value. Tony Alleyne sold his home that he transformed into the deck of the starship Voyager for a staggering $843,242 or £425,000.
As you would imagine, transforming your bachelor pad into a flight deck is not an easy (or cheap) task. Tony spent nearly £30,000 and eight-hours a day for two years working on the project. When completed, he went and did what any shrewd businessman would do: he sold it on eBay. Tony hasn’t announced his next project, but a Pirate-themed home would be pretty badass to say the least.
Star Trek fan soldly goes… [MAKE]
Nothing beats free stuff. Whether it’s a free ice cream cone or a free iPod, both are just so, so sweet. Those of you who still shell out $1000 a year to upgrade your PC for games will be happy to know that Valve and ATI have struck a bit of a deal that runs in your favor. Owners of ATI RadeonT graphics cards will be able to download free games from Valve’s Steam service.
So you have a RadeonT card and want to get your download on? Right now, you can get Half-Life 2: Lost Coast and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch via Steam for the cost of absolutely nothing. Steam will also be packaged with ATI graphics cards from now until 2008. Sounds like a good deal. You can get the full nitty gritty by visiting this site.
Free Steam games for all ATI Radeon card users [Strategy Informer]
The Business Software Alliance — the Ladies Against Women of the IT set — found out that the average Azerbaijani has over $250 worth of pirated software on his or her computer. Second in the list is Iceland with about $225 and America and China eat it big time because we steal $7.2 billion and $5.4 billion from Bill Gates’ mewling mouth every time we hit the Pirate Bay. Cry us a river, BSA.
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Sorry for the delay, folks, but I wanted to make sure I gave you all a chance to come up with something to really make us LOL. A few of you made me chuckle and I give you props for that. Keep it up everyone. There won’t be a prize today, but there will be tomorrow! The commenter who really, really makes us LOL will win a set of Rhino Skin iPod Shuffle Accents. I know the prize is minuscule, but we’ll see how this works out and we’ll up the ante next week. You could win a Belkin Wifi Skype phone. In any case, here are yesterday’s top three comments.
Ilya has been extremely diligent with all sorts of comments the last few weeks and last night was no different. Anyone who bashes on Microsoft is an automatic favorite in my book and the BTOD is funny in and of itself.
Not to worry, this will be ironed out in Table Pack 2
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The things that Google comes up with are pretty scary. The Street View on Google Maps is pretty cool, but it’s starting to feel a lot like Big Brother around here. It appears that when searching for images you now have the ability to get pictures of just faces by adding this tid-bit to your search, “&imgtype=face”. Voila, stalking on the internet has gotten that much easier. I apologize if anyone has an epileptic seizure because of the image.
Google enables face recognition in Image Search? [Lifehacker]
Last week, we discussed Ezra Chatterton and his World of Warcraft wishes. The boy got all he could ever ask for and the dudes in Blizzard really hooked him up with some cool gear. Now Blzzard is going one step further and is giving Ezra his very own Phoenix flying mount. Yeah, this kid went and got a friggin’ phoenix to fly around on without having to run some instance 600 times.
So what makes this Phoenix mount so special? I’d say a 310% speed increase does. That combined with the fact that Ezra owns the very first one makes this a prize he’ll never forget – especially since his middle name is indeed “Phoenix”. Absolutely wonderful to hear. Now that Ezra has gotten his loot, any way we can get one of those slick Phoenix mounts Blizzard?
The Phoenix Mount is indeed in game — with Ezra! [WoW Insider]
