This is probably the easiest review I’ve ever had to write. It’s about the Clickfree Traveler, an automated backup solution that works with both Windows and Mac; it’s the size of a credit card, as the video here tries to show! (Presumably Linux folk have all written, in raw machine code, their own backup applications.) Literally, you plug it into the USB port of your computer, a small window pops up with a countdown timer, and then it automatically backs up your home directory—/users/ndeleon/ in my case. Provided there’s enough space on the Traveler for your data, it’s all over in a matter of seconds. It’s pretty darn painless.
Free entertainment hub Boxee keeps on getting better and better. A couple of hours ago, the venture-backed startup released a full API that allows developers to build applications for the open-source platform using a set of API calls in Python and writing the GUI using XML. At the same time, the company is laying the groundwork for a richer App Box, which it refers to as an open application store where they are not the gatekeeper (like Apple for its iPhone App Store) but rather a facilitator.
Heck, they’re even prepared to act as middleman for connecting freelance web developers with companies looking to leverage their API. Hard not to love that type of company.
Boxee is today also introducing a new test version of the Boxee alpha version for Mac and Apple TV (get it here for Intel Mac OS X 10.4+), adding two applications that were built using the brand new API. The new Boxee alpha comes with a lot of music goodness as it includes both Pandora, the popular music streaming service, and RadioTime, which enables their users to access over 100,000 traditional radio stations from across the globe.
Earlier this evening we saw a new ad come out of the Microsoft hive mind showing Lauren, a charming everywoman, purchasing an HP laptop for $699 after finding that the lowest-priced Mac matching her meagre requirements would cost her nearly double. The resulting commercial is effective in these lean times but isn’t it a bit disingenuous?
I’ve often spoken of the PC industry’s race to the bottom. A $699 laptop - along with a $200 LCD monitor - would have been unthinkable a few years ago but it is now commonplace. At that price, however, you get a machine that wouldn’t get a second look, spec for spec, a few years ago. These would have been called barebones machines - a little memory, a hard drive, and a processor are all you’d get. But with the advent of high design, it’s easy to put lipstick on that particular pig and make Lauren happy.
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They’ve got a point on the cost to feature ratio of Macs v. Windows machines in this new Microsoft ad. I have to say, these things are getting a lot better over time. And the price difference is the key weak point in the Apple product lineup. Mac fanatics couldn’t care less. But to a recession-beaten regular computer user, this message is right on the money. “I’m just not cool enough to be a Mac person,” the actress says after visiting an Apple store and not finding any laptops in her price range.
See our coverage of other recent Microsoft ads here, here, here.
So these might not be for everyone, but Iogear announced a 2-port USB 2.0 printer switch and a 4-port USB “Net ShareStation.” The printer switch allows you to plug in one Mac and one PC into a single printer and it automatically detects which one is sending print jobs. The Net ShareStation allows you to hook up four different doodads via USB and share that amongst your fellow co-workers or home inhabitants. If you plug it into your wireless router than it puts everything over the network wirelessly. Did you get that last part? Wirelessly.
The latest Mac mini is barely a day old and already we are getting the first look inside the updated computer. Apple kept to the original design though which still requires the use of a putty knife and a bit of patience to open her up. It would be nice if Apple adapted a similar easy swap-out design that the new notebooks sport, but whatya going to do. Inside, there isn’t that much different besides the obvious new parts. Click through for a bit of circuit board pr0n.
Is it still called “PC gaming” when it’s done on a Mac? I’d ask Ubisoft, which just announced that Prince of Persia and that Shaun White snowboarding game will be available on the Mac in March, but it seems my Internet connection is being censored by The Man right now. Censorship makes the Internet Jesus cry.
Last month at Macworld, FastMac showed me their upcoming external Blu-ray drives, which I was excited about, and it appears they’ve made their way onto the site.
Heads up, freaks. There’s a trojan inside a certain Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Mac crack generator that’s spreading around. (Type “photoshop cs4 mac crack” in The PirateBay for the offending file.) It’s a variant of a trojan that was first discovered last week, so that means this trojan is getting around.
Oh boy! I can’t believe the day has come! iLife ‘09 just got a ship date and it’s coming your way tomorrow. But wait, didn’t you already snag it off the Pirate Bay or something? Anyway, iLife ‘09 ships with all new Macs and those of you who purchased a Mac on or after January 6th ‘09 will have to shell out $10 to get the iLife Up-To-Date upgrade package. Talk about nickel and diming. The family pack goes for $99 and the Mac Box Set goes for $169. Hit the jump to see if you’re Mac can handle the awesomeness that is iLife ‘09.