Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Snow Leopard packing antivirus software?


If the online chatter is to be believed, Apple's very soon to be released Snow Leopard has in its code new protection for fighting malware. According to the picture above corroborated by other online reports, a DMG downloaded by Safari was checked by the OS and found to contain the "RSPlug.A" Trojan. The system promptly suggests you eject the disk image to avoid damage. Should Apple really be treading down this path, it begs the question of how often and how comprehensive / aggressive the company will be updating its antivirus logs. If nothing else, it's a certainly a notable symbolic gesture that the one-time underdog might be gaining enough market share to catch the attention of the darker side of the internet -- and all of a sudden, David Puddy isn't looking nearly as bad.

Via Engadget

Polycarbonate MacBook to live on, be redesigned?


It might seem like Apple's been ignoring its non-Pro MacBook line lately -- even doing hardware updates on the sly -- but consumers haven't, and they've been lapping up that solitary SKU with unabated enthusiasm. No surprise then that Cupertino would have bigger plans on the horizon, and AppleInsider claims Apple's engineers are already hard at work on an "industrial design overhaul" for the humble 13-incher, with some configurations expected to come in under the current $999 price point. Great news if you're lusting after a Mac, but still want to be able to buy groceries -- right, Giampaulo?

Via Engadget

Monday, August 24, 2009

Apple enlists David Puddy to take on the Laptop Hunters




Apple's created a whole new chapter in its "Get a Mac" ad campaign based on targeting Microsoft's successful Laptop Hunters series, and while at this point it's just a lot of muddled back-and-forth, the gang in Cupertino managed to spice things up a little by bringing in an all-too-recognizable face and voice: Patrick "David Puddy" Warburton. Mr. Brock Samson / Joe Swanson / The Tick comes on as the top-of-the-line PC who some say has a "much too fast" processor but prone to viruses and causing headaches -- you knew were the narrative was going. Video after the break, and you can go ahead and start work on your parody video, "You got a question about PCs, you ask the eight ball."


Via Engadget

Sunday, August 23, 2009

TomTom App for iPhone



Well, not to hate on Garmin and Sprint navigation, but sorry guys. The new TomTom app for the iPhone just blew you away. With the new commercial ad from Apple and TomTom, the app/kit looks like other navigation systems but come on, on our iPhone? With what we can expect to be around $199.99 for the kit, but the app alone will be $99. The TomTom kit comes with, a key for the app and the iPhone holder, which has a built in speaker, hands free dialing, built in GPS (for enhanced performance) and charging dock (for more enhanced performance). Also no word on a release date. Check out the video below and enjoy.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Snow Leopard Spotted in Mac Mini Box



If his story is to be believed (and it seems pretty believable), an anonymous tipster to Engadget Japanese got a nice surprise with his recent Mac mini purchase: a Snow Leopard install disc. It's one of those vanilla hardware-specific install discs, dubbing itself Mac OS version 10.6, and clearly packing the goods if the screenshots don't lie. This only adds confusion to the ship date, which has been listed as August 28th on Apple's online store, dubbed as "September" elsewhere, and obviously been totally disregarded in this specific case. No matter what, it looks like we won't have long to wait. Hit up the read link for a couple of Japanese-infused screencaps.

Via Engadget

Zune HD Box Spotted



According to one tipster, the Zune HD was a no-show today at both of his Houston-area Best Buys, so hopefully this little tidbit can make it up to that loneliest of all Zune fans. According to CrazyphoneGuy of Twitter and his prodigious Twitpic account, the picture above is of the Zune HD's new box. It looks quite a bit like existing Zune boxes, but that's certainly no slight. Anyone else track down the Zune HD at a Best Buy today, or was NVIDIA just fooling with us?

Via Engadget

Friday, August 21, 2009

Google Chrome for Mac DevBuild 4.0.202.0 - Now With Flash!

With Google Chrome in developer's preview, many updates are sent out to improve stability, add features and more. In the latest build of the popular browser, 4.0.202.0, users now have the ability to use flash content on the browser. In other words, Youtube is now usable in Google Chrome for Mac. Since this is a new feature to Chrome Mac, there are some bugs involving full screen mode. To learn more, watch the video below.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

iPhone 3GS Compatible with 1080P Video


We always suspected the iPhone 3GS was capable of 1080p HD video playback, and now we've got proof. Although Apple lists the iPhone 3Gs's max video playback res at just 640x480, iLounge linked to Chinese forum post claiming that the 3GS could do 30Mbps 1080p playback earlier today -- and when we saw that the only thing we needed to do to test it out was download the free FileAid app, well, you know how we've just spent the last 20 minutes. We tested out a bunch of HD trailers from Apple's QuickTime trailer site, some videos we shot with a Lumix DMC-GH1 and some other random videos with general success, but there were some major hiccups: high bitrate 720p video off the GH1 stuttered during playback, and loading the Avatar trailer consistently crashed the phone's audio driver until we restarted. We tried the same thing on an iPhone 3G and just got error messages at almost every resolution, so it seems like it's a combination of the 3GS's extra horsepower and different built-in software at work here -- software that's clearly not ready for prime-time, as evidenced by the bugs. We're hoping Apple is polishing that up and getting ready to unlock this functionality, since it'd be sweet to just plug into an HDTV and play video -- anyone listening out there in Cupertino? Video after the break.



Via Engadget

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

PS3 Slim Roundup


So here's what we know:

  • PS3 Slim is 32% Smaller and 36% lighter than the original PS3, it is smaller than the 360
  • Similar in design to the original PS3 design, though the finish is mostly matte with smooth finishes along the sides of the console and chrome around the disk slot area
  • It runs on less power than the original
  • Still no PS2 backwards compatibility
  • Generally same experience as original PS3 - 2 USB ports, Bluetooth, etc...
  • Model does not have a rear power button
  • 120GB Hard Drive (Removable/Expandable)
  • No secondary OS support (no linux)
  • Bravia Link Support
  • PS3 Slim will phase out the fat PS3, with the 80GB models to be cleared out by September
  • Firmware 3.0 wont come with launch models, but will be added on to later ones
  • Launches Sept. 1st, 2009
Pictures below

Packaging (via Engadget):




Console Pictures:





Yup, PS3 Slim is now official - Update: Official Picture



It's finally official. This new model will be $299 USD, and 299 Euros and will feature the same characteristics as the PS3 Phat but with a 120GB HDD, and with a major size reduction (32% Smaller, 36% lighter). It will be available in September of this year. More updates soon...

Update 1: Right after the announcement, the show ended.

Update 2: PS3 price officially dropped to $299

Update 3: Better Pic





Just to let you guys know, this is the same PS3 Slim we saw in leaked form a few months back. If you don't remember, see it here. If you don't recall, the source later admitted it was false. Looks like we fell for it...

Also, GamePro had a story on the Slim about a month ago. Apparently a person posted a video of the PS3 Slim on Youtube. He apparently found an underground merchant selling the Slim. You can find the video below.

Sony @ Cologne Gamescon Expo 2009


You can see the live blog here. Some short time after the PR, you can expect a full roundup right here on the site.

What do we know? Well, the only thing we can pretty much confirm ourselves is a PS3 price drop, evident from the FYE leaked poster and the already live Kmart website "headline". Anyway, its expected to kickoff at 12:30PM EST so hold tight, I believe lots of announcements are on our way.

PS3 Slim Today????


Recently, a bunch of rumors have surfaced regarding the PS3 Slim, and how Sony may unveil it today at the Cologne Gamescon Expo. Now, even though we have no evidence that Sony will announce a "slim" model, there are some signs that lead toward an unveiling of a "slim" model.

A Kotaku reader/tipster/FYE employee sent in a new FYE store poster revealing a PS3 price drop with a "while supplies last" disclaimer. This shows that FYE may want to clear their current PS3 stock to make way for a new PS3 model.

If that wasn't enough, the price drop is also evident at Kmart's site right now as the main "headline", with the quote:

"The rumors are reality. A new low price & a new exciting Playstation 3."

And while the quote states a "new exciting" PS3, there is no sighting of a new model anywhere on the site.

Anyway, the Sony PR at the Cologne Gamescon Expo is at 12 PM EST and I'll try my best to update you as much as possible.

Update: (Old News but...) The Playstation Network will be down for maintainable during the conference. PSN Upgrades???? We'll see...

[Via Engadget Via Kotaku]